Chapter 6: Supernova
The Batmobile was unlike any vehicle Sam had ever been in. If she couldn't look out the window, she would've sworn that the car wasn't even moving. It was actually quite peaceful. She tried stealing glances at the dark knight, who was focused on the task of driving; it's like she wasn't even there. She then realized how tense her muscles were and tried to relax. When the task proved to be more difficult than she thought, Sam tried to tell herself that any normal person probably would be tense after having the fabled Batman show up out of nowhere and insist on being his student.
But you'll never be normal… an all-too-familiar voice warned her in the back of Sam's mind. She angrily pushed the voice away and instead tried to convince herself that this was a good thing. Batman, one of the greatest heroes of the Justice League, was going to train her. What could go wrong?
Everything…just like last time…the voice taunted again. Sam's fists clenched and she gritted her teeth. Get out of my head, she thought angrily. Batman can help me. I won't lose control. I won't!
Go ahead and keep telling yourself that…but when it all goes to hell, I'll be there…just like always…
Get out of my head! Sam desperately fought the voice in her mind. She knew deep down it was just a figment of her imagination, that it wasn't real. It wasn't really him.
You're not real…not real, not real, not real!
The voice laughed inside her mind, a familiar sound that made her stomach lurch and her blood run cold. Of course I'm real, Samantha…and I can't just "go away"…I'll always be a part of you…and as much as you want to deny it, you're more like me than you realize…
I am nothing like you!
"Are you alright?" Batman suddenly asked. The sudden break of the silence caught Sam off-guard.
"Oh, uh, sure," Sam answered. "Where are we going?"
"To the Batcave. It's…" Batman hesitated before continuing, "…underneath Wayne Manor."
"Wait, Wayne Manor?" Sam asked shockingly just as Wayne Manor came into view. Batman turned the Batmobile and drove through a shadowy route in the nearby forests. "You're Bruce Wayne?"
"Yes," Batman answered, "and I expect that information to be kept a secret." He then gave Sam a threatening gaze as if to say I know some of your secrets, too and a cold dread rose in Sam's chest. She then turned her gaze back to the window and the mysterious world outside.