The Greedy Frog
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DC: A Spatial Manipulator Chapter 18
🕑 Added 2023-03-22 03:03:42 +0000 UTCChapter 18: The Talk (3/3)
[[Selina Kyle]]
Sitting outside without a clue of the situation between the two daunting figures left an unsettling feeling in my chest. Batman and Blake's relationship was quite strained and complex. And having seen what both of them can do, it would make anyone worried.
For the past twenty minutes, I sat at the same place staring at the door with the hopes of the situation being resolved peacefully.
Each passing second felt like an hour, and my worry grew bigger as the sound of table slamming came from the other room.
*SLAM*
Please don't do anything stupid.
With the worry in my heart, I hastened towards the room. Each step felt like a mile, as the unsettling feeling increased with the passage of each second.
The door swung open as I rushed inside the room, just to find my fears turning into reality right before my eyes
"Do. Not. Say. That. Name."
The Boogeyman growled as he stood over the broken wooden pieces, with a hand over Blake's throat.
Despite the situation that could make any villain cower in fear, Blake was unfazed. Instead, he looked at the Dark Knight with a cold and intimidating gaze.
"Remove that arm or I will remove it for you." Blake said as he released his aura.
The sudden change in the surrounding made it difficult for me to keep standing straight. My legs gave out as I felt myself crumbling on the floor. But Batman stood there with anger in his eyes.
"You know nothing!" He said, trying to regain his calm.
"I don't?" Blake asked, removing Batman's hand from his throat. "Do you know what I went through because you didn't kill that bastard?!" He yelled. "That bastard took the most important person from my life. And you say that I don't know what it feels like?!?"
Blake laughed, but it was not a happy laugh.
"The murderer that you let go was a psychopath… And till this day the thing I regret was not being able to kill him myself." He said before letting out another dry laugh.
"You haven't changed, Bruce… You haven't changed." Blake said as he pushed the Batman away from him. "You are still the same kid in that dark alleyway from all those years ago."
Bruce? Who is Bruce?
He paused and shook his head. "No… you are not the same. You are worse. You did not have the strength to do anything before, but now you do. Now you have the strength to get rid of such criminals, but you haven't."
"The man you let go not only killed your parents, but he also murdered my mother, Bruce." He put on a sad smile. "And that was your fault."
My mouth ran dry as I heard Blake say that.
Over a decade ago, Blake lost his mother… it was a murder. A man broke into their house and killed his mother. The incident was before Blake awakened his powers, so he couldn't do anything to stop the man.
And as much as it pained my heart, I didn't know much about the story. Every time I asked Blake of what happened that night years ago, he always diverted the topic. He was not comfortable with sharing that memory. And neither I nor Waylon wanted to force him into revealing his past.
"Joe Chill was running away from you… No." He pointed his finger at Batman. "You let him escape."
Batman didn't reply and instead lowered his gaze a little which made me realize that there was at least some truth in the statement. I didn't know Batman's situation but I figured that his and Blake's past was linked. Out of all the heroes, Blake disliked Batman the most.
To him, most heroes were either idiots, frauds, or useless. He treated them as one would treat annoying children… But Batman… He hated Batman.
And it all makes sense now.
He took a deep breath. "Leave Bruce. Leave before this situation gets worse."
The room was tense as the two stared at each other. But Batman sighed after a while, before giving a slight nod.
I kept staring at the two as Batman started walking towards the door. But as he made his way out of the room, he stopped and looked at me with a frown.
"Don't worry about her." Blake's voice came from the other side. "I will handle this situation."
Batman didn't say anything to me, but made a statement to Blake. "One day… you will know why I did that. But sadly, today is not the day." Saying this, he left the room. And once he exited, Blake released the aura, removing the pressure from my shoulders.
Blake stood quiet for a while before walking closer to me with a smile.
"You alright?"
…
…
[Later]
Blake sat near the window with a Boulevardier in his hand as he gazed at the sky. The sky was pitch black but Gotham never sleeps so the city was illuminated by the lights of the night.
"I am sorry that you had to witness all that." He sighed, as he looked at me. "You must have a lot of questions, don't you?"
I did, but I knew better than to ask.
"It's alright. You don't have to force yourself." I said as the two of us went quiet again.
It was unusual for us to remain silent and it was equally awkward.
"I was not always an orphan as most believe." Blake suddenly said, breaking the silence. "My father did die a few months before my birth, but I remember having a loving mother." He smiled. "A mother that made sure I never went through any sadness while she carried every burden herself."
I looked at him with slight worry. This was bound to make him remember his sad past.
"We were poor but we were happy. We were a happy mother and son duo." He leaned on the wall. "We didn't have money so she tutored me at home." He chuckled. "And I also remember the little punishments she gave me when I wasn't able to answer the questions."
"She sounds like she was a lovely woman." I said receiving a full-blown smile from him.
"Oh, she was. She was the most special person in my life. She made me laugh, she made me feel safe, and… she made me feel loved." His smile faltered. "But tragedy came knocking when a wounded middle-aged man broke into our house."
He stared at me.
"His name was Joe Chill."
Joe Chill… I remember that name. He was a criminal that robbed and murdered a lot of people in the past. But for some reason, he was killed by his own people.
"It was mid-winter and we barely managed to get enough food to survive. And the day Joe came to our house, we only had a piece of bread at home." He exhaled audibly. "Despite him breaking into our house, my mother went to help him as he was wounded… big mistake."
He took another sip of the boulevardier.
"Kindness is something that is required to keep humanity alive. But in a place like Gotham, kindness gets you killed." His grip on the glass tightened. "And that's exactly what happened to my mother."
"Giving me the piece of bread, she went to help the man… the man that broke into our house and nearly fainted. But my mother overlooked that and still rushed to help him." He chuckled a little. "How kind yet naive she was."
I walked towards him, putting my hand over his shoulder.
"The man was barely conscious but he still had enough sense to understand our words. As my mother went to help him… he stabbed her." Blake said, gripping my hand tightly as he put the glass of boulevardier down.
"I wasn't able to process what happened back then… why that man stabbed my mother who was trying to help him. My mind was hazy looking at the blood."
I sat next to him, wrapping my arms around him.
"He punched me and ran away with the piece of bread, dragging his cold body through the winter while leaving me with the bloodied body of my mother." He said. "My powers weren't awakened back then. I could neither stop the man nor save my mother. She had lost too much blood and it would have been too late even if I took her to the hospital… not that I could afford the treatment to begin with."
"I am sorry." I said but he didn't reply and instead continued his story.
"My mother died in my arms while I could do nothing other than cry. I went to ask for help but-" He laughed. "Gotham… You can never expect anyone to help you in Gotham."
He said that as he nuzzled in my bosom.
"You heard me call Batman, Bruce… didn't you?" He asked.
"Yes."
"Do you remember over two decades ago there was an alleyway murder?" He asked, making me confused.
Murder was a common occurrence in Gotham. What was so spec- Oh!
"The Wayne murder…" My eyes widened as I remembered the infamous murder case from twenty years ago. "Wayne… Bruce Wayne. That means-"
"Yes. Batman's true identity is Bruce Wayne… The playboy billionaire."
"But that's-"
He chuckled, moving a little to look at me.
"Unbelievable?" He asked and I nodded.
"He is good at personas, so it's understandable." He said. "But the reason I hate him so much… is because the man that killed my mother was the same person that killed his parents."
He continued before I could say anything.
"You might wonder, why am I angry at him instead of sympathizing with him as we had similar pasts?"
I have an idea as I heard his and Batman's conversation.
"Bruce became Batman before I could go after Joe. He had tracked down the bastard and beaten him up." He frowned. "But… he didn't kill him. He let the man leave." He said as he stared into my eyes. "Do you know why I hate Batman so much?" He asked. "It's because he left him alive after beating him up… the man that broke into our house and killed my mother was just allowed to leave!"
His breathing got heavy.
"If he would have killed the guy, my mother would have been alive. That guy, Joe Chill was a mass murderer. And killing him would have only helped the people of Gotham. But no… Bruce's 'No Killing' rule made others suffer." He sighed. "That's why I hate him… and I dislike the so-called heroes."
I was unable to say anything as I was still at a loss. The situation was worse than I expected and his hate for Wayne was justifiable.
"But that's in the past and while I haven't been able to forget the event, I am not alone anymore. I have you and Waylon." He said making me smile a little.
"I will always be there for you Blake, and I know Waylon thinks the same."
He nuzzled into my chest again before wrapping me in a hug.
"B-Blake?"
"Please… just for the night. Let me stay like this."
