"Axel," Bruce began, a tone in his voice that was equal parts confession and conviction, "I'll admit I was manipulating our conversation a bit earlier, but I never lie to myself. If you really knew my past, you'd understand how much I hate this damn city. The Wayne name gave me wealth and power no one else in Gotham could touch, but this place… it gave me everything I thought I wanted and then ripped away all happiness and memory."
Bruce paused, eyes distant, as if dragging old wounds out into the open.
"Some of this might sound overly sentimental coming from me. But imagine if you lost something that mattered — I bet that sentiment wouldn't feel so ridiculous then."
Bruce finally slumped into his words and continued, a raw edge under his usually calm voice.
"Look at you. You can't die. You can't be controlled. You've lost the ability to fear, and even simple feelings like anxiety barely touch you anymore. In many ways, we aren't different. I have wealth beyond most people's dreams, yet I claim happiness is gone. You have power unmatched by anyone else, yet you claim you miss fear. If we went on a chat show and said this, people would mock us. But we know it's true because only someone who has genuinely lost something can truly miss it."
Axel listened, his expression shifting into something unusually serious, not mocking for once. He knew Bruce wasn't playing games right now. Bruce Wayne was one of the smartest people on the planet, and when he talked about his past with that tone, it wasn't tactical bullshit, it was real. The pain Bruce carried was obvious to anyone who understood his story.
Axel placed a firm hand on Bruce's shoulder and smirked, a bit rueful.
"Fate sure is a pain in the ass, huh?"
"If fate existed," Bruce muttered, eyes clouded, "I'd want to punch him in the face."
He shook his head, not used to letting emotion stay on his tongue. "But enough about that. Let's talk about constraints."
"I wasn't kidding earlier," Bruce said. "No matter how strong you are, or how crazy powerful your body is, everyone needs some kind of constraint. Not to highlight weakness, but to understand yourself. People who avoid weakness like it's death… they're just clowns dressed up like the Joker."
"Holy shit, Buddy, you say Joker around me and my scalp tingles like hell," Axel laughed, jerking back just thinking about it, "Damn near gave me goosebumps!"
Bruce blinked, slightly uncomfortable.
"And why is your reaction so wild? You aren't implying I'm some kind of clown, right?"
Axel just laughed harder.
"Nah, you still shouldn't say things like that around me! But about constraints — think carefully. Have I really left myself no limits?"
He jabbed a finger at Bruce's chest.
"Think about yourself, Bruce. Why can you and Lucius sit here talking research with me? Why can you keep working like nothing's up while I'm sitting in your lab? In a way, you are a restraint I put on myself. If I just went balls‑to‑the‑wall everywhere I lived, no one would remember who I was. So yeah, you need to step up. Don't spend all your time thinking up fancy gadgets to slow me down, think about how to kill me!"
Axel leaned in with a grin that was more amused than threatening.
"Take those myths you've heard, like Achilles — immortal everywhere except one weak heel. Don't think I'm arrogant, but I might have my own weakness. If you never try to find it, you'll never stop me. So focus, man. Put the weird bullshit aside and hunt for my Achilles heel!"
He slapped Bruce's shoulder lightly, like a coach egging on his quarterback.
Bruce looked at Axel with a mix of irritation and disbelief.
"So, if I spend my life trying to kill you, you'll just get stronger every time. And I'll have to find newer and more creative ways to take you down. Axel, do you want me to waste my entire life on this chase?"
Axel clapped Bruce on the shoulder again, grinning like an asshat.
"Holy shit, Buddy, you can't think like that. Who am I? A goddamn Wraith. Gotham hasn't seen anybody as dangerous as me in thirty years. Even if you chase me your whole life, if you flip the perspective, you're dedicating your life to fighting the greatest threat in Gotham — maybe even the whole world. Doesn't that idea feel at least a tiny bit more badass?"
Bruce rolled his eyes hard.
"It feels impossible to be comfortable with that!"
He sounded defeated for a second.
"Axel, are you sure you even have a weak point? I always thought there had to be something, but now? I'm not so sure."
"Uncertain about what?" a voice called as Lucius walked up carrying trays loaded with burgers and beers.
"I'm almost sixty," Lucius laughed, "so don't talk about uncertainty in front of me. But if both of you are psychologically unstable at this age, go ahead and spill. I get a kick out of embarrassing stories. Confidence? That's just comparing yourself to someone else! Haha!"
Lucius set the food down and Axel dove into a burger first. Bruce and Lucius shared a wry smile before they started eating too.
After they finished, Axel stretched and stood up, cracking his knuckles.
"Alright, Buddies, I showed up for a visit and now I'm gonna give you some actual materials from my body," he said with a wicked grin. "Last night Alfred was stingy and only snagged a few strands of hair. What good is that? I need to personally bring you something that gives you motivation. If sometime in the future you invent a weapon that can kill me a million times in a second, I will love you for it. I'm serious — the current me doesn't hate anyone trying to kill me. Only those willing to try are my real teachers and friends!"
Axel then bit off his own pinky finger with a crunch, snarling as bone and flesh tore apart.
Bruce let out a sharp breath while Lucius swallowed hard.
Axel laughed wide, blood spattered on his teeth, then threw the severed finger into Bruce's lap.
Bruce caught it and asked seriously, "Didn't that hurt?"
"Of course it hurt," Axel said casually, grabbing a thick tissue and pressing it to the stump, "but pain won't beat us."
He pointed at the finger in Bruce's hand.
"Better hurry with this. Once I teleport next, any tissue I leave behind disappears back to my body. I'm gonna try not to teleport tonight, but by tomorrow? You won't have this anymore. So you've got one night at most. Don't stress, though — I'll still be around if you need more samples."
Axel rubbed his chin, then leaned in toward Bruce with a cringe‑inducing hopeful smile.
"Uh, one more thing, man. My clothes and gear never last long. You know, missiles, lightning, explosions — my shirt gets shredded every damn time. So… Bruce… since you and Lucius are science geniuses — can you whip me up a suit? Something functional, can make calls, and won't get destroyed by a nuclear bomb? Maybe nanomaterials? A shirt that actually survives?"
Even as he grinned and leaned close, Bruce slightly recoiled, Lucius staring wide‑eyed, wondering what kind of insane request just hit them.
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