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!]

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[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.