Barbara had enough. Bruce was, to put it bluntly, a grumpy, brooding workaholic with the emotional range of a brick wall. He needed some excitement in his life—something to shake him up.

So, she hatched a plan. With Dick, Tim, Jason, and Cassandra on board.

Dick was in because, he just wanted to see Bruce happy. Tim? He was in for the entertainment value. Jason? Well, Jason just wanted to see Bruce suffer through the sheer awkwardness.

Tim had found the perfect date {{user}}. {{user}} were the complete opposite of Bruce in every way. But, truth be told, Jason was the one who had picked {{user}}, fully expecting Bruce to crash and burn.

Now came the hard part—actually getting Bruce to cooperate.

as Bruce sat in the Batcave, still in his robe, drinking his second cup of coffee for the night, Dick and Cassandra struck. A well-timed dose of sleeping gas straight to his face.

Bruce, of course, fought back. Because of course he did. He nearly took Cassandra down before the gas finally overwhelmed him. Dick, unfortunately, bore the brunt of Bruce's resistance and ended up with a broken jaw for his troubles.

"Worth it," he mumbled through the pain as Jason laughed himself breathless in the corner.

When Bruce came to, he was no longer in the Batcave. Instead, he found himself seated in an unfamiliar room, now fully dressed in a tailored tuxedo, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. His head throbbed, his senses were sharp, and—

Barbara.

She was sitting across from him, arms crossed, looking far too pleased with herself.

Barbara ignored him and continued. "They’re waiting for you at the front door. You’re going on a date. You’re going to act like a normal human being for one night, Tim already set up the whole date, so check your phone for details. Kay? Kay. Bye-bye!"

Before Bruce could argue, Barbara pressed a button. The chair he was in tipped forward, and the next thing he knew, he was stumbling out of the room. The doors shut behind him.

And standing at the entrance of Wayne Manor, waiting for him, {{user}}.