Chapter 3
Kyoko: Hi-dee-ho peoples! It's your bat-obsessed authoress here, high off her BTAS DVD set and ready with a new chapter.
Aki: WHEE CHAPTER 3!
Kyoko: (shakes head) That's my constantly sugar high little sister, more formerly known to you as Andy Quinn. Go read her stories; she's got some Batman Beyond stuff and some anime that are really good. That was my shout-out. And here is Chapter three. Still more to come, hope you're enjoying it! By the way, the sequel has been posted! It is entitled "Shadows". Read it ASAP!
…
I returned to find Gail having a one-sided conversation with my unconscious friend.
"…You should have heard her after she first saw you. She was gushing like a bad heart transplant!"
"GAIL!" I shouted angrily, stomping towards her after I slammed the door shut.
"Oh. Hiya." She grinned sheepishly, as if she hadn't been spilling my lifetime's worth of secrets to the Batman.
"Would you cut it out!" I shrieked.
"Whaaat? He's unconscious! Plus, I got bored reading him your diary…"
A vein began to throb on my forehead.
"You…read him…MY DIARY?"
Gail exploded into laughter and choked out, "I was just kidding, Anita!"
Counting to ten would not be enough. Maybe a billion.
I slowed my breathing and scowled, crossing my arms to offset the pink flush on my cheeks.
"I am so not going to get anything done around here if you keep making jokes." She smiled good-naturedly at me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Okay, okay, I'll try to stop teasing you. I'm sorry. I only told him a little. Besides, he's not going anywhere or telling anybody." She grabbed the second bag, which I had labeled for her, and her purse, heading for the door.
I blinked.
"Where are you going?"
"Gotta go save our asses up at the hospital. I'm overdue. I'll try to get you off for a few days if I can."
I smiled. "Thanks, Gail."
She winked. "Use protection."
"GAIL!"
…
Night…
I checked Batman's pulse and temperature. They were both back to normal. I sighed and pulled the stethoscope from around my neck.
"Well, good news is, you should be fine. I just wish you'd wake up…so I could get some sleep…and stop feeling so awkward…"I muttered lowly with a blush. I sat on the edge of the side and it just watched him. I wondered who he was. Where did he come from? Why did he fight?
I shook my head. No. It was none my business. I glanced at his chest and noticed the scars…in the worst sense.
His skin was warm and soft under my hand. The muscles beneath were firm and in perfect physical condition without going over into scary bodybuilder physique. I leaned over him, fascinated. I murmured the body parts as my fingertips went over them.
"Abdominal muscles…ribcage…sternum…collarbone…throat…"
My hand stroked his chin softly, my voice even softer.
"Mandible…"
His breath was soft on my lips.
"Lips…"
The telephone rang. I jumped like I'd been shot and realized how close I was to him, how close I'd come to…
I shook my head frantically and went for the phone.
"Hello?"
"Good evening, sweetheart."
Shock filled my throat, then anger.
"Roger…"
He chuckled in that filthy, low voice of his that sent cold shivers down my spine.
"Nice to hear from you too, Anita." He sneered mockingly.
"What do you want?" I demanded.
"You know the answer to that question."
"Go to-"
"-Hey, hey, why so hostile, sweet cheeks? It hasn't been that long since I've seen you."
"Not long enough." I growled through clenched teeth.
"Always a hard case. My boys'll be there to pick up the money in a little while. See you soon."
I slammed the laughing phone down on the receiver and fumed. That creep…
Something tightened in my throat and the world went blurry for a second.
Batman made a noise.
I turned towards him, heart racing. His breathing was shallower, indicating he was out of deep slumber. A small groan came softly from low in his throat. He was regaining consciousness. My joy was short lived as heavy knock rattled my door. Uh oh. Roger's goons.
Quickly, I shuffled through my purse, pulled the bills from my change purse and hurried to the door, praying silently that they would take the money and go.
I opened the door enough to get through and shut it behind me, hand on the doorknob. Bruno and Dozer leered down at me, six-foot frames nearly filling up the entire hallway.
"Evening, Anita." Dozer grinned unpleasantly. I couldn't keep the anger off my face as I shoved the wad of bills in his outstretched hand.
"Here. That's the month's payment; two grand, now beat it." I snarled. Dozer chuckled darkly as he pocketed the cash and leaned in towards me, hands on either side of my head, trapping me with the door.
"Whassa matter? You don't look too happy to see us."
I narrowed my eyes. "Your own mother wouldn't be happy to see you."
The first signs of anger flickered across his beady eyes. Okay, maybe it wasn't smart to piss off a guy three times my size. My bad.
"Yeah, but Mr. Roger wouldn't mind seeing you," Bruno added nastily. I glared at him.
"You've got your money, now get out of here." I spat, trying to pull the door open enough to slide inside.
"Hey, what's the rush? You got somethin' hot going on in there?"
Panic rose up in my body as he stepped back to open the door, taking me with it.
"No! Now go away!"
The evil grin on his stupid face grew wider and he pushed me aside, yanking the door open and going inside. I waited to hear him gasp, maybe even a gunshot, but nothing happened. I went in.
Batman was gone.
I closed my mouth and glared at them both. "See? Now get out."
Dozer examined the used bandage roll on my dresser.
"You been getting' it rough, huh, babe?"
I slapped him. He recovered and backhanded me into the bed. The pain was sharp on my cheek. He closed in to finish the job but Bruno grabbed his shoulder. "Leave her. The boss wants us back pronto. C'mon."
Dozer glared and muttered something murderous under his breath but followed him out, slamming my door. I cradled my cheek for a second until the pain went away, then glanced around the room.
Where was Batman?
I sighed and tears gathered in my eyes. Gone. Just like every other man in my life. I grabbed my nightgown and took off my dress, tossing it at the foot of my still-rumpled bed. The high heels came off next and I pulled the nightgown over my head.
"Who were they?"
I gasped and whirled around. Batman, still clutching his injured side, emerged from the shadows behind me.
"How…where…"
Words weren't coming out right a fiery blush crawled up my cheeks.
"How long have you been standing there?"
Something similar to a smirk touched his lips.
"Long enough."
I crossed my arms and frowned at him, then turned away, picking up my dress.
"I've heard that you're crazy and murderer, but never a pervert."
I glowered, still trying to wrap my mind around what he'd meant.
"You didn't answer my question." I went past to the closet, trying to ignore him, but how can you ignore a six-foot-two, shirtless, injured man in your room?
"You shouldn't be standing. Your body's still weak." I said, ushering him towards the bed. He narrowed his eyes at me but sat. I went to the kitchen, poured some already made tea in a mug, and went back to find him struggling into the top half of his costume.
"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, slamming the mug down on the nightstand.
"How long have I been out?" I frowned harder.
"Two days. You can't possibly be going out in this state! You'll be a bloody spot on the street if you try to fight in this condition!" I handed him the tea and was gratified to see him at least drink some. I crossed my arms and glared at him.
"Who were those two men? Hired thugs of your ex-husband?"
I couldn't keep the shock off of my face. So much for denial.
"How…did…?"
I frowned. "Exactly how long have you been conscious?"
He didn't answer, just stared at intensely.
My shoulders slumped. He wasn't going to give up anytime soon. I picked up the picture frame beside my bed and handed it to him. It was a picture of me, two years ago, at my wedding.
"His name is Roger Thomas, my ex-husband. I met him at a bar further in town called The Wild Safari. He was a bartender, young, handsome, and we started dating. Well, we fell in love and got married. He got a better job working under Rupert Throne. From there, everything went wrong."
"He started coming home later, with more money, more bruises, and more perfume than I ever wore. I tried to talk to him about it but he just shut me out. After about three weeks, I found a gun in his dresser and we got unto an argument. He hit me and I left to go stay with my mother. We got a divorce soon after that."
The floor became blurry so I looked out the window into the cool night and at the pale silver moon as lonely as I was.
"But…but a week later, my mom had a heart attack. They had to put her on life support and I couldn't afford it. Most of my family lives in Europe or didn't have enough. I had no one else to go to so…"
The first tear slid down my cheek.
"…I called Roger."
"He gave me the money but only if I paid him back with interest and…and…"
I bit my lip and couldn't bear to finish the sentence. The tears flowed faster and I couldn't help but cry because it hurt so bad.
"This is my lifeIt's not what it was before
All these feelings I've shared
And these are my dreams
That I've never lived before
Somebody shake me 'cause I
I must be sleeping
Now that we're her, so far away
All the struggle we thought was in vain
And all the mistakes one life contained
They all finally start to go away
And now that we're here, so far away
And I feel like I can face the day
I can forgive
And I'm not ashamed to the person that I am today…"
His voice was softer, almost like it was filled with pain, pity, sorrow.
"I'm sorry."
I laughed bitterly, wrapping my arms around myself.
"Everyone's sorry. It never changes anything."
"Then maybe I can."
He touched my shoulders and turned me around, new resolve set firmly upon his face.
"Where is he, Anita?"
"I…I…"
The words clumped up in my throat, squeezing past the lump painfully. I didn't want to endanger his life over my mess, not when he could die from it.
"You can't…don't, please…you might get hurt or worse-! You don't need to do this-!" I pleaded. He squeezed my arms gently.
"Anita…please."
Closing my eyes so I couldn't see the concern on his face, I spoke quietly.
"Bruno and Dozer…they used to talk about a factory on the underground of the Wild Safari. I never knew exactly what they were up on the black market for big bucks. Some kind of bio-nuclear weapons and chemicals."
He let his hand slide off my arms and brushed past me towards the balcony. I knew when I heard the swoosh of his midnight cape that he was gone. Still, I whispered to the mourning wind,
"Be careful."
"These are my wordsThat I've never said before
I think I'm doing okay
And this is the smile
That I've never shown before
Somebody shake me 'cause I
I must be sleeping
Now that we're here, so far away
All the struggle we thought was in vain
And all the mistakes one life contained
They all finally start to go away
And now that we're here, so far away
And I feel like I can face the day
And I can forgive
And I'm not ashamed
To be the person that I am today…"
…
Kyoko: Ugh, I must apologize for the absolutely ridiculous clichés you've read in this chapter. I'm kind of going for realism in the series, but if you guys really hate it, I'll revise it ASAP. Please review; I need the love. Later!