SHIELD [Book 1 of Alex & Allie Save The World]

Chapter 8 Bruce Is Batman

When Allie finally drifts off, oddly snuggled up to her clone, Bruce pulls Alex from the room to talk in private.

"We have her, she is safe," Alex sighs and then glowers. "But a million fucking questions still stand."

"Do we tell her about our nightly activities," Bruce poses and Alex shrugs.

"I have no idea. If we tell her she might want to join us," Alex replies.

"Would that be a bad thing?"

"If she feels pressured into it because of us? Yes." Bruce nods and his eyes trail back to Allie's sleeping forms. Alex cannot possibly imagine Allie following their lead into this life but Allie has surprised them before.

"For now we should just call the doctor and feed the cover story."

"Everyone get ready for Allison Gray's miraculous recovery," Alex scoffs sarcastically.

"It is a miracle," Bruce murmurs with stars in his gaze. Alex rolls their eyes but finds themself grinning too.

Allie may be a metahuman with crucial decisions and obstacles ahead of her, but she is alive and that is what matters most.

III

Allie awakens to Dr. Shaw and Alex talking over her.

"With her broken leg and ankle, she'll need to use a wheelchair while the bones heal. The broken ribs will gradually heal on their own but no strenuous activity for a while. The cast for her arm will come off when her leg cast comes off in two to three months but until then it should stay in a sling. The ankle boot will also be removed then. Her prescription pain medication will need to be taken in the mornings, presuming she still takes her coumadin, fludrocortisone, and Lexapro at night."

"She does," Alex confirms.

"Allison can return to work as soon as she feels able but mind her constrained abilities. Allie cannot be your bouncing assistant right now," Dr. Shaw informs in a serious tone. Alex nods and crosses their arms over themself protectively.

"I don't care about that. I want her to get better." Alex looks upon Allie, who is pretending to still be asleep. "And what about the doubles?"

"Gradually building brain activity. I imagine they will awaken soon," Shaw reports.

"We should have the one in the hospital moved then. Who knows what these things will do once they wake up," Alex remarks and Shaw tilts her head in agreement. "If you can discharge her, I can send Bruce to get her."

"Wait till later tonight so it'll be easier to move her with fewer eyes," Shaw says.

"Gotcha."

"And in the meantime get a snazzy wheelchair for her, one that's automated," Shaw advises and turns to leave.

"I'll show you out," Alex offers and follows her.

"Oh good your home is a maze!"

When Allie can no longer hear clicking heels on the wood flooring she cracks her eyes open. Sitting up and groaning when it stings Allie sets her sights on the computer on her desk. Once again she crawls from her sickbed, this time more gracefully. She uses her extra hands and sits herself at the computer. Curiosity about the attack and her imminent rescue is burning at the forefront of her thoughts.

The second her browser open the google alerts on her name and her email slams with notifications.

"What the fuck?" she grumbles and opens her email first. All the unread messages are labeled urgent and titled with rushed key smashing subject titles, Allie opens the first one from Natalie and reads it over.

"Gotham Daily already has the story and contacted me for an interview when you're alright enough to do so."

"Vague," Allie comments. Reading from the top isn't helpful so she scrolls down and begins working her way up.

At the start, it's boring emails concerning work but then a few pop up with messages about the attack and her welfare, if she was affected. After those, one from Natalie shows up with the subject 'Batman and Scarlet Sentinel Saved You!' and a photo attachment. Allie opens the file and gapes at the sight of Gotham's vigilantes lifting her mangled body from the wreckage. More photos follow in the other emails of the heroes carefully moving her through the debris and loading her into Scarlet Sentinel's hummer.

"Why would they waste their time on me? Why would they only save me?" Allie utters, trying to hurry along the pieces connecting in her mind. Something sparks and she goes into her story drafts, pulling up one from months ago title 'Vigilante Veneration: The Love Story of Bruce Wayne and The Gotham Bat.' In the story, she poked fun at the citizens theorizing a connection between Bruce and Batman but now, now she can see it. Batman does often find himself protecting the interests of Wayne Industries, the striking similarities of Wayne Tech to the tech on the Batsuit, and the one foundation event where Bruce disappeared at the first sight of trouble and Batman appeared to save the guests from an armed gang of robbers. Of course, there are the acrobatic abilities of Robin and Bruce's adopted carnival child Dick Grayson; including the appearance of Robin closely following the adoption of Dick Grayson. Allie dismissed the instances as an illusory correlation but now she isn't so sure. On the other hand, there's Alex and their frequent flighty behavior. Allie has long suspected Bruce and Alex had some secret thing going on, with the mysterious injuries, the hushed conversations, the secret smirks when they'd see news about criminals showing up on the footsteps of Gotham PD tied up with ribbon and bows on their heads, and of course their paranoid protectiveness of her, but she never would have guessed this.

Footsteps come tapping down the hall and Allie quickly closes her computer tabs and attempts to not appear guilty. Alex strides to the doorway and crosses their arms at the sight of Allie out of her bed.

"You shouldn't be out of bed."

"You shouldn't be wandering the streets at night beating up evil men," Allie retorts without a thought.

"Excuse me?" Alex coughs, their face twitching.

"Alexandra Aldridge, are you Scarlet Sentinel?"

"That's disgusting. And wrong. I don't even get– why would– I've never beaten up anyone, anywhere. It's none of your- you have- the nerve, the audacity, Gordon is the commissioner of police, technically. And he is amazing, crime-wise. And how- how- do I know, frankly, that you're not beating up evil men at night? Maybe you are. Maybe you're trying to throw me off? Hmm check and mate," Alex stammers out and flustered. They put their hands on their waist and then shakily leans on the doorway. Allie gives a deadpan expression and narrows her eyes.

"Alex, I'm not stupid," she says, stony-faced. " I know you and Bruce have been up to some secretive shit you won't tell me, to protect me or whatever, but now you have to answer me."

Alex sighs and allows their arms to drop to their sides in a display of defeat.

"So we need to talk."

"Uhm yeah," Allie huffs.

"Bruce is Batman!" Alex blurts out in panic.

"What?!"

"Stay here!" Alex then runs from the room leaving Allie floored in their wake.

"Alex what the fuck!?"