Dawn was just breaking over Gotham. The black sky was slowly being lightened into a deep purple. Selina could just barely see the sky out of the front doorway of Arkham Asylum, the doors themselves lay on the tile floor, having been ripped off its hinges.

She walked towards the opening in a daze, not knowing what she was moving toward, not knowing what her next move would be. The chill of the air was enough to keep her moving towards the freedom of the doorway.

Her legs shuffle down the hall with a limp. Blood dripped down her forehead from her hair, which was freshly chopped off.

Her hands clutched at her abdomen as crimson leaked through her fingers.

Green eyes stared blankly ahead as bruised lips trembled and pained ears heard only the sound of distant alarms ringing.

First step into the open air, and Selina stopped. Standing there at the top of the concrete steps, Selina finally dropped.

She was tired, and cold. She recognized both as signs she was bleeding out quickly. She felt the rough coldness of the concrete on her back as she stared up at the sky. Tears filled her eyes absent mindedly as she watched the usual bursts of steam pour out of the buildings in the distance.

Her vision faded out to black.

She always hated this part.

All the pain was still there, all the sounds, all the feeling, but the world was dark and lonely.

She heard a familiar voice yelling for her from down the Arkham hallway she had emerged from. She listened to his boots slap against the smooth concrete as he neared her. She imagined he could only see her lower half from her position on the stoop.

"Selina," he said again, his breathing labored. She imagined he must have had been running for some time to have caught up with her.

She smiled warmly in the direction of the voice, even as she felt the warmth of the tears rolling down her cheeks and as she tasted the blood running from her nose.

"Hey, baby bird." She said, wishing she could see his face. There was nothing she could do to hide the pain in her voice, though she gave it her best try.

She felt the heat roll off of him as he knelt down beside her. "I'm not the baby bird anymore, remember?" He asked, trying his best to play along.

Bless his heart. Selina thought. Would it be too cheesy to say you'd always be the baby bird to me?

"Oh, right, how could I forget?" She said. He reached down under her shoulder gently, and repeated the same motion with her legs.

"I have to get you help." he said. Selina felt him slowly lift her up, holding her close to his chest. She felt as though her skin was tearing as he raised her from the ground. She felt more tears well in her eyes.

Her limbs were going numb, her heartbeat was slowed, she felt herself drifting away.

All things considered, bleeding out was one of the most peaceful ways to go.


6 Hours Earlier

Selina stared up at the maniac smiling just inches from her face. She was close enough to bash her head against his and quiet that ridiculous laughing, and she would have, too.

Had it not been for the two thugs holding her arms behind her back far enough to cause a good deal of pain, not that she would show it.

"So, Kitty," Joker said, growing ever closer, "you ready for your big night?"

Selina spit in his face, and Joker snapped his head back away from her. Joker turned back as he wiped his cheek with his worn purple suit sleeve. His face was twisted in anger now. His eyes were filled with an empty darkness.

Before she knew it, Joker's fist struck her cheek. The two men holding her dropped her to the tile floor. Her head was spinning from the impact, but she quickly tried to recover.

She looked up and caught sight of Joker heading toward the door on the far side of the room. "Have fun with that one, boys! Oh, but please don't have too much fun with her, leave some for me!"Inmates lined the entire perimeter of the room, circling her in the center.

"Right," she said, slowly pushing herself to her feet, "let's get this over with, then." Selina stood and eyed up the men who were slowly closing in on her.