The Struggle {ON PERMANENT HIATUS}

Chapter Six, "I've always had a thing for lunatics in leather."

I could see in Batman’s eyes the same conflict. I mean, kissing Batman was hot and always an adrenaline rush, but it wasn’t exactly right.

“As nice as that was, stud, it‘s the last time it‘s happening. Professionalism from here on out,” I said, untangling myself from him, and moving away from him. “Just remember, you need my help, just give me a call, handsome.”

“How did you know I kissed Suzanne Dawn?” Batman asked, after I’d turned to the building edge.

“She told me.”

With that, I jumped off the building, free falling until I flung my arms out to catch myself on the bottom railing of a fire escape. It didn’t hurt as much as you’d expect it to, considering I’d done it a lot and was practiced in it. 

I then let myself drop the last couple of feet to the ground, where I tucked and rolled to cushion the fall. My bike was still waiting. I’d done it up myself. It was a Suzuki Hayabu, one of the fastest legal motorcycles that can be driven on the road. It had a black body, but with the dark red detailing on it that clearly said ‘Dark Vixen’ on either side. I hadn’t really given it a name, though maybe I should. 

I drove into the night, with no real destination in mind.

My comms link started buzzing in my ear, and I pressed down on the accept button.

“This is probably not the person you wanted to talk to tonight, but how may I be of service?” I said sarcastically to the unknown person on the other end of my usually un-hackable communications link.

“I thought having Jim Gordon as a middle man was slightly unnecessary.” Batman’s gravel voice replied.

“Aw, aren’t you cute? I just left you and you’re already calling me? Darling, if you want me that badly, ask me and I’ll think about it!”

“Stop messing around. You want to be on the same side? Prove that you’re not just a common thief-”

“Common thief?! Darling, that hurts my feelings! I’m far from common and I’m pretty certain you know that!”

“Prove that you aren’t just a criminal and I’ll consider letting you be my sidekick.”

“Sweetie, I was saving this city when I was sixteen, you’re at least in your late twenties, so you’d be my sidekick. I’m not anyone’s sidekick. You’d be bloody lucky to have me on your side, unless you want me to go running to that crazy clown dude. He’d probably love having me around.”

“You wouldn’t.” He growled in my ear.

“Darling, I do whatever I want. I go where I’m wanted. So you either want my help, or I go and see if someone else does.”

“You wouldn’t go work for the Joker. He goes against your slightly skewed moral code. You like order, that’s evident in your costume, the way you have your hair braided without a hair out of place. He lives for chaos.”

“Well, darling, I don’t live for order nor do I live for chaos.”

“What do you live for?”

“Redemption.” I replied, before cutting of my comms link, pulling up in my ‘hideout’ as it were. Really it was an old warehouse I’d bought for the sole purpose of having somewhere other than my apartment to switch and change between personas. 

It was a pretty cool ‘lair’. I had very up to date equipment in it, like hi-tech computers, and even an AI system, courtesy of my ex-boyfriend, Tony Stark, and his over-protectiveness. It was his AI system, technically, but he installed it here and connected it to his home in California.