Ripples ● Luthor

ZERO

ZERO | RETURN
☾HOLD ME DOWN | HALSEY ☽

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         The brunette's slender body crouched down and rolled away on the tiled floor before the sole of his shoe could roughly brush up against her face in a kick. Beads of sweat formed on her hairline, the bun of chestnut locks sitting on top of her head coming undone when she hurriedly got up and delivered a kick to the man's side, a loose strand of hair falling against the side of her face from the impact.

         Her chest heaved up and down under her form fitting black shirt while she caught her breath from the previous fight, cherry coloured lips breaking into a wild grin and a hand extended out to the man sprawled out on the floor. Shooting her a playful grimace, he took her hand and jumped to his feet, towering over the shorter woman.

         "You've lost your touch, Bruce." Isabella Salvatore, a former friend and fling of the playboy, commented to the vigilante. Shaking her head at him, disbelief still in her system from seeing him after so long, she allowed him a few seconds to recover from their brief training session before jumping into his arms. "You haven't changed a bit."

         A deep chuckle escaping through the parting of his pink lips, Bruce wrapped his arms around her waist and engulfed her in comfort, lifting her heel clad feet off the ground. "Neither have you, Bells."

         "My my, what do we have here?"

         The sound of an oddly familiar voice drew Isabella's attention from Bruce and towards the door of the vacation house bedroom. Espresso tainted irises widened in excitement at the sight of the butler, removing her arms from her beloved friend as she ran towards the older man standing in the doorway with a knowing look plastered on his face.

         "Alfred." The younger of the trio exclaimed before lovingly embracing the not so new face.

         "Isabella Salvatore, it's been so long." He offered her a fatherly pat on the shoulder; secretly excited for the return of his employer's only known friend. "Couldn't resist the dull scenery Gotham provided you?" Alfred joked, adjusting his black framed glasses on the bridge of his nose before looking over the girl he once sought to look over.

Alfred's mouth wore a genuine smile when he noticed that she still resembled the same old girl that left them two years ago; only wearing tiny differences in detail. Isabella's dark hair, a soft mixture of taupes and mahogany, had grown an inch or so and her height had gone through the same change; nonetheless, it was still the same old girl he remembered Bruce bringing him four years ago.

         Before a simple word could escape Isabella's painted mouth, mouth agape, Bruce spoke up. "She's actually going to live in Metropolis now, Alfred." Pursing his lips, he raised his dark eyebrows at Alfred in a way that rose child-like curiosity in Isabella's mind.

         Looking between the two men, unsure if she missed something, she waved a pointer finger at them and stepped in the middle. "Is there something you didn't tell me in the twenty minutes I've been back, Brucey?" Shooting an accusatory look at Bruce, she turned towards Alfred in hopes of answers, only to be gifted an apologetic smile.

"I'm sure he would enjoy explaining that conflict with you at a later time, hopefully tonight." Alfred assured Isabella before turning to Bruce, his facial features morphing into a grave expression. "Speaking of Metropolis, I've uncovered some new information for you, Master Wayne."

         When those words left Alfred's mouth, the pair of men headed over to an open laptop set up on Bruce's table, leaving Bella to wait on the bed for their discussion to come to an end.

         Laying down on the comfy mattress, enveloping her body in a frenzy of warm blankets, she indulged herself into the sheer entertainment of apps on her phone while she listened in to their conversation. Her eavesdropping act was put to an end when she decided on just letting Bruce explain, not being able to piece together the various snippets she was able to catch.

         After only two short rounds on her mindless game, they dispersed away from the electronic - Bruce taking a seat next to Isabella's laying figure and Alfred standing on the side of the bed.

         "Well, Bruce Wayne can't break into Lex Luthor's home." Bruce argued, shaking his head at the idea while Bella sat up; intrigued at the mention of a new name and breaking in being used in the same sentence. Excitement had been something she lacked in the boring streets overseas, a vacation that Wayne and his butler had desperately convinced her to take. Now, she was ready for any thrill she could latch her hands onto.

         "If you do, this girl wouldn't mind tagging along." Sitting next to Bruce on the edge of the bed, she nudged his shoulders before looking up at Alfred and the fancy envelope he held in between his fingers, waving it in front of Wayne's baby blue eyes. "Is that a no?" She questioned the weird action as Bruce took the envelope.

         "You two won't have to." Alfred informed her before stepping out of the room, stopping at the doorway to watch them open the invitation. "He's been invited."

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this was short but it was only supposed to serve as an introduction, the real story starts in the next chapter. also, just for future reference, the time line might be altered a little but not drastically!! 🌙💕