Alright kids, I gotta warn you. A lot of psycho-babble in this
chapter. One of the challenges I wanted to undertake in this story is to
allow Xavier to examine Batman and figure out what makes him tick. J'onn
has tried, but he lacks a knowledge of the human experience, which Xavier
has. I want to see what he would come up with.
***************************************************
The collected group of X-Men and Titans beamed down to the Batcave, and then sent the respective teams to each of their locations. Beast headed upstairs to the manor to do a preliminary search of the premises, while Cyborg began to integrate with the Batcomputer. Damage wandered off among the trophies, prevented from going upstairs to protect Batman's identity. Professor Xavier wheeled up to the young hero, who was currently admiring the mechanical dinosaur.
"Truly remarkable. Where did Batman gain this?" asked Xavier.
"I don't know sir," replied Damage. "It was before my time. But I'll tell you, this whole cave? Here on this earth, this is pretty much on every superhero's list to go to. The Watchtower, the Batcave, and Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Man, this is amazing."
"You seem to have a lot of respect for the man," probed Charles Xavier. Professor X did not know the man, although he was able to attempt to probe his mind when he and his colleagues had liberated Ryker's Island. Rarely had Xavier encountered such a dark mind, full of fear, hatred, and anger. Yet, he also felt love, concern, hope, and with such intensity that it almost overwhelmed him. The contrasts in the man was startling, so much so that Xavier had fled the hero's mind. The psychologist inside of Xavier wished to learn from Batman, to understand him. If he couldn't do it using telepathy, then Xavier would have to use his other gifts and training.
"You bet," said Damage. "You met him once, right? Yeah, thought you did. Batman is the guy who always has it together. Who always knows what to do, how to do it, and has what is necessary to pull if off. They say he is just a normal guy, well I don't know about that. His ability to just appear, his knowledge, well I don't know.
"But I know that when Batman walks into a room everyone pays attention to him. Everyone respects him. They may fear him, but they all respect him."
Xavier nodded and said "You feel you are not respected? You are a member of a team..."
Damage raised his hands and said, "Well I don't mean it that way. The Titans are great. Better than great. They always respect me and listen to what I have to say. And most of the heroes that I have ever run across, they have all been great people, and have treated me wonderfully. But Batman is differnt.
"Heroes are loners and leaders. They have to be. They have to command the scene and organize whatever is necessary to save the day. You need to have a bit of ego there. But there are a few who can walk into a room of heroes and with a look, get them to do what needs to be done without the others raising questions. Superman is one. Batman is another. Heck, most of the Justice League is like that. But there are a few others outside of that. Nightwing? The one who is normally the leader of the Titans and is Batman's kind-of-sort-of son? He is another. Robin, Batman's sidekick, is too with the younger generation. I guess that's why you guys are here, to help them."
"You have a lot of respect for these gentlemen," said Xavier. "Having talked to you, I can sense that you are intelligent young man, and a fine hero. If you have respect for them, I can tell they are probably great men."
"Oh me?" blushed the young hero. "Thanks, but I am not even in the same stratosphere as those guys. The reason I am staying in the cave instead of going on any other mission is cause I don't have great control over my powers. One time, I accidentally destroyed half of Atlanta because of my powers. If it hadn't been that one time I helped to save existence..." Xavier raised his eyebrow. "It is a really long story," continued Damage. "But those guys. Superman, Batman, Nightwing, they have such great control over themselves and everything else. That's why everyone follows them. Superman, Nightwing, and Robin, you'll follow them, and feel good about yourself doing it. They are nice and polite.
"But Batman. Batman terrifies you. He scares you, and you fear letting him down. You are scared about what he'll do. But he's always right."
Professor Xavier nodded, "Thank you, Damage. You have provided me a lot of material to understand Batman. Maybe it will help."
"Sure." As Professor X wheeled away, Damage yelled after him. "Professor Xavier? My name is Grant, Grant Emerson."
The leader of the X-men turned to face the young hero and said, "Thank you Grant. I appreciate that."
Charles Xavier then retreated into his own thoughts. Grant's thoughts on Batman reinforced the initial impressions he had of the Bat. He was a man who pushed himself to the limits of human capabilities. Damage couldn't be certain about Batman's abilites regarding powers, but Batman, while a gifted human to be sure, had no powers that allowed him to fly, or granted him superstrength.
Batman's singular determination was a given, but was not unique to him. He was highly intelligent, and athletic, but again that was not inconceivable. What had happened to him, what had shaped him? These were the questions that Professor Xavier had to answer. The more embroiled Xavier became in this question of the Batman, the more intrigued he became.
The Beast loped down the stairs, carrying a book and two pictures and walked towards Xavier. "I believe that this is what you were looking for, Professor."
"Thank you, Hank."
The first picture was of a happy couple and their young son, all smiling. While the picture was slightly faded, you could tell it was a family, as the young boy and the man shared the same blue eyes, black hair and facial features.
The second was of a group of people. There was an older man in his thirties, that looked very similar to the man in the other photo, but the eyes were harder, the face sterner. Also in the picture was an older bald man who was very obviously a gentleman based on his dress and stature, standing next to a very pretty girl who was in a ...wheel chair. "Interesting," whispered Xavier. On the other side of the thirty-year old man were two younger men, with similar eye and hair color as the thirty year old but much younger, and not nearly as stern. Plastered on their face were goofy grins as they gave each other bunny ears. Finally, off to the side was a very pretty Asian girl, slightly younger than the youngest male, with a very intent look in her eyes and a blank look on her face.
Charles Xavier then turned his attention to the book. Flipping through the pages, he learned the story of one Bruce Wayne, from his birth, to the tragic death of his parents, to his exemplary marks in a variety of schools at extremely young ages. Then, after age 18, the book cut off, not offering any further answers. Xavier stared intently at a picture of a younger Bruce, taken shortly after his parents' death.
"So Bruce Wayne, one of this earth's wealthiest patrons, is Batman," remarked Xavier to himself. "Remarkable. He must have started training everyday after his parents' death for this. He must have honed his skills to perfection to pursue this. My God, where did he get these ideas from at such an early age? Where did he get such drive?"
"Hank," Xavier said turning to his friend. "Could you describe for me the domicile above us?"
"Of course," began the Beast. "It was a mansion, but one that is much more luxurious than ours. If our histories correlate enough, and I think they do, Mr. Wayne has a lot of priceless artifacts adorning his hallways. Decadence everywhere. But it appeared to me to be very cold, very formulaic. In the light of day, I am sure it appears quite opulent, however in the dark the shapes and forms are quite stark. It lacks warmth, substance, and a sense of importance. In short, it's a shell. A pretty shell, but nothing more."
"Curiouser and curiouser," murmured Xavier. "Thank you Hank. Your help has once again proven invaluable."
Xavier began to move around the cave, half-heartedly looking at the various cases and exhibits, until he rolled along side one containing a uniform. "In Memory of Jason Todd, ROBIN, A Good Soldier." Xavier sat there for a while staring at the plaque. So it became obvious that the current Robin was not the one and only. There had been others. Yet another wrinkle to an already complicated situation. So many psychoses, so little time. Xavier felt that there was a common thread, a perspective that would illuminate what was going on in the Bat's head, and he felt that he had to find it.
Cause Xavier had a hunch that understanding the Bat would help in his search, and if necessary, his liberation.
The collected group of X-Men and Titans beamed down to the Batcave, and then sent the respective teams to each of their locations. Beast headed upstairs to the manor to do a preliminary search of the premises, while Cyborg began to integrate with the Batcomputer. Damage wandered off among the trophies, prevented from going upstairs to protect Batman's identity. Professor Xavier wheeled up to the young hero, who was currently admiring the mechanical dinosaur.
"Truly remarkable. Where did Batman gain this?" asked Xavier.
"I don't know sir," replied Damage. "It was before my time. But I'll tell you, this whole cave? Here on this earth, this is pretty much on every superhero's list to go to. The Watchtower, the Batcave, and Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Man, this is amazing."
"You seem to have a lot of respect for the man," probed Charles Xavier. Professor X did not know the man, although he was able to attempt to probe his mind when he and his colleagues had liberated Ryker's Island. Rarely had Xavier encountered such a dark mind, full of fear, hatred, and anger. Yet, he also felt love, concern, hope, and with such intensity that it almost overwhelmed him. The contrasts in the man was startling, so much so that Xavier had fled the hero's mind. The psychologist inside of Xavier wished to learn from Batman, to understand him. If he couldn't do it using telepathy, then Xavier would have to use his other gifts and training.
"You bet," said Damage. "You met him once, right? Yeah, thought you did. Batman is the guy who always has it together. Who always knows what to do, how to do it, and has what is necessary to pull if off. They say he is just a normal guy, well I don't know about that. His ability to just appear, his knowledge, well I don't know.
"But I know that when Batman walks into a room everyone pays attention to him. Everyone respects him. They may fear him, but they all respect him."
Xavier nodded and said "You feel you are not respected? You are a member of a team..."
Damage raised his hands and said, "Well I don't mean it that way. The Titans are great. Better than great. They always respect me and listen to what I have to say. And most of the heroes that I have ever run across, they have all been great people, and have treated me wonderfully. But Batman is differnt.
"Heroes are loners and leaders. They have to be. They have to command the scene and organize whatever is necessary to save the day. You need to have a bit of ego there. But there are a few who can walk into a room of heroes and with a look, get them to do what needs to be done without the others raising questions. Superman is one. Batman is another. Heck, most of the Justice League is like that. But there are a few others outside of that. Nightwing? The one who is normally the leader of the Titans and is Batman's kind-of-sort-of son? He is another. Robin, Batman's sidekick, is too with the younger generation. I guess that's why you guys are here, to help them."
"You have a lot of respect for these gentlemen," said Xavier. "Having talked to you, I can sense that you are intelligent young man, and a fine hero. If you have respect for them, I can tell they are probably great men."
"Oh me?" blushed the young hero. "Thanks, but I am not even in the same stratosphere as those guys. The reason I am staying in the cave instead of going on any other mission is cause I don't have great control over my powers. One time, I accidentally destroyed half of Atlanta because of my powers. If it hadn't been that one time I helped to save existence..." Xavier raised his eyebrow. "It is a really long story," continued Damage. "But those guys. Superman, Batman, Nightwing, they have such great control over themselves and everything else. That's why everyone follows them. Superman, Nightwing, and Robin, you'll follow them, and feel good about yourself doing it. They are nice and polite.
"But Batman. Batman terrifies you. He scares you, and you fear letting him down. You are scared about what he'll do. But he's always right."
Professor Xavier nodded, "Thank you, Damage. You have provided me a lot of material to understand Batman. Maybe it will help."
"Sure." As Professor X wheeled away, Damage yelled after him. "Professor Xavier? My name is Grant, Grant Emerson."
The leader of the X-men turned to face the young hero and said, "Thank you Grant. I appreciate that."
Charles Xavier then retreated into his own thoughts. Grant's thoughts on Batman reinforced the initial impressions he had of the Bat. He was a man who pushed himself to the limits of human capabilities. Damage couldn't be certain about Batman's abilites regarding powers, but Batman, while a gifted human to be sure, had no powers that allowed him to fly, or granted him superstrength.
Batman's singular determination was a given, but was not unique to him. He was highly intelligent, and athletic, but again that was not inconceivable. What had happened to him, what had shaped him? These were the questions that Professor Xavier had to answer. The more embroiled Xavier became in this question of the Batman, the more intrigued he became.
The Beast loped down the stairs, carrying a book and two pictures and walked towards Xavier. "I believe that this is what you were looking for, Professor."
"Thank you, Hank."
The first picture was of a happy couple and their young son, all smiling. While the picture was slightly faded, you could tell it was a family, as the young boy and the man shared the same blue eyes, black hair and facial features.
The second was of a group of people. There was an older man in his thirties, that looked very similar to the man in the other photo, but the eyes were harder, the face sterner. Also in the picture was an older bald man who was very obviously a gentleman based on his dress and stature, standing next to a very pretty girl who was in a ...wheel chair. "Interesting," whispered Xavier. On the other side of the thirty-year old man were two younger men, with similar eye and hair color as the thirty year old but much younger, and not nearly as stern. Plastered on their face were goofy grins as they gave each other bunny ears. Finally, off to the side was a very pretty Asian girl, slightly younger than the youngest male, with a very intent look in her eyes and a blank look on her face.
Charles Xavier then turned his attention to the book. Flipping through the pages, he learned the story of one Bruce Wayne, from his birth, to the tragic death of his parents, to his exemplary marks in a variety of schools at extremely young ages. Then, after age 18, the book cut off, not offering any further answers. Xavier stared intently at a picture of a younger Bruce, taken shortly after his parents' death.
"So Bruce Wayne, one of this earth's wealthiest patrons, is Batman," remarked Xavier to himself. "Remarkable. He must have started training everyday after his parents' death for this. He must have honed his skills to perfection to pursue this. My God, where did he get these ideas from at such an early age? Where did he get such drive?"
"Hank," Xavier said turning to his friend. "Could you describe for me the domicile above us?"
"Of course," began the Beast. "It was a mansion, but one that is much more luxurious than ours. If our histories correlate enough, and I think they do, Mr. Wayne has a lot of priceless artifacts adorning his hallways. Decadence everywhere. But it appeared to me to be very cold, very formulaic. In the light of day, I am sure it appears quite opulent, however in the dark the shapes and forms are quite stark. It lacks warmth, substance, and a sense of importance. In short, it's a shell. A pretty shell, but nothing more."
"Curiouser and curiouser," murmured Xavier. "Thank you Hank. Your help has once again proven invaluable."
Xavier began to move around the cave, half-heartedly looking at the various cases and exhibits, until he rolled along side one containing a uniform. "In Memory of Jason Todd, ROBIN, A Good Soldier." Xavier sat there for a while staring at the plaque. So it became obvious that the current Robin was not the one and only. There had been others. Yet another wrinkle to an already complicated situation. So many psychoses, so little time. Xavier felt that there was a common thread, a perspective that would illuminate what was going on in the Bat's head, and he felt that he had to find it.
Cause Xavier had a hunch that understanding the Bat would help in his search, and if necessary, his liberation.