Disclaimer: I don't own anything Batman.
Thanks to Lillianagreen, Nymartian, cp6, and kindleflame5 for being my first four reviewers. You guys made my day.
~22 years later ~
"MISS MARTIN! I NEED YOU!"
Startled, I yelped as the pencils I'd been holding flew out of my hands and scattered all over the floor. I groaned and kneeled down to begin picking them up, when another hand covered my own. I glanced up to see my coworker, and friend, Jessica smile at me.
"You'd better get in there. He's in one of his moods again," she whispered slyly. I rolled my eyes and stood carefully in my 4 inch heels.
Jessica and I worked as executive assistants to the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, William Earle. He'd made it perfectly clear when we'd started to work with him that we were to be seen and not heard, and we were just women whose ideas didn't matter.
Needless to say, he had a little surprise in his coffee the next morning. Not that he noticed.
I saluted her and walked confidently inside the board room, only to stop at Earle's raised palm. My eyes narrowed.
I'm not a dog, you asshole, I thought crossly, but held my tongue. Instead I placed a cool smile on my face and thought about my life so far.
I'd grown up into a beautiful young woman, one of the top scholars in my class at Gotham Private, and majored in business at the University of Gotham. My father had been disappointed that I hadn't gone into pre-med, like so many of my family before me, but I'd had ulterior motives for my choice. My heart panged painfully as I prepared myself to think of the one person who made me realize my calling-Bruce Wayne.
Suddenly, before I could stop it, the memory came flooding back to me. It took me off guard at how vivid it was…
*7 years ago*
I leaned against the hood of my 1994 Toyota Corolla as I watched patrons of Gotham International Airport exit the doors in the arms of loved ones and into cabs and vans and other vehicles to head home after a long travel. I myself scanned the area until I caught sight of a tall head of dark brown hair. Immediately, I straightened and bounded straight into the arms of my best friend, Bruce Wayne.
"BRUCE!" I screamed before landing in his embrace. I buried my face into his shoulder as he picked me up and spun me around, both of us laughing gleefully at the pure joy from seeing each other again. To anyone around us, it looked like the reunion of two lovers. But to us, it was Bruce and Laney, together again after too long.
"Hi Princess," he murmured into my hair, finally setting me down. I just laughed.
"Bruce, why do you still call me that? I'm eighteen now," I giggled, twirling around. He just laughed and kissed my forehead.
"Because you will always be Princess Laney to me, trying to convince an eight-year old boy to kiss you awake from an enchanted sleep," he teased. My cheeks reddened as I remembered the first time we met.
He hoisted his bags into the trunk of my car and folded himself into the cramped front seat as I drove away from the curb.
"Jesus, Lane, couldn't you find a bigger car?" he grumbled, trying to adjust the seat to accommodate his height. I scowled.
"You insult Tabitha, you get left on the side of the road," I warned. He finally fixed the problem and sat back, a lazy smile on his face. Out of the corner of my eye, I studied him.
His brown hair was longer than usual, almost brushing his eyes, and mused from the flight. He wore a tan trench coat and green sweater over a nice blue shirt and tie-the image of a preppy college boy. I myself was in jeans, a purple button up, and my favorite pair of Chuck Taylors. My dark blonde hair was hanging loosely to the middle of my back and pulled away from my face with clips. I just looked like a normal 18 year old, ready to graduate and start the rest of my life. No one would even recognize me as Delaney Martin, the daughter of the best surgeon at Gotham General Hospital and the most respected event planner this side of the East Coast.
"I don't know if you got my last E-mail, but…" I started.
"You decided on Princeton," he finished. I beamed and nodded, expecting words of encouragement and praise from my best friend. What I got was nothing I'd expected.
"I'm not going back," he said pointedly. In shock, I almost swerved into the other lane, but regained control at the last second.
"What?!" I screeched, my heart beat returning back to normal.
"I'm not going back to Princeton, Lane. I've been expelled. They don't want me back," he continued. I sat there in stunned silence.
Ever since I'd applied to Princeton, I'd planned on shadowing Bruce there. He was my idol, my hero, and I wanted to be just like him. We'd maybe share an apartment as roommates and take the college by storm. It was all planned out.
Until now.
"What happened? Why were you expelled?" I demanded, heatedly. He shrugged.
"I don't want to talk about it," he stated simply. I gnashed my teeth together, my temper rising.
"Was it about today?" I fumed. He stiffened and I knew I'd finally gotten to him.
"That man killed my parents, Lane. I have a right to be angry," he growled.
"We all do! We all think that what this man did was wrong. But that doesn't give you the right to do whatever the hell you want and get kicked out of school!" I roared, losing my patience. He gave me a cold stare.
"You weren't there that night," he said icily, "You didn't have to watch your parents murdered right in front of you. You didn't have to see the man who single-handedly ruined your life and look him in the eyes. You don't have to hear his bullshit story about how he's sorry for what he did!" By the end of his statement, his voice had risen to a yell that ripped through my tiny car and rang in my ears. I fought back tears.
"No," I stated simply, "but I have to see the pain in your eyes every day. I have to see that night echo through your head if anyone mentions it. You might be angry and hurt, but that doesn't mean you're the only one suffering." We finally pulled up to Wayne Manor and he got out without another word. I stayed in the car, willing away the angry tears that threatened to spill over as he pulled his bags out of my trunk and slammed it shut. The last image I had of my best friend was his stiff body walking up the steps of his home and into the waiting arms of his only family left-Alfred.
The next morning was the day I learned the news that Bruce Wayne had disappeared without a trace. The day my life changed forever.
*Present time*
I'd spent seven years searching for my friend, heartbroken and feeling guilty for the argument that I'd felt sent him over the edge. I got the whole story of the trial from Rachel Dawes, Bruce's other best friend. He'd walked out in the middle of the hearing only to appear just as a mob bosses' assassin ended the life of Joe Chill.
He'd shown Rachel the gun later that night. He told her he was ready to kill Chill himself.
I blinked as Earle called me back to reality, staring at me with haughtiness. I straightened and walked forward at his beckoning.
"You called, Mr. Earle?" I chirped cheerfully, all the while thinking of thirteen ways to kill him and bury the body. It was a routine way to keep my temper-and quick tongue-in check.
"I want to make sure my plan to go public with the company goes off without a hitch, Miss Martin. This means I need you to… check up on Mr. Pennyworth." I stiffened, my upper lip curling up in disgust.
I knew he'd use me to get to Alfred. He'd seemed too curious in the reasons I'd been living at Wayne Manor for the past three years for just normal human interest.
After I'd graduated from the University, I'd declined my parent's offer to buy me an apartment and instead moved in with Alfred to help him keep the Manor in good shape. He'd agreed immediately and I'd been calling the old palace home ever since. We'd grown closer over the years as I made sure he was taken care of. It had been what Bruce would have wanted.
"Mr. Earle, sir, Mr. Pennyworth agreed with us in the first place to continue to hold the majority shares in the case that…"
"Miss Martin, Bruce Wayne is dead," he interrupted rudely. My heart throbbed again at his insensitivity and I clenched my fists. He continued.
"It would be in that old butler's interest to hand over the shares to me and live comfortably on the inheritance he undoubtedly earned from the Wayne's will," he finished. My brown eyes flashed dangerously at the unbelievable gall he had to speak of Alfred and the Wayne family like he did. I began to open my mouth to retort, only to be interrupted by the shrill ringing of his phone. He waved me away and I stormed out of the board room in a huff.
"Del? Del, where are you going?" Jessica called after me as I blew past her to the elevator.
"To see Fox," I shouted back as the doors slid shut. Once I was safely inside, I let out a frustrated scream. How dare he? How dare he take my heart and rip it up into shreds? What right did he have to declare my best friend dead and break not only mine, but Rachel's and Alfred's hearts? And then, to so boorishly bring it up every time I was nearby. My body sagged against the wall in defeat.
It was torture to think of Bruce anymore. All I could imagine was his back turned to me the last time I saw him. For seven years, it was all I could remember. Not the play-dates we had as children or the time we spent together as teenagers. Only the argument that led him to walk out of my life.
The cheerful ping alerted me to my stop and I clomped over to the one lone desk on the whole floor.
"Let me guess, Miss Martin. Earle getting on your bad side again?" came the pleasant voice of Lucius Fox, head of Applied Sciences and a good friend of mine and Alfred's. I snorted unladylike and flopped down in the chair he'd taken to keeping around just for me.
"He's been on my bad side since the day I came to work for him," I grumbled, kicking off my heels and running my hand through my hair. He chuckled.
"What was it this time?" he asked.
"He's asking about the shares again. And he was insulting Bruce's family and Alfred. You know, without the Wayne family, that imbecile wouldn't even have a job!" I huffed, collapsing into the plush leather and pouting. Lucius was silent.
He'd been on the board of trustees when Thomas Wayne was alive, and even helped him build the monorail system that ran through the entire city. He was one of the most respected members that worked alongside the older Mr. Wayne. When Earle succeeded, he was demoted to Applied Sciences to stay out of trouble. He'd been the one who convinced Alfred not to give up Bruce's shares of Wayne Enterprises. Although, Earle didn't know that part.
"Lucius," I whispered, sitting up sadly, "I need to quit. I need to leave Gotham City for good. There's nothing left for me here anymore. Not after Bruce left. I was just going to stay long enough to go to college and make sure Alfred was okay. Now that I've graduated and Alfred's taken care of… it's time to move on."
"Where would you go?" he asked. I looked down, refusing to meet his eyes.
"Anywhere," I whispered guiltily. He sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"I hate to say this, Miss Delaney, but if he wanted to be found, he would be," he said gently. I knew he was right and wasn't purposely trying to hurt me, but it stung nonetheless.
The year after Bruce's disappearance, my Aunt Sophie decided to move back to France. I begged her to let me go with her to study abroad, but she saw right through my plan.
"You are not going to study, mon bien-aimé. You will spend your time looking for Bruce Wayne and not pay attention to school. Stay here. Get your degree. It's for the best," she'd reasoned. So I followed her advice. I killed myself trying to top the class academically and took the assistant job at Wayne Enterprises, hoping to climb my way to the top and turn the company around for the better. Only moldy Earle stood in my way.
"I know, Lucius. Everyone keeps telling me that it's over and he won't come back. But I can't help it. I know he's alive. And I'll be damned if I give up now. I'll search the entire globe if I have to. But I will find Bruce Wayne and I will bring him home."
Translation:
mon bien-aimé: my beloved
A/N: Well, here's chapter two! I really like what I have planned for the future and I hope you will too. So, leave me a review because I love reading what you have to say. It keeps me going, even when I'm banging my head on the desk in frustration when something is just really bad. (I don't really do that. I promise.) Oh and to all my french readers out there: I apologize for the atrocious french. I'm not fluent in the language and am using an online translator. Hehe, sorry. :) Anywho, see you next time! ~Brooke