8.

~ The heavens wept and rained down over Gotham for days. The sun seemed to have vanished, and in its' place were ominous dark clouds. At night, thunderstorms lit the sky up and made the population tremble at the sheer power of it.

The flooding was intense, especially in the newer, more trendy, parts of Gotham. They were ill prepared for the sudden rising water and loss of power. The newer buildings were vulnerable to the river flooding it's banks. The older parts of Gotham, well away from the river, waited out the storm like they always did. Their homes were old, but had stood the test of time. The heavy rain repeatedly knocked out power all over the grid. Emergency services were slow to respond to any crisis. Ambulances had to ford rivers that were once normal streets. Police cruisers were being replaced by emergency boats for rescue.

Searching for the escaped inmates of Arkham was temporarily abandoned in the wake of the relentless rain. Rain that closed shops, caused traffic accidents and made people stay at home.

Bruce Wayne loved this weather. He loved the cold that crept into the old house and the need for a warm fire. But he stayed away from the warmth of the upstairs. Instead, he isolated himself to the cold and damp tomb like cave below. He had always liked this place. It was miserable to be in a place like this during the rain storm, and yet, he liked to feel cold and unloved just now. It was oddly gratifying to feel sorry for yourself while in a cave.

In the bunker under the manor house, he scanned news and police reports. His new key word algorithm was working very well. He could even omit the word Gotham from search permitters and rely on the learning computer to adapt to his needs. He was using it to eavesdrop on reports of the fire now.

Penguin was almost certainly dead, although the fire was so intense that there was no body to prove it yet. Gordon's men had found several other bodies in the basement of Penguin's club. Most likely these were the victims of Penguin's many crimes over the years. Buried in shallow graves dug into the basement floor. Bruce listened closely for information about Selina, but there was nothing. He had given the GCPD crime lab Selina's toothbrush in hopes that, of all the bodies tested, her DNA wouldn't match. He had to nourish the hope that she was still alive. That any second, she would come back.

He would leave Gotham forever if she was returned to him unharmed. He would take her back to Switzerland and sell his ancestral home. He would cut all ties to this wasteland of a city and say to hell with Gotham.

"Master Bruce?" came the annoyed growl of Alfred. Bruce pretend to not hear him. It wasn't easy, the underground bunker tended to echo noise.

"Don't act like you can't hear me!" Alfred snapped.

Bruce looked up from his running algorithm and saw that Alfred had delivered dinner to him on a tray.
"Sorry, Alfred. I've been… busy." Bruce apologized.

"No word yet on Miss Kyle then?" Alfred asked.
"None." Bruce sighed.
"Well, it's far too horrible to go out tonight. Everyone's indoors anyway with all this rain." Alfred said pleasantly.

"The car has proven itself in these extreme conditions." Bruce said curtly. "I'll make a sweep of the narrows and maybe Arkham Asylum. Last night I found several inmates had been squatting there to get out of the storm."

"You've been on those bloody patrols every night since the fire." Alfred said trying to stay calm.

"Ivy Pepper is still out there. So are the most dangerous of Arkham's escapees. Did you forget?" Bruce reminded him bitterly.

"You're not just doing this because of what happened to Miss Kyle? Because that wasn't your fault, Master Wayne. What happened to her was Penguin's fault. Now he's dead and there's no one left to blame." Alfred explained.

Bruce shook his head.

"I'll be leaving at sundown. It's as good a night as any to test the cars hydro functions again. It did really well crossing the river to Arkham." Bruce said with cold indifference.

~ Gordon loved the rain. It fit his mood about his life, and about Gotham in particular. It was a city of glom and hopelessness. There was no salvation. No new day. It had all been a lie.

He had insisted the M.E give him a hard, paper copy of Selina Kyle's DNA reports. Their tech support people were suspicious that the GCPD was bugged. They had recovered a very high tech key logging software implanted into the database last week. There was some suspicion that it was a government conspiracy. The tech was too high end for the any other entity but the government. What they were looking for, the techs couldn't recover, but the bug kept reappearing only hours after it was disabled. It had to be the FBI or NSA trying to spy on them. Who else had billions at their disposal to spy on the GCPD, and why would they do it?

As precaution, Gordon had his most sensitive case files done the old fashioned way. Pen and paper, hard copies only. The M.E had horrible handwriting, but Gordon could decipher it. Gordon's men found several bodies buried in Penguin's basement. Six of them were women. Two of them were too old to be Selina. One was the right age, but she had been strangled to death and not shot. These three had been dead at least ten years the M.E concluded.

The only girl removed from the basement that had been shot was close to Selina's age. Gordon had secretly hoped it was her. There had always been something about Selina Kyle he didn't trust. The fact that she and Bruce Wayne had always been so close annoyed Gordon. He regretted ever intruding the two of them. No telling how much money she manipulated out of the poor kid.

Gordon couldn't hate Selina too much. After all these years, she was the one who finally killed the Penguin. A feat no one had the balls to pull off. Including himself.

Still, she did stab him in the hand and make his life hell for years while running around with Gotham's most wanted. Even holding a gun on Leigh at one point.

Gordon saw the M.E.'s conclusion. The results were ben run twice to be sure. The body wasn't Selina Kyle. He quickly phoned Wayne Manor.

Alfred's voice, cranky and gravel like as ever, picked up on the second ring.
"Alfred this is Detective Gordon." he said. His eyes were still on the results. His mind till swirling with the idea that Selina could still be alive.
"Yes, Detective." Alfred said quickly. "We've been awaiting your call."

"I'm sorry to tell you this…" Gordon said and took a deep breath. "But the body recovered from the scene was of a girl Selina's age and she had a gun shot wound." Gordon took another deep breath. "I'm afraid the fire had destroyed too much of the body to make any DNA match."

"I see." Alfred said sadly.
"She hasn't made contact with yourself or Bruce, right? She most likely died from her gun shot wound. Long before the fire got to her. The M.E. has enough evidence, even without DNA, to sign off on a death certificate. If that's what you want." Gordon said.

Alfred was quite for a moment.
"I'll tell Master Wayne. I'm sure he will want the body for burial in the family plot." Alfred said.

"We can release her to the funeral home in the morning." Gordon said.

When he hung up the phone, there was a coldness, that had nothing to do with the weather, seep into his body.
If Bruce belived his beloved Selina Kyle was dead, he might move on with his life. Gordon was certain that she went to Penguin's on her own. She had worked for the Mob boss after all. She was probably still involved with the crime boss. It was for the best. Penguin had probably killed her, or she left town for good. If she was still alive, she would have contacted Bruce by now. She wouldn't stay on the streets with a gunshot wound in this weather.

Still, he felt bad for lying.

~ Catwoman hated the rain. She always hated the rain in Gotham. When her mother abandoned her, it had rained for days. She had broken into an old factory to sleep and stay out of the cold and wetness. She was a master of keeping out of storms like this. Always landing on her feet.

"Sorry I'm late, Selina." Harvey Dent said strolling into the apartment. "Busy day and traffic is murder right now with all the flooding. You wouldn't believe it if I told you. I think tomorrow I'll just call in and we can watch movies or something."

Catwoman didn't say a word. She kept the apartment dark all day, even with the rolling black outs and loss of power she didn't bother with lights. She liked the darkness. The smell of an apartment when no one else was there.

"What do you say?" Dent asked hopefully.

Catwoman turned to see her roommate. It was nice of Harvey to let her stay here. Not that he had a choice. But why did he have to act like they were a couple?

"Were you able to get Ivy and Crane's records?" she asked.

He held up a briefcase.
"Sure did. Gordon investigated Crane's old man. It seems that's where Junior learned it." Dent explained.

"With Ivy's help he's been able to accelerate and stabilize his father's treatment." Catwoman said smoothly. "As well as other notable pharmaceuticals."

"I want to know more about this mind control." Dent said with a crafty grin on his handsome face. "Imagine how much something like that would be worth. A drug that would make anyone your puppet."

He looked her over. His eyes taking their time on her breasts and hips.

"I don't need drugs to make you my puppet, Dent." Catwoman hissed. "You're here because you have no real loyalty to anyone but yourself. You want Ivy just as badly as I do."

"I have loyalty!" Dent suddenly shouted at her. His face turning slightly pink with anger.

Catwoman smiled.

"Gordon didn't think so. It seems you rolled on him more than once when your career was threatened." she said. Her voice was almost like a purr now. She moved closer to him, his stance was tense from the accusation but softened as she came closer.

"What was it he used to call you?" she whispered in his ear. "Oh yes. Two-Face Dent."

She leaned back and smiled. Dent's face was now red with anger.

"I need to change my bandages." she said in a cold, detached voice. She was done playing with him for now.

She hoped he would try to hit her. She wondered what would happen to him if he became really angry. For now, he wanted to have sex with her so badly he couldn't stay mad. She let him think she might let him have her, but that, of course would never happen.

But one day soon, she planned to push him over the line and see his more monstrous side revel itself.