Millie was speechless as she looked beyond the man in front of her and saw the attacker unconscious on the ground. She looked back to Batman, her mouth gaping. He was tall… the man looking closely at her, dressed like a giant bat, and the first thing she noticed was his height. Not that there was much else for her to notice. His suit was black, save for the utility belt around his waist. The cape that hung from around his neck was dark, but it appeared to be lightweight.

"You shouldn't be out here so late."

"I know… I wasn't paying attention like I should've." She admitted, slightly embarrassed.

"Come on." He said in his gruff tone. Against her better judgment she followed him. He appeared to be the real Batman, however she continued to remember her uncle telling her about men who had taken to dressing like the caped crusader, attempting to fight crime on their own. The quality of the suit was far too involved to be a cheap knock off.

"Where?"

"I'm taking you home. How do you think it would look if the Police Commissioner's niece turned up dead?"

"How do you know who I am?" She asked, stopping suddenly. He turned back and looked at her expectedly. "Right… all knowing super hero, silly me."

They continued through the street to where his Tumbler was parked down a dark, abandoned alleyway.

"Wow. Subtle… trying to over compensate?" Millie asked as they walked towards his vehicle. This had long since become her mechanism for uncomfortable situations. Little comments to try and diffuse the silence. Bruce had to fight hard to keep his chuckle quiet.

"Get in." He said pushing a button, which caused the top to slide open.

"Impressive." Millie carefully climbed into the passenger seat. She was visibly shaking, but wouldn't acknowledge it. Instead she talked. "Uh… thank you… for saving me."

"You don't have to do that." He said somberly.

"You didn't have to save me."

"Yes I did."

"Then I have to thank you." She could've sworn she heard him mutter something that sounded like difficult.

"So is this what you do all night? Drive around and save people?"

"Yes."

"Okay… not much of a talker. Strong, silent type, I get that." He glanced over at her, the tremors had yet to leave her body. Her rambling was some odd attempt at soothing herself.

"You aren't afraid of me are you?"

"I don't think so. My uncle says you're trying to do some good around here. On the other hand I'm in some sort of assault vehicle with a grown man who dressed like a bat… I don't find myself in this situation too often."

"Do you trust your uncle?"

"Of course."

"So do I." Millie nodded quietly. Taking his statement as reassurance of her safety with him. "You can keep talking if it makes you more comfortable."

"Is… is this kind of like a comic book thing? You've got super powers from touching a meteoroid or something?"

"I don't have super powers."

"So this was just a choice you made? Some kind of moral obligation?"

"Something like that." They went the rest of the way in silence. Millie was still upset but she wasn't showing it quite as much. She seemed to be comforted by the fact that beneath the costume was an ordinary man… well not 'ordinary' per say, but a human man.

The vehicle pulled to a stop in another dark alley. This one only a few steps from the Gordon household. She could hear him following behind her, then nothing. She turned around to find him gone. Silently she climbed the stairs, something caught her eye. She jumped when he moved into the light again.

"Was that necessary? Make a sound or something."

"Sorry."

Millie was startled again, this time by the door next to her swinging open.

"Millie!" Her uncle seemed relieved to see her. "I was starting to worry."

"Sorry, had a little run in, but…" She went to gesture to the cloaked man only to find that he had disappeared again. "Where'd he go?"

"Who? Millie?"

"Batman… this guy was about to… he had grabbed me and Batman appeared… he was right there." She pointed to the now empty spot.

"Yeah," Jim smiled putting an arm around his niece and ushering her into the house, "he tends to do that."

Millie allowed herself to be led away, aware in the back of her mind that she was still being watched. Sure enough on the highest ledge, Batman watched the young woman go inside.

-------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------

"Productive night, sir?" Alfred asked when Bruce appeared in the kitchen the next morning. Things were still being unpacked, they only moved into the newly constructed Wayne Manor a few days before.

"I suppose you could say that." He looked down at the table to see a manila folder lying there. "Is this…?"

"Yes, everything I could find on Miss Gordon. May I asked sir, what is your interest in the young lady?"

"Not sure yet… there's just something… interesting about her." Bruce shrugged. He opened the file as Alfred set a plate infront of him.

He ate while reading:

Recently employed at The Gotham Times. Degree in Journalism and English, lived in California for a number of years, attended college before traveling around. Apparently I'm not the only one, Bruce thought to himself. Parents killed in a car accident when she was a teenager. Millie was in the car and the only survivor. Bruce thought back for a moment, he could vaguely remember hearing or seeing something about her parents on the news, probably because Alfred had it on while preparing dinner one night. They later discovered that a hired man that had failed a few times before killed the controversial lawyer and his wife. Millie was an element of the equation that the man hadn't considered. The man responsible, Matthew Banks, is currently in prison and will soon be eligible for parole.

Bruce closed the folder. He felt a pang of guilt for having looked through Millie's past.

"Sir?" Alfred asked, "Everything all right?"

"Do you remember this?" He asked, knowing that Alfred had already looked through the articles.

"Yes. I doubt there's a person in Gotham who doesn't remember. Frank Gordon was the Harvey Dent of his time, in fact he was a junior attorney at Mr. Gordon's office. He was unafraid of taking on the organized crime that began to expand after your own parent's death."

Alfred paused, looking at one of the news clippings Bruce failed to put away. There was a faded picture of Millie being escorted into the courthouse by her uncle.

"Commissioner Gordon and his wife took her in. Poor thing had to testify at the trial and has been called in every time the man has been up for parole." The older man sighed and put the clipping back into the folder. "That being said, may I suggest caution when trying to discover you interest in this young lady?"

Bruce gave a small smile and nodded before leaving the kitchen. He honestly wasn't sure what it was about Millie that intrigued him. It was more then just her beauty; there was an air about her, some sort of combative confidence that he could feel lurking beneath her sweet smile.

-------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------

"Can I help you?" The blond secretary asked, looking up from her computer.

"Yes, I'm Millie Gordon, personal told me to see you." Millie handed the woman a slip of paper. She read it quickly before standing. The blond was much shorter then Millie. Her hair was a mass of blond, uncontrollable curls. The woman had a strongly different appearance in comparison to Millie. She was incredibly pale, causing her green eyes to almost glow behind a large pair of glasses. Her thin lips seemed to quiver with fear at the prospect of having to speak to someone.

"Welcome to the Gotham Times. I'm Selina Kyle, if you come with me I'll show you where you'll be working."

"Nice to meet you." Millie smiled offering the woman her hand. Selina seemed frazzled by the polite gesture, but shook her hand all the same.

"I'm Mr. Penton's secretary, he's editor-in-chief around here. You'll be working here." The women stopped at a small office that looked as though it were fixed up at the last minute. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks… hey Selina, do you want to grab some lunch later?"

"Oh sure," she quickly reached for a pen and her pad. "What would you like?"

"No, I meant would you like to come with me and get some lunch together?"

"Oh… I usually just pick up lunch for people around the office." Again Selina seemed unnerved. "That would be nice… thank you."

"All right, I'll see you around noon then?" Selina nodded and walked off. Millie shook her head as she watched the strange woman stumble over a stack of newspapers.

Wondering into her office Millie flipped on the light and took a look around. The window blinds were pulled back, allowing in the grey light of the morning. A computer had been set up and an in-tray was already full on the corner of her desk. There was a small love seat shoved against the wall opposite her window. Most of the furniture seemed about 3 or 4 inches too big for the small space. With a sigh she sat down and began to go through the papers left on her desk. Despite the conditions she felt oddly content in the squeaky desk chair.

"Two hours till lunch."

------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------

Another chapter soon, thanks for reading… those who've read. Reviews are welcome, hint hint.