Chapter 12
Reaching to his face, Bruce Wayne pulled off the beard prosthetic and set it on the display of the table against the dark cave wall. Of all the thoughts that ran rampantly through his head, he didn't let any of them get to him. The time had finally come, and all was ready. The smoky smell of the barrel fire clung to him from his last outing as David Gray. For weeks, he made his rounds through the slums of Gotham, silently waiting with his ears and eyes wide open. Less than an hour ago, he overheard the word on the street exactly what he had wanted since his last night as a masked vigilante. Bruce made his way to the adjacent corner in the cave, walking right past the old world shinobi shozoku he had worn the night of his return to Wayne Manor. Set in the corner like a shadowy figure, stood the display of the black, full body, Kevlar woven suit. Black, nomex leather gloves were set on the left side of the table adjacent to the stand while the specialized, black boots were set on the right. A folded square of black fabric was set in center with the black utility belt laid flat above it. Bruce looked over the items, a content look on his strong face. It was perfect, it all fit so well as if the image had been in his mind for all the seventeen years he had dreamed of this moment. With his large arms crossed against his white T-shirt, he stood just staring like a collector admiring his vice. A loud shriek sounded from the ceiling of the cave, louder than the nonstop chirping and the roar of the waterfall below. Bruce looked up to find the largest of all the hundreds of bats hanging upside down with its wings folded across its body. Its flat upturned face focused on him with ember eyes that almost glowed in the darkness, large pointed ears twitching, showing it was indeed alive. With another piercing shriek, it opened its wings, spanning eighteen inches long. The slightest hint of a smirk cracked the solid mask of brooding on Bruce's face. He was ready.
TO BE CONTINUED...