Selina lived in a converted warehouse in the Factory District, the kind of place that looked run-down from the outside but was actually a fortress. Reinforced walls, multiple escape routes, and enough surveillance equipment to run a small intelligence operation.
None of it made her feel safe anymore.
She'd been home for twenty minutes when she noticed the roses. A dozen black roses arranged in a crystal vase on her kitchen counter, with a note written in the same precise handwriting she'd seen at the museum.
"Beauty can mask corruption. But masks eventually fall away. - S"
Selina felt ice in her veins. He'd been in her apartment. While she was out, Saguro had walked through her security system like it didn't exist and left her a calling card.
She grabbed her motorcycle keys and headed for the door, then stopped. Waiting in the hallway was a figure in a white mask and black suit, standing perfectly still like a mannequin.
"Ms. Kyle," Saguro said pleasantly. "I was hoping we could have a conversation."
Selina backed into her apartment, hand moving toward the pistol she kept in a drawer. "About what?"
"About redemption. About choice. About the paths we take when we think no one is watching." Saguro stepped into her apartment uninvited. "You steal from people, Ms. Kyle. You take things that don't belong to you."
"I steal from rich people who won't miss it."
"Ah, the Robin Hood defense." Saguro tilted his head. "But you don't give to the poor, do you? You keep what you steal. You profit from other people's property."
"It's not the same as murder."
"Isn't it?" Saguro moved closer, and she could see her reflection in the mask's eye holes. "Every theft is a violation. Every break-in is an assault on someone's security, their peace of mind. You may not kill with your hands, but you kill something in every person you victimize."
Selina reached the drawer, but Saguro was faster. His hand covered hers, gentle but immovable.
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," he said softly. "I'm offering you something precious—a chance to examine your life, to feel genuine remorse for what you've done."
"And if I don't?"
"Then you'll hang like the others. But first, you'll understand exactly how much pain you've caused."
That's when the window exploded inward.
Batman came through the glass in a shower of fragments, cape spreading like wings. He hit Saguro with the full force of his momentum, sending both men crashing into the far wall.
Saguro recovered with inhuman speed, rolling away from Batman's follow-up strike. "The famous Batman," he said, straightening his mask. "I wondered when we'd meet."
"It's over," Batman said, moving to put himself between Saguro and Selina. "No more killing."
"Over?" Saguro laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "It's barely begun. This city is infected with corruption, and I'm the cure."
He moved faster than anyone human should be able to, striking at Batman with a combination of martial arts techniques. Batman blocked and countered, but Saguro flowed around his attacks like water.
"You fight crime," Saguro said as they exchanged blows, "but you don't eliminate it. You catch criminals and put them in cages, then watch them escape to hurt more people. Where's the justice in that?"
"Justice isn't murder," Batman replied, landing a solid hit to Saguro's ribs.
"Justice is whatever works." Saguro spun away from Batman's next attack, producing a smoke grenade from his jacket. "And killing works."
The apartment filled with thick, choking smoke. By the time it cleared, Saguro was gone, leaving only an open window and the lingering scent of roses.
Batman turned to Selina, who was pressed against the far wall, shaking.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
"No, just terrified." She looked at him, really looked at him, for the first time in months. "Thank you."
"We need to talk," Batman said. "About what you saw at the museum, about why he's targeting you."
"Bruce..." she started, then stopped. Old habits.
"Not here. Not now." Batman moved toward the window. "But soon. He's escalating, Selina. And you're not safe as long as he's out there."
"Where am I supposed to go?"
Batman paused at the windowsill. "Somewhere he can't find you. Somewhere I can protect you."
"The last time you tried to protect me, we both got hurt."
"This is different. This time, it's not about us. It's about keeping you alive."
He disappeared into the night, leaving Selina alone with her fear and the memory of Saguro's gentle, terrifying voice.