August 15, 1994
4:45 AM
Wayne Manor
Bruce Wayne
"I told you not to do that." I said, knowing that I wasn't going to get through.
Dick, who had just showered in the cave's newly installed shower room, came out with a towel around his waist and a smile on his face.
"Oh come on, Bruce, you know it was funny."
"You went up against six armed men alone. That's not funny."
Dick laughed before he replied.
"No, getting shot isn't funny. Kicking the crap out of six of the dumbest goons in history is funny."
He was getting bolder everyday. It needed to stop.
"Dick, while you may have been given permission to perform part of your patrols on your own, you are still on my orders. My orders are that you never engage that many men solo. If I hear about you doing it again, I'll pull you." I scolded.
"Pull me? Bruce, you know that I do a lot of work for you. I don't think you can afford to pull me." Dick said as he turned back into the uniform bay.
"I did this without you once. I can do it again. Don't think that I can't." I reminded him sharply.
"I know you can, Bruce. It's just that you know that I help a lot more than you care to admit."
"Only because you are available. I can do it without you just as easily. Trust me, sometimes I would prefer it."
Dick walked out of the uniform bay in his traditional attire, a red t-shirt and black sweatpants.
"Bruce, I can handle it."
I sat down in front of the computer before I spoke again.
"I know you can handle it. That's not my worry. I'm worried about the fact that you know that you can handle it and that you will get in over your head. That's my worry."
Dick approached me and stood next to me as I began updating files on some of my persistent adversaries.
"Bruce, you trained me well. I check everything twice before I go into a situation. You can trust me."
This time, I chose not to answer him. A couple minutes later, after he finished putting his gear away, he spoke up again.
"Goodnight, Bruce."
"Night." I replied shortly. He was about to the top of the stairs when suddenly a news brief came across my screen.
"Dick. Come back!" I called to him. Instantly, he turned and sprinted back down the stairs. When he reached me, his face was worried.
"What's wrong, Bruce?"
"Watch this."
We watched as Channel 1 out of Metropolis highlighted a bizarre occurrence that happened there earlier that day. As the video played, a car stalled on the tracks of a Amtrak train as a train approached. For whatever reason, the driver was too stubborn to simply cut his losses and get out of the vehicle. As the train got closer, it looked more and more likely that the truck was going to get smashed by it. However, at the last second, a blue and red blur came screaming from the edge of the screen and pushed the car out of the way. What followed it was an interview with the truck driver.
"Yeah, it was stalled on me. I had put it in park so I didn't roll anywhere that I didn't want to where I heard the train coming." he said as he recounted his story. "When I heard the train, I just panicked. I tried so hard to get the car started again. But, it just wasn't working. Then, just when I thought the train was gonna hit me, something came and just pushed the car out of the way. I wasn't ever able to see what it really was because it moved so fast but whatever it was was stronger than a bull. It tore the brakes on my truck pushing it back and now I have to get new ones."
We watched for about the next twenty minutes before I finally turned to Dick to get his opinion on the news story.
"Holy cow." Dick said in reply.
"Yeah. Computer, put the news video in the editing program."
"3...2...1...done." the computer replied.
I turned back around to see my editing software up and ready. Within moments, we were able to slow down the tape to the point where we were able to catch a glimpse of what the blur might be. When we played it back in super slow motion, so slow that it took us nearly one minute to watch one second, we were astounded. What appeared to be a normal human man dressed in a blue spandex suit with a red cape flew into the screen and slammed into the truck, pushing it back nearly a whole car length.
"What is that?" Dick asked out loud.
"I don't know. But, I do know that Bruce Wayne is going to need to make a visit to Metropolis for the next few days."
"How will you get back here for patrols? That's almost three hours away and I think people who notice if you got a Bat-jet that flew back from Metropolis three times this week."
"I won't be back. I'll communicate with you from there but for the next two or three days, you are on your own."
"Really?"
"Yes, but you are going to be running shorter patrols and only highlighting certain places. I'll let you catch up on some of that sleep that you missed when you didn't sleep before school three nights ago after the Penguin thing."
"No kidding. That damn midget had to keep me up all night, squawking on about how he hated Batman and Robin and how he couldn't wait to see us dead."
"Yeah. Anyway, go to bed, Dick. I'll see you in the morning before I leave for Metropolis."
Dick turned to the stairs and began to ascend them. Just as he reached the top, he stopped and turned back towards me.
"Goodnight, Bruce."
"Night."
August 15, 1994
2:13 PM
Luthor International Airport
As terrible as Gotham could be, I still hated Metropolis. Known as the City of Tomorrow, its crime rate was the lowest in the city and it was using technology in fighting crime that was years ahead of what most cities had. I had decided that in order to properly investigate whatever that blur was, I would need a cover as Bruce Wayne. So after getting a couple hours of sleep, I called Lex Luthor and asked for a meeting to discuss a new energy preservation system that the Advanced Technologies Division of Wayne Enterprises had created. About once a year, I ended up meeting with Luthor, despite my general distaste for the man. Something screamed dirty about him and although I had no proof of it, I was convinced that he was active in the criminal fraternity.
I arrived in Metropolis at about two o'clock and in the few minutes it took to get to the main gate, I looked over my notes, both as Bruce Wayne and Batman. I wanted to make my presence known as both persons. I wanted Metropolis to know that Wayne Enterprises was going to be a permanent part of their city and that Batman would be there as well. After departing from the plane, I walked down the gate to find a man with a small sign that read my name, obviously Luthor's lackey. As I approached him, I turned on the playboy personality.
"Part of the mile high club?" I asked him, barely looking over the sunglasses I was wearing even though I was an overcast day and not overly lit in the airport.
"No, sir." he replied softly, obviously uncomfortable.
"Well, I am a twelve time member. I'm pretty sure that's got to be some kind of record." I said boastfully.
"I'm sure, sir. Now, if you'll come this way, we'll get your bags and head out to the car." he replied softly.
"What kind of car?"
"What, Mr. Wayne?"
"I asked what kind of car and stick the sir stuff, I don't like you using my name." I said as arrogantly as I could.
"Oh, it's a Bentley, sir." he replied, his face red with embarrassment.
"Good. I didn't want some crappy rental car. God, if I was seen in a Taurus..."
"Right, sir." he said as he led me to the car.
Within five minutes, he had gotten my bags and were in the car. A thirty minute drive into the city and we were at LexCorp's Headquarters. As I expected, there were reporters everywhere. I planned on trying to get into the building but I knew that wasn't going to be the case. I put my sunglasses back on and exited the vehicle. Instantly, a wave of reporters hit me. They all asked different questions and I had nearly twenty cameras pointed at my face. I waited until I reached the top of the stairs leading to the skyscraper and then turned around.
"Alright. I'll answer a few questions before going inside to talk with Lex. What's your question, miss?" I said, indicating a young female reporter in the front.
"How is your relationship with Andrea Beaumont going? Her father has been sick for some time and we are seeing the two of you in public together less and less. Are you thinking of ending the relationship?
Paparazzi. I hated them.
"Well, miss, Andrea and I are still very happy. We both have to deal with the demands of our jobs. She's taken over her father's spot on the board and his foundation and I am the chairman of the board of the most profitable company in the world. However, we are both still very happy. Thanks for being so concerned." I ended with a fake grin in her direction.
"Oh, one more, what's your question, darling?" I asked a beautiful woman towards the back of the group.
"Are the rumors of Wayne Tech's expansion true?"
"Well, we are growing." I replied shortly, finishing with a chuckle.
"I mean, are we going to be seeing a Wayne Enterprises branch in Metropolis?"
"Well, I guess that since you have been good little boys and girls, I can let you all in on the secret. With Wayne Enterprises surpassing LexCorp as the world's most sold stock and leading all companies in government contracts around the world, we have decided that it will be a great time to expand. So, expect to see new operating locations of Wayne Enterprises in Metropolis, Bludhaven, Star City, Central City, Washington D.C., New York City, and San Francisco."
"How will this affect LexCorp's strangle hold on everything in Metropolis?"
"Well, that's not my job to figure out. My job is to make my company as strong as possible and our expansion should do that. We will be able to control every part of our manufacturing processes and research will stay within the company. Plus, we will employ another one million people across the country. Now, if you don't mind, I have a meeting to get to." I said, ending the interviews and almost assuredly angering some poor little journalist.
Such is the life of Bruce Wayne.
I went into the lobby and was directed to an elevator that I was told would go directly to Luthor's office. After watching as the elevator rose 99 floors to the top of the Luthor Center and saw that the only room on the floor accessible to this elevator was Lex's office. While I preferred a sparsely decorated, more functional office, Luthor went to the other extreme. The room was huge and full of everything you could possibly imagine. Models of experimental aircraft and buildings, pictures of the President and the Pope stationed next to Luthor, and incredible looking furniture. This room wasn't as much about work as it was presentation. Luthor was trying to make a show of things by holding his meetings in this room. He was trying to impress you. Unfortunate for him, I was not easily impressed.
The king himself sat behind his desk, legs crossed as he watched the live ticker that screamed across his desk. On it, it showed stock information on the most important of his business ventures and rivals. No doubt, my company's numbers would crawl across that desk every so often. I loved it.
"Lex, how are you, my good man?" I said as I approached the desk and took a seat across from him. "Showing off a bit, aren't you?"
Luthor's eyes very briefly shot across the desk to mine, their dark color attempting to bore a hole through my skull.
"Give it a rest, Bruce. We all know that stupid playboy bullshit you play in the public isn't going to work in here. You requested that I not bring my usual team of lawyers to this meeting, which means on of two things."
"And those are?" I replied, dropping my carefully constructed facade.
"Either, you have come to simply ask me for a favor, which is unlikely, yet plausible because of how incredibly stupid you actually are. Or, you have some stupid banquet or something that you want me to attend and you thought that coming to me in person would give you a better chance at getting me to go. Either way, the answer is no and get out of my office."
I chucked silently before I replied sharply.
"Or, I have a business deal that I thought you might want a look at. I would consider letting you split the profits with Wayne Enterprises." I replied, knowing that anything that took money from my company would be something he wholeheartedly supported.
He finally looked away from the crawling text that outlined his desk and up towards me. For a moment, we glared at each other with a razor-sharp focus. Finally, he broke into a smile and leaned forward.
"What's the tech?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"A new energy manipulator." I replied, matching his tone.
"What?" he replied in shock. "I thought this was a new bio weapon or a specialized water tank for the military. Energy manipulation? What is that going to do for us, Wayne?" Luthor replied as he laughed.
"This machine will allow us to exponentially expand the amount of energy you produce. Instead of sending power through all the wires in your building, you shift it all into this machine. This machine, which acts a miniturized atom smasher for electricity, accelerates the electricity to unimagineable speeds. Once the process begins, it creates new kenetic energy. In less than ten seconds, all of the energy that was given to the machine at the beginning of the process has been multiplied by nearly one thousand times. Theoretically, you could run this machine two months out of the year and run your whole building on stored power for the rest of the year. Imagine how much we could drop prices on household items by almost eliminating electrical costs!"
After my impassioned speech, Luthor's reaction was surprising. He actually seemed moderately interested. While I had been considering cutting him in this deal if he wanted to be, I hadn't expected him to even consider it. He owned Metropolis Power, the main electric company in Metropolis. He didn't need this, which immediately made me wary when he appeared to be considering my offer.
"What's the price?" he asked simply.
"We would give you the unit for 23 million. From there, any profits made on the manufacturing of new units would be split between Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp. We would split it 60-40." I replied, knowing how much that would piss him off.
"Wayne, you know my rules. If I get cut into a deal, I get majority rights." he said, attempting to scare me by staring me down.
"Lex, you can do that when you work with S.T.A.R or even the Defense Department, but this is Wayne Enterprises you're talking about. I've done the math and I could go in today and buy nearly 25% of your company without having to arrange for any help. With the help of a brokering firm, I could purchase almost all of your holdings west of the Mississippi and within the next six months, I could own you, Luthor. Do you understand that?" I asked him, standing up and beginning to leave.
"You wouldn't dare." Lex said strongly from the other side of the desk.
"This offer expires when the elevator door closes, Lex. You can accept 30% of the profits from Wayne Tech's energy manipulation project under one circumstance: you sign a contract stating that in the decade, you will make no attempts to pursue any financial interests in Gotham City. If you decline, you get none of the profits and I'll buy you out within a year. If you accept, I will sign the same contract saying that I will make no attempts to buy stock in LexCorp." I informed him. "What do you say, Luthor?"
Instantly, I pulled out my briefcase and opened it. Laying on top was the contract I had written up. I put it on the desk and turned to the elevator. After taking a few steps, I turned back around.
"You can send me the signed contract in the mail. If I don't get it in two days, I start buying. I hope you can afford that."
I had just gotten to the elevator when Luthor spoke up.
"How do you afford to support them?"
I turned around to see Luthor standing behind his desk, a huge smile on his face.
"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.
"Batman and Robin." he replied simply.
"I'm sorry. I have no idea what the hell you are talking about." I replied.
"Oh don't give me that bullshit again, Wayne. They drive state-of-the-art vehicles with weaponry that only an advanced weapons division like yours could have created. They are outfitted with some of the best body armor known to man. Also, I find it ironic that Batman worked alone for so long and then a couple years after Bruce Wayne takes a young circus orphan into his home, a sidekick joined him. In addition, Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same height and Dick Grayson and Robin are the same height. It all seems to make sense, doesn't it? A little boy's parents are killed in front of me and then before he can get his revenge, it's taken from him. So, he decides to fake his death and train to fight those that would do the same thing. That's it, isn't it, Wayne? That's all Batman is? A scared little boy in the corner, crying for mommy."
That was what did. It just two steps I was back across the room. I grabbed the corner of Luthor's desk and flipped it over. Then, I reached forward and grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. As his face began to turn purple, I leaned in to his ear and spoke in the most threatening voice I knew how.
"You never talk about my family like that ever again." I growled. "If I ever hear you mutter a word about my parents again, I will make you wish you had never been born. I suggest you cease all of your illegal activites in Gotham. Otherwise, I'll be forced to turn them into the police and I'm positive that your already spotty reputation couldn't handle something like that."
With that, I dropped him and turned to leave. As he gagged and caught his breath, I could hear him swearing at me under his breath. After a quick ride down the luxurious elevator, I hit the lobby at the fastest walk I could. As I reached the door, I saw a man, walking towards me. He was obviously a reporter. I turned and looked at him.
"What do you want?" I asked sharply.
"Clark Kent, Daily Planet. What was your meeting with Lex Luthor about?"
I was much too pissed off to answer him straight.
"It was actually a tea party. We didn't talk about anything."
I turned to walk away when he asked another question.
"Please, sir, I'm just trying to do my job."
I turned back around and looked at him before I answered.
"You want to do your job? Figure out what that "Super Man" was that moved that truck out of the way of the train yesterday."
"What do you mean?"
"Watch the video as slow as you can. It's a man."
"A flying man? Doesn't that sound kind of ridiculous?" Kent replied.
"It wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing I've heard today."
The Hilton-Metropolis
10:11 PM
After a long day of fighting with Lex Luthor and being hounded by paparazzi, I was ready to get to work. But first, I needed to call Dick and give him his briefing for patrols in Gotham tonight. The phone picked up on the first ring.
"Are you suited up?"
"As always, Master Wayne." Alfred's voice replied.
"Aflred, where's Dick?" I replied in alarm.
"Master Dick left for Gotham fifty minutes ago. Commissioner Gordon activated the Bat Signal." he replied calmly. "He told me to tell you that he is sorry for missing your call but deemed it quite prudent to go into Gotham."
"He's right. What was the problem?"
"Edward Nygma escaped from Arkham." Alfred replied simply.
"Again? I swear if Arkham doesn't improve his security soon, we're going to have a real crisis on our hands. That's Freeze, The Riddler, Zsasz, and The Riddler again!"
"Well, sir, you do have the finances to help him." Aflred replied dryly.
"Maybe. Anyway, I trust Dick to handle that situation. I'll radio him from the Batmobile when I get a chance."
"What a splendid idea, sir. Have a wonderful evening." he replied.
"Goodnight, Alfred." I said before hanging up the phone.
Jeremiah Arkham had taken over for his uncle as Chief Administrator and Owner of Arkham Asylum when his uncle had lost his mind. Jeremiah's strict behavior with his patients had not crossed over the security that his facility was surely lacking. With men like The Joker, Mr. Freeze, and Victor Zsasz, a crazed serial killer, locked up in his prison, he needed to improve his security. I made a mental note to coerce him into doing so when I got back to Gotham.
Ready to head out for the evening, I took the elevator down to the first floor. I had hid the Batmobile and a mobile uniforming station in an abandoned building about eight blocks from where I was staying. There, I had everything that I would need for my two or three nights of Metropolis patrols.
After the twenty minute walk to the building and another hour of dressing and prepping, I was ready to go. After scaling the empty building, I was ready to work. I turned on my recently upgraded radio and dialed it to Robin's frequency. Utilizing new technology, I was able to use Wayne Tech-sponsored government satellites to talk to someone as far as 250 miles away. I was in the process of utilizing computers and the internet to increase its effectiveness but that was still a long way away.
"Robin, check in." I ordered on the radio.
About two minutes later, Robin's voice rang over the radio, out of breath.
"Checking in, Batman. The Riddler is back in Arkham. Luckily, Gordon was able to notify me in time that he wasn't able to set up some of his elaborate traps." Robin's voice said over the radio.
"Good job, Robin. Now, check out the West End and the shipping yards tonight. There are rumors of a cat burglar in the West End that's stealing anything of value. Also, The Red Hoods are attempting to make a comeback at the docks. Remember, if there are more than five armed men, back off for tonight."
"Will do, Bats. Robin, out." he responded before cutting the line.
I knew that I was being overprotective of him. But he was right. I needed him to assist me with Gotham and he couldn't do that if he was dead. I knew that within the next six months to a year, his body would fill out enough that he would be able to consistently handle everything. But, for right now, he was still pretty trim and that wasn't going to help him stop some of the huge goons that Gotham crime lords often employed.
I had gotten so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that someone had come up behind me. I turned, batarangs ready, surprised to see the same man that had pushed the truck out of the way was standing behind me. I noticed that he had a large red and yellow S on the front of his suit.
"Who are you?" I asked him.
"Well, Batman, I call myself Superman." he replied in a silky voice.
"That's great. How did you move that truck?" I responded shortly.
"It's one of my many gifts. Super strength, flight, x-ray vision, heat vision, and many other things."
"That's not possible."
"For a human." he replied simply.
"What does that mean?"
"My real name is Kal-El and I am from the planet Krypton. Years ago, the planet was destroyed but my parents were able to send me here. They sent me here to help protect the people of this planet."
He must have thought I was crazy.
"No such place exists."
"You are right. But about thirty years ago, it did. However, its sun exploded and destroyed it." he replied, obviously noticing my suspicions of him.
"Prove it." I shot back.
Instantly, he shot straight up in the air until he was thirty feet over my head. Then, he shot over to the side of the building where he flew down the ground and picked up a pick-up truck that was parked on the side of the road. Once he had it firmly in his grasp, he flew back up to the roof and set the truck down on top of the building.
"OK. So, you are an alien from another planet. What does that mean for us?"
He looked at me as if examining me before he responded.
"Do you trust me?"
"Why do you care? You could just vaporize me if I didn't."
"I could, but I know someone who fights for good when I see it. I may dislike your brutality and your methods but I see what you're doing in Gotham and I know the kind of good that you are doing."
"Thanks. But why does that have to deal with trust?" I fired back at him.
"I'm not the only superpowered person on this planet. For a number of reasons, there are other people that have the ability to fight those who want to oppress others. I have met with a number of them and they have agreed to join me."
"Join you in what?"
"I want to form a team. As you can guess, if there was once one alien civilization among the stars, there are bound to be others, and not all of them might be as benevolent as Kryptons were. Also, if any of our enemies ever teamed up, it would be impossible for one of us to stop them. That's where we would come in. When one of us could not stop something, all of us could."
"Who are the others?" I asked, surprisingly curious despite my usual propensity for working alone.
"There is the Amazonian, Wonder Woman. She was born of a race of super-powered women who live in secret off of the coast of South America. Then, the speedster known as The Flash. A freak accident granted him the ability to run faster than the speed of sound, among other gifts. Even he is not sure how fast he can actually run. Finally, the protector of our galactic region, The Green Lantern."
"Galactic region?"
"Across the galaxy, there are a collection of planets that house known life. In the center of the known universe lies Oa, the first planet. There, a race known only as the Guardians have made it their duty to protect all living beings. They give residents of each sector one guardian who uses the power of hope and strength to fight those who may seek to destroy those within their sector. That is the duty of a Green Lantern."
"What does this have to do with me?" I replied shortly.
"You have no natural abilities, other than maybe exceptional intelligence. Yet, you stand up against the same criminals as myself and others that have far superior natural abilities. That can mean only one thing."
"What?"
"That more than any person on this planet, you believe in fighting for what you believe in. We both know that very few people would put themselves in harm's way for someone they have never met, even if they did have superpowers. So, for someone like you to willingly throw yourself in between criminals and their victims says that you believe more than any of us in what you do."
"Thanks for flattering me. Now, what do you want?"
"All I want is for you to join us. We'll have to wait a couple weeks to get things off the ground. We need to make sure that each of us are secured as a protector of the peace before we join forces."
"I'll consider it."
I had turned to leave when something struck me. Something that I had said earlier. I turned back to Superman.
"Why Superman?"
"An ally in disguise gave me the name." Superman said, not hiding the intent of his words.
"Great." I shot back before launching myself off the side of the building.
August 17
5:15 PM
Andrea Beaumont's Penthouse
I had stayed in Metropolis for a couple extra days. I had had no other meetings with Superman and nothing exceptionally eventful during my short time in Metropolis. In fact, after my meeting with Superman, it had taken me nearly four hours to find something else to do. Lucky for me, a mugger had decided to try and take a woman's purse just underneath where I was perched. I had quickly made it known to him that this was not a particularly good idea.
I had landed in Gotham about an hour ago and had Alfred pick me up there. However, I had no intention of going home so quickly. I hadn't seen Andrea in nearly two weeks and while my life as Batman kept me busy, I couldn't say that I didn't miss her. We had been dating for nearly four years and while for any other couple, that would mean that marriage was on the horizon, the same didn't hold true for us. We had agreed that until I was able to take a couple nights a week off as Batman, marriage wasn't something that was worth the hassle. She understood my life and I did my best to keep myself available to her.
Alfred pulled up to the apartment building that Andrea had built. I had named her a board member at Wayne Enterprises about two months after her father's resignation. He had been convicted of money laundering and conspiracy and was going to be in prison for another three or four years. Once she had been named a board member, she had nearly taken control of the board. Her vote was often the most important in any close issue and the board members seemed to try and push her one way or the other more often than not. However, she was always in control of the situation and only ever voted one way if it benefited her.
I walked up to the front desk and hailed the man running the desk.
"Mr. Wayne, what can I do for you?" he asked as he approached me.
"Is Andrea in?" I asked.
"Yes, did you want me to let her know you were coming?" the desk man asked in reply.
"No, I think I'll surprise her."
After leaving the front desk, I strolled over to the large elevator. Being who I was, the second I was inside, anyone else that had been considering going up in the elevator suddenly decided to wait outside. Being Bruce Wayne definitely had its advantages. After about a minute, the elevator stopped at the 50th floor, the top floor reached by the elevator. Andrea's penthouse was actually 3 floors but the elevator stopped on the first one.
I walked out of the elevator and as I expected, Andrea was in her office, hard at work. I don't know whether it was my influence or not but she had turned into quite a workaholic. I knocked on the door and sure enough, she jumped, not knowing that I was there. She sharply turned around and gave me a sharp glare before softening and smiling at me.
"Good evening, Bruce." she said, still nervously smiling about her fright.
"Good evening. What are you working on?" I asked curiously.
"That new proposal that Lucius brought to the last board meeting." she replied as she turned back around to her work.
"Ah, what's your thought on it?"
"I'm not sure. My fear is that this new virus that would be created to cure cancer could be used against us in the future. It could turn into the next viable bio-weapon."
"Good point." I replied as I sat down on the chair opposite her desk.
About five minutes later, she finished typing and researching and turned around.
"So, what's up, Bats?" she asked sarcastically.
"Not funny." I replied quickly.
"Sorry." she replied with a smile. "I've missed you. What have you been up to?"
"Well, I had to go meet with Luthor in Metropolis and then investigate some things."
"Like Superman?" she asked as she picked up a copy of The Daily Planet, Metropolis' leading newspaper.
"What is that?" I replied in shock.
"Lois Lane got an interview with him. Apparently, he was behind that truck that got moved out of the way of that train earlier this week. But I'm sure you already knew that." Andy said with a wink.
"I did but I didn't know that he had gone public." I replied, taking the paper from her and skimming the article.
"Apparently so. People seem to be going nuts over him. Sorry, babe, but I don't think that's going to change Gotham's opinion of you." Andy stated.
"I have Gordon's support. That's all I need." I replied sharply.
"I know, Bruce." she replied. After a brief pause, she spoke again. "Dick stopped by here the other night."
"What? Why?"
"Apparently Gotham was pretty boring while you were gone and he was done with patrols. He said he didn't want to go back to the Manor and so he asked if he could stay here."
"I wonder why..."
"Well, the next morning, he got up and made us breakfast and then he left. When I asked him where he was going, he said he was going to go hang out with Barbara for awhile before he had to go back and train."
I sighed deeply. I hadn't considered that Commissioner Gordon's daughter would go to the Hall Institute with Dick. They had become best friends and I constantly worried that the time Dick spent over there would lead Jim to notice the similarities between Dick and Robin. Jim wasn't stupid and it had to be something that he would notice eventually.
Andy had noticed me zoning out and lightly smacked me in the fact to bring me back to her.
"Earth to Bruce. Earth to Bruce." Andy said through her huge grin.
"Thanks. I need to stop doing that." I said, returning her smile.
"No kidding. Learn to think and talk at the same time, ok?"
"I'll do my best." I said as I stood up.
"Are you leaving?" she asked with disappointment.
"Yeah. I need to go and talk to Dick before patrols tonight."
"OK. Be safe, Batman."
"I will do my best."