"Nice place, Steve", the girl noted.
"Thanks", he said, closing the door behind him. "Wanna see the rest of it?"
"Sure."
She couldn't be older than twenty two, maybe twenty three years old. He just hoped she was over twenty one.
Pick up girls in a bar, that wasn't his style. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had done it. Before Iraq? Maybe.
No doubt much had changed since. He was Colonel Steve Trevor, and his life was basically work. Since he had joined A.R.G.U.S., roughly five years ago, he had hardly met any women, unless if you counted Amanda Waller or the female members of the JLA. And he certainly hadn't been romantically involved with any one… not since Diana.
He had recently decided, in a very rational way, that that had to change.
Waller had showed him the pictures: satellite images had caught images of Diana and Superman flying over the North Pole. Together. And not just simply in the company of each other… touching each other. Kissing. And doing more than that.
This is serious, Waller had told him. This is not just an adventure, a fling. They are together Colonel, the two most powerful beings on this planet… and there isn't much we could do to stop them if we had to.
Waller was right. Diana and Superman together? That was wrong. And something had to be done about it, no doubt – but maybe not tonight.
Tonight, perhaps he could just try and forget about it. Enjoy the company of one very young lady that seemed more than willing to distract him for a few hours.
"Here", he told the girl, showing her the hallway of his apartment, "that's the way to my bedroom."
"Can't wait to see that", she joked, smiling in a suggestive manner.
He returned her grin, feeling strangely uncomfortable for doing so. Nevertheless, he opened the door to the bedroom, revealing only the darkness in there. He searched for the switch, turning it on… but the lights remained off.
"Oh", the girl said, "your lights are not working."
But Steve knew better.
"No. Lights were fine", he muttered.
The voice came from the darkest corner of the room, that grave, hoarse sound:
"Send the woman away, Colonel", the tone was imperative, demanding. "Now."
Trevor looked at the girl, finding her mute and pale, scared like she had seen a ghost – in a way, she had.
"You should go", he said.
The woman nodded, quickly turning back through the dark hall and finding her handbag on Steve's living room, then walking out of the door. When he was sure she was definitely gone, Trevor finally addressed the darkness:
"What the hell do you want, Batman?"
He never saw it: the punch came from nowhere, hitting him straight on his chin. He felt it: his entire head shaking, his head light and gone… dark. Not merely the darkness in his bedroom – true darkness, his mind turning off for a moment, ignoring everything that was happening around him: his body falling to the floor, his jaw cracking in an unpleasant way, blood filling his mouth and coming down his throat.
A second.
When he hit the floor, pain and bright colorful spots had taken over. He felt the coldness of leather gloves grabbing his arms and twisting his wrist, tight metal handcuffs around them. He coughed and spat, his blood dark as it hit the wall next to him and the white door, even darker than him. Blood and an unpleasant feeling, his jaw wrenching as he tried to open his mouth:
"Son… of… a… bitch", he managed to mumble.
He looked up to the awful masked man on top of him, who was now grabbing him by his collar and forcing him to sit on the floor, back against the bedroom wall.
"Shut up, Colonel", he groaned, his voice a husky, raspy sound. "You're here to listen, not talk."
Steve was able to produce a throaty laugh:
"Screw you… Batman."
But Batman was in a horrible mood, apparently: he shoved the Colonel against the wall once again, forcing all the air in Steve's lungs out. His message was clear:
"Shut. Up."
Trevor was a soldier, an obedient one, but the only reason he complied to Batman's orders was because he didn't have a choice. Not only he had been robbed of air by violent pushes, now Batman had a hand around his neck, barely allowing him to breath. So close, so close was that dark, ugly mask to Steve's face that he could see it: his eyes, the human eyes under the mask, often concealed, rarely discernable. But there, there they were, fixed on him, full of rage and viciousness.
"Listen", Batman was saying again, now through clenched teeth, "I want you to tell Waller to pull it off, hear me?"
The Colonel admitted his mind was somewhat slow, being thrust around against walls and deprived of air, and that was probably why it took him a few seconds to figure it out: Batman probably meant the surveillance they had placed around Selina.
"A.R.G.U.S. is gonna back off; do you hear me, Colonel? Back. Off."
Steve didn't answer him immediately. As Batman's hand loosened around his neck, he drew air a couple times before finally answering, his voice barely audible:
"You… shouldn't have…"
"What's that?" Again Batman pushed him against the wall, forcing his already punished face up by grabbing it brutally.
Trevor spoke up, grinning unexpectedly as he did it:
"This… this was… a dumb thing to… do. Stupid… stupid, stupid…"
Now Batman's fist hit him right on his nose, an unpleasant snapping sound reverberating in Steve's skull just as he felt a gush of warm blood pouring through his nostrils.
"You're going to leave us alone, Trevor", Batman was saying, though his voice was a distant sound that echoed in Steve's mind from far away. "I don't want to see even a shadow of A.R.G.U.S. agents near Selina, hear me? Near my child."
Steve's head pended forward, a cascade of blood pooling between his legs. Still, he forced the words out of mouth:
"Go to… hell, Batman! We're protecting them, you asshole!"
Before he could be pushed back once again, Trevor suddenly raised his face and spat a good amount of blood and saliva on Batman's armored chest:
"It's just a matter of… time… before they figure it… out."
"They?"
Trevor spat again, now not directly at Batman – he had his attention, why ruin that?
"They", he repeated, now facing Batman in a daring, cocky expression. "One of the damn… freaks… that populate your world…"
There was no answer from the masked vigilant. Trevor proceeded:
"Word in the streets… travel fast. And once the news that Catwoman had a child… runs around…" He chuckled. "No one needs to be a genius to guess who baby's daddy is, right?"
"Maybe", Batman snarled. "But let them know… let every single low life, criminal, villain in this world knows… that anyone that comes near Catwoman's child… will answer to me."
"Right. Very smart", Steve muttered.
"A.R.G.U.S. needs to back off, hear me?"
Batman stood up, his boots stained in several places by Steve's blood. "Remember, Colonel: tell Waller about our little conversation."
"Go to hell."
"Don't worry about the handcuffs", Batman said as he left through the window. "I'm sure one of your government friends will come over to check on you when you don't show up to work in the morning."
Steve didn't answer; once he saw Batman was finally gone, he allowed himself to heavily fall to the floor on his stomach. He was nauseated and in pain but, if he managed to hit the hidden button under his bed, he would activate an alarm – much better than wait until morning to someone to find him. Besides, he wanted to reach his gun under his pillow; if Batman, for any reason, decided to return, he would blow his knee cap and kick him until he started to piss blood.
Goddamn it, Selina, he privately cursed. How the hell did you get involved with such a prick, anyway?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"It makes sense, actually", was Waller speaking.
"That I have a concussion, a broken nose, a fractured wrist and a wire in my jaw?"
Colonel Trevor was lying on a bed, where he had been for the last two days. He could barely open his mouth, unless it was to tell his unfortunate tale about his meeting with Batman. Waller didn't seem too sympathetic:
"Yes, that too." She agreed with Trevor. "But I was referring to his action in a broader sense…
"Oh. You mean him invading my apartment and beating me."
Amanda Waller was sat in a chair next to the Colonel, both in A.R.G.U.S.'s medical wing.
"Actually, I mean his message."
"It was pretty clear", Steve bitterly said.
Waller nodded. "Indeed. And an interesting move from his part."
"I beg to differ."
"You know what I mean", the Director quickly spoke, sounding too calm about what Steve judged as a pretty insulting episode. He didn't hide his dissatisfaction:
"I don't think I do, actually."
Waller had her gaze not in Trevor, but lost in thoughts and fixed at the wall ahead. "It's a message, Steve, but not as you implied…"
"I didn't imply. I merely told you what…"
"Think", she urged. "He does a damn show of beating you up and telling us to back off… why?"
"Because he's an insane son of a bitch, that's why."
"No", she corrected him, clearly disappointed. "He's testing us. He's testing A.R.G.U.S.'s defenses, our purposes, even checking for information leaks."
"If that's true, you're as crazy as he is."
"And there's more…"
"I'm sure there is…"
"He's sending a message… that Batman doesn't need help."
Steve sighed, too tired to keep debating Waller.
"He wants every single enemy, even allies, to know… that he's got all figured out…"
"Oh, yeah?" Trevor wasn't really interested in the subject anymore, turning to the other side of the bed and changing channels in his TV.
"Yes. And you know why?"
Steve rolled his eyes. "No, I don't; enlighten me."
When she spoke, she did it with a smile:
"Because he doesn't, Colonel. Because, for the first time since forever, he's scared of what might happen."
