Gotham 14

                                    

                                          
In the Batcave, Bruce, Damian, Richard and Tim were brainstorming reasons as to why Bruce was not alerted when Arkham Asylum had been liberated, they checked the radio waves that were coming in and found that Arkham had none. Bruce sent Richard to investigate, leaving Damian, Tim and Bruce to talk about a plan of action to track down the Joker. 
                          
"He hasn't made any offenses to anyone yet, I'm not sure what he's up to."
                          
"Well, he isn't exactly the kind of guy who has a solid plan."
                          
"Yeah, I know. I've known that for years." Bruce sat down in a rolling chair, when he heard a thud. He knew who it was and he cringed at the thought of seeing Rose. "But we can't possibly find him if we don't have any leads."
                          
"Who?" Rose asked as she entered the platform.
                          
"The Joker." Tim answered, then he had an idea. "Hey, when you stole Richards bike and went to the ghetto, Joker kidnapped you right?" Bruce's head snapped up and he glared at Rose.
                          
"You did what!!" Bruce yelled, standing up. "When! And why wasn't I notified!" Bruce hollered. Tim ignored him and kept speaking.
                          
"Do you remember where he took you? Do any streets or landmarks come to mind?" Tim asked, Bruce interrupted again. 
                          
"Is that why a bike was practically destroyed when I got back from vacation?" Bruce asked, Tim continued to ignore him but Rose politely responded.
                          
"Yes it is, I made a bad choice and took a bike so that I could find the Joker myself. I was riding downtown when he almost ran me over."
                          
"The only reason that he wouldn't run you over is if he thought you were important."
                          
"He did call me Catrina. I think he confused us but I don't know why, we don't look anything alike." Rose said as she sat next to Tim. She glanced from Bruce who stood over them, he looked as if he was pissed off and thinking rapidly at the same time. Rose looked at Damian who had the same expression on his face. Damian and Rose made eye contact and Damian spoke.
                          
"It sounds like if we want to catch this lunatic we're going to have to use her as bait."
                          
"Bait?" Tim and Rose asked at the same time. Tim and Rose glanced at one another, they were both thinking the same thing. What if I/she get/s hurt? 
                          
"Good idea, but hold on a minute. Joker knows that Rose isn't Catrina."
                          
"But he knows that I know you." Rose piped in weakly.
                          
"Then we can't use you as bait." Tim reassured, "If he gets a hold of you and tortures you for information he will get it from you even if you don't realize it." Rose could tell all three males were thinking hard, their faces were set and their gaze was fixed on separate places on the floor.
                          
"Wait, maybe that's not a bad idea, Tim." Damian piped, "we could use her as bait and then right before he takes her BAM!" Damian slapped his hands together. "We catch him and kill him." Damian squished an imaginary Joker in his fist. Bruce rolled his eyes and started to walk down the platform.
                          
"Delivering justice to the world does not mean we kill criminals, Damian." Bruce sighed and continued, "If you kill a killer, the number of killers in the world remains the same." Rose felt touched by those words, it seemed that Bruce was speaking from a deeper part of himself. Rose stood up and followed Bruce off of the platform. Bruce was aware of her but didn't tell her to leave. Rose called his name once they were out of earshot of Damian and Tim. "I don't want to talk to you." Bruce hissed, "You're too familiar." He whispered to himself. Rose didn't hear him.
                          
"Bruce, you've never killed anyone. Why would you say something like that to Damian?" Rose asked, many other questions that didn't pertain to the conversation were running through her mind.