For @his_own_wings

[defenderofgotham]

 

Losing Jason fucked Bruce up. Really, really badly. It was as though his soul had been made out of steel and it was now warped and misshapen beyond recognition. He'd pulled away from every ally, completely isolating himself from the rest of the world and everyone in it. Bruce spoke to no one. Hadn't even called Dick to tell him about Jason dying. Removed nearly every bit of evidence of Jason's presence from his life, outside of a display case memorial. At night he become more of a predator on the hunt for justice than anything else--angry, brutal, violent. With every punch Bruce stepped closer to breaking his own rule against killing, had even threatened a crook with a gun. Clark had to prevent him from taking the Joker's life in a bid for revenge. He was spiraling down a path that was only going to lead to further destruction and either cost his own life or someone else's.

Some kid had come around insisting that Batman needed a Robin. Insisted that he knew who Bruce and Dick were, and tried to insist he take Dick back as his partner. Neither of them were about to let that happen. Dick was a full-fledged adult with his own city. Then the kid--Tim--had talked about being Robin himself. Bruce wasn't the least bit interested in risking another teen, not at all, not even when Alfred stepped in and tried to help. So he did what any emotionally mature grown man in his late thirties would do, he foisted the kid off on Dick for training, saying no one else could help him become Robin. He didn't even give his former ward a chance to say no. Wasn't like the two of them had any kind of relationship these days, outside of extremely tense moments of having to work together to defeat a common enemy.

So Bruce was on his own that night, brooding as usual. The weather wasn't too bad outside of a slight wind making his cape flutter behind him in a dramatic fashion. He'd broken up two muggings, but otherwise there hadn't been much in the way of crime to fight. His eyes carefully scanned the streets below from atop the small building that he was standing on, waiting for a sign that anything was amiss. There had to be something brewing, he was sure of it.