Selina awoke to the sound of screaming in her ears. Disoriented, she stumbled out of bed. She fumbled through the room, crashing into furniture, searching for a light switch. The scream sounded out again very close to her. Finally, she found a lamp and hurried to switch it on.
She blinked in confusion at the unfamiliar room around her. Then the events of yesterday rushed back in her head. Mr. Wuffles, the bowling ball, the vet clinic, the hospital, her mother.
A yowl at her feet made her jump. The black cat then proceeded to twine his way around her legs as soon as she stilled. He kept looking up at her expectantly.
"Nightmare, huh? I get it now."
The sun peeked up from the horizon, indicating it was much earlier than she normally got out of bed. But when Nightmare yowled again, she threw on some clothes she found in the closet and headed downstairs. Muffin met her at the door of the pantry, purring loudly as Selina figured out feeding them.
As she sipped coffee from the Keurig, she noticed the strangest sensation. The tiniest little tugging pulled at her abdomen, like a wisp of a thread had been attached to her. She rubbed at her stomach to dislodge it.
"Good morning!" Maria walked into the kitchen. "How did you sleep? Any memories resurface?"
Selina couldn't restrain herself. All those years of wanting her mother back and now here she stood right in front of her. She rushed over to Maria and threw her arms around her. She completely forgot about the strange tugging.
"Oh!" Maria startled, but then relaxed, wrapping her arms around Selina. "Not your usual morning greeting."
Selina held on to her for a few more moments then pulled back. "Sorry. I had this crazy thought that maybe you wouldn't be here this morning."
"Oh, baby, I'm always here for you. I'm sure you'll remember that soon. In fact, I've taken the whole week off to help you get your memory back. The only thing is that prom is this weekend, and I'm head of the prom committee. I'm scheduled to pick up the donated dresses this morning."
"Donated dresses?"
Maria put a pod in the Keurig for herself. "Willow Grove High School is far from being in a wealthy neighborhood. Most of the parents work at the manufacturing plant making minimum wage so a lot of the girls don't have the funds for a fancy dress. Our benefactor collects barely worn dresses in all different sizes through the year. Since I'm not letting you out of my sight, you're going to have to come to Wayne Tower with me."
"Why Wayne Tower? You can't tell me Bruce Wayne collects dresses for you."
Maria snorted. "Of course not! Martha Wayne's our benefactor."
"Martha Wayne's alive?!" Selina cringed at her words before she could stop herself.
Maria gave her a surprise look before her feature smoothed with understanding. "Sorry, I forgot for a moment that your memories are all wonky. Yes, she's alive."
"Thomas Wayne?"
"No, he died a few years ago from a heart attack. He was never quite the same after getting out of jail."
Her eyebrows shot up. She didn't know how many more surprises she could take. "A Wayne went to jail?"
"Yep, for setting up that reporter who Falcone ended up murdering. He had to testify to it all in court to get Falcone sent away. They made a deal though. He only served eighteen months and it was in one of those prisons that's more like a resort, but he was much less ambitious when he got out. Gave up all political pursuits and just practiced medicine until he died."
It sounded a lot better to Selina than getting shot to death in an alley. It also wasn't lost on her that Thomas Wayne's bravery turning Falcone in hadn't just saved his own life, it had inadvertently saved her mother's life and given the Selina an infinitely better upbringing. "Bruce Wayne?" she inquired, curious.
"Very much alive. In fact, Martha told me he's moved back into the tower. There was a whole fiasco with him catching his now ex-girlfriend cheating on him a couple months ago. Apparently, the starlet's true colors emerged after that because she got blasted for fat-shaming her new co-star. Martha's just glad to have Bruce home again."
Selina tried to imagine reclusive Bruce Wayne dating a starlet. The guy never left Wayne Tower where she came from and she'd never heard anything about him dating. So many differences here that she was having a hard time keeping up. Then her conversation with Vengeance flashed through her mind. Was that yesterday? The day before that? Time seemed off between the two realities. But Vengeance never actually denied that Bruce Wayne was his benefactor, and the rich guy might be the only lead she had to finding Vengeance here. Those feelings for him that had been growing inside her demanded she find her partner in crime. Fighting crime, she reminded herself.
When they pulled up at Wayne Tower later that morning, a valet took their car. Selina watched in amazement at all the bustling activity inside. Desiring complete solitude, Bruce Wayne had moved all the businesses out once he'd come of age, but obviously not here. A doorman led them to a private elevator, which took them up to the Wayne penthouse at the top of the building.
The doorman must have rung up because Martha greeted them at the door. "Hello, Maria!" The two embraced like old friends. "I can't wait to show you everything!" Then she spotted Selina behind her. "I didn't know you were bringing your daughter! What a nice surprise. I haven't seen you since the last prom. Your mom brags about you constantly, how you keep all those kitties healthy."
Selina couldn't help but smile at the gracious, happy woman. Martha Wayne looked almost the same as in the photos from twenty years ago, just a little older. She still had long brown hair and delicate features. Selina pushed away the image in her mind of the woman lying on the ground next to her dead husband, shot and bloodied. She focused on the very alive woman in front of her instead. "Thank you. Glad I can be here to help my mom."
Maria wrapped her arm around Selina's shoulders. "My baby had some kind of accident yesterday and now she can't remember so many things! I'm trying to jog her memory."
"Amnesia?" Martha looked at Selina wide-eyed.
"Something like that," Selina said. She really didn't want to clarify that her memories hadn't been lost but were significantly different from this crazy, wonderful world where her mom still existed.
"Well, you look fantastic for a woman with amnesia. Come this way," Martha motioned them to follow.
Selina admired the Gothic architecture as they walked through the residence. She couldn't help falling into old habits of assessing the art on the walls and sculptures on tables. The Monet would bring in at least a few million and she definitely could get a good amount for the antique carved box with mother-of-pearl inlay. She forced herself to stop when she started looking for the telltale signs of hidden safes. She doubted this version of herself had the cat burglar tendencies as she never would have been alone, homeless and starving. Besides, she had made an agreement with Vengeance to cool it on the thieving.
They arrived at a sitting room that had a large, portable clothing rack completely filled. Dresses in every color and style crowed together. Maria's eyes widened with delight.
Martha smiled at her reaction, pulling out a glorious red gown with spaghetti straps and a short navy dress with a spattering of rhinestones across the front. "Many of them have never been worn and the rest had only been worn once. I also got a bunch of practically new shoes as well." She pointed to a large box.
Then she turned to a side table, revealing a large clear container. "I found these to crown the Prom Queen and King." Inside sat a beautiful silver tiara and a larger silver crown, both glittering with what looked like diamonds. Selina doubted they were real but really couldn't tell without closer inspection. Then again, when you have billions of dollars, does the cost of that amount of money make much difference?
Maria gasped. "Oh, Martha, you shouldn't have."
The pride from her accomplishment shone on Martha's face. "I couldn't resist. It may sound silly but being able to do the crowning at the prom is one of my favorite things all year."
"Do you ladies need help carrying any of this?" spoke a voice from the doorway.
They all turned. Selina's breath caught in her throat as her eyes landed on Bruce Wayne.
He wore a black business suit cut perfectly for his figure. He had the jacket draped over his shoulder, the top two buttons of the crisp white shirt undone and the striped tie loosed. A small smile graced his lips as he surveyed the contents of the room. Then his eyes met Selina's.
An eerie sense of deja vu washed over her as she looked into those beautiful blue eyes. She'd looked into those eyes before, hadn't she? Although these eyes seemed less weighed down with the weight of the world here. How was that possible? Sure, she'd seen pictures of Bruce Wayne before, usually with him trying to avoid the camera. No, she knew him. She just couldn't fathom how.
"Bruce!" Martha exclaimed. "I thought you were in board meetings all day!"
Bruce looked over at his mother, breaking the spell.
Selina's hand involuntarily pressed to her chest. Her heart pounded. Never had she responded to someone like this. It was like her body screamed to tell her something. Sure, she'd told Vengeance that Bruce Wayne was hot, which wasn't a lie, but her feelings towards him had been ambivalent at best and detesting at worst. With the way she was reacting to meeting him in person, perhaps Vengeance did have something to be jealous of.
"I couldn't stand it anymore," Bruce answered. "I'm trying to get funds from the Foundation allocated to the park conservation program, and all they want to talk about is Larry's new yacht. I broke for lunch early. I'd rather help you than deal with them right now."
"Perfect timing! You remember Maria, right? She's been letting me help with the prom she's running this weekend."
Bruce nodded to Maria. "Nice to see you again."
"This is her daughter, Selina. She's a veterinarian," Martha bragged for her benefit.
Bruce reached out and gripped her hand in his large, warm one. He flashed her a genuine smile as Selina shivered at his touch. "Pleasure to meet you, Selina. Your mother and my mother have spoken very highly of you. You have a fascinating career."
"Thanks," she smiled back, hoping not to have to go into details.
"Would you two start loading up the car while Maria and I work on some paperwork? I'll let the valet know to pull the car around back." Martha and Maria headed out of the room.
While being left alone with Bruce had butterflies flying in her stomach, it did give her more opportunity to ask about Vengeance. She just needed to find the right opportunity to work it in. They mostly talked about the coordination of getting the dresses and shoes from the sitting room, down the service elevator and into the Prius. The conversation was comfortable between them with just a little bit of flirting as Bruce held up dresses he thought she should try on and her modeling some cute strappy sandals for him.
Finally, they loaded the last box of shoes in the elevator. They stood in silence for a few seconds as the elevator began its descent. Selina fidgeting with nerves for a moment before biting the bullet. "Can I ask you a weird question?"
Bruce chuckled. "I've been asked a lot of weird questions so I'm pretty used to it. Go on."
"Have you ever heard of The Batman?"
He tilted his head, his smile slipping a bit. "That's a new one."
"He also goes by the name Vengeance," Selina rushed to add. "He fights crime in Gotham."
The smile turned down into a frown. Bruce shook his head. "No, I've never heard of anyone like that."
Selina sighed, disappointed. Bruce Wayne had been her best lead. She glanced over at him.
He stared into the corner of the elevator, brow furrowed in concentration. She got the sense he either knew something he didn't want to share or he was trying to figure out how to get away from this crazy woman.
Rolling her eyes, she figured it was probably the latter.