"To me, the thing that is worse than death is betrayal. You see, I could conceive death, but I could not conceive betrayal." -Malcolm X
"Well what's it gonna be then?" She asked me as we stood atop the rooftop of the police building. The bodies of a dozen unconscious police lay around us, and I could hear more thundering up the stairs. I pictured their guns and handcuffs, coming closer to arrest me once and for all.
"Either you come with me and live as a villain, or you stay here and let them catch you." The Catwoman's words rung in my ears. Her eyes shone bright and honest inside her mask. I weighed her words inside my head.
If I flee, then I become nobody. I lose everything I had, the money, the fame, the "Batman". I would be just another civilian. No, not even that, I would become a villain. A criminal. But if I stayed I would be hunted. They knew who I was by now, they knew the Caped Crusader was none other than Bruce Wayne himself. They knew where to find me; I wouldn't be able to escape. They had lured me into a trap, and I had followed their every step.
I swooped in low onto the building, landing my footing and straightening up. Commissioner Gordon stood tall beside the gleaming Bat Signal just like I expected. His back was turned towards me as I took my next couple of steps. He turned slowly, and I caught a glimpse of shining silver in his hands. He looked up at me with distressed eyes. I stood still, doing my best to mask my confusion.
"I couldn't keep them away any longer. I have to take you under arrest." Was all Commissioner Gordon said to me. He didn't move, or try to take me under his control, he just stood there, stalk still. I mirrored his body. I didn't move to run, or to fight, I was taken off guard.
"Aren't you going to run?" He hissed.
"Why?" I growled. His lips parted as if he was going to speak, but he was interrupted by the roof door slamming open. All I heard was the noise of footsteps swarming around me. A strong hand gripped my forearm, and I finally reacted. I swung my arm around, flipping the man straight to the ground. I turned arms up ready to fight, when suddenly a flash of dark mass flipped across my vision before it disappeared again. I searched quickly for the source and found a familiar woman crouched in front of me. Her leather suit caught the light just enough that I could make out most of her body before it disappeared against the black sky. The moment only lasted a minute before I could hear the shouting again, and feel the police around me. Selina Kyle, or rather Catwoman, was to her feet and fighting again.
I didn't have time to question why she was here, I needed to fight. At this point it was like second nature and my body took over, seeing and reacting while my mind traveled a million miles away.
'Why are they doing this?' I asked myself silently. I always knew a time would come where Gotham no longer needed The Batman. I just didn't expect it to be now, and I didn't expect it to be like this. I couldn't help but feel a slight pang of betrayal. After all I'd done for them they were just willing to throw me away?
The last police officer dropped, but I knew there would be more. I turned to Catwoman.
"Why are you here?" I asked her firmly. She smiled and looked up at me through her eyelashes.
"You're so charming." She teased, before turning serious (well as serious as she ever got) and speaking once more, "I got tipped off that they'd be arresting you, figured you'd need my help." I scoffed at that quietly and she continued speaking, "We need to leave. They know who you are Bruce. They are waiting at your house. You aren't safe."
I paused for a moment, trying to make sense of all this. That meant they'd arrest Alfred, maybe even Dick. How could I let that happen to them? They'd take the money, the house, everything. It's possible that they'd even find the Batcave. It was unlikely, but possible. This wasn't how it was supposed to end.
I was brought back to reality by Catwoman's light touch on my arm.
"Come with me, I'll make you a new life." She offered gently.
"I'm not a criminal." I said gruffly. And I meant it to. I wasn't, I was a hero, a symbol.
"Tell that to them." She quipped back logically. My head began to spin as I heard quick paced footsteps running up the rooftop stairs; backup. I sighed; I couldn't decide, not like this, not this quickly.
"Well what's it gonna be then?"
"Bruce!" The Catwoman's sharp words brought me back to reality. I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. Everything was silent for a moment, just a fleeting second. There was no distant sirens, no thundering footsteps, no shuddering breathing. It only took a second, and I'd made my decision. I raised my eyes to meet hers. She didn't need me to say anything, she already knew my answer.
I grabbed her arm, and leapt from the building.
I could honestly say that I'd been in this side of town only a couple times before, well, as Bruce Wayne that is. This was the "crime side" of Gotham and everyone knew it. Batman was here every week to pick off some drug dealer or mob boss one by one. I sat in what I assumed was Selina Kyle's living room. She has a dark brown couch, littered with rips and cigarette burns. I had taken my mask off and set it on the couch beside me. Selina stood in front of me, still fully dressed in her costume. She rested her hands on her hips and stared me down.
"We need to talk." She said sternly. I sat silently, waiting for her to continue. "You need to disappear."
"That's not as easy as it seems…" I said quietly.
"Oh but it is. I know one place where you can go to disappear forever." I raised an eyebrow. She took a few steps forward and leaned forward, placing her hands just above my shoulders on the couch. Her nose was centimeters from mine.
"You just have to trust me." She whispered, her breath ghosting over my lips. I said nothing.
"Good." She said pulling away and straightening up. "Well first, we'll need to get you a costume." I looked at her quizzically, glancing at my mask from where it rested just to the left of a singed hole about the size of my thumb.
"Oh no." She laughed as she strutted from the room, hips swinging. "Where we're going, being the 'Batman" isn't gonna fly."
I rolled my eyes at her badly placed pun and stood to follow her out of the room.
Over the course of the next few days Selina planned my "costume" as she called it. She explained to me that on the outskirts of town there was an apartment building bought out by some mob years ago. The local "super villains" used it as a hideout and there was plenty of room. It was where everyone went to run away from the law. It was undetected, forgotten about after all these years. All the biggest names in the crime business resided there. That's where she wanted to take me, to the biggest congregation of villains ever to exist.
The plan was simple, she stated, I dress up as Gotham's newest masked criminal, and she brings me to the house as her latest accomplice. I just try my best to fit in and stay low, they won't notice. No one makes you tell your true identity there, no one cares to know.
"They love me there." She purred, "Any friend of mine is a friend of theirs." She gave me a quick wink before walking toward the door.
"Oh yeah, and try that on will ya?" She said as she motioned to the pile of cloth that rested on the bed that sat in the bedroom. I frowned at it for a moment, before reaching out to grab it. I held up the smallest article of clothing.
I realized slowly that it was my old batman mask, just slightly altered. The bottom half, part that was usually opened for my mouth to show through was covered in a black silky material. The stitching was thick and obvious. I ran it between my fingers. It was smooth and soft and it stretched easily between my index and middle finger. The lightness of it made me realize just how easily it would breathe, perfect for a face mask.
I turned my attention to the eyes. The usual open spaces were replaced by red glass. I turned the mask around once more in my hands before pulling it quickly over my head. It was tighter around the eyes than I had expected, but it still fit well. I positioned the glass correctly over my eyes, realizing they were some form of goggles, night vision possibly. I blinked a few times and took a deep breath. It seemed to fit well, and it was movable. I glanced around the room, seeing everything in a red tint, before finding the mirror. I positioned myself in front of it, staring at my reflection. It was me, but my eyes were a bright red. The space around my mouth was black, just a tint darker than the latex of my original mask. The dark material covered my neck, and bunched slightly at my shoulders, leaving it looking rugged and messy.
I walked slowly back to the bed. I grabbed the next piece of clothing. It was a knee length, black leather trench coat. This I had seen before. My first night staying with Selina she asked me to try it on. She didn't give me any clues as to what she was going to do with it, she just wanted to see how it fit. It fit well, a bit tight, but I was able to move in it well. As I held it up now however, I realized just how much she had altered it. She has sown on many pockets throughout the jacket, and synched parts of the jacket with black belts and heavy metal buckles. I slid my arms through the sleeves and adjusted it over my body.
"Hey." A voice said from the door. I turned to look at Selina. "You need to put these on first." She said, holding up two black biker type gloves. I pulled the sleeves of the coat up and took the gloves in my hands. I positioned them to slip them on but Selina spoke again. "Be careful, they have knives." I inspected the gloves further, and realized at the tips of the fingers were pointed pieces of metal, almost like razors.
"Claws?" I asked. She laughed as she nodded. I slipped the gloves on and stretched my fingers. I clicked the metal together slowly, enjoying the sound. I pulled the sleeves of the jacket back down. Selina stepped forward slowly, her green eyes locked on to mine. She began strapping my jacket closed; the sound of clinking metal was the only sound that filled my ears.
After Selina finished I turned to see my reflection again. I had to admit it, I looked pretty good. Selina had done well.
"You about ready to go to 'the house'?" She asked playfully. I swallowed thickly, and nodded slowly.
A.N. New story guys, go ahead and drop me a review and tell me what you think. Update will be up shortly for those of you who are interested.