It was the morning after the bank robbery, and the group had gathered together at the penthouse. Lois and Clark had just come back from their trip with Chloe in tow. Lois had heard about Bruce's "heroics," and was none too pleased. At the present moment, she was attempting to verbally fry his brain.
Chloe and Bart sat quietly off to the side of the room, trying to stay out of the way. Chloe was nervous. She'd come back to Metropolis with Clark and Lois on the way back to Smallville, but had no idea that she'd end up sitting in a fortieth-story penthouse with three super-powered teenagers, watching Lois yell at her future-billionaire boyfriend.
She quietly leaned over to Bart. "So... are they always like this?"
"I dunno," Bart replied. "They've been kinda tense lately."
Lois's angry rant continued. "Why would you do that?!? You DON'T have powers, Bruce! You could have gotten yourself killed! You nearly even got Bart killed!"
Diana stepped in to defend him. "Without Bruce's actions, a lot more people could have died. He did stop the criminal, and he saved my life."
Lois wasn't about to take advice from Diana on how to treat Bruce. She scowled at Diana, then stormed off towards the elevator door. "C'mon Chloe, we're leaving."
Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but didn't know quite what to say. She looked back and forth between Lois and Clark. Lois got the unspoken message: she wanted to stay with Clark. "Fine, stay," Lois said as she left.
The remaining five teens looked back and forth between one another in silence for a moment. Clark broke the silence by simply getting down to business. "So, the guy in the bank was a decoy?"
"Yes," Bruce responded. "The police told us this morning that he was a former accomplice of Lawton's, but that's all they know."
Clark narrowed his eyes. "They? Why, do you know something more?"
"There was a sniper on the roof of the WGBS building. He had plenty of chances to fire at the police, me, or anyone else there, but he waited until Diana arrived, and fired on her."
Clark and Bruce both looked at Diana briefly, Clark just now putting the mental pieces together.
"So you think the decoy was there to draw her out for the sniper?"
"Makes sense to me. Lawton had never been caught before Diana took him down, and he's known for his overblown ego. Now he wants revenge."
Diana leaned in. "Isn't he in still in prison?"
"It doesn't matter," Bruce said. "The sniper could have been one of his accomplices, too."
Clark suddenly seemed concerned. "Bruce, how do you know so much about criminology all the sudden? And why did you go in there? The guy was surrounded by two dozen police officers; it's not like he was going anywhere."
Bruce lowered his head a bit, and shut his eyes. He was brooding again. Clark and Diana looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"It's a personal matter," Bruce said firmly.
Clark sighed. Bruce obviously wasn't going to give him any real answers.
"Is this how you knew about my powers and stuff?" Bart asked from across the room. He was holding a book from Bruce's library, entitled Extradimensional Power: The Science of Human Potential.
"Yes," Bruce answered.
"Uh-huh. In-between the words 'personal' and 'matter,' I went over and looked at your library. It's all filled with stuff about criminology, chemistry, martial arts, psychology, and physics. It's like you're trying to be a one-man police force."
Bruce was getting aggravated. "Well, forgive me for not being a freak like you!"
Diana, Clark, and Bart exchanged glances. This wasn't normal for Bruce, and they could all tell. They figured it was best to leave him alone.
"We should be going now," Clark said as he stood up. He looked over at Chloe, and she literally jumped up at the chance to get away from all the angst. Diana and Bart followed them into the elevator, leaving Bruce alone with his anger.
Bruce felt Alfred walk up beside him.
"Master Bruce, if I may, I know this day holds painful memories, but it would be a mistake to turn that pain upon those who hold you most dear."
Five of Alfred's words rang clearer in Bruce's mind than the rest:
"...this day holds painful memories..."
He looked at the calendar, letting today's date echo in his mind:
October 31st
END
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