Author's Note: Thanks to M. for useful conversations while in the writing of this fanfic. This was written as part of a comics crossover ficathon earlier this year, decided to throw it up since I finally got around to doing so. Takes place after Civil War, and during a suitable interlude in the DC timeline.

Disclaimer: Any and all recognizable characters aren't mine, they belong to their creators, I'm just borrowing them.

He went out as he did nearly every night, even with the SHIELD Helicarrier right at the edge of Gotham City's border. His cape billowed as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, the sound he made masked by the din of the city.

Nothing could abate the Dark Knight's crusade.

"Where's the satellite information?" Ms. Marvel muttered, the SHIELD variation of a Bluetooth headset catching her question. In addition to audio, it was also wired to directly transmit information via the wearer's optic nerves to the visual cortex, permitting visual information to be presented as easily as if he or she was sitting in a secure SHIELD briefing room.

"Give us a second, ma'am," the stilted voice said over the communication link. "Here we go, these are the composite pictures from high-resolution broadband spectral imaging. All in real time!" Ms. Marvel was able to see the rooftops of Gotham City in near-realistic detail. She watched the feed pan from her location hovering above the courthouse, her red sash around her hips could be seen billowing in the wind in the image, to one of the less reputable parts of Gotham City. She was about to speak when she saw what she had been hoping for since arriving here in Gotham City.

A dark shadow leaping from roof to roof, weakly outlined, but definitely who she was looking for this evening. "Good catch. Keep me online!" She took off, arcing through the brisk night sky, the lights and sounds of the streets dimming in her ears as the wind raced past her. She saw the shadow diving into a back alley via the link. She approached the back alley from above, reaching a hand to her headset and flicking it off as she could hear the confrontation in the alley below her.

He heard her incoming at least a dozen blocks away, so tonight the group of thugs was dispatched more efficiently than in the past.

"Hello, Batman," Ms. Marvel said, walking towards him slowly, hips swaying from side to side. "I'm here to talk to you about registration."

"I'm not a superhuman, it's a moot point," he growled. "In any case, we'll see how long your registration act holds up in court."

"We had hoped that by getting Superman to talk to you about registration you might come around."

"Please, he can do as he wishes, but it doesn't go for the rest of us." He paused. "You expect me simply to willingly reveal my identity to an agency so prone to leaks and compromise that I might as well announce it on the front page of every newspaper in the world."

"This will be the most closely held information in all of SHIELD, you won't even have to divulge your identity to me."

"Sure, and then some lunatic figures out quantum computation and any cipher you've used will be as effective as a ping-pong ball against that madman who manipulates magnetism."

Batman knew it was a matter of timing and transitioning between ranges to skillfully and safely fight someone like Ms. Marvel. Staying in striking range would take its toll rather abruptly, and if his timing was off even the slightest, her speed would prove to be a positive in her column. Staying in close and constantly moving took away her ability to strike and apply decisive force. Clinching with her would not be a good idea, given her strength, but a stick and move strategy could be good in limited doses. While hardly an untrained opponent, her timing and style was strongly coupled to her possession of her immense powers. If, however, one could suppress those powers, even just temporarily, he would have a chance to withdraw. That necessitates him making the first move.

Ms Marvel didn't even notice Batman sliding a small silver tube from his utility belt and flicking it to the ground.

When the flash and noise subsided, she could see the Dark Knight no more than an arm's length away, a crisp, tight jab headed for her face. She twisted and ducked away from the punch, her momentum swinging her body around enough for Batman to step behind her in the moment before she returned with a strike. He locked his arms around her waist, holding her close as if they were wrestling, waiting for her to try and twist her body out of it. As she twisted, he let go, her stumbling for a moment, Ms Marvel then feeling a quick, half-hearted knee strike to her nearest thigh. The swirl of his cape clouded her view of his motions, only able to see the darting and dashing of his feet and hands, the cowled eyes betraying nothing.

She felt him press a short pronged taser-looking device against her stomach, suddenly feeling nauseous as he stepped away from her.

"That was a device intended to temporarily cancel out the neural impulses necessary for utilizing your powers, based on your exposure to the Kree Psyche-Magnetron," he said, putting the device back into a pouch on his utility belt. "You have my answer, Ms. Marvel. It's not going to change." She fell to her knees, head swinging down before she could bear to raise her head back up. Batman had vanished in those few moments, she realized.

"Dammit, where is he?" she screamed, sending her support staff into a frenzy.

"We're sorry, ma'am, we lost him in the fog."

She hated having to dress up like this for a book release, but Stark had insisted she carry on with her public relations campaign, especially with the new book she "authored" about life in the superpowered fast lane - Tony had recommended a decent ghostwriter who owed him a favor, about which he was reticent to reveal. She called out, tilting her head back.

"Gallagher! Get in here!" She called in the public relations expert from SHIELD's public affairs office she had picked to assist this evening. A brunette woman of middling height walked in, professional and inconspicuous in a pantsuit. "Last chance to tell me anything in private before we have to leave."

"No, ma'am," Gallagher said. "Still no sign of the Batman, despite 24 hour satellite coverage of Gotham City. While the file says that he is skilled in the martial arts, most of our data indicates he mostly uses striking skills, tactical advantages, and technology to defeat his opponents, not grappling methods. Your report about last night came as a surprise to those of us on this case. You should have tossed him into space, I don't really believe this note that he can hold his breath up there....."

Carol filtered the rest of the minor points while listening to the TV blaring in the neighboring room in the hotel suite.

"While Superman has registered, and Wonder Woman is technically an accredited representative of a foreign power, Gotham's Batman has yet to register. In other news, we went to Wayne Enterprises to see about their new donation to the American Civil Liberties Union....."

Carol looked once more in the mirror as she and Gallagher rushed off to catch their ride. Perfectly coiffed hair, a tight strapless red dress that looked two sizes too small around the bust, and heels that made her think that only a man would dare engineer such a travesty of footwear.

"Damn you, Tony," she muttered under her breath. "Not going to take your advice any year soon again....."

"Thank you again for your time, Mr. Wayne, we're so grateful," Carol heard at her back.

"You're welcome, it was my pleasure," the firm voice replied. Carol saw Gallagher approach from the left, starting before Carol could get a word out, Carol pivoting on her inane heels towards Gallagher.

"Mr. Wayne, I'd like to introduce you to Carol Danvers of SHIELD," the public relations officer said, gesturing slightly to the tall, dark-haired man in a bespoke suit. His eyes looked to be as deep a blue as Hugh Laurie's on House, Carol thought. She gave a small smile, impressed that his eyes remained in contact with hers, and didn't drift elsewhere like the rest of the men at this event, to say nothing of a few of the women.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wayne, I've heard so much about you from Mr. Stark." His grip was like...well, like Steve's, she thought to herself, as the two shook hands. Firm, strong, but welcoming and cordial.

"It's my pleasure, Ms. Danvers. Or is it Assistant Director Danvers?." He grinned enough for her to see it, but nowhere near enough to make a photographer against the wall to think he was smiling. "Ahh, well, Tony is certainly one of a kind. We go quite aways back."

"So he said," Carol replied. "I'm surprised you managed to make it to this small affair," she added. "I was told to expect that you are usually out of town on business during the week."

"To be honest, Ms. Danvers, I usually just use that as an excuse to work in peace and quiet here in Gotham." Carol smirked.

"I can understand that sentiment quite well," she said. "So, I was asked by Tony-"

"I can imagine quite well what Tony asked you to speak with me about today, Ms. Danvers," he said gruffly. "Rest assured that I will cooperate with any and all legal actions by the U.S. Government and SHIELD. I would suggest you contact my attorneys. I have made a perfectly legitimate contribution to one of the few organizations who have an interest in upholding the law of the land."

"I'm not disagreeing with you but as one of this nation's most well-known citizens and businessmen-"

"Ma'am, I think we need to continue to make the rounds," Gallagher said. "Thank you again for taking the time to attend, Mr. Wayne."

"You're welcome. It was a pleasure, Ms. Danvers."

"The same, Mr. Wayne." She and Gallagher walked off to another small circle of people by a neighboring table.

"Well, Alfred, that went rather well," Bruce said as he walked through one of the hallways in Wayne Manor.

"Indeed, Master Bruce," Alfred Pennyworth said, side by side with Bruce. "It might have gone better if you had been a bit more welcoming. She has her own demons to contend with, after all."

"Perhaps you're right," he murmured. "I'll be retiring for the night, Alfred."

"Of course, Master Bruce, let me prepare a few things first," Alfred added, going off a branching hallway.

Bruce Wayne continued to his quarters, contemplating the long fight ahead to abolish registration. Certainly if the powers that be would just let Fury and Waller team up, they'd keep every mask and alien on the planet in line by pure fear, and there'd be no need for this inane act. Carol could get away from SHIELD at long last, working for Stark couldn't be good for one's mental health, but she didn't seem to have much choice in the matter.

That night, the Dark Knight dreamt dreams of justice. And two midgets wrestling in a tight red satin bag. Well, that's what he told himself the following morning.