Hey look, I'm updating on the day I'm supposed to!
Dani: *rolls eyes* That doesn't happen very often.
Danielle Ria, you are not in this story. You are not in this fandom. You are not even a character in a fanfic. You are a character floating around my brain. Why are you here?
You know that woman, Roxanne? The one this story is about? The one that you're writing right now - and might I add, you should be writing MINE, seeing as you actually OWN all the characters and plausibly make MONEY from writing it. But anyway, she asked me to take her place. Has some 'business' to take care of. She doesn't seem to realize I'm a cop.
Yes, in New York. In an alternate universe. Therefore you can't exactly arrest her...
Doesn't mean I'm not gonna try... *loads pistol*
Dani, what do you think you're doing?
Before I go, gotta remind the viewers, seeing as you can't get your shit together to do it yourself-
Hey!
She doesn't own anyone or anything except Roxanne. Now I have a fire to put out... *runs off*
*rolls eyes* Worst exit line ever, Dani. You would think you'd be fairly good at those now. You've been a detective for ten years, and you're a certified genius, but no... Love her to pieces, but still... Sometimes I worry about the characters I write.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 12
An hour or so later, not long before lunch or before I knew someone was bound to notice my lack of students, I was still sitting at the desk, now trying to come up with the best way to exit with a bang... metaphorically and literally speaking.
"Miss Arthur?" The voice was quiet, curious, slightly hesitant, and friendly as ever.
Shit. Should've known Dick would come back. And to think I was convinced I could just cause a little more havoc and leave a legacy behind...
"Yes?" I turned to face the boy, allowing a mostly fake smile to fall onto my face. He was holding an envelope of some kind, very thick and expensive-looking - well, if an envelope can look expensive - and I couldn't help but wonder what it was.
"Bruce asked me to give this to you," he explained, noting the faint look of curiosity I was sure was present in my eyes, despite my best efforts to mask it. He handed the envelope to me, and I fought the urge to rip it open immediately.
"Tell him I say thank you," I responded, clearly a dismissal. I made to go back to my planning, but I could tell he hadn't left. I glanced up at the child and let a slightly more genuine smile slip into place.
"It's been a pleasure teaching you, Dick." Ah, yes. One of the few truthful statements I had said for quite some time. Refreshing.
"He feels really guilty about what happened..." Dick said awkwardly, not meeting my gaze. "He, um, told me about what you guys talked about..." His head suddenly snapped up and his eyes bored into mine, urgent and pleading and guilty and worried, all at once. "I swear nothing's wrong, really, I promise. You shouldn't have been fired." Something resembling hopefulness leaked into his expression. "Maybe we could talk to Dr. Roberts. Once she understands what happened, I'm sure she'll-"
I cut him off with a slight laugh, admittedly harsher than intended. "Nothing's going to stop that woman from pitching me out. She's been on my case since the day I got here. I'm lucky I lasted as long as I did." I tucked the envelope carefully into the inside pocket of my purse and stood rather slowly, still savoring the feeling of a steady income... My final check was due to come in the mail sometime in the coming week, and I didn't want to face the music when it arrived.
"Okay, well, I'll see you around, Miss Arthur!" Dick said, sadness and ever-present cheerfulness, though it was feigned this time, mingling in his voice. "Don't forget to look at the envelope."
Almost at the door, I turned over my shoulder and smiled a tiny bit more. "I won't forget, don't worry. And you can call me Roxanne now. Miss Arthur doesn't really fit me, wouldn't you agree?" I heard a quiet chuckle, raised my hand in a farewell gesture, then turned on my heel and left the building.
I sauntered through the city on the way back to my apartment, taking a bit of a detour to enjoy the crisp, cool weather and the relative quiet of the streets. This was normally a bustling area during the week, but seeing as it wasn't much after noon it was close to deserted. Still, though, I kept to the more populated roads. Walking around the city in the middle of the working day brought enough attention to a person; strolling through alleyways would only make it worse.
I reached my apartment without any major incident. No muggings, robberies, or murders took place on my walk home, and it actually felt a bit... boring. I found myself almost longing for the days when Sweet Tooth and the Joker had ruled over Gotham - reigns of terror, maybe, but at least they had been interesting. There hadn't been any major attacks since Sweet Tooth's, and that had been almost a year before.
Maybe it was time to fix that. Maybe that was what I would do. Bring some of the chaos back to Gotham... Maybe I'd even be able to turn people against the Batman, like they used to be.
I was grinning to myself, excited about my idea, half wanting to go out to the city and get my plan started at that moment. Unfortunately, though, there was first the matter of how I would manage the plan... How I would afford the plan... And of course, what exactly I was going to do.
Fine, it was more of an idea than an actual plan. Still, though, it was a good one, and it was coming along nicely.
I tossed my purse onto the sofa and started to turn away, only for my attention to be caught by Bruce's envelope slipping out. I picked it up, the deep blue, embossed envelope looking strange and foreign in my humble apartment. After only a second's hesitation, I slit the envelope open with a fingernail and unfolded the invitation inside.
Dear Miss Arthur,
You are cordially invited to the unveiling of the Gotham City Museum's newest wing, built with help from Wayne Enterprises. The wing is a tribute to the heroes and the villains in our city, and many artifacts - including the Batman's original suit, utility belt, and tools - will be on display. We hope to see you there.
Date: Saturday, October 19
Time: 10:00 PM
Place: Gotham City Museum
Dress: Formal
I gritted my teeth as I read through the invitation again, the fact that Batman was being honored with a museum wing - even if it wasn't just his - almost too much to bear. I started to tear the letter to shreds, then forced myself to pause.
Hadn't it said his suit would be on display?
I skimmed through it again, only to find that I was correct - the famed Bat-Suit would be on display. Maybe I could work this in my favor.
I needed tools, didn't I? And I certainly didn't have money to pay for them. If his original costume was on display, with the tools and the belt... I could always take it.
Wouldn't that be a shock to the Bat? To be honored with a museum wing and then have his things stolen... I would pay to see the look on his face when he found out about that.
But wait... There was no damn way I would fit in his suit. But if his suit was on display, it was only fitting that some villains' suits would too, wasn't it? Catwoman and I were probably the same size, and I knew that she had been captured before, knew that her stuff had been taken when she was.
A huge smile slid across my face as the gears in my mind started moving at warp speed. Grabbing a pen and a pad of paper, I began to scribble everything I thought of down. A plan was forming, and it was a damn good one.
Oh, Batman wasn't going to like this one bit...
Roxanne'a planning something... That's never a good sign.
So yes, shit's gonna go down, and soon. If (and only if) I can get at least two, preferably three chapters finished by Tuesday I will post on Wednesday, and I'll try to go back to twice-a-week posting... I'm really way too impatient to only post once a week. Plus I'm more likely to forget. So, see you on (hopefully) Wednesday!
