A/N: I wasn't planning on updating so soon, but my area got dumped with almost a foot of snow. There wasn't much to do, and I got tired of shoveling, so I came inside and finished this chapter. Enjoy!

My thanks once more to everybody who was kind enough to review.

Batman & Benson

Six

"An Alliance Forged"

"Uh, no, don't let me disturb your plans, guys," Olivia told the men. "I was just on my way out the door, anyway."

And with that, she broke into a mad dash down the massive room. Olivia was now grateful she ditched her boots, for she ran as fast as a gazelle in her bare feet. When she saw the doorway ahead of her, Olivia burst into a smile. 'I'll be out of this nuthouse in no time!'

Olivia's eyes grew wide with fear when she heard a loud swooping sound behind her, it quickly increased in pitch and then she let out a cry when a rope tightly wrapped itself around her ankles, pulling them tightly together. Her feet now abruptly trussed up, Olivia fell hard to the floor.

She glanced up and watched in terror as Bruce Wayne ran over to her. Even without the cowl, he was still an intimidating figure. "Ok, listen," Olivia quickly said, falling back on her police training by trying to regain control of the situation. "You're just going to make this situation a whole lot worse for yourself if you—wait, wait, just listen to me!"

"Is this really necessary, Master Bruce?" the old man asked, with a look of distain.

"Not now, Alfred," Wayne snarled, as he loomed dangerously over the helpless Olivia.

"Please don't do anything you'll regret later," Olivia added, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "Just don't do anything stupid, all right?"

"It's too late for that," Wayne said, his eyes looking haunted. "I did something stupid when I trusted you! Do you know what I was doing up here? Trying to find the antidote for the Scarecrow's toxin, so you could give it to Annabelle Justino. But you couldn't stay put for just a few minutes, could you?"

"You can hardly blame her for this, Master Bruce," Alfred said softly.

Wayne stared at him as if he were insane. "What!"

"In her own way, Detective Benson is just as cunning, determined and resourceful as you are," Alfred told him. "You have only yourself to blame for underestimating her."

"Alfred, she knows everything, now!" Wayne roared.

"It's not as if we haven't thought about this situation before, sir," Alfred said. "We knew that there was always a possibility of someone discovering your alter-ego. And we both agreed that, should it ever occur, to deal with it in a careful, thoughtful manner. Might I remind you, sir, that your behavior so far has been anything but careful and thoughtful?"

Wayne let out a heavy sigh as he went over and stared contemplatively at the fireplace.

Alfred stood behind him and firmly added, "Or has your quest for justice gone to the point where we must now bring harm to the innocent?"

"No!" Wayne said sharply. "No, of course not, never!"

'Thank you, Alfred,' Olivia gratefully thought, 'for soothing the savage beast.'

Wayne came over to Olivia and flicked open one of his bat-knives. "My apologies, Detective Benson," he said, as he sliced through the ropes that bound Olivia's ankles. Then he helped her up to her feet. "It's just that…I'm not ready to stop doing this—not now, when there's still so much work to do. But I guess that's no longer in my hands. I'm at your mercy, now."

Olivia stared at him, still stunned at the revelation she had just made, when the belt Wayne wore on his Batman outfit started to urgently beep. "Damn it," he said. "That's the surveillance alarm on Moiré Detune! She's returned to the apartment. Excuse me."

He darted out of the room, grabbing his cowl as he did. Alfred came over to her and smiled benignly. "May I get you something from the kitchen, Miss Benson?"

"Um, no thanks," Olivia said awkwardly. Her cop training had been screaming at her to take command of the situation by placing Wayne and Alfred under arrest and calling the local police. But this was such a unique set of circumstances that Olivia wasn't quite sure what to do. Yet since she discovered Batman's true identity, there was one question that burned within her. She glanced at Alfred and simply asked, "Why?"

Alfred gave her a knowing smile. "You ask what drives a man, a multi-millionaire, no less, to stalk the night as Batman? To answer that, Miss Benson, I must show you something. Come this way, please."

Alfred escorted Olivia to another room in the huge mansion. It looked like a parlor, but it was spacious while remaining very cozy. 'This place is bigger than my apartment,' Olivia thought with amazement. 'Hell, it's bigger than my whole apartment building!'

Alfred gestured at the large painting of a family—a couple and their young son—that hung over the fireplace. "That's master Wayne, as a boy, with his parents."

"Do they know he's dressing up as a bat and stalking the streets of Gotham?" Olivia asked.

"No, Miss Benson. Master Wayne's parents are dead. They were murdered, shot dead by a petty thief named Joseph Chill after coming out of a movie theater many years ago. Master Wayne was with them. He was all of eight years old when he witnessed his parents get gunned down in the street."

"And this is why he became the Batman," Olivia whispered. She couldn't take her eyes off that smiling little boy in the picture.

"Yes, Miss Benson. I thought since you knew who the Batman really was, that it was best you knew the entire story…especially seeing how the two of you are so much alike."

Olivia stared at him, astonished. "What do you mean?"

Alfred gave her a kind, sympathetic gaze. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you also appear to be haunted by something in your past, Miss Benson. And that something has, perhaps, driven you to seek justice in your own way?"

Olivia thought of her own mother, who was raped by a total stranger, the man who was her father—a man whom she never knew, and didn't want to know, for she would probably kill him if she ever did meet him. Olivia recalled growing up despised and battered by her embittered, drunken mother, always desperately looking for a way out until she found the NYPD. Becoming a cop had empowered her, especially when she joined the Special Victim's Unit, and Olivia no longer felt helpless and vulnerable.

She glanced hard at the portrait of the young Bruce Wayne once again and instantly realized that they did have something in common after all.

"Are you all right, Miss Benson?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, Alfred," she said, giving him a smile. "I'm fine. And please, call me Olivia."

He nodded. "Miss Olivia, then."

Olivia chuckled as she shook her head. "No Alfred, just Olivia, please. And…yes, you're correct. Bruce and I do have a lot in common."

Alfred started to say something when he abruptly glanced at the door. The Batman—and it was the Batman, for he had put his cowl back on—stood in the doorway.

"Come with me to the Batcave," he grimly told Olivia. "We've got a problem. A big one."

B&B

Batman pointed at the screen just as a woman was seen entering the lobby. "There she is. The time's right, so she just came back after I assaulted the Penguin's warehouse."

Olivia sat in the chair, pulling her boots back on as she watched the main plasma screen of the computer. She nodded in understanding. "Since she knew where the warehouse was, you figure Moiré may also know where the Penguin's private lair is as well."

"Exactly. But here's the problem." He pointed to a shot of Moiré now walking out of the lobby. "She returned to the apartment and then left after barely ten minutes. I've now lost my chance at following her to the Penguin's hideout."

Olivia put her hand to her face when she realized that Wayne had been busy tangling with her upstairs when the alarm on his belt sounded. 'This is partially my fault,' Olivia thought with a pang of guilt. 'If only I had trusted him completely, and stayed put, we would have be able to respond in timewhen Moiré returned to her apartment.'

Alfred, who stood to one side of the console, cleared his throat. "I was wondering, sir: if Moiré assassinates the Penguin, wouldn't that be a good thing? That would certainly prevent the captured women from being shipped off, would it not?"

"If the Penguin gets killed, then so might the women," Batman said with a dour shake of his head. "Either Moiré, or the Penguin's surviving men might kill the women to get rid of any eyewitnesses."

"The Penguin kidnapped me because he thought I was Moiré, remember?" Olivia added. "So he knows she's coming, and might well be ready and waiting for her."

"His chances of surviving an assassination attempt are very good at this point," Batman agreed. "In either case, I wouldn't want to have to leave the lives of those women in the hands of an assassin."

Batman replayed the sequence, and Olivia stared at the woman as she strode out of the lobby. Moiré was clad in heels with a long black coat…and sunglasses, even though it was after dark. "How did you get this camera in there?"

"I tapped into the building's security system," he replied. "This link is from their lobby camera." Batman grew silent for a second. "I can raid her apartment, and hope to find some notes that she made indicating the whereabouts of the Penguin's hideout. But I won't have much time; my presence will trip the alarms—the place has motion detectors, the works. I'll only have a two or three minute window before an armed response arrives."

"That's not much time for a search," Olivia said. She continued to stare thoughtfully at the woman on the screen, the same woman who looked so much like her. Their similar features had caused Olivia much grief this past evening.

'Why not use that very same thing to our advantage?' Olivia thought, as her lips curled up into a smile. "Do me a favor, and run that bit again, where she leaves the lobby."

When Batman did what she asked, Olivia watched as Moiré strode through the lobby of the building. She nodded her head in greeting at the security guards in the booth. 'The guards know her,' Olivia realized, as she slowly nodded. 'Hot damn, this crazy idea might well work!'

"What is it?" Batman asked.

"What if I posed as Moiré?" Olivia suggested. "I could try getting through the security in the lobby without tripping any alarms. Then I'd have enough time to search for any clues."

"Absolutely not," Batman said, with a shake of his head. "Sorry Benson, but I won't allow a civilian risking her life like that."

"Excuse me?" Olivia said heatedly. "I happen to be a detective with the New York City Police Department, as well as a member of one of its elite squads. I'm not exactly a civilian here!"

"It's still dangerous," Batman insisted. "Besides, you don't have a key to the apartment. How will you get in there once you're past the front desk?"

"I'll tell the guards I forgot my key," Olivia told him. "I've been on undercover operations before where I've had to wing it. I'll just work my angle as far as it goes." She shook her head at the absurdity of this situation: here she was explaining her qualifications to a guy dressed up as a bat! "Look, you said yourself that we don't have much time here, those women will be sent off to God knows where pretty soon. If we're going to find out where they're being held, it has to be now. So we'd better get moving!"

When Batman glanced at Alfred, the butler said, "If she weren't a police officer, I'd be inclined to agree with you, sir. But Olivia is uniquely qualified for this task."

"So, we're on a first name basis now, are we?" Batman said sardonically.

Alfred gave him a little shrug. "Seeing how she now knows who we really are, Olivia's practically become family."

Olivia almost blushed at that remark. If her boss, Don Cragen, was the father figure she never had, then Alfred was surely the loving grandfather whom Olivia had always secretly yearned for. The man was a total sweetheart, through and though.

"All right," Batman finally said. "But understand this, Benson: I'll watch your back when you're in there, but you do as I say, when I say it. And if I want you to bail, you bail out immediately, understood?"

"Will do," she agreed. A part of Olivia found it hard to believe that she was even working with this guy. But if it meant saving Alex—as well as those other women—then Olivia would work with the devil himself if need be. "I could use a gun, something small, which I could—"

"NO GUNS!" Batman abruptly shouted. Then he caught himself, and, in a calmer tone of voice, added: "I don't use guns, ever."

Olivia stared at him, stunned. She had worked with enough victims of crime to know a trigger effect when she saw it. With some rape victims, it could be a specific men's cologne—the one their attacker wore—that could send them into hysterics at any time. In Bruce Wayne's case, the trigger effect was almost literal, since he hated guns so much—due to witnessing his parents' murder—that even the mere mention of them antagonized him.

'He truly is a victim,' she realized, 'just like me.'

They had both been victims who fought back. She became a cop, he became the Batman, and in each of their new lives they had both overcome their dark past while being able to help people. When she got to the bottom of it, Alfred really hit the nail on the head before, both she and Bruce Wayne were indeed kindred spirits, and the sudden realization of that fact had so moved Olivia that it made her misty eyed.

"Sorry," Batman said as he glanced somberly down at the floor. "I guess it doesn't really matter now, since this'll most likely be my last case. Because once you turn us in—"

"No I won't!" Olivia blurted out. She stood up and firmly shook her head. "Look, no matter what happens, no matter what goes down later, I won't say anything about who you really are to anybody. I swear."

"Are you sure?" Batman asked, amazement in his voice.

"Yes, I am," she replied. With a quick glimpse at Alfred, Olivia added, "Let's just say I understand you a lot better now. And Gotham City really needs a dark knight like you looking out for it. So don't worry; your secret's safe with me."

"Dark Knight," Alfred said, with an approving smile. "Oh, I rather like the sound of that, sir! The Dark Knight of Gotham City."

Batman smiled slightly at Alfred. Then he glanced at Olivia and said, "Thank you, Benson."

Olivia was about to reply when she was startled to suddenly see the image of Captain Cragen on one of the smaller TV screens. "Wait! Can you turn up the sound on this?"

Alfred pressed a button that brought the image to the big plasma screen and turned on the sound. Olivia watched as Cragen, Elliot, Munch and Fin all stood with Commissioner Gordon in a hallway. The SVU detectives—especially Elliot—all looked very concerned.

"Commissioner Gordon," a female reporter yelled, "is it true that Detective Benson may have been abducted by the Batman?"

"There's no conclusive evidence whatsoever indicating that Detective Benson had been abducted by Batman, or anybody, at this point," Gordon said. "But the investigation into her disappearance is ongoing. Therefore, we have no further comment at this time."

A female news reporter then replaced Gordon on the screen. "Sources close to the investigation say that Detective Benson made an emergency phone call to Gotham City police shortly before she vanished from her hotel," she said. "These same sources say that while all leads are being looked into, the Batman remains the prime suspect in the disappearance of Detective Olivia Benson. This is Summer Gleason, reporting live for Gotham City News. Back to you, Dan!"

"What the hell!" Olivia cried, outraged. "They think you kidnapped me!"

Batman waved his hand."Forget it, I'm used to getting bad press. We need to get you a coat and shoes that match Moiré's."

"Since time is of the essence, I'll get the clothes, sir," Alfred chimed in. "One of your overnight guests left some things that should fit Olivia quite well."

"Thanks, Alfred." Batman turned to Olivia. "Go with him and get changed, Benson, while I get the Batplane warmed up."

"Batplane?" Olivia said incredulously. "You actually have a plane!"

"Why of course, Olivia," Alfred said, with a wry smile. "You know the old saying: Boys and their toys…"

B&B

Olivia stood in the parking lot, slipping her heels back on as she watched the Batplane slowly rise vertically above her. It had been awkward trying to climb out of the cockpit of the plane with high-heeled shoes, so Olivia removed them. She was stunned at how the plane, which was painted a solid black, disappeared into the night sky.

'And the damn thing's so quiet, too!' Olivia marveled. Normally, she wasn't a big fan of flying—she only did it whenever she had to—but Olivia could have spent all night riding in that plane.

"Benson, can you hear me all right?" Batman's voice asked in the earpiece that was fitted into Olivia's left ear.

"Yes," she replied. Olivia was also amazed at this walkie-talkie, which had the microphone built right into the earpiece. "Can you hear me, ok?"

"Affirmative," Batman replied. "Remember the code word, in case you get into trouble."

"'Fowl play'," Olivia said, reciting the codeword. She chose it earlier in the Batcave, not having a clue what word to use, until she remembered the Penguin and settled on that term.

"Ok," Batman said. "Good luck."

Olivia left the parking lot through a walkway and went around the corner to Moiré's apartment building. She stopped off in front of a store window to look herself over one last time. The coat was a perfect match for the one that Moiré wore on her way out—with the exception of the collar; Moiré's coat didn't have one, so Olivia solved that problem by cutting it off with a knife. Alfred even presented her with sunglasses and a matching black mini-skirted dress. They didn't know what Moiré wore underneath the coat, only that her legs were bare; the dress solved that problem.

Olivia put on the sunglasses and adopted the regal stride that Moiré had. She appeared to be a very arrogant woman, and Olivia lost herself in the part, holding her head up high as she strode into the lobby of the apartment building.

"Good evening, Ms. Tanner," the security guard said to her.

"Tanner is the alias that Moiré's using here in Gotham City," Batman's voice said in Olivia ear. "So far, so good, Benson."

Olivia gave him a nod as she strode past the security desk. She didn't know what Moiré sounded like, so she didn't want to risk speaking unless she absolutely had to. She walked up to the elevator and made a big deal of trying to find her apartment key. Then she made an even bigger scene of not finding it.

"Lose your key, Ms. Tanner?" the security guard asked.

When Olivia nodded in annoyance, the guard picked up a walkie-talkie and said, "Larry, come fill in for me at the desk while I take a resident up to her apartment."

'BINGO!' Olivia thought with a slight smile.

Once a replacement was found for the front desk, the security guard rode up with Olivia in the elevator. "Getting kind of chilly tonight, isn't it?" he asked. "Must be quite a shock, especially since we've had such a warm summer. I wonder if that means we'll have a really cold winter? I hope not, since I'm not a big fan of snow. I liked snow as a kid, but not now, when I've got to drive in it, y'know?"

Olivia curtly nodded, hoping this guy would shut the hell up. Luckily, he finally did. Once they got to Moiré's apartment, the guard opened the door for her. Olivia glanced at the alarm panel on the wall and was pleased to see it had been switched off once the guard swiped his card to open the door.

"You have a good night, ma'am," the guard said. "And don't forget your key next time."

Olivia just gave him the thumbs up sign as she slammed the door in his face. She wearily leaned up against the door and whispered, "I'm in."

"Very impressive, Benson," Batman's voice said in her ear. "The NYPD's lucky to have you."

Olivia removed the sunglasses and glanced around Moiré's apartment. It was a pretty lavish place, with fancy artwork hanging on the walls and a small library with several shelves filled with books. A laptop computer sat on a desk in the library. "I've found a computer."

"It may have a password lock on it," Batman warned.

"Wait, it looks like Moiré likes to make hand-written notes," Olivia said, as she picked up a small notebook. She flipped through the notebook until she came to a name. Olivia read it aloud: "Oswald Cobblepott?"

"That's the Penguin's real name," Batman said.

"With a name like that, I can see why he turned to crime," Olivia muttered, as she read through the notes. "She's got two addresses listed here. 357 Merrick Street…"

"That was the warehouse where he kept the women," Batman said. "We were just there. What's the other address?"

"313 Merlin Lane."

"Merlin Lane?" Batman said thoughtfully. "Yes, of course. That's an old umbrella factory on the other side of town. It's been abandoned for years."

"I've noticed that our boy the Penguin has a thing for umbrellas," Olivia commented. She gazed at the phone on the desk, and thought about the concerned look she saw on Elliot's face on the news earlier.

"All right," Batman said, "great job. I'll meet you at the parking lot."

"Yeah, just a minute," Benson said, as she picked up the phone and dialed Elliot's cell.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling my partner," Olivia told him. "I just want to let him know I'm all right."

"We don't have time!"

"It won't take a minute," Olivia said.

Elliot picked up on the first ring. "Yeah, Stabler."

"It's me, Olivia," she said.

"LIV!" he shouted. "Are you all right? Where are you?"

"Benson! Put the phone down now!" Batman's voice yelled into her earpiece. "Benson, you've got to get—"

It was too distracting to listen to the both of them at the same time, so Olivia pulled the earpiece out of her ear. "Yes, I'm fine, El. Look, I can't talk now, but I wanted you to know that I'm ok."

"Where are you?" Elliot asked.

Before Olivia could answer, she heard a loud noise from somewhere within the apartment. When she quickly put the earpiece back in her ear to apprise the Batman, Olivia heard him say, "She's back, Benson! Do you hear me? Moiré just returned to the apartment building! She should be up there by now! Get out while you can! Benson? Do you copy?"

Olivia's eyes grew wide as the lights abruptly came on in the library. She turned around and saw Moiré Detune standing in the doorway.

Moiré slowly removed her sunglasses and gave Olivia a chilling smile. "Well, well, well," she said, in a lilting French accent, "what's this little fly doing in my parlor?"

"Olivia!" Elliot said, his voice sounding worried. "What is it? What's going on?"

"Fowl play," Olivia said softly, as the deadliest assassin on two continents slowly advanced towards her.

To be continued...