Chapter Text
The rain beat down harshly at the office window. The winds began to pick up, causing ghastly shadows to writhe along the room. Amanda Waller continued on despite the atmosphere. She was due for company tonight and she wanted to make sure all her ducks were in a row before her guest arrived. She didn’t hear her window slide slowly open, but she did notice the shadow that originated from her desk grow in size. “Glad that you could visit,” Amanda called out to the room. A figure emerged from the darkness and Batman, in all his gothic glory, appeared to greet her. “I figured you’d be on your way,” she said, “Your boy did a good job cracking my systems.” She looked up from her typing briefly to acknowledge the other. “Yet your methods,” she comments slyly, “Were messy at best.” She paused in her work, ghosting one of her fingers across her computer screen. “Multiple reports of Batman coming to knock on my former employees’ doors,” she explained, “Asking about a project twenty years too late.” She then pushed away from her desk. She wiped her hands on her pencil skirt and bravely approached the Dark Knight. “Rather sloppy of you, Bruce,” she said, “I thought you’d handle this more quietly.”
Bruce remained quiet after the other spoke. He refused to rise to her bait. He had better things to do than to play cat and mouse with her. Besides, he’s swept the place. He knew that simply placing a hand on her would rise enough alarm for her security to come running. Instead he stepped away, wrapping himself in his cape. “What were your intentions,” he asked, “Have you been manipulating Terry all of this time?”
Even with his cowl, Amanda could still see the furious frown on Bruce’s unshaved face. She snorted a little. “Only enough to be what we needed him to be,” she said, “Your genes were surprisingly strong. All he needed was the right catalyst.” Bruce visibly bristled, shoving his cape behind him. She raised her hand and the man paused at the motion. “You want answers don’t you,” she asked, “Then let’s talk.” She waved a hand towards the door to her office. “You don’t want them to interfere,” she mentioned.
“So murdering his parents,” he growled, “Was the right catalyst?” Bruce clutched his fist, the sound of compressed leather surprisingly loud in the silence. Anger rolled off of him. “What was even your purpose,” he asked, “Why do this? Why clone me?” Amanda raised an eyebrow. That was an interesting question. “Isn’t a clone of Superman more than enough,” he question and Amanda bit back an amused laugh.
“Clark,” she asked amusedly. Amanda chuckled condescendingly, as if the name was the biggest joke she’s ever heard. “To the foolish,” she said, “Clark is enough.” She waved her hand and Bruce knew that she spoke of Lex Luthor. “Yet to the rest of us,” Amanda continued, “To the ones that really pay attention, Batman is much more valuable.” She then leaned comfortably onto her desk, letting the wood dig into her thick thighs and under her manicured fingers. She comfortably took Bruce in. She could easily see his self-loathing despite his Batman persona. “I’ve seen you save the world using nothing but your wit,” she said, “Superman may be the brawn, but strength can only take you but so far.” She looked upwards, eyeing her ceiling. “People like Clark Kent need people like you to point them in the right direction,” she recited as though from memory. She then matched Bruce’s eyes again, a small frown gracing her features. “And I wasn’t the only one that knew that. Ra’s Al Ghul knew that too.”
“Damian,” Bruce named. Amanda nodded. “But he’s two years younger than Terry,” he said. He then looked to his gauntlets, realization dawning on his face. “They’ve been planning Damian,” he began, “And you knew.” Amanda cut him off.
“For years,” she finished. She tapped her fingernail on her desk with a thoughtful frown. “Ra’s knew what he wanted,” she explained, “You. Yet, he also knew that he couldn’t have you. So he used his daughter to create a version of you that he could have.” She rubbed her fingers under her chin. “One that he could mold into anything he wanted them to be,” she said, “He may not have been able to obtain Batman, but he could claim the Son of Batman as his kin.” She sighed, a rueful smile on her face. “It was smart,” she said, “But we – I couldn’t allow that to happen. At the time, the League of Shadows was too much for our budding CADMAS to take on – especially head on. So, I took a page from Ra’s’ book.” Amanda looked Bruce in his eyes. “We would make a Batman of our own, too,” she declared, “And have him on our side; ready to counterbalance whatever Ra’s cooked up.”
“It seemed as though your plan fell through,” Bruce commented, “Terry would never hurt Damian.” Despite his cold demeanor, Bruce felt pride bloom in his chest. He knew that once upon a time he couldn’t say that so confidently.
Amanda smirked. “Did it though,” she questioned. She pushed away from her table, stepping further into Bruce’s space. “I only wanted Damian stopped,” she said, “And judging by the lack of dead bodies, he was. While Terry didn’t take Damian out in the way that we planned, he still eliminated the threat.” Bruce paused, only slightly, but it was enough for Amanda to notice. “He may have done it differently than we planned,” she said, “He always did things differently, but he always completely the tasks we set out for him. Terrance chose to see the Grey Ghost movie instead of the western we chose for him, but he still went to the movies. His parents were still killed that night.” Amanda smile widened. She knew it was checkmate. “He ran away from the orphanage before we were able to place him with you,” she continued, “But still, four years later, he ended up on your doorstep. He’s may not be the perfect Batman replica we wanted but he’s still a hero. He’s still protecting Gotham, just as CADMAS intended. He may not be what we planned for him to be, but he’s still just what we wanted him to be.”
Bruce lost his patience. He snapped forward, grabbing her by the front of her blouse. “He’s not some puppet,” he growled at her, “He’s not some plaything!” He could feel her heartbeat behind his fingers and he relished in her panic.
“I know,” she said and although her racing heart told of her fear, her voice was smooth and calm. She placed a gentle touch around Bruce’s gloved wrist. “I didn’t believe so at first,” she said, “But I know now.” Bruce slowly released her, his eyes asking for an explanation. “I thought I knew what manipulation was,” she said, “But Terry was only a prototype – a first generation clone. Things could have been much worse for Terry.”
“There are others,” Bruce confirmed. Amanda nodded. “How many,” Bruce asked. However he knew that the question would remain unanswered. Heavy footsteps were sounding down the hall. He had to leave before they arrived.
“Terry’s the lucky one,” Amanda said. Bruce was already gone after she spoke, yet she let her words carry on into the empty room. Although Bruce wasn’t around, she knew that he could still hear her somehow. “I let Terry keep his freewill,” she said, “I may have led him, but Terry always had a choice.” Multiple soldiers burst into her office then, machine guns at the ready. However Amanda raised her hand and ordered them all to pause. She had something else to say. “Others weren’t given that choice.”