Disclaimer: I do not own The Dark Knight trilogy, just writing for fun.

A/n: Here's another chapter. Enjoy! Thank you all for the follows, favorites, and reviews!

Chapter 23: Should Do Fine Against Cats

I followed Bruce beside him in Wayne Enterprises as we headed for applied sciences. "So, I think I might take up your offer on the whole dating thing."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Rachel's serious with Harvey," he said.

"Are you sure?" I frowned, wondering if I should have shown him my own letter from Rachel.

"They were holding hands last night at dinner. No Russian ballet was going to scare her off," Bruce said.

"Well, she has seen through your mask," I said placing my hand on his cheek, stopping him in the hallway, feeling butterflies within my stomach, and pushed them down as much as I could. "Well, masks," I added lightly.

"I'll do it."

"Good. I need you to come with me to Hong Kong, get the press rolling again," Bruce said.

"Ah, very high profile then," I chimed.

"Very. I'm taking the Russian Ballet too," he grinned at me.

I chuckled. "Sure that'll get Rachel to swoon her over."

"The very least," he said then Mr. Fox came over towards us. I smiled at his presence and he acknowledged me with a nod.

"Our Chinese friends left town before I could tell them the deal was off," Fox said.

"Well, I'm sure you've always wanted to go to Hong Knong," Bruce said.

"What's wrong with a phone call?" Fox asked.

"I think Mr. Lau deserves a more personal touch," Bruce replied. "You'll be taking Ms. Blake too, as your assistant."

"Not a problem, I could use the extra help with the books," Fox nodded in my direction.

"Now, for high-altitude jumps, you're going to need oxygen and stabilizers. Well, I must say, compared to your usual requests, jumping out of an airplane is pretty straightforward."

"What about getting back into the plane?" Bruce asked.

I tilted my head to the side, glancing at that question curiously.

"I recommend a good travel agent," Fox responded.

"Without it landing," Bruce smirked.

Fox smiled and nodded his head.

I widened my eyes at the very idea Bruce was thinking about.

"Now, that's more like it, Mr. Wayne. The CIA had a program back in the sixties for getting their people out of hot spots called Sky Hook. We could look into that," Fox replied gingerly.

"Yeah," Bruce agreed.

"Okay, now…" Fox opened up a drawer that held several pieces of new armor for the bat suit. I ran my hands along the pieces and marveled at it. Part of me really wanted my own suit and go out to fight. It sounded exciting to me. But, I knew, it was also dangerous. And Bruce would have to train me.

" Hardened Kevlar plates over titanium-dipped tri-weave fibers for flexibility. You'll be lighter, faster, more agile."

Spikes flew upward, making me jump slightly as they flew into a nearby file cabinet right beside me.

"Perhaps you should read the instructions first?" Fox said, a little worriedly.

"Yeah," Bruce nodded.

"Now there's a trade off. Separation of the plates makes you more vulnerable to knives and gunfire."

"We wouldn't wanna make things too easy, now, would we? How will it hold up against dogs?"

"Are we talking Rottweilers or Chihuahuas?" Fox asked.

"Rottweilers," I said.

Fox smiled. "Should do fine against cats."

I tightened the pieces of paper and information of blueprints that Fox pulled out for me entitled Sky Hook and hugged them tight against my chest.

~*TDK*~

I leaned forward against the makeshift table. We had everything laid out in plain detail. The light was on, and we were going over the specs for what Bruce had to do when he was Batman in Hong Kong. It made me nervous for him, but why should I be nervous? He was an expert on this by now; he's been Batman for a year.

Alfred rolled out the map across our blueprints of Sky Hook.

"I found one in Arizona," he said. "A very nice man. He said he could have it up and running in a week, and he takes cash. What about the flight crew?"

"South Korean smugglers," Bruce responded. I arched an eyebrow at that and Bruce nodded at me. He was serious. "They run flights into Pyongyang, below radar. Did you think of an alibi?"

"Oh yes," Alfred smiled.

Bruce looked over at my unease. "Melanie if you want out now, please tell me."

"No," I said quickly. "No. I'm fine."

"Okay, good. All packed and ready to go?" he asked.

I nodded. I guess I just wasn't sure what this all meant when I got to know Mr. Fox and Bruce Wayne while they were in deep within applied sciences and the archives. They were going out of the law. Now I could understand the police's worry about a vigilante. A city that idolized him. I wasn't too sure if I did, even if he did put bad guys away.

"Melanie," he said again, noticing my off look. "I swore to you, none of it will be pinned on you. Got it?"

I nodded. "Right. I get it. I'm ready."

"Good," he said, squeezing my shoulder gently, letting me know we were on the same page. I gulped. I hoped I was. This was going to be my first time out of the states.

"Get your passport ready," he said. "We're going to Hong Kong in style."

~*TDK*~

A/n: Hope I'm doing okay. Let me know! :)