"Marcia . . . hi." Natalie spoke in the most cheerful voice she could muster that next morning as she stood behind her counter at the First National Bank of Gotham. The look that the curvaceous, redheaded Marcia Scott hit her with, could probably have been described as nothing short of the biggest bitch-face that Natalie had ever come into contact with.

"You still work here?" She asked with a sniff and an upturned nose, and Natalie smiled and gave a nod, as well a tight smile.

"Yes, I still work here. And for some reason, I get the feeling that I'm supposed to apologize to you for that?" Her eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion that had Marcia rolling her eyes and unzipping her expensive leather bag so that she could withdraw two checks from within the black space.

"I need to cash these."

"Fine. Cash or deposit?"

"The big one deposit, the small one, cash."

Natalie nodded as she spoke – all the while trying her damndest to ignore how much more money Marcia made than she did. Or was that her alimony check? Either way, it had a lot of zeros and Natalie was jealous, especially after the news she had just been dealt the previous day. "You know your account number?"

She nodded. "Yeah, right here . . ." She slid a post-it across the marble countertop scribbled with a bunch of numbers. Natalie nodded and quickly typed it in before sliding it back across to her. Silence pervaded the space between them, then – awkwardly and uncomfortably – and eventually, Marcia was the one who broke it.

"How's . . . how's Blake?"

Natalie nodded. "Good. He's gunning for a promotion into the detective rank. If he gets it, then we're hopefully getting a bigger apartment." They'd have to, now, in order to support Gam Gam moving in with them.

"And a ring?" Marcia asked with an upturned brow, and Natalie paused in her typing to shoot a glance her way.

"Possibly. We've certainly talked about it. But the way our finances are going this year, I doubt if it'll lead to that." She spoke, somewhat clipped, before returning to what she had been doing. Marcia sighed and looked away, although Natalie had caught the look of distaste on the statuesque woman's face.

"You know, when he told me he had a roommate, I didn't know it was you." She told her, and Natalie gave a little smile and a shrug.

"And you probably had no idea that he just using you because he couldn't get me at the time. Ooh, how much that must boil you inside!"

Natalie shot him a look of amusement over her bowl of cereal that morning. "She rated you a five, tough guy. You're losin' your touch!"

He shook his head and shot her a grin as he readied his coffee. "Naw, Nat. She just wasn't the one I wanted."

Marcia smiled a tight smile. "Well, I can certainly admit defeat. Don't know why he wanted you instead of me, but all's well that ends well, I suppose. I wish the both of you happiness." She spoke, sounding much more genuine than Natalie would have expected. She paused then and turned a furrowed brow up onto her.

"Really?" She asked, and Marcia nodded.

"Of course. Who is John Blake anyway in the grand scheme of things? There's a lot more men out there than one might think." She asked with a nonchalant shrug and a laugh. Natalie gave a slow nod.

"Other, of course, than the one who got away?"

Marcia's eyebrow rose in a very condescending look. She opened her mouth to speak, but a sudden and very loud screeching sound coming from outside, interrupted her. Both their eyes widening, they turned their gazes onto the glass front of the bank. Natalie felt her friend and fellow bank teller come to stand beside her, and she and Kai glanced at each other before returning their eyes onto the sudden smoke that was filling up the windows. They watched as the security guard, Officer Mack, inched towards the doors, his fellow officers on his heels and every one of them on high alert.

"I wonder what's happening." Kai murmured, and Marcia shook her head.

"Maybe . . . maybe there was a car accident?"

"With that much smoke?" Natalie spoke, and this time, Kai and Marcia both gave a shrug.

"Or a burst water main. It's been known to happen from time to time." Kai suggested next and both Natalie and Marcia shook their heads. Natalie knew it wasn't either of those things, but didn't say anything, and she knew Marcia was thinking the same thing. Her heart pounding madly in her chest, told her it wasn't anything nearly that innocent. And as people began running down the sidewalks and down Broadway, screaming, the three women stiffened and an air of palpable fear took hold of the bank as everyone froze in place. Whatever was going on, wasn't good.

A loud explosion split through the air at that moment, and the three women screamed and cringed away from the blast as choking gray smoke filled the air. Glass from the doors and windows, as well as marble from the walls and the ceiling, blew everywhere and rained down from the ceiling. The heavy sound of boots crunching on glass, filled the air next, alongside the coughing and sobbing from those who had been caught unawares by the blast. Men filled the space wearing army fatigues and carrying what looked like automatic rifles. Was it the military? No . . . no, these guys were too mean looking for the military, and besides . . . why would the military be needed on Broadway Street in Gotham?

"Everyone freeze!" One of the soldiers called out in an accented voice that neither one of the women could immediately place. It sounded Middle Eastern, though, as well as his swarthy looks, but they didn't pay attention for long. As people placed all around the bank immediately froze in horror, another man entered, silently but alert, and immediately commanded everyone's attention.

The man was massive – easily one of the biggest men Natalie had ever seen in her life. Built like a bull on two legs, his entire body seemed bigger than the equivalent on most men, as well as a being of pure muscle full of inert energy and raw power. His eyes were cold and alert as he stepped into the building, but the most frightening thing about him, wasn't the way he held himself, but the mechanical . . . thing that was strapped to his head like some twisted, roundabout head crab from Half Life (thanks Blake).

He scanned the area, his eyes skipping over his men and many of the people there, but they lingered when they fell onto her. She swallowed hard and her breathing deepened underneath his suddenly intense gaze. It was almost as if he was delving into her very soul with that gaze – seeing what made her tick – what exactly had happened to her that made her become the woman she was at that moment. A look of interest passed across his face before something else joined it – something intensely darker.

Kai obviously sensed his gaze on her friend, as well, and readily allowed her to take her hand and thread their fingers together. And suddenly, Natalie felt like she was a woman staring down a bull, terrified to break its gaze lest the beast suddenly decided to charge her. He terrified her and not necessarily in a phobic, 'I'll Run Away' kind of way. It was a deep seated primal terror – the kind of terror you only got when you witnessed someone killing another or when you were faced with the terrifying reality that you were . . . going to die.

She swallowed hard when it occurred to her that one of those things were going to happen now that he was here. One or both.

After a moment, he raised an arm and pointed at her. She felt her breath being pulled from her lungs in a great tug and for a moment, couldn't breathe. Tears filled her eyes as his booming, oddly mechanical voice split through the air: "Bring her to me."

It was then, when she knew she was staring Death in the face, black mask and all, as his men marched towards them, that she realized she hadn't told Blake she loved him when they left for work that morning.

"So . . . you got her a ring yet?"

Blake looked up from the file open on his desk, to James Gordon standing beside him, arms crossed in front of his chest and a small smile on his bearded face. Blake gave a smile as his fingers appeared at his lips. He shook his head.

"No . . . I've been trying to find the right one."

Gordon gave a laugh. "Why don't you enlist the help of her best friend if you're so conflicted?" He asked, and Blake sat there and thought for a moment. It had occurred to him to enlist the help of Kai, but then again, he couldn't be sure that she would be able to keep a secret. He knew Kai wouldn't do it out of spite, but he knew the woman would be so excited for her best friend that she just wouldn't be able to keep it back.

He gave a shrug. "Like Kai would be able to keep a secret." He spoke and Gordon gave a laugh.

"You know, when me and Barbara -"

Gordon was interrupted by the station suddenly erupting into movement. Blake jumped to his feet and Gordon's eyes widened in shock as an officer turned around to face them, a worried look on his face. "Blake, it's the First National Bank of Gotham – it's been attacked!" He spoke before hesitating. "And Natalie's been taken."