Chapter 148 - [AT] Exposed...

[After Transition]

"The third option, you might want to think seriously before you take this option as it's not something to decide lightly. You have a spectacular power which grants you a range of abilities and if those abilities are honed properly you could be a force to be reckoned with and you could help a lot of people with your new range of skills and abilities, if you chose this option you would be staying with us here and I would be training you to the best of my ability and you would join us fighting crime in Gotham when I think your ready, you would be saving lives with your abilities and this way we wouldn't have to constantly monitor you since you'd be close to us here and you'd stay with me and D_i_c_k at Wayne Manor. You would become one of us and help fight crime and save others, we'd still be keeping a watch on you but everything I've seen points to you being a good person with the capacity to help others and I want to hone that and you wouldn't be under watch since as we work together and train with each other there wouldn't be a need for surveillance as you be with us most of the time though we would still check in on you every once in a while but we wouldn't be so ham fisted about it. If you choose this option you would become a crimefighter facing dangerous opponents nearly everyday and I can't guarantee your safety ,you might face people like Killer Croc or the worst of the worst like the Joker, do you still want to choose this option?" Batman finishes having given me an offer I can't refuse not because I don't want to because it is literally the only other option I have left that doesn't put me under heavy surveillance or mess with my mind but even so it's gonna be pretty stressful having to constantly be around the paranoid members of the Bat-family having to constantly watch what I'm saying but I honestly don't see any other option since this is the only option that doesn't mess with my mind or place heavy surveillance on me, though that last one is only because it wouldn't be needed since I'd already be in such close proximity to the Bat-family that the surveillance would be useless but it does mean that I'll have a bit more freedom since they won't be able to keep their eyes on me all the time so I should be able to find time to do my own things. ​​

Maybe it's betters to look at the bright side and see the silver lining which is the fact that I'm going to be trained by the motherf_u_c_k_i_n_g Batman who is arguably one of the best martial artists and strategists in the DC universe as well as the fact that he's gone toe to toe with literal gods with only his capability as a human and his intense intelligence and if he's going to train me then surely some of that stuff will rub off on me plus I remember the Spectre telling me that while my soul will never be white it could still be washed out by performing good deeds so maybe this could actually be a good thing to be one of Batman's little sidekicks for a while and do a little soul cleansing before gaining the Bat-families trust and leaving effectively ending my superhero career but this is as good a plan as I can think of and it wouldn't take more than a year to gain their trust so I'll be a superhero for around a year before giving it up and going to do whatever my heart d_e_s_i_r_es, honestly that encounter with the Spectre just reminded me of the fact that there are a lot of higher beings out there like gods and not only that but the fact that would exist and souls must go somewhere after their mortal vessels die right so I wouldn't it be right to assume that there is at least one afterlife in the DC Universe (not too sure about afterlife's in the Marvel Universe apart from the Asgard Ian ones like Valhalla but I at least know that there are a few different hells in that universe) like Heaven which I'm pretty sure I remember existing in the DC universe and if Heaven exists then surely so must Hell and I definitely remember what little I can still recall about John Constantine and his deals with demons so if someone has a soul as dark as mine then surely it wouldn't be too hard to guess where the soul would go after it's mortal vessel dies.

I know the fact that I'm technically immortal because of my new healing factor should waylay some of my fears about death and the afterlife but even I will still die someday as my regeneration just prolongs my life and doesn't actually make me immortal and even if I do someday finds a way to become fully immortal it wouldn't mean anything since anything and everything that has a beginning must have an end and death comes for all no matter how long it takes and while it might take a long time in my case I don't want the place I end up in after my death to be surround by boiling lava and scorching fires with little imps and demons running around the place following the orders of the devils in charge which is actually the place it looks like my soul will be going after I one day eventually die and I don't want that to be true so the least I can do from now on to make sure I at least avoid any hells is to stop being such a bad person and live my life like a normal guy so while I may be a superhero for around a year that doesn't matter since I'll be alive for such a long time I can just help out at the homeless shelter every month for the rest of my very long life or give a little help to some people who need it that doesn't really cost me anything and when the day comes that I die my soul should be closer to white than to black like my soul is at the moment, right now though according to the Spectre my soul is very close to becoming black and if I commit one sin the Spectre will be coming for my soul so maybe the best thing to do would actually be to learn and act as a superhero under Batman for around a year which should at least be enough to cleanse at least some of my soul so that if I do happen to die sometime soon (which is near impossible right now) then at least I can be assured my soul won't be going to an everlasting hell of everlasting suffering since I would much prefer purgatory or limbo (if they exist) to that alternative.

"I accept your offer, I'll take option three. Don't expect me to jump straight in and start battling Solomon Grundy or something though, because that way out of my pay grade." After taking quite a few moments to think it over I finally reply to Batman to which I see Barbara visibly light up at my answer making me think she isn't too mad about the dressing down I gave her earlier though I do notice that she deflates after a few moments for some reason but I don't pay it any attention as all my focus is on Batman since he is currently the biggest threat to my future, he sits there for a bit contemplating the answer I gave him before he finally deigns to speak in reference to my answer to which I give him my undivided attention. "Your going to have to undergo a lot of training before you face anyone on that level, an almost impossible amount of training. Are you sure you've thought this out? This could lead to some of the worst experiences of your life and you'll be put through a lot of pain because of it, I'm not gonna be able to promise you you'll come out on the other side alive but I will train you to the best of my ability." I've already thought out my decision and I feel like I've made a pretty good one as well since this option gives me more freedom, more training and the chance to avoid hell so of course I'm gonna take it, as for the last part of his sentence well I start to chuckle at it since it seems so absurd to me. "I've thought my decision out plenty and I feel this is the best option for me, as for the pain I'll be put through because of it and possibly the most worst experience of my life. I've already been put through so much pain because of the worst experiences of my life so far like being fed into a meat grinder and being burnt alive before being pinned down for two weeks underneath the demolishes smouldering remains of a factory, I think I'll be able to handle any pain or experiences that come my way in the future since I can't see how they could possibly measure up to what I've already been through."

Batman narrows his eyes and I get the feeling he's about to admonish me for underestimating the life I've chosen to have and the things coming my way but he doesn't get the chance, before Batman can give me a lecture we hear some footsteps one again coming up along the walkway that Barbara just came from and we hear a voice bounce out from that direction as well. "Hey Batman, Batgirl, what's up with he new dude standing so casually in our super secret super hidden Bat-cave, seems pretty unusual to have some guy invited in so whose this guy? Also why is your cowl off Batgirl? You do know your showing this super random dude who has somehow infiltrated the Bat-cave your face, right?" His words leave no question as to whose coming this way and I turn to greet him when I'm struck speechless by what I see, there he is in all his glory wearing a green child sized baby grow that leaves half of his arms uncovered apart from the bright green gloves and all of his legs uncovered apart from his feet which are covered in bright green 'pixie' boots which are just disgusting and over that he just has a red vest with three ties keeping it closer, a black belt tying it for some reason because I don't think it's a utility belt since I can spot any pouches and over all that is a bright yellow cape that wraps around his shoulders and connects underneath his chin but for some reason attached on top is a yellow shirt collar which is part of the cape and looks very f_u_c_kin weird, I'm honestly at a loss for words at the fact that he actually goes out in that and the only thing that actually makes it passable is the fact the he is a prepubescent kid but if he was like the D_i_c_k Grayson in the comics who was wearing the same thing closing in on his twenties then I would lose all respect for the guy and I would ego it'll kill myself in his place wearing such a ridiculous costume.

"Robin, meet Nicholas James. The reason Barbara is not wearing her cowl is because this man already knows all of our secret identities, not only that but he will be working together with us in the future taking on a field position as soon as he's ready to join us, he's our new teammate." Robin is silent processing Batman's words as he looks directly at me in confusion and wanting to start a good working relationship with the kid for the duration of my time here I go to greet him, unfortunately before I can even get a word out he starts to shout and what he spouts actually leaves me confused, befuddled and absolutely speechless. "BATMAN, YOU CAN'T LET THIS GUY WORK WITH US. HE'S A WEIRDO FREAK WHO WATCHES P_O_R_N IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LIBRARY, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GODDAMN AFTERNOON!"

The f_u_c_k...

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