Bruce Drake

Bio || Bruce Drake

As they stood there, her listening to him, Valentina realized that she had never felt this way before. She had been in love before, but this was different. This was a love that had grown out of adversity and danger. This was a love that had been forged in the fires of chaos and uncertainty. And Bruce, as always, found the positive side of things. Her light in so much dark.  He was the anchor that kept her from drifting away into the abyss of despair.

“and what happens when I can’t save you? What happens when you die trying ot Valentina was trapped in a never-ending cycle of violence. She looked up at him, not moving as he neared her. There was no where for her to go anyway. “I can’t lose you too,” she whispered. “You’re all I have left.” The gang was there, but they were just a group of people who happened to be in the same business. Bruce was different.

“I told you once Rocky was the living tether to my past….but I was wrong.” she told him. “I know that faking my death, or running won’t work. Because Bane already knows where I am. He already has someone planted. Someone I…I can’t fight Bruce.” she admitted to him. Bruce thought that Bane was responsible, but Valentina knew that it was much more complicated than that. “Valor did this….my brother. I thought he was dead but…Bane kept him from me. And based on his precision he’s just as trained as I am. “ And he was probably better at it. she thought to herself “He could find me wherever she went. There is no place on the planet where I could hide from him.”

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He was determined to help her. There wasn’t a thing he wouldn’t do to save her. An enemy he wouldn’t face or an estranged family he wouldn’t go to. He knew as he stared at her with his desperate, wide eyes- that he’d do absolutely anything for her. He’d been tethered to her with a vibrant red strong of fate since the night they met and he wasn’t about to take a pair or scissors to it now. He loved her. He wanted her safe. It was all that mattered to him right now. It didn’t matter what he might have to sacrifice to get it. 

Then her question gave him pause. It already did. He already died trying to save her. He remembered stretching out a hand towards her when he was only sixteen. How he’d tried again and again to get up and get to her only for the pain to bring him back down again and darkness to overcome him. He felt sick remembering it but he was prepared to do it again- if it came down to that. “You’re saying when like it’s inevitable.” He reminded her. “I can handle myself. You don’t need to worry about me this time. I was barely sixteen when-” He couldn’t even say it. “It just won’t happen again. You’re not going to lose me. Not ever. I love you and I’m not going anywhere.” 

His brows furrowed as she explained it to him and he brought up a hand over his face. Trying to force the calm himself a little. Bane always knew where she was. At least, that was what he figured. What he didn’t figure was the plant that he’d sent. That wasn’t something Bruce was expecting. Especially when she mentioned that she couldn’t fight him. “Your brother?” He didn’t even know she had a brother. Shit. He let out a stressed sigh. “Okay...” He whispered. Trying to figure out another plan as she explained why his first plan wouldn’t work. “That’s a bit of an obstacle... but we’ll figure it out, Val.”

Valentina felt her heart pounding in her chest, as though it might break through her ribcage and burst into the open air. She couldn’t believe she had showed Bruce the box. As Bruce examined the contents of the box, Valentina watched him carefully, taking in his shock and unease. She knew he wouldn’t understand, but she had hoped he would try. Instead, he was being so analytical about it all, as if it were just a matter of hygiene. “Don’t be naive! The truth is literally in your hands!” It was like he didn’t understand the depth of her pain, the way her heart had been shattered and scattered to the winds. “I know because….,”

But then he was yelling at her, and she felt her back press against the wall as if trying to escape from his anger. “YOU CAN’T SAVE ME BRUCE!” she screamed. She knew he couldn’t save her from this, couldn’t take away the pain of Rocky’s death or the guilt. No matter how much she wanted him to, no matter how much she wished she could just forget and move on.

“I’m not the girl chained begging Robin to save her,” she yelled back at him, her voice shaking with emotion. “She died. She’s always been dead. And I am living off the embers of who she was. This was always going to end with me. I’ve always known that.” It was like she was a ship in a storm, rocking back and forth on the waves of her own pain and regret. And Bruce was the lighthouse, standing tall and steady on the shore, but unable to reach her in the midst of the tempest. “I’m going to die…it’s just a matter of choosing how I go.”

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She told him not to be naive and he openly frowned at her. He didn’t think he was being naive at all. “I’m not...” Bruce couldn’t promise anything but he had been heavily trained since he was ten years old. He’d been nearly killed by Bane before but he could handle his henchmen at least. This display- the heart in the box. It didn’t seem like the way Bane himself might have handled it. In a weird way- it almost made Bruce feel a little more confident that he’d be fine against whoever had done this to Rocky. (Although, part of him wasn’t even sure if that was Rocky. Since he didn’t have the DNA evidence... yet.) 

She backed away from him and he stopped in his steps. Giving her the space she needed right now. His eyes glancing over her carefully. Trying to make sure that she wasn’t too panicked for this conversation. Right up until she snapped at him and he flinched as though he’d been slapped hard across the face with her harsh words. You can’t save me, Bruce. He tried to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. She knew him a little too well. She knew that he loved her but a lot of the reason he left to be with her was to save her. Like that might heal them both of that dreaded night. She mentioned the girl in the chains begging to be saved and his eyes immediately tore themselves from hers. Glancing down, almost ashamed that she’d said that to him and that he was never able to help her.

He drew in a shaky breath and took a few careful steps towards her. Lowering his voice and softening it as he spoke to her now. “You’re not dead. You were hurt and abused for a long time, but you’re not dead. I know the person you are deep down. Val, I’ve seen you. I know your real smile and your beautiful laugh. I saw it that day I caught you LARPing at the park and sometimes you even let your guard down enough with me to show me when we’re alone. It doesn’t have to end like this. I can get you out of here. We can fake your death so he doesn’t come looking and you can start anew life... You don’t need to die. I can save you. Val, please. Let me save you.” 

It was so difficult to believe that Rocket was dead. That was she saw was actually real. It was the harsh reality though of the world they lived in, of being a superhero. You had to be the light because the dark would swallow you whole. It felt selfish to worry about Bruce when Rocket was dead. But if someone was capable of that kind of brutality then her immediate worry was for those she loved. At least tonight she could rest easy knowing he was by her side, though her thoughts kept drifting towards Valentina, wondering if she was alright. Daphne rolled over stress evident on the features of her face. “Talk about the case? Talk about -” Daphne sighed putting her arm under her head to prop herself up. 

She tried not to fall into old habits, tried not to go down memory lane with Bruce because it was a slippery slope. She was a little surprised that he remembered, the amount of times they watched that show…and the amount of times it played in the background while they busied themselves with burning off the post case adrenaline rush. “You remember it?” she asked before she could stop the words tumbling out of her mouth. 

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“No, not the case. We’re not in costume, are we?” He said, trying to lighten the mood a little for her. He didn’t want to think too much more on it anyway. Bruce didn’t want to imagine Rocky’s corpse or what could have been done to him. The fact that he had no idea what happened just lended more to his imagination. It made it worse in his own head. He could picture scenario after scenario. Limbs being torn off. Being beaten into a bloody mist on the ground. It only made him feel sick. He didn’t want to put those kinds of thoughts into her mind. He certainly didn’t want to ask her what actually happened. Instead, he needed to take her mind off of it. He needed things to be fine right now. For her sake, mostly. But for his own as well.

“Of course I do,” He shot her a small smile. “I still watch it sometimes. When the night’s are a little too long and quiet.” Bruce confessed to her. Deciding it was better to talk about this than to talk about Rocky’s death. He reached over to take her hand gently in his own. “Even if I didn’t, how could I forget?”

Valentina listened to Bruce’s words carefully, her heart aching at the pain she could hear in his voice. She knew he was struggling, haunted by his past and the darkness that seemed to follow him wherever he went. When he told her that death didn’t scare him, she couldn’t help but shake her head. “Death scares everyone Bruce.” she stormed over to her dresser, that damned box haunting her with its tell tale heart. She tossed the box in between them. 

“Do you know what’s in there? HIS HEART. Don’t you get that? they murdered him and then sent me his heart to send a message.“ Valentina took a deep breath and continued speaking, her voice trembling slightly. "What do you think he’ll send me of yours? Your hand? Your head?” The thought alone made her feel sicker than she already did. “ I’d be better of just handing myself off to him…just letting this all end. Love is for people with future’s Bruce. I’ve never had one. ”

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She moved from his side, stalking towards the dresser and his he cocked his head with confusion as she opened it. Only for the realization to hit him as soon as she turned around with a cardboard box in her hands. The bottom of it was drenched and soggy with dark, dried blood. It was enough to make Bruce tense where he stood. Then she carelessly tossed the box in between them and he flinched. Pausing for a good long moment until she snapped at him. Asking if he knew what was in there... part of him already knew what it had to be but she spelled it out for him anyway. Slowly, Bruce moved his hands into his sleeves and he carefully bent down to have a look. “You shouldn’t be tou-touching this without gloves.” He didn’t mean to stammer, he was just a little shocked by it. He steadied himself with a breath before carefully opening the box with his sleeve and peering inside of it. Looking over the gore for a good long moment as if he was searching for clues. Swallowing down his own ill feelings the longer he stared at it.

Then she asked what he thought he might send of his and he tensed up again and glanced up to her. “Nothing. Val, this isn’t going to happen again.” He couldn’t actually promise that but he’d try his best. “How do you... how do you know it’s his?” He questioned quietly before the rest of her words hit him and he glanced up at her with wide eyes. “NO!” He shouted at her before taking his hand from the box and quickly getting up, stepping over the heart and walking over to her. “No, don’t talk like that! You have a future. You can get out of this. I can get you out of the country and somewhere safe and then I- I’ll deal with this.” 

Daphne knew she wasn’t going to get any restful sleep tonight, or maybe for a while. She’d be listening to everything and closing her eyes would only make her picture Rocket and the last thing she had said to him. Maybe if she hadn’t been at his throat, hadn’t pushed him so far away from her he’d have been with her or at least not off on his own. She wondered if it was quick, if he had been in pain if he fought to stay alive, if he thought she could hear him - Daphne hadn’t been listening, she’d turned off the world trying to avoid the three of them. Tears started to gloss over her eyes her bottom lip trembling slightly as she fought to gain control and tuck those thoughts and feelings away. They had work to do. 

Daphne closed her eyes at the feel of his lips on her temple and she took comfort in his affection. She didn’t want to be alone tonight and even after all the shit he had put her through she still for whatever reason trusted him. He was still holding onto her hand and Daphne squeezed it back leading him over to her bed crawling in under the covers. “I’ve seen death before but this -” What happened to Rocket was brutal. “I don’t know if I can close my eyes.” she admitted. Tomorrow she could be strong. She’d pick up the pieces and let the anger drive her forward to resolution. But tonight, tonight she was going to pretend like things weren’t complicated, like they had just come back from a mission and everything was going to work itself out. 

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He hadn’t seen her so torn up before. Her lip trembled and her eyes watered with unhappiness. He wanted nothing more than to take that pain away from her and keep it all for himself. Sucking up her misery like a giant sponge. She never deserved any of this pain. She was good and kind. She did things for the right reasons and never wavered on her morality despite the anger that flared up inside her sometimes. Unfortunately tragedy came with the work. He’d grown up with it and knew it like an old friend but he never thought something like this would happen to Rocky. He didn’t like the man at first but the two of them were growing closer since the Halloween Massacre. He understood his love for both Daphne and Valentina. They were becoming good friends through sparring with each other and now he was dead. He could barely wrap his head around it- and maybe that’s why he didn’t really even feel like the grief had hit him yet. 

She leaned into him as he placed a gentle kiss on her temple before she took his hand and led him towards her bed. He let her crawl into it first before he moved to lay on the covers beside her. Keeping his eyes on her as she explained to him that she’d seen death before but not like this. His brows furrowed thoughtfully. Wondering how bad it had been. How brutal? Part of him wanted to ask but he knew better to put her through describing it to him.  “Then don’t. Stay up and talk to me for a while.” Bruce told her softly. “We can watch something? Maybe get our minds off it for a little bit.” It was healthier to get her mind off of it so she could sleep a little. “Remember that show we’d binge together back when we were on the team? I know we’ve seen it 6 times over now, but we can throw that on?” He suggested.

For what felt like an eternity, Valentina remained silent. Her mind was filled with a tumultuous whirlwind of emotions, and she didn’t know where to begin. She could feel the weight of the world on her shoulders, crushing her under its burden. She had never felt so alone and powerless before. It was like a curse that followed her everywhere she went. She had built tall, thick walls around herself to protect her heart, but even they weren’t enough sometimes.

“People who love me end up dead. Haven’t you realized that?” she answered him, her voice quivering with emotion. She knew she sounded defeated, but she couldn’t help it. She had lost so much already. ”People I love…end up dead.” She couldn’t say it back “I can’t put that mark on you. You don’t deserve it. Deserve that. You were good and I..I ruined you. I cursed you like I curse everything.”

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“Valentina, you didn’t ruin me.” Bruce tried to tell her. He’d been ‘ruined’ for years. Everyone in the Bat-family suffered and for some reason he was the one who couldn’t take it. The one to cave to the pressure. He’d been slipping long before he met her again that fateful night. The night he recognized her as the girl he couldn’t save. “Besides- death doesn’t scare me.” That was a bold-faced lie. He’d died before. Briefly. For only a couple of minutes, he’d flatlined at Lee’s clinic before he was brought back. They made the mistake of telling him that he almost didn’t make it and the fact he’d nearly been killed had haunted him since it happened. Bane stalked his nightmares like an angry spirit and he knew that if he ever confronted him again- he might freeze up in his shadow. He knew that staying with Valentina might get him killed, just as it had with Rocky. But... how could he turn her away now?

“All I’m hearing is that you love me back. You’re not a curse, Val. Please, don’t ever think you are. You’re someone who deserves to be loved.” 

Daphne let out a soft sigh her muscles relaxing under his comforting repetitive touch. She remembered what it was like after a particularly nasty mission, losing herself in him, feeling like he could wash away all the bad because he made her heart so full. She didn’t think she could ever let him go, it didn’t matter what he did, she’d always let him back in, she’d always love him even if that made her a fool. He’d always have a piece of her she’d never be able to fully get back and she both hated the idea and found comfort in never fully letting go. “Thank you.” she said softly her hand snaking its way up his chest and over his heart. 

Daphne knew what was going on in that head of his, she knew about the nightmares, what Bane did to him and how it must have been replaying in his mind over and over again. She didn’t miss the way his words weren’t actually a promise. If anything had happened to him she might lose control, letting her anger take over fully. Daphne regretfully pulled back from his embrace if only for a moment to look into his eyes and place a soft kiss along his jawline. “We’ll come up with a plan tomorrow.” she knew they’d both be thinking about one all night. 

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“Anything for you.” He could pretend that suggestion was just for her all he wanted, but Daphne did always make him feel safe. After a hard mission or countless sleepless nights, she had been the one that he went to. Right up until his own darkness began to swallow him and he went to the only other person who could understand his trauma as deeply as he did: Valentina. His near death as Robin affected him worse than just what took months to heal physically. He’d always remember the feeling of being a breath away from it. How it was nearly all over. Being held in his father’s arms, struggling to breathe as the world felt like it was slowly slipping away from him. Apart of him was sure that Rocky must have felt the same thing- only without the comfort of family. It made him feel deeply, deeply sad for him.

Her hand pressed against his chest along his heart and he knew that she was feeling for it. He reached up and placed his hand over hers. Gripping it. Once she pulled completely away from him, he frowned to her a little. Missing her warm embrace and the feeling of her being right there. Next to him. Safe. Alive. She placed a kiss along his jawline and he took that as permission to lean in after she pulled away and place a delicate kiss on her temple. “Yes, we will. For now... you should really get some sleep. I’ll watch out for you tonight.” 

Valentina sat quietly, staring off into the distance, and the words of Bruce barely registered in her mind. She was lost in the depths of her own thoughts, trapped in a cycle of guilt and despair. She blamed herself for Rocket’s death, thinking that if only she had been stronger, if only she had run away when she had the chance, then maybe he would still be alive.

The weight of her guilt was not the only burden Valentina carried within her. The knowledge that her own brother had killed Rocket was a truth that suffocated her. She struggled to comprehend how he could harm his own flesh and blood, how he could be responsible for the death of someone she loved so much. It was a betrayal that ran deep, and the thought of facing him filled her with a mix of anger, fear and sorrow.

As she looked at Bruce, she saw the concern in his eyes, and it only made her feel worse. She couldn’t bear the thought of him getting hurt too, of losing someone else she cared about. She knew he only wanted to help and support her, but the pain was too much to bear, and she didn’t know if she could let him in. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at him, afraid that the vulnerability in her eyes would betray her.

“I stayed for him. He told me to so I did. And it got him killed,” she finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. It was a confession that brought tears to her eyes, and she struggled to keep them at bay. She couldn’t let Bruce see her cry, couldn’t let him see how much pain she was in. She had to keep everyone she cared about safe, even if it meant pushing them away. “You need to stay away from me. You all do.”

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For a long while, she was silent. He could see the weight on her shoulders crushing her. How she sunk into herself so much that she might as well have been in a tight ball. He’d never seen Valentina so crushed. She never liked to let him in. Keeping him at as much of an arm’s distance as she possibly could. He cherished every moment that she let him have a glimpse at the real her. Buried behind her tall, thick walls. He wanted nothing more than to see it again. For her to stop being so guarded and just allow him in. So he could comfort her and love her- the way he had since the night he betrayed everyone he cared about for her.

Finally, she spoke. As expected, her voice devastated him. It felt like someone reached into his chest and squeezed his heart as hard as they could muster. His dark eyes dropped from hers and he stared at her hands for a moment. He couldn’t bare to see her tears and he knew she’d hate it anyway. “I’m sorry, but it was his choice.” He finally said, his voice soft. Taking one more moment before finally looking up and into her eyes. “Just like how mine is to stay by your side. I know you want me to stay away but I won’t. I love you. I won’t let you suffer alone.” 

She didn’t need to think about it clutching at his shirt. Daphne could take a hit, she could toss someone clear across campus but being with Bruce always made her feel safe. He’d always been the one to calm her racing thoughts, her heart, until he had left. After Halloween they hung in this limbo of old habits and awkward boundaries. He was rambling clearly stepping on his earlier words and she felt the corners of her lips twitch in a ghost of a smile. “Stay.” she said simply holding onto him tighter. She knew it was a lost cause getting Val to join them, knowing that they were all safe in one spot, but at least she’d know Bruce was safe by her side. 

She didn’t want to be vulnerable again, couldn’t have Bane do what he had done to Valentina and Bruce, she needed to be able to stand her ground. He was coming, it would be inevitable, someone was already here, had already been here. “I just need to know its gone.” she stated. Daphne closed her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat loud in her ears helping her calm her own anxiety. She’d listen to it all night. “Promise me I won’t” Rationally she knew he couldn’t make that promise - none of them could but she wanted the false sense of security. 

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She told him to stay. So simple and sweet that he took a soft breath of relief. At least now he knew it hadn’t been weird to ask. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against hers. Breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo. After all this time, she never changed it. She was a constant. Unchanging and comforting. He couldn’t help but feel better, just holding her again. Melting into their embrace and letting that moment last as long as it possibly could. She was here and safe. She was his rock and he was trying so hard to be hers. “I’ll stay.” He agreed. He’d stay but he doubted he’d be sleeping tonight. He’d be content just watching her get some rest. His nightmares had been getting worse lately and the last thing he wanted to do was keep her awake when she clearly needed the rest. 

“I know.” He understood that. She didn’t want to feel as helpless as she felt on Halloween. Especially after someone she loved just died unexpectedly. “We’ll make sure of it.” He decided. Still stroking her back. He could feel himself begin to calm now that he was with her and he’d be just in the other room, close by to Val if she needed him too. It was the perfect spot to be. She asked him to promise her that she wouldn’t lose him and he just hugged her a little tighter. “I’m not going anywhere, at least not tonight.” It wasn’t the answer she wanted but it was the only answer he could give. She was always going to outlive him, being partially Kryptonian. 

Daphne closed her eyes for a moment taking in a breath. “Someone sent - someone sent - “ it took her a moment to even get the words out. “someone sent that box to her, I was there after she must have opened it. Someone is already inside or has a way inside.” Her face dropped at the thought. “What if someone saw us that night?” She swallowed choking down the anxiety and balling her hands up into fists to keep them from shaking. There were a million reasons why it was Rocky, to hurt Valentina, because he was there and was just the first one off the list, because he helped burry the guy. “Maybe - she could be being targeted but that doesn’t mean we should let our own guards down.” They needed to make a plan tonight, needed to think about this from all angles and they needed to be prepared. 

“I don’t know Bruce but whether they are or aren’t involved in that, I need to be at my full strength and I can’t have that stuff anywhere near here.” She couldn’t be weakened if she was going to protect them. She needed to be able to toss a punch right back - give him hell for what he did to Rocky and Bruce and Val. Daphne wanted that cycle to end. She looked at him again knowing he was scared and hiding it much better than she was. Daphne gave in resting her head on his chest. “Bruce promise me you won’t go off on your own I can’t lose another person I love.” 

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She could barely get it out so whatever that box was, it must have been bad. He made a mental note to ask Valentina about it when he could. He didn’t have enough information, but they were both already assuming Bane’s involvement. Especially right after the death of one of his men on the campus. “Alright...” He said lowly. “So we’ll both just have to be a little more vigilant.” He decided, “Do you want me to stay over tonight?” He wasn’t sure if it was wrong of him to offer it. They hadn’t been together for a long time and the last time they actually shared a bed was during the Halloween attack. Rocky’s mysterious death might not have even warranted it. The more he thought about it, the more awkward he felt for even suggesting it. “I mean uh- only if that would make you feel better. I know you can take care of yourself...” She was always extremely capable. She never really needed him but he still felt like he needed to be here to keep her safe anyway.

“Yeah- of course. I’ll look around with you. You’re going to be alright, Daph.” He didn’t want to invalidate her by telling her she was being paranoid, even if he wasn’t sure there’d be any Kryptonite hiding around here. His first priority right now was making her feel safe. His second was calming his heart after he let himself remember his near death experience with Bane. Finally, she moved into his arms and rested her head against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. Stroking her back as he held her. “Daph, I’m not sure what’s going on yet.” He couldn’t promise not going off on his own. “I’m going to have to investigate a little but I’ll be careful about it. You know me. You won’t lose me.” 

She wrapped an arm around herself her other hand placed against her forehead. She stifled more tears wiping angrily at her face. This was the world they lived in, death would surround them, she’d lose people she loved, her parents did. Still, a piece of her heart never really recovered from Rocky, nor from Bruce, no matter how hard she tried to expel them. “He didn’t deserve that.” Her voice broke and she wanted nothing more than to dole out her own justice, surprised at the feeling of wanting to rip Bane apart or whichever lackey was responsible for the actual deed. “Look at me Bruce.” Daphne said wiping away another tear and yanking at his sleeve bringing his attention back. She knew Bane was a touchy subject, it was why she could never understand why he had left with Valentina in the first place. “Someone got into this place - that box.” she shuddered at the thought, the sight and her stomach turned. 

“You don’t think this has anything to do with those Kryptonite monsters do you? This is solely in retaliation to…” she couldn’t even talk about the murder. “I think we should do a sweep of this place. I want no sign of kryptonite and all the weak points.” She knew they were coming for them and her mind was going a mile a minute. “He must have been scared.” her voice was small, quiet, broken. She looked up at Bruce letting out a shaky breath. 

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Bruce knew from word of mouth that he died but he didn’t know much of the details. Part of him wanted to ask her how he went but just thinking about Bane’s involvement only reminded him of the horrors he had went through. He felt ill at the idea that he could have been beaten to death. She tugged his sleeve and forced his attention back to her and he tried not to look as sick and panicked as he felt ...and then she mentioned a box. “There’s a box?” He asked. No one mentioned a box to him. Suddenly, his interest was peaked. She seemed disgusted just mentioning it so it had to be bad but... it could be a clue. “Is it still here?” He assumed it was for Valentina. That it was some kind of a threat. “Not all my ties are cut. I could get it checked for fingerprints.” He offered her. Hoping that it wasn’t just carelessly tossed away. Maybe he should be asking Valentina about it and not Daphne. 

“No, I really can’t see how that’s connected. If it’s who you think it is... I think must be in retaliation for what happened on Parent’s Night.” He said, deciding not to casually talk about the murder they were all involved in. “Or this is all just being done just to fuck with Valentina.” It felt wrong to say something as serious as their friend’s death could be something that was done just to hurt Valentina but... it happened in Gotham far more often than one would think. “We can do a sweep of the place and check around for Kryptonite-” Bruce agreed, trying his best to say anything he could to calm her down but she kept going. Mentioning how he must have been so scared. Bruce swallowed. Her breaths were shaky and uneven. She didn’t even want him to wipe her tears but he had a sudden urge to pull her into a hug anyway. Deciding he should give her an option to say no (so she didn’t smack him again), he simply opened up his arms for her. “Daph, let me help. Please.”

Daphne swatted his hand away from her face. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this, vulnerable and scared. She was trying to keep it all in choking the panic attack down, her grief. “I was mad at him.” she said her teeth clenched. “He died knowing I was mad at him.” She felt like shit. She had wanted to talk to him about everything but she was so consumed with her own anger that that emotion had won out over smoothing things over. “We know who did this” There was no going after Bane, Daphne might’ve stood a chance with her strength and her lasso and flight but Bruce and Val? “We’re going to be picked off one by one.” she said trying to compose herself. Daphne shut her door not wanting to be overheard by her roommate.   

Daphne’s hand quickly swatted his away and he let out a soft sigh, taking his hand back and placing it in his jacket pocket. She was in too much of a panic to even be accepting his affection. “You couldn’t have known that he was going to die, Daph.” Bruce said softly. Unsure what to else to say about it. She stated that they knew who did this and Bruce shifted where he stood. Trying not to show how affected he was by it. He could still remember the pounding of his fists against his skin and the way he nearly choked on his own blood after the beating was over. He swallowed and shifted his gaze from her. Wondering if he’d stand a chance against him now. Right up until she mentioned that they were going to be picked off one by one. Her panic bringing him back from the brink of dissociation. "It won’t come to that. I’ll protect you.” He said quietly, not sure if she’d buy that. “Better yet, we can protect each other. He can’t get into the school. The security’s too good and we can handle whoever he sends.” 

“Deep breaths,” Bruce cooed, reaching out his hand and gently wiping her tears from her cheeks. He couldn’t tell her it would be okay. He wasn’t sure it would. His sudden death might only be the beginning of it and he couldn’t let himself think about how deeply tragic it was. Not when they could have been in serious danger. He wanted nothing more than to protect Daphne and Valentina and the only way he knew how to was to go into mission mode. “I’m so sorry, Daph. You were always closer to him then I was.” He whispered to her. “I’ll find who did this and I’ll take care of it.”

“I uh- I heard,” Bruce said in a hushed voice. Taking a seat beside her. He’d been avoiding her for a while now. Trying to keep his distance while he cleared his head but after receiving the news... he couldn’t stop thinking about her. His mind was flooded with thoughts about how much worse it would be for her. How close she was to him. That it was Bane who’d done it. The same man who’d stolen her away and abused her all her life. Taking away someone else that she loved. He wasn’t even sure if she’d want to see him but he’d come anyway. Desperate to support her. To show her that she wasn’t alone. “I’m so sorry, Val. Let me help.”