Yay! Part two :D hope you guys like it! Sorry it took so long :/ and if you haven't read part one, I strongly suggest reading it. This one is Fiends and Frenimies and part one is Crime, Love, and Gotham. Hope you guys like it! Please review and you know we'll chapter two up soon.

Chapter One

The storm outside was picking up; the wind howled right before it slammed into the world around it. Blue lightening flashed across the night sky as thunder roared. The weather change had been so sudden that it forced the people in Gotham to abandon the streets and rush for their homes. It was still pretty early into the evening, close to the time that the night clubs started to get busy, but the streets were barren of headlights and honking.

As I placed the very last tier of the extravagant wedding cake that was going to be a feature in a popular bride magazine into the freezer, I started to play with the idea that I should call up Bruce and see if he could come get me.

No, not only was it a terribly unsafe time to drive but Bruce hadn't been himself for the past two months… His heart was still mending the wounds of Rachel Dawes passing. I was completely understanding of the situation but I was still hurt and worried by the icy demeanor he had at times.

At least there were a few positive things that had happened since then. Luck was on my side when I finally found two very talented bakers to work in my shop with me. One was a very southern belle of a woman, Gracie, who not only could decorate a cake with her eyes closed but knew how to handle even the most monstrous brides to be. It really must be her pleasantly thick Alabama accent. The other baker was a very sassy and hip guy, Lee, who really knew how to bling out a cake.

The three of us worked incredibly well together; we were on the fast track to becoming great friends.

But they didn't stay late like I did, I didn't want to over work them so soon. So, I was alone to face this storm without any sort of umbrella. I went through the routine of turning off machines, locking doors, and killing the lights. When I found myself staring down the door to leave, I almost wanted to spend the night here. I knew it was going to be hell walking home in that; I really needed to get some sort of personal transportation…

BRUCE POV

I was still wide awake, it was one in the morning and I hadn't found any reason to sleep. I had taken a break from my role as Batman, the defeat I had faced a few months back was still haunting me into paralysis. Sitting before those panoramic windows, I watched with dazed eyes as the storm raged on, the last time it rained like this I was still living in the manor. I couldn't help but to wish that the reconstruction of Wayne Manor would hurry along, maybe being there would help me let go of the regret I still held onto.

I couldn't save them both. I was going to have to live with that...

Rachel died and Dent became engulfed with revenge and from what I heard, was starting to become a part of the world that he tried so hard to stop. The streets were starting to fill up with crime once again, it was too much for the Gotham Police Department could handle.

Gotham still needed me…

One of the lasts moments I shared with Rachel started to consume my mind. I swear that the kiss that we had shared still lingered on my lips, like a vengeful ghost. If only I had given up trying to be a hero, maybe she would still be alive. She would have come back to me if I had use given up Batman, it was such an easier thing said than done. I still loved Rachel with a large part of me, I probably always will, but you can't put all of your energy into loving the dead.

My thoughts snapped to Autumn, I was putting that woman through the ringer. My moods were as reliable as a telephone psychic but she still stuck around. She never pushed me to talk about anything or tried to give me advice. But, if she ever found out about that conversation or that kiss, I wondered if she would still be around.

I hope she never has to find out.

"I should really do something for her…" I muttered to myself. "Do what for who Master Bruce?" Alfred said as he walked into the room, concern was clearly on his face. Alfred spent more time worrying about me than he did breathing.

"Autumn, I know she is working late so she is bound to get caught in this. I think I'm going to go get her."

Alfred gave me a tense smile, "please be careful, I really don't want to reconstruct the manor by myself."

AUTUMN POV

I was still inside of Cake Paradise, I wasn't sure why I was so scared to go outside. It was just rain and the threat of getting struck by lightning was never very high.

Before I could talk myself out of it again, I pushed forward. The moment I was outside, the bullets of rain slammed onto my body. I was drenched even before I locked the door. Shoving my hands deep into the pockets of my coat, not bothering to put the soaked hood over my head, I broke out into a run. The wind seemed to work against me, trying to blow me into the street. My feet found every puddle it could; soon my shoes were like drowning submarines.

I made about a block in distance before I heard the honking of a car horn, I thought about ignoring it. If it wasn't some asshole trying to scare me, it was another asshole who thought I was a prostitute.

"Autumn, what are you doing? Get in!" I could barely hear the words over the pouring rain.

When I turned around, I noticed that the car crawling alongside me could only belong to one person in this city. I started to step towards it, but then I remembered how wet I was. I would easily ruin the leather in Bruce's car.

"I don't want to ruin your car," I shouted back as I walked over to the driver side. I spotted his face poking out of the window.

"So, you'd rather get deathly ill?" He argued back as I heard the pop of the doors unlocking. "I'll put you into this car myself if I have to."

I knew that wasn't an empty threat. Rounding the car I climbed into the passenger side, the dry warmth of the car reminded my body that it was cold. I started to shiver in my seat, my teeth chattered loudly as I tried to thank Bruce.

"I'm going to have to get you a car aren't I?" He smiled at me for a second before he turned his attention back towards the road.

"D-d-don't you da-da-dare." I chattered, I knew if he did it would be something expensive and flashy.

His silence told me that my words had gone unheard.

As the city rolled by, I found myself thinking about Alice. I knew that if she was still here, she would have done and said the exact same thing. My heart gave a little lurch of anger, Alice wasn't dead. I had to stop thinking like she was.

But I hadn't heard from her in the longest time, it was pretty damn close to the same thing. However, the real thing and being close to it weren't the same at all. I fiddled ewith my thumbs as Bruce drove carefully down the street. Where was she and what was going on? The Joker had been kept in high security in Arkham and new reports claimed that he was starting to cooperate with the staff. I wondered how long that was going to last.

ALICE POV

The bags under my eyes were heavy; they felt like they had been filled with sand. My eyes rolled into the back of my head until I snapped back to conscience. Time was almost non-existant to me. All I knew was it was late and I was running on forty-five minutes of sleep. But I couldn't go to sleep yet; I needed to wait until a few guys got back from a slightly risky job. They had been sent to plant some survellinence equipment in a few areas where I was interested in.

However, now that I had left the real world, I couldn't help but think about the people I left behind. I was curious; how was the billionaire playboy now that his childhood sweetheart was gone and the man he had supported so fiercly was now dead to the world? And Autumn; how was she knowing the Bruce would always love Rachel more than her? I saw it in his eyes at the fundraiser everytime Rachel spoke. Something had caused then to split, but what was it?

I often found myself pouring over theories the Joker left. Some of them were about how the world looked at things. A lot were about the real identity of the Batman. In the two months since Joker's capture, I had run into Batman zero times. He disappeared. And because of that, people like me and and my boys were allowed to roam the street in broad daylight and not worry about cops. Bruce Wayne gave petty speeches about finding those who were causing Gotham harm, including the Batman. After which he donated loads of money to the Police force. Gordon mostly used the money to honor the cops Joker had killed.

While I organized his plans, I was surprised to find I actually missed the Joker. The kiss we had shared after the fundraiser still lingered on my lips. The feeling I got when I thought of him was much different now. It was warmer and gave me butterflies in my stomache. It was getting harder and harder to be "The Boss." Everyone expected so much out of me and I was constantly stressed about cops, supplies, and the moral. I knew now why he rarely slept.

There was a steady sound of boots walking into the hideout, most of them squeaked from the rain water. Wearily, I stood and headed to where the sounds came from. Four men had come in from the storm outside; one of them was Al. Was is irony that a man who had been the leader of the group who beat me up when I tried to escape now worked for me?

"How'd it go?" I asked, leaning on a door frame. While all four of them were occupied with taking off their wet clothing, only one answered.

"Alright, I guess," Al shrugged. "Fuckin' pouring out there; can barely see infront of my damn face."

I nodded. "Understandable. Is the meeting set up for tomorrow night?"

"Yep. Nine pm sharp as long as the weather is good."

I felt a little awkward as I left my room; it was actually Joker's room, but I had recently taken it over. I was definitely over dressed, but hey, appearences had to be kept up. My heels clacked noisily as I walked down the hall, followed by the four men who had gone on patrol the night before. The outfit I had picked was a tight black pencil skirt, a long sleeved emerald green business shirt, a black pinstriped blazer, and black tights. Albert held an umbrella over my head as I exited the building and entered the van although it was only sprinkling. Once everyone got in, the driver left the empty lot, headed towards downtown.

The destination was a gun shop, owned by one of my thug's uncle. He said that his uncle was willing to talk and see if a bargain could be reached. I knew that meant he was only interested in the money; money was no object to me. The van came to a smooth stop infront of the store. Everyone in the van stiffened as a police cruiser drove past. Once the cop had driven far enough away, we all got out of the car. Al attempted to rush with the umbrella to keep me from getting wet; the point was mute. A bell rang as I swung the door open and my guys followed.

"You must be Alice," An elderly man behind the counter spoke, an Italin accent tainted his speech.

"And you must be Gregorio," I held my hand out to shake his hand. He took my hand gingerly, slowly shaking it. "I'm assuming Vincent told you what I'm here for?"

Gregorio nodded. "Yes, said you needed weapons and ammo. And that money was of, uh, no importance to you."

"Essentially, yes. What kind of guns do you have?"

"Well," Gregorio motioned to the whole front of the store. "Shotguns, rifles, pistols..." I snapped my fingers twice and twirled my finger around. My men stepped out of the shadows of the shop and began to gather the various guns and ammuntion that were on display. Albert manuvered around Gregorio behind the counter and opened the glass case. From the case, he picked up a Colt 45 and handed it to me. I admired the fire arm for a moment and handed it back to Al.

"That'll be mine," I spoke softly. "We'll take everything out here and whatever you have in the back."

Gregorio hesitated. "Th-there's nothing of interest back there-" With a roll of my eyes, I pulled my 357 Magnum revolver from the holster that was under my blazer and pointed it at Gregorio. He gulped as I pulled the hammer back.

"Do not fuck with me, old man," I growled. "I have things to do, people to see, buildings to blow up. Now, show me the guns you have in the back."

Gregorio gulped again and nodded. Uncocking the six shooter, I returned it to my holster and followed him as he lead me behind a door. Al was behind me, and let out a low whistle as he saw the goods. AK's of every make, RPG's, assult shotguns, automatic rifles; practically everything that was illegal for a civillian to touch.

"You want all this too?" Gregorio asked darkly. I smiled; my answer was obvious. "I hope you know that all this is going to cost you much more than all of my stock out there?"

"Sure," I nodded, moving out of the way for my boys to come in. Al, who had gone to the van to get another bag, handed me a silver briefcase. Inside the case was a fraction of what the Joker had kept out of the pile he burned with Lau. "This should cover everything and be enough for a comfortable retirement."

I supervised as the boys got the rest of the major guns into the car. From a distance, I saw a group of men in the streetlights walking toward us. Drawing my gun, I held it at my side, pointed at the ground. The man in the front looked familiar, but he was still too far away to see who exactly he was. My men continued to pack the van full of duffles full of weapons, combatting the sprinkles. The group continued to walk closer to our operation and I got more and more nervous. I pulled the hammer back on my pistol for the second time that night. the leader fof the group stood straight, flipping a coin in his left hand. Half of his face was unscarred, the strawberry blonde hair on that side was perfectly coiffed. The other half of his face was burnt, and it appeared to be a rather recent wound. The hair on that side was chared and wild.

I just knew the Joker would have gotten a kick out of this.

"Well, well," The coin flipper cooed. "What do we have here? Little ole Alice Burnette. The Joker's bitch."

Harvey Dent and his fools froze in their tracks as I raised my gun . "Choose your next words carefully, Dent."

"Or what?" He challenged. "You've never shot anyone. At least not to kill. And it's Two Face Now." Two Face pocketted the coin. "Boyfriend hasn't escaped Arkham yet?"

I was silent. Letting anyone outside of the operation know the plan was risky. Dent wasn't getting anything out of me. Thankfully, by this time my boys had taken their spots behind me.

"I guess not, thanks to the Bat, huh?" Dent stuck his left hand in the pocket he had put his coin in. "And thanks to his recent abscence, people like me have been allowed to run rampent."

"And who do you think you are? You're just a pissed off, extra crispy, ex DA," I snapped. A few of my men laughed. Dent sneered and took a 22 caliber pistol from his blazer and pointed it at me. It was a hailstorm of hammer clicks after that as my men pointed their guns as his and vise versa.

"I have a proposition for you," Two Face reached into his suit pocket and retrieved his coin."Heads, you and your guys stand down and I let you leave. Tails, my men and I open fire and see how well you can get out without dying."

"You do realize all of you have 22 caliber guns and we have guns that fire 45 caliber rounds?" I sneered. "But alright, we'll go for your offer."

Dent grinned wide; I wonder if it hurt his burnt side to smile like that. With his thumb, he flipped the coin into the air. I watched Dent carefully, cautious that he was going to switch it out with another. He caught it in his hand and then flipped it over onto his other hand. He peered at it and frowned.

"You're lucky. It's heads. Now leave before I change my mind."

Without answering, I walked back to the van. The driver ran to his seat to start the car. Slowly, I uncocked my gun again and got in. Thankfully, Dent kept his word and held his fire.

'And it's Two Face now,'

The words repeated in my head as we sped back home. Hmn, Two Face and the Joker both on the streets. With no Bat or police to stop them? This was going to be interesting.

AUTUMN POV

Finally home from work, I made my way to the bathroom to shower. Bruce trailed behind me, hands in his pockets. He made himself comfortable in the living room, turning on the tv. With my hair stuck to my cheeks, I retrieved my cell phone from my purse. I had a few messages, a couple from my new employees and one from a number that was hidden. Lee was dying for Bruce and I to go out drinking with him and some friends and Gracie asked if I got home alright.

I answered them appropriately as I turned on the shower. As the hot water warmed the room, I told Lee that going out tonight wasn't going to work out and I divulged in details of Bruce rescuing me from the rain. Before I took my clothes off, I opened the last message.

Tummy, it's Alice. Don't save the number in your phone and don't tell Bruce. I need to talk to you.