Chapter 5 "The end of the Road"
(In the hall of the apartment near Dinah)
The fact that Black Canary is setting up to perform her Canary song on Bruce didn't seem to slow him down even in the different body. Before Dinah could even begin he had opened the belt and pulled out a small launcher than shot and plastered a thick green goop over her mouth, but left her nose uncovered. Dinah still tried to scream, but the goop didn't break and instead it took the energy from the scream and redirected it into what could be considered a solid punch to her knocking her back and slamming her head against the wall.
"Sorry about that Dinah." Bruce said.
"You ain't the bat." The girl said as she stood and looked at the woman dressed in black standing in front of her.
"No, I work with him. You can call me 'Dark Angel'." Bruce said in the best imitation he could preform of Diana's voice.
"If you ain't the Bat then forget you!" the girl shouted as she pulled a small pistol from the back of her waistband of her pants.
Bruce didn't wait for her to fire and instead jumped forward grabbed her wrist, effectively broke her wrist, twisted her arm up behind her back and heard her arm snap as he twisted it. The girl screamed from the pain and kicked back hitting the unarmored and unprotected stomach of the other woman. She turned and her right arm hung uselessly against her side. Bruce watched as the girl took a basic boxing stance and readied herself.
"Come on you little bitch!" The girl shouted as she stood ready to pound the other woman into submission.
Bruce grinned and threw something toward the girl's side. When she turned her head he jumped forward and caught her left knee in a sharp kick shattering it. The girl fell and hit the floor with a hard thump.
"Yeah... you're not the bat... The Bat wouldn't take cheap shots like that. You're nothing more than a weak little bitch that has to rely on a bunch of gadgets and cheap shots." The girl said as she moved her left hand down to her ankle.
Bruce moved toward her and pressed a leather clad booted heel against the girl's throat.
"Stop right there." he said as he grabbed her wrist and then quickly flipped her over and zip tied her wrists together.
"It can't end like this! Damn it! It can't end like this when I was so close! I almost had it all! You don't know what's it's like to have everything you know and love to be stripped away from you, and then you have to bring yourself up from the ditch! I've done that! I've beaten the system and now..." She ranted until Bruce slammed her head down on the ground and knocked her out.
As Bruce walked toward the apartment he noticed a person setting in a chair. The person didn't move and slowly he moved toward the body to see the boy sitting there wide eyed and barely breathing. Bruce looked at the boy and the condition he was in. It appeared as if he was severely malnourished and sleep deprived. Bruce shook his head and looked at the computer sitting off the side. He opened the first file and read the reports and realized what had happened.
(Three weeks ago)
Greg smiled as he looked at the mind melter. He had designed it to match Alpha waves perfectly in almost any individual and for that reason it could give anyone a great nights sleep in just an hour or two. This would be the most important breakthrough in sleep studies in perhaps the last thirty years. The testing on the rats, dogs, and finally cats because of how close their nervous system. mirrored humans. The first test would be on himself and he placed the small metallic disk on his neck and pressed the button sending him under for an hour. He awoke an hour later to see Angelia standing there.
"Hey Angie." He said as he slowly shook his head.
"What is that thing?" She asked pointing at the controller and then toward the disk on the back of his neck.
"This is the new sleep machine I've been working on. It works Angie it really works. I just used it for an hour and I feel like I've sleep all night! Think of it! People who suffer insomia, people with work and school schedules can finally get the sleep they need in a fraction of the time, but I don't know how many times it should be done. I need to work that out." He said as she stepped forward and touched the controller.
"You know you answered me when I talked to you." She said.
"What?" He asked looking confused.
"I'm serious Greg you answered me and was honest. You said that you like me. I thought that you did." She said.
"It could be that the side effect of this machine is that whoever is under it is prone to do what they are asked. It could be because it puts you under deeper than hypnosis. I better not start drafting my acceptance speech yet then." He said as he watched Angie lift the controller, "Angie what are you doing with that? No, wait!" He exclaimed as she hit the button again.
"Greg, will this work on anyone?" He asked.
"It will work on ninety-nine point nine percent of the world population by my calculations. There are a few who will naturally have alpha waves that are beyond the machine's spectrum." He answered truthfully.
"Based on our little question and answer session will anyone that I put this on do what I command?" She asked.
"It is a safe assumption that anyone under the influence of the machine will do as commanded." he answered.
"What will happen if I press the button when someone is under?" She asked.
"I don't know." He said.
"How do I find out?" She asked
Before she could stop him Greg grabbed the controller and pressed the button and suddenly his eyes opened wide and a moan escaped his lips. He slumped back into the chair and drool began to drip out of his mouth.
"Greg... GREG!" She shouted trying to wake him up.
(Currently in the apartment.)
Bruce watched the entire exchange as the video file ended. His face tightened as he looked at Greg and realized that his dreams to help humanity might have brought a weapon so close to Grogg's mind control that it was almost frightening. If Angelia had sold the device or someone like Joker or Crane had discovered her using it things could have went from bad to worse. He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a note for Gordon explaining everything and also explaining why he removed the device.
After he did that a sudden chill filled the air and everything began to be covered with a thick blackness that seemed to spill from the underworld itself. He turned and looked at the being that claimed to be his father in law.
"You've done well Bruce Wayne. You did discover those responsible for the actions that sent you to where you had been. Now... there is a choice to be made. I will send you back to your body, but this assassin is a different story. You've seen her memories, or at least the most recent memories of hers. She could be a danger to you, to my daughter, and to any grandchildren that may come from your union. She could be all of that unless you are willing to take on some extra responsibility." Hades said as he looked at Bruce.
"What do you want?" Bruce asked harshly.
"I will leave her body alive. In fact you will need to go to Diana and speak directly to her through this body. Ask her to patition the needed gods to make the assassin a child again, wipe her memories except for the training which will only open when she begins to train with you if she does, and raise her as your own." He said as he looked at Bruce.
"Why would you be willing to do this for this girl?" Bruce asked as he indicated the assassin's body.
"Diana has been praying for a child, and it is a gift from myself and Persephone. The child shall be given as a gift, but only if she accepts." Hades said before he disappeared.
(Gotham General Hospital - two hours later)
Diana turned to look at a strawberry blond woman walking into the room. She rose to ask the woman a question and was quickly quieted by an action that seemed like one of Bruce's. The woman shook her head and glared at Bruce.
"Diana... The last few hours has been the strangest ones I've even been through. Which allow me to start with saying that I had no idea that having breasts was such a pain in the ass." The woman said in Bruce's voice.
"Bruce? Hera, what happened?" She asked as she looked stunned.
"Your prayer was heard, but I had to find out who was behind this to get it answered. I technically died laying there. Hades decided to test me to see if I deserved to be sent back and healed. I passed, but now I have to ask you something. The woman's body I am in belonged to a girl who was trained from a very young age to be an assassin. She was never given a proper home, and she has never known what it is like to have anyone care for her. In a lot of ways she and I are alike. Diana, Hades and Persephone have agreed to give her to us as a daughter, but you have to pray to the gods needed to turn her age back to that of an infant, to wipe her memory except for her training which will only come out if we choose to train her. We have to decide and accept to raise her as our own child." Bruce said as he looked at her.
(Wayne manor - six months later.)
Diana sat in the nursery holding her tiny infant daughter in her arms.
"You are loved little Denise." She said to the sleeping infant.