I take a deep breath of air as Bruce Wayne stands before me. Giving me a look saying that he wanted to do more than just have a private meeting. I blush and nod. He gives me a smirk before turning to the crowd.
"I'm afraid it's men's choice." He says, to which girls scream loudly. He turns back to me, putting out his hand, waiting for me to grab it. I felt so frozen that I didn't take his hand. He looks appalled, then pouts making a whining sound. The crowd whines with him, in which he smiles. The crowd cheers once again, and the music starts. He turns back around and grabs my hand instead.
"Let's dance." He says, before pulling me out of my seat. He drags me to the center of the floor in which he lets go of my hand. I stop walking, but two men push me toward him. He spins me, and dips me quickly. I take a quick breath as he smirks.
"It's so wonderful of you to take an interest in our little show." He says as we dance.
"It sounds very exciting. I'd be delighted to be involved." I yell over the loud pounding music. He looks at me after he spins me once again.
"Really?"
"Assuming you like what I do of course." I say, nervously. I blush slightly at his smile. He spins.
"I'm sure I will." He says. He grabs me by the waist and pulls me into him, so close that our chests are touching. He dips me once.
"A friend told me that we could do it in private." He raises an eyebrow, and I realize that I said it very aggressively and considering the position we were in now, it was painfully obvious he was thinking about something different. I quickly recover. "You know a private..." He dips me one more time. "Poetry reading." I finish.
"Oh." He says, before dipping me again. There's a hint of disappointment in his voice. "A poetry reading? I love a little poetry after supper." He says seductively. He chuckles at my already red face.
Our conversation ends there. We dance through the rest of the song in which I find myself having a good time with the "Dark Knight". The music is pounding my ears and it's nothing but the adrenaline rushing through my veins. The crowd starts to sing the opening song, and Bruce howls. I laugh. I sing along with everyone else. Bruce grabs my hand and we move through the crowd until I'm back at my seat. Barbra, Wally, Zantanna, and Lois all look at Bruce in awe. He doesn't even notice them. He leans in close to my ear.
"I have to go, but I'll see you after Princess." He whispers. Goosebumps arise as he pulls away from me, only to wink at me before walking away. I sit down at my seat.
"You have a gift with men." Wally says. I roll my eyes as I watch the rest of the show.
"Diamonds..." A now familiar voice sings. Bruce arises from the crowd, back on the swing, which rises up until he's towering above everyone. I smile as the jazz like music plays. I see Clark throw a fist in the air with a look of triumph and glee. "Diamonds... square cut or pear shaped, these rocks won't lose their shape." Everyone has their arms up, all except for me.
"Diamonds..." He sings, he glances at me with a smirk. "Are everyone's... best..."
He opens his mouth for the final note, but instead it's more like he lost his breath. It was as if he had all the air taken out of his lungs. My smile quickly turns into concern. But no one else notices. I look at Clark from far away, and the joy in his eyes are turned suddenly serious, as he watches Bruce struggling to catch his breath. Bruce's head tilts back, and I see his grip on one of the ropes is loosened. Clark's face had pure fear plastered over it. Everyone is watching Bruce, but no one else seems to notice that something wasn't all right except for me and Clark. It wasn't until he lets go of the rope and falls back, that Clark screams.
I cover my mouth to stifle my cry, standing up as his body lands in the crowd. I see that one of the Diamond Dogs caught him before hitting the ground. He quickly walks through the shocked crowd, going out through one of the doors. Murmurs spread across the room. Clark looks distressed, and he's struggling to think of what to do. He cheers, clapping; the crowd does as well. Then everyone chants Bruce's name.
Backstage, everyone looks concerned as an unconscious Bruce is carried past them by one of the Diamond Dogs. An old man follows behind him quickly, carrying a small vile of liquid. The rest of the Diamond Dogs follow behind him. But the man with long dark brown hair turns around and smirks.
"Don't know if that Governess is going to get her money's worth tonight." He snickers. The woman with red hair and green eyes hits him upside the head.
"Long Shadow, don't be unkind! You know he isn't well." She scolds. He rolls his eyes as she pushes him forward. "John, put him on the cot." She says. The man with dark brown skin and vibrant green eyes nods and sets him down gently upon the cot.
Long Shadow quickly takes a peek through one of the curtains. Clark is distracting the crowd, but the look of worry for his little brother still shows on his face. He knew Bruce shouldn't have done the number. He was never ready for it. But Clark had faith in his younger sibling, no matter how much Long Shadow advised that he should have been the one for the number, not Bruce. Clark holds up his arms as he makes eye contact with Long Shadow. The crowd stops.
"You frightened him away." He said. The crowd whines. He gives them a charming smile. "But I can see some lonely Arkham dancers, looking for a partner or two! So if you can hunk hunk, you can Hunkadola with them!" The music starts up again, and Long Shadow turns his attention back to the unconscious star.
The old man with the vile kneels beside Bruce, before telling John and the rest of the posse to go and perform their number. They all leave as a younger man walks past them and also kneels beside Bruce. The much older man opens the vile, to which by it's scent makes Bruce awaken. He breathes in heavily. He looks at the two beside him and gives the older one a weak smile.
"Oh Alfred..." He takes a deep breath. "These silly tight costumes." He whispers. Alfred smiles. The younger man turns to Alfred.
"Is everything okay?" He asks. Alfred turns to him and nods.
"For the time being J'onn, everything is." He says. They both turn to Bruce quickly, who grabbed Alfred's handkerchief and started to cough into it. Alfred squinted to see small drips of blood on it. Bruce lies back down, now fully asleep and taking deep shaking breaths. Alfred looks at J'onn, whose brows scrunch together in worry.
"You don't think he's..." Alfred whispers. J'onn shakes his head.
"It's too early to know. But if he does have it, the poor boy will end up just like his mother."
