[CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/9PGM5Xe.png [/IMG][/CENTER] [quote=@AndyC][color=RoyalBlue][b]"I....I wasn't...."[/b][/color] I start to sputter. [color=RoyalBlue][b]"Livewire, she......my mind, it's not.....I'm not......oh, God......I'm sorry....."[/b][/color] Earlier today, I'd been talking with her about the potential run-in with the Batman. I'd been the one willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, to think maybe there was more to him than what the media had made him out to be. Now here I am, proclaiming judgments and ready to cave his skull in. Maybe Lois was right. 'Sometimes a wild animal is just a wild animal.' But maybe Batman isn't the animal here. [color=Violet]"Easy there, Big Guy,"[/color] she says, taking a few tentative steps closer to me. [color=Violet]"It's gonna be all right. Maybe you weren't yourself for a moment there. But you are [i]now[/i], right? You're gonna get a hold of yourself, and you're gonna make this right.....right?"[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]".....right...."[/color] I mutter. [color=Violet]"And [i]you,[/i]"[/color] she says, turning to the prone form of Batman, [color=Violet]"First and foremost.....thanks. Dr. Irons and I would be dead if it weren't for you. Secondly, I'm guessing you've got a bunker or a headquarters or somewhere that we can take Dr. Irons where the Toyman can't reach him. And thirdly, while we're there, I'm also going to assume you don't go to a public hospital to patch yourself up, and I'll be honest, unless there are two of you all of a sudden, I'm a little worried I might have a concussion. Think it'd be possible for you and my man to stop hosing down the street with testosterone long enough for us to take five?"[/color] [/quote] [b][i][color=#656565]"Clark"? [/color][/i][/b] Hearing that causes me to double back on the rage I've directed toward Metropolis' would-be protector. Clearly, some of it was more than a little justified, but it seems that neither of us knew what exactly was going on in this scenario. Even the thought hadn't necessarily crossed my mind before that he would have a name - a human name, rather than some designation given to him by a scientist in a lab somewhere, or however he came to be as powerful as he is - but it almost makes too much sense when presented with the evidence. He's strong and fast, but no one like that simply appears and disappears without some sort of eye in the sky on them. He would almost [i]have[/i] to maintain a dual identity in order to assimilate into society. I wear the mask to scare people, but my status as Bruce Wayne also requires a degree of discretion that the outfit affords me. So I can't even imagine what it would be like if I could also bend steel with my bare hands, or take on rocket launchers as if they were nothing. It's odd to see his rage fade as Lane approaches him, as he appeared in Gotham like a freight train, filled with almost as much hatred and contempt as I held for him. But seeing his regret, seeing that honesty in him, as revealed by being called out for potentially doing something he'd regret - it makes me question whether or not I've even seen who he really is. Not that I'm completely won over. The man [i]was[/i] about to murder me, and I still can't entirely trust someone of his sheer might - whether it be used by his own hand or put under the influence of another. If anything, if he truly wasn't acting himself, this scenario illustrates my long-held suspicions that his power is too much to leave unchecked and roaming free within the world. Some in Metropolis may worship him as a hero, but all I see is a man who still hasn't quite figured out how to wield the sword he's been handed. And given my recent setbacks and close-calls... I'd be a hypocrite to say it's hard to understand. But it doesn't matter. My point still stands, as do a few of his. I only recently realized the good that I could be doing to give back to the community, and it took far too long for me to even reach that conclusion. Eventually, I'm hoping to be able to find a balance between what both Bruce Wayne [i]and[/i] Batman can do for Gotham. But by bringing Toyman here, Superman - or Clark, or whatever his name really is - still unwittingly lured a psychopath onto my city. And I can't let that go, no matter how much I may have misjudged the so-called Man of Steel. Maybe instead of trying to defend myself with words, I should try and utilize actions that will prove why the public doesn't need to live in fear of me. At the very least, it'll get Superman to calm down long enough for us to solve the current crisis that the Toyman represents. And as wary as I am of him, I'd almost prefer someone of his power to a madman who can remotely control cars and drones and unleash them on the larger populace. [b][color=#656565]"Fine."[/color][/b] The word comes to me hesitantly, as I sheathe another set of batarangs that I'd prepared to use in a last minute effort to distract him. Again, it would have done nothing to actually [i]hurt[/i] him, but it was all I had left in the moment. And I don't want to feel that helpless again. No matter what happens after tonight, you can sure as hell bet that I'm going to do as much research into Superman and his abilities as possible. Someone has to be prepared in the event that he flies off the handle again. [b][color=#656565]"I'll overlook what just happened in light of Miss Lane's statement that you weren't acting in your right mind."[/color][/b], I explain, my eyes casting a cynical gaze towards him. [b][color=#656565]"And I'll... keep what you said about giving back in mind. The last thing Gotham needs is [i]just[/i] a man who solves problems with his fists."[/color][/b] Turning towards the injured civilian, identified as a Dr. Irons, I calmly approach him and check his vitals. Surprisingly stable, despite his apparent condition. Throwing his arm over my shoulder, I hear a slight moan of pain escape the doctor's lips as I secure him enough to allow him to stand. [b][color=#656565]"I just lost my only means of ready transportation, so getting Dr. Irons cleared is going to be difficult. I doubt that he's in any condition for flight, or leaping, or whatever it is that you do." [/color][/b] Re-activating my communications server after having Ace reroute my suit's active systems to the Utility Gun, I use a touch-screen miniature telegraph attached to my belt to send out a signal in morse code to Alfred. I haven't established any personal safehouses, nor am I willing to send a stranger to The Cave, but Waynetech has a number of storage facilities that utilize cloaking technology to block incoming signals. Haven't had much of a use for them before now, outside of the occasional equipment raid. [b][color=#656565]"But I have a man who can get him somewhere safe. He's an experienced medic, so Irons will be in capable hands. I just sent out a distress signal that should get him here shortly."[/color][/b] Lane rushes over and takes over propping up Irons' half-conscious body, wordlessly giving me an expression of gratitude. Superman, however, still seems shaken by what's happened. He's particularly tense, but not in any way that seems hostile. He seems more afraid than anything, glancing over to the spot where he nearly killed me with abject horror. [b][color=#656565]"Look,"[/color][/b], I announce, walking to him. [b][color=#656565]"Clark, is it? You're going to need to snap out of this. I don't mind helping the three of you, but I [i]do[/i] take issue with someone from your town putting the rest of Gotham in danger."[/color][/b] [img]https://i.imgur.com/c3fgLOD.png[/img] [b][color=#656565]"So if you have any idea of how to stop him [i]tonight[/i], now would be a good time."[/color][/b]