Chapter Text
“Come on, he’s totally Batman!” May exclaimed with a huff.
“You know I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next girl. But you’ve been spending way too much time on Youtube.” You said with a laugh.
You and May had met back in university. Ever since, you went for brunch way more than you had any right to. But, this was Gotham City, and any minute you could be kidnapped, mugged, or murdered. So, may as well eat the damn breakfast food.
“Who else has the money? Have you seen the BatMobile? Thing must have cost a fortune.”
“Maybe he stole it.” You teased.
“Are you implying that the government is spending our tax money on cars shaped like bats? Because if so, I am definitely interested and need to hear more about this.”
“Okay, so hear me out. What if Batman was created by the government? And they also created the Batmobile, and the BatBike and just set him free on the city. To see what happens, you know, like some kind of experiment?”
“See this is where your theory falls apart. There is no “BatBike”.”
“Oh, well damn. I tried.” You said with a sigh.
May was a reporter with the Gotham Gazette, and had always been a bit of a conspiracy theorist. But last month when her office had been held hostage, and Batman saved the day, her only thoughts were on who he could be.
“But there is a “Batcycle”, if that’s what you are talking about.”
“Wow May, you are a huge nerd. Maybe you should get yourself kidnapped. And then you can ask him if he’s Bruce Wayne, or just some guy with a vampire fetish.”
“A vampire fetish?” May said with a laugh, and you laughed with her. “Now, there’s a story.”
“Oh god, why do we live in this city?”
“Because the rent is cheap? And the pay is fantastic. No better place for a journalist to live. Speaking of, I should get going if I actually want to make it to work on time.” May said, looking at her watch.
“Okay, but before you go you have to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“No purposely getting kidnapped just so you can get an exclusive with Batman.”
“Fineee…..” She said with a whine. “Wait, what about getting accidentally kidnapped?”
“Hmm… I’ll allow it.”
“Okay, now you have to make me two promises.”
“Anything.”
“First, if you ever see Batman, you have to promise me you’ll ask him who he is, under the mask.’
“No way.”
“And second, you need to promise me that you’ll meet me back here for breakfast next week.”
“Done deal.”
-
Gotham General was only a few blocks away, but you walked swiftly and with caution. You always had pepper spray in your bag. Even in the daytime, you could never be too careful in this city.
Gotham was a mess. Sarcasm and joking could only get you so far. At some point you had to look around you and admit that this city was dangerous. And although you had mostly managed to stay out of trouble, it always seemed to be nearby.
You took a deep breath, and touched the spot on your arm where your mark was. Everyone had one. A soul mate mark, the first words that your person would ever say to you. You often wondered what they were like, although you didn’t have too much time to think about it.
You had fallen in love with children’s mental health, and ended up studying to become a psychiatrist. Which meant a very busy workload and not a lot of time for soulmate searching.
The damage that the crime had on the people of this city was unreal. Especially the children, who were so vulnerable yet so strong. It made you feel better to know that you were doing something to help them.
But, it was tiring. And at the end of the day, you were sweating, hair every which way. Brunch seemed like it was a lifetime ago. But despite the exhaustion, there was a smile on your face.
-
Although you mostly tried to avoid it, you were working the evening shift tonight, which meant leaving work at midnight.
It was dark on the streets, but luckily you lived nearby. The walk was swift, and quiet. Until it wasn’t.
“Let’s make this easy, lady. Hand over your purse, and your phone, and no one gets hurt.” A masked man said, holding up a gun.
You knew what you needed to do, and what you should have done. But the panic kicked in and you froze.
“I said give me the purse and the phone!” He said, reaching for your purse to grab it. But you had an iron grip on it.
Do something! Let go! Kick him! Your mind screamed.
Maybe it was the shift, maybe it was that you hadn’t eaten since the morning. Maybe it was that, somehow, despite this being Gotham, this was your first time being mugged. But you were frozen with fear, yet determined to not give this mugger the satisfaction of seeing it.
“No.” You said, grip tightening.
The shot was quick, the ringing in your ears burned, and then there was the blood. You looked at your side and saw the blood flowing out. You felt faint, and your grip loosened on the purse just enough for the mugger to grab it and run.
He didn’t get very far.
-
Mugger unconscious on the ground. The whole thing had been so fast, you barely saw a thing.
Batman was standing in front of you, purse in hand.
Is this really happening, or am I just dying?
You said the only thing that came into your mind.
“Are you Bruce Wayne?”
-
There was nothing but silence.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry, I don’t know why I said that.” You said, feeling the blood that wasn't rushing out your side rush to your face.
“I think I’m in shock. And I’m so, so sorry. I just have this friend, and she thinks… and it doesn't matter because I am bleeding out and talking a lot to avoid panicking.” You said, looking down at the wound.
Your hands holding your side, blood everywhere.
Your knees felt weak.
It wasn’t helping.