If there was one word that could describe most of this chapter, it would be: misinterpretation.
Alfred misinterprets Selina's absence as another round of nincompoopery that drove a wedge between Bruce and Selina, thereby wasting valuable time that could be spent enjoying and developing a healthy relationship. This is the second time that Alfred's been mistaken. Then again, given the years that were wasted, and the several squabbles that popped up after they finally got together, perhaps there is some justification for his reaction. Quick sidenote: the way he asserted how things were done in Wayne Manor, and how swiftly Selina acquiesced, was entirely in character for Alfred. I just loved it!
Selina...her efforts to set up a trail for Batman to follow was thwarted before it could even begin. Preemptive foiling of a crime: very impressive! Of course, it might not have gone that way had she not interpreted Bruce's presence at the garage to mean the jig was up. Her overreaction clued Bruce to start sniffing for clues, thus derailing her little game. For his part, Bruce was under the impression that Selina was just gone for the night, and wanted to alert Selina that Alfred was on the warpath. He didn't seem to realize that something else was going on...though that didn't last long.
A major misinterpretation for both Bruce and Selina lay in the ramifications of Batman's plan to take down Penguin for good. Bruce didn't realize how Selina would take his zeal to eliminate Penguin as an indication of how he really felt about her. Neither did Selina, given her little trans-continental jaunt. It took an audio log from Batgirl and an actual conversation...okay, just checking...the world did not stop spinning...for the truth to come out. I guess Bruce and Selina are making some progress after all. Now I'm wondering where they'll go from there, and how will a certain Swiss banker factors into this new equation.
Cassie and Tim take the idea of misinterpretation and expand it into a full-blown comedy of errors. First, Cassie took Tim's comments (based on Nightwing's and Oracle's advice) to mean that ice cream was the appropriate food for apologies, rather than the intended apologies-accepted-cookies-aren't-needed. To top it off, she blew up Tim's advice on the Crispi case into an example on how he's the God of Detective Work and Crimefighting. The last time she did that was when she exaggerated the skills of Greg Brady, whom she had a crush on...and the time before that was when she had a crush on Azrael and was exaggerating his prowess...uh, oh. No wonder Tim's freaked. He doesn't know whether all the cookies are an apology for putting him in the hospital (which they are) or whether they're a prelude to initiating a romantic relationship (which they could be), and revealing any misinterpration on his part could lead to another round in the hospital...if he's lucky. It will be very interesting (and hilarious) to see how this sub-plot will play out, and whether there will be any future misinterpretations over Cassie's Phoenix Ninja tutoring (is this a tutorial, a mockery of Tim's manhood, or an excuse to spend some "quality" time together?).
And what about Ozzy? Will he spill what's really on his mind, or will he spend the next little while in a padded cell? How's Sly doing with the Vault? Will Harvey manage to make heads or tails (sorry) of this mess? And will Etrigan ever stop laughing? Hopefully, some of these questions will be answered in Chapter 4.
Alfred misinterprets Selina's absence as another round of nincompoopery that drove a wedge between Bruce and Selina, thereby wasting valuable time that could be spent enjoying and developing a healthy relationship. This is the second time that Alfred's been mistaken. Then again, given the years that were wasted, and the several squabbles that popped up after they finally got together, perhaps there is some justification for his reaction. Quick sidenote: the way he asserted how things were done in Wayne Manor, and how swiftly Selina acquiesced, was entirely in character for Alfred. I just loved it!
Selina...her efforts to set up a trail for Batman to follow was thwarted before it could even begin. Preemptive foiling of a crime: very impressive! Of course, it might not have gone that way had she not interpreted Bruce's presence at the garage to mean the jig was up. Her overreaction clued Bruce to start sniffing for clues, thus derailing her little game. For his part, Bruce was under the impression that Selina was just gone for the night, and wanted to alert Selina that Alfred was on the warpath. He didn't seem to realize that something else was going on...though that didn't last long.
A major misinterpretation for both Bruce and Selina lay in the ramifications of Batman's plan to take down Penguin for good. Bruce didn't realize how Selina would take his zeal to eliminate Penguin as an indication of how he really felt about her. Neither did Selina, given her little trans-continental jaunt. It took an audio log from Batgirl and an actual conversation...okay, just checking...the world did not stop spinning...for the truth to come out. I guess Bruce and Selina are making some progress after all. Now I'm wondering where they'll go from there, and how will a certain Swiss banker factors into this new equation.
Cassie and Tim take the idea of misinterpretation and expand it into a full-blown comedy of errors. First, Cassie took Tim's comments (based on Nightwing's and Oracle's advice) to mean that ice cream was the appropriate food for apologies, rather than the intended apologies-accepted-cookies-aren't-needed. To top it off, she blew up Tim's advice on the Crispi case into an example on how he's the God of Detective Work and Crimefighting. The last time she did that was when she exaggerated the skills of Greg Brady, whom she had a crush on...and the time before that was when she had a crush on Azrael and was exaggerating his prowess...uh, oh. No wonder Tim's freaked. He doesn't know whether all the cookies are an apology for putting him in the hospital (which they are) or whether they're a prelude to initiating a romantic relationship (which they could be), and revealing any misinterpration on his part could lead to another round in the hospital...if he's lucky. It will be very interesting (and hilarious) to see how this sub-plot will play out, and whether there will be any future misinterpretations over Cassie's Phoenix Ninja tutoring (is this a tutorial, a mockery of Tim's manhood, or an excuse to spend some "quality" time together?).
And what about Ozzy? Will he spill what's really on his mind, or will he spend the next little while in a padded cell? How's Sly doing with the Vault? Will Harvey manage to make heads or tails (sorry) of this mess? And will Etrigan ever stop laughing? Hopefully, some of these questions will be answered in Chapter 4.
I'm just sayin' every woman has
her price.
- Given Batman's habit of hper-analysis and tinkering....
I loved this chapter Chris. 
