Batcat Spectre (DPXDC)

Chapter 5

Selina landed on the rooftop with practiced grace, Batman's message playing on repeat in her head. When she heard his first message, she couldn't run out the door fast enough, but then his next message came and concern caused her to quicken her pace.

'I found him'

'we need to talk before you see him, something's come up'

"What happened?" She hissed out to the black figure almost perfectly hidden on top of the safe house that she knew Batman would take him to.

Batman turned to face her, and she felt a pit form in his stomach. Not many could read the Dark knight as she could. She only learned through years of practice and trading fists (and flirting). Something really did happen, and it wasn't good.

"Selina." Civilian names, in costume. Not good.

"Is he ok? What happened to him? How did you find him?" She hastily asked, now almost right in front of him.

"He found us," Batman responded, his voice quiet. "We were investigating a shipment of Joker gas by the docks when he pushed Red Robin out of the way of a projectile containing the gas. It hit him instead."

"No." She whispered. Pushing past him, she tried to run towards the door leading inside but Batman grabbed onto her arm before she could.

"Instead of paralyzing him, he just got tired and said that he could sleep off poison inflicted on him. He said that he spoke from experience."

On one hand, she was relieved to hear that the boy was ok. It made sense he had some form of resistance to foreign substances. He had managed to stay awake for a long time when she had drugged him last time after all. If not for his...strange outburst, she isn't sure he would have fallen unconscious at all. On the other hand, hearing that he had been poisoned before caused her to hiss in anger.

"So what's wrong then? If it won't kill him, and he's fine, why aren't you letting me walk through that door and see him right now?"

Batman hesitated, and that was never a good sign.

"Bruce" she whispered, so low that no one could hope to hear if they were listening in. "Just tell me. What's wrong with my baby?"

"...he claims it didn't affect him the way it should have...because he no longer had the necessary organs needed for it to be effective in the first place," Batman responded, and she could hear the pain hidden cleverly in his voice. He didn't stop there. "Selina, he has no pulse."

She blinked. "What?" Shaking, she gripped his suit angrily. "You said he was fine!"

"He is conscious and talking, but he has no pulse," Batman explained, grabbing onto her wrists gently. "When under the influence of the Joker Venom, he informed Red Robin that he didn't have a heart for the venom to paralyze. After several questions, it appeared he was panicking and claimed that he didn't need to breathe to live. He stopped breathing after that."

"I-" Selina paused. Her words struggled to come out. "I don't understand. How is that possible? Did you check?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Of course I did. He seemed hesitant to confirm, but I was the first who noticed his missing pulse. When questioned, he wouldn't breathe but did not stop talking. He didn't need his lungs to keep functioning."

"But he was breathing last time!" She answered.

"According to his...reasonings, he doesn't need to."

"So...what? He just doesn't need oxygen? Is this why his blood was green?"

Batman hesitated again, not helping her nerves in the slightest. "He claims it is because he no longer needs them....because he is already dead."

The pit that had formed in her stomach dropped. "W-...what?"