#the first time bruce gets rescued by cw is when his parents died b was supposed to die with them but cw interfered

[scarlett-green-rose]

Bruce knows what death looks like. It's not the sudden crack-bang of a gun and the sting of a bullet grazing his chest. It's not the hazy bitter taste of the Scarecrow's Gas or the laughter, screams and cries that follow long after. It's not even anything like the sudden flash of heat and light that swallowed Jason whole and left him with restless nightmares and hallucinations of the same.

No, death is nothing like that.

Death is the ticking of clocks, too distant yet too close. A soft, firm voice saying it's time, from right behind his ear before Bruce's training kicks in and decides No, it's not. and his body flinches and gunfire draws a line across the bat on his chest and not his heart. It's the dark purple of the Joker's suit, the icy blue of Dr. Freeze's skin, the infinite shades of green of Poison Ivy's plants and the fleeting droplets of blood flying from him every time he confronts his Rogues directly. It's both the cold that digs into Bruce's bones even when he's in the middle of a burning building and the ever present chill of Gotham numbing what little of his face he shows it. Sudden, yet always there and all encompassing; it's honestly more likely for him to find himself without his own shadow than the cold that haunts his every step.

There's a reason as to why the grandfather clock in his office leading to the Cave is broken. A working clock would be more inconspicuous, but Bruce... can't. The day he implemented the opening mechanism to a working clock, he barely lasted an hour before he broke it again and lied to Alfred about it.

The Spoiler's appearance on the streets caught his attention more than any other vigilante wannabe in Gotham did before, despite his lack of connection to her. He doesn't know why he was so surprised to see blue-grey eyes instead of red underneath her purple hood. But he knows the target that she painted on her back when she chose the Joker's colours and was more relieved that she accepted his help.

There's a reason as to why he updates the insulation on the suits almost as often as he does its technology. Part of it is because of Jason's death. (All of the suits can help the wearers comfortably survive over double the heat that Jason suffered before he suffocated from the smoke in his lungs - he's added advanced rebreathers and miniaturised oxygen tanks to everyone's utility belts too.) But part of it is because he's sick and tired of Gotham's freezing winds biting into his bones.

He's not afraid of death - he's surrounded himself with the worst of what Gotham has to offer in his mission to save it, he can't afford to be afraid of death - but he's terrified of what he's leaving behind. Of leaving his mission unfinished, his children without a father, the Justice League without a leader.

Bruce knows they'll be fine, he's spent the many sleepless nights he's not patrolling Gotham fuelled by this fear working on contingency plan after contingency plan on what should happen should he die. He knows how the Colony would function, (Dick and Jason temporarily take over Batman's cowl, following a schedule that sees Batman fading into Gotham's shadows just as he entered it. Tim and Barbara work double time hunting down and erasing every mention of Batman and keeping Bruce's death from the public until a more convenient date and accident takes place. Stephanie and Cass takeover training Damian; Steph teaching him how to laugh and smile and Cass how to recover from the dehumanising aspects of assassin training. Alfred will be right there, as always, supporting the family. Until Batman is just a myth, an urban legend that preceded the reveal of Gotham's true heroes.) and how the League will be structured (Diana and Clark can handle themselves without him, there's enough branching Leagues that most of his plans are redundant). He knows they'll grieve, but they'll mourn better than he ever did. They have each other.

So, when Bruce finds himself facing down Darkseid and certain death, he's afraid but he's content. He's sure that even if hasn't saved Gotham, he knows that his family can do it in his place.

So, he stands still, breaks the moral chain he's upheld his whole life, and doesn't scream when his whole world goes green.

Well, this is quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into isn't it, Bruce?

There's a clock softly ticking next to his ear and purple gloved hand brushing his hair from his face. His breath freezes white, a stark contrast to the neon green skies that fill the rest of his vision. He's so tired.

Not yet, Bruce. I'm sorry, but not yet. You can rest though, even longer than you usually can, but you still have work to do.

He feel himself nod as he closes his eyes to listen to the clock. He thinks he can hear the shifting sands of a distant hourglass, maybe the quiet flow of a water clock. But most of all there's the pendulum, near silent if he wasn't directly next to it. Evenly swinging left and right, directing the flow of time.

He realises that this is what he got wrong, the grandfather clock in his office was too fast. He should try fixing that again when he gets back.

It's a long - but not nearly enough - time before the hand brushing his hair stops and he knows. It's time.

He hears the voice sigh.

I'm sorry Bruce, but I'm afraid you're taking a strange way back this time. Say hello to Daniel for me if you meet him. You shouldn't, but you'll know how he gets.

Time in.

Short DPXDC Prompts #549

Bruce has fistfought death before. He’s clung to life in some of the most hopeless situations. And whenever he’s terrified that he might not make it to see another day, a miracle of sorts happens and he makes it out alive. Little does he know that a certain time-wielding specter is ensuring his safety.