Once again, Batman faced Doomsday in the streets of Gotham.
Since The monster towered over him with size and strength, Batman knew that he'll lose in a man-to-monster brawl. Therefore, he has to do what he has always done.
Lure the monster to a trap.
As carefully and swiftly as he can, the dark knight moved to the right where he had activated a boom tube. The monster growled and tried to crush him with colossal hands as it chased him. Batman's improved agility helped in evasion. He leaped and rolled. He threw smoke bombs at its face. He was moving constantly and never underestimated the speed and ferocity of the alien beast. The tactic was better than what he has previously done. Better than what he has done the first time.
Finally, Doomsday tripped over a wire that Batman instantly attached to two ends. The monstrous figure got vacuumed by the portal in just a few seconds.
The portal closed.
The simulation was finished.
The Gotham environment vanished and suddenly, Batman was in a large white room. His stance relaxed and fatigue took over. It had been his fifth simulation run for the day.
Clark stood at the simulation control room behind the glass window.
"You nailed it again. You wanna have another go?" said Superman's voice from a speaker.
Panting, Batman shook his head.
The man of steel walked out of the control room. The bright red and blue popped out from the solid white of the simulation area. He handed a bottled water. Batman accepted it and drank with large gulps.
"It seems you're back to normal..."
Clark squinted slightly.
"... But your leg hasn't completely healed"
Batman gave one of his glares.
"I didn't ask you to x-ray me"
Superman crossed his arms and gave a serious look.
"You should be on a break. Nightwing told me that you started on patrol already"
It was only a few days ago that he had started walking without the cane. J'onn recommended that he give himself a couple of weeks before doing business as usual, but the Bat couldn't wait that long. His city needed him.
Bruce stood imposingly, neither admitting his stubbornness nor denying it.
"Have it your way, Bruce" Clark finally said, "Just try to tone it down at least. You're forgetting that you're only human"
Batman went silent as usual. He would never waste time defending himself.
The caped crusader appreciated that Clark was concerned, accepting that the Kryptonian was the only one in the league he could consider as his best friend. But pride wouldn't let him show that to his face.
Clark looked at the digital clock above the doorway. His face showed a slight horror.
"I have to go. Lois is gonna kill me"
He was late for his date.
Superman waved Bruce goodbye and zoomed out of the simulation room in seconds.
When it was clear that he was now all alone, Bruce had finally let himself become human. As the pain from his leg began to surge, he sat down on the cold floor. Sweat dropped while he controlled his breathing. Meditation is the key, he told himself. He began removing the armor on his right lower leg. He realized that the braces provided comfort for only a couple of the simulation runs. Five times and the pain comes back no matter what. He didn't experience this when he was in patrol because it wasn't as strenuous as the simulation scenario he picked. The limits of his bat suit were now more evident.
He massaged the exposed skin of his lower leg, while he thought of what to add to the suit. But mostly, he just rested. To have the utmost comfort, he even removed his cowl. He felt cool and content. No one will barge into the room because he had remotely locked the door with the controls on his gauntlet. No one can come in... unless someone would override the door's manual system. He knew that only a very few people can do such a thing.
Wonder Woman came through the overridden door wearing jogging pants, a shirt that showed the logo of a sports brand, a pony tail and her famous bracelets. She brought bottles of water and a small towel. Obviously, she was going to do some workout with the simulation.
"The thing's broken again" she muttered to herself as she walked to the control room.
She hasn't noticed him yet.
Diana wasn't as tech savvy as Batman but she learned a few techy things since her stay here in the Watchtower. Bruce knew this because he taught her some of those things, including how to override some of the doors in the Watchtower in case of emergencies.
She was a fast learner, he concluded.
"It's not broken. I locked it" he said.
Her eyes spotted him and her direction changed. The princess approached him with an amused face.
"I'm beginning to think that you have a habit of waiting for Clark to leave before you come in to see me" Bruce commented.
"It's purely coincidental"
He didn't believe in coincidences.
She looked at his bare lower leg and pursed her lips.
"Clark's right. You're a masochist"
"I thought he said I punish myself too much"
She put a hand in her waist.
"Is there a difference?" she said with a smile.
Wonder Woman sat beside him and gave him the towel.
"You should be working out with regular clothes" she said while she inspect his suit with her sight.
Bruce wondered if she searched for dent that she made on his chest during their 'test' in the batcave.
"I needed to test the suit more" he calmly retorted.
They sat there quietly, not knowing exactly what to talk about next. Then after a while, her face lit up.
"I've got an idea"
Diana stood up as quickly as possible and flew towards the control room. Bruce could see through the glass window that she was pushing some buttons onto the settings panel. Soon, the white room turned into a beach paradise. Palm trees loomed over him. The ocean waves gently pushed themselves on to the sandy shores and back again. The sun appeared to sink below the horizon.
It was breathtaking.
The simulation settings can setup different environments for practice battles. The database included existing places. Bruce recognized this one as Themyscira, the home of immortal women trained as warriors. The home of Diana, princess of the Amazons.
She came back to his side, eager to see his reaction.
"Not bad" said the man in the bat suit.
She grinned at him.
"I just thought you needed to relax while watching the perfect view. Good thing it's not the real thing, or else my Amazon sisters would've speared you" she chuckled.
He agreed silently, putting his hands behind him to support his back.
"Whenever I miss my mother, I come here and set the environment for Themyscira"
He could sense the sadness in her tone. Looking back at the sun, he imagined what it would feel like being exiled from your home. He realized that he experienced the gist of it recently. Temporarily taking a long break for patrolling the nightly streets was sort of an exile. Gotham needed him every night. He sorely longed for his return.
The wind blew and her hair moved away from her face. Her beauty made Bruce feel responsible for her sadness for some reason. She didn't deserve the exile. He wanted her to smile again.
"Wait here" he said as he heaved to stand on his two feet.
Limping a bit, he ran towards the control room. He punched the right numbers and pushed the right buttons to set another environment.
Immediately, Theymiscira was replaced by a room full of of people in formal wear. Some ate at tables, some danced to the music. The window showed the Eiffel tower.
Bruce saw the recognition in her eyes as he approached her. She still remembered their dance in Paris. He remembered it like it was yesterday.
"Is this where we...?"
"Yes"
The smile on her face was huge. She stood up with her hands held together behind her.
Batman made his megawatt 'Brucie' smile and extended his hand.
"May I have this dance?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed.
She took his hand and stepped forward to close the gap. Then, he held the small of her back. Their feet moved naturally to the music.
"Why is this in the simulation database?" she asked as the swayed.
"When Clark begged me to give him some dance lessons for his date with Lois, I created this environment"
'You? Dance lessons?" she giggled
"I only taught him the basics"
"You danced with him?"
"No. I gave him a robot partner.
She laughed. He loved seeing her laugh.
They danced around the room, without bumping into the holographic images of the people around as if they were real. The scene would've been perfect if he wore his tux and she wore her black dress, but the batsuit and jogging pants didn't ruin it for them.
It was a unique trip to memory lane.
Right after she twirled, the leg pain was returning.
"Are you alright?"
"I guess my leg doesn't want me to do the Tango" he said lightly.
It was a sign that they have to stop.
The princess sighed. Bruce pushed a switch on his gauntlet. And then, one by one, the elements of the environment faded. Once again, they're at the white room, alone and undisturbed.
Diana still held his hand. She didn't want to let go. She smiled at him again.
"Sorry... I pushed your limits" she said.
"Don't be" he uttered.
She held the back of his head and he leaned forward.
But then he stopped.
He tilted his head a bit and aimed for her cheek instead. She embraced him soon after the contact.
Finally, she let go. The princess still gave him her best grin and left the room with her items.
Bruce assumed that she understood why he had to stop himself. In the past, he told her why...
I'm a rich kid with issues... lots of issues.
All alone in the simulation area, he held his head down. His heart felt pain for the first time, in a long time.
Author's Note:
After I finish my work, errands, etc. I'll be writing the next one which will probably be the last chapter.
