307 Indulging in Vices #307

As she lay on her bed half-naked, Barbara couldn't help but wince as she felt a sharp pain in her back, only to dissipate a moment later before she could even yelp in surprise.

"There we go," Grayson said as he stepped away from the bed. "As good as new," He added with a smile as he removed his jacket and placed it over the redhead's back.

"Is... is that it...?" Barbara said, her eyes wide as she turned around and used the jacket to cover her bare breasts, to which Grayson merely nodded without saying anything. "Are you serious...?" She asked as she leaned on the bed's backrest.

"Well, there's only one way to find out..." Grayson said as he took several steps back and sat on the chair behind him. "Go ahead and get off the bed..." He added with a shrug.

Hesitantly, Barabara nodded and rotated her torso to place her legs on the ground. She turned back to Grayson, and he gave he an encouraging nod, to which she sighed and tried to lean on her feet.

Much to the redhead's surprise, she suddenly found herself standing on her feet feeling no discomfort or pain, almost as if the Joker had never shot her in the spine.

"This... this is incredible..." The redhead said, her shock written all over her face as she looked at her legs. "Can I-- can I walk too...?" She asked, prompting, raising one foot and placing it ahead of the other without waiting for a reply, accidentally dropping the jacket in her excitement.

"Walk, jog, sprint, jump..." Grayson said with a smile as he looked away. "I didn't just fix your spine... I simulated the dormant muscles with energy.." He added. "Like I said... as good as new..."

"Thank you..." Barbara said, her voice cracking as her eyes watered up in happiness. "Thank you so much..." She parroted, barely resisting the urge to let the tears of joy drown her eyes.

"You can start by putting something on if you want to thank me... my neck is starting to hurt..." Grayson jokingly remarked, causing the redhead to blush as she quickly picked up the jacket and put it on backward to cover herself.

"Now that that's out of the way, here..." Grayson said as he put his hand on the table beside him, causing a laptop to appear. "This is all the access and intel you need to start effectively running my businesses," He added as he stood up.

"Get familiar with it and start working whenever you're ready," He went on as he stood and turned to Barbara once he was her modesty wasn't on full display. "But feel free to take a day or two off to unwind and process before you get to work..." He added.

"I've had enough of sitting around and brooding..." Barbara replied with a sigh. "I'll get to work immediately," She added, promptly walking past Grayson and picking up the laptop.

"As long as you don't overwork yourself, then it's fine," Grayson replied with an unconcerned shrug. "My number is in there too, so be sure to call me if you need something or have questions..." He added as he headed for the room's exit, smiling as he watched the redhead nod and turn on the laptop.

"Oh, and Miss Gordon..." Grayson said, getting the redhead's attention as she stopped and turned to him. "I'll be counting on you heavily, so feel free to set your own salary..." He added, causing Barbara's eyes to widen in surprise.

The redhead wanted to say something, but Grayson merely teleported away without giving her a chance to speak.

...

One Day later

Grayson cleared his throat as he walked into the stage and stopped behind the podium, causing the gathered journalists to turn quiet instantly. "Hello, everyone," He greeted, scanning the area with a broad smile.

"It's good to see that so many familiar faces have survived the ordeal..." Grayson went on, his tone growing heavy as he spoke, and ended his sentence with a sigh.

"I'd like to say a few words, but they can wait until after the questions..." He said as he scanned the faces of the present reporters, seemingly in search of someone. "What do you have for me, Vicky?" He asked as he settled his gaze on the Gotham Gazette reporter after failing to find Lois Lane.

"Hello, Gray," Vicky Vale said with a pleased smile, and Grayson returned her greeting with a nod. "Until now, you were last seen fighting one of the alien invaders in Gotham, then you suddenly disappeared..." She added as she briefly glanced at her notes.

"Can you explain what happened?" She asked.

"Certainly..." Grayson replied. "The alien I was fighting had somehow stolen a powerful artifact, and I couldn't risk fighting him near the city to avoid causing collateral damage..." He added with a shrug. "So I took the fight somewhere else."

"I see," Vicky Vale remarked as she quickly scribbled something on her notebook. "However, we are still in the dark regarding the nature of the alien invaders..." She added as she turned back to the young man. "Would you be able to shed some light on that?"

"The invaders were aliens from a faraway planet called Apokalypse..." Grayson calmly explained. "Their leader, an alien warlord called Darkseid, had attempted to invade our planet before but was stopped by Superman and the Justice League..." He went continued after a momentary pause.

"We have suffered through alien invasions before... but the damage has never been so severe..." Vicky Vale said with a frown. "Is there any particular reason the invaders were able to cause so much havoc this time?" She asked.

"It has to do with the same alien I fought near Gotham..." Grayson said with a sigh. "He had infiltrated our society, and for several years, he has been sowing dissent and hate between the civilians, the goverments, and the superhero community..." He added with a grimace.

"It was because of him that the local authorities, the superheroes, and the citizens couldn't work together, which resulted in chaos and the subsequent chaos..." He concluded.

"But how can an alien achieve so much in only a few years without anyone catching on?" Vicky Vale asked, sounding skeptical at the reply she received. "Surely, that couldn't have been an easy task..." She went on with a frown.

"He did it by disguising himself as a human and running a television show," Grayson said with a bitter smile, much to everyone's shock. "He was that much of a good actor and knew how to get a rise out of everyone," He added, sighing as he shook his head.

"You've still yet to give us a name..." Vicky Vale remarked, tilting her head in confusion. "Are you not allowed to reveal his identity?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing like that... I don't enjoy talking about the man..." Grayson replied, shaking his head. "His name, or at least, his human name, was G. Gordon Godfrey..." He added, and his words stunned everyone to silence.

"I'm sure many of you were familiar with him and his talk show, but that's all I'm willing to say for now..." Grayson remarked. "I've already briefed the local authorities on the finer details, so feel free to ask them about it..." He added in a tone that brokered my arguments.

"What else do you have for me, Vicky?" Grayson asked, and she merely shook her head, to which several journalists raised their hands, seizing the opportunity.

Grayson scanned the journalists and randomly picked one. "This is Tom from the NY Daily... I have a question regarding the sudden disappearance of Planet Mars..." He added, earning a nod from the young man.

"Well, the few observatories that remained standing after the invasion has reported that Planet Mars suddenly disappeared after you returned to Gotham alongside the other heroes..." Tom said, sounding hesitant as he cleared his throat. "Do you know anything about this strange phenomenon?" He asked with a frown.

"The disappearance of Mars was due to the battle that took place there against the leader of the invaders..." Grayson calmly replied. "It was an unfortunate accident, but none of us could stop it..." He added, shaking his head.

"Then, if the battle didn't happen in space, Earth would have--" Tom said with wide eyes, pausing halfway through as Grayson interrupted him before he could finish.

"Then our planet would have likely suffered the same gruesome fate..." Grayson solemnly stated. "But it didn't happen, and that's why we are able to talk like this today..." He added with a shrug.

"Any more questions...?" Grayson said as he looked at Tom, but the journalist was too stunned to speak after realizing how close the entire human species and the planet were to destruction.

The young man sighed and turned to other journalists, but they were all in a similar state of stunned speechlessness. "I guess that's all for today then..." He said and quickly continued before anyone could say anything.

"But Before we call it a day... I like to say a few words, so please bear with me..." The young man continued, taking a deep breath as he trailed off at the end of his sentence.

"Humanity fought and suffered, and we still stand. We survived, but the fight is far from over..." Grayson said in a resolute tone. "Most of our cities lay in ruins, and now more than ever, we must put aside our differences to pick up the pieces..." He added, his expression growing more and more determined as he spoke.

"It's up to us as the survivors to pick the pieces, if not for ourselves, then for the sake of those who had fallen..." Grayson went on. "For if we don't, then every soldier who gave away their lives trying to fight the invaders, every police officer, and every hero..." He added, pausing for a moment.

"Then their sacrifice would be meaningless... and no one wants that..."

...

Gotham

As he sat on the ledge of a high-rise building in Old Gotham with several beer cans beside him, Grayson sighed as he emptied one of them and crushed it in his hands.

He reached for another beer can after crushing the empty one, only to pause as he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and smiled as he saw a pale woman with blonde hair walking toward him.

"Hello, Harley..." Grayson greeted with a smile, much to the blonde's shock, as the scowl on the young man's face he'd giver her whenever they met her with was absent. "How did you find me?" He asked, tilting his head.

"It's not like ya were trynna hide or nothing, were ya...?" Harley said with a grin as she sat beside Grayson, alternating her gaze between him and the beer cans beside him.

"So the mighty hero of Gotham likes to indulge in some vices in between epic speeches, eh?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, what will the people think if they find out..." She mockingly added as she rolled her eyes, causing Grayson to chuckle, surprising her again.

"I've got my fair share of vices... I'm human too, you know?" Grayson said with a sigh, scratching his head. "Want one...?" He added as he reached for a beer can and offered it to the blonde.

"Nah... I prefer something with a bit more kick to it..." Harley said as she reached into her pocket and retrieved a rolled-up blunt. "So what's this all about?" She asked as she lit it up and took a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating smoke.

"What do you mean?" Grayson blankly asked as he turned to the blonde with a skeptical look. "I'm just trying to relax and unwind..." He added, shrugging his shoulders.

"Ya don't fool me, pal..." Harley said, leaning into her hands and staring into the starry sky as she exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Ya don't relax with a six pack and a nice view... ya do it in yer work room..." She added with a knowing smile.

"That's what ya get when ya let a psychiatrist crash in at yer place..." The blonde went on, causing Grayson to sigh. "They instantly figure what makes ya tick..." She concluded as she offered the blunt to the young man.

"Oh, what the hell..." Grayson said with a bitter smile as he took the blunt from her hand and inhaled deeply. "You realize this does nothing to me, don't you?" He asked as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"The beer doesn't seem to be doing anything either, but here ya are," The blonde said as she snatched the blunt from Grayson's hand. "Normalcy is one heck of a drug, ain't it...?" She added with a grin.

"That it is..." Grayson said with a sigh. "But it doesn't seem to last long, if ever..." He added as he opened another beer can and promptly emptied it with one gulp.

"For the longest time, it was all I ever wanted..." Grayson said as he lay on his back, gazing at the moon. "It always seemed within reach, but somehow no matter how hard I try to reach for it..." He added as he reached for the sky.

"It always slips out before I know it..." He concluded, closing his extended hand.

"Tell me about it..." Harley said as she copied Grayson and lay beside him on the roof's floor. "But for people like us... it's just a pipe dream..." She added with an unconcerned chuckle.

"Not necessarily..." Grayson said as he relaxed his arm and let it fall to the ground before turning to Harley. "If only I had enough power... I can make it a reality for me, you, and everyone..." He added with an exhausted sigh that told Harley more than his words ever could.

"Oh yeah?" Harley asked with a chuckle as she looked Grayson straight in the eye. "And how much power will be enough to make a pipe dream a reality...?" She asked, giving him a strangely knowing look.

"I don't know..." Grayson replied without hesitation. "More power has been my answer for solving every problem I've ever faced, and so far, it never failed me, but..." He added, trailing at the end of his sentence.

"The more I get, and the more problems I solve, the more pop up from everywhere and nowhere..." Grayson went on with a bitter chuckle. "And now I can't help but wonder when it will all end, if ever..." He continued, his tone resolute contrary to his words.

"But I intend to find out..."