"Rooftop. Lunch. Need to talk. -S"
Bruce smiled slightly. Selina was the only person who'd text him from a burner phone. She changed numbers every few weeks, paranoid about being tracked.
Smart, considering her extracurricular activities.
Lunch period arrived eventually. Bruce grabbed food from the cafeteria, declined three different invitations to sit with various social groups, and made his way to the roof access.
Technically, students weren't allowed on the roof. But Bruce had convinced the school to install a "meditation garden" up there three years ago as part of a Wayne Foundation wellness initiative. Now it was accessible with a key card he'd made sure certain students could acquire.
Selina was already there, sitting on the edge of the roof with her legs dangling over the side. Gotham City spread out before her, a concrete jungle of Gothic architecture and modern skyscrapers.
"Dramatic," Bruce commented, sitting down beside her but keeping both feet safely on the roof.
"I like the view." Selina didn't look at him.
"You can see the whole city from up here. The nice parts in the distance. The bad parts closer in. All of it mixed together."
"Deep thoughts for lunch period."
"I have those sometimes." She finally glanced at him. "You ever think about leaving? Getting out of Gotham?"
"Sometimes," Bruce lied. "Why?"
"Just wondering. You've got the grades to go anywhere, do anything. You could leave this city behind and never look back. But you won't, will you?"
"This is my home."
"It's a cesspool," Selina said bluntly. "Crime rate through the roof. Corruption everywhere. The rich get richer while people like me scrape by in the East End. Your parents died here, Bruce. Why would you want to stay?"
Bruce was quiet for a moment. This was closer to real talk than he and Selina usually got. Most of their interactions were verbal sparring and surface-level banter.
"Because someone has to care," he finally said. "Someone has to try to make it better. Running away is easy. Staying and fighting for change is hard."
Selina studied him with those sharp green eyes. "You really believe that? That one person can make a difference in a place like Gotham?"
"I have to believe it. Otherwise, what's the point of anything?"
She looked away, back out at the city. "You're either very naive or very brave. Haven't figured out which yet."
"Can't I be both?"
That got a small smile from her. "Maybe. So, this Kansas trip. What's really going on?"
"Cultural exchange program. Educational opportunities. Building bridges between..."
"Bruce."
He sighed. "I'm meeting someone. Someone important. And before you ask, no, I'm not going to explain more than that."
"Mysterious." Selina pulled her legs back from the edge and stood up. "Fine, keep your secrets. But I'm watching you, Wayne. You're planning something big. Have been for a while. I can tell."
"Everyone's always planning something."
"Not like you." She headed for the roof door, then paused. "Whatever you're building toward, just... be careful, okay? Gotham has a way of crushing people who try to change it."
She left before Bruce could respond.
Selina wasn't just a classmate but one of his closer friends so far.
He sat on the roof alone for a few more minutes, looking out at the city. Selina was right about one thing. He was planning something big. The biggest thing this world had ever seen.
His phone buzzed again. This time it was a legitimate message, one of hundreds he received daily through various channels.
This one was from a private investigator he'd hired to track Jack Napier. The PI didn't know why Bruce wanted information on a failing comedian. He just collected his fee and filed reports.
"Subject attended comedy show at Ha-Hacienda club last night. Performance poorly received. Overheard arguing with wife about money after show. Wife appears 7 months pregnant. Subject mental state declining. Recommend continued observation."
Bruce closed the message and pulled up his encrypted files again. Jack Napier's profile stared back at him.
'I could help him,' Bruce thought. 'One phone call. One anonymous donation. It wouldn't even take effort. I have the money, the resources, the means to completely change his trajectory.'
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