The motor of the portable generator sputtered a few times before engaging.  When it roared to life, the noise reflected off the stone walls of the cave with the efficiency of an echo chamber. The connected lights switched on the instant power flowed through the cables already in place. The cave was illuminated in the immediate area, the gray stone looking almost white under the touch of the lights. The gloom deeper into the cave system seemed to intensify as the brightness close to Bruce affected his vision and prevented him from seeing as far into the dark.

"Generator is running," Bruce reported to Alfred. "I'm going to start hanging lights in here, so it will be some time before I need the next load."

"Understood, Master Bruce," Alfred replied. "I'll get a lawn chair and something to read. Let me know when you're ready."

Although he and Alfred had planned to use a scaffold for some of the construction work, the locations for the lights he needed to place were too far away for him to safely reach from the scaffold, forcing him to take a more direct approach.

Digging into the equipment he'd set aside earlier, Bruce pulled out a fully stuffed backpack and put it on backwards so it resided over his chest. He used an additional strap to hold the bag in place as it hadn't been designed for such a purpose and it was the only way to keep it from sliding off. He double checked his safety line, making certain it would support his weight if he lost his grip on the rock.

Taking a firm hold on the stone wall, Bruce began climbing. Hanging from one hand, he used the other to dig into the pack on his chest and remove a spring loaded camming device. Made entirely of metal, the component used by mountain climbers had four separate cams around a central handle. The vertical plates of the cams were fan shaped with the widest part facing either to the top or bottom of the device.

When Bruce squeezed the handle, the cams retracted, pulling in tight near the handle and allowing him to wedge the device into a crack in the stone wall. Pulling the handle out caused the cams to expand, putting pressure on the upper and lower halves of the crack. Hooking on with a sling and carabiner, Bruce ensured a secure climb. If he slipped from his perch on the rock, the sling and carabiner attached to him would pull tight on the spring loaded camming device, and the downward force would be translated into pressure against the sides of the crack as the cams tried to expand further.

The extreme hardness of the stone made it unlikely to fracture under his weight, so he assumed he'd be anchored safely to the rock. Bruce placed several of the cams as he climbed, wanting backups in case he was mistaken in his estimation of the resiliency of the stone.  Not having extra measures in place had gotten Bruce into trouble before, and he didn't want it to happen again.

Nearing the ceiling in the initial part of the cave, Bruce paused his climb and pulled a battery powered drill from his pack. The tool had already been fitted with the proper bit for drilling into the stone, but it was still a challenge to hang on with one hand while trying to drill a hole in the hard rock with the other. Bruce's determination and training proved sufficient to the task, and he made the holes needed for the mounted light.

Taking a tube of adhesive from the pack, he gripped the cap in his teeth to open it. Squeezing out a small amount of the glue onto the stone, Bruce capped the tube and returned it to his pack before taking out the palm sized light he wanted to affix to the cavern ceiling. He knew the adhesive wasn't made for stone, but it would hold long enough for his purposes. Pressing the flat baseplate of the light into the puddle of glue, Bruce held it motionless for a few seconds. He let go of the light and dug a trio of long bolts out from the pack, inserting them through the holes in the baseplate and the corresponding holes he'd drilled in the stone. Using a different drill, fitted with a socket of the appropriate size, Bruce tightened down the bolts and secured the light in place. Attaching a power cord to the unit, he dropped the electrical line to the cavern floor. Bruce climbed down, picked up the loose end of the power cable, and connected it to the generator. A cone of light pierced the darkness of the cave, shining down brightly on his position.

"One down, seven to go," Bruce said in satisfaction.

                                                                                       ***

It took all morning for Bruce to affix the lights to the ceiling of the cave. His fingers were sore from hanging on the rough stone and often supporting his entire weight by only the grip of his fingertips. He'd trained for this kind of rough gymnastics, but the extensive amount of work he was doing was taking a cumulative toll.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred called to him through Bruce's earpiece.

"Yes, Alfred," he replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his T-shirt.

"Perhaps you haven't noticed the passing hours inside your cave, but it's nearing lunch," Alfred informed him. "I have some sandwiches and ice water up here if you would like to take a moment from your endeavors."

"Sounds good," Bruce agreed when his stomach growled loudly, encouraging his stopping for a meal break. "I'll be up in a few minutes."

Bruce unhooked himself from the safety line he'd been using during his climbs. He also disconnected the securing strap before shrugging out of the equipment pack he was wearing. His muscles were sore, and he did a few gentle stretches to loosen them up. Shutting off the generator plunged the cave back into its standard level of darkness, and the lack of noise from the gas powered motor made the cave feel abnormally quiet.

Taking the rope from where he'd tied it off earlier when he'd first arrived, Bruce began his ascent. Sooner or later, he knew he would have to do something for quicker transitions in and out of the cave. If an emergency arose, he couldn't waste time slowly climbing a rope as the situation would be over before he even reached the top.

He considered the use of an elevator. Swift and self-powered, an elevator would provide the fastest method of transportation, but he could already see problems with its implementation. Constructing an elevator would require extensive mechanical knowledge he currently lacked. Secondly, putting in an elevator would certainly involve a remodel of Wayne Manor to hide it from view so no one would accidentally discover the cave and all the secrets he intended to put there.

A stairway was the most obvious choice for what he needed. The entrance could be easily concealed inside the house. Building a metal ladder and installing it in the stone with securing bolts would be a job he could undertake without either assistance or specialized training. If the sides of the ladder were rounded and smooth, he could slide down it similar to a pole at a fire station. He knew he'd need gloves to prevent friction burns on his hands if the descent was too fast. Climbing back up the ladder presented its own challenges. Faster than ascension by rope, it was still a potentially exhausting requirement every time he departed the cave.

Bruce needed something basic enough to be put together with only Alfred's help. Having the conveyance motorized would mean he could use it extensively without being worn out. Bruce thought about the grappling hook and rope he'd used before. If the hook were fixed to the top of an elevator style shaft, he could use a motorized winch to let out the rope at a desired speed. It could lower him down into the cave very fast but slow his descent as he neared the bottom. The winch could also be reversed for rapid ascension, slowing when he neared his house at the top.

As Bruce climbed over the cliff and joined Alfred in the field of green grass around Wayne Manor, he decided to use two different systems of transit. Bruce would begin with the ladder. It was a method he knew worked, and it could provide what he needed if his idea of a motorized grappling line didn't come together as well as he wanted.

"Good afternoon, Master Bruce," Alfred bid to him while opening a second folding chair and positioning it opposite the first one already set up.

A folding table of white plastic and gray metal legs stood between the two chairs. A pitcher of ice water sat in the middle of the table, condensation creating a glittering diamond pattern across the glass as the occasional touch of sunlight reached it from the cloudy sky. A tray of sandwiches, cut into quarters, had been wrapped in plastic to make certain Bruce and Alfred could eat the food before any animals or insects decided to invite themselves to lunch.

Bruce sat down in one of the lawn chairs. Made from strips of durable brown cloth woven together and stretched over a metal frame, the folding chairs were light, inexpensive, and extremely tolerant of weather. Bruce was more focused on their comfort than their design. As he eased himself down into the chair, he stifled a slight groan caused by his sore muscles. He doubted sitting in a chair had ever felt as good as this.

"Thanks," Bruce accepted when Alfred offered him a tall glass filled with ice water. The liquid sloshed slightly when the glass changed hands, and it caused the ice to clink softly against the glass.

"How is your work progressing, Master Bruce?" Alfred inquired.

"I've installed all the perimeter lights we would've been unable to reach from the scaffold," Bruce explained. "The lights on the tripods should serve us well enough while we move in the other things."

Bruce took a long and slow drink from his glass, enjoying the coolness of the water as it spread outward from his throat in a refreshing wave.

"I've been thinking about the best ways to get in and out of the cave," Bruce explained while Alfred set a small plate of turkey sandwiches in front of him.

"What did you decide?" Alfred asked, stacking a few sandwiches onto his own plate.

"A metal ladder will cover the minimum necessities," Bruce explained. He was forced to pause as he took a bite of his sandwich and didn't want to talk with his mouth full. "For faster transit, I was thinking of something like a motorized grappling line. A winch could pull or release a cable for optimal speed in traveling in either direction."

"I have an alternate idea," Alfred suggested. "It might be possible to construct an elevator of sorts."

"Really?" Bruce questioned. "How so?"

"A shaft down from the house should be easy enough to manage," Alfred explained. "We have plenty of empty rooms we could seal off to hide the entrance. We could suspend cables over wheels mounted to the top of the shaft. A winch, similar to the one we have here, could be placed in the cave to pull the cables. With the cables secured to the top of a small elevator car, the winch should provide all the power needed to move the car up and down. Additionally, having the winch in the cave will prevent the noise of its operation from being heard inside the house if you should have guests, welcome or otherwise."

"Brilliant," Bruce praised. "How did you think of that so fast?"

"To be perfectly honest, I've been thinking about it since you started work this morning," Alfred admitted. "I'm not exactly an antique, but rock climbing is a little beyond me, Master Bruce. I tried to find a method suitable for me, and that's what I came up with."

Bruce chuckled before taking another drink of water. He considered the idea more carefully. It could work.