"Come on love," the voice drawled "don't be shy, just hand it over and I'll be gone."

The young woman clung to her bag for dear life and shook her head, this bag had been a present from her grandfather after he had come back from Australia, there was no way she was giving it to some thief.

"One last chance to do as I say before-" the voice was cut off mid-sentence by a blow to the back of his head. His unconscious form fell to the floor, as a tall man stepped out of the shadows and looked at the woman he had just rescued.

"Are you ok?" he asked in a gruff voice. The woman just stared at him, she was looking at some man who wore a tight, black rubber suite with features that resembled a bat. "I said are you ok?" he repeated.

"S...s...sorry," the woman stammered. "I'm fine now, thank you for saving me."

"Good," and without another word the man was gone. The woman looked about her, gathering herself together she walked out of Gotham City's train station into it's bustling streets. She looked about her and saw a taxi idling by the kerb and headed towards it. The taxi driver saw her headed his way and he walked towards her.

"How can I help love?" he asked kindly, the woman froze her heart pace increasing. The taxi driver walked towards her. "Hey, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine thank you," the woman said regaining her composure.

"Where to then?"

"Wayne manor please." The taxi driver stopped in his tracks. "Is there a problem?" the woman asked.

"Not at all love, in you get then," the taxi driver said opening the door for her to get in. Once she was in he closed the door and they were off.

"How far is Wayne manor from here?" the woman asked.

"It's a mile or so on the outskirts of the city, Mr Wayne likes to keep himself away from the hustle and bustle of the city, he does often host parties though," the taxi driver said not looking back.

"I see," the woman replied curtly. The next few minutes passed in silence.

"So why are you going to Wayne manor?" the taxi driver asked interrupting the silence.

The woman looked at him debating what to say "I'm applying for a job there." The rest of the journey passed in relative peace and quiet. The woman looked out of the window watching the city fly by.

"If you look straight ahead, you will see Wayne manor," the taxi driver pointed in front of him. The woman leaned forward to get a better view.

"Wow," she breathed. "It's beautiful."

"Well here we are love, that'll be $25," the taxi driver said, as the woman handed him the money. He opened the door for her and then went to the boot and took out her luggage.

"Thank you very much," the woman said smiling as the taxi driver got into his cab and pulled away from Wayne manor. She picked up her luggage and walked up the steps to the large front doors. She knocked hesitantly. After a few minutes the door was opened by a suited gentleman.

"Can I help you miss?" he asked in a strong British accent.

"Hello, I'm Lorana Thomas, and I'm here to see Mr Wayne," Lorana answered.

"Very good Miss Thomas, if you'd like to follow me," the man indicated for her to come inside. "I'm Alfred by the way." Lorana nodded as she followed Alfred into a spacious reception area.

"Master Wayne will be with you shortly Miss Thomas," Alfred said disappearing up the grand staircase. Lorana sat down on a leather sofa and looked around her at Mr Wayne's manor. The reception area in itself was huge, Lorana could imagine that rest of the rooms were of a similar size. She was interrupted by a voice entering her head.

"Miss Thomas I presume?" said a gentle voice. "I'm Bruce Wayne." Lorana stood up and took Bruce's hand in a firm handshake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Wayne," Lorana began, "as you know-"

"Yes I know why you're here Miss Thomas, by the way please call me Bruce. As I was saying I know why you're here and that's why I asked you to come to Wayne manor rather than Wayne Enterprises. If you're going to me my assistant I want it to be a less formal relationship as a lot of what I'll ask of you is not to be known by the others at Wayne Enterprises," Bruce said lightly.

"As you wish Bruce," Lorana said lightly wondering what exactly she was getting herself into.