Cutting Bait (Complete)

Cutting Bait


Story By: Batman and Catwoman
Heroes: Batman
Villains: Deathstroke, Catwoman, The Great White Shark

Plot summary: Batman follows the lead of a Cat burglar in Gotham that leads him into mix of conflicting emotions. Batman finds himself distracted with the thoughts of the Cat burglar revealed to be known as Catwoman. Batman races against time as Catwoman's employer is growing impatient and wants her to steal from rivaling crime boss under the alias of "The Great White Shark."

-Gotham’s orchestra’s 400th show was set to be a huge event, the city felt itself able to relax with the recent capture of The Joker and Harvey Two-Face, now seemed like the time more than ever to enjoy life, though the city was far from being cleaned up. Bruce had been walking into the Opera house with an attractive African woman wearing a black dress that complimented her skin and dark brown hair. Her arm neatly wrapped around Bruce’s forearm and bicep as she held onto him, they traveled up the stairs and onto the balcony for a perfect view of the show, his blue gaze looking to her dark brown eyes. She smiled playfully at him.- “A lot of eyes are on me, but more eyes are on you, Mr. Wayne…” –Bruce snickered playfully at her before confidently saying.- “It’s alright, my eyes are on you.” –She would push him gently and giggle.-

In the downstairs floor, the props room, fifteen men dressed in street clothing quickly began loading brief cases of money into a large safe, they quickly moved unloading millions of dollars into the invested safe designed to withstand a considerable amount of punishment from even explosives. It’s defense didn’t stop there, it required a 7 sets of 7 digit code combinations to unlock the computer from opening. The room itself was sealed off by laser traps that would lock down the room with steel doors. The room had only five entrances, two doors on opposing sides of the room, two cat walk planks only four feet wide, and a trap door located in the center of the room, big enough to fit a piano through should it be necessary.

The room itself had props from various shows; including a giant Dinosaur labeled “King Kong ‘08” other notable features were long black bags holding golden lamps and other electronic equipment. The leader of the men sat outside watching the big truck get unloaded in the back loading dock, there were at least four trucks loaded with instruments and musical equipment for opera shows, the fifth truck contained the money being deposited secretly. The show was a perfect distraction and no one would think to make a hit on them during a night like this. Security was tight as well, police officers patrolled outside the building and ushered some people to their seats. Bruce thought the security was a little odd but, given recent terrorist attacks from the Joker, it was almost expected.-

Catwoman: It was well thought out, and why wouldn’t it be? She certainly wasn’t a rookie by any means and Selina Kyle knew exactly what she was there for. She had been to the Opera house several times before, lifted the blueprints from the library and had the knowledge that very few people had. There was a lot of money changing hands, but unfortunately for the men it belonged to their hands were never going to touch it. As she walked along the roof of the building her thigh high black heels clicked softly as she made her way to the main ventilation shaft, her fingers slid across her utility belt, her whip wrapped around her waist like a warm hug gave her comfort to ease the exciting jitters that always came from a planned night of fun. Crouching down she slipped gloved hands with clawed fingers into the vent, lifted, tugged and let a smile curve her lips as it came loose smoothly. Step one was easy enough. Brown hair blowing in the night breeze, held back from her face by a firm pony tail, Selina slipped her thin, cat suit covered body into the vent, loosely replaced the cover and let herself fall, using her hands and feet outstretched to slow her decent silently down into the horizontal vent below.

-The lights to the house began to dim and the curtains opened to reveal the orchestra. The music began immediately filling the hall, as the Italian man spoke with an elegant and deep voice with amazing ability to carry, Bruce watched when suddenly he felt his date tightening her grasp on his arm, Bruce smiled at her before turning his gaze back at the stage. His tuxedo was straight pressed but, a little off set by his date clinging to him.- “It’s alright right, you know. You don’t have to worry.” –She smiled at him and leaned her lips closer to him.- “I’m just excited to be here. Maybe we can…” –Bruce would interrupt her.- “Go back to my place afterwards?” –She entertained the thought and said.- “I was gonna say mine…but sure!” –She kissed him and as he returned the kiss. He broke the kiss promptly and continued to watch the performance as his date kept her eyes on him.-

Catwoman: The thought that passed through her mind was brief, humorous even as her heels touched the metal “floor” of the vent. ‘Glad you’re not claustrophobic.’ She chuckled softly at herself as she pressed her back against the cool metal, then stretched her body down as if she were touching her toes, only at the last moment to extend herself, slipping into the vent on her stomach and stretching her body out as only a cat would, languid and perfectly comfortable with their surroundings. She took a minute to center herself, if only to pull up the blueprints in her minds’ eye then she crawled along the vent shaft, quietly and with purpose as she headed towards her destination. As she reached the hall, music flooded into the shaft, a familiar tune that was the beat of her escape from the vent. A low deep note allowed her to pop the vent cover free, a crescendo made her heart soar as she agilely slipped from the metal enclosure and onto the cat walk above the stage. Anyone who would have been not so keen on paying attention to the show below perhaps would have seen a flash of the woman in black just above the small space between the curtain top and the stage’s ceiling, but most would brush it off as a stage worker, or perhaps someone controlling the lights. Confident in her abilities now, the Catwoman simply stepped lightly across the catwalk to the beat of the music, almost dancing as she made her way to the other side, well on her way to the props room.


-Bruce closed his eyes and imagined the scenery that the speaking was describing in his native tongue when suddenly a woman spoke with a high pitch, almost scream, the two would begin to approach each other holding their notes, their performance complimented each other a lot as Bruce grinned listening, the cheek of his date rested against his bicep, she gave it a gentle squeeze before backing away a little to examine his arm, she was surprised to feel an arm equal to that of a marine soldier kept concealed underneath his smooth appearing tuxedo. Bruce would open his eyes and immediately catch to the sight of Catwoman walking across the catwalk.- “Hey-uh…I think I left something in the office…I-uh, I’m gonna go call my secretary…I’ll be back…” –She gently released his arm and he immediately stood up and began walking towards the back of the balcony.

-He began walking out when he spotted three men, two wearing blue business suits with fedora hats matching their outfits, a third wearing a bright white suit, pink shirt, and a striped pink and blue tie. Bruce waved to them and spoke harmlessly, almost like a child.- “Excuse me…Are you security? I just saw-…” –The two men pushed Bruce back as the man in white continued to walk until he stopped. Briefly Bruce could see pale skin of the man’s cheek, his hands rested in his pockets but, for a split second Bruce could spot pale blue and white hairless skin. Bruce thought- ‘Who is this man?’- “Back off guy, you don’t wanna mess with him…” –The men continued to walk on, Bruce stood up and dusted himself off before rushing down a nearby staircase to reach his Black Lamborghini, opening the trunk to pull out a black bag before he jumped inside the car to strip completely before putting on his skin tight body suit that his armor pads were placed on top of.-

Catwoman: According to the plans, the catwalk would take her right where she needed to go, the only maneuver being needing to jump from the one she was currently moving down which ended at a stream of lights, cables and steel to the one running parallel towards the back wall of the theater that ran right into the props room. As Selina neared the end of the walkway the dimness of the light made for stupid mistakes, and was easily fixed as she reached up to the black cat like ears ontop of her head, sliding them down over her black mask and flicked on a switch on the object. A soft high pitched sound, as if a computer was being switched on rang in her ears as the goggles came to life, night vision paving the way for the easy jump to come. Fearless she gripped onto the hand rail and jumped up so she landed with the bar “locking” into the heels of her boots. Waiting a beat, then another for the right moment in the music her legs sprung into action, launching her into the air as her gloved hands hands reached out, grabbing the bottom of the next catwalk over with a muffled sound. Hanging for a moment she looked up, grabbing the bar above and easily pulled her body over the railing. Standing straight she ran her hands over her hips, checked her utility belt, whip then finally she slid her fingers back over her own lower back where a gun was strapped. Satisfied that her equipment made the jump with her she moved across the catwalk, passing over the threshold into the props room, goggles still on as her head tilted to take in the floor and the men below her.

-By the time Catwoman had reached the room, the men were finishing their loading of the money; they sighed and locked the safe, some of the men checked themselves to make sure they didn’t lose their guns, as they did so they would briefly flash pocket knives tucked into their jeans. Meanwhile Bruce was finishing the final pads to his suit, the throwing stars in his bracers, titanium and well concealed. Finally he grabbed his helmet and exhaled as he slid it onto his head and locked it onto the neck armor. Bruce would submerge and almost like he was born again a new conscience would appear, Batman. Batman activated his detective vision and then walked out of the vehicle, rushing out of the parking garage to the Opera house. He was using his grappling hook to swing to the rooftop of the opera house. He climbed and began tracking the pattern which an intruder had taken to get inside.

He slipped into the ventilation shaft when he noticed something strange, the music was perfectly humming against the walls of the vent, he paused to think about the relevance of this. He shook it off and continued through the path. Landing onside the vent, his detective vision began recalibrating, but Batman would pull out his cryptographer and adjust the settings in his helmet, detect cold or moist sources. Batman thought: ‘Opera houses are a giant heat generator…Men and women weighing in the ranges of 120 to 420…A lot of space but also a lot of people….must be at least 400 people down there…Moisture in those vents surely left something to follow…Ah ha…’ –The vision locked onto a damp trace of water shaped like a heel.- ‘This is where she went…I’m on her tail.’

Catwoman: Crouching down, Selina opened pouches on her belt, pulling out several things one by one. If the sources she didn’t so much trust and she knew wanted their fair share of the money were right, there was going to be seven different codes she needed just to get the vault open. Pushing her goggles back up into her brow hair her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, the lights below the catwalk making it damn near impossible to look up and see her there as she opened a small handheld computer. The screen flickered on, lines of complicated code scrolling across it, lines that she had painstakingly collected over the past few weeks for this very night, that were going to get her just what she wanted. She plugged in two cords to either side of the small computer, watched the screen flash in response then closed it once again, carefully wrapping the cords around the computer and unzipped the top of her suit, tucking the device in and zipping it up once again. When she was ready to go down to the floor, she wanted to be prepared, but for now there were too many men, and she had at least the next hour all to herself as the opera continued, if everything went according to plan that is. Sitting down on the catwalk, she let her legs hand from the side, straddling a bar as she crossed her arms over the railing in front of her, setting her chin on her wrist and settled down to wait.

-The vision stopped when he reached the stage, his eyes analyzing the catwalk that his suspicious person had walked on.- ‘I won’t make her mistake…’ –Batman armed both of his grappling hooks and fired one towards the ceiling and then used the other to pull him across, he switched between until finally across. Once landed he moved towards the back where he saw the cross road and his suspect wearing a mask.- ‘A woman?’ Why is she just sitting there?’ –Batman came to stand at the edge and spoke.- “The acoustics are blocked from back here…You’re sacrificing quality for a free ticket to the show.”–He said softly, informing her of his presence as she seemed pre-occupied with something. His detective vision was off, allowing her to see him standing before her with his cape pushed behind him and his armor pads standing out on display.-

Catwoman: Catwoman knew the man was there before he spoke, his weight having sent tremors through the catwalk no matter how slight. She was still startled when he spoke though, which was something that annoyed though her body language didn’t show it. Lifting her head from her arms she stretched out slowly, languidly once again, allowing her back to arch, her legs to straightens, squeezing the bars between her thighs and her arms to be brought up above her head hands grasping the railing across from her, the movement momentarily picturesque. She slid then, using her arms to pull her legs up from their position off of the catwalk, and stood slowly and seemingly with purpose as her brown eyes locked onto what some would call and intimidating man. Annoyance flickered there in the deep brown, Selina had been fully aware that if she continued what she had been doing in the city of Gotham she’d run into its Dark Knight eventually, she just didn’t want it to be that night. “I think the sound filters through just fine. Besides, at the opera there isn’t a need to see the show, because it’s meant to be felt, humming low, deep inside of you.” Her voice was a whisper, but the tone was playful. “And my eyes are set on another performance all together, up here is the best of both worlds.” She gestured to the floor below them.

-Batman’s eyes examined her features as she stretched.- ‘Black body suit…it fits her well, ex-military? No, her hair is too long.’ –His eyes couldn’t help by examine her breasts as her hands reached over her head and her back arched but, his attention would focus back on her mask as she spoke.- ‘She has a taste for Opera…’ –When she spoke and referred to the men below, Batman kept his eyes trained on her when he slowly; reluctantly switched his gaze from Catwoman to the floor below.- “What are they doing?” –Batman’s voice was deep, firm, unwavering in its intent. His questions had a certain command to them rather than sincerity. The men would begin leaving the room, turning out the lights leaving the room almost dark.-

Catwoman: As a woman she was all too aware of the allure her body possessed, and as a woman who used that to her advantage she was even more aware of his eyes trailing her form which made a smile tug at her full lips. “What are they doing…” Her voice mimicked his question and as she heard the click, click of the lights being turned off she took steps back from him in time with the sounds as she reached up, sliding her goggles down over her eyes and flicked them on. “It’s not my secret to tell.” She turned, leaning back against the railing and leaned over it, looking very much like she was going to fall as she watched the men leave the room. It would be only a moment after the door would close that her hands would let go of the supporting railing, sending her head first towards the unforgiving concrete below, and only a breath after that that her whip would snake out from around her form, snapping up but not cracking as it caught the underside of the catwalk, jarring it as it caught her weight long enough for her to flip her legs over her head for her to land gracefully on the floor. A simple flick of her wrist would send the end of her whip back down to her as she secured it around her waist with another flick of her wrist.

-Batman took a step towards her, but was too late as she leaped off and dropped to the floor. He went to grab the railing, but she was already settled below, Batman would lift his head and look to the walls as suddenly lasers began spinning around the room, attempting to detect an intruder. Batman activated his detective vision, immediately it locked onto the laser trails/ Batman analyzed their pattern though he wouldn’t be able to study them in enough time to reach her without completely deactivating them. Instead he watched her, let her reveal her plan and what her next move was.- ‘Who is she?’

Catwoman: He was smart not to follow her, and truthfully she was a bit grateful, not really wanting to deal with the men who would find them later if the steel doors came down, not that she didn’t have a backup plan. The heel of her shoe tapped in a rhythm for a count of three beats then she was moving, like a dancer, quick and beautiful across the darkened floor. It seemed that every step she took, the moment her foot would leave the path that’s where a laser would land, even her flowing hair seemed to keep in perfect time as she danced her way to the vault. Half way across the floor she was unzipping her body suit, slipping the small computer from it and using her teeth to pull off sticky tape from the back so when she finally reached the vault she simply stuck the computer under the key pad, flipped open a panel next to it and plugged in the wires. The screen lit up as she opened it, running the lines of codes that it had been before and in the next instant she was away from the door once again moving only a few feet away before freezing. The sensors only a few centimeters from her body flashed around her from what he could see, but never once touched her, a perfect if not narrow blind spot.

-Batman watched her, studied her in fact. His detective vision made her appear as a skeleton, but her movement was tantalizing enough that he would deactivate it just to watch her. His lower lip hung open as he calmly breathed, watching her. He had seen many whores who placed themselves in the pockets of gangsters, strippers who fancied themselves as loyalists to their bosses, rich secretaries mixed with the affairs of the mob, but never someone like this…She was completely different than anything he had ever seen. As she attached the computer, finally his senses woke up, and he blinked for a second before narrowing his eyes at the sight of the device hacking into the computer.-

Catwoman: Time ticked away, and so did the locks as one by one the codes deactivated the door, she was aware that his eyes had followed her and she was even more aware that at that very moment the only thing keeping them apart, keeping him away from her precious device was the searching lasers around her. As the last code accessed the lock, the only thing that Selina didn’t know was if the opening of the door would deactivate the lasers but she was sure to find out. Wasting no time she made her way into the vault and made a pleased noise at a readymade duffle bag, full of exactly what she wanted; cash. “Kind of you not to put the money away, boys.” She commented and was glad in her true lack of greed that would have caused her to grab yet another duffle bag and no doubt weigh her down more than planned.

-He waited in anticipation as the door open and revealed to be a vault; he began anxiously grinding his teeth together as he looked for a way to reach her. Finally he could’ve cared less about the lasers and used his grappling hook and gliding cape to swing down, gracefully he bypassed the lasers and stood in front of the vault door as she went to leave.- “Hold it. You went through all that just to steal money? You should be a professional thief.” –He complimented her with a soft tone before his tone turned deeper.- “I can’t allow you to take that money. It’s not yours.” –Batman stood at 6’2” and 210, though the weight wouldn’t appear like he was that heavy, but underneath his tight fitted suit was muscle that weighed helluva lot more than bone or fluid in his body.-

Catwoman: As she turned to leave she heard the distinct sound of him firing his grappling hook and she closed her eyes briefly before turning to look at that rather hulking man who was now standing in her way. “I am a professional thief.” She commented with a lazy smile, if anything the look was to throw him off as she took in his size and build, slinging the duffle bag over her slender shoulder. At 5’8” she didn’t look like she was built for fighting and that’s the way she liked it. “The money is just as much mine as it is theirs.” Taking a step forward then she waved her right hand at him, left holding the duffle bag on her shoulder. “Now step aside, it took a lot of work to pull this off and I’m not about to let you ruin it for me.”

-He crossed his arms over his chest to clarify his position.- “Put it back. I don’t want to hurt you and you don’t want to hurt me.” –Batman adjusted his stance and allowed his hands to fall to his sides, adjusting his cape to pull over his shoulders.- “I won’t hurt you or turn you in if you put that down and leave.” –He wanted to rationalize with her, she was a beautiful woman and clearly smart, he felt there was no reason for her to devote her life to crime or throw it away.- “What do you say? Walk or do we begin fighting?”

Catwoman: Catwoman watched him through her glasses, eyes well hidden as she took in his stance then took in how he changed it. Something inside of her twinged, made her heart beat just a little too hard in her chest and she heaved a dramatic sigh to cover up the new uncomfortable feeling. “You’re really putting a cramp in my style.” Her right hand reached back, gloved fingers closing around the pistol resting against her back. As she brought it in front of her, clicking the safety off she tilted her head to the side. “I can see all of the weakness’ in your armor, Batman. So why not be a good boy, don’t make me discharge this weapon and just let me go home to feed my cat?”

-As she reached her arm back she would see he stood there and allowed her, but once she brought the gun to bear Batman stepped into her and attempted to grab onto her, if successful he would grab her right arm’s wrist and swung her body to slam into the wall, holding her arm stretched out and away from him.- “Clearly you don’t know me…” –He growled with a deep voice, determination and confidence in him. His strength felt like a vice grip around her wrist and his arm felt like a hydraulic torque lever preventing her from using her right arm as he pinned it against the wall. If he failed to grab and swung her, he would spin and throw his cape over her gun and attempt to wrap her hand and arm inside his cape further limited her ability to use the gun.-

Catwoman: As he stepped in to her she was ready, her reflexes even more so. He had given her just what she wanted, he moved from the door. She stepped back, forcing him to miss his grip on her so as he swung around she simply let go of her weapon as it got caught up in his cape, at the same moment she ducked down under his cape, following the movement of his spinning so she’d stay towards his back, left hand releasing the duffle bag to let it rest on her shoulder as it closed around the grip of her whip. A clear crack could be heard, almost deafening so in the enclosed room as she untangled the whip from around her waist and attempted to wrap it around his pivoting foot, to yank it out from under him. If successful she’d simply move away from him to exit through the vault door.

-He heard the loud crack.- ‘She has a second gun. No, that wasn’t a gunshot…’ –He felt the wrap around his shin and ankle followed by a tug that forced him to trip and fall onto the ground, the gun wrapped in his cape clattered to the ground. He grunted upon hitting the floor.- “No more nice guy.” –He said slipping off his belt a grenade, he hurled it towards the vault door, clearly allowing her to see he was throwing something at her, she would be stupid if she stood in the way as the explosive hit the door it would explode clearly not damaging the giant metal safe but, caused it to swing wide open and release a thunderous roar as it smashed against the wall. The blast also would’ve thrown her to the immediate left away from the door and probably closer to Batman if she continued to hold onto her whip. If she held onto the whip Batman would raise his knee to his chest and grab onto the whip and yank on it with both of his hands.-

Catwoman: She felt satisfaction watching him hit the floor, moved to give her whip a tug to loosen it and to retrieve it when an object caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head she recognized the object with a startled noise, moments before it hit the large door, giving her time to throw her right hand up protectively in front of her face, the left hand behind her still holding onto the whip. The blast indeed threw her to the left and in the moment he yanked the whip, in her stunned state from the explosion she held on and was yanked not only to him but down into his arms as she lost what was left of her footing. Less bothered by being caught by him and more by the painful feeling in her ears she shoved her goggles up onto her head, brown eyes blinking slowly behind her mask as she lifted her hands to her ears, the duffle having fallen off of her shoulder and onto the floor as she had been yanked.

-He held onto her and simply watched her as she covered her ears. He had the opportunity to exchange gaze with her at this close distance, his blue eyes were bold and fearless, they were the essence of his intimidation. Batman’s right arm was coiled up in her whip, his other arm wrapped around her backside to hold her up and support her. He would softly speak hoping to comfort her some.- “Are you alright?” –The uncomforting expression of her face saddened him on the inside.- ‘Why does she do this? I’m not the most lethal fighter out there…and neither is she. She’s going to get herself hurt.’-Batman then spoke.- “Who are you?”

Catwoman: Her brown eyes flicked up to meet his intense blue, anger, irritation and a bit pain stirring in their dark depths. The ringing in her ears the explosion had cause was thankfully already beginning to subside, and was gone enough for her to hear him ask if she was alright. “You threw a grenade at me, and you’re asking me if I’m alright?” Her tone, furious, snapped out at him, a quick lash of fiery temper. “And your idiotic move, just because I made you fall to your knees might I add, just blew the door into the damned sensors. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about with you showing up, now I’m going to have to deal with those men as well.” Selina tried to sit up, to push free from him, break contact with his eyes, he had ruined her whole evening and her head was now pounding.

“Come on...We have to get out of here.” –He growled standing up and promptly helping to pull her to her feet. He armed his grappling hook and tugged her out of the vault.- “Hold onto me.” –He fired the grappling hook as it latched onto the ceiling. If she were to try and reach for the duffle bag, he would tug on her to stay with him rather than let her grab it. Her anger and frustration he ignored allowing her to scream and cry all she wanted, but that wasn’t going to stop him from saving her.-

Catwoman:Catwoman moved to her feet as she was pulled then stumbled after him as he tugged her with him, kicking her leg out to try and snag the duffle bag with her heeled foot, without a prayer in the world as he was more than capable of pulling her off of her feet. “I need that money!” Grabbing her whip she tried to untangle it from his arm then made a nearly panicked noise, seeing her computer still attached to the vault door. “This is really kind of you but I have to get my stuff!” The word kind was full of sarcasm, and her eyes stayed locked onto her handheld computer.

-He turned his head to see the computer she was reaching for and he released her, slightly pushing her towards the computer once they were outside the vault. The steel doors had closed and the only escape was 20 feet above them. The sound of footsteps on the catwalk had Batman look at Catwoman, immediately he threw down smoke pebbles that filled the area with a blinding fog, Batman moved next to her and placed a hand behind her back to prevent her from backing up, it was now she could see red lasers trailing the smoke from the catwalk with the only thing stopping them from being open targets was the smoke.- “How did you plan on escaping?” –Batman spoke already knowing she would have a plan A and a plan B, she was prideful, but not stupid.-

Catwoman: Moving to the computer without hesitation she snatched it off of the wall, unplugging it and tucked it into her body suit, zipping it up quickly. Hearing the footsteps she glanced up then quickly pushed her goggles down over her eyes as he threw down the smoke pellets. Turning as she felt his hand on her back her eyes caught sight of the lasers and she cursed under her breath. “Do you always make things so difficult?” Putting her forearm out, she would catch him along the stomach of his armor to push him back more into the smoke as she dropped down to a crouch. “Three ways. The front door which you just effectively had sealed, the catwalk which is now occupied by the men with semi-automatics, or…” She gave a grunt and pulled on the handle to the trap door. “Go into this crawl space."

-He watched her and was intrigued.- ‘She’s not happy with me. I’ll get over it. She’ll get over it in her bed tonight or in police custody.’ –As she pulled on it, clearly it wasn’t as easy as she thought it to be. Batman would grab onto the handle and began tightening his muscles to lift the heavy door. Once it was open enough for them to slip inside Batman grumbled- “Get in.” With a quick flip of his grappling gun he retracted its line and holstered it onto his belt while using his body to keep the door open. Once she was inside he jumped down as well. Inside they would see the room designed like a basement, dust covered artifacts of Egyptian origin, notably a giant sphinx with a green, white, and gold necklace around it, and gold Anubis statue carrying a solid gold cane stood out the most. Batman looked over the artifacts, picking up a book briefly to flip throat the pages.- “These documents must be worth millions.” –Batman looked over the room and then back to Catwoman.-

Catwoman: Waiting until her had the door open she slid inside, landing with a soft noise and looked around slowly, waving her hand in front of her face as her movement from landing stirred up some dust. As he landed next to her she pushed up her glasses back onto her head and looked around slowly. “And here I thought it was all about the green money upstairs with these people. But,” Her brows furrowed as she moved to run a gloved finger over the statue of Anubis, inspected the dust. “No one has touched this in a good while.” Turning on her heel, her eyes briefly locked onto the documents Batman had been talking about then flicked to him. “Well, you going to look for the exit, or shall I?”

-He closed the book and turned to look at her promptly hearing her.- “There’s something more to this place. Upstairs…I saw someone with the security…He had pale skin and a white suit.” –Batman began walking down the corridor to see more artifacts and relics.- ‘What did she mean by the green upstairs?’ –He turned to look at her.- “How much money was in that vault upstairs?” –He spoke curiously, he might’ve intrigued her or worried her in that he was suddenly ignoring the problem at hand to solve a bigger puzzle that she could probably careless about. Batman’s blue eyes gazed onto her as internally he was counting down the time frame until the smoke upstairs cleared and it would be apparent that both of them had vanished. Though they had no clue how many they were looking for.-

Catwoman: “Pale skin and a white suit?” Catwoman shook her head as if to say it didn’t sound familiar. She followed after him, grabbing the book he had been looking at and tucking it into the back of her suit as she followed. “In the vault as a whole? I couldn’t tell you. About four million in the bag alone you wouldn’t let me take.” Nearly sliding to a stop as he looked at her she shrugged a bit, like it wasn’t a big deal, the tone in her voice having changed already from anger to just general conversation. Reaching back she acted like she was playing with her pony tail and tucked the rest of the book down so it was hidden completely.

-Batman calculated the information she gave him and then he looked up to the ceiling above them. He activated his detective vision with a button on the side of his helmet. His vision saw through the floor and up onto the catwalk there was a total of 8 men, on either side of the steel doors were two more men ready to rush inside with their guns.- “We need to get upstairs…” –Batman looked around at the ceiling, his blue eyes were now colored a bright sky blue with a glow that somehow didn’t light up the area as the light was stuck inside his helmet. He located an office room where there was three men dressed in business suits.- “Found them. Second floor.” –He deactivated his helmet and looked back to her.- “By all means, lead the way…” –Batman waved his hand for her to lead.-

Catwoman: Watching him she leaned up on her toes curiously, looking at his eyes as he seemingly looked through the floor, then confirmed just that. “Upstairs hm?” Dropping back she rocked back on her heels a bit and inspected the nails on her gloves. “I don’t know if I’m willing to help you, considering if it weren’t for you I’d be at home, relaxing instead of running around this dingy place, without my money, with a splitting headache and beside all of that,” She flicked her gaze back to him, lowered her hand back to her side. “What were you doing at the opera? Don’t tell me Batman just came for the show.” Moving past him she didn’t wait for an answer, trailing her nails lightly along the wall until she came to a vent. “I can fit in there, you can’t.” She tapped the rusted cover and rose a brow at him as if to say to him ‘what now?’.

-Batman approached her as she tapped the vent.- “Fine. You get out of here. I don’t want to see you trying this again.” –He spoke with caution and warning to her as he turned away and looked at the other trap door connected directly to the stage roughly 50 or so feet away.- ‘Whoever has these artifacts are up to something shady, maybe even illegal. I’ll have to find a way to get upstairs unnoticed by security flooding into the room upstairs. The stage would be a direct giveaway. If she uses the vent, it will mislead them into believing their thieves have left, I can then escape from upstairs right out from behind them.-

Catwoman: A smirk tugged at the corner of her full lips as he gave her the warning and she simply shrugged a slender shoulder and yanked the vent cover off. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.” With that she jumped up, sliding herself gracefully and head first into the vent, calling over her shoulder. “By the way, the name’s Catwoman.” Flicking her glasses down onto her face she began crawling along the tight space, making her way through the vents. Selina was sure the Batman wasn’t going to just leave, no, he was going to go to that office, to confront those men, and she…she was absolutely going back for the money. A smirk tugged at her mouth as she wiggled her hips where she had slipped one of his grenades from him and into a pouch as he had grabbed onto her before they went into the trap door. “Will certainly come in handy.” She purred to herself as she made her way to the other side of the prop room, opposite from the stage this time.

-Batman heard the men begin opening the trap door when he walked towards the entrance of the trap door and stepped into the shadows nearby it. Once it opened they waved their guns and flash lights.- “Whoever is down there, we’re gonna fuck you up!” –The men began jumping down one man stood next to Batman, as he looked around. Batman remained completely still and had his back to the crown of men, his head ducked low allowing his cape to conceal his position. As the men began walking through the underside of the stage, Batman activated his detective vision and looked above to see four men still on the catwalk. He armed his grappling hook and fired it towards the ceiling, like a bat out of hell his cape flapped open and he flew directly towards the men.- “Jesus Christ!” –Batman landed on the catwalk and hurled two batarangs, immediately slashing the barrels of both guns across the open space. The two men shot Batman in the chest three times each but, Batman would grab one of their guns and slammed it into the railing, before sliding wire off his belt and wrapping it around the guards arm. And then into his belt, Batman then threw the man off the edge of the catwalk, releasing the wire from his belt and attaching it to the railing.

Catwoman: The sounds of the men’s voices echoed into the vent with her, making her pause and look back over her shoulder in the tight space, a frown crossing her lips. “Damn it, he’s going into my room.” Turning back she closed her eyes, focusing on remember the blue prints. “Second floor head said, mine as well check out those offices.” Hearing the gun shots she shook her head, opening her eyes and moving along the vent again. “At least he has bullet proof armor. Maybe I should look into that.” Whispering to herself she glanced into vents as she moved until she reached the second floor office Batman had been talking about. Peering through the slats of the vents quietly she pushed her goggles onto her head to take a look at just who Batman had described.

-She would hardly see the man’s face as his back was to her as he began loading a gun, quickly pocketing it into his coat.- “Lets go…” –The three men quickly opened the door and began leaving the office, the hallways were full of people rushing to escape as the gunshots frightened them.- Batman grabbed another guard and threw them off the catwalk forcing them to hang by a wire. Two more were left, Batman armed a grenade and threw it at the ceiling causing an explosion of the chains and wires holding up the catwalk, suddenly the men fell to the floor of the walking space and grabbed onto the railing as their legs dangled over the floor. Batman turned and rushed to make it to the office.-

-Inside the office there was a map showing two more locations of where safes were one marked Wednesday and the other marked Monday.

Catwoman: Narrowing her eyes she watched the man load his gun and the three of them start to move from the office. Silently she removed the vent cover, planning to move after the men but then paused, tilting her head to the side as her brown eyes flicked to the desk where the map sat. Quirking a brow she smirked as she waited a heartbeat until the men were out of sight then hung upside down from the vent, keeping her lower legs in it and reached down, grabbing the map as she inspected it, committing it to memory. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Laying the map back down she put her hands on the desk, slipping the rest of her legs out of the vent and did a graceful and slow flip to her feet. Batman would be coming, she knew. “Whoops.” She whispered as she pushed open a drawer, sliding the map into it. With the commotion she hoped the Dark Knight would have time to inspect the desk, leaving her open for the game later that week. Pulling her whip from around her waist, Catwoman slipped out of the office behind the men, pulled the whip back and snapped it forward quickly, wrapping around the man on the right of her’s unsuspecting neck and yanking him back to the ground. “Such an unfair fight, I might just have to even the odds, fellows.”


-One of the men fell backwards choking as the whip latched onto him, it was at this time Batman arrived behind Catwoman, the two remaining men turned to see Catwoman, the security guard looked mean as he glared towards them both. The man dressed in a white business suit…His teeth and gums were completely exposed; he had no lips at all! His teeth sharpened to appear like deadly jaws. His nose was non-existent as there were two gaping holes in his face. The man in white armed his automatic pistol and aimed towards Catwoman, revving off twelve bullets in under a second. It was only by seconds Batman hand wrapped his arms around Catwoman and attempted to pull her into the office room to her immediate right, Batman’s cape wouldn’t be spared the punishment neither his armor as bullets dented and sparked against his armor and tore through his cape. If Batman was successful he would be on top of her as they were ducked behind desk.- “Glock 20, full automatic…It’ll turn flesh into butter. –The extra security guard armed his pistol and began approaching towards Batman and Catwoman.-

Catwoman: As the man fell, Selina flicked her wrist, snapping the whip loose with a loud crack then stared for a moment at the severely deformed man. “Well, I’d certainly be masked if I were you. Want to borrow mine? Though I think it’d cover only the halfway decent part of your face.” Setting her hand on her hip she smirked which quickly faded as he brought up his gun. “Guess you’re not the joking sort, be kind I need my nine lives…!” She grunted as strong arms came around her, yanking her out of the spray of bullets which could be heard clanking against Batman’s armor. The moment was over quickly and she found herself laying under the Dark Knight. “We have to stop meeting like this.” She retorted to his butter comment and looked under the desk to see the man approaching. “Do you mind? I like being on top.” She would then attempt to wrap her legs around him to flip them over so she’d be sitting on his hips, if he’d allow her the smooth movement she’d snap her whip, quick and sharp over the top of the desk to very painfully disarm the guard stalking towards them then snap her whip again to wrap around the mans neck, wrapping her arm up in the back end of the whip so it was wrapped around her elbow to yank him face first into the edge of the table with surprising strength and speed.

-Batman listened to her words and was slightly confused by them.- ‘She finds this to be a game…clearly she’s psychotic.’ –As she lifted them and switched their positions he laid under her and watched her work on the guard, seemingly she used a lot of effort to wrestle against the man’s strength but, her advantage was her surprise attack on him knocking the man out and forcing his gun to drop right beside her knee. Batman would then softly said.- “I thought you were leaving. Is this a part of your escape plan?”

Catwoman: Loosening her whip from around the man’s neck she wrapped it back around her waist and reached down next to her knee. Sliding her fingers over the gun she leaned so her chest was pressed to his, to keep her out of sight from the doorway and she picked up the gun, sliding it into the holster on her lower back. “A minor detour.” She gave him a charming smile, leaving herself completely vulnerable to him for the moment. It was obvious it was a game, one that she was highly enjoying, with an almost infectious aura around her. She had seen the confusion clear as day in his eyes when she had spoken and flipped them over and that only amused her further. “You’re welcome.”

-As she smiled at him his face turned into a curious one, studying her as she leaned in closer, they could feel and exchange each other’s breaths, his smelling surprisingly like a mint; a tell tale sign that she might lock away in the future. His hands would slide onto her hips instinctively as she leaned in, his blue eyes being trapped inside her brow ones, his eyes glancing to her lips as she spoke the words “You’re welcome.” ‘I’ve never felt this way before towards someone…She’s hot and cold…and thinks she’s going to hide that gun…I’ll let her get away with it this once…’ –Batman’s hand reached to her wrist as she was tucking the gun away.- “I want you to know…You’ve stolen something from me…” –His words intended to be flirtatious, but his hand grabbing her made it clear his intentions were professional.-

Catwoman: She breathed in deeply, her own breath smelling like cinnamon as she exhaled slowly, warmly against his lips as his larger hands slid to her hips. Selina watched his eyes, watched them flick to her lips and felt as if the air sparked around them, making warmth pool into her stomach mixing with the excitement there for a dangerous combination. ‘Keep you enemy closer…’ The thought teased her mind, nearly made her smile at the thought of just how close she wanted to get at that moment. As his hand moved, grabbing her wrist a thrill shot through her, one that had her body shifting against his as her own eyes moved to his lips as he spoke. “What have I stolen from you?” Moving her eyes back to his her left brow rose as she smiled, a trademark gesture that made her both playfully and catty.

“A grenade…Very deadly. Round in shape…It will explode on contact…I’ll need it back from you, right now.” –His hand held her wrist behind her back forcing her to use her only free hand to retrieve the item.- ‘She wants something from me…’ –His lips gently closing as he expected her to draw in close enough to tease him though their lips were already inches from each other. His eyes had outlined around their skin black paint making him appear like actual black skin of a bat. The sound of their clothing brushing tightly against each other also gave some distraction and tension for each other. No doubt his heart was pounding and in his head it would sound like a war drum.-

Catwoman: The pounding of her own heart in her chest made her breathing far less steady than she’d have liked, and made her feel like she wasn’t sure who was in control of the situation. But more interesting than that; the sound of her heartbeat in her ears made her want to take a quick hard dive into what she could only assume would be chaos just to taste those lips below hers. The tension between them was almost tangible, even more so as she slipped her left hand down, moving her fingers along his armor to find her own hip and the utility belt holding the grenade she had ‘borrowed’. “Oh I was going to give it back.” The movement of her lips, stirred the air between them, enough to feel like her own were brushing against his though she didn’t close the distance anymore. The sound of her voice though, was a reminder, a splash of red, a warning that served to tell him that she was dangerous, and he was playing along with her wicked game. It also served as a reminder to herself, he was just as dangerous and she’d do well to remember that. Sliding her fingers into a pouch she slipped the grenade free then leaned up enough to let it dangle between their faces by the pin.

-His eyes shifted from hers to the grenade as she dangled it, he wasn’t in a rush to grab it though he should’ve, his lack of immediate interest in the grenade might’ve led her to believe he didn’t mind their current situation and though his decision to grab the grenade seemed like an eternity between them, his hand on her wrist would release from her back as his other hand moved from her hip to the grenade, allowing her to set it down in his hand.- “I’m sure you were…” –He said with a bit of mistrust in her, underlying sarcasm. His lips returned the sensation of touching which would bring him to say.- “This is a dangerous game…”

Catwoman: He waited much longer than she expected to take the grenade from her and when finally he released her she felt a momentary loss as his hands moved from her body. Setting the grenade down in an over exaggerated gingerly fashion with her left hand, her right finished strapping the gun into place on her lower back and checking to make sure the safety was on. “Exciting is the word you should use, though…” Her left hand moved to the floor, gathered up his cape so she could poke a finger through one of the bullet holes. “You seem to be far less lucky than I. Maybe dangerous is correct for you, seeing as your armor is scratched and your cape is full of bullet holes.” Her voice was nearly coy now, a quick switch from the bold and dangerous undertones from before. Catwoman stretched then, rolling her upper body to a sitting position so her knees were on the floor on either side of him, their hips pressed together and her back arching to show off her body in a way that would make more reserved men blush. Arms behind her head she grabbed her elbows and looked towards the open door, to make sure she wasn’t about to get taken out for one, and for the other to give him a chance to unabashedly look her over. “I think it’s safe to part ways once again.”

-He watched her as she displayed herself to him.- ‘What were you expecting, an invite back to her place for a glass of wine and dinner?’ –Batman sat up and looked away from her and towards his hand on the ground. His voice was somewhat shy and awkward at the moment.- “-Yeah…I have to get going…” “Ughh…” –They would both hear from behind Batman as the security man that Catwoman previously slammed into the desk, began moaning from his headache. Batman would slide out of her legs if she permitted him to and grab the man by the head to slam it down into the floor. Batman went to the door and peered out for security.- “It’s safe…for now…”

Catwoman: As his voice changed her eyebrows rose, brown eyes flicking back to him as she lowered her arms from stretching position. ‘So this is the fearless Batman, sounding like an awkward college kid?’ She thought as a natural smile lit her face, lighting up her eyes in a way that made her seem…normal. “Yeah, you have to get going.” Repeating what he said her eyes locked onto the waking man and as he slipped from between her legs to slam the unfortunate guards’ face into the floor she stood. Her eyes followed him as he moved to the door and if were to turn around after he spoke, she would be gone, silent and without a trace except for a soft linger smell of her perfume, and the cinnamon gum she was fond of chewing. The vent cover was even replaced and the room was empty save the unconscious man by the desk.

-Batman returned to the office and under covered the map along with an additional clue of artifact identities. Once Batman returned to the batcave, he began analyzing over the data when the thought of Catwoman entered into his head. He paused for a moment to clear his head when Alfred approached him.- “Is everything alright, sir? I heard about earlier.” –Batman tried to seem like he wasn’t dozing off with a distraction and began randomly shifting through files.- “Oh, I’m fine, Alfred. I was just…well, I had some unexpected events occurred tonight…First thing is that someone is using the opera house to stash money, a lot of it, in its possession for more multimillion dollar items. I think they were stolen or potentially worse…” –Alfred nodded, following along with Batman’s words.-

“Maybe they’re Lex Luthor’s, eh?” –Batman didn’t find the humor in it and then said.- “Also, I ran into a catburgler. Her name is…Catwoman.” –Alfred noticed the pause in Batman’s words and said.- “What happened?” –Batman looked at Alfred to explain. We fought…sort of…I threw her, she whipped me, threw me around…” –Alfred then said.- “I don’t suppose we’re dealing with a real Human feline hybrid, are we?” –Batman continued to explain.- “Next thing I know…I’m throwing a grenade and she’s in my arms…I think she liked it.” –Alfred nodded.- “A man with a thing for dressing up for Halloween every night to fight crime? Is that what they’re trending these days, yeah?”

Catwoman: Catwoman landed on the balcony of her penthouse apartment, the escape from the Opera House had been smooth, even smoother still since she had waited to watch Batman go just to know she hadn’t been followed. Pushing open the double doors she pulled off her mask and glasses, tossed them to a waiting chair as she unzipped her cat suit down to her navel. Reaching back she pulled the book she had stashed away in the back of her suit out and inspected it. “You really better be worth something.” She commented as she hid it in her underwear drawer and pulled her hair free from its confining band. It tumbled down her shoulders which she made bare as moved into the bathroom to turn on the water. A black cat weaved in and out of her ankles and she smiled, leaning down to scratch it on the head while unzipping her thigh high boots. “Been a busy night tonight, kitty. It didn’t go as planned but I met someone interesting.” The sting from losing the money had far since vanished as her mind recalled the map with the two other drop sites location and times. She would be getting another chance, and next time she wouldn’t fail. Unhooking her utility belt she tossed it to her bed then shedding the rest of her clothes she moved to the bath and slipped into the water, grabbing her remote to turn on the news as she let the warm water sooth her minor aches and pains. “Mm…that man certainly likes to play rough…” Letting her eyes close as the news played she felt herself slowly drift off to sleep, thinking of the money, the artifacts and above all else, Batman.

-Batman glared at Alfred.- “It’s not a joke. ” “Might I suggest Master Bruce, that you don’t get yourself caught up with your emotions. Just because women find the man under the mask appealing…Doesn’t mean they find the mask itself appealing.” –Batman blinked for a few moments thinking about Alfred’s words.- “…-She was just on top of me…She could’ve moved, we both could’ve.” –Alfred raised his eye brows and said- “I beg your pardon?” –Batman stroked his chin.- “I need to find out who she is…” –Alfred would then interject.- “And blow everything you’ve spent the past 3 years trying to hide? You’re obsessed with this woman, Master Wayne.” –Batman stood up.- “I need new equipment…We also need…” –Batman looked towards the ceiling of the cave.-

“I need a plane, a jet, or something. I’ll talk to Lucius, maybe he knows something out in Coast City or Metropolis.” –Batman lowered his head and removed his helmet revealing Bruce Wayne. He placed the helmet down and then began taking off the equipment.- “I need something that can grab at long range, the grappling hook is too dangerous. I could hurt someone severely.” –Bruce began using the tech computer to explore new designs, suddenly he saw a picture of a claw.- “Whoa…” –He began adjusting the computer to show the claw opening and closing, he measured the size.- “That could grab onto my bicep or shoulder…” –Alfred was a bit disappointed with Bruce and said.- “Right…” –Bruce smiled.- “A Claw…a Batclaw.”