. Batman stood by the open window of Commissioner Gordon's office. In a corrupt city like Gotham, Gordon was the only one he could trust. And with his status on the police force, he could retrieve Batman almost any information he required.
"Working late, Gordon?" The commissioner looked up from his papers on his desk.
"Batman," he said, sounding a bit startled. "What do you need?" He leaned back in his chair, pushing his glasses up from the tip of his nose, trying to appear more relaxed and regain his composure. Batman leaned against the wall, standing just outside of the window. The cool breeze of the night made his cape flutter.
"I need to find people inside Blackgate Penitentiary that know our three girls, and I need to interview them extensively," he stated, not missing a beat.
"The prison?" Gordon looked confused and leaned forward on his desk, as if he wasn't sure he heard Batman right. "How do you know that anyone will know them there?"
"Because all three of them have been in there before. Quite a few times, from what I've heard. I also need to find any workers that cared for the girls at Arkham. They're escaped mental patients," Batman explained, seeing Gordon's bemused expression.
"Well that would explain why they're working with the Joker.." he muttered. "What makes you think they'd know anything of value, though?" Though he could not tell for sure with Batman's cowl, he felt the Dark Knight's stare pierce through him.
"At this point, any information on them is valuable," he said tersely. "Can you get me the people I need?"
"It'll take some time, but, yes, I can do it…" he assured him, writing something on a piece of paper. He looked up and searched the room. "Batman?" Gordon asked. Only the curtains ruffled in the wind.
Hurry up, would you?" Flame hissed at Fox. They were in the back of an alley and Fox kneeled down, her skirt stretched across the top half of her legs. Her body and mind were focused on a small lock that her hands were working vigorously to defeat. Kitten typed busily on her computer.
"I'm trying, I'm trying," Fox replied wearily, rolling her eyes.
"Yay! I'm done!" Kitten said happily, clapping her hands together and looking up at her teammates. "I shut down their security system. The cameras aren't even taping anymore!" Fox turned to her, mouth open.
"Damn! You're awesome at hacking! I should have had you back in my petty theft days… Everything would have been so much easier.." Fox said wistfully. Kitten smiled at her. "And… almost got it…"
"Ugh, you're taking too long," Flame said, pulling out her shot gun. Chick-chick-BOOM! The lock bust and the door flew open. Luckily as Kitten promised, no alarms went off.
"I was almost done!" Fox said haughtily, glaring at Flame.
"Was that necessary…?" Kitten asked. Flame shrugged, ignoring Fox, and made her way into the jewelry store.
"People could have heard that, you know," Fox said.
"Whatever," she replied, taking out three sacks. "Put everything you find in the sacks. I'd stay away from glass objects, though, because they'll probably end up breaking." She handed them each one as they nodded. "K, let's hurry this shit up, I'm hungry."
The three girls split up and began shoving everything that wasn't locked up into the bags. Flame easily shattered any glass case by hitting it with her shotgun. They worked very quickly and had almost everything in the store within minutes. Kitten lagged behind, her sack barely full, as she became distracted once more with the lure of the dazzling stones.
"This is pretty," she said, smiling sweetly as she held up and elaborate diamond and silver necklace. It glittered as the chain slithered through her fingers. "I wonder if my Joker will let me keep a few things? I'm sure he will.. He's always so generous."
"Hurry your ass up!" Flame yelled, setting her full sack down. Fox trotted over and set her own, almost over-flowing bag down next to hers. Kitten frowned.
"You're so mean, Flame!" she said, shoving the necklace ill-temperedly into her bag and pouring all the jewels that sat on the counter in front of her in as well. She walked over to the other two and sat her bag down.
"Okay, we're finally done. Now let's get the hell out of here," Flame led the way back outside into the alley.
"Um," Fox said, tossing her bag down. "Why don't we have a vehicle?"
"Because the Joker dropped us off, dumbass," Flame replied.
"Joker should be here soon…" Kitten said hopefully, her eyes shining. Flame looked around and saw a piece of paper nailed to a wall, fluttering in the wind, the white in deep contrast with its shabby and dark surroundings. She read it and her eyes narrowed with irritation, a deep frown appearing on her face.
"Great," she said, snatching the paper from the wall and handing it over to Fox and Kitten.
Dear girls,
Sorry I can't pick you up. I have business to attend to. Find your own way home.
XOXO,
The Joker
"Are you fucking kidding me!" Does he expect us to WALK home?! AGH!" Fox ripped up the note. "He sends us on this dumbass heist and then ditches us! How the hell are we supposed to get away without a GETAWAY car?!"
"God, Fox, chill out, would you?" Flame said wearily.
"Aaah… Fox is being scary…" Kitten hid behind Flame.
"Well, then. What are we supposed to do?!" Fox shot back at them.
"We find a car and highjack it, obviously," Flame replied coolly."
"One: Where are we going to get this car? Two: Don't' you think people will be a bit suspicious of us having three bags filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry. And three: We're not exactly inconspicuous with our brightly-colored hair!" Fox's voice rose as she finished, her amber eyes glowing dangerously.
"I'll stay with the bags. You two find a car." Flame said matter-of-factly. Fox glared but gestured for Kitten to follow her as she turned her back and walked off to the street.
They strolled down the street, Fox's boots clacking ahead of Kitten as several longer strands of her blue hair whipped almost with a violent tendency from side to side.
"Know what'd really be horrible?" Fox said, musing.
"What's that?"
"If Bats came and got us while we're looking for the car. It would be just our luck," she said, chuckling dryly.
"Don't say that! You're going to jinx us!" Kitten scolded her, disapprovingly. She hit Fox on the back of the head.
"Hey, hey. No need to hit me. Let's just find a car fast and we wont have to worry about it." She looked from side to side, searching both sides of the street, but only seeing cars on the road. "I suppose we could just point a gun to someone's head and highjack the car… But it'd be less dangerous if we just hotwired one.."
"What about that one?" Kitten asked, mildly, pointing to a car across the street. Fox gasped.
"That's a coupe! Holy shit, that's a nice car! We have to steal that! C'mon!" she grabbed Kitten by the wrist and raced across the street, dodging cars as they ran. As soon as they were right next to it, Fox unrolled a tool kit and chose her desired utilities. She then went to work after Kitten sent out a high-frequency signal, disabling the car's alarm system. A lock clicked and Fox hopped in the front seat. Kitten opened the passenger door and sat down, reclining in the leather seat. Fox held the steering-wheel with awe and caressed the interior lovingly. She bent down and hotwired it, revving the engine and smirking.
"Okay, let's go pick up Flame, Kitten." Fox began to pull out into the street, turning the radio all the way up and blasting metal music. Straps burst forth from the seats and clasped themselves firmly around the two girls. "I don't remember reading about this function…"
"Agh! It's too tight! How do you get it off!" Kitten squealed, thrashing about.
"You don't," a voice replied smugly, the music shutting off. More straps came out, holding down their arms, legs and necks. The car continued on, driving down the road, an invisible hand seeming to guide the steering wheel as it turned itself.
"Let me out! Stop this fucking car right now!" Fox yelled, struggling. The voice ignored her and the car kept driving. "Goddammit! We fell into a trap!"
"I want to go back to the Joker!" Kitten started to cry, giving up on her vain attempts to break loose.
"Shut up!" Fox hissed. "Keep your goddamn mouth shut, woman!" Kitten wailed and burst into tears.
"Just sit tight, ladies, and enjoy the ride," the voice said condescendingly.
"Aaagh! Let-me-OUT!" Fox flung herself against the straps, trying as hard as she could to break free from her bonds, but they held her tightly in place. The voice chuckled.
"You'll have to do better than that if you want to get out of my car." Kitten was still weeping in desperation, hardly seeming to hear the man on the radio.
"It's ok, Kitten, we'll get out of here," Fox said reassuringly.
"But what if we don't and I never see the Joker again!" Kitten sobbed. Fox twitched at the sound of his name, restraining herself from reminding her partner to keep her mouth shut.
"I'll make sure we get back," she replied.
"Oh, really?" the voice said, amused. "You think you can get away from me? It will be interesting to see you try." Fox glared at the radio. "You two don't seem nearly as intelligent as even that over-sized rodent! How can you possibly escape my trap? All your attempts seem quixotic at the best. I'm sure he would have performed far more admirably. Or, at least, not have been idiotic enough to take my bait."
"You talk a lot of shit for someone hiding behind a car," Fox growled.
"You'll see my face in due time, dear Fox. You just have to wait for the opportune moment."
"And when I do, I'll blow it off!"
"Violence… it's so.. Barbaric. No, no, we are going to have a competition. But not a physical one, oh no. In my game, your guns bombs, and physical prowess will hardly help you," the voice said.
"I don't want to play a game!" Kitten said. "Let us go home!"
"Hush, you would do well to listen when your superiors are talking. Above all else, your mind should be your biggest asset. You accuse me of hiding behind my invention? You hide behind your bombs and guns like a king hides behind his swarms of soldiers, like a coward. When placed in a real competition with me, I'll beat you bar-none. But all of you are bronze and no brain so it should hardly be a challenge…" the voice trailed off, a bit wistfully as though he had hopped for better opponents. "I'm sure you'll serve your purpose, however. I just expect a couple hours entertainment out of you. Meanwhile, though, sit back and relax. You're almost there."
"Where's 'there'?" Kitten asked.
"You'll see."