Batman pulled into an alley by her apartment complex and Elizabeth hopped off the bike.
"Thanks for the ride," she said, "and the save."
"It's what I do." He pulled something from his belt and handed it to her. "This is a bat-phone. Carry it with you. You are still in danger and if something happens call me and I'll find you."
"I can take care of myself," Elizabeth sneered even as she slipped the phone into her pocket.
"I know but do something stupid and you'll wind up back in Arkham."
"I can't just sit by and hope you solve everything." Elizabeth said as he kicked the bike back into life.
"Don't do anything stupid!" He shouted as he zoomed off. Elizabeth sighed her wig, contacts and purse were all back at the warehouse. The wig and contacts she had multiple of but the purse and its contents would be hard to replace. Kicking a rock down the alley she walked around the building to the front door. Luckily she still had the old college habit of keeping her keys and cellphone in her pockets. Elizabeth quickly made her way up the stairs crossing her fingers that she wouldn't meet anyone on her way. She had almost made it to her door when Carlos and Evan stepped out of their apartment. They both stopped and stared openly at her.
"Hey guys, going out for lunch?" Carlos stepped protectively in front of Evan. Elizabeth frowned, these two were her wonderful friends and they were afraid of her!
"Oh for fuck's sake!" Elizabeth cried. "I'm still the same person as before. I'm not going to hurt either of you."
"How do we know that," Carlos hissed, "you're a criminal."
"Please! You don't think I know that you work in a mob club and that Evan used to sell drugs. At least I didn't commit my crime willingly." Carlos looked like he was about to hit her but Evan touched him on them arm.
"Carlos," he said softly, "she's right. We're in no place to judge. She's still our friend." Carlos' face was turning red and he launched himself at Elizabeth. She stumbled back as Carlos held her in a tight bear hug.
"God, I was so worried for you!" He cried on the verge of tears, "locked up in Arkham! All alone! You must have gone through hell." There was another thump as Evan joined in on the hug.
"We're sorry Elizabeth, we just didn't know how to react." After an awkward minute they both pulled away. Leaving Elizabeth covered in that weird tight hug, sweat/cry smell. Carlos placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We gotta go but if you ever need anything just ask."
"Thanks I'll see you guys later then." Elizabeth smiled now something would be back to normal at least.
It had been nearly a month since Elizabeth had been abducted by Cuvier and so far she hadn't been bothered again. Of course she might just have not noticed anything with how hectic her life had been lately. She hadn't heard from Batman again either, though her purse had mysteriously found itself back home that night.
It had taken her over two weeks two find an apartment complex that would take her. It was a shady place but livable and it was just on the outskirts of the Narrows, probably the only reason the landlord let her live there. She had found a job working at "Das Mӓdchen" a German bar/grill that was known for its drunken brawls and Oktoberfest celebrations. Elizabeth had quickly found out why the manager had hired her, the men who frequented the bar were a lot of perverts and she was just desperate enough that she wouldn't complain about them harassing her.
Every week she went on a lunch date with Carlos and Evan and it was on one of these wonderful meetings that the news aired some breaking not so wonderful news.
"Breaking news from Arkham Asylum. This afternoon all five Rogues currently at Arkham have escaped along with six high security patients." The newscaster said only showing the faintest hit of terror, this did happen regularly after all. "It is not yet known how they escaped but citizens of Gotham are warned to keep an eye out for The Riddler, The Scarecrow, The Mad Hatter, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Zsasz, Maximillian Zeus, The Condiment King, Calendar Man, Clock King, and Firebug. Oh. This just in Firebug has been caught after setting a fire in bar but no word yet on the other escapees."
"Wow that's scary," Evan shivered slightly, "maybe we should get going…"
"I better get going too," Elizabeth said pushing out her chair. "I need to go to work."
"But what about the Rogues? You can't walk by yourself what if you come across one of them and they attack you." Elizabeth grabbed her bag and put her part of the bill on the table.
"Don't worry about me, trust me, all of the smart criminals are going to be hiding from the police and Batman and if any do bother me I can kick their ass."
"Okay, but be careful," Carlos said giving her a half hug.
"Don't worry about me boys, I'll be fine, you just make it home safe. Bye!" She left the small family restaurant. It was around three o'clock. Her shift didn't start until four so Elizabeth decided that instead of taking the bus she would walk through the Gotham Central Park.
The park was astonishingly large for a city park but then most things in Gotham were large and over the top. The park was one of Elizabeth's favorite places in Gotham. Everything in it was so bright and alive even the possibility of muggers didn't deter her from going down secluded paths. She had always felt at home in nature, not in the way Poison Ivy does, but in the way that a spider feels at home in that dark corner of your room, it will happily live somewhere else but this is where it is happiest. This feeling had increased after her accident though she wasn't about to say it had anything to do with the wolf DNA.
Elizabeth hadn't been to the park since she had been released so now was as good a time as any. The park was lively with the shrieks of children, the whir of bicycles, and the rustle of leaves. A family of ducks was floating in the pond and a teen couple was throwing the closet ducks pieces of bread. Suddenly a giant turtle stuck its head up in between the feeding ducks causing them to scatter. Both women shrieked in delight at the battle between the turtle and the ducks for the bloated bread. Elizabeth smiled contentedly. It must be nice to have someone. Her thoughts suddenly flashed to Edward and she blushed unwillingly. He was out now maybe he would…
"Damn it," Elizabeth swore under her breath. She only was nice to them because she didn't want them as enemies in Arkham and she only flirted with Edward because she…well she didn't really have an excuse for that. But that still didn't mean she actually wanted to have a relationship with him. He was still a Rogue and as he told others she was probably just a distraction for him at Arkham, despite what Jervis had said. She was sure he'd ignore her if they ever crossed path again.
Elizabeth made her way to her favorite spot in the park still debating her feelings for Edward. The area was nice and secluded trail that was affectionately called lover's lane due to all of the benches, convenient trees and grottos that lined it. During the day the trail was usually empty as it was today. She walked for a minute until she reached her preferred outcropping.
The trees there had a handy little hole part way up the tree where Elizabeth had stored some emergency belongings. Hopping up into the opposite tree Elizabeth climbed over the entwining branches so she could peer into the hole. Surprisingly her bag was still there. Grabbing it she peeked inside to see if everything was ship-shape. She pulled out one of her cheaper brown wigs (still in fine condition), the contacts were still in their packaging, and the change of clothes was dry and dirt free.
Elizabeth had put them there about three years ago after she had found that the high winds of Gotham during a storm could blow away even securest wig. Fortunately her wig had only been blown off once but better safe than sorry; so Elizabeth put the items back into the Ziploc bag and carefully placed it back into the hole. She climbed back down the tree and brushed the dirt off her pants. Looking down at her watch she saw it was a quarter to four. Time to go to work.
Elizabeth stumbled up the stairs to her apartment clutching her arm that was bleeding slightly and limping on a bruised leg. Tonight had been a rough night. She fumbled for her keys and let herself inside. Dropping her bag on the floor she went over to the sink in the small two room apartment and poured herself a glass of water. Then she pulled a medical kit from below the sink and began disinfecting the cut on her arm. Slapping a bandage on it she limped over to the freezer and pulled out an ice pack. Sinking down into the couch she placed the pack on her leg. Her eyes felt heavy maybe she would take a short nap.
A soft clinking noise pulled Elizabeth from her sleep. Rubbing her eyes she sat up slowly. "God, what time is it?" She asked the room.
"About 2:30." Someone replied from seat across from her.
"HOLYFUCK!" Elizabeth screamed bolting off the couch. She ran over to the door and grabbed the umbrella holding like a bat. The person chuckled a familiar chuckle. "Edward!?"
The lamp was flicked on. Edward looked very different in his Riddler garb much sharper and defined and a hell-of-a-lot more dangerous. "The one and only."
"You god damned motherfucker!" Elizabeth swore, "you nearly gave me a heart attack. What the hell are you doing here?"
"Well I just thought I pop in, say hi, hide here for the night."
"Really!? Hide here!? Go to one of your bloody lairs."
"Can't. Too many police out, I have lie low."
"And that's my problem how? Why didn't you go earlier instead of coming here now?"
"Actually I've been here since a quarter to four."
"WHAT!?"
"Yes, I was in the bathroom when you came back. This place is quite the shit hole isn't it?"
"Best I could find. If you came straight here how'd you have time to change?"
"A Rogue's outfit defines him, rather be caught in our costume than an Arkham uniform; and an ex-henchman of mine lives the next block over and I was keeping a spare set with him."
"Why don't you stay with him then?"
"Are you insane? They're going to check all my known associates first, besides he has a wife and kid now."
"Well at least you have priorities," Elizabeth said throwing the umbrella down and walking back over, sitting on the far end on the couch. "Would you leave if I asked?"
"Nope!" Edward grinned, he always got what he wanted.
"Fine, but I want you gone as soon as possible."
"Okie-dokie." There was a long silence before a thought occurred to Elizabeth.
"How much of my stuff did you go through?"
"Not much just everything in here, I mainly watched some TV and caught up on the news." Elizabeth stared on him she doubted he was telling the truth but she decided to take his word for it anyways. With a great yawn Elizabeth stood and stretched.
"Well I'm going to bed, you can sleep on the couch, just hang on and I'll get you a blanket." She went into her bedroom and dug through the chest at the end of her bed. From under her sheets she pulled a thick purple and white checked blanket her grandmother had made for her. "Here you—gah!" Elizabeth stumbled to the floor clutching her leg. Not paying attention she had banged her bruised leg into the end table.
"Here you okay," Edward asked rushing over to her.
"Yeah, yeah, just hit my bruise. Ow." Edward extended a hand and helped her up.
"What happened?"
"Oh just a fight at work I had to break up, nothing much, it just got out of hand tonight."
"What are you doing working this late at night?"
"I work at bar, only work I could find except cleaning toilets at a hotel."
"Let me guess Das Mӓdchen."
"Yeah, how'd you guess?" She said sarcastically.
"Well it is the only bar in Gotham that makes the female employees wear sexy German maid outfit."
"You think I'm sexy?" Elizabeth teased. A slightly blushed flashed across Edward's cheeks.
"I-I didn't that, I meant—"
"I know what you meant. Silly I was just teasing."
"Of course. Anyways a job like that is beneath you. You deserve something much better." It was Elizabeth's turn to blush.
"Thanks…oh, here's your blanket."
"Thank you Elizabeth," he said leaning down, his bright green eyes looking very stunning framed by his purple mask. "I will repay you." Elizabeth stared back at him, heat was building up between their bodies and her lips were beginning to tingle. Edward moved towards her a fraction and Elizabeth moved closer in turn. Closer, closer. A sudden bang from above made them jump away from each other. The heat dissipated quickly leaving both awkwardly glancing at each other.
"You better repay me Edward," Elizabeth said re-gaining her composer, "now good night."
"Night, Elizabeth, sleep well."