BATMAN: Black Mirror Vol. 2

Night 03: Ivy League

     "This is bad. Even for you, this is really bad. You're letting him do this to you again Bruce. When are you going to learn that kid's not going to be happy until he gets you killed?" Dick raised his hands in frustration. He was tired of bringing Eli up...of anyone bringing Eli up for that matter. If he wasn't allowed to know about the child's whereabouts, then Dick didn't want to hear about him any longer. 

"The longer you keep letting him control like this, the sloppier your moves are gonna get and trust me, last night was your sloppiest yet."

A stern look from Bruce sent a nervous shiver through Dick's spine.

"Well, I'm just saying." he muttered under his breath. "Look, I'm worried about you Bruce. Losing the kid was hard on all of us. I was beginning to like Eli too, but obviously there was something wrong with him."

     "He didn't belong to us, and it shouldn't have come as a surprise that he would leave. Believe me, I know what it's like to lose someone you care deeply about.... we all do."

His back turned to his family; Bruce kept his head in his hands as he thought about the current events. He listened to everything Dick had to say and for the first time, he wasn't disagreeing. Eli was a completely different person...or was he? What did Bruce really know about him? On the surface all he knew was that Eli was an orphan just like him, can speak to dead people, was a masterful assassin and had a habit of sleeping under his bed whenever he felt uncomfortable. He and Bruce were similar in so many ways, so in order for Bruce to get a grasp of the boy, he had to look and question himself. All the things he would do...and all the dark, terrible things he wouldn't do. In all reality, he had no right presuming he knew anything other than superficial things about Eli. He had no right to place people in danger over broken logic. 

"Sir, I believe Master Dick is correct on this front. Through your eyes I saw what he did the other night."

     "Trying to reach out to someone who's so willing to kill for his purpose...it's suicide. You can't let someone like that get close to you." Alfred stood beside his master.

"Then you also heard why he was hunting Richardson." Bruce's voice lowered. While Dick rolled his eyes as he knew the tone in his friend's voice, Alfred gave a sad sigh.

"I heard."

"What did he say?" Dick gave in.

"There's still some good in him. He was after Richardson because I got hurt at the charity party. He must have discovered Richardson hired those men and in turn, it's his fault I was shot. He was only trying to avenge me."

Something in Bruce's eyes darkened.

     He knew better than this. He knew better than to keep chasing after a wild dog who never held any interest in returning. The dog would keep pulling away, smirking and panting at watching the human fond over it. Knowing the human wanted it so badly. Bruce was doing nothing but chasing after a boy who clearly didn't want to be a part of his life, but the unfortunate stars both were born under kept bringing them together. Somewhere in the tangle of lies, secrets, darkness and pain there was a heart desperately beating between them. In lives that didn't allow emotions both Bruce and Eli still felt for each other and no matter how much he wanted to deny it, Bruce was secretly glad there was still a chance. A call came through on the Bat computer. The call was from Gilda Gold. 

"Gilda? We haven't heard from her in a minute." Dick looked worried. Bruce was quick to pick up the phone and placed the call on speaker.

"Gilda it's been a while. It's good to hear from you again."

     The other end of the call was too quiet for Bruce's liking.

"Gilda?" Bruce's voiced turned urgent.