Here's the next chapter…

-Part 2-

Raindrops, Roses, Whiskers

Bruce awoke slowly, his muscles and bones groaning in protest after falling asleep in such an awkward position. Bats screeched silently in the depths of the cave as he carefully massaged his neck; after all, a computer keyboard tended to make the worst kind of pillow. Glancing around, he slowly took in the blood filled vials and cringed remembering just what had happened to him only several hours ago. All testing had been negative. He sighed and stood shakily from the chair he had spent the night in. His armor felt heavy today, suffocating even; he needed to get it off. Methodically, he began removing Batman's Kevlar plates. When he had finished, he pulled on a pair of soft cotton sweats. The billionaire then proceeded to drag himself to bed, where he easily fell into a deep slumber despite the bright rays of the sun that lit up the sky just beyond his room's heavy drapery.

It was dark, and beneath his armor, his muscles ached and burnt under the strain of supporting himself. Large cats paced around him, their hungry eyes trained on his blood soaked wounds. Three male lions and one lioness took turns snapping viciously at his heels as he clung tightly to a solitary vine suspended from the enclosure's ceiling. Families watched through glass, pointing and laughing. Suddenly, as if the very plant was against him, it began to unwind itself, lower and lower. He kicked out violently, but was too late. The crowd cheered as the lioness lunged first, her green eyes mere slits, her mouth spread wide, flashing two rows of sharp blood stained teeth…

It was a woman's voice that startled him out of his hellish dream, and he quickly got up from where he was laying.

"Find me… you have to find me…" It beckoned invitingly. Her soft seductive tone tugged at the very heart of him, but all Bruce could see were black shadows swirling wildly about him.

"Tell me, where are you?" He called back loudly, pleading that she would answer him, and she did. She sighed smoothly, and his resolve melted, the blood thirsty cats all but forgotten.

"We are where it is never winter and always spring… the rain falls up, not down… the crows won't bother us… and you can always see inside our home? Come and find me… we are waiting." She whispered and he could feel her sweet breath on his own lips. Roses… it smelled of roses.

"Come now…" the voice was growing stronger and stronger, but it had lost all of its seductive loveliness.

"Come now, Master Wayne I've let you sleep long enough…" Alfred's voice pulled him away from the dream's pure bliss faster then a freight train, and he woke up with a jolt causing the older man to also jump.

"Alfred… how may time have I told you, when I am thrashing around in my sleep it's best to… well it's best to wait to wake me up." Bruce mumbled softly, his head in his hands as he worked to control his heart rate.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but you were sleeping quite soundly. My apologies, but it is getting to be quite late in the day." Bruce glanced at the clock and groaned. It was four o'clock. He had already missed an entire day, and the night loomed ahead of him once again.

"It's ok Alfred, no harm done." Bruce said as he carefully planted his bare feet on the cool marble floor.

"Did something… happen last night, sir? I just finished cleaning up the soiled containers and bandages in the cave, and was just wondering if perhaps you were ill." Concern was evident in the words, and Bruce did his best to cover all the tiny bruises that now dotted the length of his left arm. Despite using his dominant hand to make the needle sticks for blood, finding a vein in a moving vehicle on oneself would have been tough enough for even a medical expert. Bruce Wayne was many things, but he was definitely not a phlebotomist. He sighed as he felt the blue eyes of his oldest friend bore into him waiting for an explanation. It was times like this that he once again felt like the bad child who had tracked mud into the house and was in need of reprimanding.

"Last night, I was attacked and injected with an unknown substance… I ran all the usual tests and even some rather rare ones, more than once, yet all the results have come back negative. I feel great now, but the effects I felt when whatever it was hit my blood stream made me dizzy, nauseous, and disoriented. I still have no clue as to what is now inside of me; whoever stuck me with the needle is still a mystery as well, for that matter." The younger man shook his head as his worrisome thoughts quickly came rushing out.

"All will be well, Master Wayne. If anyone can solve this puzzle it is you, although I do hope that you took a swing or too at him, sir." Alfred suggested trying to lighten the mood. He was the one who normally did the worrying, and having the roles reversed was a bit unsettling.

"Well, I managed to hit my attacker on my way out, but…" Bruce paused, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Alfred you're a genius!" His eyes lit up, and without another word he threw the sheets off his lap and headed straight for the hallway.

"Master Wayne, I always knew you would one day see the extent of my brilliance, you might even try to take my advice and…" Alfred paused, realizing he was all alone in the room, talking to himself. He shook his head, "Perhaps I should go on a nice relaxing vacation."

As soon as he made it to the floor of the cave, Bruce quickly got to work locating the scattered pieces of the bat suit, placing them on a scanning platform. When they were finally assembled he took his seat located in front of three 120 inch LCD monitors.

"Computer, analyze Kevlar plates for foreign biological contaminants." The new computer system installed in the bat cave was capable of understanding several thousand voice specific commands, as well as possessing unparallel analytical and researching capabilities. The world's most advanced technology known to date was at his fingertips. If Bruce could find out anything about what had happened last night, he would be able to with this multi-million dollar piece of equipment.

In no time at all, his suspicions were confirmed. The words "Contaminate located", were plastered all over the three screen monitor. The complex machine then proceeded to isolate and identify the material. A breakdown of the substance in the form of a 3-D model was soon projected on a small platform located near the main keyboard. Platelets, plasma, a matrix… blood, and blood was sure to have traces of DNA. Bruce began furiously pounding away at the keys.

Suddenly, there it was, a positive match.

Leonard "Leo" Jones, age 35, a husband and father of two, employed as a maintenance man… it was the next line in Jones's profile that hit him harder then than a ton of bricks ever could have. He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing. He read it outloud several times, and ground it out slowly, just to make certain he was seeing it correctly.

"…Current place of employment…Arkham Asylum."

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