To Kangertop21: You're welcome for the shoutout! I appreciate your patience. I'm glad you love the story. And comparing my story to GOT, I hope it's not season 8. Lol.
To Guest: I thought adding current timeline comics made it flow better. Add more depth to what the comics did.
Making the Best of It
Chapter 15
Wayne Manor
A few weeks after the shooting, Dick or Ric, as he now called himself, held no memory of his life following the shooting. All those years of living in the manor with Bruce and Alfred wiped away. Even the years of fighting crime side by side with Batman as Robin were washed away like footprints on a beach.
Bruce recalled the good ol' days back when crimefighting was more whacky and bizarre than horror and frightening. Dick always cracking bad jokes, while Bruce was always bringing down whatever bizarre scheme the Riddler or Penguin, or Joker were concocting. The memories brought a tiny nostalgic smile to the man's face.
Yes, those were good memories. And now, only one remembered those days.
Bruce was devastated by Grayson's amnesia. The shooting was all his fault. It was payback plain as day. And at the end of the day, Bruce had asked himself was the crusade even worth it anymore?
Diana practically skipped down the grand staircase, dressed in a navy business suit and dark high-heeled shoes. Her hair in her traditional bun, and narrow glasses on the bridge of her nose.
Finally, Diana's maternity leave was up, and it was time to go back to work, both for the foundation and as a superhero. She was elated about getting to work, while everyday with her daughter was an utter delight, she missed working. Missed making a difference. She had other responsibilities and she would have to balance between them all.
She entered the kitchen where Alfred and the light of her life were sitting at the kitchen table, the older man spoon feeding her daughter baby food, who was placed in her highchair.
"Well, hello, my love," the woman cooed as she drew closer to her baby. Elissa was three months old and getting so big in the eyes of her mother. Her hair was growing filling in some of the bald spots on her head. She was moving more too, soon she would be trying to sit up.
She kissed the top of Elissa's head, the girl's tiny limbs flailed lighting striking the woman's shoulder. The action brought a smile to her mother's face, "You are getting so big, my love." She peppered her daughter's face with kisses.
She looked up and finally addressed the butler, "Good morning, Alfred," she greeted, pleasantly. She moved over to the counter to get some coffee.
"Good morning, Miss Diana. You seem in high spirits," the man noted. "No back to work jitters?"
"No," she laughed, shaking her head. "I am very excited to finally go back to work. I like my job." She took a sip of her coffee before turning back to the pair. She witnessed her daughter silently demand more food. To which the doting butler obliged.
"What are you giving her? The cereal?"
The man nodded, "Yes," spooning more mush into the three-month old's mouth. "Good?" he asked the infant, only for silence to be replied to him.
"I appreciate you watching her while I'm at work," Diana graciously expressed. Her doubts about going back to work grew like weeds. And no amount of assurances from Alfred or Bruce would douse he apprehension. She had never spent more than an hour apart from her daughter and she was dreading the separation.
She knew she had to let go a little bit, but it still pained her heart.
"It is no trouble at all, Miss Diana," Alfred happily dissuaded the woman. "I am delighted to have a new member of the Wayne family in the house. The manor could use some innocence," he uttered, weary of the recent tragedies that had struck the family.
Diana held a poignant expression on her face following the recent events in the family.
There was a moment of silence out of respect but then they returned to the topic at hand.
"I hope Bruce won't leave you to all of Elissa's care while I'm out," she stated, concerned that the man would rely on Alfred to feed and change her.
"On the contrary, Master Bruce seems to revel in spending time with the little one," the Englishman surprised her.
"I know he does, "she smiled. "I just worry he'd make you do all the dirty work," she rephrased.
"Oh, I have no doubt the infamous Batman, who can save the city—the world would balk at the notion of changing a diaper," he joked.
She laughed, finishing her coffee. "Is he here? Or-?"
"Master Bruce is still asleep," he answered. "Two bank robberies, seven muggings, a four-alarm fire, does make an exhausted vigilante."
She momentarily thought of Bruce, contemplating if he was alright with everything that was going on. She knew he was bottling everything he was feeling, and she believed he would talk to her when he was ready.
Before their daughter went to college.
Hopefully.
It soon became time for the Amazon to leave for work. And she was a wreck.
She was on the brink of tears when she was about to leave for work. Kissing her daughter's face, which started to bother the little one, desiring more food than her mother's distraught affection.
"I love you so much," she was almost sobbing. "And I'll miss you," she swore. "I will," she kissed her daughter's head. "Be good for Alfred, okay?"
Alfred stood by and observed the woman's behavior, he briefly wondered if she was going to be late for work.
Finally, she pulled away, taking a deep relaxing breath to settle down. She turned to Alfred and said, "Remember to keep her on her schedule," she reminded him. She pointed to the piece of paper stuck by a magnet, "I left it on the refrigerator."
She started out of the kitchen only to turn back, "And I've been trying to introduce tummy time with her," she stated anxiously. She turned back to walk out with Alfred following her to lock her out. She surprised him again, anxiously, "And try it for about ten minutes and before you feed her. I made that same mistake and my favorite blouse needed a thorough cleaning," she emphasized one of her many missteps when learning how to be a parent.
"Of course, Miss Diana." The butler courteously responded, amused by her anxious demeanor.
She sighed, regretfully. "I know. I know. I'm putting this off," she said softly. She sighed again, glancing to her oblivious baby. "Mommy loves you so much, sweetie!" she waved goodbye and blew a kiss Elissa's way.
She forced herself out of the kitchen and all the way to the foyer, her strides full of poise and purpose. Bag in hand, she shut the front door, and walked to her car. When she got inside, she released a haggard breath as she was close to sobbing uncontrollably.
Wayne Foundation
The new foundation building was complete while Diana was on leave. It stood proudly and brightly around the decrepit buildings of old. The neighborhood was respectable by Gotham standards, at least.
The new building was similar to the old one, with a penthouse roof for exclusive use of Diana and Bruce, whenever he was there, and for her when she needed to sneak out in case of emergencies.
The building was more fortified and with more security than previously.
Diana walked in and was instantly greeted by the receptionist, Brooke, whom Diana was always cordial and kind to whenever she saw her. She even cheered the other woman up when she was having a difficult day.
"Welcome back!" Brooke exclaimed, smiling brightly to the incognito Amazon.
"Thank you, Brooke. It's great to see you!" Diana responded with equal enthusiasm.
"How's the little one?" Brooke curiously inquired.
"Growing like a weed," the new mother replied, fondly. "I miss her already," she admitted, feeling guilty about leaving her home.
"Aw! You have to send me pictures," she demanded, sweetly. She was an innocent and kind woman, whom deeply enjoyed children. They were so adorable when they were tiny.
"I promise," the raven-haired woman swore, making for the elevator.
"I'll hold you to that!"
Diana waved goodbye as she boarded the elevator and went up to her new floor. With a ding, the doors opened, and Diana made a beeline for her office, having been given instructions the previous night. She met several people she hadn't seen in weeks and was excited to see them all.
Possibly all but one.
She entered her office and found Regina sitting in front of her desk patiently awaiting the woman's arrival.
Since Diana's leave, Regina had been left in charge. And she handled the job admirably. Angrily, she expected to remain the head of the foundation, but was aggravated to learn she would not be in charge.
To spare any further complaints from the woman and cover Diana's comings and goings, Bruce decided to have the head position be a joint effort. Both women would be in charge and coordinating with one another to better serve the foundation and its humanitarian efforts.
"Regina," Diana spoke up. Her tone was respectful but brusque. If the old woman still had a problem with her than she would not be the one that starts the conflict.
"Diana," Regina responded in kind. She stood up, "Bruce told me of our new dynamic. We are both in charge now, yes?"
"Yes," the raven-haired woman replied away over to her desk. "All projects need to be signed off on by the two of us. Any further problems and Bruce will intervene, and I will quote him on this, "End this headache once and for all,"" she explained to her in no uncertain terms. Bruce had told her if this nonsense between her and Regina continued after this both would be looking for new jobs.
"I understand," the woman nodded. "Now we have some work ahead of us and we need to be on the same page," she explained, taking a breath. Inwardly, she was pleased that she had the job she wanted and would no longer voice any further complaints for risk of losing her job.
"Give me a moment to get settled," she replied, setting her bag down.
She received a nod of understanding and left Diana's office.
The Amazon plopped into her chair with an exhausted sigh, already feeling drained. She collected herself for a few minutes before she started her workday. Everything seemed to go well for her. She discussed many projects all over the world with her co-workers and got much of it done. She needed to catch up on what she had missed when she was on her lunch break.
She sent a few texts to Alfred just to check in. He answered back almost immediately telling her everything was fine, and that Elissa was finishing her lunch and would soon go down for her nap.
He even sent her a picture of little Elissa sleeping peacefully in her crib to banish any distress the Amazon still held about being away from her daughter.
The picture brought a smile to Diana's lips as she saw her beautiful daughter slumbering with not a care in the world.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar and long overdue beeping.
Her Justice League communicator was beeping signaling a call to action.
Exhilaration surged through her as her final wish was granted. Wonder Woman was back!
"Yes!" she exclaimed as she went up to the penthouse. Almost tripping over her own feet as she ran to the elevator that exclusively went to the penthouse.
Regina could handle the day to day matters while she was out. She figured Regina would love that idea of being truly in charge.
Besides, all the most crucial work had already been taken care of earlier in the day.
The elevator took the raven-haired woman to the penthouse and when the doors opened, she made sure to lock the elevator so no one else would be able to reach the penthouse.
It was an extravagant penthouse. Plenty of space and furniture. She paid them no mind as she raced to the hidden vault which housed a micro-batcave where a teleporter to the Hall of Justice would take her to D.C. and her armor was secured on a mannequin.
She quickly striped out of her clothes and fumbled with her armor, an excited, "Yes!" left her as she put on her bracelets.
Her delight didn't diminish only escalated as she dressed, the rush of running back into the fray and making the difference she so readily made before she had her daughter.
Unfortunately, there was one little snag. When she put on her bodice, she had a little trouble. "Uh oh," she uttered in shock. Apparently, she did not lose all the baby weight that she had previously thought as the red piece of her armor was a little too tight. Undeterred, she inhaled. "Okay," she said to herself. "One, two, three," she counted as she inhaled deeply and strained herself in getting dressed.
Eventually, Wonder Woman was back. Dressed in head to toe in her armor she made for the teleporter. Her mood only slightly dampened by her wardrobe malfunction.
She saw a bright light and was soon gone from Gotham City.
Hall of Justice
Wonder Woman appeared within the teleporter room for the hall. It was her first time being inside the building, its construction finished only a month ago. Bruce spared no expense nor ignore any minor detail.
She was in awe of the place. Truly, a shining example to house the Justice League. She saw a few new faces, and waved, only for them to be flabbergasted at Wonder Woman's reappearance.
No one's seen or heard from her in a year.
Fortunately, the league released a cover story. Diana was out in deep space engaged in diplomatic relations far from Earth. It's delicate handling could take years; the league had put it.
While Diana did not like lying about what was really happening with her, she knew it was for her family's security.
Diana walked the halls and saw Cyborg sitting in the monitor womb managing the monitors. He instantly noticed her presence, "Diana! Great to see you!" he called enthusiastically.
"Victor," she reciprocated. "Nice to see you again."
"Kid driving you up the walls?" he joked. To which she laughed, "Some days," she mentioned.
The casual atmosphere faded, turning serious and professional, "You called," she said, eager to get to work.
"Yes," the metal man nodded. "Bank robbers with advanced weapons in the D.C. area," he informed her, looking at the screens. "We don't have many people at the hall to handle the situation. And I noticed you were on call today, are you up for it?"
"Are you kidding?" she replied, rhetorically. "I was born for this!"
He laughed, rising from his seat, "Good because I need to stretch my legs. Let's go because the police are losing ground," he said with urgency in his voice.
The two raced out of the hall and took to the sky.
With Diana's flight abilities and Cyborg's built in jetpack arrived on scene in a matter of minutes. And just in time too, as the police were about to be overrun. To Diana, this was a thrill that tingled her spine. She missed flying. Even more so than getting a decent workout in.
She knew where her heart lied with her child, but this—this was where she was needed as well.
A blast from one of the robber's high-powered cannon was deflected by the Amazon's bracelet's, baffling the cops and the robbers.
"I thought she was dead?!" one robber shouted in astonishment.
"Nah, idiot. She was in space," one of his partner's corrected him with a grumble. Displeased at how the situation had transformed into. It was supposed to be quick and clean.
An ecstatic grin tugged on the raven-haired woman's lips, as she leapt into the fray. Grabbing onto one of the cars the robbers were hiding behind, her fingers dug into the car like clay. She raised the vehicle, its silhouette encompassed the robber, whom gaped at her. Turning it on its side she brought it down crushing the long-barreled cannon, wrecking it and the side of the car.
"Damn!" the robber shouted at the loss of his weapon. She rose the mangled vehicle into the air once more, its shadow looming over them with a dreadful warning. "I surrender!" the robber squealed as the woman appeared to be contemplating crushing the man.
"Wise choice," she finally spoke dropping the car, providing cover as the other robbers came to the senses and opened fire.
Instinctively, she reacted, her instincts and reflexes uncompromised by inactivity. It all came flowing back as if she never was on leave. She grabbed the unarmed robber and threw him unceremoniously over her shoulder over the police barrack and onto the hood of a police car, startling a few cops.
With one in the hands of the law, the Amazon went to work.
Cyborg, hovering in mid-air had been attempting to hack into the criminal's weaponry. These weapons were stolen from a STAR Labs facility which made it easy for the dark-skinned man to break through the firewalls.
"Wonder Woman," he hailed, witnessing her deflecting blasts.
"Yes?"
"I am attempting to disable their weapons. Hold on for another two minutes. The security is very versatile."
"Understood," she replied, eyes focused on her foes.
Four left and none are interested in surrendering. Her eyes narrowed, she navigated herself vertically to the side of another car the robbers used as cover. She sprinted, deflecting blast while in motion until she went into a slide armored legs scraping the rough ground. Powerful legs kicked in the doors on the car, jolting the vehicle into the two robbers pushing them backwards flat on their backs.
Immediately, she shot up and leapt over the car and disarmed the men before they could regain their senses.
Unfortunately, the remaining two robbers seized the opening she provided. They opened fire, the distance between them shorter than previously, made her react faster than before. She started to sweat behind her tiara, breath coming in pants, piercing blue-eyes laser focused.
The barraged proved too much as she was starting to struggle. Witnessing her struggle, Cyborg pressed harder on his hacking, his eye widened when he saw her stumble backwards falling to a knee.
"Screw it," he hissed, as his arm transformed into a sonic weapon. He shot sonic waves at them at bombarding their inner ears making them perceive the ground moving when it wasn't.
In other words, Cyborg made them seasick.
They stopped firing as they swayed, "I don't feel good," one groaned.
"Me too," the other agreed.
They continued to sway until one fell to the ground and the other vomited.
Cyborg's feet returned to the ground and informed the police to arrest the robbers. He went directly to Wonder Woman, whom seemed paler. Strains of hair stuck to her face, panting profusely. "Diana?" he started worriedly," what's wrong?" putting his hands on her shoulders.
She kept panting, "I don't… know," she answered in between pants. "I… don't… know…. can't breathe," she struggled to say.
"Hold on," he instructed and summoned a boom tube to get them back to the hall.
Hall of Justice-Infirmary
The infirmary at the Hall of Justice was one of the most advanced medical facilities in the world. A mix of earth, Amazonian, Thanagarian, Martian, New God, and Kryptonian medical science. A true marvel of cultures going together.
Diana sat atop an exam table, her tiara was over on a near by chair, her feet dangling in midair. She seemed better than she was, breathing was better.
She had no idea what was wrong with her. She never got sick. Only when she was pregnant, and she had not had sex since before Elissa was born.
She paled, could she have a condition following the birth? She worried she was dying. Her mind playing hundreds of scenarios.
She couldn't die.
She wasn't finished with her mission yet. She still had so much to do.
Elissa had not even uttered her first word yet or taken her first step.
The woman wasn't ready to go yet.
Her dire thoughts were interrupted when the door to the infirmary opened, some of that disinfectant smell parted from the room. She was surprised to see Batman enter carrying a bottle of water in his hand.
He walked right up to her and with a blank face ask, "How are you feeling?" in his usual rough sounding voice.
"Fine," she uttered softly, chin to her chest. She felt guilty about someone calling Bruce to tell him she was in the infirmary on her first day back.
Wordlessly, he opened the bottle and handed it to her, "Drink," he ordered, in his usual commanding tone.
Silently, she took the bottle and greedily gulped it down.
The man exhaled as he observed the parched woman quench her thirst. Uncharacteristically, he hopped onto the table sitting next to her. He watched her gulp more than half the liquid down, her slender throat moving with every greedy gulp.
She pulled the bottle away from her lips when she felt him staring at her, she blinked at him curiously, wondering what was on his mind.
Eventually, "Diana," he began in a softer, more Bruce like voice. "You had an anxiety attack," he revealed to her.
"What?" She spoke up for the first time. "W-what would I have to be anxious about?" she posed.
"You tell me," and Batman was back.
She swallowed nervously, gathering her thoughts to answer him. She recalled the gunfire, the struggle as she deflected each and every blow until it proved too much for her. Fear filled her as she wondered if this were the day she would die.
So many questions formed in her head as she was deep in battle: who would take care of Elissa? Would Bruce be up to it? He should be, she had the outmost faith that he would love their daughter enough for the both of them. Would Elissa even remember her?
The thought plagued her if she were to die would her daughter even remember her. Her face? Her smile? Her voice? Her scent? Her warmth and love for her?
So many unanswered questions pained her.
She pulled herself from her thoughts and answered him, "I was afraid, Bruce. So afraid. It just seemed to be too much for me. My thoughts were of Elissa as I struggled to deflect those blasts. I was frightened about what would happen to her if I were gone. So much so that my chest felt tight and I could not breathe," she earnestly answered him, her voice quivering. She swallowed the lump in her throat averting her eyes so he couldn't see her so vulnerable.
He didn't say anything for what seemed like forever to her. She heard him shift in place, then exhale, finally, "Maybe it was too soon for you to come back," he finally spoke.
"I have to let go at least a little bit, Bruce," she whipped her head back to him, steel in her voice.
"I know," he nodded. He paused, then he said, "But you're a mother now. Things need to change," he reminded her, calmly.
Her eyebrows knitted together, "I know that, but I still have other responsibilities," she maintained, sounding a bit defensive. "I can still do my job and be a parent. You do it," she pointed out.
To which he scoffed, "I'm not a pristine example to use, Princess." He had that smirk. That damn smirk that made her want to kiss him, but she turned her eyes to something else in the room.
"Well, the league needs me. I can't just quit," she stated frustrated. It got very quiet after she suggested that. Bewildered, she looked him in the eyes and saw how unsure he was as he craned his head away from her and rubbed the back of his head, undecidedly.
Exasperatingly, "You're not going to ask me to quit the league, are you?" she suggested, growing increasingly frustrated with the man.
"Not you," he replied to which he verbally slapped her.
It took her a moment to gather her wits, until she had the strength to press him, "Bruce, are you quitting the Justice League?" the words left her stunned, she could not fathom the idea of him leaving the league. They had been a part of the team since its inception.
"I've… been thinking about," he admitted to her, his voice uncertain. Before she could press him on the matter, he explained, "I'm thirty-five, Diana. I've got… maybe ten—twelve more years as Batman before my body will start to demonstrate it's age and fatigue," the tension in the room became very somber.
"My back hurts occasionally from when Bane broke it," he casually mentioned.
"Before I can't do the job anymore, I'd prefer to devote all my energies into cleaning up Gotham. It's what got me into this in the first place," his voice sounded earnest, more so than she had ever heard him. "Crimefighting was simple in the beginning, I see a robber or a mugger or a gangster and I went after them. Now I end up at the end of the universe fighting aliens or gods bent of destruction." He shook his head at the lunacy of the job with Diana patiently listening to him. "Some of the cases we get into don't even directly involve Earth."
She saw fit to interject here fiercely, "Then we should leave them to die or suffer under tyranny? Is that what you want? It doesn't involve us, so we shouldn't help them. Let thousands die?"
"That's not the point I'm trying to make," he retorted, his indignation rose. "We're not the Green Lantern Corp, Diana," he responded, calming himself down before they got into a full-blown fight. "We barely have the numbers to take care of our own world, let alone interfere in affairs of other worlds'," he reminded her.
"I know, but it's the right thing to do, Bruce." She assured him, she understood his line of thinking and his reasons were sound. She too, had shared similar thoughts on certain cases of the league's intervention.
"I know, but I don't think it's the right thing for me anymore," he said softly to her. Weariness hung over him as he had considered his options on the matter. "I got into this to make Gotham a safer place. A place Elissa can grow up safely in. And not have her think the city needed her like it needs me now," he gently explained. "Let it end with me," he whispered as his head lowered. He couldn't handle any further losses. He had to change. For Elissa.
Diana was taken aback by Bruce's confession. And she understood one of them had to make a choice. If something were to happen to the league with herself and Bruce on the main team, their daughter would be an orphan. And she couldn't bear to do that to her. While she could not imagine being on a team without Bruce on it, she would accept whatever decision he made and support it.
"I haven't made any big decisions just yet," he told her. "I just wanted you to know I'm considering it. I would be willing to consult when you need help," he opted to truly be a part-timer.
It made her smile; they could still work together once in a while at least. "I wish you luck," she gently said.
"Thanks."
Slowly, she leaned to one side until her head gently rested against his shoulder. The warm feeling of them like that made them feel soothed. Slowly, a dark hand brushed up against her bare shoulder, "You're going to be okay," he whispered, reassuringly. It seemed to help her get over this new hurdle.
"Thank you," she said back to him, enjoying the calm and warmth they were sharing.
"Bruce," she softly spoke.
"Hmm?"
"I had some trouble getting my armor on earlier. I may need to work out at the cave and here," she admitted, believing in full disclosure between them.
"… Nothing wrong with curves," he nonchalantly answered.
He made her smile, as he subtly told her that she was still attractive.
"Thank you."
Wayne Manor
Diana seemed better after talking with Bruce and returned to her office before heading home for the evening. She said her goodbyes to her coworkers, some asked where she was, but she replied that she was 'carrying out the foundations good work'.
Regina didn't seem to care as it was happy hour and already went home.
Diana raced home with an aching in her heart that only seeing her daughter's face could alleviate. She arrived home and instantly went into the kitchen where Alfred was making dinner while simultaneously watching Elissa, whom was in her highchair playing with a few baby toys: rings and blocks.
Heels clicked as the woman darted into the room, as soon as she laid eyes on her baby, Diana exclaimed, "Hey, baby!" happy as she saw her baby girl after so long.
Elissa cooed in response waving her arms at her mother.
"Welcome home, Miss Diana," the butler greeted her putting the goose in the stove.
"Thank you, Alfred. Was she good?" she inquired, picking her baby up. She held her close as she slowly rocked her against her chest.
"She was perfect," the man replied with a smile, delighted by the presence of the next generation of the Wayne family.
Diana smiled as she gazed upon her daughter's dark head, hair matted and beginning to get unruly. She rocked the infant like she always did, "I missed you today. Yes, I did," she murmured to Elissa. "Did you miss me?" she innocently inquired.
Worrisome, Alfred tried to warn the woman, "Miss Diana, I want to inform you that I have just fed Miss Elissa and I fear with all that rocking may upset her stomach."
"Oh, don't worry I'm not rocking her too much," the raven-haired woman dismissed his warnings. Suddenly, she heard Elissa cough and then felt a wetness on her blouse, immediately stiffening, eyes slightly widening.
Alfred turned away, an amused smirk on his lips as he busied himself with finishing dinner.
Narrow blue eyes slowly descended onto her daughter, whom she had pulled away from her chest, seeing her face, a little drool by Elissa's tiny red lips, a white mess all over Diana's blouse.
"You're lucky you're cute," she said stiffly, setting the infant gently back into her highchair, cleaning her up before she left to go change.
Tricorner
Batman stood tall atop a building in Tricorner watching as people made their way home for the night. Safe in their beds until sunrise and then off to go about their business the next morning.
With political figures campaigning against the Bat, Commissioner Gordon saw fit to leave the signal off, following Batman's suggestion to shield the policeman's job.
However, that did not mean they didn't communicate and share information. The black phone was their way of going around the signal.
The phone was heavily encrypted which bounced off a dozen different satellites no one would be able to track the vigilante nor hack the phone.
"Gordon," the man answered.
"I got some news from one of my contacts in the feds, guy served with me, and thought I deserved a heads up," Batman patiently listened as his ally notified him of something coming.
"What about?" the gray and black clad man bit out.
"Apparently, word has spread about your encounter with KGBeast and apparently the guy had a protégé," Gordon's news surprised the vigilante, yet he didn't express it. "Calls himself NKVDemon. I just learned he's here in the states. And according to my contact he wants payback for KGBeast. Watch your back," he cautioned.
"I'll take care of it," the man grimly stated and hung up.
He pressed a hand to the side of his cowl opening up communications with the cave, "Penny-one?"
"I'm here, sir," Alfred's voice resounded over their encrypted communications.
"Get me everything on Russia's NKVDemon," he ordered. "Apparently, he learned under KGBeast and wants payback," he summarized, dryly.
"How exciting," the older man replied, sarcastically. He wished these costumed criminals would stop being so predictable. It is always about money or revenge. There really was nothing special about costumed criminals. "Give me some time to get the computer working. Wouldn't it be best if you got indoors until you know what you are up against?" he suggested worriedly.
The corner of the vigilante's lip tug upward lightly, "No chance. If I'm out here it's makes it easier for him to find me. Besides, I'm in the mood for a fight," he said with a tinge of excitement in his voice. After the last few weeks Batman needed to work off some aggression. Especially, as he has discovered some evidence on who hired The Beast.
He will be paying that person a visit shortly.
"Here is what I've gathered so far," the butler said again. "His name is Gregor Dosynski, Russian assassin. Trained by KGBeast. It says here that his physical structure has been altered to resist pain and fatigue… hmm, you might be interested in that aspect," he glibly remarked. White eyes narrowed in aggravation yet remained silent.
"Suspected for a number of assassinations around the world. Oh, you should note that he is also a master of disguise. Be careful around others," he warned before signing off, the comms disconnecting.
Batman leapt off the building without missing a beat, arms stretched out activating his cape's glider function taking to the night sky.
Purposely making himself out to be a target.
Wayne Manor
Diana had changed into dark sweatpants and cashmere sweater, her hair loose and glasses gone. She was comfortable in her home.
Home. Such an odd thing to say as she had now considered the manor her home. Before, she was a guest. A visitor, whom would soon wear out her welcome. But it never happened. She knew things between Bruce and herself had gone off to a rocky start. Especially, after she rejected him and swore, they were just friends who had a daughter together.
She thought their presence would eventually drive Bruce to moving them away, and he tried before Elissa was born. He gave her an out. With intentions to discuss custody and visitation at a later date, but she refused. She came to like the manor, a home away from home. Reminding her a little of Themyscira.
How she wished to see her mother and sisters again. Show her mother, her grandchild and Elissa, her grandmother. How her heart ached from homesickness. Her memories of home became vague and she feared she would forget what her own mother looked like. Sounded like. What her home smelled like as she walked the streets of their city.
But she persevered and channeled all the heartache and homesickness into love for her daughter and made a home and a life at the manor in Gotham City. With Bruce. With Alfred.
She longed for the day to return home, but for now she had a home here.
With her daughter. And it was heaven to her.
She had the three-month old on top of the dining room table, a bath towel underneath her, a washcloth, and a bowel of warm soapy water. Elissa was naked as the day she was born, and Diana was giving her a sponge bath. Unfortunately, Elissa did not like any of it.
She started with a whimper as her mother dragged a warm wet washcloth along her torso, the wetness disturbing her. Soon, Elissa went into a full-blown wail as her mother hastily started to bathe her.
Gently, Diana spoke to the infant, "I know. I know. You don't like being wet. But I must clean you up," she spoke softly. "Because you are filthy," she emphasized as she applied soap to the washcloth. "When you are a bit bigger, we can put you in the tub. Would you like that?" she made idle chatter hoping to soothe Elissa a bit. Diana made certain to clean under the little one's chin having had a full dinner. "You can play with a few bath toys, rubber ducky and the like," she chatted with her daughter, whose wails simmered to a whimper. "Or maybe we should get you one of those little baby bathtubs," she spoke more to herself than Elissa. Soon, the Amazon finished with the sponge bath and moved on to washing the hair.
Diana was certain Elissa would scream bloody murder when she started with her hair. And she was correct to assume such.
She screamed her little lungs out as soon as Diana poured warm water through her hair. She carried out her task all the while whispering apologizes for making her so uncomfortable.
She was soon finished and dressed the little one in a yellow footie onesie with white rabbits on it. The raven-haired woman brushed Elissa's hair, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
The now ready for bed Elissa was carried to her bedroom by her mother. Gently, she set her little girl down and wrapped her up in her favorite blanket. With a smile, Diana pressed another kiss to her daughter's head, "I love you. Have a good night," she bid her daughter goodnight. She turned the winded up mobile that had little stuffed animals hanging above Elissa's head and soothing music started playing as the mobile started turning. The woman saw as her baby's eyes started to droop and shortly fell asleep.
"Goodnight, my love." Diana whispered as she shut the door quietly, after she turned on the baby monitor.
Her thoughts were filled with nothing but ease and happiness as she knew her daughter was safe and warm inside the manor.
Now if she only knew what was going on with her daughter's father?
Diamond District
It happened faster than Batman expected, but his plan worked like a charm. He purposely making himself an open target brought NKVDemon out.
And his appearance came with a gunshot. As Batman glided through the cold February night air, the silent night was disturbed by the sound of a high-powered rifle taking a shot at the dark and gray clad man.
The bullet came from behind piercing his cape cutting through the material and exiting between his outstretched left arm and his body, missing his body by inches.
Instinctively, the vigilante dive bombed down to the nearest building taking cover behind a roof access door.
His white lenses glowed as he began tracking the trajectory of the gunshot using audio and several other factors. He was mainly relying on using the cowl's infrared sensors to track heat signatures.
He was counting on people building indoors during at this cold hour. His eyes scanned the rooftops his systems running through hundreds of programs, gunfire had ceased since the first shot was taken.
His head moved left to right in the direction the gunshot came from, he froze as he whipped his head back to the sight of a retreating figure atop a rooftop belonging to a soda company.
The rifle was abandoned so Batman fired his grapnel gun and gave pursuit.
His boots kicked up slush from the roof as he raced after his assassin, noticing footprints in the wet slush.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement towards the right corner of the roof. He bellowed a 'stop' but was ignored and gave chase.
The assassin leapt from the roof with Batman hot on his heels, Batman practicing a look before you leap approach paused before diving over the side, fortunately, because the assassin twisted in mid-air pulling out his sidearm and taking another shot at the vigilante, whom shoved all his weight backwards the bullet whizzing past his head by inches.
He fell on his back, his legs shot out and swung them backwards using them to get to his feet. He leapt over the ledge and shot his grapnel stabbing a building with him swinging through the cold air his eyes scanning for the assassin.
His thoughts were disrupted as his assassin tackled him from behind in mid-air, his grip on his grapnel lost as the two plummeted down.
Strong legs wrapped around his torso; a mighty left arm wrapped around his neck with the vise equivalent to the strength of an anaconda.
His assassin whispered into his ear, "This is for my mentor, Bat," his voice thick with a Russian accent, as gravity dragged them down.
Batman desperately fought back, his left hand clutching the arm around his throat, trying to pry the limb away in order to redistribute air to slowly oxygen deprived lungs. His eyes widened as he saw a walkway connecting two buildings, his synapses exploded as he twisted his body flipping the assassin and Batman's places so the assassin would be the one to take the brunt of the collision, vaguely recalling that the Russian assassin was resistant to pain.
Batman figured the blow would take the fight out of the Russian, he hoped anyway.
From the height they fell Batman judged that the impact was nonlethal, it would hurt like hell, but it was nonlethal.
NKVDemon took the blow as he grunted, air escaping him, Batman grunted as the impact rippled from NKVDemon to him. Dazed, the assassin's hold loosened, his sidearm lost to the ground below.
Groaning, Batman rolled away, struggling to get to his feet, deeming the foreigner to still be a threat. As he regained his bearings, he witnessed NKVDemon do the same. It was then, that he finally got a good look at the man. He wore a navy-blue bodysuit with orange gauntlets, belt, boots, and mask in the appearance of some demon. He was wary of the sword strapped to his back, an empty holster on his left side. He was especially cautious about the grenades strapped to the right side of his belt.
"You die, American!" the Russian roared as he tackled the vigilante, only for Batman to leap over the attacker, who fell facedown.
As Batman landed, he spun to face his enemy, only for an orange boot to deck him in the face, making him stumble backwards as he was stunned from the attack.
NKVDemon twisted his body and stood tall. At the ready, he drew his sword and slashed wildly pushing Batman backwards until his back was to the wall of the building.
The assassin went for a stabbing thrust only for Batman to twist his body, sidestepping the attack, he grabbed the blue and orange man's right arm, he twisted the wrist attempting to disarm only for NKVDemon's hold remain unchanged.
White eyes widened, as Batman released even disarming techniques were ineffective against this foe. He could tell the Russian was smirking in satisfaction at the dumbfounded man. He brought the hold and slammed the butt of his sword into Batman's right temple, momentarily dazing him.
The next moment moved in slow motion, Batman dropped smoke pellets, it blinded the assassin as the cloud took a profound radius.
The man slashed wildly through the smoke cloud hoping to take his target's head, his sword parted the cloud and when he pulled back a piece of black fabric hung from the blade, yet no blood trickled from the blade.
Gruntled by striking the man, NKVDemon pressed his attack until the smoke cloud dissipated and the assassin was all alone on the walkway.
His head whipped left to right in search of the unaccounted-for vigilante. "Coward!" he cursed in Russian.
Unsuspectingly, Batman hung underneath the walkway grasping onto parts of the architecture, a section of his cape torn on the right side.
The assassin loomed his head over the ledge of the walkway searching for any sign of the Batman. Seizing the moment, Batman pulled himself up on the opposite side of the walkway, pulling out a concussive batarang he flung it at his enemy, whom had just noticed his presence.
The sword connected with the projectile and instead of cutting it in two, the batarang exploded with concussive force knocking the blade back and out of the man's hand plummeting to the ground.
NKVDemon's head whipped to Batman, hateful eyes burned towards the Gotham vigilante, plucking a concealed knife from behind his back only for Batman to high kick it out of his hand.
Pressing the advantage, Batman swung his leg out, performing a spinning kick, aiming for the man's head.
The assassin reacted in time, blocking with his left forearm with his right aiding, exposing his right side.
A dark left fist slicing through the air impacting the assassin's upper right quadrant of his abdominal region blasting his stomach, he grunted, his mobility destabilized.
Batman's foot returned to the ground, he leapt upwards both boots clasped together and crashed into the man's torso, pushing him backwards and colliding into the railing.
He pulled from his belt a glue grenade, it wasn't a gadget he usually kept in his belt, it was mostly used with the car as a riot suppressor. But he usually kept one or two of them on hand in case he ever needed them in a pinch.
He was about to throw the device to restrain the downed for, only his enemy to rise to his feet and pull out one of his grenades.
White lenses widened upon sight of the explosive, as soon as the Russian assassin other hand made a play to pull the pin, Batman reacted. He threw the glue grenade; the sticky substance was released as soon as the grenade came into proximity. It wrapped itself all over the man, focusing on his right arm which held the explosive. He growled in frustration as he struggled to free himself.
Batman deeming the man's threat level no longer as dangerous as before he got closer, only for the assassin to kick out and strike Batman's stomach, whom released a pained grunt. He stepped back, clutching his bruised gut.
White lenses burned with anger, desiring that this fight was over already. Anger turned to shock as the orange and blue clad assassin's strength tore through the glue freeing himself.
Personal safety was thrown to the wind as all the assassin cared about was Batman dead, either he survived the encounter did not register with the Russian. He tore the grenade from his right hand, unsticking it, he pulled the pin and threw the explosive in Batman's direction, only for him to dive to the other side of the walkway, easily evading the explosion and shrapnel.
A mighty explosion rippled with the night as a section on the opposite railing was obliterated leaving scorch marks and broken pieces of stone.
Projectiles flew tearing at the assassin's suit and flesh, a crack in his mask over his left eye. Blood leaking from his shoulder and torso yet was unperturbed by his state. His body resistant to pain working to his advantage. He grabbed for another grenade only for Batman to counter him by getting in close, clutching the man's wrist.
They tussled for minutes as Batman kept an iron-grip on the man's wrist that held the device and his other on the man's opposite arm to keep him from pulling the pin, all while the Russian fought back trying to pry his arms from the vigilante.
His leg shot out kneeing the dark clad man in the gut, a grunt escaping him, but he resisted the urge to loosen his grip. The assassin, determined, delivered several knees to his opponents' abdomen, however, Batman countered with his own knees colliding with the other man's.
Somehow, NKVDemon managed to wrestle his arms away from the American, shoving him away and drop kicking him farther away for added measure.
Batman rolled with the kick and stayed on his feet crouching. It was then that Batman saw what the assassin did not. "Don't!" he shouted, as the assassin pulled the pin.
Oblivious to the Russian, a portion of the glue grenade was still stuck to the device which kept it glued to his palm. It was when he tried to throw it that he became aware of the new development.
With seconds on the clock, the assassin tore his gauntlet from his arm along with his glove and grenade and tossed it forward.
Only for it to explode and seriously damage the integrity of the walkway. Batman had used his cape to protect him from the explosion, while NKVDemon was knocked back by the explosion, shrapnel tearing the flesh on his exposed forearm.
It was a few minutes later that the smoke dissipated, cracks formed throughout the stone walkway. Batman slowly released his grip on his cape, reclaiming his vision of his opponent, whom had removed his belt, which carried the remainder of his grenades. A digit hungover the pin on one of the explosives, the inevitable ticking down. The assassin did not care if he survived the encounter he was determined and satisfied with killing the Bat.
"Die!" he plucked the pin and tossed his belt to the vigilante, whom countered by firing his grapnel gun, the hook crashing into the belt and shot forward inching closer and closer to the assassin, while Batman's true aim was to push the explosives away from both men to the farther end of the walkway.
As the line passed the other man, half a second later the explosives rang out its concussive force knocked the assassin forward with a surprised cry. The walkaway could not withstand the explosions any further and gave way, collapsing and taking the men and the debris hurtling downward to the ground.
Twenty minutes later, police were on scene with Commissioner Gordon in attendance. He stood off to the side near an alley as Gotham's protector stuck to the shadows of the filthy alley. He watched his men perform their duties with preserving the crime scene all the while searching for the now unaccounted for NKVDemon.
"You okay?" the older man asked concerningly, never turning his back to his men.
Batman response after a long pause, "I'll survive." He too, observed the police officers performing their duties shifting through the rubble only to find nothing so far. "Anything?" he inquired of the older man.
"Nothing so far," he shrugged, taking out a cigarette. "But my men are still searching. No body, not dead," he said firmly.
The psychos in this city never stay dead, even if they did find the body. But you can't be too careful in this town.
Unbeknownst to them, a single officer was slowly inching his way towards the pair near the alley, barely performing his duty of cordoning the scene. Other officers were preoccupied with bagging and tagging evidence that they barely spared him a glance.
Intent gleamed in his eyes as he caught sight of a cape and continued getting closer. He appeared inconspicuous as he lowered his cap concealing his face.
Soon he was close enough to the two men to which he saw Batman. Once he got close enough, he carefully reached for his service weapon, unaware another officer noticed him and caught a glimpse of his name tag, immediately their eyes widened, as the cop pulled out his weapon.
"GUN!" the officer screamed as he fired on the cap-wearing officer, whom whipped his head to the voice as the officer fired, hitting the man in the chest, the impact knocking off his cap revealing his face, making the officer continue to fire until they nailed the man in the head, to which he plopped to the ground lifeless.
Batman and Gordon were shocked as they saw what had occurred in a manner of seconds. The two raced over to the officers, Batman was about to demand an explanation.
"I… saw his name tag," the traumatized officer stammered to Gordon. "And I knew they weren't who they really were. Richards has a scar on his chin," they uttered, as Gordon took possession of their weapon.
Batman hung over the dead man, noticing weapons wounds one person suffered earlier. He identified the dead man as NKVDemon.
Case closed.
Arkham Asylum
Bane, the man who once broke the bat, was confined to a cell at Arkham, following his latest encounter with Batman at the pharmaceutical factory. His cell was reinforced as the door and walls were resistant to his blows as the medical staff wean him off venom. Automatic shackles shoot out of the walls to disable him when the withdrawal episodes get worse.
Suddenly, the door to his cell unlocked, the cameras went on an endless loop from five minutes ago. The door creaked open eerily. This, however, did not perturb him, the venom addict knew who his late-night visitor was. He had been expecting him for quite a while now.
A dreadful shadow loomed over the inmate as he had once sworn bloody vengeance upon this man. "I know," Batman declared, as he entered the cell, the door shutting upon his entrance.
Bane's lip quirked upward, "About time. I had considered drawing you a map," he mocked, at Batman's slow investigation. Also, noticing Batman's tattered appearance.
"You hired KGBeast to shoot Nightwing," Batman seethed, the leash on his fury loosening by the minute he was in the man's presence. "He tried erasing the contact, but I managed to track down the one who placed the hit. It wasn't difficult to discover he was once doing time at Pena Duro when you took over the prison," he stated.
Bane smirked, "Bravo, detective," he ridiculed. "It took you this long to figure it all out?" he taunted, standing to his feet, approaching over the vigilante.
"He covered his tracks well," he surmised, mildly impressed by the Beast's abilities.
"I hired the best, although I hear he's not anymore after you took vengeance."
Batman glared at the man, hatred in his eyes as he wanted to break this man's back. "Why?!" he roared.
"Why?" Bane murmured, just over a whisper. "WHY?!" he roared in resentment. "I was done! Gone! My dependance on venom broken thanks to the pirate. Then, you come to my country—my prison and take the pirate back, thus forcing me take venom once more!" he recounted the reason behind everything. "I come to Gotham again to reclaim what you had taken from me. Only for you to defeat me and lock me up with your crazies, your jokes, your riddles, your birds, your cats! I am not your broken friend, nor scarecrow! I am not another one of your madmen looking to amuse or frighten you! I AM BANE! I was out! And then you bring me back in. Now I am even more depend on venom then ever before! My new concentration on venom was more potent and even more addictive. You did this to me! All so you could some little girl with a brother complex. So, you ask me 'why'?" he bellowed rhetorically.
One could argue that Batman brought this on himself, for trying to help Claire Clover, who was manipulated by Psycho Pirate. Bane was free of his addiction and remained in his own country no longer a threat to Gotham and her people, until Batman came for the Pirate. And if you asked him, he would do it all over again. He helped someone overcome their trauma and fears and saved her life. That was all that mattered. At least to him.
"Your hired thug's protégé paid me a visit earlier this evening. He's dead." Batman grunted in anger.
"New rules?" Bane replied, thoroughly intrigued on the vigilante's mental state.
Like a shadow, Batman loomed over the South American, white eyes seen over a dark silhouette. "New rules," the man uttered, cracking his knuckles ominously.
Ten minutes later, the guards of the asylum raced to Bane's cell after hearing boisterous noises that made it seem like a war was being waged inside.
They were armed and busted into the padded cell and were greeted by a horror scene. The walls were cracked and broken in several places. Blood splattered on the walls. They saw Bane slumped on the floor, his left arm broken along with his leg, his face swollen and bloody, his teeth littered the floor surrounding his face.
A guard called for a medical team and arrived on scene swiftly, a nurse leaned next to the injured man. "What happened to you?" he asked, worriedly as he started to tend to the downed man.
"New… rules…" he weakly supplied as his head fell to the ground with a thud.
NEXT: Moving Forward
Everyone will be excited next chapter as B and D get closer!