Chapter 4

"Why are you here?"

"Good to see you too, Bruce."

"I don't recall sending any invitations." Bruce kept his fingers steepled in front of him, staring at the computer screen. The Themysciran ambassador carded her fingers through her hair, unsure in the face of such a reception. Kal-El had warned her, the reason why he had yet to bring the new Batman to the Watchtower despite his inclusion as a part-time member as of the previous year. From what she'd learnt, he'd had his hands full anyway within Gotham. Some things never changed. Like Bruce's current demeanour, for example.

"Please Bruce, look at me." Diana had managed to keep herself away from the city despite the swift reports of a few years ago that a Batman was once again wrecking havoc on the crime scene in Gotham. Both League business and her role as Themyscira's diplomat had kept her busy enough in this regard. The chair eventually swivelled round. Even with her experience with Steve Trevor, and watching Bruce's face come up on the news channels often enough, it didn't prevent her tensing and swift looking downwards on encountering her aged ex-colleague's face. It wasn't just the age. There was a cold deadness to those eyes she had never seen before. The spark that returned to them on meeting hers was just as chilling.

"Immortality has treated you well, Princess. Now, why are you here?"

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Terry cut in. "Time out. Hello? Earth to Wayne, this is Wonder Woman? Diana? Founding member of the League?" Terry had begun waving his hands in front of the grim face of the elder man. Honestly, what would it take for that man to lift his glare?

"It's alright Terry, that is your name, right? I'm sorry we couldn't have been acquainted before, but Superman understands you've been busy with the re-emergence of some of the less than desirable acquaintances of Bruce's."

"Yeah... and well, I'm not really part of the Justice League as is."

"You keep telling yourself that. Bruce did for the longest time, didn't you Bruce?" Diana turned her attention back to Bruce, still seated and giving her an approximation of his glare from the chair. His silence indicated the mood wasn't about to lift any further, and Diana sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. The man would not be humoured.

"J'onn sent me."

"Not good enough."

"There's something going on between the triads here. Huang Holdings in the centre of it. We were hoping you could help on the other side of the corporate desk."

"You couldn't send a message over the ethernet? Kent does."

Diana's words stuck in her throat. So unsure, it only highlighted the fact that she was still so young, so fresh, hardly embittered like the way he was, Bruce realised just how stark a contrast they made even in the gloom of the cave. Even close to thirty years later, she stood tall and proud, hardly having aged a day. And she would remain that way for as long as those creatures who called themselves gods would ordain it. She was playing with her hair again, an unconscious gesture. Bruce would have thought it endearing if he hadn't caught himself in time. He reached for his pills instead and cracked the cap open.

"Bruce, don't be this way. It's been so long, can't we just.. talk?"

No. No they couldn't. He selected a pill and downed it with a glass of water. Then he lifted his eyes to hers again.

"No."

No.

-

April 14, 2007:

"No, I'm not some punk you can toss aside!" Tim Drake shouted across the scaffold, cape swirling about his shoulders.

"This is not up for discussion."

"When is it ever? Nothing, absolutely nothing, is up for discussion with you. No wonder Dick left." The teenager's voice was muted, carried away in the wind, but Bruce heard it nonetheless. He turned towards the boy slowly, Narrowing his eyes till mere slits were seen in the mask.

"Why don't you follow his example?"

"No," Tim said, eyes downcast, almost mumbling, "Don't you get it? I don't want to leave. I want to be part of this."

And that was precisely what he could not be part of. Was the boy blind? Or just stupid. Maybe they were all stupid, carrying on like this. No, he'd made the mistake so many times before. He should have never let the boy go off on his own. He had grown complacent, too trusting, thinking that the city would be safe in the hands of both Barbara and Tim, when most of the rogues had been captured and the Joker had been lying low since the Casino incident. They'd managed the city well enough before. Hubris, that was what it was, thinking that his training of them had equipped them sufficiently, thinking that they were prepared. Getting more engaged in League missions had been a bad idea, and he had paid the price. No... Tim had paid the price.

"Go Home."

Tim's head jerked up again, frustrated by the curt dismissal. "Where's that supposed to be? You don't let me in the cave, I'm supposed to just stay in my room at night? Home? More like a prison."

Batman rounded on him, leaning down with clenched teeth. "Do you remember last year at all?"

"Yes, yes I do," Tim retorted, hands balled into fists as he stared up Batman, "More than you'll know, but I chose to go into this, you don't have to feel sorry for me or anything."

"You aren't old enough to know what to choose."

"Says the guy who started when he was flipping eight."

There was a pause. When Batman spoke again, his voice was cold, slicing across the space between them. "You will go home," he said, "you will hang up your uniform, or I will make sure you do by any means necessary. Is that understood?"

"Yeah. Sure." Tim shook his head and grimaced in disgust. "Hope you're happy now."

As Robin swung off into the night for the last time, Bruce wondered, not for the first time, what exactly hope and happiness were supposed to mean.

-

August 22, 2007:

"I guess, I'll see you around then, huh?" Tim said as he looked at Barbara. Malnutrition at a young age had left his growth stunted even before his ordeal with the Joker, but now he had almost reached her eye level. The past year of therapy and Alfred's care had left him healed for the most part, and his growth spurts were finally showing. If his father had been anything to judge by though, he wouldn't grow too tall himself anyway.

"Don't be a stranger kiddo," Barbara said, fondly mussing up his hair. Tim's eyes darkened slightly at her words.

"Yeah, tell the old man that." The months after his last dismissal as Robin had left his relationship with Bruce in its current, near nonexistent state. Tim had taken up night classes to make up for the time lost during his recovery, in preparation for college. He'd decided against Gotham State University, heading to the Metropolis Community College instead for an Associate's in Mechano-Electronics. Telling Bruce had been a nightmare. The man had stared at him for so long Tim had started stammering. He had then turned down the massive hallway in silence. Tim had sat down on the top stair for a full five minutes, playing with the carpet threads, till Alfred placed a hand on his shoulder from behind, informing him that his education was being paid for by funding from a trust set up by Wayne Enterprises.

It had sounded so formal, the document that arrived in the post the next day. It had looked so formal, too. But it had been a mind boggling sum, never mind the fact that he lived with a billionaire. Enough to set up a whole new life for himself if he wanted. College expenses were covered, and more on the side for comfortable accommodation within the busy city. Looking at the letterhead had caused a twinge of pain to go through him. Bruce was just a few doors down, why couldn't he have told him himself? Just another way of pushing him away. Well he wouldn't fight it this time.

He did try to fight the tears that welled up in his eyes on looking at Barbara, right there in the hall, with Bruce nowhere in sight. Alfred was loading the car, readying it for the short trip to the train station. Barbara only smiled sadly at him and touched his cheek in farewell.

"I will."

-

Later that night in the cave when Barbara had placed her hands on his shoulders as he worked at the computer, Bruce sighed and grasped those slim fingers in his own.

"It is for the best," he said, and who was Barbara to disagree with that? With her father bound to retire in a few years, it would now be just the two of them, and Alfred. The fight would go on, Gotham would be protected, and maybe one day, they would all live happily ever after.