"Hello?" Bruce answered his cell phone.
"Hi, Bruce," Adriana said.
Bruce paused for a moment. "This is Jack's number."
"Yes..he just let me use his phone," Adriana said. "I needed to call you...right now."
"Where are you?" he asked.
"At home," she said.
"You left so suddenly," Bruce said to her. "I was-"
"Bruce I need to tell you something, right now," Adriana said.
"I am listening," he said.
"I saw the Catwoman earlier," Adriana said. "She gave me a warning...the people she is working for want to hurt you. The ones that sent footage of you killing Dent to the police. They threatened Arsenio-"
"I am on my way home, right now," Bruce said. "I will contact security and I will see you shortly."
"Okay," Adriana said and hung up.
Adriana went upstairs and returned the Joker's cell phone to him. He was standing outside of Arsenio's room.
"Thanks," Adriana said. "He is on his way. You know... you don't have to stand out here like a guard at a post."
The Joker took his phone.
"So he is on his way," the Joker said.
"Yes," Adriana said. "He said he's going to contact security so I guess there will be more here soon. I know you've never seen them but we have a lot of security on the grounds here around the mansion..they are very discreet."
"I have seen them," he said.
"Really?" Adriana said. "I mean...I never have. Not while they are working."
"Yes," he replied. "So there will be more. Good."
"I'll go and tell Alfred," Adriana said. "Where's Harri?"
"I assume she's in bed," the Joker said.
"Okay," Adriana nodded. "I don't think I can face her now...it's all too much to explain."
The Joker agreed.
"Well, I will be here," he said.
"Do you want me to get you a chair?" Adriana asked.
"I will take care of that," Alfred said as he came down the hall.
.
.
.
Adriana waited by the front door for Bruce. She waited for less than three minutes before he came in. He came in through the front door and sat down a case he was carrying. He turned and saw her sitting there waiting for him.
His lips parted. He was shocked. He walked over to her and placed his fingertips under her chin.
"It's not as bad as it looks," she assured him.
"Adriana," Bruce said. "I will kill her. This is more than just a threat."
"Oh..oh Bruce no, the Catwoman didn't do this," Adriana said, remembering their brief phone call. "This...this was some kid trying to steal. She surprised me, I didn't know she had a blade up her sleeve."
"And this just happened," Bruce said. "After you saw the Catwoman-"
"Bruce the Catwoman had nothing to do with this," Adriana said. "I saw her earlier...before I came to see you."
Bruce was finally seeing the timeline.
"And I'm sorry I didn't tell you when I came to see you but I was so angry," she said. "I just-"
Bruce touched her chin again.
"It's alright," Bruce said even though he was tense. "The security detail has been increased tenfold. We are well guarded here."
"Okay," Adriana said as Bruce looked at her, unable to take his eyes away from the stitches.
"Tell me exactly what she said to you," Bruce said.
"She came to me when I was downtown, just giving my new suit a bit of breaking in-" Adriana said.
"Wait," Bruce said. "She came to you...as Shade. They know you are a vigilante."
"No," Adriana said. "Well, she does. Somehow she figured it out. According to her, only she knows, and she won't tell her superiors."
"They will try to destroy you, as they have tried to do to me," Bruce said.
"They don't know that you're married to me," Adriana said. "They have no idea the wife of the Batman is Shade. She said she won't tell them-"
"And you believe her?" he asked in disbelief.
"She sounded sincere," Adriana said.
"What did she say?" he asked.
"Okay," Adriana said, starting over. "She said she didn't want to see any children hurt and then she mentioned Arsenio. I denied being your wife but she knew the truth, and told me that we need to protect him. They want to break you Bruce, and they have now taken an interest in Arsenio. She said they may lose interest and might not see trying to get in here as worth the risk once she tells them that we appear to be having problems."
"What problems?" he asked.
"She's the one who told me you were at the Four Seasons," she said. "It seemed to her that we're separated or something. So I assume she's watching you closely. She still felt the need to warn me about Arsenio and I...I confessed everything. Who I was and all. I told her that your name isn't on Arsenio's birth certificate and that it would be part of public record by tomorrow."
She watched Bruce's complexion become more pallid.
"I...I don't know what I was thinking-" Adriana said, seeing his reaction.
"No," Bruce said. "We have to look at this rationally right now. Not emotionally. What you did was the best plan of action. If they see that I do not appear to be his biological father they will likely abandon whatever mission it is that they have."
Adriana nodded. "Okay."
"Perhaps we should even initiate a divorce to lose them completely," Bruce said. "We'll just submit a petition for divorce to a lawyer. If this Catwoman is any good she will find out about it and report back to her people. They need to lose interest in you and Arsenio and focus on me."
"A petition for divorce," Adriana said.
"Obviously we won't follow through," Bruce said. "Divorces, especially given the magnitude of assets tied up in our marriage without a pre-nuptial agreement, would take years. That should keep this distracted for enough time for me to figure out who they are. Did she give you any clues?"
"She called them the league," Adriana said. "That was all. I asked her for more detail but she didn't give me any."
"That's more than we had before," Bruce said. "It is something. Where is my son?"
"He's asleep," Adriana said. "Jack is with him. Well..standing guard outside of his room."
"Well, I will let him know that won't be necessary," Bruce said and walked away. Adriana followed him. They walked together quietly and the Joker met them at the top of the stairs. He seemed to hear them coming and was ready for anything.
"Bruce," the Joker said. "Welcome back."
"Jack," Bruce said. "Thank you."
"So, your security team is in position?" the Joker said.
"Yes," Bruce said. "I appreciate you being here."
"If you wouldn't mind," the Joker said. "I would prefer to stay."
Adriana and Bruce looked at each other.
"I'll see if Alfred is still up," Adriana said. "We'll set up one of the guest rooms for you. There's one right here."
Adriana pointed to the door directly across from Arsenio's room.
"Thank you," the Joker said as Adriana left.
"I assume she's told you where I have been," Bruce said.
"None of it is any of my business," the Joker said.
"Well-" Bruce said and stopped talking because they both heard Arsenio screaming.
They both burst into his room. He was fine and alone. He was standing his crib and screamed even louder and jumped up and down when he saw Bruce.
"Daaaaaddyy!" he screamed and reached out for Bruce.
Adriana ran into the room.
"Is everything okay?!" she asked out of breath.
She found Bruce holding Arsenio who was sobbing and periodically continuing to scream. He was happy. He had heard Bruce's voice outside of his door and it woke him from his sleep. Bruce had tears streaming down his face as he held his child.