Casey woke up the morning of New Years' Eve feeling quite giddy. For once, she had gotten a decent nights' sleep with no nightmares and only drank one cup of coffee instead of two that had become her normal routine as of late. She refrained from trying to get ready too early and instead sat on her computer to read some news.

Her phone beeped in her bedroom and she walked over to it. It was a text from Bruce. 'Would you like me to send you a car tonight?'

She smiled to herself. How sweet, she thought but typed back: 'No thanks. I'm borrowing a truck from a friend. I shouldn't have a problem with the snow.'

But even as she hit send she looked out the window worriedly. The weather had not let up since Christmas and snow blanketed Gotham in white. She reminded herself that she should leave early to get to the ferries. With the bridge still out, the ferries were the only way across and even then they were having trouble with the ice.

"I wonder if he could send a helicopter or something," Casey asked aloud but no one was around to answer. And as much as she wondered how much Bruce's wealth spread, she did not feel like asking him if he could fly her to Wayne Manor. That seemed a little weird and bit too forward.

She hopped into the shower and washed up, using some of her special floral-scented body wash, and blow dried her hair when she got out. She grumbled to herself as she worked out some knots and was left with slightly frizzy hair. "Guess I'm putting it up," Casey said.

She wasn't a master stylist as she normally either left her hair down or pulled up into a ponytail. She she put it up in a simple bun and pinned it in place with more bobby pins than she really needed and sprayed it with hair spray.

She dressed in some slacks and tank top and ate a quick lunch of scrambled eggs, bacon, and peanut butter toast in hopes that it would be enough to last her until the dinner at the manor.

Finally, she took her new dress out of her closet and admired it through the garment bag. "I think I did good with this one," she said and frowned when she realized there was no one in her apartment to talk to. "I should get a gerbil or something," she said.

First, she sat down to do her makeup, feeling slightly foolish. In the past, she always just slapped some powder, eyeliner, and mascara on. Now she had a whole array of makeup to use. Hoping she didn't apply anything wrong or unevenly she put on the face makeup, covering the purple bags under her eyes as best she could. Next she she did a classic smokey eye and chortled as she remembered when she'd do heavy and punk-like smokey eyes in college (god she hoped there weren't any pictures of that.) And finally, she finished off with some nude lipstick.

She looked good, she decided as she examined her face. She looked normal and no one could guess she wasn't sleeping well or that she had bags the size of Texas under her eyes.

Next she stood and pulled off her pants and shirt and put her nylons and a strapless bra on. Strapless bras weren't her favorite thing to wear but with the sheer material as her sleeves she couldn't wear one with straps. The dress still fit her nicely as she slipped it on, taking care not to smudge her makeup with her body or dress. The last thing she needed was a streak of powder on her outfit.

When she put her feet in her shoes she finally felt better, like a weight had lifted off her shoulders. She looked good, she thought as she put her earrings in and examined herself in the mirror. A confident, beautiful woman with her life put together smiled back at her. She was ready.

She shrugged her coat on but not her hat so as not to ruin her hair but she shoved the owl hat into her pocket just in case. She slipped her phone and wallet into her other pocket and looked at herself one last time. Everything was in place.

As she walked down the stairs, she sent a text to Rodney, telling him she would meet him by the ferries and received an affirmative reply from him.

Outside, the cold bit at her skin and snow fell on her hair as she hurried as fast as she could without slipping towards her car. It was mid-afternoon and most of the roads were bare of cars but many people milled around the ferries as she got out of her car and locked it.

The trip across took much longer than she hoped it would and she glanced at her phone. It was getting close to five o'clock. The party was supposed to start at six. She hoped she would make it on time.

Thankfully, she found Rodney idling in his truck. "Sorry I'm late," she said as she opened the door and climbed in.

Rodney shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I'm getting there early to help set up."

"Oh good," Casey said brightly. She buckled in and Rodney started the truck and they were off.

"You look nice, by the way," Rodney said, glancing at her.

"Thanks," she said.

"I'm sure you'll impress Bruce Wayne."

Casey coughed. "I don't know what you mean," she said as convincingly as she could.

Rodney smirked. "My mother told me. How did you meet him? Hell, how did you get his attention?"

"We met on the steps of the police station," Casey admitted. "As for the attention part, I still have no idea."

"Well he's a lucky guy then," Rodney said.

"Annette didn't tell my mom about this, did she?"

Rodney shook his head. "Hell no. You know she'd freak. Of course, she never did well when you told her you were seeing someone. She'd always go back to thinking about your dad."

"I know," Casey said sadly. "I always had a feeling she felt secretly relieved when I broke up with guys as much as she tried not to show it. Perhaps she thinks she ruined me for relationships."

"No, that was your dad," Rodney said firmly. "Your mom did nothing wrong."

"I know that," Casey said sharply.

Rodney said nothing more on the subject as he turned down a street and parked the truck. "This is my stop," he announced and unbuckled himself. "Think you can get to the illustrious Wayne Manor from here?"

She scowled at him. "Yes. I Googled it last night."

He just laughed and opened the door. "Just try not to crash my truck, alright? My mother would kill us both."

She saluted him mockingly. "Aye aye captain!"

Rodney rolled his eyes and got out. Casey undid her seat belt and slid over to the driver's seat. She adjusted the chair and wheel and waved goodbye to Rodney who disappeared into an apartment complex.

It was only ten after five, Casey noted. She could make it in time. She guided the truck back onto the road and made her way out of Gotham. She passed by several nice neighborhoods where the rich people lived and followed the path that would lead her to Wayne Manor.

The manor was pretty removed from all the neighborhoods, considering the Waynes had been the richest family in Gotham for decades. But as she pulled up to the front gate, she noticed it was closed. Uh, was she supposed to park out here or something?

Carefully, she pulled out her cellphone and called Bruce.

"Casey?" Bruce said when he picked up.

"Hey Bruce," she said cheerfully. "I must be a little early but uh, your front gate is closed. Do I park out here or what?"

"Oh no, we have a valet service. We weren't expecting guests for another forty-five minutes. Let me open it for you."

And just like that, the iron wrought gate with a stylized W in the center slowly opened. "Just head on through to the front doors," he said in her ear.

"Okay," she said. "I'll see you in a little bit then." She didn't wait for him to say goodbye and ended the call. Oops. She was too used to not saying goodbye to people on the phone with exception of her mother.

She drove up and indeed, she found a valet waiting for her on the steps. She parked the truck and turned it off.

"Sorry," she said as she got out. "You weren't waiting long?"

"Certainly not, ma'am," the valet replied and gave her a smile that seemed a tiny bit frigid. "Just sign in here please." He gave her a ledger and pen which worked despite the cold as she signed her name and truck model and color.

"Thanks," she said and handed the keys over to him.

The steps leading up to the Wayne Manor were salted and clean but she found herself hesitating as she walked up. What kind of people would be there? Was it all going to be rich people wearing Armani, Gucci, and Versaci? Suddenly she felt under-dressed in her outfit from Macy's.

But the front door opened and Casey found herself looking at Alfred. "Hello Miss Wilson," he said kindly. "Please do come in before you freeze."

While she felt butterflies fluttering about in her stomach, she gave Alfred a warm smile and approached him. "It's nice to see you again," she said truthfully and entered the manor.

The door shut with a firm click and Casey had to try hard not to let her mouth drop. She stood in an impressive foyer decorated richly with rugs, statues, plants, and portraits.

"Allow me to take your coat, Miss Wilson," Alfred said, snapping Casey out of her reverie.

"Of course." Casey took off her coat and handed it over. Alfred slung her coat over his arm.

"If you'd be so kind as to follow me, Miss Wilson, I shall lead you to the ballroom."

"Ballroom?" Casey asked, alarmed. "Are we supposed to dance?"

Alfred chuckled. "Do not worry, you will not be required to dance. It will a celebration of the new year and Ferris Boyle's accomplishments."

That put her at ease as Alfred led her down a long hallway and into a grand room decorated lavishly with buffet tables and white balloons. Up towards the front she saw a stage complete with a large screen and a podium with plants on each side; no doubt where Ferris Boyle would receive his award and make a speech.

"Casey." She turned and saw Bruce Wayne in a suit striding towards her, grinning. She returned his grin weakly as he looked her up and down. "You look beautiful."

Casey flushed. "Thanks," she said quietly. "Sorry I'm a little early. I was worried the drive might take awhile because of the weather."

"It's no problem," he assured her. He gestured with his arm, showing her a door on the side of the room. "Do you want a quick and partial tour?" He asked.

Her eyes flickered from the door and back to him. He stood there with a warm smile on his face. "Sure," she finally said.

He held out a hand to her and she took it. Her face felt hot when he hooked her arm around his and led her out of the ballroom. The door beyond came to a long hallway decorated with more statues and portraits.

"Wow," Casey whispered when her eyes landed on a large portrait of a man wearing old-fashioned clothes and a severe expression at the end of the hallway.

"My ancestor," Bruce said and nodded his head at it. "Solomon Wayne. He was among the founders of Gotham."

"Your family has been here that long?" She asked, surprised.

"Yes. The Waynes have built themselves from the ground up since arriving in what is now Gotham," Bruce explained. "We've been responsible for many new developments in the city. The Solomon Wayne Courthouse being one of them."

"I've been there," Casey said idly. She caught his eye and added hastily, "not for anything illegal, mind you. Okay it was kinda of illegal but not on my part."

He raised a brow. "Then why were you there?" He inquired.

"You know that guy who was on the television during Christmas, Anarky?"

"I might have heard something about him," he said casually. "Don't watch too much tv."

"Ah. Okay, right. He was like one of those guys who wanted to fight against the system. Though he did it pretty badly," she explained. "Innocent people got hurt when he set off some pipe bombs. But anyway, I told you in the Cyber Crime Division we track people through technological means. I was assigned to find him. And I did. He was hiding in the courthouse."

Bruce's arm tightened momentarily on hers and she glanced at him questioningly but he merely smiled at her. "So what did you do?" He asked her.

"Ah, in a moment of let's say not thinking, I believed that our SWAT leader was supposed to meet me there but he never showed. Some of Anarky's goons showed up and bam, there I was in the middle of the courthouse facing down a terrorist." As she told it now, it sounded more like an adventure rather than a brush with death. Though she seriously doubted Lonnie Machin had it in him to kill her. He just liked to hear the sound of his voice.

"Then what happened?" Bruce asked.

"The Batman came along and kicked Anarky's ass," she said simply.

Bruce's eyebrows shot up. "You saw the Batman?" He asked incredulously. "I thought he was a myth."

She shook her head. "Nope. He's as real as you or me. It was… quite amazing to see in him person though. He's all tall and intimidating and dark. Honestly I don't know why criminals are still out there. If I ran into him in a dark alley, I'd run the other way."

He laughed. "It seems to me like this Batman isn't in the habit of hurting civilians."

She sobered. "He's not," she agreed. "But doesn't mean his terrifying visage doesn't carry over to citizens."

"You find him terrifying?" Bruce asked.

Casey pondered for a moment. "I guess I don't," she said slowly. "But I can see why he's so scary to some. Watching him fight, it was like no one could touch him. He was a force of nature."

"Impressive. Maybe I should learn how to fight," Bruce said idly.

She grinned. "I think it'll take you a few years to get on Batman's level."

They laughed at that as Bruce opened another door. "This is one of the studies," he said.

It was a large study with a table that had a model of Gotham on it on one side and a large couch on the other. On the same side of the couch was a giant marble fireplace with a roaring fire and a bearskin rug set in front of it.

"Nice clock," Casey commented when she spied the big grandfather clock next to the fireplace. It was taller than her and she'd bet she could fit inside it.

But something on the far end of the wall caught her eye. It was a picture of Bruce and another man and Bruce was holding the key to the city. She remembered that day; she watched it thinking how handsome Bruce looked as he posed for the cameras. If only she knew back then she would be attending an award ceremony with him.

"You've done a lot of things," Casey said aloud.

"Just trying to help my fellow man," Bruce said from beside her.

She hummed and walked over to the next door. "What's in here?" She asked.

"The library," Bruce replied.

She grinned at that and pushed the doors open. It was almost like that scene in Beauty and the Beast where Belle saw all the books in such a big library. "Oh my god," she whispered as she looked at rows and rows of books. "How many books are in here?" She asked.

"Close to five thousand by my last count," Bruce said. "We have a lot of original copies and even first editions."

She wandered over to a shelf and saw philosophy books from various men throughout history. "Socrates," she read aloud on one. "Amazing," she breathed.

She walked up the small staircase onto a platform that only held a single case on a stand. Inside, on a mannequin torso, was a pearl necklace. "Those are beautiful," she whispered.

"They belonged to my mother." Bruce came up beside her, looking solemn.

She stiffened at his words. "Oh," she said. "I'm sorry."

"You've done nothing to apologize for," he said.

She turned to him. "Why don't you keep them in a safe somewhere?" She asked.

"Alfred and I are the only ones who come here," he replied. "We don't have many visitors and there are other places to host people when they do come. And besides, there's more than glass protecting those pearls."

She glanced back at the case and indeed, she could make out some sort of sensor lining the bottom. "Ah." She looked around the library again and spied more doors at the far end. "And what's over there?"

"The wine cellar," Bruce replied. He checked his watch. "And as much as I would love to show it to you, I'm afraid we should head back. The other guests will be arriving soon."

"Sure," Casey said.

He offered his arm to her again and she took it. And together, the two headed back into the ballroom where people were beginning to trickle inside.

Ever the host, he stepped forward to greet them while Casey hung back. She felt out of place as women wearing expensive clothes and jewelry waltzed in, fluttering their eyelashes at Bruce. If she were a braver person, she would march right over there and show them who exactly was on Bruce's arm tonight but she wasn't very brave. Instead, she took a plate from the buffet and piled some sort of stuffed mushrooms on it.

"And who are you?" A guest asked, staring at her with scrutinizing eyes.

Casey swallowed her mushroom. "Casey Wilson," she said and held out her free hand. "I'm here on behalf of the Gotham City Police Department."

"You don't look like a cop," he said suspiciously and eyed her as if he was searching for a gun strapped to her leg. But instead, his eyes lingered on the hem of her dress.

"I work in the Cyber Crimes Division," she explained.

"I see," he said, though Casey could tell he was very interested.

"Darling." A woman wearing a beautiful ice blue gown that glittered waltzed over and took the man by the arm. She gave Casey her own scrutinizing look, one that made Casey feel small. "Who are you speaking to?"

"Someone from the police department," he said and waved a hand and turned to the buffet.

The woman, like the man, eyed her critically but her eyes went from Casey's shoes to her dress and to her earrings. "Who exactly are you wearing?" She asked coolly.

Casey tried to wrack her brain but she came up with nothing. She didn't pay attention when she bought the dress. "Uh, Macy's?" She tried.

The woman sniffed disdainfully. "Dreadful," she clucked. "Simply dreadful. If it was Vera Wang, I could forgive you for such a slight but how awful. But I suppose you can't afford a tasteful wardrobe on the police department's budget. Such a shame." Her cold eyes bore into Casey's who blinked. "Don't you know a dress like that has been outdated for at least a decade?"

Casey's mouth opened, taken aback. "Um, I just thought it looked good on me," she whispered.

The woman's eyes went up and down Casey's body again. She made a hmph sound before muttering, "should have worn Spanx," and flouncing away.

Casey turned back to the buffet, tears stinging her eyes. She thought she looked great but obviously she was still too common for this sort of crowd.

"Are you feeling alright, Miss Wilson?" A voice asked in her ear. Alfred stood there, a tray of champagne in one hand. He looked at her teary eyes and frowned.

"I'm fine." She tried smiling but it freezed on her face. "Just didn't know how vicious this crowd could be."

Alfred stared over her shoulder. "I see you met Mr. and Mrs. De la Fontaine. They've never had anything nice to say to anyone. And might I say how beautiful you look, Miss Wilson. You certainly put every woman in here to shame."

He handed Casey a flute of champagne and left, leaving Casey feeling cheered.

-x-

Alfred moved through the crowd slowly, handing out flutes to random people. He spied Bruce on the other end of the ballroom, speaking with the Deputy Mayor. Once he gave out all his flutes, he headed back for the bar and surreptitiously held his hand to his ear where his earpiece linking him to Bruce was.

"You might want to stay close to your date, Master Bruce," he said quietly. "Mrs. De la Fontaine already sunk her claws into the poor girl. She left her nearly crying at the buffet table."

There was a buzz in his ear before he heard a quiet "thank you" on the other end.

Alfred smiled and loaded up his tray again.

-x-

Casey sipped on her champagne as she wandered around the ballroom, checking out the décor and ducking away from people. After that episode with the De la Fontaines, she didn't feel like socializing. She still felt out of place as other party goers greeted one another warmly.

But a woman wearing a white coat with blonde hair quickly approached Casey and she recognized the woman as Vicki Vale, a reporter for the news.

"Vicki Vale," she said and promptly held her hand out to Casey.

Casey took it. "Casey Wilson."

"So Miss Wilson," Vicki said and eyed Casey suspiciously. "I've heard from a couple sources that you're here with Gotham's most eligible bachelor, Bruce Wayne. Is it true?"

Casey's face reddened. "I'm here on behalf of the GCPD," she defended though her voice faltered slightly. "I'm a technical analyst in the Cyber Crimes Division."

"I see," Vicki said slowly. She obviously didn't buy Casey's story. "And why couldn't Captain James Gordon attend? And why did he send a technical analyst in his stead?"

"Uh," Casey said, trying to find any excuse she could think of but her mind was blank. "He was busy," she said lamely.

Vicki eyed her critically. "I see," she said. She pulled a small recorder out of her pocket. "Care to make a statement?"

"No thank you," Casey said and brushed past her.

She found herself back in the crowd of people and felt a suffocating feeling wash over her. Where was Bruce? Was she expected to be by his side for this thing? She looked around, starting to panic.

"There you are. I thought I lost you."

Relief flooded through her when she heard Bruce's voice. She smiled and turned to find him standing there with another man following him. This man was older, with graying hair and deep lines etched into his face but Casey knew who he was. Only a few days ago did she look him up: Ferris Boyle, CEO of Gothcorp.

"Casey, this is Ferris Boyle, our guest of honor. Ferris, I'd like you to meet Casey Wilson from the GCPD."

Ferris held out a hand and Casey took it, wincing slightly when his hand tightened on hers in a vice grip. "Nice to meet you, Casey," Ferris said warmly. "You look very lovely this evening."

"Thank you," Casey said. "And congratulations on winning your award," she added.

Ferris smiled and shook his head. "The true winners are the people of Gotham," he said. "I'm only setting an example of helping the people and ending hunger."

Casey's mind went back to the article she read on GothCorp and its research in cryogenics. "If I may ask you something, Mr. Boyle," she started.

Ferris held up a hand. "Please, call me Ferris. And yes, you may."

"Why cryogenics?" She asked.

"Why not?" He chortled. "We can preserve food to last and it will survive the journey to third world countries."

"But wouldn't genetically modified organisms be better in this case?" Casey asked. "You could make seeds that are sturdy and can survive in harsh conditions or can even fend off insects. But then you wouldn't be able to keep selling food as often like you can when they're flash-frozen."

She felt as if she might have crossed a line because she saw a hint of anger in Ferris's light blue eyes and Bruce's eyebrows arched.

But then Ferris laughed. "You sound like a reporter. I was expecting something like this from Vicki Vale."

"Sorry," Casey said, her cheeks warming. "I was just curious."

"Don't be sorry. You do have a point," he said. "But at this moment, GothCorp is still in its working stages with Cryogenics but we will expand in the future and show the world what we're truly capable of." Ferris smiled at Bruce. "She is something, isn't she?" And with those words, Ferris strode away.

"Uh, sorry?" Casey said lamely, looking at Bruce.

Bruce shrugged. "I don't know much about either but I think you both had good points. But Ferris is a good man and he's done a lot for Gotham."

Casey nodded. "That he has." Still, an uneasiness settled in her gut as she remembered the anger she saw in his eyes.

"Are you enjoying the party?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah," Casey lied. "It's nice."

She startled when he gently placed his hand on her back and brought her in closer to him. "Alfred told me you had a run-in with the De la Fontaines," he said quietly.

"Uh, yeah. Charming people," she said.

He chuckled and shook his head. "They're terrible people," he said. "Don't feel bad about whatever Isobel De la Fontaine tells you. She's a bitter woman."

She smiled at that. "I'll try not to," she said truthfully.

"Come on, let's get something to eat."

-x-

Thankfully Casei did not speak to Isobel De la Fontaine again as Bruce kept steer clear of the woman as he led Casey around, introducing her to people. When Vicki Vale once again asked her suspiciously if she was Bruce's date, Casey politely declined. But before Vicki could get another word in, it was time for Ferris Boyle's acceptance speech.

The hostess gave Ferris his trophy, a gold woman holding a diamond heart above her head, and he took a moment to gaze at it almost appreciatively. Then he looked up and spoke. "People caring for people," he said and people began to clap. "Compassion," he continued. "That's the foundation Gotham was built on. And I have proudly built GothCorp on that same foundation. That's why we're called, "The People Company"."

Casey and Bruce began to clap as Ferris said his thanks to the crowd and lifted the trophy above his head triumphantly.

"Mr. Boyle seems to be after your title as Gotham's biggest philanthropic industrialist," Casey heard Alfred comment from behind her.

"Gotham needs more people like him," Bruce replied steadily.

"Bruce!" Ferris walked back towards them, holding his arms out happily and the two shook hands again. "Once again, I am blown away by your support."

"It's well deserved. You're going to change the world, Ferris," Bruce said and grinned broadly.

"Hey, we'll change it together, right?" Ferris countered and the two men chuckled.

"Congratulations again, Ferris," Casey piped up.

Ferris turned his eyes towards Casey and smiled happily. "Thank you, Casey. Allow me to get you a drink."

As Casey opened her mouth to speak, Alfred cut her off. "Pardon me, Mr. Boyle, the press is waiting. This way, please?"

"Of course, of course," Ferris said enthusiastically. "Rain check on that drink, Casey?" He asked her before he followed Alfred away.

"Sure," Casey said uneasily and glanced at Bruce who didn't look perturbed at all.

"We'll, I'd say the future is looking very, very, bright for Gotham," the hostess said cheerfully from the podium. "Now, it's almost midnight and you all know what that means."

In the distance, Casey could hear the piano music start and her heart plummeted. They weren't expected to dance, were they? Casey didn't know how to dance; she danced like a white girl with awkward arm flailing.

"Now let's get this New Years' Eve party going with a..." The screen behind her with a picture of Bruce giving a large check to Ferris was starting to frost over and the hostess shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Forget to pay your heating bill, Bruce?" She asked jokingly but her shivers were becoming more and more apparent.

Something was wrong. But Casey only had a split second before a white-blue light flashed behind everyone by the podium before ice exploded outwards behind them!

Casey screamed and threw her hands up over her head as people landed on the ground with sickening crunches. "Happy New Years everybody!" She heard someone shout from the front and then were followed by gunfire.

She fell to the ground, trying to scramble away from the commotion, her ears ringing. Is it him? She wanted to cry out. Is he back?

But no, the men with the guns wore black masks, synonymous with Oswald Cobblepot. If her life wasn't currently being threatened, she would have breathed a sigh of relief. It's not the Joker.

Her back pressed against a pillar as the gang members forced people down on the ground. But her eyes darted to where the ice originated and saw a tall man wearing a mechanical suit of some kind enter the room. Her heart thudded when she saw the large gun attached to his arm.

As the man in the suit walked towards the center of the room, he came across a guest whose leg was caught in the ice. Casey recognized him as Mr. De la Fontaine. "No, no!" Mr. De la Fontaine protested as the man swung his arm, hitting the him and sending him flying.

But before the guest hit the floor, the man pointed his gun at him and a beam of ice blue ice shot out of it and ice formed around the pillar and froze Mr. De la Fontaine right at its top.

"Oh my god," Casey whispered as the new man froze the people trying to run away. She pressed herself closer to the pillar, hoping she wouldn't get hit by stray icicles.

"Bring me Ferris Boyle," the man in the suit said, his voice slightly mechanized.

Boyle? What did he want with him? Casey looked around trying to see if she could pick Ferris out of the crowd but she realized she couldn't find Bruce either. "Bruce?" She called out.

But Bruce was nowhere to be found.

Casey stood and slowly made her way to the back of the room, hoping no one would spot or stop her. When she thought she was in the clear she made a break for it, running clumsily in her heels. She made it into another hallway, one Bruce didn't show her, and jogged down it. She came to a halt when she heard footsteps and voices come her way.

In a blind panic, she grabbed the doorknob of a door, opened it, and dashed inside. She shut the door and turned around and nearly screamed.

The person lunged forward and slapped their palm across her mouth. "Shh, do you want them to hear us?" Ferris Boyle hissed at her.

She shook her head and he let go of her. "Who are they and what do they want?" He asked.

To her relief, they were in the coat room and she immediately began to pawing through the coats looking for her own. "They're with Cobblepot," she said. "Some guy in a mech suit wants you for some reason. Know any guys with blue skin?"

A look a pure terror crossed his face. "No," he said too quickly for Casey to believe him. "What are you looking for?"

"My coat," she replied. "My phone's in it. I can call Gordon with it. Aha!"

With a triumphant grin, she pulled her coat off a rank and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She swiped it on and hit Gordon's number on her speed dial. "C'mon Gordon, pick it up," she muttered as she heard it ring.

But it went to voicemail. "Gordon, it's Casey," she cried into the phone. "I'm at Wayne Manor and Cobblepot's shooting up the place. Get SWAT down here as soon as you get this message."

"Is he even going to get that in time?" Ferrris asked from beside her.

"I don't know," Casey said and slipped her phone back into her pocket. She draped her coat over her arm and cautiously turned the knob.

"What are you doing?" Ferris hissed.

"Checking if the coast is clear," she hissed back. Cautiously, she poked her head out and looked down the hall. No one was around. "It's clear," she said and together, the two stepped out.

She walked back towards the ballroom, Ferris following her hesitantly and to her relief the ballroom was clear too. "Where did they go?" Casey asked quietly.

"I have no idea," Ferris said.

In the distance, Casey heard a loud BOOM and she flinched. And up above, she heard the unmistakable sound of helicopters. "I think we should move," she said to Ferris.

"Agreed."

They ran for the other hallway as more of Cobblepot's men began dropping down from helicopters. But when Casey looked back to see if they were being followed as they turned the corner, she ran straight into someone. Immediately, arms wound around her, trapping her. "What do we have here?" The person holding onto her chuckled.

They ran straight into more of Cobblepot's men. She struggled in his grip. "Let me go!" She demanded.

"Aw c'mon, don't ruin the fun," the man teased.

"Hey, it's Boyle!" Someone else called.

"Unhand me!" She heard Ferris snap and over the guy's shoulder, she saw two man hold onto Ferris while a third pointed a gun at him.

Anger bubbled in Casey's gut and she stomped on the man's foot with her shoe. But it had little effect as the man was wearing thick boots. "Now that's not very nice," he admonished her. "I should teach you a lesson." She grunted and squirmed some more. In his eyes, she could see wicked promises to cause her pain.

"Hey, you should share!" Someone else called over.

"Not on your life," the man holding Casey shot back. "You guys go ahead and deliver Boyle to Freeze. I got some business to attend to."

"Let go!" She squealed as the guy dragged her backwards towards the ballroom. She kept struggling in his grip but he was larger than her. Not again, not again. Her mind kept repeating the incident at Blackgate, how the Joker nearly murdered her. And this time Batman wasn't here to save her.

Adrenaline surged through her and she managed to free her arm and elbowed the guy in the face.

"Ow," he yelled and let go of her.

She burst forward and ran for the door but unfortunately as she opened it, she found herself staring at black metal and tubes. Her eyes traveled upwards to see a bright red goggles on a blue face staring down at her from behind glass.

Uh-oh.

Without warning, the hand not holding the gun grabbed her by the shoulder and with surprising strength, he picked her up and tossed her to the side like she was trash. She scrapped along the ice and came to a halt. Her body ached but she felt like nothing was broken and she glanced up and froze.

Her face was mere inches away from a sharp end of an icicle. She squawked in surprise and scrambled away.

This was not she envisioned her New Years going.

A large group of men came streaming in from the hallway she and Ferris hid in just as the man in the suit came back in, prodding Ferris along with his ice gun. "What do you want from me? Just let me go!" Ferris was saying as he was pushed into the center of the room.

"We have much to discuss," the other man said calmly as he hooked a rope around Ferris's middle. "Starting with what you did to me."

"I did nothing—Fries, stop!" Ferris shouted as he was yanked up into the helicopter with the man called Freeze—or was it Fries?—following.

Casey backed away into the shadows as the men milled around, one had a gun similar to the big man and was spraying ice around the place. Don't notice me, don't notice me, she chanted in her head. But as fate would have it, her phone began to ring. Loudly.

"Hey! Who's that?"

Casey tried to fumble for her phone but she heard footsteps coming her way. Oh god this was it. They were going to find her and kill her. Tears leaked out of her eyes but then someone began screaming.

"It's him!"

She looked up and her jaw dropped. She would recognize the dark figure effortlessly punching and kicking bad guys anywhere. Batman.

How did he get here so fast? She wondered vaguely as she watched him work. But relief swelled in her like a balloon filling up as men fell to the ground and didn't get back up.

And eventually, there was one left standing who dropped his gun and help up his hands. "I give up!" He called frantically.

Batman strode over to him purposefully and knocked him to the ground, putting his foot on the man's head. "Where is he taking Ferris?" He growled.

"I—I don't know! I promise!" The guy cried.

"Do you have any idea how many of your friends I sent to the hospital on Christmas Eve?" Batman snapped.

"Look—one of Penguin's dealers. He's doling out the weapons Freeze gave us. He must know. We were supposed to meet up in South Gotham," the man wheezed.

"You can meet up in the emergency room instead," Batman replied and his knee came down and Casey heard a crack.

Carefully, she stood up and nearly slipped on the ice encasing the floor. Batman's head snapped up and she froze under his gaze. "Long time no see?" She said nervously.

"You," he said, sounding surprised. He walked towards her. "You should get somewhere safe. Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "A little jostled and almost impaled my head on an icicle but I'm alright."

He nodded. "You should go to the study, the butler is there and he's helping people."

"Right," Casey said.

Batman didn't linger but walked back out into the center of the room, pressing something on his arm. Moments later, she heard the sound of engines and looked up to see some king of aircraft hovering above him. Batman pulled something off his waist and shot a long cord up, leaving the ground instantly. And within the seconds, the plane was gone.

"Whoa," she breathed.

Ringing startled her out of her thoughts and she stooped down to pick her fallen coat off the floor. She took her phone out and saw Gordon's face on the screen. She answered it. "Hi."

"Casey, what's going on?" Gordon demanded.

"Oswald Cobbletpot gate-crashed Bruce Wayne's New Years' Eve party-slash-award ceremony," she reported. "Some guy with an ice gun kidnapped Ferris Boyle."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope. Where are you?"

"Anarky protesters came out in force in Northern Gotham, nearly the entire force is on the other side of the bridge."

Casey's heart stuttered and her stomach coiled. "What does that mean," she asked shakily.

"It means I can't get down there for another couple hours, Casey."

Dammit. She was hoping Gordon could get up here and help her. "What do I do?"

"Just get somewhere safe, Casey. Promise me you'll stay safe."

"I promise," Casey said and hung up.

She stood on the middle of the ballroom, her coat and phone in her hands, among a bunch of unconscious men. Behind her, she could go back into the hallway and find Alfred but she glanced towards the door that led outside.

Maybe she was an idiot or maybe the adrenaline hadn't worn off yet but she slung her coat on and buttoned it up. She put her phone back in her pocket and took out her hat. She pulled the bobby pins out and let her hair fall down before putting her hat on and walked outside.

The cold wind whipped at her as she searched through the box containing the keys until she found hers. The truck wasn't a far walk and she was more than happy to climb up into the driver's seat and start the truck up.

The reasonable voice in the back of her head told her this was madness and she should go straight back into the manor and find Bruce or Alfred. But she didn't listen to it as she waited for the truck to warm up.

She took out her phone again, wondering where she was supposed to go from here. Even Batman didn't know where this Freeze guy took Boyle. And Casey certainly wasn't the type to go tracking down weapons' dealers (and Batman would probably rip her a new one if he caught her.)

She turned her data on and pulled up Google and typed in gothcorp and freeze. To her surprise, she found a list of pages about top researchers in GothCorp. And one of them was a man named Victor Fries. It couldn't be a coincidence, she thought as she stared at the man's face but she could see some similarities between the man on her phone and the man who kidnapped Ferris Boyle.

"Looks like I'm going to GothCorp," Casey whispered to herself.

-x-

Alfred carefully made his way across the derelict bridge that lead to the Batcave. He managed to turn the sprinklers on, wincing as the priceless books in the library got wet but the fires were out. He also set the guests about rounding one another up and calling the police. When Vicki Vale told him a few cruisers would only be able to get here, he told her to tell everyone to leave for their homes if they could. He would deal with the police himself.

It worked and people slowly trickled out, allowing Alfred to get down to the Batcave.

There, the computer was on and he could see the Batwing's tracer. Alfred immediately opened the line of connection. "Master Bruce, what have you learned?"

"There's a dealer in Gotham who has been giving out these cryo weapons. I'm going to track him down and find out where he got them," Batman replied.

"I hope Penguin's dealer can tell you what this Mr. Freeze has done with our friend," Alfred said.

"Targeting someone like Ferris Boyle? It's sickening."

"I know you'll bring him to justice, Sir," Alfred said.

"I'll see this one wheeled into Blackgate on a gurney," Batman snarled.

Alfred swallowed when he heard the venom in Bruce's voice. And suddenly, he was hesitant to tell Bruce his other news. But he had to. "There's one other thing, Sir."

"What's that?"

"It's Miss Wilson. It seems your date has gone missing."

"I last saw her in the ballroom. She was hiding from Penguin's men. I told her to find you."

"Well she didn't come looking for me," Alfred said. "Was there a chance she left?"

"Where to? Her apartment is in Northern Gotham." Bruce sounded frustrated on the other end.

"A friend perhaps?" Alfred suggested. "I'm sure she won't get herself into trouble."

Bruce sighed. "She's a magnet for trouble, Alfred. I'll make sure to keep an eye out for her in Gotham."

-x-

That concludes chapter fourteen! NaNoWriMo is over so I can get back to updating stories. Hopefully they'll come out at a quick pace.

Mr. Freeze is on the scene and what will happen when Casey goes to GothCorp? Stay tuned to find out!

Reviews, favorites, and follows are love! See ya in chapter fifteen!