Chapter Eight - Shot in the Dark

Joker approached the unconscious figure of Batman.

"Why does he open his eyes?"

Poison Ivy stopped what she was doing and looked at the villain. She took a few steps to stand beside the monitors. Batman's vital signs were getting weaker, and in less than two days her experiment would be over.

"Did he open his eyes? Again?"

"A few hours ago." He said.

"And when were you going to tell me? Idiot!"

She ran to another monitor, which was off and pressed one of the buttons and small red lights blinked on the screen. Such lights formed small patterns, and she still could not know how they appeared. But she understood very well what they meant.

"This is very strange." She frowned. "It seems he creates some resistance to my Djinn. It shouldn't happen."

"And what does that mean?"

Poison Ivy watched the shape of Batman.

"It means I'm speeding up the process. I won't let him leave."


He has lost how much time has passed since he arrived at Arkham. The hours went by at a different pace, and most of the time, he felt doped. As if they knew they should be him stuck there. The few hours of lucidity were used in search of escape. And now it was one of those hours.

Bruce was in a padded cell with nothing but his company. His arms were locked in a straitjacket, which bothered him a little, but nothing that would take his concentration away. He was sitting on the ground, in a lotus position, with his eyes closed. His unconscious wandered, searching for answers.

Suddenly the door opened. Bruce sensed the presence of two other people in the room. Maybe it was the nurses coming to give him more medicine. However, he did not feel the need to stand up and fight, as he had before. Did he lose his strength? Did he give up fighting?

"You have a few minutes." A male voice said. "If someone finds you, I don't know anything."

The nurse said and shortly after, the door closed. There was still a presence in the room. Bruce felt her draw closer. Two female hands touched his face, and he forced himself to open his eyes.

"Oh, God, Bruce!" Diana whispered. She was crouched in front of him, holding his face. "How I missed you!"

"Diana?" Was his expression as confusing as he thought it was? Most likely. "What are you doing here?"

The woman was kissing his face, ignoring his questions, and expressing all her anger at seeing him in that situation.

"What did they do to you? I can't believe your own mother put you in this situation!"

"What are you doing here?" He repeated.

Diana composed herself a little. She shook her head and stood. The position was bad considering she was pregnant.

"I'm sorry for not coming sooner, Martha gave express orders to not let anyone visit you. I tried, however, Dr. Ledger wouldn't let me in."

"How you..."

She gave a half smile and raised her hand. Bruce was a good detective, and Diana's wedding ring caught his eye. Or rather, the lack of it.

"I don't have any jewels, and since Martha started harassing me, all I had left was the wedding ring. I pawned it and used the money to bribe one of the nurses, and here I am."

Bruce could not help but chuckle. That Diana was very much like the real one. So it was so easy to love her. She was a very strong woman. But then he remembered the truth. That Diana was not real.

"You're not real." He whispered, more to keep up with the truth than anything else. Still, Diana heard him.

"What? What do you mean with 'I'm not real'?" She gestured.

Bruce stared at his wife. She had her arms crossed, and that expression that would not leave without first hearing the truth. And she was there for him. Maybe, just maybe, she was a light at the end of the tunnel. It was risky, but he decided to tell her the truth.

"You're not real." He repeated, gaining laughter from her. Not shaking, he continued with the story. He would tell her everything he knew. "Nothing in this world is real. It's just echoes, created from an alternate reality, made to keep me under control."

"And why are you so important to creating something like that?"

"It's a long story, but if you're willing to listen ..."

"I don't think any of us will go anywhere else."

Bruce agreed and began his story. He told her everything. He talked about his real life, where he was Bruce Wayne, but also a hero known as Batman. He gave a summary of his life in recent years, including how he knew the real Diana, who was a princess in the real world. Anyway, he told her about the last week, and how it ended up in that alternative world.

Diana's mouth was open and her eyes widened in horror. Everything Bruce told him was too much. It was too much information. She raised her hand to her grown belly. She expected a child, and it was too cruel to hear that it was all a lie. Their love, their marriage, their friends ... nothing was real? Maybe Martha was right, and Bruce was in some kind of madness. It's even better to have him hospitalized.

She shook her head, and walked to the exit, ignoring his appeals. Bruce sighed, thinking he was missing his only last chance to leave. But then Diana stopped at the door. For a moment that seemed eternal, she was wary of turning her back on her husband and never coming back and believing him. Her intuition screamed to believe him. Bruce never let her down, and would not start now. Slowly, she turned to him.

"I lost all of my valuables items, and my home to be here because I believe in you. So please make it worth it."

"I don't understand."

"How can I help you, Bruce?"

"You want to help me?" He asked.

"Yes, yes. I want to get you out of this damn place."

"Do not you think I'm crazy, too?" He returned.

Diana shrugged.

"I even think of this possibility, and I can very much regret what I'm going to do, but ... it's in joy and in pain. I'm just following my vows."

"You're too perfect to be real."

She laughed.

"If I am your imagination, I am exactly as you wish, Mr. Wayne. Let's go to business?"

Bruce smiled and nodded. No matter what happened, he had an ally now. He knew Diana would help him. The Amazon would never let it go.

Can he be free? We'll see...

Gratitude!