Why We're Here

BatDad

I grumpily leaned against the wall of The Batcave. Bruce had called me here, and I knew exactly why. Considering he was standing in the middle of the cave when I had arrived. Dick was just behind him, leaning against one of the metal fences lining the ledges. Jason cockily grinned at me from his perch in the chair in front of the batcomputer.
"I know what this is about," I said, "And I don't want to hear it."
Bruce glared at me, "You nearly exposed all of us."
"All I did was knock a few teeth out, anyone could do that!"
"Not like you did," Bruce took a step forward, "You were trained to do things normal men could not do. Anyone who sees you fight like that would trace you back to your life as Blitz, and then back to all of us."
Dick had the same glare in his eyes, but I wasn't sure if it was completely directed at me. He managed to mask it with humour, his ultimate weapon. Oddly, that just pissed me off more.
"What was I supposed to do?" I asked.
Bruce stared at me, "You know the rules."
"What, wait around like a damsel in distress until the caped crusaders come to my rescue?" I threw my arms up, "Not likely! I've been a damsel one too many times, it's not my style!"
I was getting more and more angry by the second. Talking about this with Bruce while I was so angry was not the best idea. To be fair, it was all his fault, I was in a perfectly good mood when I came here.
"You have to wait for backup to arrive," Bruce argued, "Our identities are our most precious resource, and exposing them would mean the destruction of our operation."
"The last time someone stuck to that stupid rule, they got paralyzed," I retorted.
Bruce didn't react. He simply stared at me. Jason went pale, fully knowing what I was talking about. Dick looked like he wanted to say something, but my glare shut him up.
"I may not be a superhero anymore," I grumbled, "But that doesn't mean I can't save myself or those that I love."
"I didn't mean you can't fight, you just have to be careful about who you are when you do. All of our lives could hang in the balance," Bruce tried.
I stared at him, "What would you have done?"
"You saw at The Gala-"
"That was different," I replied, "You knew Joker wouldn't have killed you, you were his joke. He was after Batman, not Bruce Wayne. Riddler didn't care. Did he tell you why he chose me out of all of my classmates?"
Bruce didn't react. I crossed my arms, "He was going to give me the dead man's switch to activate the bomb. We all know what happens after that."
Everybody's faces became somber. There had been many a victim lost to a dead man's switch. The villain forces them to press down on the button, and then kills them right after. Bruce knows that's what would have happened to me. He knows he might not have made it in time, and yet, he still says I did the wrong thing.
"I would have diffused it," Bruce replied, "I always do, you would have been fine."
I frowned, "Luckily, we didn't have to find out."
The glares passed between Bruce and me was enough to cut through steel. It made the room feel like it was filled with water. Dick pushed off of the rail and moved to stand between us, "Alright, let's calm down. Lucy, you know Bruce would never let you get into a situation where you could be killed."
"Well-"
"And Bruce," Dick interrupted, "Lucy would never risk exposing any of us. She has a life too, and it would be ruined as well. Both of you just need to calm down, this really isn't that much of an issue."
Bruce didn't look away. I rubbed my temples, a headache forming. All I wanted to do was to go home and bury myself under the covers. Maybe I could convince Barbara to let me borrow her stereo.
"Be more careful, and we want have this problem again," Bruce ordered, spinning on his heel.
I groaned loudly, "I'm more careful than you."
Bruce paused. Instantly, I knew I had said the wrong thing. He glanced over his shoulder to glare at me, "You are the most reckless out of everyone I have ever trained, including myself."
"Wow, thanks," I placed my fists on my hips, "At least I'm not a billionaire with issues who cares more about his precious secret identity than the safety of his own family."
I knew that was a bit of a stretch, but I didn't care. I was pissed off, and anything that could possibly burn him was enough for me to spit it out.
"You know that's not true," Dick interjected.
"And you know it is."
"If I didn't care about your safety, why would I have trained you?" Bruce asked, "Why would I have given you the means to take down any villain if I didn't care?"
I didn't have a proper response to that. Bruce came close enough to place his hands on my shoulders, "If we were exposed, it could mean the death of everyone we love. Perhaps even all of Gotham. Our anonymity is our greatest weapon, and we must utilize it properly."
It hit me that he was lecturing me about this because he cared. The greatest protection to keep us from getting hurt was to keep our real identities secret.
"You're right, I'm sorry," I sighed, "I guess it was mostly a matter of pride."
Jason snorted, "Of course it was."
I glared at him.
"Good. Now, be more careful and we won't have this problem again," Bruce released my shoulders.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, "Sorry, Dad."
For a moment, the entire room fell silent. I felt my blood completely stop flowing as my eyes widened. The reality of what I had just said weighed down on me.
That was the first time I had ever called Bruce Dad.
I could feel the eyes of Dick, Jason, and especially Bruce on me. My cheeks became as hot as a volcano as I stared at the floor.
"Dinner is ready, Master Bruce," Alfred's voice broke the silence.
I was the only one who didn't look up at him. My face was still too busy becoming red.
"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce glanced back at me, "Will you eat with us?"
I struggled to find the right words, "Um-I-actually-I-I promised Barbara I would-er-cook tonight. So I have to go, like right now."
As I spun around to hurry out the cave, I heard Dick mutter, "Since when could she cook?"
I rushed past Alfred and into the Gotham air. All the while, my body was heating up. I had never called Bruce Dad before, and I knew this wasn't going to go over easy. They would never let me forget this.
Maybe I didn't want to.