11.
~ Gotham City Square was teaming with people. Selina felt uncomfortable surrounded by the bright lights and strange faces. She quickly slipped into an alleyway and hid herself atop one of the fire escapes. She had always preferred to perch high up and watch things from afar. When she spotted an ivory colored luxury car park in the fire lane, she knew it was her white knight.
Bruce must have come from home because it had taken him a long time to arrive at Gotham City Square. He wandered around the hoards of people looking for her when she jumped down and managed to catch him off guard. She had always loved sneaking up on him.
"Sorry I'm late." he said breezily. "Traffic was a mess. They closed the bridge and there's a huge back up."
"Yeah, go figure." Selina laughed.
As soon as the shock wore off, he had her in a warm, comforting hug. Selina took a second to breath in the nice smell of aftershave that always clung to his coat.
"Want to tell me where you've been hiding for the past few days? You called my phone and it was really weird, then I go by your place and you're gone." he said once they were safely inside the Bentley he was driving.
Selina secured her seatbelt and sighed.
"I really don't want to talk about it." she said after a long pause.
Bruce looked confused.
"It's been a long night." she admitted.
"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked sympathetically.
"No." she said quickly. "No, I don't want to go home."
"Alright."
"Can we just go back to your place? Hang out for a while? Watch old movies like we used to?" she asked.
Bruce pulled into traffic with ease. The Bentley was a pleasing cream color that stood out in a grey, dingy city. He smiled and nodded.
Selina relaxed back into the heated leather seats of his car. She relished the feel of being in Bruce's world again. A world where she was protected and pampered. A world she was always safe.
Even now, the rain didn't trouble her. Neither did the traffic. Bruce was a capable driver and the car shielded them both from the elements.
"I can ask Alfred to make duck in orange sauce." Bruce said as they drove past the closed bridge that lead to the Narrows.
Selina only smiled softly and closed her eyes.
~ She slept like the dead. Dreams didn't even find her, or of they did, they were fleeting and she remembered nothing. She woke up to Isis batting her softly on the nose. Playing with the breath she was pushing out in her sleep.
She had a hard time opening her eyes. It was too bright in this room. Her large south facing windows that overlooked the gardens of Wayne Manor.
She turned over and felt the softness of the high thread count sheets and the plushness of goose down feathers. She vaguely remembered Bruce picking her up and taking her home with him. Of the rain and the Freak blowing up Ivy's lab. What was Isis doing at Wayne Manor?
"Go away, cat." she whispered to the handsome black feline who just wanted attention.
She felt Bruce move beside her. His heavy arms wrapping around her hips and his breath tickling her ear as he kissed her good morning.
"He's been getting in somehow." Bruce whispered. "This house is so old, I'm sure he's found lots of old vents somewhere and has been coming and going as he pleases."
"How did he get here from my place?" she asked. She rolled over to see Bruce was half asleep. His normally combed hair was a delightful mess.
"When I couldn't find you, I brought him here. Alfred wasn't too happy. He hates cats." Bruce explained.
"You've been taking care of him?" Selina asked in surprise.
"Yes." Bruce said and closed his eyes. "It's still early, lets go back to sleep."
~ It was noon before Bruce woke up again. Selina was already gone from the bed, but the cat was still napping comfortably where she had been. That was proof she hadn't left Wayne Manor. He quickly went back to his old room and dressed for the day. Alfred, as always, was waiting to tell him of his disapproval.
"I see you didn't sleep in your own bed last night, Master Wayne." Alfred said in a stuffy voice. "I also see Miss Kyle is here for a visit."
"Nothing happened." Bruce said defensively. "We stayed up all night watch old movies. We just fell asleep in the same bed. That's all."
"It's not my business." Alfred said.
"You're right, it's not." Bruce snapped. "Where is Selina anyway?"
"She went for a walk." Alfred said.
Bruce nodded.
"Before you go to join her, perhaps you should see the news." Alfred said.
The old butler looked fairly smug as he flipped on the local station. It was the ungodly gossip show. The one that had catty "reporters" talking about the latest in celebrity news. They sounded like a bunch of middle school girls.
"Bruce Wayne was seen in Gotham City Square with another woman!" the reporter with the trendy hair style said.
Bruce felt queazy as a picture of him with his arm around Selina flashed on the screen.
"Several pictures of him with the mystery woman have turned up. Thank god for tourists with cell phone cameras! No world from Vicki Vale's camp on Bruce's new love interest. Bruce Wayne is turning into quite the playboy! It seems the rich can have it all."
"Vicki's not going to like this." Bruce said with a sigh. More pictures of him and Selina came on the screen. Bruce didn't know he could smile that wide. They looked for all the world to be the happiest of couples. Their heads were bent towards each other and they were smiling. No wonder the gossip show was having such a good day.
"I didn't mean that news." Alfred said. His voice playfully innocent. Bruce was sure that was exactly what he meant.
The Butler quickly changed the channel to a pre-recorded news conference featuring Harvey Dent. Bruce scowled when he saw the mug shot of Ivy and the banner flashing under Dent.
"The DA's office is releasing Miss Pepper today. After investigating the incident in the Narrows, we have determined she was a hostage of the fugitive Fish Moony. Miss Pepper will be working with my office to find her kidnapper and bring her to justice." Dent said.
"Ivy's been freed?" Bruce said in disbelief. "How could that happen?"
"Dent found no evidence she was involved. What happened last night, sir?" Alfred asked.
"The mind control." Bruce said quickly. "That's the only thing that makes sense. Ivy has some kind of mind control drug and she used it on Dent."
"Sir?" Alfred asked.
"We have to get Selina out of Gotham." Bruce said. "Ivy has Dent under her thumb and she'll get her revenge on whoever betrayed her. I've got to warn her."
Alfred grabbed Bruce's arm.
"And tell the lady what?" he demanded. "That you, Bruce Wayne, know all about Ivy and mind control drugs? She doesn't know about that side of you. She can't know."
Bruce had to take a second to realize that Alfred was right. If he told Selina now, she might figure out who he really was.
"Fine." Bruce said. "We leave the news report on. Let her see it. I've meet Ivy before so it will seem natural I would have an interest. We have to tell Gordon what's going on with Dent."
"It might not hurt to have me apprised of things as well, sir." Alfred said.
~ Ivy was a little disgusted with the sight of her lab. Harvey Dent was waiting for her, his expression dumb and eager to please.
'I'll run out of lipstick soon at the rate I have to keep kissing that fool.' she thought to herself. The plant she derived her mind control spray and lipstick was gone now. She had to figure her research was lost to. Only Selina would have known where the house was. Wherever that crafty cat was, she would pay.
"Come along Harvey, Dear." Ivy sang out happily. Harvey smiled and, puppy like, followed her back to the car.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"We're going to visit another one of my friends. He's going to help us." she said.
Harvey nodded and got into the passenger seat of the white Rolls Royce.
"Did I do alright?" he asked. "At the press conference?"
"You did perfect." Ivy said and kissed him on the lips again. she saw the dug from her lipstick transfer on to him and his eyes glaze over slightly.
Harvey nodded happily.
"Gordon's suspicious." he said.
"Gordon is just a humble detective." Ivy said with a false sweetness. "You're the DA. It was your call to charge me and you saw that I was just a victim."
"You were a victim." Harvey repeated.
"Now let's go. We have work to do, and it looks like it's going to rain." Ivy said darkly.
~ It was raining. Not an uncommon thing for Gotham, but Bruce was worried. Selina hadn't come in from her walk and he knew she hated to be out when it was pouring.
"Are you sure she went out for a walk?" Bruce accused Alfred.
"Of course." Alfred snapped back.
Bruce abandoned the safety of Wayne Manor for the storm outside. There was a pleasant hiking trail not far and he and Selina would both go there when they wanted to escape. The trail was muddy and dangerous now with the rain storm, but Bruce knew Selina would never leave her comfort zone of places to go.
He looked for her trade make black clothing, but the rain made things difficult.
Selina was sitting on a large rock when he finally found her. Her body soaking wet and shivering.
"Selina!" he shouted to her and she didn't respond. Bruce had to climb down a small hill and almost fell again before he reached her.
"Selina." he said angrily. "It's pouring. Why didn't you come back in?"
He saw her face was red with a fever and her eyes were glazed.
"Bruce." she whimpered. "Somethings wrong."
Bruce felt his heart start to pound. Something really was wrong. Her skin was hot to the touch and she was shivering. It wan't a cold from the summer storm either. Her eyes looked odd to. Like a film had descended over them to make her almost blind.
This had to be Ivy's work. The booby trap she had set. It must have been a delayed reaction. Selina could die at any second.
Without thinking, Bruce picked her up. His workouts and training had given him the upper body strength to lift her with ease.
Selina, oddly helpless, rested her head on his shoulder and curled her arms around his neck.
"I'm going to take you back to the house. Then we're going to the hospital." he whispered.
She nodded.
"I'm scared." she whispered.
He kissed her forehead and felt how burning hot she was.
"We'll fix it Selina. I promise." he swore.
~ END ~
DONT WORRY! This isn't the end. I just love making you suffer with a cliff hanger. Suffer! All of you Suffer! HA HA HA HA! BTW, how cute were little Bruce and Selina at that ball on Gotham last week? So sweet! I love them. It's why I'm not going to do any real sexy stuff yet. The actors are just kids and it's a little odd for me. I'll wait till they're older.