Justice League Past Imperfect 33
The following morning, Clark and Diana were in a cabin cruiser out in the Caribbean. They were trying their hand at fishing. Clark was enjoying himself but Diana was getting frustrated.
"This is stupid." She finally vented.
Clark smiled indulgently, "Haven't you ever been fishing?"
"Of course I have!" she snapped, "My Amazonian sisters and I fished all the time. But we used nets not this ridiculous…"
"Rod and reel." Clark supplied for her.
"Exactly." She confirmed it, "Who uses these things?"
"Just about everyone." Clark chuckled, "Including Bruce. Apparently he's quite the angler."
Diana mouthed the word "angler". Athena had bestowed upon her worldly wisdom and the ability to speak every language on Earth but some of the words still seemed strange to her, "You've done this before?"
"Pa and I used to drive for miles to get to a lake or a river and then we'd sit for hours enjoying the day and catching fish…or at least catching fish was the idea anyways." Clark explained.
"Well, I can't see the point. Nets are far more efficient." Diana admitted.
"Diana," Clark chuckled, "we're not trying to feed an island… Okay, we are trying feed an island but it only has four people on it." Clark grinned, "Think of it as a personal struggle: woman versus fish."
"All right." Diana relented somewhat thanks to the analogy, "I'll try."
"Okay," Clark reeled in his line, "It's time to have Hobbie swing us around again."
Hobbie was the Jamaican man who, with his wife, tended to Bruce's island. He was an expert deep-sea fisherman and he'd shown both Clark and Diana how to rig and bait their lines and how to cast out. Now he was in charge of steering the boat.
Suddenly, Diana's pole tried to leap out of her hands. She caught it with an iron grip and yelled, "Now what?"
"Jerk back hard to set the hook!" Clark excitedly told her.
Diana complied and then looked to Clark for more guidance. He grinned, "Now you slowly reel him in."
Clark had taken over the steering duties and Hobbie guided Diana's hand. Although her superhuman strength could have landed the marlin in minutes rather than hours, the line wasn't strong enough to endure that kind of stress. So four hours later she'd landed her fish.
Clark came down from the wheel and began toweling her off. She took over and wiped down her chest and dried her hair, "You were right. That was fun."
The boat suddenly hit chop and Diana stumbled into Clark's arms. Their eyes met while he held her and they both dropped into silence. He seemed on the verge of vulnerability and of telling her something when his face hardened with resolve. He righted her and stepped back.
"I…um…" he faltered.
Diana's eyes urged him on and he found his voice, "Thanks for being here, Diana. The last couple of days have been a godsend. When I spend time with you, I actually forget about Lois's death and relax. Thank you for that."
"Well, I…" she stumbled for words. Unexpectedly, his League signal device sounded. Clark frowned.
"I told J'onn not to contact me." He said as he plucked the device off of his waistband, "This had better be important."
Diana leaned into him with her hand on his chest. Eavesdropping in on the conversation, she gathered the news about the upcoming invasion. Although she was distracted by a desire to caress Clark's face, she refrained and focused on J'onn's message. When the call terminated, she stepped away.
"So much for our time away." Clark complained. Knowing that Hobbie knew them as Superman and Wonder Woman, they'd have no fear of flying back to Macaca to gather their things. Clark said his goodbyes and so did Diana and then they took to the air and left.
Batman parked the Batmobile on its rotating dais and entered the Cave. Stripping out of his costume, he languished in the shower for a moment before dressing and ascending the staircase into Wayne Manor. Taking a moment to look through the peephole built into the clock-door he exited the Cave.
Bruce hoped that Barbara was still here. He knew Tim should be. He wasn't scheduled to be with any of his friends this week-end. Barbara had mentioned that Kara might be coming down from Metropolis so there was a good chance they were both here.
As he closed the clock-door, he thought about his night. He'd remained at the Hall of Justice to discuss the finer points and nuances of Savage's plan with the Question and J'onn. The Huntress had participated as well. He'd been rather surprised by her insights into the matter.
Helena Bertonelli aka Helen Burton aka the Huntress, had always been driven by rage and the need for revenge. As such she was one of the most ultra-violent of the JLers. Black Canary and Wildcat had taken her under their wing and her clarity was drastically improved. Able to see past her own anger, she perceived shades of gray that hadn't occurred to others.
After the ad hoc conference had ended and he had a quiet moment alone with her, he offered to teach her the rudiments of detection. She'd laughed and said that her current teacher was working out just fine. Knowing that she spoke of the Question, and seeing how her perceptions had already been sharpened, he let the matter go and drove back to Gotham.
Now, he wanted nothing more than to tell his circle of the planned invasion and the upcoming briefings. After that, he would go to bed. He knew his sleep would be troubled but when wasn't it?
When Barbara's here, came the small clarion call of reason answering his own inquiry. Bruce knew he'd have to do something about that and fairly soon. But what?
As he moved through the house he heard voices. He followed his ears until he came into the dining room and found Barbara, Tim, Kara, his elderly self, and the future Batman all seated around the table eating breakfast. The future Batman had his mask off but he was wearing Dick's old Robin mask that he'd worn during his college days.
Alfred entered, carrying a pot of coffee, "Oh, Master Bruce! Would you like coffee?"
"I'd love some." Bruce said as he took his normal position at the table.
Cosmic Boy chose that moment to return from the guest restroom, "Man! That's the biggest bathroom I've ever seen. It's even bigger than the ones on Weber's World."
Bruce eyed him, "I know my older counterpart and his protégé, but just who are you?"
"He's a member of the Legion of Super Heroes." Kara spoke up, "They're from the thirty-first century. I can vouch for him."
"Now that that's taken care of," Bruce turned to Wayne, "Why are you here? The last time I saw you was in an alternate timeline. Has something gone wrong?"
"Nothing like what Chronus caused. That timeline is dead and gone. I'm here to help you. I remember that I did so, so I'm supposed to be here." Wayne explained, "We three are here to deal with Brainiac."
"So why didn't you go to the twenty-second century?" Bruce wondered.
"We don't know when in the century he decides to help Savage." Cosmic Boy answered, "So we're here to wring that information out of Savage."
"And you would be…?" Bruce sought further explanation.
"My name is Rokk Krinn but I'm known as Cosmic Boy." He answered, "Or you can call me Cos."
"All right." Bruce turned to Wayne, "And what about you two? There can't be two Batmen or two Bruce Waynes."
"As I told Barbara, refer to me as 'Mr. Wayne' and my protégé as 'Batman Beyond.'" Wayne requested.
Bruce smirked, "Very well. Any other rules?"
"Don't ask about the future. Ever." Wayne warned.
"Of course." Bruce conceded.
"What about me?" Tim spoke up, "Can I ask?"
Wayne was saddened by Tim's enthusiasm. In six more months, the Joker and Harley Quinn would capture Tim and torture him into being brainwashed as their ersatz "child." The Joker, and presumably Quinn, would be fatalities of that act and Tim would never be fully the same afterward. In order to try and reclaim a semblance of a normal life he left Robin and Wayne Manor behind.
He'd never want for anything but Wayne would never expunge his sense of guilt. It was only a matter of time after that that he demanded that Barbara and Dick give up their costumed identities. He, of course, would remain as Batman. His psyche demanded that. Batman could live without Bruce Wayne but Bruce couldn't survive without Batman.
When he finally gave up the costume, it nearly destroyed him. It took Terry's coming along and picking up the mantle of Batman for Wayne to reclaim a desire to live. As Terry's mentor he made a difference again and that's all he'd ever wanted.
Now he had one more task to do, "Cosmic Boy, Batman Beyond, and I will stay out of the way until you capture Savage and his computers. Then we'll take over."
"Actually," Bruce smiled, "we've already raided his computers…or had you forgotten that?"
Wayne squirmed, "Actually, I had."
"Sucks getting old, don't it?" Tim grinned.
Wayne tried to remember why he regretted Tim's absence, "You have the date?"
"Finish breakfast and then join me in the Cave." Bruce suggested, "You can review the data then."
Alfred stepped in, "Would you care for breakfast, Master Bruce?"
"That sounds good." Bruce admitted, "Thank you Alfred."
They all gathered in the Bat Cave and after Bruce had finished debriefing everyone they were all quiet. He knew his lecture wasn't as labyrinthine as the Question's but it covered all of the points he'd spent the better part of the night hashing out. His only regret was that Dick hadn't been here. He supposed his former partner would enjoy going to New York for the briefing. He did seem to love being a member of the League.
Cosmic Boy looked eager. The so-called Batman Beyond had donned his own mask and his features were completely obscured but Bruce sensed that he was also anticipating the action. They all boarded the Time Bubble while Wayne lingered for a moment, "I remember giving myself some advice at this point. But then again as spotty as my memories proving, maybe I didn't."
"All you can do is trust your instincts and go from there." Bruce advised.
"Precisely what I was going to say to you about Barbara." Wayne confided, "Forget all of your past relationships and do what feels right."
Bruce studied the older man, "There's a lot you're not telling me."
"Of course." Wayne nodded, "Those things are for an old man to bear. You may be lucky enough to avoid a few of them. You've proven in the past that the future isn't set."
Bruce's eyes narrowed, "I'll take your word for it."
"If you ever have a chance," Wayne offered him one consolation, "ask Kara about fixed points and flux points in history. It'll be enlightening."
"Hey, Old Man." Terry called from the time bubble, "We need to get going."
Wayne shook his head, "All the time in the world and he's in a hurry."
"Sounds like the future is like the present." Bruce opined.
"Something like that." Wayne agreed, "Goodbye. Do what's right."
Wayne boarded the craft and as soon as it sealed and alarm sounded. It then began to fade in and out of sight until it finally disappeared.
Tim reacted first, "Whoa!"
"You get used to it." Kara promised him.
Bruce turned to Kara, "It seems you and I need to discuss aspects of history."
"Like what?" she warily asked.
"Fixed points and flux points." Bruce informed her.
"Oh!" she was immediately relieved, "That's no problem."
"Let's try the sitting room." Bruce suggested, "We can talk there."