Chapter Eighteen: The Watchtower
(AN: Batman is not mine!)
RJ woke feeling more rested than normal and she soon realized why, it was almost noon.
She rolled over so that she was facing away from the window and closed her eyes again, trying to remember the dream that she had been having. It had been an odd one. It had started with her being terrified and desperately angry at whatever was scaring her, but she had no idea what the hell it had been that had scared her so much.
That part of the dream was, in itself, nothing new, she had been having it for as long as she could remember. She would wake up sweating and shaking, terrified, but she had never been able to remember what had scared her so much. The dream had not been so bad in the past few years but after the asylum it had come back with new force.
What had made this time so strange was the ending. She had been in the grips of fear and rage when suddenly she had felt herself encircled with warmth and safety and it felt as if someone was telling her that what ever it was could no longer hurt her.
After lying there for a few more moments, she got up and walked into her bathroom. After turning on the hot water she stripped off her PJs and stepped into the shower. As the water poured over her shoulders and the steam filled the room, she pushed the dream away, sending the fear and anger into oblivion and by the time she stepped out of the shower she felt more like herself again.
Once out of the shower she wrapped a towel around herself and re-entered her bedroom. She shivered slightly as she left the roomful of steam behind and the cooler air of her room hit her damp skin, the gloomy sky outside her window made it seem even chillier. Winter would be here soon.
By the time RJ had finished her brunch it had started to rain and was soon pouring. Pierre flat out refused to let her go outside, saying that it was to cold to be out in the rain. Annoyed, RJ headed down to the roost.
Reaching her destination, RJ sat down in front of the computer, intending to search for Bane again, a pastime that had become quite popular for her, only to realize that she just didn't feel like it. She had had a few leads, but nothing substantial had come of them so far.
Sighing, she placed one sneaker clad foot on the control panel and pushed, causing her chair to start spinning rapidly around and around. She loved doing this, as most teens did, but after only a few kicks, she allowed the chair to slow to a halt, having found no joy in it whatsoever.
It was a Wednesday, so Tim was in school and there was no one else she could really see herself spending time with out of costume, especially as Barb and Dick would both be at work.
After about an hour of staring off into space, RJ finally got up and walked over to the part of the cave where the hot-springs came up to form pools. The springs were in the part of the cave farthest from the elevator and the main part of the roost, the reason being RJ didn't want to expose the computer and the lab to the steam that the pools gave off.
The pools varied in size, the smallest of them being just the right size to soak your feet, while the biggest of them was the size of a small lake. The big one was even farther back, in a caver all its own. RJ still hadn't been able to explore the whole of it, nor was she going there with the intent to do so that day.
A small tunnel separated the lake from the rest of the Roost but it was not so small that an adult could not fit through; they would just have to crouch down a little. The tunnel was not very long but it sloped steeply downwards, so much so in fact, that once RJ had lost her footing and had slid the rest of the way to the bottom.
When she came out on the other side of the tunnel, RJ looked quietly out over the surface of the water that she had christened 'Dak-Ho'. Meaning 'Deep-Lake' in Japanese. The name fit.
The ceiling of the cavern was low compared to the Roost, only about fifty feet above the surface of the water, which was so deep that it was impossible to see the bottom when you got farther out and in the darkness of the cave the lake was as still as glass and as black as pitch.
RJ loved this place, it was the only place where she could be alone with her thoughts, but that was not the only reason.
Stripping off her clothing, RJ dove headfirst into the warm water. Instantly the water around her lit up with warm but strong white light. Wherever she swam and made the water move light resulted. RJ knew that it was caused because the movement of the water agitated the minerals that filled the water, causing them to glow, but it was still magical to see and feel.
Diving down deep, her eyes still open, RJ could see for yards through the crystal clear water. Kicking her legs, she swam about ten feet down to the bottom and grabbed a large rock, anchoring herself to the lakebed.
Sitting cross-legged, RJ was soon surrounded by small darting fish, there paths marked by the brief streaks of light that they left in their wake, it was mesmerizing, RJ could have done it for hours. But eventually she couldn't ignore the clamoring of her lungs and let go of the rock, kicking off for the surface.
After and hour or so of diving, RJ's stomach was rumbling and she swam back over to the rock ledge that she had originally jumped from and pulled herself halfway out of the water, reaching out for the nylon lunch bag that she had brought with her. Pulling it to her she slid back into the water. Carrying the bag with the strap between her teeth, RJ swam out toward the center of the lake. She swam for over ten minutes before she reached her destination. A flat topped rock that rose above the water by only a few inches.
It was almost completely covered by soft moss, so she was careful as she hauled herself out of the water and onto the rock, not wanting to slip and bang her chin on the ledge. Once on the little island, RJ opened the lunch bag and pulled out a PB and J sandwich, her favorite, and a thermos of juice.
She ate slowly, looking out over the water. Every time the glow started to fade, she would dip her foot into the water and give a little kick, causing it to flare up again.
She had only just finished her sandwich when a soft buzzing sound broke the calm silence. Sighing, RJ put her hand back into the bag and pulled out the Bluetooth that had been nestled at the bottom. Slipping it into her ear she said "Blue-Jay here."
About a week earlier, Blue-Jay had finely caved and giving Batman a way to contact her. She could see the sense in it, him wanting to be able to contact her if he needed to and not have to go looking for her. But that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.
"Blue-Jay," it was Batman "I want you in the Batcave in twenty minutes, understand?" and he hung up before she could ask why. Despite being annoyed to no end, RJ put the remains of her lunch, along with the Bluetooth, back into the bag and slid back into the water.
Twenty minutes later she was in full costume and was slipping out of the shadows of the Batcave into the light of the computer, where Batman sat, waiting.
"Why is your hair wet?" was the first thing out of his mouth.
"I was swimming, and I'm doing well, thanks for asking." He didn't reply as she came up beside him and looked at the computer screen. A moment later, however, the screen went black and Batman stood up.
"Come on." Was all he said as he walked away. Blue-Jay clenched her teeth and bit back a sarcastic comment as she followed him. To her surprise, he led her to the batwing. The first time she had ridden in it had been the previous night and then she had been too distracted to really take in the ride, now that her mind was clear she was eager to get a second chance.
"Where are we going?" she asked as they reached it. To her immense annoyance she did not receive and answer, but her anger was pushed from her mind when Batman suddenly stooped, picked her up, and lifted her onto the wing of the plane. A moment later he jumped up and slid into the cockpit, Blue-Jay slipping once again into the passenger seat before he closed the canopy over them.
"Are you going to answer my question?" Blue-Jay asked once they were out of the cave and in the air.
"You'll see." Was all she got. Sitting back, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked grumpily through the glass of the canopy. Not that she could see much, the rain was coming down so heavily that it made it impossible to see anything in any detail, only the shapes of the buildings were visible through a depressing grey veil. With the less than cheerful environment, Blue-Jays gloom deepened.
The silence and heaviness of the atmosphere, combined with the efforts of her long swim quickly caused Blue-Jay's eyes to droop and no matter how hard she fought it, sleep soon came.
After half an hour of silence, Batman looked back into the passenger seat. They had long-since broken out of the clouds and into the sunlight, and he had begun to wonder why Blue-Jay had not continued to bug him about their destination. He was surprised to find the girl fast asleep.
She was curled up in a tight ball on the seat, her knees tucked up to her chest and her head resting on the armrest with her cape bunched up and made into a make-shift pillow. Her small sides rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm and a small lock of hair that had fallen into her face fluttered gently with each breath she took, making her scrunch up her face slightly when it tickled her nose and cheeks. Batman suddenly found himself thinking that she looked rather cute when she was asleep.
Instinctively, Batman twisted in his seat and reached back, gently lifting the offending strands of silver hair out of her pale face before turning back to the controls.
The sky outside was growing darker as the Batwing went higher and within ten minutes they had left the earths atmosphere behind and Batman turned the plane in the direction of the huge space station that could be seen in the distance: the Watchtower.
Blue-Jay woke to a sudden jolt that shook her gently. It took a moment before her still sleepy brain worked out that the plane had just landed. She had slept through the whole flight.
Opening her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of a steel ceiling that seemed terrifyingly fermilyer and for a moment she went ridged with horror. But then she heard Batman's voice calling her "Blue-Jay, wake up!" and realized that she was not in the asylum at all, but somewhere else, somewhere were the lighting was much warmer and friendlier. Sitting up and yawning slightly, Blue-Jay streached before standing up and shaking out her cape, looking around.
They were in a huge hanger with several other jets, all bigger than the Batwing, docked not too far away.
Hopping out onto the wing, she was surprised when Batman reached up and lifted her down. "Come on." He said "And don't wander off, you might get lost."
Blue-Jay rolled her eyes "Since when have I ever gotten lost?"
"Never, but there's a first time for everything."
"Right. So where are we?"
"The Justice League Watchtower."
Blue-Jay's eyes went wide "Really!?"
"Since when have I ever lied to you?"
"Never, but there's a first time for everything." She gave him one of her best 'innocent' looks when he looked back at her. "So why did you bring me here?"
"I have discovered some evidence that Bane is recruiting and I want to take care of that before they can get at you."
"Wow, you make it sound as if you really care about me."
He stopped and turned to face her fully, but before he could say anything another voice called out "Hey, Bats'!" and a second later The Flash screeched to an abrupt halt beside them.
"What do you want, Flash?" Batman growled.
"Nice to see you too, Bat's!" the man in red said, cheerfully, then he noticed Blue-Jay "Who's you're friend?"
"Her name is Blue-Jay." Batman said shortly "Blue-Jay, this is the Flash." Blue-Jay held out her hand and Flash shook it. "Now, come on." And he walked off.
"Geeze, what put a twist in his tights?" Flash asked, Blue-Jay shrugged before hurrying to catch up.
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