Chapter 2: "Changes in Attitude"
When Dick opened his eyes, he was standing in front of the grandfather clock in Wayne Manor. "Okay…" he said and moved the hands to the certain time that would open the secret passage to the Batcave.
But nothing happened.
"What in the…?" he muttered as he tried again, still to no avail.
"It doesn't work anymore," the figure informed him. "It's been shut off to Bruce Wayne."
He stopped trying to get in. "By who? Who would do that?"
"The new Batman," she said as she walked through a doorway. When Dick followed, he entered what looked like a hotel room.
"What's this?" he asked. "Where are we?"
"France, I believe," she said, stepping out onto the terrace to look at the view.
"And why are we in France?" he asked as the door to the hotel room opened. The figure turned around to see who it was, and nodded.
"Right on time. That's why."
Dick looked to the door and saw three people enter the room: Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne… followed by Barbara Gordon. She was holding Bruce's hand, and he noticed a ring on her finger. Dick's jaw dropped. "What? B-But … how? And Alfred? I thought he quit a while ago."
"Shall I place your bags in the living area, Miss Barbara?" Alfred asked the young woman.
She nodded. "Sure, Alfred."
As Alfred walked into the other room with the packages, the figure turned to Dick. "Alfred never had the chance to quit. In this scenario, by the time Alfred would have become fed up with Bruce-slash-Batman, the new Batman had taken over and hence Alfred had no reason to quit."
"What about Jason? And Tim?"
"Jason Todd went to college and became a lawyer, and Tim Drake is a junior in high school. President of his class. Last week, he was voted Prom King."
Dick saw Bruce take Barbara's other hand and kiss her quickly.
"So where do you want to eat tonight?" Bruce asked her as he held her.
She smiled. "I picked lunch… you pick."
He shook his head. "No… I don't have a preference tonight."
She thought. "Well… I know you've probably had enough of the 'Isn't-that-Bruce-Wayne?' looks today, so how does room service on the terrace sound?"
Bruce smiled. "You know me better than I know myself. I'm lucky to have you," he said to her as he kissed her again.
Dick narrowed his eyes at this. "What about Barbara? She's walking… and is that… is that a… wedding ring?" Dick asked haltingly.
"Barbara is walking because the new Batman… disposed of the Joker before he would have shot her. Some people say that Batman killed the Joker, but there's no real proof of it. However, that's what caused Barbara to stop working with the new Batman. She didn't like the violence he was using. And yes… that is a wedding ring. This is their honeymoon, in fact. Mrs. Barbara Gordon-Wayne."
"So everything's just hunky-dory in her life, isn't it? Everyone's just so much better now," Dick spat out bitterly.
The figure shook her head. "Not exactly. See, when Bruce just said that he was lucky to have her… he wasn't exaggerating. Since the new Batman took over, Barbara's been keeping Bruce sane… grounded. He gets very depressed now, feeling like he has no purpose in life anymore. He's even started taking anti-depressant medication, which you know is something he would never have done before. And while she has basically been taking care of him, he fell in love with her. She didn't want to hurt him, or send him into another depression, so she agreed to marry him. It's not a marriage of love… although she does love him… she always has, even in real life, but that love is more as a brother, a protector, a close friend. She's only doing this for him."
"But what about us?!" Dick shouted. "I always thought we broke up because I left town. Why did she chose him over me?"
The figure paused. "You still haven't figured it out yet, have you?"
"Figured what out?" Dick asked, pained.
The figure shook her head and walked, taking him into the Batcave. "Look," she said pointing at the chair in which Batman was sitting. "Take a good long look at the person who drove everything apart."
Dick walked over, staring at this new Batman sitting there in full cape and cowl, typing at the computer. After a moment, the Batman let out a disgruntled sigh and took the cowl off. Dick was almost sick at what he saw.
Sitting there in the chair… the new Batman… the one who had locked Bruce Wayne out of the Cave… the one who had driven Barbara away from fighting… the one who had killed the Joker… he saw this new Batman's face and recognized it at once.
"It's…. me."
The figure nodded sadly.
"I did all that? How?" he asked in a small voice. "What happened to me?"
"You didn't become Nightwing or leave town, but the rift between you and Batman still grew. It grew ever larger until you finally forced him out, taking over the mantle of the bat for yourself. Barbara stayed with you for a while, but you inherited Bruce's obsession along with the job. She was unhappy the entire time, and when you killed the Joker, that was the last straw for her. She left you to spend more time with Bruce, taking care of him. And now you sit here, locked in the cave day and night. You live here now. You have no life other than this." She walked away from him. "And you always said you were nothing like Bruce."
"I don't like this!" he yelled, running after her.
She turned back to him. "Why not? Alfred still has a job, Jason and Tim are both still alive and well and normal people. Bruce is actually married to someone who cares for him and Barbara has the easy life ahead of her. What's wrong with it?"
"I'm not happy," he said softly, and hung his head.
"Then make another choice," she said.
He raised his head and was back in the hospital room again. He thought carefully. "What if… what if I had never become Robin? What if I had been taken in by Bruce and just never discovered the cave… never took on the cape?"
"You think this would make you happy?"
He nodded. "Maybe."
"Then let's see."
