Chapter 6: Dreams in the Dark

“Selenna, you don’t have to do this.” He huffed, charging her down.

“You know I do, I’m a criminal. I can’t change that. You know I can’t. I am in too deep.” She breathed from over her back, her arms pumping, maintaining the distance between them.

He had chased her halfway across town, which was impressive considering it was raining and she had the superior agility. But, He managed to keep pace with all of his fantastical gadgets. She wondered who had made all those wonderful toys of his.

Selenna had turned to face Him; she was running out of rooftops. She stepped up on the ledge and He stopped, a hand outstretched. She balanced expertly, despite the large backpack she had slung over her back – it contained money from a bank heist. She had stolen the money from a crime already in progress, much to the chagrin of the thugs who were already in police custody.

“You’re out of roofs, you’re out of time. Drop the bag.” He took a step closer, his hand still outstretched. She saw subtly that his other hand had disappeared under his cape reaching for his belt.

‘Not this time.’ She thought as her eyes followed his movements.

She reached a hand across her masked face to clear away some of the rain. It made no difference, for as the pursuit intensified—so did the rain. Even He was blinking more rapidly from under his cowl.

‘Who was he under there?’ She thought. He certainly knew a lot more about her than she cared to admit.

They both looked up as a passing police helicopter missed them, it’s search light apparently destined for another use. He looked at her, taking another step.

“Hold it!” She said, squaring up her feet on the ledge, hands braced for yet another fight. She looked at her hands and noted that she was missing two of her claws. No doubt lost during her most recent climb up a brick wall or else embedded in the rubber of his suit.

“Selenna. We both know how this will end.”
“Sorry, Bats. Like I said, I’m a girl who likes the finer things in life. And this loot here will set me up for a long time. Maybe long enough for you to forget about chasing me for a while.”

His scowl told her those odds were less than zero.

“Then I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that money you’ve been slinging around the city is bogus. Fake. Phoney.”

“Bullshit!” She said.

He tilted his head to the side, waiting. His pointed ears annoyed her, but deep down she longed to touch them.

Then she thought back about how she’d had a tip off about a crime in progress. A bank robbery along a route she knew well. Her plan was simple: let the thugs do all the dirty work, then swoop in, disarm them and grab some scratch for herself. Easy-peasy.

Now, she was having misgivings. Why hadn’t the police decided to chase her? For she was on foot for the first 10 minutes. Not even so much as a squad car. Then, of course, He showed up and changed her plans.

“Bullshit!” She said again, aloud. But now, she had doubts.

She shifted the backpack on her shoulders and felt the pack was warm. Hot, in fact. Something she hadn’t realized until now for she was too preoccupied with not getting caught.

“Kitty getting warm, yet?” He said, still tilting his head.

“Maybe. Why?” She shouted over the deluge of rain that was drenching them both.

“Those criminals you stole from—they used the bags from the bank, instead of bringing their own. They are security bags with a timer inside rigged to blow a small charge with a dye color in them, rendering the bills completely useless. You might want to take it off, unless you want to add a trip to the ER to your list of places this evening.”

She furrowed her brow and hastily took the bag off her back. Still perched on the ledge, she crouched down slightly but kept her eyes on His the whole time.

She reached for the zip, but it was stuck. She glanced down for a fraction of a second, but a second was all that He needed. Quick as a snake, he reached out with the hand concealed under his cape. A grappling gun exploded, and a hook imbedded itself into the bag. He pulled hard, and the bag, and a startled Selenna came hurtling off the ledge and back onto the rooftop proper.

Selenna cried out and overbalanced as the bag was wrenched out of her grip. He was on her, tossing the grappling gun and bag aside and they were locked in deadly combat.

She kicked out with a foot that caught him in the center of his cowl. Her foot smarted as leather-wrapped flesh met his Kevlar cowl.

‘Not rubber.’ She thought quickly as she dodged his blows.

Like two MMA fighters, each landed blow after blow. He the stronger of the two, but she, the more agile and acrobatic. Twice, she’d parried his boxing combinations with kicks that connected with his thigh and solar plexus.

“Had enough?!” She bellowed as she landed yet another successful kick to his torso, sending him to a knee with an audible grunt.
He looked up, eyes narrowed, still grasping his side.

She took in her surroundings while he was recovering. She had mere seconds. ‘Where was that bag!?’ But in the darkness and rain-flecked environment, she decided to bail on the money and save her own skin. There were always ways to make more money.

He was on his feet as she noticed that during their tussle that she was in a better position to make good her escape. He lashed out, but she did several backflips until she was on a ledge that was kitty corner to another building with a fire escape.
She had her whip untangled and lashed out at Him, he parried once, twice. But the third time the crack of the whip made contact with his forearm, and he cried out.

“Back off, Bats!”

Before he could reply, she turned and reached out with her whip. Its tip snaked around the metal of the fire escape opposite and she hurled herself into space. She was soaring to freedom, imaging the look of frustration in his face when it happened. She felt a jerking from the whip as the metal she’d connected with came away, no doubt rusted from years of exposure and lack of maintenance.

“Ahh!” She cried out as she was falling through space—down, down, down towards her death.

Suddenly, her body made contact with something hard, as all the air was pulled from her lungs. But she was no longer falling. Rather, she was being carried up, held by Him.

They landed hard on another rooftop and she rolled away, gasping for air, He too, was out of breath.

She got up quickly, trying to muscle the strength for another fight, but the sudden near-shock of death had robbed her of some of the fight.

He got up awkwardly, his right arm was hanging at its side at a low angle.

‘Dislocated.’ She thought.

“If you think that saving my life won’t stop me from ending yours, you are sorely mistaken.” She said through gritted teeth.

Torn between an easy escape and the prospect of being heralded within the criminal community as the one who Got The Bat, she chose the latter. This opportunity may never come again.

She came at him hard, but despite his injury, he managed to stave off her attack and she instantly regretted her decision. One-armed, he was holding his own and getting stronger. And, with one grunting effort, he caught her leg kick and swept her stance leg from under her. She landed hard on her backside and he was on her.

Selenna struggled, mightily but his weight was impressive and she was completely pinned down.

“That’s enough.” He grunted and she stopped struggling, her mind working. Calculating. Measuring distance and inches for the right moment. But no plan seemed to form.

“That money you stole. It was real. But there was no dye charge in it.” He grinned.

“Clever Bat.” She said, thinking that if she had only spotted it, she’d be away and rich. But then, she’d also be dead from that fall.

She blinked as raindrops continued hitting her in her masked face. She noticed the water channeling down his mask, down the bat-like points that were his ears and down to the nose where a few were now dropping onto her chest.

They stared at each other as lightning cracked overhead.

“Don’t suppose you’ve got metal in those pointy ears, do you?” Said Selenna.

“This suit can stopper electrical charges.”

“But what about lightning?”

He looked up at the sky, his chin silhouetted against the continued storm. It was a handsome chin with a strong jawline and Selenna had to marshal her thoughts back to her situation.

“Going to tie me up now, Bats. Send me to the Commissioner’s office?” She made a pouty face that was met with his scowl.

“It’s not up to me what happens next. What matters now is that I bring you in. You know that.”

“Or, you could let me go.”

“You know I won’t do that.”

“You’re not really in a position to make decisions for me.”

“You chose the life of crime, long ago. I am vengeance, the bringer of justice.”

“Yeah, well, who stops you?” She spat the words back at him and he paused.

She’d heard through the grapevine of crime rumors that The Bat had been ruthless with his justice. Never killing, but certainly sending criminals to book with broken bones, compound and compression fractures, concussions and of course, PTSD.

“I could stop you.” She said, looking up at him.

He looked down at her. She wriggled under him, but he did not crush her with his weight. Was it because of his injured arm, or had the fight left both of them now, soaked and cold that they both must be.

“Your teeth are chattering.” He said, indecisively.

“We’re on a rooftop. At night. In the fucking rain.”

His silence could be maddening.

“Come on, get up. Time to bring you to book.”

She raised her head and shoulders, making to get up. He moved back, too, with a stiffness she had not seen him do before. Perhaps she’d injured him more than she’d thought. Her senses were dulled. She was cold, tired and ready for either a large glass of wine and a bath at home, or a prison cell.

“And after you ‘bring me to book’, what are you going to do next? Fight more baddies with that dangler of a right hook you have there?”

“Something like that.” He said, steading himself. He had procured restraints from his utility belt.

“Oh, kinky are we?”

He said nothing as he gestured for her to put her hands out.

“Seriously. What do you do after a night of crime fighting? Slink off to some cave for a massage and a bath. A protein shake and apply a few Band-Aids?”

He smirked. “Something like that.”

“Or maybe you have a wife and kids, or parents. Grandparents. Do they ever wonder why you are bashed and bruised and ‘go out every night’? Does your family think you work evening security? That’s one hell of a lie to keep going, Bats.”

He scowled again. She’d hit a nerve somewhere.

“Or maybe…you don’t have any of those things.” She took a step towards him. He braced.

“Maybe…you live alone in a house somewhere where you build shit like this and that.” She gestured to various technical gadgets on his belt and suit.

“You’ve got to be pretty brainy as well as rich to afford to do that unnoticed. Who knows, maybe you skim a little off the top from the crimes you stop. After all, who would know?”

She reached out a hand and put it across the logo of his chest. She could feel him brace underneath, the hardness of muscle, the heat despite the coldness of the night.

“But no, you’re a boy scout. You’d never steal to further your aims. You’ve got money. Old money. But you seem sad underneath all that rubber and Kevlar. I bet you live alone.”

He leaned in and she felt some of the heat through his chest radiate into her hand. Or at least that’s what she told herself.

“I live alone.” She said, though more quietly. She took a step closer, but this time he did not brace. She glanced down at his injured arm, which hung limply, though she was sure he’d use it if he had to.

“Maybe we could live alone, together?” She was on tiptoe now, looking up at him. His face was unreadable now, a mystery.

“Who are you under there, Bats? I can see those sad blue eyes…”

Suddenly, she kissed him. He protested for only a moment. Her hand was still on his chest, maintaining a distance as they embraced. The rain continued to fall around them, but for a moment, it felt like they were dancing between the raindrops.

There was a ‘snikkt’ as she felt the restraints being tethered to her wrist and the magic moment was over.

“It was worth it.” She said, reaching up with one clawed hand to wipe her lower lip. He said nothing as he carted her away, but even in the dark, she could tell he was blushing.

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Selenna awoke with a start. She had been dreaming. It was a dream she had not had in a long time, but one that brought her comfort. It was of the first time she had been bested by the Bat and brought in. Naturally, after she was booked she had escaped the abysmal holding cell within Glotham City Police Department. Half the police were on someone’s payroll. All you had to do was drop the right name to the right cop and suddenly, someone forgot to click the handcuffs properly or lock up a cell door. Cameras got pointed in different directions and doors that usually remained locked, magically were left open and unguarded. She was in jail less than four hours before her escape. Though, her strongest memories were of Him.

She rolled over in her cell, sensing the blackness all around her. In solitary, they really meant it—including the light. Or, rather, lack of it.

The only item she had in addition to the tiny room was the pair of glasses she’d stolen from the warden. It had happened when he had accosted her during their recent altercation. She didn’t know what made her do it, but during the tussle, they were there in his jacket and she grabbed them.

She twirled them in her hands, wondering if she could perhaps lift a fingerprint from one of the lenses, or perhaps snap off one of the arms to fashion into a lockpick. Still, she kept them confined on her person—even during her previous strip search. The guard had been good, but not that good.

She rolled from her side to her back and reached up a hand to her lips. She still felt him there. The answering pressure of him, the stubble of his chin on her smooth skin. Had it really happened, or had she imagined the whole thing?

Perhaps she had fallen when her whip lost its grip, and she really did fall and woke up some time later in prison. But no, she had kissed Him and he responded.

She smiled and pressed her legs together, feeling the warmth between her thighs. With her other hand, she traced a line down her body, finding the waistband of her prison attire. She closed her eyes once more, trying to remember every exquisite detail as her hand found its mark and oblivion took over…

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