Selina moaned into Bruce's mouth as he sucked on her lower lip. Her tongue ran across the roof of his mouth, eliciting a shiver from him. She sat astride his lap, arms wrapped around his neck. He had his hands underneath her shirt, his fingers blazing trails of fire along her back. Yet, a gnawing feeling grew in her stomach.

Bruce hadn't wasted any time in asking her out. As soon as his mother finished crowning the King and Queen of the prom the night before, he'd asked if she'd have dinner with him the next night. He'd even picked her up in a stretch limo and brought her to dine in Wayne Tower.

Her curiosity was quenched when she met the previously mentioned Alfred. The older British butler charmed her as he served them a brilliant four-course meal. The delicious tastes he'd created with each dish had her eating more than she could ever remember. She very much enjoyed making him blush as she raved over his cooking.

She also sensed a proud papa vibe between him and Bruce as Alfred slipped some of Bruce's accomplishments into the conversation. Top of his class at the Wharton Business School. Awards as the head of the most charitable fund in the city. Even dropping the fact that Bruce would privately meet with struggling families to help get them back on track. Bruce tried to wave it off as if anyone of means would do the same, but Selena knew most of the rich couldn't care less about poor folks. It made her realize that Bruce truly cared about people and Gotham, whether here in this seemingly perfect world or as Vengeance in her own dark version of Gotham.

Now, all alone with no chaperone in a remote sitting room, they couldn't keep their hands off each other. A movie played completely ignored in the background. She'd never heard of this series called Harry Potter, and at the moment, she didn't care.

Bruce's lips broke away from hers. He trailed kisses across her face until he reached her ear, then he used his teeth to nibble her ear lobe. The hand on her back reversed course, gripping her ass.

She gasped at the sensation. Her whole body blazed with want for him. In response, the gnawing feeling in her stomach intensified. It became almost painful. She couldn't ignore it anymore. It took her a moment to realize exactly what it was.

Guilt.

"Damn him and his morality infecting me!" she hissed. She pushed herself off Bruce and onto the sofa next to him. This was why Vengeance never let their make-out sessions progress too far, she realized. He felt guilt about not being honest with her, but he hadn't been ready to reveal his identity. Honestly, she wasn't totally sure how she would have reacted in that particular situation anyway.

Bruce looked shocked at the interruption of their passionate activities. "What happened? Who are you talking about?"

"You,"

A small smile twitched on his lips. "Oh, I promise you that there are no moral thoughts in my head right now." He reached for her, trying to draw her back into his lap.

Selina wiggled away. "Okay, not you. Vengeance."

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Vengeance doesn't exist. He was a childish fantasy that I forgot about long ago."

"He exists where I come from."

This captured Bruce's attention. He leaned back against the arm of the sofa. "Where do you come from, Selina?"

"Through the looking glass," she murmured. "My Gotham is so much darker, so crime-ridden and hopeless that it demanded a figure like Vengeance.

"I don't have amnesia." she continued. "I remember my entire life, just so different. I got hit in the head with a bowling bowl helping my neighbor get her cat out of her closet and woke up here, in this perfect version of Gotham. I'm not sure if I'm dreaming this while in a coma or ended up in some alternate reality. I do think I've figured out where the two realities diverged."

Bruce tilted his head, eager for her to continue. It surprised Selina that he hadn't thrown her out yet for sounding batshit crazy, pun intended.

"Your father turned Falcone in for murdering that reporter. He even went to jail for it, right?"

"Yes."

"That didn't happen in my world."

Bruce frowned. "So Falcone walked free?"

Selina nodded. "He shaped the city into a cesspool of greed, corruption and crime."

"But my father would have been the mayor if he hadn't gone to jail, right?"

Selina bit her lip, the horrifying words not wanting to come. "I don't know how to tell you what happened," she whispered.

Bruce took her hand in his. Warmth emanated from him and she wanted to wrap herself within it. "Just tell me," he prompted gently.

"Falcone had your parents murdered. They were shot to death in an alley after coming out of a movie. You were there, ten years old, but you survived."

Bruce's face paled, his gaze staring off as he processed such devastating information. "Dear God," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I can't imagine..."

"I can."

Bruce's eyes snapped to hers.

"Falcone strangled my mother when I was seven."

"But wasn't Falcone your..." He trailed off but Selina knew what word he refused to say.

"My father? You know about that, huh?"

"I did a background check on you. It's public record," he answered sheepishly.

"Figures. Vengeance would have done that too."

"Vengeance. I get why he would have gone down that path. Seeing his parents gunned down in front of him. My mother-" he choked but quickly recovered.

Selina squeezed his hand in understanding.

"Tell me about him. Do people know he's me?" Bruce asked.

"Oh, no! Nobody knows who he is! Even I wasn't sure until I saw those drawings in your notebook. He fiercely guards that secret, and I understand why."

Bruce nodded. "If people knew who he was, he'd be vulnerable. What about Bruce Wayne himself?"

"He's a recluse. I know he got some degrees, medical or law or something, I'm not sure, but he doesn't use them. I've never heard of him dating, let alone being engaged. He stays up in his tower, hardly ever leaving. Although, now I know he does leave. He prowls the streets and rooftops at night bringing justice to the poor of Gotham."

"Damn, I'm not sure whether to admire him or feel sorry for him. Probably both," Bruce seemed to say more to himself. Then he looked back at her. "So are you here to stay?"

The question caught her off-guard. She frowned as she mulled the answer over in her head. "I...I don't know. I want to stay here with my mom, with you, but I don't think that's going to be allowed. Even now, if I concentrate, I can sense this pulling inside me. It keeps getting stronger. It's pulling me away from this perfect Gotham, back through the looking glass."

"No," Bruce shook his head. "I don't want you to go." His grip on her hand tightened.

"I don't either, but this isn't my world. I'm stealing it from the Selina who really lives here. I belong back there with him. With Vengeance."

Mouth pressed in a thin line of frustration, Bruce said, "I don't like it, but I guess I don't get a choice. Where can I take you in this 'perfect' Gotham tomorrow that you don't have there? A memory for just you and I to share. The gallery? The zoo? The theater? The pier? The-"

"The Gotham Pier?! It still exists!" Selina exclaimed.

Bruce nodded, smiling at her reaction.

"I remember going there with my mom just before she died. She bought me cotton candy and let me go on so many rides." Then her enthusiasm dampened. "They shut it down about five years later. Gangs had taken over. People kept getting mugged or beaten up. One of those corrupt government workers had been taking bribes to overlook the safety checks on rides. When two kids lost their lives, they closed it all up. I think it got washed out to sea during the big flood."

"Big flood?"

Selina waved off the question. "Long story. So we're going to The Pier tomorrow?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes." Bruce answered, then kissed the top of her hand.