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"Thursday, October thirty-first...

The streets are crowded for the holiday, but hiding in the chaos... is the element. Waiting to strike at the decent... the vulnerable...

But I'm there too. Watching.

Two years of nights have turned me into a nocturnal animal. It's a big city, I can't be everywhere... but they don't know that.

We have a signal now. When that light hits the sky, it's not just a call... It's a warning.

Fear is a tool.

They think I'm hiding in the shadows...

But I am the shadows.

I am vengeance."

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"Watch where you're going, pipsqueak."

The man who backed into you spat, grumbling as he stumbled away. Sighing, you rolled your eyes but kept your composure and continued on your way with a covered tray in your hands. Luckily the bastard didn't make you drop it.

The dim club obscured most features of a person, but the colorful lights revealed everything with a flash or blink. You were dolled up in your work attire: glamorous makeup, a slutty dress, heels, the whole works. Men and women alike found you irresistible—a real catch.

You approached the table with a friendly smile as you set the tray down and revealed its contents: drops. The partiers cheered and clamored to get their hands on the drugs presented before them. With a wink you left the group, all while ignoring the stares and occasional whistles. Slipping behind the bar you saw the bartender waving to get your attention.

"What's up?"

"Drops. Mr. Cobblepot wants these—" He pointed to another tray, this time with a thick envelope and a fresh drink, "—delivered to him upstairs."

"Sure thing," you said as you gathered the item and sauntered out of the underground club. The almost calming blue light of the 44 Below was immediately erased by the harsh, flashing red lights of the club upstairs. If you weren't so used to it, it would have given you a headache. You were almost there when suddenly-

"Selina?"

"Oh hey, my little mouse, haven't seen you all night," Selina purred with a smile. "Where're ya off to?"

"Oz. He requested some samples from below."

She hummed in understanding. "Want me to come with? I'm not doing much."

"Yes, please."

Your night just got slightly better. Selina was a friend of yours—your best friend, actually. You guys were sharing an apartment at the moment to save on some cash, but you didn't mind. The only thing that drove you a little crazy was that she'd seemingly turn up with a new stray cat almost every few days. As long as they didn't start stinking up the apartment, you didn't really care. At least they were cute.

You guys linked arms and laughed as you made your way past the crowd and to his office, heels clicking on the cold metal floor. Selina took the tray from you to hold it herself—how sweet. Getting closer to his office, you could hear men talking in low tones. Making your way inside, the men silenced themselves. Oz was sitting on his couch while a man clad in a black suit stood in front of him. He looked very... menacing, as he stared you and Selina down.

"Hey, it's okay, baby," Oz thankfully interrupted. "Mr. Vengeance don't bite."

Recognizing the man as the one and only caped crusader did not calm your nerves in the slightest. 'The Batman' was only a slightly new figure in Gotham, known for taking justice into his own hands—his reasons unknown. 'Maybe he flunked out of the Police academy,' you had thought humorously at one point. Figuring it was only a matter of time before he tried to involve himself in Penguin's business, it was still surprising to see him in your boss' office.

He was still staring at you—no—glaring into you. His harsh blue eyes never wavered from yours, even as your friend gave him a pointed look and delivered the tray to Oz. He finally looked away when he heard Oz ruffling through the money in the envelope and setting a stash of drops on the tray. As Selina set down the drink onto the table, you too had looked away from the dark man, and your eyes fell onto the photograph before her. It was Annika being escorted by Mayor Mitchel, no doubt, but you could also make out you, Selina, and Oz standing behind the couple talking. Selina gave you a look.

"Thank you, honey," Oz said, breaking you out of your spell. You smiled hesitantly and turned to leave, daring to look back at the black crusader, but he was already looking your way. Linking arms with Selina again, you hastily made your way out of there and back into the main club area. Before you could though, she yanked you back and pressed herself against the nearby wall, urging you to do the same.

"That was Anni."

"Yeah, I saw. Why'd he have a picture of her?"

"I'm not sure," Selina said. "But it can't be good. Shh, now listen."

You couldn't see what your friend saw, but suddenly she gave a sharp turn and started rushing away.

"Go, we have to leave. He saw us."

An indescribable feeling swelled inside you, but you obediently slinked away after her. After grabbing your belongings and coats from the locker rooms, Selina grabbed your hand and led the way outside.

"Taxi!"

However, it wasn't long after when you clambered in the backseat of the car that Selina got a phone call. "Hey, it's me. What'samatter, baby? Slow down, I can't—on the news? No, wait for us, we're on our way home. We're gonna get the hell out of here, I promise...if we have to go sooner, we'll go tonight!" Selina gave you an uneasy look. "Look, sweetie, we're just a block away, I'll be there soon. Love you."

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The rain pelted against the man's back as he peered into some windows with his binoculars atop a nearby building. A woman with short, blonde hair was a wreck and sobbing at the TV. Not long after, two more women, the very same he saw earlier in the club, rushed in to comfort. The dark haired one stayed behind to reassure her as he watched you slip into the back rooms to pull out a bodysuit. You looked around, paranoid in your own home but saw nothing, so you hastily shimmied out of your club dress and into your new apparel. The man moved to get a better look; his eyes lingered a little too long before jumping back to the two other women. By the time you finished getting dressed, the other woman he saw you with was gearing up and you two were sliding out the window. The now-pixie haired woman flipped over the railing and onto the ground while you slid down a nearby pole. Reaching the bottom, you made your way to the garage and hopped on a motorcycle that the woman was operating. The man rushed after the pair, worried that he'd lose them. Climbing onto his own bike, he pursued the women and gave chase.

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The rope was thin and light, but just sturdy enough to carry a person. Once your partner in crime made it down through the skylight, you tossed down the lock picking kit to her and lowered yourself down. It took some investigating, but after a while Selina ran her hands along a rather large painting and managed to find a button. Pressing it made the painting retract and allowed the safe to eject.

Silently working as one, you assembled the tool until it was completed and Selina could look through the scope. As she was deep in concentration, deciding to look around the room wouldn't hurt. It was a nice, big office, only fit for a mayor. As your eyes wandered, you couldn't help but notice a shadow flicker overhead. "Cat?" you whispered.

The split second it took to look over at her gave the shadow enough time to materialize just as Selina cracked the safe.

"You're pretty good at that."

Instantly your body went into fight mode. A flurry of kicks and spins forced the stranger to make space between you and the safe. As you were fighting, Selina rummaged through the iron box until she found what she was looking for—the passport. Interested in what was in her hand, the man made a bold move and grab your leg that was coming for him, twisting the appendage and throwing you a ways away as he stalked after her. Leaping to your feet, Selina called out, "Catch!"

Smoothly catching the book and zipping it away in your front breast compartment, you joined your friend in attacking the assailant. With his back facing you, you jumped on top and wrapped your legs around his face, choking him between your thighs. His breath turned ragged and he wheezed frantically; his hands went straight to trying to get you off. In return, he took multiple blows from Selina from the front. Finding it almost impossible to knock you off first without dealing with your partner, he delivered a calculated punch that rendered her breathless and flung her across the room. Gasping, he finally got a hold and heaved you over his head and onto a table. One of his hands immediately went to your throat to hold you down; your hands met with it at once. His grip was strong and unrestricted; it felt like he could kill you if he pressed down a little harder. Seeing the fight leave your body as your eyes bulged and glistened in fear, he took a moment to examine you. Your hands were still furiously pawing at the glove around your throat as you struggled to gasp for breath. He wouldn't budge.

Giving you a glare as he drank in air, his gaze fixed themselves onto the front of your suit. Sliding his free hand down, he unzipped the breast pocket and fished out the little passport. He struggled as you fought for breath. His hand on your throat disappeared, leaving you gasping as you collapsed to the ground, body hunched over itself as you started a coughing fit. He flipped open the book.

He stood in front of you, panting, "Kosolov, Annika... He hurt her? That's why you killed him?"

He gave you a while to respond. Rising to your feet and rubbing your neck, you choked out, "What? We didn't kill anybody." Selina rose to her feet.

A door creaked open just as you went to swipe the book in his hand. Effortlessly, he pulled you into his chest and spun around the corner, his hand covering the lower portion of your face. Panic swelled inside of you, was he going to choke you again? But the pressure remained consistently light as he shushed you, so you took the chance to take deep breaths to calm your racing heart. You could almost feel yourself melting into his embrace. Echoing footsteps slowly paraded around the room you had previously occupied—Selina must have hid. Thoughts trampled around in your mind until the sound of the door squeaking shut awakened you. You broke free from his grasp.

"Rat?" Selina whispered out as she crawled out of her hiding space. Whispering back, she slinked into the room.

"Listen, honey, you've got the wrong idea, okay? We didn't kill anybody-"

"He thinks we murdered someone?" Selina asked, even more pissed off at the accusation

"-We're taking back what was stolen. That bitch Mitchel took it from her, when all she's trying to do is leave this dump of a city."

"What does she know?" The Batman asked, face highlighted by the skylight from above.

"Whatever it is," interjected Selina, "it's got her so spooked she won't even tell me."

"She did seem upset." Your eyes widened, 'What?'

"Back at your place," he continued. "Let's go talk to her." Meeting hesitant looks, he offered the book back to your friend who gladly snatched it out of his hand.

Sneaking out of the apartment undetected, he followed behind to where your bike was—his was parked right beside it. Climbing onto the passenger seat of Selina's bike, you called out to him. "Hey, how much did you see at our place?" His eyes darted to your figure but failed to meet your eyes before busying himself with his own bike. Was that...bashfulness?

"Perv."

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