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hysterialevi · 6 years

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Lotus pt. 13 (Batjokes)

Author’s note: This one’s a shorter chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it regardless. As always, thanks for taking the time to read this story, and I appreciate all the support.

From Tiffany’s POV

DIVINITY CHURCH

Holding the photograph in my hand, I struggled to let it go as I replayed the paused memory in my head, almost able to hear my dad’s laugh fluttering in the background. I was just a little schoolgirl when he took this photo, and to see where we’ve ended up ever since that time...it hurt.

All that innocence, all that joy, all those years spent together -- and all that was left of us was a burning city.

Dad was gone, Luke was living in his own world, mom had locked herself in the house...and now, Bruce was also slowly drifting away -- plummeting deeper and deeper into Lotus’ irrevocable clutch.

If I was being honest, I didn’t even know if “Bruce” existed anymore. It seemed like Lazarus was his only identity now, and every shred of humanity he ever held in him...had vanished. Bruce himself might’ve “returned” from the dead, but the Bruce I knew was still sleeping in that morgue. And I’d be foolish to believe he’d ever wake up.

Taking a deep breath, I finally followed the actions of the other people attending the vigil around me, and laid the photograph down with care, lighting a single candle next to it. Countless candles had already been set aflame outside of the church, and even more people had gathered around to remember their loved ones.

There were photographs of late husbands, wives, parents, and even children -- all of them killed either by Lotus...or Lazarus himself. It was a sight I never thought I’d see, and I would’ve given anything to forget it.

Glancing off to the side, I averted my attention from the vigil for a moment when I noticed a mournful Blake standing not too far away from me, staring lifelessly at a photo of Avesta as he silently said his goodbyes.

He wasn’t wearing his Agency uniform tonight, and instead, wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, along with a dark jacket and fresh bandage plastered on his cheek. He appeared even more desolate than when I last saw him, and it seemed as if the emotion in him was gradually disintegrating further and further as the days flew by.

I couldn’t deny that his recent behavior worried me. I mean, everyone was being pushed to their limits because of this chaos, but Blake seemed especially damaged. I feared he would break soon.

Quietly making my way over to the agent, I patiently stood by as he placed Avesta’s photograph down, giving it its own spot of esteem among the clusters of candles. He didn’t utter a single word or shed a single tear, and the longer he remained without displaying any type of sentiment, the more worried I became.

I abruptly broke the disturbing silence and faintly cleared my throat, barely getting Blake to even look at me.

“Shouldn’t you be in a hospital?” I asked in a light-hearted manner, trailing behind him as he wandered off to a more private location away from the vigil.

“No,” he replied bleakly. “There are enough people in there.”

I shrugged. “I just thought you’d want to rest after everything that happened at City Hall. I know Lazarus roughed you up quite a bit.”

Blake’s expression sank grimly at that, and his eyes fell to the ground in reproach as he leaned against a tree, barely touching the candles’ light.

“Psh, I was one of the lucky ones. It’s true, Lazarus gave me a thrashing, but at least I didn’t get my stomach torn open.”

I blinked both out of confusion and disgust for a few moments, thrown off-guard.

“Wait, w-what do you mean?”

“Lazarus was torturing the Mayor,” Blake explained, his voice low and flat. “Just...cutting and slicing him open like a bloated pig...but I didn’t save him. I didn’t intervene. Instead, all I did was use him as a distraction so I could get away, and disabled the EMP generator while the Mayor was screaming in my ear, crying for mercy.”

Blake’s rough tone softened with guilt. “I...I let the Mayor die, so I could live. It’s the only reason I’m here now -- and the only reason he’s dead.”

The man gazed hopelessly at me with heavy eyelids, almost as if he were looking straight through me.

“...How do you forget something like that? How do you justify your fight against crime...when you’re as heinous as your enemies?”

I frowned out of sympathy and carefully approached Blake, offering him any kind of reassurance I could give.

“Blake, you can’t blame yourself for the Mayor’s death. Lazarus killed him. Not you. It’s not your fault.”

Contrary to what I expected, that statement only ended up sparking his grief into annoyance.

“I may not have killed him, but it’s the Agency’s job to protect people, dammit!” He snapped back. “We came to Gotham to save lives, and yet, the death toll over the past week has been higher than the death toll over the past year! What are we even doing here if we can’t help for shit? Avesta is dead. The Mayor is dead. And now even Waller’s in the hospital, ready to slip away at any moment -- all because I failed to do my job. Not to mention we have no escape at this point, considering Bane blew up Gotham Bridge. We’re trapped in a living hell, and so long as Lazarus lives...it’s never going to end.”

I raised my volume slightly, hoping to break Blake out of his enraged trance.

“Hey, Blake, stay with me, okay? I know things have been difficult, but we can’t give up now. Lazarus is murdering defenseless civilians, and unless we step up to fight back, we’re all going to die. We can’t let that happen. We can’t allow him to kill anymore innocents.”

That didn’t seem to help much, and Blake only continued to carry on with his rant.

“What does ‘innocent’ even mean anymore...? Am I innocent? I’ve killed people, Tiffany. Do you understand that? People just like you and me who had families waiting for them at home -- families that never got to see them again...until they lowered them into their graves. The Mayor was brutalized and tortured because of me, for god’s sake! Because I valued my own life more than his. Do you still think I’m innocent?” Blake shook his head. “...No. You only label me as such because I claim to do it for the greater good. But guess what? That’s the exact same goal our enemies are fighting for.”

The way Blake was speaking admittedly sent me into a state of alarm, and at this point, I didn’t even know what I could say or do that would calm his nerves.

Desperately trying to think of something, I hurriedly jumped in before Blake’s psyche could deteriorate anymore, and found myself mindlessly stepping closer and closer to him as we argued.

“We are not our enemies, Blake,” I said sternly. “We both kill people, yes, but we kill murderers. They kill innocents. That’s the difference.”

He scoffed, unconvinced. “And how do we know who’s who? Let me tell you something, Tiffany. If our war with Lazarus has taught me anything, it’s that there are only two types of people left in this world. Those who have blood on their hands, and those who lie. It’s just how the world works now, and as much as I want to see that maniac’s head roll off his shoulders, he is right about one thing: this road is leading to death’s door no matter how hard we fight, and there’s not a damn thing we can do to change that.”

Blake began to roam away from me before I could say another word and distanced himself from the vigil, waving a quick goodbye as he vanished into the night’s shadows, disappearing more with every step.

“...It’s like Lazarus said, Tiffany. There’s no crueler method to torture a man than giving him the illusion of choice.”

From Gordon’s POV

GCPD, COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE

“Due to yet another devastating attack conducted by Lazarus, City Hall is now in ruins after being hit by a number of missiles,” the news announced, “and the Mayor has officially been confirmed dead. Reports say that multiple agents and police officers were severely injured during the attack -- including Director Waller herself -- and I’m afraid the condition of Gotham Bridge is no better. The notorious Bane struck again tonight and detonated a series of bombs on the structure, completely decimating its architecture. At the moment, there is no way out of Gotham by car.”

Shutting the television off with a remote, I slapped the device back down on the table with a bit more force than intended and took a seat at my desk, contemplating on just what the hell to do from here.

Waller was stuck in the hospital, City Hall had been destroyed, and as of tonight, there was no way we could evacuate Gotham’s civilians -- not efficiently, anyhow. The weight of leading the Agency and the police force both fell on me now, and with the heavy amount of losses we just suffered, morale was lower than low.

Fortunately however, there was a bright side in all this. We knew where Joker and Lazarus would most-likely be hiding, thanks to Quinn. The Bonus Bros’ Carnival, she told us -- at the funhouse, specifically. Apparently, Joker had turned the abandoned park into his own personal base of operations, and guarded the perimeter better than his own life. If we were going to infiltrate that place, it was going to take every single one of our people. And even then, things would be dicey.

I just wished I could’ve heard the whole of what Waller had to say about Bruce and Batman. It sounded like she knew where the caped vigilante was sneaking around, and to say I was concerned about Batman’s safety would’ve been an understatement. That man was a hero to Gotham’s people -- a hero to me. If someone like Lazarus was able to take him down...we were in some serious, serious trouble.

Fighting a war without Batman was like firing a gun with no bullets. If there was any chance we could relocate him, I’d be the first to take it.

“Commissioner?” Someone suddenly said, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was Montoya.

“Renee,” I greeted, bringing my mind back to business. “Something you need?”

Closing the door behind her, Montoya took on a more empathetic tone.

“Actually, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Y’know, with everything that’s happening. That fight with Bane was intense, and City Hall didn’t do so well either. As tough as it is, it’s important we keep our heads high in times like these. So, how are you feeling?”

I let out an irritated sigh, tugging at my collar. “If I’m being honest -- like hell. In all my years working with the GCPD, I’ve never seen something like this. At first, I didn’t take Lazarus too seriously, since he was nothing but a CEO, but I can see now what a goddamn mistake that was. I guess Wayne has more of his dad’s blood in him than we realized. Why couldn’t he have turned out like his mother instead?”

Renee sat on the edge of the desk. “Because people like her don’t survive in Gotham.”

I nodded at that, rubbing my chin in thought. “Sad, but true. If we’re lucky though, tomorrow will be the day we finally gain the upper hand. According to Quinn, Joker and Lazarus are skulking somewhere inside that deserted carnival just outside of town. They’ve got a lot of people guarding their little hideout, and even more guns. I’m not gonna lie -- it won’t be easy. But we can’t back down now. Not after all the damage they’ve dealt.”

“I hear you, Commissioner,” Renee agreed. “I just hope our men still have the strength to fight. Lazarus certainly knows how to drain morale, and it doesn’t take a genius to see that our chances of success aren’t great. But if Gotham has been able to survive for this long, I'm sure it can survive this. Even with Lazarus at the top.”

“You’re right,” I replied, “it’s just difficult to see victory as a possibility when a dead man is doing better than us. Despite there being no guarantee of survival though, I promise you I’ll do everything I can to smoke that son-of-a-bitch out of his hole, and put an end to him for good. I’d rather cure Bruce than kill him, but that might not be an option at this point.”

Renee stood up from her seat. “Whatever you think is best, Commissioner. I’m with you.”

“Thank you, Montoya. As tragic as things are, it’s good to know you’ll be here through it all.”

She beamed warmly at me, smiling out of gratitude. “I have faith in you, Gordon. Now try to get some rest, would you? You’re gonna need all the strength you can get for tomorrow.”

I chuckled and followed Renee as she headed out the door, the two of us secretly terrified of what was about to unfold the next day.

“Don’t need to tell me twice. Though, maybe someone should remind Lazarus what the word ‘dead’ means again.”

Renee’s face lit up with courage. “If it comes down to it, we’ll be there to show him.”

I smirked at that, taking one last look at my office before flicking off the lights.

“You’re damn right we will.”

#telltale games #telltale batman #the enemy within #bruce wayne #john doe #joker #batjokes #fanfic #story #lotus

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