Not long after the Joker had left along with the Commissioner, the rest of the people in the building swarmed at that place, terrified out of their wits. None of them had the guts to open the door and see what havoc the psychotic criminal had caused. The GCPD was alerted and shortly after the team showed up and even Batman was informed.

Richard had been the first to open the door of the Gordon's apartment after the calamity had struck and the sight which met his eyes horrified him. Both Barbara and Neal were on the floor in a bloodied mess, their hands reaching out towards one another but their bodies were still.

He rushed towards Barbara, checking her wrist and caught a faint pulse but that wasn't the case with Neal because it was so evident that he could not have survived. His skin was deathly white as if every single drop of blood had drenched out through the countless bullet holes in his torso and his wide eyes were glassy, holding that very image of Barbara lying not far away from him.

"We need an ambulance, right now!" His voice shook as he spoke up but he knew he had to take the matters in his hands so he ordered the team to check the whole house as well and collect evidences, as per procedure.

Leaving Officer Thomson in charge, he took both Barbara and Neal to the hospital himself. The apartment was sealed as the crime scene and no one was permitted in. Commissioner Gordon himself was nowhere to be found and to Richard it seemed as if the whole world was crashing down on him.

The Gotham Press had flocked at the entrance of the building where the Gordon's apartment was located because the news of the Commissioner's abduction by the Joker and the murderous attack at both Barbara and Neal had spread the city like wildfire.  

At the hospital, Barbara was ushered straight to the OT to remove the bullet from her spine however there were little chances of her survival. While Neal was taken to the same post mortem room where Dianne had been kept just two days ago.

As Richard stood in that corridor, the sickening sense of déjà vu was engulfing him because he had been there just two days earlier and Neal had been with him. Yet now the situation was terrifyingly opposite yet strikingly similar at the same time. 

He spun around in alarm sensing a presence behind him and came face to face with the Dark Knight. Batman was standing with an unreadable expression on his face but it was clear that he was enraged by Joker's current stunt and would make him pay for it.

Richard tried to speak up, to tell him what had happened but his voice had stuck in his throat and no word came out.

Instead Batman spoke up himself, "Barbara has gone into a comatose state right now. However, I talked to her before that, she says the Joker is going to the extremes, he had said he wanted to prove a point and will not stop before that."

He tried hard to process the words but the blank shock on his features was proof enough that he was going through too much. "Is she going to be okay?"

"The bullet was removed successfully but the doctors say she might never be able to walk again." There was a while of silence after which Batman asked, "where is Hastings?"

He merely pointed towards the room and Batman stepped in, Richard reluctantly following behind.

He could not bear to see Neal in such a state either. The man had always been so full of life, sparkling from a striking halo of his own, burning bright like a vivid flame and yet now he was no more than a corpse lying helpless on the starched white sheets of the hospital bed.

And then it struck Richard hard; Neal was terrified of hospitals and he always used to say how he would never set foot into one even if he was dying. And right then the situation was terribly ironic, cutting him through the heart.

"What was he doing there at Jim's place?" Batman's voice was calm but it seemed to be the sort of calm before a storm, a storm that was reserved for the Joker only.

"He must have gone to meet Barbara," he replied in a low tone, "he was troubled and... I asked him to tell her everything... If I had known it would end up like this I would never..."

Batman nodded, understanding the situation despite the fact that Richard wasn't in the state to clarify it any further, "I have to find Jim and put an end to all of this."

His cape swept majestically after him as he left the room, determined to track Joker down and finally stop the performance he had initiated for him. 

Richard's eyes flickered towards Neal once again, glimmering in sadness, "I'll get you out of here as soon as I can. I promise."

He stepped out of the room too in order to talk to the management and the head of his squad at the GCPD so that they could let Neal have a proper funeral instead of being examined as an evidence in that case. It was futile to perform the post mortem on him because it was clear how he had died and who had been responsible.

And Richard felt that he owed him that much to get him out of the very place he was terrified to die in and pay the final respects in as proper a way as he deserved. After getting everything sorted there, he stopped by the Intensive Care Unit where Barbara was kept, glancing through the glass panel at her unconscious form.

The doctor standing by the bed studying her reports looked out at him and nodded her head, gesturing him to step in. Richard did as he was told though his eyes were focused on Barbara, his own face evident of pain upon seeing her like that.

"She has gone into a comatose state because she was traumatized," the doctor explained in a cautious tone, examining the reports thoroughly, "but she will recover with time. However, the bullet has done great damage to her spine and we are sorry but she might never be able to walk again."

At least she's alive.

The words bounced in Richard's head and he pushed them out forcefully. However, it was the truth. At least Barbara survived, unlike Neal who hadn't been able to take a single breath after the first bullet that had pierced through his sternum.

***

The Gotham press had been responsible for turning the incident at the Gordon's apartment into a huge scandal, linking Barbara and Neal and broadcasting the news of their tragic demise on every single channel. 

The press didn't care if one of them had died and the other was struggling in between life and death, all they cared was about getting a story for their talk shows, an element to spike up their ratings.

Neal's friends with whom he used to spend the weekends at West End were pestered immensely by the news reporters, Richard himself wasn't attending any calls as they were mostly from reporters wanting to have a word with him regarding the tragic incident and there was a mob of reporters outside the GCPD headquarters as well, interested to find out where exactly was Commissioner Gordon.

On every news channel, the story of Gotham's renowned troublemaker Neal Hastings and his secret relationship with the Commissioner's daughter was trending, becoming the topic of every talk show, every headline. The scandal had reached such an extent that it had spread to the neighboring cities as well.

Rose had just returned from her job at the Metropolis City Cafe, unlocking the door to her dorm and stepping in. Her roommate was watching television and called her to get there quick.

"Rose, look there's a news from Gotham city," she called.

"Just coming," Rose went to the small kitchenette first, taking out the bottle of juice she had kept in there and poured herself a glass before stepping out to the main area where the television was placed.

However, when her eyes landed on the screen she froze in her spot, reading the headline; Neal Hastings murdered in Commissioner Gordon's apartment. Sources say he was secretly involved with the Commissioner's daughter Barbara Gordon and unfortunately became prey to an attack at the Gordons' place by the Joker. The commissioner's whereabouts are unknown however Barbara Gordon survived the attack and is currently hospitalized. Stay tuned to our channel for further updates.

The glass fell from her hands and shattered at her feet but her grey eyes were glued to the screen, wide in shock. Each word she read numbed her and she could not even hear her roommate call out to her in surprise.

"Rose, what happened?" The girl had gotten worried as she made her sit down on the couch and fetched a glass of water, "did you know them? Was Barbara your friend?"

"No..."

"Then what happened? Why are you so shocked?"

"Neal..." She held her head in her hands because it seemed as if it would explode from all the shock and terror raging inside, "how did this happen...?"

Her roommate realized that she must have known Neal Hastings and would have been close to him so she gently comforted her, "it has been all over the news by now. The press is making it out as a huge scandal but we don't know what happened for certain."

There was a while of silence between them as the words sunk in at last and Rose spoke up, "I have to go to Gotham. I have to meet Barbara."

"But your job and studies...?"

"That will have to wait, this is more important," she stood up and though her head swayed she kept herself firm on her feet for she had taken her decision, "I have to find out what happened to him. Or else I won't be able to bear it."

"Looks like you were very close to him, whoever he is..."

"He was my best friend," her voice came out in a muted hush, eyes welling up with tears, "and he was there for me every single time I needed him... He was my first love and he was the one who urged me to leave that hellhole of a city and chase my dreams..."

A streak of tears fell down her cheek as she looked up at the television screen again that was showing Neal and Barbara's pictures even then.

The last words he had written to her in that goodbye present flashed in front of her eyes: Many things in this life are temporary. But I hope you remember the things for their good, remember the short sweetness they offered and relish in it but also remember that it is foolish to be invested in something so fleeting.

And then his voice as he had played that last song to her months ago still resonated in her ears, making her feel even sad now that he was truly no longer with them. It had always seemed as if he knew his end would come soon and that was exactly what had happened.

He was temporary just like he had always told her and finally he had gone out, the flame of his life ending but instead of fading into a plethora of other flames, the bright glare he had left on the world was not going to fade away anytime soon.

***