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Falling Apart	By : AsylumWritings Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 347 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman/DC Comics, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Home
- 2-Reconnection
- 3-Lost
- 4-Memories
- 5-Romanced
- 6-Encounters
- 7-Mine
- 8-Changes
- 9-Meeting
- 10-Hike
- 11-Danger
- 12-Tension
- 13-Scared
- 14-Forgiveness
- 15-End
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It seemed there was no end at all to the lies a person could tell, once she got started. Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper's Daughter
I walked out past the manor to the family cemetery. It was the ten year anniversary of my parents’ deaths, and the first time I’d been back to seen them since the funeral. I’d been avoiding it, just like everything else in Gotham.
It was an unseasonably cool morning for summer, and I shivered as I sat down at their graves, even in my jeans and jacket.
“I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to come see you.” I whispered, tracing their names on the gravestone.
Lillian and Arthur Huntington. Loving parents, survived by their daughter Evangeline. Taken too soon.
“I guess I just never wanted to admit that you’re really gone.” I rested my hand on my knee. “I miss you both so much. There’s a lot I want to say to you, but I’m not sure where to start.”
I wiped away my tears, resting my arm on my raised knee. “I wasn’t prepared for life without you, but I’m making the best of what I have. I wish I could stop second guessing every choice I’ve made since the funeral, and I wish I could just see you one more time.”
It all suddenly came pouring out, the anger and the sadness, like I’d just released a dam of emotions inside me. They shouldn’t have died, and I shouldn’t be alone.
“Why did you drive home that night?” I spoke angrily, not even trying to control my feelings anymore. “You could have stayed at the hotel, out of the wind and snow, and just come back the next morning. My brunch was not that important, you didn’t need to drive home in the dark.”
I was so alone, and I was still so scared. I’d spent ten years avoiding this, and now that I was here, I just felt everything coming back all at once and it was overwhelming.
“You just left me here, and I don’t know how to handle any of this.” I could barely talk, or even breathe, I was crying so hard.
Then I felt strong arms wrap around my body. I looked up to find Bruce sitting beside me and holding me tightly. Leaning against him, I clung to his arm.
“I miss them so much.” I tried to calm down, but I didn’t seem to be capable of it right then. “It feels like the pain will never go away.”
“I know.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “It’s going to get easier, but it just takes time.”
He held me close as I continued to cry, not rushing me to calm myself. I guess he could recognise that it was what I needed, even without me saying anything. We stayed like that for nearly ten minutes, until I could finally breathe again. I wiped my eyes, glad that I hadn’t put any makeup on, and turned to him.
“I’m sorry for crying all over you.” I gave him a small smile. “How did you know I was here?”
He brushed the tears off my cheeks, a comforting look on his face. “I know what day it is, and I thought you might need someone to be there for you, just like you were for me.”
“I knew that being back would be hard, especially with the tenth anniversary, but I wasn’t prepared for this at all.” I sat back, wrapping my arms around my knees. “I guess I probably shouldn’t have avoided this for so long.”
“Do you remember how I was after my parents died?” He squeezed my hand. “I barely held it together.”
“You kept running off, and you never told me where you were going.”
“I got into fights, and let myself get hurt.” He hesitated for a moment. “We all do what we have to in order to deal.”
“I don’t think my way was a good way.” I laughed a little, playing with my hair.
He also chuckled, holding me close. “I don’t think mine was, either. But you’ve come back, and you’re still alive and functioning. You and I, we’ve been through some of the worst this world has to offer. I should have been there for you before, but I can be here for you now, if you’ll let me.”
“It would be nice to have someone to lean on again.” I nodded, yawning a little. “I should get home, I have a lot to do still.”
“Come on, you can get something to eat at mine first. You look like you could use it.” He stood, helping me up.
I followed him along the path between our homes, up to the back patio of his manor. As we walked into the study, it was like flashing back to my teen years. We’d spent so much time sitting in front of the fire, just reading and talking. We’d fallen asleep there, and I’d held him close when he had nightmares about his parents.
“You didn’t change anything.” I said in surprise.
“I added a couple of things, but I had so many memories in here that I didn’t want to change too much.” He opened one of the cabinets, revealing a wine fridge. Pulling out a bottle, he poured me a glass.
I took it from him, sipping at it. “Thank you, for coming to find me out there. It was stupid to think I would be alright to do it alone.” Curling up on the couch, I watched as he sat down beside me. “I wasn’t ready, not at all.”
“The anniversaries are the hardest.” He spoke quietly, staring down at his drink. “It just sneaks up on you out of nowhere, and knocks you flat on your back for a day or two.”
I didn’t reply, just leaned my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me close. It was so comforting to have him there, beside me.
“There’s another party in a couple of nights, a charity ball…” He trailed off, a little hesitant. “Would you go with me?”
“Sure, I’d love to.” I laughed. “It’s pretty clear you need as much help as you can get when it comes to these parties.”
He played with my hair. “I’m good at a lot of things, but I don’t think I’ll ever be good at socialising with stiff rich old men. I don’t really want to go, but apparently my appearance makes people open their wallets.”
I finished my glass, standing up and walking over to one of the shelves. “I’m sorry I didn’t call when I heard you were back. I wanted to, but…”
“But you thought I wouldn’t want to hear from you after so long?”
I turned in surprise. How did he know what I was thinking?
“I thought the same thing. I even had Alfred find your number. But every time I thought about calling, I talked myself out of it.” He didn’t meet my eye. “I’m sorry, I should have just called you.”
“Bruce, it’s alright.” I walked back to him, sitting down on the coffee table and taking his hand. “I was just as capable of calling you, but I didn’t. I don’t think either of us were really ready to call.”
He gave me a small smile, placing his empty glass on the table. “I wasn’t sure you would ever come back.”
“I… didn’t know if I would either.” I admitted. “I was pretty intent on avoiding Gotham and never thinking about it again.”
He stood up, leaning over to press a soft kiss to my forehead. “I promised you something to eat. Come on then.”
I walked into the warehouse, and straight up to the small studio apartment slash office space on the floor above. All of my computers and accessories had been shipped there, ready for me to get started. The warehouse was owned by a shell company my parents used, so it wasn’t traceable back to me, at least not by standard hackers and methods.
Carefully cutting open each box, I unpacked each one. I plugged the monitors in, arranging everything how I liked it. A lot of work, time and a computer science degree had gone into choosing the best parts for my purpose.
I turned everything on, feeling a sense of pride as the screens flickered to life. The system was my baby, and I’d worked hard on it.
“Now that you’re up and running, let’s see what’s going on in Gotham.” I opened up some news sites, trying to make sure I kept up to date.
Life in Gotham moved pretty fast, and it paid to ensure that you always knew who was on top, and who was in control. As I scrolled through the evening’s headlines, a banner popped up.
Batman sighted near Gotham City Hospital, chasing Riddler through streets.
Clicking on the banner, I was taken to a video. A news helicopter was up in the sky, filming the chase. I watched as a black tank-like vehicle sped through the streets, following a bright green sports car.
“As you can see, Batman is currently chasing the Riddler along the streets of Gotham towards an unknown location. We’ll follow for as long as we can, but the police helicopter is just arriving and we’re being shepherded out of the way.” The reporter said, as the helicopter turned a corner.
I closed the window, searching further for more information. Who was Batman? It was clear he was some kind of vigilante, but why?
There were references to him all over the place, going back a few years. It started with people talking about some sort of dark shape, and criminals suddenly finding themselves dangling from buildings. Then everyone started to see him, and people thought he was a criminal. But the tide had turned, and I could tell the people loved him now.
I hacked into the GCPD, shaking my head when it was far easier than I expected. Surely someone had some sort of concrete information about whoever this was.
“Who are you?” I asked, scrolling through pages upon pages of vague descriptions and terrified witness statements. “Why are you here in Gotham?”
I should have done this in the week before moving back, so I could have been better prepared for what was around, but I’d already sent my computers over. Fortunately, in the few days I’d been here, nothing major had happened.
Searching through anything I could find, I spent most of the night just compiling a sort of dossier for this vigilante. Whoever he was, he could be someone who might get in the way of what I was planning, so I needed to know as much as I could about him.
Finally, at around two am, I finished going through everything that the GCPD had. I walked over to the bed I’d had brought there, and basically fell into it. I was exhausted, but well on my way to being ready.
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Falling Apart