BATMAN: Fall Of The Dark Knight #Wattys2016

10: VICKI VALE vs. BRUCE WAYNE (& ENTER THE HELLBAT)

Bruce was surprised to see Vicki Vale standing at his doorstep. He hadn't talked to her in years, not since the last time they dated. However, he had to break things off with her once and for all when he learned she was getting suspicious about his secret identity. So he couldn't fathom why she had come to Wayne Manor to speak with him. He had a foreboding feeling it was nothing positive.

"Vicki," Bruce said to her with a smile, "what can I do you for?"

"Bruce, may I come in? I really need to speak to you. It's very important."

The worried look on her face told him this wasn't a social visit. "Sure, Vicki, come in."

"Thanks."

He opened the door for her and she walked past him. He shut the door and said, "We can go into my study."

She followed him into his study. He turned to face her and asked, "So, Vicki, what is it that you want to speak to me about?"

She let out a heavy sigh and said, "I just spoke with Bane."

Bruce eyes widened in shock. He hadn't heard that name in a long time. "Bane?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"What did he want?"

"He wanted me to give you a message."

"A message? What message?"

Without saying another word, she reached into her purse and took out her cell phone. She held the phone out in front of her facing him as she played the message Bane recording for Wayne.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne. It's been a long time. As I informed Miss Vale here, I have kidnapped the wife and daughter of Gotham mayor Dick Grayson. They are safe for now. However, how long they stay that way is entirely up to you. My condition is this: I want you, the Batman, to meet me at Arkham Asylum. Do not contact the police. If I see one policeman I will not hesitate to kill the woman and child. I will be waiting for you. But don't make me wait too long or else I will kill them both and come after you myself."

The message ended. Though the figure on the message was shrouded in darkness, there was no mistaking that voice. It was indeed Bane. And, for whatever reason, he had come back to Gotham to face him--to face the Batman--once again.

After she slipped her phone back inside her purse, Vicki looked right at Bruce. "So it's true. You are Batman."

Bruce stood there in stone-faced silence and refused to answer her.

"I take it by your silence that that's a yes."

"Thanks for giving me the message, Vicki," he told her brusquely. "I'll take it from here."

Vicki knew when she was getting the brush-off. "Fine, Bruce." She smiled. "It was good seeing you again."

She turned to walk out of the study. Before she left, Bruce asked her, "Vicki, before you leave, I just have to know if--"

"If I'm going to reveal your secret identity?" She had stopped and was looking over her shoulder at him.

He nodded. "Yes."

Vicki sighed. "Look, Bruce, I'm not going to lie to you. I've long suspected you of being the Batman. And there was a time in my career I would not have hesitated revealing your secret identity had I had the proof. But now after meeting that . . . monster I realize that by doing so it would put a lot of people in danger."

"You mean people like Barbara and her daughter."

She nodded. "Yes."

This time it was Bruce who sighed. "Thank you, Vicki."