The scene below comes at the end of a climatic showdown. A massive explosion has occurred and in its wake Hush sees Batman laying lifeless in the rubble. He hurries to clear the debris and hold his friend in his arms. the bandages around his head have loosed so that his face can be seen.
“Wake up,” he whispered. “Wake up,” he repeated with growing anger in his voice, “You, you’re Batman. You can’t die, not like that.” Hush removed Batman’s cowl and lowered his head. “I… I never wanted this. All I wanted was for you… for everyone to know that I’m the best, I was always the best ever since we were kids. You remember that, don’t you? I beat you every time, every time… but this? I’m… so very disappointed,” he lamented.
“I let you win,” Bruce confessed as his eyes slowly opened.
“Tommy, I was never a dumb kid,” Bruce reminded Hush as he moved out of the man’s arms, “I saw what you went through… how your parents treated you, what they did to you. Part of the reason I wanted you over so often was to get you away from them. You were the first person that I tried to save, but there wasn’t much that I could do. I knew you needed to win in some way.”
Hush stood with fists clenched tightly. “No, that can’t be. I would have known,” he rebutted.
Bruce turned away and gave a soft laugh, “Oh, it wasn’t every time. I couldn’t touch you to begin with. Then you told me your secret; think like the enemy. You still won your fair share even then, but I helped enough that it mattered.”
Hush pulled off the last of his bandages, his short red hair practically glowing in the light of the nearby flames. Sirens could be heard moving towards their location. “Why tell me this now? After all of this time?” he questioned suspiciously.
“I should have told you sooner; talked to you sooner,” he confessed apologetically with a shake of his head, “Tommy, when I… decided what I wanted to do with my life, I did it for you just as much as I did for myself. It wasn’t right what happened to either of us and I had to do whatever I could to save as many people as possible. I don’t know if I chose the right way or the best way, but I did it for us. We could have done it together, but I hoped that you had moved beyond the past. I wanted you to be able to live the happy and normal life that I knew I never could.”
Now it was Tommy’s time to laugh, although it was practically just a grunt. “Quit being such a martyr,” he spat back. “The Elliots have been crooks and the Waynes have been heroes, super or otherwise, for generations. We never had a choice in this. The two of us have only been playing songs written for us by others long ago. This?” his arms opened wide to point out the destruction around them, “This is simply a logical crescendo. There will always be Elliots, Cobblepots, Waynes, and Kanes. We made this city and we are what pumps blood into it day in and day out. Gotham would die without us, we’re simply playing a different kind of game now.”
Bruce shook his head with a sigh. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t a better friend to you Tommy. I’m sorry that I let you become… this monstrosity of who you could have been. I would have helped you if I knew,” he offered regretfully.
“I would have never have accepted charity,” Tommy said stubbornly.
“I know,” Bruce responded quickly, “Maybe there is nothing I could have done, but I do regret what has become of you. Maybe there is still time.” He turned to Tommy just in time to stop a scalpel from plunging between his shoulder blades. It took all of his strength to keep the small blade from pressing into his chest.
“I think I liked you better when you were dying after all,” Tommy confessed angrily. His leg bent so that he could kick Bruce away and watch him tumble to the ground. “How dare you question my life choices. Look at you. You cause more harm than good and you’re too blind to see it. You’re right, there is still time… for me to fix what you’ve done to our city,” he spoke as he drew a pistol and trained it on his friend, “Unfortunately though, you’re not going to be able to see it.”
A lightning fast baterrang knocked the pistol off target just as it went off, forcing Tommy to drop the weapon and clutch his hand. Bruce rolled back onto his feet and used that momentum to throw a hard punch across his enemies jaw. When Tommy turned his head back his friend was gone and The Batman had taken his place once again. The two men locked arms, struggling to throw the other to the ground.
“You know I have to take you in for what you’ve done,” Batman gritted through his teeth, “I’ll vouch for you to get you into Arkham where you can get some help.”
“Arkham?” Tommy responded with a laugh, “With the rest of your little pet lunatics? I don’t think so. And don’t think I believe your little story either. You’re just trying to toy with me like you do the rest of them, but it won’t work on me!” He won the grapple, tossing Batman over the ledge next to them. The Dark Knight caught the edge only for Tommy to quickly slam a boot down on one of his hands. “Don’t worry, the fall won’t kill you. I’ll make sure the bullet gets you first,” he taunted. His eyes stayed on his enemy as he reached for the gun, which meant that he didn’t notice the loose rubble beneath him. The doctor slid off the edge only to be caught by Batman, whose own grip had begun to fail him.
“Tommy! There is a mini grapple gun in my belt. You can save us both!” he pleaded with his former friend.
“Save you?” he laughed again, “I’d rather die.” His hands released his friends, making him plunge down into the water below.
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