Making the Best of It
Chapter 13
Wayne Manor
Almost four weeks had passed since the illustrious Wayne family welcomed their latest and might they add cutest member to their family.
Elissa was almost a month old and everyone within stately Wayne Manor grew accustomed to the young girl.
Bruce and Diana after a rough patch managed to get the hang of being parents.
Although neither could differentiate their little girl's hunger cries from her needing to be changed cry. Yet, they pressed on.
Exuding love to their only daughter. Diana always smiled when she saw the man with their daughter. When he was tending to her, from the look in his eyes, she was the only little girl in the world. The sight of it always warmed the Amazon warrior's heart.
She knew she made the right choice when she moved into the manor.
The dark-haired couple convened within the Amazon's bedroom. After discussing much of their plans for their daughter, even going as far as talking about their day.
Eventually, fatigue overpowered them and the two fell asleep in Diana's bed. Both didn't see anything more to it. They were simply resting together, nothing more nothing less.
It especially didn't help that Diana hogged the baby monitor.
And just like an ordinary non-Amazon baby, the little Wayne wailed her little lungs out, interrupting the tranquil slumber of her parents.
From the sweet euphoria that was sleep was disrupted by high-pitched wailing. While the woman was awake, her eyes remained closed, too heavy from exhaustion to open them.
She groaned, silently grumbling to herself as her daughter was becoming rowdy. "Bruce?" she uttered softly, still on her side.
"Hmm?" the man grunted, on his back, his eyes shut similar to the woman.
"The baby," she hoarsely said, her voice mudded from sleep.
"Hmm," he grunted once more, but the bed remained stilled.
The young Wayne's wails resounded inside the bedroom from the monitor. The noise kept the woman awake and needless to say it irked her, by none other than the fact the father wasn't doing anything. It was his turn.
Lightly, the woman tapped the man's calf with her foot, the hair on his legs prickling the sole of her foot. "Bruce," she said more forcefully, "the baby."
The rough nudge to his leg wiped sleep from him, "Shoot you for it," he suggested, eyes still closed.
Wordlessly, they both rose their arms into the air and shock their fists, playing rock, paper, scissors. After a few seconds both arms ceased movement, while their hands choose a gesture.
"Call it," the billionaire stated.
"Paper," the woman replied, still on her side, eyes still closed, wailing in the background.
"Scissors."
"Liar," the goddess of truth retorted, easily detecting his fib even with her back turned to him.
Bruce groaned, both adults lowered their arms, the bed shifting as the limbs returned to their sides.
A long minute passed, and Diana had still not sensed the man leave her bed or tend to their daughter. His oblivious attitude began to anger her, not to mention she was dreadfully tired and wanted to return to sleep.
In a terse manner, Diana threatened, "Bruce, you can either leave this bed under your own power and tend to our daughter or I throw you through the wall and into the nursey, one way or another your taking care of Elissa."
It was almost instantaneous when the woman felt the bed shifted as Bruce sat up. "So, she's either hungry or needs to be changed?" the man asked in a fake chipper tone.
"Yes," she grunted.
He left rather quickly, believing the woman would put him through the wall if he did not take care of the baby.
And honestly, the man preferred not to be pulling plaster out of him or having to fix a few walls.
The next sound the raven-haired woman heard was Bruce talking softly to their daughter over the baby monitor.
"Hey, my little princess," he soothingly spoke to the teary eyed infant. "What's wrong?" he picked her up carefully, getting an earful of crying directly into his ear.
He lightly shushed her as he led her to the changing table, the crying diminishing slightly.
"It's okay," he said softly, as he changed her diaper. "You're okay, you just needed changing."
Red lips perked up as Diana heard how sweetly the man talked with his daughter. Passionately believing Elissa was in good hands, she shut off the monitor and turned over, starting the journey back to a peaceful rest.
The new family of three sat in the dining room, enjoying their breakfast. Bruce sipped his coffee while reading the paper.
The great Danes Ace and Titus sat silently on the floor, eagerly hoping to get some nibbles from the table, releasing a small whine ever now and then.
Diana sat in her chair with her daughter in one arm, who greedily sucked on a bottle of milk. The woman had realized that she wouldn't be around much longer when she returned from maternity leave and she didn't want to leave Bruce and Alfred with the difficult task of trying to feed the baby she started using a pump to fill a few bottles for them and herself because breastfeeding was very time consuming.
The pump had been a life saver, especially when it was Bruce's turn to tend to their daughter during the night.
He was already a night owl anyway.
The woman watched affectionately as Elissa got her fill of her breakfast. The baby was dressed in an adorable onesie bearing both hers and Bruce's symbols, courtesy of Dick.
Occasionally, one of the dogs would get up and sniff the baby.
"Ace," the dark-haired man stated sternly, earning said dog's attention. "Away," he commanded, worrying about germs around a one month old.
When one dog left the girl alone the other came around. Now, Titus gave a sniff to the baby's leg, before Bruce shooed the dog away too.
"Bruce, they're not bothering anyone," she chided lightly, focused on Elissa finishing up her bottle.
"You have any idea how filthy a dog's mouth is?"
"No," she shook her head. "Do you?"
"… Not exactly. But I prefer to limit the number of germs around the baby," the defended.
"They are nice dogs, Bruce. They just want to sniff and understand the baby," she reasoned.
Alfred suddenly entered carrying the woman's eggs, diligently placing the dish in front of the woman, who now occupied herself by burping her daughter.
"I believe Master Bruce is concerned with how Ace interacts with Miss Elissa. He prays she does not get a greeting similar to his," he coyly supplied.
"Greeting?" Diana repeated, lightly patting her daughter's back, coaxing a burp from the infant, to which her mother praised the healthy burp.
"Didn't Master Bruce tell you? Ace bit him in the neck when he first met the canine," he revealed, nonchalantly.
"What?!" the woman exclaimed, startled. Her head whipped to the father of her child, seeking for an explanation.
"Ace used to belong to Joker. He starved and tormented the beast to the point of killing the other dogs until he was subdued by animal control," Bruce briskly explained, sipping his coffee.
Unconsciously, Diana's hold on her daughter tightened, her eyes filled with worry as she stared at the panting beast under the dining room table. Now wary of the four-legged animal.
The butler cleared his throat, silently cueing the billionaire to continue the story of Ace. "Alfred saw a chance at redeeming and retraining the dog. So, he took him from the shelter that was preparing to put him down and started to discipline him," he surmised. "Eventually, it worked, and a disciplined Ace was my Christmas gift that year," he explained like he was reading a school textbook.
Silently, the butler beamed with pride. He was quite proud of his gift to the younger man. How very thoughtful of him.
Diana was still unsure, "So, Ace is safe?"
"Perfectly, Miss Diana," Alfred answered. "He hasn't chased squirrels in almost a year."
Diana glanced down to the dog in question. She lightly rubbed his head, "You wouldn't hurt Elissa, would you?" she inquired, concerningly.
A happy bark erupted from the great Dane, seemingly answering the woman.
"You promise?" she prodded, still rubbing the furry creature's head. Another excited barked left the canine, which brought a smile to the woman's lips.
"Thank you," she told him.
She looked back up and noticed both men's eyes on her, "What?"
Months ago, the Joker was killed in battle involving the Batman. Gotham braced itself for the evitable power struggle to fill the void his death left. The people of Gotham waited for it, but… it didn't come. Crime was actually on the decline.
Deep down Commissioner Gordon and Batman knew it was coming.
They were just waiting for someone to pull the trigger.
A disfigured hand flipped a silver dollar coin that landed with bad heads up.
GCPD Headquarters
Commissioner Gordon stood atop of his police building joined by two other individuals.
Batman and Signal.
While the mustached man appreciated meeting with his oldest ally after the vigilante was being hunted by officials, who were just itching to declare war on the costumed vigilante the moment he stepped over the line.
The death of the Joker seemed like the appropriate occasion.
The commissioner appeared weary from the last few days. Two-Face's latest attack had left the city hurting. Resulting in him getting back into contact with the vigilante. Officials weren't in any position to rebuke Batman's involvement. More than eager for the vigilante to apprehend the disfigured man and throw him back in his cell.
A weather machine that created acidic rain. And only a week till Christmas, what a helluva gift.
Thousands injured by the acid rain. The city was still burning. Hazmat units were working overtime to destabilize the acidity. The acid wasn't strong enough to penetrate buildings, but the solution still blanketed the city.
The three men stared down to the streets below that colored green from acidity and smoke clouds flew upward into the city sky.
"I want to try something with Dent," Batman proposed his idea.
"Will it work?" the skeptical man retorted.
"Not sure," the vigilante grunted. "But I need to try."
"What if we just put him in Arkham again? I mean even the criminals helped us stop him," the aging man exclaimed, hoping just dumping the disfigured man in the asylum again and hopefully he'd stay there.
"Two-Face has something on everyone. He'll never spend more than a day in Arkham," Batman denied.
Gordon sighed, warily. He wasn't confidant in trying this idea the caped man had, but they were running out of options.
"Do it."
Batman and Signal nodded curtly before leaving the trench coat wearing man alone on the rooftop.
Batcave
"Sir, I beg you to reconsider," Alfred pleaded with the man. "He's a monster. You can't believe a word he says. Not to mention the numerous times Mr. Dent has resurfaced only for Two-Face to renege on Dent's word," the butler desperately tried to stop Batman from embarking on this perilous idea.
"I've got to," Batman maintained, adjusting his gauntlets. He recalled the video Harvey sent him, pleading with Batman to save him. The Two-Face persona had become so strong that it was about to swallow Harvey Dent for good.
The batwing had been prepped; Batman proceeded to the vehicle to set out on this final chance to save Harvey.
"Sir, would you like to say farewell to Miss Elissa and Miss Diana?"
"I already did," the man bluntly returned, boarding his plane. Diana and Elissa were safely secured in the manor when the acid rain hit. It especially helped that the man lived outside the city limits sparing the estate from the twisted onslaught.
Twenty minutes later, Batman and Two-Face were in the batwing flying away from Gotham to a house that brought nostalgia from both men. The disfigured man was restrained in his seat, a hood over his head.
It took twenty-two minutes for Two-Face to start taunting the deluded dark-clad man. "You know we're never going to make it there. It's a long trip and the odds are stacked against you," the man ridiculed, a knowing smirk hidden behind his hood.
Batman merely ignored him and concentrated on flying. His silence only incited the man of duality to continue.
"I have the whole city wired," he smugly stated. "From the junkies on the street to even the nuns," the man sat back in his seat and made himself more comfortable. When he was Harvey Dent, he learned to track criminal behavior, now as Two-Face he's used what Harvey learned to uncover every dirty and dark secret everyone on Gotham has. The secrets they don't want their neighbors to know. Their families. Even their priests.
He wants to bring out everyone's ugly sides. Make them realize no one is clean. We are all dirty. They just don't want to believe it.
"Sir, turn on the news!" Alfred exclaimed over their communications.
"What is it?"
"He's made an offer."
"To?"
"Everyone," Alfred uttered in horror.
Batman's white eyes widened, his head whipped to his passenger, whom somehow knew Batman's eyes were on him.
"I told you. We're never going to make it," the suit wearing man arrogantly apprised. "I told the whole damn state where we're going and where we are. And if we get there, everything I have on everyone goes on the internet. And you know the internet. Once it's on there it never goes away!" he laughed.
The masked man sneered. He expected a fight, but not on this scale.
"If someone stops you and frees me, I'll give them the untraceable fortunes of Gotham biggest crime lords," Two-Face explained, feeling confidant.
"I'm so sorry, sir," Alfred whispered to himself. As the next thing the butler did will haunt him the rest of his life. "Sir, incoming!"
That's impossible! We're ghosted. No one should be able to—"
"Brace for impact!
That was the last thing Batman heard as a missile blew the batwing out of the sky, crashing into a wheatgrass field.
"Forgive me, sir." Alfred uttered as his hand released the joystick responsible for guiding the missile responsible that brought down the bat themed plane. His heart torn apart by his actions but no more than the fact that, he too, had a secret he couldn't bear to see exposed.
Batman, surviving the crash, had to dispatch several assassins as well as a mob of greedy and terrified people, either desiring the reward or wanting to maintain their secrets.
He roughly shoved the former D.A. forward, "Move," he barked, beginning the journey to their destination.
"I'm goin', I'm goin'" Two-Face grumbled as he started walking. They had over five hundred miles to their destination and they were burning daylight. "By the way, mazel tov," the man slyly said, a grin on his face that made Batman want to smack it off.
The two pressed on overcoming rigorous and treacherous foes and obstructions that made the remaining crime bosses in Gotham to hire the most dangerous assassin they could find: The KGBeast.
Duke believing that Bruce could use a much-needed assist, went to find him, even though Batman had cut off communications.
Duke raced towards his mentor armed with the knowledge that the cure Harvey had funded to create is nothing but a trap for the Dark Knight.
Ignorant of what Dent was up to back home in Gotham, Batman still persevered. Dealing with corrupt cops and assassins aching for all that money. Two-Face had the goods on the best kept secret in all of Gotham: who is Batman?
Wayne Manor
It was two days after Bruce had left the city in this endeavor to save his old friend from damnation. Unaware that on the mayor's desk was a coded box, which for every step the pair took to reaching the cure, it decrypts revealing a little bit more information of Gotham's Dark Knight's true identity.
Mayor Hady was eager if not simply carrying out self-preservation to uncover Batman's secret identity. Especially, considering the mayor was corrupt as it comes. And he doesn't want anyone knowing about the skeletons in his closet or God forbid the district attorney charging him for his crimes.
He ordered Jim Gordon to carry out the order of going to Wayne Manor and uncovering the secret, offered by the box.
It was a slightly warm winter day, surprising for mid-December with Christmas less than a week away. Diana felt it was warm enough to take Elissa for a walk through the gardens and get some fresh air.
Elissa was wrapped in a warm onesie and blanket, from Kendra, with a bat-themed cap on her little head, keeping her toasty warm.
Pushing a stroller in front of her, the dark-haired woman comfortably strolled through the gardens. She was slightly disappointed that it had yet to even snow yet. As she walked, she happily talked with Elissa making idle conversation with the infant, who had wide blue eyes as they passed trees and shrubs.
She thought she saw a faint smile on the little one's red lips, but it was gone before she could get a closer look.
It was like Elissa saw teasing her mother. Diana believed this was her father's genes at work. When they were finished with their walk, Diana took her daughter inside. As she approached the manor, she thought she saw flashing red and blue lights beaming past the front of the house.
She walked in through the patio, unbuckling Elissa from her stroller. It was then that she heard voices and Alfred loudly protesting.
Holding her baby in her arms, Elissa hanging over the mother's shoulder, Diana went to see what the commotion was. "Alfred?" she called, as she got closer to the source of the disturbance, it was only when she found Alfred that she realized they were in the study.
"Alfred?" she entered the study, her eyes gazing upon multiple police officers and SWAT members.
One SWAT team member aimed his rifle at the mother and child, screaming, "Freeze!" A crazed look in his eyes. He was one of the many police officers that hated Batman and if what was behind that clock was proof than they would finally be rid of the bastard.
Instinctively, the warrior princess twisted her body at the waist turning her back to the police officer, attempting to shield her baby from the man. Her eyes glaring at the man, promising pain if he harmed her daughter.
Immediately, Elissa started crying upon the shouting.
"Shut that kid up!" he screamed, working up to a frenzy.
Suddenly, another man barked at the officer, "Put down your weapon!" Jim Gordon stormed over, his hand pushing the rifle down to the floor. "Put it down," he ordered, his fierce eyes meeting those of his almost insubordinate officer.
Reluctantly, the officer complied, grumbling under his breath. "You ever aim your weapon a mother and child again, you won't even be able to get a job as mall security," Gordon threatened. "Understand?!"
"Yes, sir," the officer glared at the police commissioner.
"Get outside and watch the perimeter," Gordon ordered, wanting the man out of here and cool off for a while.
Diana observed the scene from her position, her anger great as she was tempted to pummel the man for the audacity of pointing his weapon at her and her baby. She instinctively started to soothe her little girl, never taking her eyes off the police officers.
"Miss Prince, you have my sincerest apologizes for that," the ragged man apologized to her. "We are all on edge lately, but that is no excuse."
"…I see." Diana replied tersely, still infuriated by the fact that some one pointed a gun on a defenseless infant.
Gordon nodded his head in apologize and left to join his other officers gathered at the grandfather clock. The sight struck the woman cold.
Finally, she gazed upon Alfred pleading with Commissioner Gordon. "Commissioner, please, you have to understand that—"
"I can't help here," Gordon sternly interjected the butler in a harsh whisper. "I warned him. I have my orders. We have to live with it now."
"Open it up!' Gordon ordered to his men.
On his order the men started to break open the clock. Alfred subtlety maneuvered himself closer the woman. "Miss Diana," he whispered to the woman.
"Alfred, what's happening?" she whispered, rather harshly.
"It seems that Mr. Dent has stumbled upon Master Bruce's secret," he quietly informed, to which the woman was stunned.
"Is this the end?" she couldn't help but ask, fearful of what the future held. For Bruce. For Elissa. For her.
Alfred swallowed, "I think it is, ma'am," he confessed, as reality came crashing down on them all. They were out of ideas and there was no way the aging man could deter them; it would just make things worse. "Making the connection between Batman and Bruce Wayne is easy. It's proving it that Master Bruce has made so difficult," they continued to converse as the policemen were enraptured by their work.
The only one watching them was Gordon, and he was very busy 'supervising' his men.
"Miss Diana," Alfred urgently turned to her. Said woman glanced at the man giving him her full attention, "I think it best if you and Miss Elissa took a walk," he subtly gave her a coded message.
Blue eyes narrowed, confused.
"The gardens are lovely, especially around the shed," he wily instructed.
It soon dawned on her on what was being said. Of course, Bruce would be prepared if his identity were revealed. He had a plan for her and Elissa to escape.
The woman gazed down at her daughter, who was slowly dowsing off, the walk had taken its toll on her. She looked around and snuck out of the room when no one was looking.
She walked out through the patio; Elissa draped in a warm blanket. She entered the shed and was greeted to the sight of a bag labeled, 'Diana's Gardening tools', seeing as she doesn't garden made her believe this was what she needed.
She lifted the surprisingly heavy bag, automatically the barrel it sat on slid away revealing a tunnel leading downward.
Sadly, she looked behind her to the manor, reminiscing about the time she spent here and regretting having to leave.
She was about to start down the tunnel when a hand grabbed her from behind. A startled Diana looked back.
Meanwhile, Batman and Duke were fighting for their lives as Talons from the Court of Owls were in on this as well. "Of come on, Harvey. The Court of Owls aren't even a secret anymore," the vigilante complained, as they pinned him and Duke to the ground.
The deformed man shrugged, "Meh, rich assholes are rich assholes," he said, as one of the Talons handed him a vial of green liquid.
He uncapped it, "I told you, the odds were stacked against you," he reminded the man, pouring the liquid over the masked face. The burning in the man's eyes had him conclude it was acid.
"Ahhh!" he screamed as his eyes burned as the acid ate his mask, luckily, he laced it with an acid resistant coating, after one too many encounters with the Joker and his acid shooting flower.
It was the vapors that attacked his eyes, blinding him.
"Batman!" Signal exclaimed in worry.
Wayne Manor
Hours later, the police started leaving the estate. "A man-cave? Really?!" an officer grumbled. All that manpower and all they found behind was a dingy man-cave with some playboy, plasma television, and a Pac-Man arcade game, of all things.
"Mr. Pennyworth, I apologize for the inconvenience," Commissioner Gordon bided farewell leaving with his officers.
"Of course," the butler nodded, watching the uninvited guests leaving the premises. He was surprised out of all of them, that the batcave was replaced with some shabby man-cave. He had no earthly idea on how the billionaire had managed to do something like that.
Apparently, Bruce had secrets even the gentlemen's gentlemen were unaware of.
He returned to the study inspecting the grandfather clock, wondering how to go about fixing it. Suddenly, the clock opened and a bandaged Bruce, wearing a blindfold walked through it.
"Alfred?" he called out; fairly certain the butler was in front of him.
"Master Bruce!" the aging man, exclaimed in surprise. Immediately, aiding the man through the passageway. He helped Bruce walk to a couch in the study, where the bandaged and blind man collapsed in exhaustion.
"Thanks," the dark-haired man uttered, leaning back, his body heavily fatigued.
"Sir, what of Mr. Dent?" the man nervously, inquired. Internally, fearing the worst had occurred.
"On his way back to Arkham."
"And the cure? I hope all the trouble was worth it?"
The blindfold wearing man sighed, defeatedly. "No, it wasn't. It was just a waste of time." The city was saved. The people's secrets were secured, so was Batman's but it was all for naught. The so-called cure was actually Harvey waving the white flag. He no longer could fight his darker side and the cure was a neuro-acid that would destroy Harvey and let Two-Face become the permanent personality.
Batman neutralized it. He should have taken Dent to the lunar batcave. He knew his identity; Elissa wasn't safe with Dent still a possible threat. But he didn't have the heart to throw his former friend away in a prison with zero human contact. He still believed Harvey could be saved. And they weren't at the point of no return yet.
Not like the Joker.
Alfred appeared melancholic as he wrestled with his guilt and what he needed to confess. But first, "Miss Diana and Elissa are still here, sir."
"Hmm?"
"I… had informed Miss Diana about the exit strategy for her and the baby. Luckily, I made it in time to stop her, when the police realized there was no batcave. I don't even know how you managed to do all that over five-hundred miles away," he commented, eliciting the younger man's lips to twitch upward.
"Sir, I… I need to tell you something," Alfred stated. "I was the one who shot your plane down," he confessed, his throat tightening as he did.
"What?!" he growled; fatigue forgotten by rage. "Why?!"
"Because I didn't want to know about my secret. It was years ago, after your first encounter with him. I saw how disturbed you were by the encounter, so I thought to spare you further heartache. I hired someone to eliminate the Joker, but I almost immediately called it off," he urgently empathized. "I had used our ghost account for the cave, which led Harvey Dent to piecing it all together and finding out your identity," he explained, deeply ashamed for his actions.
"Sir, I—"
"You shot me out of the sky," Bruce growled. "You shot at me. You have been on my back to be a better parent and yet you shot me out of the sky. What would you had said to Diana if I was killed in the crash?" he pointed out, temper flaring. "To Elissa?"
The aging Englishmen's eyes were glued to the floor, profoundly ashamed by his actions and his secrets. "I hadn't considered the possibility, sir," he admitted abashed.
Bruce took a moment to compose himself, his body ached, and his anger was not helping his condition. He took a deep breath and said, "Take a vacation, Alfred," his voice sounding apathetic.
"Sir?" the butler feared he misheard the man.
"Take a vacation. I'll see you on Monday," he repeated for the man.
I need time to get over this.
"Very well, sir." The butler was poised with professionalism and left the man alone in the study to pack a few bags for some time in Paris, seemingly ignorant that the billionaire tossed a table across the room in anger.
It was many hours later, late into the night when Bruce stumbled into the kitchen seeking something to quench his thirst. Running around the state with very little stops and dodging assassins seemed to drain the man of fluids.
His eyes were still bandaged and healing. He went by his memory of the house and managed to avoid crashing into things. He was surprised he would wake up at all during the night considering how exhausted he was.
He opened the refrigerator and started rummaging through searching for the nearest beverage, his brain was barely working due to exhaustion.
He started to take greedy gulps of the unknown beverage. By touch, he was able to deduce it was a glass bottle he was drinking from, although the rest of his head wasn't fully functioning anymore.
He didn't even here the slight shuffling of feet along the kitchen tile. "Wow, you must really be thirsty," Diana teased, holding Elissa in one arm. The baby was whimpering slightly, no doubt hungry. "But I doubt Elissa wants to share."
Immediately, the man paused. Slowly realizing what the woman had meant. And it swiftly dawned on him as he discovered that the mysterious beverage had such an odd taste to it.
Almost comically to the Amazon, Bruce dashed to the sink, instantly spitting out the drink still in his mouth, leaving the bottle on the counter by the sink. He started washing out his mouth with water, stopping only to tell her, "This never happened," he demanded, before resuming.
Diana merely chuckled, strolling over to him. She grabbed the bottle swirling the contents around determining it to be a sufficient amount left.
She walked over to the microwave, heating it up. A fussy baby in her arms getting more anxious. Silently, the raven-haired woman laughed as Bruce was drying himself off.
He… could not believe what he just drank. He drank Diana's… dear Lord, he couldn't even bring himself to utter the words.
He sat down at the kitchen table; his legs no longer able to support him. Diana had strolled over to him, she missed him after him being gone for the last few days.
Sad blue eyes gazed upon him. His body looked awful; he was without a doubt in pain. His eyes were what concerned her mostly.
As if he had special powers himself, Bruce turned to her, "I'm fine. My eyes will heal in a couple of weeks," he assured her, dowsing her concerns. He sounded like he had forgotten about the bottle incident mere moments ago.
"I'm glad," she breathed a sigh of relief. Noticing Elissa was still fussy, the father wordlessly reached out for her. Diana gladly handed off their daughter, desiring the two to spend some time together after being apart for the last few days.
"Hey, princess," the man spoke softly, soothing the hunger baby. "It's okay, you're going to eat soon." He soft voice seemed to appease her and quieted down to a small whimper. Elissa brought out a small smile from the man, as he held her gently against his chest.
The Amazon princess had busied herself with retrieving her daughter's bottle, she smiled as she listened to Bruce speak with the baby.
Silently, she walked back to the pair, witnessing Elissa stare at her father with those big wonderous eyes. She wanted to feed the baby and put her back to bed, but she was hesitant to do so. Her daughter hadn't spent anytime with her father in days. A few more minutes and then the mother would take her baby girl back to her bedroom.
Although she was grateful that the dark-haired man was home, the Amazon could not help being wary of their arrangement.
She frowned as Bruce fed their one-month old daughter. Memories of the police smashing their way into the house. A police officer pointing a rifle at her holding her daughter chilled her blood. The fear of the possible outcome that could have occurred had that officer not been reprimanded by Commissioner Gordon.
She sighed to herself, regretting what she was about to say, but she knew in her heart that she must. "Bruce," she said earning his attention. He remained transfixed on Elissa, whom was finishing the remnants of her bottle.
"Yes?"
"I…," she sighed again, "I need to talk to you," she stated.
He grew curious. Judging from her tone, this impending conversation was something the woman did not want to address.
"The police came into the manor," she started, hands on her hips.
"I know. Alfred told me," he returned, not the least bit bothered that the authorities stampeded through their home.
Her nostrils flared at the man's indifferent tone. "Did he tell you that an officer pointed a gun at Elissa and myself?" she glowered at the man, her anger sizzling to the surface.
"No, he didn't." Bruce too, had joined in her anger.
"Look, I didn't want to bring this up now, especially since your hurt. But I feel like I have little choice," Diana told him, her anger declining in her tone.
"Diana, what are you trying to say?" the man responded, unsure of what the woman meant.
The raven-haired woman released a breath, "I am seriously reconsidering safety here at the manor," she revealed, the man's voice caught in his throat stifling a retort.
"I hadn't really started looking, but I wanted you to know that am looking into better accommodations."
The bandaged man finally found his voice again, his grip on Elissa tightening. "You can't take my daughter from me," his voice was deep and on the edge of lashing out.
"I won't ever do that, Bruce," she said softly. Gently, she took Elissa back into her arms, burping her, her blue eyes not leaving the man. "But I am only thinking of Elissa's safety. I feel you would do the same if you were me," she asked him, sympathetic. "They had a gun in her face, Bruce!" she sounded desperate and visibly shaken by the cops being in the house.
He exhaled through his nose and refused to retort. Diana saw the opportunity to leave this conversation where it was at. "I am looking, nothing has been decided yet," she revealed, leaving the wounded man alone in the kitchen.
Her words left him infuriated. Elissa was safe here. With him! Not halfway around the world.
He needed to express his anger before it burst from within. In his aggravated state, he knocked over whatever was left on the table, clattering to the tile floor.
He growled at the idea of only seeing his daughter a few times a week left him angry and hateful. Suddenly, his phone pinged. It was connected to the batcomputer which just alerted him that Two-Face had just escaped from his police escort, by dictation software, considering he was veritably blind.
"Damn you, Harvey," he whispered to himself in the futility of his actions.
Keaton Street
"Ha!" Two-Face laughed as he finished pushing a driver out of his van. The vehicle raced down the street having just abandoned the police vehicle he was previously in.
His wild eyes searched for a street sign, unsure of where he was going, only for the windshield grow darker until a bat-shaped silhouette formed on the glass as it got closer. "Oh, come on," the disfigured man groaned as Batman crashed through the windshield, his boots smashing into Dent's face.
His white eyes glowed as he used his cowl's echolocation system to assist his vision.
"Dent!" he roared, now fully inside the vehicle. He decked the man in the face causing his head to bash into the driver side window.
The vigilante grabbed the steering wheel causing the van to tip over. The vehicle flipped along the street until coming to a rugged stop.
Smoke flowed from the engine as the chassis was beat to hell.
Grunting Two-Face struggled to get out of the car, kicking the driver door open. He crawled out, groaning. He lost sight of the bat; he prayed the freak was flung from the car.
A dark hand proved his prays went unanswered.
"Do you have any idea what you cost me?!" Batman bellowed. "I may have just lost the most important thing in my life, because of you!"
He roared, delivering a right jab to the side of the former DA's face. The blow made his vision blurry and a headbutt made him see darkness.
He awoke an hour later inside a strange metal cell. Immediately, he realized he wasn't in his cell at Arkham Asylum.
"Where the hell am I?!" He demanded; furious beaty eyes searched for any clue to where he was.
"Hell."
"Wha- "
Hush emerged from the shadows of his cell adjacent to Dent's. "This is his private prison. To keep his little baby safe," his voice was patronizing. "Best to accept it. Here there's no parole."
"No. No, no, no, no, no." He refused to accept it new reality. He had such big plans for Gotham. For Bruce. A frantic idea popped into his head. "My coin. Where's my coin?" he fumbled into his pockets searching for his coin.
He slowly realized he didn't have it. There was only one person that could have taken it. "BATMAN! WHERE'S MY FUCKIN' COIN!" he thundered at the top of his lungs.
Wayne Manor
Bruce had returned to an almost empty house. Alfred had taken off for his vacation as the billionaire requested.
His son, Damian, wasn't home either. And the man feared his only daughter no longer lived in the house either, taken by her mother far from him.
His eyes struggled to adjust to the light of day, as sunrays shined through the windows. His footsteps were silent as usual, but his body swayed as he struggled to move. His body worn out more than he expected.
He planned on going to his room for some much-needed rest, until he heard a muffled voice from the living room.
Curious, the man went in search of the source of the voice. Once he entered the living room, he heard who it was.
Diana sat on the couch with little Elissa in her lap, talking sweetly to the one-month old. The coffee table in front of her had some wooden blocks scattered along it.
A book in one hand and her daughter secured in her other arm, Diana read to her little one. "C is for cat," she read. "Can you say cat?" the woman asked her little girl, who only stared at her blankly.
She smiled, as Elissa simply stared at her while sucking on her pacifier. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead.
Sensing someone else in the room, Diana glanced over and saw Bruce standing outside the threshold. "Bruce, why don't you come in and sit with us?" she sweetly offered.
His legs moved on their own as he walked over to them and sat on her left. Wordlessly, the Amazon handed their daughter over to them man, gently securing he had a strong hold on the infant, knowing he was still blind.
She watched as he lovingly held their baby. Elissa always managed to bring out the best in Bruce. Made him feel at peace when he held her.
He pressed his lips to the top of her head before he turned to Diana. He swallowed nervously, "Please don't take her away from me," he pleaded with her. It pained him to even think about the idea of Elissa living someplace else.
The raven-haired woman sighed, partially looking away. It pained her to consider leaving with Elissa when Bruce had done nothing but be supportive and loving to their daughter and her.
"I—Perhaps I overreacted," she admitted, although she had very real concerns. "It's my job to protect her, Bruce. And I did not feel safe here after the police burst through the door searching for the batcave," she stated.
"It's been taken care of," Bruce dowsed her worries, adjusting his grip on Elissa.
"Are you certain something like that won't happened again?" she posed the concept.
"I can't be certain. You know it. I know. But you and Elissa have an exit strategy," he reminded her of the escape hatch Alfred had described to her.
Reluctantly, "You're right. But I don't want her living in fear, Bruce." Diana expressed as her gaze remained glue to their daughter, whom was oblivious to her parents conversation.
"What were you reading to her?" Bruce asked, changing the subject to something lighter.
"The alphabet," she casually answered. "Why don't you read to her?" she inquired, lightly.
"I can't see very well," he reminded her, feeling bashful.
"It's the alphabet, Bruce. It's not like they changed it," she joked. "Just say a word that starts with the next letter," she instructed, handing him the book.
"Where's Alfred? I haven't seen him all morning," she inquired curiously, looking around.
"I… gave him some time off," he answered, bluntly. Not completely lying to her. He did give the man time off, more like he ordered the butler to take a vacation because he was so angry with the man for what he did, he needed time to cool off before he did something he couldn't take back.
"Oh?" he feared she was skeptical of his answer, but she seemed to accept it. "Well, good for him. That man deserves it," she praised, flipping the book in her hands. "I stopped at the letter 'D'," she told him, wanting him to read to their daughter and spend time together.
"Okay, D is for… dog," he awkwardly stated to Elissa, whom he switched in his arms so she could she the book. "E is for…."
He went through the entire alphabet with her. With Elissa once in awhile shifting in his arms, getting more comfortable.
All while it was going on, Bruce felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.
Normalcy.
NEXT: Cold War
This chapter was heavily based on Scott Synder's All-Star Batman: My Own Worst Enemy. I personally loved the story for it's outrageousness. I mean how boobytrapped is Batman's suit?
Also, the kitchen scene was my attempt at humor. If it grossed anyone out my apologies. I also wanted to use the idea of the police storming in with Diana and her infant daughter in the house, shake up the relationship between Bruce and Diana. And don't worry Alfred will be back next chapter like nothing happened.