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Chapter 17 - A Visitor

He caught the next flight back to Gotham, anonymous in the chaos of coach amid squalling babies and overdone chicken dinners. The drive back to the manor was a blur and even then, when he finally saw Leslie and learned what had happened, his mind still wouldn�t clear.

�She�s in a great deal of danger,� Leslie whispered, her white surgical gown dark with Selina�s blood. �Alfred is still working on her. It�s that damn anti-coagulant. Did you know Helena was using such a thing?�

Bruce didn�t respond, looking past her into the bright white light of the surgical bay set into the heart of the cave. Leslie sighed, considering him only a day after their last conversation. She had never seen him so utterly defeated. Bruce was bleary-eyed, unshaven, every muscle tensed in worry. He had been so angry earlier, and now�

Now he might lose someone else.

�We need to know,� Leslie ask quietly, �Is there any chance she could be pregnant?�

Bruce�s eyes flicked back to hers, shadows shifting and sliding between them. �Why?� he asked hoarsely.

�There would be no way to save the child, given the loss of blood. But her body would fight to preserve that life, and�� Leslie trailed off, resting her hand on his shoulder. �We just need to know.�

�We weren�t careful,� he admitted softly. �Damn foolish�we were both so surprised by it.� His eyes were still on the white surgical bay where Selina fought for her life. �It was irresponsible and-�

�Not now,� Leslie hushed him tiredly, tying her surgical mask on firmly. �It will be a very long night. I suppose it will be an act of unparalleled optimism to ask you to get some sleep, but��

He gave no indication that he had heard. Leslie shook her head and left him to sterilize her hands before returning to surgery.

****************

Hours later, Bruce sat beside Selina�s bedside, keeping vigil. Machines monitoring heartbeat and respiration beeped softly in the still, dark house. Wires belonging to IV tubes, a catheter and a complex heart monitoring device crisscrossed beneath the blankets layering the bed. He worried that they would twist and some vital fluid wouldn�t reach its destination.

�Thought I�d find you here,� someone chided from the shadows of the room behind him. �Alfred gave me strict orders to make sure you rest and eat something. I suppose I�m probably the only one who can force you to do something you don�t want to do,� he added, stepping closer to Selina�s bedside.

�What are you doing here, Clark?� Bruce asked, not looking at the tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in a modest brown suit and horn-rimmed glasses.

Clark Kent pulled an extra chair up next to Bruce. The priceless antique chair creaked with his weight. �Relieving you.�

Bruce ignored him, counting the beats recorded on the heart monitor. Still weak. She was fighting, but it didn�t look good.

�Bruce, I�I don�t know what to say. Tim told me what happened; poor kid�s a wreck. Dick too, although I think it�s something else with him.�

�I hope you didn�t come in here to tell me that,� Bruce said harshly. �I�m sure you�ve got more important things to do.�

�It�s been a slow news day,� Clark reported, removing his glasses to polish them as if Bruce had said something else, something less cruel. �J�onn had a message for you and I haven�t been to Gotham in a while. Thought I�d deliver it personally, touch base. You haven�t pulled Watchtower duty in a while.�

�I�ve been busy,� Bruce grunted in reply, projecting annoyance with every last atom of his being. �What did J�onn want to tell me?�

�That can wait,� Clark said. �I�m more worried about you. And Selina,� he said, looking over the still figure on the bed, X-Ray vision penetrating Selina�s flesh and bones. �The bolt penetrated pretty far into her chest cavity.�

Bruce shrugged, sitting back a little. Once Clark started in on a sermon, there was very little that could deter him.

�Tim said that he thought Huntress did this. I can�t imagine why Helena would go after someone you�someone that you care about,� he corrected, directing piercing blue eyes unlike any shade on earth at Bruce. �I was a little surprised when Tim told me that you and Selina are-�

Bruce stood, cutting Clark off. He went to the window and watched the city across the river, lights reflected in the dark water. Clark spoke to him softly.

�I�m sorry this had to happen, Bruce. But she�ll pull through; she�s a strong girl with a lot to live for. Remember that when you consider breaking it off because you can�t bear the thought of something worse happening to her.�

Bruce turned sharply, glaring at Clark. �I want to be alone with her,� he told his friend and colleague. �Get out. Now.�

Clark didn�t move. He�d weathered enough disagreements with Lois to know when not to back down. And Bruce reminded him a lot of Lois, sometimes.

�You�re no good to her like this, you know,� Clark told him. �Get some rest. She isn�t going anywhere.�

�What would you know about it?� Bruce snapped, turning back to the window. �X-Ray vision isn�t capable of that kind of diagnosis.�

�I know Selina,� Clark replied. �And you know the first thing I thought of when Tim told me she�d been injured? That time she snuck aboard the JLA base to steal the Storm Opals and ended up saving all of us from Prometheus. We made her a League member that day and you were so annoyed you didn�t even want to give her a ride home.�

�What�s your point?�

�That she is probably the only person who�s ever been able to really surprise you, Bruce,� Clark said, replacing his glasses. �And if she�s able to accomplish something like that�well, she�s too original to die. I�ll keep watch. Make Alfred happy and get some sleep.�

*****************

Bruce did not do as Clark requested. He had long ago made it a point of personal honor never to do what Clark requested. If he couldn�t wait for some change in Selina�s condition at her bedside then he would take to the night. Work would provide some much-needed distraction and, hopefully, some of the strange revelations of the past few days would be resolved. Instinctively, he headed for the East End and Selina�s apartment.

The building was as Tim had left it, dark and deserted. He surveyed the ruins of Selina�s apartment. Most of the small rooms were in shambles. The comfortable living room was untouched and the always-cluttered kitchen was intact, but the bedroom was a lost cause. He mentally reconstructed the fight from the trace evidence left behind. Huntress had entered through the window in the hall. Selina always left it unlocked, she had explained softly last week, in the event that he might �drop by�. Huntress�s presence had been noticed quickly, and they had perhaps argued. Things had only become violent in Selina�s bedroom. From the looks of things, she had locked the door and Helena had burst in. They fought and judging from the relatively untouched condition of Selina�s face and Tim�s description of Helena�s bruises, Huntress hadn�t been able to land a blow and had resorted to her crossbow.

He knew Selina�s fighting techniques better than anyone, save perhaps Ted Grant. Selina practiced unique blend of martial arts, street fighting and gymnastics. What she lacked in brute strength she made up for in grace, speed and finesse. If so inclined, she could win a fight based on those methods alone. Cat burglars didn�t have to engage in drawn-out physical battles, but Selina knew how and where to hit. Huntress was a formidable combatant but lacked Selina�s skill in non-violent confrontations. Her intent was to secure the capture of a felon; Selina�s was escape. Her survival instincts were stronger than Helena�s resolve. That was probably the reason Helena had been forced to use the cross-bow. Selina might have tried to make it for the window and, once out on the rooftops of the city, there would be no catching her.

Batman checked the rest of the bedroom for further clues as to what had transpired between the two women. Huntress was still missing. Dick had been searching for hours with strict orders to contact him when Helena was found. Batman moved towards the window and something crunched beneath his feet.

He crouched down, picking up an old photograph encased in a cracked and broken frame. The two little girls in the picture wore identical white dresses of Confirmation. They posed on the stoop of an East End tenement, serious, almost world-weary expressions working against the presumed innocence of their white dresses and pin-curled hair. He calculated their ages: Selina was eight, Maggie five. Their mother would be dead in less than a year and the two pretty little girls in the picture would be shipped off to social services. Their father would drink himself to death, Selina would find herself on the streets by age eleven, and Maggie�well, Maggie would know her own kind of suffering.

Batman knew that the little girls in the picture were unaware of their sad fate but they still looked as though they expected some kind of future tragedy. He recognized the same expression on his face in every picture taken after his parents were murdered.

He removed the picture from the destroyed frame, inserting it into a large compartment in his utility belt. He would return it to Selina as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Turning to go, Batman felt a fist connect sharply with his jaw.

The blow surprised him and his head snapped back. He could taste blood on his tongue. Readying himself for an attack he assumed a fighter�s stance and faced his adversary. Slam Bradley.

�Where is she?� Slam demanded, fists clenched tightly, fire in his eyes. Batman relaxed slightly, wiping at the blood dribbling out of the side of his mouth.

�You surprised me, Bradley,� he said in a low growl. The sound of a gun being cocked was loud in the small room. Batman met Slam�s wild, angry eyes and Slam pointed a .45 Magnum directly at Batman�s head.

�Where. Is. She?� Slam asked, pronouncing each word carefully. �Talk, freak! I don�t think you�ve got enough Kevlar wrapped around those pointy ears of yours to stop a bullet.�

Batman lowered his hands, keeping them in plain sight, trying to calm Bradley down. �She was attacked.�

�Your work, or someone else�s?�

�Someone else�s,� Batman replied. �Selina is safe. And receiving medical attention.�

Slam considered him a moment longer, then slowly lowered the gun. Batman replaced the tiny, razor-sharp Batarangs he�d palmed into their secret compartments within his glove. He stepped back slightly, giving Bradley some space.

Slam was breathing heavily, his heart racing. It had been bad enough to find Selina�s place in ruins, but to have to watch Batman paw his way through her things� �I want to see her,� he informed Batman, his voice shaking.

The silence between them was deafening. Slam closed his eyes briefly, knowing he�d played it wrong. His request to see Selina had sounded like begging. Now the Bats had the power, and Slam knew his name wouldn�t be on any invitations to wherever Batman had taken Selina. �Is she okay?�

�She�s still in danger,� Batman replied gently. �She�s lost a lot of blood.�

�Why?� Bradley asked simply, sinking to the bed. �What the hell did she do to call something like this down on herself?�

�She�s a suspect in the murder of a former Gotham cop named George Flannery.� He was watching Slam carefully for some reaction but Bradley didn�t indicate that he had ever heard the name before. �She may also be involved in another death and a disappearance.�

�And she had time to do all of this between casual fucks?� Slam asked coarsely.

Batman did not allow himself to react.

Slam stood, replacing the Magnum in his shoulder holster. �I told her this was a mistake. That there was no way you could ever� She�s had one of the toughest lives I�ve ever heard of, and I�ve been around. There is nothing you could offer her that would make life any better for her,� Slam told him. �And this is the proof. You end it, now, or I swear to God-�

�You�re in love with her,� Batman said dismissively, turning to leave.

�Of course I am!� Slam exclaimed, his face open, truthful. �Question is, why aren�t you?�

Batman froze. Slam continued, unimpressed. �That�s what this is about, isn�t it? She�s not really a murder suspect or any of that other crap you�ve accused her of. It�s just a way to use her and then toss her away. Kudos, buddy. You�re a worse person than even I thought.�

Batman turned, his cape falling silently into place around him. �It doesn�t matter how I feel about her,� he said quietly. �If she is responsible for a death, she will go to prison.�

Slam snorted. �You know Selina. She�d rather die than do time again.�

�I wouldn�t let that happen.�

�Why not?� Slam asked sarcastically. �Because you�ve always done such a great job of protecting her, especially from herself? Nothing happens in this town without your say-so. This attack on her went down with your blessings. I know what you can do, and this was in your power to prevent this,� he decided. �Damn you for that! For all of it, all the rotten things you�ve let happen to her because you were too weak or scared or incompetent to help her. She shouldn�t have had to suffer like she has!� Slam roared, pushing past him to the door.

�I better hear from you within twenty-four hours and then see for myself that Selina�s okay. If not, I�m heading to the cops, to the media, to anyone who�ll give a shit about who you really are, Brucie.�

With that, Bradley left, slamming the door behind him. Batman was left in Selina�s room among the rubble.