In The Shadow of the Bat

East Side

The East End of Gotham was a bit of a different neighborhood, where there was a rougher element to much of the rest of Gotham. It was a mix of light and dark, where Leslie Thompkins ran her clinic, and the Catwoman roamed the night. It was also where some of the new arrivals drifted, drawn by cheap housing and the chance of gray-sector jobs.

Holly Robinson smiled warmly as the young blond worked in the East End Community Center, dishing up food for the homeless and disadvantaged. She had a warm, cheerful manner, one that was a great change from her dark past.

A prostitute and friend of Selina Kyle, Holly had a very rough teenage period. Selina ultimately convinced her to enter a convent with Maggie Kyle, but in the end that didn't work out. Ending up back on the street Holly had drug problems, but ultimately got herself clean before meeting Selina once again. Now she and Selina helped watch over this part of town, with Holly working as one of her informants.

Holly looked up as a pale young woman in slightly older clothes joined her behind the table, her brown hair offsetting the pale skin and slightly pinkish eyes. "Hey, Mary," Holly smiled, "nice to see you again."

"Hi," Mary Scott smiled shyly, the albino pulling on a apron and gloves to help feed the homeless, "how are things going today?"

"Busy as usual," Holly chuckled as they both went to work.

The lunch they were offering wasn't much, just soup, sandwich and coffee, but it was more than some of these guys and gals got from whatever money they could raise. The people collected their trays and Mary and Holly served up the food, in return getting sincere thanks and shy smiles.

Mary was a odd duck, Holly quickly decided, though she couldn't really blame the other woman for it. If what she had gotten out of Mary was true the woman's school life was absolute hell, and her personal life hadn't been anything to write home about either.

After nearly a hour of dishing up food the lineup was about done, and both women were sighing in relief. "Have I thanked you today for volunteering?" Holly asked tiredly.

"For the fourth of fifth time," Mary noted with some amusement.

"Well, let me thank you again," Holly laughed as she added, "I don't think I could handle this mob on my own."

Mary just smiled back, her odd pink eyes gentle as she answered, "I'm glad to help those less fortunate than I."

Holly had to fight back a snort of amusement at that comment. Mary was right on the poverty line for Gotham, living in a East End dive and working as a ticket girl at a porno theater, but she still regarded herself as well off.

'I guess that says something about what her life was like before she came here to Gotham,' Holly silently mused. "Has anything interesting happened at work?" Holly had to ask, strangely fascinated by the types that went to a run down porno theater, presumably to wack off.

A odd smile flickered across Mary's face as she softly admitted, "I met the Joker."

"What?" Holly yelped, then quickly got the story from her. Apparently the Joker tried to rob her theater, and was rather impressed by her calm reaction, sparing her his usual homicidal impulses. "You were incredibly lucky," she noted, shaking her head.

"You think so?" Mary asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.

Holly nearly said something forceful, then noticed the twinkle in Mary's eyes. "You're pulling my chain, aren't you?" she asked.

Mary grinned suddenly, "Just a bit."

"Why, I oughta...," Holly mock threatened her while Mary giggled.

"Are you two playing the Three Stooges or something?" the slim black haired woman noted as she walked in, looking the two over thoughtfully.

"Actually we were waiting for you to make us three, Selina," Holly teased, "once we practice we'll go on the road!"

"Oh, gee, thanks," Selina laughed. She looked at Mary curiously, "Who's your friend?"

"Mary, meet my roommate Selina," Holly introduced her with a smile, "she's a former socialite who lost everything in the stock market crash."

"Nice to meet you," Mary shook her hand.

Holly was amused to see Selina being nervous around the girl, presumably due to her resemblance to the Joker. But Mary's gentle aura seemed to calm her friend,. And soon they were chatting reasonably normally. Well, sort of.

"You're living WHERE?" Selina yelped, nearly spitting out her mouthful of coffee. As Holly tried to keep her from choking Selina recovered enough to say, "We've got to get you out of there."

"It's not that bad," Mary said from her seat at the corner table they were all at, drinking some coffee before going home.

"The rats in that part of the East End go around armed," Holly noted dryly, "yes, it's that bad, Mary. You aren't safe there."

"Everyone thinks I'm a minor supervillain or something," Mary shrugged expressively, "no one bothers me there."

"And the cockroaches don't bother you either?" Selina had to ask as she looked at the delicate young woman dubiously.

"I put down flea powder," Mary shrugged, "they stay out of my room."

"Gah," Holly made a face at that idea. "Really, I'm sure we can find you something better," she said firmly.

Both women tried to argue with Mary but got pretty much nowhere, then it was time for her to go. "What a odd woman," Selina noted mildly, smiling.

"I like her, though," Holly nodded, "she's a good kid."

"I suppose," Selina sighed. She made a face, "Damn it, I hate admitting that someone's appearance bothers me..."

"She reminds you of Joker," Holly nodded slightly. She shrugged, "It's understandable, Selina. I mean you've fought that giggling psycho enough times it makes sense it bothers you."

"Yeah, but I should be able to separate out a pale kid from the Joker," Selena grumbled.

Both of them shut up as the outside door opened, and a young man and older woman walked in. Holly swiftly assessed them with her eyes and instincts, quickly coming to certain conclusions. Both had the look of criminals, from the wary gazes around them to the readiness to fight, but they weren't killers. There was a hardness around the eyes and a coldness that killing brought on that they didn't have. Overall Holly tagged them as mid-level types, the sort often recruited for gangs but not trusted in the inner circle.

"Uhm, hello?" the older woman called, looking around her. Oddly both were wearing battered tuxedos, of average quality.

"Hi, welcome to the East End Community center," Holly got up from the table to walk over to them, "I'm Holly."

"Jamie," the brown haired woman nodded politely, "and this is Max."

The younger man actually tipped his hat slightly, revealing short black hair as he said politely, "Charmed."

Holly had to bite back a laugh at that, even as the boy blushed slightly. Selina sauntered over, her green eyes amused as she asked, "Are you two the ones Catwoman mentioned?"

"Yeah, we had a little run in with her," Jamie admitted a bit ruefully, "and in a weak moment I agreed to come out here."

"She had us tied up with a whip," Max shrugged eloquently, "arguing seemed like a bad idea at that point."

Holly giggled then added, "Kinky."

"Hey!" Selina protested, then when the newcomers looked at her quickly added, "Uhm, I'm sure Catwoman doesn't swing that way."

"Well, she does wear that leather outfit," Jamie noted with a sly smile.

Selina glowered at Holly, who wisely decided not to push any more. "So you two are looking for work?" she asked curiously.

"If you can find us something, I'd appreciate it," Max agreed, nodding. He made a face, "Almost anything has to be better than some of the stuff I've put up with."

"Oh?" Selina had to ask.

"I nearly got killed by the Joker," Max checked it off on his fingers, "had a run in with Two Face, the Scarecrow made me phobic to clowns, the Wonderland Crew drugged me and put me in a skirt..."

"Wha?" Jamie blinked.

"I was Alice. Don't ask," he sighed then finished, "I ran with the new Ventriloquist and nearly got blown up, then ended up fighting members of the Falcone mob during the last gang war."

"You know, you're life sucks," Holly noted.

"Eh, it's a living," Max shrugged eloquently.

"Damn, kid, I told you to stay clear of the mobs," Jamie sighed, "you better hope you didn't cross anyone major. They do not forget or forgive."

"Nah, I got winged fast and ended up on the sidelines," Max shook his head. "Anyway," he looked at Holly, "Do you guys have anything for us?"

Holly exchanged a glance with Selina, who looked rather amused by the two newcomers. "Yeah, I think we can find something," Holly said, "as long as you don't mind some physical labor."

"Yeah, we'll manage," Jamie said.

"Good, come on then," Holly said as she lead them away.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Mary Scott sighed tiredly as she went up the creaking steps to her little apartment, then blinked as she heard the sounds of loud conversation. "Be careful with the computer," one voice ordered.

"But it's just a home made model," a guy answered.

"Still, it's hers," a third, familiar voice said firmly.

Mary hurried up to her floor, then blinked as she saw Holly supervising two others as they cleared her stuff out of her room. "What are you doing?" she asked dryly.

"We found you a new place," Holly said firmly, "and my minions here are helping you move."

"Minions?" the man sighed.

The woman shrugged, "Better than hench people."

To be continued...

Notes: Referring back to several older chapters, as well as touching on Catwoman. I'm mostly ignoring the 'One Year Later' stuff in her title, as I feel it was rather badly thought out.