Day 37: Sun Room

[hismastersdance.livejournal.com]

Joe had read some of the larger notes stuck up on the bulletin board when the announcement came on the intercom. All things considered, this Landel guy didn't even seem so bad. Even if these people were held here against their will, he was certainly nice about it.

Apparently, the new patients - including Joe - were to hang around in the Sun Room or go to Arts and Crafts with the kids. Well, there was plenty of information on the board, including maps and descriptions of monsters, for Joe to prepare for the nighttime, when he could seriously get going on fighting his way out. He could look for where the boss would probably be waiting, or where his V-watch might be, and figure out how to fight the monsters. In fact, he had plenty of time to work all that out... but this the first time he'd had to really relax since he got his powers. So it couldn't possibly hurt to enjoy the calm period, could it?

The red-head stepped back from the board, and hopped back onto a comfy-looking couch to digest in the sunlight. He reached up to pull his cap down, and sighed when he realized it wasn't there. "Oh well, nothing's perfect. I still wouldn't call this hell."

[free!]

Comments

[gothamnight.livejournal.com]

You’re you.

Wally’s comment made Bruce pause for a minute, unsure how or if he was supposed to react. Wally couldn’t possibly not be bothered by the fact that the Bruce Wayne with him was not the Bruce Wayne he knew—and yet, there was something unfeigned about the way he’d smiled and asserted confidently that he knew Bruce would’ve done the same for him as well. As much as Bruce wanted to warn the other man, wanted to make it clear for once and all that he was in all likelihood not same person Wally West trusted with his life...in truth, Bruce knew that would be a lie. Wally was right; now that he had met the Flash, and had the other man’s trust...Bruce knew that despite all that he might say or do, he would do his best not to betray or abandon him.

He hadn’t been expecting an ally in this struggle, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be grateful.

“...that’d be helpful,” Bruce replied to Wally’s offer, nodding in thanks.

“Though we’d probably need to meet somewhere more private to do that. In terms of ‘people to watch out for’...there’s at least one old ‘friend’ who’s a bit too interested in Bruce Wayne, and at least two who think the Batman’s a fictional character. If I were the Flash, I’d be careful of who I spoke to and how much I revealed about my identity as well.”

Bruce found himself thinking of that one person’s comment on the bulletin board—“Holy pedophilia, Batman!” indeed. Had Crane perhaps spoken to someone who thought of Batman as a fictional character? He had no way of knowing without compromising his identity somehow—at this point, it was probably dangerous for him to post on the bulletin signed as “Bruce Wayne,” because of the public nature of the place. Since the Flash was from his world, had he had a similar revelation?

“You could leave using the front door?” That was unusual. Though Bruce remembered about how last night, all the doors had been unlocked, he’d assumed that was because those in charge knew the patients couldn’t escape Institute grounds. And yet, if they left not only the doors inside the Institute open, but also those leading to the outside...that meant that they were confident their control extended beyond the Institute itself, and to the area beyond it. The Flash had been attacked by monsters that existed outside the Institute, then had blacked out and subsequently found himself in his bed...

“Have you talked to any other patients? What have their backgrounds before arriving or experiences here been like? I heard there’s people with superpowers and aliens around...”

Bruce glanced down at Wally’s knee.

“How much of your powers have they taken away?”

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

Wally frowned in confusion. "Wait, fictional character? You mean they actually went ahead and started making all those movies and books and musicals and stuff they were talking about recently?" But even if they had, this Bruce didn't seem to know about the League as much, as far as he could tell, and even if he did and things were essentially the same, that wouldn't explain why people would think the Batman was fictional.

"I'm confused," he confessed. "But I haven't met anyone who knew about the League at all, or knew who Wally West was. But I have been pretty careful, promise." He chewed his lower lip nervously, knowing that his idea of 'pretty careful' and Batman's were entirely different.

"But, I, uh, did tell a couple of people about my powers. Couldn't really avoid it," he admitted. "The first night I was here I got caught using my speed by this kid. I think I got lucky with that one though," he added hastily. "You know it turned out that the guy is Clark Kent? But he's really different from the Clark we know. Younger and he looks and acts differently, but I'm pretty sure he's the real deal."

He wasn't sure if he should talk about the other time, but the chance Bats wouldn't notice him skipping it over was practically nonexistent. "And the other night I had to use them to help my roommate out. But Tony said he's part of a superhero team where he's from, so he was pretty cool about it. I think he's kinda like you and just uses technology to do stuff. Maybe you guys can catch up some time?"

Wally nodded to the question about the front door. "The first night I just... kinda tried to go straight out through that. I met Clark there and, now I think about it, maybe he broke the lock? I coulda sworn it was locked when I tried it, but he got it open. But yeah, the moment we got outside almost we got attacked by these weirdo lizard dragonfly things."

The multiple questions didn't really bother Wally as they might have anyone else, he was used to debriefings with Bats and also welcomed having someone who was better at putting together information to talk to.

"Yeah, I've made a lot of friends here," he said with a characteristic grin. "People seem to be coming from all over - I've met some others with powers and some aliens and people from the future and even just some regular guys. Seems like everyone's got a different story to tell. There's this guy Marcus who's put up a post on the bulletin, he says he's a superhero where he's from too and he's been trying to get in touch with other people with powers. I didn't tell him anything about my abilities though, don't wanna take that risk, you know?"

He paused, remembering something else. "I've got a meeting tonight with ZEX, he's an alien normally, something called a VUX? We were gonna get together and compare notes on humans and VUX, the guy seemed like he could really use a hand with adapting."

The subject of his own powers was one that had been concerning Wally for a while, but he hadn't really had anyone who'd known about his normal abilities and would understand how much everything had changed to talk to. In a way it was a relief to be able to unload onto someone about it.

He sighed heavily and sagged into the couch. "Most of them. I can't run as fast as..." He winced and glanced away, remembering a world passing by in a flicker of still frames as he'd run so fast... he'd left his mark around the whole planet, been able to beat what had been one of the most powerful villains they'd ever faced with his bare hands, and had become something else, something more than human and comprised of energy and speed, had been somewhere else that had just been absolutely perfect... then they'd dragged him back.

And had it really been only a week ago?

"...as fast as I used to," he finished lamely. "Other stuff has changed too. I can't do as much with what I've got and I'm not as strong as I used to be. And obviously I don't heal as fast either," he said with a wry smile. "But the weird thing is that my metabolism is still the same. So what's up with that?"

[gothamnight.livejournal.com]

While Wally’s promise that he’d been “careful” didn’t inspire a great deal of confidence in Bruce, he’d have to trust the Flash’s word when he said he’d tried his best to maintain some sort of cover. In that respect, the Batman had it a bit easier than some of the other heroes; he had no powers to hide, no supernatural abilities to train and control. He could only imagine how Wally’d managed to keep his identity a secret here—because of his metabolism, the Flash ate immense amounts of food. He’d be surpassing Bruce’s initial expectations regarding the man’s capability for subtlety if he could make it through breakfast without arousing some kind of curiosity or suspicion.

It’d be too optimistic to think that either of them could survive here without having at least a few people discover the truth about their identities; Bruce listened with interest when Wally mentioned that people had indeed discovered his unusual abilities, and made a mental note to check up on all the individuals la—

—Clark. Clark was here. Suddenly the familiarity of the face he’d glimpsed at breakfast made sense—so that kid was Clark Kent. Bruce had just begun to feel relieved when he realized one other thing: the Clark here wasn’t the Clark he knew back in his world. The kid he’d seen looked more like a high-schooler than a journalist in his thirties; he hadn’t even been wearing glasses as befitted his identity. Younger and he looks and acts differently... Clark had made his first appearance as Superman in his twenties...

Clark was here, yes. But he was Clark Kent the Smallville teen (albeit one who, based on Wally’s anecdote, still had his powers)...not Superman. All the things he’d held in common with Bruce were gone—the crimefighting, Lois, the near-death experiences with Ra’s and Brainiac and the Joker and Luthor. Here was a Clark who didn’t know Bruce, just like Bruce didn’t know Wally, but at the very least Bruce was still Batman, and Wally still the Flash. This Clark didn’t know Bruce—and, if he was half as careful with his powers as Bruce hoped he was, wouldn’t trust Bruce easily, either. Bruce couldn’t allow his memories of his Clark to muddle his judgment when dealing with this one; he’d have to meet the boy and see for himself what this Clark was like, and whether he was still the Boy Scout he knew. Even if Clark’s powers had been diminished, it was the ma—boy’s strength of heart that Bruce valued. If Clark still had that...perhaps Bruce could hope for h—another ally. And if Clark didn’t...well, perhaps he’d like Brucie.

[gothamnight.livejournal.com]

It was then that Bruce thought of something Dick had once told him—that if he didn’t take his chances and make meaningful connections where he could, then someday, in the future...he’d end up all alone. Except for the fact that Bruce didn’t mind solitude, he had to admit privately that Dick was right. And yet...

People from all over—different backgrounds, different stories, different beliefs and species and goals. It was just like the Flash to say that he’d “made a lot of friends”; Bruce’s focus would not be on making friends, but getting out. Getting out, and back to Gotham. The city that needed him. And his friends...well, his friends were there. Alfred, Dick, Tim, Barbara, Jim...Clark. They were there, and so long as Bruce could just grasp it, grasp the key that’d unlock all Landel’s secrets and leave him free to go home...

It wasn’t impossible. Bruce couldn’t allow himself to even consider that it was impossible. With impossibility came giving up—despair, and absence of resolve. And the Batman would never give up.

“...you’re going to spend the night playing counselor to an alien,” Bruce said dryly, voice almost matching his expression: a bored, carefully disinterested deadpan. Going on the man’s reputation in the news alone, true, Bruce hadn’t exactly expected the Flash to be as focused as say, Superman or Green Lantern, but to spend the few valuable nightshift hours helping a former alien adjust to his new human body...

He caught Wally’s wince as he talked about his powers, and wondered briefly just what the other man was glossing over. Wally seemed to be telling the truth, however, so he didn’t ask for more details. He made a mental note to himself to watch Wally the next time he was eating, just to confirm what the other man’d said about his metabolism. That, and check the bulletin as soon as possible for information about this Marcus Cole.

“Does Tony have a last name?” he asked. “I’ll keep him in mind. Asides from Cole and Tony, do you know anything about the power balance here? There’s a lot of patients—I’d be surprised if there wasn’t some attempt to organize.”

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

Wally relaxed quietly, keeping an eye on Bruce but remaining silent to give the other man time to think. Bats had always been really good a piecing things together after all and Wally had known him long enough to trust anything he came up with from the information he'd been given. He looked up in surprise when Bruce did talk however.

"Well yeah!" he said, not bothering to hide his confusion. "ZEX really needs someone to talk to about stuff and give him a hand with adapting. You should have seen him yesterday. It's just... I wanna help. Besides," he continued, gesturing at his bandaged knee. "I can't exactly do much on my own right now. I was pushing things enough by running after we got attacked, doing the same again won't help it heal any faster."

Bruce ought to see the logic in that right? Flash wasn't going to be much use to anyone if he wreaked his knee beyond all repair, especially considering how his powers were now. Luckily if Bruce had noticed Wally's hesitation when talking about his powers - and let's be honest, he probably had, he told himself - then he didn't feel the need to push for further details. Which was a good thing, 'cause Wally didn't know what he would tell him if he had. On one hand telling Bruce about what had happened with Luthor and Brainiac recently would probably be a really bad idea, but on the other, Wally would have welcomed the opportunity to talk about it one-on-one with someone he trusted. It had only been a few days before he'd been abducted here after all, and he'd spent a lot of that time recovering while the League had been busy with other matters. He was still trying to come to terms with everything he'd learned about himself and his powers that night.

He shook his head to clear those thoughts and managed a smile. "Oh, right. Yeah, it's Stark. Tony Stark. He's my roommate and he's pretty cool, kinda sarcastic and doesn't like it if you 'borrow' his dinner," he said with a laugh. "Said he also used to be a big CEO or something before he came here, so maybe you guys have got a lot in common?"

He shook his head at the next question. "Not much, I think the clubs have something to do with it all, but I don't know, I haven't seen anyone talking about what they actually do you know? Other than the new crossdressing one anyway," he finished with an amused grin.

Turning more serious, he continued, "But if you want I can ask about it on the bulletin board. Like I said, no one seems to think Wally West should be anything special, so it might be safer if I do it."

[gothamnight.livejournal.com]

Bruce was a bit startled by Wally’s earnest reaction—as if he needed to explain to Bruce why he’d made his decision. Actually, now that Bruce thought of it, the Flash had a reputation for being unfailingly helpful to anyone who needed it—for matters both big and small. It was no wonder then, that he felt the need to help an alien get used to his surroundings even if it meant sacrificing time that he could be using advancing his own plans for escape. Wally possessed a mentality completely different from Bruce’s: Bruce would just have to learn to work around or with it. Adjusting. Learning.

“...I know. I apologize,” Bruce said with measured calm. It was testament to the fact that Wally was still somewhat of a stranger to Bruce—one that he needed time to adjust to and understand—that Bruce apologized. He’d read about the Flash and done his research, yes. But in reality, Bruce had no experience actually dealing with the man, and though he was beginning to think that Wally was used to dealing with the Batman’s demanding nature, Bruce was still hesitant to accidentally overstep any boundaries or assume too much about what the Flash could tolerate and what he couldn’t.

“Your first priority should be recovering from your injuries, and even if it weren’t, you’re free to do whatever you like.”

It occurred to Bruce now that, in fact, what he was saying was true. Wally did have the freedom to do whatever he liked. It was the ease with which the man accepted Bruce’s control that had lulled Bruce into a sense of false entitlement—as if he had the right to control the other man’s actions and tell him what to do. Bruce wouldn’t make the same mistake again; he had to remember that Wally was not, in fact, some kind of partner or friend, obligated out of some shared sympathy or feeling to work with Bruce or help him. Not yet, and perhaps not ever. True, the man seemed to possess some sort of hero-worship for Batman, but others in Bruce’s life had felt the same way before. Once.

The bottom line was, he couldn’t count on the Flash’s admiration for Batman to keep the man on his side. Bruce would be more careful—try.

[gothamnight.livejournal.com]

Bruce’s expression did not change as he listened to Wally talk about Stark. He did note that he did not personally know of a CEO by that name, so the man was likely from an entirely different universe—not just a parallel one. He had yet to decide whether to involve himself with the clubs—judging by the way they seemed to operate, Bruce doubted he would. But it couldn’t hurt to look into them, and if he could, keep tabs on their movements and locations. As for Wally asking about them...

“That won’t be necessary,” Bruce replied to Wally, firm. “No matter how you think people judge you, start asking questions and someone’s bound to notice. The fewer people that notice you and your powers, the better; don’t put yourself at that kind of risk yet. I’ll handle it.”

He paused before adding, “One more thing. Wally West and Bruce Wayne can be friends, but it’d be best not to involve yourself too much with me. If it ever becomes public knowledge that I’m Batman, deny any knowledge of it and back off. There are people here who might try to use my connections to identify people with superpowers—people who might try to use you. Remember that.”

Almost immediately after Bruce stopped speaking, the intercom sounded. The doctor’s voice still managed to jar Bruce every time he heard it, but he’d no doubt he’d be used to it soon.

“Have fun with your alien,” Bruce said with a smile as he stood up. A VUX, was it? Bruce had admittedly little experience dealing with aliens besides the ones that tried to destroy the world, suck blood, or enslave the human population. He had reasons for his distrust—aliens were something that he knew relatively little of, and even if they were now stuck in human bodies, Bruce had no way of knowing whether or not they had gained human emotions or perception with the transformation. He supposed he could always ask Wally, after he met with this VUX. Or Donna, what with her time-traveling Doctor and all.

“I don’t know where I’m staying yet, but once I do, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, before the next time we meet, I want you to write down a list of all the people you’ve talked to since arriving. Details about their physical appearances would be helpful—not everyone signs their name or even posts on the bulletin.”

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

"Uh, right," Wally said, thrown off by the apology and Bruce's sudden change from questioning why Wally would want to help ZEX to agreeing that it was his choice to make.

It was, he realised with a start, almost like Bruce was dismissing his offer of assistance. His comment of taking care of finding out more about the clubs on his own, followed by the suggestion that Wally West and Bruce Wayne couldn't afford to be 'involved too much' - whatever that meant - just made it seem all the more obvious.

Batman - Bruce - was trying to distance himself from Wally.

His first thought was why? He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? Sure maybe he didn't know as much as he should have after nearly four days in this place, but gathering information and piecing it all together had never been his strong point. Or did Bruce just think he was wasting time with talking with people and helping them with their problems, when he should have been concentrating on escaping? Then it hit him. He was still thinking of Bruce as his friend and trusted teammate from the Justice League, when this Bruce hardly knew him at all. What reason would he have to trust Wally West, the complete stranger who just walked up to him in the showers? Who had been here for four days and had nothing to show for it except a few injuries?

None, that was what. No wonder he wanted to leave now. From his viewpoint, Wally must have just seemed pretty useless and desperate for someone to talk to. Someone who he could treat as a close friend, despite the fact that they hardly knew each other.

And it hurt because he had a feeling Bruce was right.

"Ba- Bruce, wait!" Wally said as the other man stood, automatically reaching up to grab at his wrist before realising what he was doing and letting go again. "I... I'm sorry. I haven't done as much as I should have here. I should have been trying harder to find out more about this place and to escape."

He looked away, fingers toying with his shirt nervously. "I shouldn't have assumed things would be the same between us when you don't know who I am. So... I'm sorry. And I'll try harder from now on. Just... please. Let me help, okay? I know you don't know me and don't have any reason to trust me really, but I can help out, really. Just let me try."

At the sound of the intercom, the nurses had started moving throughout the room, encouraging patients to start moving towards the cafeteria again for lunch. Wally shifted, picking up his crutch and standing carefully before looking back to Bruce. He nodded mutely at the request. A list of everyone he'd talked to and what he knew would be easy enough after all, even if it did kinda feel like he was being given an easy task on purpose. "I can have it ready for tomorrow," he said carefully. "Or is that too soon?"

The nurses hadn't noticed them yet, so he should at least get an answer to his question before they had to move away.

[gothamnight.livejournal.com]

“Tomorrow’s fine,” Bruce replied automatically. It was a good that the surrounding noise was loud; the Flash had likely had very little experience dealing with the Batman out of costume, and thus was prone to reverting back to “Bats” whenever he wasn’t thinking. Bruce entertained briefly the thought of perhaps warning Wally again of the importance of calling him “Bruce” in this place, but after listening to the man’s unneeded apology and seeing the hurt look on his face, Bruce had a feeling that kind of reminder would just make things worse.

Though the intercom had sounded, and the nurse could be coming any minute...he had to set things straight with Wally before he went.

“You should know I’m not a big fan of talking,” Bruce began, “So I’m only going to say this once.”

He turned around so that his back was towards most people before he dropped his mask. No playful smile to alter the firm set of jaw, no half-lidded scowl to disguise the complete, serious intensity of his focus. Bruce was making a gamble, banking on the fact that Wally could separate Bruce from the Batman, in an effort to secure the man’s trust and assure him of Bruce’s.

“I trust you, Wally,” he said, enunciating each word slowly and carefully, not to condescend but to make sure that the full weight of those words came across.

“I trust you. I don’t know what kind of relationship you had with the other Bruce, but if he’s anything like me, you should understand the significance of that. Things won’t be the same—I guarantee it. But you’ve helped me a great deal already, and the best you can do for me now is take the necessary precautions to protect yourself.”

While Wally did not feel that his secret identity was perhaps in danger, Bruce held no such illusion. Until he could assess fully just how many people thought that Bruce Wayne was Batman, and what kinds of people were around who might try to exploit that knowledge for their own purposes, Bruce needed to be careful with who he associated with and how long—not only but especially if that person was important to him. Surely Wally understood that, and even if he didn’t...he’d have to learn to trust Bruce not to let his personal feelings or emotions get in the way of his decisions.

“As for ‘trying harder’...I may ask a lot of you in the coming days, but that doesn’t mean I’m always right. I meant it when I said you have the right to choose what you want to do with your time, and in what way you want to save people. The Batman has one way of doing things; the Flash has another. You’ve a right to your beliefs, and I’ve a right to mine.”

Bruce paused, thinking of Clark, and remembering all the arguments they’d had over generally everything—especially ideology. Perhaps he had Clark to thank now, for teaching him that people as different as they could also learn to work together, so long as they had a shared goal and shared sacrifice.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t work together.”

A nurse had finally noticed them, and as she came closer, all the sincerity and determination in Bruce’s expression faded and was replaced by a blank, pleasant smile. He waved a bit at the Flash and began to walk away before he seemed to remember something and turned abruptly around again.

“Is it okay if I meet you in the showers again tomorrow?” he called out. In the end, it was Wally alone that Bruce really trusted to see him in the showers right now, what with the scars and all.

"Just in case, you know, I don't meet my redhead quotient for the day."

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

The presence of the nurse meant that Wally couldn't talk too much beyond anything that would have been considered 'normal' for two patients that had just met each other, but to be honest, there wasn't a lot he could think to say in response to Bruce at the moment. Sure, he'd always known that his Bats trusted him - trusted him to do the job asked, to handle himself in a fight and not to screw things up too badly - but this was a Bats that didn't know him at all really, so hearing that from him... it meant a lot.

"...thanks," he said, and though he was still uncertain, his smile was genuine enough. "I'll keep that in mind."

He leant more on his crutch and began to follow the nurse as well, but paused when Bruce spoke again. The question was light and friendly despite the implications, so Wally smiled again, doing his best to seem like someone who'd just made friends with charismatic Bruce Wayne and hadn't just spent the last shift trying to figure out how the Batman had gotten here and how they were going to work together.

"I don't think we'll be having showers tomorrow," he said with a shrug. "Like I said, it's been nearly four days for me and this is the first chance I've had to get cleaned up. Might be better just to run into each other at lunch or something."

The mention of lunch got an insistent rumble from his stomach, so Wally gave a vague wave in Bruce's direction and set off for the cafeteria, where he was certain there would be a tray of hamburgers and hotdogs with his name on it somewhere.