Only Truth

[Susanna Gossamer]

Why was the first thing that came to her mind when she considered Bruce's admission to her. Why have an act at all? Susanna was a pretty simple girl, on the whole. Oh she was complicated, all right; she had childhood traumas and grown up issues and vices and vanities and every other kind of mix up that made humans, in general, pretty effed up cases of psychology. But one thing she could claim is that what you see is what you get. She didn't beat around the bush, she didn't try to change for silly reasons, and she didn't try to pretend to be something she wasn't. She was simply Susie, and that was enough for her.

So she didn't get it, the idea of his pretending to be something he wasn't. She wanted to ask him about it. She wanted to understand why. Instead he continued, and her brow furrowed lightly as she listened discerningly to his description of her. She wasn't entirely sure that he was right, that she was so wholly guided by her good parts as he seemed to believe. She did like the power of being able to kick a guy's ass the way she could do in the Department sometimes, after all! But the fact that he could not only see, but believe in, the good in her... somehow it touched and warmed that tiny little place in her that she tended to so often shove into a corner. Her heart.

She looked up at him, and despite whatever reservations she felt about him she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, the way he had done her. She was willing to believe in the good she had seen in him so far. She might get her heart trampled on. In fact she almost expected it. At least she could say, however, that for a brief moment she believed not only the good in someone else, but in her own self. So when he leaned down to kiss her, she gently returned the tentative touch. She only allowed the smallest of flutters in her stomach of fangirlish celebrity squee that she was kissing BRUCE WAYNE; where was her cousin when she needed her?

She would look back over the next few moments time and time again over the next few days. In her mind's eye they replayed in slow motion. One moment she was kissing Wayne, and they had just moved a hair closer together, their kiss just starting to deepen, when it happened. There was a crash somewhere above them. She looked up to see a flutter of fabric and gasped, jumping away from Bruce who jumped away from her and something - she remembered she didn't at first identify it as a body - fell to the cement balcony between them with a sickening thud and the cracking of buried bones. It was that sound, really, that jolted her and made her recognize just what had fallen, but she didn't scream until she stepped forward and realized she recognized it. It was Brewsky, her little bullied rookie.

All the training in the world couldn't save her. All the experience seeing dead bodies after the fact. All the videos and the reenactments. It was forgotten. Standing on Bruce's balcony, in front of a crowd of onlookers who hadn't yet realized there was a problem, she let her emotions get the better of her.

She screamed.

[Bruce Wayne]

Bliss. Pure and utter bliss belonged to Bruce Wayne for three whole seconds and it was worth more than all the cars and clothes and meaningless parties because it was something that money just couldn’t buy. The whisper of her hair against the back of his hand and the intimate way their lips locked together instantly whisked him away to another time and place where precious little existed except for Bruce and Susie and wonderful feeling. He moved forward towards her, the gravitational pull of their bodies commanded him. He parted his lips from hers for a millisecond, about to jump head first into what Alfred would call ‘another heartache’ when he felt hers leave his altogether as his ears identified the crash and the thud. His reflexes allowed him the visuals; a body dressed in the uniform of a Gotham PD officer. He stood, staring at the body for a few seconds as he tried to evaluate the situation and failed.

Susanna’s scream pushed him back into action. Turning and looking at the revelers and deciding that they would have to fend for themselves for the time being Bruce stepped up and was at Susie’s side in a second. “Come with me,” he told her, his fingers closing firm and protectively around her upper arm as he quickly led her away from the scene while bedlam was starting to break. Those already on the balcony began to scream and attempt to get back inside, while those who had missed the action were desperately trying to get out to see what was going on. Bruce pushed his way through the beginnings of the crush and diverted easily across the open living space, bringing Susie with him. He knew the pain of failing to care for the ones he cared about. He was not going to allow history to repeat itself in Susanna Gossamer.

With his lips set in a grim line he took them to his home gym and shut the thick, soundproof door behind him. A finger pressed to a button at the side of the door activated the locking mechanism and several locks flew into place as Bruce took Susie over to a weights bench. “Stay here for a minute, okay?" he asked her, concern obvious in his eyes as he looked her over. He knew that she hadn’t sustained any physical injuries, but the scream indicated that she had received a pretty bad shock. His mind ran wild with possibilities as to what – or more likely who – had caused this latest disturbance and he was angry with himself for having fallen prey to Alfred’s need to ‘maintain the façade of a normal life’.

Not waiting to hear her answer, Bruce crossed to a door built into the wall and opened it. Bright white lights switched themselves on immediately to highlight a number of gadgets. From bottom to top sitting atop the glass shelves on display were a pair of heavy duty boots, various gadgets, an articulated metal belt with attachments, arm braces and at the very top three identical and iconic masks. He began loosening his bow tie, pulling at the offending strip of black material and throwing it carelessly onto one of the shelves before working on the shirt buttons at his neck.

[Susanna Gossamer]

Shocked and horrified, it took a moment for Susie to react. The jolt of seeing her fallen comrade didn't preclude her from her duty to protect the denizens at the party, particularly the most likely target: Bruce. While Bruce was leading her to what she assumed was a safe place within the building, she located her hidden radio and spoke into the speaker. "Officer down, we need EMS to the balcony promptly, repeat officer down. I have Mr. Wayne."

"Roger that," she heard someone responding and caught the eye of another officer in plainsclothes who was making their way to the balcony. "It's Brewsky," she said as they passed nearby, and in her peripheral hearing she could make out someone already blocking off the scene of the crime. I hope he's alive, was all that she could think. God please let him be alive!

She had hardly been paying attention to where Bruce was leading her as she listened to the chatter on her radio - her rookie still had a pulse! - but as he told her to pop a squat for awhile she realized they were in the gym. Not her first choice. "Where else would I go?" she asked rhetorically. She lifted her leg on the weight bench, tossing her skirt aside to retrieve the pistol hidden in her leg harness. She pulled it out and loaded it, holding it easily in one hand with her radio in the other. As lights flashed on she stood up and turned, mouth opening to give him directions on how to handle the situation.

But her voice never uttered the words. Instead, she stared, the sight before her not registering for several seconds as he worked on his tie. She lost grip on her radio and it fell to the floor, shattering spectacularly and jogging her out of her staredown with the faceless masks before her, which she could suddenly see a very familiar face behind.

"You're..." she began, still looking at the masks and not him. Flashes of their history together seemed to play before her eyes and blend together. Batman at the ballgame, then at the dock, Bruce at the department, then at his apartment, then now. She was incapable of reconciling them and at the same time now found it impossible to separate them. Her eyes shifted to his face. "You're the Batman?"

[Bruce Wayne]

Was he doing the right thing? The last person he had confided to in relation to his alter ego was gone, and Bruce would forever blame himself. Luckily the other people he cared about who knew his secret, Alfred and Lucius Fox, were hardly in the limelight enough to be targets to madmen. Bruce thanked his lucky stars for that fact every single night as he watched over the city. Losing his patience with his tuxedo shirt, Bruce ripped the buttons in frustration, revealing the upper half of his Bat suit. He kept his back to Susanna, unsure of what he would see in her face or even if he wanted to see it just yet. Would she be angry? Worried? Knowing that if he saw either emotion in her features he would falter, Bruce refrained. He had to deal with this. There was no time.

Finally kicking his pants to the floor (Alfred would bust him for that later), Bruce paused long enough to turn and face her, his hand reaching out for one arm guard which he immediately began to clip into place. The look he delivered her made her question redundant, but he still nodded. He buckled more of his gear into place with the speed and precision doing it thousands of times in a rush afforded him. He slipped into the boots and buckled them last, grabbing his mask as he moved back across the room towards her with a swish of his heavy cape. Standing mere inches away Bruce decided that if she was disappointed in him then he had to know now. Before he endangered her any more.

“I’m sorry,” he ventured, unsure of what to say or even if he could say anything that would make this situation anything other than what it was. “I didn’t want you to find out this way. I was going to tell you, but-” But then a hanging cop interrupted our make-out session. Whatever it was that Bruce had been about to say was robbed by a popping sound, loud enough for his hearing to make out from beyond the thickness of the walls. With a low curse he hit a button on his belt which immediately set his bat-closet to sealing itself. He donned his mask and stopped at the door to turn and look at Susanna. “I don’t suppose I can convince you to stay here while I check it out?” he asked her, in his Bruce tone of voice.

[Susanna Gossamer]

Well that answered two questions that had been going through her mind lately. First, yes Bruce Wayne was, in fact, Batman. And secondly, yes, if she ever happened to see Bruce Wayne undressing, she would blush. Even if he was wearing a kevlar suit under his clothing. Yes. Well. There you have it.

She wasn't exactly sure how to respond. Just as when she had seen Batman the first time, she was met with a flurry of facts and feelings that jumbled together and made it hard to think. He was an outlaw. He supposedly attacked Harvey Dent. but he had helped her, and when alone with her hadn't taken the opportunity to harm her in any way. And now, he was Bruce Wayne. Despite his propensity for being a playboy - she was suddenly very angry - there was nothing on Bruce's record to substantiate any sort of criminal claims. To her knowledge he'd never even been caught possessing drugs. That was a precedent for an annoying rich kid.

Luckily the situation didn't allow her to dwell on things much. The sound of what might have been gunfire echoed outside and for that moment, she realized only one thing mattered. And maybe it would be all that ever mattered. Batman - Bruce - was an ally. She followed him to the door, and when he turned to ask her if she would stay behind, she arched an eyebrow. She couldn't stop the smirk that colored her red lips as thickly as her lipstick.

"Have you met me?" she asked as she squeezed past him and out the door.

She jogged down to the end of the hallway to see the party goers making a mostly calm exit through the elevator and stairs. As she moved she spoke over her shoulder to her companion.

"The killer was on the roof. How can we get there?"

[Bruce Wayne]

He resisted the urge to smile, to allow the exposed part of his face to register as remotely human now that he was wearing his distinctly inhuman mask. Batman was solid, stoic and untouchable. He reminded himself of the fact as Susie squeezed through the gap between him and the door and as he opened his mouth to call out a warning that he realised wouldn’t even reach her ears now that she was in Detective-mode. Moving quickly he was behind her in an instant, ready to do something – anything if harm presented itself now. While he didn’t want her to be in the way of anything dangerous he knew that Fate would have none of it and if he couldn’t keep her away from trouble, well. Maybe he could keep her safe in the face of it.

Rachel was different.

“This way,” he said, his voice lowered and gravel-rashed as he moved past her and through the living area once more. The apartment was empty now, bits of food and smashed cocktail glasses carelessly abandoned on the floor. He looked back once to make sure that she wasn’t having any difficulty with her heels on the shiny porcelain tiles and was reassured by the site of her following determinedly. She was a sight to behold in her fire-engine red dress which looked fitter for a catwalk that a high-rise rooftop. He hoped he was doing the right thing. Bruce and Batman alike had spent years wondering if the right thing was ever good enough. The pair were soon back on the balcony, starting two officers who had been left on watch to secure the area while reinforcements went to the rooftop themselves. The police wouldn’t be quick enough, but Batman would be.

“Oh my gosh!” breathed one of the officers, a pretty blonde, as Batman swept to the railing of the balcony. Then, “Susie! Susie, what on Earth are you doing?!”

There was no time to explain. Holding one arm out to Susie, Bruce waited expectantly. A soon as Susanna’s arms were tightly around his neck and his free arm secured around her waist, he lifted his right arm above his head and loosed one of his grappling hooks. It flew effortlessly, soaring towards the edge of the building where it bit hungrily into the concrete. Testing that it would support them both first, he released the winding mechanism and the pair flew upwards towards the roof. Using the momentum from their movement he released the end of the line and they continued flying past the edge of the roof. A twitch of his prosthetic wings saw them glide gracefully to the concrete surface.

[Susanna Gossamer]

She heard the gasps of people who recognized the costumed man coming trough the room as if through a filter. She heard them, but they didn't register as they should. She should have reassured them, perhaps made a show of things, but she and Bruce's energy was directed in the same manner now. They were each focused and intent, and she followed him to the balcony without any of the usual fluff that accompanied her job. Technically, after all, she wasn't getting paid for this by Gotham's taxpayers. Her only employer was walking by her side.

She didn't expect to get past the other officers without a fuss, though. Mary-Lou's voice caught her a little off guard, and she was forced to contemplate her as Bruce shot off some kind of grappling hook into the night air overhead. "My job," she explained as she stepped forward and unabashedly wrapped her arms around Batman's neck. As he reciprocated by firmly placing his arm around her waist, she gave Mary-Lou a scandalous wink. She couldn't help herself.

And then with a jolt they were flying. She gasped, holding on for dear life until she finally felt her feet returned to solid ground beneath her. She held onto him a moment longer as she righted herself and then looked around, expecting anything. She held her gun with the muzzle pointing at the ground, wishing she had thought to bring a flashlight but nevertheless finding her eyes adapting to the darkness quickly. She swallowed hard, and then she spotted it.

"There," she whispered, pointing with her weapon at the oddity on the roof.

Sitting on the roof was a tiny green box above which a lurid green, laser-generated question mark hovered.

[Bruce Wayne]

He held onto Susie until he felt her release him, his eyes intently falling onto the box the same instant hers found it also. Wordlessly, he approached the box with caution, worried that it was some trap or other trickery. It would not be the first time the Joker had pulled such pranks and he was determined that he would be the one to bear the brunt of the force if such force were to come. The question mark flickered in the steam from a nearby vent, looking mysterious and threatening all at once if it were possible for punctuation to do so. Backing off slightly, Batman’s gloved hand dipped to his belt where it retrieved a shaped shuriken which was launched at the box. Surely enough force to detonate any explosions, but (hopefully) not to damage any evidence within.

Nothing.

Throwing an apprehensive look at Susie, he started moving forward. Reaching the box and trying to unsuccessfully peer through the gap in the cardboard his ninja star had sheared through, Batman frowned. His gut feeling told him that whoever had left the dangling officer and the box was long gone. Dipping a hand into the box, Batman felt his fingers close around something small and plastic. He pulled it out to reveal a plain black computer thumb drive. Confused, he turned and looked at Susie before holding it up. “Maybe it’s a dramatic advertising campaign for Best Buy?”

[Susanna Gossamer]

She lifted an eyebrow at his quip, placing her pistol back in it's holster. "Remind me not to shop there," she replied, nearing him and eyeing the flash drive quizzically. Really? All that to-do over this little thing? She didn't want to tamper with the evidence even more than he already had - he was such a guy - so she lifted her skirt to cover her skin and he dropped the drive into her covered hand. "I'll have it dusted," she offered. Hopefully either the drive or the box had caught a viable print and they could run it through a few databases, but she doubted it.

Her fingers tightened around the tiny piece of technology at the sudden approach of heavy footsteps up a nearby metal staircase. Briefly she wondered what they would do. Batman was a criminal, and as much as she wanted to stick up for him it wouldn't do well for either of them to be caught together tonight. "You better --" She began, but as by the time she turned around she was too late. All she caught was the dark material of his cape disappearing over the ledge of the building, and though she wanted to rush to the edge to peer over and see if he was okay she knew instinctively she would be. Instead she faced the flashlight beams and pistols of her comrades.

"Don't shoot!" She lifted her free hand. "And don't tell me to raise my hands, either, because I've got a handful of skirt and I know you'd all enjoy that way too much."

Though she was forced to engage in the here and now, in the recesses of her mind she was mentally scouring the night time streets of Gotham for a masked crusader who up until today had never been very interesting to her at all, but now seldom left her mind.