𝚂𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝚒𝚗 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 (𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛)

𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚: 𝕥𝕒𝕩𝕚

================================================================================

"Anni? Baby!?"

Selina marched through the apartment and quickly left you to search the rooms. The entire apartment was destroyed: furniture was flipped over, glass littered the floor, and the cats swarmed you as you entered. Unbelievable. Your friend's muffled voice was calling out for her lover, growing ever more desperate. Staring ahead in shock, you pet the nearest cat numbly as Batman shuffled through some papers.

"Jesus, what're they gonna do to her? She didn't do nothin'." Selina sighed as she took her place beside you. "Shit, they took my phone..."

"-the killer posted the following message on social media. We should warn you, the video is very disturbing." Focusing your attention to the TV that was left on, it cut to a self recorded video with heavy breathing.

"Hello, people of Gotham," the video started. "This is the Riddler speaking. On Halloween night, I killed your mayor because he was not who he pretended to be." Batman was transfixed. "But I am not done... heeeree is another-" The camera flipped around to reveal a bound, naked man with a rat-cage contraption imprisoning his head. "-who will soon be losing face. I will kill again, and again, and again... until our Day of Judgment, when the truth of our city will FINALLY be unmasked." The Riddler gleefully said goodbye as the news reporters started talking again. "Commissioner Savage served a distinguished 30 year career-"

"Holy shit, I seen that guy too," Selina shakily said.

"Yeah," you noted, "At the club."

"The Iceberg Lounge?"

"44 Below," you corrected Batman.

"What's that?"

Selina rolled her eyes. "The club within the club-the real club... It's a mob hangout."

"Is that where you work?" Batman inquired.

She paused for a brief moment. "No, I just work the bar upstairs so I see 'em come in, but she," gesturing to you, "works below."

The man glanced at you before prodding Selina. "Who?"

"Everybody. Lotta guys who shouldn't be there, I can tell you that. Your basic, upstanding citizen types."

"You're going to help me on this," he claimed, glancing back and forth between the two of you. "For your friend." You and Selina shared a look.

"You got a lot of cats," commented the man after your lack of replies.

"I have a thing about strays," your feline roommate confessed.

Batman turned to leave, "You're not safe here," he concluded, giving you one last look before stepping out of the broken door.

Selina called after him, "We can take care of ourselves."

"Can we?" you whispered.

"Of course. Wouldn't be the first time."

"-with two public figures now dead in just the last two nights, and only days before the election, police and city officials are left searching for a killer, and hoping to find him before he kills again..."

--------------------------------

"Ow-I don't know about these things."

"I need to see in there, this hunting ground," Batman mumbled to Selina, too engrossed in setting up his equipment in an abandoned diner. Putting in the contacts he had given wasn't much of a challenge, nor too painful. Squeezing your eyes tight, you made sure that they slid comfortably into position.