My ribs were cracked, not broken. Mom chewed out Mr. Wayne pretty good when she and Matt showed up at the hospital. I don't know what he said happened, but I could hear her through the door.
"What do you do to him over there? Beat
him with your cane?" she yelled.
Matt came waltzing into the room and jumped on the
bed, right on top of my stomach.
"Get off!" I snapped, shoving him to the floor.
I gasped for air, and Matt just watched quietly, his
beady little eyes peeking over the side of the bed.
"You're really hurt, huh?" he asked, in a more cautious
way.
"Yes," I said firmly.
He crawled back up on the bed, but slower and didn't
try to sit on me. "Mr. Wayne says you slipped on the stairs," he
said, quietly.
"Yeah, I did," I said, leaning back against the pillow.
"Mom's going to make you quit," he said, trying to
hide his eagerness. Didn't quite work.
"What?! She can't do that!" I said, struggling
to sit up.
Just then, Mom came into the room. She sat on
the edge of the bed. "The doctors say you're going to be fine.
All you need is a few day's rest," she said, smoothing my hair.
"Yeah, I heard already," I muttered.
Matt was just waiting for Mom to tell me off.
He was quivering like a terrier.
"Matt, honey, go outside," she said sweetly to him.
"But Moommm," he whined.
"Now."
He grumbled and left. I grinned.
Mom got my attention again by straightening up and
folding her hands in her lap. "I would like you to quit your job,"
she said.
I closed my eyes and tried to hide my disappointment.
I couldn't quit. Even if I had to sneak out every night…
"But I'm not going to force you to do anything," she
finished.
I opened my eyes again and stared at her.
"I don't pretend to understand everything, but I do
understand what this job means to you," she said. Her eyes got a
far away look, and she said, "He was very much like you."
"You mean Dad?" I said, straining to meet her gaze.
"Of course," she said briskly, smiling and patting
my hand. I started to say something, but she cut me off. "Matt
and I will come back another time. You need your rest." She
gave my hand a squeeze and left me alone to my thoughts.
I furrowed my brow. Had
she meant Dad?
Or was there someone else?
Max came by later with my homework. "Hey," she
said, sitting down.
"Hey," I answered.
"You don't look so shway."
"Don't feel so shway." Is there a point coming
up sometime soon, or are you here to make me feel better?
"The whole school's talking about how you broke up
with Dana," she said, carefully.
Oh. So that's it. I nodded, trying to
push the emptiness away again.
"Did you really jump out the window?" she asked suddenly,
leaning forward.
"What?!"
She shrugged. "Someone started a rumor that
you were depressed and jumped out the window, and that's why you're in
the hospital."
"No, I was working," I said, disgusted.
"Must have been some bad guy," she said, looking
over the bandages.
"Splicer."
She nodded understandingly. "What was he after?"
"Anti-psychotics."
"You serious?" she said, laughing.
I nodded.
She stopped laughing. "You want me to see what
I can dig up?" she asked.
"Wayne's already working on it. I want you to
look into something else for me."
"Sure."
"I want you to find out everything you can about my
mom."
"Your mom?" she said, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah. She said something kind of strange to
me earlier."
She gave me a puzzled, worried look.
"Please, Max," I insisted.
"Okay, I'll check it out," she said, standing up slowly
like I was a mental patient that might start howling and drooling any second.
"Thanks. Hey, Max."
She turned back around.
"I really don't expect you to find anything," I said,
to reassure her.
She nodded and left.
*****************************************************************************
The instructions of Daniel's employer were very specific,
and it was insisted that they be followed to the letter. Daniel had
no disagreements. Precision was what he was paid for.
The first step on the list was easily accomplished.
Even the employer's irritating "No splices. Continuous links only,"
was accommodated without undue difficulty, even though there were individuals
passing all around as he worked. After all, no one questioned what
he or she didn't see.
Daniel thought quietly to himself as he worked.
The employer continued to express nervousness at the possibility of Batman
interfering. Daniel did not share his concerns. The mechanical
suit Batman wore was designed to take punishment. The man himself
was not. As long as Daniel continued to get his daily dosage, there
was no cause for concern, given the success he had with his first encounter.
If he exhausted his supply of chemicals, there were alternatives to Wayne-Powers
for restocking.
He tightened a clip, completing the circuit.
A precaution for his employer's sake, nothing more. He did not fear
another encounter with Batman.
He closed the panel. Batman. Batman…
reminded
him of someone, someone he once knew well.
Daniel put his tools away thoughtfully. He ordinarily had little time or patience for remembrances. He searched his brain for the exact memory, but it eluded him, as did most memories not related to his work. It was odd, but not worthy of concern. He jumped down from his perch and melted into the crowd.
*********************************************************************************
I was back in school two days later. Everyone
was really supportive.
Except for Nelson. "Hey, McGuinness! You
look like slag run over twice!" he yelled in the hall as I was walking
to class. But I was kind of expecting that.
"I went looking for that thing you asked me about,"
Max said first period as I sat down.
"And?"
"Clean. Your mom's maiden name was Archer, born
and raised in Gotham, she married your dad eighteen years ago and divorced
him sixteen years after that."
"That's it? Nothing else?"
"That's it." I sighed.
I was hoping for something a little more helpful.
An ex-boyfriend, anything. "Guess I was just being paranoid," I said
wryly.
"Hey, it's okay. Anything to help out a friend,"
Max said cheerfully.
"Have you talked to Dana?" I asked.
Max stiffened a little. "Yeah. She seems okay."
I nodded. "Good."
Max said softly, "Did you even try to tell her?"
"What was I going to say, Max? Besides, Wayne would have killed me."
"I found out, and we're both still breathing."
"That's because you found out on your own. It's not the same as me telling you."
"Oh. Okay," Max said, skeptically.
"Look, even if I told her she'd never understand. She needs someone normal," I said insistently. I picked at the edge of my notebook. "She deserves someone normal," I finished, quietly. But I think Max heard me anyway.
********************************************************************************
"First step completed," Daniel said, standing in the office of his employer.
"Excellent. No trouble?"
"None."
"And the side project?"
"The door mechanism has been adjusted."
"Good."
"Entry to the facility was slightly more difficult than anticipated."
The employer waved him off.
"You'll be compensated. How are you coming with the codes?"
"I am retrieving the appropriate equipment tonight. An acceptable number of entry passwords should be in my possession within forty-eight hours."
"Thank God," Daniel's employer said, wiping off sweat with a handkerchief.
Daniel was slightly amused by the nervous behavior.
"You have external pressures I should be aware of?"
"No. Just do your job," the employer snapped.
Daniel gave a little nod. "Of course," he said, gliding silently out. He gave a small nod and smile to his employer's child on the way out, who was watching him from the top of the stairs.
Back in the office, the employer looked over the computer screen, which displayed a grid schematic for the entire city of Gotham. Except for a few scattered buildings that remained yellow, the entire grid was outlined in blue. The schematic heading read: Tags for kill switch activated. Redundant systems compromised.
*********************************************************************************
"You awake?" Wayne's voice asked over the comm, breaking into my thoughts.
"Yeah. Yeah, I was just thinking," I answered.
"Try and stay focused."
"Right," I said, stretching. I had caught a few muggers and broken up another fight between the Jokerz and some kids from school at Rhino's Chili, but not much else was going on. "Kind of hoping our friend was going to show up again," I said, disappointed. He had embarrassed me, and I wanted another crack at him.
"You may be in luck," Wayne said.
I perked up.
"Security system just went down at Fox-tech artificial intelligence labs," he continued.
I grinned. "On my way," I said, trying to keep
the excitement out of my voice.
I made it there in record time. Black costume was still there, calmly loading a state of the art prototype computer into his bag.
"I don't think that belongs to you," I said from my
perch.
He wasn't even startled. "I was hoping all the bat-children were tucked safe in bed at this hour. Especially the injured ones," he replied, looking me over carefully. I knew he was trying to figure out if I was fit to fight.
"Happy to disappoint you," I snapped, irritated.
"I don't suppose I could convince you to let me walk out of here," he replied, setting his bag down.
"Not in this lifetime," I said, dropping down to the floor.
"Oh, well. I tried," he said, right before he lunged.
I took a step back, and he went flat on his stomach. He jumped up again as quick as he could and studied me. I couldn't keep a smirk off my face. He swung. I stepped to one side. He swung again. I stepped to the other side. He swung both hands at me. I blasted off into the air. I was feeling pretty smug. Then something slammed into my sore ribs, throwing my jet heels out in front of me and driving me hard into the wall.
"I jump," Black costume said mildly, with one hand
holding onto the rafters, the other holding onto my shirt.
"Kind of guessed that," I said coldly, glaring.
He nodded, slammed me hard against the wall once, and let me go as he dove off the wall for his bag. I saw spots for a second, but managed to activate my jet boots and go after him. I got there first, and grabbed the bag. He tried to take my feet out from under me, but I took off again and tossed a bat-a-rang with a cable. It whipped tight around his arms and legs, and he hopped up and down a couple of times before crashing to the ground. I landed and watched him for a second. He struggled, but couldn't move.
"Enjoy your visit with the cops," I said smugly, as I put the computer back and left. I called it in on my way home.
**********************************************************************************
Daniel smiled to himself as Batman left. He wiggled around a little until he got part of the cable in his fingers. He pulled hard. The cable snapped, and the rest of it fell away. He stood up, brushed himself off, and picked up the computer. Sad that Batman fell for it, really, that was one of the oldest tricks in the book.
Daniel left by the same window as Batman and followed him from rooftop to rooftop across the city. A few more miscellaneous criminals captured, then Batman went in another direction. Daniel didn't bother to free them, anyone that idiotic deserves to get apprehended.
Batman flew in through an apartment window, landed,
and pulled off his mask. Daniel smiled. It was a kid, just
as he'd suspected. He committed the face to memory, made a note to
find out who he was, and turned to leave. Certainly his employer
would find the information valuable, for resale if not for personal use.
If the kid made himself a nuisance again, Daniel now had plenty of options
for convincing him to walk away. He had a whole household full of
options, perhaps a whole school full.
Chapter 3 is coming...
