It was raining heavily and was quite dark outside. It was the kind of torrential downpour that caused someone to become soaked if they were out for even a second. Selina heard the rhythmic sound of water splashing onto the road and falling off the overpass overhead. She smiled to herself whenever she saw someone without an umbrella frantically trying to find shelter.
She was heading to one of her favourite pawnshops. It was one of the few places she felt comfortable in. The owner had always been kind to her and even let her stay for the night sometimes when she was younger. He had never cheated Selina out of any money which caused her to respect this man. While he was one of the poorer citizens of Gotham he always seemed happy. Selina never really understood this but she always wished him well.
Selina stopped at right across from the shop. The underpass had kept her dry most of the way however now she would have to become one of those people who got soaked the second they stepped out into the rain. She stood there for a minute or two simply watching. Tabitha had always told her to look out for people following, her and she planned to listen to this advice.
After establishing that no one was following her Selina walked out into the rain. She immediately felt the cold rain on her face and it gave her a slight shock. After making it across the street she quickly opened the door to the pawn shop. The store wasn't big by any means however it had a lot of things on the shelves and tables. Some of the more flashier pieces were hanging off the wall directly. While they looked nice Selina knew that they were cheap knock offs. She had even brought some of these items in herself.
"Hello!" Said the man at the counter. He said this with in a cheerful manner as if they were friends. Selina did not consider them friends but she didn't mind. "Here's the deal," She said gruffly in part due to the rain, "I got some stuff and I want to sell it." With that she dumped the contents of her pockets onto the counter. Mostly an assortment of gold jewellery a few of the rings had diamonds on them and there was one pearl necklace. "Always straight to the point with you, would it hurt to say hello?" The man chuckled at his own joke a little bit. Selina was cold and wet so she didn't care about the man's feelings right now.
"How much for all this stuff?" "Well let's take a look now shall we." The man reached into a drawer underneath the counter and pulled out his glasses. " Wow, nice haul you got here." Looking almost stunned as he came to realize just how much was on the table. Selina stood there silently and watched the man look at every single item carefully. Selina knew that if she interrupted him now that he would lose his train of thought and have to start over again.
He soon finished his examination and took off his glasses. "So?" Selina asked with a very brief demeanor. "I'll give you $40'000 for all of it." " 45." Selina countered very quickly. "42 and a half" Said the man. Selina knew he wouldn't go any higher and stuck out her hand which the man proceeded to shake. He took her into the back room which was where the safe was located. He opened it with a certain familiarity and after the money was counted Selina quickly put it in her jacket pocket. It had the smallest chance of getting soaked there. "Pleasure doing business." Said the man as she turned to leave. "Stay dry!" He added just as Selina opened the door. She started cursing him as she stepped out back into the rain.
"What'd you get?" Asked Tabitha as soon as Selina walked in the door. "Take a look." Said Selina throwing the large roll of cash on the coffee table. "Good sized amount of bills you got there." Said Tabitha clearly pleased with what Selina had brought home. "Good job. Want to eat out? I was thinking burgers, but a new thai place just opened up and word on the street is that the chicken is to die for." Selina had noticed that Tabitha was quite fond of eating out over the past few months. Selina hadn't minded at first but now she kind of was craving just a homemade bowl of mac and cheese. She never had time to make anything like that.
"I kind of just want to go out and do my own thing tonight if that's alright." She said knowing that there was a very small chance that Tabitha would let her do this however she really just wanted the night to herself. "Sure, why not. You've worked hard for the past few months, what's one night." Selina was taken aback by this response. Her eyes clearly widening. Tabitha noticed this and laughed. "Go have fun, just be back by tomorrow night. I have something planned." Selina dropped her jaw. "Thanks." She managed to utter.
Selina quickly went to her room and changed out of her wet clothes. "Wait!" Tabitha said just as she was about to leave. "Take a couple hundred bucks for the night." "Thanks." Said Selina, again shocked by how kind Tabitha was being. "Be safe." Tabitha called out after her.
It had stopped raining now but it was still cloudy. The city was starting to transform as it always did as the sun began to set. There were less people on the streets now all rushing to get home. Doors were starting to lock and windows were closed. Even though Penguin introduced the crime licences Gotham was still a dangerous place at night.
Selina wasn't quite sure what to do. She hadn't felt this type of freedom in a while. Not that Tabitha was forcing her to stay in, they were just always together and Selina cherished the moments she had to herself. She figured that the first order of business was to get something to eat. She decided that she would make some Kraft dinner so she went to grocery store and picked up a box.
It was darker now and Selina decided to go to one of her old hideouts to make herself dinner. The closest one happened to be where she and Bruce stayed for a short period of time. She had always like that place and now she was going back. Selina wasn't thinking of Bruce at this particular moment and didn't give him a single thought as she walked through the door.
It was just as she had left it. Nothing had moved. The only thing that had changed was a substantial layer of dust had formed on everything. Selina ran her finger along one of the tables leaving a significant path. She looked at the dust thinking that she might need to clean the place. Selina walked to the kitchen and started to make her dinner. As the water was boiling she went to check the safe. Everything was left untouched. Inside was a couple hundred dollars and some jewelry which she had yet to sell. There was also the shotgun. She took this out and checked that it was still loaded. She brought this back with her to the kitchen.
Before Selina sat down to eat she turned on the radio. It was on the news channel just as she had left it. Normally she didn't really pay much attention to it. She used it as a way to know what's going on but never was deeply interested by any of the stories. However tonight there was something that caught her attention.
~In other news Bruce Wayne has been released from the hospital against doctors orders. He suffered a fall while rock climbing resulting in multiple broken bones and is currently bedridden at Wayne Manor~ Selina didn't know Bruce was in the hospital. While their relationship has been shaky recently this news concerned her. Mostly because she knew that he wasn't rock climbing. She knew that he went out and fought crime. Now she was worried. Those injuries could be a lot more than broken bones, Bruce certainly had the money to keep something like a gunshot wound out of the media.
Then she had another thought. His vigilantism had reduced the crime rate even more and people were starting to become scared of him. If he wasn't around for awhile, people will either think he's dead or gone. That would cause chaos as people will start to become more violent and active because of this. Selina actually liked the lower amount of crime. It was safer for her at night.
She quickly finished eating, grabbed the gun and clipped it to the belt loop on her side. She then headed up to the rooftop. She was most comfortable on the rooftops of Gotham. She always used them as a way to get around and no-one could see her. Most importantly though, she could see everything on the streets below. She pulled out her mask and stared at it for a second. She loved putting on the mask. It made her feel safe. She could not believe that she was going out to fight crime in place with Bruce. More strangely perhaps, was that she didn't know why.
Selina found herself at an old warehouse in the industrial district. She had heard of a shipment of drugs coming into Gotham which sounded like something that Bruce would try to stop. She was on the roof of a building across the street. Selina watched, learning the patterns of the guards, waiting for the perfect time to move in.
After about an hour she snuck up to the side of the building using the darkness as cover. She knew that one guard was right about to come around the corner. Selina heard the footsteps grow louder and louder and as soon as the guard's shoulder crested the corner she sprang into action. She quickly grabbed his head and smashed it against the wall rendering him unconscious. Then she waited. The man didn't make a sound but she was still cautious, listening for anything that showed the other guards were alerted to her presence.
Selina quickly slipped in through the back door making sure that it didn't creak as she opened and closed it. Very carefully Selina made her way up to the rafters where she could see everything that was going on. There were six people in the room. The two men in the center were clearly the bosses as they were in deep conversation negotiating the price of the drugs. The other four were guards. Normally six people weren't a problem, but these guys had guns. With that being said, so did Selina.
Selina came down from the rafters and hid behind the crate which was closest to the men. She braced herself for what was to come next. There was a loud crack and one of the men suddenly fell. Everyone turned around in time to see him dragged off into the darkness. Selina quickly hit him in the face with her elbow knocking him out and wasted no time in moving to a different position.
She got to the other side of the room, whip ready. Selina wrapped her whip around one of the men's necks this time. He grabbed at the whip struggling for air. Then Selina pulled on the whip causing the man's head to hit the floor with an audible thunk. This time everyone shot in her direction. One of the bullets grazed the side of her arm before she was able to get fully behind the crate and she felt a burning sensation in her arm but ignored it nonetheless.
When the gunfire stopped Selina was in the rafters ready for her next attack. Selina dropped down on top of one of the men knocking him to the ground. She then used her whip to disarm one of the men and shot the other in the leg causing him to scream out in pain. Selina moved swiftly so that the other man with the gun wouldn't have time to shoot her. She tripped the man she had disarmed allowing her to deal with the other man with the gun. She wrapped the whip around his arm dislocating his shoulder as he was pulled to the ground.
Selina kicked the man who she shot in the side of the head making sure that he would stay down. She then turned to the last man which she had previously tripped. He was starting to get up and Selina simply hit him in the face with her knee. She knew someone would have heard all the gunfire and started running towards the exit pumping the shotgun as she did this. She burst through the door and suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. She fell to the ground and rolled over to find a man pointing a gun at her.
"Don't move a damn muscle." He said. Selina was dazed since she had been hit in the head. The man turned his head to shout at what she assumed to be the other guards. This was her one chance. Instinctively she grabbed the shotgun, aimed it at the man's chest and pulled the trigger. The man fell on top of her. She knew that the guards would have heard that and she needed to get away quickly. Her arm was free so she used her whip to wrap around a nearby lamp post. She quickly pulled herself out from under the man. It hurt having the concrete scrape her back however the jacket she was wearing prevented her from getting injured. As soon as she was safe she heard men shouting letting her know that she had narrowly escaped.
Selina hopped over the wall granting her access to the Wayne Manor grounds. The pain in her arm had only grown since she left the warehouse and she knew she could find supplies to patch herself up in the manor. However the real reason she was there was to check on Bruce.
She snuck in through the window in the study. Everything was neat and tidy as it always was. Selina made her way into one of the many bathrooms knowing that she would find a first aid kit. She took her jacket off and actually looked at the gash in her arm. The bullet had just skimmed the outside so it was almost like a bad cut. Selina took out the alcohol and poured some on her cut. It stung a lot which caused Selina to flinch a bit, however she got through and stitched it up. She then finished by putting a bandage around the cut.
After Selina was done patching herself up she went to Bruce's room. She opened the door ever so quietly. Bruce looked bad, he had some visible bandages on his face and he appeared very pale. Even sleeping he seemed as if he was in pain. Selina walked closer until she was beside the bed. She watched him for a few minutes.
Selina then kissed him on the forehead. He was warm but not burning up. Selina suddenly felt warm and exposed. She knew this was irrational as no-one else was there but she felt it still. She stood there for a few moments not exactly sure how she felt.
Selina decided it was time to leave. She headed for the window and was just about to exit when she heard a small weak voice. "Selina?". She turned around and saw that Bruce was looking right at her. She stared back at him not knowing what to do. By now he had fallen back asleep but leaving didn't feel right now. She hopped off the windowsill back into the roo. She went around to the side of the bed Bruce wasn't sleeping on. She took off her jacket and boots. She climbed into the bed with Bruce. She wasn't sure why, but she felt almost happy.