Okay, so I'm a little disappointed with the lack of reviews for the first chapter. Does nobody like this? Please review so that I know I'm not writing in vain. Thanks and enjoy. Also, a bit of a WARNING: This story will contain violence, mild language, and some mature themes later on. And now, let's get on with it.

Looking out her window, she saw the city lights spread like wildfire through the night. With a heavy sigh, she closed the blue curtains and moved away from the living room. Even the bright yellows and oranges of a Gotham night somehow seemed bleak. There was no more life in Gotham. The Joker had managed to destroy the spark of livelihood that kept the city running. Even though he ended up in a straightjacket he had won the battle. He had turned Gotham against their defender. And the people had accepted it; accepted the fact that Batman had done such horrible things. Now, when the city needed defending, who would do it? Better question yet; could anything really be done?

She had answered that question in her mind long ago; somewhere between the break-up and being fired from the police force. No, there was nothing that could be done. It was better to do nothing. It was better to just be dead. Dead, she wouldn't have to worry about the newspaper clippings that were piling up on her kitchen table. She wouldn't have to deal with another psycho, another burning building, and another innocent death. It seemed that Gotham was constantly riddled by trauma. Leaving the city wouldn't help her; some images were impossible to forget.

Quietly, even though there was no one else in the house to hear her, she crept to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Staring back at her were tired brown eyes and unkempt black hair. The girl inside the mirror had long since died. It was time for the girl outside the mirror to join her. She reached up and opened the cupboard with frail looking hands. She had lost far too much weight since the break-up. Among the face wash, toothpaste, and feminine products, there was a bottle of pain medication, which seemed to have a magnetic attraction to her fingers, falling into her grasp in only seconds. Frowning, she read the label on the bottle, taking in the warnings that were printed in tiny black letters, too small for anyone to actually care about them.

"Too late for warnings," she muttered, popping the cap off the pills with expertise.

"What about for friends?"

She whipped around at the sound of the deep gravely voice behind her; her heart hammering a mile a minute within her chest. When her eyes fell on Batman her frown grew. She really didn't need him here right now, at her worst moment.

"Why are you here?" she asked, careful not to make eye contact. Just because she wanted to die didn't mean she wouldn't feel guilty about leaving behind those she cared about; even if there were very few people who would miss her.

"The better question is why you are doing this?" he replied, his eyes narrowed behind his mask. The fact of the matter was she had no idea how to reply. At her lack of an answer, he took a step forward, his dark cape billowing by his knees. She stared straight at the floor as he grabbed her shoulders, surprisingly gentle for someone so intimidating. "Listen to me, Renee," his voice was stern and he gave her a slight shake, as if trying to make her see sense, "You need to stick it out."

"Why should I?" Renee felt her eyes fill with hot tears. Her cheeks began to burn as they leaked out. She hadn't cried since she had been fired. That was almost a year ago. In that year, Renee had become distant from everyone, including herself. It wasn't until she had met up with the Batman that Renee had actually started to feel purposeful again. She didn't want to lose her purpose. She wanted to die before she was nothing again. She was afraid.

"Because," was the simple answer. Renee finally looked up, past the mask and into the eyes of her new 'partner'. There was real desperation there, real caring. "You don't want to do this, Renee."

The bottle hit the floor, breaking the dead silence between the two, followed by loud, heartbreaking sobs.