serendipity. [superbat]

research i.

Monday, 8:15 AM

Monday is like any other day. He walks into Wayne Industries with the air of a man who has his life together. More than together, he's talks like a man who'd inherited a company and made it into an empire in its own right. He walks around with just that slight hint of cockiness he needs to convince people he's fine. He hadn't gone and done something that he didn't know the consequences of. He was a rational man who gave his rational opinion to his employees. 

He takes each meeting the same and doesn't linger when they're over. His mind is elsewhere, combing through about two hundred scenarios and trying to figure out the most viable outcomes. 

He's so caught up in his own head that he blinks and he's standing alone in the cave, the light from the monitor casting a blue glow over the dark room as he stares up at the little lump. 

Tuesday, 9:02 AM

He's uncomfortable. He notices it when he plops down at his desk and attempts to get something done before his 10 AM meeting. The words on the papers neatly stacked on his desk feel more like background noise as he shifts in his seat. He can feel this slight ache radiating from his pelvic region that becomes more prominent the longer he sits. It was just as worrying as the realization that the little clump of cells had seemingly changed overnight. It's not a significant enough change to be alarmed, but the slight stretch of the sphere into an oblong shape gave him pause. That observation added to his current discomfort was enough evidence for him to start taking his little tests a bit more seriously.

He tries to throw himself into other work, if he's distracted, he can't think too much about what may be happening and how much he really needs to stand up. He sits for the presentation his employees had prepared; eyes locked in on the monitor as they explain the next potential move for the company. 

Though, he can feel it nagging away at him in the recesses of his mind. This was the first time he'd felt anything substantial since the injection. This mixed with "the stretch" from this morning was worrying. It could be the fastest growing tumor he's ever seen; it could be the cells suddenly recognizing that they are a new environment and trying to create something new. Either way, he can't just pretend like it's not there until he has a solid plan in place. 

He throws out some generic response at the end of the meeting, Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy's, signature smirk on his face as he grimaces through shaking hands and trying to grit his teeth through whatever small talk is necessary. He almost bites through his own tongue when he turns to leave and someone calls for him. He turns around and glances over his shoulder to see the room empty besides a woman clinging to a folder, nervous smile in place as she skittered over to close the space between him. 

He knew that smile. That was the smile of someone who saw an opportunity to pitch some grand project they'd "worked their entire adult life on" and they were eager to share it with someone with the money to fund it. So eager that they'd forgotten to read the room. He knew it all too-well. 

She must be a new hire. All of the more seasoned employees had rushed out of the room like the place was on fire. 

"Sir, I..." she starts and his resolve is crumbling quickly.

He'd hate to be the one to snuff out that naive, little fire that's set under her heels, that drive that's got her talking at about 100 mph, but he doesn't have a lot of patience left after sitting still through an hour-long presentation. 

"Another time." He cuts her off and doesn't stick around for the sputtering and stuttering as she tries to recalibrate. 

He can feel a light film of sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck as he white-knuckled his desk, unable to make himself truly comfortable in his chair. The discomfort is somewhere low in his belly and with every rock forward, he felt like he was going to burst.