"How many times has he saved you?"
Lois blinked at the question. "What?"
"How many times has he saved you?"
Lois thought for a moment. "I don't exactly keep track…"
"Twenty-eight."
"Twenty-eight?" Lois repeated.
"He saved your life or rescued you from a life threatening situation twenty-eight. Twenty-eight times you were in mortal danger and had to be… rescued." The last word was said like it tasted vile and bitter.
"And how many times has he saved you?" Lois asked with a smirk.
The man standing across from her gave her a hard look with his dark eyes.
"I agreed to this because I thought you were going to take it seriously. If you're here to play games…"
"I'm sorry…" Lois said. "I am taking this seriously. Please… Bruce… Continue."
Lois looked at the man standing across from her; his tall muscular frame now covered with a karate GI. His dark hair; now slicked back with sweat. His dark eyes, so full of focus and determination, fire and ferocity, knowledge and understanding. But there was no sympathy there. No remorse or regret. Just purpose and passion.
It was there, looking into those eyes, that Lois understood why Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy was so sought after by nearly every woman he met; as well as why Batman, Gotham City's Dark Knight, was so feared by the criminal underworld as a whole.
They were in the Bat-Cave, Batman's subterranean layer. It was a vast cavern located beneath his home, Wayne Manor, located on the outskirts of Gotham City.
They were standing on a training mat set off to one corner of the cave. There were weight benches, free weights, a heavy bag, and a collection of life size fighting dummies hanging from the stalactite covered ceiling. There where also a large collection of weapons hanging on one smoothed over wall; an impressive collection of swords, staffs, battle axe's, knives, and even a mace.
Bright florescent lights hung from the ceiling as well, but were angled in a way that only the immediate area was illuminated. The rest of the cave remained bathed in darkness and shadows. Lois could hear bats clamoring restlessly throughout.
She was wearing blue Capri style exercise pants that clung to her legs and a matching sports top that left her mid-drift exposed. Her hair was pulled into a tight braid. Her feet were bare, her hands were wrapped in sports tape, and her body was covered with sweat. For the last hour and a half, she and Bruce had sparred, and gone over various martial arts and self defense techniques. Clark had asked, nearly begged Bruce to take the time to teach Lois, after a recent incident that had left Lois in the hospital for a week with a broken rib and multiple cuts from a very large knife. Superman had subsequently assured Bruce that he would spend the night patrolling Gotham in his stead so that he could take the time to train Lois.
Bruce still wasn't happy about it.
As it was, Lois was sore and tired, and starting to feel the throbbing from a backhand to the head she failed to block. Bruce, on the other hand, looked none the worse for wear, and had barely broken a sweat. And despite her best efforts, Lois had not so much as landed a finger on him… yet.
"Twenty-eight times…" he continued after a long moment. "That you have placed yourself in harms way, usually chasing a story or sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, often placing the lives of others in jeopardy as well. And twenty-eight times, Superman has saved you."
"Is there a point?" Lois asked, unable to keep the irritation out of her voice.
"The point is this: why don't you ever save yourself?"
Lois opened her mouth to respond… but then closed it. She thought about the question and realized she didn't have a real answer.
"You don't know how." Bruce said matter-of-factly.
"I know how to fight." Lois responded.
"As does any animal backed into a corner." Bruce pressed on. "But what happens to the tiger after you've locked it in the cage? When all it has to claw and bite are steel bars and a lock it doesn't understand. A coyote trapped in a bear-trap may chew its leg off to be free, but it will soon die of infection, or fall victim to a larger predator that catches the sent of fresh blood."
"So what?" Lois asked. "You gonna lock me in a cage and see if I can escape?"
And with a smile that could either melt your heart or make you pee your pants, Bruce answered; "Not quite."
Lois had a second to register the chill that ran down her spine before Bruce spoke again.
"Lights."
The cave went dark. Not just dark. Pitch black.
Lois instinctively put her hands out before here and began feeling the air around her. She couldn't see anything. Not her hands before her. Not the floor beneath her. Not the ceiling above her. There was only the darkness; complete and total darkness.
"Bruce?" she called out. There was no response. Only the sound of the bats scattered throughout the cave.
She took a step forward, her hands feeling for something tangible and solid. She eased forward towards the spot were Bruce had just been standing. Surely he was still there. She didn't hear him move, and on this mat, every step would have been audible.
"I'm not there." His voice called out from the darkness, seemingly reading her mind. His voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, as if the pitch black vale was speaking to her.
Lois spun in place slowly, her hands reaching in every direction, trying to feel something, anything, all the while knowing she wouldn't. Not until he wanted her to.
"This some sort of test? Your sick idea of a game?" she shouted.
"I don't play games." He said, and again, the voice seemed to come from the very darkness around her.
Lois's heart began to pound. She began to take fast, shallow breaths. She took a few steps to here left, where she remembered the wall was. If she could reach it, place her back to it… she may be able to find her way.
"You're five feet from the edge. It's a seventy foot drop to the bottom." Bruce said plainly.
Lois stopped moving. Her heart was a jackhammer. "Enough!" She shouted. "Turn the lights back on!"
"Why?"
"Because I can't see a damned thing!"
"So?"
"Bruce! This isn't funny!"
"It's not supposed to be."
"DAMNIT, BRUCE!" she screamed. "TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON!"
"If you keep screaming, you'll agitate the bats." He said.
Lois was shaking. Her eyes were burning and she was having difficulty breathing. She was on the edge of sheer panic.
"Control your emotions, Lois." Bruce called out.
"I-I can't…" she breathed. "I-I-I'm scared."
"Scared of what?" he asked from the shadows. "Of the darkness? There's nothing to be afraid of here."
"I CAN'T SEE!"
"You don't need to see." Bruce replied. "This is your cage Lois. Not this cave or even the darkness. The cage is your mind. That's the only cage there is; the only cage there ever is. Once you realize that, once you accept it; that this cage is in your mind, a cage of your own creation; then you ultimately have the key to unlock it. Find the key, Lois."
Lois was breathing hard now. She was shaking slightly and a few tears had run down her face.
"The cage is in my mind! The cage is my mind!" she thought. "And I have the key; I just wish I knew where the hell I left it!"
"Lights!" she said. Nothing happened. "LIGHTS!" she screamed. Again, nothing happened. The darkness pressed in around her. "I thought you said I had the key!" she screamed.
"The cage is in your mind, Lois. But this cave… is mine."
"YOU SON-OF-A—"
The bats screeched down at her then. She felt the flutter of leather wings around her head and face. She raised her hands to protect herself and dropped to one knee. The bats fluttered and flew around her for a moment, then slowly returned to the upper corners of the cave.
"I warned you."
Lois was breathing so hard her chest was beginning to ache. Her heart was pounding, but not from fear. Now, she was pissed: Pissed at Bruce and his stupid test; pissed at herself for being so weak; pissed at Clark for having to save her all the time. Well, maybe not the last part.
She wanted to call him every curse word she had every heard. But those damned bats would be on her before she could get to the really good ones.
And there, in the darkness of the Bat-Cave, a light went on over Lois' head.
She took a deep breath and let loose the most high-pitched, ear splitting scream she could muster. She screamed as high and as hard as she could. She screamed long and loud.
And the bats went crazy with the sound. The sound of hundreds, maybe thousands of bats taking flight and screeching through the darkness of the cave filled her ears. And still she screamed.
She felt the beating of small wings, the brushing of fur, the scraping of claws and the biting of small teeth. And still she screamed. Bats clung to her legs and arms; crawled over her head and about her shoulders.
And still she screamed.
She screamed until her throat was raw and sore. She screamed until her lungs ached. She screamed and screamed, and screamed.
"LIGHTS!" Bruce shouted.
The lights flashed to life like small suns in the darkness. Only then did Lois stop screaming. She was temporarily blinded and had to shield her eyes as they adjusted. When at last he eyes adjusted, Bruce was standing over her, a small cloud of bats swarming around the two of them. He shooed them away absentmindedly. Now that the sounds of Lois screams were gone, the bats were content to return to there resting place or seek life elsewhere.
Bruce was covered in tiny scratches and bite marks. His hair was tossed and messy, but aside from that, he looked his normal, brooding self.
He looked down at Lois for a long moment. Then slowly reached out and offered her a hand up.
Lois took it and he pulled her to her feet.
"Not exactly what I had in mind." he said. "But effective."
"Thanks." Lois said. Her voice was little more than a whisper; her throat was raw and strained. She probably wouldn't be able to talk for the next couple of days. "I figured if I screwed with the bats bad enough, they'd attack anything and everything… even you."
"You realize I didn't have to turn the lights back on to escape them."
"Yeah, but you realize I wouldn't stop screaming until you did."
"True."
Bruce walked over to one of the weight benches and grabbed a towel. He tossed it to Lois.
She caught it and began wiping her arms, neck and shoulders. The white towel came away with small patches of crimson.
Lois ignored it.
Bruce was wiping his own wounds when she drew even with him.
"Does escaping cages always require so much of a sacrifice?" she asked.
Bruce glanced at her for a moment. "Realizing the only cage is the one we create for ourselves is a lesson you only have to learn once."
"Yeah…" Lois said, and then coughed. Bruce handed her a small bottle of water. Lois took it, opened it, and took a long drink. She massaged her throat as she swallowed. When she was done, she regarded Bruce again.
"Okay… so we create our own cages. I get that…" she continued. "But someone else locks us in. How do you always find the right key?"
Bruce turned and faced her then, his face serious, his feature dark.
"Those who wish to do you harm often fall into one of two categories: the ones that fear you and the ones that hate you. The ones that fear you will do only what they must to be rid of you. There are no elaborate schemes or plans. No intricate traps or devices. They would just as soon leave you locked in the closet as put a bullet in your head. The ones that hate you; they are the ones that go through great lengths. The ones who spend weeks, or months, or even longer, dreaming of nothing but your end. Their every waking thought is of watching you suffer; slowly. Painfully! They don't want it to be quick and painless. That would rob them of their fulfillment.
"The secret is this: in both cases; in every case; the key is always in your hands, because YOU are always the key. Whether they underestimate you, over plan for you, think they have beaten you, or simply forget all about you; they will always, ALWAYS, give you the opportunity to unlock your own cage. The only thing you have to do is recognize the opportunity and take it when it presents itself."
"That's easy for you to say." Lois whispered. "Don't you carry a lock-pick set in your utility belt?"
Bruce offered her a slight smile. "Some locks aren't as metaphorical as others."
"I heard screaming."
Lois turned. An older gentleman in a black suit and white shirt was standing on the other side of the training mat. Alfred Pennyworth was the butler and friend to Bruce Wayne and, in some ways, an assistant to Batman. He was also the closest thing Bruce had to a father.
"Is everything alright?" he asked.
Bruce looked at Lois. Lois looked back. A silent understanding passed between the two.
"Everything's fine, Alfred." Bruce answered.
"I'm sure, sir." Alfred responded dryly. "I took the liberty of preparing some hot tea with extra lemon; does wonders for a sore throat."
Lois smiled. "Thank you, Alfred."
"And judging from the marks about your arms and upper body, perhaps I should prepare two doses of Rabies vaccinations, and some small bandages and antibiotics."
"Thank you, Alfred." This time from Bruce.
"In the future, sir," Alfred began. "Perhaps your guests would enjoy meeting you elsewhere in the grounds; somewhere without the possibility of contracting a disease. Might I suggest the pool…?"
And with a slight bow and nod, Alfred turned and walked away.
Lois smiled. She liked Alfred.
Bruce was already walking past her, heading towards the main section of the cave.
"You can shower upstairs after you get the vaccine. I'll ask Alfred to prepare some dinner. I'll also contact Superman and let him know we are finished here."
Bruce stopped on the far side of the training mat. He was still and silent for a long moment.
"Next month, I will be out of the country on business." he said matter-of-factly. "When I return, you can come back for your next session. I'll make the arrangements with Clark." And without another word, he left the training area.
Lois was sore, tired, covered with small scratches and tiny bite marks. Her throat was raw, she could barely speak, and she was pretty sure she had just contracted rabies.
But despite it all, she felt absolutely wonderful!