- Memoria -

Elliot Memorial Hospital

- Roof -

"Ugh..." Slade stirs awake, finding himself tied up, his arms restrained behind his back. With his vision clearing, he sees Batman standing at his front. The man opens his mouth, stretching his jaw, "Beginner's luck, boy," he states gruffly, still contorting his jaw. Batman, the dark knight holds his arms firmly over his chest and glares down at the man. Slade slants his neck and sees Catwoman stationed over the railings of the platform, "Is she your new harlot? Rumour had it that you and Ra's daughter were an item"

"The hit on Maria Kyle is called off, Slade. You lose"

The grey-haired man scoff, shrugging, "Hmm. I heard that you were stubborn, Alwatwat. As long as the money is put forward, I will keep coming. Nothing personal, just business," he replies.

Batman plunges forward and grabs Slade and lifts him up, "I SAID THE HIT'S OFF, SLADE! I'm taking you in..."

Catwoman leaps off the railings and lands besides Batman, "Maybe I can more persuasive...," she flexes her claws. Her ire is drawn by the suspended man who chuckles at her words. Catwoman glares at Slade, "What's so funny?"

"Oh..." he smirks, "I've been to war, girly. Do you think that simple tricks like torture will work on me?," Slade creaks his neck, "Let me ask you this, Alwatwat. Before, you asked me why the Falcone would hire me to kill this broad's mother. You said that you believed the matter to be more personal than an unpaid debt. You were right. Isn't that correct, girly?," Batman turns to Catwoman as the captive keeps talking, "That's right. Catgirl, you know the truth? The truth about your blood..."

"Cat?" the vigilante asks Selina who had no remarks. No responses, no nothing.

"And that is another lesson that Shiva failed to teach you," Deathstroke holds out his arms to showcase that he was untied. Before Batman could react, he was kicked to the ground. Catwoman swipes at the man who catches her hands, "Never wound the likes of which you cannot vanquish," he spins Catwoman around and pins her arm behind her back. Slade sees Batman standing up and smirks. From his sides, he unshaved his combat knife and holds it against the woman's throat, "I on the other hand..."

"SLADE! LET HER GO!" Batman screams as he grabs a Batarang at aims it at the man.

"We could've avoided this, boy. But you just had to be a hero, didn't you?," Slade growls, "Tonight, a Kyle will die, but which one? That's for you to decide," he presses the knife against Selina's throat, "Even a centimetre. If she even moves as little as that, her neck will be sliced open. That goes for me too. If I move my position at all...or if you move me...she will die," the knife carves a thin crimson-line across her neck, "What will you do?"

"...Bruce...?" Selina whimpers at the harsh metallic cold that brushes against her flesh.

Batman lowers the Batarang and glares at the man with rage, "Stop this! She has nothing to do with this! I said LET HER GO!" Slade shakes his head.

"Let her go!" a new voice yells at Slade. Batman, Catwoman and Deathstroke turn and see Maria Kyle stood at the exit on the roof. She then makes a slow move to walk towards the other three people, "Release my daughter, now!"

"Mom?" Selina gasps.

"What are you doing, Maria? Get out of here!" Batman orders.

"No" Maria keeps heading towards Slade, "I'm finally doing what I should have done from the beginning...I'm protecting my daughter," she says with a look of determination, "You want me, Slade? Here I am. Kill me, just let my daughter go..."

"...Mom? What are you...? Getaway..." the raven-haired woman bleakly trembles, yelling at her mother.

"Shhh, it's going to be alright, Selina... He won't hurt you... he won't...," Maria answers her daughters' pleads with her own fearful tone. Slade looks to Maria with a grin, watching her come closer and closer towards him. With care, he reaches behind his back and grabs his handgun. Maria breathes heavily, her heart pounding and her body shaking, "Just get it over with. And then...please...let my daughter live... she has nothing to do with what I did..."

"Isn't that special?" Slade chuckles, "I spent all this time hunting you...when this all will end with you coming to me...," he comments as he aims the gun at Maria's head, "Have you finally realized how fruitless all of this is? There is no escape from me..."

"Maria... don't do this! There has to be another way than giving up! Don't do this, please!" Batman shakes as he looks to the woman, "Please... I need to save you..."

"Take care of Selina... don't let her go," Maria then glances back to her daughter, "That goes for you too. You two look after each other... I love you, Selina... I love you... Goddamn it, I love you Selina...," Maria shuts her eyes, "I... I love you... oh god...that feels so good to say... I love you..." she quivers as she waits for the inevitable.

"How noble, but the terms have changed...the bat dies too!" the man twirls his index finger around the trigger and sharply aims it at Batman. Within a split second, the knife that was around Catwoman's throat was now on the ground and pinned down by a shuriken. Before the assassin could even begin to understand the situation, Selina twists the man's arm and dislodges the target off of the vigilante. Slade fires but misses. With a hiss, Selina turns and shoves her claws into Slade's left eye.

In the frenzy, Slade pulls the trigger again, this time hitting Maria and propelling her to the ground, "I'm going to kill you!" Catwoman slashes the man's face, over and over again in a rage, her only seeing red. She knocks him to the ground, straddling him as she continues to pummel his face, blind with anger. Blood spatters over her hands and face as she keeps attacking and attacking, spilling the man's blood and forming a pool around them of crimson.

"Maria!," Batman runs to the woman's side and looks her over. He sees a red stain forming on her shoulder. He holds his hands against the wound, "Oh...thank god... you're going to be fine...," he moves his right arm under the woman's neck and lower back, lifting her up into his arm. He stands, carrying her, "You're gonna hurt like hell for a while, but... but you'll make it...," he looks down and sees the startled woman that was becoming pale from blood loss, "Hold on..., you'll make it."

"B-Bruce... Selina, she's gonna..." she weakly moves her head towards Catwoman still clawing at the man beneath her as she screams with each strike that she delivered, "You... c-can't let her-"

"Selina!," Batman tries to get the woman's attention, but she remained feral, screaming as she kept lashing at Slade. Batman sets Maria down and runs towards Catwoman, "THAT'S ENOUGH!," he grabs Catwoman's arms and holds them back, "Selina!," he drags her off of Deathstroke.

"NO! I'M NOT FINISHED WITH HIM! I'M NOT FINISHED! HE HASN'T SUFFERED ENOUGH! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I SAID LET ME GO! I'M NOT DONE... I'm not done...," she fights against Batman's hold, becoming more broken the more she tries to break free of his hold, kicking and screaming. He brings her in and wraps his arms around her as she leans her head over his shoulder. She cries, embracing the man as she tightly clings to him. Slade Wilson lays bloodied and bruised, his face covered in large slashes, he barely moves, barely breathes. By his side was the shuriken that pinned the knife.

From across to the next building, a Vandal Salvage watches the sight from the shadows, he hold another shuriken in their hand and plays with it, "You had it, Slade, but you just had to be greedy. The Bat's mine," he then turns and leaves, vanishing with a white blur.

"Oh my god, Maria!" Harley runs out onto the roof and scuttles toward the woman, "Were you shot? Oh my god...," she panics.

Maria awkwardly laughs, "Dial it back a little, will you? I'm fine," she holds onto her shoulder, "Stop making such a fuss," she looks over towards Batman and Catwoman, "This has been one hell of a day..."

Later...

"I'm fine!," Lee protests as Thomas Elliot presses an ice pack under her eye, "I said that I'm fine," she repeats as she gently forces the man's hand away. Elliot moves the icepack away and starts to juggle it between his hands while he and looks over the woman's face, more accurately the bruise that was forming beneath her right eye. Lee hides her eyes beneath her palm, "I'm a doctor too, remember? I can deal with this myself."

"You're speaking quite confident for someone who was knocked out less than ten minutes ago," Elliot smiles as he hands the icepack over, "I just can't let you leave by yourself like this. You're husband said that he would be here shortly," Lee frowns, taking the icepack from Tommy.

"I said that I'm fine, Tommy," Lee presses it under her eye and audibly grunts, "Go on...say it."

"Say what?" Elliot questions.

"How stupid it was for me to lead a crazed lunatic through your building, even worse that he only came here because of the people that was I protecting," Lee tells him. She throws a quick glance towards the door to the room where Jim was waiting, "I would understand if you don't want me to be here anymore... after I put all the people here in danger..."

Tommy holds his hands in his coat's pocket and sniggers, "You serious? It takes a lot of guts to do with you did. You were caught between a rock and a hard place, you did what you thought was right, and that's the best that any of us can do," he comes closer, "Those women needed your help and you did, even putting your own life at risk, Miss Tompkins. You did what you did to protect everyone here," he replies. He looks to the door and sees Gordon enter, "Mr Gordon, it's good to meet you again."

"Tommy," Jim shakes his hand, "I hate to tell you this, but you have...someone here who wants to speak to you...in private," Gordon leads Elliot's gaze to look at Waller who enters. The commissioner pats the man's shoulder, "Thank you for helping Lee. I apricate it."

"She's a tough girl. This was nothing to her," Tommy walks off the side.

Jim reaches around Lee's shoulder, "Let's go, honey. It's been a rough night for you." He helps his wife up and walks out of the room. Tommy was now alone with Amanda in the room, he reaches to the stand on the side and picks up his pager.

"Can I help you?" Elliot asks insincerely, he turns to look at the woman.

"Considering the scuffle of what happened here tonight, I want access to the footage from the security camera. This is not a request," Amanda orders as she walks towards the man who remained paused "Is that going to be a problem?"

"For me? No. For you? Maybe," the man answers, "Whoever that guy was, he did something to the camera feed. It's all gone," he explains, "Feel free to try, but all you'll find is just static screens. Now, if you don't mind...I have matters to attend to," Elliot leaves with a smirk on his face once Waller loses sight of him.

Elsewhere

- Across Gotham -

Barbara Kean's Apartment

"Ow!" Maria strains, holding her shoulder as she sits up.

"Hey...cut that out," Selina sits down beside her mother. She wears her Catwoman outfit with the helmet off, "You just took a bullet to the shoulder. Saying that you should take it easy would be an understatement," she curves her hand around the older woman's own, "As Bruce said, it's going hurt like a bitch for a while. And it won't get any better if you keep with the sudden movements," she tells her, ruffling her eyebrows to forefront her words. Maria nods with a smile, looking past Selina's shoulder and at the rest of the room.

"You need to tell him, Selina..." Maria tells her daughter, throwing Selina soft front off, "If you're going to be with Bruce, then he deserves to know who your father is. You need to tell him that you're a Falcone," she mumbles, looking into the eyes of Selina, "Don't make the same mistake that I did. Don't wait until he finds out on his own."

"That's easier said than done," Selina inhales, "That's something that I'm still adjusting to. It feels like I'm a different person since I learned of it," she then lowers her gaze, "All my life... I knew who I was. I knew what I wanted, I knew what I could be. But... right now, looking back at the girl that I was...," she closes her eyes, "It feels like that girl has been gone for a long time. Out of nowhere, I now have a family...even a sister. But even with Bruce and the others in my life...I've never felt so alone..."

"Selina...," Maria cups her daughter's face, "There's something scaring you more than people learning of your heritage. Something that isn't about what people will think of you...," Maria looks down and sees Selina covering her stomach with her palm. Her mother's eyes soften, "...Does Bruce know...?"

"No" the raven-haired woman shakes, "Mom, I'm scared..."

Maria lifts her hand glides her thumb to brush her daughter's tears away, "I was scared too, Selina," she too begun to cry, "I know that you'll never forgive me for abandoning you, but I hope that you can look deep within yourself to not repeat my mistake," she continues, "I worked for the Falcones as a maid. Soon after Carmine's wife had passed, we began to grow closer until we...," she looks to her daughter's soaked eyes, "When Carmine learned that I was carrying his child, he cut me out of his life. He didn't want people to learn of him betraying his wife's memory, his reputation couldn't survive the revelation of an illegitimate child...especially to a lowly maid..."

"What happened?"

"He told me to leave Gotham and never return, to never speak of what happened between us..., and in return...would look after you" Maria answers, "...He wanted you to stay. You may not believe it, but despite his flaws, Carmine had some good in him. Enough to keep an eye on his estranged daughter..., he cared to make sure you would survive," she smiles, "Your father loved you, Selina...in his own distant way," she then reaches into her coat and takes out a sealed envelope, "He knew he would never be able to talk to you while he was alive...that's why he wrote this..."

Selina takes the letter from her mother, "W-What is this?"

"When he died, Carmine's will specifically instructed for this to be delivered to me... and for me...to give it to you once you were ready. he didn't want Sofia catching wind of this...," Maria adjusts and makes more room for Selina, "I've had this for so long...I never once thought of opening it myself. The hardest part was trying to figure out if you would even listen to a single word that I say."

"What's inside?" Selina asks with suspicion.

"I don't know. The only thing that I am aware of is that you need to open this on your own, that was his last wish..."

"You were right about that. You haven't made it easy for me... Just seeing you is hard," Selina confesses, "First thing's first. I will never forgive you for what you did. I will never let that go or forget it," she adds, crossing her legs, "But...maybe we can try again... try to start over... I don't know where we'd be, but...it would be a step up from before..."

"I'd like that, Selina. I'd like that," Maria agrees, "I'm never leaving again. I'm never leaving you..."

"...I wish that I could believe you...," she honestly answers, her voice shaking. "Tomorrow, maybe... maybe...we can meet up and talk...the café at Wayne Tower should be decent enough...," she rubs her eyes, "Maybe...you can give me the strength to tell Bruce about this...," she looks to her stomach, "Gods know I can't do it on my own."

"I'll be there, Selina...promise..." Maria smiles.

- Across Gotham -

Skyline Club

Batman crashes through the windows and rolls into the office, kneeling with his fist planted on the floor. He ascends, looking at his surroundings and finding the room barren and lifeless. He walks towards the doors to the room, picking up a sheet of paper that was left. He looks over it.

[This isn't over]

The Dark Knight crumples the paper, "For once we agree," he throws the ball of paper and then slams his fist into the wall and unleashes a primal scream. He exhales and throws another punch at the wall, cracking it with that hit, "I'll find you, Sofia!... Just you wait..."

- Gotham Docks -

"I'm leaving as we speak, I will be seeing you shortly," Sofia talks on the phone as she walks towards the car parked at there warehouse. Around the docks are Sofia's own men, heavily arm and scouting the area, "Yes, I'll pay you in cash, Warren. Just have the safe house ready...now the bat is going to be pissed ...," she signals the guards around the car. One of them opens the passenger door for her, "Gotham is crazier than even I thought. Right now, laying low is my best be-"

"Agh!" one of the men screams as a white blur rushes past him. He falls to the ground and holds his slit throat. The white streak blurs past, this time cutting through two of the guards' throats. Again, the blur circles around again. The result this time the last guard being decapitated with blood spattering and covering Sofia. The woman shrieks as she hides behind the car and holds her breath. The white blur warps in front of her, slowing down and becoming the Man in White.

"Vandal...?" Sofia trembles as her eyes look up to the man, "...Why...?"

Vandal pulls down the hood of his robe and looks the woman in the eyes, "You disappoint me, child. I give you free rein to do as you please, with only one request: to leave the Bat to me, yet here we are," he kneels down, "You ignored my instructions, to settle a petty quarrel. That stunt that you pulled tonight nearly resulted in his death, that is a transgression that cannot go unpunished," he stands, pulling his hood back up as he did so. He reaches behind his back and draws his blade.

"Wait! You can't kill me! I'm...I can still be of use to you! I still have connections!" Sofia pleads, holding her hands up.

"SILENCE! Do you have any idea of what you have done? Slade nearly killed the Bat and now Maria could be anywhere! You claimed that you could retrieve the letter, only for you to fail once again" Vandal lifts his sword up and returns it to the hilt on his back, "The only reason I recruited you was because of your connection to Selina Kyle, and you have tainted that one edge! You have become useless, child!" he snarls.

"Okay, okay...," Sofia climbs up and shakes, "I swear that-that I can still help you. Maria must've given my father's message to Selina by now, which would mean that she has it. Maria thinks that it was just a regular letter, she wouldn't have known what was inside it!"

"That's not a solution! It's just a new problem! Get that heirloom or I will kill you...if she goes to the Bat with it, it could derail ALL OF MY PLANNING!" Vandal screams.

"I-I-I... I will! I won't fail again," Sofia shivers, "I can find Maria! I can have my men kill her! You can trust me! We might even get lucky if she hasn't given Selina the message yet. We could still get to it before Selina even knows a-about it."

"No." The man in white replied, "Your idiotic antics have changed how things will play out," he looks to her as his eyes flash bright blue, "Maria's end was always meant to come, but now the universe will see to it that her fate will be restored. It will seek another to carry out its will," the man in white vanishes with a blur.

The Day After

Maria Kyle brushes her hair, pops the collar of her coat and wraps the scarf around her neck. She smiles as she looks into the mirror. She comes in close to examine her reflection, "This is it..." she then turns away as she hears a knock from the room. She turns the sink's taps off and looks towards the bathroom door. Taking one extra moment, she pulls at a few strands of loose hair and brushes it to the side, "Coming!" She leaves the bathroom and heads towards the entrance. Before opening the door, she looks through the peephole.

Now satisfied, she opens the door and greets Harley, "Oh, hi. I didn't know that you were coming over. Is...is everything okay?"

"No. It's nothin' like that, Maria..." the ice blonder enters the apartment and closes the door, "I just wanted to go through a few things with ya. Just to make sure today goes great for everyone. If it's alright with ya, I would like to talk.

"Uh...sure. But I don't want to go running late."

"Don't worry 'bout that. I'll call Bruce and let him know about this. It'll be fine, trust me..." Harley follows Maria into the kitchen, "This will only take a few secs, anyway..." she smirks when Maria turns her back. Maria walks towards the counter and grabs her handbag, "Okay, but try not to take too long. Bruce can only hold Selina off for so long... anyway, what did you wanna talk about?" she searches through her handbag, "Damn it. Did you happen to spot my purse in here? Damn thing seems to have a mind of its own..."

Harley slowly approaches from behind, "Can't say that I have. So here's the thing: Selina needs time to heal after that terrible pain that she's just gone through..." the ice blonde slants her head and widens her eyes with a haunting smirk. From behind, she reaches for one of knives in the rack.

"What terrible pain? What happened? Oh my god...is Selina okay? What's happened?" Maria turns. With a laugh, Harley had cut the woman's cheek with a knife. Maria screams as she falls to the ground and holds her heavily bleeding wound as she gasps.

"No. No. No. No. No. No. The pain of her mother abandoning her again...that's gonna be with her for a while..." Harley then slashes the knife across Maria's face again, this time catching her nose and lips. She spits blood and screams. The ice blonde straddles the older woman and holds her hand over Maria's mouth to muffle her screams. Harley's hands trace over the woman's bloody cheek. She pulls her hand back and rubs her bloody digits over her lips "Sorry, but Mistah J wanted this one done... nothing personal..."

With little care, Harley rams the knife into Maria's throat. The older woman's eyes widen and tremble. The blonde presses her hand down more on Maria's mouth, "Shhhhhh. Go to sleep. Hush little baby, don't say a word..." she sings as she grabs the handle of the knife and cuts across Maria's throat, "Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird. And if that mocking bird don't sing...," she keeps slicing through the woman's tissue, "Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring turns brass...Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass..." she sings as Maria's eyes lose all life and become still and she stops struggling.

"...And if that looking glass gets broke...," Harley rips the knife out of the woman's throat. She holds the knife up and licks a trail of blood from it, "Mama's gonna buy you a winter coat..," she grins at the bloodied corpse of the woman under her, "Love a messy one..."

- Wayne Tower -

Café, Ground Floor

2 Hours Later...

Bruce and Selina sit around the furthest back table, looking at the one empty seat on the opposite side of them. Selina rolls her eyes and stands, "It's been hours, Bruce. I told... I told she didn't care about me. She's not coming..."

"Hold on..." Bruce stands, "She could just be running late. Look, I'll give her a call and see what's going on..." he takes out his phone and dials, "Trust me, Selina. She wouldn't have gone through all this, only to give up at the last minute. She'll be here...I know that she will..."

"The number that you are trying to reach is no longer in service"

Bruce's eyes widen, "This can't be. She just gave me this number last night..."

"See..." Selina eyes water, "I told you...I told you... I hope that she rots in hell!" she storms off, "I need to be alone, Bruce..."

Bruce cuts his phone off and runs his hands through his hair, "This can't be it. It can't be..." he reaches inside his jacket and takes an earpiece and pushes it into his ear, "Lucius? Come in. Are you in R&D?"

"Am I ever anywhere else, Mr Wayne?" Lucius replies with a friendly jab.

"Find Maria Kyle. Use every camera in Gotham! Every. Single. One."

"She isn't in danger again, is she?" Lucius asks concerned.

"I don't know. Just find her."

"Alright, alright. Just give me a moment, Mr Wayne. Ah...got a match. Oh no, Bruce...she's on the move and heading towards Gotham terminal... I think that she is planning on leaving Gotham?"

"When's the next train, Lucius?" Bruce hurries out of the café.

"Less than ten minutes. You'll never make it, Bruce!" Bruce walks out of Wayne Tower and out onto the streets of Gotham. The coming of the night gave cover to Bruce, enough to walk around unnoticed by civilians who pass by him. He stops when he is greeted with an ally, an empty and dark path. His eyes narrow.

"But I know" who can..." he runs into the darkness. He throws his tie off to the side and rips open his shirt which showcased the chest of the Batsuit along with its emblem. He moves through the complete darkness, throwing his shirt off to the side. He pulls on his black gauntlets and then his cowl. His glowing eyes cut through the darkness of night.

Batman reaches behind his back and unties his cape that allowed it to freely move. He grabs his Grapple Launcher and fires it and the top of the building that he was running towards. The Dark Knight is catapulted upward and pass that building. He fires his grapple launcher at the next building over, one that was much taller than the previous. He shoots up and opens out his cape to glide, "Don't lose her, Lucius!"

Batman latches onto the ledge of Gotham Terminal and jumps over and perches on the opposite ledge. Batman looks down to the platform and sees that it was absent of people, besides his target. He spots Maria Kyle waiting on one of the benches in silence, "Got her," he jumps down, using his cape to slow his drop. He lands behind the bench and surprises Maria. The woman jumps to her feet and looks to the Dark Knight.

"W-What are you doing here?" She asks surprised at the sight of the man.

"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing," he stands tall with his cape drooping around his shoulders and arms "Why are you leaving Gotham? You finally have the chance to reconnect with your daughter. Isn't that what you wanted?" Batman asks as his eyes narrow to be harsher.

Maria scratches the back of her scalp, "I'm sorry, I really am. But we can't kid ourselves...there is no fixing our relationship. There's no mending us... and I think that's for the better. Just...promise me that you'll look after her, please...?"

"It doesn't matter how hard I try to be there for her, I can never replace you. Selina needs her mother. She needs you...whether you are willing to accept that or not...," Batman remains still, "And you need her too," he tells her.

"You've wasted your time with me," Maria confesses, "This was never about me and Selina... I just wanted to live. And I can now, thanks to you..." the sound of the incoming train fills the platform. With a small frown, Maria brushes a strand of hair from her eyes, "It may not be the result that you wanted. But...I am alive. That should be enough for you..."

"For once...it isn't. You lied to me. You only cared about yourself...all this time..." Batman grabs his grapple launcher and aims it away, "Your daughter is here. This is your chance to face your regrets..." Batman tries to reason.

Maria Kyle weakly nods, "I don't have any regrets. But I guess that I owe you this...," she looks to the train coming her way, "You deserve to know this. Selina... has been hiding something from you. Something that you deserve to know... she's a Falcone."

The vigilante's eyes widen as he almost stumbles, "That's not true. It's not possible..."

"It is" she answers, "Why'd you think that Sofia hired Deathstroke to kill me when there are hundreds of hitmen in Gotham... this was personal to her. Before I first left Gotham, I worked as a maid for Carmina Falcone. After his wife Louisa passed, he was in... a dark place. And that time, we... well... you get the idea. After learning of my pregnancy, Carmine wanted me gone. He didn't want people to know that he betrayed the memory of his wife..."

"No... this can't be... have you got proof?"

"Selina is the proof. Test her DNA against Carmine's if you don't believe me," Maria looks to Batman, "He paid me for my silence. Several million in cash to never speak of this and leave Gotham...for good. But, he wanted Selina to stay in the city. Somewhere deep within his colas heart, he did love her. He kept tabs on her to make sure she could survive on the streets for as long as she did...," she tucks her hands within the pockets of her coat, "Sofia found out after Carmine had passed. She didn't know the child's name...but she knew that her father had an illegitimate child...then she started searching from there..."

"She wanted you dead because she thinks you desecrated her mother's memory..." Batman watches the train come into the platform, "That sounds personal enough for her to hire Deathstroke..."

"I'm leaving... if you try and stop me... I will reveal your secret. Don't follow me" Maria threatens. Batman fires his grapple launcher and boosts away, just as the train stops at the station. Maria turns her back and grins. She walks into the railroad car and out of the sight of Batman. Slowly, she begins to change shape. The figure now takes the form of one of the conductors as they walk through the cabin. From above, Batman watches the train depart from the station, looking away he aims his grapple launcher.

- Across Gotham -

Catwoman stands on the ledge the Sirens Club, holding the envelope by her side. She pulls up her goggles and lifts the letter. She stares at the wax seal that holds the Falcones coat of arms. Her eyes were redden and her cheeks burn. Her tears reflect the city and all of its beauty. With moments of hesitance, she finds courage and tear open envelope and unfolds the sheet of paper inside and reads it.

[To my estranged daughter: Selina, if you are reading this, then I have long since passed. And you have learned of our relation. I write this letter to you not to clear my name or try to make you understand my methods. I direct this to you as an obligation to my child, my fair daughter to whom I write this. I trust that Maria has already told you what happened between us.

Separating a mother from her child has always weighed greatly upon my conscience, only becoming heavier as I watched you grow. From when I write this, you are still a child who has experienced Gotham for what it is. As you are now a woman, my only hope is for you to understand why I felt the need to keep you a secret. Gotham is far from perfect, but it can always become worse.

Order must retain in Gotham. It's underworld only know respect for those who they view as superior in power. For your existence to be exposed would upset this balance and for you to become a target. You could shake the foundation of this city's underworld, and that's a risk that I cannot afford. Without my influence in the city, the true monsters would take over and bring Gotham into a state of anarchy, one where reason and compassion will be a relic of the past.

You must think of me as a monster, and I cannot fault you for that assumption. But when it comes to being Falcone, before power, before greed, before all that comes one's honour. And I hope that is what will come to define you. Although my blood runs through your veins, my only wish is for you is that you create your own path, one that is not marred by my mistakes.

Unfortunately, others will not see it like that. My enemies may come for you, even my beloved Sofia could try to use you. I pray that you do not give in to their whims.

My love for you will follow me my grave, my daughter. Since Maria decided that you were ready to read this, I have complete faith in your character. As such, I have seen to it to leave with you, the most treasured artefact of our family. I beg that you do not let this possession fall into the wrong hands, even those of my Sofia.

The future of this city is now in your hands my beloved Selina and I can now rest easy, knowing you'll guard it.

Sincerely

- Your father.]

Selina shakes the envelope and feels something rattling around inside. She tips it over and sees a small silver key fall out. She catches it and holds it in her palm, "A key? What the hell is this supposed to be used for...?"

Wayne Tower

- Research and Development -

"You want me to what...?" Lucius questions Bruce as he looks at the two vials that were being held by him, "Run that one by me again, can you?"

"It's for a case that I'm working on. That's all. Just need to test the DNA to see if there's any connection between these people," Bruce answers as he hands the vials over to the other man. Lucius grabs them, "I'm sure that the connection won't be there. I'm just going with a hunch."

"Right...," Lucius replies with an unsure tone, "Who do these samples belong to anyway?"

Bruce tucks his hands in the pockets of his jeans and shrugs, "Doesn't matter. Just let me know if anything comes up, Lucius."

"Okay, Mr Wayne," Lucius confirms, "I'll get right on that. But I must ask, is now really the time to be playing around with this kind of thing? Surely there must be other cases that are more deserving of our attention"

"Lucius. Please just test them," Bruce tells him, "Let me know as soon as you get a result."

Later

- Across the City -

Bruce's Penthouse

"Wait... you kept that thing of his?" Selina comments as she looks at the split weapon that was held by Bruce. Sitting down beside her, the dark-haired man smiles, hanging his arms over his knees. He sets down the staff on the table in front of them.

"It's called a bō staff. A decked out one to boot. I'm going to see if I can fix it. I'm sure that I can find some use for it in the future," Bruce leans back, "I don't want to go around the city, swinging around a sword. Probably not the best thing for my public image. This bō staff is the next best thing."

"Right..." Selina nuzzles into the man's shoulder with a gleeful smile, "Slade's going to come back, right?"

"It's only matter of time until he does" Bruce confirms.

"And...he's gonna be pissed?"

"Oh, absolutely livid" Bruce closes his eyes.

"Good" Selina rustles closer to Bruce as she too shuts her eyes, "I think that I need a break from all this. Maybe just a day out would do... maybe go somewhere exotic or something...?"

"Maybe I could use that too," Bruce half opens eyes to look at the woman's soft features, "...Selina?"

"Yeah...?" she yawns as she fully rests her head against the man's chest with a playful purr.

"I'm sorry about your mom. I guess...you were right about the whole thing..." Bruce wraps his arm around Selina.

"It's okay, Bruce... I was starting to fall for her lies again... I hope that I never see her ever again...," he looks to his side as he hears his phone ring. He flips it open and looks at the message. His eyes expand as he reads it.

[Lucius: Finished. They match.]

Unknown

"Slade Joseph Wilson, you are one difficult guy to find," Waller smirks as she looks at the grey-haired man through the glass, "Oh...I have plans for you. I really think that you can a great help towards the safety of this nation." Behind the glass, Slade sits with his back facing Waller. He holds his hand over his left eye, "The silent treatment, Mr Wilson?, " she murmurs, stepping towards the glass, "Fine, let's try it this way. All these years you avoided us, escaped us. You were always one step ahead but now look at you. What happened tonight wasn't your fault, it wasn't mine...but I think we both knew who to blame for your imprisonment..."

"...The Bat... if it wasn't for him, I would've been out of this city hours ago..."

"Good. Use that anger, Wilson...," Waller rests her hands on her hips, "If you work for me, you'll get the chance for revenge against the Bat... otherwise, you will never see the light of day ever again, so what will it be?" she marvels at the sight of Slade stirring, seeing him stand, "What will it be?"

"The Bat dies..."

Amanda turns and leaves the room.

Later, she stands beside a dark-haired man in a blue shirt and lab coat, "So tell me, how's progress going?"

"Greater than expected, Red Queen. We have managed to finish two prototypes," the dark-hair man raises his hand, "Come and see," he leads her into the next room, "As per requested, the exhibitor's have far been improved, now able to be implanted into metahumans," he and Waller stand at a one-way-mirror. Waller folds her arms as she looks through and smiles, she sees several doctors in a room, surrounding two operating tables.

On them was Cheetah and Silver Swan. The pair were unconscious and restrained to the harsh surface, "It appears that we are at the testing stage," Amanda comments.

"Yes, Ma'am. You were just in time. We are about to begin the tests to see if the process has been a success."

"I believe that there is a more efficient way to learn that," Wallers turns to the doctor, "Send them on the hunt, and I know the perfect target..."