A/N: Sorry for taking so long. What with my novel and the next chapter of Prey I got a bit sidetracked. But I'm back.
Just wanted to say, for all those who read diligently but haven't followed/faved, could you please do so. I'd like to have a good notion of how many fans I have
Well, in the last segment Elliot almost was killed by Bane, so our two new officers will probably want to talk with someone. Plus, a hospital visit, we see the Stabler clan once more, and a lively charity ball featuring our favorite thief.
Disclaimer: Yeah, I know
This is for MissOperaGhost.
Review and enjoy.
Chapter 5: Getting Back in the Game
Hearing the doorbell ring, Alfred walked through the cavernous foyer of Wayne Manor. There was a time when the place would have been crawling with both servants, friends, and colleagues of the Wayne Family, but these days Master Bruce and Miss Olivia liked their privacy. He opened the door and was slightly surprised to see two young GPD officers standing there. However, his professionalism hid his surprise quite well. "May I help you officers?"
"We need to speak to Bruce Wayne," said Nick. After saving the commissioner from a slow death by drowning the last night, both he and Amanda knew they had to find the Caped Crusaders. Based on a hunch they had remembered from nearly seven years before, the two came here.
"I'm sorry," replied Alfred, deciding that it would be best to get rid of them politely. "Mr. Wayne doesn't accept house calls this early in the morning, even from members of the constabulary like yourselves."
"Uncle Alfred, is breakfast rea…" Olivia, casually dressed in a GPD T-shirt and sweatpants, froze as Alfred and the two officers looked at her from the doorway. 'Shit, rookie mistake Wayne!' she chided herself.
"If he doesn't take house calls then why is the Chief of Detectives here?" asked Amanda with a self-satisfied grin.
"I'll handle this Alfred," said Olivia, composing herself. "Give me your names and badge numbers." Both rattled them off to her. "Look officers, if you're not here on official business you should leave," she said in her best command tone. She didn't know how much they knew but couldn't discuss it here."
Nick and Amanda looked at each other and then back at Olivia. "Forgive me Chief, but if I came back with a Warrant for the premises regarding Harvey Dent's murder, or a Morris Commission subpoena regarding a well-respected GPD administrator lying about their relationship or marital status, would that be official enough?" Neither he nor Amanda had wanted to be hardasses, but they had both agreed that it might be necessary to force these two to talk.
Inwardly, Olivia was completely stunned, but like Alfred she knew how to hide her emotions when it suited her. Conceding defeat, she turned to Alfred, "Uncle, could you please show Officer Amaro and Officer Rollins to the parlor." Sighing, she hurried upstairs to fetch Bruce.
About fifteen minutes later, Bruce hobbled into the parlor, Olivia following in a fresh pair of jeans and a navy blouse. "Ok, officers, you apparently convinced Chief Benson that it was worth my time to meet with you, so let's cut the BS. What do you know about me?"
Amanda couldn't help but snort, a smirk on her face. "You certainly live up to your reputation Mr. Wayne. It's no wonder that our Chief of Detectives is so enamored with you. Tell us, are you in a relationship?" At the couple's skeptical looks, she continued. "You can trust us not to blab. We wouldn't want to get on our superior's bad side." Nick chuckled, as did Olivia.
"I guess you could say that," Olivia said, rubbing the gold band on her finger. She wore it only inside the house; she often said to Bruce that she felt incomplete without it on. For some reason she did trust these two, who reminded her of a younger version of her and Elliot.
Grinning knowingly, Amanda looked a Nick, who picked up the baton. "The commissioner was beaten up pretty badly last night in the tunnels under the industrial district." The room fell silent except for Olivia's gasp. "He chased a gunman into the sewers. We pulled him out and he was babbling about a secret army in the tunnels and a masked man called Bane leading them."
Rising, Bruce wandered to the window, leaning on his cane. "Shouldn't you be talking to your superior officers about this?"
"He asked me if Stabler saw any giant alligators," answered Amanda.
Olivia rolled her eyes. "That's Tucker for you. A good cop but never doing anything without covering his ass first."
"Anyway," said Amanda. "He doesn't need the department. He needs you two. Batman and Batgirl."
Bruce remained silent for a moment, not knowing what to say and getting no help from his wife. "Look," he finally replied, "Commissioner Stabler…"
"The commissioner doesn't know and doesn't care who they, who you are Mr. and Mrs. Wayne. He feels that what you represent to the city is enough for him." Olivia smiled at that; that was Elliot for you, always selfless and thinking of others. Even if he wanted to know, he wouldn't for the sake of the city.
Rollins picked up from her boyfriend, "What you two don't understand is we've met before. When we were both young, our parents all died in the Narrows Riots. We were saved by you two and ADA Alex Cabot." Olivia noticed Bruce stiffen at Alex's name, the nightmares having been even worse last night. They were always particularly bad around Harvey Dent Day, but something made them worse now. "Because of that, we were sent to an orphanage, St. Anne's. It used to be funded by the Wayne Foundation."
"Wait a minute, used to?" asked Olivia.
"The money stopped. You two should start getting out more, pay attention to the details."
Olivia nodded, making a mental note to ask about that.
"Anyway," said Nick, picking up on their story. "One day, you two visited St. Anne's as part of a Police Safety Day or something. You two walked out of your fancy car and we were all excited. I mean Bruce Wayne, billionaire orphan and his close friend the woman who helped bring down Penguin! The other kids couldn't see it, but when you two came up to us, we knew. The look in your eyes were the same as on that rooftop eleven years ago."
Bruce pursed his lips, digesting the information.
"I don't know why you two took the fall for Dent's murder," said Amanda, rising with Nick. "But we're still believers in Batman and Batgirl, even if you're not."
As the two officers left in their sector car, Bruce, Olivia, and Alfred watched from the bare reading room. "Did you do a search on the name Bane?" asked Bruce.
"He's a mercenary," replied Alfred. "One of the FBI's 5 most wanted along with the Joker and three Middle Eastern terrorists. Your former consort Miss Olivia, Dean Porter, led the hunt for him while FBI resident at the US Embassy in Kazakhstan."
That did peak her interest a bit, though now that she was with Bruce Porter could go to hell. Whenever she thought about him all she could remember were those eyes; something about them gave her chills. "What has he done?"
"He's been responsible for several coups and assassinations, one of which secured mining operations for our friend Bart Ganzel."
"The same Bart Ganzel who holds fifteen percent of my company. Tell me Liv, does he have any hits on the GPD's radar?"
"Are you kidding?" scoffed Olivia. "Bart Ganzel was a smut and booty peddler in the most egregious fashion back in the days I was in SVU. He and Delia Wilson-Maroni used to be in a turf war until Penguin showed up on the radar. After that, he supposedly ended his illegal ways and became legitimate, dabbling in virtually everything although apparently he's now into construction and mining. If he did conspire with this Bane, then he hasn't renounced his shady ways, a logical conclusion now that my old Ipecac bottle Cassidy now works for him."
"I'll bet," said Bruce.
As Alfred walked away, Olivia stopped him. "Uncle Alfred, why did the Wayne Foundation stop funding children's homes across the city?"
"The homes are funded by the profits of Wayne Enterprises. There have to be some," he quipped.
Olivia looked at Bruce who shook his head. "I'll have to talk to Fox about that."
"I'll get him on the phone sir."
"No, do we still have any cars?"
"Cars sir, a few here or there."
"Get me an appointment for my leg at the hospital."
"Which hospital sir?"
"Whichever one Elliot Stabler's at." As Alfred left to make the call, he turned to his wife. "Do we know any good doctors there Mrs. Wayne?"
Smiling, Olivia loved it when Bruce used her married name, and she knew he knew it. "As a matter of fact Mr. Wayne," she purred, looping her arm around his waist, "I think one doctor there is very fond of us, so much so that your pretty wife can accompany you."
"Would that doctor's name be Dr. Maureen Stabler?" he asked with a grin.
"I knew my husband wasn't a dummy." She giggled at his scowl.
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Sitting in Bruce's dark grey Lamborghini sports car, Bruce and Olivia discussed the plan for the night. "Ok Liv, after we're done here I need you to go home with Alfred."
Olivia furrowed her brows. "What, why Bruce. This may not compare with the Tumbler but I still get to ride in a fancy sports car with my handsome husband, every girl's dream." She smiled widely at him, batting her lashes.
Much as he wanted to give in to her, that look usually made him a goner, Bruce needed to stay firm. "If I could Liv I'd spend every waking moment with you, but there is just something that I need to do first."
"Ok, Bruce," she responded, "I trust you." Smiling, he leaned in and kissed her, the kiss eagerly reciprocated. When he pulled back for air, she gasped. "Wow! Is it just me or does that get better and better each time?"
"I'd say the latter," he said with a grin.
Later, they had just entered the floor Elliot was on when a party of five crashed into them. "Aunt Liv, Uncle Bruce!" they chorused.
"Hey guys," said Olivia, taking in the sight of the Stabler kids. While she had seen Dickie a lot, the others were much rarer, having lives, jobs, and school in places that made visiting tough. She ruffled little Eli's hair. "You are getting so big."
"He is isn't he," said Maureen, looking beautiful in her lab coat. "Daddy's sleeping right now, but he'll be able to see you in about five hours. That's what we're waiting for outside." She motioned for the elevator. "Well Uncle Bruce, shall we get the exam over with?"
Once all the tests and X-rays were done, Maureen had the two of them waiting in the exam room. "Ok then Uncle Bruce, there doesn't seem to be much damage to your cartilage."
"You see Liv, I told you I was fine," he said cheekily, causing her to roll her eyes.
Maureen smirked. "Actually, that's not good. There's little damage because there's no cartilage in your knees." Olivia shot back a 'HA!' look at him. "With this still being a problem, I concur with Aunt Liv that you shouldn't go heli-skiing Uncle Bruce."
"I told you so."
"Hey, you'd have had just as much fun as I would have," he whined back.
"Is he always like this?" asked Maureen with a chuckle.
"You don't know the half of it," replied Olivia.
"Well, your liver is in tip top shape. You could take up drinking if you're bored."
"Don't even think about it Bruce Wayne," Olivia growled, making Maureen burst out laughing.
Conceding the argument, Bruce gave up. "Thank you Dr. Stabler. It has been a pleasure." Maureen smiled at the two of them and left the room. Once she was out of sight, Bruce grabbed his cane, propped it against the window and buckled himself to the rappel line hidden inside it. Donning a baklava, he turned to his wife. "Keep the fort secure over here."
"Be careful Bruce," she told him, kissing him.
"I'm always careful," he replied, rappelling down. 'That man is going to be the death of me,' Olivia thought.
In the commissioner's hospital room, Elliot was too drugged to really pay attention, though he was lucid enough to talk and realize who he was talking to. "We were in this together, and then you vanished," he rasped between breaths from the oxygen tank.
"Batman and Batgirl weren't needed anymore. We won."
"Based on a lie, a despicable lie. Now there's evil rising, the same evil that we tried to bury. Batman and Batgirl need to come back."
"What if they don't exist anymore?" Elliot didn't respond, his eyes closing as he drifted to sleep. Tapping him on the shoulder, Bruce whispered a quick prayer for him and left for the window.
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In her cheap loft in Lower Gotham, Selina wrapped the diamond neckless around her neck. She had to admit, the Waynes had good taste. Coupled with her tight black cocktail dress and wavy hair pulled back into a bun, she was a knockout.
The sounds of a scuffle outside peaked her interest. Selina went into the stairwell and found her friend and roommate Heather, dressed in a pink coat and not an inch over five feet, being held up against the wall by a man nearly a head taller than her.
"Bitch, you took my wallet!"
"No I didn't,"
"You took…" He raised a fist at her.
Selina grabbed it. "Leave."
"But she…"
Twisting it, Selina smashed him into the wall. "Now!" The man fled, figuring it wasn't worth the injury. Turning to her friend, Selina scowled. "What have I told you Heather, don't get into more trouble than you can handle without me present."
Her friend rolled her eyes. "I don't know what he got so upset about there was only about sixty bucks in here?"
"Plus the watch," smirked Selina, tossing the gold piece to her friend.
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Having easily tracked Selina down (despite Olivia's teasing to the contrary, Bruce still had it), Bruce pulled up the sports car to the charity masquerade ball and stepped out. "Oh God," muttered one paparazzo to his friend, "Yet another old geezer who can barely make it out of his sports… Holy shit that's Bruce Wayne!"
Having not been seen in public for years, the press went crazy taking pictures, excited for a great new story. His eyes blinking rapidly from the flashes, Bruce reached into his pocket and clicked what appeared to be a garage-door opener, but in reality contained a small EMP emitter. The cameras all stopped functioning, and he strode smiling into the party.
Watching the poor schmuck (or lucky son of a bitch) dancing with Selina Kyle, Bruce didn't notice the redhead approaching him until she tapped him on the shoulder. "Bruce Wayne at a charity ball. I never thought I'd see the day. Your lovely wife yes, but you? No."
Bruce looked up, smiling at the familiar face. "Casey, nice to see you again."
"Likewise," repeated Casey Novak, one of the few people who knew about their marriage. "It's been a while hasn't it?"
"Too long, much too long. So Olivia tells me you're doing very well recently."
Casey smiled. "Yes, business is well enough to allow me to go to a lot of events like this."
"Well, I try to stay away from these kind of events. It's usually never about the charity cause all the proceeds go to covering the cost of the big fat spread. It's about stroking the ego of whatever society hag hosted the event."
"Actually, this is my party Bruce," said Casey with a slight smirk, "Abd the proceeds will go where they should because I paid for the big fat spread myself."
"Oh," Bruce tugged at his collar. "This is awkward."
Chuckling, Casey patted him on the cheek. "Oh, how does Olivia put up with you?"
"You know Casey, I have no idea," he answered honestly, causing both to laugh.
"To tell you the truth Bruce, one must invest to restore balance to the world. I wanted to tell you this in person rather than through Olivia, so wouldn't your clean energy project have fallen under that category?"
"Sometimes investments don't pay off Casey. Olivia told you why it failed."
"Too many people believe you have subjected yourself to apathy Bruce, but an apathetic person doesn't spend half his fortune on a plan to save the world and is so devastated when it fails that he becomes a recluse." She shook his hand, "Tell Olivia I said hi."
"Smart woman," he said to no one in particular as she walked away.
On the dance floor, Selina was busy faking a good time with her latest date when she heard a familiar voice. "Mind if I cut in?"
The man looked a bit bummed out but politely left, allowing Bruce to have the dance. "Fancy meeting you here," he said with a grin.
"You're supposed to be a shut in," said Selina, not bothering to hide her distain.
"I felt like getting some fresh air, plus something else." His eyes drifted to the diamond neckless.
"Does the wife know you're here dancing with me?"
"She does; don't be so shocked but some of us are faithful to their spouses."
"Not to many in my experience," she retorted, allowing Bruce to spin her. "How is Commissioner Stabler by the way? I heard he was in the hospital."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Do I detect a hint of compassion or genuine interest in your voice?"
"No," Selina lied, though it came easily to her (even now she couldn't get those blue eyes out of her mind). "The papers have little to read on the subject, so I figured I'd go to the source."
"The papers do omit a lot, like a burglary in Wayne Manor."
"Why didn't you just call the police?"
"Well, first of all my wife is to police. Second, we have two very powerful friends that handle these sort of disputes for us. That is a quite brazen costume for a cat burglar," he noted, taking in her fake cat ears.
"And who are you supposed to be?"
"Bruce Wayne, eccentric billionaire."
"A secretly married eccentric billionaire," she corrected, whispering.
"Fair enough. Who's your date?"
"His wife's in San Tropez for the next two weeks. She left behind some valuable pearls at home, worried they might be stolen."
"Interesting, though it would be a problem if anyone in this room realizes you're a crook and not a social climber."
"I really don't care what these insufferable bores think of me."
"I doubt you care about what anybody thinks of you."
"Don't condescend Mr. Wayne. Neither you nor your wife know a thing about me."
"That may be true, but we do know your name is Selina Kyle," he smiled inwardly as her eyes widened for a split second before returning to their usual indifference. "I know you came here from your walk-up in Holton, a modest place for a master thief. The way I see it, you're either saving up for retirement or you're in deep to the wrong people."
Selina grinned. "You are smarter than I gave you credit for Mr. Wayne. Your wife's skills must have rubbed off on you."
"What can I say? She truly is my better half."
"Look Mr. Wayne, you don't get to judge me because you were born in the master bedroom of Wayne Manor."
"Actually Liv was born in the master bedroom. I was born in the regency room."
"Stop with the semantics. I did what I had to, and once you do what you have to they'll never let you do what you want to."
"A fresh start perhaps?"
"There is no fresh start. Any kid with a cell phone could find out anything about you."
"Is that what you say to justify stealing?"
"I take what I need from people who have more than enough. I don't stand on the shoulders of people who have less."
"Most of these people had less at one point. I think you assume too much."
"I think you have delusions of what's in your pants besides your wallet."
"Olivia would disagree with you about that."
"Not all of this will last Mr. Wayne," she said as he dipped her. Rising, Selina brought her mouth to his ear. "There's a storm coming Mr. Wayne. You and your policewoman better button down the hatches cause when it does hit, you'll wonder how you could have lived so large and leave so little for the rest of us."
"You sound like your looking forward to it."
"I'm adaptable," she said huskily, smirking.
Bruce nodded, not doubting her. "Those diamonds do look good on you, but they look far better on my wife." He unclasped them, slipping them into his pocket.
She chuckled at him and slipped away, her date hot on her heels. "You scared her off!"
"Not likely."
Ten minutes later, Bruce stepped outside but was having trouble finding his valet ticket. "Excuse me, I seem to have misplaced my ticket."
"You're wife said you were taking a cab home."
"My wife?"
Selina was having fun driving the Lamborghini. 'Diamonds for a sports car, a good enough trade,' she thought.
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"Just you sir?"
Bruce stepped into the back of the Rolls Royce, a quiet Alfred in the front and a smirking Olivia beside him. "You have a nice time honey?" she asked with a glint in her eyes.
"Groaning, he took out the neckless and clasped it around her neck. "These are for you."
"My hero," she said, kissing him.
"Casey says hi."
"Oh good, Elliot says hi too." Olivia then remembered something she had to tell him. "You won't believe this, before he got attacked, Elliot said he met this woman."
"Good for him."
"I think it was our little jewel thief, Selina Kyle."
That was surprising. "Well, he's got his hands full cause I think she likes him too."
"No way," she said, slapping him on the shoulder. "You're joking."
"Nope, she asked me about him and everything, even sounded compassionate."
"Well, El's got his hands full then. She even outsmarted you."
Alfred could see his glare. "Don't worry Master Bruce. It takes a while to get back in the swing of things."
A/N: And another chapter done.
Next up, a visit to Fox, getting back in shape, and a little update on our favorite mobster.
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