They didn't come for her. For weeks, no one came looking. Selina kept an ear to the ground, listening to see if Wayne had alerted the police, but yet again, he was quiet. It seemed like Gerard and the Penguin were appeased and that they were going to leave her well alone. For now, at least.

Selina spent the better part of the week after her heist hiding in her apartment, positive that there would be men in black masks, or worse wearing badges, waiting for her outside. But when it was clear that they weren't coming for her, at least not until the weekend was over, Selina ventured into the outside world. There weren't many places that she could go, not with Gerard's network of contacts in the Narrows, and she couldn't afford for him to find her hiding place.

She snuck over rooftops as well as zigzagging down alleyways, just in case someone was tailing her. When Selina was confident that no one was following her, she finally made her way to a small building on the river. She hadn't been there in weeks – too much had gone on for her to be able to spare the time. It was a workshop. Her workshop, to be specific. Nothing official, just somewhere that Selina could take things apart and put them back together. She liked fixing things, she had for as long as she could remember. Everything had a place, everything had a purpose, everything made sense. And most importantly, no one was trying to kill her.

It wasn't much: Small and cluttered, and there was a beat-up old car in the very middle with its hood popped open. The windows were blacked out and there was a fine layer of dust over everything, not to mention motor oil and other grime everywhere. With engine parts and other scraps of metal strewn over worktables and the floor, the whole building was a mess. Exactly the opposite of her apartment back in the Narrows, where everything was neat and orderly, and everything had its place.

Selina loved every inch of it.

Besides, she was sentimental. Before she broke into buildings, Selina broke into cars. She had a knack for disabling the alarms and was soon sought after by everyone and anyone who made a living by stealing or dismantling vehicles. She'd steal them; they'd take them apart. It wasn't a bad gig, and Selina had learned a lot in the process. Not to mention being able to hot-wire a car wasn't a bad skill to have. She still had contacts in chop shops and junkyards across the city.

Her newest project was an old junker. An ancient Chevy Thunderbird that had been discarded and left to rust. Selina had rescued it, and had been trying to fix it back up on and off for months. She didn't have anywhere to go when it was fixed, she didn't even have a license, but having something to work on was the important thing. Selina didn't do well with boredom. She'd spent her whole life moving, working, fighting. Moments of stillness and quiet were like poison. They slowed her down, and that could get her killed.

So when she didn't have work, she had projects. Take an engine apart. Put it back together and make it better and faster than before. Create something new out of spare parts. Restore a car. Anything to stay busy.

Selina was under the old Chevy, laying on her back with a flashlight in her mouth and a wrench in her hand when she heard movement outside. Someone rattled on the door and Selina swung out from under the Thunderbird, jumping to her feet and holding the wrench like it was one of her knives. The door shook again and Selina could hear the lock pop open. Note to self: Get better locks. Holding the wrench at the ready, Selina pressed her back against the against the wall to the right of the door and waited. The door opened slowly and Selina exploded into motion before stopping dead when she saw who it was who'd broken in.

"Really?" the intruder said, putting her hands on her hips. "You were going to bludgeon me to death with a wrench? Sloppy, Sel."

"Ivy," Selina said, her mind working to catch up to her racing heart. The girl in her doorway grinned through a wild tangle of red hair and Selina dropped the wrench, pulling her into a crushing hug. "Holy hell, Ivy, what are you doing out?" Selina asked when they broke apart, studying her at arms length. Ivy was the only one who knew that Selina had this place, but she'd been locked up for two years. Selina hadn't even considered that she would be the one at the door.

"Good behavior. I'm young, I'm reformed." Ivy said, looking pleased with herself. Selina snorted.

"You have never behaved a day in your life."

"True, but the warden doesn't need to know that," Ivy said with a delicate shrug. She let herself into the workshop and perched on an unoccupied stool. "So," she said without preamble, as if she hadn't just appeared after being in jail for two years, "updates since you last saw me: Juvie was fun, made some friends. A few enemies."

"Hence being sent to Blackgate," Selina cut in wryly. Ivy had been dragged to a juvenile detention center for a year, and then finally to Blackgate at eighteen. One of the youngest ever female residents.

"He had it coming."

"You put bleach in the kid's ginger ale!"

"He had it coming," Ivy said, oddly serious for a moment before her eyes sparked with mischief again. "Prison is boring. Everyone is tedious, and the greenhouse!" she said, sounding bereaved. "The greenhouse was deplorable, Sel. Everything was dead and they wouldn't give me anything to plant. It was a nightmare." Selina laughed and Ivy pouted at her. "I'm not kidding." Selina knew she wasn't, that was what was so funny. Ivy, true to her name, had always had a weird thing with plants. "You mock my pain," Ivy complained and Selina rolled her eyes at the dramatics.

"You spent almost a year in prison and your top complaint is the greenhouse." Selina said, picking her wrench up and scooting back under the Chevy. "Good to see that some things never change."

"I'm a cartoon character, I know it," Ivy said, her voice sounding muffled from the several tons of car on top of Selina. "So how have you been? Please tell me you've been having more fun than I have."

"Same old, same old." Selina said, swearing as she yanked too hard on a bolt and engine parts rained down on her. "Shit, ow."

"Still breaking things, I see," Selina could practically hear the smirk in her voice. "Do you still have connections with Gerard and his guys?" Selina paused for a little too long, seeing the gun at her head, the Penguin's promise that Gerard would rend her to pieces if she wasn't a good pet.

"Yeah," she said finally. "And anyone else who can afford me. I'm not picky." A payday was a payday, but Selina wasn't sure how much work she'd be doing outside of the Falcone crime family anymore. Gerard was always talking about how he wanted her all for himself. Or was she Maroni now that the Penguin owned a piece of her soul? She didn't know. Didn't really want to know. "Hand me the other flashlight, will you?" Selina said, realizing that she'd been quiet for too long. They'd been apart for over two years, but Ivy had always been able to read her. Not that Selina was talkative anyway, or ever had been. Ivy didn't comment on her silence, just handed Selina the flashlight, chatting absently about her escapades in prison. Selina listened as she worked, laughing at her friend's antics and asking questions to keep the stories coming, privately glad that Ivy wasn't asking any questions. There was so much going on: Gerard and the Penguin, their deal, Bruce Wayne showing up in every aspect of her life… Selina was still trying to sort it all out herself. It wasn't fair, or safe, to dump all of that on Ivy. She'd just been set free, after all. She should be allowed to enjoy it.

"Okay," Ivy said after telling Selina about how she'd sort-of started a prison riot. Selina protested as she was pulled out from under her Thunderbird. "What is going on with you?" Selina quietly took back her thanks that Ivy wasn't pressing. Obviously her time behind bars had done nothing to temper her curiosity.

"What?" Selina said, faking ignorance. She sat up, starting to put away her tools.

"Don't pull that shit with me," Ivy said, seeing through her immediately. "What happened? Something big, or you wouldn't be so damn squirrely."

"Nothing," Selina said. Lie. She was so far out of her depth that she couldn't even see the surface anymore, let alone know how to navigate the new waters. "V, come on, would I lie to you?" The conviction on Ivy's face wavered and Selina felt a pang of guilt in her chest. They didn't lie to one-another, never had. It was a rule that neither had broken since they teamed up years ago. "I'm being a shit host," Selina said, closing her toolbox and wiping oil into her jeans. "Let's go do something fun." Finally, Ivy nodded and Selina felt the guilt expand. But she couldn't tell the truth, because if Selina went down, Ivy would be dragged down with her. Just like when they were kids. It had taken a while – it wasn't easy for two kids used to taking care of themselves to admit that they needed someone – but they eventually became a unit, scouting and stealing together. There was no lock that Selina couldn't pick, no door that she couldn't crack open. For her part, Ivy was a chemical genius. Poisons, toxins, she could make them all, and sold them to the highest bidder. They were a team, and together, they'd thrived, when every odd said that they should have died within weeks of living on the streets.

"It's you and me, Sel, just like always." Ivy said. Selina didn't answer, still gathering up her tools. "Hey. Say it." Ivy insisted, placing her hand on Selina's shoulder.

"You and me," Selina said finally. The words burned like acid.

Wow, two chapters in two days. I must really love you guys!

Remember, a fic without reviews is like milk without cookies.

Happy thanksgiving for real this time