I walked through the halls of Gotham University in a plain black hoodie, black jeans, and a medical mask, making my way to Psychology 101.
People stared at me oddly because of my outfit, but I didn't care. It's better for them to see me as a hot, weird dude than to actually recognize me, considering I'm probably the most famous person in the world.
Without bothering to knock, I pushed open the classroom doors as everyone turned toward me. The teacher opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw me. Since he was informed of my arrival, even if he didn't, he can't say shit because I own the university.
Actually, I own most of Gotham, except for government buildings, and some through the Court of Owls, which was a problem I solved last year.
Last year, after I became the richest person in the world, the Court of Owls decided to act. One day, while I was in my office, they sent Talons, who "sneaked" into my office, knocked me out, and took me to their hideout.
[Flashback]
"My fellow owls, we are gathered here today for the trial of Bruce Wayne to judge if he is the enemy or worthy of the court," the judge of owls announced as he stood in front of the rostrum while I sat chained to a chair, blindfolded.
[COURT IMAGE]
"Over the years, we watched him grow from a boy into a man. We have watched his rise and now his possible fall, a rise that could either threaten our court or elevate it. When he took control of Wayne Enterprises, he betrayed us by sending one of our own away. He ignored our invitation. Based on these actions, we will decide our course. Those in favor of executing Bruce Wayne, please raise your hands."
About half of the owls raised their hands.
Deciding it was time, I broke away from my chains and removed my blindfold as tiny freeze bombs formed in my hand, and I threw them at the talons rushing toward me, freezing them in place.
[TALONS]
With a snap of my fingers, the heads of those who voted for my execution exploded, while the others stood frozen, shaking in fear.
Then, I stepped onto my invisible drones and walked slowly towards the judge of owls.
To the remaining owls, it probably looked like I was walking on air, like some kind of god.
I grabbed the judge of owls by the mask and threw him aside, his mask remaining in my hand.
Standing in front of the rostrum, I slowly put the mask on.
"Dismissed."
I said the last word that the owls heard before they fell unconscious.
[End of flashback]
"Sorry, tech." To make it more real, I gave a fake apology, and the teacher reprimanded me with a few words. Once he was done, I glanced around the room, spotting my target: the blonde girl with glasses in the second row.
As I approached Blondie, a few girls sent me flirtatious glances, but I ignored them.
"Hey," I greeted the blonde, sitting down next to her.
Harleen Frances Quinzel, she looked really pretty even before becoming a crazy psycho. She had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, bright blue eyes, full red lips, and a fit, model-like figure.
[IMAGE]
"H...hi," she greeted me back, her smile a bit shaky as she met my gaze.
I could see why she was nervous since the difference in our size was huge. I mean, I towered over her, easily twice her size, with muscles that were almost comically big. My biceps were probably as big as her head.
"Names Bruce, what's yours?" I asked, reaching out for a handshake.
"Harleen," she replied, shaking my hand.
"That's a unique and lovely name, Harleen." I complimented her name, and she giggled softly while pushing her glasses up.
"Thank you, but I think you should keep it down or the teacher will scold ya-you." She slipped into her accent for a moment before correcting herself, I think she is trying to fit in.
"Nah, it's cool. Class is almost over," I said, glancing at the teacher, who 'timely' announced the end of the class.
"Hey, Harleen, I'm kind of new here, and you look like someone who keeps notes. Mind sharing?"
"Sure," she said, reaching for her backpack, but I just took her hand and led her out of the classroom.
"Thanks a bunch, Harleen. You're a lifesaver! Let me treat you to coffee as a thank you," I suggested, guiding her toward the campus café.
"You cool with that, right?" I asked, looking down at her. Her face was bright red, and her eyes were fixed on my hand.
"Hey, Harleen, Are you alright?" I waved my other hand in front of her face.
"Your hand," she murmured, still staring at my hand.
"My bad, are you okay?" I asked, pulling my hand back.
She smiled shyly, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Y-yeah, I'm okay. It just caught me off guard for a moment, you know? My brain kind of short-circuited."
To think that this shy and sweet girl would become a batshit crazy psycho with little to no regard for human life... not gonna lie, kinda excites me.
"Why are you so shy, Harleen? A beautiful girl like you must have plenty of guys after her, maybe even some girls," I teased, placing my hand on her shoulder and pulling her a bit closer to me so that we could have more physical contact and help her feel more at ease and open to me.
To my surprise, she didn't pull away. It's probably my hot guy privilege. I bet if I were an average dude, she would have slapped me already; I know I would if I were a girl and a dude came up to me like that.
Jesus, I'm acting like a total jackass.
"No, I'm not," she replied quietly, looking down.
"Come on now, don't lie to me. I'm taking a huge risk being near you, you know," I joked, but she stayed quiet, her eyes still on the ground.
I noticed her body stiffen, and her hand was clutching her skirt tightly. She probably misunderstood my words, thinking I was forcing myself to be near her.
"I'm a bit worried your admirers will beat me up for being so close to their 'queen.'" I especially emphasized the queen part, subliminal messages, and all that.
"Hehe, stop," and I was right; she did misunderstand. My joke made her relax, and she let out a cute giggle.
now more relaxed,Harleen pointed at my mask and asked, "Hey, are you sick?"
I replied, "I had a cold a few days back, but I'm fine now. I'm just wearing it as a precaution." Then, I shifted the topic.
"Hey, tell me about yourself. Where are you from? What brings you here?"
"I thought you wanted to learn my notes, not my life story."
"You are a smart girl, Harleen. You probably already know that's not my main goal."
"Okay, but just so you know, I'm not looking to date anyone until I finish my degree. I'm not into friends with benefits. And with how flirty you are, I'm pretty sure you want to wet your tip, not a real relationship."
"Ouch, that stings, Harleen. I'm a sensitive guy, and I do want to date, especially someone like you who's worth the wait."
"I bet you say that to every girl." Harleen rolled her eyes with an annoyed look, but she still leaned in closer.
"Only the special ones."
"Okay, let's get to know each other. I grew up in a neighborhood in Brooklyn, close to the city. And I'm the oldest of four siblings—three brothers. Those little shits were a pain in my rear, lemme tell ya..." She began to tell me about herself, starting from the very beginning.
As we walked towards the cafe, I noticed the jealous glares from other girls directed at Harleen, and I had to dodge a few who tried to grope me.
Once we sat down, I ordered tea and water, not that I was gonna take off my mask to drink, but out of courtesy, while Harleen chose a white chocolate mocha.
"-I took the first chance to escape and applied to college, and here I am."
"Is this your first year?" I asked while we waited for our drinks.
"Yes, I was studying veterinary before, but it's just that while studying, I kind of figured out it wasn't what I wanted, you know? I wanted to study criminals, to learn their stories, their reasons, their thoughts, an' figure out what makes 'em tick! *ahem* I wanted to understand them." Harleen said with real passion behind her words, her eyes sparkling with excitement and curiosity, while sometimes her way of speaking changed for a moment before she corrected herself.
"Enjoy your drinks." Just then, the waiter arrived with our drinks, and Harleen, realizing she was too excited, blushed with embarrassment. To calm herself, she took a big sip of her mocha.
Sensing what was coming, I quickly moved aside as Harley sprayed her drink everywhere.
"Hot, hot, hot!" She put her cup down and started fanning her tongue with her hands.
"Hahaha," I chuckled as I handed Harleen my water after making it colder.
She took the water and gulped it down quickly.
"Ah... that hit the spot," she sighed in relief, leaning back in her chair.
"Haha," I continued to laugh and passed her a napkin.
"Hey, what's got ya chucklin', big fella?" She asked, giving me a playful glare while wiping her lips.
"Nothing, Harley."
"What did ya just call me?" she asked, looking puzzled.
"Nothing," I kinda let that slip, oh, how clumsy of me... subliminal.
"No, you just called me—"
"The notes, Harleen. You still haven't given me the notes." I quickly shifted the conversation, and she looked deeply into my eyes. After a moment, she reached into her bag and took out her notebook.
I opened her notebook and glanced at the pages.
"Your handwriting is really beautiful, Harleen."
"Thanks, hehe."
As I flipped through the pages slowly, I sometimes made a confused expression. Eventually, I picked a random part.
"Hey, Harleen, I don't really understand this part. Can you explain it?" I asked, moving my chair really close to her.
"Sure," she said, adjusting her glasses as she leaned in to explain. However, our size difference made it awkward since I kind of pushed her aside with my body, so she had to reach out to point things out in the notebook. Seizing the moment, I just wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to me.
For a moment, she stiffened, then relaxed, her cheeks turning pink as our bodies brushed against each other.
"You're the kinda trouble momma always warned me about, Bruce," Harleen said with a mischievous look, flashing me a teasing smile before she returned to explain her notes.
After going through her notes for a while, I changed the subject again, and we began to get to know each other better.
"-Then I learned that he threw Bonnie out of his car onto an oncoming truck. It was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me," Harleen told her love story about her first crush with a sweet smile on her face as if she wasn't telling me about a murder.
*ding*
{Sir, Sandra Wu-San has entered Gotham.}
I pulled out my phone to check the message.
"Harleen, something's come up. I need to go, but let's meet here next week at the same time."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, just a work-related thing."
"Alright, here, take this." She handed me her notebook.
"You're a fantastic teacher, Harleen. I'd love for you to teach me, if you want to, of course," I said, placing my hand over hers and gently pushing the notebook back.
"Oh, okay, yeah, sure," Harleen said, her cheeks flushing as she quickly pulled her hand away.
"Then it's a date," I said, giving her a deadly combo: a wink and a charming smile. Even though she couldn't see my smile, I'm sure she felt it.
"A-a da-date," she stuttered, her blush deepening and a silly grin spreading across her face.
Ahhh, my eternal curse, my damned beauty yet captured the heart of another innocent maiden.
Letting her drift into her daydreams, I walked out of the café.
***
Standing on the edge of a rooftop, I waited for Lady Shiva as I took a small break from my usual routine of beating criminals within an inch of their lives.
I didn't have to wait long. I felt a familiar presence behind me, along with another one I didn't recognize.
"Master," Lady Shiva called out to me as she knelt on one knee behind me.
She knew my true identity, but I wasn't worried about her revealing it to anyone. On the contrary, I wanted her to, so that she can give me a reason to play with her more.
"Sandra, it's been a while."
"It's been too long, Master."
Her way of addressing me cringed me out, but after everything I've done to her, I should at least let her have this.
"Why are you here, Sandra?" I asked because I did tell her to never step into Gotham unless absolutely necessary.
"I missed you," she said, standing up and opening her arms for a hug.
"Sandra, you are wasting my time," I said, my voice colder this time.
Hearing my tone, she froze in her place and began to talk.
"A few months back, Edward Nygma connected Ra's al Ghul and convinced him that he had a plan to take down Batman. A few days ago, Ra's al Ghul sent his daughter, Talia, to Gotham with 50 bombs for Nygma. After they go off, Ra's al Ghul plans to use the chaos to capture you," she quickly and briefly explained her reason for being here.
"Hmm," I already knew all of that. The only thing I didn't know was the number of bombs.
"You already knew, didn't you?" Sandra said as she let out a self-mocking laugh.
"What's up with the kid, Sandra?" I asked, referring to the child hiding in the shadows and watching us.
"She's my daughter, Cassandra. I wanted to ask if you could take her in and train her."
"No," I downright refused her absurd request.
"Please, I want her to be powerful, to be like you, or at least half of what you are," Sandra begged as she once again knelt on one knee.
Turning around, I grabbed the top of her head and lifted her up, looking deep into her eyes.
"Do I look like a babysitter to you, Sandra."
"No."
"That was a rhetorical question, you imbecile. Why should I take care of your child, a child you had just because you liked the way a dude threw a punch."
I pointed at the child. "She is the consequence of your actions, Sandra. Face it."
"I can't be a mother. I don't know how to be one. My life has been all about training to kill or teaching others to kill—"
"I don't care," I cut her off and let go of her.
"I'm not going to take your child in, Sandra. Now begone," I dismissed her. She seemed like she wanted to say something but held back. Taking the child's hand, she began to walk away.
"Sandra," I called her.
"Yes," she answered, sounding hopeful, thinking I had changed my mind.
"Teach the kid how to goddamn talk, will ya."
"How did you?"
"I know what I know, I don't know what I don't know, so I only know what I know and don't know what I don't know." I began saying my BS, but Sandra didn't even let me finish as she ran away. How rude.