Author's Note: I'd say this chapter's a bit darker than the last, and contains a bit more violence, especially toward the end. Not for those who can't stand blood. You've been warned.^_^ Hope you like it.

See Chapter One for Disclamer.

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*~*Greyscale Rainbows*~*
Chapter Two

Isis Turrell was not an entirely unhappy young woman. Though saddness and anger ripped through a large portion of her thoughts. She had known what she was going to do with her life, and it had been within her reach. But now...Now she had a new mission in life. And only one thing stood in her way--lack of evidence.
So close and yet so far, she thought idly to herself. She was sitting on the beat-up couch in her apartment, running ideas through her mind. She knew she'd get him, and nail him to a wall with no chance of escape. The TV was on, just useless noise running in the background and distracting her from the task at hand. She had risen, looking for the remote, when that useless noise caught her attention.
"The identity of the intruder is yet unknown, but last night's break-in at Wayne-Powers has caused a vast increase in sercurity measures," the voice of the female reporter rang cheerily.
Huh. Very interesting. The focus of Isis remained on the TV for brief seconds, until she realized that the short blurb was all the break-in was worthy of. Then she snatched up the remoted and hit the power button. The room went dark, the TV having been the only light she'd had on. She looked to the small window, it let in little light--it faced the wall of the next building over.
I wonder if anything newsworthy will happen tonight...?

"Who do you think she is?" the uncowled Batman asked Bruce Wayne.
"I don't know. She could be anyone, you said she was looking through documents on South American?" Wayne wasn't overjoyed to not know who he was dealing with. Who they were dealing with, he corrected his thoughts quickly.
"Yeah, she had this," McGinnis handed him the paper he'd taken the night before. "It's about possible pollutants being released into river water that's also being used as the main water source for several towns and villages. Somehow I think it's playing down the danger."
"I'll see what I can find out. Were you planning on talking all night, or going on patrol?"
Terry made a bit of a face as he walked to the Batmobile. He didn't like being told to leave like this. Though Wayne would probably know who the mystery woman was by the time he returned.

"She what?" Max's voice was incredulous.
"She about had me," Batman admitted. Terry was in the Batmobile on patrol, and talking to Max over the vehicle's celluar system.
"And you let her get away? I thought you had better sense than that. So what was she after?"
"No idea, she had some papers about Wayne-Powers dealings in South America. One of them was about pollutants. The old man's trying to dig up some dirt on her," the Bat's eyes watched as the buildings flew by. A thought struck him suddenly. "Sorry Max, gotta go," he told her, ending the call before she could answer.
He put the Batmobile into manual control and swung it around to head into the direction from which he had just come. Toward the Wayne-Powers offices.
The three minute ride was tense, and all the Bat could do was hope that he was right. Arriving at his destination, he circled the Batmobile around the tall building. The roof of the building was crawling with guards, but somebody dedicated could probably get in. And somebody dedicated was most definetly trying. He recognized the shape of the woman, and watched from above as she knocked out a guard. He took the craft in to just above the rooftop and jumped to the ground.
A muffled noise came from the other side of a near air conditioning unit. The roof was indeed cluttered with such items, as well as two or three entrances to the floors below. He jogged toward the noise, creeping around the unit. Only to come face to face with the woman.
"You've got company," he informed her, dodging the first thrust from her blade.
"And unwelcome company of that. Keep to your own business, Batboy," her voice sounded as dark as her outfit.
"This is my business."
The glare she set him with was apparent even through her mask. She drew the sword close and sprung quietly to the top of the AC unit, then down on the other side and out of sight. He could hear her running footsteps receding toward one of the doors, and ran in the other direction. To the set of doors opposite those she fled to, but he had a pretty good idea of where she was going.

Paxton Powers sat at his desk, reviewing the papers that had been left by the failed thief the night before. Only one sheet was missing, and there was a duplicate of it still in the pile. Who would do this? He wondered. His mind found plenty of answers, none of them appealing. He stood, pacing the large room. His office was in the building's interior, and so without windows. He could have had any office in the building, but he preferred caution to death. Ancient weapons decorated the walls, along with oriental artworks. He sighed, having not come up with anyone who had the audacity to do such a thing who was both alive and interested in his South American pollution records. He sat once more, and began to type at his laptop. If he couldn't figure out who this person was, then he'd hire someone who could.
The opening of his door caught his attention. A woman stood there, wearing a tight black catsuit. Her face, hidden by a black mask, was framed by her dark hair.
Mystery solved. "And who are you?" He asked, putting as much charm and charisma into his voice as he possibly could. His hand stared inching toward the desk's edge, and the revolver hidden beneath it.
"Murderer." She spat the word out, her voice quivering with hatred.
"And who did I kill?" He inquired, his voice retaining its former tone. Almost there...
"Does it really matter?" She asked, drawing the sword, and discarding its scabbard. His hand crept closer to the gun, unnoticed by the woman, who had locked eyes with him.
She rushed him, yelling a battle cry. And then she fell, face first, to the ground. Batman clutched at her ankles.
"You!" her voice rang with rage, as she brought the sword up to strike him. He let go of her and rolled out of the path of the cutting edge. He leapt to his feet, noticing that the blade had left a rather deep mark in the floor as he did. She jumped to her feet, bringing the blade down in an arc, and only narrowly missing his chest. The Bat looked to a near wall, and spotted an oriental style sword in its scabbard. He backed to the wall, and swiftly grabbed it. Once the sword was unsheathed, he stood at-the-ready.
She attacked, and he blocked. Their blades locked near the hilt. He had the advantage, he was taller than her by a couple of inches. Not to mention the combined strength of himself and the suit. He pushed her away with the blade, and she stumbled backward under the force of the move.
It was now that Paxton's hand grasped the revolver and pulled it loose from its holdings beneath the desk. Now, who to kill first? He aimed at Batman, the larger thorn in his side. The Bat was too concerned with his current opponent to notice. The girl wasn't.
As Powers pulled the trigger, she moved to block her adversary from the bullet. The shot rang out loud and clear, tearing through her shoulder. Batman caught her as she fell back, her blood splattering the Batsuit.

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This one may have a bit more of that 'suspenseful ending' quality. Sorry the who and what questions weren't really addressed. Tune in next time for a bit more about those items. Maybe Dana will even show up. Next chapter soon!^_^