Bruce ignored Yang Ming as he left.
He turned and headed toward the concealed door in the main building that led deep underground.
"Alfred."
"Yes, Master Bruce."
"Activate the Batcave's level-two security protocol." Bruce issued the order without looking back, his voice cold enough to chill the marrow.
"Prepare the highest-level pressure training regimen for him. Set the Gravity Chamber to three times normal gravity. Within three days, I want to know exactly where this kid's physical limits lie."
Alfred cast a pitying glance at Dave, who was still grinning foolishly, and bowed slightly.
"As you wish, Master Bruce. I shall prepare an orthopedic emergency kit for Mr. Lezinski in advance."
Dave's smile froze on his face.
"W-wait? Triple gravity? An orthopedic emergency kit?!"
He stared blankly as Bruce's broad back vanished into the darkness, an overwhelming sense of foreboding washing over him.
"Wait! Triple gravity could kill someone, couldn't it?!"
Dave's screams echoed wildly through the cramped hydraulic elevator. He clung to the metal handrail, both legs shaking as though high-voltage electricity were running through them.
Bruce Wayne stood with his arms folded, an emotionless black statue, and did not so much as lift an eyelid.
"In Gotham, even breathing is a mistake for the weak." Bruce's voice was colder than the elevator's mechanical rumble. "If you're afraid of dying, you can get the hell out right now."
"I..." Dave gritted his teeth, veins bulging in his neck as he forced himself to swallow his words of retreat.
"Ding-"
The elevator doors slid apart.
Dave took a deep breath and was about to step out, only to freeze in place as though someone had cast a paralysis spell on him.
A vast underground cavern, stalactites hanging overhead, the roar of an underground river rushing past his ears. And embedded