Down a somewhat dimly lit hallway, Maggie, carrying a somewhat worn-out cloth bag, briskly walked to a room at the end of the hallway. She turned around, pulled out a key from the pocket of her thick, half-length skirt, and inserted it into the keyhole. She opened the door, entered the room, and closed the door behind her.
This series of movements was executed without any hesitation, as fluent as if it were her own home, but in reality, it wasn't her apartment.
Just as Maggie closed the door, she let out a sigh, as though she was reminded of something. Following a moment's pause, she mustered the courage to venture further into the room.
She noticed a photo on the living room's coffee table. Maggie picked up the frame - it was a snapshot of her and Selina smiling.
This was the only photo in which they both were together. She was here to retrieve this photo. Selina had left in a hurry, packing hastily and only realizing this photo was still in the original room once she arrived on the West Coast. She rang up Maggie, who immediately rushed over.
Maggie wiped the cherished photo clean and put it into her cloth bag. Just as she prepared to head towards the door, she suddenly heard rustling from the bedroom.
Instantly on guard, Maggie froze. Then, she heard the bedroom door open, and a figure emerged.
Bruce shut the door to the bedroom and had barely turned around when he saw the barrel of a gun pointed at him.
Across from Bruce stood a woman dressed in a somewhat old-fashioned sweater and a woolen strap half skirt that had seen better days, looking frayed. The cloth bag in her hands was yellowed from washing.
Bruce immediately recognized who was facing him, he spoke: "You're Selina's friend, Maggie, right? She mentioned you to me."
Maggie squinted her eyes, aiming the pistol at Bruce's head. She queried: "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
"I'm her boyfriend, Bruce Wayne." Bruce walked closer to the couch, tossing a blouse onto the backrest. He then said: "I saw Selina before she left, she didn't seem quite herself. Do you know what happened?"
Maggie still held on to the gun, but she studied the man opposite her, confirming he indeed came from a rich neighborhood.
Men from Gotham's slums do not wear leather shoes. The terrible road conditions mean shiny leather shoes would become dull by the time one returned home. Most people wore durable boots, and some even went as far as welding rain boots onto their feet.
Moreover, men from here rarely groomed their beards, did not trim their sideburns cleanly, and certainly did not wear clocks on their wrists that, despite being unable to identify the brand, were clearly one-of-a-kind pieces.
Maggie slowly lowered the gun and said: "If you saw her before she left, then why didn't you stop her? You let her go all the way there by herself?"
Bruce touched the scar on his face. Upon seeing his gesture, Maggie seemed to understand what had happened.
But she was resentful. After all, when Selina experienced vulnerability and helplessness, Bruce Wayne was gallivanting, who knows where. Coming to look for her now, it was already too late.
Maggie did not wish to prolong their conversation. As she was turning to leave, Bruce quickly walked towards her, blocking her path. He asked: "Can you get in touch with the landlord? How long is the rent paid up until?"
"What are you trying to do?" Maggie questioned him: "If you've nothing better to do, go back to your posh neighborhood. Don't come to hassle us here!"
"I want to live here." Bruce replied: "If the rent for this place is paid up, then I should be able to stay here, right?"
"Always messing things up," Maggie growled as she walked towards the exit, Bruce pleading with her from behind. Just as Maggie reached the door, she sighed, turned around, and told Bruce, "I don't care what madness you're going through, but this is not your place. If you don't want to lose your life here, you better hightail back home!"
"I'm serious." Bruce said: "I have to stay in the slums for at least one month, starting right now."
Maggie looked into his eyes and said: "If you want to risk your life, that's your business. But to my knowledge, Selina hasn't gotten over things yet. It will only make her sadder if she finds out you're dead."
"Didn't she tell you, I..." Bruce wanted to say something but stopped himself. He knew that Maggie had a strong relationship with Selina, almost to the point they could talk about anything, which meant Maggie should know he was Batman.
"I'm aware that every night, you dress in that bodysuit, flying between high-rise buildings, but that's useless, do you understand, rich guy?" Maggie sighed and said, "I don't have your super human physique, I can't even claim to be as fit, but the reason I can survive here is that I grew up here."
"But you, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, a total stranger to us here. Your strength won't save you here, you won't survive. Move away whilst you still can, this is the last time I'm telling you this."
With that, Maggie left. Before she closed the door, she left one last remark: "You've got two months of rent left on the house. If you plan on staying, you'd better get yourself some bodyguards."
After Maggie left, Bruce started tidying up the room. As he'd said, he was serious. He needed to discover the nature of the challenges in Gotham's slums before he could understand the difficulty of overcoming them and how to go about it.