"I'm not sure just what your standards for 'pretty secret' are, but I do know that ZEX just made a wholly unsubtle reference to Bruce Wayne's altruism on the bulletin."
Bruce's glare intensified, but where Wally's was full of heat Bruce's was cold. He lowered his voice so not to disturb the people around them, but though his voice was soft and the tone carefully tempered, the words themselves were angry. Batman's words.
"If you think that the little things don't matter, that just a little slip here or there won't be enough to expose you to the people who matter, think again. We're not dealing with Captain Boomerang and the Trickster here. Where there are heroes there will always be people out there to destroy them--people who don't give a damn about your ideas of 'justice' and 'trust' and 'faith.' You'd like to think that people don't cross lines and that people whom you tell to be careful will be careful, but people don't work like that. They'll lie, they'll cheat, they'll use you like a superspeed rag and break you apart into so many pieces you'll never get in their way again."
Wally was an optimistic person: he preferred to look towards the future rather than the past. Bruce, however was not; the past was to him as powerful a tie as the present he had to change, and if Wally was harboring any illusions as to just how generous the Batman could be, this was as good a time as any to break them.
"Even if 'your world' doesn't work like that, mine does. Even if you don't have any old enemies here, I do. If you want to go public with your identity like Cole, by all means feel free. But I can't take the risk of letting people know. Not yet. Maybe not ever."
He fell silent, reigning in his emotions tighter before resuming in a calmer voice.
"Our first priority here is to get out. If what it takes to do that involves avoiding you and keeping this--" He paused, "--friendship private, then I will do so."
Bruce's stare intensified while his voice softened.
no subject
Bruce's glare intensified, but where Wally's was full of heat Bruce's was cold. He lowered his voice so not to disturb the people around them, but though his voice was soft and the tone carefully tempered, the words themselves were angry. Batman's words.
"If you think that the little things don't matter, that just a little slip here or there won't be enough to expose you to the people who matter, think again. We're not dealing with Captain Boomerang and the Trickster here. Where there are heroes there will always be people out there to destroy them--people who don't give a damn about your ideas of 'justice' and 'trust' and 'faith.' You'd like to think that people don't cross lines and that people whom you tell to be careful will be careful, but people don't work like that. They'll lie, they'll cheat, they'll use you like a superspeed rag and break you apart into so many pieces you'll never get in their way again."
Wally was an optimistic person: he preferred to look towards the future rather than the past. Bruce, however was not; the past was to him as powerful a tie as the present he had to change, and if Wally was harboring any illusions as to just how generous the Batman could be, this was as good a time as any to break them.
"Even if 'your world' doesn't work like that, mine does. Even if you don't have any old enemies here, I do. If you want to go public with your identity like Cole, by all means feel free. But I can't take the risk of letting people know. Not yet. Maybe not ever."
He fell silent, reigning in his emotions tighter before resuming in a calmer voice.
"Our first priority here is to get out. If what it takes to do that involves avoiding you and keeping this--" He paused, "--friendship private, then I will do so."
Bruce's stare intensified while his voice softened.
"Do you understand?"