"Anything?" Bruce asked Adriana.
She was walking through the halls of the hotel and on her cell phone. Scanning thoughts and memories. This was her second day of doing this. She had been doing this for about six hours and was getting very tired.
"No, unfortunately," she said to Bruce who was at work. "I think I'll stop for the day...Evelyn's had Arsenio all day. She probably needs a break."
"Which floor are you on now?" Bruce asked.
"44," she answered. "There's not anything going on here though...just a housekeeper cleaning one of the rooms. She-"
Adriana paused and shut her eyes, her ankle was still bothering her.
"Are you picking up on something?" Bruce asked.
"No..." She said and leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. "Just..resting a bit."
"You were saying something," he reminded her.
"Oh," she said, once she was sitting. "She didn't see anything..whoever this person was, they must have had the envelope concealed."
"Someone must have seen it," Bruce said. "Sweetheart...do you think you could work on this for another hour? Maybe go through the kitchens again or laundry-"
"Bruce, I'm really tired," she said and rubbed her ankle.
"Please," Bruce pleaded. "Hold on-"
"Sure," Adriana said impatiently. She heard him speaking to someone about a contract before hearing a door shut.
"Just until 3 o'clock," he said. "That's it.."
Adriana sat her phone down beside her thigh and began shaking her head. She almost wanted to cry...but then she felt weak. Her skin felt hot, she was sweating, she was feverish..but it wasn't terrible. It was tolerable for now. But the longer she did this the worse it got. She had gone through the building and examined the memories of the staff for twelve hours the previous day, and it seemed the longer she did this the worse the heat on her skin felt.
"I need to stop," she said after she picked up the phone again.
Bruce was quiet for a moment and even though she couldn't hear his thoughts, she could tell he was thinking of a different way to ask her. A different way to plead.
"Adriana..the sooner we figure out who this is..who is blackmailing me or trying to get me prosecuted...the sooner this will all be over," he said. "I'm begging."
Adriana closed her eyes. "Fine," she said tensely. "Until three."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said. "I love you, Adriana."
"Yeah..." she said. "I love you too. Talk to you in a bit."
Adriana hung up the phone without waiting for his reply. She wiped sweat off of her forehead as a janitor walked up to her. She hadn't even noticed him approaching.
"Mrs. Wayne," the man said. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes," Adriana said and pulled herself to her feet. "Don't mind me."
After going through the laundry facilities and hotel kitchen and finding nothing in anyone's memories, Adriana thought she would go through the lobby again, but the heat and fever was overwhelming her. She did her best to conceal it as she went back to the elevator and went up to the medical facility.
She needed a cool place to sit, that was all that she knew. Once the elevator doors opened the went in to the medical cold storage room, full of medications that needed to be stored at low temperatures, and sat on the floor. She leaned against one of the glass cases and looked up at the ceiling and saw the fog from her breath floating out. The cool air seemed to be doing little..she still felt like she was burning up. She turned and pressed her cheek to the icy glass beside her and finally, a bit of relief. While her face was pressed to the glass she reached down and pulled off both of her shoes. Her ankle was horribly sore, and she wasn't sure how long she would have to sit until she felt comfortable standing on it again.
Her phone began to vibrate in her pocket and she pulled it out. Bruce was calling, and it was three o'clock on the dot. Without any warning, she burst into tears. She was so stressed..stressed about Bruce..stressed about her gift giving her waves of heat..stressed about her ankle. She sobbed, letting it all out. Eventually the phone stopped ringing. She wiped her eyes, before beginning to cry again.
Through her sobs she heard the glass door open. The Joker stood looking at her on the floor. Quickly, she pulled herself together and wiped her eyes, and tried to sit up straight.
His facial expression was predominately neutral with only the slightest hint of concern. But she could see in his thoughts, he was concerned. She noticed his hair was cut much shorter. He had used a pair of scissors to cut it down to about three inches long earlier that day. His facial hair had grown out a bit, a dark shadow on his lower face. He looked so different from how she had ever seen him before. He was striking.
They both looked at each other, waiting for the other to speak first. Finally, he exhaled and began to back out of the doorway to leave her alone.
"Wait," she said, before the door closed.
He half entered the cold room again, and then looked down at her foot. Even through the sock he could see the swelling in her ankle was worse.
"Why are you in here?" he asked bluntly.
"Oh..." she said. "I just needed to cool off..just had a bit of an episode," she said vaguely and pinched the collar of her shirt, lifting it away from her skin to allow cool air on her neck.
"I see.." he said watching her looking like she was overheating. "The...change?"
She let go of her shirt and looked at him, frowning.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
He raised his eyebrows, not sure why she was suddenly upset.
"What?" he asked.
"How the fuck old do you think I am?" she asked.
"Clearly, I've said something wrong," he said, as though holding in laughter.
"Yes!" she said, raising her voice. "This isn't hot flashes, I'm not having a hot flash. I mean I just had a baby, I'm not going through menopause. You think I'm in my 50's?"
"No," he said. "I know your age."
"Whatever," she said, feeling dizzy and leaning her cheek against the glass again. She almost felt like she would suddenly doze off but the heat and pain in her voice and ankle kept her awake. "What?" she asked noticing the Joker was looking at her appearing a bit puzzled.
"What did you just say?" he asked. "Something about you having a baby?"
Adriana felt gutted. How had she just let it slip out? She went to speak but couldn't.
"You never mentioned it," he said.
"Right.." she said carefully.
He looked her up and down, waiting for her to say more. But she was quiet.
"So, it's not menopause," he said, changing the subject.
"No..." she said. "It's...something else...complicated."
"Are you sick?" he asked.
She looked at him. He was worried about her..he wanted to know what was wrong but was not going to pry it out of her. She was having a hard time looking at him. There was no doubt... he had become so casually and humbly..an absolutely gorgeous man. His cheekbones, the shape of his eyes and brows, his jawline and even his mouth was perfect. He seemed to not appreciate or recognize it at all.
"No..I'm not sick..not really," she said. "I mean.."
He watched her expectantly.
"I...you must be cold...you don't have to stay in here," she said.
She could see the tension he now had. He wanted to demand she tell him what was going on, but he wouldn't demand anything from her. He looked down at her foot again.
"Needs ice," he said, plainly.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Could you..maybe help me to the intake room-"
He had already walked over to her and had picked her up. Once he had carried her into the other room, he placed her down onto the bed and left to retrieve an ice pack. She pulled off her sock once he was back and he placed two packs onto her swollen ankle.
"Won't get better if you don't stay off it," the Joker said, stating the obvious about her ankle.
"I know," she said, but able to tell that he clearly had something else on his mind. "Listen..."
She wasn't prepared but she wanted to explain..why she had kept it from him that she had a child. But when she looked at him, suddenly she felt nervous. Anxious..
"No need..." he stopped her.
"It's not that I was afraid to tell you-" she said. "I know you would never hurt us.."
"Do you?" he asked, suddenly very stern. "You didn't want to tell me who your husband was, or that you and he had a kid. You're afraid of me, which is understandable. It only makes sense."
"No," she said. "I'm not.."
"I am not offended," he said. "Dr. Kapoor and I talk about this a lot. Consequences. Fear is natural."
"No.." she said again and grabbed his hand. "I'm not afraid you..I never have been."
He rolled his eyes as though he didn't believe her.
"I...know you wouldn't hurt me.." she said. "I know you."
"Not really," he said.
"I know your thoughts," she said finally. "I have always known them."
He frowned. "What does that even mean?" he asked as though he was not amused.
She released his hand and leaned back. "I hear thoughts. I always have...its why I was institutionalized. I hear thoughts and see memories. I have seen your past, your entire life, things you'll never remember. I've seen it all."
He took a couple of steps back. His eyes searched her face before he seemed to accept what she had said. After nodding he looked away.
"So..." she said. "You believe me?"
"Yeah," he answered.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that," he said.
"Oh.." she replied, as his thoughts wondered. He remembered so many times where she knew things without explanation. "So...do you have any questions?"
One of his eyes squinted slightly before he answered her. "You know everything about me."
"Yes," she said.
"Two questions," he said. "That's it."
"Of course."
"Do you know how old I am? I mean, it only seems fair since I know how old you are."
"You're about to be 29," she told him automatically.
He was surprised by this answer. "You're sure about that?" he asked.
"Yes..your birthday is in July," she said.
"So you're older than me," he realized.
"Yes..about two years," she told him.
"Got it."
"You said there were two questions," she said after waiting for him to ask the second.
"You know the question," he said.
"Yes.." she said and paused before answering. "Your first name..is Jack."
"Okay," he said back.
"You're sure you don't want to know your last name?"
"Positive."
"Okay then.." she said.
"Thank you."
.
.
.
"Another picture was sent to the precinct," Bruce told Adriana the that night. "We have to stop this."
"No one saw it but Gordon," Adriana tried to comfort him. He was extremely worried and it showed.
"They're around me, these people." Bruce said, sounding a bit paranoid and he pulled off his tie and slapped it down on the bed.
"What?" Adriana asked him.
"They're watching me, following me, I can sense it!" he said. "Nothing at all in the hotel staff today?"
"No," Adriana told him. "Bruce...you really think people are following you?"
"Yes!" he said. "My senses are heightened, my intuition and I know. They're around me, they're at my job..I can just tell."
'You think it's a group of people?"
"There's no way one individual could be behind this. They have advanced technology..interrupting camera recordings while not disturbing the live feed..following me for years..holding those images.. It's a group."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"No," he said and unbuttoned and pulled off his shirt.
His lips were tense and sharp. The muscles in his arms twitched sporadically and his brows were in a permanent frown for the past couple days. A thick lock of his dark hair fell forwards onto his forehead and he pushed it back with great frustration.
"There's a way I could be more sure, " he said, eyeing her and pulling off his undershirt to reveal his impressive physique. The anger and frustration made him appear even more buff than he usually did.
"How?" she asked while adjusting the pillow on the bed under her ankle.
Bruce walked over, leaning down onto the mattress with one hand on either side of her hips.
"Oh.." she said right before he kissed her.
"It's been a few days," he told her.
"It has," she replied, knowing the intimacy would make him more attune. Something he felt he desperately needed. But she was exhausted, feverish, and her ankle was still in pain. "Bruce..I'm kind of tired.."
"It's okay," he assured her. "I'll do the heavy lifting."
He began to kiss her more and had them both undressed in a matter of seconds. He found his escape in her. She was a place for him to hide. He was mentally strong but the stalking, threat of prison and being exposed was too heavy of a weight for him to bear.
The entire night was passing, but he didn't notice the hours going by. He had found a way out. He was in another world inside of her. It was beautiful and calm. A soft piano and painfully beautiful violin, the sounds he heard as he watched the sun rolling over the grassy hills surrounding Wayne Manor. He felt like a child again and it was lovely. He felt he could feel the energy of his parents, welcoming him home. They were back, they were alive, he never had to work to make Gotham a better place because it was. His mother kissed his cheek , she was proud of him.
Nothing could hurt him here. He emptied himself of all of his frustrations and worries and found clarity. He knew the feeling would be fleeting, but he actually felt no concern for potentially going to prison. If he was found out, Bruce Wayne exposed as the Batman and the killer of Harvey dent..it didn't matter. The astounding pleasure he was experiencing almost made it worth it. No matter what, at least he had experienced these moments. More bliss than anyone else would ever know.
The light of day began to fill the room and Bruce caressed Adriana's shoulder. She was laying on her side facing away from him. He knew that she was still awake. Her skin was incredibly warm and he kissed her shoulder twice.
She was silent and closed her eyes. His body had given out after almost seven hours but his mind was alert, awake, refreshed and ready to begin. He felt that he could conquer anything.
"How are you feeling?" he asked her in a whisper.
"I'm okay," she said so quietly he could barely hear her.
"I was thinking," he said, glancing at the clock. "It's almost five..since we haven't had much productivity with the staff, maybe if we start a bit earlier.. five instead of seven.. we can see the memories of people on the earlier shifts."
He was sure he heard her stop breathing for a second before turning to him sharply. She searched his face for a long while, looking for signs of whether or not he was serious.
"Are you out of your mind?" she asked him, her voice a breathy hiss. "Are you? I haven't slept!"
"Oh..Adriana, you don't have to I was just-" he said as she sat up and swung her legs off of the bed.
"I know I don't have to!" she said, now shouting at him. "I'm done! I'm done with the task of searching the memories of everyone who works at this hotel! I am done!"
"Adriana..please..lower your voice-"
"No!" she said, in the moment not caring who she woke. There were no members of staff on duty except for Alfred and she knew that he was already awake and he was now wondering why they were arguing so early in the morning.
"I was only suggesting-" Bruce said, still maintaining calm in his voice even though she was screaming at him.
"No! Shut up!" she went on, standing up and leaning over onto the night stand as though her entire body was worn out. "I'm tired of being used! I'm sick of it, okay? No more! If you want to figure this stalking, harassment, threatening mystery out, then you figure it out alone, it's not my responsibility!"
"Adriana," Bruce said, peacefully.
"What?" she demanded.
"Look..." he said, but then he felt a feeling come over him. His intuition was as heightened as it had ever been, to the point that he felt like he could see a bit into her thoughts which he had never been able to do before.
He got the overwhelming feeling that she was hiding something from him. Something terrible...unforgivable...something she never wanted him to know.
"I'm not helping you anymore with this? Do you understand?"
"Why do this," he asked and lept out of the bed and stood in front of her.
"Why what?" she asked and felt heat overtaking her body suddenly, flames up to her face, inside of her ears, between her fingers.
"Are you trying to punish me for something?" he asked seriously.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, feeling exhausted.
"You've been doing this. Sending the photographs."
Adriana blinked quickly several times, trying to make sure she was hearing him right.
"I'm sorry what?" she asked.
"You were on my computer right? Before the footage disappeared...there was login activity. Was it you?"
She felt trapped. Yes, she had been on his computer..looking at footage of the Joker leaving the building that day.
"I don't believe you," she said, almost crying from frustration and physical burning pain. "You...you...I've been working my ass off trying to help you and you..you think I'm trying to get you thrown in prison...using your identity to torment you-"
"It wouldn't be the first time," he said, remembering her as Shade before he knew her identity. She knew his identity and refused to remove her mask. She used h is identity to threaten him, to get him to stay away from her , because that was what the Joker demanded. He remembered striking her that day, knocking out her tooth. "Is this what you're hiding from me? You're hiding something and I can see it."
"I can't believe this," she said in shock. "Why would I do this to you?"
"I'm a wealthy man, Adriana. Let me guess...power..control? Many women would love to be married to a billionaire locked in prison..with no prenup. Complete control of all of my assets and finances-"
His voice stopped as her hand flew up and slapped him hard across the face. Once the stinging sensation in his face subsided he faced her again.
"Is that your answer?" he asked.
This time her closed fist hit him in the face and he shut his eyes for a few seconds waiting for the pain to fade. He could tell immediately, as soon as she hit him, that she had split the corner of his lip and that it would soon begin to bleed. He tasted the blood on his tongue and grabbed her by both arms.
"Tell me why!" he asked, overcome with a sense of betrayal. She had not denied that she was hiding something. She looked sweaty, nervous, horribly anxious.
"Let go!" she ordered and tried to pull away from him but he gripped her tightly.
"Your gift...your beauty..." he said, looking down on her. "Winning combination to fool the wealthiest and most powerful man in Gotham."
She looked at him, seething, her skin going red. He was waiting for an answer, an explanation, but instead he saw the same betrayal he felt reflecting back at him through her expression.
She spit in his face.
Once he let go of her she ran into the bathroom and locked the door. He heard the tub running and walked over to the door as he wiped the spit from his cheek. The sound of water running in the tub didn't effectively drown out the sound of her crying. He rested both hands on either side of the door frame.
'Open the door," he said.
She buried her face into a towel as she sank onto the floor, the icy tile under her thighs feeling hot enough to brand her. The heat was too much. She reached over and closed the drain on the tub, hearing Bruce in the background telling her to let him in. The water filled the tub, icy cold.
Eventually he gave up.
She climbed in when it was half full, still letting the water run . The initial contact between the water and her skin gave her a bit of relief before she felt like she was bathing in flames. She pressed her face into the towel on the edge of the tub and screamed into it. It felt like she couldn't breathe..she felt herself swallowed up, fainting into a hellish inferno.
.
.
.
Bruce sat on the bed, waiting. Was this it? Was his marriage over? It was the worst fight he had ever had with a woman.. he had thrown some powerful accusations her way, and she had no explanation for them. He replayed her expression in his mind as she spit at him. Disgust.
He needed an explanation. He needed to know what was going on. If it was her that had been tormenting and threatening him, then the mystery was solved and that was a great relief..but an even greater devastation. If it wasn't her...the thought was too much to bear. He had messed up beyond repair if that was the case. He sighed, hoping she would eventually come out with an answer.
After half an hour of sitting in the same spot on the bed, he went back over to the door...there was water. The tub was too far away to flood out to the door wasn't it? He was asking himself.. But it was still running, he could hear it.
"Hey," Bruce said and shook the door handle. "Adriana, open the door."
No sounds...only water. Still running.
He banged on the door loudly several times.
"Adriana!" he raised his voice, feeling a bit annoyed that she would flood the bathroom needlessly. Was this also to punish him in some way? A tantrum of sorts? It was all so out of character for her, but he was beginning to wonder if he even knew her at all.
He hit the door once with his shoulder and it flung open as the lock broke. There was water around the sink and vanity.
He looked ahead to the second room in the bathroom and saw her hand hanging out. She was in the tub. The visual confused him for a few dreaded seconds as he walked over.
It took no time for his body to react as he pulled her from the water as quickly as he could. Her head was cradled in the crook of his arm and her arm dropped limply to the floor. He wasn't sure if he was beginning to have a seizure but his body began to move in a strange way, shaking and convulsing, rejecting that he was seeing in front of him.
The contrast from what he had just seen..her conscious and vital..to limp and blue. Perhaps this was what it was like to panic. The Batman never panicked. He did what needed to be done.
CPR. CPR. His brain was ordering him to move but it was though his body was malfunctioning, wiring gone wrong. She needed air but it the moment he couldn't even remember what he needed to do for her. His hands shook violently as he laid her head down onto the floor. He pinched her nose...what next? What next? He hated himself, he couldn't remember.
But then, by some miracle he continued. He breathed into her mouth, pressed on her chest. The act of performing CPR shook reality...she had just been fine. But now she wasn't breathing. Her lips were hot, her chest was hot, even though her skin had gone pale. His eyes filled with tears, he couldn't see. He had to use his hands to find her face, nose and lips again to send another breath into her.
He blinked, sending tears dripping down onto his hands compressing her chest. She didn't do it. She didn't send the photos, and he knew it. He was completely wrong. It couldn't end this way..he loved her more than anything. He thought of Arsenio and an enormous cry finally escaped his lips. It was all on him. He had never felt such responsibility in his life
"Please.." he pleaded with her. "I'm so sorry. Please-" he breathed into her mouth. "Fight...fight to live..please don't leave me.."
