The Lazarus Effect

Forty-Three

"You should rethink how you two are moving forward. Especially, with Machin in the picture. I really wish she didn't go for the Bad boys. She gets that from Elizabeth," Bruce sighed taking a drink from his glass. 

"I'm in love with your daughter. Get over it," they both laughed. 

"Do you guys think Diana is being clingy?" he asked out of nowhere. 

"Yes," Dick and I both answered. 

"Did you sleep with her?" Dick asked sitting back in the armchair throwing his leg over the armrest facing the T.V. 

"No," Bruce answered truthfully. "She's a demigod. What if I can't satisfy her demigod needs," 

We burst out laughing. 

"The insecurities of Bruce Wayne ladies and gentlemen," Dick laughed throwing his arms in the air dramatically. 

"Is everything between you and Barbra alright?" Bruce asked. 

"And with that, Bruce has checkmate," I laughed. 

"No, we're not together anymore," he said bitterly. 

"I thought you went to see her today?" Dick sat up letting a heavy sigh out before he turned to look at us. 

"I went by our apartment. Well, her apartment and she wasn't there. So I decided I was going to wait. I went into the room and I found this note on my desk with an address on it and a time. I had just missed her. So I thought I'd surprise her," 

"Oh, no," I said drinking the whiskey in my glass. 

"She was on a date with some guy. She was laughing and touching his arm and I didn't do anything about it. I walked out of there like my ass was on fire. What am I supposed to do with that?" we both looked at Bruce. 

"Don't look at me. I've never been able to hold a real relationship. I screw them up faster than I upgrade my toys," 

"How come we've never heard of Elizabeth McClain?" I asked. "She was beautiful. I couldn't believe you had someone like that," 

"I couldn't either," he said truthfully. He refilled his glass and sat back. 

"Wow," Dick laughed. "That bad?" 

"Our mom's were really good friends. They grew up together. She was the reason why my parents got married. Planned the whole thing. When we were kids Beth was like my little sister and then her mom died and she stayed with us for a while and then my parents died. She moved back with her dad. 

"When I saw her again twenty-one years ago, I couldn't believe how much she had changed. I had just started this life and it seemed a lot more important than anything else. She left on a trip for a few weeks. She told me she had something to tell me when she came back. 

"I got hurt in this thing with Scarecrow. I was hopped up on fear toxin and I ended up in her apartment. That's how she found out what I became. She called Alfred and was gone in the morning when I woke up. I didn't see her again until the night she showed up at the house because Ilya was missing." 

"You didn't think to look for her?" I asked looking down at my glass. 

"She's the kind of girl you look for," Dick added.

"I thought about it for a really long time but I know why she left. She wouldn't be able to handle this and I wouldn't have let it go. Maybe for a while, because of Ilya but I know I wouldn't fully give it up. They would both be in danger constantly," he chuckled shaking his head. "She was my first,"