A couple hours after she'd awoken in this strange world, Selina and her mom walked out of the hospital. She breathed in the crisp, fresh air surrounding her. Ever since the flooding a few months ago, usually the air had this hint of rotting fish contaminating it. There was none of that here. The sun shone brightly as it headed toward the horizon.
She kept her mouth shut as they climbed into Maria's Toyota Prius. She didn't remember her mother being able to drive let alone being able to afford a car. She itched to ask but it didn't feel right yet. Instead, she watched the neighborhood pass by. It looked clean and well kept. She barely recognized it without the trash strewn all over and prostitutes and drug dealers on the corners. Just last week, she'd patrolled it with Vengeance.
Vengeance! Was he here somewhere in this crazy place? Damn, she really wished she'd figured out his identity before she came here.
"Umm, Mama?"
"Yes, baby?" she asked, eyes staying on the road.
"Have you heard of The Batman? He also goes by Vengeance."
"The Bat-Man? No. Sounds like something out of a movie." Then she smiled, slowing down and turning into a driveway next to a three-story duplex. "Home sweet home!"
"This is where you live?" Selina asked incredulously. The white stucco gleamed while pink and purple flowers bloomed in planters around the porch. The place looked like a palace compared to her crappy, rundown apartment.
"Actually, we live here together. You moved back in after the end of that disastrous relationship you had in vet school."
Selina decided not to touch that subject as Maria lead her into the house. Two cats greeted them at the door. That put a smile on Selina's face. She got down on her knees, loving it as they let her pet them. The midnight black one wound his way around her legs, purring all the while. The other one, a creamy calico sniffed at her, slightly more reluctant to get closer. "You two are adorable!"
"That's Nightmare and Muffin," Maria offered.
"Nightmare?"
"Oh, yes. He's a nightmare when he wants to be fed in the morning! Muffin is politer." Maria plopped her bag down on the table by the door, looking exhausted. "I don't think either of us is in the mood to cook so I'm just going to order pizza. Take a look around. Maybe something will spark your memory."
Selina nodded. As her mother made the call, she wandered through the house. This place was an orphan's dream. Happy photos everywhere, a fully stocked fridge and pantry, books crammed on several cases, comfy couches and a nice-sized TV in the living room. She headed upstairs, finding the master bedroom that had to be her mother's room. It had been decorated in pleasant browns and beiges and looked very tidy. Unlike what she presumed to be her room. The mess definitely reminded her of her apartment with the unmade bed, clothes littering the floor and her desk strewn with papers and pens. She looked wistfully at the diplomas on the wall, three total. She didn't have any where she came from. Then she smiled at the overflowing jewelry box. Another thing she had in common with the Selina of this world besides her general messiness.
Once the pizza arrived and they both had food in their bellies, Selina decided she needed answers. "Mama? You're a teacher?"
"Yes. I teach English Lit at Willow Grove High school."
Selina took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. "I remember when I was a little girl you worked at a club. I went there with you sometimes and it was very loud, dark and smoky. I think it was called the Iceberg Lounge."
Maria's eyes lit up. "You remember that? Good! Maybe your memories are starting to come back!"
Selina doubted it but gave her a small smile.
Maria continued around another bite of pizza. "They tore that place down years ago, right after Carmine Falcone went to jail."
Selina choked on her soda, coughing violently. "Falcone went to jail?" she gasped. "How?"
"Thomas Wayne turned him in to the police for murdering a reporter. It was amazing that Falcone's high-priced defense attorney couldn't get him off. The evidence was just that damning. We sued for child support the moment the paternity test confirmed you to be his child. Of course, he fought it until the day he died."
"He died?"
"In a prison riot. Shot trying to escape. Best thing that could have happened to us. He never married or had a will, probably thought he would live forever." Maria rolled her eyes. "Turned out he had a few illegitimate children out there so we had to split your inheritance with them. Wasn't as much as you would have thought, but it was enough to buy this house and put both of us through college. Not enough for vet school but you'll pay those loans off eventually."
Selina forced herself to eat more pizza as she processed all this new information. Apparently, Falcone had been the key to Gotham's destitution. Removing him had made everything better, especially her own life. Tracing the pathways away from that one major change led her in a million different directions. Suddenly, exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her. "Mama, I'm really tired. Are you okay if I go to bed?"
"Of course, baby. Good night." Maria leaned over to kiss her forehead before clearing the plates off the table.
Still reeling but almost passing out, Selina forced herself to sit at the desk in her room instead of crashing on the bed. She opened the laptop, glad to see no password protection but wanting to chide her other self about protection. She typed in "BATMAN".
Nothing.