DC's Path of Ruin: Book I

Day 2 - Part 3

 Day 2: Evening - Around 4 PM

Batman's eyes watched the surveillance cameras of the Manor. Selina was here. He remembered her as well. Back in his dimension, she couldn't stand him. His eyes continued to follow her as she walked through the Manor, throwing away..plants? He hadn't thought much of it, as she distracted him. Bruce was also watching as she and Brian clashed. He knew of the room, though not necessarily the meaning behind it. He would have asked Brian, well, his Brian, but he was gone too soon for that.

Suddenly, interrupting his thoughts and staring at Selina, an alert came into view of the Bat-Computer. Across the highly defined, giant screens of the Bat-Computer a quiet but bold red square expanded with the text 'Identified Criminal Detected' before quickly shrinking and expanding the feed of the specific city camera.

Taking over the view was Harleen Quinzel, looking more detached and deranged than her average M.O suggested. Eerily walking with shifting weight heavily from hip to hip, her white makeup was smeared across her face unevenly, showing many patches of her normal skin-tone, eye makeup stained and runny with her hair and civilian clothes covered in dried blood. Her body was shaking, a backpack strapped on, a revolver in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other. The audio coming in was a mix of nervous civilians turning to see her emerge from the alleyway and running and of her screaming and crying nonsensical sounds. A small map appeared at the bottom right of the screen, showing her distance to be five minutes away by flight, twelve minutes by driven car. Nearest point of interest was the Continental Bank - the first bank he had recorded history of encountering her and the Joker together.

Though she looked to be without the Joker.

Bruce's eyes narrowed very slightly. Harley from his dimension was an ally to a degree, but here, the Joker hadn't been killed, in which case, she would still be working under him. He needed to take care of this. Walking away from the computer, Batman got into the Bat-Mobile and took off.  

**

"Jesus Christ" Gordon sighed when he clicked off his work cell phone from the call. In the east district, yes Gotham had shrunk so much there were only eight directional districts left, another of Batman's old criminals had come back to haunt them - Harley Quinzel. "What are you doing?" The middle aged man asked the young woman driving the police car, he was giving her the ropes - a new face trying to make a difference. Gordon was starting to wonder what difference there was left to make but things getting worse. It was stressful for Gordon to be an eternal optimist for law and justice.

He ran a hand down his face. He had put a lot of faith in Batman, and he vanished. Everyone said he left - but Gordon had a hunch otherwise. That man, much like him, had his heart in this city - he wouldn't leave Gotham. Because Gotham would never leave his heart, Batman's soul was Gotham.

"Drive!"

Screeching into a sharp U-turn on the main street, Gordon's eyes caught hold of the civilians walking up and down the sidewalks - staring at the police car in shock. What was left of the city had never been cleaner, and the police car he was in was more combat upgraded than anything he'd set his ass in before - but Gotham was becoming chained to the generous man offering these things: Lex Luthor. Gordon always had a hunch about him too - he made the stomach twist like a bad flu.

"Sir, what are we going to do?"

"What?" Gordon pulled his face away from the blurring city through the car window.

"When we see her, what are we going to do?"

Their jails were full, filled with the poor desperate to do crime by coming into the remaining city and thiefing. They city was bleeding given money to feed and maintain the prison population that kept stockpiling - they were throwing themselves into the system for meals. Arkham was finding its halls getting filled too - hungry people do sinful things.