Batman 2 - Batman Returns (23 page)

“I—” he said after a while, “I didn’t find her. Maybe—”

“Yes,” Alfred replied. “Maybe.”

Bruce looked at his butler, and his old friend. He knew, really, that Alfred didn’t believe that Selina had survived; that he was only being kind to a grieving boss. Bruce had known Alfred too long to be fooled. Still, he appreciated the effort.

Alfred frowned as revelers blocked the way ahead. He turned down an alley, attempting to take a shortcut from the crowds.

“Well,” Alfred continued. “Come what may. Merry Christmas, Mr. Wayne.”

“Right,” Bruce replied, trying somehow to return the butler’s good wishes. “Sure. And ‘Peace on Earth, goodwill towards men.’ ”

What was that?

He thought he had heard a loud “meow.”

He turned to look out the back window, just in time to see a shadow dart from the street into the alley. He jumped from the still-moving car, and disappeared into the alley. He found the jet-black feline hiding amidst the cans. “Why, Miss Kitty,” he thought, “what are you doing out so late?” He tucked the cat in his arms and returned to Alfred and the Rolls.

Bruce shivered as he closed the car door behind him. “Goodwill towards men,” he had said?

“And women,” he added.

Alfred drove on in silence.

It is late on Christmas Eve, or maybe very early Christmas morning.

High above the buildings, projected against the clouds, the signal flashes, a bright yellow oval filled with the dark shape of a bat.

It fills all the night sky, and then it is gone.

Welcome to Gotham City.