Everything seemed quiet in the streets of Gotham this night. Dick was again patrolling in the Batman suit. It seemed that his patrolling as the Dark Knight had worked so far. In Dick's mind though there was a lingering doubt. It had worked too well. In the two hours he'd been out, he only came across one attempted carjacking. That just wasn't how Gotham worked, even on a slow night. It gave him an extremely uneasy feeling deep inside that something big was going to happen, and with Bruce not able to be involved, he wondered if he was actually up to the task. He knew that he would have to be and shook off any lingering doubt before he continued on his path through the rooftops of Gotham. He'd eventually find something. Gotham simply couldn't stay this quiet all night long.
Meanwhile Robin and Batgirl were scouring the warehouse district. They were looking for any signs that would give them clues as to where the Joker was hiding out. They too had run across a somewhat slow night. Barbara interrupted two attempted muggings with the help of Tim as backup. He was working diligently to ready himself for the increased workload that he just knew he would need to take on until Bruce could join the Batclan once again. Tim had no doubts that Bruce would overcome this obstacle somehow. He'd studied all the forensic science that he could in his spare time apart from school, homework, and training. He knew that even with Bruce's injury, if he allowed his grades to drop then Bruce would strip him of being Robin, and that was simply something he refused to give up on. Tim always fell back to his reasoning of Batman needing a Robin to serve as an anchor and help keep him grounded. Dick had done wonderful as the first incarnation of Robin. He'd set quite the example to follow. The second Robin Jason had started off strongly, but somewhere along the lines he'd seemed to have forgotten to follow Bruce's lead and had ended up getting himself killed in the process. Bruce held onto extreme guilt from that point on and he changed. As Tim had idolized the duo of Batman and Robin, it didn't take him long to notice the subtle changes in Batman. He became more violent in how he restrained criminals, and he'd beaten Joker to within an inch of his life on more than one occasion. It was at that point Tim had decided that Batman needed to have a Robin at his side, and he began his research based from that point in time. Now that he was so close to fulfilling that role himself, he wasn't about to let that go.
Tim was brought out of his reverie from the call on the communicator. "Batgirl, Robin." Came the voice of Nightwing. "Sit rep."
"All's quiet on this end." Barbara answered in an almost whisper. "We haven't found any new leads to go off of yet either."
"Let's rendezvous at one of the Gotham National Banks." Dick responded. "I'm sending you the coordinates now." As soon as the coordinates were received, the two Batclan members took off in that general direction.
~~ Wayne Manor ~~
Diana had stayed with Bruce that whole evening. After Alfred had gotten Bruce to eat his dinner, both he and Diana worked to get Bruce settled into his wheelchair for the first time. Diana of course did most of the lifting while Alfred made sure the wheelchair was in a good position for Bruce to be seated. While he could sit up now, he still wasn't supposed to sit at a 90 degree angle yet, and he wasn't supposed to propel himself or stay seated for more than a few minutes a day. After a few days of that, Leslie would reevaluate his rehab. Bruce was never one to follow someone else's orders, but a glare from Diana when he reached for the wheels to push himself forward was enough to get him to cease with that train of thought for the moment. When he was securely seated, Diana offered to take Bruce out of his bedroom. He'd been cooped up there for a couple of weeks, and she was happy that she would get to be the one to show him out and thus reveal a substantial amount of progress in his healing. She was up for anything that would help to keep Bruce motivated and focused on recovering.
Diana took him down to the main floor of the Manor, and once there Bruce requested to be taken to the study. Once in the study, Bruce had her stop him while facing the fireplace, and above that was a portrait of two people. Diana realized instantly that it was a portrait of Bruce's parents. She watched as he sat there quietly looking at the portrait. In looking at the two people, Diana saw so much of Bruce's father in his features, but his eyes were clearly from his mother. She then glanced down at Bruce to look for more comparisons when she noticed that he had a troubled look on his face, and seemed to be thinking intently about something. After a couple of minutes, Bruce placed his hands on the wheels of his wheelchair and pushed forward out of Diana's loose grasp on the chair handles. He continued to stare intently at the portrait as Diana watched. He clearly wanted to have a few moments it seemed, and Diana stayed back allowing him his space. She didn't like the deep hurt that was so prevalent on his face. All this time, as Bruce as well as Batman, he'd remained as though he were made of stone. He'd never revealed such emotion aside from anger before while in front of her. Diana wondered if Bruce was even aware of what he was showing in front of her. She knew from her research that Bruce's parents were murdered when he was just a child, and she figured that could have been one of the reasons he'd chosen to take on the life of a vigilante hero. As she watched Bruce sitting there staring at that portrait, she knew that he had been apologizing to his parents before down in the cave when he'd believed his days as Batman had come to an end. She knew that Bruce had more to offer than just his body, but she wondered if he would see it that way as well. She certainly hoped that he would and decide not to give up completely if by chance his legs didn't function in the future. "Take me down to the cave Diana." Bruce said suddenly which startled her. "Please."
The word please took her completely by surprise. It wasn't just the word though that caught her attention, but the tone of Bruce's voice. He reached a tone that seemed so utterly depressed and defeated. She felt her heart breaking for him and wanted to reach out and offer comfort in any way that she could. "Certainly Bruce." She said as she moved back behind him and wheeled him in the direction of the grandfather clock entrance.
As they entered the entrance, Bruce noticed immediately the changes that had been done. He had an elevator that allowed him to bypass the stairs and once down into the cave, he saw all of the ramps and changes that had been made. Dick and Tim had obviously worked very hard to have all of this set up so that Bruce could go anywhere he wished in the cave. Had it not been such a depressing situation, Bruce would've greatly appreciated what his sons had done for him, and even still he felt a little better about his current condition because of what they'd done. Diana took him around all of the areas that had been altered for Bruce to have access to before ending at the place where Bruce had spent the majority of his time as Batman, in front of the Cray super computer. Displayed on the screen was a map of the city with three icons slowly moving around. It was obvious that the icons represented Tim, Dick, and Barbara. Bruce watched the screen intently for a few moments before Alfred's voice interrupted them. "I'm terribly sorry sir, but we've already exceeded Dr. Leslie's orders on your time in the wheelchair." Alfred said apologetically.
Diana sighed at the same time Bruce did. Neither one wanted to leave as Bruce wanted to watch over his adopted bat family, and Diana only wanted to provide Bruce with hope that he was still an intricate part of something special and worth fighting for. She reluctantly turned the chair around and pushed him back down the ramp and over to the elevator where Alfred was waiting. She could tell that the butler didn't wish to force Bruce to leave either, but he knew that he had to do what was in his surrogate son's best interests.
~~ Gotham rooftops ~~
Batman landed on the rooftop he'd chosen to meet up with Batgirl and Robin earlier that night. He'd been much more careful about these meetings after what had happened to both him and Bruce on that horrible night weeks ago. Dick watched all of his surroundings, and when he felt comfortable enough, he landed on the rooftop. Batgirl and Robin landed a few minutes later as they huddled together to discuss what had happened so far that night. Dick went over what he'd come across during his patrol, and was about to head back out when a loud thud was heard from the other side of the rooftop. All three members of the Batclan spun around in the direction of the sound in a defensive stance, ready to strike against any transgressor. It was then that Dick's greatest concern was met as the masked man was once again approaching him and his team.
"So, I see that the Batman is back to scurrying about the rooftops, but is it really the Batman?" Bane said as he approached.
"What are you doing here?" Dick responded in his most menacing voice.
"Only to confirm that my work was completed already." Bane answered. "And now I see that I was successful in breaking the bat as I believed. You discredit your master by wearing his suit. Even though he was no match for me, you were not even close to the challenge that he presented. Allow me to rectify your dishonor by removing you from your master's suit."
Bane took that opportunity and charged at the three Batclan members. Dick threw down some smoke pellets as the team dispersed to avoid the large masked man's attack. Dick was furious with Bane. He'd seriously hurt Bruce, and he wanted to exact some justice on the large man, but he knew from his previous encounter that he wouldn't fare much better than before. Dick silently signaled by touch to his two teammates in directions to escape as they all disappeared behind the smoke. Bane was making his way through the smoke in search of any member of the Batclan that he could latch onto, and after a few moments he heard the sound of a single grapple gun firing, followed shortly after that by another. There was no third shot fired though. One Batclan member remained on the rooftop. Bane cracked his knuckles in anticipation as the smoke finally began to clear. Before visibility was good enough, Bane was at the receiving end of a jumping back heel kick to the face. The blast knocked him back a couple of steps, and he shook his head momentarily to regain his bearings a little bit. When he looked up again, Bane could see clearly that the man in the Batman suit was the one that stayed behind. "You should have followed your own instructions." Bane sneered as he got into a fighting stance. "Now I will leave you with a worse fate than that of your master."
"Shut up and fight." Dick seethed before launching into another series of attacks. He started off with a simple jab that was more of a feint than anything, and followed that with a front kick that was aimed at Bane's knees. A side step caused the kick to hit nothing but air. Undeterred, Dick pulled out weaponry from his own arsenal in Escrima sticks. He twirled them around briefly before striking Bane repeatedly on any opening he could find. His attacks were enough to continue knocking Bane backwards, and eventually to one knee before the masked man was able to strike Dick hard in the chest, which provided him with some separation.
"You're leading with your anger, yet you control it to a point that keeps you from becoming sloppy." Bane said as he wiped his forearm across his face as if he were wiping blood from his mouth. "That's admirable, but you are still foolish to be here instead of fleeing." Bane returned to a standing position, and Dick noticed the masked man place both hands together, one on top of the other. He thought he saw a motion that looked as if Bane had turned a dial of some sort before he returned to a fighting stance. Dick charged again, but when he swung his Escrima sticks this time, Bane moved to block and the force of his block caused the sticks to break against Bane's forearms. Dick was stunned by what he saw. His Escrima sticks should have broken bones before they would break. He didn't have much time to think about that though as Bane charged into the battle now being the aggressor. He swung wildly at first and Dick was able to dodge each swing, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before he'd miss one shot. Sure enough Bane was able to land not one but two strikes on Dick. The first hit Dick in the midsection, which knocked the wind out of him instantly, and the second strike was a knee to Dick's face that sent his body tumbling onto his back.
Dick was groggy from the two strikes. The screen from the lenses in his cowl were cracked and malfunctioning. He wouldn't be able to go through the various forms of enhanced vision and had to rely on his own eye sight from that point on. He also felt like he'd been hit by a freight train face first. Before he could clear his head to focus on his attacker, Bane reached down and latched onto his throat, pulling him up off the rooftop and leaving his feet dangling in the air. Dick swung a kick that connected with Bane just under his extended arm. It was a hard kick and made good contact, but Bane barely flinched from the contact. He merely squeezed more tightly around Dick's throat. He knew he was in deep trouble then. Dick tried to focus on what form of weaponry he had at his disposal that could possibly get him free, and in a move of calculated desperation, he pulled out a razor edged batarang before slamming it into the wrist of the hand that was around his neck. He then quickly followed with a taser and placed it directly against the batarang before discharging the maximum amount of electric current. Those two moves caused Bane to slacken his grip, but not release it. The suit was able to protect Dick from the voltage going through Bane's arm, which allowed Dick the ability to still move. Dick then pulled out his grapple and fired away. He quickly hit the retract button, and the force of that was enough to free his neck from Bane's grasp.
Dick didn't have much time to react as he was quickly approaching the wall that his grapple had latched onto. He hit the release button, and began to plummet down as gravity had latched onto him. He only waited a second or two before engaging the gliding action of Batman's cape to slow his descent. Upon landing he tumbled and rolled back onto his feet. Dick then looked up at the rooftop to see Bane staring down at him. He wasted little time in heading in the other direction so as to create some distance between Bane and himself. He had only now confirmed that Bane was a force to be reckoned with, and a force that he had little chance of defeating on his own until he'd had enough time to find some sort of weakness to exploit. For now, he knew that he needed to catch back up to Barbara and Tim. None of them would be able to patrol alone from this point on with Bane obviously on the hunt for them.
~~ Back at the Manor ~~
Diana had helped Alfred get Bruce back comfortably into his bed once again. Bruce had grumbled the whole way back up from the Batcave to the Manor. He was certainly going to be a handful in the coming weeks for Alfred, especially if no one were to be there to help the faithful butler. When Bruce was settled in, Diana sat next to him and returned to going over more League files on Ra's al Ghul while Alfred left them to make some coffee. Not long after Alfred left, Bruce had once again gone silent, and his face took on a look that was close to how she'd seen him earlier that night while he was in the study staring at his parent's portrait. He reached up and slowly closed the laptop before handing it to Diana. "What is it Bruce?" Diana asked.
"I'm done Diana." He answered.
"What do you mean?" She asked quickly as concern began to grow within her voice.
"I….I don't know if you'd understand." He responded.
Diana reached across her body with her right hand to cup Bruce's cheek and turn his face towards her so that she knew he would be looking at her. "Then explain it do me until I do." She requested.
Bruce gazed into her eyes for a moment, almost looking for the words he wanted to say next. In her eyes he noticed something else there. At first he wasn't sure what it was, only that there was something else that her eyes held. It was compassion that he saw, and he knew that she was willing to listen to whatever he had to say with an open mind. He took a deep breath in his nose and released it out of his mouth before he started to speak. "I know that you're aware of my parents being murdered when I was just a boy." He started and at Diana's nodding in confirmation he continued. "It….it happened in front of me. I don't understand why I lived and they didn't. My father would have given that thug anything he'd asked for, but even that wasn't enough to keep the man from taking both of them that night. For years, I blamed myself."
"Bruce, you were just a boy." Diana responded. "How could you have done anything to have changed the outcome?"
"I realize that now." Bruce replied. "After a year of guilt over what I could've or should've done differently, I made a vow to honor them. I would do whatever it took until I couldn't any more to stop the crime in Gotham. I wanted to ensure that no other child had to endure the cruelty that I went through all those years ago."
Hearing Bruce's words provided Diana with more details about what drove the man to become Batman, and she only gestured for him to continue. She didn't want to stop him from sharing because she never knew if he'd open up like this again. It almost seemed as though he'd never spoken like this to anyone else before.
"I spent years training in various tactics that I knew I'd need to keep with my promise." He continued. "It's in their memory that I do what I….That I did what I did as Batman." He corrected himself and Diana saw the defeat laced with guilt in his eyes.
"Bruce, you've done more for this city than any one man could ever be asked to do." Diana tried to offer as encouragement. "Now is not the time for giving in. You may have to alter your plans, but you can still do enough to continue honoring your vow to your parents."
Bruce sat beside her quietly for a few minutes. Diana kept her eyes focused on him, but she too remained quiet. She wanted him to process what she'd said to him. He was depressed about his newfound physical limitations, and perhaps an outside perspective would provide him with the initiative to not give in. Bruce then lowered his view to right in front of his lap. "Thank you." He whispered.
"For what?" Diana asked.
"I know you and Batman haven't gotten along well, and I hid my secret identity from you." Bruce said. "I wouldn't have been surprised if you chose to leave me here to waste away based on how I've treated and deceived you, and I couldn't have blamed you if you did that. You've gone above and beyond in helping me. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I appreciated what you've done for me."
"Actually, I did it all for Alfred." Diana teased before turning serious again. "You're welcome Bruce. And if it's any consolation for you, I'm no longer angry with you for hiding your identity from me. Kal explained to me once that the only reason he knew was because of his x-ray vision. Besides, it gave me a chance to get to know both sides of you without any preconceived notions about who you are. I'm honored that we have the chance to remain friends."
"Me too." Bruce responded even though the last of what she'd said had stung him for some reason. At that moment Alfred walked in the door with coffee in hand for the two of them. He also informed Bruce that the Batmobile was making its way back to the cave, which meant that patrol had ended. Looking up at a clock on the wall, Bruce realized that it was quite early for even a slow night to end. He knew Dick wouldn't cut patrol short unless it was something important. Bruce gave Alfred a look that told the older man that he would be defying doctor's orders and returning to the cave. His eyes then set onto Diana, and she too figured out what Bruce was saying without him even having to open his mouth to speak. Any arguments would have meant that they both would have to tie Bruce down to keep him in the bed, and he'd still likely find a way to escape from his confines. Instead of fighting an unwinnable battle, she chose to help Bruce back onto the wheelchair, and once he was set, she led him back down to the cave.
They didn't have to wait long for the Batmobile and Batcycle to pull into the cave. Tim was on the bike and quickly distanced himself from the Batmobile. Diana couldn't be sure, but her Meta hearing picked up what sounded like an argument before the hatch slid open on the Batmobile. It was then that her suspicions were confirmed.
"You were so beyond stupid Dick!" Barbara yelled as both she and Dick climbed out of the car. "I don't care what you say, you weren't thinking at all!"
"I told you already Babs, I was just trying to give Tim and you a chance to get clear!" Dick fired back. "I wasn't trying to actually…"
"What happened?!" Bruce yelled interrupting Dick. All three members of the Batclan jumped in shock from the sound of Bruce's voice booming throughout the cave.
Dick's throat suddenly became dry as he tried to swallow down the lump that had instantly become stuck there. He removed the cowl to reveal the blood trickling down and showing that he'd received a broken nose. Dick tossed the cowl towards Alfred while he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to come up with the words to tell Bruce. "The lenses are busted Alfred. I think that cowl is toast." He said before turning his eyes back towards his mentor and adopted father.
"What….Happened?" Bruce asked again in a low and menacing voice. Diana had never heard Bruce's voice sound like that before, and she visibly flinched upon hearing it before she looked down at the man sitting in his wheelchair just in front of her. Was this one of the tactics he used while interrogating his enemies?
Dick knew that there was no avoiding or dancing around the topic based off of Bruce's demeanor. If Bruce could walk, he'd have Dick pinned against one of the cave walls and already have begun interrogating him for answers. Dick sighed and looked at the ground just before his feet as his hands dropped to his sides. "Bane happened." He answered.
Bruce's eyes widened for a moment before his face set back into an emotionless expression. "And you confronted him." He stated. It wasn't a question, but Dick nodded his head in confirmation as if to erase any doubt. "Why?" Bruce asked.
"He appeared on a rooftop where the three of us were." Dick responded. "I wasn't intending on fighting him. I just wanted to keep him busy long enough so that Babs and Tim could get away."
"He could've killed you Dick." Bruce returned. "You should have created a diversion that didn't involve attacking him, and the three of you gotten away."
"Perhaps I should patrol with them." Diana offered. "I might be better able to…"
"No." Bruce stated more harshly than he'd intended. "Bane is a distraction to the bigger picture. You and the League need to focus on what Ra's is doing. Besides, I don't allow Meta's in my city."
Diana glowered at Bruce. She didn't like being told what to do, even if Bruce had a valid point. She wanted to prove his theory wrong though and help him and his family to avoid harm. "But perhaps Bane would be able to tell us something if we captured and interrogated him." She argued.
"Bane is just a hired gun by Ra's that was designed to take me out of the equation." Bruce responded while adding his own glare towards her. "Ra's wouldn't trust him with such information. He's not even a true part of the League of Assassins. He doesn't even tell them any more than absolutely necessary and they are loyal to Ra's to the death. We'll handle Bane here. You and the League need to work on getting Ra's and stopping him."
Diana crossed her arms over her chest and made sure she had a look showing how displeased she was with Bruce's opinion. She wasn't going to listen to any more from this stubborn man. She turned towards Alfred and allowed her anger to dissipate, but only slightly. "I trust that you have enough help here to get Bruce back to his room?" She asked.
"Well, I…do believe so Miss Diana." He answered.
"Good." She said and turned to walk over towards the Teleporter. As she punched in the commands to return to the Watchtower she finished what she had to stay. "Since I will be busy working with the League to stop Ra's, I might not be able to offer much help here."
Alfred gave Bruce a disapproving look as he responded. "I certainly understand Miss Diana, and I wish you luck in completing your mission against the Demon's Head. Though I certainly hope it will not keep you from returning to the Manor soon."
Bruce looked back at his butler before looking over at Diana again. It seemed that they were conspiring against him, and he didn't like that one bit. He waited until Diana disappeared in the white light of the Teleporter before his eyes returned to Alfred. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
"For one as intelligent as you Master Bruce, I would think the answer would be quite clear." Alfred responded with a hint of his disapproval now dripping into his tone of voice.
"Why don't you marry her then if you like having Diana around so much?" Bruce rhetorically asked.
"Were I a younger man, I would certainly entertain that possibility Master Bruce." Alfred fired back before turning on his heels and heading over to the medical area to gather the materials he'd need to patch Dick up.
Bruce turned towards the other three in the cave and saw Dick and Barbara trying to hold back from snickering at seeing Bruce getting put into his place. "What are you looking at?" Bruce fumed. They all turned their attention away from Bruce's glower as they continued fighting the urge to burst out in laughter. Even Tim seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face at that point. Bruce had seen enough of this and focused back onto the other elephant in the room. "Did Bane reveal anything of any use?"
"Actually he was confirming his attack on you Bruce." Dick responded after clearing his throat. "He must have gotten word of the Batman being back out on patrol. Then he wanted to remove me from the suit. Something about dishonoring you by my wearing it."
"Is that all?" Bruce asked.
"Well, at first I thought I was winning the fight with him, but I saw him do something with his hands and then he became ten times stronger it seemed." Dick explained.
Bruce remained silent as he thought through what Dick had told him. He stayed quiet as Alfred tended to Dick's nose and Barbara went over to the Cray supercomputer where she input Dick's findings into the file on Bane that they'd started. When Alfred finished mending Dick's nose Bruce finally broke his silence. "Under no circumstances are any of you to engage Bane again. If you spot him, track him from a safe distance and observe him and his actions only. If you're spotted, then leave, immediately. No hesitation at all. Your safety needs to come first. We'll find a weakness and once we do, that's when we'll exploit it."
"We?" Dick asked.
Bruce looked down at his feet and when everyone else's eyes followed his he wiggled one of his big toes. "We." He confirmed.