Chapter 4

Sorry….it took a little longer. But now the last chapter is finished too. Enjoy…..

Batman and the young woman he saved were still on the roof. And fortunately the enemies were gone.

"Okay, I'll bring you down now. …nngh…"

"Batman?..."

He staggered and had to support himself on the wall in front of him. The darkness still flickered before his eyes.

The girl quickly wanted to rush to help, but Batman hold one hand up. He wanted to say something, but someone else did:

"There you are." It was Diana's voice.

After she and Superman had searched half Gotham, they finally found Batman's car. And its owner usually isn't far away. So they landed quietly behind the two of them.

Obviously they had just missed Batman's little lapse.

"What are you doing here?", the dark knight was asking a bit testy, trying to hide his astonishment.

"We were worried. You were supposed to be in…..", but as Superman saw Batman's threatening look on him, which was saying: "Not in front of the girl.", he thought better of it.

"…am…at our place."

Now the four were looking a bit puzzled at each other. Superman glanced at Diana and then he devoted himself to the girl. She was so confused in sight of these three heroes that she didn't say anything. But Superman asked her in his smartly manner:

"Am…, Miss? I'll bring you home if that would be okay for you."

The young woman only nodded shyly and took a step near the man of steel.

Careful he took her hand and in the next moment they were flying away.

Diana and Batman were looking after them.

"Bruce. What was going on here?"

His gaze was still fixed on the city. He looked very exhausted but Diana felt that something else was wrong. Somehow Bruce was too calm.

"Nothing extraordinary", he said in his usually steady voice, "just scare away some naughty chaps. So what you're doing here?"

"I'm sorry, but we were concerned about you."

"Look, I can very well take care of myself."

With these words he turned and looked at her. But his motions weren't as smooth as usual so he almost lost his balance with the abruptly turn.

"Oh come on, I'm not an idiot. You're still sick and belong to bed."

"I'm not, besides….."

He couldn't finish the sentence, because a rough coughing came in between.

Bruce instantly grabbed to his left side.

"Bruce, are you hurt?", Diana asked with a worried expression. She knows that Batman never would admit an injury voluntarily.

As the coughing was over, he said in a hoarse voice:

"It's just a scratch."

But he still was holding his side.

"Let me see that."

With a quick movement Diana took his hand away and was looking at a lot of blood that was coming out of a whole in the armor.

"Bruce! That's not just a scratch, that's a serious wound. We have to stop the bleeding, and you need medical treatment, immediately!"

Batman rolled his eyes.

"Don't freak out….I'll go to the cave."

And with these words, before Diana could react, Batman wanted to climb over the wall. But as he propped himself up, a piercing pain, starting from his wound, shot through his whole body. He couldn't help but to cry out and nearly fell backwards. Fortunately Diana was standing right behind him and half caught him.

"Don't be ridiculous, you'll not go home like this. How can anybody be so stubborn?"

Batman was standing there, hands on the wall and his head lowered. After a second he once inhaled sharply.

Diana could see that he was trembling now and fighting with himself. Slowly he stood upright and glared at her between clenched teeth trying not to show his pain.

"Look, I don't need your help, Princess."

But Diana noticed that he already was swaying lightly. And she supposed not just due the blood loss. His forces seemed to vanish and obviously his willpower was fading, too. Because without any further comments he let her supporting took his arm. And now she was able to look directly in his feverish eyes.

"Bruce, focus. You're delirious, I'll not let you jump anywhere!

With a weak grin he only responded:

"Good. I'll take…. the…stairs….."

He wanted to stagger away, but his legs suddenly gave way under him and he collapsed right into Diana's arms.

Without any effort she caught him and led him down. Kneeling beside him she, with swiftly movements tore up a piece of Batman's cape and pressed it to the wound.

"That's not funny Bruce. Why have you always to do such stupid things?"

"Nnnhh…..," was the only answer she got.

She looked at him. His eyes were closed and his pale face stood out from the darkness around him. It was very strange to see Batman like this. But unfortunately it wasn't the first time, and wouldn't certainly be the last….. Diana was just forcing herself to push these thoughts aside, when she felt a sudden breeze.

Superman was back. And as he saw Batman lying on the floor his expression went concerned.

"What happened?"

"He's hurt. And his fever isn't any better than the last time we saw him."

Superman also kneeled down with one knee and took a quick look under the piece of cape that Diana was pressing against Batman's injury.

"It seems to be a deep wound; I know him, he would prefer Alfred to take care about him but….it would be the best, if we take him straightly to the watchtower, he shouldn't lose much more blood in his condition."

"Clark?...Where…the girl…."

"Don't speak… I brought her home safely and she's very grateful. Seems you've done a very good job. But now we have to take care about you."

"I…..have to….."

"Shhh" Diana whispered, who was still pressing against his wound.

"I don't think you're able to…."

But before Superman could say anymore, Batman suddenly coughed once again and his face convulsed in pain. He wanted to sit up, but Superman placed a hand on his chest with soft pressure to prevent him from moving any further. Then the panting softened and his forces seemed to vanish.

"It's..nothin….."

They both saw, that Bruce couldn't hold open his eyes much longer. The eyelids fluttered and he finally passed out. Now Superman felt for his pulse and glanced concerned at Diana.

"Okay let's go.", she said, while she already lifted Bruce carefully in her arms.

The three of them stood around the bed in the sickbay on the watchtower.

"He'll be fine," J'onn said in his calm voice, "it'll be just take a little bit longer, because his system already was weakened before the injury. But if he rests now, there'll be no problem."

J'onn then with a kind smile patted Superman's shoulder, nodded once at Diana and left the room silently.

"Do you think we should inform Alfred?", Diana asked after a minute.

"Hm, I think that would be…."

"Hmrrhh…."

"Bruce?" Diana got nearer to the bed.

He looked confused, but only for a short moment, than he composed himself.

"Again in the sickbay. What have I done wrong this time?"

"There he's back, the old Batman.", Superman said with a grin. "The last few hours we were really worried about you."

Batman gently touched his side.

"The weapon got quit deep inside. You were very lucky, it could have been much worse…. Bruce? Do you remember what happened?"

Brought out of his thoughts Bruce looked at Diana and was abruptly once again fixed on her wonderful eyes.

"Yes….the girl. There were this bunch of…..You looked after her, right?"

"She's all right and safely brought home.", Diana said and looked at Superman.

Diana's soft voice made Bruce even sleepier than he already was. But he had to get to work.

"Good. Then I can go down now. It's enough time wasted anyway."

"No!", both Diana and Superman shouted at the same time.

A little irritated Bruce stopped in his motion to get out of the bed.

"If you go now, we'll inform Alfred. So you can choose. You rest here, or at home, it's the same thing."

After this words Diana stood in front of the bed and looked triumphantly at her patient.

Bruce hesitated only one second.

"Okay, you won."

Without any further comment he lay down again, wincing by the short pain that brought this motion.

Satisfied Diana looked at him, even though these three words he's said astonished her. They pretty sure will not hear them again so fast.

She eyed him closely. He looked very tired now and obviously didn't want Alfred to be concerned about him. Bruce always has cared about his butler, even when it was himself who wasn't well.

Superman seemed a bit startled too about the words of his friend. Batman has always been the more experienced, more serious and ambitious of them. To hear such things from HIM gave even Superman a kind of strange feeling.

But Bruce didn't notice what effect his "resignation" on his two teammates had. He was just too worn out to care about the fact, that they now were eying him suspiciously. He knew very well, that without his current condition he never would have said that. But he really didn't want involve Alfred now.

So he lay there calmly and was occupied with keeping his eyes open. To sleep away, while the others were still there was not the plan.

Superman noticed Batman's struggling and came to help.

"I think we should let you sleep now. But this time you'll take the time to heal completely."

Batman only took a deep breath, what obviously caused him pain, and looked at them weary. But his voice sounded almost as firm and determined as ever.

"So fast you'll not get rid of me. I'll be fine in no time."

And after this he allowed himself to close his eyes.

With a chuckle Diana and Superman got to the door. At least he hasn't lost his sense of humor.

Superman got through, but Diana stopped at the door and whispered to herself.

"You've got to rest now."

After these words she turned off the light and went away.

Bruce was sitting in his big, leather armchair holding a glass of red wine in his right hand. He was listening to Dvorák's Slavonic dance nr.2 and this wonderful piece of music let him look thoughtfully into the distance.

The events lay back almost a month now and his injury has nearly healed completely. But mentally he didn't seem fully recovered. Something was bothering him about the whole thing. He didn't know exactly what it was; maybe the fact that he wasn't invulnerable. Or that he, with this incident, became really aware of exactly this fact. And that he needed people like Superman, Alfred….Diana. That he shouldn't push them away.

"Master Bruce?", a familiar voice was interrupting him in his thoughts.

Bruce hadn't heard Alfred coming in. His butler was standing under the door and waited for his young protégé to come back in reality.

Bruce slowly turned his head in direction of the door.

"Alfred…?"

"Excuse me Sir, dinner's waiting….and by the way how's your wound, Sir?"

The last sentence startled him. He hasn't told Alfred about this. And he, at least, thought that he's hidden it well from him. The expression on his face seemed to tell a lot, so Alfred came straight away with the answer.

"I'm not an idiot, Sir. But you should know that even Batman is in need of help from time to time. And it is under no circumstances a shame to take this help."

And with a wink of his eye and a light smile on his face Alfred left him to his thoughts again.

Bruce only could stare at the empty doorway and after some moments he said to himself:

"Maybe you're right Alfred,…maybe you're right."

The End

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks very much for reading!