Note: these stories are not based on any official Batman or DC Comics continuity. They are their own self-contained universe. So when you see continuity variations from the current cinematic universe, comic books, video games, whichever version you prefer, don't be surprised.
Batman's perspective:
It had been two years since Bruce Wayne first started wearing a bat-like costume and fighting crime. Two years of patrol, detective work, and of course, ambushing the criminal element of Gotham City. So far so good. Crime had steadily decreased over the last two years. But this wasn't enough. What happened to Bruce's parents twenty-one years before was still happening to a lot of people. Until Gotham was a more or less peaceful town, the mission was still a work in progress.
At some point during these six months the local media had dubbed him "The Batman." He hadn't actually cared what anyone called him. The only reason he dressed like a bat was because people are afraid of dark symbols. Well, that and Bruce could see bats every time he set foot in the aptly named Batcave under Wayne Manor. In any event, most criminals seemed afraid of the one called Batman so he embraced the name.
Standing on a rooftop, Batman could see two men walking to a nearby electronics store just as it had closed up. Hmm... a little too attentive for unfortunate customers. They even had winter caps to partially conceal their heads without looking suspicious. Batman kept an eye out. Sure enough, he could see the men leaving out the back door with bags of equipment. Time for Batman to punch his cards.
Swinging on his Batgrapple, Batman landed directly in front of where the burglars were running. "He's real," said one of them, surprised. The two drew butcher knives but did not form ranks or even look for an opening before charging. Amateurs. Batman disarmed the surprised burglar who had just spoken with a karate chop, then knocked the other down with a side kick to the abs. A jab-jab-cross combo to the standing criminal had him out cold.
The other one was smartly trying to run away. Not that it really did him much good. Catching up to and tackling him, Batman lifted him into the air by the coat. He looked frightened. "Who are you working for?" asked Batman? "N-nobody," said the burglar. Batman grimaced. "Nobody, I swear!" shouted the scared burglar. Batman still wasn't entirely sure but it didn't look as though they were talking either way. They were already afraid enough.
After stringing them up and calling the police, Batman continued his patrol. The reason he believed the burglars might be working for someone was because both Batman and the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) had reason to believe that there existed mobs controlling much of Gotham's crime. There was a reason why when outsiders thought of Gotham they thought of crime. It was because Gotham was by far the most gang-infested town in North America.
Batman now noticed a man pulling a young woman into an alley. "Money and any credit cards ya got or kiss brick!" said the mugger. Batman swooped down, landing on the man's head. A punch to the fallen oppenent's face took the fight out of him. "This don't solve nothin'!" taunted the mugger. "I'll be back on the street in a month, tops!" Probably. But maybe that didn't have to be a problem. Batman got completely in his face. "Fine," Roared Batman. "I'll just find and catch you again. Think I can't? Think of how quickly I found you!" Now the mugger had gone from cocky to stammering and swallowing. Maybe now he wouldn't try this again.
Upon stringing him up, Batman discovered that the young woman hadn't left. "Thanks," she said. Batman didn't really ask for thanks from the bystanders he helped. He did this because he felt he needed to. For his parents and justice. Nonetheless, Batman replied, "You're welcome," then started to walk away.
Just as Batman was reaching into his belt for his Batgrapple, the woman who Batman had rescued moved back in front of him with a smile. "I'm not saying this means you own me but I would love to know you better." Just before their hand would have met, Batman said, "I'm in a relationship." Bruce Wayne was, actually. The lady froze. "Oh," she said, walking away.
Suddenly, it hit Batman. Bruce was supposed to have met another lady at the manor five minutes ago. And this wasn't a PR date, either. It was someone he genuinely liked. Batman rushed to where he had the Batmobile parked. He had to get home fast! Upon entering the cockpit he hit the gas and picked up the car phone. "Alfred," he said. "Master Bruce," replied the British butler. "I'm late for an appointment," explained Batman. "Have a tuxedo ready for me in the Batcave." "The master may be the greatest hero Gotham City has ever known," noted Alfred, "but he's clearly not the most loyal boyfriend of all time."
"I'm in no mood for humor, Alfred... But I guess I deserve that."
Henchman's perspective:
A nervous man named Jobo walked into the office of his odd-looking boss. "OK, we got the chemicals." "Excellent!" But Jobo was puzzled by his boss' plan. "Why the gas, boss? There's not much money to be made in destruction." "This isn't merely about money," explained the boss. "Everybody likes a good show. Especially if that show is comedy. Ha, Ha! We are gonna put on a truly great show! One that will have them counting the seconds until the next performance. Those who haven't died laughing, anyway." The boss began laughing hysterically.
What have I signed up for, wondered Jobo with a chill.
Bruce's perspective:
The Batmobile sped through the holographic wall concealing the tunnel through the Batcave and into the driveway in front of the Batcomputer. There was the texedo waiting for Batman, along with a note reading, "Change into this quickly, sir!"
Bruce got a glance of his date, Christie Whitlock, in the dining room. Her hair was a short brown bob and she looked really upset. Not that Bruce blamed her. Thirty-two minutes late. "Good luck, sir," Alfred wished him. Bruce knew he'd need it. Stepping into the dining room Bruce tried, "Christie..." "Don't," warned Christie. "You can tell me how you were so late beyond your work hours. No more."
"I... had a wild night."
"You mean you were drunk?"
"Drunk with action." He hadn't lied yet. That was the one thing he hated about having a secret identity. But he had no choice. Being the bane to crime was suicide if criminals knew your address.
"You mean you just got carried away sober?" asked an appalled Christie? Bruce nodded. "And I tried to give you credit. Tell me you didn't meet anyone."
"I did..." Christie was groaning. "...And she asked me to get to know her but I turned her down." Bruce wondered if he'd said too much. "You've gotta be telling the truth," realized Christie. "Because no one would lie about negligence and even near cheating when he's already in trouble. I'll stay." Bruce sighed in relief as he sat down and the couple ate squid and shrimp.
Small talk was littered throughout the meal. Finally, Bruce asked, "so what's your current assignment?" Christie was a journalist for Gothic Report, a big, local professional web site devoted to news in Gotham City. "The Batman," said Christie. "Would it help if I said I was sorry?" asked Bruce. Christie started laughing. "I'm not sixteen anymore. I meant I want to get the scoop on The Batman."
This was potentially unlucky. "So don't be jealous," Christie assured him. "I'm not jealous," said Bruce. Kind of hard to be jealous of yourself.
"Then why were you so uncomfortable when I mentioned him?" smiled Christie. Bruce was surprised that Christie noticed that so she explaned, "We always know our men better than our men know us." Quite possibly, but in this case, not that well.
"Just out of curiousity," inquired Bruce, "What 'scoop' are you digging for?" "Actually, many scoops," explained Christie. "What he does, how he does it, his measurements - again, I don't mean to make you jealous, I mean scientific measurements - how he gets around unseen, and most importantly, who he really is."
That last part hit Bruce like a sledgehammer! He thought he might have found love yet it seemed to be with a woman who threatened to end his crimefighting career! "Why do you seem to have a problem with this?" asked Christie. "He does seem to be a force for good," said Bruce. He was trying his best poker face. Christie seemed able to read him.
"A lot of people thought Nixon, Hitler, and the old crime families were 'forces for good' too, Christie noted. "For a member of the elite, you are so naive. Plus, he's my ticket to a Pulitzer!"
"Maybe we should talk about something else," said Bruce, realizing that he wasn't changing Christie's mind. "Believe me, work isn't what I wanted to talk about right now, anyway." The rest of dinner went well. They shared childhood notes and had good laughs about each other's pet peeves.
After all the food was finished, it was time for goodbyes. "You gave me a good time," Christie complimented. "I am so close to forgiving you for being late" She then kissed Bruce on the cheek. "Just don't do it again." With Christie on the way back to suburban Gotham, Bruce figured he needed to talk to Alfred about his little dilemma.
"Alfred, there's been a problem."
"She seems to be more or less past your tardiness."
"Unfortunately, she's after The Batman's mask." Alfred seemed to understand. "Yes, that would be a problem. Simple solution: end this relationship."
"I'm not an undisciplined man," Bruce assured him. "But it's not that simple. She sensed my discomfort when we talked about Batman."
"So it would be suspicious if you suddenly made a 'we're from different worlds' speech."
"Exactly."
"As long as you be extra careful and leave no evidence of who you are," said Alfred, "You should be fine."
"It's not that easy," Bruce feared. "She's an investigative genius and she's at the point where she notices all the little details that only a girlfriend would notice. If she so much as gets a good look at me in the costume, I think she will know that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person."
"Telling the truth does sometimes smooth these things."
"And sometimes they don't. Besides, she's not completely over my being late. I'm in no position to ask for her understanding."
"So... lover of Bruce Wayne," Alfred summed it up. "Adversary of Batman. I long for the days when relationships made sense."
"Me too," agreed Bruce.
Commissioner Gordon's perspective:
In the food court of a Gotham mall, Commissioner James Gordon, Lieutenant Marc Freeman, and Detectives Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya were looking over the bodies of thirteen victims of a mass murder. bizarrely enough, the faces appeared to be smiling.
"Had to be a mob hit," concluded Bullock.
"Any info that any of them did anything to put targets on them?" Gordon asked the other two.
"Nope," said Freeman.
"These are mostly faceless kids," said Bullock. "Only insultin' a gang leader or fallin' behind on payments fer drugs would get them targets on their asses."
"Maybe there is no grand motive," suggested Montoya.
"Has to be," figured Freeman. "Anybody dumb enough to kill on a whim is also too dumb to execute murders this sophisticated."
"But why a public place like the food court?" asked Montoya. "That attracts too much attention."
"So does makin' these faces smile, I gotta admit," conceded Bullock. "not that I got any idea how the hell they did that! But it don't make sense for this to be a random killin' spree."
"'Once you eliminate the impossible,'" quoted Gordon,"'whatever remains however improbable, must be true.'"
Bruce's perspective:
The following morning, Bruce had his almost daily word with his company vice president, Lucius Fox. "How was last night?" Lucius asked. "Up and down," said Bruce.
"Christie's a 'can't live with her, can't live without her' kind of girl?"
"Not really, but there are certain... conflicts. What of business?"
"Bad news," Lucius said apologetically. "It's a regular day. Except that I believe our stocks and revenues are up. Absolutely nothing to take your mind off relationship squabbles."
"I don't shoot messengers," said Bruce. "To your office."
Come lunch break, most people who worked in an office could be found eating lunch and maybe watching TV or playing a game on their phone. Bruce preferred to check the Internet for any recent crimes in town. It seemed that there had been a mass murder in the mall. It was a perfectly planned but illogical gas attack. Not that there was any good reason for murder but using chemicals designed to pull people's lips up into smiles was just begging to be caught. So it was an ingenious kill yet totally mindless!
Only one conclusion to draw from this: the killer was insane. That was the only way anyone smart enough to pull this off wouldn't be smart enough to make it a less obvious murder scene. So this wouldn't be an easy case. Random crimes were unpredictable. No reason equaled no motive. The criminal mind capable of this wasn't coventional but it was one of the hardest to catch.
At least Batman was too cold and calculating for anyone to say that he'd wished for this difficult case without care.
Batman's perspective:
After an hour and fifty-three minutes of investigating Batman hadn't found anything but an unrelated armed robbery to stop. Not that he was abandoning his other responsibilities. He really didn't expect to find the new lunatic on the first night, anyway. Still some time before...
Hold on! Batman heard what looked like an explosion in another district. Batman turned on the radio that he had tuned to police frequencies in the Batmobile. "Calling all cars. Bombing in progress in Jameston, Gotham. Unkown suspect, considered to be armed and dangerous." Whether this was connected to the bombing or not didn't affect Batman's decision to get involved. But he doubted this was a coincidence.
Upon nearing the scene of the crime, the Batnavicomputer detected several wildly fast-moving vehicles... only one whose driver seemed to know what he/she was doing. Maybe this would be a short case after all.
Upon catching up to the vehicle on a bridge, Batman used the Batwinch to hook the fast car he was focusing on, then hit the brakes. Out came a man with a gun. Batman instinctively hopped to the side and threw a Batarang into the man's arm, forcing him to drop the gun in pain. An instant later, Batman had decked him gripped him by the shirt. "Boss is in the car," he said. Punching out the frightened thug, Batman faced the car in time to see someone step out of the driver's side.
Batman had left his headlights on so he could somewhat clearly see this man. He looked fairly skinny and an even six feet tall. He was dressed in a purple 1930's mafia suit, complete with matching hat. Most notable was the chalk-white skin, red lips, and green hair. "Who are you supposed to be?" he asked. "Dracula or The Great Batsy?" "You're not exactly normal yourself, mad clown," retorted Batman.
"The Joker at your service," said the weird one as he reached for the flower on his suit. It squirted out acid. Batman was able to block the stream of bat killer with his acidproof cape. At the same time, he rushed forward before The Joker realized this. A moment after the acid harmlessly deflected off Batman's cape, his fist met Joker's face. It wasn't enough to knock the evil clown over, so Batman grabbed and slammed him against the car that remained hooked!
"Did you blow up that building, Joker?"
"Yeah."
"Were you responsible for yesterday's gas attack in a mall?"
"Yeah."
"Why."
"Physical comedy. like so..."
Batman lurched away as he felt searing pain to the side of his belly button. The Joker was now carrying an automatic pistol. The kevlar suit wasn't very effective against bullets at that close range. Couldn't be perfectly protective without cramping movement. "Yes, you may have another," assured Joker, taking another shot, this time into Batman's upper abdomin. Without his suit he'd be dead now, not backed onto the edge of the bridge. Batman was groaning in pain when he saw the gun in his exposed face.
"I do believe we've got pests in town," said the Joker with laughter. "Good thing I brought my own repellent." Using the outside of the bridge's barrier, Batman wrapped his legs around the Joker's shooting arm to veer it off-target. Three shots missed. But a good push from Joker had Batman tumbling off the bridge.
Time to see if all of Batman's adolescence of training in China had paid off. He took a shot with his Batgrapple to a nearby light post. He had to look fast and shoot straight before the momentum of the fall would be enough for a sudden stop to break his arm. Success! After wrapping his legs around the post so as to cling to it, Batman used the Batgrapple to get back onto the bridge.
Jobo's perspective:
A good kick to the face had awakened Jobo."Wha?" The Joker was not happy. "I'm quite disappointed in you, Jobo. I can take incompetence, but betrayal?" Now his hand was on the acid flower.
Talk fast!
"I had no choice," implored Jobo. "He had me. It's not like he could take you." Kissing The Joker's ass seemed to have done the trick. "True," said Joker. "He backed you into the corner but no harm's been done. But you know what? I never did like you anyway." He laughed and laughed as he squirted acid into Jobo's neck. The unfortunate Jobo quickly lost consciousness.
Batman's perspective:
Upon getting back on the bridge, Batman saw that The Joker had apparently unhooked his car and was speeding away. Alas, there was a dying man nearby. Batman wasn't about to let Joker kill another, even if it did seem to be his comrade who he had apparently turned on.
Batman tried to douse the acid with his cape. No luck. The man died. "I knew you were no good," a female voice called from a distance away. "But I never figured you were a murderer!" Batman looked back to see an infuriated Christie in her car. Before Christie would've gotten the one good look she needed at Batman's lower face, Batman turned back away from her. "I didn't kill him," Batman tried to explain. "A man calling himself The Joker did."
"Whatever," said Christie. "I'm a reporter. I'll give the people your story. But first I need your name, date of birth, and address. Oh and by 'name' I mean real name."
Clever. Christie had given Batman terms the public would find more than fair but that he couldn't accept. And Batman couldn't get back to the Batmobile without getting his face in Christie's sight. No choice but to try to escape on foot.
Of course, even Batman couldn't escape from a woman with a car. And knowing Christie, she had the equipment to get clear footage of Batman jumping off the side. Batman had to get to moving cars and start hopping across them. He gave that 1-in-25 odds.
Batman then heard Christie's car right beside him, dragging those odds down to zero. Batman covered his face with his right hand but not his eyes, which were now hurting badly. Batman fell to the ground as the pain in his eyes intensified, though he did remember to keep his face covered.
"Gotham's no place for women without mace," explained Christie as she got out of her parked car. She must have sprayed Batman with it as she passed by. "Too many bad men in town... like you." By now Batman heard Christie's footsteps inching closer and and closer to him. "You wanted the hard way? Here it is. First the mask, then the shots for my editor, then prison."
It was no use to explain. Time for something Batman learned in his training but thought he'd never use. "Did you actually..." said Batman in his Bruce Wayne voice, ventriloquisting it a distance behind Christie.
As Christie turned around, she said, "Mm-hmm. I even caught him in the act of... murder. Must have been my imagination." By this time Batman had wept off his eyes enough to get back to the Batmobile, climb in, and drive away. A quick U-turn later and the Batmobile was speeding away at 125 MPH. Christie wasn't catching him now. He did hear one last proclaimation from Christie as he escaped though: "This isn't over, Batman! I'll find you again."
Those were not pleasant words to hear. Batman had to be more careful in the future. Part of him wondered if Bruce Wayne should make up an excuse to stop seeing Christie after enough time had passed that it wouldn't be suspicious. But Batman knew that wasn't right. Damn it all, Christie wasn't a bad person. She was one of many good people who misunderstood what Batman did. How could Batman justify breaking Christie's heart when she simply didn't deserve that?
And yet, the alternative was a game of Russian roulette.
Christie's perspective:
Christie Whitlock was angry and determined. She had him. Her mace had him ripe for unmasking. And then she got a hallucination at the worst possible moment. Not that she didn't love Bruce, but romance had a time and place. Or had Batman somehow thrown Bruce's voice? Christie's relationship with Bruce was publictly known, after all. Probably the case. Christie had never really hallucinated as an adult. She certainly hoped she hadn't started now.
A career woman couldn't waste time on her failures. Not when more than a Pulitzer was at stake. Batman had lost control and murdered an unarmed man. He had to be punished. Killing unarmed people was not the way to clean up Gotham. Christie had to expose the face behind the mask.
Of course, Batman had to be a good way away by now. The search might have to wait another night. Unless... that poor scumbag couldn't have been the lone bomber. Batman was no doubt picking up the trail of the others. So if Christie could pick up Batman's trail, she could nail all the worst criminals in Gotham at one great night!
The Gothic Report would of course get exclusive coverage of this double bust. Christie would see to that.
Batman's Perspective
Christie, for the time being, had been left in the dust. And the wounds on Batman's stomach had been bandaged. Time for Batman to focus on The Joker. He had soon enough made it around to the opposite end of the bridge. Of course The Joker's car wasn't here and not even on the radar but there was a man on the sidewalk who looked positively shocked! And Batman had an idea of what had surprised this person.
Getting out of the car, Batman caught this man in a short foot chase and grabbed him by the arms. "I just want to ask what you saw."
"I don't know," said the man. Batman drew a wallet and $50 bill out of his belt. "Wild driver turned right two intersections down the road."After handing over the money, Batman reentered the Batmobile and followed, passed an intersection, and turned right on the next intersection.
Soon enough, Batman entered a neighborhood with The Joker's car parked next to a house. Now it was time for the hard part. Batman had to check and see if he was physically fit for combat. Batman closed his eyes for a few seconds and reopened them. They had more or less recovered from being maced by Christie. Was the same true of Batman's midsection? It better have been, because rain or shine, this case had to be closed tonight!
Odd. A window was open. Batman hopped up into it. Sure enough, there was a carpet below. A trap was no doubt hidden underneath it. Batman knew The Joker might have suspected that Batman might pick up his trail. He dropped into the house away from the carpet and whatever trap was underneath it.
Batman didn't have to wander far. He saw the back of The Joker's head on a couch, watching television. Careless. Too careless. Especially for someone who had set a trap. Had to be a mannequin decoy. Batman seized a Batarang and leaped forward, turning his body to face the kitchen area that he hadn't been able to see from his vantage point. Sure enough, The Joker was standing there with his pistol. Batarang in the arm had Joker dropping his gun. By the time he retrieved it, Batman had reached the kitchen and slapped the gun away. Batman pulled the right side of his cape in front of Joker's flower just in time to block the acid. Little bits of acid deflected into The Joker, catching him in his own trap and forcing him back.
Batman advanced, ripping out the flower. A kick to the midsection had Joker sitting down. "It's over," said Batman. But The Joker whipped out another gun with a spring-loaded boxing glove inside. When the glove hit Batman's chin, he was rocked back. As he reinserted the glove into the gun, Joker exclaimed, "That's gonna leave a mark!" in a so-so impression of a melodramatic sports commentator. Another shot from the boxing gun had Batman on the floor and groaning.
Batman couldn't afford to take another blow from that glove. Just as he was realizing that, Joker had a foot on his chest and was taking aim at Batman's mouth. "This is an absolutely dominating performance by..." A punch to Joker's exposed groin forced him to hunch over and drop the gun in pain. Batman twisted around on his back so as to deck The Joker with a kick! Getting up, Batman lifted The Joker up to face him. "He's made a comeback," said Batman, headbutting Joker out.
Just then, Batman heard a gun cock from just outside the kitchen. "She sure has," proclaimed Christie. Not again...
"Listen..." tried Batman. "Save it," rejected Christie. "I saw you over that unarmed man's corpse. And now I see you with that unconscious psychopath. Unnecessarily killing criminals is still murder."
Batman agreed, though there didn't seem to be any way to convince Christie of that. "First the belt of tricks," said Christie. "Then the mask." next was pause from both opponents. "You think I won't kill the bastard who I saw commit murder? You're armed and have a victim in your hands. Nobody's blaming me. Take off the belt and mask. Last warning."
Because Christie was behind Batman, he couldn't tell if the gun was aimed at his head or back. So there was no surefire way out of this. But there was one good way out. He quickly leaned forward so his head wasn't in range. Christie started shooting Batman in the back. But two layers of protection, the cape and suit, rendered the bullets harmless. After the eighth shot, Batman heard the gun click.
Christie sighed. "Well-played," she had to admit. "Go ahead. Kill me. But I've got a bunch of fearless journalists waiting to take my place. Someone will finish what I've started. You'll see!."
Batman's answer to that was a smoke bomb in the direction of Christie's voice. The sound of her coughs was Batman's ticket out of there. On the way out, Batman called, "Make sure the police get him."
Christie's perspective:
Christie figured that the only reason why Batman had spared her was because intimidating her was the only way to end Gothic Report's hunt for the Dark Blight. As if that was ever going to happen.
"So The Batman took him down?" asked Commissioner Gordon, who was one of the police officers who had answered Christie's call. "After murdering his assistant," clarified Christie. "We of Gothic Report says Batman's as bad as this man." "Your viewpoint is noted," said Gordon. "You mean you're not going after him?" asked Christie in frustration. "We're looking into all possibilities," assured Lieutenant Freeman.
Christie wasn't dumb. She knew how cops talked. "That means you're not gonna do anything about him." "Least you got yer story," consoled Detective Bullock. True. This night had been successful. But a dangerous man was still on the loose. "You haven't heard the last from us on this!" promised Christie.
Gordon had returned to his office. There were some things he had to get before returning home. He heard a spooky voice declare, "All's well that ends well." Gordon turned to see a man dressed in a sleek bat costume. "The Batman, I presume?" inquired Gordon. Batman nodded. "I suggest a working relationship," said Batman. "What kind of relationship?" asked Gordon. "Have a bat-shaped searchlight built," suggested Batman. "When a case has you stumped, give me a crack at it." "Why not join the force instead?" asked Gordon. "Official procedures make it too slow and ineffective," said Batman.
Commissioner Gordon's Perspective:
Gordon's first instinct was to turn Batman down. Relying on a vigilante was not exactly how they taught you at the academy. But something gave him pause. High crime was a way of life in Gotham City. And it's not like doing everything by the book had worked. "Agreed," he said. And the two shook hands.
Bruce's perspective:
Bruce and Christie were eating at a fancy restaurant to celebrate Christie's big story. Getting the exclusive scoop on the capture of The Joker had put Christie on the map in a big way! "They say I'm already in the running for that Pulitzer!" said Christie. She was very happy about that. "If I put in a good word for you with some people," offered Bruce, "I think I can make sure you win it!" "Thank you Bruce," said Christie. "You're everything I can ask for in a boyfriend!" "Except punctual?" asked Bruce. They both laughed. "Actually, the ability to laugh at your own flaws isn't bad, either," complimented Christie. They leaned forward to kiss.
"What now for your career?" asked Bruce. "Batman's a slippery one," admitted Christie. "But I'm gonna get 'im!" Bruce was disappointed to hear that. "But you're getting what you want," Bruce pointed out. "This isn't about my career anymore," said Christie. "He's a killer!" "The police are giving him a blank check because they're so scared of the vermin that they're trusting the wrong 'superhero.' If nobody else will expose that loose cannon, I will!"
Why fight it? Bruce and Christie seemed destined to be both friends and foes until Christie gave up the chase. Or caught Batman. As close as she'd twice come the other night, that couldn't be ruled out.
"Great dish!" Bruce changed the subject. "Let's eat here again." "Yes, let's," agreed Christie.