Batxan

Disclaimer- Don't own just move them about on my chess board!


Muted yellow halogen lights flickered in a wild chaotic pattern above the diner table, causing it to remain empty daily except for two early morning regulars. Their faces shadowed with lack of sleep, and stained clothing proving their night owl jobs.
“Anything else, Huns?” The older oversized waitress drawled in a deep southern accent that only added to the nauseating effects of the light. Her too tight uniform clung to her like a pale pink body suit, accenting her fizz of red bobbed hair. “Coffee?”
“No thanks.” Dawn Summers yawned, poking at her dissected once pancakes with her plastic Spork. The rich smell of white brand maple syrup permeated the air, causing the blonde man to reach across the table to stop her consistent hacking at the mutilated bread.
“Dawny please.” His voice was rough with lack of sleep, his face beginning to show signs early aging. “It’s too early for a sugar rush.”
Dawn dropped her utensil in the middle of the plate, shoving it off for southern waitress to pick it up. It seemed strange to her that even after the year her and Andrew had eaten at this diner they still didn’t know her name. She made a quick note in her head to ask the robust waitress’s name before the week was out. “Are you sure you don’t want anything, it’s my turn to pay remember?”
Andrew laid his head down on his half wrinkled edition of Gothom News, mumbling a no. “I don’t think I could stomach it.” He whispered, closing his eyes allowing the flickering light to lull him to sleep.
“Long night?” Dawn knew Andrew better then any person in the world, his lack of interest in food meant a bad night. Plus the lackluster sipping on Gothom City’s number one cup of bland coffee made it even more apparent.
“We made a break through last night.”
Dawn quirked an eyebrow at the half asleep man slumped against the slightly sticky fiberglass table. “Breakthrough is a good thing isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s a great thing.” Andrew grumbled lifting his head long enough to poke at is now lukewarm cup of coffee. “Except…” He slumped back to the table obvious misery now mingling in his exhaustion. “Warren didn’t bother to document the experiment.”
Dawn stared in horror at the top of her friend’s un-brushed blonde hair. “Not even video.”
“Nothing. Two hundred and thirty eight days of work down the drain in twenty minutes.” Andrew’s flat tone showed he had already released his anger on his younger assistant. Warren had always been the incompetent of the research team but everything pale in the light of the months of research destroyed.
“Do you think they will finally reassign him?”
Andrew lifted his face from the newspaper, small smudges of black ink staining his cheek. “I doubt it.” His monotone voice was enough to make Dawn want to rip apart Warren with her bare hands or perhaps slip some of her herbal mixtures in his soda. “His father wouldn’t let his Warren work on a lesser project.”
Dawn frowned down at the table thanking the heavens she had no assistance even if it did leave her drained. The thought of hundreds of hour’s work being destroyed by a spoiled incompetent in a flash made her chest ache with pain. “I’m sorry Andy.”
Andrew stared at his half drunk cup of coffee for several minutes, his numbed pain spiking up again. “So, how is your project going?” He asked quickly, before he could think of all the hours of lost work.
“Slowly.” Dawn took the hint understanding his urge to escape from the pain even if it was only an hour for breakfast. “Three steps forward then two steps back.”
“How’s the great Dr.?”
“Woodrue?” Her face wrinkled into a cringe causing her friend to smile despite his misery. “Great when he stays out of the lab.”
“Dawn Summers!” He feigned shock for a moment remembering her excitement when she had first joined Dr. Jason Woodrue in Wayne Labs. Almost every conversation consisted of his accomplishments in Botany research. Jason’s works were displayed with fawning words by Dawn on his ground breaking projects that were curing diseases in third world countries, and sure to cure common sicknesses.
The petite brunette shook her head lifting her empty cup of coffee to her lips, before realizing the fact. “The man is like mold.” She sighed, placing the cheap porcelain back on the table.
“You mean he grows in dark, wet places.” He snickered, unfolding his wrinkled paper.
“That too.” She laughed softly despite the fact it made her brain feel like it was jiggling her head.
Andrew smiled down at his paper scanning the latest news, his face going limp at the headline. “Bruce Wayne dies in car crash.” He read aloud before dropping the paper back to the table.
Dawn shrugged slightly glancing at the paper. “Yeah, I heard about that.”
“Well…” Andrew stared at the young woman, his face tightening under her lack of concern.
“Well what?” She pulled the paper from in front of him, trying to find the daily weather forecast on the back. Her plants could do with some rain, not to mention keep Jason from the lab. His growing paranoia of acid rain were sometime to her advantage.
“Aren’t you worried?” Andy said, snatching the paper from her grip.
“About what?” She said, trying to pull the paper back from his hands.
“Losing your grant.” Andrew sighed, seeming flabbergasted that she had not thought of it first. “Wayne enterprise sponsors your lab.”
“Not really.” Dawn sighed, feeling slightly callous for not morning Bruce Wayne. Of course she had never met the man and only had a couple of glimpses of the real thing. She spent ninety percent of her time in the lab, while the rest consisted of sleeping and meeting Andrew for breakfast everyday. “Bruce Wayne was a multi millionaire with hundreds executives under him, not to mention a board for Wayne Enterprises. I’m sure most of the decisions were not even made by him.”
“Perhaps but Bruce was also very generous with his money. The board has been trying to persuade him to trim his grants to only those who have shown progress in their work.” Andrew blanched at how he had phrased his statement, but unsure how else to get Dawn to understand.
“I have made progress.” Dawn frowned, staring at her best friend. “All cancer science works slowly so we can research properly before just doling out some random drug to the public.”
“I know, I know.” He sighed, trying to get the defensive sound out of her voice. “It’s just that the board may not see it that way.”
Dawn wanted to snap at her friend, to tell him that he could go to hell but she knew he was stating a truth. The Wayne Board of Directors were hard nosed about giving out grants, and worst on those they felt were being squandered on useless research. As if cancer research was ever useless research. “I know Andy but there is nothing I can do about it. I just hope that my work will speak for itself if they review the lab’s grant.”
Andrew gave her a small apologetic smile, before looking back down at the paper. “Bruce Wayne a self made multimillionaire was on his way back to Wayne Manor when his car lost control and ran into a tree.” Andrew read his voice slightly hoarse making the article that more glum for those listening. “His only surviving heirs to his fortune are his former wards Dick Grayson, and an Alexander LaVelle Harris. Neither could be reached for comment.”

“Harris…sounds familiar.” She sighed, once again lifting the empty cup to her lips. With a frown of annoyance she placed the cup firmly on the table, causing the blonde young man to stop reading. “I can synthesize a plants genetic make up but gods forbid I have to remember if there is coffee in my cup.”
Andrew smiled up at the frustrated woman for several seconds before she was trying to force away a smile from bursting on her lips. “Perhaps we should both go home for some shut eye.”
“Can’t- I need to get into the lab to finish up some paperwork.” Dawn groaned, rubbing her face. She grimaced at the deep pink of her hands from the plants she had painstakingly cut apart only to cause her skin to burn with the oozing inners.
“Come on Dawn, we both could use a shower.” Andrew laughed, standing up to pull out his wallet.
“Hey, it’s my turn to pay.” The young brunette pushed herself from the booth, to pull a crumpled ten from her purse. It looked almost as bad as she did with its seams starting to come apart.
“I was hoping if I paid you would let me have the shower first.” Andy smirked, tossing cash on table. The blonde’s face lit up with the thought of them both in their apartment at the same time. “Hey maybe we could watch Star Wars, pull out the lightsaber.”
“Andrew you are the only person I know who became a scientist to create a lightsaber.”
“Hey the Defense Department thought it was good idea.” He grinned, opening the diner’s door for Dawn.
“Yeah, till a general lost part of his palm.” Dawn giggled, hitting his shoulder playfully.
“I told them to read the instructions.”


*Tell me what you think so far...Agora*