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Chapter Text

Another night in Gotham, the Bat signal shone brightly in the dark rain clouds, a symbol of hope for the good, a warning of danger for the evil. The Dark Knight drove through the dampened streets of Gotham, with the young Robin besides him, checking the news broadcast on a small screen:

“Vicky Vale reporting live from outside the Iceberg Lounge, where one hour earlier tonight, at 10:53, gunshots where heard. Police has blocked access to the building, and Commissioner Gordon has confirmed Oswald Cobblepot, also known by his nickname the Penguin, the Iceberg Lounge’s owner and alleged crime boss, though never convicted of any formal charges brought against him, was found dead in his club, as well as 22 othe…”

Vicky stopped her report as the custom engine of the Batmobile roared through the rain, stopping right in front of the fancy building. Batman and Robin stepped through the police blockade, entering the building, and immediately both started working, checking the bodies, looking at the bloody footprints on the floor.

“We’re trying to crack through the CCTV footage”, said Gordon, shaking Batman’s hand. “Penguin had his security system locked.”

Robin came towards the two men: “The broken chair over there.”, he said pointing at the corner of the room, “It has ropes around it and it’s stained with blood. But there’s no body there.”

“And no signs of restrains on any of the bodies.”, said Batman. “Cobblepot?”, he asked to Gordon.

“Poor bastard’s on the seals pool. I almost feel sorry for the way he went… Almost.”, said Gordon, leading the two heroes to the second room.

A large room with many aquariums on the walls, all full with fish of many beautiful colors, and at the center of the room, a large, deep pool, with an artificial ice island in the middle, where some officers where guiding the seals into cages, and where the body of the Penguin hanged from the sealing by his short and fat neck on a power cable, his custom tailored suit covered in his own blood.

Batman approached the body. “Many shots throughout the body, though the cause of death is the blood loss from the exposed fracture in the neck, severing the arteries. He must have fallen from the catwalks, and his neck got caught on the light cables.”.

“We cracked the security footage.”, said a police officer coming into the room. The three man headed towards the security room, the tech officer played back the footage of one hour prior.

The footage showed the still alive men, and tied to the chair, a calm female, clad in a skin tight black suit.

“There she is, boss. Caught her at the counting room.”, said one of the men, as the Penguin entered the room, a cigar in between his short fingers.

Catwoman turned her face as Cobblepot approached her, blowing smoke, “Smoking kills, Ozzy.”, she said, coughing.

“So does invading private property, bitch!”, he answered. “We’re closed for the night, and even than, you’re not welcome here!”

“You were closed?” said Catwoman in a sarcastic tone, “By the way I got here, I didn’t even not…”, her speech was cut short by Cobblepot hitting her in the face with his cane.

The Penguin and his men laughed at Catwoman’s pain, then they stopped laughing. But someone else didn’t.

“Alright boy, cut it out!”, said the Penguin, and the laughter continued.

“It’s not us, sir.”. said one of the thugs.

The laughter continued. A cold, hissing, mocking laugh. It echoed through the room, but the source was nowhere to be seen.

“Increase the brightness.”, said Batman. The tech man did so, but nothing could be seen in the darkness.

“The weeds of crime bears bitter fruit, Cobblepot.”, said a voice. A low voice, dark and strong. A voice that resonated from the shadows of the Iceberg Lounge.

The Penguin grabbed one of his special umbrella guns, while his men armed themselves. “Who’s there?! Come out, asshole!”, shouted one of Penguins men.

Suddenly, gun shots came from nothing. Two men dropped dead. Penguin and his men opened fire at the direction the gunshots came, a darken corner of the room, and the darkness return fire, killing seven more men.

Catwoman took the opportunity to rock the chair his was tied to, breaking it, and untying herself, and running towards the seals pool.

“DON’T LET THE KITTY GET AWAY!”, shouted the Penguin, he and his men ran after her, opened fire at the direction of Catwoman who was running through the catwalks, hitting her in the leg and shoulder, it were glancing shots, but were enough to make her stumbled and fall to the ground, but as the crooks reached the catwalks, the laughter came roaring back.

Three more shots from the darkness, three more men died. Four shots, more dead bodies, more shots, more deaths, until Cobblepot was the only one man left in the catwalks.

“You’ll be the first, Cobblepot.”, said the voice. The voice in the shadows, the shadows that seemed to draw closer to the terrified Penguin. “Your corpse shall be the warning to all criminals in Gotham that the shadows you cower into to hide from retribution have turned against all of you.”, the approaching shadows declared, as they took a shape. The shape of a man.

A man clad in black, a long black cloak, a long red scarf covering his mouth, and a black slouch hat, from which the shade cast by it obscured the man’s entire face, except for his eyes, his bright green eyes, full of hatred and disgust.

Cobblepot tried to lift his umbrella at the man, only to be riddled with bullets by two 1911 pistols. The Penguin stumbled, and fell from the catwalks, his screams as he fell mixed with the blood chilling laugh of the man in black, until only the laugh could be heard, for Cobblepot died the way Batman had described.

The man than approached Catwoman, who watched in horror the entire event from the other side of the catwalk. She tried to step away, but the pain from the wound in her leg stopped her. She could only watch as this living shadow stood right in front of her.

A moment of silence, as those bright green eyes met her own light green eyes, and with a sudden move, the man reached towards her with an open hand, a hand covered by a black glove, and decorated by a bright red oval ring. She took his hand, and he quickly pulled her up, and carried her out of the Iceberg Lounge, and into a waiting taxi outside.

“Pause the video!”, said Gordon, taking his radio out. “Attention all units! Suspect is male, dressed in a black trench coat, hat and cape, red scarf and ring with red stone. Last seen entering a taxi plaque number 4131WG with Selina Kyle. Suspect is armed and extremely dangerous.”.

All the men in the Iceberg Lounge ran out of the building, Gordon and his officers got into their patrol cars, Batman and Robin got into the Batmobile, and they drove into the night, in a mad chase for the living shadow.

On the other side of Gotham, the taxi with the plaque 4131WG drove calmly through the streets of the poorer parts of the city. Catwoman made a small grunts and sighs as she bandaged the wounds of her injured leg and shoulder, but these was not her concern at the moment, but rather the man seated beside her, though most wouldn’t notice the man, Selina herself only knew he was there, but could not see him, his silhouette blended with the shadow of the corner of the cab in a way that it seemed like there was no one there.

“So… umm…” Selina spoke, trying to break the silence, “… You could drop me arou…”

“You are Selina Kyle, the Catwoman. Cat-burglar, scam artist, vandal and cheat.”, the voiced echoed from the darkness, in a calm, indifferent tone.

“Last time I checked.”, Selina answered.

“I saved your live, Selina Kyle. It now belongs to me.”

“What?”, asked Selina, thrown off by those words.

“You’ll become one of agents.” said the voice, in a certified tone, as if there was no other choice for Selina. “Like many others, all over the world.”.

Selina could not believe the audacity of this man. “Look pal,”, she said, sneakily bringing her left arm back, preparing to bring out her claws, “I get you’re likely new in town, but by how much you know of me, you should know I don’…”

“Your life belongs to me, Kyle.”, declared the man. Selina stuttered, as the vivid green eyes shone through the darkness. “However I’ll not stop you from facing the consequences of your own actions. You may strike me if you feel inclined to do so, but keep in mind the outcome will be on you.”.

Selina looked at the darken corner of the cab. She could see the eyes clearly, shining as brightly as they did in the Iceberg Lounge, a shine filled with hatred and rage, but other than that, she could see nothing. She could not tell if this man already drew his guns, and was ready to fire, or if he saw her as such a non threat he didn’t even bother. She sat back down, not sure which option was more worrisome.

“Let’s say I’ll willing to go through this whole thing of yours. What do you plan to do with ‘my life’?”, asked Selina, trying to find a way to get herself out of this mess through words, since by force would clearly not work.

“I’ll make it useful.”, said the man. “I’ll improve it. From the moment you join my agents, issues like money, food, shelter, those will no longer be your concern, so you may focus on our mission.”.

“Mission?”, Selina asked.

“Justice.”, the man replied. “From this point forward you shall assist me in the eternal struggle against the evil that lurks in the hearts of men. Know that I will risk your life, and I may lose it, as I’ve lost as lives, just as I have saved lives.”.

Just as the man spoke, a patrol officer signaled for the taxi to pull over. “Step on the metal, boss?”, asked the driver.

The man laughed in a cold, hissing tone. “Obey the officer, Shrevvy.”, he said.

The middle aged, slightly overweight driver stopped next to the officer, who turned on his flashlight, shining it in the back of the cab. And than he dropped the light. His body went stiff, and his eyes fixed themselves onto one object.

The man laughed in a hissing tone, his arm extended out the window, in the direction of the officer. “look deeply into my girasol, officer, and obey my orders.”.

“I’ll obey.”, said the officer in an unnatural monotone voice.

“Batman is already aware of my existence.”, said the man, certain.

“Yes.”, answered the officer. “Commissioner Gordon has reported the description of the attacker of the Iceberg Lounge. Guy dressed in black, walked off with Catwoman into a cab.”.

The man laughed. “You’ll wait one minute, and report you’ve seen the suspect. They took the first left towards Cicero Avenue. You could not stop them, and you didn’t see the driver’s face.”.

“Thanks, sir.”, said the driver.

“I will”. Said the officer.

The man brought his arm back into the cab, and signaled for the driver to drive away, taking the second right turn.

“No offense sir,”, said the driver, keeping his eyes on the road, “but this stuff you do with that ring kinda gives me the hibbie-jibbies.”.

“You can say that again!”, said Catwoman. “What the fuck was that?!”.

The man chuckled, his vivid green eyes shining from the darkness. “Stop in the next alley, Shrevvy , than give Kyle her instructions for her first mission.”.

The cab slowed down and stopped behind a closed pizzeria. “Remember, Selina Kyle:”, said the man, opening the back door of the cab, “Your life belongs to me. I demand absolute obedience. You’re at war now, and tomorrow, you’ll enter the front lines.”, he said, leaving the car and shutting the door.

Selina stuck her head out the window as the man walked away. “Tell me this, at least: How did you know what was happening to me?”, she asked. “How do you know who I am?”.

The figure of the man started to fade into the darkness. He laughed, as if mocking the question. “The Shadow knows!”, he said, as his silhouette, his eyes, and his laugh disappeared into the darkness just as he appeared, into the shadows.

Chapter Text

There Selina was. Alone. Her Catwoman suit hidden in the closet, while she wear some loose clothes. She looked at the sealing, waiting for the clock to turn midnight, recollecting the last hour that had past. From been saved from her botched burglary at the Iceberg Lounge, to when that man who calls himself the Shadow, disappeared before her eyes. She though on the trip from there to her current location:

“Nice to meet you, kid”, said the taxi driver in a pleasant tone, as he drove away from the alley his master disappeared from. “I’m Moe Shrevnitz. You can call me Shrevvy. Official chauffeur of the organization of the Shadow. Now, I’m be taking you to your new lodgin…”

“No, you’re not.”, Selina said. Shrevvy stopped talking as Catwoman pounced towards his throat from the backseat, her diamond claws slightly digging into his flabby skin. “No offense, Shrevvy, but I want precious nothing with that creepy boss of yours. You’ll drive me to Park Row and…”

The old man chuckled, driving calmly, much to Catwoman’s confusion. “That’s not how it works, kitten.”, he said, “You have no choice. Nor do I. Boss wants you at the apartment, so I’ll…”

“You’ll take me to Park Row, drive off and we’ll never see each other again, Shrevvy.”, Selina said, pressing her claws a littler deeper. Shrevvy gave no reaction. Selina reached into Shrevvy’s purse, pulling his wallet. “Your wife and kid?”, she asked, holding a picture of an old woman in an apron and a young beautiful woman holding a diploma.

“My sweet Lily. She’s been dead for five years. Our girl, Alice, is my greatest treasure. She’s in college for architecture in Metropolis now.”, he said, in a gentle tone.

“Well Shrevvy,”, said Selina, putting the wallet back, disappointed there was no money in it, “I suggest you leave me at my destination if you want to see little Alice without scratch marks on your face.”

Shrevvy gave a sly smile, stopping in a red light. “Don’t bother with threats, kids.”, he said. “I assure you, if there’s anyone in danger in this entire street, it’s not me.”

As he said that, out of nowhere, three men showed up, guns in hand. “Off the car, old timer!”, one of them said.

Shrevvy sight in frustration, turned off the engine, looked at the would be robbers. One shot to the head of the first one, two at the chest of the second, one to the shoulder of the third, with another shot to the head to finish him off.

Selina jumped back at the sounds of gunfire. The whole confrontation happened too quickly for her to keep up, she didn’t even noticed Shrevvy pulling his gun. She became filled with dread, seeing that the Shadow’s agents were just as dangerous as he was.

“Green light. Finally!”, said Shrevvy, turning his car back on and driving off. “Tell you what kid:”, said, looking at the shook girl in the back of his cab through the dash mirror, “I’ll take where the boss wants you at, and if you still don’t feel it, than I’ll leave you at Park Row.”

Selina looked at Shrevvy, and meekly nodded. Fighting was not an option, so she decided to go along with it.

“Now, pay attention, kid:”, said Shrevvy, “The team has several codes and communication systems, so that we can talk without people catching on. You have a phone?”

“Yeah…”, said Selina, taking her phone from her purse. Shrevvy opened the glove compartment of the car, giving a sim chip to her:

“That chip was design to catch our exclusive phone line.”, he said. “As for meeting agents on the field, they will come to you, and say anything at all, but they will finish their sentence with ‘the sun is shining’.”

“The sun is shining…?”, Selina repeated softly.

“That’s right.”, Shrevvy confirmed. “When you hear that, you can answer anyway you wish, but you must finish with ‘but the ice is slippery’. And if you want to confirm someone is an agent, you do the other way around. If they stutter or say something else, move on.”.

Shrevvy looked around, turned on the turn signal, and parked. “We’re here.”, he said.

Selina looked outside, and her jaw dropped. “That’s the Royal Hotel!”, Selina said, as Shrevvy got off the car.

“Yeah, you’ll be staying here for a little weeks.”, said Shrevvy, taking a red dress, a fur jacket, and a blonde wig from the trunk, “Put these on, kid. You’ve robbed this place a few times, haven’t you? Don’t want people recognizing you.”.

Selina took the wig and dress. “Yeah, I did a few runs here, and you know why? People here are loaded! Your boss thinks I can afford a room here for more than three minutes?!”, she said. As she said that, her phone rang. A new notification from one of her private bank accounts.

“Now you can afford a little more than three minutes.”, Shrevvy said. “Now hurry.”.

Selina quickly checked her account, and was shocked. Three hundred thousand dollars where there.

“C’mon kid.”, snapped Shrevvy. “If you wanna have enough sleep for tomorrow.”.

Selina quickly put on the dress over her suit, puts on the jacket and wig, takes off her claw gloves, and Shrevvy helped her walk up the stares of the Royal Hotel.

“Welcome to the Royal Hotel. How may we serve you?”, said the receptionist with a welcoming smile, a beautiful woman with curly long blonde hair, a round, heart shaped face, and big baby blue eyes.

“Hi there.”, said Shrevvy. “I’m helping Ms. Michelle Pfeiffer here, she had a little accident. She has a room reserved earlier, correct?”

Selina looked around, confused, as Shrevvy pointed at her when he said “Michelle Pfeiffer”.

“Here it is. #1940.”, said the receptionist, “It was booked in the afternoon. Have you come to Gotham for springtime, Ms. Pfeiffer?”, she continued.

Selina looked at the receptionist confused. “Yeah…? I guess?”

“I think you’ll enjoy it.”, continue the receptionist, “Despite the bad wrap Gotham gets, it can look quite beautiful when the sun is shining.”.

Selina looked confused at the affirmation of the receptionist. “Hmm… It really doesn’t…”, she said, and for that she got a wrapped newspaper to the head.

“ ‘But the ice is slippery’! Get it through your head, Kyle!”, whispered the receptionist in an annoyed tone, her welcoming smile disappeared.

“Oh shit, you’re another one.”, said Selina in dismay.

“And there’s more to come.” said the Shadow’s agent. “Speaking of which, Shrevvy, Burbank said Harry will be here in thirty minutes.”.

“No problem, Maggie.”, said Shrevvy, tipping his cap.

“As for you, Selina,”, said Maggie, pulling a small package from behind the counter, sneakily putting in Selina’s jacket inside beast pocket, “Open this at midnight.”.

Before Selina could check what was put on her person, Shrevvy dragged her through the hall, up the elevator, helped her into her room, and tipped his cap with a gentle “Good night, kid.” as he left.

And there Selina was. Alone. Her Catwoman suit hidden in the closet, while she wear some loose clothes. She looked at the sealing, waiting for the clock to turn midnight. And it did. She got up from the bad, walking a bit slowly, as her wounds still stung a bit, she took the package from the jacket, a makeup mirror, a small radio dialed to a frequency that didn’t exist and headphones was inside. She switched it on, put on the phones and heard closely:

“...m...o...o...r…”, a quiet voice started to spell over the static. Selina quickly looked around for something to write on, picking a sticky note and a pencil, “...t...x...e...n...e...h…”, Selina started to frantically write the letters down, hoping she didn’t misheard one. “t...n...i...n...a...m...e...h...t...h...c...t...a...w...e...l...y...k...a...n...i...l...e...s. Report ends.”. Only static could be heard.

Selina looked at the paper. ‘moortxenehtninamehthctawelykaniles’ was the results. “Great.”, she said in a sarcastic tone, “What do I do with this crap now?”.

She said down. Looking at the seemingly meaningless words on front of her for a good five minutes. Frustrated, she picked the makeup mirror, taking a good look at herself after the whole ordeal, her slightly smudged make up, messed up hair, the new scars. Than she realized.

She picked the paper and held it against the mirror. ‘selinakylewatchthemaninthenextroom’ appeared in the mirror. She fixed the spacing: ‘Selina Kyle watch the man in the next room’.

Chapter Text

07:13 AM. Selina didn’t remember when was the last time she woke up so early. In truth, she barely slept, only napping for a moment before waking up, checking the room next to hers in the Royal Hotel, and going back to sleep before waking for another half hour at most, rinse and repeat all night.

She got up once more, sneaked out of her room, picked her lock picks and unlocked the door of the room she was assigned to watch, entered and locked the door. Giving a quick look around, nothing changed, whoever stayed in that room didn’t leave documents at home, no pictures besides stock prints of painting on the walls.

“Damn it.”, said a voice on the other side of the door, with the sound of dropping keys. Selina quickly jumped up, keeping herself hidden in the corner of the ceiling next to the door, as it slowly swung open. In walked a small, hunched over old black man, bald with a small goatee and narrow eyes behind thick glasses. Selina quickly got down as the man walked past, and hid in the closet after he took a jacket from it.

From a small breach in the doors of the closet, she saw the man looking under the bed. She already checked for anything out of the ordinary there, finding nothing, but it seemed she didn’t look thoroughly enough. The man picked a small crowbar from his briefcase, pulled two of the floorboards open, and took something from the hole Selina couldn’t see. “What time is it?”, the man said in a raspy tone. It was 07:27 AM. “Not even 07:30 yet, they’re still not here. To the station, than…”, he said, closing his case, putting glue on the boards and putting them back in place, and leaving.

Selina got out of closet, ran into her room, took a dress in the closet, some simple shoes, put on the wig Shrevvy gave her the previous night to disguise her short raven hair, and ran through the hotel, taking the stairs and reaching the ground floor as the man walked out of the elevator, leaving the hotel.

Selina followed the man. Followed from just far enough that no one would be able to tell. Followed through the dirty and crowded streets of Gotham, streets she was very familiar with.

She noticed the man had a rather hastened step, as well as a tendency to look around corners before deciding to take them, signs that to her, showed he was somewhat aware someone could be following him.

Selina quickly hid in an alley as the man suddenly turned around. He was at the entrance of the subway station. After spending a good half minute looking around, he entered, and Kyle quickly followed.

“Train 1911 approaching platform. Please, standby.”, said the announcer as the next train could be heard. Selina sat down as the man approached the platform. The train arrived, opened, and three men in suits came to greet the man Selina was following.

“Good morning.”, said another man taking off his baseball cap and sitting down next to Selina. A relatively young and good looking man. A squared face, sharp jaw, short dark brown hair and icy blue eyes. “Nice day, isn’t it? For a change the sun is shining.”, he said, turning to Selina with a smile.

Selina rolled her eyes and groaned. “Something-something melting ice.” she said, annoyed.

“Meh, Close enough.”, said the man, with a chuckle. “Harry Vincent. So, our guy?”, he asked subtly pointing at the black man Selina was following all morning, as he stood talking with the other men.

“He was hiding something.”, she said.

“They always are.”, Harry sharply added.

“I couldn’t see what it was.”, Selina continued. “What does that weirdo boss of yours wants with this guy, exactly?”.

“What you were told to do?”, Harry asked.

“To watch him.”, she answered.

“Than watch him.”, Harry shrugged. “Until you’re said to do otherwise.”

Selina looked at Harry with annoyance: “Can’t you guys do that yourselves?”, she asked, “Why does that creepy dude even need me?”.

“You’re a local.”, said Harry. “And the boss needs some assistance with dealing with the rich bat.”

Selina looked at Harry with worry. “Yeah, we know.”, Harry said, confirming Selina’s worry.

Harry pat Selina on the back. “Don’t worry, the boss has nothing against your man, Selly.”, he said with a laugh, noticing her concern, “Is just that the guy’s mentality on killing and the Shadow’s clash a bit, so you’ll get him out of the way while the boss cleans house.”.

“He’s not my man.”, Selina said, somewhat sadden. “I need no man.”.

Harry shrugged. “I mean, he almost was… until you left him on the al…”.

Harry’s speech was cut short, as he was choked by Selina’s hand squeezing his thick neck. “OK. Open wound. Message sent. Won’t talk about it.”, Harry coughed out.

“Yes, Vincent. You won’t talk about it.”, Selina said, “Unless you want bleeding, jagged open wounds where your eyes, teeth and tongue all used to be!”.

Harry simply nodded, and she let go of his neck. As the confrontation ended, the men started walking out of the station. “I’ll stick with them from here.”, Harry said as he massaged his neck, giving Selina a card and a small package, “You wait four minutes after I leave, and go back to the hotel, give the envelope to Maggie, go to the room, take your normal SIM card off the phone, and call the number on the card. Good day.”, he said, putting his baseball cap back on, following the trail of the men in suits.

Selina watched as Harry Vincent left through the station, chasing the Shadow’s target. Four minutes later, Selina left as well, it was 7:48, the sun starting to rise. Rather than walking straight back to the Royal, Selina had a detour in mind, heading towards Park Row. She walked through the dingy alleyways and seedy neighborhoods, and as she walked, it didn't take long for her to start hearing whispers of Cobblepot’s death, who killed him and how, the very little information that was on the newspaper, and, what she was interested in, what people believed her involvement on the incident was.

“I heard Sionis is back. Black mask is clearing the competition.”, she heard on guy talking in an alley.

“You think Cobblepot faked his death?”, she heard an old lady in a Chinese noodle stall.

“The Cat killed him and Batman is covering up for her. Everybody knows he’s her sugar daddy.”, said a street sweeper to a man reading the morning news, with the headline: ‘The Penguin is Dead! Masked Gunman Strikes at Iceberg Lounge and Runs off With Catwoman!’

On and on it went, theories after theories that missed the mark by varying margins, from fairly accurate to ludicrously incorrect, until she reached her destination. A small, crummy four-store building, so isolated and vacant it might as well be abandoned.

She stood in a room of the third floor, next to a window. She took off her blonde wig and knocked three times, in a specific rhythm. The door flung open:

“Selly!”, said the girl in the room. A short, slim young woman, short messy blonde hair and bright blue eyes hugged Selina. The girl was clearly in panic, “You’re all over the news, and people are saying you have something to do with the Penguin being killed, an…”.

“Holly, Listen.”, Said Selina, holding Holly firmly, helping her sit down in the bed in the middle of the crummy room. “I want you to get your things and leave Gotham for a while.”

“What?!”, shouted Holly. “Why?! Are you in trouble in some sort of trouble?!”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Selina said dismissively, “But I want you out of Gotham until than.”

“And leave you alone?”, asked Holly, worried.

“I can deal with it, Holly!”, Selina answered. “I just want to make sure you’ll be fine until this all shit has blown over. Please, trust me.” Selina caressed Holly’s hairs as she spoke.

Holly could see the worry in Selina’s emerald green eyes, that there was no way to talk Selina out of getting her off Gotham, so she just sighed: “I’ll pack my things, than…”, she said.

Selina nodded, picking a notebook and pen. “You’re going to Metropolis. I have a friend there taking care of one of my accounts. Give this to her, she’ll take you in.”, she said, putting the paper into an envelope, handing it to Holly as the girl finished packing her very few clothes.

Selina called a cab, and as it arrived, Holly made one question: “Is this about the guy who killed the Penguin? The news say you were with him.”

Selina sighed. The last thing she wanted was Holly involved with the Shadow. “I just slipped away while whoever that creep was came in guns blazing.”, she lied, “I don’t know who he is, and I’m better off. Please, let me handle this.”

The cab arrived in front of the girls. Selina took money out of wallet, handing some for Holly as she got in, and more to the driver.

“Thanks, kid!”, said the driver, turning towards Selina as he took the 20 dollar bill. Selina gasped and stepped back as she saw his face. It was Shrevvy. “Where to?”, he said with a smile.

Selina didn’t respond. Only looked with worry, for now they knew about Holly.

“To the subway station.”, said Holly herself, snapping Selina out of her thoughts. “I’m getting the next train to Metropolis.”

“Good weather for it.”, said Shrevvy, turning on the car. “Don’t worry kid,” Shrevvy turned to Selina, “Your girl here will be just fine. You can get back to whatever you’re doing.”, he spoke in a reassuring tone, as he drove off.

Selina got Shrevvy’s message. No more loitering for her, she headed back to the Royal Hotel. The female agent of the Shadow was on the desk. She took a look at the name tag of the woman, showing the name ‘Margo Lane’.

“Welcome back, Ms. Pfeiffer. Anyway I can help?” said Margo, in friendly tone.

“A guy called Harry Vincent told me t…” Said Selina, when Margo grabbed her by the shoulders.

“What part of ‘secret’ did you not get?” said Margo, annoyed, pulling Selina close to her, so no one could hear them. She looked around, no one was in ear shot, “What did Harry gave you?”

Selina sneakily took the envelope and passed to Margo. “What is it?”, she asked.

“A radio, similar to the one I gave you last night.” Margo said. “Now hurry back to you room, and remember, the code is ‘the sun is shining’.”.

Selina nodded and went to her room. After a quick shower, she took the card off her phone, put on the card Shrevvy gave her the previous night, and called the number in Harry’s note.

The phone called and was picked up, but no one answered. Dead silence.

“The sun…”, Selina said, remembering the code, but forgetting the second half. “...the sun is brig…”, before she could finish, the call was turned off. “Fuck me…”, she groaned. “This spy business is an absolute chore…”, she dialed the number once more.

The phone picked up again. Again, silence.

“The….”, she stopped, trying to remember the code, “The sun is… Shining!”, she finished.

“But the ice is slippery.”, answered the voice on the other side of the line, the voice of a pretty young man to Selina. “This is Burbank. Selina Kyle, your update on the Shadow’s target.”

Selina sighed, a little relieved. “Hmm… The guy is hiding something under the floorboards in his room. A guy called Harry Vincent met me at the station and has been tailing him since.”

“Very well.”, said Burbank. “I’ll pass you over…”.

The call went silent once more, and picked up again.

“Selina.”, said a voice. His voice. Selina breathed heavily, the sense of dread she felt the previous night came rushing back, it was the Shadow. “Tonight, he will return and leave. You’ll take the content he hides, and deliver it to Margo the next day. Do not allow him to know of your existence.” The call was turned off.

Selina sat down on the large bed. Just a few words from that man put a greater amount of anxiety on her shoulders than the most dangerous traps and confrontations she ever faced.

It seemed there was a long time to wait, but in truth, she barely noticed the clock turning, and before long, it was 10:30 PM. She finished eating a simple dinner, and checked the room her target used one more time. She entered, locked the door, and waited with her ear to the door. Before long, she heard footsteps approaching, quickly running towards the window, hiding on the external stairs as the man entered.

The man went towards his hiding spot. Selina peeked ever so slightly. Something shining was in the man’s hand.

“What’s that?”, the man said quickly. Selina ducked quickly, and slipped underneath the stairs, as the man opened his window, looking at the dark, cloudy night. “Bah…! I’m getting too jumpy…”, said the man, closing and locking the window.

Selina got back up the stairs, and waited to hear the man close the door on his way out. One quick look into the room. Empty. “Poor guy is definitely not from here…”, she said to herself, as she easily unlocked the window like she has done so many times with a small hook.

She went to the hiding place. The glue didn’t dry, so pulling the floorboard open was fairly easy for here. There it was, a small roll of old paper. Selina unwrapped it, and on her hand, a small key, glimmering coldly in her hand. Selina could tell right away, this key was pure silver.

Selina quickly looked at the old piece of paper the key was wrapped in. A drawing of four keys, one gray, one yellow, one orange, one white, a small chest with skulls around it, a cave, and what looked like a lake, but green.

“AAAAHHHHH!!!!”

Selina jumped at the scream coming from the outside the building. She looked out the window, and even with the people around in a state of panic, she could clearly see the cause of the horror. The man she was tasked to investigate. Dead. His guts spilled on the floor, his throat cut open, as he was posed as if he was just seated in a bench. Selina knew there and then. Victor Zsasz was back.

Chapter Text

Early night in the GCPD. Commissioner James Gordon waited in the rooftop, the big spot light with a bat overlay turned on behind him. Gordon waited for two more minutes, until he saw the form of Batman gliding through the fog, landing softly in front of him.

“Jim.”, said Batman, shaking Gordon’s hand. “Is this about Zsasz’s victim last night?”, he asked.

“What else could be?”, said Gordon with a shrug, gesturing for Batman to follow him into the building.

“I believed you had something on the man that killed Cobblepot.”, Batman said.

“Yeah, right. Whoever our man is, he covers his track pretty well, and he extended the courtesy to Catwoman. No sign of her either.”, said Gordon, shaking his head and opening the door of his office.

Beside the commissioner’s desk, a cork board with files and pictures stood on display.

“As you can see, Zsasz is targeting outsiders.”, said Gordon. “A couple that came to Gotham on a business trip and their daughter, an architect that came on vacation, and last night, an old banker, we don’t know what brought him here yet. All killed in public places, no witnesses to the murders, people only find the dead bodies posed.”

Batman stepped closer to the board. “No apparent correlation between the victims. Other than the new preference for tourists, Zsasz’s attacks seem to be as unmotivated and random as ever. But how did he managed to commit these murders without being detected…?”

“You think he’s working with someone?”, asked Gordon.

“Perhaps…”, Batman pondered.

Batman was pulled out of his thoughts as the door of the office flung open. In walked a middle aged man, tall and hunched over, with short gray hair, a pencil mustache and thick glasses in front of light blue eyes, dressed in a boiler suit and caring a mop and bucket.

“Oh, hi, Fritz.”, said Gordon, as he took notice of the man. “That’s Fritz, our new janitor. Started working here two weeks ago.”

Batman gave a respectful nod to old Fritz, who simply nodded back and started mopping the office.

“Oh, right! My office is the last room you have before punching in, Fritz?”, asked Gordon.

“Yah…”, said Fritz, in a raspy tone and a thick German accent.

Gordon got up from his desk. “Right. Batman, would you like a cup of Joe while Fritz finishes his work?”

Batman nodded, and the two man headed to the door.

Fritz quickly and effectively mopped the floor, put the mop and bucket aside, and started scanning the room. Fritz’s hands were odd for a janitor, tough their were as flaccid and pale as most older men’s hands, their were agile and firm as he placed four sheets of a special type of black paper on top of the documents Gordon left on his table, shedding a UV light on top of each, took a picture of the cork board with a small camera, took his special paper back, and left the commissioner’s office.

“You’re done, Fritz?”, asked Gordon, with a cup of coffee in his hand, as Fritz placed his cleaning tools in a cabinet.

“Yah. I’m done.”, said Fritz, quickly.

“Coffee?”, said Batman, handing a cup to the janitor.

“Yah…”, Fritz answered, taking the cup and drinking it quickly. Batman looked at the man as he drank. Something seemed odd about the janitor. He notice the firm hands this old janitor had, the cup never shook for a moment. “Danke, Batman. Good nacht.”, he said, throwing the empty cup in the trash, and heading off the building.

Fritz stood outside for a few moments, called an approaching cab, and entered it. But he never left the cab. In truth, Fritz ceased to exist, as the cab drove off.

“Where to, boss?”, asked Shrevvy.

“Leave me the usual place, Shrevvy.”, a voice echoed from the back of the cab.

Shrevvy nodded, and after a quick five minute travel, Shrevvy stopped in a crummy neighborhood. The passenger’s door opened, but no one could be seen leaving. “The items Kyle found.”, the voice from the darkness spoke.

Shrevvy took a small package from his glove compartment, and handed to a single hand coming out of the darkness. A hand covered by a black glove, and adorned by a red oval ring. The package and hand both melted back into the shadows.

“Call Margo and warn her Cranston’s arriving next week.”, said the voice. Shrevvy tipped his hat and drove off.

On a building in the neighborhood, an inconspicuous door opened. The room was pitch black. The only light source came from a pair of long, strong pale hands turning on a desk lamp. The desk was clean and organized. A few pens, scissors, a bottle of glue, and stacks of paper neatly organized. The pale hands placed four sheets of paper on the table, and on top of those, the special black paper Fritz placed on Gordon’s documents in the GCPD. The hands shed a UV on top of them, and when the black paper was removed, the content of the documents where visible in the formally blank paper.

“The GCPD and Batman believe Victor Zsasz is been assisted by a third party. In that they are correct. They believe Victor Zsasz’s victims are unrelated. In that they are mistaken.”

The hands bring into the light the package Shrevnitz delivered. In it, there were a small key, made of pure silver, and an old piece of parchment, a drawing of four keys, one gray, one yellow, one orange, one white, a small chest with skulls around it, a cave, and what looked like a lake, but green.

The hands reached out of the light, opening a drawer in the table, and came back with three more parchments, all with the same drawing, thought the location of the caves, chests and keys where on different spots. Only the green lake always remained in the same part.

The hands reached back and pulled from another drawer an old map of Gotham, from the late 19^th century, put the sheets of parchment against it, and held it against the light. The lines of the parchment combined with the map gave locations long lost in the many reconstructions of Gotham.

“All the victims searched for the same thing. The chests.”, the voice declared. “Victor Zsasz has no use or interest for it’s contents, he may not even know of their existence, however the one behind his attacks does.”

The hands reached back once more, and brought back a list of names. Names of the people Victor Zsasz worked with and for in the past. The hands melted into the darkness, a few clicks and the distinct sound of a printer working could be heard.

The hands came back with a print of the cork board in Gordon’s office and a few other documents. It was pages of logbooks, the logbooks of the people who were killed by Zsasz, cataloging their business partners. The hands brought in the list of Zsasz’s accomplices, five names matched. Falconi, Maroni, Cobblepot, Sionis and Kean.

“Greed. One of the first enemies of humanity. Rivers of blood for pockets of gold. A bloated god worshiped by those who believe their desire is of greater importance than the lives of those around them. The Shadow knows…”

The hands of The Shadow turns off the light of the table. The Shadow laughed, and the Shadow was gone.

Chapter Text

The small portable radio crackled on the table rang as the early spring sun of Gotham fell below the steel and glass castles. The radio, set in a non existent frequency, produced a loud static which echoed in the mostly silent hotel room. On top of it, two squares sheets of paper, Margo Lane put out her cigarette, looked at the clock, 7:43 PM, plugged headphones on the radio, picked a small notebook, a quill and a small bottle of somewhat strange looking ink.

“To Selina Kyle:”, said the voice Margo recognized as Burbank through the static. “Investigate Falcone at the La Gentile Signora restaurant. Do not allow him to know your presence. To Harry Vincent: Investigate Maroni at the Opera House. Do not allow him to know your presence. Report ends.”

Margo copied the orders into two separate pages of the notebook, adding a ‘memorize it, Selina, the ink will disappear in thirty minutes’ on her note, quickly put the papers into envelopes, and left the room.

“Back to work, Maggie?”, asked Shrevvy, who awaited outside the hotel Margo was staying.

“I’m going insane with every night I have to stay in that desk, Shrevvy!”, said Margo, getting into the taxi.

After a 12 minute drive through the streets of Gotham, as the sky grew darker, Shrevvy stopped in front of the Gotham Royal.

“What…?”, gasped Shrevvy, as he help Margo out of the car.

He and Margo looked with confusion at the sight of Selina, disguised as her false identity of Michelle standing out of the hotel in a bus stop.

“What are you doing?!”, exasperated Margo, getting in front of Selina.

“Leaving!”, answered Selina. “Tell your boss I don’t give a shit about his ‘your life is mine’ creepy talk, I’m not fucking around with Zsasz!”

“Indeed, you’re not.”, said Margo, grabbing Selina’s hand, placing the envelope she wrote into her palm. “Go on foot. The other message is for Harry, Shrevvy”. Margo turned around and headed into the hotel.

“Don’t worry, kid.”, said Shrevvy, patting Selina by the shoulder. “Victor Zsasz is the type of fuckwad the boss likes to body bag personally, like he did to the fat bird. Your job is to figure out who he’s working with.”. Shrevvy tipped his hat, entered his cab and left.

Selina rolled her eyes. “Whatever…”, she said, opening the envelope. Selina quickly read the note, and tore it to shreds as she finished. “That motherfucker…!” she snarled under her breath, in disbelief and anger. He knew, she thought. Her greatest secret she never revealed to anyone, the Shadow knew, and she was certain he was taunting her with it, she could almost hear his cold, mocking laugh, echoing from the shreds of paper on the floor as she left for her assignment.

One hour it took for her to stand on the rooftop in front of the restaurant. Catwoman watched through her binocular as the old man ate, drank, laughed alongside his posse.

The more she looked at him, the more she hated. She hated looking at his emerald green eyes, his somewhat pale skin, the ramming strains of raven black hair amid his graying hair, all just like her.

The talk among the mobsters went on for another twenty minutes, until Falcone gave a quick look into his very expensive watch, took a final sip of red wine, gave the plats and a 50 dollar tip for the waitress, and left the building with the his men, entering his red and black limousine, two of his men entered another car behind the limo, and drove off.

Catwoman stuck to the roofs, jumping quickly and softly, following the limo as it drove calmly through the cold streets illuminated by the full moon, stopping occasionally in streetlights and sharp turns.

Then the car stopped. It stopped in a parking lot near a closed subway entrance. Catwoman already knew they would go in there, got down from the roofs, slipped through the locked gate, and hid in the shadows as Falcone and his men unlocked the entrance.

“You guys stay in the front.”, said Falcone, “Any cop or smart guy gets too close, wack them.”

Two mobsters stayed in front of the gates, while Falcone with three more men went into the dark tracks with flashlights.

Catwoman followed behind, walking slowing, avoiding the metal of the tracks with her steps to not make noise, following the lights of the mobsters torches, until they stopped, and suddenly disappeared before her eyes.

“Of course… secret door…”, she said, annoyed. “We do they always have secret doors…?”

Catwoman took small flashlight out of her pouch, looking on the floor for the place the mobsters disappeared. A few dents on the gravel beneath the tracks showed where they last stood. She started checking the floor and walls, until she felt a slight dent on the otherwise smooth concrete wall.

“It’s around here…”, said another voice.

Catwoman looked, seeing a new set of people with flashlights approaching. She quickly turned off her light and moved away from the wall, a little further into the dark tunnel, and waited in the dark.

“Maroni…”, she whispered to herself, as she saw the middle aged, but young looking man, with his dark brown hair slicked back. Like Falcone before him, Maroni’s flashlight also disappeared into the wall, but this time, Catwoman was in the right place to see him opening a small door disguised as part of the wall.

Catwoman almost stepped out of the shadows again, when she heard running from the tunnel, hid once more and waited.

This new man was alone, a tall man with broad shoulders. The man turned on his flashlight.

“Har…”, Catwoman spoke, but stop as Harry Vincent pointed his gun at her. “Chill, Harry! It me!” she said with her hand up.

“Selina?”, said Harry, lowering his gun. “What are you dong here?”

“Same thing as you.”, she said, pointing at the wall. “Falcone got in there right before Maroni showed up.”.

“Great, another big conspiracy…”, said Harry, shaking his head.

The two took their flashlights and approached the fake wall, Harry pushed on the disguised dent on the wall. A small, old looking lock hid underneath it.

“Right them…”, said Harry, looking on the floor, “...We could use a rock to bust ope…”

“Step aside, big boy.”, said Catwoman, shaking her head. “Leave it to professionals.”. She crouched down, putting her ear to the fake wall, and her claws into the lock. “So, what happened to Falcone’s men outside? Falcone’s and Maroni’s boys usually shoot each other on sight.”, she asked, as she slowly clicked the tumblers of the lock.

“Slipped by while they were talking”, said Harry with a shrug. “I thought they were Maroni’s men he sent ahead. He just waltzed in. You think they’re joining forces?”

“Fuck no.” said Catwoman, with a chuckle. “They might be in cahoots now, but they will fuck each other over as soon as their use of the other is spent. I wouldn’t be the first time… There!”

Catwoman stepped back as she heard the locks moving behind the wall. Harry grabbed the fake wall and slowly opened it. A dark tunnel, an old mine shaft going downwards stretched before them into the void.

“We better go in without lights.”, said Harry. “In case there is people guarding the pathway. Ladies first.”, he said, gesturing towards the entrance.

“Nice to know chivalry is not dead in New York.”, said Catwoman, walking in with Harry following behind, putting a rock on the door as he almost closed it so it wouldn’t lock.

Down they went. Slowly to not trip, using the walls of the shaft to guide them. Selina has done things like this all the time, but this particular event filled her with dread. She felt as if the shadows were moving around her, watching.

“So, we just have to swallow this bullshit?!”, shouted the voice of Falcone at the end of the tunnel.

Catwoman and Harry Vincent leaned at the entrance of the main shaft. The two intruders looked inside to see Asian workers hammering at the rocks as slaves, chained to the walls, armed men walking around them, and in the middle of the room, Falcone, Maroni, and one other man, wearing a custom tailored white suit, his face hidden in an ebony mask shaped like a skull.

“I have good info one of your boys was at Arkham when Zsasz escaped, Sionis.” said Maroni. He was clearly angry. “And than the guys we had looking for the keys of our chests are wacked by that freak? The keys gone? You call us dumb if you think we don’t know you’re doing something.”

Sionis sat down on a bolder. “What about the guy who wacked the midget? Don’t you think it could be that guy?”

“Gentlemen.” Said another voice, echoing throughout the mine shaft. The enslaved workers recoiled in fear as the voice was heard. “This bickering is pointless.”

“Yeah, right!”, Said Maroni, taking a sip of brandy from a flask. “Are you in on his schem...”

“Do you question me, Salvatore?”, said the voice. He stepped into the light, where the agents of the Shadow could he him. “Do you doubt my word?”

“Ra’s?!” Said Catwoman in a whisper, as she saw the leader of the League of Assassins.

“Ra’s Al Ghul, I take it?” asked Harry, looking at the man dressed in green robes.

Catwoman saw Harry reaching for his gun, and stopped him. “You don’t have a chance against him!”, she said, “This guy is trouble. Real trouble, like Justice League level trouble. We need to get out of here!”

“Not without these people.”, said Harry, gesturing at the imprisoned workers.

The two looked into the shaft as the worker kept on breaking the walls and floor, until one of them hit a piece of the floor, and stop. Ra’s and the mobsters stepped closer, as the spot the slave hit started to leak a kind of liquid of a very strong green color.

“Focus the workers here. We’ve found it.” said Ra’s, as he reached into his robe. “Follow the Lazarus River and you’ll be able to find the chests. You may keep them, as agreed. I’ll be setting the next excavation grounds.”. Ra’s pulled a small bullet-like object from his robe, pushed a small button, and dropped into the hole filled with bright green water.

Ra’s turned away, heading towards the shaft he came from. “Remember, gentlemen:”, “These facilities are meant to be a great secret you’ve been privet to for your assistance. So therefore, I hope you make sure the intruders who have been eavesdropping on us at the subway entrance the last 5 minutes will be silenced.”.

“Shit.”, said Harry, pulling gun.

“GET THEM!” shouted Black Mask, pulling his gun from his suit.

The bullets started flying from each and every way, the workers dived away, two were killed by the guards as they opened fire at the entrance Catwoman and Harry Vincent took cover from, with Vincent trying to return fire, but there were too many men for him to be able to aim.

Than all went dark. The lights of the mining shaft where shut down.

“What happened?”, said Falcone, turning on his flashlight. The other men followed suit.

“Batman’s here!”, said Black Mask.

“No.”, said Ra’s. “Not Batman.”.

“Clever, Ra’s.” said a voice. A low, cold voice.

A laugh reverberated through the walls of the stone. Mocking, hissing.

“That’s not the Joker’s laugh!”, said Maroni, around, gun in hand.

The laugh grew louder if Maroni’s words, clearly mocking the crime boss.

“No, it’s not the clown.”, said Ra’s, certain. “This, gentlemen, is the man who killed Cobblepot.”

“Where is he?!”, shouted one of Falcone’s men.

“I’m in there with you.”, said the voice. “Watching you. I’m your Shadow.”. The Shadow laughed in a cold, hissing tone.

“You dared to put desperate innocents in bondage.”, said the Shadow, his voice seemed to echo from everywhere around. “To shackle them to your insatiable hunger for wealth you did not earn. To use them as tools for your sowing of evil.”

Bullets roared from the darkness, three of Falcone’s men dropped dead. Three more bullets roared as the armed thugs tried to return fire, but these bullets hit no one. They hit the shackles holding the prisoners to the walls, freeing them.

“TAKE THEM TO SAFETY!”, shouted the Shadow.

Catwoman and Harry left their hiding place, pulling on the broken chains of the prisoners, as the Shadow kept the criminals at bay by shooting his guns.

The Shadow, Catwoman and Harry Vincent hurried the prisoners up the stairs, Catwoman guiding them with a flashlight, while Harry and the Shadow kept shooting the men going up the stairs.

They left the tunnels and all ran towards the Subway entrance, the Shadow closed the door as they exited it.

“What’s goin o…”, said one of the guards Falcone left behind. His speech cut by Catwoman kicking him in the face, bashing his head against the wall. Before the other guard could pull his gun, Catwoman pulled her whip, knocking the gun out of his hand, tied his legs, putting him on the ground, and stomped him in the face to put him out.

“They’ll be coming any minute…”, said Harry, Catching his breath. “Anyone here speaks English?”, he asked to the freed slaves.

“I… I d-do, sir.”, said a young girl.

“Here, quick!”, said Harry, frantically reaching into his back pocket. The pulled an old phone “Those guys are coming, hide in the alley there! We’ll distract them. After they are gone, call 911! GO!”

The girl translated quickly in Chinese to the others, and they ran towards the alley.

“DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY!”, the shouts of the mobsters could be heard from the subway.

The Shadow ran towards the parking lot on the other side of the street, Catwoman and Harry followed him.

“We’re taking Falcone’s limo?”, said Catwoman, as they ran towards the fancy car.

The Shadow smashed the car window with gun, unlocked toe door, and seated in the driver seat.

Harry and Catwoman entered in the back, they could hear the mobsters running towards them. A few seconds of the Shadow fidgeting with the wires of the car, and as they could hear gunfire behind them, the car roared.

The Shadow stepped into the acceleration, turned the car and drove into the mobsters, two jumped away, one was run over, making the car shake and spin, as they drove off.

The Shadow quickly looked in the rear view mirror. “Any of you got hit?”, he asked.

“All fine here, sir.”, said Harry, catching his breath.

“Not of long!”, said Catwoman, looking out the car. “Here they come!”.

The mafia men chased them in two cars, the engines roaring and crackling through the streets, the bullets hitting and bouncing through the limousine. Harry stretched his arm out the back window and returned fire, hitting the cars chasing them, but not enough to stop the pursuers.

The cars managed to catch up, the Shadow and his against were getting sandwiched between the two vehicles, the Shadow pulled gun, and opened fire towards the car to his left, while Harry shot the car to the right, all men stopped shooting as they heard a sound. The sound of a powerful engine. Catwoman knew what that sound was.

“He’s here…”, she said. She didn’t see him, but she knew.

“BATMAN!”, shouted one of the mobsters, as the Batmobile joined the chase.

Chapter Text

“Oracle”, said Batman, as he chased the runaway vehicles. “Close the streets. I don’t want people caught in the crossfire. Contact the closest patrols.”.

“Keep your heads down”, said the Shadow, struggling against the wheel. “Don’t allow Wayne to see your faces.”

“I though we should keep our heads down because of the fucking bullets!”, shouted Selina, as the mobsters continued to shoot at the car.

As the Shadow turned the limousine towards a more open street, two police cars joined in the chase, shooting at both the limo and the mob cars’ tires.

“Robin.”, said Batman, in a firm tone, as he knew his assistant already knew what to do.

“On it, father.”, answered Robin, taking three disks from a compartment in the car, pressing a few buttons on the surface of it.

The Batmobile’s engine roared as Batman stepped into the accelerator, approaching one of the mobsters car, pressing him against one of the cop’s car.

Robin quickly opened his window, threw one of the disks into the car and closed the window as the gangsters opened fire at him, not noticing the beep the disk emitted.

The disk them made a loud crackling sound, the disk was magnet that jammed all the wheels of the car, causing it to crash against a wall. One car was out of the chase.

The second mafia car started to catch up with the Shadow’s stolen limo once more, opening fire at it from behind.

The Shadow prepared to return fire, but stopped as Batman’s vehicle started to draw closer, from the right.

“From where we are, Selina,” said the Shadow, “Where can I get to a road wide enough for three cars?”, he asked calmly.

Selina quickly looked out the window. She knew their where at the Bowery, close to the shopping Plaza. “The main street.”, said answered. “Where the museum is. South of where we ar…”.

Selina stopped talking as she hit her head on door of the car with the Shadow’s sudden turn to the left, and Harry falling on top of her.

The Shadow drove the chase towards the direction of the Museum, trying to keep the car of the mobsters right behind him, waiting.

Batman follower close behind, and as they entered the wide main street, he stepped on the accelerator.

The Shadow laughed as the saw the Batmobile coming towards them fast, turning towards the left side of the road, allowing the Mobsters to catch up.

Batman reached the mob’s car from the right as they reached the Shadow’s limo, and the Shadow laughed. He quickly turned the wheel, throwing the car towards the mafia’s car, pressing it between the limo and the Batmobile.

The Shadow and Harry Vincent from inside the limo fired at the mob’s car, killing all the mobsters inside. Batman could hear the Shadow’s laughter as the car full of corpses crashed onto a light-pole.

“Dammit!”, Batman said, gritting his teeth. “Prepare another jammer!”

“Get me close, father.”, Said Robin, pushing the buttons on another disk.

The Shadow saw the black tank approaching through the dash mirror. He knew there was no way he could outrun it. The Shadow looked around quickly, seeing a more narrow street, “Harry, Selina. Listen closely…” he said, entering the street.

The Batmobile caught up with the limousine as the two cars entered the street. Robin opened the window, threw the jammer into the car, Batman and Robin saw the escaping car entering an alley, as they heard the jammer triggered. The limo crashed into a dumpster.

The Batmobile stopped. Batman and Robin jumped out of the car, running towards the car, to see if the driver was still in there. Batman looked into the driver’s seat, empty.

“THERE!”, shouted Robin, pointing towards a building in the alley.

Batman and Robin looked up towards the silhouette of what might as well have been a living Shadow, the same living Shadow from the Iceberg Lounge looking down on them.

The dual threw they batarangs at the Shadow, and were left in shock as he calmly reached his right hand, catching all of them in his palm, dropping them to the floor, and walking away.

Batman and Robin quickly reached for their grappling hooks, flying up towards the rooftops, seeing the Shadow simply walking, and a subtle and steady pace, almost as if he was floating through the dark roofs.

Batman Robin charged at the Shadow, who turned and blocked their blows, knocking them to the floor.

Batman and Robin got back up and starting throwing blows at the Shadow, who swiftly blocked, parried and dodged the attacks. But never attacked himself. Always at most pushing the two superheroes away.

Batman noticed this pattern, and decided to use it against him. Batman feigned an uppercut, the Shadow prepared to dodged it, when in truth, he threw his cape at the Shadow, who stumbled back, raising his palm open to try to push Batman away as he drew closer.

CRACK!

The sound of a whip was heard by all. The Shadow felt the whip wrapping around his raised arm, pulling him away.

“Need some help with the creepy dude here, handsome?”, said Catwoman jumping into the roof the three men stood.

The three attacked the Shadow, Catwoman keeping at bay with her whip, Robin throwing batarangs at him from the sides to stunt him, Batman getting close and attacking.

The Shadow dodged the high kick Batman threw, Catwoman cracked her whip at the direction the Shadow jumped towards, the Shadow grabbed the whip as Catwoman pulled back, tying Batman’s arm as he threw a jab.

Catwoman lunged at the Shadow, he took three of Batman’s cuffs, blocked Catwoman’s attack and cuffed her left arm to Batman’s right arm, tying her neck with her own whip.

Robin tried to sneak a jump kick to the Shadow’s head, the Shadow dodged, his hat fell off his head, revealing his slicked back jet black hair, he grabbed the Robin’s leg as he tried another kick, tied his leg with Catwoman’s whip, cuffed him to Catwoman’s leg, tied all of them to a pipe.

“I told you to leave this life already, Selina.”, the Shadow spoke, as he removed Batman and Robin’s utility belts and Catwoman’s tool purse. “You do not have innocent blood on your hands. Yet. Leave the world of crime, before you become tainted by it.”

The Shadow turned around to leave. His form almost seemed to float more them walk.

“You think I’ll let you get away with two mass murders?”, Said Batman, trying to come loose from the constrains.

“I know you won’t.”, said the Shadow turning back, his vivid green eyes shining through the shade of his hat, looking into Batman’s eyes.

“You are a good man, Bruce Wayne.” said the Shadow, as he approached Batman. Batman looked on in worry and shock, as this man knew his secret. “Brave. Honorable. Kind. You possess a strength greater and all brute force, a will powerful enough to allow you confront the worse of humanity every night, and still believe in it’s best, in the salvation of those tainted by crime. It is admirable. It is, however, wrong.”

The Shadow stood in the edge of the building. The light of the full moon didn’t seem to light him up, but to disappear in his mass, like a black hole. “Without the spur of vengeance, their crime becomes mundane, an insipid pass-time, a puppet gesture with no effort of personal involvement, as the curs cry that they are owned a living by the world. They aftermath of their crimes, as they gorge on the spoils of the suffering of the innocent and prepare for the next rotting feast, becomes insult to injury. No more.”

“So you’re just gonna kill everyone?”, asked Robin, as he tried to come loose from the binds.

“Everyone who dared to pillage the innocent from their belief of hope.” the Shadow answered.

“Who gave you the right to decide who deserves to live and die?”, shouted Batman.

“I gave myself the right.” The Shadow proclaimed. “The unspoken question I make is mine to answer.”

“I will not allow this to happen.”, said Batman in a cold fury, enraged by the Shadow’s words. “Were ever you go, I’ll be there. I will stop you.”

“You will try.”, said the Shadow. “Your nature compels you to save all, even whose who do not deserve it. You are mistaken for doing so, but to hope is no sin. The Shadow Knows.”

The Shadow stepped away, his form merging with the shadows of the building surrounding them, and he disappeared as he had appeared.

Batman and Robin looked at Catwoman. She looked back at them annoyed:

“He rescued me out of the Iceberg Lounge after he did away with old Ozzy, dragged me to his creepy taxi, bandaged my wounds, dropped at Center Park and said ‘now you be a good girl and stop being naughty, or uncle creepy-trench-coat-man will give you a 45 caliber smack bottom.’ and drove off. This is the first time I saw him since than, and that was more then I ever wanna see him.”, Catwoman spoke quickly, frustrated. Frustrated the Shadow’s plan worked.

On another alleyway, Harry Vincent waited with Shrevvy. They did not see anyone approach, but they heard the backdoor of the cap close. Shrevvy quickly sat on the driver’s seat, Harry sat on the back, and the cab drove off.

“Everything worked out as planed, sir?”, asked Harry.

“Selina played her part.”, a voice echoed from the darkness of the cab.

“I’m surprised the kitty didn’t just try to fuck you over and hand you to Batman, boss.”, Said Shrevvy, taking a left turn.

“She did try.”, the voice of the Shadow answered. “I was counting on it. Just as she was counting Bruce and Damian Wayne would be enough to help her subdue me.”

Both Harry and Shrevvy shook their heads, thinking they should know the Shadow always knows what’s gonna happen.

“The slaves?”, asked the Shadow.

“Already at the GCPD, according to Burbank.”, answered Harry. “It seems they were taken from Vietnam and Thailand two months ago.”. He stretched his back on the seat: “So… Sionis is trying to pull a fast one on Maroni and Falcone over some treasue Ra’s Al Ghul is offering for help to do something…”

“One problem at a time, Harry.”, the Shadow said calmly. “The mafia first.”

“What’s the plan, sir?”, asked Harry.

“Greed has united them. Greed well break them. Sionis, Maroni and Falcone will make their move against eachother soon, their hunger for effordless wealth will compel them to destroy themselves for it, and when it happens, I’ll be there. I'll be there, to ensure no ember is left to continue to burn after the flames of reckless desire suffocate itself.”

The Shadow laughed as the cab drove through the clear night, mocking his enemies as he knew their time of doom drew close.