CHAPTER 14. WITHOUT COURSE.

More than 3 years later

17:00

He had just put all his things in his bedroom, along with the help of his butler Alfred. They've been doing this since three in the afternoon, when he'd called a moving service for help moving his things back to the mansion he'd originally lived in. He would never have left, except that his parents told him that when he went to college, he would have to live on his own and do his own thing to learn to live on his own. But, they never took away their financial support, they sent him a few thousand each month, but so he could manage and save them.

Saving and living in a fairly normal apartment was easy. He was young, he had money, and he wasn't with anyone else there, so there weren't any hiccups money-wise, except for that one trip where he ended up on a mountain, while Dick and Zatanna headed back to the city. Several of the pieces of furniture in that apartment were even rented, and he took very good care of them, even if he couldn't drink or eat anything that could stain them.

This was also the reason why his parents put him to work as an intern at the Zatara Talent Agency, to start his work experience. Well, he didn't need money. Once he finished with the university, he said goodbye to Zatara and told him to say goodbye to his daughter for him, since she had left before to continue with the family business, but not before thanking him for his stay, which had ended without much conflict after that trip, although his relationship with Miss Zatara became more distant, but because she now had other things to do, they hardly spoke as they usually did.

A few months had passed since his graduation, because he wanted to be alone in the apartment for another two months. Now, he was back home and ready to start his new life with the job for which he had to inherit.

"Is that it, Master Bruce?" Asked the butler.

"Yes, that was it, Alfred" He replied. "Thank you very much for this" He added.

"Don't mention it, Master Bruce" He said, waving his hand in denial. "Well, it's a few hours until dinner, so I'll be in the library if anyone needs me until seven to start preparing it."

"Understood" He said, nodding and Alfred left. He turned around and saw that he was back in his bedroom, with his big bed and the boxes full of his things. In a while they would be empty, because he would put them back where they were before he left. "It feels good to be home" He said this with a half smile.

However, his joy grew even more when he knew that at six o'clock in the evening, he would talk to his parents, to tell them his great plan now that he has already graduated and will start working in the company of his parents, the acquaintances Thomas and Martha Wayne. Thomas was the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, the company in charge of making the greatest technological and social advances for the city. This was what gave him the reputation and social position of the Prince of Gotham. He was the son of the wealthiest couple in the city, so he had everything insured, but he had always been educated to always strive for anything, and that money would not always give him the solution he wanted. He could be arrogant at times, but, in the end, everyone has arrogance to different measures, and this was gonna be more obvious when he would talk to his parents.

XXX

18:00

"Dad, Mom, thank you very much for allowing me to say this. Also, I'm happy that I came back here. After all, home is home" He said this, looking directly into their eyes, although they could see that he was somewhat nervous.

They loved their son, because he was the only one, but they could have all the money in the world and still want him with them. They had been present at his graduation ceremony, and they were proud that he finished his degree without much trouble. However, for him to have called them into the living room to talk to them about something right after he returned from his apartment was rare. He only did that when he had a problem or a big crossroads, but those situations did not happen often.

"No problem, Bruce" Thomas said very kindly. He had always been kind, even when his son got into trouble, but he was firm. It could be said that they were almost twins, but what differentiated them a bit was the position of the eyes, the age that was already very visible in the CEO of the company, and his mustache a little thicker than that of Mayor Princeton.

"Well, I wanted to bring you together here because I wanted to tell you that, after a rather strange experience, I have realized that many things, even the ones we love, can disappear at any moment. Therefore, I would like to take a senior position at Wayne Enterprises. Not as a CEO, I can work in the buildings or the social projects. I want to make people feel good if I build landscapes or buildings that make others happy, that everyone feels in the best place on the planet" Was what he said in his speech to start working.

While his parents just stared at him, he felt accomplished. Now it was only a matter of time before he was allowed to work in the company, which he had never shown great interest in doing, but this time, he did want to.

XXX

One month later

16:30

"Did your parents really tell you that?" Tim asked.

"They tried to be as nice as they could be, but they were still cruel" He said, but with a serious and monotonous expression. It had been a month since he had made his big speech to his parents about how he wanted to work immediately at Wayne Enterprises because of a long-standing experience, but his parents had told him there was something off about him, so they told him to it was better that he not work for a while, until they could see a change.

Because of this, in a whole month, after that talk with his parents, he had gone to the city every day, with the purpose of finding something in it that could help him with his parents so they would let him work. Perhaps some dilapidated building, some infrastructure improvement, a struggling business, or a new building replacing another. It could be said that he was drifting aimlessly, without course. He had done that, not only to work, but to find that something that wouldn't leave him alone. Ever since his strange journey that ended up on a mountain, he hasn't stopped feeling like he's looking for something, or someone. That became clearer when, two days ago, he was getting off the city's monorail and saw a red ribbon in someone's hair. Seeing this, he quickly got out of the monorail and searched for that ribbon with his eyes as far as he could see. However, he found nothing. Even with that, he couldn't stop feeling like he was looking for something…or someone.

"Maybe it's because you don't dress like me" Dick said, beaming.

"I'm dressed just like you, Dick" He said, quite annoyed. And yes, it was true that he was in a black suit with a black tie, while Dick had a black suit, but with a blue tie. But basically, they were dressed in the same way.

"That or you just said something they didn't like" Tim said, also amused by his friend's situation.

"I don't think so, Tim. Also, if this happens to me because of the suit, and I can't work in my own company for a while, the same thing happens to you in the places where you have applied for work" He said, trying to counterattack.

"I have two offers" Tim said, holding up two fingers to point out.

"I have seven" Dick said, in a more mocking tone. "But to be honest, I envy you, Bruce. I think any rich kid or any class would like to be in your position. Your parents ban you from working for a while because of a suit. I would kill to be in your position" He said this, rather amused, though he was right. All children wish their parents forbade them to work.

Outside of this, Dick was happier than usual, but because he saw that his friend was better than how he had been facing that a girl had cheated on him with another. He wasn't silent or angry all the time, although he could tell he was frustrated about his current situation with his parents and his company, but he was better. Because of that, a great weight had been lifted from him, but now, he hoped that this situation would put him on a better path soon. Constant frustration could be another problem in the not too near future.

Other than that, the three friends, despite the situation of one of them, were all happy. They hadn't seen each other for three months since their graduation, so now, returning to the coffee shop where they used to spend their afternoons at the university, it was more than comforting, especially when they wouldn't be able to see each other so often anymore.

"Keep laughing, Dick. But, this situation will not last forever. At some point, and I'm more than sure it will be soon, I'll be working in my own company" He told him to make him stop smiling, but he couldn't.

"I don't think so, seeing as you are, I would expect someone like me to start working in your own company before you. But don't be sad. You should enjoy this free time, because my parents didn't even allow me to take a month off without looking for a job" He advised, saying at the same time that he didn't like what his parents ordered.

"Poor you, Dick" He said sarcastically, almost wanting to smile.

"Yeah, poor Dick" Tim said, in the same sarcastic tone. "But, I think you should listen to him. This leisure time serves to find a goal, Bruce. And I would also take advantage of it to loosen up for a while" He contributed to what Dick said.

He wanted to tell them something else, but his phone rang. He turned it on hoping it was his parents.

XXX

17:30

He had to leave the coffee shop and say goodbye to Dick and Tim after checking the message and took the monorail again until it took him to Park Row. Close to reaching that area of the city, he kept wondering what was missing. He wondered if he was looking for something, someone, a place, or something to work on, but there was no viable answer he could give himself.

As uncertain as this was to him, he decided to ignore it when he reached the meeting place, near the gourmet restaurant where he had had his disappointing date with her, but she was nowhere to be seen. He waited another minute, but she didn't show up, he was thinking of leaving, but he knew she was coming. Cruel jokes were not her style.

"Now you don't see me, now you see me" Miss Zatara said, appearing behind him, who already expected it, so he turned around calmly. He saw that she was not wearing formal clothes, but rather a typical wizarding outfit, but for women: black jacket and ankle-length black pants, a white blouse with a slight neckline, white gloves (but they were stored in a from the pockets of the jacket, since she did not like to wear them all the time), a fake white flower, black heels, and all accompanied by a top hat with a dark blue ribbon.

"I knew you were going to do that" He said, maintaining a small smile. "When I didn't see you anywhere in front, I figured you'd try to surprise me from behind" He explained very happily to make her feel bad about how she couldn't surprise him.

"Then I will have to improve that. Being a beginning stage magician is hard. I have to hone all my skills so they don't become predictable or hackneyed" Zatanna said, putting that down as a mental reminder. In the end, she had had one or another show with acceptable results, but she needed to improve, and it was clear that eventually she would, especially when he wanted to stick with magic now that his father still had to run an entertainment agency, and now without her. "Leaving that aside, what happened to you? I was hoping to see you in some newspaper or news on the internet, but you haven't been in any of them" She said, quite intrigued. He was one of the most famous public figures in the city, but he wasn't in the spotlight, he would even beat Zatanna , for now, in terms of fame.

"I would have been working at Wayne Industries a month ago, but my parents told me I better not because there was something weird about me" He answered her, with the same flat expression he'd shown Dick and Tim.

"Maybe it's how you dress" Zatanna said, with a full smile.

"Do I really look that bad?" He asked. There were already two people who had said the same thing to him, so it was cause for concern.

"Quite" She answered very sarcastically. "Ok let's go. It's not good to stand here if the city is beautiful at this hour" She said before starting to walk.

They walked for a few minutes until he decided to start the conversation.

"And why did you text me earlier? You've been here for a while with your first magic shows and you never sent a message" He explained. It still seemed strange to him that she did that up to that moment, especially when he hadn't seen her for a long time.

"Well, I have this afternoon free before I continue rehearsing the tricks for the next show, and I'm not going to tell you what they are, you'll find out if you go to the theater to see me. This has been my first break from magic in a long time, and I thought I'd come see you. Overall, I'm in the city, later, it will be weird if I see you when I get more shows in different cities" Zatanna replied very happily.

Since he was unaware that Dick had told her the story of their disastrous breakup, she too was attentive to him and his state of mind after that trip. Unfortunately, she couldn't stay tuned, but because she had to become a magician to continue the show. So, seeing that he was happy, or could be seen to be happy, had relaxed her quite a bit. It seemed that her optimism was not an illusion.

As they walked, in one of the skyscrapers, an announcement could be seen about the unfortunate incident located in certain town. Six years had already passed since that fateful and ironic day. Interestingly, Zatanna used this to start a conversation.

"Do you remember when we went to Little Volos with Dick?" She asked to break the silence again. "You were finishing your first year of four at the university, that was ago..." She said, but she had forgotten. The experience was strange and memmorable, but she did not remember the time in which it had occurred.

"Three years" He said, completing her sentence.

"So long? I thought only two. I don't remember much from that time" She said this in a more serious tone. It made her worry not to remember that experience.

When Zatanna looked away, he looked down, somewhat saddened by that and what he was about to say.

"I don't remember much of that either, Zanna" He said. But, he hadn't finished telling her about that strange trip. "I think we had an argument, and you and Dick came back here without me, while I spent the night on a mountain" He told her what he remembered of that trip, but wanted to add something else. "Some time after the trip, for no reason, I was very interested in everything related to the comet. Half of a comet destroyed a town the day it became visible to the whole world. But, surprisingly, the majority of the population was outside the impact zone, because they were carrying out a security drill that same day. Most of the people escaped unharmed. That coincidence sparked a host of rumors and conspiracy theories. I read all the articles on the internet with the greatest possible care and examination. However, I don't know why, I was obsessed with that incident for a long time, but until now it continues to be a mystery to me, especially if we consider that I didn't know anyone from that place" This was what he was telling her for most of the trip.

It's clear he was obsessed. After that trip, he was so absorbed with that incident so much so that, even if he had important homework from the university, he would put it off until later to read everything he could about that incident. Luckily for him, he pulled himself together and didn't let this affect his GPA or his diploma, but he did continue to be interested in that event for a while longer.

Other things that were told were that Dick and his other friend Tim already had job offers, while he would keep a low profile during the time his parents would keep him out of work, but he was more than convinced or wanted to convince her that he was not going to last a long time in this way.

Meanwhile, Zatanna told him that her father had had other assistants at the agency, but none were as good as he had been, despite his days when he didn't know what to do. Furthermore, that the agency was planning to expand into a slightly larger office.

They reached the bridge where their date of more than three years ago had ended and she stopped, so he had to stop too.

"Thank you for today. I hope to see you soon again, if I don't have too much shows in the future" Zatanna said. Before leaving, she could see that something inside him did look strange, like something wasn't working for him in his life, but she didn't know what it was. He wasn't sad, but she knew he wasn't happy either. "I'm sure that, at some point... you'll be happy too" She said as she continued walking, leaving him alone. She expected this phrase would cheer him up.

"And I hope your shows get better with time" He said as he waved his hand goodbye.

After that, he looked at his palms, to see if there was anything there that would tell him something, as he vaguely remembered three years ago, but then again, they were empty, except for his genetic lines.

XXX

21:30

Shortly after Zatanna left, he had been walking for a few minutes when it started to rain. To avoid getting wet, he decided to go into a small place where they made coffee and desserts. He could have called a taxi or called the mansion for Alfred to come pick him up, but he preferred to stay there for a while. Sometimes when he was lonely or frustrated with something, he wanted to be alone, without someone talking to him.

During this time, he checked with his cell phone a building in the city that could be used to start working. He kept doing it hoping to find that something that he kept feeling he had to find, but none of it was interesting or enough to do it. He put his cell phone down on the table and took a drink of the soda he had ordered.

Near him were two people who were speaking loud and clear enough for him to listen.

"I already decided. I do want to go to another wedding exhibition" Said a woman's voice.

"You know they're all the same, Iris" A man's voice told her.

"What's wrong with it? Maybe we can take it to a party room in the city and then to a restaurant" Said the woman named Iris.

"I keep saying that I want a wedding on the beach" The man said.

"By the way, Barry, can you cut your hair before the wedding? I went on a strict diet" Iris told the man named Barry, before taking a taste of the cake she had ordered.

"Oh yes. Says the one who eats a cake very happily" Said this Barry, a little annoyed by what Iris had told him.

"I'll start it tomorrow" Iris said, while she kept chewing.

This caught his attention, so he turned to where they were a few minutes later, but they were already leaving the restaurant when he saw them. Something about them was familiar. He was sure he had heard those voices before, but he couldn't remember where. But, when they left, he just decided to go back and finish his soda and leave. The rain had lightened, so it would not be a problem to go to the taxi station, since the monorail was not going to take him to his mansion.

He was walking for a while until he had to get on a bridge and go through it to get to the taxi station that was nearby. When he got to the middle, because the rain was a bit light, he kept his head down. He didn't have an umbrella, so he didn't want to get his face wet, but he did have good vision to be well oriented, so he believed that when a woman (judging by her figure) who had passed by him, wrapped in a pink jacket, and who was holding a black umbrella, had on her head that red ribbon that he would swear he had seen two days ago. This made him stop abruptly and see if she was the person he didn't know if he was looking for or not, but that woman didn't turn to see him. Once again resigning himself to not finding what he was looking for, he turned and continued walking to the taxi stand.

However, he could not see that the woman turned to him, thinking that something that that person who had barely seen was calling her. However, she only saw a man in a suit walking straight to the opposite side of the bridge. Seeing this, she left and kept walking to the other side. The two of them moved away from each other with each step they took until neither was no longer visible to the other.

XXX

23:00

He had returned to the mansion without any problems, so, seeing the state of his suit due to the rainwater, he left it with Alfred and went to bathe. After that, he ate a delicious dinner prepared by the butler who had left it in the microwave oven with a note. His parents would be back maybe until after midnight, since they were at another social event that they always used to go to. He would have gone with them, but since he wasn't working yet, and since he preferred to keep a low profile for now, it wasn't important to go with them.

After dinner, he went to his room and lay in bed for a few minutes, but he couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking that he was looking for something… or someone. But he didn't know what it was. This made him get up in his night clothes (pants and sleeveless shirt) to the library. He went in and turned on the light and looked for the books he had bought on that strange trip. He had left them with Dick and Zatanna so he could go up that mountain lightly, but he was surprised when his two friends had returned them to him. They thought the books would help him in case he wanted to reread them one day.

He grabbed the book with the title "Little Volos: the village destroyed in 2017". He sat down at the desk and opened the book. This time, he didn't want to read, he only wanted to see the images in the book, hoping that one of them would give him an answer or a clue to what he was looking for, but he only felt sadness. Sadness, strange considering the context.

"Why do I always feel sad just seeing the images of a town that no longer exists and of which I didn't know anyone?" He asked himself.

There was no response again, and it seemed that he was never gonna get one.

Well, this is the penultimate chapter. I'm excited. Just one away from finishing another fic about my favorite couple mixed with one of my favorite animated movies.

Yes, I know that I was able to incorporate Bruce's parents a little more into the story, because they only have two scenes, but, they were important only for that. It could have been forced, but I feel like Bruce deserves a universe where his parents don't die, at least once. Also, I feel like Lucius or one of Wayne Enterprises's partners forbidding him to work just didn't seem coherent to me.

Anyway, see you in the last chapter. Thanks for reading on.

Don't forget the reviews, please.