(open to anyone that could be at Wayne Manor)

[fanboy_power]

Eddie winced as he splashed some water onto his face. He sniffed a few times and fought back another pained noise. The newest addition to the Bat-Clan looked up at the bathroom mirror and winced again. One obvious black eye, cut on his lip, and he was pretty sure his nose wasn't broken and had only been bleeding.

Earlier, Eddie had been sent down

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[mr_bruce_wayne]

Having woken up not too long before that, Bruce was still waking up. He made his way down to the kitchen for coffee and came across Alfred who was concerned about Eddie. It seemed that after the teen got back from his errand, he ran off like something was wrong and hadn't come back down.

Warning bells had gone off in Bruce's head, and wide awake and worried, he took the stairs two at a time as he went up to check on the teen.

"Eddie?" he called out, slowing as he heard the sounds of water and Eddie's sigh. He managed to walk in right as Eddie was pulling a particularly nasty bit of glass out of his arm.

For a moment, Bruce was silent, then his expression turned thunderous. "What happened?" was all he asked.

[fanboy_power]

Eddie had been too focused on carefully getting that shard out of his arm to hear his name being called. He looked up as Bruce came in, surprised. Surprise and worried went right to terrified on reflex.

The teen turned quickly, glass dropped into the sink. He was pale, mouth moving but no sound coming out. Eventually he got a little squeak before his brain remembered how to speak. "I g-g-g-g-got b-b-b-beat up."

[mr_bruce_wayne]

Striding forward, Bruce closed the distance between them in no less than two steps. If there was any question about his being Batman, that was probably erased as he scowled at the teen's injuries. "You were attacked." he then repeated, before dark eyes turned towards the boy's. "Who did this?"

[fanboy_power]

Eddie swallowed, shaking a little as Bruce got closer. He couldn't help it, the concept of an angry Batman just a scary one. Especially since he thought Bruce was mad at him.

"M-m-m-my brother," Eddie replied quickly. "I r-r-ran into him when I w-was leaving the store.

[kathy_duquesne]

Once Eddie is gone, Kathy steps out of the shadows from where she'd been. How much of the conversation did she catch? It's not clear.

"Mortality's a good lesson," she nods in agreement. "Always better to catch it with an easier lesson when possible."

[mr_bruce_wayne]

Raising a brow, Bruce looks over to Kathy and goes to cross his arms over his chest. He's not totally surprised to find her here, though her melding out of the shadows was unexpected.

"I need your help." he says simply.

[kathy_duquesne]

She raises an eyebrow. The significance of Bruce asking for help is not lost on her. But neither is it something she'd want to discourage with gentle teasing.

"You got it," she replies.

[mr_bruce_wayne]

Nodding after the kid who had been in the bathroom with him, Bruce let his eyes follow the path that Eddie must have taken. "I need your help with Eddie. He got himself beat up by his brother, and I believe it's high time he learned how to defend himself. I don't have enough time to do it all myself, so I figured you might be able to give me a hand when you're free."