Dark Night

It wasn’t always easy for your body to know what time it was on a space station. According to the clock it was a bit after four in the morning. You rolled over, already forgetting about what sound had pulled you out of a dreamless sleep. Then your brain finally fired up again and you opened your eyes.

There was someone in your room. Something. It was across from the bed, seated at your desk. A shadow. You sat bolt upright, doubting reality for a moment as your eyes tried to adjust to the strange shape hunched in front of you. It really was like a shadow… some figure draped in darkness. It had two pointed horns. No… ears.

“B-b-Batman?”

The Batman stood, a monstrous presence that made you shrink back against the wall.

“You’re the donor,” he said. It was like a growl that sounded not quite human. Augmented perhaps by some sort of digital effect. Then, he was a man? You could see the mask now, the jutting square jaw of a human hero. His eyes were harder to discern… they were just glimmers in the darkness. For some reason you had no idea how to turn on the light switch.

“I’m… I’m the donor,” you confirmed. You weren’t sure what else to say to him. To the Batman. You were talking to the fuckin Batman. You felt like you were being assessed, those eyes narrowing as they looked you up and down. He sniffed, but you couldn’t tell what his judgement was.

“You don’t need to be so scared,” he said then, not quite friendly in tone but the words eased you slightly. “You do need to be more careful.”

“What?” you blurted, confusion rising through your fear.

“You left a lot of DNA behind at the Lexor,” he said. “And you’re lucky I wiped the security feeds before Cyborg did. Or anyone else.” Your eyes went wide. There were cameras? Of course there were cameras! Your reaction seemed to meet the Dark Knight’s expectations.

“There was no footage of what you actually did,” he assured you. “But you sneaking around the lobby with Wonder Woman is not what we hired you for.”

You almost wanted to protest the accusation, but you were not going to sell out your patient. You staying quiet during the Bat’s admonishment made him smirk but that vanished quickly. “You’re not to leave the Watchtower until further notice.”

At this you were more confused and felt a flash of heat in your chest. The Batman wasn’t all that scary now that your eyes had adjusted and you got a better look at him. He did just appear to be a guy in a suit, albeit a really strong guy who to be honest was intimidating enough just brooding. But that flare of defiance, and your grumpiness at interrupted sleep, made you sit up.

“You’re benching me?” you said, before you could stop yourself. There was a flicker behind his mask and somehow his eyebrow arched.

“You’re not on the team,” he noted, correctly. “You’re just a donor.” You felt a bit silly for insinuating you were part of the actual Justice League, not that this was intentional on your part. Though embarrassed you forged ahead.

“I believe the term I first heard was ‘asset’. And what if Diana needs a dose and she can’t get back to the Watchtower?” you replied, and you felt a bit better seeing the surprise in Batman’s shoulders as you stood up to him. He also seemed uncomfortable that you were on a first name basis with Wonder Woman, or maybe you were just reading into that…

“It will be taken care of,” he said, definitive in his statements by virtue of being the goddamn Batman. You had to pause and think on this. Did that mean… the Batman would take care of it personally? You were never one to dwell on your own inadequacies but you weren’t confident in comparing yourself against the Batman. You weren’t going to just roll over either.

“You weren’t there to take care of her the first time,” you countered. “Or at the Lexor. She could have died if I hadn’t been there.” Then you were lifted from the bed and reminded of the bruising around your neck. Fear did rush though you then, the Batman’s strength and swiftness not the scary part, but the cold glare felt like it was pinning you against the wall. A moment later he dropped you back onto your bed and took a step back.

“Know your station, Doctor,” said the Batman, utterly calm. “The terms of your stay here aren’t negotiable. But you are free to leave the program. We can find another donor.” That seemed to be the last word on it and while you weren’t hurt you didn’t feel like you had another retort in you.

The caped crusader’s head turned and you realised he had noticed the top hat sitting on the shelf. You wondered if you should bother explaining, but when you looked back at the Batman he was … gone. Your eyes darted around the room and you knew you were alone. You blinked at the darkness, now unsure if you had actually spoken to the Batman or if it had been some strange dream. You went back to bed and hoped to have a better one.