Big Bad Joke

"Pu-lease, I doubt that you could be cool enough to do that, Brucey," I smirked as my Uncle, and also best friend (since he's only a decade older than me) Bruce Wayne, of Wayne Enterprises. Bruce and I were in a heated, yet mellow argument on how lame he could be when it came to being; well real cool about things, such as sky diving like he claimed to be leaving to do by tomorrow morning.

"I don't know about being cool enough, Riley, but listen. I'm leaving for Kansas, for yes, sky diving but I'll be learning from an old friend of mine. You remember Frank Pulley, right? He's the daredevil guy you said would, and I quote die before his thirtieth birthday if he's lucky he makes it that far. and I believe he's thirty one," Bruce smiled lightly as I leaned back against the marble countertop, a frown on my face from being out staged by the loser himself.

"Well, I guess he's a bit more careful than I thought but, sky diving? You learning from him, please don't. You'll kill yourself and then I'll be stuck with the ridiculous amount of money that would be left with me after that, what will I spend it on honestly?" my arms flew up in the air, stressing the matter. "Toothpaste and deodorant?"

"I don't know how I'm related to you," it took him a few minutes to respond, he just kind of sat in a frozen state of shock, staring at me without blinking while the wheels in his head turned, I could just see them. "I really don't."

"You're my Uncle, your—" I stopped figuring it was a lost cause to explain the family tree, instead I just stood up and walked to the large wall to wall glass windows, staring down at the busy streets of Gotham. "The dark knight going hunting tonight?"

"I'm not so sure, I think he may leave the town to defend itself for tonight, maybe longer," Uncle Bruce's calm voice floated in the air as if his words were meant to be a question instead of a statement.

"Why?" I always questioned, but I never truly understood his reasons for leaving the city defenseless, he seemed to sum it up in four sour tasting words, which stung once they left his mouth, like a swarm of bees.

"Batman isn't needed anymore," those were the words, I didn't reason with him most of the time because it's like arguing with a wall, the words just seem empty and worthless. "There isn't any real danger here anymore, Ri. With all the villains that have been put away or that have ran away, the city is basically safe."

"This city," I looked out the window again, after looking away to stare at him while he said his piece. "Has never been safe, and well never be."

He didn't argue, just walk away to his room. I guess he realized fighting over a city that never failed to disappoint, even with all the hard work done for it would always do just that, disappoint. It was senseless to think more of it, it was doomed to be what it has always been, a ruined waste of time. But, Bruce's mother and father, my grandparents, never thought of it as that. But they were blinded by their emotions to care, I wasn't. I saw it for what it really was, it was harm all together. "I'll—" Bruce turned around at the door to his penthouse, the silence that had filled the room while I let my thoughts run wild seemed to disappear, after the long while he gathered his things for his trip, it began to rain. "Call you when I get there, Alfred will be back soon and he'll make you dinner."

"I'm going out," I broke into his sentence, looking off distantly. "I don't want Alfred to cook for just me when he won't eat with me, I'll go have dinner with my friend."

"Alfred doesn't mind," Bruce reminded me with a slight frown on his face, probably because of my distant attitude towards him; I just didn't feel all chipper anymore.

"I know he doesn't mind, but I do. Plus I haven't seen my friend in a while, she's been out of town for about three months," I nodded my head and put my hands in my jean pockets, while shrugging my shoulders. "Let Alfred have the night off, Bruce. He deserves it, we run him through the mud enough as it is, the poor man needs rest."

"I see," Bruce nodded as he walked out the door, not another word out his mouth.

I stayed around the penthouse a couple of minutes later before I left for the elevator, which I hated because of how fast it went, they were actually faster than a few I've been in before. Much faster. Eventually when the gold doors opened and let me out, I walked out of the lobby into the cool night air, thankfully I was wearing a long sleeved shirt because I had forgotten my jacket on the couch arm. I knew I wouldn't be able to get a cab at this time, so I took off in a slow walk down the sidewalk; my friend who I planned on dragging to the nearest take out place only lived three blocks away from the penthouse. Her name was Laurel; she was crazy as could be. Well not as crazy as most, but she was one step away from being insane, but she was a hoot. She, being two years older than me, acted actually younger than me and tended to sneak me out places, even when I was younger. Laurel was what you could call a slum-child, she grew up in the weaker part of town, and her mother was the only source of love, food and money for the family of two. She supported them until Laurel was of age, and Laurel moved out and got her own house, and job. She still paid for some of her mother's bills, playing her back for everything she did for her when she was younger. Laurel happened to be one of three people other than Bruce and Alfred that I trusted in the world, she was the only person that knew of my freaky obsession for the Dark Knight's foe.