A/N: I want to thank my two reviewers for my last chapter (DragonFlame27, you especially hold a place in my heart- you read my other story, too!) Anyways, in this chapter we really start to see some of the repercussions of the Joker's insanity (like I said in the summary- it's about his affect on people), and Bruce meets Selina, albeit under some pretty tense conditions.
Disclaimer: I own the movie, the novelization of the movie, and the rights to the next film. Oh, wait, that was just the really good dream I had last night. Oh well, I've still got the first two.
Chapter 7: A Long, Dark Knight
December 5
11:07 am. Bruce knelt before the cold stone monument. It was on the top of one of the hills in Gotham cemetery. He ran his fingers gently over the engraved marble profile, gently setting the white rose in his other hand gently on the grass. It was fresher than the ones he'd left last time. For a long time he stayed silent and unmoving. He'd never been the type to talk to headstones. Even as a child, he'd only kept a respectful silence around his parents' headstones. Eventually, he stood and allowed Alfred to step forward. Apparently, he had no such qualms about speaking to the dead. As he informed the late attorney of recent developments, Bruce turned and started down the hill.
He was near the car when he noticed the funeral dispersing below. A line of people dressed in black filed past three freshly dug graves. Scanning the faces, Bruce recognized a few doctors that he'd seen at Gotham Memorial before, interspersed with some college-age kids. They walked by the graves quietly, a few stopping momentarily to speak to someone sitting in the front row. When they had all moved on, he was shocked to see Leah, her head bent and hair hanging in her face. Sitting next to her was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her raven hair fell in loose curls about her face, and she had an arm around the girl's shoulders. Bruce made his way down to the pair as they sat there.
The woman looked up sharply as he approached. Her eyes were a bright green that might, under other circumstances, have been lively and excited. Now they were simply wary. Her arm tightened around Leah as she spoke, "Can I help you?"
"I… uh, I'm Bruce Wayne," he stuttered, startled at her hostility.
"So, you're the famous Bruce Wayne," she gave him a disinterested look, "Can I help you?"
"My parents are dead, Mr. Wayne," Leah spoke suddenly. Her voice was dull and tired sounding, and she continued to stare at her lap. It was then that he noticed the three black-tipped roses she held. Her hands shook slightly as she continued, "My brother, too. Yesterday."
"If that's all you wanted, you can leave now," the woman said, "I don't think that…" she trailed off as Leah stood and walked over to the graves. Her hands were clenched around the flowers and shaking fiercely as she spoke, but her voice remained dull and emotionless, "They were smiling," she said, staring at her trembling hands, "They were grinning and it was wrong. It was so wrong," she looked up, "Why were they smiling, Selina?" she asked, addressing the dark-haired woman.
Selina knelt beside Leah and took the girl's hands into her own. Then she let out a gasp as she looked down, "Oh my god," gently, she pried apart Leah's clenched fingers, unwrapping them from the stabbing thorns. The stems were wet with blood, and it was flowing freely from her hands.
"It wasn't right, it wasn't right," she muttered softly, shaking her head. Even after Selina helped her stand and start walking away, her lips moved soundlessly. Bruce watched them go, unsure of what he could do. Once, Selina turned and looked at him, her eyes filled with sorrow, but she quickly ducked her head again as they disappeared around a stand of trees. When they were gone, he knelt and picked up the fallen flowers. The stems were still sticky, and the blood was the same deep color of the petals.
"Who are those for, sir?" Alfred asked. He'd approached without Bruce noticing.
"Someone who shouldn't need them," he replied, and dropped one rose in each grave.
12:43 pm. Selina watched her cousin worriedly. She'd managed to staunch the blood flow with some towels from her trunk, but Leah was still unresponsive to all her attempts to talk. She was still mouthing the words that she'd been saying since that morning. But even as Selina cared for the girl, another part of her was purring in delight. In two days, she'd met two of Gotham's legends. And she was pretty sure she'd managed to piss them both off. The Cat arched its back and rumbled contentedly. It was wondering what kinds of pretty toys the Wayne boy had at his house. And it knew how to get what it wanted.
Leah moaned suddenly, and the Cat was forced into the back of her mind. She looked down at the girl's hands. The bandages wrapped around them were soaked through with blood. Selina made a decision.
"Come on, little cousin," she said softly, "We're going to the hospital."
9:56 pm. In Gotham, three things were happening at once. Beneath Wayne Manor, a billionaire who had been described by the tabloids as a playboy was wrapping old bruises and preparing to sustain fresh injuries. Across town, a woman with startling green eyes dressed all in black and slipped out of her small, cat-infested apartment. And in a cold hospital room at Gotham Memorial, something that wasn't Leah Bowden ripped out its IV and opened its eyes.
In Gotham, three things were happening at once. Batman patrolled his rooftops, swinging past the snow-topped buildings. Catwoman prowled the back alleys, a black silk pouch carrying three large diamonds at her side. And the thing that wasn't Leah went to her parents' house and took three things that were hers and were not hers.
In Gotham, thee things were happening at once. Batman swung low behind the thief who'd just left a jewelry store. Catwoman ducked away from the man who was pursuing her. And both froze when they heard the scream of someone in complete agony and utter terror.
December 6
3:35 am. Jessica felt her eyelids begin to droop as she stood in front of the coffee machine. She desperately needed a break, but her shift wasn't over yet. Sighing, she glanced down at her clipboard. She needed to go check on the status of the patient in room 211. The coffee finished filling the cup, so she picked it up and headed down the hall. The lights were dim, but the doctors had insisted that this patient be monitored until she could be transferred to better care. Jessica glanced down at the information. Apparently, by the time she had arrived at the hospital, the patient was talking to herself, and had proceeded to attempt to scratch her eyes out when doctors approached. Ah, Jessica thought, Better care. As in the psych ward.
Room 211 was ahead of her. She opened the door as quietly as possible, but the patient didn't stir. Something seemed off, though. She glanced up at the heart monitor and then back down at the bed. Oh, God. Somebody is going to lose his head. Whoever was supposed to be monitoring the heart monitors obviously hadn't noticed the lack of heartbeat in room 211. In fact, somebody had missed the lack of a patient entirely. She beeped the head nurse, hoping that she wouldn't get too much blame for… whatever had happened.
Oh dear! Whatever could have happened? Review, and you might find out sooner than later.
