Quiet Nights, Chapter 2

Bruce gazed out the window of the Learjet as they began to make their approach into Metropolis. Alfred had tried hard to conceal his pleasure that Batman was retiring. He also had proved very willing to help Bruce find Silver St. Cloud and to make the travel arrangements. Bruce knew Alfred had high hopes that in no short order there would be a new flock of Wayne children running around the mansion. One thing at a time, he thought as he smiled at the thought himself. He wasn't even sure Silver would want to see him, that she would believe that his crimefighting days were over, or that she wasn't involved with someone else despite Alfred's assurances to the contrary.

The wheels gently touched down and the engines roared as the plane came to a halt. It had been a while since he'd been to Metropolis. And probably the first that it didn't involve "business". He wondered what the Boy Scout had been up to. No doubt doing his damnedest to uphold "Truth, Justice, and the American Way". Although the two had very different ways of looking at the world, Bruce had a lot of respect for Superman. Alfred was getting up, handing him his coat. Time to go and see what fate would held for him.

It was cold as they descended from the plane. Bruce was glad for the coat. Alfred took such good care of him. Better than he deserved. Why did he do it? His devotion to the Wayne family went beyond what he was paid. After his parents' death, he had been assumed their role, been both mother and father to Bruce. Someday he would have to try and better understand Alfred's devotion. Although maybe it was better that he didn't. Who would have thought that the 'World's Greatest Detective' would leave a mystery unsolved?

The limo was already warm and ready to go. Alfred climbed into the back with him. "Take us to the Regency Hotel." Bruce asked the driver as he leaned back. He might start to enjoy living like this, to really live rather than play the sham playboy to diffuse speculation about him and the Batman.

Alfred had found that Silver was putting on a charity ball at the Regency this evening and had managed to get Bruce an invitation. As he walked into the ball, Bruce scanned the crowd, looking for trouble. Nothing. Old habits die hard, he surmised. It was certainly a grand event. Waiters and waitresses were everywhere, arms loaded with trays of drinks and food. Somewhere, an orchestra played, beyond the huge crowd of Metropolis's wealthiest people all dressed in their finest. The hall was resplendent with gold and silver trim and roses everywhere. Typical Silver, never one to do things half-heartedly, thought Bruce.

And there she was, her back to him. Long, flowing silver hair. A gold dress that shimmered. Talking to Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Bruce walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and saw him. Her face lit up. "Bruce, oh my goodness! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the ball, of course. I happened to be in town on business for Wayne Enterprises and I heard about your ball. So I decided to come, in the hopes that I might see you."

Clark smiled and touched Lois's arm. "Bruce, good to see you. We'll let the two of you catch up." He winked at Bruce as they left. For once the Boy Scout had gotten it right, Bruce thought. Silver's face was curious as she turned back to Bruce. "Bruce, don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to see you. But my mind hasn't changed since I left Gotham two years ago."

"I know you too well to think otherwise, Silver. But circumstances have changed recently that might make you reconsider." He smiled slyly and dropped his voice to a whisper that only she could hear, "Batman has succeeded in Gotham. He's been asked to retire and he's decided to accept."

"Really?" She sounded incredulous. Her smile got even bigger, like a kid who had been given permission to eat all the cookies in the cookie jar. She moved to his side to take his arm and waved to one of the passing waiters carrying glasses of champagne. "That calls for a celebration, I'd say."

"I couldn't agree more," Bruce replied, matching her smile.

Lenny and Mickey were the unlucky two guards who had the late shift in the D-block of Arkham Asylum. On a typical night, the block was anything but quiet. But tonight it was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop. "Lenny, are you sure none of them have escaped?" asked Mickey.

"Yes, Mickey" replied Lenny, tired of being asked that question. "I just checked them an hour ago and they were all in their cells." Lenny pulled out a deck of cards from the desk that he'd had in there for years. Now that it was so quiet, he might be able to concentrate well enough to play a game of solitaire. If, of course, Mickey would shut up.

"It just don't seem natural, it being this quiet. Especially the Joker." replied Mickey.

"Yeah, well, since the news reports came out today about the Batman, he's been catatonic."

"What happened to the Batman?"

"You didn't hear, Mickey? He's retired. Gordon confirmed it."

"Retired? Why?"

"Gotham's quiet. Crime is the lowest it has ever been. All the crazies are locked up. Nothing more for him to do, really."

"Wow, Gotham without a Batman. Hard to imagine." Mickey looked down the hall. Still quiet as a tomb. "This will take some getting used to. Guess I'll have to bring a book or something to do. Think they'll let me bring in an iPod?" I sue hope so, thought Lenny.

Later that night, Bruce was back in his room. An extraordinarily successful first foray, he thought. Silver had glowed the entire night, parading him around the room, introducing him to anyone and everyone. And they had danced, something Bruce hadn't done in years. And the kiss when they said goodnight...

He sat on his mat now, meditating. Twenty plus years of techniques learned to hone his martial abilities would not disappear overnight, if ever. He heard a rustle at the window. Alfred had gone to bed a while ago so he brought himself to full awareness and opened his eyes. The window was open but there was nothing and no one in the room to explain what he'd heard. There was no ledge or walkway outside that window, which meant only one likely explanation. Either it was a bird or it was Clark. He got up and walked to the window. Outside, Superman was hovering, his cape flapping in the wind. "Hello. You can come in if you like." Bruce said quietly.

Clark flew into the room, slowly settling to the floor. "Bruce, why are you here? What brings you to Metropolis?"

"Didn't you hear? I'm retired." Bruce looked straight at him, with a slight smile on his face.

"I heard, but I didn't believe it," Clark replied. "When I saw you at the ball this evening, I assumed you must be here on a case."

"No, I'm not. As I said at the party, I came solely to find Silver. I hope to marry her." Clark looked stunned, almost like he'd been punched in the gut. "I'm not you, Clark. I have no super powers. I am not immortal. I will age. If crime levels in Gotham are so low that the police can handle things, they don't need me. The Batman has accomplished his mission."

"I'm just stunned, Bruce. You always seemed so driven. I guess retirement was something that had never occurred to me." Clark walked over and shook his hand. "I'll miss you. We all will. Good luck, old friend." With that, he flew out the window. Bruce watched him leave, then walked over and closed the window. A part of him did miss it, he knew, but that would eventually go away. He decided to give up on the meditation and go to bed. Silver had told him she was going to clear her calendar for tomorrow so they could spend the day together.

Jim was sitting in his office, still working on catching up to the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated for so long. So far, it appeared that Gotham was adjusting to the notion of the Batman's retirement. Surprisingly, there had been no riots, no surge in crime. He was concerned that the mob would try to move back in, but so far there was no sign of that.

His intercom buzzed. He hit the button. "Yes, Cathy?"

"Time to leave for your meeting with the mayor at City Hall, Commissoner"

"Oh joy" Jim retorted. With crime down, they had more time for things like meetings with the Mayor as well. This was about the budget. He knew times were tight and he expected the mayor was going to tell him there would be cuts. Fortunately he'd expected that so he'd already drafted some numbers, some idea of where and how he could cut without compromising what they'd won too badly. He grabbed his briefcase and coat. The weather was brisk but at least the sun was out. A good day for a walk to City Hall. As he walked out the door, he wondered what the Batman was doing. I hope he's getting some well deserved rest and maybe having some fun. He wondered, what does a Batman do for fun?

It was New Year's Eve in Gotham. Silver had pressed Bruce that nothing would do but that they have a party at Wayne Manor. He had relented, but only because he had something special planned himself. He had his best tuxedo on; in his pocket he had safely concealed his surprise, a ring. At midnight, he would pull it out and pop the question. That he had been able to restrain himself this long was amazing. As Batman, he had made patience one of his virtues. No more, apparently.

The staff, most of whom had been hired in the last few months, had done a spectacular job preparing the house for the party. Alfred and Bruce had made sure, of course, that the entrance to the cave was sealed long before the staff was even hired. Wouldn't want anyone stumbling upon that while cleaning!

Bruce walked to the front door and stepped outside in the cold night air. The first guests would be arriving soon. He stared up at the stars, the frost forming clouds with his breath. Some nights, like tonight, he really did miss it. It would be cold even in thermal underwear, to be sure, but he missed the thrill. Silver slid in quietly beside him, taking his arm. He purposely startled, to make her think she had surprised him. "What are you looking at?" She asked.

"I don't know. I'm fascinated by the patterns. Somehow I never truly noticed them, before."

"Bruce, you tease. Surely someone must have taught you about the constellations and about the North Star."

"Of course they did. I never said I hadn't looked at the stars before, just that I hadn't noticed how beautiful they could be. I guess to a certain extent you could say that prior to a few months ago I had rarely stopped to smell the roses."

"And am I to believe that I was responsible for this change?" She turned to face him. Her face was lit up, her cheeks rosy from the cold. Her gray eyes sparkled. Bruce had planned to wait until after the party but he decided to be spontaneous. He grasped Silver's left hand and knelt in front of her in the snow. His right hand fumbled in his pocket and found the ring. He pulled it out. Silver was staring at him, her eyes wide, almost disbelieving what she was seeing. He held up the ring. His voice choked a bit but he got out, "Silver St. Cloud, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Tears were streaming down her face, but he could tell they were tears of joy. Silver couldn't seem to control her voice, so she nodded, vigorously. He slipped the ring onto her finger and stood. "You've made me the happiest man in the world", he said, smiling at her as they kissed.

It was a week after that fateful night. The press had predictably had a field day about Gotham's most eligible bachelor and bachlorette getting engaged, but for once Bruce hadn't minded. He was glad to be able to shed the mask that had been his public image, that of the billionaire playboy. Today, he and Silver were going to look for a suitable place to have the reception. They had both decided that there was little reason to wait long; the wedding was to be in April.

Alfred had offered to drive but Bruce had opted to drive the Land Rover instead. Silver was staying at a condominium in town. The skies were overcast and snow was falling softly; the weatherman had said there might be a major storm later in the day. As he drove down the highway, he spotted a nondescript black sedan following him. Old habits die hard, he thought but this was a little paranoid even by his standards. Those enemies that had deduced his secret identity were long dead, even Ra's. As he took the exit ramp for Silver's condo, the sedan continued down the highway. Yes, he was just being paranoid. He pulled into the private drive and pressed the button for the intercom by the gate. "Yes?" inquired the rather bored sounding guard. "Bruce Wayne, here to see Silver St. Cloud" " Yes sir, come right in", the guard replied as the gate pulled open. Bruce sounds in and turned right, going down the drive to Silver's condo. Her Mercedes coupe was parked in her spot. He pulled into the spot next to her and killed the engine.

Something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt it. Bruce, you really are going off the deep end he thought. He got out of the Land Rover and trudged up the stairs through the snow. He rang the bell. He waited but there was no answer. Maybe she was in the shower? He knocked, loudly. Still no answer. Now he was getting concerned. He walked back to the Land Rover and grabbed his tools out of the glovebox. Returning to her door, he tried knocking again, as loudly as he could manage, shouting her name at the same time. No answer. He pulled out the tools and quickly picked the lock. A very handy skill to have. As the door swung open, he had just enough time to see that the condo was completely trashed before he heard an unexpected click. Reacting completely on instinct, he dove down the stairs and rolled as the condo exploded.