Author's Note: Another slow one before the action picks up, I think. Then again, I can't make too many promises about the future. I know where I want to take the story, now it's just a matter of getting there. We'll see where this takes us then, shall we?
When Bruce woke up the next morning, he felt considerably better; the pain was still there, but it was manageable enough for him to walk. He slowly pulled himself out of bed, and stood for a moment to stretch out his stiff muscles before dropping himself onto the floor. Using his remaining good arms, he performed several perfect pushups. However, he barely made it to ten before he started to lose his form. As he approached twenty, he grunted and rolled over, the pain in his arm becoming too much for him to handle. He gasped for air, as a sharp, burning pain shot up through his arm.
"Easy there, tough guy." Bruce snapped his head back, revealing Diana's presence in the doorway. J'onn was directly behind her. "You are planning on getting well enough to leave at some point, aren't you?"
"I'm fine." Bruce grunted, using the bed as a support to pull himself off of the floor. "Just testing myself."
"Now is not the time for that." J'onn said sternly. "Although I must admit, the speed of your recovery is quite admirable. Please sit on the bed, if you would be so kind."
"Am I finally free to go?" Bruce asked, hiding the sarcasm in his voice just enough to prevent the Martian from noticing it.
"Your vitals have stabilized quite nicely... All physical symptoms have nearly vanished, with the exception of bruising, muscle tearing, and all but the most sever lacerations. Once the bruising subsides, you will once again be in prime physical condition. However, until then, I would suggest that you avoid... Strenuous activities."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Then I see no reason to keep you here any longer." J'onn produced a crutch from the room's supply cabinet. "You may pick up your prescription painkillers from the nurse on your way out."
"I don't need painkillers. I'd rather be alert."
"Of course, it is your decision. Once you're ready, we will meet you in the teleporter bay."
J'onn and Diana left, the latter grinning somewhat flirtatiously as made her exit.
Bruce limped over to the closet to retrieve his torn Batsuit. He pulled it on with some difficulty, as he was somewhat hampered by his splinted arm. Realizing that it wouldn't do for Bruce Wayne to be spotted aboard the Watchtower, he settled for tucking his injured arm inside the suit. As soon as he was suited up, Batman began the long trek to the teleporter, hampered by his injuries. Once he'd finally made it, J'onn was waiting by the console.
"I take it that you are ready to return home?"
"Truer words have never been spoken." Batman said.
"Alright then, let's get going." Diana said from behind Bruce. He hadn't recognized her at first; she had changed out of her usual distinctive costume in favor of a fashionable set of civilian clothes (Author's Note: How does I fashion? Obviously not a strong suit of mine). She'd tied her hair back in a loose ponytail, concealing her identity enough for her to blend in with the general population. "What do you think?" She twirled around gracefully, showing off her disguise.
"It's... Good." Batman murmured. "You don't look like yourself."
"Not quite what I was looking for, but we'll work on that." She winked at him and climbed up onto the teleporter pad. "Send us down, J'onn."
There was a brilliant flash of light, and Bruce and Diana felt their molecules being scrambled as they were volleyed down to the Earth. When they reappeared, they were in the master bedroom of Wayne Manor. No more than thirty seconds after their sudden appearance, the door opened.
"Good evening, Sir and Madam. I can't express how good it is to see you safe and sound again." Alfred said, a tone of relief in his voice.
"I'll give you two a moment to catch up." Diana said, leaving to explore the manor.
Bruce began to peel off the layers of his costume, tossing the components on the bed. "I take it that you've come up with an alibi for me?"
"It just so happens that I have, Sir." Alfred said with a shadow of a grin. "It has been leaked to the presses that you were on vacation in Vermont at a ski resort, where you had a small run in with a tree, resulting in some minor bruising and a slight concussion. Of course, you have spent the last few days in a private hospital recuperating. Eleven witnesses will place you at the resort, and medical records are in place."
"Some vacation." Bruce said, pulling the gauntlet off of his good hand with his teeth. "And of course, I don't remember any of this, thanks to the concussion?"
"Unfortunately not." Alfred said with a tone of mock sadness. "But fear not, for there is an upside to your misfortune; on your trip, you met a lovely young woman by the name of Diana Prince with whom you got along quite well. Before your accident, you agreed to give her a personal tour of Gotham City."
"Your imagination never ceases to amaze me, Alfred."
"A grain of truth always helps, Sir."
"Alright... Anything on tap for tonight, Alfred?"
"You're signed on to attend Mr. Shreck's charity ball tonight, but I can of course change your RSVP if you aren't feeling up to it."
"No, it's fine. It's good to keep up appearances. And besides, Diana should enjoy it if nothing else."
"As you say, Master Bruce."
"Now... To business. I'm going to need the spare Batsuit. I have some people that I need to talk to.
"Oh... Well, that could be a problem, Sir. You see, Master Grayson borrowed your suit yesterday. It would seem that he too realizes the importance of 'keeping up appearances,' as you say."
"And besides, you're not going out there again today." Diana said from the doorway, having finished her brief tour of the manor. "I told J'onn that I'd keep an eye on you while you heal up, and I intend to do exactly that. So no more scrambling over rooftops until then.."
"I don't 'scramble.'"
"I'm glad that you agree."
"Hm." Bruce grumbled, deciding that this particular argument could wait.
"Erm... Yes..." Alfred interjected uncomfortably, feeling the tension moutning. "In the meantime, may I suggest that you consider doing something to pass the time? It seems like it's been so long since you've had the time to use the home theatre. Perhaps a movie is in order?"
Bruce took in a deep breath, releasing his Batman mindset, and settling in as his alter ego. "I don't think so, Alfred." he said, selecting a jacket from his wardrobe. "I'm thinking about going out. Assuming that it's ok with the Princess?"
"No objections here." Diana said. "I've been meaning to get out a bit more, now that you mention it."
"Are you sure that you can keep up?"
"I've hung out with Princess Audrey before, remember? I think that I'll be able to manage."
"Oh, you have no idea, Princess." Bruce said, grinning devilishly. "Trust me, Princess Audrey has nothing on Bruce Wayne." He placed an arm on her shoulder and steered her from the room.
Author's Note: The following scene has been excluded because of reasons. However, if you want to know what happens in the period that I won't be covering, you can just listen to Party Rock Anthem and probably get the gist of things.
This was going to go on for a bit longer, but I have a paper due tomorrow. No worries, I'll either just tack what I was going to write at the beginning of the next chapter or post it as its own mini-chapter.
As an afterthought, I'd like to add a brief word on reviews; don't get me wrong, the level of support that I'm getting is incredible, but now that I know that you guys like me, I'd like to know what I can do better. I think I have the basics down, but narrative writing's never really been a strength of mine (persuasive writing is where I shine, if I do say so myself). So if you guys have any tips on how to balance dialogue or keep good plot pacing, send them my way. Also, I'm having some concerns about staying in character, so feedback in that area would be great. While I'm on the subject, I'm pretty open to having a beta reader, if anyone is interested. I guess that that wasn't as brief as I promised, but oh well.
So the pacing will pick up again within the next few chapters; maybe the next one. Who knows. Not me, that's for sure. On a somewhat related note, I had a hard time keeping up with the serious chapter titles that I've been using this time around. I really had to fight the urge to call it 'Knight on the Town.' Fortunately, my 'God-Awful Pun Detector' kicked in at the very last second.
