Renee brought the steaming mug of coffee up to her lips with now-steady hands. Silently, she took a long sip, allowing the boiling liquid to run down the back of her throat. She stared over the brim of the mug, at the man sitting across from her at the kitchen table. He was as still as a statue, staring intently back at her with that damned mask still over his eyes. Renee sighed and placed her mug on the table.
"I'm glad Val sent you," she muttered, breaking their eye contact. She never could stare him down.
"What makes you think she sent me?" he replied, his voice disguised. It almost bothered Renee that he didn't feel comfortable enough to reveal his identity to her, no matter how much he insisted it was for her own good.
"You wouldn't have come," she whispered, "If she hadn't told you, you would be at home right now. Am I right?" A large part of Renee wanted him to say no, although she knew he would tell her the truth.
"Yes," he said, confirming her theory. Renee leaned back in her chair, the palms of her hands pressed against the edges of the table. "But that doesn't mean I don't care," the gruff voice finished an earlier thought. Renee smiled softly and opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the shrill ringing of her cell phone. She pulled the small device out of the pocket of her jeans and looked at the caller ID. Immediately her face fell.
"It's Val," she whispered hoarsely. Val hadn't called her months. What if something terrible had happened? Renee's mind began to run in frantic circles. Her only distraction came when she felt her phone being snatched from her fingers. Renee snapped back to reality to see Batman flip open the mobile and answer with a rough hello.
The few moments that Batman spent on the phone were some of the tensest Renee had remembered experiencing in a long time. After what seemed like forever, she heard the phone snap shut and looked up at the man across the table. He suddenly looked very upset. Quite suddenly, he stood upright and headed to the window. Renee jumped up and followed after him.
"Where are you going?"
"Val needs our help," he replied, beginning to climb past the curtains. Renee felt as though the world was moving too fast for things to be real. Instinctively she reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Aren't you going to take me with you?" she muttered, her thoughts lingering on the dozens of things that could be wrong with Val.
"Hold on tight." And with those words, Renee suddenly felt herself flying through the night sky. And she found herself not liking it one bit.
-----*
Val was pacing. Two steps, turn, two steps; all very routine. And as she paced, Val chewed her lip thoughtfully. The trouble with her sight was that no vision ever came twice. She would never see that poor women ever again. Part of her was grateful, but a larger part wished she had paid more attention to the locale of her vision. Sure, she knew it was dark and damp, but that described more than half of Gotham; hardly useful evidence.
Suddenly, Val was struck with an idea. Maybe she couldn't have the same vision twice, but that didn't mean she couldn't see that same person more than once. All she needed was a trigger. She thought back to her awful vision, thinking of anything that could help her. And then, it hit her. Roses. The girl's face was painted with roses.
Val was out of the apartment just a moment before a dark creature swooped through her window carrying a worn out looking girl.