Adriana reheated the Joker's dinner quietly. She said nothing as she placed the cheese slices on top of the burgers in the pan to melt. Once she had assembled the burgers she handed his tray to him.
"Do you want fries?" she asked.
"No," he said, seeing that she didn't seem to want to talk about what had just happened. Both the doctor and the Joker said nothing to her. "You know.."
He began to speak again before leaving the kitchen while she was scrubbing the pan she had been cooking in.
"Yes?" she said and half turned towards him.
"Nothing.." he said, seeing the annoyed look on her face.
"Look," Adriana said, raising her hand that was holding a dripping sponge. "My husband is hiding something from me..and apparently also from his doctor who knows everything about his health. It doesn't get more worrying and bothersome than that, so go ahead. What were you going to say?"
"I was going to offer some words of encouragement," he said honestly. "But I'm not sure I know how to do that."
Adriana started shaking her head and felt herself beginning to smile.
"Well, it just takes some compassion," she said. "It's easy..you just say nice things..and lie a little to make it feel better for the person in distress."
"Ahh..I see," the Joker said and tilted his head. "So I should say...I'm sure your husband is fine. I'm sure he's not using drugs..or sick."
"Yeah..that's it," Adriana shrugged and turned back to the greasy pan. "It's just..."
She began to scrub the pan again.
"If he has cancer...why wouldn't he tell Dr. Kapoor? Dr. Kapoor is the best doctor I've ever met...if he had an illness he would tell him right?" Adriana said, mostly thinking out loud to herself.
"Well," the Joker said. "Unless it's something Dr. Kapoor couldn't fix. Or if it's something he's embarrassed about."
Adriana turned to the Joker quickly. "What? What are you saying?"
"I'm just throwing out ideas," the Joker said.
"Yeah well.." Adriana said and went back to cleaning. "Your ideas suck. Even if he was diagnosed with something terminal from another doctor, he would still tell Dr. Kapoor. And what the fuck would he have to be embarrassed about?"
"I'll go now," the Joker said, backing out of the door after hearing her growing angry.
"No!" Adriana said loudly and spun so fast that she sent suds from the sponge across the floor. "My husband doesn't have some embarrassing illness. What the hell does that even mean? You're saying he has and eating disorder or something?"
"Adriana," the Joker said, his voice trying to calm her. "I said nothing of the sort. I didn't even see him. How would I know if he looks like he has an eating disorder?"
"I told you he was loosing weight-" Adriana said bitterly.
"He could very well look like someone who uses heroin," the Joker said. "Again, how should I know?"
"My husband doesn't look like a heroin addict," Adriana said unconvincingly. She felt like she was about to cry again but held it back.
The Joker gave up, realizing that no matter what he said she was going to take it the wrong way.
"You don't know him, you don't know anything about him," Adriana said harshly.
"You're right," the Joker said.
"Just...go," Adriana said, turning back around.
.
.
.
Bruce came home late that evening. Adriana hadn't called him and he hadn't called her. They hadn't sent any texts. Adriana went out as Shade to stop some of the vandalism and looting. She was out for hours and came home exhausted. After a shower, she left the bathroom and saw Bruce in their bedroom.
"Hi," he said to her.
"Where were you?" she asked.
"I was busy...there was a lot going on," he said. Truthfully, he had spent the evening at the movies. He saw three films in a row alone.
"Yeah.." Adriana said and squeezed her hair with a towel. "Gotham no longer wants to see the Batman anywhere..doing anything. The police want the Batman in custody...there's rewards for any information about who you might be."
"Which means they'll get thousands of leads, leading nowhere," Bruce said as if he was guessing, but he already knew how this would play out.
"What are you going to do?" Adriana asked.
"There's nothing I can do," he said. "I've accepted this."
Adriana looked at his thin face and the hollows that had developed under his deep brown eyes.
"It's fine," Bruce assured her.
"The city needs you," she reminded him.
"Well.." he said and walked over to her. "They have you."
Adriana took a step back.
"So..that's it? You're just giving up? Leaving everything up to me?" she asked.
"I don't have a choice right now, sweetheart," he said. "If I go out there...if they see the Batman again, the riots will get worse. People will get killed. I don't want to be the blame for that too."
"Right.." Adriana said and looked away.
"I know you must be tired. I saw what you did in the city today," he said.
"I'm exhausted and sore," she told him. "But I'm fine. I guess this will be my new normal..since the Batman won't be making an appearance for a while."
"I don't want you to overwork yourself," Bruce told her.
"I'm okay," she said. "But are you?"
"I'm great," he said and looked at her with appreciation.
"You don't seem stressed or upset about all this," she observed.
"I'm not," he said.
"Okay.." Adriana said. "Well, with everything going on, you probably didn't get to see the doctor today so maybe tomorrow he can reschedule your appointment-"
"I did see him actually, a few hours ago," Bruce said. "He gave me a clean bill of health."
Adriana felt her arms go limp as Bruce lied to her face.
"Are you sure?" she asked, trying to give him the chance to tell the truth. "He said you're fine? He looked you over and ran tests?"
"Yes," Bruce lied again and kissed her forehead.
Adriana forced a smile. "Well..I'm glad to hear it."
She couldn't help but wonder as she looked into his eyes and at his appearance, what was actually wrong with him. Maybe the Joker was right, and maybe he was embarrassed about something. Whatever it was it was something serious.
"I'm going to get a shower now," Bruce told her and she nodded quietly.
She got into the bed alone and turned off the lights. Her mind began to consider every single possibility of what could be wrong with him. She considered every disease and ailment, crossing them off one by one in her mind. She saw everything as impossible and settled on cancer over and over, but that would be nothing to hide from his doctor.
Bruce got into the bed twenty minutes later and wrapped his arms around her, and Adriana began to consider something else.
She kissed Bruce's lips and wrapped her arms around him. Her hands migrated to his face and she could feel his cheekbones through his skin.
"I just realized..." Adriana said quietly. "We haven't had sex in like...four days."
"Oh..." Bruce said if though he hadn't noticed. He had finally, gradually, been having less intense dream memories of the past he had erased. He knew exactly how many days it had been.
"Yeah..you've just been going to sleep," Adriana said.
"Hmm..." Bruce said tiredly, even though he wasn't that tired.
"So..." Adriana said and rubbed his chest. "How about now?"
"Now?" he asked.
"We're both stressed.." she said. "I think we need it...so.."
"So..." he said.
"You're putting out," she said and firmly pressed a finger into his chest. "Come on."
Bruce raised his eyebrows at her bossiness.
"Okay.." he said hesitantly. Even though he wanted to, and even though he had eaten plenty that day, his body felt weak. He knew his weakness would show and she would become even more worried about him.
She began to kiss him firmly and he stopped her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You said you were going to see about," Bruce tried to remember. "Birth control or.."
"Yeah well I've been a little busy," Adriana said. "We'll just use the diaphragm, I'll get it-"
"I'm very tired sweetheart," Bruce said.
"What?" Adriana asked now seeing that he had changed his mind. "Bruce.."
Bruce considered it...if they had sex he could just take the potion Twyla had given him. But what if he saw another flash of her past, the Joker around her and possibly hurting her? He didn't think he could bear to see more than he already had. He preferred a dream about ignoring the rioting in Gotham as he stayed at home alone with his child. The hardest part of that dream was Arsenio asking for Adriana before he could fall asleep.
"We'll use a condom," Bruce suggested, seeing this as the only way out. Maybe the barrier would shield him somehow.
"Are you kidding?" she asked.
"No, I'm sure I have some here," Bruce said. "It'll be quicker."
"No one can put in a diaphragm as fast as you," Adriana said, growing suspicious. She then decided it wasn't worth it to argue now. "You know what...just get the condom. It's fine."
.
.
.
"Very nice," Twyla said to Bruce as she was given a case of vintage Rolex watches.
"The total value is a little under $4 million," he said to her.
"Yes. yes," Twyla said. "I know a little about watches."
"I'm still waiting for a merger to finalize and I'll be able to get you another check in the next day or so," he told her.
"Thank you," she said and closed the case in front of her. "I'm so lucky to have moved out of the city when I did."
"Oh?" Bruce said.
"You see they're rioting and destroying shops," Twyla said. "All this week. That could have been my shop. Having your shop destroyed is no good...trust me I know."
"Right well, I apologize again for my wife," Bruce said.
"So, have you used the Fly On The Wall potion yet?" Twyla asked.
"No," Bruce said.
"You seem to be doing well," Twyla said. "I trust your dreams are improving?"
"Well, you could say so," Bruce said. "I'm not having dreams of the past. For the past several days my dreams have been great."
"Oh?" Twyla was intrigued.
"I found a way around it," Bruce said. "A barrier of sorts. I've been having normal dreams."
"Good for you."
.
.
.
"I want to find her," Adriana told the Joker. "The Catwoman."
The Joker looked up from the crossword puzzle he was finishing.
"Why?" he asked. "She's practically useless to us now, if my theories are right."
"Because I need something to distract myself," Adriana said.
She had become overly suspicious of her husband. He had only gotten thinner and thinner. He seemed perfectly happy and normal otherwise but it was becoming more concerning.
"What do you want from her then?" the Joker said.
"I don't know," Adriana said. "Nothing. I just think she's someone I need to keep my eye on."
"Luckily for you, now is an easier time than ever to find her," he said.
"Why?" she asked.
"The riots," he shrugged as if it was obvious.
"What about them?" she asked him.
"Without a doubt she's participating," he said. "She hates wealth and the system. Sort of like I do. I'm willing to bet she's rioting and looting with the others, but going after high value items."
"Like what?" Adriana asked.
"Luxury items that are frivolous," he said. "It's a guessing game, but since she is a woman..My first guess would be jewels. Maybe diamonds."
"So..how do we find her with that?" Adriana asked.
"You know the looting is spreading," he said. "It started downtown and now it's branching out. It's an easy pattern to follow. There are two possible jewelers she could steal from tonight."
"Wait," Adriana stopped him. "So you've been...keeping track of this the whole time? Her movements or where you think she might be?"
"Of course," the Joker answered. "She'll probably be a bit ahead of the crowds that have been rioting and looting at night, to get the best steals."
"So what do we do now?" Adriana asked.
"You'll stake out one place and I'll go to the other," he said. "They're across town from each other so only one of us will see her."
"I don't want to hurt her or anything, I just want to know...I don't know," she said. "I don't want her to get suspicious either."
"You want to confirm it's her," the Joker said. "It would be easy to with vague questions."
"Yes," Adriana said.
"We'll go tonight."