"Did you miss us?" Bruce asked Arsenio as he picked him up. "We missed you so much."
"Mayeeee," Arsenio said half asleep and then realized Bruce had him. "Da..."
"Yes," Bruce said and kissed him. "We are back."
Adriana looked at Arsenio and couldn't believe that in two days he would be eight months old. Eight months...she though about time. The Joker had been underground, alone, in the dark, for about fourteen months. Over a year. She held her abdomen, feeling nauseated.
"Are you okay?" Bruce asked her.
"Yes," she answered quickly and took Arsenio into her arms. " Just cramps."
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Adriana laid awake beside Bruce as he slept. She was deliriously tired, as they both hadn't slept in over 24 hours. The exhaustion as she began to doze off almost made her think that what she had learned was a dream. Maybe it wasn't real. Bruce would never do such a thing and not tell her. Maybe she was mistaken...
As she slept, she felt a familiar dream. Flames. She felt herself inhaling flames through her nose...fire burning her skin...heat squeezing her lungs shut but she still felt herself screaming. She sat up in the bed, drenched in sweat, her skin burning hot to the touch. Her hair was totally damp and the sheets behind her were flat from moisture.
The sun was out. It was a new day. Bruce had already gone to work. Her head was aching from the dehydration and she walked shakily to the bathroom sink and drank heavily straight from the faucet. She took a quick shower and went to the nursery.
"Good morning, my little cupcake," Adriana said to Arsenio, who had just woke up. His nanny, Evelyn, was holding him and he was resting his head on her shoulder. When he saw Adriana he perked up and reached his little arms out to her.
"I'm going to have a bath if that's okay?" Evelyn asked in Spanish.
"Yes, that's fine," Adriana replied. "I'm going to nurse him now."
Adriana began to feed him once Evelyn left. She switched him from her left to her right breast, and began to notice that her milk was beginning to come in less and less. Soon she would have to wean him and she wasn't looking forward to it.
"Te quiero, Arsenio," Adriana whispered, telling her baby that she loved him.
She thought about her life. It was so calm, beautiful, and peaceful. Bruce loved her completely and they were a family. She didn't know what to do. She thought about how much Bruce said that he loved her and would do anything for her. If that was true...he would let the Joker go. What he had done to him was completely inhumane. He had no idea that she knew about it yet but she needed to tell him. He would wonder why she cared about the Joker's predicament and why she demanded he be released but she didn't care. He had lied to her about it.
Once she was done feeding the baby she took him back to her room and placed him in the middle of the bed along with his favorite stuffed tiger. She got dressed and kept and eye on him as he pulled on the tiger's ears. Once she was done she took him to the kitchen and found that Alfred was finished with her breakfast just as she walked in.
"That smells amazing," Adriana said, even thought she had little appetite. Her nerves were getting to her...she didn't know how Bruce would react. She ate very quickly, two Belgian waffles, three strips of bacon,a poached egg, two peaches and a glass of orange juice. Her appetite was much higher than she expected, but then she remembered this always happened when she had her period. She had forgotten since the last one had been so long ago.
"Anything else?" Alfred asked, surprised at how much she had eaten and how quickly she ate it.
"No," she said. "Thank you. Actually...I think I will go to see Bruce at work after giving this little one some solid food."
"Alright," Alfred said. "Will you be taking Arsenio with you?"
"No, I'll be back in a little bit," Adriana said and looked at Arsenio playing with his eggs and banana slices. "Would you mind watching him until Evelyn's done in the bath?"
"Not at all," Alfred told her.
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Adriana arrived at Wayne Tower half an hour later. She walked through the lobby remembering the first time that she had been there. Things felt totally different now. When she first came to Wayne Tower, she wasn't acknowledged at all. The receptionists didn't want to allow her to see Bruce Wayne because she didn't have an appointment and no one knew who she was. Now, as soon as she walked in, all eyes were on her. Mrs. Bruce Wayne.
A security guard accompanied her to the private elevator that took her to the floor where Bruce's office was.
"Good morning, Mrs. Wayne. Can I get you anything?" the receptionist on that floor asked her.
"No, just need to see my husband," Adriana said.
"I'll let him know you're here."
Adriana waited in the lobby until Bruce came to greet her a few minutes later, wearing a dark blue suit.
"Well, this is the most pleasant surprise," Bruce said before giving her a kiss.
They walked back to his office together and Adriana noticed things were quiet hectic.
"Are you really busy right now?" she asked before they entered his office.
"Well, I have a meeting in about..." he said and looked at his watch. "Eleven minutes. We're launching four new products this week, all biotech."
"Oh..." she said.
"But I always have time for you," he said and wrapped his arms around her, giving her another kiss.
There was a knock at the door and Bruce apologized to her before opening it. A secretary came in and gave him some papers before leaving.
"Maybe this isn't the best time," she said.
"It seems like you came here for a reason," Bruce said. "And not just to make out."
"Yeah," she said. "Actually..I wanted to talk to you about something, really important."
"What is it?" he asked and sat the papers down.
She looked into his eyes and tried to imagine how this would play out. She would tell him that she had her gift back and that she knew what he had done to the Joker. Being close to him now and her gift back and strong, she could see it again. She could see the Joker shackled in his former Batcave, underground. His thoughts continued to shock her. He had no intention of ever returning to free the Joker or to even replace the machinery that was there to feed him. He wanted to forget about him and never think of what he had done again.
In Bruce's memory she could see where the Joker was. In a dark, hollow, echo filled chamber. No sounds but his own voice. Dim lighting on all the time, so he had no sense of whether it was day or night. The machine gave him meals when he pressed the button so he never knew what time of day it was. Bruce did not give him a bed, a mattress, or even a pillow. He was shackled to a concrete floor. No chair, no where to sit or lay down but on the hard ground.
If she demanded Bruce free him, what would happen then? What was the Joker's mind state after being in such a setting for over a year? She couldn't even imagine it. Bruce might demand he be turned over to the police if he was freed...was he even mentally stable enough to handle that now?
"What is it, sweetheart?" Bruce asked again, and Adriana looked at the open door behind him.
"Actually," she said. "It can wait, it wasn't important."
"You sure?" he asked and held her hips. "You seem like you really need to talk."
"It's okay," she said. "I'll see you at home later, okay?"
"Hmm.." he nodded. "Okay then."
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Adriana left Bruce's office and went to Lucius'. He wasn't there but his assistant assured her that he would be back soon.
"I can wait," she said.
Sure enough, he was back in about five minutes. He did seem surprised to see her there but pleasantly so. As soon as they were in his office, she shut the door.
"Good morning, Adriana," he said to her and sat behind his desk. She stayed standing.
"Lucius," Adriana said. "I...I need your help."
Lucius frowned and leaned back in his seat obviously curious.
"Hmm," Lucius said. "What do you need help with."
"The..." she started. "The Joker. I know where he is...but I know you don't. He didn't even tell you.."
Lucius looked at her stunned.
"Help with the Joker..." he said.
"Yes," Adriana said.
"It was Bruce," she said. "Bruce."
"Bruce?"
"He...locked him up. He's in the Wayne Industries shipping yard...where his temporary Batcave was," Adriana informed Lucius.
Lucius frowned again.
"Adriana," Lucius sighed. "I'm sure that's not true. There's nothing there."
"Why are you so sure? That's where he is."
"How do you know this?" Lucius asked.
"I have my gift back," she said. "I can hear Bruce's thoughts..and his past. And yours too, you don't believe me about the shipping yard."
"Tell me what you know," Lucius said and sat upright.
"He..." Adriana said and moved to the seat in front of Lucius' desk. "When he was being transported to Arkham after the sentencing..he abducted the Joker and moved him there. He's shackled to the floor. Theres nothing there but a shower head in the ceiling and a sink."
"That was over a year ago now Adriana.." Lucius said, his voice now flattened with disbelief. "If this is true..the Joker would be dead by now. He would have starved to death long ago.."
"He left one of those dispensers," Adriana said. "That Wayne Enterprises has with the non-perishable food for those billionaires worried about the apocalypse. Those huge black boxes. He left him down there with that."
Lucius was now speechless.
"God almighty," he said, surprising Adriana. She had never seen him so shocked. "You're absolutely certain about this?"
"Yes."
"What has Bruce said to you about it?" Lucius asked.
"Nothing. He doesn't even know that I know," she said. "I was going to confront him about it but I couldn't. He...lied right to my face about it."
Lucius began to rub his forehead. Adriana realized that the situation was much for complicated than she had initially thought, since even Lucius looked a bit lost. He could handle anything, but this perplexed him.
"What are you planning?" he asked.
"I...want to get him out of there. This is completely inhumane, Lucius."
"I don't disagree," Lucius said. "But where are you planning to take him, if he's still alive?"
"I don't know, I just can't leave him down there. This is wrong."
Lucius knew how Bruce felt about the Joker, but he also knew that what he had done to him was far beyond cruel.
"Please Lucius, you have to help me...please?" she begged.
He was quiet for a moment and then began to nod.
"Okay," he said. "I will find a location for us to move him. When are you planning to go?"
"Tonight, if possible," she said. "I think it would be best to do this after dark."
"After dark," Lucius said, still obviously stunned at what Bruce had done. "After dark. Yes, we'll go then."