Thank you so much everyone for the reviews, favorites, follows etc. So excited you're liking this story. Here is the next chapter (another lengthy one with plenty of angst). Hope you like it! :)


I woke up to 73 text messages, 15 calls and 20 emails. Ugh!
Most of them were from Peter - how fitting.
"Are you ok?"
"Did you see the Batman?" "Did you take a picture of him?" "Check twitter!"
"Check EVERY news outlet in the city!"
"Call me!"The list went on… As I scrolled through all my messages, there was not one from Bruce. I was hoping he'd be a little concerned for my well being.
In that moment Sam called me on skype.
"Are you ok? I just saw it..."
"Yes, yes. I'm fine."
"What the hell happened?"
"It's a long story."
"I was so worried. When I woke up this morning and saw the tweets... I tried to call you but you didn't pick up. I was so desperate, I called Bruce fucking Wayne."
I laughed. "How did that go?"
"It was a little weird. I talked to his butler first. He transferred the call. I said that I was worried about you. He said he could assure me you were doing fine."
"How did he know?" I asked surprised.
"He said he had powerful friends who guaranteed him you were ok."
I was taken aback that he had asked around for my well being.
"Why did you call Wayne in the first place?"
"I didn't. I called James, thinking you ended up with him. But he just told me he had left the party early. No explanation why. But he said I should ask Wayne. So what the hell happened?"
"I'm sure you know the story already. Joker came, looking for Bruce. He then decided to take me up to the top floor and throw me out of a window. Batman saved me. The End."
Silence on the other line - and Sam was never silent. "Why are you not a sobbing mess right now? If I had almost died last night, I'd be a little less put-together."
"Oh I was a sobbing mess last night. Made a fool of myself in front of the Batman."
"Are you ok? Do you need anything?"
"No, no. I'm good."
"How is he?"
"Who?"
"That bat character."
"He's... I don't know. Interesting. He seemed very angry and his voice is frightening."
"On another note - whatever happened with James?"
"Nothing."
"Huh... Why not?"
"Yeah...about that..."
"Oh my god! Don't tell me you hooked up with Wayne!"
"Kind of..."
"What does kind of mean?"
"As in...we had sex in a restroom?"
"Catherine Victoria Hunter!"
She middle-named me - that rang trouble. "I bring you out to a party so you can forget about that idiot and you have sex with him?"
"Yeah, it might not have been my brightest moment. I don't know, he is like a drug I can't seem to wean myself off from."
She sighed.
"You two are quite something."
"What do you mean?"
"He sounded legit concerned about you on the phone, asking me if I had heard anything from you. It seems like you're his drug, too."
"Yeah maybe. Doesn't change the fact that he doesn't want to be in a relationship with me."
"Well, I'm sure you've seen this?" She held up a copy of the Gotham Gazette.
Batman saves reporter - the headline read and a picture of us on the car.
I sighed. "No, I hadn't."
"It's all over the news."
"I was afraid of that."

I went online and it was worse than I thought. Every news outlet had a picture of me and Batman on the car on its front page. This wasn't good.
Batman saves reporter
Batman uses his body to shield TV reporter
Batman jumps out of building to save reporter from certain death

This wasn't happening. I switched on the TV. But it unfortunately was happening. Pictures and videos of us on that car were all over the news. It looked surreal even looking at it. The car was completely smashed. How did he survive this? I looked at him holding me tightly against his chest.
"It was insane!" An eye witness explained on the news. "We saw something fall down and then we realized it was a person! And then we saw Batman… And he just snatched her out of the air and then they crashed on the car…"
I tuned the TV off.
Ok, shake it off. I took a shower, got dressed and ready for work. As I stepped out I felt more like myself again. This was going to be a good day. I opened the front door and almost dropped my coffee in my hand.
An entourage of cameras and reporters, screaming my name and yelling questions. "Did the Batman save your life?" "How do you feel?"
I wasn't able to deal with this right now but I had nowhere to go. Suddenly, someone grabbed me by my arm. A strong looking guy in a suit. "Ma'am, your ride is here." He pushed me though the masses. Who was this? I didn't care as long as he was getting me out of this. He opened the door to a black car and was shielding me from the cameras.

As I sat down, I realized who was siting next to me. Bruce! This was the last person I wanted to see. His eyes looked concerned. "Hi." He said, studying my look as the car was slowly driving down the road.
"This wasn't necessary." I said, staring out the window.
"Are you ok?" "Why? Because a crazy clown almost killed me last night and you didn't even have the curtsey of texting me?" I saw the comment stung as he cringed.
"Or because we had sex in a restroom and then you turned ice cold again?"
He exchanged a look with Alfred though the mirror, who started rolling up the window between us and him.
"I am just so relieved nothing happened to you." He said in a weak voice.
"Stop it!" I said in an angry tone. Just now I realized how angry I really as at him.
"Stop what?"
"This back and forth. I can't stand it. Do you care about me or not? Make up your mind!"
"I'm so sorry. For everything." He said looking to the ground.
"So am I."
He looked defeated and nodded as we pulled up at WXY8. "Thanks for the ride." I said while opening the door. He grabbed my arm. "You deserve better than me."
I was about to explode. "I swear if you say that one more time I'm going to slap you. Now if you would excuse me, I have to go to work. I actually have a life beyond your weird mind games."
He let go off me and I left the car without looking back. It was weird, I was so angry at him but something still drew me towards him. Something in me told me I should be with him. He made me feel safe. But why?


Bruce felt himself pressing his lips together hard, thinking about how he was treating her and how he wanted to tell her everything so badly when Alfred rolled down the window between them again, smirking from ear to ear.
"Go ahead…" Bruce sighed.
"I like her a lot, sir." Alfred chuckled. Bruce shook his head.
"Well, so do I Alfred. So do I."
"You can't trick your heart, Master Wayne. And making her hate you obviously doesn't quite work either."
"What are you talking about? Did you hear her? She despises me."
"Oh I heard her!" Alfred chuckled again. "I heard a woman very much confused and annoyed in your … mind games as she put it. And who wouldn't be confused by your actions, sir. She isn't stupid. But you're acting stupid."
Bruce looked at his butler with raised eyebrows.
"Oh you heard me correctly sir."
"Alfred…I can't put her in danger. I might be a world class idiot for not being able to stay away from her, but I need her to be safe."


Back at the station, I expected the millions of questions regarding me being saved by the Batman. And I got them.
"We have to have an exclusive interview with you." Peter said.
"What? No! That's my personal story… I almost died."
"Exactly! Great television!" I sighed. "Fine! One interview and make it non-cheesy and short."
I knew Peter wasn't listening as my personal wishes played very little part in his decision-making process.

I looked at footage from that night. There were hundreds of cell phone videos and pictures that had been sent in as well as footage the station shot from that night. It was difficult for me to look at the footage for a multitude of reasons. The taste of adrenaline immediately shot back into my mouth, as if I had to relieve the moment. Then I remembered the way Batman held me in his arms and I felt embarrassed for having a nervous breakdown in front of him. And then images of Bruce and I in that restroom shot back. How he grabbed me. How exhilarating it felt. His touch. His hot kiss. The intensity of his movements. But then, the memory of his ice cold expression on his face made my heart freeze all over again.
My biggest fear was being invisible. I remembered how Josh slowly stopped noticing me. I felt he wouldn't have noticed if I had been kidnapped for a month. The way Bruce looked at me made me feel like I was the only person in the world. Like he didn't see anyone else. Like everyone was invisible - but me.

"Ready?" Peter interrupted my train of thoughts.
"Ready as I'll ever be."


"Master Wayne?" Alfred called for Bruce.
"What?"
"I believe you don't want to miss this."
Bruce walked down the stairs, closing the cuffs on his shirt. "What is it?"
Alfred simply turned up the volume on the TV.
"Catherine, you survived a brutal attack by the Joker. And the man only known as Batman saved you. Is that correct." The anchor asked Cat.
A soft smile wiped over her face in response. The close up of her face made his heart ache. "Yes, that's correct. Batman saved my life."
Hearing her say that he saved her life was all that he wanted.
"Would you say he is a masked vigilante?"
"Well, by textbook definition he is. But whoever he is - he deserves not only my gratitude but that from all the people in Gotham. He is truly a dark knight."
"Huh!" Bruce was surprised by that name.
"Quite fitting of a name, Master Wayne." Alfred grinned at him.
Too bad she thought of Bruce himself a little less graciously.
"I cannot thank the Batman enough. I've never been more scared in my life. I was sure this was it. That I was going to die right then and there. But he saved me when I thought I was beyond saving."
Alfred watched Bruce's expression closely. Did he have tears in his eyes? Bruce noticed the butler watching him and cleared his throat. "And that's why I can't be with her. Now I can protect her. I couldn't do that if we were together."
"For someone who takes on the entire underbelly of Gotham, you are just scared to death of love." Alfred smiled at him. "More coffee?"


Two weeks had passed. The Joker was still missing. No one had heard anything from him. Many were saying he had left Gotham. I was more worried about what he had planned next. Whatever it was, it must be big for him to disappear for this long.
I hadn't heard anything from Bruce and unfortunately I still didn't feel any better about his absence in my life. How long was this feeling going to last?I was getting nowhere on my research on who the Batman could be. My inability to crack the mystery frustrated me more and more.
Everything in Gotham had been relatively quiet until one night, crime rates started to spike.
I called Gordon whom I was relatively close to at this point.
"Catherine, I excepted your call." He said.
"What's going on? I heard over the scanner multiple gang related incidents."
"Yes, I can't go into details but there's activity."
"Batman on it?"
"I haven't seen him in days. I turned off the Bat signal at this point. I don't know where he is or why he suddenly decided to drop off the face of the earth."
That didn't sound like Batman at all.
"Any word on the Joker?"
"Haven't heard from him since that night at the Christmas Ball."
This made no sense. Something was wrong.


He felt dizzy, sitting down on the cold stone floor, the neon lights flickering over his head. He had lost track of time. How many days had he been in here? How could he have underestimated the clown this much?
It started when, after weeks of research, he finally got a hint on the location of the Joker. One of Gotham's low lights told him that the Joker had shipments come in but couldn't specify what shipments. He told him when and where the shipments normally arrived.
He went to the dock of the old ship yard, observing a group of shady looking guys unload a container. He thought he was about to close in on the clown. Instead he was walking into a trap. How did he miss the signs?
In the dark he slipped into the ship unnoticed. He was just about to look at what was in the containers when he was covered in a cloud of some kind of poisonous gas. The next thing he remembers is waking up here - in a labyrinth.
The bright light turned on and the shrill voice of the Joker.
"Welcome Batman to your personal hell." He had said over a speaker system.
Whatever the clown had poisoned him with, it was similar to Ra's Ah Guhl's poison. His fears were more pronounced than normal. But contrary to the compound he had experienced before, this time he felt close to going insane. As if he was walking on a thin sheet of ice, trying not to break through.
Images of his parents flickered through his mind. The moment they were shot repeating in his head on an endless loop. Then, suddenly, Cat's image appeared in his mind and the night when the Joker threw her out of the window.
He walked through the labyrinth, looking for an exit but there was none. Loud circus music was playing over the speakers as he pulled out his phone to call Alfred. But his phone was not working in here. All his GPS devices were useless. The music and bright lights were giving him a headache. Focus. He reminded himself.
The poison seemed to get stronger. Aside from replaying some of the most painful moments of his life, his mind also created new ones. Instead of Helena's lifeless head that night, he saw Cat's. He shuddered, quickly trying to erase the image. As time went on, he wasn't sure anymore about what was real and what wasn't. Did Catherine die that night? Was his mind just trying to compensate for it?
He threw explosives at walls only to find another wall right behind it. All his tools were useless.
"There is no escaping Batman. Not from this. Not this time." The Joker yelled over the speakers in excitement.
"What do you want from me?" He screamed in a gravely voice.
The Joker answered with a hysteric laughter.


I walked into the GDP building, marching into Gordon's office.
"Do you have an appointment?" His secretary asked me.
"Tell him it's urgent please. I'm Catherine..."
"I know who you are. I will tell him."
Shortly after she waved me into his office.
"How can I help you today?" Gordon asked, looking through files.
"The Batman is in trouble, correct?" I asked nervously.
Gordon's eyes met mine, his face serious. He got up from his chair, closing the door.
"What would give you that idea?" He asked.
"The fact that no one has seen him in days and that criminals are rampant on the streets without him doing a thing about it."
"I have no idea where the Batman is."
"Are you looking for him."
He sighed. "You can't report this."
"Why?"
"Because it would create a mass panic and you would tell criminals that they have little to worry about."
"I'm right then?"
He nodded.
"How is the search going? Have you found any sign of life?"
"Not at this point. He is always very...private. Whenever we work together I never know exactly what he is doing and when. I just know he is getting the job done."
"When's the last time you spoke to him?"
He shook his head. "I can't discuss this with you."
"This is off the record. I want to find him for the sake of the city - not for a story."
He looked at me closely as if he was trying to figure out if he could trust me.
"Two days ago. We were discussing the latest information we both had on the Joker. He was working on locating him."
"Was he successful?"
"My guess is yes." His eyes looked concerned.
"But you don't know what details he had on the Joker's location?"
"Like I said, he is very private about his work. All I knew was that he was looking for him."
"So what do you know about the Joker's location?"
"Not much. We tracked all criminal activity in the city and crossed referenced it with any of his patterns. Gun powder, explosives... Nothing. It's like he disappeared into thin air."
"Do you think he's still alive?" I asked quietly.
Gordon's expression hardened. "I don't know. I hope so. For all of our sakes. I think if he wasn't, we would have heard about it."


He had lost track of time but by his estimations, he had been walking around aimlessly in this labyrinth for three days. No food and more importantly no water. The level of dehydration made his body weak and his body was the only thing he could still count on. Three days on the poison the Joker had given him had made him very close to insanity.
He drug his body through the hallways but at this point he had given up hope of finding the exit. It made no sense. He had mapped out the whole place but there was no exit. Maybe that was just it - an exit-less labyrinth. That sounded like something the Joker would do. He had gotten used to pictures of his parents, Alfred and Catherine in his mind. All horribly mutilated.
He started to hear voices, sometimes it was Catherine screaming in fear. He didn't know how much longer his mind could take this. As he was fighting his inner demons, he suddenly saw a slender figure in front of him. His eyes focused on the man and then he recognized the evil grin on the clown's face.
"You look terrible." The Joker laughed at him.
Gathering all the strength he had left in his body he ran full force towards the Joker, punching him as hard as he could but he kept laughing at him hysterically.
"Shut up!" He screamed as he continued to punch him, hoping the unnerving laughter was finally going to end. It didn't. Suddenly he stepped back. He was really losing it. He saw huge punch holes in the wall in front of him, but the clown was nowhere to be seen.
His breath ragged, his hands balled to fists, he was searching frantically for the clown. Had thee Joker been a figment of his imagination?
"Hahaha! See! We're not so different you and me!" The voice continued to echo over the speaker. "Your mind is starting to go... It starts harmlessly with misremembering things. Then you're not sure what's real and what isn't. And before you know it, your mind is playing tricks on you. What separates you and me is but a fine line. All you needed was a little push."
Panic struck him. The Joker was right, he was losing it. He started to run. He needed to get out of here. The grey walls seemingly closing in on him. Suddenly he saw Cat standing there, holding her hand out at him. It couldn't be. It must be his mind playing tricks on him. He stopped, looking at her, his head pounding.
"Come on, let's get out of here."
"You're not real."
She laughed. "Silly. I'm real. Now come on, give me your hand."
He walked slowly up to her, extending his hand carefully, her dark eyes sparkling at him. When his hand reached hers he felt pain tear through his body.
It wasn't Cat, it was a scarecrow holding electric shock devices. He tried to let go but the electricity kept him glued to the device. The Joker was laughing hysterically in the background, Batman reached slowly for a device on his utility belt. He was hardly able to move but he finally managed to press the button, interrupting the electricity cycle. He dropped to the ground, his muscles burning in pain.
"What did you see? What did you see?" The Joker asked frantically. "You see, when the mind is slowly going, it creates little pockets of safety and comfort. How I wish I could see what you see! Whoever it is you care about, I will find them and I will bring them back to you. Piece by piece. Hahahhahaha!"
Was he going to die in here? Was this the end of Batman? He couldn't believe he underestimated the Joker this much.
He sat back up, leaning against a wall. There was no escaping. He started to laugh, letting his head sink into his hands in desperation.


"Can I take a few days to research a story?" I asked Peter.
He raised his eyebrows at me. A few days was eternity in our industry and investigative journalism was unfortunately a dying art form in a world that demanded more gossip than actual news.
"And what would be the story."
"The whereabouts of the Batman."
Peter laughed at me. "Yeah, because you're the one that's gonna figure out where he is. Maybe you'll also tell us who the guy is?"
"Maybe I will."
He laughed again. "Cat, I'll love you. You know that. But there's no way I can let you do that. Even if I thought it was a good idea, tell that to the general manger... Let's pull off our top reporter so she can work on something that might be nothing."
"Fine. Then I'm asking for a few days off."
Peter frowned at me.
"What? I haven't had a vacation in a long time."
"So what are you going to do? Run around breaking into buildings again?"
"Who knows? I like my vacations adventurous."
He shook his head. "I can't let you spent whole days on this but how about you can work half days on it?"
"Deal!" I smiled triumphantly.

At my desk I began researching, though I had nothing to go on. Where could he be?
It would be easier to find the Joker than Batman since I had no idea who the Batman was. Granted I didn't know much about the Joker either but it seemed easier to find anything about him than Batman.
So think like the Joker. Where would he go? What would be his objective? What I had experienced from the clown so far was that he had no clear plan. He seemed like an agent of chaos. Batman was the opposite of chaos so bringing down Batman would be high on his list. He doesn't want to know who the Batman so what else could he want from him?
Jacob walked up to me. He smiled at me and handed me a coffee.
"Almond milk latte, no sugar."
"Thanks."
"I know you well enough to see when something isn't right Cat." He said while leaning against my desk.
"I'm fine."
He shook his head. "We both know that's not true. Ever since that night Bruce Wayne almost got killed by the Joker you haven't been fine."
It was that obvious?
"I thought it would be best to give you some room. But it's been almost three months and I see you burying yourself in work and it worries me." He said, studying my expression.
"Thanks but I'm all good. The whole Joker thing is just rattling me somewhat."
"Which is why, I came to help."
"Help?"
"What are you working on?"
I looked at him confused.
"I'm not leaving here without helping you. Whatever it is, two sets of eyes are always better than one."
"Fine. You going to call me crazy."
He laughed. "That's nothing new."
I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Lay it on me."
"Fine. I'm looking for Batman."
"You're looking for Batman." He repeated the sentence as if he was trying to make sure that's really what I said.
"I know how it sounds. But aren't you wondering where he is? It's been three days and crime is going up."
He sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes with his hand. "So, you think something happened to him and you want to find him."
"I told you you're going to think I'm crazy."
"What makes you think you can find him - if he's really in trouble - when the police can't? Plus the guy is like a superhero. If he's in trouble, I don't know how the world you could help him."
"Well, thanks for your help anyway Jacob." I said while getting up.
"Wait!"
I slowly sat down again.
"Let's hear what you've got so far."
"I've got nothing. That's the problem. I don't know Batman's identity. I've been looking into that forever and nothing. So I am looking at it from a perspective of where the Joker is."
"Smart."
"I wish. I hardly know anything about him either."
"What do you know?"
"I know he loves chaos. He thrives on it. Lives for it. He says he wants to know the identity of the Batman but that night, at the ball..." I took a deep breath trying to forget the crazy eyes staring at me in the dark. "Batman offered to take off his mask but the Joker said no at the last minute."
"What? How have I never heard about it?"
"I kept that to myself."
"Peter is going to kill you." Jacob laughed.
I smiled. "Yeah... So all I know is that he enjoys the chase and the game too much to kill Batman. He wouldn't know what to do without him."
"So what do you think is going on?"
"I don't know. He might be torturing him, holding him captive somewhere."
"Ok, so where would be a good place to keep someone?"
"No idea. He could be anywhere."
"Have you talked to your new friend at the GDP?"
"Yes, Gordon doesn't know that much. He said they cross referenced crimes and nothing."
"Don't think like a cop, think like a journalist."
"Did you get that from a fortune cookie?"
He laughed. "No. Look, they think in criminal patterns. You have the ability to look beyond that. Like a bird's eye perspective."
"You think the police is involved."
"In this town, the police is always involved."
"So how would we find out?"
"I have a cop watch list."
"You have what?"
He pulled out his laptop. "I've been looking into cops in this town for a while now."
A long list of police officers popped up on his screen. "I have pictures of them getting paid off and everything."
"Holy cow Jacob. Why have you never done a story on this?"
"I wanted to wait for something big. Otherwise all you achieve is getting one bad apple fired. I want to find the root of the problem. Then Batman came along and there was nobody left to pay off cops."
"Those are a lot of cops. What do you suggest we do?"
"We go through the list, one by one."
I looked on my watch. "Well, we better double up on that coffee then."

It was two in the morning. Jacob and I had spent hours pouring over his cop watch list at his apartment. At this point we were surrounded by empty coffee containers and Chinese take out boxes.
"Just reading this makes me want to storm into Gordon's office and demand answers." I said.
"Gordon is a good guy. In a town this bad, you have to choose your battles. He's making the best with what he's got."
"How can he trust anyone?"
"I have no idea." Jacob said, taking off his glasses again. "More coffee?" He asked getting up.
"Sure."
"What was he like in person?"
"Who?"
"Batman."
I looked up from the papers. "It's hard to describe. Definitely has some anger management problems."
He chuckled. "Why do you say that?"
"I don't know whenever I see him he seems extremely angry."
"Wait...whenever you see him? How often do you run into the guy?"
"Just twice...three times I guess all in all."
"What? I knew you'd seen him before but this is news to me."
"Well I didn't want to make a big deal out of otherwise Peter would pull me up on a stage and announce it to the world."
He smiled and handed me a hot cup of coffee. "So tell me then."
Most of the time I managed to ignore the fact that Jacob liked me but when he looked at me this way, it was hard not to think about it. I wished I would like him. Or James. Really anyone but Bruce.
"Well... That time I broke into Wayne Enterprise..."
"How could I forget that?"
I raised my eyebrows at him. "Anyway, before that I was at the murder scene and Batman was there and wasn't exactly happy to see me. He grabbed me and threw me against a wall."
"Holy shit." Jacob turned serious.
"Don't worry, he was careful. But he was so furious with me. Well and then when the Joker held me at the Christmas Ball..." I shook my head. "I had never seen anyone that angry. His voice... It doesn't sound human anymore. I mean I know it's always in a low growl, probably to protect his true identity. But that night... It sounded more like a beast than a person. The sound was vibrating through my bones."
Jacob studied my face closely.
"What?" I asked.
"Sure Batman doesn't have a thing for you?"
"What?" I laughed out loud. "That is by far the most ridiculous thing Ive ever heard."
"Would explain the anger."
"The guy dresses like a bat beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. I'm pretty sure he came pre-programed with anger. Nothing about me changed anything."
"I know I was equally furious when I heard about what happened to you." He looked at me closely.
I nervously bit my lips together.
"Only thing, I'm far from a super hero. Unless criminals are scared by facts and figures. I have a lot of those to throw at 'em."
I laughed.
"Speaking of which, let's make sure we find the strange bat character."

My eyes started to hurt from hours of reading when the first sun rays were shining through the windows of Jacob's apartment.
"Are you going into work today?" I asked yawning.
"Hell no. I haven't pulled an all-nighter since college. Too old for this now."
I laughed.
"You?"
"Calling in sick for sure."
He smiled.
"Have you ever tried to research Batman's true identity?" I asked.
"Who hasn't?" He answered still reading the papers.
"Found anything?"
He looked up at me. "If I had, you'd be seeing my face on buses across the city, proudly holding an Emmy in my hands."
"Fair enough."
"The guy is good at hiding his tracks, that's for sure."
"He obviously has to have money... But there are a lot of uber-wealthy men in this country."
"Have you searched your boyfriends closet?" He asked jokingly.
"Ha ha. Very funny. Also, he is NOT my boyfriend."
"Why not?"
"What?"
"It looked like for a while you liked the guy."
"Me? Why? How?" I sounded already ridiculous.
"Oh, I don't know... When City Hall came crashing down and he was holding you in his arms. Or when you had a mental breakdown when you thought he died that night."
"How do you...?"
"Bill likes telling stories Cat." He smiled at me.
"Well, maybe I did like him. I'm not sure. Doesn't matter."
"Why doesn't it matter?"
I sighed. "Are we seriously talking about my love life right now?"
"We are. It's quite fascinating."
"Off the record?"
He laughed. "Who do you think I am Cat? Of course off the record."
"And you shut up about it if I tell you?"
He nodded.
"Fine. It's complicated. We were seeing each other for a while but then he ended it. Long story short we are not anything anymore."
"He ended it? Are you sure?"
"Am I sure? Of course I'm sure. What kind of question is that?"
"Sorry. Just surprising is all. The way he looked at you on those pictures at City Hall..." Those damn pictures. "Didn't look like he ever wanted to let you go."
I swallowed hard.
"Sorry. I don't mean to pry... Well, who am I kidding... I do mean to pry. I mean. I'm by nature a curious person."
"I get it." I nodded, trying not to think about Bruce.
"I guess I always wanted to ask you how serious things are between you guys. It was always very...surprising to me."
"Surprising."
"Yeah, I never really saw you with someone like Wayne. Nothing against the guy. He just seems...more superficial."
"He seems like a complete asshole. I know."
"But he isn't?"
I jut shook my head.
"Good," he responded. "Just wanting to make sure that he treats you well."
"Make that past tense since he isn't treating me at all anymore."
"He will be back. Someone like Wayne... no way will he just let you get away like that."
I looked at him puzzled but as Jacob was looking back on the papers I decided not to ask what he meant and instead focus back on the task at hand, finding Batman.
"He seems like a complete corrupt asshole." Jacob said.
"Jake, you don't even know the guy!" I said in frustration.
"What? No, not Wayne. This guy." He held up one of the papers with a picture of a cop.
I blushed in embarrassment. "Oh."
"He has a pretty bad track record."
"So what do you propose we do?"
"I have my eye on him and another cop. We could look into them. Follow them and see if we find anything suspicious."
"Go Jacob!" I said enthusiastically.
"See, this makes me nervous Cat. You're way too excited to put yourself in danger."
"Hey, you're the one with the cop watch list."


His throat was burning, his mouth was dry, his tongue felt thick. The hallucinations were getting worse, which was a common side effect of dehydration. He knew this. Yet his mind wasn't able to separate the two anymore. He caught himself arguing with an imaginative Alfred and talking to a wall that he perceived to be Cat. She was there clear as day in one moment and then gone the next.
He hadn't slept either. He allowed himself to rest for only minutes every day. The exhaustion took a toll on his mind and body.
He had exhausted all methods of escaping but the poison had clouded his judgement. Maybe there was an easy way to get out of here and he was unable to see it this whole time?
"So are you slowly killing me this way?" He yelled into the nothingness. "Huh? Is this your grande plan? You just let me wither away? Where is the fun in that?"
"Patience my love, patience." The shrill voice explained over the speaker. "There is still so much to do before I let you die. You're my greatest piece of work."


Jacob and I split up. He would follow one police officer while I followed another.
"Her name is Ramirez. She had several run-ins with internal affairs. They could never pin anything on her but that's to no surprise. Whoever has her in their pocket owns half of this town anyway."
"I'm really impressed. I had no idea you were doing all of this."
He smiled at me, looking into my eyes.
"Anyway," he said while focusing on her file again. "It's her 's how they got to her. At least that's what my best bet is."
I nodded and took her file.
"Be careful." He said while handing it to me.
I nodded.
"I'm serious Cat! Don't pull your usual shit. Don't follow anyone inside. Whoever has Batman is way above your or my pay grade."

I spent the rest of my day lurking around the police station, waiting for Ramirez to leave. I had told Peter I didn't feel well and needed to go home. I knew he didn't really buy my excuse.
At the end of her shift, Ramirez went home.
Jacob called me. "Anything so far."
"Nothing. She's just at home. This might be a total waste of our time."
"Yes, it very well might be."
"Anything on your end?"
"Nothing. He's sitting in a bar getting hammered."
"Damn it. What are we doing Jake? We're just sitting around... Meanwhile he could be in real danger."
"Sometimes investigating requires a lot of patience."
"I'm not patient."
"You don't say."
"So how much longer are we going to..."
"I gotta go. He's leaving."
Jacob was probably on the right cop and I was sitting here for nothing. Two hours passed and I hadn't heard from Jacob nor had I seen Ramirez.
I was about to call it quits when the door to her apartment opened.
She was wearing a black leather jacket, rushing to her car.
I followed her with some distance between us. She was driving fast, speeding towards the east side of town.
My phone was buzzing. "Hey Jacob. What's new?"
"Nothing. Sorry I was M.I.A. I thought he was making a transaction...Turned out to be nothing. Where are you at?"
"Following our girl. She's headed toward the east side."
"Want me to meet you somewhere?"
"I'll let you know once I figure out where she's going."
"Sounds good. Don't do anything stupid."
After a 20 minute drive, we reached the old ship yard. I stopped far away from her. She was talking to some guys and then disappeared into a ship. Five minutes later she came out, went back into the car and drove off.
What was in that ship? Two guys were guarding the entrance. But there was always more than one entrance.
I walked slowly towards the ship. I spotted an open window at the upper deck. That was my way in. Jacob had said not to do this. Should I call him? And say what? This could be nothing.
I'll call him once I'm inside and find something.
There was a ship right next to it. I climbed up a ladder on that ship. Once on the top deck, I crouched down, avoiding to be seen by the guards.
I slowly stood up to see where they were looking at. They were talking to one another, their backs turned to me. This was the moment. I took a big leap and jumped on the other ship.
Once on board, I remained on the ground for a second. The loud noise of me jumping made the guards pause for a second. I held my breath. Then I heard them continuing to talk. Quickly I made my way to the open window. I squeezed my body through it.
The ship looked old and rusty. The hallway was dark. I grabbed my phone as a flashlight and followed the long hallway. My heart was beating out of my chest. This was pretty much exactly what Jacob said not to do. The adrenaline made the numbness subside.
Slowly I opened the door at the end of the hallway, my hands shaking around the door knob. There was another hallway, but suddenly I was able to hear music. Circus music. I saw dim light at the end of the hallway. Circus music - that must mean the Joker is here. I grabbed my phone to call Jacob and Gordon. I had no reception. Not even one bar.
With shaking hands I grabbed the pepper spray from my bag, holding it like a gun in front of me. At the end of the hallway was another door which wasn't closed all the way. The music was getting louder.
Slowly I opened the door. The room looked like a command center. A big chair in the middle surrounded by monitors. No one was in the room. I looked on the monitors. It was a labyrinth. And then I saw him. Batman crouching on the ground, leaning against a wall. Adrenaline shot through my veins. The Joker couldn't be far.
Quickly I ran to the monitors and looked where the exit to the labyrinth was. There was none. It made no sense. It was an endless maze with no exit. It was brilliant. It gave you enough hope that you kept searching for an exit while it slowly drove you mad for not finding one.
Suddenly I saw a blue print. There must be a way in and out, the blue print must have the details. In that moment I heard steps. I quickly took a picture of the blue print and hid in a closet.
"How much gas have we dispersed today?"
I recognized the unnervingly shrill voice immediately. My heart was beating so fast, I was worried he might be able to hear it.
"500 mg." The other man answered.
"Give him another dose."
"That's already double the dose from yesterday."
"So? He's resistant that one. I need him to go crazy. I need him to completely loose his mind. Understood. Double the dose."
Now I understood his plan. He didn't want to kill Batman. He wanted to make him insane. Make him evil. Whatever poison he was using must slowly be eating away on him.
"Double the dose!" He yelled.
"Yes. Of course." The other man said walking off.
"Batman, Batman, Batman... Why don't you let go. Why are you holding on to your rules so much? What have those rules ever done for you?"
I watched the Joker through a crack in the door. He walked towards the exit when he suddenly stopped right next to the closet.


His mind was trying desperately to cling onto sanity but it was slowly slipping away from him. He was sitting on the ground, pressing his hands firmly against his ears, trying to muffle the loud circus music somewhat. His eyes closed firmly, he was trying to listen to his own breath and heart beat. Focusing on something other than the insanity in his mind.
The pictures he was seeing where more disturbing and frightening by the second, but more than that, the constant feeling of anxiety made him feel hopeless and desperate. Listen to your heart beat and count. It was a very basic form of meditation he had learned to focus on his own breath. He took a deep breath in and exhaled. He repeated the exercise. It's like filling a vase with water and then emptying it - that's what the meditation master at the League of Shadows had told him. Meditation was a huge part of martial arts, learning to be in complete control of your body, understanding your body. It was working. The anxiety was getting better. The horrible images in his mind were replaced with the impressive landscape of where he trained with the League of Shadows. Slowly he opened his eyes again and let his hands rest next to his body. The loud music didn't bother him anymore.
Suddenly he heard a loud scream. He had been used to it by now, his mind came up with horrible things.
"Batman!" The voice screamed and he recognized the agonizing plea for help. It was Cat. But it is not real. It's not her. She isn't here.
"I have a surprise for you, hahahahahahaha." The Joker proclaimed over the speaker.
Panic struck him. What if the scream was real? How was he supposed to help her? He couldn't get out of this.
He jumped to his feet. "What is it freak?" He asked in an angry voice, his hands balled into fists.
"Just follow the light."
Suddenly the whole place went dark and then a single light turned on.
"Go on. Follow it."
It seemed like a trap but whatever was waiting for him at the end, he had to make sure it wasn't Cat. He ran after the light.
"Good boy." The Joker laughed at him.
The light stopped and on the ground was a brunette woman, face down.
"No." He whispered as he knelt down, picking her up. He brushed her hair away, still hoping it wasn't her although he knew it was.
And then he saw her face, now pale with a Joker grin carved on it. It wasn't scars yet, just gaping wounds on her cheeks, dried blood all over her. Hot tears streamed down his face, he felt like he was shattering into a thousand pieces. It was like he had finally cracked through the ice that had separated him from madness. Now he was free falling. He placed his hands on her face.
"No, no, no." He held her lifeless body in his arms, agony ripping through his body. His arms were wrapping around her as he was weeping. He hadn't been able to protect her. Because of him, she was dead. He was holding her so tightly, not wanting to ever let her go again.
He slowly looked at her again, hoping when he looked at her face again it wouldn't be her, that it was another illusion. It wasn't. Her pale, lifeless face lying in his arms. Even with the massive Joker grin on her face, she still looked more beautiful than anyone he had ever met. His hands were slowly touching her cold skin.
"I love you." He whispered, wishing he could have told her when she was still alive.
"Hahahahahaha. See, I told you I had a surprise for you." The shrill voice interrupted his thoughts. The sound was so distracting that for a second he wasn't sure it was her he was holding in his arms. But then her face was clear again.
He slowly stood up.
"Why?" He asked, testing the clown.
"Just picking the one that means the most to you."
He noticed the Joker didn't refer to her as male of female. If she was really dead, the Joker would know her name. If she wasn't, the Joker wouldn't know what Batman was seeing.
"So what's the persons name?"
"I'm sure you're more than aware of that. I don't like to speak of the dead. Hahahahahhaha."
"Proof it is real. Tell me what you're seeing. Who is lying dead on the ground?"
"You don't think it's real? Take a closer look at her."
Her. Was it real? Was this really happening?
He looked at her again and the pain hit him like a tsunami wave. Her skirt and blouse were torn, bruises all over her body. He hadn't even noticed that before. Was this real? His mind was overwhelmed.
Images of her laughing, lying in his arms and kissing him flooded his mind and he fell on his knees, not able to fight the panic and anxiety anymore.
"What have you done to her?" He yelled.
"Ohhhh, I had some fun with her. And the rest of the gang did as well. Hahhahahaha. You know how much fun she can be, I'm sure."
He felt like he wanted to vomit but there was no contents in his stomach. Furious he jumped up on his feet again and threw a punch at the wall while screaming.
"Come out and fight like a man you coward! You freak! Where are you? Where are you?"
The Joker just laughed hysterically at him. The room was spinning, his breath was ragged. It seemed like the walls were closing in on him.
He had lost. There was no justice. He had failed his parents and now he had failed her. He saw down again, taking her body in his arms and holding her tightly. He took a deep breath in again, trying to clear his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he was holding on to a pillow. He stood up.
"Where is she?" He yelled looking at the cameras.
In that moment electric shock waves were hitting him again. The pain was unbearable but it was better than how he felt emotionally right now. He was hoping he the Joker would finish the job and kill him already. The shock waves stopped. He fell to the ground still vibrating from the electricity, biting his teeth together.
Looking at the pillow next to him he just slowly repeated. "It's just a pillow. It's just a pillow. It's just a pillow."


I was in the closed, holding my breath, my heart beating loudly in my chest. I could taste panic. I felt hot and cold all at once. Goose bumps all over my body as I could see the Joker's face through the crack in the door. His eyes were wide open. Did he see me? His eyes darted directionless through the room. It felt like an eternity but he finally turned away from the closet and walked back to the screens. What was he doing now?
He picked up his phone. "Is it done?" He asked. "Good." He hung up.
"Time to turn things up a notch Batman. Oh yes, yes, yes..." He cracked his neck loudly and then grabbed the microphone. "I have a surprise for you." I could see Batman on the screen, sitting on the ground.
"Follow the light."
Batman thought about this for a second before he got up. The lights went off and a single light came on that Batman followed.
"Good boy." The Joker was barely able to stand still, coming his hair back with one hand, tapping his foot nervously.
I tried to look on the monitor again, where Batman was running through the maze. Suddenly he stopped, a pillow in front of him. What in the world was the Joker planning with a pillow?
Batman's body froze. Slowly he went on the ground, brushing his hand against the pillow and then he whispered "No."
Was there something special about this pillow? What happened next made my whole body freeze. Batman was holding the pillow closely as he was breaking down. "No, no, no." He was crying, completely heart broken.
He's thinking this is a person? He was embracing the pillow closely as the Joker was jumping up and down in excitement.
"Yes, yes... Come to my side of the world. What are you seeing? Who is dying in your arms? Hm?" The Joker talked to himself, still too excited to sit down.
Batman was still holding the pillow in his arms.
"I love you." He whispered in a raspy voice.
Batman was in love with someone? I didn't know why that surprised me so much. At the end of the day he was just a normal guy. Whoever it was he loved, he thought he was holding her lifeless body in his arms right now. Whatever the Joker was giving him was working.
Suddenly he got up and challenged the Joker again, asking him who he saw lying on the ground. Deep down, Batman knew he couldn't trust his judgment.
"What do I see?" The Joker talked to himself. "What do you see? Must be a woman... You said you loved her. Love, love, love..."
The second the Joker said "Look at her", Batman broke down again, believing whatever tricks his mind was playing on him.
"What have you done to her?" He asked under angry tears.
I was holding back tears myself. He seemed so tormented. I wish I could tell him it was just a pillow and whoever he loved was fine and far away.
"Yes, yes, yes..." The Joker said to himself before clearing his throat and talking over the speaker again. He pretended to have raped whoever Batman loved. Batman jumped up on his feet and punched the wall with so much fury that it made me almost jump. "Where are you? Where are you?" His voice was so angry, so loud and deep, it sounded anything but human.
He finally sat down again, holding the pillow when suddenly the Joker pushed a button and electric shock waves were going through Batman's body. Was I too late? Was he going to kill Batman now? Suddenly the electricity stopped and Batman fell to the ground. Was he alive? He was mumbling something, so he was still alive.
"Hahahaha! Almost there. Just another little push." The Joker said as he finally left the room.

My whole body was shaking violently. This might be a huge mistake, but I couldn't leave here without trying to help Batman. He saved my life after all. I quickly got out of the room and ran into what looked like a storage unit.
I grabbed my phone, trying to look at the image of the blue print, which was difficult since my hands were shaking so hard.
There it was. One of the walls was electronic, like a sliding door. I made my way down some stairs. I saw two guys guarding the entrance. How could I distract them for a second?
I found a piece of metal on the ground and threw it over the staircase and hid behind a wall.
"What was that?" One guy asked.
"I don't know." The other said.
Then they ran off, following the noise.
I quickly walked up to the door, pressed the button and the door unlocked. I placed my phone in right before the door shut completely.
I knew I didn't have much time to find him before the Joker would see me on the monitors. But I knew where Batman was. Thinking about the map in my head, I ran down the corridors. There he was. Sitting on the ground, his head on his chest, staring on the ground.
"Batman." I said.
He didn't look up.
"Batman lets go." I said holding out my hand.
"Of course you would be here." He said laughing.
I was confused by that statement. "We have no time. Let's go."
He was just laughing, still looking to the ground. The laugh frightened me. It sounded like he was indeed close to losing his sanity.
I walked up to him and touched his shoulder. In that moment he grabbed me by my throat and threw me against the wall with full force. My head hit the concrete so hard, I felt dizzy.
"You're not real." He yelled in a dark voice, his hand closing my airways.
I gasped for air, trying to kick him off but he was incredibly strong, his fingers locking tighter around my neck. His eyes were wide open and blood shot. He was biting his teeth together , breathing heavy. I felt my vision going in and out. Dark spots appearing. I was about to lose consciousness . What irony that after all this, I would be killed by Batman.
I was fighting my body giving I lost consciousness I would be dead. I looked him directly in the eyes and although I couldn't speak, I mouthed the word "Please"
In that moment I saw his eyes recognize me and he dropped me. I fell to the ground, inhaling deeply and coughing. There was not enough air to fill my lungs fast enough. I held my throat, trying to breathe.
I looked at his boots as he was standing next to me.
"You're not real. You're not real. You're not real."
"Of course...I'm...real..." I said trying to breathe.
"You're what my mind wants me to see."
"Why in the world would you want to see me?"
"You're not real."
I slowly stood up, still dizzy.
"Do you feel this?" I asked grabbing his shoulder. "I couldn't do this if I wasn't real. Now let's get you out of here."
"That's just another trick."
"Ok, say I'm just another trap. How much worse can it get? You're locked in a labyrinth with no exit by the Joker, who pumps you full of some weird poison to drive you insane. Sounds pretty bad to me. Come on, let's go."
I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him through the labyrinth. I looked at him and suddenly his eyes seemed more normal. Just now I noticed his dry, cracked lips and the beard stubble.
We reached the entrance, my phone still in place.
"Ok, after we get out of this part, I need you to do your thing. Ok?"
He just stared at me.
"You know, the fighting part?"
"I got it."
"Great."
I slowly pulled the door. As expected, shots were fired at us immediately by the guards and an alarm went off.
Batman pushed me aside shielding me with his body as he opened the door quickly and kicked both guards to the ground.
"I have no cell service here so we need to just get out of here as quickly as possible."
"You go, I have to find the Joker."
"No, you can't. You're dehydrated and poisoned."
"Go. Call for backup. I'll be fine."
"I can't..."
"Go." His voice got louder and deeper.
"Fine. Always so grumpy." I said as I left. Once I reached my car, I called Gordon immediately followed by Jacob.
"You did what? Cat! That's like the opposite of not doing anything stupid." Jacob said.


After a few hours of talking to Gordon about the whole event, and promising him not to run a story on it, I walked into my apartment, still feeling dizzy. Hopefully I didn't have a concussion. In that moment I noticed something in my apartment. Like a shadow.
"Thank you." I immediately recognized the raspy voice.
I turned around finally spotting Batman's eyes in the corner of my living room.
I should be scared about how he just got into my apartment, but for some reason I wasn't.
"You don't need to thank me. Ever." I said, quoting him. Did he smile? It almost seemed like he was. His eyes looked like himself again, velvety dark and not blood shot anymore. Aside from his eyes I couldn't see much of him.
"You didn't manage to catch him, did you?" I asked.
"No. But I destroyed any evidence that you were helping me. You can't run the story saying you were there."
"And why is that?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my body. I already had promised Gordon but I didn't like to be told what to do.
"If the Joker finds out, you're his biggest target."
"Fine. Under one condition."
"Condition? I don't work with conditions."
"Who is she? Not for a story, just off the records."
"Who?"
"The woman you thought was dead in that labyrinth. You said you loved her. Who is she."
His eyes narrowed in on me, looking frustrated and surprised.
"What did you hear?" He demanded in an angry tone.
"That's not the answer to my question."
"What did you hear?" His voice grew louder.
I sighed. "Not much. You didn't say her name. You were in pain, thinking she was dead. So? Who is she?"
"Does the Joker know?"
"No, it was killing him that he didn't. Who is she?"
"Do you honestly expect me to answer that question."
"Why not?"
"I'm doing everything I can to protect my identity and you think I would tell you something that could compromise that? I know you're dying to connect the dots in your box full of research on me in your closet."
"You went through my stuff?" I asked angrily.
"No. I can see the box labeled "Batman's identity" from here."
"Oh."
I looked behind me and saw the box with the big, red letters on it.
When I turned around, he was gone.


He had searched for the Joker everywhere but he must have fled the second the alarm went off. He made sure the surveillance videos were deleted, erasing any trace of Cat helping him.
"I was worried about you Master Wayne," Alfred said when he came back home. "I called Fox when you didn't come back but we had no way of locating you. We tried everything.
"I'll explain later. I just need something to drink." He said, his mouth still dry.
"Certainly sir."
He took a shower, shaved and hooked himself up to an IV bag.
"Is that really necessary sir?" Alfred asked pointing at the IV bag.
"I have to go talk to her."
"Tonight? Can't it wait until you regain your strength?"
"It can't. Hence the IV bag."
"I ran your blood analysis Mr Wayne." Fox said walking up to him and Alfred.
"Let me guess, I have high blood pressure."
"No, just an usually high level of potent hallucinogens in your system."
"The same like before?"
"No, not as strong but they have a different impact on your mind. It doesn't last as long but is effective immediately."
"Which explains why I already feel a lot better."
"Yes, it doesn't linger in your system. It tapers off."
"So the question is where the Joker got the compound from."
"It's not that rare. Mostly a mixture of different drugs. The question is - who mixed it for him?"