Around noon, chaos had already been installed.

Every local channel was reporting it.

Bruce had been woken to the sound of Alfred knocking anxiously at the door calling for him. His phone record showed six missed calls, five being from Blake and one from Gordon.

They'd fallen asleep very late and Selina had been agitated all night, so it was no surprise when they missed the eight o'clock alarm.

That night she'd opened her eyes to Harley's wicked ones, staring at her and Bruce sleeping peacefully on the bed from the corner of the bedroom. Selina had been laid on his chest like she'd usually do, and her entire body froze. She couldn't understand why Harley laughed so provocatively, like she was in on a joke Selina couldn't quite grasp yet.

Until she felt it. Or, better to say, she felt the lack of it. Bruce's usually strong and steady heartbeat was no more. There was only silence and the strangest stiffness. She cautiously looked up at him, suddenly horrified by the image of his eyes opened blank and deadly to the ceiling.

She screamed, so hard it made her vocal cords sting. And she was shot on a whim straight sat up on the bed.

Bruce woke up startled, quickly sitting up as well to check on her. Her eyes were involuntarily filled with unwanted tears and her heart burned as if it might burst. As soon as Bruce reached out to her, patting her back and asking if she was okay, her first instinct was to immediately grab his collar and put her hands in his chest. His heart was pounding fast under his rib cage and she sighed, though still unable to relax and let herself feel relieved. When he asked how bad was it at that moment, she replied ten; and so he spent the rest of the night stroking her hair and cuddling her as she obsessively listened to his heart.

Harley had gotten to her, as much as she'd tried to fight it and ignore it. But the moment they turned on the TV screen, she knew she'd been in the right to worry. She didn't know how, but Harley was involved in it.

The day before she had already talked to the Commissioner and filled him in on her suspicions. He couldn't do much about it though, except look into it and make sure Harley's transfer to Arkham was as guarded and strategically planned as possible. Everything had gone accordingly. So how was she doing it? Who was her scapegoat?

Around 11am, the first bomb went off, followed by another 5 minutes later across town. They were low-level bombing explosives and were placed in mostly unused metro stations, deep underground, but the second one managed to go off just as an empty non-automated train passed by, and the driver had been severely injured.

The TV screen now showed twelve other possible locations for other explosions, all connected to a main bomb that was supposedly at the Central Station. Efforts were being pulled to find out where the commands had been coming from, but so far they hadn't even been able to connect it to an IP address.

Gordon was at Arkham pointlessly trying to persuade Harley into confessing something, anything. Blake was scoping around town as Batman to see what was he able to find out; but Bruce was also already on full hero mode, pacing around the living room deep in thought and even absentmindedly letting out a bit of Batman's hoarse voice tone pour out at times when he spoke.

As Selina headed back to their bedroom to change into her catsuit to be ready for anything that could happen, she froze on the spot after having taken a few steps in. On the window, she saw her own reflection, only with a little red dot marked on her forehead. Outside, a white drone stood flying over the balcony. She knew the sensor would detect it in just a couple seconds and destroy its content, but she yelled for Bruce anyway.

However, she regretted it the second his name came out of her mouth. She shouted at him to not get inside and not make any sudden movements, and then just simply asked him if the drone detector was working. He could hear the composed tension in her voice but tried to stay put and calm. She wouldn't answer what was going on and he was about to storm in when she suddenly opened the door.

"What happened?!", he asked exasperated.

"There was this drone outside with a laser machine gun…"

"What?!", he cut in, but she ignored him and continued.

"It just left. It's like someone sent it here just to draw our attention."

Bruce promptly ran to the security room and Selina followed confused, with Alfred showing up right after. He typed in some codes in this monster of a computer and logged into the motion detector camera outside the apartment. With just a few clicks, he got the exact current location of the drone, which continued to move towards the East End.

When it stopped moving on the map, having seemingly landed somewhere, Bruce turned to Selina, "Do you recognize this place?"

She thought for a second, "I think it's an abandoned warehouse where they used to cook drugs a while back."

"Who is they?"

"Depends on who or what gang was running the drug trading, it changed often."

"I'm going there," he said rushing out of the room.

"What? No way! You do know this is her, right? Which means this is obviously a trap," she snapped as she ran after him.

"I'll be careful. And I'll tell Blake on the way there. This is probably where they're controlling the bombs from."

"I'm going, then," she said starting to change into her suit, "whoever this is clearly didn't want me dead, which means it's you they want."

"You mean didn't want you dead yet."

"Bruce, let's not start thi…"

"Master Bruce?", Alfred called out from the other side of the door, "Another bomb went off. This time here at West End."

They instantly locked eyes warning to each other. Bruce was putting on a black ski mask that covered his whole head and face, except for his eyes and mouth. Selina grabbed her gun and tied it hurriedly to the gun holster on her suit, this time not checking if Bruce was giving her reprimanding looks or not; which he wasn't, being too focused on his own equipments, and honestly too concerned to mind her bringing it.

He obviously couldn't be the Batman again, not when it'd jeopardize all their plans to hide the existence of two Batmans. And Blake was already in action.

They took the private elevator to the underground garage and mounted one of Bruce's bikes. It was no Batpod, but it'd do the job. Blake called them on the bluetooth screen the second they sprinted out through the gates and into the streets.

"Blake? I think I know where the commands are coming from."

"Great!", he seemed in a hurry, almost desperate, "Though, I might need an extra hand here! I'm at the Central Station where I just located this huge bomb which seems to be linked to set off all others if it eventually goes off... "

"Drop me off there," Selina muttered and demanded seriously to Bruce.

"What? No way!"

"Actually, Miss Kyle might be of great help here…", Blake mumbled out of breath, seeming to be running.

Bruce ignored him, "There's a bomb there, Selina!"

"There are bombs all over town. You go and try to shut their commands off and I'll go and try to help him defuse it."

"Can you defuse a bomb?"

"You'd be surprised how many safes automatically set off bombs once opened. I'll meet you there at the East End right after."

"This way you're gonna burn your candle from both ends…", he mumbled, but before he could finish, the window glass on the car just on their right blew up in pieces.

Selina looked back behind her shoulder and puffed and cursed angrily. Bruce sped up and changed the course as she quickly spun on her butt so was back to back with Bruce, leaning over him and reaching for her Glock. There were two other motorcycles following them, but their faces were unrecognizable inside the helmets.

"I know you're not a fan of guns, but...", Selina shouted just before he heard deafening gunshot sounds.

Bruce didn't have the time to try to be morally correct. They were shooting at them and she was the first in sight to be held at their gunpoint. But then suddenly the bullets stopped coming at them. He peeked at the rear-view mirror and saw nothing.

"Did you kill them?"

"Relax, I don't think so," she said turning around to his back again, "I shot their tires, they fell off."

"Are you guys okay?!", yelled Blake from the other side of the line, who had been doing so for the last minutes, but they kept ignoring focused on trying not to get killed.

"We're fine," Bruce replied, "we're almost there."

Blake hung up and Selina widened her eyes a bit, surprised.

"Just be careful, okay? I trust you, but if things get bad you just get out of there, you hear me? Don't try and play the hero," he was stressed, but managed to smile lightly.

"I never do," she smirked and kissed his cheek quickly as he parked in front of the Central Station main entrance.

She got off the bike in one fell swoop and sprung through the dozens of police cars parked outside. They all tried to stop or restrain her, but none were successful and she was able to sneak through and swoop inside in a second. Bruce looked at her one last time before hitting the throttle hardly and riding off to the location warehouse.

He immediately called her to leave their line in contact so they could communicate. She fixed the dot in her ear and answered the call.

"Miss me already?", she teased him as she jumped off a balcony to get down to a lower level.

"Absolutely. What are you doing? "

"Trying to find Blake. Let me know when you get there, okay?"

"Okay."

The station was practically emptied out. The few people who were still there were running to the opposite direction as the one Selina was heading, rushing desperately to get out. She suddenly saw a black cape wiggling behind a pilaster and stopped on her tracks.

"Batman!", she yelled, finding it a bit weird to call that someone who wasn't Bruce. On the other side of the line, he, too, almost answered.

Blake quickly spun on his feet and nodded at her, helping a homeless man up from the floor and telling him to get out.

"Cat."

"Tell me where it is."

They ran all the way down to the last floor down and Blake took a leap to the train tracks, and she followed. There was a train parked in the middle of the line, right under a dark tunnel. Something about it sent a chill up her spine.

"Where is it?"

"There it is. It's the whole train. So, in a way, it's a movable bomb. They could take it anywhere."

She exhaled worriedly, "Great."

"Are you alright in there? ", she heard Bruce's voice through the dot.

"Yeah," she sighed, "might take longer than I imagined, though."

"I just pulled up in here."

"Okay. Be careful."

"Always am."

Blake had already removed the metal floor tiles on the train and exposed a bundle of wires connected to a reset timer. That did not look good. Usually, a bomb had two or three main lines. Which meant those were put there on purpose to confound whoever tried to deactivate it. Which also meant they expected her to show up in that train.

"Batman," she muttered tensely, turning her head slowly to look at him as if any sudden movements could set it off.

Behind him came three men in panda masks, and before she could warn him, he followed her eyes. He began fighting all three as she stared desperately and at loss at the mess of wires in front of her.

"Babe! If you have anything in there to guide me here, now would be a great time to let me know," she mumbled rapidly to the dot.

"What's wrong?! I just walked in. No security, nothing. There's no one in here. "

"I guess we've both walked into traps, then," she scoffed a nervous laugh as she desperately tried to untangle the wires to see what was connected to what.

"What are you saying? ", Bruce asked tensely, hearing the sounds of Blake's fight in the background, "Are you alright?! "

"Yeah! It's two against three, we can easily manage. Just try to find the controls in there and let me know," she spoke as she stood up to help Blake out as there was nothing else for her to do at the moment.

There were punches, knocks, kicks and thumps and broken glass and cracked seats everywhere. Selina's nose started bleeding after she took a pretty bad hit and it spread even more through her face as she tried to wipe it. She used the pole to lift herself up and spin, being able to kick them all at once with her bladed heels and cutting deep scratches. Blake took the opportunity to knock them off to the ground.

They took their masks off to see if they recognized any of them, but they didn't really seem familiar. Probably just hired henchmen. One of them smiled at Selina provoking.

"I thought we'd required your boyfriend's presence somewhere else. What's up? Can't fend for yourself?"

Her mind spun trying to understand his words. They thought this Batman was her boyfriend. And if this wasn't where he was supposed to be according to their plan…

"Hey, are you there?", she asked Bruce anxiously.

"Yes. I found something. Do you see a yellow wire? "

"Yeah, many," she said returning to the place where the bomb stood.

"Oh, shit. Okay. Are any of them connected to the third or fourth hole? "

"Hmm… yeah. Both holes."

"When you cut them, it will trigger the bomb. After that, you'll have about 15 seconds to find the red wire corresponding to the bleeping light that will flash in one of the ports. You have to connect it. "

"Alright…", she said picking up the knife hidden in her boot.

"Just relax, you got this."

"Okay, and… babe. Listen to me and get out of there now, okay? I can't explain it, just…"

His voice cut in suddenly, muffled and buzzed, and the connection was lost. She tried to reach out several times saying "hello", but there was no response. She could freak out in about 20 seconds, she decided. At the moment, she needed to focus.

Her hands were steadier than she would've guessed given her current mental state, and Batman squatted down next to her to help her in case she needed. She cut the first two ones off and the clock started, going much faster than standard chronometers. The red light turned on immediately, but there were so many unattached red wires it was impossible to see which was the right one. The adrenaline kept her from freezing at the spot and she took a deep but quick breath, letting her fingers instinctively run through the cords to find the right one. By the time there were only two seconds left, she took her first guess to the port and seriously hoped it was the right one, or else her and Blake would become barbecue before they could even say barbecue.

The timer stopped and both of them sighed heavily.

"It's not over," she warned him, "he's in danger, I can feel it," she said trying and failing to mask her anxiousness.

"Let's go, then."

Blake had the Batmobile parked in an alley outside. They drove through the streets almost at maximum speed but it still wasn't enough to calm Selina's nerves. All she could think about was the dream she'd had the night before and if she had had anything in her stomach, she might've felt the urge to puke. Her hands were fidgety on her lap and Blake grabbed them momentarily, keeping them in place and then returning them to the steering wheel.

"He'll be alright. That was once him in your position, and you were in a way worse situation, and it turned out fine," he said firmly but trying to be reassuring.

"I knew it was a trap and I let him go alone anyway," she muttered apprehensively.

"Because you know he can handle himself, and you're right," he said, "besides, he's been through way worse, and also, we'll be there in no time"

Blake parked the car in a rush over the sidewalk, scaring off a few pedestrians. They'd decided to split and go inside through different entries so they'd cover more ground. She'd take the front and he'd take the back.

The main entrance was just a big deposit filled with empty metal shelves and dusted equipment. Her steps were quiet and inaudible, even in those 5 inch heels. She kept her Glock closely by with her finger on the trigger ready to be used, but walked carefully towards the central dome of light created by the glass ceiling.

There on the floor, right in the middle of the round circle of sunlight, laid Bruce's ski mask. Her heart stopped as she stared at it. Forcing herself to snap out of the paralyzed state she was in, she went to it and picked it up. There was something damp on the back of it, and her breathing faltered as she saw the blood stains transferred to her hand. She dropped the mask in shock and looked around, suddenly getting more self-conscious.

She noticed a long corridor behind the shelves on her right and walked towards it. The lights there were turned on, differently from every other one around. At the end of it, she could see there was a large room filled with computers. She charged her gun as silently as she could and cautiously stepped inside.

At first, when she saw her, she was confused; but sort of relieved - that wasn't who she was expecting and fearing to find. It only lasted a second, though, because then the whole picture became way clearer- and twice more concerning.

"Eiko," she mumbled in a strangled voice, as her hand almost involuntarily became looser around the gun.

The woman looked at her from over her shoulder slightly surprised, and her composed and firm expression visibly faltered when they first locked eyes. But then she smiled in a way Selina didn't recognize, almost wickedly.

"You came," she said, sounding both impressed and disappointed.

Selina couldn't understand her actions or behaviors, but at that point she had no energy to try to. She still had blood on her hands that probably belonged to Bruce and all her mind could focus on was that as her eyes scanned the room looking for him.

"I see you found what I left for you," Eiko said looking down at the red stains on Selina's sewn-in gloves.

Selina could practically taste the rage spouting out of her mouth as she replied, "Where is he?"

She could've sworn she'd seen a splash of sadness in Eiko's eyes. But then she smiled, "Bring him in, please."

Two men came inside through a door on the other side of the room. The first one was Bruce, and he seemed fine, only bruised on the back of his head, which got Selina to sigh a bit in relief. But then she noticed the second man, a guy in a mask right behind him who pointed his gun to Bruce's head.

"Miss Hasigawa," the man muttered, "there's reported movements detected near the back entrance."

Eiko eyed Selina speculating for a second, but then picked up her own gun and loaded it, pointing it at Bruce too.

"Go," she told him, and the guy bolted out.

Bruce looked at Selina calmly, but she thought her expression might've not been so confident. Her mind wandered through all the possibilities and scenarios of how it all could play out from that moment on, and none seemed to include both of them getting out of there alive. So she decided to play the odds by shifting Eiko's attention to her, at least until Blake came along and helped them disarm her.

But she was still troubled by the sight of her so cold and villainy. That was not the Eiko she knew. The Eiko she knew was a sweet, innocent girl, sometimes even too much considering the environment she'd been raised in. Selina remembered she fainted once when her father shot a man on the shoulder in front of her. At the time, Selina had to carry her home and pretend to be warm and soothing, when in reality she was rolling her eyes on the inside. Eiko was just a thorn in her side as she managed to infiltrate her family business - thinking about it after all those years, though, left her disgusted with herself. Eiko could have a short temper and be mentally unstable and fragile at times, but unlike her family, she didn't have a single bad bone in her body.

"Eiko," she started, using the softest and most reassuring tone she could, "come on, I know you, and this isn't you. Put the gun down so we can talk."

"Now you wanna talk?", Eiko scoffed a laugh, "I spent years chasing you down, begging for five minutes of your time, and now you wanna talk? How convenient."

"I know. I have a lot to apologize for, I know that. But just listen to me. You don't wanna throw your life away over this, trust me. Just drop the gun and we can figure this out."

"We?", she laughed sarcastically, "You left me! You used me and took advantage of my love for you and then just bolted! There's no we," she replied, and Selina noticed she was slowly losing her composure. That was good. That, she'd learned how to handle with her. She'd have to play her again, but she couldn't afford not to at that point. She just had to apply a little more pressure. She took a deep breath and dropped the understanding act, looking for something a little harsher.

"You're right. There never was.You were the one who killed all those people. And for what? Revenge because you got dumped years ago? Get over it. Your father was right, you're just a brat who can't take life as it is. Grow the fuck up, Eiko."

"I… I didn't mean to kill anyone," she answered on a lower tone, and the gun shivered slightly on her hand, "that was an accident. Harley said there would be no one at the West End station."

"And you believed her? God, you really are naive," Selina laughed.

"Like you can talk! You've killed people too!""

"Not innocent people. What about that restaurant, huh? Did you think there would be no one there too?"

"We were just testing the bomb, it wasn't supposed to reach the surface!"

"Oh, my mistake then," she sniggered shaking her head, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised Harley got to you. You always were easily manipulated."

From the corner of her eye, she could see how Bruce had no idea what was going on and what she was up to. If breaking her wouldn't work, she at least needed to stall her long enough for Blake to show up.

But this time Selina's words had gotten under her skin, and it was visible. She was staring at the ground without blinking, despair settling in her eyes.

"Harley approached me when she saw me leaving your apartment a couple months ago. I was so mad, but I would never hurt you," she mumbled quietly, but then she looked at Bruce and her eyes grew colder, "but then she told me about him. How you'd moved from Gotham and left everything behind with him. How you'd been living with him in some small town in Europe like you were starting over and living the dream… I thought that wasn't you, remember? I wanted to get away from here with you, and you said that. I almost flipped you did, because you had been with that guy Ted for so long, but then I realized that you had been the same with him as you were with me. But then he comes along, and suddenly you're not so against settling down anymore?"

Bingo. She'd found the weak link.

"Oh, I see what you've been thinking now. See, it's not like that, Eiko. I'm not settling down. I just had to leave town because of Bane's mercenaries. I thought you'd be smarter than that. The guy is filthy rich, of course I'd take advantage of him."

She wouldn't be able to relax until Eiko dropped the gun or aimed it elsewhere but at Bruce, specially with her shaking hands so unsteady. Eiko's eyes seemed battling and slightly watery, and her lips started trembling softly. Looking at her like that, Selina could almost believe she was much younger and could probably pass as a teenager. She appeared so fragile and misunderstood. It was time to attack.

"I'll leave town with you. Just let him go. You don't want one more body on your count. If we leave right now, there's no reason why the police would suspect you. And by the time they do, we'll be far away," her teary eyes shone with Selina's words, but they were still hesitating, so she pressed, "I could do it, you know? Settle down with you. I really could."

Where the hell is Blake? , Selina thought, quickly scanning the room for any signs of him...

"Your friend isn't coming," Eiko responded as if she'd heard her thoughts. Her voice was more stable now, and she wiped the tears that had streamed down her cheek, now staring angrily at Selina through them, "You almost had me."

And then a shot was fired.

/

NOTES:

hey everyone, this story is coming to an end. we have 5 more chapters and then it's over. thanks for reading it :)