Adriana felt numb. She felt less than nothing. Her body moved like it was autopiloted. She went into the shower and scrubbed her skin until it hurt. She wanted the wash away the memory of finding the small bag of pale blue pills in Bruce's pants. Along with the memory of him not even pausing to think after she told him that she had flushed them.
She told herself that he was not in his right mind. He was clearly in real, physical pain. But he refused all of the help that he needed. She wanted to cry but couldn't. She felt too numb. Seeing the pills and his reaction over and over again in her mind was more annoying than painful. But she knew she should feel pain. Crying meant that she still cared and she knew that she still cared about Bruce. But she couldn't make herself shed a single tear.
He had lied to her before and each time she cried. This time was different.
.
.
.
Bruce's pain subsided quickly and he began to feel more like himself. He sat in his car and looked at the time. It was barely 6 a.m. As he glanced at the clock, it seemed like he could finally remember what happened before he left the house.
She had found his pills and had flushed them down the toilet. He heard her speaking to him but struggled to remember her words. And when he finally did remember, his heart began to pound. An ultimatum. Another ultimatum. She had asked him to chose her on the pills.
He only wanted her. Suddenly it felt like the medication didn't matter. It was only medication after all, he told himself. He cursed himself for leaving without saying a word. He needed to go back and explain himself and then beg for her forgiveness. She was an understanding and incredibly forgiving woman, and he knew that she would understand.
He would do whatever she wanted. If they wanted to lock him in a room under constant surveillance while he adjusted to living without medication, he would do it.
When he returned to Wayne Manor, the sky had changed. It was still dark but the color on the horizon showed that daybreak was near. He looked for her in the mansion but she was not there.
.
.
.
Gotham was quiet and for that Shade was relieved. She didn't want to fight right now. She just wanted to be somewhere other than home, because she knew that he would be back soon. No longer able to go out as herself, because of her facial scar, she had no choice but to be Shade. She sat on a small bench on a rooftop in an affluent Gotham neighborhood. There was a mini golf course set up on the roof.
She leaned forward with her forearms on her thighs and looked down at the ground. It was so quiet and she waited to hear her own thoughts. She heard nothing.
"Slow night?" she heard the Catwoman and looked up. "Or rather, morning."
Shade blinked once and looked away, hoping the Catwoman would get the point that she was not in the mood.
"You poor thing," the Catwoman was now close enough to touch Shade's face. She traced a finger along her jawline on the side of her face that was scarred.
Shade turned her head quickly, moving away from the Catwoman's hand and stood up, crossing her arms while walking away.
"What do you want?" she asked the Catwoman.
"Hmm..." the Catwoman said, her voice curious. "So it's not the lesion on your face that's bothering you."
"Since you're clearly here for no reason," Shade said to her. "Tell your league or whatever...that they can stay away from me and my son. Forever. Forget about us. Bruce and I are divorcing."
"Your divorce is all over primetime news already," the Catwoman said.
Shade blinked again and turned away.
"So that was just for show," the Catwoman said behind her. "To get us to focus our attention and resources somewhere other than...your son. The son that we have no photographic proof of even existing."
"We always wanted to protect him," Shade said. "From the public eye."
"And now," the Catwoman went on. "You've decided you actually want a divorce."
"Yes," Shade said. "In fact I'll be contacting my lawyer in a couple hours. If you're as good as I think you'll be able to hack into his calendar and find the date and time for our divorce mediation. I am not going to ask for anything. No assets, no support, so it should go quickly."
The Catwoman crossed her arms.
"You married a billionaire without a pre-nup," the Catwoman said. "And you're not even going to ask for alimony?"
"You should be able to access my legal team's notes," Shade said. "I mean what I am saying. You should be able to find everything this afternoon."
The Catwoman tilted her head.
"I don't see why you are asking me so many questions," Shade said. "Shouldn't you be glad? This proves to your people that your information is good and that you are on their side."
"Or this could be an emotional knee jerk decision from you," the Catwoman said. "And as soon as you see your husband again and he apologizes for whatever he's done, you'll change your mind."
"I won't, "Shade said firmly. "Bruce does not care about us."
"And I've worked very hard to try to convince my superiors of that," the Catwoman said and tilted her head again, her dark hair falling over her shoulder. "So, did he have an affair?"
"No...not this time," Shade said. "What he did isn't your business."
"An affair will make him appear to be a wealthy, attractive man who made a mistake," the Catwoman said, with the voice of someone who could be reading a fairy tale. "Who could still, possibly be in love with his estranged wife. And so terribly sad that she took his child away for a simple mistake-"
"He has a drug problem," Shade said. As soon as the words were out, she regretted it. How could this help?
The Catwoman didn't look surprised but she also didn't look like she had been expecting to hear this.
"And his vice?" the Catwoman asked after a momentary silence.
"Painkillers," Shade replied. "He's...beyond help."
"Is he in pain?" the Catwoman asked.
Shade paused. She was not sure she should be answering so many of the Catwoman's questions so readily.
"Tell me," the Catwoman said.
Shade nodded once.
"Where?" the Catwoman asked.
Shade shook her head. She had already told the Catwoman everything else.
"Where?" she repeated her question.
"His.." Shade sighed. "His knee. He needs a replacement. Refuses to get it and now...he's hooked on opiates."
The Catwoman was quiet.
"Are you...going to tell them? Your bosses or whoever?" Shade asked.
"So this is why he hasn't returned," the Catwoman said, seeming to ignore the question. "As the Batman."
"No, it's because you people exposed what he did to Harvey Dent," Shade explained.
The Catwoman laughed.
"You think the police on his heels would stop him from fulfilling his purpose in life? To be the Batman? Would it stop you?" the Catwoman asked.
"I mean...no...I guess not but-" Shade said.
"So he's broken," the Catwoman said with a smile. Her teeth were perfect and brightened up the dim morning.
"Why are you smiling about that?" Shade asked.
"Because it will make them happy," the Catwoman said. "They will forget all about you and your son. If his knee is as bad as you claim, the painkillers will only help for so long. It will only be a matter of time before it's apparent that something is wrong with Bruce Wayne. That he is weak now."
"It doesn't matter how weak he is," Shade said. "We won't let your people destroy Gotham. He would fight through it-"
"We," the Catwoman said. "How sweet."
"We won't be married anymore but we are both vigilantes and we will fight for this city-" Shade explained.
"You," the Catwoman said. "They intend to simply swat as easily as a fly went the endgame begins. If they knew your identity they would have done it already."
"As easily as a fly?" Shade asked. "They massively underestimate me."
"They know your limits," the Catwoman said. "Just like you do."
"What are you talking about?" Shade asked.
"The Batman has never met an opponent he wouldn't challenge," the Catwoman said.
"Neither have I," Shade said.
"Well, now that Gotham is a more...idyllic place," the Catwoman said. "But this city used to be much worse. However, still nothing like the storm that is coming."
"You're...talking about the Joker," Shade said.
"The Batman's greatest adversary to date," the Catwoman said. "And you avoided him. You never tried to stop him. You are a great vigilante Shade, but like I said, you know your limits."
Shade swallowed. The Catwoman knew nothing about her being forced to work for the Joker, her romantic involvement with him. Nothing. It was the reason why she never contested him.
"That was a long time ago. Things have changed and also I...don't kill," Shade said. "That's the only reason-"
"Hah," the Catwoman said. "And neither did the Batman. Don't get me wrong, we all know there have been a few...casualties on his end. But he never set out to kill anyone until Dent. And the Joker took him there. You on the other hand have never had a casualty. You're soft. Gentle.."
The Catwoman touched Shade's cheek again, and she slapped it away.
"It makes you loved and respected by Gotham, relatable," the Catwoman went on. "But relatable and loved doesn't get you taken seriously. Being feared does."
"So what, people don't fear me as they did the Batman," Shade said. "I don't mind being the underdog."
The Catwoman smiled again, and it looked like a smile of pity.
"Anyway," Shade went on. "When you were talking about the Joker...it almost sounded like you were impressed."
Maybe Jack's theory was correct. Maybe whoever the Catwoman was working for had intentions of trying to recruit him.
"Maniacal terrorism doesn't impress me," the Catwoman said. "But my superiors were interested."
"Interested...meaning they wanted him on their side?" Shade asked.
"You're trying to estimate how bad things will get," she said. "Worse than you can imagine. You won't get any information about my squad from me.
"No..I'm not," Shade said. "I'm not asking about the rest of your squad or whoever. I'm asking about the Joker specifically."
"Who cares now?" the Catwoman said. "He's dead."
"Right but-" Shade started to ask.
"We'll see if you change your mind with the lawyer," the Catwoman said with a sly smile. She was leaving.