"Oh, Bruce! It's so beautiful!"

"Do you really like it?"

"It's amazing..."

"You're amazing."

"Oh, Bruce..."

Bruce sat in his bed with his girlfriend of six months leaning against his chest. It was their six-month anniversary and after sharing a passionate union into the wee hours of the night, Bruce had given her a diamond necklace. The cover of his sheets lay over their laps, their clothes having been taken off prior to their lovemaking. His girlfriend lifted her hair and allowed Bruce to put on the necklace, kissing her neck upon clasping it.

His girlfriend was Louise Lincoln, a researcher working for Wayne Enterprises. They had hired her for their cryogenic research as rumors had it that Gothcorp had hired their own scientist. After having met her, it wasn't long before Bruce and Louise were flirting and then, eventually, going out on dates. Louise was an average height woman with shoulder length white hair that partially covered her left eye. Her eyes were blue and she had light skin.

"Bruce, thank you for this..." She turned around and stared into his ocean blue eyes, her body nearly melting in his stare.

"I wanted to show you how much you mean to me… how happy you've made me these past few months. It fills me with a thrill, an indescribable thrill."

She straddled his waist and leaned in to kiss him, showing him that she felt the exact same way. Perhaps even more so.

"I love you… I love you so much." She moaned, softly placing her forehead on his as their sight line connected. An invisible surge of electricity sparked between and Bruce grinned, switching their positions with him on top and her on the bottom. He kissed her neck ravenously, eliciting a happy, submissive moan, initiating round two.

"I'll see you later, Bruce." Louise and Bruce stood at the steps of Wayne Manor, Bruce wearing his bathrobe and Louise wearing a blue, turtleneck sweater and beige skirt. Bruce had called a limousine to take her to work.

"Goodbye, Louise." They shared a brief kiss before she stepped into the car, giving him a small wave as she rode off, Bruce smiling and waving back. After they drove out of sight, he walked back into the manor where his young ward, Dick, who had adopted several months ago, stood.

"I'm surprised you guys weren't all mmm-wah-mmmm-wah!" Dick imitated Louise and Bruce's kiss by holding his arms around his sides and making kissing noises.

Unamused, Bruce simply said, "Get ready for school, Dick."

"When can I get a girlfriend?" he asked, beginning to walk towards the steps.

"When you want to marry her," he replied half-jokingly. Alfred closed the doors to the house before turning to face Bruce.

"I do think it is wonderful how you and Ms. Lincoln are getting along."

"Yeah..." He smiled softly. "It feels great to have her in my life. Alfred, I'm going to ask her to move in with me."

"Move in with you, sir?"

Bruce nodded happily. Alfred smiled widely in reply and took ahold of Bruce's shoulders. "I think that's wonderful, Bruce! It overjoys my old heart to see you finally allowing a companion into your life."

"Yes," Bruce's eyes gained a faraway look. "It is wonderful… it is…"

Louise walked into work with a small skip in her step. All of her co-workers, whom she had gotten to know over the period working at the company, smiled and exchanged knowing looks as they watched her walk to her lab. Everyone at Wayne Enterprises suspected the relationship Louise had with the big boss himself but could never actually confirm it.

As Louise stood in front of her office door, prepared to open it, a friend of hers, Margaret, leaned against the wall next to her and smiled teasingly.

"Hey, Louise…" she began slowly. "Fun night?"

Laughing nervously, Louise looked away bashfully. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, for one, you're walking with a limp. Annnd… you're wearing that necklace there."

"So? I mean, I can't afford a necklace?"

"No, you can. I just wonder what kind of salary Mr. Wayne must be offering you to afford a 3.5-million-dollar diamond necklace. Yeah, I saw that on the jewelry channel the other day. It's crazy expensive."

Louise looked back and forth down the hall before leaning in and whispering in a hushed tone, "Get in here, you jerk!"

Margaret giggled before rushing in the office with Louise quickly closing the door behind them.

"Alright," Margaret began, setting her coffee down on Louise's desk, "spill the beans, god damn it."

"Okay!" Smiling, Louise exhaled exasperatedly. "Bruce and I are… a thing."

"'Bruce?' You get to call him Bruce?"

"Margaret-"

"Ugh! So not fair. I would kill to have a billionaire boyfriend that I could be a 'thing' with!"

"Well, it's deeper than that," Louise insisted.

"Uh-huh."

The two were interrupted by a knock on Louise's office door. She walked over to it and opened the door, revealing the CEO himself to be standing on the side.

"Bru- er, Mr. Wayne!" She opened the door and allowed him in, the man walking inside the room with his hands in his pockets and suave in his step.

"Ms. Lincoln, may I have with a word with you for a moment?" asked Bruce formally.

"Uh, sure." Louise glanced at Margaret.

"Oh, right!" Margaret exclaimed. "Excuse me." She quickly left, leaving the two of them alone. The minute she left the room, Bruce grabbed Louise and brought her in for a deep, heartfelt kiss. Though initially caught off-guard, Louise quickly responded just as lovingly. By the time the kiss ended, Louise felt her knees buckle and her stomach was fluttering with butterflies. Her heart was racing, her breath was in a pant, her cheeks were a little pink, and her eyes were glazed over.

Bruce smiled down at her, holding her in his arms and, consequently, keeping her upright.

"Hey," he greeted with a charming smile.

"Hi…" she breathlessly replied. Her palms rested firmly on his chiseled chest.

"So, listen," he said, "I have tickets to see this play tonight."

"Oh, I-I can't… um, I have to work late tonight."

"Hm, well, I'm sure your boss can rearrange that," said Bruce suggestively.

Louise giggled lightly. "Yes, I'm sure he could but I actually promised a friend I would stay and help her."

"Alright, alright," Bruce said, laughing, "I get it. However, I would like you to have this for when you finally get off work tonight." Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "Here." He handed her the key and she held like it would disappear if she didn't grip it as tightly as she did.

"Is this…?"

"Yes, a key to my house. Though, it's actually metaphorical because you don't really need a key since Alfred is always there."

"Oh, my God! I… I…" Her stammered speech brought a chuckle from Bruce's throat. "I can't believe this, Bruce. This is amazing!" She reached up and embraced him tightly, her overwhelming emotions striking her with tears that made Bruce's shirt sodden. He returned her embrace warmly, not minding the wetness of her cries.

"You know," said he, "We've been together for all these months and I've been having to admit to myself that it's been so long since I've felt this comfortable with a woman. You make me feel alive, Louise. You warm my heart, ignite it with fire and passion, and for that time, those few minutes… I feel alive again." She looked up at him, tears of joy trailing down her face and water-filled eyes. Bruce tenderly reached down and wiped her tears away with his finger. "And… after being together for so long, I have something to tell you. Better yet, when you get off work tonight, I'll show you. It's something about me you should know… it's a big part of my life, like you. Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yes, yes, of course I'm okay! Oh, Bruce…" She hugged him again. "I love you…"

He grinned. "I love you too. Now," he said, stepping back and clapping his hands, "I got to go and get ready for this play. Rich duties and first world problems… such a bother." Louise giggled at his humor, wiping her eyes and sniffling. He stopped near the door and smiled at her, a sharp twinkle of affection in his blue irises. "See you soon, okay?"

"See you soon," said she, a glow of radiance illuminating her face.

Bruce turned and left, passing Margaret who stood in the hall outside of the office. Once she saw Bruce leave, Margaret returned back to the office, a coy smile on her face.

"So, was it a quickie- wait, why are you crying? Oh… it was that bad, huh?"

Louise just scoffed and snickered.

CLAP-CLAP-CLAP! CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!

As the play reached its conclusion, the audience clapped synchronously while the actors and director all bowed graciously. Sitting among the crowd was Bruce Wayne, wearing a prestigious tuxedo and a smile of impressiveness woven onto his face, though, in reality, he felt no such thing. He felt, rather, an urgency to leave this place to be with Louise.

Just before the curtains closed, the doors to the theatre burst open and through the doorway were several heavily geared men with machine guns and sawed off shotguns. They were wearing ski masks over their face and hoods over their heads. The instant they noisily ran through the door, the people in the seats began panicking wildly but were quickly quelled when the gunmen shot up at the ceiling several times.

"Shut up!" they shouted aggressively. One of the men then brought a bag from their back pocket and proceeded to walk amongst the rows of socialites, demanding their wealth.

Sitting closely to the stage, Bruce hatefully glared up at the men robbing the people. Just as he tried to get up to change somewhere privately, he spied several gunmen proceeding from around the stage to collect money from people in the front row. Unable to move anywhere, he sat back down in frustration.

"Alright, people, come on. Let's do this nice and easy. Yeah, there we go, hand us everything; jewels, watches, necklaces, everything. So long as everyone cooperates then no one will get hurt, 'kay?"

One of the gunmen stopped in front of Bruce, who was glaring at him fiercely. The gunmen brazenly put the barrel of the gun in front of Bruce's, face though the playboy remained steadfast without fear.

"What's your problem, big shot? You look you wanna say something."

"Leave these people alone. They haven't done a single thing to you."

"Yeah, you're right." The gunmen pressed the barrel firmly against Bruce's cheek. "Hey… wait a sec..." The man took a step back, looking Bruce up and down. "You're Bruce Wayne, aren't you? The Bruce Wayne. Oh, yeah, this is our lucky day. We can rob these people for all their worth but everything is pocket change compared to one of the most popular men in Gotham and the absolute richest. Holding you for ransom would be like plucking millions out of a damn tree. Hey, boys! We got a gold fish over here. Screw the small fries, let's pick up the burger."

Two of the gunmen came down and lifted Bruce up, who maintained his cold glare on them. The gunmen who called them over got into his face and Bruce could already tell the man was smirking arrogantly.

"Don't resist us, big man. We could get… violent around here. Alright? Alright?"

Bruce inhaled sharply, closing his eyes calmly. "Yes. I understand."

"Good boy. Let's go."

"Oh, God! The late shift is horrible, Margaret! How do you even do this?"

"Craploads of coffee, honey. Refill?"

"Yeah, thank you."

Louise and her co-worker Margaret were sitting in the office looking over various lab results they had been going over. Louise was sitting at her desk, rubbing her eyes to keep her awake as Margaret poured coffee into her empty mug.

"There you go. Hey, how about we take a break for a little while?"

"Sure," agreed Louise, taking a sip from her cup. "What's on TV?"

"Let's see!" Margaret picked up the remote and turned on the TV, to which an instant news notice broadcasted. "What's this?"

'This just in,' said the news reporter, 'at the Grand Antonio Theater, several armed men approached and robbed several of Gotham's wealthiest while also kidnapping Wayne Enterprises CEO Bruce Wayne. As of now, they're holding him for ransom for 10 billion dollars. Negotiators are currently discussing possibilities to keep Gotham's beloved son alive. More on GNN.'

CRASH!

Margaret spun around to see Louise standing, grasping her necklace tightly and breathing hard. Her eyes were fixed tightly on the screen and by her side was the shattered cup covered in the brown liquid which it had previously contained.

"Louise..." Margaret carefully said.

"Oh, my God..." Louise covered her mouth and shut her eyes tightly. "Oh, my God, no, please no..."

"Honey, stop, no." Margaret brought Louise in for a comforting hug. "Listen, he'll be fine. The police will find him and he'll be fin-"

"No!" Louise exclaimed stepping away and pacing around the room nervously, biting her fingernails. "No, they won't. You heard them, didn't you? They said they were actually willing to trade with them. That means they can't get to him and who's to say that once they get their money, they won't kill him! No, I can't depend on the cops..." Her heart was racing and her skin was a deathly pale.

"Sweetheart, listen," said Margaret, "he's gonna be fine. He'll be fine. You just need to calm down."

"No… no, I have to save him."

"What? How are you going to do that?"

"That project… that experiment that we were working that we suspected could give someone powers for a short time! I can use that!"

"No, Louise!" Margaret protested. "Louise, no. That project was initially a cancer treating project but Mr. Wayne scrapped it for a reason. You cannot take that serum. I won't let you!"

"Margaret, move."

"No."

"Move!"

"NO!"

Louise, pumped full of adrenaline and panic, pushed Margaret out of the way in a surprising show of strength before rushing of the door and nearly sprinting to the lab in her mental state of panic. Once in the lab, she moved to the safe room where they kept the chemicals and serums. After punching in the code to the safe, she ran and wheeled out the table of chemicals that were intended to create the serum necessary.

Working quickly, Louise began mixing certain mixtures of certain liquids, haphazardly ignoring measuring the quantities. Margaret, after recovering from being shoved over, rose up quickly and rushed to the lab.

BOOM!

A large cloud of blue dust flew out of the doorway, nearly knocking Margaret over again.

"Louise!"

"Sit down, rich boy!"

The gunman sat Bruce on his knees by some boxes, his hands tied behind his back and his ankles currently being wrapped with together with tape. They were currently in a small near the docks. Bruce had calculated they were at least 25 men guarding the place in various places.

"Man, so how much moola you think we gonna get from you, Mr. Wayne?"

Bruce raised his head, giving them a steeled glare.

"You know, for a punk with a large inheritance, you're acting like you got a lot of guts. I wonder how brave you'd be if I put this bullet through your leg?"

"I can promise you this," said Bruce, "this entire situation will not be going down the way you think it will."

"Oh?" asked the gunman. He walked over and grabbed Bruce's hair, lifting his head back and putting the barrel of the gun under his chin. "And why's that, pretty boy?"

"Because you led him right to you."

TZZ!

The light bulbs suddenly fazed out, leaving the men inside the warehouse completely without light.

VROOM!

They were all interrupted when the Batmobile crashed through the wall and released an electric shockwave that zapped the men holding the guns, electrifying them and making their hairs stand up on edge. Disorientated, they weren't able to retaliate against the sudden attack of a being from the shadows that ended up swiftly knocking all of the men inside the warehouse and outside of it out. When all was said and done, Bruce Wayne stepped out of the shadows, straightening his shirt cuffs. He walked over to the Batmobile and opened it, taking out a walkie-talkie.

"Nice job, Dick. You're improving your remote control of the Batmobile."

'So, can I finally drive it?!'

"No."

'Aw…'

After the Batmobile disappeared, the police came and drove Bruce home after he explained that the "Bat-creature" saved his life. They drove on into the night, none the wiser.

A/N – Okay! Sooo… where have I been? Well, busy. Really busy. Why haven't I updated on Twitter? … Okay, my bad, but still, I've seriously been busy doing so much other stuff that I couldn't really update anything. In fact, because of how busy I am, I'm afraid I will not be able to do this 7-week story plan like I wanted. See, the plan was to upload a chapter of a story (the new, shorter ones) every hour until the whole story was up on said day, but I got so overworked with other things that it didn't work out like that and, as such, a lot of these new stories will be incomplete (like this one). Also, I need to announce a hiatus (a damned long one) from me writing on this site. I love writing Batman fanfiction, and I still don't wanna say that I might not post something from time-to-time but it would really be sparse and be once or twice every half a year or so, maybe more. Anyway, I want to apologize for my long absence and the lacklusterness of the 7-day series BUT I hope you can still enjoy regardless and understand that life is life, and things happen. Until next story, folks!

Green out.