Disclaimer

The characters used in this story are the property of DC Comics and Warner Bros. I have used them and fabricated this tale which is entirely is product of my imagination.

Chap 12

"She lost her patience and slapped him!" Diana concluded.

The three of them remained silent for a while, considering their own train of thoughts. Batman found the urge to explain everything and clear his side, but he realised he would have to do that compromise and explain all through his life if he started it. That was something his ego would prevent him from doing. Revealing his true self to Lisa was an option he wanted to consider only as a last resort. But he certainly owed the lady an apology.

He finally broke the silence.

"That explains why he wanted to jump off the cliff - " he mused.

"Jump off the cliff?" the other two uttered in astonishment.

"Well just because you look concerned about your friend, let me tell you something about Bruce Wayne, which I did not mention in our meeting yesterday! To put it plain and simple, behind all that glitz and glamour, the real he is the most damaged person in the world." He realised he was sympathising himself, something he did not want to do. But Diana's concerned face drove him off that edge.

"You said he jumped off the cliff. What happened?" Diana enquired. He realised he wouldn't get away with it that easily. He had to offer some explanation.

"Nothing happened. He is too coward a man to take his own life!" Batman remarked bluntly.

Superman was merely in an audience all through the conversation.

"How can you be so casual about it? That man tried to commit a suicide!" Diana stressed.

"Well, he is capricious, Wonder Woman! You must know that his relationships are unstable and short lived. Most people think they don't make any difference to his emotional self. And most of the times, it is true, as such relationships are bound by his obligation towards his society, not to himself or to his partner. But turns out, he has his heart in the right place too, and he really takes some of them to heart. I know of two such relationships, one was Andrea Belmont – his first love, which progressed till the engagement and then broke off. That was a real big blow for him, and that was the first time he had almost jumped off the cliff!"

"He attempted a suicide before!" Diana yelled in disbelief.

"Yes! The other was Selina Kyle - " he realised that he was disclosing too much of his personal life to her. But again, his mind was so full of the last night's incident that he did not mind narrating his confidential life history in third person.

"The Cat-Woman!" Diana exclaimed.

"Yes! Sure enough – the poor man had done all that was in his powers to bring her out of it, but in vain. And that was the second time he had almost jumped off the cliff."

"Another suicide attempt!" she muttered, thoughtfully.

"Hmmm. You can say that. Although his methods are rather peculiar. You see, the Wayne manor lies in the outskirts of the city, and there are several hills around that area. One of them has a flat enough top with a 1 km walk. Bruce starts at a staggering pace from one side of it with his mind absorbed in memories of that woman. His pace increases with the increasing intensity of his thoughts. As he covers the land, depending upon the initial intensity of his feelings for the woman, the memories die down and are superseded by his desire to live, his responsibilities towards his family and his company, the reputation of Wayne Tech and the thousands of employees who depended on it for their bread and butter. So, it's like his positive thoughts engulf his negative thoughts -" he felt like a professor of psychology when he illustrated the 'engulfing effect' with his hands. Diana proved out to be a very enthusiastic student, as she nodded in agreement and astonishment.

"So, within the 1 Km stride, he stops immediately when his inner self is completely emptied of the negative thoughts. It happened for the first two instances, but - " he paused to read her reaction.

"But-" she nodded, consumed with concern.

"Yesterday, he finally made it off the cliff. And he did not as much as slow down before he did that!"

"Great Hera! How is he?" Diana enquired.

"Well, if it wasn't for me, his head would be a smashed water melon." He remarked. He looked out through the corner of his eye and was stunned to find the other members behind him, listening to his story with equal enthusiasm. He decided it was the time to stop.

Diana buried her hands into her face for a while. Superman could only marvel at his friend's story telling ability, but he wasn't sure if it was a lie. He came around Diana and placed his hand upon her shoulder. Diana came back to senses.

"What did you do then?" she enquired.

Batman didn't know what to say. He considered all possible options, and chose what he thought was apt for the situation.

"I slapped him to senses," he said.

Diana closed her eyes in remorse for a while. Then, she stood up abruptly.

"I must go and tell this to Lisa! She thinks Bruce doesn't like her!"

Although it was quite apparent to Batman that Lisa liked Bruce after yesterday's happenings, the sudden revelation amazed him.

"Wait!" he spoke as Diana began to leave the room. "This perhaps is just as well. He will get over it, someday, if not completely, at least enough to keep him sane. He just cannot build up a standing relationship in his lifetime, his cursed luck will not let him do it. He has the record of losing everyone whom he deeply cares for, and yet, he doesn't stop trying. I don't think you should let your friend join that list. Someday, he'll realise that he's unworthy of it, and stop hurting himself and the others. Let this be a step for him in attaining that realisation."

Diana was shocked to see his passive and rather inhuman attitude towards Bruce, and so were the others. "I don't believe you can be so cold!" she shook her head, "There is no such thing as cursed luck. It's just that the other two women did not deserve him. I am sure Lisa is the right person for him, and I bet, Batman, that this relationship is going to last forever!"

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, Diana! It's just that I don't want to see another woman deprived of her precious life because of him." He remarked.

Diana clenched her teeth.

"It is up to her to decide what to do with her life!"

She stormed away.

The others left too. Hawk Girl asked for a private talk with the Green Lantern, who was more than happy to oblige. They were unaware that Flash was eavesdropping on them.
Superman stayed back with Batman.

"This woman is certainly getting the best you, Bruce!" he remarked, "When was the last time you were so open to someone?"

"It was a necessity, Clarke!" Batman sighed. "I am ready to let go off Lisa if being with me would hurt her. But this time, I want her to know everything about me before I do that."

"You're going to reveal your identity to her?" he asked.

"My identity is not the biggest secret I hold, Clarke!" he sighed, as he walked away, leaving behind a perplexed Superman.