I do not own Batman. Sucks, don't it? I do own Eleanor Black and all the other characters and plot points that aren't part of the movie. Rated T for the same reasons the movie was rated PG-13. Enjoy.

Chances Are…
Chapter Seven: Hong Kong via Audio Amongst the Ballerinas.

The private jet touched down on the small runway and glided smoothly to a stop beside a small, very white building standing in a clearing surrounded by the tall palms. I looked out the small, round window and felt my mouth gape out a little. The sky was a deep, clear blue above the bright green leaves of the palms, and between the dark trunks, I caught glimpses of aquamarine water, the waves breaking white against the pale, pale sand. I waited for the ballerinas and a smiling Bruce to exit the plane before I gathered up my things and followed Alfred into the inviting sunlight. I had been to the Caribbean once when I was about six, but those memories paled in comparison to what stretched out around the small airport. Leave it to Bruce to pick the perfect island for his vacation house.

"It's quite the sight, isn't it Ms. Black?"

I turned to Alfred, opened my mouth to tell him to call me by my first name, but closed it before any words came out. The butler wasn't going to change his ways, and something about the surroundings I found myself in was taking away my desire to fight. This was a good thing. Maybe I would be able to survive the company of many, many ballerinas easier when the sun was shining and warm… Or maybe I'd survive because I spent the whole time in front of the audio/visual equipment I'd brought from Gotham instead of socializing. Who knew?

"It's beautiful," I replied after taking it all in.

The butler and I trailed after the parade of dancers and Playboy Bruce, and the airport staff followed behind us, carrying the vast quantity of luggage we'd stored on the plane; I had to smile as the youngest-looking attendant struggled with the cases containing the audio equipment. After a short hike through the trees, our party emerged next to the water and a long, thin dock that, although the wood was obviously aged, was well-maintained. There were several speed boats tied up and waiting for us, all of them except one with someone behind the wheel. That was the boat Alfred and I climbed in to, Alfred offering his hand as I attempted to crawl into the gently rocking boat, and keeping me from falling on my butt in front of all the graceful ballerinas. As I settled into my seat, one of the dancers slipped on the dock and I allowed myself a smug little grin, although her stumble had nothing to do with her lack of balance and everything to do with the water on the well-worn wooden planks. Alfred caught my expression and gave me a small smile in return. It was likely Alfred was saying a silent thank you that I hadn't laughed out loud. Man, would I have enjoyed that.

The boats all roared to life, churned water foaming white around the dock. Bruce's boat pulled away first. He was sitting on the bench at the back of the boat, ballerinas leaning on him, his arms around their shoulders and his playboy smile shining brilliantly on his face. He was a great actor, and his playboy façade was always real and believable, but I had seen the other side and ever since then, it all looked kind of ridiculous. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes and then caught the side of the boat as we started moving to keep myself from tumbling out of my seat. I managed to get soaked by the spray.

"Thanks Alfred," I said as the butler chuckled.

"Not at all, Ms. Black."

It took around twenty minutes to drive around the island to the secluded spot where Bruce's island house was situated. I had never been there before, but I had seen pictures, and I must admit that I was excited to see it in real life. The house sat right on the beach in a little cove, surrounded by trees and island vegetation. There were flowers everywhere, red and pink and orange and yellow, and they stood out in stark contrast to the many shades of green. The house itself was bright white—I had no idea how the staff kept it so clean—and made up of five buildings surrounding the main house, all of them connected by pale wooden walkways and porches. It would probably look something like a wheel from the air. Everything was on stilts, suspended above the sand, to protect the house from high tide and allowing a vast variety of plant and animal life to take root under the house.

I was in awe. My mouth was gaping again.

"Come on Ms. Black. I'll show you to your room."

I nodded and followed Alfred, my head spinning around like a top as we moved. There was too much to take in; I was going to have to spend some time after I set up the equipment wandering around. The guest house where my room was located was at the back of the complex, nestled in the trees and far enough away from the other buildings that I could pretend I wasn't in this romantic place with the entire Moscow Ballet. There were only two bedrooms and bathrooms in the building, one for Alfred and one for myself; it was a relatively small building in comparison to the others, and I think it was the smallest in the complex. My bedroom was at the back of the building. Three of the walls were normal, but the forth wall was completely glass. There was a nearly invisible door to one side, leading out to a private patio where a lounge chair sat beside a small, low table. From that window, I would be able to watch the sun set over the water.

After getting over my shock and awe of the place, I dropped my luggage on the bed and headed to the closet door in the farthest corner of the room. Business before pleasure. It was empty and big enough to fit all the equipment I'd need to keep in touch with everyone. There were bugs on Bruce and Lucius, and I was planning on keeping an eye on the news from Gotham, just in case the Joker decided to do something terrible while we were out of town. As I was unpacking my clothes and shoving them into the dresser, there was a knock on the door.

Without waiting for an invitation, Bruce opened it and stood in the doorway, a placid look on his face. The two large cases containing the audio equipment were behind him. He picked up one of them and brought it into the room, setting in on the hardwood floor at the foot of the bed. I tried to get the second one, but it was so heavy I could barely lift it, and Bruce relieved me of the burden as soon as I'd straightened my back. It was probably just as well; I would have given myself a hernia trying to carry the thing.

"Do you remember how to set it all up?" he asked, once the cases were both in the room.

I nodded and plunked myself down on the bed; the thick comforter gave a whoosh as I sat down and the air rushed out. "And if I forget something, Alfred is right across the hall. How did you get away from the ballerinas?" I asked, changing the subject away from my potential incompetence.

A small smile flickered across Bruce's face and he gave a shrug that gave away nothing. The expression was one of Bruce's "real" expressions, one of the moments when the real him slipped through. "I just told them I wanted to make sure everyone found their rooms okay, which seemed to be a good enough reason for them. They were all more interested in unpacking and going down to the water before we eat, anyway."

Again, I nodded. "This place is beautiful," I said. It was more just for something to say to break the tense silence I could feel starting. When we weren't talking about work, and he wasn't wearing his daytime mask, Bruce and I had some trouble communicating.

"It is, but I could never come down here for more than a couple days."

"Clearly." I offered him a smile then. He was talking about Batman, and I supposed to support Batman one-hundred percent. I did support Batman one-hundred percent, but seeing this place, seeing what Bruce Wayne could have if he really was the billionaire playboy he pretended to be… well, it made me wonder if Rachel had a point. No, no, no.

"You can come down here whenever you want."

I started as his voice cut through my thoughts, and looked up into his hazel eyes. "Really?" It was the last thing I'd expected him to say. Of course, even if I accepted the offer, I probably wouldn't be down there much, if at all. It was a beautiful, gorgeous house on a breathtaking island, but my place—or the place I had made for myself—was in Gotham, in front of Batman's computers and at Bruce's side as his assistant. Even if Bruce wasn't really sure I belonged there, I knew I did, and I wasn't leaving. So, when Bruce confirmed he was serious about his offer, I just nodded and took it in stride. "You'd better get back to the girls, Brucie," I said, using the nickname I'd heard the aforementioned dancers use.

That earned me a dissatisfied look. "I guess so."

He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before turning and heading back out into the hall. That electricity I had felt whenever he touched me returned and jolted through my body. I blushed and was glad his back was turned.

After I had unpacked all my things which weren't related to Batman, I set about unpacking the sophisticated equipment and hooking it up. For some reason, there was a wall socket inside the closet, so I was able to get all the wires and everything into the space, which was more than I had hoped. As I was hooking cables up, checking reception and all that fun stuff, I wondered what Gotham would be like if anyone noticed the Batman's absence. I mean, it wasn't like there was news of Batman every day, but it was getting close to that. Someone was bound to notice there were no terrified thugs running through the city, trying to escape the big bad Bat. Or maybe that was just me… Hm. Rachel was sure to notice, but she'd get that something was up the moment she saw the article about Bruce taking the entire ballet to the Caribbean. As much as I disliked her, she wasn't stupid.

When all the equipment intended for the closet was set up, I put the portable stuff into one of the cases and found I could lift it without hurting myself. If I got everything set up tonight while the other guests were being all girly and beach-loving, then I could just waltz down to the yacht with the rest of them in the morning and no one would know any different.

I made it halfway to the dock before the crate became too heavy and I nearly dropped all that expensive equipment on the walkway beneath me.

Of all the people who could have possibly come to my aid, Natasha was the one who appeared around the corner. She took in the sight of me struggling quickly, her pink lips forming a small "O" in surprise. "Let me help you," she said. She took one end of the case in her arms, the shift in weight allowing me to stand up straight again. "What are you carrying in here?"

"Oh, just some stuff Bruce wanted on the yacht tomorrow," I said.

"It feels like there are rocks in this case."

"Yeah, well, such is the life of a roadie."

"Roadie?"

I sighed as we started moving, walking awkwardly sideways towards the dock. "Nevermind. So, why aren't you down at the beach with the rest of the dancers?"

"I do not feel like swimming right now, and I wanted to have a look around this beautiful island. You know Bruce well, have you ever been here before?"

I was surprised at the tone in her voice. She sounded actually curious. We made it onto the dock and then onto the massive boat before I answered. "No," I said. "I've never been here before, but I'm thinking of coming here again sometime. You're right: this place is beautiful." We manoeuvred the case into one of the compartments in the hull of the ship. "Thanks for the help, Natasha."

"You are welcome," she said, but she didn't leave right away.

"I can set this up by myself."

"I will wait on the deck of the ship for you."

I nodded, guessing that was the best I was going to get. Natasha was a curious woman, like me, so I could respect it, but man, did it get annoying when you were trying to do something covert. In a moment of sudden clarity, I suddenly saw myself from Bruce's eyes as I kept trying to push myself into Batman's world. It was a little too late for the realizations however, as I had what I wanted now: I was a part of Batman's world. I had weaseled my way in and latched on. I wasn't going anywhere. The most I could do with this realization was apologize. That's what I would do if I found an opportunity.

It didn't take very long to set up the receivers, hook them up to my laptop and make sure everything worked. I'd brought the headset from the Batbunker, so I hooked that in as well. When I was finished, there were so many wires that the table in the small room looked like it was covered in black snakes. Satisfied that everything was properly hooked up and wouldn't slide off the table as the boat rocked with the waves, I ascended the stairs and found the blonde ballerina standing near the edge, gazing out at the bright blue water. The light was fading, but everything still sparkled as brilliantly as it had when we'd stepped off the plane.

"How long have you known Bruce?" she asked upon sensing my presence; I hadn't thought I'd made any noise. She was good.

"All my life. Why?"

"Has he always been so… guarded?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. I thought I knew what she was getting at, but this was territory dangerously close to the Big Secret. "What exactly do you mean?"

"He acts like he is brainless, but it is clear he is very smart. Has he always been like this? Hiding who he truly is?"

I bit my cheek harder, a trickle of blood running along my tongue and down my throat. "Uh…" I said, trying to buy myself a moment to think. "Well, he's been like that since he was eight or nine, I'd guess. It's hard to remember exactly when he changed."

"And yet you remain his friend?"

This part was easy. I shrugged with one shoulder and leaned on the railing beside her. "Everyone needs friends, Natasha. I can handle the new Bruce. I can see… all of him. I accept all of him. So yeah, I'm still his friend."

"This is good of you."

"Don't say that." She didn't know the real reasons I held on so tightly. She didn't know how selfish I was actually being. I forgot how selfish I was being sometimes. I didn't think Bruce ever forgot, but he never said anything about it. "I'm his friend, but the reasons… They get complicated."

"I will not press further, Eleanor."

"Thank you."

We headed back to the house, chatting idly about nothing important. She asked about Gotham and Batman and my job at Wayne Enterprises, and I asked about the ballet and dance lessons and Russia. We found Bruce, and the rest of the Moscow Ballet seated around a long dining table with a huge spread of food laid out before them. Alfred was nowhere to be seen. Bruce was sitting at the head of the table, and the chairs on either side of him were empty, so Natasha sat down on his left and I on his right. I didn't speak through most of dinner, as the ballerinas, well… they did enough talking for everyone at the table. They did enough talking for about three tables full of people.

After we had cleared the last dishes of their delicious offerings, I said goodnight to Bruce before heading back to my room. We were heading out on the boat at ten, and the plane which would take Bruce to Hong Kong would be arriving at noon, and I wanted to get some sleep. For once, I didn't have anything to do that would keep me up into the wee hours of the morning, so I shut the blinds over the glass wall and climbed under the blankets, looking forward to the ten plus hours of sleep before me.

Which didn't come.

I tossed and turned for two hours before climbing out of bed and walking out onto the patio. The heat of the day had evaporated to a comfortable level, and there was a soft breeze blowing around the island. The Caribbean at night was another breathtaking sight. All the bright colours had been darkened, but no less saturated; the pinks and reds showed through the darkness. All the green had turned to black and the sand was silver beneath the house. I closed my eyes and sighed. It was peaceful. I just wished I could sleep.

Eventually, I turned back into the room and pulled a pair of jean shorts on underneath the extremely large t-shirt I'd been sleeping in before following my previous path towards the main house and beyond, before heading down to the beach. Just as I reached the water, and the first waves lapped over my bare feet, there was a rustling in the trees beside me. In one of those rare, perfect moments, a cloud of bats erupted from the dark trees and flew off, the sound of the leathery wings pounding the air oddly comforting. I tilted my head back and laughed as the familiar black shapes flew away.

"You can't sleep either?"

I whirled around and smiled at Bruce, all the awkwardness from earlier gone with the light. "I didn't know there were bats in the Caribbean."

Bruce jumped off the patio and landed noiselessly in the sand. "There are bats all over the world."

"I guess I should do some more research, then." I took a few steps backwards, until the water hit me at mid-calf. "I guess I shouldn't have expected to get any sleep. I haven't been to bed before midnight in ages."

"You can change that, at any time," Bruce said. He was standing at the very edge of the water, his feet barely getting wet. "I know you don't want to, but you can. I won't think any less of you. And I trust you to keep my secret."

"Thanks Bruce, but I like doing what I'm doing. I didn't like sleeping that much, anyway." I took another step backwards and my foot hit something slippery, but I managed to catch myself and keep from falling, even if I had to use an unattractive bit of flailing to do so. Once I had righted myself, I had the urge to express the apology I realized I owed him, but I didn't. I took another step backwards, slipped and fell on my ass in the water. Karma's a bitch.

"Are you all right?" Bruce asked with more than a hint of laughter in his voice. He was suddenly standing beside me, his hand reaching down towards me.

I took his hand and let him hoist me to my feet. "Oh ha ha," I snapped as I took in his barely suppressed grin. "Very funny. I fell on my butt in the water. Sooo funny." I did my best to storm angrily back to the beach, but I slipped again. Bruce caught me, his arm around my waist. I blushed and tried to ignore the electricity running through my body, and I was glad it was dark so Bruce couldn't see.

"You should head back to your room and try to get some sleep," he said when we reached the sand.

"I'll try."

"Don't want you falling asleep while you're supposed to be watching my back."

I gave him my best version of his glare. "Oh, like you need anyone watching your back. I'm just support. Your personal, living computer, if you will."

Bruce smiled at me, a genuine, warm smile. It only lasted a second. "Tomorrow is important. I need to get Lau back to Gotham. He's the key to bringing down the mob, and once I bring them under control, I can focus on the Joker. I can get him off the street and stop him from hurting anyone else. From killing anyone else." His eyes turned hard, but like the smile, it only lasted for a second. "You've made yourself a part of this, Eleanor; you've set yourself up to help. You can't give anything less than one-hundred percent."

I closed the distance between myself and Bruce and jabbed my finger into his chest, screwing my features into a more serious glare. "I have never given anything less, Bruce, and I know tomorrow is important. I know you need to get Lau back to Gotham so Harvey and Gordon can take care of him." My face softened of its own accord and I fought to keep the tiny flame of anger alive. "Give me some credit."

"Good night, Eleanor."

I watched him walk away and swallowed my scream.

The next morning, after managing to get a few solid hours of sleep, the ballerinas, Bruce, Alfred and I trekked down to the boat, luggage for the day in hand. The crew of the yacht were already hard at work. The Russian dancers all found a spot to stretch out and catch some sun; some managed to grab chairs while others just found a spot that was flat. Bruce found a lounge chair close to the side and Alfred grabbed a more straight-backed chair next to his charge. I climbed on top of some part of the boat I didn't know the name of and stretched out, trying to ignore how pale my legs looked.

As the boat pulled away from the island, I looked at my watch and said to Bruce, "Lucius will be landing in Hong Kong soon, and then the helicopter will take him to LSI Holdings." He just nodded, Playboy Mode still in full gear. That meant he was acting like he wasn't paying any attention to me. I sighed and took it. "I'm going downstairs," I muttered. "I guess I'll see you when we get back to Gotham." I didn't wait for a response.

The "basement" of the boat looked smaller in the light than it had at night, and much more cramped. I wedged my way past a crewman and settled myself in front of my little set up. Nothing had moved, but as I had set up in the dark, some of the equipment needed to be rearranged.

With everything the way I wanted it, I pulled the familiar headset on and started everything up, keying into the bug I had on Lucius. It was this nifty little invention that allowed him to hear me and me to hear him. Ever heard of it? "How's it going Mr. Fox?" I asked. As I settled into the mode of existence I'd employed for the past few months, I reflected on how strange it was to be doing my work for Batman while sitting somewhere there was a window.

"Everything is going fine, Eleanor. The helicopter is just touching down at the airport now. I'll be en route to LSI Holdings in twenty minutes."

"Excellent. Everything is on schedule."

I listened to the accented voices of Lau's employees as they ushered Lucius and his luggage onto the helicopter. My ability to hear what was going on was obscured by the racket of the machine as it whirred to life. Another roaring reached my ears, but the source of the new noise was much closer to home. I leaned back and pressed the side of my face against the glass of the porthole to see what was going on. A large plane had just landed in the water a little ways away from the boat. There was a splash and someone who could only be Bruce began to swim towards the vehicle.

Now everything was ahead of schedule.

Exxxcellent.

I turned on my laptop as I waited for all the aviation-related noise to quiet down and keyed in the websites for my favourite Gotham news stations. There was no word about the Joker or the mob for that matter. No one had noticed Batman was gone either, which was good. I had an e-mail from my mother, wanting to know what Hong Kong was like, and I quickly sent her a reply saying I didn't have time to explore while I was in meetings. My inbox was filled with the usual assortment of junk and business-related messages. I cleared them quickly, and just as I was getting rid of the last piece of electronic mail, a voice crackled over my headset.

"I've arrived at LSI Holdings, Eleanor. The device is in place."

"Thank you." A light blinked at me from the assortment of machinery. I flicked a switch so I could listen in on what Bruce was hearing. A lot of noise, apparently. "Everything going all right boss?" I asked, smiling as I pictured him rolling his eyes.

"So far."

"Lucius says the device is in place in LSI Holdings."

"Good." There was a pause, where all I heard was static above the roar of the plane's engines. "Why don't you go and get some sun, Eleanor? Nothing's going to happen for a while yet. I'll contact you when I get to Hong Kong."

"All right. I don't need to listen to Lucius shut Lau down, then?"

"No. You can actually relax."

"Wow, really? Awesome. Talk to you in a bit, then."

Before Bruce could make any comment about me having all the time I wanted to relax, I returned the headset to the table before pulling off my shorts and tossing them in my bag. I pulled out my blue wrap with the flowers and tied it around my hips. It clashed horribly with my red bathing suit. Awesome.

The high altitude jump from the plane went smoothly. It was exhilarating to plummet through the air towards the Hong Kong harbour; like the physical labour of renovating the caves beneath Wayne Manor or moving around Gotham as Batman, it made me feel alive. I pulled the 'chute and hit the cold water. After slipping out of the flight harness, I swam to shore and hoisted myself onto the dock, pulling the water proof bag containing a change of clothes and out after me. Dripping wet, I stood on the dock for a moment to orient myself. It had been a long time since I'd been in Hong Kong. I didn't remain long, however, as it wouldn't do well to be noticed, not when I was going to such great lengths to remain inconspicuous. Bruce Wayne was supposed to be in the Caribbean on vacation with the Moscow Ballet.

After finding a public locker where I could stash the bag and a place where I could change from the flight suit into something more suitable for a tourist, I headed into the city towards the LSI Holdings complex. I had arranged to meet Lucius on the suspended walkway outside the buildings. I had a camera in my hands and was snapping pictures of the buildings and people and anything that was even remotely interesting and served to kill time as I waited for Lucius. The camera actually belonged to Eleanor. It was an expensive digital model, and it hadn't been used since last year, since before she'd become Batman's assistant or whatever she was calling herself now. She had been more than happy to brush the dust off her camera and donate it to my tourist disguise.

"How's the tourist life?" Eleanor suddenly asked, voice cracking through my head as the system connected over the lengthy distance. She had a knack for appearing in one way or another at the exact moment I thought of her.

"Crowded."

"What? You don't like the crowds?"

It was her being sarcastic, and it made me roll my eyes. "Not particularly. I see Lucius," I said. She took the cue and remained quiet, but I knew she would be listening. I had told her she could relax earlier, and she probably had, but it had been several hours, so she was no doubt itching to get back at it.

"How's the view?" the older man asked me.

"Fine. How's the view at LSI Holdings?"

"Restricted. Lau's walled up in there nice and tight." Lucius offered a friendly smile and handed me what looked like an ordinary cell phone. "I put the other device in place, but this is something I thought you might be interested in. I had R&D cook it up. It sends out high frequencies and records the response time to map an environment. In this case, Lau's offices."

I peered down at the display and felt myself smile. "Sonar. Just like a b—"

"Submarine. Like a submarine."

I heard Eleanor laughing in my head. "Sonar." She laughed harder, her normally loud laugh cut by the electronics she was speaking over. "Oh, tell Lucius that was genius."

"Eleanor likes this," I said, holding up the phone.

Lucius' smile was a knowing one. "I thought she might."

I spent the rest of the day behaving like a tourist, and a part of me had to admit I enjoyed the change of pace. My mind was never completely off the reason I was in Hong Kong, but for the few hours I wandered around the city, I was able to push my goal of getting Lau back to Gotham back a little. Eleanor's absence from my head—she'd gone to check on Alfred and the ballerinas after making sure I wouldn't be bored without company—helped achieve this, since, even though she had a tendency to talk about nothing when left to her own devices, her voice in my ear reminded me of the mission at hand. She was as much a part of Batman's world now, and no matter how hard I tried to push her away, to keep her distant for her own safety, she continued to come back and somehow worm her way deeper into the fabric of my alter ego's world.

All that faded as the sun sank below the skyscrapers and Hong Kong fell into night.

After retrieving the waterproof bag from the locker where I'd stored it, I took the elevator of the building I'd chosen to infiltrate LSI Holdings from to one of the upper levels comprised of a food court for the employees of what I could guess was a fairly substantial company. From there, I took the stairs and found a deserted access way to the roof on the side closest to Lau's building. Away from the security cameras and prying eyes, and hidden behind an odd piece of architecture on top of the mirrored skyscraper, I changed into the new Batsuit and faced LSI Holdings as Batman.

I reached around to the back of my belt and retrieved two square pieces, painted matte black like almost everything else I was wearing, from underneath the hard case containing the cape rigged to function like a hang glider's sail. They unfolded and connected to become a powerful hydraulic launcher. Before shooting the adhesive-coated explosives, I turned the timer's dial to two and half minutes and fired down at the shorter building. I disassembled the launcher, returned it to my belt and pushed myself to my feet. Staring at the building below me, I pressed the button on my phone that would call the phone/jamming device Lucius had left inside earlier that day.

Then I jumped off the side of the building.

At the moment I became completely airborne, the static telling my Eleanor was listening appeared in my ears. She remained quiet. She knew what I was doing and knew better than to interrupt, but I still wished she would have waited to listen in. Listening to me fight made her worry, and when she worried, she made small whimpering noises I was sure she didn't even know she was making. They were… distracting.

When I was still higher in the air than LSI Holdings, I pressed my thumb and baby finger together, sending the charge to the backpack containing the cape. The material unfurled itself and as the current hit it, became rigid and in the shape of wings, allowing me to glide around the building until I was level with the floor Lau's office was on and I could dive through the window, startling a man who was already tightly wound.

I rolled to my feet, grabbed the man's wrist to keep him from firing his gun and used my momentum to push him backwards through a glass wall. Before he could regain his footing, I slammed my elbow into his neck and the underside of his chin, knocking him unconscious. As he crumpled to the ground, I dove to the floor to avoid gunshots from behind. As I knew would happen, I could hear Eleanor on the other end, reacting to the gunshots and the noises of breaking glass. In a moment of silence, she informed me the Hong Kong police were on their way to LSI Holdings. I didn't respond, and the bit of information did not affect my plan; the police would not reach the building in time.

A series of well-placed punches and jabs later, I found myself standing with my back to the windows the explosives were attached to, Lau in a stranglehold in my arms and the Hong Kong police in front of me, guns out. The man leading the police was shaking, a fine sheen of sweat covering his face, and I was betting, the palms of his hands, wrapped around his gun. I stared at him through the cowl as I wrapped the Sky Hook beacon around Lau. As the windows blew out behind me in a flash of heat and flame, I pressed the button, releasing the balloon into the night sky. Almost immediately, a loud thrumming filled the air. The police all ducked instinctively and I felt Lau try to do the same, but found the motion impossible thanks to my arm and the fact that the plane grabbed the beacon, pulling Lau and myself out of the building and up towards the open back of the plane.

We struck the floor of the cargo bay of the plane, my left shoulder taking most of the impact. Before Lau could gather his senses enough to try and get away, I pulled his hands behind his back and tied his wrists with plastic handcuffs and injected him with a sedative to knock him out for the ride back to Gotham.

"Everything go as planned?" Eleanor's voice was quiet and I knew she was afraid I was injured.

"Yes. And I'm fine."

"I didn't ask."

"You didn't have to."

She paused, the silence heavy. I heard something shifting around and then she sighed. "You're sure your okay? You're not acting all big and tough to impress me, right?" she asked, her tone sarcastic, more like herself.

That made me smile. "I'm fine," I said again.

"Well, if you're sure. I guess I'll see you when I get back to Gotham tomorrow. Then we'll have to get ready for the party."

"I'll store the suit in the panic room myself."

"Okay. I'll remember to bring the police scanner so I can keep an ear on things. I don't want to miss something important because I'm dressed up and pretending to be having a good time instead of down in the bunker, doing my job."

"Good." I was quiet for a moment and then said, "Have a safe flight home, Ellie."

"See you soon."

The earpiece went dead and I was alone with my thoughts, the noise and feeling of the plane around me, the distant electronic noises and Korean voices from the cockpit and the soft mumbling Lau was making from his position leaning against the opposite wall of the plane. I was itching to remove the cowl, but didn't and instead focused on the party Eleanor had mentioned.

Tomorrow night I would be holding the fundraiser I'd promised to hold for Harvey Dent. Harvey would be there, and so would Rachel, but she would coming as his date. I did support what Harvey stood for—ridding Gotham of the mob and fighting to bring the crime rate down—but really, I wanted to impress Rachel. I wanted her to see that I was trying to find a way to get Gotham to a point where Batman was no longer needed. I wanted her to see that I was serious about putting The Dark Knight of Gotham City behind me so we could be together. And really, I just wanted to see her. Since she'd started dating Dent and because I had my public image to keep up, I rarely saw her anymore. Once Batman was no longer needed—once Harvey Dent succeeded—that would all change.

A thought came unwarranted into my head then: Eleanor. Eleanor, who was so supportive of Batman, who was rearranging her life to help me fight crime, who would be so beyond furious if I gave up Batman. I loved Rachel, and I could be with Rachel once Batman was gone, but Eleanor… she complicated things.

Author's Note.

So clearly I'm a liar about updating this fic, but… you're just going to have to deal with it. I'm kind of excited to write the next chapter. Mostly because Ellie gets to go to the party with Bruce. Fun times.

By the way, this chapter was a PAIN IN THE ASS. I think I rewrote most of it at least twice because it just wasn't coming out the way I wanted it to. My muses have all gone and left. I need to get them back PRONTO. Or there is going to be a bloody pile of messy, fleshy bits sitting where this author sits now…

So not much happens in this chapter. Hm… How come it's so long then? Goood question. Okay, so it's not that nothing happens, it's that a lot of it is just… boring stuff. Blarg. And writing from Bruce's point of view is haaard. I don't wanna do it anymooore. (As you can tell from the much shorter portion of the chapter from his eyes.) But I have to, because I'm not going to make you read the entire fic from Ellie's eyes. I love Ellie, but she's my OC and I'm respectful that people don't generally want to read something that completely centres on OCs. I get that and I'm trying to avoid it, but sometimes, it's hard, and sometimes, you end up with mediocre writing like the stuff from Bruce's POV. Forgive me, please. I'm trying. Also, the problem with writing this section of the movie from Bruce's POV is that I tried to add some more details into it, to explain what happened. And, in a couple cases, not even my severely warped brain could come up with a good explanation.

Oh, and FYI, it's called a portable internet stick. Or something like that.

So, anyway.

I watched The Dark Knight the other day for the first time in six months (trust me, that's a long time for me not to watch that movie) and I forgot how much the dialogue at the end of the movie moved me. It is seriously, seriously, the most powerful dialogue I've ever heard in a movie. Especially Gordon's speech at the end. It brings me to tears and gives me shivers every time I watch it. The writing, the music… Guh. It all just works so well together.

Listen to me, the super fangirl… That's why they call me The Batchild, ladies and gents.

Oh and by the way, the current in the gloves actually does exist. It's in Batman Begins and also in one of the movie guides I got for that movie. I promise I didn't make that up. It's how he makes the cape rigid so he can glide and stuff.

Okay, enjoy this chapter! Nine chapters left! Although, they probably won't all be this long. But I can try.

Epic author's note right there. That's just how I roll… Me and Acting Wensign Esley Crusher.

Next Chapter: The Trust Fund Brigade.