Bitter Old Man

"You sure it'll be tonight?"

"You've got something better to do?"

"Yeah, I do!"

Maybe starting on that track hadn't been such a good idea. But Bruce wasn't known for being a people person. Even with people who were close to him, like this boy. He looked so much like Bruce did when he was young... Bruce kept forgetting that the boy didn't have the drive he did back then. And now, of course, but his body refused to let him do what his mind hungered for still.

He put a hand over his face, to stifle his frustration.

"This is getting tiresome."

"Look, if you had any PROOF they were they were going to try something tonight it would be different! But I'm NOT going to change my plans because of a hunch!"

Anger coursed through Bruce. Didn't Terry know that being a hero was a full-time job? Well, part time in his case. But STILL... It felt like this whelp was degrading what he had spent his entire life doing. His fists twitched, and he was unsure whether he wanted to punch the boy or scold him.

"Batman would."

"HEY! I put my life on the line all the time! One night's not gonna make any difference!"

Rage nearly blinded Bruce. Before he knew what he was doing, Bruce had grabbed Terry by the scruff and hoisted him up. A brief flash of fear lit the boy's eyes, then the defiance returned.

Bruce snarled, "One night ALWAYS makes the diffrence."

Ghosts of what had been flashed before his eyes: a little girl he had failed to save burning in a fire, a man with a broken back that he had to leave in order to save his children from a collapsing building, and most of all... the faces that haunted him every waking moment he wasn't guiding Terry. Wasn't near Terry. Terry fought off the hallucinations by his mere prescence. Ace sometimes helped, but there were days even his faithful dog couldn't help him. Those days he never contacted Terry. He didn't want him to see the aftermath or how weak he was in those moments. Sometimes he wished he hadn't lived to old age, but it certainly was payback.

He had decided long ago that Fate was a bitch.

"I know what it is. You can't stand to see anyone going out and having a life! You want me to end up like you! Alone!"
Bruce's body froze. Pain lanced through him, so sharp and savage that he didn't even notice when Terry broke his grip and struggled loose. He did faintly hear in the background the sound of running footsteps as the boy went off to meet his new girl friend. Something Barbra had said to him rang back in his head. He made us all think it was our decision. In his desire to breathe again, had he forced the boy into it? Had the boy gotten his revenge on Powers too soon to consider keeping this lifestyle?

He stood in that same position, the one his- he wasn't sure what to call Terry other than this- his son had left him in. All because of a damn woman the boy wasn't likely to ever see again. A smile creaked over his face, the muscles aching as he hadn't used them in decades. His eyes, weak as they were, filled with water for the first time in decades.

Hacking, coughing noises rang through the room. Ace ran from him,

cowering behind a chair as his master finally gave in. As he continued, the sound smoothed out, turning into something only vaguely recognizable. Crazed laughter rang through the ancient caves as an old man sank to his knees, weakened by the releasing of some of the pain and sorrow he had held in his breast for so many decades.

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What woke Bruce was the sloppy dog licks. His eyes opened a crack, and he saw a tall black blur from where he lay. Raising an aching arm to shield his face, he sat up wearily. Stroking Ace's muzzle, he passed a free hand over his eyes. The madness hadn't been quite that bad in a while. Or, rather, the fit of laughter. He counted it a sort of madness that he had started to laugh like his arch-foe. Who was supposed to be dead, dammit...

Coughing faintly, Bruce rose shakily to his feet. Recovering slowly from his spell, he felt all the more ashamed for it. Losing it that badly over the child's rejection of his principles... He was slipping. And badly so. He shook his head weakly, with shaking hand grabbing his cane. Leaning heavily on it, he made it to the chair that had once been both his and Alfred's. Now, it was his sole domain.

A bitter smile curled over his face. Payback was certainly a bitch. His fingers, still nimble, began typing at the computer keyboard. He needed to locate the stupid brat, before he did something even more idiotic for this girl he professed to care so much for.

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He padded into an alley after exiting the limo. For occasions like this, he had programmed an autopilot. He had just sent in the coordinates, and voila. It had driven him to the last place where he had located the boy. It turned out that he was a bit off the first time, but he had managed the second time around. He stumped from the car, locking the door behind him. He saw the boy turn, and Bruce hurried to meet him. Despite how things had gone, it looked like the boy might have learned his lesson. He had glimpsed a girl being led into the police truck along with the rest of the Royal Flush Gang.

He felt a flicker of pity for the by; he looked disappointed. But there was an unsettling resigned look in his eyes that made Bruce think that, in his heart of hearts, Terry had suspected this betrayal.

"Mr. Wayne... those things I said... I'm sorry. Did something like that ever happen to you?"

Oh, yes it did. He felt another twitch at the corners of his mouth. This kid made him feel again. Made him breathe and see the world with a new light. Even if some of his mistakes were disturbingly similar to his own.

"Let me tell you about a woman named Selina Kyle..."

Hey :) Stuff in italics is said in the episode ^^ All the other stuff is what I filled in. Leave a review please!