Catwoman pulled out her bullwhip and smacked it against the floor causing a sharp cracking sound.
"Don't do this, Catwoman. Just let me take the boy and give him a home." Batman insisted. He sounded sad.
"No. I tried negotiating; you've left me no choice. And for the thousandths time, I can give him a home perfectly fine!" She hissed. She guided her whip at Batman, which he avoided by jumping backwards.
Catwoman wasn't a fool. She knew that she couldn't beat Batman in a fight. He trained for years in combat and was much stronger than her. The only reason she had the upper hand right now, was because he was going easy on her. She needed to take advantage of that while she could.
Batman quickly got a handful of bat shaped shurikens and threw them at her. She narrowly steered clear of them. She sped up to him and dodged a punch. She managed side kicked him in the rib, earning a grunt from Batman. He grabbed her arm and tossed her. She prevented getting thrown on the ground by landing on her hands and flipping herself over onto her feet.
Penguin turned to Dick while they fought. "Let's get out of here while they're distracted." He whispered. He grabbed Dick's hands and walked towards the door, but Dick didn't budge.
Penguin knitted his eyebrows. "What's the matter?" He asked worriedly.
"I can't do this. All of this is my fault. I have to stop them." He determined.
"None of this is your fault. And you couldn't possible stop them, they're too strong. Come on, Dick, if we don't leave now, Batman will eventually get to you." Penguin warned.
He seemed really concerned for Dick. That thought made him smile. "Are we friends?" He asked out of the blue.
Penguin blinked. "W-what? Why are you asking that at a time like th-"
"Are we?" Dick persisted. He looked at Penguin curiously with his large, blue eyes. They were still slightly watery and red from all the tears he had shed.
Penguin looked at him incredulously. "I-I.. yeah - of course. Of course we're friends." He finally said. "Now, let's go."
Dick smiled sadly. He held onto both of Oswald's hands, which were much larger compared to his. "I just want to tell you that I'm grateful I met you. You seem very cold on the outside, but I know you're not actually cold on the inside. I wish I could have helped you learn how to trust people more. I'm glad that I'm your friend, though." He sniffled.
I don't want to leave you, he thought woefully. Don't cry again, don't cry again!
Penguin stared at him with wide eyes. "N-no, don't talk that way. Come on, Dick! Let's go!" He insisted frustratedly.
Dick shook his head. "I'm going to make things right. That means going to where Batman wants me to go. But I don't know if I'll ever see you again... So, bye, Ozzie." He said.
Before Penguin could reply, Dick turned to Batman and Catwoman and cupped his hands around his mouth. He shouted, "STOP IT!"
They both immediately stopped what they were doing and snapped their heads in his direction.
"I'll go with you, Batman. Just stop fighting." Dick announced.
"Dick, no. Y-" Catwoman tried to protest, but Batman cut her off.
"He said he'll go. You cant decide for him. Besides, if he doesn't leave with me, the police will have to take action, and I know none of us want that." He informed.
Carltwoman sighed in defeat. She slowly walked up to Dick and put her hands on his shoulders. "Do you really want to go?" She asked seriously.
Dick scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I'd rather stay with you guys, but clearly I'm not supposed to. And I don't want you to guys to fight for me." He explained.
Catwoman bit her lip. She thought of what to say, but instead she sighed.
"This... Sucks." She stated blantely. "I was really looking foward to.. 'you know what'." She indirectly mentioned. Batman was right besides them and she doubted he would approve of their plans of becoming partners in crime.
Dick nodded. "Yeah, me too. Sorry that we couldn't." He mumbled.
Catwoman ruffled his hair. "Ah, don't apologize." She winked. "Maybe one day. Besides, this is certainly not the end of our friendship. I'll make sure of it." She guaranteed.
Batman discreetly smiled. It was nice to see Selina being a somewhat parential figure. Although that probably wasn't a good thing considering she was a criminal.
"Are you ready, Richard?" He asked. He already felt bad for taking Dick away, he didn't want to rush his goodbyes.
Dick nodded. Catwoman and Penguin watched him as he followed Batman. Before passing through the threshold of the door. He gave a wave in their direction. They waved back. Then he was gone.
Catwoman sighed and slid onto the floor, using the wall behind her as leverage. She felt defeated. She felt as if she didn't try hard enough. Like she didn't try hard enough to fight Batman - or hard enough to convince Dick that they would find a way.
Penguin squeezed his fists tightly. He felt frustrated at how he failed to help Dick. Not only did he never get revenge, but he was separated from them. Penguin turned to the woman besides him who was lost in thought.
"I can easily learn of his whereabouts once he is adopted." He stated. "I'll need you to do something for me, though."
Catwoman looked up at him. "You're asking me? Don't you have your henchmen or something to do your dirty work?" She retorted.
Penguin scoffed. "Well that hardly sounds fair. I find out where Dick will be located and you do nothing?" He smirked. "You do want to know where he'll be, right?"
Catwoman rolled her eyes at Oswald's tactics. "Yeah." She groaned.
"Great." He said. "Now, I want you to sneak into a police department."
Catwoman stared at him. "That's like asking me to turn myself in."
Penguin shrugged. "Well, if it's too risky for you-"
Catwoman jumped onto her feet. "Of course it's not." She replied stubbornly. "Breaking into some police department is nothing."
Penguin smiled. "If you say so. Also, it's mainly empty today so this shouldn't be difficult. Anyways, once you're in, You'll need to take a document."
Catwoman blinked. "And?" She questioned.
Penguin clasped his hands together. "That's all." He finalized.
"What do you mean 'that's all'?" She urged. "What does the document look like?"
"You'll know when you see it." He answered.
Catwoman mentally cursed at him, but said nothing aloud.
Penguin took out his phone and dialed a number. While it rung, he said, "Meet me in the club when you're done. Actually- no, nevermind. I'll have someone waiting outside for you. Behind the building. They'll contact me when they see you." He directed. "Just don't go inside."
Catwoman squinted her eyes. "Why?"
Penguin looked at her sassily. "Oh, that's simple. I just don't want to be seen in public with you." He refocused his attention on his phone. "Hello? Yes, it's me. What the heck happened out there?" he rambled angrily into the device as he left the building.
That left Catwoman alone in the now abandonded building.
She groaned in annoyance. That man is so stuck up. She thought.
Why did Dick even like him? He was arrogant and cruel. He acted like he was such a hotshot, yet in actuality, he probably doesn't know how to drive his own car!
Selina assumed that he held back on the violence, at least to an extent, when he was around Dick. Because of this, Dick must not have been aware of his true nature. He believed that Oswald was a poor soul who was secretly lonely inside that harsh stature and needed a push to be more open towards others. That was ridiculous, of course. Oswald loved his position in Gotham. He loved commanding his henchmen to ruin other people's lives for selfish reason.
She admitted, he wasn't nearly as awful as some of the other criminals in this city, and she couldn't be one to talk, but he still didn't deserve to have Dick's attention.
And, no, in case you're wondering, she was not jealous! She simply was annoyed for Dick's sake. Penguin would only bring him down. And if Selina was being honest, Dick felt like a son to her.
Selina crossed her arms and thought about what Batman had said. He was going to bring him to an orphanage. If that was the case, couldn't she just adopt him?
She clicked her tongue. Would she even be able to? Her civilian criminal record wasn't that bad. After all, most of her crimes have been committed as Catwoman, and only a handful of people knew her real identity. The thing was, Batman was one of those people.
Selina sighed. She decided to this document, find out where Dick is, and at least try adopting him. The sound of her heels could be heard as she walked out of the casino and made her way to the nearest police department.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Batman and Dick were currently in Batman's high-tech vehicle and steadily approached their destination. Dick glumly looked out the window with his cheek leaning against his hand.
Batman glanced at him. The boy's expression made him feel guilty. He sighed. "Richard, I'm sorry that you were taken away from the people and area that you have adapted to, but trust me, this is for your own good. Now you have a chance for a fresh start. A loving family will adopt you and you can have a home."
Dick didn't reply. I could have had a fresh start... he thought.
"Are you angry?" Batman asked. He wanted to further see how Richard felt about the situation.
Dick thought about it. "Kind of." He muttered, almost inaudible.
Batman understandingly nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Dick shook his head.
Batman knitted his eyebrows, but didn't push for more. They stopped in front of a very small police department.
Batman got out of the car and Dick followed reluctantly. A policeman walked up to him with wide eyes. "Woah, uh- hey, Batman. Want me to lock him up?" The man questioned as he observed him. Dick's breath hitched upon hearing this.
"No. Send him to an orphanage." He ordered with no explanation.
The policeman nodded. "Gotcha." He turned to Dick. "Hey, what's your name?"
"Richard Grayson, sir." He answered quietly.
The policeman turned to Batman. "You can t-" he tried to say, but Batman was gone along with the vehicle. The man just there with his mouth hung open. He redirected his attention to Dick, who was still there, thankfully, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Let me see if I can get some info on you and then we'll be on our way, alright?"
Dick nodded reservedly. He entered the station with the policeman and sat on a chair next to a few other people while the man got behind a desk and started typing onto a keyboard.
Dick brought his legs up to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and brought his head to his knees. I don't want to adopted. I don't need a new family. I miss my old one. My real one. And Tony- Dick but his lip harshly, he's still out there. I never got vengeance...
He looked at the door. If he wanted to, and he did, he could run out of here. He would be chased, but he'd make it. This police station clearly didn't have much security.
But no, he said he wouldn't cause anymore trouble. And he didn't plan to changing choice anytime soon.
Dick was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a slight thud. It was very faint but audible nevertheless. It was coming from the wall behind him. He noticed a hallway to his left led to a bathroom and a few other rooms. The sound must have been coming from one of those rooms.
Dick shrugged it off and watched the policeman. "Today's an awfully calm day, huh?" He commented to other policeman besides him. The man nodded. "Yep. The others took the day off, so it's only us in here."
Only them? Then why did I hear a noise from another room? Dick wondered.
The first cop raise his eyebrows. "Hey, Carl, look at this." He whispered. He turned the computer monitor to the side, allowing Carl to see whatever it was that he was asked to look at.
His expression turned grim. "I know the Bat told you to bring him to the orphanage, but he's not the boss of us. And if the kid broke out of Juvie, we gotta return him there." He looked at Dick who was watching them. He flinched and flickered his gaze back to the screen.
Dick froze. He would not go back to that place. He continued listening before he panicked.
The policeman from earlier protested. "No way, man. I could not live with myself if I did that. Look here, he needed to be placed in an orphanage a while ago, but wasn't."
"Yeah, because it was full." Carl informed.
The other man nodded. "They have some available spot now, though. Come on, let's squeeze him in. Besides, if someone finds out, they won't know it was us, so don't worry about getting fired. He might be adopted by then, too."
Carl grinned. "You're a good man, Robert."
Robert shook his head. "I'm just doing the right thing." He responded as he glimpsed at Dick.
Dick looked at him gratefully with a timid smile. He exhaled in relief.
Then he heard a clank. Once again, it was quiet, but it was right behind Dick, behind the wall. Dick's curiosity got the best of him. He got up from his seat. "Could I use the bathroom?" He asked the cop.
"Sure thing. It's over there." Robert directed as he pointed at the Bathroom door down the hall.
Dick made his way to the restroom, but instead of actually going there, he pressed ear against the wall across from the door. He didn't hear anything until quite a while until he finally heard another thud.
Dick soundlessly tippy-toed to the door and gently turned the knob. He opened the door enough just to peek through. What he didn't expect was to see Catwoman looking through a bunch of folders and drawers. She snapped her head in his direction and made contact with him. Dick stepped back in surprise.
Catwoman widened her eyes. "Shh.." she hushed quietly. She gave a small smile and yet gestured at him to walk away. Dick blinked in confusion, but carefully closed the door and stood there comprehending what had just happened.
Why...why is Selina here? It can be a coincidence, right? Dick thought.
He had been gone for a while so he walked back to the main lobby, where he was sitting earlier, to avoid suspicion. He plopped himself onto the chair and stared at the floor. He heard a thud again.
Dick felt uncomfortable and confused. Why was Selina here? He felt selfish for hoping so, but he hoped she was here for him.
Dick watched as Robert, the policeman, got up and took some keys. He looked back at him.
"Alright, kid, let's go."