"Bruce, are you insane? She just tried to kill me!"

"But she didn't. And why is that, Dick?"

"How should—" I begin indignantly before Bruce cuts me off.

"It's because she has a soul. And if her soul is intact, it can still be saved."

I look at the security footage of the living room, where Tana is sitting on the couch with her knees drawn up to her chest. She knows she's being watched, and so isn't moving, isn't even looking around. Just sitting there, brooding. "Did she tell you anything useful?"

"That Maroni tried to kill you to destroy me. He's got a personal grudge against me, for the money I've put into bringing his organization down. But this plan—I don't think it's his. He's not this bold. Someone planted this idea inside his head. He thinks he's using it for his own gains, but it's for someone else's end result. Tana also told me where Maroni's base of ops is."

"Wait—but who else would stand to gain if you went down?"

"A good many people, and none of them good. Pick one, Dick."

I consider grumbling, but change my mind. "So, what's the plan?"

"We stake out the base tomorrow, track incoming and outgoing people and messages, and see if we can't figure out who the real master behind this plan is."

"Can I sleep down here?"

"Dick, you need to understand something very important: Tana is human. You need to know her story before you go up."

"Knowing where she came from isn't gonna—"

"I found her file. Her mother's name was Ingrid Drader. No one knew who her dad was. Her mother left her at the Gotham orphanage when she was a baby, so she never knew either of her parents. She ran away from the orphanage at the age of eight because of the bad conditions. I've tried giving them funding, but—" He broke off, having to go back and find his thread again. "Anyway, she's been scraping together a life on the streets, but apparently has been in the service of Maroni for quite some time now. She's refused to kill people or do things that directly harm the innocent. She's still willing to cut corners, and has a short, cold temper, but she's tried not to pull any jobs like—well like this one."

"So I guess she broke her clean str—"

"Dick, do you know what they offered her in exchange for your life? Seven years' stable living conditions and an education. "

"Oh," I say in a small voice.

"And even then, she couldn't do it. She saw her future mapped out and risked it all because she couldn't kill you. Now what does that say about her?"

I scratch my head, partly in confusion, mostly in shame. "Definitely human."

"That's not to say that I want you to ever be alone with her. But keep it in mind."

We go back into the apartment to discuss our plan with Tana, and find her where we left her, sitting, tapping her fingers restlessly against the side of her boot. Bruce confiscated her utility belt, knives, and gloves, and she seems even more bitter without them. Bruce also showed me her mask—the several eyepieces sewn into it gave it a spiderlike appearance. She watches us silently as we approach out of her closed-off grey eyes, one leg crossed over the other.

Bruce sits down across from her. "Is there anything else you can tell us about Maroni's headquarters? Entrances, or possible escape routes?"

She looks like she's fighting to swallow a lump of liver before she finally brings herself to answer his question.

"The front entrance is usually loosely guarded, but he'll have directed most of his thugs to guard it now that he knows I've been compromised. It's easy to defend and a bad point of entry. If you want to go in, there are two routes that I know of that he doesn't. There's a very large garbage chute at the back of the facility, that leads down to a dumping point in the basement. The doors from the basement in are all well secured, but from the outside to the basement is a pretty simple lock. From there, it's easy to climb the chute, since it's the secondary one and no one uses it a whole lot. And the fourth window from the right on the second floor streetside has a broken latch that everyone else thinks is perfectly operational. Opening it won't set off any alarms."

She lapses into silence, going back to tapping her fingers on the edge of her boot, speed increasing with her agitation.

"You're going to remain under constant surveillance as long as you're here. I've asked Alfred to clear a room for you to stay the night, but it will be locked and alarmed. Understand?"

"I'm burning all my bridges by informing on Maroni, Wayne, I hope you realize that. But you can't trust me. I understand. Is there anything else you want to know?"

"No. Go ahead and turn in, if you want. Your room is at the very end of the hall, on the right."

She stands up and exits the room, and after a seconds' hesitation, I get up to follow. I can see the wariness in Bruce's eyes, but he figures that since Tana's unarmed, I'd be able to take her in a fight if it came to that. He nods, and I run after her.

She's halfway down the hall when I catch up. "Hey."

She glances at me, face hardening. "What do you want?"

"Well… to thank you, I guess. For not killing me, I mean. I appreciate it."

"It was the worst mistake I've ever made." She keeps walking, and I have no idea how to respond. Finally, I ask, "So, what do the gloves do?"

"Give me access to anywhere I want to go. They let me climb walls, hack electronic locks, scan for alarm systems, and emit EMPs, to name a few things."

"Cool. Do you ever go climbing just for fun?"

She's finally looking at me, and seems surprised for the first time. "Yes."

"Which buildings? It seems like Karon towers would be cool. Or the sky garden. Have you been up to the sky garden? I love it there."

"Sometimes. When it's closed, and everyone else is asleep. Why are you asking?" The breaks in her impenetrable exterior seal up, and she surveys me with newfound suspicion.

"Just curious," I say, holding up my hands. "You know, once we put Maroni away, wanna play video games or something?"

Now she looks truly confused. "I just tried to kill you, Grayson. Why would you want to play video games with me?"

"You didn't kill me, and that's what matters, right? Have you ever played Dragon Slayers 2?"

"I've never touched a game console in my life. Except once when I stole one to pawn."

"Then we have to fix that. Slayers is tons of fun, and there's a multiplayer option I've never tried before, though it's supposed to unlock—"

"I'm not in the mood for deception, Grayson. Why are you being nice to me?" When she looks at me with genuine perplexion, I realize that kindness is not something that she's used to.

"You were nice to me in letting me live. I'm returning the favor. Tomorrow night, okay? After we're back."

Her eyes have finally left their default state, somewhere between angry and suspicious, and in their uncertainty, I notice that her face is actually quite pleasant when she doesn't look like she's about to spit fire. "I—I suppose so."

We've reached her room, Alfred coming out at the exact moment we've arrived. Tana's face immediately closes off again, and I sigh silently before addressing Alfred. "How was your day with Jackson?"

"Quite the adventure, Master Grayson. And this is Miss Tana Drader, I presume."

I nod, then quickly realize that Tana can't see me since I'm behind her, and gesture wildly for Alfred to shake hands with her. I twirl my finger next to my head and point at Tana, and Alfred gets the message. He holds his hand out to her with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Drader."

Utterly bemused, Tana shakes Alfred's hand. He then passes her, waving towards the open door. "I regret to inform you that I will have to lock the door behind you, miss. All precautions must be taken. But if you need anything at all, please inform me. I am at your service." And as the door closes in front of her bewildered face, I'm sure that we've succeeded in completely throwing her off guard.

When Alfred looks at me questioningly, I just say, "She's not used to people being nice to her. It confuses her. And maybe it'll help her."

"Indeed, sir. Now, I suggest you return to bed. I've checked the corners for assassins and am pleased to inform you that there are none. Your windows have also been resealed and Master Bruce will be on patrol, and he said—" he holds up a hand as I start to protest, "—that he wouldn't have had any sleep, anyways."

Bruce is going to need his strength for tomorrow, but I know that nothing I say will convince him. I climb back into my bed with a batarang on my bedside table, and know that their efforts are futile—there's no way that I'm going to sleep tonight.

"Say that again!" Maroni threw a potted plant at the head of the messenger. He expected it, however, and was able to duck it.

"Omen has been compromised, sir," the runner boy said again, calmly. He was used to his boss's fits of temper. "Apparently she lacked the resolve to carry out the mission, and Bruce Wayne took her into his home. She complied."

"She broke into Wayne Tower, and didn't even have the guts to finish him?"

"That is correct, sir." He leapt nimbly aside to dodge the pen that whistled by his ear and lodged in the wall behind him.

"Then make sure she never comes out. Put my men on watch. If Omen is ever seen again, she is public enemy number one and to be killed on sight. And I know that you're scared of her, so make sure you've got numbers. She's a loose end that I never should have created. She's dangerous. She—"

"Message for you on your private wave, sir."

"What? Now?"

The messenger listened to it for a few seconds, before frowning. "It's in Morse code, sir."

"And I take it you know Morse code?"

"No sir. Your previous messenger did, but you had him killed when he brought you the news about—"

"You're useless. Give me that." Maroni snatched the radio from the man's grasp and listened. His face faded from enraged green back to his normal red like a ripening tomato, and he beckoned to his messenger. "Get everyone in here, now!"