Chapter 135 - [AT] Telling the Truth...

[After Transition]

I go stark still at Batman's claim shocked at the fact of what he just said but even more surprised because it's true though I don't know how the hell he figure it out because as far as I can tell I didn't even allude to knowing his identity or say anything that would require me knowing his identity unless I somehow let it slip in conversation but the only conversation I had with him was when I was on the Gotham Police Department roof where I only told him my past at the orphanage which was loosely based on the truth and I talked about myself the entire time with Batman just listening and after that I had a little snippet of conversation with him when he pulled me out of the debris earlier today but even then it was only me asking for food and him demanding for me to get into the back of the Batmobile so I can't think of a single reason why he could've come to the conclusion that I knew his identity, I thought all of this in a couple of seconds while showing a confused expression on my face that was actually truthful as I actually am confused but I realise the longer I stay quiet the more suspicious I might seem to him so I quickly break out off my daze to snort at what he just said as if it was completely unfathomable and I try to play off my shock as if I'm surprised at the accusation and not surprised that he caught me out. "Hold on a moment, what the hell are you on about man? I don't know your identity, I only know Barbara's secret identity and that's only because I left her in the car outside the factory five minutes before Batgirl showed up inside the factory with the same red hair, the same complexion and similar eyes so it wasn't too hard to guess since Barbara only just called the cops and presumably you just before we got there so there wouldn't be enough time for the police or you to get there let alone Batgirl who shouldn't have known anything and should have only been informed after you so it wasn't too hard to deduce they were one and the same, I know who Barbara is but I don't have a clue who the hell you are."

I'm hoping that by vehemently denying it (or maybe just denying it with the vehement since that would only make me more suspicious in his eyes) he will begin to doubt himself though I doubt that will be the case as the Batman doesn't often question himself and when he does it's over more serious things than me so my best case scenario right now is for him to just let this go and not hang on it anymore since it would be more trouble than it's worth and hopefully he will just decide to stop questioning me in regards to this as he will figure out that he won't get any answers from me and he won't force it out of me either since he just stated earlier that he's only harsh on criminals and I'm not a criminal so unless he goes back on his word (which I don't see him doing just for a regular civilian who just happens to have super regeneration) I will be fine but in any case even if this is my best hope it still is highly unlikely and I just keep wondering why he suspects me of knowing his identity, we stare at each other for a second without giving anything away on our faces before he eventually relents and I think that I've won but I realise I haven't when he just spins his chair around to tap a button on his Batcomputer and then he spins back around to stare at me while I look up at the screen of the Batcomputer to see what he's brought up and I'm confused when I see it is just a picture of my old orphanage with a bunch of information about the place brought up alongside it and I just look at it confused wondering for what reason he has brought this eye sore up on the screen and it's clear that Batman can see what I've been thinking (is it my expressions? Is that how he found out I know his identity? By reading minute expression on my face and figuring it out from there?) and he starts to talk to explain why he's brought this up on the screen.

"When we last spoke upon the rooftop of the Gotham Police Department you told me and the Gordon father and daughter your history at the orphanage and how you found yourself running through the streets of New York covered in blood and while I now have no doubt now that that story was fake I also know that some elements of it are true but that doesn't matter as you turned me onto something that was happening under my nose for over ten years and I was resolved to stop this festering cancer but after the conversation on the rooftop and I was about to leave you stopped me by mentioning Thomas Wayne, you talked about how the Orphanage was put in place by him and how it was his legacy and it was being defiled by criminals while also lamenting how different your life could've been if Thomas Wayne wasn't gunned down in an alleyway and so you lit a fire under me and made dealing with the situation at the orphanage personal for me but unfortunately this backfired on everyone because instead of pushing me to take down the operation at the orphanage straightaway and have the orphanage completely shut down you unknowingly made me slow down because of which four children's lives where put in danger and all because I wanted to procure the orphanage in my civilian identity of Bruce Wayne to preserve the legacy of my father instead of having it shutdown after I destroyed the operation." Bruce finishes with a calm voice showing no emotion whatsoever and I'm frightened because he's not showing anger or any other emotion when he should be feeling some negative emotions towards me since he just revealed that he knows I emotionally manipulated him and played on his feelings and the death of his parents to try and manipulate him into crushing the operation at the orphanage quickly but it backfired on me when he instead tried to take the slow route and procure the orphanage for himself to preserve his father legacy while saving the children in the process but this didn't work and instead panicked the matron and the drug dealer in turn endangering four children, which while I'm sure Bruce feels terribly guilty about ultimately falls on me and is my fault because if I didn't try and emotionally manipulate him than he would've gone about it as business as usual and shut down the operation with the usual impunity he shows to all criminals in Gotham but I don't regret it since I thought I was doing the right thing and in the end I saved those children so no harm no foul right.

I start to think about how I can play this situation and how to get out of this without revealing more than I have to and try to come out this looking a shiny as possible but no matter how I play this in my mind there is no good way to get out of this since even if I can say that I didn't know about Batman's true identity when I talked about Thomas Wayne to him he just revealed his true identity of Bruce Wayne to me without any hesitation which shows that he was absolutely 100% certain that I knew his identity back on the rooftop of the Gotham Police Department so if I continue to deny knowing his identity prior to he himself telling me then not only do I be seen as a liar in Batman's eyes I'll also be seen as untrustworthy, selfish and suspicious which means that anything I do say to him in the future will be taken with a grain of salt and he won't believe a single thing out of my mouth if I lie about this know which can be very bad for me if he doesn't believe anything I tell him and still hold suspicions, sometimes the best thing to do is to tell the truth and while it's not something I'm used to doing I'm also used to doing things that are best for me and in this situation both of those coincide so as far as I can tell telling the truth in this situation is my only way out of this that doesn't make Batman not trust me and might even help me in the future since now that I for definite know his real identity I won't be leaving this cave without having some type of relationship with him and I'd rather it be a working relationship than a relationship full of doubt and suspicion in which my every move is held under a microscope.

"Your right, I did know your identity back on that rooftop and I did try to manipulate you by making the situation as personal for you as it was for me in the hopes that you would endeavour to shut down the operation at the orphanage as fate and as hard as possible but I'm afraid I didn't take into account how much you loved your parents which resulted in you trying to preserve something your father left behind, I wouldn't know what that's like since I never had any parents and since I couldn't understand the love someone could have for their parents I didn't realise how that might affect your actions. While I do feel bad for doing that and because of that four children were put in danger I don't regret doing what I did since at the time I thought it was the best way to shut down the orphanage, I just didn't realise that party animal, carefree Bruce Wayne and cold, callous Batman could possibly feel that way about anyone which was my mistake." I tell him telling the complete truth maybe even a little bit too much but I don't regret it since this is probably the first time I've actually told the truth and it feels pretty nice though I don't think it'd be something I'd do regularly and maybe I should just save it for Christmas or something, during that moment of hard

truth though I do have to admit I snuck in a part about myself to try and see if I could mute his reaction by reminding him of my orphan status and the fact that I don't have parents to see if maybe that could resonance him and maybe lessen his reaction to the truth I just told him.

Batman stay still for a moment with his arms by his side and I worry for a moment that it's just him holding back his immense rage for me which is why he's starting stock still but I'm relieved when I see his face twitch into a frown and his eyes narrow at me a little. "How did you figure out my identity?" He asks and I'm frozen, I can't exactly say I know his secret identity since it's sort of some of the meta-knowledge that wasn't ripped out of my head by one of the most powerful beings in the universe...

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