POSSESSION ; INJUSTICE SUPERBAT

Chapter 11

Barry held Bruce firmly in his arms. The hoodie kept the boy's appearance from being seen. They had successfully snuck out of the Watchtower and Barry was making sure they wouldn't clash up with some familiar faces. Assuming that Bruce might enjoy being in Gotham, Barry had decided to bring the boy to one of Gotham's parks, dressing himself up as a civilian.

Settling the child on the grass, Barry asked for the final time.

"Now, do you remember the promises between us?"

"Do not interact with strangers. Do not take stuff from people I don't know. Do not wander off by myself. If there is an emergency, call out to you."

"That's my good boy." Barry grinned in pride as he ruffled the boy's hair gently. "Now, go and enjoy. We only have an hour."

Once the permission was given, Bruce grinned as he skipped to the playground. It was late evening, the sun was setting and most people had gone back home, leaving the playground empty. Bruce got to play with the facilities all by himself.

★

Bruce sat on the park bench, swinging his legs happily as he savoured his cold dessert. He could hardly finish eating the huge scoop of mint chocolate ice cream on his cone. A sudden emergency had forced Barry to leave Bruce alone at the park. He did not mind since Barry had promised to come back within ten minutes. Besides, if Bruce ran across anything suspicious, Barry had sworn to come back as soon as Bruce called out his name.

There was a sudden gust of wind. The dust in the breeze pelted into Bruce's eyes, causing the boy to whine as he rubbed his eyes with his hand.

"It itches," Bruce complained, rubbing his eyes harsher than he should, as tears started to form from the soreness.

"It's not good to rub your eyes."

Bruce felt an unfamiliar presence approach him. Whoever the woman was, she smelled like the expensive musky perfume that Bruce remembered his mother would often use. A soft palm touched his cheek as the unknown woman tilted his head up.

"Now, stay calm, boy. I'm going to put some eye drops in your eye..." Despite the long nails, the woman tenderly guided him to open his eye, squeezing a drop of the liquid in his eyes. "Try not to blink for a while now, it will feel better after this." Obeying the order, Bruce kept his eyes closed for a good minute before he felt a soft pad of tissue against his eye.

"There you go. It feels better now, doesn't it?"

When Bruce opened his eyes, he finally got a good view of the kind stranger who helped him. The woman was beautiful – her eyes filled with gentleness as she smiled at him in care. It was something that Bruce hadn't seen in a while. She reminded him of his mother – the perfume, the motherly gestures and her voice as she spoke lovingly to him.

"Where do you come from, boy?" She smoothed out his unruly hair. Her cautious eyes scanned their surroundings. "It's not safe to wander around here by yourself. Do you need a trip home?"

'Do not interact with strangers.'

That was rule one, and Bruce realized that he had already broken his promise to Barry. Guilt started to form along with fear, as Bruce remembered Kal's warning about the dangers of the world outside.

'When can I go out? I want to play...'

Kal had smiled at him, tousling his hair to comfort him.

'The world is too dangerous for you, little one. There are criminals everywhere and you might be kidnapped. If it does happen, you won't be able to see me again, little one. You wouldn't want that, right?'