Chapter 12

"No I said Gordon. Detective Jim Gordon!" Alfred yelled into the phone, as he carried the old-school dial-up around the room. "Well have him call me the minute he gets this message, all right, you nancy?" He slammed the earpiece down on the receiver and looked about the room, especially at where Selina was seated. She had a pack of ice on the back of her head where she had been hit, and she was none too happy about it, neither was he.

Master Bruce was gone, and they weren't even sure how long it'd been. Selina suspected it'd been around the time she'd last seen him; when he told her about the note, but she couldn't be certain. That clone had played them, and played them good. Sure, he had his suspicions, but each time he'd assuaged them, thinking that them a by-product of Master Bruce hitting a dead end to his crusade to avenge his parents' deaths... or that it had something to do with breaking up with Selina. And he was actually pleased to see Bruce smile and have a good time every now and then - it plain blinded him to the truth, that it was a clone in his place.

Selina groaned as she rubbed the upper bridge of her nose. She'd briefly mentioned the clone pushing her out a window. She didn't mention how high they'd been, or what injuries she'd sustained from the fall - but Alfred figured that she couldn't be well, especially after being knocked out cold for the second time by the clone. "You should go see a doctor," he suggested.

"Mm-mm," she turned down his proposal, choosing instead to stay embedded on that seat.

"Fine, whatever. Listen. Think, can you remember anything else?" He didn't like the thought of pressuring an injured child to answer his questions, but time was of the essence, and Gordon wasn't contactable as of yet. He knew he'd to do something, or he'd go mad with worry.

"Only what I already told you, Alfred," she replied, still holding the ice to her head. "The clone came to me, talking about how Gotham's gonna be judged, and a lot of people are gonna die."

"It's the bloody Court of Owls, isn't it?" he grumbled.

"Mm-hmm," she widened her eyes at him to prove her point. "I warned you. Warned you what would happen if you poked the tiger."

She was absolutely right, of course. But he wouldn't admit that. "What, do you want a medal dear? All that matters is they've got Bruce."

Selina had recently come to learn of the viciousness of the Court. With the clone within their control, she knew it'd be well within their power to be rid of the real Bruce Wayne. Since her fall, she'd begun to increasingly believe that Bruce might not just be lost, but also dead. "Wait, do you think he's still alive?"

"My boy is still alive!" yelled Alfred, his face flushed with emotion. He pointed a finger at her. "And you, you're going to help me find him."

She frowned - the guy was obviously a nervous wreck, not in the right state of mind to think things through. "You want to go on a wild goose chase? That's on you. Count me out."

"Oh... no, don't do that."

The more she thought about Bruce's disappearance, she began thinking about her own. If the Court had the power to replace someone as significant as Bruce Wayne, imagine what they'd do to her. "I've had enough of being a part of you and Bruce's schemes. It's time I thought about myself."

"Don't tell me you're still angry with Bruce 'cos he never told you your mom was a wonky con artist?" Alfred rattled on. "That boy's been loyal to you! He's been good, he's been a friend. And now he's in trouble you won't even lift a finger?"

Survival... the word echoed in her head. Do what is needed to survive. "Maybe you should just accept the fact that Bruce is dead."

"You're a disgrace," Alfred said in disappointment, to which Selina snorted defiantly. "You're like your mum."

The room went silent. His words had stopped her in her tracks. If there was one person she would never ever want to be associated with, it was her mom. She couldn't comprehend how someone could be as selfish and narcissistic as her - and yet perhaps she had more in common with Maria as she'd once thought.

"Go on then," Alfred chided sarcastically. "Run away. And don't you ever, come back here." He turned around and stormed out of the room, expecting her to see herself out.

Selina got up from the chair and put the ice-pack down on the African Bubinga table closest to her. It held nothing more than a reading mat, a stationery organizer with three golden pens sticking out, and an old desktop photo of the members of the Wayne family. Thomas, Martha and Bruce. Her hand moved over the table, and she picked up the picture. Bruce... He was just a little kid when she'd first seen him in that alley. Since then, he'd been a bit of a jerk towards her from time to time, but she'd had to admit that they'd also had good times together. She reconsidered the possibility of him escaping death at the hands of the Court. Alfred seemed to be certain that he was still alive - although she could probably chalk it up to guilt on his part. He'd been living with Five all these months, and hadn't a clue. But seriously, would the Court have left him alive? And why? Or where's he been all this time? She shook her head. That'd lead to much too many questions.

Still... running away would precisely be something that Maria would do. And Selina was determined to be nothing like her mother. She put the picture down, and turned towards the window.

Wild goose chase or not, she figured she'd give the search a shot.