Entering the corporate headquarters of Wayne Enterprises later that morning, Bruce briefly wondered if the stress of both his jobs was starting to get to him. Almost every time he glanced around, he had to restrain himself from jumping at what appeared to be dangerous situations that no one else was reacting to. A man about to cut his own fingers off with scissors, another one being strangled by his tie, a woman setting a plant on fire... It just kept going on and on. For a moment in the elevator, Bruce would have sworn they were suddenly dropping to their deaths - but neither of the employees standing in front of him appeared scared in the slightest. Biting his tongue, he waited until the door opened with a ding and the pair continued onwards before he allowed a relieved gasp out.
First thing this evening, he was getting some extra sleep. And if the odd hallucinations continued after that, he'd do a blood test.
In the meantime, though, there was paperwork Bruce needed to look over and projects to give his approval on, as well as some behind the scenes assets for Batman's work that needed to be hidden within the company's accounts. He never looked forward to the tasks, but they were necessary for keeping both sides of his life running smoothly.
Bruce opened up the door to his private office, only to freeze when a scowling apparition of his father glared at him from the middle of the room.
"Mr. Wayne...?" Snapping his gaze around to stare at the secretary, Bruce blinked at her concerned expression.
"Yes, what was that?" He apologized.
"I was told that Mr. Fox was asking for you to come by the R&D department in an hour, if that's alright?"
"Ah, of course." The ghost in his office had vanished, so Bruce gave her a charming smile and nodded before stepping into the office and closing the door behind him. Sagging against it, he distantly wondered what it would be like to stay in Arkham for a while.
-C-
When Dick somersaulted out of the elevator into the Cave that evening after finishing his homework, Bruce was seated at the computer and staring intently at something on the screen.
"Are we going to head out soon, or...?" When his mentor showed no signs of having heard him, the boy sighed and jumped up to crouch on the back of Bruce's chair. Then he held onto the man's shoulders as he leaned forward to look upside down into the narrowed eyes. "Bruuuce!"
Jerking with a startled gasp, the man nearly threw his young partner to the ground with his motion. "Dick! What are you doing? Be careful!" Grabbing onto the boy, Bruce cautiously lowered him onto the floor, acting as if Dick would shatter in his grip.
"Seriously? You do realize I do things like that all the time, right?"
"...Right." Rubbing furiously at his eyes, the man looked like he was approaching exhaustion.
"So, what were you concentrating on that's got you in such a weird mood?" Silently, Bruce directed his attention to the computer screen. Dick blinked as he took in the tests being run on a blood sample, all coming back saying their was some unidentified substance multiplying within. "Huh. Who does the sample belong to?"
"Me."
The boy's head snapped back around to stare at him, so fast it almost hurt. "WHAT?!"
"I've been having hallucinations since early this morning, Dick, and they're only getting more complex and frequent. A moment ago, it looked to me like you were shaking like a leaf and about to keel over."
"...Oh. That's... That's not good." He frowned, arms coming up to cross over his middle. "What are we going to do about it?"
Sighing, Bruce had to force himself to outline the plan. "I'm not going to be able to go out on patrol until we figure out how to counteract whatever poison is in my veins. So, while I do everything I can here to figure out who our mystery man was and where he might have gone, I'll need you and Batgirl to do the fieldwork while keeping up our regular patrols."
If the situation weren't so dire, Dick might have whooped from the excitement of he and Barbara protecting the whole city all by themselves. As it was, he merely nodded, ready to start going over the clues with Bruce. Before that, though, he launched himself forward the hug the man.
Startled, Bruce reflexively held the worried boy in return, neither willing to contemplate what might happen if they couldn't reverse the situation.
-C-
"-But how the heck did that stuff get in his bloodstream?" Batgirl protested as she and Robin moved across Gotham's rooftops.
"He thinks it might have been the dust from when he first dropped down into the basement. Considering how long Dent said this guy had been set up down there, it would have been plenty of time to rig a boobytrap for anyone who came to bother him."
"So, this creep probably has more of the same sort of thing stashed away. Great."
"That's why B told us to keep the oxygen masks on or nearby at all times." Robin informed her, flipping as he leapt from one building to another. "And also to be really, really careful."
"Well, he'd say that last part even if we were just on a regular patrol, and not after some fear-toxin-making nutjob."
"True." Catching sight of how pensive the kid looked, Batgirl sighed and slid to a stop.
When Robin backtracked to stand beside her, confused, the teen took hold of his shoulders in a reassuring grip. "We'll catch this guy, Rob. And we'll make sure Batman comes out of it just fine."
He offered her a weak smile. "Thanks. And I know. I just wish it wasn't him who'd gotten infected, y'know?"
"Oh, so you're wishing it was me instead?" Batgirl clasped both hands over her heart as she pretended to groan in despair. "Some friend you turned out to be!" Robin laughed at her, and the pair enjoyed a few moments of lightheartedness. Then they returned to seriousness as their patrol continued.
