Part Two

This is the fourth time the Crow has struck, thought Bruce Wayne as he examined the small amount of data that he had collected from the crime scenes. The bat computer had been able to find no references to the Crow anywhere except in a recent newspaper column.

"Good morning, Master Wayne," said Alfred Pennyworth's voice from somewhere behind Bruce. He turned around.

"It can't be that late, Alfred."

"I'm afraid so, sir," Alfred replied as he set down a tray carrying Bruce's breakfast on a nearby desk. "I'll never understand how you can stare at a newspaper clipping and hope to glean nonexistent information from it."

Bruce shrugged. "Stranger things have happened, Alfred."

"Yes of course, Master Wayne," Alfred replied.

"We're dealing with an extremely efficient killer, Alfred," Bruce sighed.

Alfred nodded. "I assume that you said as much to the police commissioner?"

"I did." Bruce ran his eyes over the data on the screen again. "Finding evidence is going to be nearly impossible."

"It seems," Alfred then said, walking forward, "that this Crow character is targeting Gotham's criminals." He glanced at Bruce. "Is it safe to assume that he'll be attempting to execute the more psychotic ones, Master Bruce?"

"Hopefully we'll have a few more leads before that."

Raising his eyebrows, Alfred said, "Someone may know. Someone with more criminal connections than yourself."

"We don't need to bring her into this, Alfred," Bruce replied swiftly.

"She may already be a part of this act."

It had started to rain.

And in Gotham, thought Selina Kyle, when it rains, it pours. She jumped through the window of her apartment and shook of excess water that she had collected.

Her nightly forays into the wilderness of Gotham City were becoming more and more common, though her prize each night varied. Most of the time, Selena simply wanted information on the recent murders.

Just who is this Crow character, she thought as she slipped out of her black leather jumpsuit and into her dressing gown. Why is he making it a point to target Gotham's criminals?

Selina glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nine o' clock exactly.

"I came back earlier than I thought," she said to herself as she put on a bathrobe overtop of her dressing gown.

Just as she had tied it around the waist, there was a crashing of glass and the room was filled with smoke. Then something hit her over the head and knocked her unconscious.

Selina came to an hour later and found herself tied to a chair.

Damn, she thought bitterly, who the hell is behind this?

She blinked and saw someone standing in front of her. A familiar woman.

"Harley," she said wryly, "to whom do I owe the pleasure?"

"Who else, kitty cat?" said a voice from out of the shadows, followed by a few chuckles. The Joker emerged a second later.

Selina shrugged as best she could. "This is completely uncalled for, Joker. What did I do to you?"

"Oh, nothing much," he laughed. "You see, I had to take you so I could use you as bait." He laughed again.

What the hell is so funny? "You're delusional if you think it'll work," Selina then said. "He's not going to come because of me. You should have gone for that other woman."

"Oooh," Joker said amusingly, "that sort of stings a bit. I'm hurt that you don't think you're important enough to lure the bat out here." He walked over to a nearby window. Rain was lashing against it. "I left him a clue, you see."

Harley Quinn put her hands on her hips. "Mister J wants you to sit there nice and quiet, cat."

Suddenly there were a series of yells, thuds, and gunfire from behind a wall on the far side of the room. Then there was silence.

"You can't resist the mewling kitten, can you bats?" Joker said into an intercom. His voice echoed all throughout the complex. "I mean, what would she do if it weren't for you, huh?"

Then Selina saw him. Batman was swooping across the upper levels of the room.

At that moment, Selina felt a tingling sensation followed by a full electric shock. She yelled in surprise and pain.

"Ah, ah, ah, bats," Joker said, chuckling. "You're not laying a finger on this cat until you've answered my questions." He paused. "So you've finally gone off the deep end, eh Batman? Why did you pick crows? I would have thought of your murder symbol being a shark, or a slice of pie with a stick of dynamite sticking out of it…no, is that just me?" Another insane laugh.

Selina was zapped again. Her vision faded out a little bit, and she knew that a concentrated jolt of electricity would kill her. Great plan, Joker, she thought as she gritted her teeth.

"Let her go, Joker," said the unmistakable voice of Batman.

"Oh bats," replied the clown. "You really should know me by now."

Selina heard a crash of glass breaking, Joker laughing, and another jolt ran through her. She was beginning to fade out of consciousness.

The last thing she saw was a dark shape grab Harley and send her flying, then she passed out.

Later, she opened her eyes slowly and found herself back in her apartment, lying on her bed. Her body felt stiff. One of her cats was rubbing up against her and purring.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked the empty space.

"You've been through worse, Selina," said Batman's voice. He stepped forward out of the shadows.

"Yeah," Selina replied, "and you've saved me more times than I care to count. I could have handled it myself."

"With your equipment, maybe," the bat replied.

"Thanks anyway," she said. "That happened too fast."

Batman ignored her statement. "Do you know anything about the Crow that's been terrorizing Gotham's criminals?"

Selina raised her eyebrows. "Only that he's the scariest creature in Gotham." She smiled. "Aside from you, of course."

"You're trying to find him." Batman stared right at her. "You're worried that he might come after you."

Shaking her head, Selina said, "Joker sounded pretty sure that it was you. That wasn't really his best plan, by the way."

"He's getting sloppy," said Batman. "I'll find out who this Crow is. In the meantime, do what you can to avoid drawing attention to yourself. I'd hate to hear that you were his next target." He turned to leave.

"That sounds like more than professional concern," Selina said, but he was gone.

Selina just stared out the window and into the rainy night beyond.