A/N: Side note: I'm starting off this series as Rated T, but I may have to bump that up to Rated M later on. I don't think that'll be the case, and I try to only post Rated T content, but if you find that my story suddenly isn't on the opening Rated K to T page of the Gotham stories, check the Rated M section, because it might be there.

Anyways, here's the second half of the Pilot!

Pilot: Selina Kyle

Two Weeks Later

Bruce walked up to the GCPD.

The brick and steel building had been constructed in the wake of his parent's death, and had been dedicated to them by the Wayne Foundation.

Bruce had to fight the urge to spit on the threshold.

Although many of the GCPD officers had good intent, the majority were crooked old men who had their hands in the pockets of corrupt politicians and criminals.

They'd defiled the once beautiful building.

However, there was one cop Bruce knew of who was truly a good man at heart, even if his actions didn't always show it.

"Detective Gordon?" Bruce called into the room. Over the noise and constant bustle of the police station, one familiar man heard his name called and looked up from his desk.

Bruce saw both shock and recognition flash in the man's eyes. Gordon asked, "Bruce Wayne?"

"Want to say my name any louder? Someone may not have heard you," Bruce whispered harshly.

"What are you doing here?" Jim asked. "Everyone thought you were dead…"

"Well I'm not," Bruce responded curtly. "Can we go somewhere less public to talk?"

Jim glanced around. Seeing that his partner, Harvey Bullock, wasn't there, he nodded towards the Captain's office.

Bruce shut the doors behind them and Jim asked, "Where the hell have you been?"

Bruce shrugged. "Around. I need to ask you a favor."

"Whoa there," Jim said. "You ran away from my crime scene and then disappeared for two years; I ask the questions."

"Fine," Bruce huffed, throwing himself down onto one of the chairs and kicking his feet up onto the Captain's desk. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, for starters, where have you been, and don't even think about saying 'around'."

"I've been in Gotham," Bruce answered truthfully. "Found some people in the Narrows who took me in, taught me the ways of surviving on the streets, all of that."

"So, you've been in Gotham this whole time…" Jim repeated in awe. "We'd thought you'd been kidnapped or ran off to another city."

"Well, I'm here. Anything else you want to know?" Bruce asked impatiently.

"Why did you run?" Jim asked.

"I was scared," Bruce answered flatly. His answer was partially true. "The Joker had just shot my parents and he was gonna kill me had his gun not jammed…"

Jim's face went ghostly white. "Joker…how do you know that name?" Jim demanded.

Bruce smirked. "That's actually what I'm here to talk to you about. Jim, I recently had a talk with Don Carmine Falcone, and he told me that the man who killed my parents was a professional. He said the man goes by Joker? Clearly you know of him."

Jim nodded. "He was my first suspect, but since there were no witnesses," he looked pointedly at Bruce, "I had to drop the case."

"Right, well, I was wondering if you still had the case files," Bruce told him.

A concerned look passed over the detective's face. "Yes…why?"

"Can I see them?" Bruce asked. "I figured, since you can't continue the investigation, I'd look into it myself."

Jim's shook his head. "Bruce, you don't know what you're talking about," he told the boy.

Bruce nodded. "You're probably right, but what do I have to lose?" he asked.

"Your life," Jim told him.

Bruce chuckled darkly. "Tell me: would you be this concerned over any other street kid?"

Jim clenched his jaw defiantly. "Fair point, but I'm not giving you the files, Bruce. Besides, they're locked away in Cold Cases, so I couldn't get them even if I wanted to."

Bruce sighed. "Fine. You're probably right, anyways. See ya around Detective Gordon," he said, standing up quickly and walking out of the room.

The boy's sudden change of heart took Gordon by surprise. It took him a couple seconds to collect himself and realize that his only witness was escaping again.

He ran out of the Captain's office, shouting, "Stop him!" but he only received odd looks from the fellow officers.

His partner, who was now sitting in the bull pen with a sandwich in front of him, asked Jim, "Stop who?"

Jim looked around the room, but found no sign of Bruce Wayne. "Dammit," he cursed.

Bruce dropped down from the rafters above the Captain's office.

He paused and listened for any reaction to his movement, but none came.

It was around three in the morning, and the few officers who were still in the precinct were either asleep or too tired to notice the boy's presence.

Near silently, he crept down the stairs and around a corner towards the Records Annex.

He arrived at the door and pulled out the ring of keys that he'd stolen from the Captain's office earlier that afternoon.

The lock finally clicked open, and he silently entered the room, shutting the door behind himself.

Bruce had to move quickly, and he started scanning the labels on the filing cabinets. Finally, he came across one that read, Cold Cases. He took out a ring of little, metal wires from his jacket and went to work, undoing the lock in mere seconds.

Lock-picking had been one of the first things he'd learned while living on the streets, along with climbing and pick pocketing.

All the essential skills of your everyday street kid.

He opened the cabinet and scanned through the files. He spotted one labeled, T. Wayne/M. Wayne, and pulled it out.

Bruce shut the cabinet and walked towards the door, but the label on another cabinet caught his eye.

It read, Unidentified Criminals.

Curiosity got the better of him and he opened that cabinet as well.

No joke: the very first file read The Joker, in bold print.

The file wasn't very large. It only contained a couple papers and a rough sketch of what someone said he looked like, but it was more than Bruce currently had, so he took it.

Bruce exited the room and locked it behind himself.

As quietly as possible, Bruce crept up to the doors of the Captain's office and slid the ring of keys under them.

He exited out the back door, and it wouldn't be until the next morning that someone realized that something was off.

Captain Essen called out to the bullpen, "Jim, do you know why my keys are on the floor?"

Gordon turned back to her with a confused look on his face. "Keys?"

Suddenly, realization struck.

Gordon rushed towards the Records Annex, nearly scaring poor Kristen Kringle to death. "I need to see something in Cold Cases," he demanded.

"O-okay?" Miss Kringle replied, opening the cabinet for him.

Jim went through every file twice before swearing, "Dammit…can you open Unidentified Criminals?"

She complied. Jim looked inside the cabinet and saw that the first file, the one he was most familiar with, was missing.

Bruce had spread out new the papers on the Joker and his parents on the floor. He hadn't gone back to The Admiral's Crown since he'd met with Falcone, so his flat above the pub was as good as gone.

However, he had lived in Gotham for nearly two years without Alfred's charity, and he knew of several places he could go for a couple days.

He'd known of a wealthy family that always went on a long trip abroad on his birthday. Bruce had known their son, Thomas Elliot, from grade school.

He looked over all the files and papers, trying to connect his parent's killing to the known whereabouts of the Joker.

Bruce noticed a pattern in the Joker's travels.

He'd start on the northeast coast of the United States, go down to Gotham, Metropolis, start to go west and hit Central City in Illinois, then a couple other Midwestern towns, then he'd arrive at the west coast, hit Starling City in Washington, then Coast City in California. He'd circle back around the south of the US, traveling east, and then arrive back on the southern east coast.

He'd done this cycle three times.

On his list of suspected killings, the Wayne Murders popped up around February 19th, Bruce's birthday…

The answer hit him square in the face.

Bruce rushed to the window which overlooked Gotham's Pier 13.

Sure enough, a huge, red and white tent was being pitched, and railroad cars were lined up around it.

Bruce sunk down on the bed.

It was suddenly so obvious.

From the Joker's crazy laugh to someone claiming he was wearing makeup, it all made sense now.

He was a clown in the traveling circus.

It was the next morning and Bruce was already waiting outside the entrance to the tent. The main circus would open the next day, although some of the side shows were already performing for any passersby.

Bruce spotted the man he'd been looking for.

The ringmaster made his way up to the tent and finally noticed Bruce.

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity and asked, "What are you doing here? Circus doesn't open until tomorrow."

Bruce nodded. "I know. I'm not here for the show. I'm here to talk to you, actually."

The ringmaster looked at him skeptically. "If you're looking for a job, we don't have any openings…"

"No, I'm not here for a job. I'm here to ask you about one of your performers," Bruce told him.

The ringmaster suddenly looked a bit nervous. He nodded towards the tent, signaling for Bruce to enter.

The grand tent was just like Bruce remembered from two years prior. The trapeze artists were rehearsing the ringmaster had Bruce wait for them to stop.

Finally, when they finished their routine, the ringmaster called up to them, "Grayson's! Take five, will ya?"

They all climbed down, leaving Bruce and the ringmaster alone in the big top.

As soon as they were gone, the ringmaster's fake smile disappeared. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Bruce Wayne, sir," Bruce answered truthfully.

The ringmaster flushed, but he played dumb, asking, "And why are you here, Bruce?"

"I think there's a serial killer in your midst," Bruce responded bluntly.

The ringmaster laughed out loud, taking Bruce by surprise. He eventually calmed down enough to sarcastically ask Bruce, "Really? You think so? Was it the fact that the Joker had been spotted wherever we go, or that he just looked and sounded like a clown?"

"Y-you knew?" Bruce asked.

The ringmaster nodded. He chuckled bitterly, saying, "Yes, I knew there was a killer in our midst. Believe me, I didn't like it either, sleeping in the same train as a psychopath."

"So…do you know who it is?" Bruce asked.

The ringmaster shrugged. "I had my suspicions," he said, emphasizing the past tense.

"Had?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, had." He stood up from the bench, saying, "I wouldn't worry yourself about the Joker anymore. He's been…taken care of," the ringmaster told him darkly.

Bruce's face fell, but before he could ask another question, a set of footsteps approached from one of the tunnels.

Actually, it was two sets. One pair was of light, human-sounding footsteps, and the other was of heavier ones, however the latter didn't sound entirely human.

Bruce lurched back in his seat as a tiger strolled into the ring.

The ringmaster looked up and smiled, saying, "Ah, here comes our resident cat expert."

A girl around Bruce's age emerged from the tunnel.

He felt his pulse start to quicken.

The ringmaster looked over at Bruce and asked, "Would you like me to introduce you?"

Bruce nodded curtly.

They stood up and the ringmaster announced, "Hello, Miss Kyle."

She looked up at him and nodded. However, her eyes were instantly drawn to the cute boy standing next to her boss.

Both of the teens stood in a moment of awkward silence before the ringmaster told the girl, "Selina, this is..."

"Bruce Wayne," Bruce finished for him. He stuck out his hand and the girl took it.

"Selina Kyle," she introduced herself. "People call me Cat."

Bruce smirked. "Nice to meet you, Cat."

She looked at him quizzically and asked, "So, what brings you 'round here?"

The ringmaster answered, "He was asking questions about our 'little laughing problem'."

She nodded, not appearing fazed whatsoever by the ringmaster's reference.

"Well, I have some business to attend to," the ringmaster told them, sensing his presence was no longer required, or wanted, by the teens. "It was a pleasure, Mr. Wayne," he told Bruce. He nodded to Selina, "Miss Kyle," and then turned and marched out of the ring, leaving them alone.

Selina's tiger came around behind Bruce and nuzzled up against his leg.

The girl chuckled. "She likes you," she told him. "Weird, she never tends to like anyone."

Bruce nodded. "What's her name?" he asked.

"Sheeba," Selina replied simply.

Bruce raised his head from the tiger and finally got a good look at the girl.

She had short, curly, chestnut hair with piercing blue-green eyes. It was an odd contrast of colors, but the girl seemed to pull it off quite effortlessly. She was wearing a dark robe over her other clothes, but when she'd walked forwards to meet them, Bruce had unintentionally noticed that her right leg was mostly bare.

Unbeknownst to Bruce, Selina had been studying him, as well. His wild black hair was mostly covered by a grey newsboy cap, and his clothes, although they weren't filthy, had obviously been worn for quite some time. His eyes were what caught her attention though. They were dark, but they had this fiery passion in them which practically drew her in. But there was something else behind them, too. An underlying sorrow…

The tiger made an odd coughing noise in its throat.

The sound brought the pair of teens back to reality, and they both blushed, realizing they'd been silently staring at one another.

Bruce grinned weakly and asked, "So, what do you do?"

She nodded to the tiger and said, "I do a show with the big cats. Sheeba's the main attraction, but there are a couple others."

"She seems tame," Bruce told her.

The tiger growled on cue, as if she was asking, "Oh yeah? Try something and find out."

Bruce took a step backwards, making Selina laugh. "No, she isn't tame. In fact, I'm surprised she hasn't torn you to pieces already."

"She must have good taste," Bruce claimed with a sarcastic smirk.

"Don't push it," Selina warned. They chuckled a bit, but the joy was quickly replaced by silence, once again. "So…where're you from?"

"I live around here," he replied curtly, not giving Selina much to work with.

"And why are you here again?" Selina asked.

"I was investigating the Joker," Bruce told her.

"Investigating?" she asked with a cynical look on her face. "What are you, some kinda detective?" Bruce shook his head. "Well then, why are you investigating him?"

"He killed by parents," Bruce responded quietly. Selina's judgmental look faded quickly. That explained the sorrow in his eyes. He had seen something he shouldn't have had to see. Bruce continued, "And he would've killed me, too."

She nodded, now feeling bad for teasing the boy. "I'm sorry," she told him.

He shook his head. "It's fine, you didn't know." There was another pause. "I should get going," Bruce told her. He grinned weakly at her and said, "It was nice meeting you, Cat."

He was almost at the tent flap when Selina called to him, "Wait!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the exit. Selina looked around suspiciously and, seeing no one else around, told him in a hushed voice, "Look, the Joker is dangerous, and if you know what's good for you, you'll stop looking into this."

Bruce tilted his head in confusion. "I thought the ringmaster said that they'd killed him…"

"He lied," Selina whispered. "Yeah, they killed a guy, but he wasn't the Joker. And they knew it, too."

Bruce shook his head. "Well…why did they kill him, then?"

"Because the Joker told them to," Selina said. "Look, the ringmaster is under the Joker's thumb, which means all of us are. Including me. So, if you know what's good for you, you'll walk away, got it?"

Bruce looked at her skeptically, but nodded. "Yeah, I got it." He started towards the exit again, but stalled. "Thank you, Selina," he said, taking her hand and lightly kissing the top of it.

Selina watched him go and audibly sighed as the tent flaps closed behind him.

However, she got the feeling that that wouldn't be the last time she saw Bruce Wayne.

Later that evening, Selina had been feeding the big cats, calling each one by name as she threw big hunks of meat into their cages.

Most of them wined as she walked away. Selina was the only one in that godforsaken place that gave a damn about their wellbeing, making her their sort-of mother.

Finally, Selina reached Sheeba's cage. She unlocked the door and walked in to hand Sheeba her dinner personally. Selina sat down next to the animal, leaning up against the cat's and milking in its body heat.

Selina shook her head. "Damn you, Cat," she cursed. Sheeba looked up from her meal and growled, as if offended. "Not you, stupid. I really screwed up today." Sheeba went back to ignoring her, but Selina continued, "He was cute, wasn't he, in his devil-may-care kinda way? Why'd I have to scare him off like that?" she asked no one in particular. "Did you see what he looked like when I asked him where he was from? My God, that was adorable." She glanced over at Sheeba and said, "I feel like you're ignoring me."

"I'm not," a voice rang out.

Selina almost jumped out of her skin.

Her eyes shot up to the opening of Sheeba's cage.

Standing there was one of her only friends in this world: Ivy Pepper.

"Dammit, Ivy!" Selina scolded, although she stood up and gave the girl a big hug. She pulled back and asked, "How are you?"

Ivy shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess. Ringmaster finally lost interest in me, and I think I might get to sleep in my own bed tonight, alone," she told Selina.

Ivy was tall, beautiful, and had turned eighteen six months earlier, which wasn't a good thing for her. Her father worked as a knife juggler, but she, herself, didn't have an act. However, the ringmaster had taken an interest in her and recently kept her around for 'entertainment'.

Selina nodded. "That's good, I guess."

"But enough about me," Ivy told her. "Are you having boy troubles?"

Selina shrugged. "Not really," she lied.

"Cat, come on. This is literally the only thing I know how to help you with. Let me in."

Selina sighed and leaned against the side of the cage. "A kid came by today, around my age. He was asking questions about," Selina lowered her voice, "the Joker."

"And?" Ivy prodded her on.

"Well, we started talking. I warned him, but I don't think he's gonna listen."

"Stop right there," Ivy told her. "You're about to trail off on some serious issue that doesn't matter to try to escape this conversation." Selina shook her head. Ivy always knew how to call her bluffs. "Is he cute?" Ivy asked.

Selina scoffed at her bluntness, but nodded. "Yeah, he is."

"He must be," Ivy commented offhandedly. "It'd take a lot to throw you off this much. Maybe I should have you introduce me to him…"

Selina rolled her eyes. "Sure thing."

"You wanna know what I think?" Ivy asked, now very serious. "I think you should just wait."

"Wait for what?" Selina asked.

Ivy shook her head. "Cat, you have no idea just how beautiful you are, do you?" she asked the younger girl. "From what I heard from you tell Sheeba, this kid isn't an idiot, and if he isn't already head over heels for you, I wouldn't waste my time on him. Do you think he was interested?" she asked.

Selina shrugged. "Maybe..."

"Then, just wait. I've got a feeling he'll be back."

Selina hugged the girl again. "Thanks, Ivy."

"Any time, Cat," she responded. "Now, speaking of cute guys, the Grayson's practice is about to end and John always walks past my car, so…I gotta go."

"What happened to you sleeping alone tonight?" Selina teased as the girl walked away.

Ivy gave her a rude gesture and kept walking towards the big top.

Selina sighed.

She certainly hoped the older girl was right.

A/N: So that's the end of the two part pilot of By Gaslight. If you enjoyed or have any questions or critiques, please review. Also, if you guys want me to continue this series, please let me know. Thanks for reading!

PS. If I do continue this series, it'll be a couple days to a week at least before chapter 3 will come out because I haven't outlined this yet. Also: this will not purely be a BrucexSelina romance series. I want to incorporate more and more characters, as well as branch out from purely doing romance stories so I can improve my chops as a writer. If you're looking for a more BrucexSelina centric story, check out some of my other stuff, too. There's a lot of it.