Perfect Dark pt 9(PG-13)

[The_NewCatwoman]

Jessica Waters hunched her coat up against her body, trying her hardest to ward off the cool wind.

Her stupid little windbreaker did nothing to actually break much of anything!

She was feeling particularly vulnerable dressed in her "uniform" of thigh-length boots, and leopard skin dress.

And Mr. Dayland had been in a particular rush that night to undress her, do their business, and get her out of there before his wife came back.

It hadn't bothered her too much, rushing and the thought of getting caught just turned her on.

Sighing, she hurried along between each dismal patch of street light that lined the sidewalk outside of Gotham Park Towers'.

It was the ridiculous stretch of darkened sidewalk all too common around Gotham that almost made her laugh.

She didn't though, she was too scared.

Only a few more feet. she thought, spotting her car, not less than six feet away.

Smiling weakly, she walked around to the driver's side and began to unlock and open her door.

Feeling a presence behind her, she turned her head and checked the empty street behind her.

Immeadiately she felt a cold hand grasp her neck and force her onto the cool plush-lined seats of her Honda.

Turning around she screamed at the sight of two sickly green eyes.

A leering smile painted onto a chalk white face, framed by mishappen hair.

Teeth.

Long, sharp.

Frozen with fear she felt him begin to hike her dress up to her chest.

She begin to scream as he entered her, and simultaneously drew a knife across her neck.

Dragging it against her soft flesh, he begin to apply pressure, until finally it broke.

She gagged, blood pouring out of her body across the ground.

He began to press his face into it, drinking it as if he'd been in a dessert hell for the past year.

Pushing himself into her even harder, he surrendered to her dying body.

**

Commishner Gordon, ran a hand through his stark white hair, watching as forensics specialists began to clean up the aftermath of what had been a horrific discovery.

A prostitue found, throat punctured, drained of quite a significant amount of blood, and finally raped.

Her eyes stared ahead at the sky, up to the brillant fire in the heavens.

Bloodshot, and cold.

Blind.

Harvey stood beside him, graying temples, 5 'o clock shadow on full strong.

"Whaddya think Commish? I really got nothin' on this one."

"If I told you what I think Harvey, you wouldn't have the stomach for it." the Commishner said solemnly.

"Hey, where's the freak, takin' a day off or sometin'?"

"He's somewhere, maybe even here right now, he and the boy, waiting for us to leave so the real investigation can begin." the Commishner said turning around, "Alright clear out, we wanna get out of hear before Summer can have a chance to show her face."

"What about the body?"

"Nothin' we can do for her, tell Gene to take it to have an autopsy, find out everything we can,.." his voice trailing off into thought.

"Ai'ight Commish." Harvey said placing a reasuring hand onto his old friend's shoulder.

Slowly, one by one, they pulled off. Lighting an invisible trail down the street, the Calvary off to ride again.

**

Bruce sat on the side of the bed, back to Selina's sleeping frame.

Turning to face her, he traced her curves and folds with tired eyes.

He'd thought something about somehing when he'd found her with A.J.

But that had all been erased in the false ectasy she provided.

His mind becomming fully consumed in what was to come, worrying about the cold silence that always followed, and wishing for a chance to truly hold her in his arms and tell her what he really thought, but never could.

Sometimes being inside of her almost made it feel like happiness was within reach.

Other's it felt like all they had to offer each other were tears, and blood.

Memories of happiness forgotten.

He smiled at her naked body, like the day she was born.

She never slept under the covers when they were done, always preferring to lay in her full glory, for his hungry eyes to ponder, and conceive.

Pulling on his pants, he proceeded to give her a kiss on the cheek but decided against it, not fully comfortable with the idea.

Gathering the covers around him, he crept silently to the oaken doors that provided an invisible force field, separating it from the rest of the house.

Turning the knobs, he ducked into the hallway, and silently closed the doors behind him.

Walking calmly down the hallway, he found A.J.'s room.

A long time had passed since his floor lay strewn with various toys and books which he delighted in throwing onto the floor as soon as Alfred had managed to put them in their proper place again.

Bruce smiled weakly.

Now A.J.'s room was kept in perfect order, his perfectionism shining through.

Books lined in alphabetical order on the shelves, clothes folded in thirds inside of his drawers.

Him laying on his back, hands at his sides, tightened into fists.

He never sweated in his sleep, face perfectly dry, even on the hottest summer night.

Always bare-chested, even in the dead of winter, when Jack Frost beat an angry fist against the aging house.

Now fall was just beginning to set in, the wind beginning to warn at Jack's coming.

Bruce watched with emotionless eyes as A.J.'s chest swelled, and fell with each breath.

He was proud of A.J. in the sense that he kept flawless grades easily, only slacking when he became bored, and then only to an A-, how athletically skilled he was at his young age.

He even surpassed Dick in some abilities.

He felt small arms close around his stomach, turning to see Selina's calm face, dressed in his nightshirt.

"You couldn't possibly be angry with me, and you know you can't" she teased leading him out of A.J.'s bedroom for a chat in the hall.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't be Catwoman anymore." he said coldly, their passion lost for good.

She let go of his hand and turned away, "It's not fair, you know it isn't, you run out there every night, chasing God knows who, and for what?

-BYe
**Whaddya think?**

[The_NewCatwoman]

It was unfair really that she ask such a thing from him, she knew that the second she said "I do." in the Cathedral.

He'd given her plenty of opportunity to say "No", to back out of the deal years ago, but she's been stubborn.

"We've discussed this,.." he started.

"We've fought, we haven't discussed anything Bruce." Selina corrected immeadiately.

She was right, whenever they tried to talk to each other, it resulted in a fight of some kind. Sometimes they didn't talk for days.

Weeks.

It was immature they both knew, but when had they ever had time to actually grow up?

Selina began to take off downstairs, Bruce following her, until they reached the great room.

"Selina, I,... I have my reasons for the things that I do, you think I want to hurt you?"

"Rather or not you want to hurt me you do, finding some excuse or another to go out there!" she said gesturing into space, her voice rising with every word.

"I'm here now, that isn't any consolation prize to you?" Bruce asked almost snidely.

"*******!" Selina said through gritted teeth while grabbing a vase and hurling it at his head.

Bruce ducked, surprised at her anger, even when Selina was furious she still kept her cool.

He watched, in shock, as she grabbed a bookend off of the shelf and threw it too.

It made a heavy thud as it hit the wall, then floor, leaving a small dent in the hidden frame of the house.

Bruce rushed forward grabbing her, and wrapping his arms around her body to restrain her.

"That won't solve anything." he said struggling.

"Yeah, well it'll make me feel a hell of a lot better!" She said gutting him with her elbow.

Bruce ignored the impossible pain, and refused to let go of her writhing body.

"Let her go." they heard a calm voice, a hint of a threat weaved between the words.

They both turned to find A.J. standing, still rock steady in resolve.

Bruce slowly unwrapped his strong arms from around Selina, cautioned that she might take the opportunity to slug him.

Selina stood up straight, "Why aren't you in bed?"

"I couldn't help but overhear." he said solemnly, shrugging at the unnessecity(sp?) of the question. Bruce could almost see vulnerablity shining out of his pristine blue eyes.

Bruce noticed a small laceration on A.J.'s arm, why hadn't he noticed before, and why hadn't A.J. bandaged it up.

"Go to bed A.J." Bruce said in a voice that echoed 'Not up for discussion.'

A.J. nodded, and went back upstairs.

Selina shuddered, pushing down a memory of witnessing her parents many fights, in which her father was the heavy weight champ, and her mother a lowly up-start, duking it out in the living room arena.

Bruce noticed and made a move to put his arms, soothingly, around her.

Selina shifted and pushed away, "It doesn't work that way Bruce, pretending nothing happened gets real old, real fast." Her voice barely above a whisper.

He watched her turned back as she went upstairs back to bed.

He stared at her, the way she walked, even when he was resisting the urge to knock her to kingdom come, he still fell in love with her everytime he saw her beautiful face.

The way she walked, her hips swaying in only a way she could make them go.

He walked to his window, staring into a world he was slowly being denied access to.

He began to pray he would be cured of his need to say such stupid reckless things to her when she was her most sensitive.

And that one day he'd be able to tell her how much she meant to him, even though he acted like a real ass.

**

"Alright Mrs. Wayne, you did great, are you sure you don't need anything else?"

"No, Dr. Langdon I think that's about all for today." Selina said forcing a smile. Hard to do when you had just spent the last hour with feet propped up on metal stirrups, naked under a hospital gown, with all kinds of things being stuck up,... Needless to say it hadn't been a very comfortable trip to the gynecologist. (Sorry this is for story sake.)

Selina walked out to her car, and climbed in, feeling the distinct tug of hopelessness nagging at her brain cells.

Dr. Langdon had called her that morning for a re-evaluation check up, saying that they had some questions for her.

They also had some answers.

Grumbling she turned the key in the ignition and began the long drive home. Back to her imprisonment in the house most women would sell their soul for one night in with her husband.

"Fools." she said to herself.

She never had to worry about her husband coming home drunk, or with the police, or not at all. Opting instead to spend the night at a "friend's" house, whom they later leave her for. No she had to worry about her husband coming home with his intestines hanging out, or a concusion, or not at all.

A much worse not at all.

Sighing, she rubbed her tummy, it had been quite the perfect end to a wonderful day when she found out she was pregnant, again.

And not just with anyone's baby, no Bruce Wayne's baby.

It's not that she didn't love him or anything, it was that it was just so *hard* to love him.

Needless to say it wasn't cloud nine living with him, let alone *loving* him.

She began to pray that she'd wake up, and this would all be some horrible dream, and she'd just spent the past ten years in a coma.

She then cursed at herself for thinking such a thing.

"Pure Irony. At it's best." she said smiling weakly.

[SilverKnight]

I like. One small thing, though. Two, really. One, some of those "paragraphs" should be more than one sentence. For instance, instead of it being:

Jessica Waters hunched her coat up against her body, trying her hardest to ward off the cool wind.

Her stupid little windbreaker did nothing to actually break much of anything!

She was feeling particularly vulnerable dressed in her "uniform" of thigh-length boots, and leopard skin dress.

It'd be better like this:

Jessica Waters hunched her coat up against her body, trying her hardest to ward off the cool wind. Her stupid little windbreaker did nothing to actually break much of anything! She was feeling particularly vulnerable dressed in her "uniform" of thigh-length boots, and leopard skin dress.

And THEN move to a new paragraph. It's nothing major. Second, the (sp?). I mean, it's nice to warn us if you think you spelled something wrong and all, but hey, I never notice. Other than that, it's good. Sorry I haven't mentioned earlier. But I'll keep ya posted more.

[Panther]

Ohhhh! A baby! How exciting! Please don't let anything bad happen to la petit enfant! Promise? >wide beseeching eyes<

I love how you got into Selina's head. I feel sorry for her, but personally I think she and Bruce deserve each other. Excellent character description, keep it up.

One little thing, I feel a bit lost as to how things ended at the party. Did I miss something - last i saw someone had a sword to whats-her-anme's throat and Selina had just walked in in full costume.

Well, later,

[The_NewCatwoman]

Bruce sat slouching slightly in his leather office chair. A shallow glass of whiskey sitting on his thigh, he contemplated firing some ass-kisser who had completely "hated", as Tim would say, on his cubicle team.

He hated people who felt it was their job to police other people doing their best to get by. Not to mention the loyalty factor, what's to say should his company be questioned on the grounds of monopoly would they not squeal like a greased pig?

"Sarah," he said into the intercom, "Send Mr. Finnland to my office immeadiately."

He extinguished the whiskey into the trashcan and got up to replace the glass to his wet-bar.

Swinging the hide-away bar back into the wall, he sat down just as Donovan Finnland slinked his way into his office. A slick grin painted on his pale face.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne, what an amazing tie you have on..." he said over-zealously, while reaching out his hand for a shake.

Bruce stared at it intently, waiting for him to withdrawl his refused offer.

Donovan cleared his throat nevously, taking care to keep the smile in clear veiw.

Hold on while I switch computers.

[The_NewCatwoman]

"Earlier this week you submitted a report on your fellow teammates, something about stealing lightbulbs?" Bruce asked, his eyebrows raising slightly.

"Yes Sir, they were caught in the act of stealing, and stealing is against company policy." Donovan answered quickly.

"Yes, company policy." Bruce said deadpan. "Do me a favor will you?"

"Of course, Sir!"

"Cut the bull****."

"Excuse me, Sir as I stated stealing is against company..."

"What about loyalty, is that against company policy? I can't afford to have someone working for me, who I can't trust."

"Sir, with all due respect, don't you think you're being a little asinine?"

Bruce leaned back against his chair, calming down immeadiately, "Maybe your right?"

Donovan smiled, relaxing too. "Now about this trust thing, what's not to trust about me?"

"Everything." Bruce said, fingering the intercom simultaneously, "Sarah, send up security to escort Mr. Finnland to his desk and then off the premises."

Donovan sputtered, face turning purple.

Bruce smiled slyly, "Your things are to be out of the building by..." he checked his watch, quarter past three. "Three-thirty."

"Your kidding me, this is an outrage! I'm reporting you to the board for this!" Donovan said, as the security guards burst in the room, and grabbed him by his arms.

Bruce fingered the intercom again, "Sarah, if it's not to much trouble send Mr. Finnland's former team up for a moment."

"Yes, Sir."

Bruce smiled, it wasn't like they were stealing computer's or anything, just lightbulbs. But he would warn them, 1. Not to steal lightbulbs, 2. If they really needed them, they could put in a special order, and he'd make sure to get them to them without any trouble.

It wasn't like he had to be Batman 24/7, sometimes he just had to be Bruce Wayne again, and this was definently something Bruce would have done.

**

A.J. and Tim stood silently outside of the school waiting for Alfred to retreive them. Neither mentioned Tim's being on notice for suspension for bad grades.

Tim shifted on his feet nervously, Bruce would hand him his ass for this. Sure he'd gotten into trouble with the police before, but that was in the past. This would be the first time he'd gotten into trouble since that first year living with Bruce.

It had been basically a long time since he'd had an adult looking out for him, and then it was pretty basic. All he had to do was come home at night, no problems there.

Bruce had rules, and plenty of them. On school nights he was to be home by 8:00pm, by his senior year it had only been extended to 9:30. Needless to say he hadn't been to too many parties during that time.

Not to mention he had felt pretty left out, and rejected by his father, and dropping hints left and right that he wanted to be adopted.

Bruce had eventually gotten the hint.

Then Dick left, taking Barbara with him, off to Bludhaven, to a new challenge. It had been just him and Bruce. They'd forged quite a nice working relationship then, and Tim had found the respect that he lacked for him during that time.

Then A.J. was born, and it was like having his father taken away from him all over again.

He had begun to feel like Bruce was his second chance at a Dad, now he had to share him with yet another person, it sucked.

Bruce had also gotten married, again. It wasn't that he didn't like Selina, it was that he just didn't know her. But atleast Selina was human, as in flesh and blood human. No one wanted to discuss the whole plant wife incident.

He waited, dreading the moment when Alfred would arrive and cart them off to the house.

Just making less time until Bruce came home to send him to the dungeons.

It's ridiculous really, one would wonder how to ground a grown man, but Bruce could do it.

Tim was in college now, but sometimes, when Alfred was going to be late, had the responsibility to wait with A.J.

And since Tim had taken time off between high school and college to honor the Bat-family tradition of traveling the world, was now barely a junior.

Still in college, still in Gotham, still under Bruce control.

Tim shrugged watching as the black Sudan pulled up along the curb to take them home.

**cha ching**