Batman
Gotham City

She was laughing. He grappled to the next building and swung them over, with her latched onto his neck and laughing.

"How is this patrolling?" She yelled over the wind.

"It's not. It's just fun." He smiled and swung them again. She laughed again. He landed them on the top of the lighthouse in the harbor and set her down.

"You're crazy," she said, walking over to the rail and looking out over the city. "And I love you."

"Me or Bruce?" He asked, walking up to stand behind her.

"Yes," she said as he wrapped his cape around her. "I like it when you do that."

"I know. That's why I keep doing it."

She leaned back against him and sighed. "This was a good idea. I needed it."

"I know. That's why I did it."

She laughed again and turned in his cape so she was facing him. "Who's actually protecting Gotham this evening, know-it-all?"

"Batgirl." Lifting her up, he moved her to sit on the rail and pulled her mask off. "Kate? You might want to steer clear of the lighthouse for a while."

"You're both sick, depraved, twisted..."

He cut the communicator and her ranting off before kissing Zatanna. She kissed him back so passionately that it took him off guard. Guess I'm not the only one who likes patrol sex. Groaning, he pulled her closer and started unhook her armor. An alarm sounded nearby, getting his attention, so he switched his communicator back on.

"Batgirl, how far are you from the harbor?"

"About as far as I can be. I'm on the other side of the city. What's up?"

"Alarm. We can handle it. Kate, disregard the last...for now."

Zee raised her eyebrow and put her mask back on. "I guess it's training night, huh?"

"Just for a bit. We'll practice before the night is over. Let's go." Taking her by the waist again, he jumped from the lighthouse and grappled them toward the sound. It was coming from a nearby bank, so his heart rate picked up. He loved foiling a bank heist. "Be ready for guns."

When they landed on the roof, he turned on his scanners to analyze what they were up against.

"One guy in the getaway car," Kate said.

"Five inside. Two near the vault and three in the lobby." He turned to Zatanna. "Which do you want?"

"Clear the lobby for me and I'll take the vault," she said, stretching her neck.

He grinned and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

With a flash bang equipped, he slipped down the side of the building and moved to the front door. The three in the lobby were spaced apart perfectly. He tossed the grenade in, waiting for it to deploy before rounding the corner and entering the room. They were immediately disoriented, so he shot his grappler onto one robber, then the other. The line retracted and smacked them together, knocking them unconscious. Still blinded, the third man started shooting wildly, so Batman ducked and ran toward the wall, using it to vault over and catch the guy in the back of his head with his elbow.

"Okay, just the two now. They have their guns trained on the door," Kate said.

"All yours," he said, though he got butterflies in his stomach thinking about Zatanna facing them alone. "I'll be here if you need a hand."

"Is that doubt I hear?"

"Never. Get to work." He took a knee inside the lobby and kept his scanners running.

"Getaway driver is getting away. I'll trail him and let the cops know where he goes," Kate said.

"Thanks."

"So, you know how you keep all of those cool little gadgets of yours on hooks around the cave?" Zatanna asked.

"Yes."

"I stole one." Her sentence was followed by a loud thud and a puff of smoke coming out from under the door to the vault room.

"Zee?"

"Breaching charge. That was fun as hell."

"Stealing is wrong," he said, smirking at her antics. The door to the room flew open, forced off of its hinges by a robber being thrown backward. The other tried to escape, but Batman grappled and flung him back toward Zatanna. Spinning on her heel, she threw her leg up and caught the tumbling man square in the stomach. He groaned and threw his gun to the side.

"Fuck."

"Can I ask you something?" Zatanna asked the robber, who was holding his midsection and still groaning.

"What? The fuck do you want?"

"You have a foul mouth, but I was wondering why you would do this. It's Gotham City. You know Batman's going to come after you. Or Batgirl or Batwoman or Robin or..."

"Shut up, for fuck's sake. Money. I do it for money, you stupid..."

Her boot to his jaw stopped him from saying whatever he was about to say to make things worse. Batman walked over and zip tied his hands while he whimpered.

"Money. He does it for the money. Regular genius."

A police car skidded to a stop in front of the bank as they walked out of the entrance.

"Another protege, Batman?" The officer asked. "What's this one's name?"

He pulled out his grappler and aimed it across the street before wrapping his arm around Zatanna's waist.

"Amata."

Zatanna
Gotham City

"Beloved"

Bruce had never been big on terms of endearment. He'd also once said that he wasn't a romantic, but he sure had a way of sweeping her off of her feet...both literally and figuratively. She moved to his back and let him swing her across the city again.

"Back to the lighthouse?" She purred in his ear.

"If you'd like. Or we can find more bad guys to beat up."

"Hmm...will I get rewarded better the more asses I kick?"

"You'll get rewarded, regardless, but I do get pretty turned on watching you kick asses."

"So I've noticed. Let's go find a few more asses, then."

He chuckled and took off toward the rougher part of town. The streets were crawling with people in the early nighttime hours, so they stopped on a fire escape and listened for trouble. Trouble found them quickly enough.

"Stop! Let me go!" A woman yelled about a block away. They were quickly swinging again, until they neared the two men holding a woman and trying to take her purse.

"Drop me off," Zatanna said. Bruce swung down and let her go just shy of the trio, where she slid on her heels a few feet and somehow managed to stay upright. She hoped it looked cool and intentional, rather than accidental and clumsy. "Let her go," she said, trying to disguise her voice a bit more than she had been before.

"Fuck off."

"So many foul-mouthed losers this evening." The two men let go of the woman. "You hurt?"

"No."

"Good. Get out of here. I can take care of them."

"Are you sure? There's..."

"Yes. Get out." She circled to block the men from pursuing her and took her stance. "The police will be here soon."

"And the ambulance?" One asked, sneering at her.

"Batman, the gentleman would like an ambulance. Guess my reputation precedes..." Her voice faded when three more men rounded the corner, all armed. "...me. I might need a..."

One of the men started to shoot, so she dove behind a nearby bench. A bullet grazed her armor.

"On my way," Batman said. "Stay down."

"No," she said, jumping back out when he swung over her head. He grappled the gun from the man who shot at her, and she followed behind with a punch to his jaw. Stumbling backward, the man shook his head before coming back at her.

"Bitch." She dodged his punch, but another of the men hit her in the lower back from behind with what felt like a bat. "Get her!"

Two of the men jumped her while she groaned from the pain.

"Amata, get clear!"

She couldn't. One of the men had her around the arms from behind and the other came forward and landed a solid punch to her midsection. Reaching in his waistband, he pulled out a gun and put it to her head, but it was grappled before he could pull the trigger. Batman sent him flying across the street. She took the chance to twist out of the grasp of the man behind her and land a series of punches that knocked him to the ground. Free from him, she was able to catch her breath and shake off the pain.

"You really do pull your punches," she grumbled.

"Get clear."

"No. I'm not leaving you alone here."

"Stubborn," he said, running and taking out two of the other men in a quick flurry of moves almost too fast for her to follow.

"Show off." She ran toward the last man, but stopped short when another six men came running toward the sound. "Fuck."

"Get 'em!" Another man said.

Four more men came from behind, surrounding them. They were all armed.

"Break the rules," Bruce said. She didn't need any more hints.

"Kconk meht nwod. Snug ot tsud. Eit rieht sdnah dna teef." She spit the words out and they were down instantly. "Well...shit."

"I told you to get clear."

"And I didn't listen. Think you'd be used to that by now." She plopped down on the nearby bench and groaned. "That really felt lousy. Laeh."

"You okay?"

"Just peachy."

"Come on," he said, pulling her to her feet. "Batwoman, get the cops here. Tell them it's the LoBoys gang. 15 of them down and subdued."

Helping her onto his back, he took them skyward, silently swinging them until they were back at the lighthouse. She buried her face against his neck, ready for a stern lecture when they landed.

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"Trying to do to much."

"Hey." He shook his shoulders until she let go and stood in front of him. "You did fine. Sometimes you get outnumbered and outgunned."

"And break the rules?"

"And survive. I only have one rule. Sometimes I run to find a better position. Sometimes I throw a smoke bomb and leave so I can fight another day. Whatever gets me home to you and Thomas."

She leaned her head against his chest. "Please always come home to us."

"I promise."

He reached down and removed her mask so he could kiss her. It was gentle this time...soft and slow. When he finally pulled his head back, his eyes were intense. He reached up to his ear.

"Kate? We..."

"Ew, don't." The line went dead.

"Ready to be rewarded?" He asked with a grin.

"For what? Getting punched in the gut?" He reached down and unhooked her pants, getting them off almost as fast as she could with magic.

"For being the sexiest crime fighter in Gotham City."

She reached forward and undid his pants. "Second sexiest. Are you sure no one can see us up here?"

"Very sure," he said, before picking her up and thrusting into her. She cried out and let her head fall back.

He laughed low in her ear. "I love that sound."

"I love your cock."

"I've noticed."

Doing his usual routine of showing off his strength, he wrapped one arm around her, moving her up and down, while the other tangled in her hair. He turned so she could lean against the bricks of the lighthouse and look in his eyes. Two days, two brushes with death. Two times she almost lost him. I can't lose him.

"Never leave me," she whispered. The wind was howling, so he paused and moved his head closer.

"What?"

"Never leave me," she repeated.

He smiled and kissed her. "Now you're just stealing my lines."

Rolling her eyes, she kissed him again. "Move, smartass."

Laughing again, he quickly resumed his pace, his tongue sliding back into her mouth. Sex outside felt nice. Okay, sex anywhere felt nice, but his penchant for risque' situations made her feel young and rebellious again. She loved being Thomas's mommy. She loved being Bruce's wife. Sometimes it was nice to feel like a stupid kid again. Maybe Bruce could tell. Of course Mr. Know-it-all can tell. He knew her inside and out. How to make her happy. How to piss her off. How to make her laugh or smile or cry or scream. How did I get so lucky?

"I love you," he mumbled in her ear, thrusting harder until they came together. He pressed her against the wall and kissed her again. When he put her down, she latched her pants back on and sat down on the ledge. He sat down next to her and pulled her over to lean against him.

"How do you think our babysitters are doing?"

"Probably being charmed into letting their charge do things he shouldn't."

"Sounds about right. I was talking to Kal before you called today. He's...odd."

"He's in love with you."

She started laughing and shoved him away. "Funny."

He looked at her, stone-faced. "I'm not joking."

"I...what?" Her smile faded as he turned to look back over the city.

"You're together...I mean...he's with Tanna in his dimension."

"Bullshit."

"He told me. That's why he's been staring at you so much."

"He has not been staring at me."

Bruce scoffed and shook his head. "It's amazing how unobservant you can be sometimes."

She glared at him. "I don't understand. Thomas is there."

"Oh, we were together. Until I went and got myself killed."

Her heart dropped and she heard herself gasp. He turned again to look in her eyes, which were already filling with tears. She shook her head. "No. You can't."

"I won't. I promise you that."

Turning away again, she let her tears flow. "I was so determined not to let myself get too deep into their world that I ignored almost everything about them."

He pulled her against him again. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I brought it up."

"Wanna go home?"

"I just want to be with you."

Selina
Gotham City

Bait. Okay, be bait. Be obvious. Be clumsy.

They were not her usual traits. She was used to being that movement you thought you saw out of the corner of your eye, only to vanish when you turn toward it. Tonight, though, she was going to be heavy handed. This time, she was going to let herself be caught.

Bruce had called and met her with the antidote after he got off work. A loading dose and several more syringes to hide and take, if needed. She very much hoped they wouldn't be needed. She'd seen enough from him and the witch that she knew she didn't want to experience the effects of the toxin.

Obvious...clumsy...stupid.

She hopped across the roofs downtown, landing in the most well-lit areas and moving slower than usual. Near the post office, she saw a group of men loitering and looking to the rooftops.

And here I thought I was being the obvious one.

Directly across the street, she landed in another well-lit area and walked to the ledge, slipping her gas mask off and stretching. They were watching her. She turned her back and pretended to be distracted. They were moving toward her. She leaned down, pretending to adjust her boots. Before she could stand up straight again, she was hit by a shock and was out.

Scarecrow

A new experiment. If there was one person as mentally perplexing in Gotham City as Batman, it might well be Catwoman.

"Bring her to me," he told the follower who called him. "This might be our chance to get to them."

Missteps and mishaps had delayed his plans, but this was a move in the right direction. His army was stronger. He had enough toxin to gas three different cities now. Eliminating Batman was the last big move he needed to make.

I would prefer to recruit him.

Clearly, he couldn't see his vision well enough to appreciate it. He would fight to the end, so taking him out was the only real option. And now? Now, he had the right person for the job.

Callum
Wayne Manor

Bruce and Zatanna came home just after dawn, dressed in their costumes, because that's apparently what people in their dimension do at night. Thomas ran to them and Zatanna picked him up, smiling but not looking Kal's way.

"Everything go okay?" Bruce asked, taking off his mask.

"Yes. He's a wild man. If I slept, I would need a nap."

"I appreciate the help."

"Can I ask something?" He walked over and held his hand out toward the mask. Bruce nodded and handed it to him. "What's in this? I can't see through it. I can't track much of anything about you when you're suited up."

"Good," he said, turning and taking Thomas. "Lead lined, electromagnetic fields, and some other tech and tricks."

"Clever," he mumbled, turning the mask in his hands. He wondered who all he was hiding from that he would need such specific precautions.

"Is mine lead lined?" Zatanna asked, with a puzzled look.

"Yes."

"No wonder it's so freaking heavy and hot. You could have told me that, you know."

"Yes."

"Ugh. I'm going to shower and you're not invited." She turned and headed up the stairs. Kal followed Bruce to the breakfast table, where he put Thomas down and helped him eat. He had the dad routine down, despite the fact that he was dressed like a giant bat.

"You're a good dad."

He smirked and handed Thomas a spoon. "I'm an atypical dad."

"He's happy and loved. Sounds pretty ideal." He continued watching them. "You were so excited about him before...well."

"Was I?"

"He already had an entire wardrobe for the first five years of his life, handpicked by you. Every kid-sized sports set you could think of. I think you had family vacations planned out all the way through high school."

"But I still left," he said, frowning.

"You did your job. You loved your job. It was a dangerous one, but you were good at it. One of the best."

"Not good enough to survive it."

"Bruce..."

"I know. I just don't like the idea."

Kal nodded and taste-tested the breakfast casserole Alfred had set on the table. "That's really good."

"Best chef in Gotham City lives here."

"He does keep trying to feed me."

"It's his habit."

They were nearly finished eating when Zatanna returned, taking over for Bruce so he could shower. She clearly wasn't actually upset with him, leaning down and kissing him softly before he stood.

"Feel free to eat, if you want," she said, grabbing her own plate, but still avoiding eye contact.

You didn't have to tell her, Bruce.

"Thanks," he said, taking another bite of the food. "League meeting tonight, right?"

She nodded and kept eating. "Hopefully, we'll be able to form a plan to get you home and get Adam de-powered again."

"Good. I'm sure you're ready to get me out of your hair."

She shrugged. "You're fine. I appreciate you watching Thomas last night."

"Anytime. Reminded me of home."

"About that..." she started, wiping Thomas's face and putting him in her lap. Oh, great...here we go. "Have you ever seen him do anything like what he did the other day?"

He breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn't bringing up his weird fixation on her. "Oh...oh, that? Uh...I've seen him use magic. He loves it, but no. Nothing quite that extreme."

Frowning, she looked down. "I don't know how he even knew to do that."

"He's smart," he said, smiling. "And he wasn't going to let his mommy die when he could do something about it."

"I guess. I just wasn't expecting him to be such a natural."

"Because he's half human?"

"Yes."

"Well, from what I can tell, his father is far from ordinary."

"What about the Bruce you knew? He told me...I know he died. Did you know him well?"

"He was my best friend," he said, looking down at his feet. "One of the few people who didn't care that I was different."

"What was he like?"

"Oh, just your average handsome, genius, good-at-everything, disgustingly charming, perfect person." She finally laughed and looked up. "Guess he's special in every dimension."

"Seems that way."

"Look, I'm sorry if I've been a little weird about this, I just can't get it through my head that you're not the Tanna I know."

"Are we a lot alike?"

"Well, obviously you look identical. But, yeah. Same personality. You're a little more..."

"Insane?"

He laughed and shook his head. "I was going to say daring."

"Oh, man...that's a much better word! Can you get Bruce to start using that one?" She smiled and cuddled Thomas while he petted what Kal was sure had to be the meanest cat in any dimension.

He pointed at the awful little creature. "What is with that?"

"What do you mean?" Zatanna asked, shrugging.

"He's...I've never...he's..."

"Great. Look at him." She pinched his angry face up and made kissy noises. He glared at her in return.

"Right. Yeah, I'm sure he's great."

She finally laughed. "He's an absolute jerk. But Thomas loves him and he loves Thomas, so he gets to stay." The cat was still looking at her like he had murderous intentions.

"He attacked me. I sat down in the den and he jumped up and clawed at me."

"Blue striped chair?"

"Yeah."

"That's his chair. He decided and it's best not to argue the point."

"Good to know."

She stood, dislodging the cat from her lap. "It's this little guy's bath time. Clark sent over some clothes so you have more than just the one t-shirt. I put them in your room."

"That was nice of him. I'll find a way to keep myself occupied until the meeting."

Selina
Somewhere

"I feel like I should thank you. Your intervention on the roof a few weeks ago was an inspiration."

"You're welcome, I guess. Care to tell me who you are?" Selina asked the masked man on the video screen. She was tied to a chair in a room with three anxious-looking men.

"I'm The Scarecrow. I've brought you here because I believe we can help one another."

"I don't feel very helped right now," she said, pulling at the bindings on her wrists. She knew she had to play along, but being tied up was not on her list of favorite things.

"You will. Please, believe me...I'm doing this for you, Catwoman. Now, take off her mask."

"No!" She tried to kick her way free, but one of the men punched her in the mouth. "Fuck. Fuck you freaks."

The man pulled the mask off and tossed it onto the floor.

"That's better. What is your real name?"

"Go to hell."

He shook his head and sighed. "You'll be more cooperative as the process goes on. Please, proceed with the administration."

The screen shut off and the men closed in around her.

"You don't have to do this," she said, though she knew it wouldn't work. Play the part, Selina.

"Hold her head," a man with a large syringe said. God, I hope this antidote works. One of the other men grabbed her on both sides of her head and tilted it to the side. She screamed when they inserted the lousy excuse for a needle. "Alright. It's done. Leave her."

The door closed behind them and they left her to her thoughts. She could feel the toxin in her system...feel it fighting to get to her mind.

Don't be wrong about this, Bruce.