"How did you figure it out?"
"I recognized his eyes." She wasn't surprised he had figured it out.
"I've been waiting for someone to guess it was my brother, I'm surprised Gordon hasn't gotten it yet." Gordon had spent the most time around Batman, and met Bruce a few times. She thought he must've figured it out by now.
"He's been different the last few days. There's a life in him that I haven't seen in a long time. Did you see the paper, he went to a party. I can't remember the last time I heard that." She couldn't help smiling, it was great to know she was getting her brother back. He loved her smile. He could tell she was happy, but he couldn't see it in her eyes. They had been spending a few afternoons, and evenings in her bakery talking.
"Well I'll let you get back to work, I have a few things to check out." He almost didn't want to leave, he enjoyed her company.
"Alright, let me know if you need anything. I can be very helpful." He had no doubt about that.
"Hello John" Bruce said as he entered his sister's bakery. There was something about this kid that he liked. He knew his sister liked it too. He almost laughed when he saw Blake turn red, and smiled at his sister. Bruce sat down in John's empty seat and saw his sister's questioning stare.
"We need to talk about something. Can you take the rest of the afternoon off?"
"You're gonna go back out again? You think you're really ready?"
"I think I am. If anything I've heard about this Bane is true, he needs to be stopped." He waited to see his sister's reaction, and hoped it was a good one.
"What do you need me to do."
John couldn't believe it. Batman was out again, and everyone thought he was involved with Bane. And Peter Foley decided he would rather catch the Batman than the actual perpetrators. What an idiot. Couldn't anyone see that Batman had been the only thing standing between Gotham and psychotic killers? But no, ever since Harvey Dent everyone believed Batman was evil. He had tried to ask Evan about it, but she changed the subject. He knew her well enough now not to push on the topics she avoided.
So there he was, chasing his hero as if he had done something wrong. Even from his police car, he could see that Batman was helping. But sometimes people were blind to what was in front of them. Which was why it had taken him so long to notice the person in a helmet riding a motorcycle beside him. He was about to point them out to Foley until he saw the person take out a gun. He was in awe as this person made a near perfect shot at one of the criminal's bike and hit the tire. The person sped up and grabbed a hostage and deposited them on the sidewalk and caught back up. This mysterious person took out and saved three more hostages, before he and the other officers caught up to Batman. He noticed that the biker stopped with them and waited to see if they caught him.
He hoped Batman had a plan to get himself out of this. And watched with child like glee as he saw some kind of plane emerge from the dead end they had trapped Batman in. None of the officers were expecting Batman to have a ride like that, which was why he got away. At that point, John wasn't surprised when he spotted a woman with dark hair, and forest green eyes smirk at him from atop her motorcycle.
"I just don't think you're ready." She could tell her brother was getting angrier as she and Alfred were trying to talk him out of going after Bane.
"Have you seen him, he's huge and has a military background. You need to think this through before something bad happens. I know you're upset because he bankrupted you, but please at least think about this."
"I have thought about it, and I thought you'd support me. Good to know I was wrong."
"Come on Bruce, I will not support anything you do if it means your life, and I think this does. Leave it to the cops this time. You've been doing it for eight years and Gotham is okay. Better than okay." She wanted him to get it. She needed him to, because she didn't think she could stand losing him.
"I was grieving, Evan. And sometimes I think you were too. You don't get to talk to me about what I can do. God Evan, he was insane. You wouldn't make a statement, you wouldn't get out of bed. Sometimes you woke up screaming his name. And when you realized he wasn't here you'd cry. What the hell is wrong with you." He screamed the last part at her. He was breathing hard, and ready to yell at her again. Then all of his anger was sucked out of him when he saw her face. She was pale, and he could see so many tears ready to spill from her eyes. He reached for her, and almost cried himself when he saw her flinch away from him. Tears fell from her eyes, and she left.
She had gotten home and showered. She was getting ready for bed when she heard a soft knock on her door. She looked at her face in the mirror and saw her bloodshot eyes. She opened the door almost expecting her brother and was surprised to see Alfred.
"What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" She thought he was going to tell her her brother was dead, or something else along those lines. But she never would have expected this.
"I'm leaving." She felt the tears start to well up in her eyes and tried to force them down.
"Why" she could barely get that one word out.
"Your brother and I feel that it would best." He wanted to reach out to her, and hold her as he'd done when she was a child. But he knew not to anymore.
"When" he could tell she was losing it, and knew she wouldn't want anyone near her when that happened.
"Tonight." He felt the beginning of his own tears and knew he could stay no longer.
"I'll call you with my information when I get settled, that way we can keep in contact." It broke his heart to turn away from her then, without holding her first. But he had seen her strike her brother too many times to make that mistake.
She locked the door after he left and went to bed. And for the first time in a couple of years, she cried herself to sleep. With the weight of her world crumbling on top of her.
