I do not own any D.C. characters, and am only using them to tell a tale for entertainment purposes only.
The Bat: Darkest Before Dawn
By LJ58
1
Bruce was just finishing his night's work, walking toward the lift to the mansion above when the colorfully clad figure dropped down in front of him. In the instant it took him to register the newcomer, he was already fly flying back to smash into a far wall.
"Master," Francis cried as he recovered, a bemused smirk on his features as the statuesque woman blatantly ignored the young teen vampire to stalk toward him.
"Three months? Three months, and I have to hear about this….this debacle from Wally of all people?"
"Hello, Diana," he drawled, catching her powerful fist in one hand before she could hit him again. "I've been meaning to speak to you."
"If I didn't know you better….."
"Diana, it's complicated," he began.
"It always is with you," the colorfully clad Amazon spat as she glared at him as he casually rose to his feet to stand before her.
"So, Clark didn't say anything this time?"
"He's been curiously tight-lipped of late. Just tell me, is it true? Were you bitten?"
"No," he smiled thinly as Francis cringed back when she started forward again only to have Diana turn to look on her as if she would gladly tear off her head, and limbs, if she only came a little closer. Something in the woman's manner told the teen this woman could likely do just that, too.
"Is that thing what I think it is," she asked coldly as Francis whined, and vanished into the shadows without looking back.
"She is a child. You should know better," Bruce told her. "You've always been a little quick to judge," he added. "You, and Clark seem to share that fault at times."
"Just tell me why Wally thinks you're a vampire if you weren't bitten?"
"As I said, it's complicated," he said, and turned to look into the shadows. "Francis, don't worry. Diana won't harm you. She's just mad at me. Again," he added with a faint smirk as he headed to the lift. "Why don't we talk upstairs. The kids were about to lay down for the day."
"So they are…..?"
"Diana," he said firmly, gesturing. "Upstairs?"
"Fine. Just let me change first," she said, and quickly spun around so fast her body blurred before she slowed, and appeared as a more sedate, casually clad businesswoman.
Bruce, already wearing casual clothes, just smiled. "It is complicated," he said as he led the way back up to the manor. "It began when Croc was rampaging around, high on Venom."
B
"Patience, my new friends," the pale, ghastly creature that haunted the sewers cackled as the slumped, hunched creatures around him slithered and hissed impatiently. "Dawn is upon us, and even we need to sleep. But soon. Soon our numbers will be enough to finally war on the Bat, and then Gotham. Fat, juicy, delicious Gotham shall be ours for the taking," the mad, demonic clown cackled.
B
"Find my daughter, and bring her to me," Ra's told his new second. "I do not care what it costs, or how many must fall, I want Talia here before the end of the week. If I cannot take the detective's secrets from him, then I shall take them from her. For surely my daughter will not be so hesitant to share her miracle with her father when she realizes I still live," he smiled coldly.
The man nodded.
"And, Corba," Ra's al Ghul told the masked assassin in black before he departed. "Do feel free to bring me the Bat's head do you get the chance. Just his head, mind you. I've no use for the rest of him."
The assassin smiled coldly behind his mask, confident that this was one mission he could manage with ease if he planned properly. Confident, too, that he would prove his worth to his master, and become far more than a common lackey once he proved himself in this, to him, simple matter.
"Your will be done," he intoned somberly as he nodded, and left the room where the master of assassins had buried himself in research on a matter known only to him.
B
"You took a dangerous chance," Diana told him after he finished his tale, which he tactfully amended to keep some of the less palatable circumstances out of it. He did know Diana, after all, and he doubted she'd understand the games played with something like Adam, who only Fate knew had survived, the necessity of Selina's sacrifice, or even his method of covering Montoya's death.
She was, like Clark, very traditionally minded about some things in that respect.
Which, he had always felt ironic considering who she was, and what she truly represented.
"As I said, at the time I didn't have a choice."
"Can't you….cure yourself, though? By using the serum you used on those poor creatures when you first faced Dracul?"
"Different circumstances, and different parameters. The refined serum I took negated the efficacy of the first."
"And are you plagued by the….thirst, as he was," she asked.
"Once a week, but Wayne-Tech's synthetic blood serum seems to satisfy that craving. In fact, I've neutralized a sizeable vampire population by offering the serum to them through…..certain liaisons. Apparently, not all of them are crazed madmen seeking empires."
"You still tread a dangerous brink," she remarked, though she sounded somewhat more relaxed.
"We all do. Every day, or night, we all walk a precipice before that brink Diana. Or can you deny you were more than tempted when Ares offered you the literal keys to Earth that last time he popped up from wherever he likes to hide?"
Diana turned from him, and looked out the large bay windows in his study. "Bruce….."
He walked up behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you going to ask? I'm standing here in the morning sun, my heart still beating, and my mind still under my own control. Yes, I still consider myself as human as ever."
She sighed heavily.
"You haven't been seen much of late. I was worried….."
"Wally's antics, and Clark's paranoia aside, I've been busy. As I said, I'm working with the vampire underground now, helping those that want normal lives. Or, as normal as they can manage. I've also….inherited a pair of vampire teens that have no clue how to survive, or even control their own new incarnations. Better to train them here, than leave them on the streets where they might cause untold damage, and unleash a new plague of ghouls."
"That is admirable," he said. "But why do you have Selina, and Ra's' daughter here now?"
He gave a faint chuckle. "They, ah, were exposed to the serum, as I said."
"But they have to stay here?"
"Selina didn't have anyplace else to go. The fact is, she chose to stay to replace Alfred before she was…..exposed. Talia is still coping with not only her own change, but her father's…..last demise."
"Do you think he's really gone this time," Diana asked seriously.
"Honestly? I think if there is still some way to cheat death, that old devil will find it."
"After all, you did," Diana pointed out.
"True," Bruce agreed, his hand falling from her shoulder. "But we also uncovered evidence that al Ghul was investing heavily in advanced cloning technology for years before his apparent death. If his people are anywhere near competent, which seems more than likely, he could already be back, and just biding his time before unleashing some new scheme on the world."
She nodded. "Unfortunately, given my own experiences with that madman, I would have to agree."
"And don't worry about Talia. She's completely loyal to me now."
"I hope you're right," she told him.
"I am."
Diana said nothing to that as she turned back to face him.
"Bruce….."
"If you have any doubts of my lord," a newcomer stated as a voluptuous, dark-haired woman in dark green appeared in the door just then. "Then put them to rest. He remains the same admirable champion of Justice he has ever been, Princess Diana," Talia told her as the woman in the smartly tailored pantsuit eyed the woman who had been a bane to her, too, on occasion.
"Talia," Diana turned to face her with a low murmur almost a growl.
"Bruce," she nodded. "I thought I would let you know. I have a lead on father's people in Central City, and I'm flying out to investigate personally. I should be back in three days, whatever I find."
"Stay in touch," he told her quietly as Diana just stared at her.
"Of course. I shall report once I arrive, and every hour afterwards. Until my return, my lord," she actually bowed to him.
"'My lord,'" Diana quipped as Talia started to walk away.
"Merely a term of respect," Talia told her. "And, princess," she added as she paused. "If you desire him, I do understand. He is still free to enjoy his…consorts."
Diana gaped as the woman walked away, and the front door closed soon after.
"Consorts," Diana echoed, staring hard at him. "My lord?"
"It's part of that complicated constituent of our…..transformation."
"Bruce…."
He suddenly grabbed her, and held her close. "But she's right. I'm not quite as blind as you think," he said, and kissed her fiercely.
For a moment, she started to push him away. Only for a moment. Then she added her own strength to the embrace, and they both moaned into one another's mouths as their lips meshed, and they all but ground themselves to one another there before the window before Bruce withdrew, panting heavily. Eyeing her glazed expression, he smiled, and told her, "If you don't want this, you'd better leave now."
"Ahem. Actually, you might want to take it upstairs, sir," Selina drawled. "I was about to clean this room, and you two are standing in front of an open window."
He glanced to the window, smiling. "It would give the paparazzi an interesting picture."
Diana glared at him.
"You may enjoy having your alter ego splashed about the tabloids," she growled. "But I certainly do not."
"So, you're leaving," Bruce asked, both amused, and slightly disappointed.
"No," she spat irritably, grabbed his arm, and tugged. "We're going upstairs."
She all but dragged him toward the stairs before pausing to stare at Selina, "You, stay downstairs," she ordered her curtly.
Selina only laughed as Bruce let the Amazon princess drag him to his own bedroom.
B
"Oh, Harleeeeeeeeey," a singsong voice came out of the night as the aging woman looked up from her book.
She frowned. Something about the voice sounded strangely familiar. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite place it. Just as she couldn't quite place a lot of things that used to be familiar. The docs said she had borderline dementia, and wanted her in some crackerbox of an institution.
No thanks, buddy. She had done that route to death. She would take her chances on her own. Even if the dinky apartment her state disability allowed was worse than any cell she had ever occupied in Arkham, it was still hers. And she could still come and go as she wished. Not that she wished much these days. Not with a bad hip, bad knees, and one too many aches to ignore these days. If she knew she was going to live so long, she might have taken better care of herself.
Maybe.
Listening now, she heard nothing as she started to raise her book again as she shrugged off the call to some kid's prank. She grumbled appropriately, and looked back at her book, squinting to make out certain letters.
Now where had she stopped reading?
"Harrrrrrrrr-Leeeeeeeeey. You in there, babe?"
Only one man ever talked to her like that.
"Mr. J," she asked, looking up from her wheelchair.
"You betcha, toots," the gruff, sardonic response came from the window. Only her window didn't have a balcony. It didn't even have a fire escape, or a sill. So how…..?
"Open the window, Harl, old girl, and invite me in," the manic voice commanded.
"Mr J," she frowned, and rolled the chair toward the window to part the curtains.
And screamed at the demonic visage that filled her gaze.
The pale face tittered as he looked down at the apparently unconscious woman slumped in the clunky, old wheelchair. "Guess the old girl lost her guts," he sniggered as he looked through the dirty glass. Behind him, five shapeless things clung to the old brownstone, dull eyes bright with hunger, and sharp teeth gleaming in the night.
"Guess we'll have to come back later for this one, guys," he told his ghouls. "But I know this dump. There's bound to be someone that will invite us in for a bite," he grinned madly as they climbed up the sheer side of the building like oversized lizards in their rotting, ragged clothing.
B
Diana sat up on the end of the bed, naked, but wrapped in a sheet as she eyed Bruce getting dressed.
"You're going out tonight?"
He simply looked back at her. "Something strange has been going on out on the streets lately. Homeless people are vanishing without a trace, and no one sees anything."
"You don't think your….vampires are….?'
"No. I've already questioned them. Trust me on this, Diana. They wouldn't lie to me," he said.
"They're fiends of hell," she said grimly, looking at his scarred back before he slid a shirt on and began to button it up.
"They're people who ended up involved in something they didn't want, or didn't even know existed until too late. As I said, not all of them are monsters."
"No. They're just blood-sucking demons."
Bruce sighed as he slowly turned to face her.
"Do you still trust me?"
Diana stared up at him.
"Yes," she finally nodded. "I'm not sure why, but….I do still trust you."
"Because you look at me, and you see what you expect," he nodded knowingly. She gasped, flinching slightly, but flinching all the same as he changed before her eyes as his dark wings burst from his human flesh, and flowed out behind him as his fangs extended, and his eyes took on an amber, rather than crimson hue.
"Now, do you still trust me," he asked in a voice that sounded deeper than ever, and slightly ominous.
Diana stood up, clutching the sheet around her shapely body as she looked at him. "This….is what….you've become?"
He looked down at her, having grown more than a few inches when he transformed.
"Yes," he stated needlessly.
She stared up at him, and swallowed hard. "Oddly enough, you look…..almost….godly just now. Not….demonic. Godly. Or…..angelic."
The words resonated. Bruce ignored them for the moment.
"The question is, will you continue to trust me seeing me like this? Would you be able to accept my judgment even if you think it goes against what you feel you believe right?"
"Like helping vampires," she said quietly.
"Not all of them. Just those that truly want another chance. A way to live quiet, normal lives. Anyone else is fair game."
"When you said you're training those teens…..?'
"I haven't had a partner lately," he said blandly, smiling faintly. "Now I have two."
"From what I've seen, you have four."
Bruce smiled that grim smile she knew well enough. "You haven't answered me."
"I'm….confused, and I'll admit it, Bruce. Part of me always hoped we might have….something else. But…..I'll continue to trust you, until you prove my trust is misguided."
"That's all I ask. If it helps, you can talk to Fate. I've been…..counseling with him on this subject."
"Exactly what subject is that," she asked. "Because I get the feeling you've been dancing around mentioning something particular all day."
"Talk to Dr. Fate first," he told her. "I'd rather you heard it from an objective party first. And there aren't any more impartial than Fate unless you're violating his belief in Order."
Diana nodded. "All right. But this conversation isn't over," she said, dropping her sheet, and reaching for her own clothes.
He stared at her briefly, then smiled. "If it helps, I would have preferred things went differently, too, Diana. But in our line of work….."
"I know. Take care of yourself, Bruce."
"You, too."
Then he walked to the door, and left her to dress. He was gone before she was ready to leave.
B
"We've got trouble, master," Francis told him the moment he dropped into the cave, already in full costume.
"What did you find out?"
"Reports of a gang terrorizing an apartment building," she told him grimly. "But get this. The reports claim the leader is a white-faced monster who is climbing up and down walls."
"Joker," he hissed, and felt the name like a curse slide from his tongue.
"Do you think he turned him?"
"I wouldn't put it past him. Either way, he has to be stopped. That madman won't care if he turns the whole city into ghouls. In fact, he'd probably do it anyway. For a joke."
"What kind of joke is that," the young woman gasped.
"His kind. So don't take chances if you face him. Leave him to me, because he will hurt, or kill you if you give him the slightest chance."
Frank came up behind them, having already dressed in their usual cat-suit, his own equipment belt in place.
"If he's raised ghouls, we'll have to put him down to stop them, won't we," Francis asked.
"It's the traditional method," Batman nodded at her.
"Then that damns us all the more. Especially you," she reminded him.
"Maybe. Only I've never been the predictable sort," he said as he turned from loading his own equipment belt. "Nor do I intend to kill even that twisted lunatic if I can avoid it."
"But if he's turned….."
"There's always a way. If you look for it," he told her. "Now listen carefully. If we find him, you will leave him to me. Just keep the ghouls from attacking innocents, and don't let anyone see your faces. Understand? And don't forget your filter masks and gloves. You don't want to be inhaling any garlic, or touching the silver in your weapons."
"Definitely," she agreed, still remembering how easily such innocent elements could destroy them now. Well, her and Frank, anyway.
"Let's go," he said, and led the way to the car.
To Be Continued…