"Maybe shoes this high weren't the best idea," Bruce said to Adriana as he pulled off her heels. They had just arrived home from the club and Adriana still had the masked woman, who she hadn't mentioned at all to Bruce, in her mind.
"Ow," Adriana said and massaged her ankle. "I thought it was fully healed by now but I guess not."
"I'll get ice," Bruce said and left the living room to go to the kitchen.
Adriana wondered if maybe she was just being paranoid. Maybe the masked woman with the cat-eared headpiece was just another random club attendee. Maybe it was nothing...all in her head.
"There," Bruce said and pressed a plastic bag full of ice against the ankle when he returned.
"Thank you, my love," Adriana said and kissed him. She then heard a faint beep from her phone. "Oh...possible burglary...car parts warehouse by Avenue X-"
"I'll go," Bruce said to her and glanced down at the slightly swollen ankle.
"You sure?" she asked. "It sounds like something minor..I know you don't usually go for these things."
"I'm happy to do it," Bruce said truthfully and kissed her again. "I'll be back soon."
Once Bruce was gone Adriana leaned back on the couch, once again thinking of the stoic woman she had seen. Bold red lips, long deep brown hair, swift and discreet as the moved through the crown to leave the club. She sat upright and left the penthouse, walking barefoot to the elevator and went down the medical facility. It was almost 3 a.m. so she was sure she wouldn't be a disturbance if she was very quiet.
Adriana went to the facility and got a compression wrap from one of the supply rooms. When she turned around from taking it from the drawer she saw the Joker standing behind her. He was shirtless and wearing the loose blue pants he was given, of which he had several pairs.
"I thought I heard something," he told her. "And here we have the source."
"Sorry," Adriana apologized. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"I was awake," he told her. "Using the infrared machine."
"Oh," Adriana said, trying to keep her eye level appropriate and she could tell he was trying to do the same. She was still wearing her strapless leather clubbing outfit and was barefoot. "Well..since you're awake.."
He crossed his arms and smiled. "You saw her."
"Wow..." she said. "Are you sure you can't read minds?"
"I read faces," he told her. "What happened?"
"Well..first of I can't be sure it was her," Adriana told him and walked past him and out of the door to the supply room. "It was just an odd feeling I got when I saw this woman-"
"Here," he said and took the compression bandage from her. "I'll wrap it."
"Alright," Adriana agreed as the walked into one of the exam rooms and she sat on the table.
"What did she look like?" the Joker asked while going to the sink to wash his hands.
"I didn't see her whole face, she was wearing a mask," Adriana said. "She had red lipstick, really long brown hair, she was slim...dark brown eyes."
"A mask," he said and pulled a chair over to sit in front of her to begin wrapping the ankle.
"Yes..she looked like a black cat," Adriana said. "Cat ears."
"Was she Black?" he asked.
"No," Adriana said. "And maybe this woman wasn't even..I mean nothing happened I just saw her looking at us."
"Where were you?" he asked as the bandage roll moved in his hands.
"A club..my husband and I.." she said. "We were just talking right before about these people..It wouldn't make anyone happy to see someone they're trying to intimidate out having fun and clubbing. And then I saw this woman looking at us. I looked right at her and she turned and left."
The Joker nodded while looking down and securing the bandage. Adriana looked down at this hair, his forearms, his bare shoulders.
"They probably have her stalking other wealthy famous people," the Joker said, breaking her trance.
"Oh?" Adriana said.
"She'll never guess Bruce Wayne is the Batman," the Joker said, smiling slightly. "She likely has no clue who you are and neither do her superiors."
"Well," Adriana said. "We're careful to never work too closely together..we figured it would be safer if the Batman and Shade were never too closely associated."
"Intelligent," the Joker said.
"What do you think will happen now?" Adriana asked.
"They will wait a few days," he said. "Since their scare tactics aren't working...a few days, maybe a week, and the footage of the old Bat killing Dent will be sent in to a news station anonymously."
Adriana was shaking her head. "We have to stop this."
"Unfortunately for you," he said and looked straight into her eyes. "There will be no way to stop this unless you are able to...well...torture, possible kill this woman for information about who enlisted her."
"That can't be my only option," she said.
"It's not," he said. "You can let it run it's course. Let them expose what he did. And let Gotham hate him."
"And let him go to prison?" Adriana asked angrily. "They know who he is! They know Bruce is-"
"Have they presented any...connecting evidence?" he asked.
"What?" Adriana asked him.
"Any evidence undeniably linking the Batman to...the Bruce Wayne," the Joker said.
"Oh..." Adriana shrugged. "Well no..but if they tell the police I'm sure they'll-"
"They will have nothing," the Joker said. "The Bat has enough resources to make any evidence of him being the Batman disappear."
"I just..." Adriana said. "I don't want him to be cast out...treated like a common criminal.."
"I told him they would," the Joker said and tossed the bandage packaging into the trash can.
Adriana couldn't see the Joker's thoughts but she remembered the profound words from Bruce's memories. The Joker telling him that they were alike..they were both 'freaks' and that he would be cast out at the first sign of trouble when they didn't need him anymore.
"Gotham still needs him," Adriana said. "Gotham isn't a safe city-"
"Why would they need the Bat when they have you?" he asked. "You who...has somehow avoided being identified..avoided being exposed...and avoided doing anything that would risk prison time?"
Adriana couldn't say anything. He was right.
"I have to go," she said and slowly stood.
"I assume you haven't told Bruce Wayne about the Catwoman?" the Joker asked before she could go out the door.
"How can I?" Adriana said and turned back to him. "I know nothing about her."
"I could learn more," he said. "If you'd like."
"Well," Adriana said. "There's a lot I'd like...I'd like these idiots threatening the reputation of their greatest vigilante to go the hell."
"Is that a yes?" he asked.
"Sure," she shrugged tiredly. "But that's impossible. There's no way to find this..what are we calling her now? Catwoman?"
The Joker nodded to her quietly. "Of course. Goodnight."
.
.
.
"I'm glad you're safe," Adriana said to Bruce when he returned home and they were in bed together.
"It was a simple operation," he told her. "I'm surprised you're still awake."
"Just..." Adriana sighed. "I have a lot on my mind."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Bruce asked her.
"No..." she whispered. "I just...want to hold you and fall asleep."
And she did. Bruce fell asleep moments later and his dreams began to pour in. He felt hunger, burning in the pit of his stomach, but he couldn't eat. He had no desire for food, sunlight, or any other enjoyment in life. He was sitting in his office, staring into space, remembering over and over again that his wife was gone. His son was without a mother. And it was entirely his fault. The guilt was making him contemplate suicide repeatedly, but each time he remembered..he had a son to live for. It was an awful dream. He kept remembering the sound of her crying in the bathroom. He felt too dizzy from lack of food to stand up. The hunger was so intense that he woke up. When he opened his eye the hunger faded but he didn't want to return to sleep. The dream felt so long, it felt like it had gone on for hours but it had only been thirty minutes.
He looked at Adriana sleeping beautifully. There was no harm, he told himself, in taking a bit more of the elixir Twyla had given him. Once he took it and returned to the bed, he fell asleep quickly again.
Adriana's dream was the complete opposite of his. She was eating happily although the combination of food looked unpleasant. She had a jar of olives next to a slice of cheesecake. She was back in her single story home...the dream felt like a memory. Bruce stood beside the couch as she leaned forward to pop another olive into her mouth.
She was pregnant. He knew it. She was having a dream memory of being pregnant and eating this bizarre food combination. Her skin was glowing and she was watching TV, appearing relaxed and content.
Then Bruce heard a sound. The backdoor to the kitchen shutting and he looked up. The Joker came in. His hair was wet and dishevelled. It was raining outside and paint was running down his face. Suddenly, Bruce realized this was an intrusion...and intrusion into painful and traumatic memories..but the only way he would know what had happened to her. He wondered if he should wake himself up before something horrible happened. Something he wouldn't be able to unsee.
The Joker took off his deep purple coat and green suit jacket and left them on the table in the kitchen. Bruce looked at Adriana who was still looking forward at the TV, seemingly unconcerned that he had just come in. He watched the Joker reach into the jacket and pull out a small device that looked like a walkie talkie. He removed the battery cover and Bruce left the living room and went into the kitchen.
The Joker took the device apart..it was a detonator in disguise. It had been tampered with. The Joker looked frustrated. He pulled out the wires and noticed one of them had been slightly split. Just enough to render his detonator useless. He was confused.
Adriana was at fault. Bruce wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew. He could sense it. She had essentially destroyed his plan for an explosion. Bruce felt afraid for her and went back into the living room, trying to speak, trying to tell her to run. But his voice never came out of his throat.
She stood and walked to the kitchen casually and looked down at the pile of metal, plastic and wires on the counter.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Repairs," he said as if agitated. He didn't know she was behind it.
"Oh.." she said and left him to it. She went into her bedroom and shut the door. Immediately Bruce was transported there with her.
She went into her bathroom and began to brush her teeth. She didn't seem afraid..nervous..worried. Bruce looked around, looking for a way out for her. She could easily escape through the window and come to his penthouse. He would protect her! But she seemed unbothered. Maybe she was too afraid to leave. She poured mouthwash into her mouth and Bruce watched her moving it around in her mouth before spitting it into the sink. After patting her mouth dry with a towel she went to the bed and laid down, putting on earphones and closing her eyes.
When she closed them, Bruce couldn't see anything. But he could hear everything. He could hear music in her ears, several songs playing from her memory. He could hear in the background the sound of her bedroom door opening and then the bathroom sink.
What he saw next horrified him enough to wake him from his sleep. She opened her eyes and he could see again. The Joker's face right in front of hers. He had washed off the paint. Bruce looked at the man's face and he was horribly disfigured. Jagged lines and dark circles around his eyes. His face looked lumpy overall and was somehow more frightening than it was with the clown paint. Adriana looked into his eyes as he got onto the bed and moved his body above hers. His hand slid up her chest and to her neck. Bruce woke as he saw the Joker's palm and fingers clasp around her throat.