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 choose between 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 Bruce 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 say, and she 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."
