**January 30, 1989. Around 9 AM, approaching the height of the workday.**
Just like yesterday, Bruce once again covers the 15 miles from his home to Wayne Tower. Again flying past the elevated railway rushing through the central streets of Gotham, again pulling into the parking lot next to the city's main building, and again passing the receptionist who had no questions about the presence of the de facto owner of Wayne Enterprises in the building, Bruce once again enters the elevator and descends to the basement level—the only difference is, Bruce, though trying not to show it, was subtly supporting his back with his hands after the previous night.
Lucius Fox, seeing Bruce enter: "Still didn't take my advice to come through the vent, I see?" he says before noticing Bruce's posture. "Hm, looks like you had quite a night. Care to share a few tips?" Hearing only a couple of inward 'hmphs' from Bruce, Lucius gets up from his desk and approaches him. "Alright then, from words to action. How's the suit."
Bruce Wayne: "Yeah, yeah. Good stuff."
Lucius Fox: "Never doubted it. I take it your nighttime companion liked it too, huh?"
Bruce Wayne, unimpressed by Lucius's comment: "Needs more mobility."
Lucius Fox: "Hm, lacked agility during your adventures?"
Bruce Wayne, slightly irritated now: "Not inside the suit. On the outside."
Lucius Fox: "Hm, naturally. Various situations can arise, right?"
Bruce Wayne: "Listen, if you have ideas, I'm listening."
Lucius Fox: "No problem, we'll find something."
After about ten minutes of rummaging through the warehouse, Lucius presents Bruce with a piece of black fabric.
Lucius Fox: "Nylon. They make paragliders from it. Perfect if you suddenly change your mind about your nighttime friend."
Bruce Wayne, still unimpressed by Lucius's remarks: "That's not enough. I need a way to go up quickly too, not just down."
Lucius Fox: "Then… allow me to present you with this." Lucius retrieves something resembling a grappling hook, but smaller, housed inside a launcher.
Bruce Wayne, taking the hook in hand: "A hook?"
Lucius Fox: "Slightly modified. Instead of, well, a hook, it has three blades."
Bruce Wayne: "Lucius, I don't need anything sharp or cutting."
Lucius Fox: "Hm, afraid of damaging your companion's nerves? Give it a try."
Bruce aims the launcher at the wall and, pulling the trigger, three blades on a rope shoot out, reach the wall, simply strike it, and fall to the floor.
Lucius Fox: "The line is made from a Nomex-Kevlar blend. In other words, neither fire nor excessive weight is a problem for it."
Bruce Wayne, even more irritated: "So what? This thing can't even pierce a concrete wall. And you were so proud of it?"
Lucius Fox: "Still proud. You're just using it incorrectly."
Bruce Wayne, reluctantly aims the launcher at the wall again: "And now what."
Lucius Fox: "Press the trigger twice. Quickly."
This time, Bruce gives the trigger a quick double press, and when at first it seemed nothing had changed, the moment the blades contact the wall, four smaller blades extend from them, driving deep into the concrete.
Lucius Fox: "There, as requested. Deadly grip. One press to ascend to the hook, two to retract it."
Bruce Wayne, pressing the launcher once, and the hook returns to the launching device: "Couldn't have said that earlier?"
Lucius Fox, lightly teasing Bruce: "Well, I thought you'd figure it out."
Bruce Wayne, trying not to show his irritation: "I'll take both items."
Lucius Fox: "Of course. I'll go package them in a box with a nice bow."
**Later, around noon, at his manor, Bruce sits in an armchair in the living room, scribbling something in his notebook. In the same room sits Alfred, reading a newspaper.**
Alfred Pennyworth: "Seen the paper yet? Heard they've appointed Lieutenant James Gordon to head the task force for catching the big bat that's terrifying local criminals?"
Bruce Wayne: "I don't read the papers, you know that."
Alfred Pennyworth: "Hm, probably for the best. All the crosswords come to me. Listen, you wouldn't happen to know what could be 'the climactic point of a trip to Sicily,' four letters."
Bruce Wayne, thinking for a moment: "I don't know. Try Etna, maybe? It's a mountain, in Sicily."
Alfred Pennyworth, entering the word in the newspaper: "E-t-n-a… yes, that fits. You're just in time."
Bruce Wayne: "Yeah, any time."
Alfred Pennyworth, after a pause: "Quite. Mr. Fox has been quite generous with gifts lately. Strange. Christmas was, I believe, a month ago."
Bruce Wayne, not looking up from his notebook: "If the gift is good, you don't need an occasion for it."
Alfred Pennyworth: "Perhaps. You might want to think about where to store all these gifts away from prying eyes. The wine cellar isn't your best idea, Master Bruce. They take up a fair amount of extra space."
Bruce Wayne: "What's wrong with it? It's not customary to take guests to the wine cellar, and besides us, no one else goes down there."
Alfred Pennyworth: "Hm, as if we have guests. Still. You know, the suit retains a very distinct aroma. Or is that your secret tactic, defeating opponents with the smell of thirty-year-old wine?"
Bruce Wayne, slightly annoyed: "You and Lucius are from the same factory. But alright, fine, you're right."
Alfred Pennyworth: "Right about the wine cellar being small? What, are you planning to expand it? Your father wouldn't have approved of that, it was his favorite room."
Bruce Wayne: "No, about needing to store my things in a good place." Bruce gets up from the chair and walks to the window, looking at the slightly open windowpane. "Listen, Alfred. What do you know about the caves under the house?"
Alfred Pennyworth: "Well, that they're large." He says in a tone as if that fully describes their geography.
Bruce Wayne: "That's enough."
Alfred Pennyworth: "Isn't a whole cave a bit much for a wine cellar?"
**A couple of hours later, closer to evening, Alfred and Bruce stand a few dozen yards from the manor's fence, next to the entrance to the cave. Bruce is wearing a construction helmet with a flashlight on his belt. Alfred stands next to a winch with a cable.**
Bruce Wayne: "It's about sixty feet deep here."
Alfred Pennyworth: "Just right for a wine cellar."
Bruce Wayne, securing the winch cable to his belt: "Listen. Remember you told me once that the bat nest appeared almost right after I left?"
Alfred Pennyworth: "Well, yes, I vaguely recall that."
Bruce Wayne: "After that, you said bats signify the death of the man inside him."
Alfred Pennyworth: "Aaaaand that was also said, yes. Actually, I said they can also signify the death of the soul in a living body."
Bruce Wayne: "That's where I'm going with this. Why did you say that? You never left the manor."
Alfred Pennyworth, after a small pause: "Because I am not part of the soul of this place, Master Bruce."
Bruce Wayne: "Don't lie to yourself. You are part of this place, Alfred."
Alfred Pennyworth: "Part of the system of this place? Perhaps. But not part of its soul. That soul is you, Master Bruce. And before you, it was your father and mother."
Bruce Wayne, after another pause: "You know, if you were part of the organism of this place, you'd probably be the heart."
Alfred Pennyworth, following another pause, then smiles: "You know, thank you for at least not saying the kidneys, Master Bruce. At my age, you know."
At these words, a strange expression appears on Bruce's face. As if he wanted to smile, but something stopped him. To look at him, it still seemed he really did smile, but only inwardly; outwardly, his mouth was almost motionless.
Bruce Wayne: "Alright. You ready?"
Alfred Pennyworth: "As ever. Mind you don't get lost."
Securing the winch cable firmly to his belt, Bruce begins to slowly descend the sheer walls of the cave into its depths. On the surface, Alfred monitored the winch to ensure everything went smoothly. After about a minute or two of descent to the visible bottom of the cave, Bruce takes the flashlight from his belt, shining it in different directions. When the light hits a flock of bats, they fly off into another tunnel. Bruce turns the flashlight toward that tunnel, and the bats fly into another. Bruce continues to catch the bats with his flashlight until they start flying toward him. When the bats fly through him, Bruce simply closes his eyes with his hand, then watches as the flock circles around him.
Bruce Wayne, looking at the bats: "So. We've known each other for a long time. Almost eighteen years ago, I let my parents die because of you. After which I promised my father I would continue his work to make Gotham a better place than it is now. I already failed my parents once because of you, and I don't want to repeat that. I cannot allow you that. For me to be sure of that, you can help me fulfill the promise I made to my father. This is not a request and not even an order. It's an agreement. … You are creatures that rule the night. And I intend to rule over you. But for that, you must teach me to control the darkness as you do."
The bats seem to start circling Bruce even faster, then scatter into the tunnels of the cave.