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Both of them locked eyes with each other, Pomni's pupils shrinking to little black dots.

"U-Um... Uh..." Pomni was at a loss for words, she wasn't expecting him to open his eyes - or even talk.

His stare intimidated her, making her feel like she was caught committing a crime by a cop.

Pomni gulped, realizing that he's waiting for her to explain herself. "I was... I was... trying to see if you were okay... Y'know, calm and collected..."

He took his time to answer, which only made her curiosity grow more. "I'm fine."

"Well... you seem too calm, if that makes sense..." Pomni tapped her fingers as a way to fidget. "Are you looking for an exit?"

For some reason, that question seemed to make him look down at the floor instead of her. "No."

She wasn't expecting that. "Why...?"

He doesn't respond to that. He believes that he deserves to be here in this hell for his failures in Arkham City. This was his punishment. Besides, he couldn't leave if he tried; his equipment is missing and the technology integrated in his cowl is rendered useless here.

He's stuck here, just like them.

She wasn't going to pry him anymore about that topic, she figured that he's given up hope for that. "Do you mind if we call you Batman? If that's your name...?"

"It is acceptable." Batman answered naturally, but still sounding low and masculine.

"Do you remember how you got here?" Pomni asked, feeling a bit more comfortable now that they're having a conversation... or a Q&A session.

"That's classified." Batman replied, his low voice sounded a bit sharp.

"Oh..." Well, that was new for her - since when did someone keep that detail hidden from everyone else? Why would he refuse? "Well... do you remember anything from before...?"

"Yes." He responds, his low voice sounding slightly confident in that.

"Okay..." Pomni was running out of trivial questions to ask, because she's afraid of asking him personal questions.

He strikes her as the type who doesn't open up.

She taps her foot on the ground and ponders, he eventually closes his eyes again and she just watches him.

She finally came to a different question. "Do you want to find a way out?"

Batman opened his eyes again.

"Because I want to find a way out too." Pomni added on, feeling slightly confident now that she has his attention - and hopefully they share the same goal too. "And even though I've made no progress, I think I'd have a better chance at finding a way out with some help."

He continues to look at her, puzzling her with his impassive expression.

"Nobody else wants to help me, because they've given up hope..." Pomni continued, and then she stared at the floor - feeling some of the emotions coming back to her. "And every day I feel more alone and hopeless... I don't want to live here, I don't deserve this, but everything is just insanity... and I don't know if I could take it anymore..."

She closed her eyes and gripped onto the liripipes from her hat. She's trying her best not to have a breakdown, because of the lingering threat of becoming an abstract. She tried to compose herself, but it was so hard to do it in front of a stranger.

Then she heard the sound of footsteps and felt a hand softly patting the top of her head. She opened her eyes and saw that Batman was on his feet and his hand was gently rubbing the top of her head to console her.

Her eyes darted up to his, and then looked away. She normally doesn't like being touched, but this felt nice. This contact was short-lived as Batman took his hand off her head and stepped a few feet backwards to give her space.

Before Pomni could say anything in response to his kind gesture, they both heard a bell ringing.

"That's the dinner bell." Pomni said while looking back at the door, then she glanced toward him. "Do you want to join us?"

Batman looked down at her and then walked back over to where he once sat to sit back down on the floor again.

"Oh... Okay, I can understand." Pomni nods before reluctantly going toward the door, she didn't quite want to leave him.

She begrudgingly strides to the table where everyone else is located and dined without her and Batman. The jester took her seat and scooted closer to the table.

"So, Pomni, how's Bats?" Jax asked from across the table. "You seemed to be in there with him for a while... you know what that means~?"

Ragatha scowled at him. "Jax, I'm sure they didn't do whatever you're thinking... right Pomni?"

"We just talked." Pomni answered softly, grabbing a fork and slightly playing with the digital food.

"So he talks..." Jax grins before he pauses to eat some of the meat from the turkey on the platter. "Thought he was a mute or something."

"What did he say?" Ragatha inquired curiously while sipping on digital water.

"I just asked him some trivial questions and he always gave me nonchalant answers with the most deadpan face I've ever seen..." Pomni replied, letting go of her fork. "He's very difficult to read..."

"Does he think he's dreaming like you?" Jax questioned, holding a turkey leg in his hand. "Heh, I can also imagine him trying to take off the 'headset' on his face."

"No, he's aware that he's trapped here... and he doesn't seem interested in leaving." Pomni's response made Ragatha choke on some water.

"What?" Ragatha coughs and then clears her throat - even though she won't die by choking on liquid. "He didn't freak out like you did?"

"No, he won't even tell me how and why he's here." Pomni stares at the glass of water that's filled halfway.

"Lame." Jax commented while taking a bite out of his turkey leg. "There goes my entertainment."

"Question: is he human? Or is he an animal?" Kinger questioned while looking around the room. "Because he looks like a hybrid of both."

"He's human... Err... I think..." Pomni answered with a scratch on her head. "He doesn't seem to have bat-like traits."

"Um... Why isn't he here with us?" Gangle asked while she timidly sipped her water.

"I don't know. I'm not so sure why." Pomni eats a little bit of the digital food on her plate. "I think he's not really a social butterfly."

Zooble softly uttered. "I don't blame him."

"Well, he better start saying his first words to us soon, 'cause Caine said something about a big activity tomorrow." Jax said as he put down the turkey bone on his plate. "I think he's doing it as a way to break Bats out of his 'shyness.'"

The rest of the dinner went to other nonsense chatter. Right before Caine made the entire table with the leftover food disappear, Pomni quickly made one last plate with an assortment of food groups on it and a tall glass of water.

Some of the food has protein, a smidge of dairy, a small serving of vegetables and an apple. She carries the plate (with the cup of water somehow balanced on top of the food) to Batman's door and softly knocks.

"Batman?" Pomni speaks up a bit loudly. "Batman? Are you still there?"

Her hand reached to the knob and turned it. This immediately felt odd for her.

He left his door unlocked.

As she softly pushes the door open, she spots him in the same position from earlier, still meditating or praying or sleeping? She still doesn't understand what he's doing or why, but she figured this was his way to kill time.

"I brought you some food and water, just in case." Pomni introduced as she gently stepped forward with the plate in her hand and finally using her other hand to hold the glass of water, closing the door behind her with her foot. "It's not really required for you to eat, and the food doesn't taste the same like it does in the real world... but it's still somewhat comforting...?"

Batman doesn't move or respond, but she knows he's listening.

"I didn't know what you would like, so I grabbed a little bit of everything. I picked the healthy options, even though it probably wouldn't matter since our bodies won't lose or gain weight." Pomni explains while setting the plate and cup down in front of him, and then reaching into her hat to grab the utensils she swiped before the table disappeared and placed them next to the plate. "Anyways, I hope that's okay for you... heh..."

She stepped back and waited for him to wake up or something. But he still remained motionless. Is he not comfortable eating in front of her? Or is he not hungry?

She quickly checks the food and it's somewhat warm, but it will get cold soon and she worries about his food going to waste. Well, maybe not since food doesn't degrade like it does in the real world - everything is digital in this realm.

She eventually strolled to the door, feeling like he would prefer her to leave, and just as she touched the doorknob, she heard him utter.

"Thank you."

She pauses and feels a wave of pride flushing her form. She looked back at him and he's still sitting there, eyes closed and unmoving.

Finally, she opened the door to leave him alone and then took a deep breath to let the little joy and/or pride she feels in her bosom leave.

"Aw~" Jax teased from behind her, making her jump. "You brought him food."

"Just in case he wanted some." Pomni answered kind of sheepishly, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Lemme guess: he gave you the ol' silent treatment, didn't he?" Jax guesstimates while leaning on the wall next to Batman's door.

"He said thanks..." Pomni replied, feeling a bit flustered at that.

"Huh, didn't think he had manners." Jax said before stretching his arms. "Well, best we get some shut eye. Gonna be a long day tomorrow for us."

He leaves to enter his room while Pomni looks back at Batman's door for one last time before striding over to her bedroom.

Tomorrow:

In the morning hours (or what they presume is morning), everyone begrudgingly stepped out into the main area - all except Batman.

"Where is the Bat?" Caine asked while scratching the top of his head with his cane. "I arranged today all for him."

"Maybe he's sleeping in." Jax joked while shrugging carelessly.

"Or maybe he isn't interested in playing childish games." Zooble presumed with folded arms.

"Pomni!" Caine pointed his cane at the jester. "Go get him!"

"Will do." Pomni responds before quickly walking in the hallway.

After reaching Batman's door, she knocked.

"Batman?" Pomni said in a polite tone. "Caine is requesting you to come into the main room with us."

Her hand touched the door knob and turned it. Pushing the door open gently, she finds him standing on his feet and looking at the wall; his back turned on her.

It was a surprise to see him standing up, she mostly sees him down on the ground. She can't tell what he's doing, whether he's lost in thought or inspecting his room.

Timidly, she approached him and got close enough to tug on his cape. "Batman?"

He looked down at her.

"Did you hear me?" She inquired, being afraid of his gaze.

"Yes." He replied before looking toward the doorway and striding out of the room.

Pomni looked down at the floor, quickly spotting his plate of food from last night. All of the food groups had some pieces nibbled off of, which means he tried all of it. And then she looked at the glass cup, no liquid was left in it - except for tiny droplets of water.

She wondered why he didn't eat it all, maybe it didn't taste quite the same.

"Pomni, are you coming?" Ragatha shouted from far down the hallway outside of this room.

She quickly scampered to the door. "Coming!"

End of Chapter 2.

December 3rd, 2023. 8:18 PM.