Post by Batman (Bruce Wayne) on Jan 11, 2013 14:37:16 GMT -5
CATastrophe
Story By: Batman and Catwoman
Heroes: Batman
Villains: Catwoman, Salvatore Maroni, Catman
Plot summary: Batman and Bruce Wayne's personal life come into conflict as Batman starts to develop an emotional attraction to Catwoman. Catwoman returns to her apartment only for it to explode and to be taken captive by Salvatore Maroni. A new vigilante known as Catman offers to help Batman locate Catwoman, whom he claims is his wife. Batman and Catwoman are thrown in for a loop when Catman offers Catwoman's life to be spared in exchange for the Batman. Batman and Catwoman struggle to understand their relationship status; are they friends, lovers, or neither?
The night crowd of Gotham City began to stir as the sun slowly set behind it's towering buildings, its orange hue cast over the faces not yet hidden in the shadows as the streets began to fill with workers eagerly hurrying to get home and the pickpockets that would target the rushing fools. It had been three days since the papers had run a story on the explosion at the train station, luckily siting no casualties and the fortunate capture of one Warren White by way of Gotham's own Dark Knight. Though the story wasn't unusual for the City, there was something else about it that seemed to catch the attention of one Sal Maroni, whose brown eyes stared at the black and white, blurry photo of a woman in a familiar skin tight suit. "Gotham City's Batwoman?"
Catwoman: His voice drawled out from behind the paper, two men standing on the opposite side of the desk in black suits shifted uncomfortably at the all too calm tone of their boss. "Anthony, how many days did I give this woman?" Maroni continued to look at the paper, it hiding his form from his men and Anthony cleared his throat, shifting from his left foot to his right. "I uh, can't be sure Boss, you were the only one in here when you spoke with her." He moved a hand up to push his fingers through his short oily black hair, a nervous habit that was better than the man next to him on the right whose right eye was twitching from the stress of simply standing there. "Friday." Maroni stated pleasantly, as if helping Anthony along who cleared his throat once again. "Oh yeah, I remember, you gave her until Friday." Anthony gave a knowing nod. "And what day is it today?" The pleasant voice remained. "Saturday!" Chimed in the man with the twitching right eye. "Very, very good." Maroni stated as he shifted, the paper crinkling in his hands. "It's Saturday, so where is the woman?" The paper lowered and Sal looked from one man to the other, a smile on his face that didn't reach his cold brown eyes. "We're...ah, we're still looking." Anthony loosened his collar. "Looking? It seems to me, you're standing here taking up the good air in my office. You find me that bitch, you find her and you bring her to me, alive. No one, and I mean not a single goddamn person crosses me and gets away with it!" He snarled suddenly and the two men jumped, taking a step back. "Break her fucking legs and drag her here for all I care, but I want her conscious when I get my money's worth out of her fucking hide." As the men turned, moving from the office stiffly and quickly Maroni threw the paper onto his desk with a furious noise.
-"Batwoman?" The smile that curved Selina's red lipstick painted lips was purely amused as she walked down the darkening side walk, hands tucked into her thin tan coat that covered her black dress as she weaved in and out of the crowd. People seemed to be speaking that name at every pass, and though she hated to admit it she kind of liked the sound of it. "Batman's partner." Laughing softly now she shook her head as she walked into the downstairs lobby of Wayne Tower, black stiletto heels clicking on the marble floors. 'The press sure does come up with some interesting stories.' She thought as she moved up to the front desk. Giving a false name of Stephanie King at the desk and under the pretense she was a human rights activist lobbying for a donation, she had made sure she was on the list as his last appointment of the day and moving to the elevator she took in the sights of his "kingdom". As the door closed she pushed the button for his floor and checked her watch. From what she knew about the man, she'd have been surprised if he even came into the office since he seemed to spend every waking moment either stalking the streets and rooftops of Gotham, or rubbing elbows at parties and with many women. She hated to admit it, but he intrigued her, and she was painfully curious to know who was the real man, and which mask he was hiding behind. The feeling of dread of his knowing of her name had long since passed, and Selina figured he'd do a search on her that would, at the cost of plenty of cash, would turn up absolutely nothing, not even the address of her penthouse apartment rather close to Wayne Tower. Her wounds had had enough time to heal so they weren't a bother, and she was feeling more like herself again after spending the last few days resting. As the elevator doors opened, Selina stepped out into the hallway and looked around from under the brim of her black and white hat, holding a black purse at her side and fully expected him not to be there.
‘My fist against his chest, my boot against his leg…He didn’t seem fazed or affected.’ –Batman sway the katana swing towards him and suddenly his head was sliced off, Batman’s neck gushing blood that splattered over the rooftop of the hotel as Deathstroke grinned, as Batman’s eyes looked to primary safeguard, his armor turned into butter by a mercenary. It was trauma that Batman didn’t predict and was too foolish to realize in the moment of encountering Deathstroke. When suddenly a hand gently rubbed Bruce’s bicep.- “Mister Wayne?” –Bruce blinked and shifted his gaze to Lucius Fox.- “Aren’t you going to open it?” –Bruce nodded and cleared his throat.- “-Right…” –Bruce opened the briefcase and narrowed his eyes some as he studied the armor pieces. It appeared almost exactly the same as before, Bruce’s lower lip hung open as he picked up the armor piece and studied it, the bracers were slightly thicker in appearance, Bruce activated the batarangs and they clicked open, popping out into their wrist guard position. Lucius would the explain.- “Prometheum was hard to come, but based on that knife, I was able to find enough resources to recreate your bracers with Prometheum. Bruce nodded and smiled at Lucius.- “Thank you, a lot.” –Lucius nodded.- “Don’t mention it, Mister Wayne.” –It when then Bruce heard his cell phone receive a text.- “You have someone here to see you. - Anna.” –Bruce placed the bracers down and took the briefcase.- “Thanks again, I gotta get upstairs and see who’s here. Have a good day.” -Bruce adjusted his black, blue, and white striped tie as he entered the elevator and made his way to his office, Anna smiled at Bruce and approached him, stopping him before he could enter the office, she fixed his tie, and brushed his hair, causing him to snicker some. As she said to him.- “She’s pretty…Don’t get swept away by her. I know how you are and I know the man behind the mask.” –Bruce snickered and then nodded.- “There won’t be anything between us. She’s just some activist, right?” –Anna nodded and opened the doors to the waiting room.- “Ms. King? Bruce Wayne will see you now.” –Anna waved for Selina to approach her and Bruce as they stood in the doorway of Anna’s office desk, behind her desk were double brown doors where Bruce’s office was. Bruce stared at Selina and then said.- “What’s her name?” –Anna smiled and then nudged Bruce.- “Stephanie King…Don’ t embarrass yourself.” –Bruce raised his eye brows upon hearing her alias.- “Oh, well-uh…*Stephanie* let’s talk in my office.” –Bruce went back to his office escorting Selina to it waiting for her to follow behind closing the door for privacy from Anna.-
Catwoman: Patience was a virtue Selina had struggled to master growing up, preferring the fast pace and more daring approach to things, addicted to that gut wrenching feeling best described by the tightness one would feel free falling through the air. As Bruce's lovely secretary Anna waved her forward, she moved, oozed the air of elegance and control, of beauty when she smiled, her full red lips pulling up in the corners in a way that would set most people at ease. "Thank you." She looked at Anna first, her voice polite then turned her vision to Bruce Wayne. Brown eyes locking onto his own blue she felt her stomach tighten and the smile she gave him was genuine. Selina Kyle was addicted. Following him into his office she glanced around, reaching up to pull off her hat as the door closed behind her, brown hair tumbling down her shoulders that gave off a sweet scent closely described as the smell of fresh rain on roses. "Very impressive office you have, Mr. Wayne." Moving away from him she let her hat fall onto his desk and she moved to the window to look over Gotham City. "Very impressive indeed."
-The office was relatively large, as it had couch, two chairs, a desk and chair, four book cases along the walls, a private bathroom, an outside balcony, and even a wall that looked like it was either too bare or too crowded for its own good as a blank marble wall had a picture of Thomas and Martha Wayne holding hands and together as a large portrait. The balcony had four chairs, a table and a perfect view of the Wayne rail line that traveled directly through Wayne Tower. Bruce would find her smile untrusting and watch her as she seemed to have taken in the room and its layout. Bruce pocketed his hands and stood in the center of the room, the tan carpet fit the dark wooden theme to all of the furniture in the room.A large Wayne Enterprises logo was in the very center of the carpet located in the center of the room.- “What’s wrong Selina?” –Bruce said almost cutting to the chase, rather than asking why she was using a fake alias to get his attention when her real name would’ve done just as much. –
Catwoman: Watching out of the window for a moment longer Selina turned to look at him then the portrait of Thomas and Martha caught her attention. Studying it for a moment a curious look crossed her face before finally she turned her gaze back to his. "Jumping right in, are we? No greeting, no small talk?" Her voice was pleasant as she quirked a brow at him, an easy going smile tugging at her lips. "Your parents right?" Pointing at the portrait she turned to the doors that lead to the balcony. "I heard they were really amazing people, the loss must have been terrible for you." Her voice carried over her shoulder as she pushed opened the door and moved onto the balcony. Leaning against the railing she looked down, wind catching her hair before turning and propping herself back against it, something most people wouldn't dare to do and waited for him expectantly to follow.
-Internally he sighed listening to her point out his approach, when she spoke about his parents, Bruce slowly walked to Selina to stand next to her and look at the portrait, as if to share the angle with her, maybe hoping to find something knew about the portrait himself.- “They were special. They touched many lives and made a difference to a lot of people. –Bruce said as she walked away and towards the balcony, he waited a moment and examined his parents before turning to follow Selina out onto the balcony.- “Their loss was pretty bad for me…Alfred thinks I didn’t fully recover from it.” -Bruce propped his hands onto the balcony railing and looked out to the city, the rambling of the train as it rode on through its track. –
Catwoman: Selina was surprised when he moved to stand next to her, gazing at the portrait of his parents, even more surprised when he actually spoke about them to her. As he moved after her to the balcony, leaned against it, she pulled herself up to sit on the rail, crossing her legs to get comfortable and looked at his leaning form, facing towards inside of the office. "What do you think? Have you recovered from their loss?" It was her best guess that Alfred was his caretaker of sorts, and at the thought she something tug at her heart for the man next to her, an almost gladness that he wasn't alone. 'What is your deal, Selina? This is your enemy standing next to you.' She chided herself then reached up, pushing her fingers through her loose hair. 'Maybe, you don't have to be enemies, when the masks aren't on...' Was the next passing thought, and she focused her eyes back on him, pushing it from her mind.
-Bruce shook his head and smirked to himself.- “Yeah. I think I have.” –He adjusted his stance as he saw her push herself up onto the railing, his face becoming slightly nervous about her positioning.- “I’m surprised to see you, so soon.” –Bruce continued to look out at the city, his gaze looking at the fading and sunset. The inevitability of twilight approaching and the lighting of Gotham’s bright yellow and orange colors of its streets and office buildings.-
Catwoman: Noting his face she leaned back a bit, holding onto the railing with her hands before hanging upside down on the back side of the railing, looking at everything upside down. "Don't like surprises?" Her voice was teasing, and she turned her head to look at him. "I have my reasons for coming to see you, Mr. Wayne. I can say they are half professional and half personal." Letting go with her legs she flipped over backwards to stand on the small ledge on the opposite side of the railing in one graceful movement, looking at him fully. "How's the shoulder, by the way?"
-He looked away from her, trying not to act nervous.- “Uh…Yeah, it’s fine. It’s healing nicely since-…” –He looked at her as she stood up right, his eyes trailing up her body some.- “Since-…our last encounter.“ Bruce walked back inside and placed his brief case down on his desk before returning back to Selina.- “And what’s that you’ve come to talk about?” –He pocketed his hands again and looked at her.-
Catwoman: Amusement lit her eyes as she watched him look away and pause in his speaking, she could see the nervousness her actions were causing him, it was entertaining for sure. "I'm glad to see it's not impairing you too much." Looking after him as he moved inside to set down his briefcase Selina let go of the rail, walking along the thin edge and held up a finger at his return and question. "Well, you told me you could fix something, and I need you to hold up your word." Reaching in her purse she pulled out her goggles, pausing her dangerous walk to stop in front of him to hold them out. "Sooner than later would be greatly appreciated."
-He took the goggles and examined them.- “And then what?” –His gaze went back to look at her.-“ You go back out there and risk getting yourself killed?” –His voice was softer.- “The people you’re messing with don’t play games. They’ll turn up the heat; they’ll send someone like Deathstroke after you.” –When Bruce said the name “Deathstroke” he gently waved the goggles as if reminding her how they were damaged from the beginning.-
Catwoman: "And then..." She trailed off and watched in for a moment, her eyes flicking to his lips as he spoke before looking back to his eyes. "Well, you do what you do, and I do what I do." As he spoke again she jumped back over the railing to sit on it directly in front of him. "You sound concerned for my safety, why is that, Bruce Wayne?" Reaching out her hand caught his as he waved the goggles gently, it was hard not to forget the encounter with Deathstroke, but if it happened again she'd be much more prepared. Letting go of his hand she leaned closer to him, trailing her fingers up the sleeve of his suit and then very lightly down the back of his shoulder where he was impaled. Tilting her head back a bit to look up at him, she closed the distance between their lips so that when she whispered to him, her breath, smelling of cinnamon brushed over his own lips. "Want to save me?"
-He listened to her, watching her as she spoke, her first question was subtle and direct, he held his breath trying to think of an answer.- “I-…uh. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Not you or anyone who crosses you.” –Bruce felt her grip on him, gentle with an underlying amount of strength to her. Her touch soothed him, reducing some of his tension as she leaned into him and whispered with their lips close together.- “Yes…” –He admitted, softly speaking to her as his breathing was under control, but his mind felt high and his heart’s slow beating suddenly sounded like a loud gong hammering in his ears.-
Catwoman: "I only hurt the "bad guys"." She responded in a playful tone, one that seemed to imply that she fell into that category as well. Selina could almost see the tension in him loosen at her touch and where she felt calm, relaxed even with him in one way; her heart raged in her chest in another way. How easy it would be to accept his help to let him save her, and the thought briefly passed through her mind. "I like my life, Mr. Wayne." Selina didn't lean back from him as she spoke, raising her left hand to rest on his chest. "I like the challenge, and the adventure and if you want to save me..." She trailed off for a moment, distracted by the pulling demand to close the distance between their lips, and in the end restrained herself. "Then fix my goggles."
-Her words offered a lot of temptation in him, how easy it would be to fall for her. He tried to rationalize and convince himself that he didn’t fall for her, but she was intriguing and very irresistible. He raised his right hand to her neck and brushed his thumb along her cheek.- “I still have your number, Ms. Kyle…If that’s your real name…” –His blue eyes wondered to study her brown eyes, curious as to what her reaction would be.- “I thought about making plans for dinner, but she doesn’t seem to exist…Might be a scheduling conflict as well, depending on the time of day…”
Catwoman: At his touch her posture changed, relaxing and her face even turned against his caressing thumb, lips parting as she closed her eyes. "Mm..." Her reaction was hidden from him as he said her name with the exception of a small smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. Opening her eyes after a moment she looked up at him and gave him that playful smile that just seemed to fit her. "I don't know if either of us would have time for dinner, Mr. Wayne. But, we could always just skip right to dessert." She said nothing about his comment of not existing, but happiness swelled inside of her that at least one thing she had done since she had gotten to Gotham City had gone off without a hitch.
-Bruce didn’t notice her small tug of a smile rather her closed eyes and the feeling of her skin against his face.- “I’ll have them done by tomorrow.” –He said reinforcing what he said to her the other day. His hand slowly fell from her cheek and came to rest on her knee. His breathing controlled and the flavor of his mints lingered from his lips as air coolly slipped out of his mouth and towards hers unintentionally giving her a taste of his mouth, it would only reinforce the idea and concept that was still new to them, they knew who each other were both during the day and night.-
Catwoman: "Does tomorrow mean midnight?" She looked to her watch then, briefly very distracted by her own thoughts when his hand moved to her knee. Flicking her eyes back to his her breath caught as she inhaled, an audible reaction that made her already parted lips part a bit more. "And who will be giving it to me? My enemy? Or you?" Selina said her previous thought aloud now and wondered if she was the only one thinking it. Bruce and Selina were different people than Batman and Catwoman, and she walked that very thin line, hands dipping on both sides of right and wrong.
“I-…wouldn’t say he’s an enemy. He’s trying to help you. He’s concerned about everyone in Gotham, hopefully you’ll see that in time. I’ll bring them to you if you give me a place to meet you. I can get to work on them tonight.” –Bruce gently began to pull away from her, his left hand still holding the goggles, his eyes glanced down to examine them again, opening a battery pouch.- “Probably just needs a new battery…Where did you get this from?” –Bruce lifted his eyes briefly to look at her and then back down to it, analyzing it.-
Catwoman: Raising a sleek brow at his statement she simply listened to him speak for a moment then inclined her head, reaching into her purse she pulled out a card and slipped it to him. "That's my address. You can find me there." As he pulled away from her, she slid down to her feet, looking up at him. "I checked the battery, it's not the problem." Edging around him she walked to the door leading inside, didn't answer his question on who made it and pushed her fingers through her hair to straighten it.
-Bruce nodded as he took the card and then examined her as she left.- “Good bye, Selina…” –Bruce waited for her to leave before he went back inside to place the goggles into the briefcase with his bracers in it. He return to the Batcave and began fixing the goggles Selina requested of him to fix. He disassembling the goggles he found a few of the damaged circuits and repaired them when he found some interesting serial numbers that he began tracing. It took him approximately two hours to fix the goggles completely and he spent the next two hours researching and tracing the serial numbers.-
Catwoman: Selina took her time going home. Stopping by a vendor to pick up a news paper, then another to grab a bouquet of roses from which she inhaled deeply as she moved down the sidewalk. It had been an incredible risk to leave one of her most valuable pieces of equipment in the hand of an "enemy" but she needed them fixed, and fixed fast. Knowing he'd research the serial numbers, as a man who liked to know what he was dealing with they'd lead him on a wild goose chase, first linking to his very own R&D division then on further research to China. There the tracks would circle around until fizzling into nothing, obviously someone had put in quite a bit of work to make sure they weren't found out. Selina relaxed during the time it was taking Batman to fix and research, taking her time in the bath, watching some TV and lazily recapping her next move. As she lay sprawled comfortably on her bed, her cat curled up on her silk robe covered back, her brown eyes flicked to the clock as it clicked passed midnight, and wondered if someone would be dropping in on her, and for such and occasion, had her pistol close at hand.
-Bruce analyzed the device as he took it apart carefully, taking it apart and studying it. Alfred would come to place a tray of food down for Bruce.- “Working on new Night vision scope or are you looking to spy on some lovely company?” –Bruce analyzed and used soldering iron to piece together the goggles electrical parts, Bruce’s eyes were covered by glasses with lens enhancing vision.- “No…These are for Catwoman…” –Alfred raised his eye brows.- “Oh, so we’re taking in house requests? Mr. Wayne, perhaps this obsession of yours is more than that.” –Bruce nodded along with Alfred.- “Yeah” and-uh… what’s that?"
-Alfred smiled and leaned a little bit closer.- “You’re in love with her.” –Bruce finished and pulled away.- “Really? I’m not in love with her. What’s the harm in doing someone a favor?” –When it struck midnight, Batman analyzed Selina’s apartment when suddenly the lights would begin to flicker her window would suddenly have Batman standing outside it, standing on the fire escape, the lights to the apartment went completely dark, allowing the twilight to shine down on him. His blue eyes beaming through the window to her with his cape draped around his body.-
Catwoman: Watching TV idly, Selina closed her eyes and yawned against her hand, the lack of usual movement and the comfort of her bed causing tiredness to leak into her usually aware mind. Missing the original flicker of light as her eyes closed she caught the sound of her TV turning off and opened an eye with a frown. Did she bump the remote? Pushing herself up onto her knees caused a noise of protest from Isis as the cat slipped down onto the bed. "Where is that re..." Her voice cut off as the lights went dark in the apartment and her heart thundered to a stop in her chest. Holding her breath for a moment, her ears straining for any sounds, Selina snatched her gun off of her bed and slid to her feet. Clad in only a thigh high black silk robe that left little to the imagination she wasn't exactly ready for combat, though it didn't stop her from looking towards the door. 'Did they fine me?' Her mind reeled at the thought of Sal Maroni and his group of thugs finding her already. As she shifted to move to the living room it was then she caught a familiar shadow outside of her window and she hardly could hold back the sigh of relief. Moving to the window she lifted the latch, pushed it open, gun still in hand. "Doors were invented for a reason." Selina quirked a brow at the Dark Knight.
-Batman watched her open the window and spoke with a deep growling voice.- “It’s not my style…” –His hand lifting from under his cape to reveal a small briefcase.- “I fixed the damage done to them, recalibrated their systems and they work at full optimization.” –Batman held the case to her and opened it to reveal the goggles.- “What do you plan to do now that you have these?” –Batman would look below him to hear banging of a trash can, a man sitting his head out the window began dumping his trash down into a dumpster below. Batman watched and remained silent despite the moonlight reflecting off the building to appear blue while Batman appeared a mixture of blue and black.-
Catwoman: Watching him in return, Selina shifted as he moved his cape, her heart jumping once again as she prepared for something, anything but what he did. Still on edge from the initial scare she reached out as he opened the case to snatch the goggles from him with her left hand, right still gripping the pistol. Momentarily distracted by the sound below, Selina leaned out of the window a bit, the wind catching her loose hair and blowing it around her face as she looked to the man below then locked her eyes back on Batman. Turning on her heel then she waved him inside with her gun holding hand. "Don't lurk out there, the last thing I need is for the neighbors to think I associate with you. I'd never get a good mark here again." Ignoring his question on what she'd do with the now repaired goggles she glanced back over her shoulder at him to see if he'd follow.
-Batman watched the gun, uneasy and untrusting of her somewhat with it.- ‘She’s got what she wants, and she’s holding a gun…If she wanted you dead, she had plenty of opportunities so far to take the shot.’ –Batman followed her inside and strangely the window slipped shut behind him, causing a loud click. Batman ignored it and watched her.- “I traced the serial numbers back to the Maroni crime family. What have you gotten yourself into, Selina? The mafia purchased your equipment, didn’t they? And I bet they saw you as an investment. They wanted something in return…” –Batman stopped by her couch, his eyes ignoring the fashion of the home.- -He looked down at her and spoke with a firm growl.- “Stop me where I’m wrong. You can’t hide or run from the mafia, Selina. If they catch you, you’ll disappear. Gone forever…How much do you owe?” –Batman looked at her as she seemed fearless as she stood before him, his stance wasn’t aggressive or offensive, it was just passive with his voice and eyes expressing intimidation. Their bodies only visible really through the moonlight peering through the windows and their shades, painting them both with black and dark blue colors of the moon reflecting off the dimensions of the apartment.-
Catwoman: She let out a laugh, clearly amused by his question, or maybe it was the thought that it was concern for her or even lecturing her perhaps? Selina couldn't say for sure but she lifted her right hand brushing the pads of her fingers across his lips, if he'd allow, and smiled a wry smile with her full lips. "Now, Bruce." Using his name, as if it had some sort of power over him she tsked gently at the man before her. "That's like asking a woman her age, you just don't do that." The feeling that moved through her, being unarmed and so close to a man who spent his nights beating the trash of Gotham down on the streets was hardly intimidation. If anything, having him standing there, lit up by the light of the moon in her apartment sent a dangerous thrill through her, made her want to tease and push him to whatever limits she could, just to get a rise out of him.
-He was watched as she raised her hand to brush her finger across his lips, he didn’t seem fazed by her moving closer to him, listening to her come up with reasons to avoid answering the questions he was giving her. He lowered his head some to further acknowledge her.- “You’re playing a dangerous game, Selina. I don’t think you know what you’re getting your hands into.” –Batman would think to himself.- ‘It’s at least 10,000…more likely than not around 20,000. What did she spend that money on? If I could distract her long enough, I might be able to search for clues in that drawer of hers.’
Catwoman: "Games aren't fun, unless there's a bit of danger involved." Stepping up to him so that one of her legs was positioned near to being between his own she let her fingers run down and over his suit of armor, letting her fingers catch in the grooves as they made their way to his utility belt. Lacking the height she needed since her feet were bare, she leaned up on her toes, speaking so her warm breath fanned over his lips as she whispered to him. "And my hands always know what they're getting into." Finding one of the separations between the protective plates her wore she pressed her fingers a bit more firmly, both pointing out the weakness he obviously knew was there and testing her limits even more. Her brows rose in a 'Got you.' type of playful manner as she ran her fingers along the spot.
-He stared into her eyes, exchanging glance with her, his hand raised to grab hers as she felt the skin tight suit underneath his armor, his other hand grabbing her other arm, his swung her to pin her against the wall. His breathing exchanging with hers, his eyes deep with aggression as they glared into her eyes. Batman’s body wasn’t pressed against hers body, he was within close proximity to hers.- “Who said anything about playing games? I must’ve lost my invitation to this one.” –Batman’s could taste her cinnamon tasting breath and added to his statement.- “I’ll have to invite myself if I can’t go with someone else.” –His tone was still firm and aggressive, but with an underlying grin on his lips indicating his teasing.-
Catwoman: Selina's breath caught in her throat as she found his hands gripping her arms, found her back thumping up against her apartment wall as his eyes glared into her own. As her hair settled around her, she shifted her legs as her thin silk robe threatened to come undone from his swift movement and she felt her stomach tightened as a flame seemed to be lit inside of her. "I'd invite you to be my partner, but I'm not sure you could handle me." Tilting her head back enough to gesture a proud and challenging motion Selina moved her right leg between the two of his legs quickly, hooking her calf around the back of his left knee in the same moment she moved her hands into his torso in a quick shove to set him off balance and to hopefully sprawl the bigger man to the living room floor, the motions quick and fluid to catch him off guard.
-Batman stood confidently as he listened to her words, he noted her leg positioning as she was coiling herself around him, entwining them into each other when he didn’t expect her to flip him.- ‘How did you not see that coming?’ –Batman’s cape flapped loudly as it spread out onto the floor, Batman closed his eyes and braced himself from the impact of hitting the floor, somewhere he thought a loud thud was heard.- “That was unexpected.” –Batman said with a low toned growl, as he placed his palms down and attempted to push himself to sit up right.-
Catwoman: Selina leaned against the cool wall for a moment in an attempt to collect herself then let out a delighted laugh, her shoulders shaking as she bent over, putting her hands on her knees and watched him. It had been unexpected that he had actually fallen, the sound of his cape hitting the floor having added to the effect of it all. As he spoke to her in that growling voice she only shook her head then pushed away from the wall, standing before him. Reaching out she offered him a hand up, clearly very amused. "It certainly was." She agreed with him as she continued to hold out her hand to him. "Not too good on your feet hm? Do I make you weak in the knees?" Teasing she tightened the belt on her robe with her left hand.
-Batman stood up not accepting her help as she seemed to tease and enjoy doing so. He stood up before her taking a moment to response.- “I was distracted. It doesn’t happen often.” –Batman walked towards the window and slid it open as he figured this approach with her wasn’t going to work.- “Watch your back, Selina. You’ll slip sooner or later. On the apartment floor is no danger, with the Maroni’s, you get a chance to stand up.” –Batman looked at her from over his shoulder, his head tilted down some allowing moonlight to define his features.-
Catwoman: Watching him stand without accepting her assistance she simply smiled at him, and wondered if she had ruined his pride. "What could have possibly of distracted you?" She counted then followed him to the window as he slid it open, her eyes flicking outside for a moment, just out of habit then back to the man in front of her. "When I slip, are you going to catch me?" Reaching up she caught his cape in her hand then let it slip through her fingers slowly. Selina was far from wanting him to leave, even if all she did was skirt around the issue, just him being there made her feel more at ease, though she'd never admit it. Her eyes caught his for a moment and she parted her lips to say something else but didn't, instead she just watched him, fully expecting him to disappear before her eyes.
-He climbed out of the window and l “I have a city to protect. Watch the news and you’ll understand.” –Batman stepped through and onto the fire escape and armed his grappling hook and fired it towards the rooftops that he swung off. He didn’t respond to her question of whether or not he would catch her, what wouldn’t have been noticed was the small listening device attached to her furniture as he flew off towards the Bat Mobile. Landing inside the cockpit within an alleyway, he turned on his radio to listen inside her apartment.-
Catwoman: "So you do." Selina looked after him and closed the window gently, glancing down as Isis wrapped around her ankles she bent over, scooping the cat up and moved towards her bed. "It's dangerous, Isis. When he's around, I get that silly annoying little feeling of wanting to be something more." She spoke to the cat as she set her on the dresser, opening the first drawer and lifting up the panel to take a closer look at her goggles. "I have to stay focused, they'll be looking for me, I don't have time to play with Batman, no matter how much I know both of use would enjoy it." Sighing she set the goggles back down and moved to her bed, stretching out on it. "Next time we see each other, we'll no doubt be enemies again, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do to get by."
-Batman would wait almost all night expecting Selina to leave her apartment but, when she didn’t he would wait till almost 4 AM before leaving, returning to the batcave before sunrise. Bruce crawled into bed and fell asleep. Alfred would attempt to wake up Bruce throughout the day, but Bruce would crawl out of bed around 2 in the afternoon and make his way to the Batcave to begin tampering with his gadgets and planning out his night. Using the bat computer to analyze and research Maroni’s finances to see what expenses are being output by the Maroni’s within the past 2 months.-
Catwoman: It was difficult to get a good nights sleep when you had to worry about the mob coming after you, or so that's what Selina Kyle figured out as she stumbled out of bed at nearly 4pm. Blackout curtains kept the sunlight from streaming in her bedroom window, and she'd made sure to keep her cellphone off during the night but neither attempt to aid in her slumber worked. Nightmares plagued her, waking her up every fifteen minutes on the mark but she had continued to force herself to try and get good rest, her night was going to be busy. Looking in the mirror she inspected the dark circles under her eyes, and glared a bit at her reflection. "Perfect." Getting ready for the day was more of a chore than it needed to bed, her mood irritated and her lack of 5 million dollars unsettling. Turning on her cellphone she grabbed a bottle of water, let it start up then checked her messages. "Catwoman." Maroni's voice drawled out on the other side. "I really thought we had something going between us, a new sort of friendship but you've seemed to have disappeared, and with my money." Selina leaned against her kitchen counter, putting the phone on speaker as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I gave you plenty of time to get me what I asked, but now I'm afraid no matter where you go, me and my boys will find you. So make it easier on yourself, I won't have you raped and beaten to death if you just come to me. If you make me chase you down, I will see to it that you are kept very much alive, and in my "care" for as long as it takes for me to get my monies worth out of you. Why don't you think about it." Selina slammed her hand down on her cellphone as the message ended, jaw muscles twitching as she clenched her teeth. "Cocky bastard."
--As Batman would look through Maroni's various accounts, he would find 5 million dollars having been withdrawn just over a week ago along with various other expenses, none of which totaled over ten thousand dollars taken or deposited.
“5 Million…” –Batman leaned back in his chair, his eyes widened.- “That’s a lot…” –Batman bit his lower lip, turning over he listened to the device placed in Selina’s apartment and raised his eye brow hearing the half of the message. Batman began loading up cell phone companies and began hacking into their database, within an hour he was able to locate the sound file transferred to her cell phone.- “Hmm…They got her Cell phone number…it’s only a matter of time until they find out who she is and locate her…” –Alfred would approach Batman and inquire.- “Good evening, sir. Any luck with Ms. Kyle?” –Batman nodded.- “Yes, I’ve found a connection between Catwoman…erm…Selina Kyle and Sal Maroni…Including threats…Also found these Emails on the Internet, rumors say they’re just spam mail but…” –Batman displayed a GIF file of a Cat jumping into a basket.- “Well done sir, it appears Mr. Maroni has a heart after all.” –Batman then used an image designer to flip the picture around and it displayed the cat’s head being chopped off.-
-Alfred would frown.- “I don’t think this bodes well for Ms. Kyle, sir. Do you intend to warn her or dash in on a white horse while songs of joy play in the background of the meadow?” –Batman shook his head negatively.- “I tried to warn her, she dismissed me. I’ll have to take another approach.” –Alfred nodded and snickered while walking away.- “White Knight it is, sir…” –Batman would then say outloud.- “It’s only a matter of time until Maroni knows who she is. And it’s only a matter of time until she becomes a public figure.” –Alfred turned to look at Bruce.- “Then perhaps for her sake and your own conscience, don’t allow that to happen. We both know how the Commissioner will respond to this. And perhaps Ms. Kyle maybe willing to exchange information for an early release…Information regarding certain masked vigilante’s…”
Catwoman: Night settled over Gotham like a warm and uncomfortable blanket bringing with it a constant downpour of rain and loud claps of thunder as lightning split the sky. The streets were unnervingly empty, the good people of Gotham stay away from the blackened roads, and the less fortunate and devious sticking to the insides where bars and cheap hotels overflowed with the smell of booze and rowdy laughs. Even the rats stayed hidden from the stream of water that beat mercilessly on everything left unprotected. 'I should have brought an umbrella.' Catwoman thought to herself as she sprinted down the sidewalk, hair plastered to her face and neck, boots clicking loudly as she splashed through puddles. "Get back here you fucking bitch!" There were seven men chasing her, all armed, all muscular, much bigger than she and all pissed off. This had been the second time she had slipped away from them, being backed into an alley and "trapped". The first time she cut their numbers in half, played the scared begging woman, let them get close, but the second she simply went with taking out the unlucky souls that had been blocking her escape. Her gun was lost, and fatigue pulled at her along with the feeling of the bruises that no doubt would be hard to cover with even the best of make up. As she rounded the corner she glanced at a street sign, found herself in another alley. "We've got you now." The self proclaimed leader of the pack moved forward, wiping his hand over his mouth in anticipation. "Here kitty, kitty." Catwoman turned to face the men, pulling her whip from around her waist as they leveled their guns at her. "Go home boys, I'd hate to see you get hurt." She called to them as she backed against the brick wall at the end of the alley.
-A splash of water would explode behind the group of men a large cape and cowl would be displayed as the mobsters turned and aimed their guns. Suddenly the figure leaped towards the men, swiftly maneuvering between them, a dark brown cape flapped almost like a bat’s wing, sharp claws slashed their guns and their clothing, grabbing one man by the shirt and throwing them into two more. – “You should never corner a wild animal!” –The large brown shadow growled out sounding like a young man with an animalistic nature. His large body suddenly kicked forward and slashed another mobster in the stomach; his boots had claws on them, but finally three men aimed their guns and fired at the body suited man, as his cape flapped open his cat like ears fell backwards like a cat being defensive of their head at the constant barrage of gunfire. One man would finally shout.- “It’s the bat!” -He fell backwards and splashed into mud and seemed completely incapacitated. It was a window of opportunity for Catwoman to make her move.-
Catwoman: "I tried to warn you." Catwoman said with a shrug, a smirk on her face as she watched the large figure. It only took her a few moments to realize that the man who had come to her rescue wasn't who she thought it was, and only another moment after that that the man was about to be riddled with holes. "Damn it." Things just weren't going her way tonight. As the man fell back Catwoman lunged forward. Snapping her whip at the man furthest on the left she caught him around the neck and yanked him downwards, bringing her knee up into his face as he fell. His gun clattered to pavement and the other two turned towards her. Spinning around she kicked the nearest across the face, sending him falling hard to the ground then stumbled back as she took a bullet to the stomach, falling onto her butt. "Y-you shot me..." She choked out, eyes filling with tears that were quickly washed away by the rain. The final thug smirked as he moved to her. "Not so tough now, are you bitch?" Leaning down he snatched her by the hair and pulled her to her feet. Catwoman cried out as she cowered, her left hand held over her stomach. "I can't wait to make you scream." He hissed to her. "Next time." Catwoman spoke in a low tone, flicking her brown eyes up to the thugs face as a smirk twisted her lips. "Aim for the head, it's the only way to be sure." Bringing her right hand up she slashed her claws across his face in the same moment she brought her knee to his groin then elbowed him fiercely across the face as he fell to the cement, taking pleasure in hearing the distinct sounding *snap* of his jaw dislocating. "Moron." She scoffed as she stuck her finger into the fabric of her catsuit, flicking out the bullet that lodged in her armor. "That's not going to feel good in the morning." Muttered under her breath she moved to the man in brown slowly and cautiously to check to see if he was still living.
-As Catwoman made use of the men, the dark figure jumped up and growled.- “Nine lives!” –He slammed the remaining thug into the wall knocking them out cold, but he turned his attention to Catwoman as he heard her speak. He snickered.- “Maybe I can make you feel better.” –He approached her, standing directly in front of her.- “Meeeow…” –His eyes looked her over and said.- “Even sexier in person than I could imagine…They don’t grow em like you, back home…” –He examined her outfit a bit more. -”What did these dogs want from you, Duchess?” –His hand slipped onto the wall, revealing sharp claws attached to his hand, some sort of metal claw that wrapped around his hand, the claw was a bright gold color, except the tips that were a sharp and silvery tone. His cat ears flicked up and down depending on how he turned his head, his appearance was almost literally like a cat.-
-He sniffed her some and then said.- “You look a little wet, maybe we should get out of the rain and go somewhere to get warmed up, maybe have some milk…” –His voice trailing off a bit seductively.-
Catwoman: As the man jumped to his feet, Catwoman took a step back, hand going to her empty gun holster. "Of course." Spoken under her breath she wrapped her whip back around her waist as it would be useless against someone smart enough to cut it. When he turned his attention onto her she took another step back as he stepped forward, her eyes flicking over her shoulder as she bumped back against the building wall. "Charming, and where is "back home" exactly?" She gave the stranger a pretty smile as her eyes watched him through the pouring rain. As he looked her over once again and his hand moved onto the wall, Selina looked over the weapons on his hand then back to his face, raising a slender brow as he spoke. Moving a hand to his chest she trailed her fingers down over it then winked, simply ducking around him moving to one of the thugs to take their weapon. "They wanted to play, of course, and sorry handsome but I don't have time to lick your wounds. I've got somewhere to be." Crouching down she scooped up a gun, took and extra clip and tucked them both into their respective places as she stood straight once again, stretching her arms up above her head to loosen her stiffening muscles.
-With her hand on his chest, she would feel Kevlar armor underneath pressing against muscle, another reminder that he wasn’t the Dark Knight as the feeling of Titanium against muscle was much different and inflexible. As she took off, he followed behind her and said.- “Hey, come on princess, why don’t you give a stray a chance? What if I give you a tiger, will you let me at least tag along?” –As she walked out of the alleyway she would see a pickup truck with two adult tigers prowling around in a cage. He snuck up behind her and purred.- “Interested?” –His blue eyes scanned over her backside.- “I might not have a cool grappling gun or karate moves but, I got my own assets that set me apart…I mean it’s only natural that Catman and Catwoman work together, we’re a team by nature.” –Another playful growl came from him, but he suddenly ducked when a loud crack of thunder occurred.- “Ouch! I hate that sound…So where are we going next, Duchess?”
-Meanwhile at Wayne Manor, Bruce stood in front of the window watching the rain wash down over the glass, blurring out the image of Gotham, Bruce’s hand held a cup of spiced tea, warm in his hands as he kept his mind in deep thought, a flourish of blue, white, and black washed over his face as the shadows of the rain washing down the window rushed across his face. Alfred would suddenly speak as he watched the television.- “Guess any plans you had for tomorrow are scrapped as well, it’s going to be like this all day tomorrow…” –Bruce blinked suddenly returning back to reality.- “Yea-uh...I’ll still go out. Gotham still needs me, crime doesn’t rest. Things are still going on out there. I need to know what.” –Alfred raised his cup of tea and sipped it and then said.- “Why don’t you invite Ms. Kyle over for dinner? I’m sure there isn’t much she can do in this weather…Cats do tend to hate the rain.”
Catwoman: Taking note of the armor Catwoman moved from the alley. "A tiger huh? Is that what men are calling it these days?" Spotting the truck both of her brows rose in surprise at the fact that there were actually tigers there. "Well what do you know." As he moved behind her, purring to her she could practically feel his eyes undressing her and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, moving her hips back and forth. "Pretty boys." Selina cooed to the tigers then turned on her heel to look back up at Catman. "And what assets, do you have that could interest me?" The thought of using the man came to her then, he was certainly interested in grabbing her attention, and why shouldn't she humor her savior? After all, if Maroni's men were to come back she'd be able to use him as a shield and go about her business as per usual. The crack of thunder didn't startle her, but she rolled her eyes up as he ducked down. 'Where do these characters come from? Was he hatched in a lab?'
“I got friends in small places, Duchess.” –He gestured to the cats.- “They’re fully trained to my command…These two will obey my every command.” –He walked past her and to the cage, holding his hand out the tigers would begin licking his hand.- “Yeah boys, this is her. Catwoman…” –He said to them purring.- “They’re acquainted with you…sort of. I found a piece of your cat suit a while back, had them sniff it to gather your scent…They’re not dogs, but they know a friendly figure when they see it. I’ve got some of my own gadgets meant for breaking into security systems; I made it my specialty to get in and out unnoticed. Where shall we go? Say the word and we’ll be on our way. Between Gus, Tigger, you, and I. There’s nothing we can’t handle. By the way, I appreciate ya helping me out by there. I had to put on a bit of a display to see if you would help out at all.”
“You don’t seem as cold as people describe you…Maybe it’s just when you’re around a flying mouse that gets you to act like a cold hearted bitch…That’s what rumors are about you, at least.” –He said leaning against the cage, looking at her, his voice filled with confidence suddenly as he spoke about her, seemingly trying to push her buttons.-
Catwoman: Watching the interaction between the brown suited man and the tigers, Catwoman crossed her arms over her chest, sticking her hip against his truck and leaning against it. The rain was starting to make her cold, and irritated, she hated it but it wasn't a night she could afford to be picky. "And what is it you steal, exactly?" Sizing him up, she hadn't originally taken him for someone on the wrong side of the fence, but giving him another once over she reevaluated. "One big happy family, hm?" Standing straight she uncrossed her arms, pushed her hair back from her face and neck where it clung and looked towards the alley. "I didn't do it for you. They would have continued to chase me." Her voice dropped it's seductiveness then, irritation taking over. People were idiots, they actually thought she was paired up with Batman. 'Would it be so bad?' Her mind asked and she steered away from the thought quickly. "Besides, having someone find in a silly little costume like yours, laying dead in a puddle would give us cats a bad name." Selina moved then, turning away from him to head down the side walk, brushing him off as she would an annoying fly. She didn't care what he had stolen, she wasn't fond of partners.
-He looked at her and grinned, noticing her irritation with the rain.- “We could go back to my place…” –He watched as she walked away, he gently ran his tongue along the upper half of his teeth watching her leave.- “That’s an amazing woman…She’s not as…wild as I would hope but, she’s damn near sexy. I’m sure you’re both very attracted…” –One of the tigers would begin to bellow and he stepped away.- “Alright, alright…” –He began walking towards the driver seat, looking back at Catwoman’s direction where she went off to. He said quietly to himself.- “Au revoir la duchesse » -He drove off with his truck. The Maroni’s henchmen pulled out a cell phone.- “Hey, boss…things got a little more complicated…”
Catwoman: Catwoman ducked around a corner, disappearing into the shadows and waiting for the strange man to drive off with his tigers. "The night brings all of the weird ones out." She mused to herself as she waited a moment longer then stepped back onto the sidewalk, pulling out a soaked piece of paper she carefully pulled it open, reading the words quickly as the ink that was already smudged washed away and the paper tore in the rain. Glancing back towards the alley she left the thugs in she turned and started jogging back down the side walk, heading towards a jewelry store. --Maroni waited for his boys to call, to tell him the good news, he had spent the last hour polishing his brass knuckles, thinking about what he'd break on the pretty woman first when the phone rang. Putting it to his ear, he listened to the man on the other side of the phone and stayed silent for a long moment before answering. "What do you mean "complicated"?"
-Bruce turned his eyes from reading the news paper to the police scanner.- “We got a radio call, suspect approaching a jewelry store on foot, suspect is female wearing black uniform…” –Bruce sighed and quickly grabbed his phone to dial Selina, he wasn’t counting on her to carry it nor pick up, but he began making his way into the Batcave, Alfred’s eye brows lifted and spoke to himself as Bruce entered the Batcave.- “I suppose taking her out isn’t a bad idea either, in this weather…Probably thinks I’m just an old fool…” –Bruce began suiting up, zipping up the skin tight body suit before slipping into his chest piece and leggings. If she picked up sometime soon he would speak into the phone.- “Hey, Selina it’s Bruce. I-uh…I was…uh…wondering if you would like to maybe go out to dinner? Tonight? I mean its such terrible weather and I-uh…I’ve got nothing better to do. Unless you’re busy, you know, I-…I don’t want to intrude on your ‘You time’ or anything like that. "
–Bruce sounded nervous and a bit shy. He fully suited up and switched the phone connection to that in his helmet to communicate. If she didn’t pick up, he would practically leave a message with exactly what was previously said. He climbed onto the Bat Mobile and revved the engine before storming out of the Bat cave, the roar of the engine as it pulled the entire body of the car forward echoed through the cave, causing a horde of bats to scurry from one side of the room to another.-
Catwoman: Her phone sat alone on the kitchen counter next to her apartment keys, on nights like tonight she'd need neither. As it rang a few times her voice mail picked up, it was generic and didn't state her name or even repeat the phone number. Selina ducked under the thin cover outside of the jewelry store with a shiver, her lower lip quivering from the cold as she rubbed her left hand over her right arm to try and warm it. "I hate the rain." She cursed the night, and how it was going so far as she saw her chances of getting herself out of the mess she had created slipped through her gloved fingers. Waiting a moment she moved around the edge of the building heading towards the back as she pulled tools from her utility belt. Disabling the security system was easy for her, much easier than the room at the opera house and only took a few minutes to do. Picking the locks on the door took a bit longer as her hands shook a bit from the cold. Kneeling down outside of the back door, she worked in silence as thunder rumbled across the city. --Maroni threw his phone to the floor, the object breaking into pieces, scattering across his living room floor. Rage boiled inside of him as he paced, clenching and unclenching his fists. The woman had been working with Batman all along, she had come to him, taken his money and used it to work with the Gotham freak. Sal stopped pacing and breathed deep. If his men couldn't capture her in his preferred way, then he'd just have to set a trap.
-Police officers calmly drove onto the scene, unmarked vehicles, six cars, twelve police officers patiently waiting, Bullock would speak over the radio.- “Alright, this kitty cat is prob’Lee wet, smelling of fer’balls and eager fer us ta’ take her away!” “PH 1 standing by.” “PH 2 standing by.” –Harvey smiled and maneuvered the tooth pick in between his teeth.- “Aight…just settle for a moment, have a group go around back.” “Lieutenant we got 437’s on your 6-8.” –Harvey then lifted his hat.- “We got some snipers? Awh, nice!” –Montoya next to Harvey propped her elbow on the steering wheel of the car.- “I bet you’re in a good mood.”
Story By: Batman and Catwoman
Heroes: Batman
Villains: Catwoman, Salvatore Maroni, Catman
Plot summary: Batman and Bruce Wayne's personal life come into conflict as Batman starts to develop an emotional attraction to Catwoman. Catwoman returns to her apartment only for it to explode and to be taken captive by Salvatore Maroni. A new vigilante known as Catman offers to help Batman locate Catwoman, whom he claims is his wife. Batman and Catwoman are thrown in for a loop when Catman offers Catwoman's life to be spared in exchange for the Batman. Batman and Catwoman struggle to understand their relationship status; are they friends, lovers, or neither?
The night crowd of Gotham City began to stir as the sun slowly set behind it's towering buildings, its orange hue cast over the faces not yet hidden in the shadows as the streets began to fill with workers eagerly hurrying to get home and the pickpockets that would target the rushing fools. It had been three days since the papers had run a story on the explosion at the train station, luckily siting no casualties and the fortunate capture of one Warren White by way of Gotham's own Dark Knight. Though the story wasn't unusual for the City, there was something else about it that seemed to catch the attention of one Sal Maroni, whose brown eyes stared at the black and white, blurry photo of a woman in a familiar skin tight suit. "Gotham City's Batwoman?"
Catwoman: His voice drawled out from behind the paper, two men standing on the opposite side of the desk in black suits shifted uncomfortably at the all too calm tone of their boss. "Anthony, how many days did I give this woman?" Maroni continued to look at the paper, it hiding his form from his men and Anthony cleared his throat, shifting from his left foot to his right. "I uh, can't be sure Boss, you were the only one in here when you spoke with her." He moved a hand up to push his fingers through his short oily black hair, a nervous habit that was better than the man next to him on the right whose right eye was twitching from the stress of simply standing there. "Friday." Maroni stated pleasantly, as if helping Anthony along who cleared his throat once again. "Oh yeah, I remember, you gave her until Friday." Anthony gave a knowing nod. "And what day is it today?" The pleasant voice remained. "Saturday!" Chimed in the man with the twitching right eye. "Very, very good." Maroni stated as he shifted, the paper crinkling in his hands. "It's Saturday, so where is the woman?" The paper lowered and Sal looked from one man to the other, a smile on his face that didn't reach his cold brown eyes. "We're...ah, we're still looking." Anthony loosened his collar. "Looking? It seems to me, you're standing here taking up the good air in my office. You find me that bitch, you find her and you bring her to me, alive. No one, and I mean not a single goddamn person crosses me and gets away with it!" He snarled suddenly and the two men jumped, taking a step back. "Break her fucking legs and drag her here for all I care, but I want her conscious when I get my money's worth out of her fucking hide." As the men turned, moving from the office stiffly and quickly Maroni threw the paper onto his desk with a furious noise.
-"Batwoman?" The smile that curved Selina's red lipstick painted lips was purely amused as she walked down the darkening side walk, hands tucked into her thin tan coat that covered her black dress as she weaved in and out of the crowd. People seemed to be speaking that name at every pass, and though she hated to admit it she kind of liked the sound of it. "Batman's partner." Laughing softly now she shook her head as she walked into the downstairs lobby of Wayne Tower, black stiletto heels clicking on the marble floors. 'The press sure does come up with some interesting stories.' She thought as she moved up to the front desk. Giving a false name of Stephanie King at the desk and under the pretense she was a human rights activist lobbying for a donation, she had made sure she was on the list as his last appointment of the day and moving to the elevator she took in the sights of his "kingdom". As the door closed she pushed the button for his floor and checked her watch. From what she knew about the man, she'd have been surprised if he even came into the office since he seemed to spend every waking moment either stalking the streets and rooftops of Gotham, or rubbing elbows at parties and with many women. She hated to admit it, but he intrigued her, and she was painfully curious to know who was the real man, and which mask he was hiding behind. The feeling of dread of his knowing of her name had long since passed, and Selina figured he'd do a search on her that would, at the cost of plenty of cash, would turn up absolutely nothing, not even the address of her penthouse apartment rather close to Wayne Tower. Her wounds had had enough time to heal so they weren't a bother, and she was feeling more like herself again after spending the last few days resting. As the elevator doors opened, Selina stepped out into the hallway and looked around from under the brim of her black and white hat, holding a black purse at her side and fully expected him not to be there.
‘My fist against his chest, my boot against his leg…He didn’t seem fazed or affected.’ –Batman sway the katana swing towards him and suddenly his head was sliced off, Batman’s neck gushing blood that splattered over the rooftop of the hotel as Deathstroke grinned, as Batman’s eyes looked to primary safeguard, his armor turned into butter by a mercenary. It was trauma that Batman didn’t predict and was too foolish to realize in the moment of encountering Deathstroke. When suddenly a hand gently rubbed Bruce’s bicep.- “Mister Wayne?” –Bruce blinked and shifted his gaze to Lucius Fox.- “Aren’t you going to open it?” –Bruce nodded and cleared his throat.- “-Right…” –Bruce opened the briefcase and narrowed his eyes some as he studied the armor pieces. It appeared almost exactly the same as before, Bruce’s lower lip hung open as he picked up the armor piece and studied it, the bracers were slightly thicker in appearance, Bruce activated the batarangs and they clicked open, popping out into their wrist guard position. Lucius would the explain.- “Prometheum was hard to come, but based on that knife, I was able to find enough resources to recreate your bracers with Prometheum. Bruce nodded and smiled at Lucius.- “Thank you, a lot.” –Lucius nodded.- “Don’t mention it, Mister Wayne.” –It when then Bruce heard his cell phone receive a text.- “You have someone here to see you. - Anna.” –Bruce placed the bracers down and took the briefcase.- “Thanks again, I gotta get upstairs and see who’s here. Have a good day.” -Bruce adjusted his black, blue, and white striped tie as he entered the elevator and made his way to his office, Anna smiled at Bruce and approached him, stopping him before he could enter the office, she fixed his tie, and brushed his hair, causing him to snicker some. As she said to him.- “She’s pretty…Don’t get swept away by her. I know how you are and I know the man behind the mask.” –Bruce snickered and then nodded.- “There won’t be anything between us. She’s just some activist, right?” –Anna nodded and opened the doors to the waiting room.- “Ms. King? Bruce Wayne will see you now.” –Anna waved for Selina to approach her and Bruce as they stood in the doorway of Anna’s office desk, behind her desk were double brown doors where Bruce’s office was. Bruce stared at Selina and then said.- “What’s her name?” –Anna smiled and then nudged Bruce.- “Stephanie King…Don’ t embarrass yourself.” –Bruce raised his eye brows upon hearing her alias.- “Oh, well-uh…*Stephanie* let’s talk in my office.” –Bruce went back to his office escorting Selina to it waiting for her to follow behind closing the door for privacy from Anna.-
Catwoman: Patience was a virtue Selina had struggled to master growing up, preferring the fast pace and more daring approach to things, addicted to that gut wrenching feeling best described by the tightness one would feel free falling through the air. As Bruce's lovely secretary Anna waved her forward, she moved, oozed the air of elegance and control, of beauty when she smiled, her full red lips pulling up in the corners in a way that would set most people at ease. "Thank you." She looked at Anna first, her voice polite then turned her vision to Bruce Wayne. Brown eyes locking onto his own blue she felt her stomach tighten and the smile she gave him was genuine. Selina Kyle was addicted. Following him into his office she glanced around, reaching up to pull off her hat as the door closed behind her, brown hair tumbling down her shoulders that gave off a sweet scent closely described as the smell of fresh rain on roses. "Very impressive office you have, Mr. Wayne." Moving away from him she let her hat fall onto his desk and she moved to the window to look over Gotham City. "Very impressive indeed."
-The office was relatively large, as it had couch, two chairs, a desk and chair, four book cases along the walls, a private bathroom, an outside balcony, and even a wall that looked like it was either too bare or too crowded for its own good as a blank marble wall had a picture of Thomas and Martha Wayne holding hands and together as a large portrait. The balcony had four chairs, a table and a perfect view of the Wayne rail line that traveled directly through Wayne Tower. Bruce would find her smile untrusting and watch her as she seemed to have taken in the room and its layout. Bruce pocketed his hands and stood in the center of the room, the tan carpet fit the dark wooden theme to all of the furniture in the room.A large Wayne Enterprises logo was in the very center of the carpet located in the center of the room.- “What’s wrong Selina?” –Bruce said almost cutting to the chase, rather than asking why she was using a fake alias to get his attention when her real name would’ve done just as much. –
Catwoman: Watching out of the window for a moment longer Selina turned to look at him then the portrait of Thomas and Martha caught her attention. Studying it for a moment a curious look crossed her face before finally she turned her gaze back to his. "Jumping right in, are we? No greeting, no small talk?" Her voice was pleasant as she quirked a brow at him, an easy going smile tugging at her lips. "Your parents right?" Pointing at the portrait she turned to the doors that lead to the balcony. "I heard they were really amazing people, the loss must have been terrible for you." Her voice carried over her shoulder as she pushed opened the door and moved onto the balcony. Leaning against the railing she looked down, wind catching her hair before turning and propping herself back against it, something most people wouldn't dare to do and waited for him expectantly to follow.
-Internally he sighed listening to her point out his approach, when she spoke about his parents, Bruce slowly walked to Selina to stand next to her and look at the portrait, as if to share the angle with her, maybe hoping to find something knew about the portrait himself.- “They were special. They touched many lives and made a difference to a lot of people. –Bruce said as she walked away and towards the balcony, he waited a moment and examined his parents before turning to follow Selina out onto the balcony.- “Their loss was pretty bad for me…Alfred thinks I didn’t fully recover from it.” -Bruce propped his hands onto the balcony railing and looked out to the city, the rambling of the train as it rode on through its track. –
Catwoman: Selina was surprised when he moved to stand next to her, gazing at the portrait of his parents, even more surprised when he actually spoke about them to her. As he moved after her to the balcony, leaned against it, she pulled herself up to sit on the rail, crossing her legs to get comfortable and looked at his leaning form, facing towards inside of the office. "What do you think? Have you recovered from their loss?" It was her best guess that Alfred was his caretaker of sorts, and at the thought she something tug at her heart for the man next to her, an almost gladness that he wasn't alone. 'What is your deal, Selina? This is your enemy standing next to you.' She chided herself then reached up, pushing her fingers through her loose hair. 'Maybe, you don't have to be enemies, when the masks aren't on...' Was the next passing thought, and she focused her eyes back on him, pushing it from her mind.
-Bruce shook his head and smirked to himself.- “Yeah. I think I have.” –He adjusted his stance as he saw her push herself up onto the railing, his face becoming slightly nervous about her positioning.- “I’m surprised to see you, so soon.” –Bruce continued to look out at the city, his gaze looking at the fading and sunset. The inevitability of twilight approaching and the lighting of Gotham’s bright yellow and orange colors of its streets and office buildings.-
Catwoman: Noting his face she leaned back a bit, holding onto the railing with her hands before hanging upside down on the back side of the railing, looking at everything upside down. "Don't like surprises?" Her voice was teasing, and she turned her head to look at him. "I have my reasons for coming to see you, Mr. Wayne. I can say they are half professional and half personal." Letting go with her legs she flipped over backwards to stand on the small ledge on the opposite side of the railing in one graceful movement, looking at him fully. "How's the shoulder, by the way?"
-He looked away from her, trying not to act nervous.- “Uh…Yeah, it’s fine. It’s healing nicely since-…” –He looked at her as she stood up right, his eyes trailing up her body some.- “Since-…our last encounter.“ Bruce walked back inside and placed his brief case down on his desk before returning back to Selina.- “And what’s that you’ve come to talk about?” –He pocketed his hands again and looked at her.-
Catwoman: Amusement lit her eyes as she watched him look away and pause in his speaking, she could see the nervousness her actions were causing him, it was entertaining for sure. "I'm glad to see it's not impairing you too much." Looking after him as he moved inside to set down his briefcase Selina let go of the rail, walking along the thin edge and held up a finger at his return and question. "Well, you told me you could fix something, and I need you to hold up your word." Reaching in her purse she pulled out her goggles, pausing her dangerous walk to stop in front of him to hold them out. "Sooner than later would be greatly appreciated."
-He took the goggles and examined them.- “And then what?” –His gaze went back to look at her.-“ You go back out there and risk getting yourself killed?” –His voice was softer.- “The people you’re messing with don’t play games. They’ll turn up the heat; they’ll send someone like Deathstroke after you.” –When Bruce said the name “Deathstroke” he gently waved the goggles as if reminding her how they were damaged from the beginning.-
Catwoman: "And then..." She trailed off and watched in for a moment, her eyes flicking to his lips as he spoke before looking back to his eyes. "Well, you do what you do, and I do what I do." As he spoke again she jumped back over the railing to sit on it directly in front of him. "You sound concerned for my safety, why is that, Bruce Wayne?" Reaching out her hand caught his as he waved the goggles gently, it was hard not to forget the encounter with Deathstroke, but if it happened again she'd be much more prepared. Letting go of his hand she leaned closer to him, trailing her fingers up the sleeve of his suit and then very lightly down the back of his shoulder where he was impaled. Tilting her head back a bit to look up at him, she closed the distance between their lips so that when she whispered to him, her breath, smelling of cinnamon brushed over his own lips. "Want to save me?"
-He listened to her, watching her as she spoke, her first question was subtle and direct, he held his breath trying to think of an answer.- “I-…uh. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Not you or anyone who crosses you.” –Bruce felt her grip on him, gentle with an underlying amount of strength to her. Her touch soothed him, reducing some of his tension as she leaned into him and whispered with their lips close together.- “Yes…” –He admitted, softly speaking to her as his breathing was under control, but his mind felt high and his heart’s slow beating suddenly sounded like a loud gong hammering in his ears.-
Catwoman: "I only hurt the "bad guys"." She responded in a playful tone, one that seemed to imply that she fell into that category as well. Selina could almost see the tension in him loosen at her touch and where she felt calm, relaxed even with him in one way; her heart raged in her chest in another way. How easy it would be to accept his help to let him save her, and the thought briefly passed through her mind. "I like my life, Mr. Wayne." Selina didn't lean back from him as she spoke, raising her left hand to rest on his chest. "I like the challenge, and the adventure and if you want to save me..." She trailed off for a moment, distracted by the pulling demand to close the distance between their lips, and in the end restrained herself. "Then fix my goggles."
-Her words offered a lot of temptation in him, how easy it would be to fall for her. He tried to rationalize and convince himself that he didn’t fall for her, but she was intriguing and very irresistible. He raised his right hand to her neck and brushed his thumb along her cheek.- “I still have your number, Ms. Kyle…If that’s your real name…” –His blue eyes wondered to study her brown eyes, curious as to what her reaction would be.- “I thought about making plans for dinner, but she doesn’t seem to exist…Might be a scheduling conflict as well, depending on the time of day…”
Catwoman: At his touch her posture changed, relaxing and her face even turned against his caressing thumb, lips parting as she closed her eyes. "Mm..." Her reaction was hidden from him as he said her name with the exception of a small smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. Opening her eyes after a moment she looked up at him and gave him that playful smile that just seemed to fit her. "I don't know if either of us would have time for dinner, Mr. Wayne. But, we could always just skip right to dessert." She said nothing about his comment of not existing, but happiness swelled inside of her that at least one thing she had done since she had gotten to Gotham City had gone off without a hitch.
-Bruce didn’t notice her small tug of a smile rather her closed eyes and the feeling of her skin against his face.- “I’ll have them done by tomorrow.” –He said reinforcing what he said to her the other day. His hand slowly fell from her cheek and came to rest on her knee. His breathing controlled and the flavor of his mints lingered from his lips as air coolly slipped out of his mouth and towards hers unintentionally giving her a taste of his mouth, it would only reinforce the idea and concept that was still new to them, they knew who each other were both during the day and night.-
Catwoman: "Does tomorrow mean midnight?" She looked to her watch then, briefly very distracted by her own thoughts when his hand moved to her knee. Flicking her eyes back to his her breath caught as she inhaled, an audible reaction that made her already parted lips part a bit more. "And who will be giving it to me? My enemy? Or you?" Selina said her previous thought aloud now and wondered if she was the only one thinking it. Bruce and Selina were different people than Batman and Catwoman, and she walked that very thin line, hands dipping on both sides of right and wrong.
“I-…wouldn’t say he’s an enemy. He’s trying to help you. He’s concerned about everyone in Gotham, hopefully you’ll see that in time. I’ll bring them to you if you give me a place to meet you. I can get to work on them tonight.” –Bruce gently began to pull away from her, his left hand still holding the goggles, his eyes glanced down to examine them again, opening a battery pouch.- “Probably just needs a new battery…Where did you get this from?” –Bruce lifted his eyes briefly to look at her and then back down to it, analyzing it.-
Catwoman: Raising a sleek brow at his statement she simply listened to him speak for a moment then inclined her head, reaching into her purse she pulled out a card and slipped it to him. "That's my address. You can find me there." As he pulled away from her, she slid down to her feet, looking up at him. "I checked the battery, it's not the problem." Edging around him she walked to the door leading inside, didn't answer his question on who made it and pushed her fingers through her hair to straighten it.
-Bruce nodded as he took the card and then examined her as she left.- “Good bye, Selina…” –Bruce waited for her to leave before he went back inside to place the goggles into the briefcase with his bracers in it. He return to the Batcave and began fixing the goggles Selina requested of him to fix. He disassembling the goggles he found a few of the damaged circuits and repaired them when he found some interesting serial numbers that he began tracing. It took him approximately two hours to fix the goggles completely and he spent the next two hours researching and tracing the serial numbers.-
Catwoman: Selina took her time going home. Stopping by a vendor to pick up a news paper, then another to grab a bouquet of roses from which she inhaled deeply as she moved down the sidewalk. It had been an incredible risk to leave one of her most valuable pieces of equipment in the hand of an "enemy" but she needed them fixed, and fixed fast. Knowing he'd research the serial numbers, as a man who liked to know what he was dealing with they'd lead him on a wild goose chase, first linking to his very own R&D division then on further research to China. There the tracks would circle around until fizzling into nothing, obviously someone had put in quite a bit of work to make sure they weren't found out. Selina relaxed during the time it was taking Batman to fix and research, taking her time in the bath, watching some TV and lazily recapping her next move. As she lay sprawled comfortably on her bed, her cat curled up on her silk robe covered back, her brown eyes flicked to the clock as it clicked passed midnight, and wondered if someone would be dropping in on her, and for such and occasion, had her pistol close at hand.
-Bruce analyzed the device as he took it apart carefully, taking it apart and studying it. Alfred would come to place a tray of food down for Bruce.- “Working on new Night vision scope or are you looking to spy on some lovely company?” –Bruce analyzed and used soldering iron to piece together the goggles electrical parts, Bruce’s eyes were covered by glasses with lens enhancing vision.- “No…These are for Catwoman…” –Alfred raised his eye brows.- “Oh, so we’re taking in house requests? Mr. Wayne, perhaps this obsession of yours is more than that.” –Bruce nodded along with Alfred.- “Yeah” and-uh… what’s that?"
-Alfred smiled and leaned a little bit closer.- “You’re in love with her.” –Bruce finished and pulled away.- “Really? I’m not in love with her. What’s the harm in doing someone a favor?” –When it struck midnight, Batman analyzed Selina’s apartment when suddenly the lights would begin to flicker her window would suddenly have Batman standing outside it, standing on the fire escape, the lights to the apartment went completely dark, allowing the twilight to shine down on him. His blue eyes beaming through the window to her with his cape draped around his body.-
Catwoman: Watching TV idly, Selina closed her eyes and yawned against her hand, the lack of usual movement and the comfort of her bed causing tiredness to leak into her usually aware mind. Missing the original flicker of light as her eyes closed she caught the sound of her TV turning off and opened an eye with a frown. Did she bump the remote? Pushing herself up onto her knees caused a noise of protest from Isis as the cat slipped down onto the bed. "Where is that re..." Her voice cut off as the lights went dark in the apartment and her heart thundered to a stop in her chest. Holding her breath for a moment, her ears straining for any sounds, Selina snatched her gun off of her bed and slid to her feet. Clad in only a thigh high black silk robe that left little to the imagination she wasn't exactly ready for combat, though it didn't stop her from looking towards the door. 'Did they fine me?' Her mind reeled at the thought of Sal Maroni and his group of thugs finding her already. As she shifted to move to the living room it was then she caught a familiar shadow outside of her window and she hardly could hold back the sigh of relief. Moving to the window she lifted the latch, pushed it open, gun still in hand. "Doors were invented for a reason." Selina quirked a brow at the Dark Knight.
-Batman watched her open the window and spoke with a deep growling voice.- “It’s not my style…” –His hand lifting from under his cape to reveal a small briefcase.- “I fixed the damage done to them, recalibrated their systems and they work at full optimization.” –Batman held the case to her and opened it to reveal the goggles.- “What do you plan to do now that you have these?” –Batman would look below him to hear banging of a trash can, a man sitting his head out the window began dumping his trash down into a dumpster below. Batman watched and remained silent despite the moonlight reflecting off the building to appear blue while Batman appeared a mixture of blue and black.-
Catwoman: Watching him in return, Selina shifted as he moved his cape, her heart jumping once again as she prepared for something, anything but what he did. Still on edge from the initial scare she reached out as he opened the case to snatch the goggles from him with her left hand, right still gripping the pistol. Momentarily distracted by the sound below, Selina leaned out of the window a bit, the wind catching her loose hair and blowing it around her face as she looked to the man below then locked her eyes back on Batman. Turning on her heel then she waved him inside with her gun holding hand. "Don't lurk out there, the last thing I need is for the neighbors to think I associate with you. I'd never get a good mark here again." Ignoring his question on what she'd do with the now repaired goggles she glanced back over her shoulder at him to see if he'd follow.
-Batman watched the gun, uneasy and untrusting of her somewhat with it.- ‘She’s got what she wants, and she’s holding a gun…If she wanted you dead, she had plenty of opportunities so far to take the shot.’ –Batman followed her inside and strangely the window slipped shut behind him, causing a loud click. Batman ignored it and watched her.- “I traced the serial numbers back to the Maroni crime family. What have you gotten yourself into, Selina? The mafia purchased your equipment, didn’t they? And I bet they saw you as an investment. They wanted something in return…” –Batman stopped by her couch, his eyes ignoring the fashion of the home.- -He looked down at her and spoke with a firm growl.- “Stop me where I’m wrong. You can’t hide or run from the mafia, Selina. If they catch you, you’ll disappear. Gone forever…How much do you owe?” –Batman looked at her as she seemed fearless as she stood before him, his stance wasn’t aggressive or offensive, it was just passive with his voice and eyes expressing intimidation. Their bodies only visible really through the moonlight peering through the windows and their shades, painting them both with black and dark blue colors of the moon reflecting off the dimensions of the apartment.-
Catwoman: She let out a laugh, clearly amused by his question, or maybe it was the thought that it was concern for her or even lecturing her perhaps? Selina couldn't say for sure but she lifted her right hand brushing the pads of her fingers across his lips, if he'd allow, and smiled a wry smile with her full lips. "Now, Bruce." Using his name, as if it had some sort of power over him she tsked gently at the man before her. "That's like asking a woman her age, you just don't do that." The feeling that moved through her, being unarmed and so close to a man who spent his nights beating the trash of Gotham down on the streets was hardly intimidation. If anything, having him standing there, lit up by the light of the moon in her apartment sent a dangerous thrill through her, made her want to tease and push him to whatever limits she could, just to get a rise out of him.
-He was watched as she raised her hand to brush her finger across his lips, he didn’t seem fazed by her moving closer to him, listening to her come up with reasons to avoid answering the questions he was giving her. He lowered his head some to further acknowledge her.- “You’re playing a dangerous game, Selina. I don’t think you know what you’re getting your hands into.” –Batman would think to himself.- ‘It’s at least 10,000…more likely than not around 20,000. What did she spend that money on? If I could distract her long enough, I might be able to search for clues in that drawer of hers.’
Catwoman: "Games aren't fun, unless there's a bit of danger involved." Stepping up to him so that one of her legs was positioned near to being between his own she let her fingers run down and over his suit of armor, letting her fingers catch in the grooves as they made their way to his utility belt. Lacking the height she needed since her feet were bare, she leaned up on her toes, speaking so her warm breath fanned over his lips as she whispered to him. "And my hands always know what they're getting into." Finding one of the separations between the protective plates her wore she pressed her fingers a bit more firmly, both pointing out the weakness he obviously knew was there and testing her limits even more. Her brows rose in a 'Got you.' type of playful manner as she ran her fingers along the spot.
-He stared into her eyes, exchanging glance with her, his hand raised to grab hers as she felt the skin tight suit underneath his armor, his other hand grabbing her other arm, his swung her to pin her against the wall. His breathing exchanging with hers, his eyes deep with aggression as they glared into her eyes. Batman’s body wasn’t pressed against hers body, he was within close proximity to hers.- “Who said anything about playing games? I must’ve lost my invitation to this one.” –Batman’s could taste her cinnamon tasting breath and added to his statement.- “I’ll have to invite myself if I can’t go with someone else.” –His tone was still firm and aggressive, but with an underlying grin on his lips indicating his teasing.-
Catwoman: Selina's breath caught in her throat as she found his hands gripping her arms, found her back thumping up against her apartment wall as his eyes glared into her own. As her hair settled around her, she shifted her legs as her thin silk robe threatened to come undone from his swift movement and she felt her stomach tightened as a flame seemed to be lit inside of her. "I'd invite you to be my partner, but I'm not sure you could handle me." Tilting her head back enough to gesture a proud and challenging motion Selina moved her right leg between the two of his legs quickly, hooking her calf around the back of his left knee in the same moment she moved her hands into his torso in a quick shove to set him off balance and to hopefully sprawl the bigger man to the living room floor, the motions quick and fluid to catch him off guard.
-Batman stood confidently as he listened to her words, he noted her leg positioning as she was coiling herself around him, entwining them into each other when he didn’t expect her to flip him.- ‘How did you not see that coming?’ –Batman’s cape flapped loudly as it spread out onto the floor, Batman closed his eyes and braced himself from the impact of hitting the floor, somewhere he thought a loud thud was heard.- “That was unexpected.” –Batman said with a low toned growl, as he placed his palms down and attempted to push himself to sit up right.-
Catwoman: Selina leaned against the cool wall for a moment in an attempt to collect herself then let out a delighted laugh, her shoulders shaking as she bent over, putting her hands on her knees and watched him. It had been unexpected that he had actually fallen, the sound of his cape hitting the floor having added to the effect of it all. As he spoke to her in that growling voice she only shook her head then pushed away from the wall, standing before him. Reaching out she offered him a hand up, clearly very amused. "It certainly was." She agreed with him as she continued to hold out her hand to him. "Not too good on your feet hm? Do I make you weak in the knees?" Teasing she tightened the belt on her robe with her left hand.
-Batman stood up not accepting her help as she seemed to tease and enjoy doing so. He stood up before her taking a moment to response.- “I was distracted. It doesn’t happen often.” –Batman walked towards the window and slid it open as he figured this approach with her wasn’t going to work.- “Watch your back, Selina. You’ll slip sooner or later. On the apartment floor is no danger, with the Maroni’s, you get a chance to stand up.” –Batman looked at her from over his shoulder, his head tilted down some allowing moonlight to define his features.-
Catwoman: Watching him stand without accepting her assistance she simply smiled at him, and wondered if she had ruined his pride. "What could have possibly of distracted you?" She counted then followed him to the window as he slid it open, her eyes flicking outside for a moment, just out of habit then back to the man in front of her. "When I slip, are you going to catch me?" Reaching up she caught his cape in her hand then let it slip through her fingers slowly. Selina was far from wanting him to leave, even if all she did was skirt around the issue, just him being there made her feel more at ease, though she'd never admit it. Her eyes caught his for a moment and she parted her lips to say something else but didn't, instead she just watched him, fully expecting him to disappear before her eyes.
-He climbed out of the window and l “I have a city to protect. Watch the news and you’ll understand.” –Batman stepped through and onto the fire escape and armed his grappling hook and fired it towards the rooftops that he swung off. He didn’t respond to her question of whether or not he would catch her, what wouldn’t have been noticed was the small listening device attached to her furniture as he flew off towards the Bat Mobile. Landing inside the cockpit within an alleyway, he turned on his radio to listen inside her apartment.-
Catwoman: "So you do." Selina looked after him and closed the window gently, glancing down as Isis wrapped around her ankles she bent over, scooping the cat up and moved towards her bed. "It's dangerous, Isis. When he's around, I get that silly annoying little feeling of wanting to be something more." She spoke to the cat as she set her on the dresser, opening the first drawer and lifting up the panel to take a closer look at her goggles. "I have to stay focused, they'll be looking for me, I don't have time to play with Batman, no matter how much I know both of use would enjoy it." Sighing she set the goggles back down and moved to her bed, stretching out on it. "Next time we see each other, we'll no doubt be enemies again, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do to get by."
-Batman would wait almost all night expecting Selina to leave her apartment but, when she didn’t he would wait till almost 4 AM before leaving, returning to the batcave before sunrise. Bruce crawled into bed and fell asleep. Alfred would attempt to wake up Bruce throughout the day, but Bruce would crawl out of bed around 2 in the afternoon and make his way to the Batcave to begin tampering with his gadgets and planning out his night. Using the bat computer to analyze and research Maroni’s finances to see what expenses are being output by the Maroni’s within the past 2 months.-
Catwoman: It was difficult to get a good nights sleep when you had to worry about the mob coming after you, or so that's what Selina Kyle figured out as she stumbled out of bed at nearly 4pm. Blackout curtains kept the sunlight from streaming in her bedroom window, and she'd made sure to keep her cellphone off during the night but neither attempt to aid in her slumber worked. Nightmares plagued her, waking her up every fifteen minutes on the mark but she had continued to force herself to try and get good rest, her night was going to be busy. Looking in the mirror she inspected the dark circles under her eyes, and glared a bit at her reflection. "Perfect." Getting ready for the day was more of a chore than it needed to bed, her mood irritated and her lack of 5 million dollars unsettling. Turning on her cellphone she grabbed a bottle of water, let it start up then checked her messages. "Catwoman." Maroni's voice drawled out on the other side. "I really thought we had something going between us, a new sort of friendship but you've seemed to have disappeared, and with my money." Selina leaned against her kitchen counter, putting the phone on speaker as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I gave you plenty of time to get me what I asked, but now I'm afraid no matter where you go, me and my boys will find you. So make it easier on yourself, I won't have you raped and beaten to death if you just come to me. If you make me chase you down, I will see to it that you are kept very much alive, and in my "care" for as long as it takes for me to get my monies worth out of you. Why don't you think about it." Selina slammed her hand down on her cellphone as the message ended, jaw muscles twitching as she clenched her teeth. "Cocky bastard."
--As Batman would look through Maroni's various accounts, he would find 5 million dollars having been withdrawn just over a week ago along with various other expenses, none of which totaled over ten thousand dollars taken or deposited.
“5 Million…” –Batman leaned back in his chair, his eyes widened.- “That’s a lot…” –Batman bit his lower lip, turning over he listened to the device placed in Selina’s apartment and raised his eye brow hearing the half of the message. Batman began loading up cell phone companies and began hacking into their database, within an hour he was able to locate the sound file transferred to her cell phone.- “Hmm…They got her Cell phone number…it’s only a matter of time until they find out who she is and locate her…” –Alfred would approach Batman and inquire.- “Good evening, sir. Any luck with Ms. Kyle?” –Batman nodded.- “Yes, I’ve found a connection between Catwoman…erm…Selina Kyle and Sal Maroni…Including threats…Also found these Emails on the Internet, rumors say they’re just spam mail but…” –Batman displayed a GIF file of a Cat jumping into a basket.- “Well done sir, it appears Mr. Maroni has a heart after all.” –Batman then used an image designer to flip the picture around and it displayed the cat’s head being chopped off.-
-Alfred would frown.- “I don’t think this bodes well for Ms. Kyle, sir. Do you intend to warn her or dash in on a white horse while songs of joy play in the background of the meadow?” –Batman shook his head negatively.- “I tried to warn her, she dismissed me. I’ll have to take another approach.” –Alfred nodded and snickered while walking away.- “White Knight it is, sir…” –Batman would then say outloud.- “It’s only a matter of time until Maroni knows who she is. And it’s only a matter of time until she becomes a public figure.” –Alfred turned to look at Bruce.- “Then perhaps for her sake and your own conscience, don’t allow that to happen. We both know how the Commissioner will respond to this. And perhaps Ms. Kyle maybe willing to exchange information for an early release…Information regarding certain masked vigilante’s…”
Catwoman: Night settled over Gotham like a warm and uncomfortable blanket bringing with it a constant downpour of rain and loud claps of thunder as lightning split the sky. The streets were unnervingly empty, the good people of Gotham stay away from the blackened roads, and the less fortunate and devious sticking to the insides where bars and cheap hotels overflowed with the smell of booze and rowdy laughs. Even the rats stayed hidden from the stream of water that beat mercilessly on everything left unprotected. 'I should have brought an umbrella.' Catwoman thought to herself as she sprinted down the sidewalk, hair plastered to her face and neck, boots clicking loudly as she splashed through puddles. "Get back here you fucking bitch!" There were seven men chasing her, all armed, all muscular, much bigger than she and all pissed off. This had been the second time she had slipped away from them, being backed into an alley and "trapped". The first time she cut their numbers in half, played the scared begging woman, let them get close, but the second she simply went with taking out the unlucky souls that had been blocking her escape. Her gun was lost, and fatigue pulled at her along with the feeling of the bruises that no doubt would be hard to cover with even the best of make up. As she rounded the corner she glanced at a street sign, found herself in another alley. "We've got you now." The self proclaimed leader of the pack moved forward, wiping his hand over his mouth in anticipation. "Here kitty, kitty." Catwoman turned to face the men, pulling her whip from around her waist as they leveled their guns at her. "Go home boys, I'd hate to see you get hurt." She called to them as she backed against the brick wall at the end of the alley.
-A splash of water would explode behind the group of men a large cape and cowl would be displayed as the mobsters turned and aimed their guns. Suddenly the figure leaped towards the men, swiftly maneuvering between them, a dark brown cape flapped almost like a bat’s wing, sharp claws slashed their guns and their clothing, grabbing one man by the shirt and throwing them into two more. – “You should never corner a wild animal!” –The large brown shadow growled out sounding like a young man with an animalistic nature. His large body suddenly kicked forward and slashed another mobster in the stomach; his boots had claws on them, but finally three men aimed their guns and fired at the body suited man, as his cape flapped open his cat like ears fell backwards like a cat being defensive of their head at the constant barrage of gunfire. One man would finally shout.- “It’s the bat!” -He fell backwards and splashed into mud and seemed completely incapacitated. It was a window of opportunity for Catwoman to make her move.-
Catwoman: "I tried to warn you." Catwoman said with a shrug, a smirk on her face as she watched the large figure. It only took her a few moments to realize that the man who had come to her rescue wasn't who she thought it was, and only another moment after that that the man was about to be riddled with holes. "Damn it." Things just weren't going her way tonight. As the man fell back Catwoman lunged forward. Snapping her whip at the man furthest on the left she caught him around the neck and yanked him downwards, bringing her knee up into his face as he fell. His gun clattered to pavement and the other two turned towards her. Spinning around she kicked the nearest across the face, sending him falling hard to the ground then stumbled back as she took a bullet to the stomach, falling onto her butt. "Y-you shot me..." She choked out, eyes filling with tears that were quickly washed away by the rain. The final thug smirked as he moved to her. "Not so tough now, are you bitch?" Leaning down he snatched her by the hair and pulled her to her feet. Catwoman cried out as she cowered, her left hand held over her stomach. "I can't wait to make you scream." He hissed to her. "Next time." Catwoman spoke in a low tone, flicking her brown eyes up to the thugs face as a smirk twisted her lips. "Aim for the head, it's the only way to be sure." Bringing her right hand up she slashed her claws across his face in the same moment she brought her knee to his groin then elbowed him fiercely across the face as he fell to the cement, taking pleasure in hearing the distinct sounding *snap* of his jaw dislocating. "Moron." She scoffed as she stuck her finger into the fabric of her catsuit, flicking out the bullet that lodged in her armor. "That's not going to feel good in the morning." Muttered under her breath she moved to the man in brown slowly and cautiously to check to see if he was still living.
-As Catwoman made use of the men, the dark figure jumped up and growled.- “Nine lives!” –He slammed the remaining thug into the wall knocking them out cold, but he turned his attention to Catwoman as he heard her speak. He snickered.- “Maybe I can make you feel better.” –He approached her, standing directly in front of her.- “Meeeow…” –His eyes looked her over and said.- “Even sexier in person than I could imagine…They don’t grow em like you, back home…” –He examined her outfit a bit more. -”What did these dogs want from you, Duchess?” –His hand slipped onto the wall, revealing sharp claws attached to his hand, some sort of metal claw that wrapped around his hand, the claw was a bright gold color, except the tips that were a sharp and silvery tone. His cat ears flicked up and down depending on how he turned his head, his appearance was almost literally like a cat.-
-He sniffed her some and then said.- “You look a little wet, maybe we should get out of the rain and go somewhere to get warmed up, maybe have some milk…” –His voice trailing off a bit seductively.-
Catwoman: As the man jumped to his feet, Catwoman took a step back, hand going to her empty gun holster. "Of course." Spoken under her breath she wrapped her whip back around her waist as it would be useless against someone smart enough to cut it. When he turned his attention onto her she took another step back as he stepped forward, her eyes flicking over her shoulder as she bumped back against the building wall. "Charming, and where is "back home" exactly?" She gave the stranger a pretty smile as her eyes watched him through the pouring rain. As he looked her over once again and his hand moved onto the wall, Selina looked over the weapons on his hand then back to his face, raising a slender brow as he spoke. Moving a hand to his chest she trailed her fingers down over it then winked, simply ducking around him moving to one of the thugs to take their weapon. "They wanted to play, of course, and sorry handsome but I don't have time to lick your wounds. I've got somewhere to be." Crouching down she scooped up a gun, took and extra clip and tucked them both into their respective places as she stood straight once again, stretching her arms up above her head to loosen her stiffening muscles.
-With her hand on his chest, she would feel Kevlar armor underneath pressing against muscle, another reminder that he wasn’t the Dark Knight as the feeling of Titanium against muscle was much different and inflexible. As she took off, he followed behind her and said.- “Hey, come on princess, why don’t you give a stray a chance? What if I give you a tiger, will you let me at least tag along?” –As she walked out of the alleyway she would see a pickup truck with two adult tigers prowling around in a cage. He snuck up behind her and purred.- “Interested?” –His blue eyes scanned over her backside.- “I might not have a cool grappling gun or karate moves but, I got my own assets that set me apart…I mean it’s only natural that Catman and Catwoman work together, we’re a team by nature.” –Another playful growl came from him, but he suddenly ducked when a loud crack of thunder occurred.- “Ouch! I hate that sound…So where are we going next, Duchess?”
-Meanwhile at Wayne Manor, Bruce stood in front of the window watching the rain wash down over the glass, blurring out the image of Gotham, Bruce’s hand held a cup of spiced tea, warm in his hands as he kept his mind in deep thought, a flourish of blue, white, and black washed over his face as the shadows of the rain washing down the window rushed across his face. Alfred would suddenly speak as he watched the television.- “Guess any plans you had for tomorrow are scrapped as well, it’s going to be like this all day tomorrow…” –Bruce blinked suddenly returning back to reality.- “Yea-uh...I’ll still go out. Gotham still needs me, crime doesn’t rest. Things are still going on out there. I need to know what.” –Alfred raised his cup of tea and sipped it and then said.- “Why don’t you invite Ms. Kyle over for dinner? I’m sure there isn’t much she can do in this weather…Cats do tend to hate the rain.”
Catwoman: Taking note of the armor Catwoman moved from the alley. "A tiger huh? Is that what men are calling it these days?" Spotting the truck both of her brows rose in surprise at the fact that there were actually tigers there. "Well what do you know." As he moved behind her, purring to her she could practically feel his eyes undressing her and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, moving her hips back and forth. "Pretty boys." Selina cooed to the tigers then turned on her heel to look back up at Catman. "And what assets, do you have that could interest me?" The thought of using the man came to her then, he was certainly interested in grabbing her attention, and why shouldn't she humor her savior? After all, if Maroni's men were to come back she'd be able to use him as a shield and go about her business as per usual. The crack of thunder didn't startle her, but she rolled her eyes up as he ducked down. 'Where do these characters come from? Was he hatched in a lab?'
“I got friends in small places, Duchess.” –He gestured to the cats.- “They’re fully trained to my command…These two will obey my every command.” –He walked past her and to the cage, holding his hand out the tigers would begin licking his hand.- “Yeah boys, this is her. Catwoman…” –He said to them purring.- “They’re acquainted with you…sort of. I found a piece of your cat suit a while back, had them sniff it to gather your scent…They’re not dogs, but they know a friendly figure when they see it. I’ve got some of my own gadgets meant for breaking into security systems; I made it my specialty to get in and out unnoticed. Where shall we go? Say the word and we’ll be on our way. Between Gus, Tigger, you, and I. There’s nothing we can’t handle. By the way, I appreciate ya helping me out by there. I had to put on a bit of a display to see if you would help out at all.”
“You don’t seem as cold as people describe you…Maybe it’s just when you’re around a flying mouse that gets you to act like a cold hearted bitch…That’s what rumors are about you, at least.” –He said leaning against the cage, looking at her, his voice filled with confidence suddenly as he spoke about her, seemingly trying to push her buttons.-
Catwoman: Watching the interaction between the brown suited man and the tigers, Catwoman crossed her arms over her chest, sticking her hip against his truck and leaning against it. The rain was starting to make her cold, and irritated, she hated it but it wasn't a night she could afford to be picky. "And what is it you steal, exactly?" Sizing him up, she hadn't originally taken him for someone on the wrong side of the fence, but giving him another once over she reevaluated. "One big happy family, hm?" Standing straight she uncrossed her arms, pushed her hair back from her face and neck where it clung and looked towards the alley. "I didn't do it for you. They would have continued to chase me." Her voice dropped it's seductiveness then, irritation taking over. People were idiots, they actually thought she was paired up with Batman. 'Would it be so bad?' Her mind asked and she steered away from the thought quickly. "Besides, having someone find in a silly little costume like yours, laying dead in a puddle would give us cats a bad name." Selina moved then, turning away from him to head down the side walk, brushing him off as she would an annoying fly. She didn't care what he had stolen, she wasn't fond of partners.
-He looked at her and grinned, noticing her irritation with the rain.- “We could go back to my place…” –He watched as she walked away, he gently ran his tongue along the upper half of his teeth watching her leave.- “That’s an amazing woman…She’s not as…wild as I would hope but, she’s damn near sexy. I’m sure you’re both very attracted…” –One of the tigers would begin to bellow and he stepped away.- “Alright, alright…” –He began walking towards the driver seat, looking back at Catwoman’s direction where she went off to. He said quietly to himself.- “Au revoir la duchesse » -He drove off with his truck. The Maroni’s henchmen pulled out a cell phone.- “Hey, boss…things got a little more complicated…”
Catwoman: Catwoman ducked around a corner, disappearing into the shadows and waiting for the strange man to drive off with his tigers. "The night brings all of the weird ones out." She mused to herself as she waited a moment longer then stepped back onto the sidewalk, pulling out a soaked piece of paper she carefully pulled it open, reading the words quickly as the ink that was already smudged washed away and the paper tore in the rain. Glancing back towards the alley she left the thugs in she turned and started jogging back down the side walk, heading towards a jewelry store. --Maroni waited for his boys to call, to tell him the good news, he had spent the last hour polishing his brass knuckles, thinking about what he'd break on the pretty woman first when the phone rang. Putting it to his ear, he listened to the man on the other side of the phone and stayed silent for a long moment before answering. "What do you mean "complicated"?"
-Bruce turned his eyes from reading the news paper to the police scanner.- “We got a radio call, suspect approaching a jewelry store on foot, suspect is female wearing black uniform…” –Bruce sighed and quickly grabbed his phone to dial Selina, he wasn’t counting on her to carry it nor pick up, but he began making his way into the Batcave, Alfred’s eye brows lifted and spoke to himself as Bruce entered the Batcave.- “I suppose taking her out isn’t a bad idea either, in this weather…Probably thinks I’m just an old fool…” –Bruce began suiting up, zipping up the skin tight body suit before slipping into his chest piece and leggings. If she picked up sometime soon he would speak into the phone.- “Hey, Selina it’s Bruce. I-uh…I was…uh…wondering if you would like to maybe go out to dinner? Tonight? I mean its such terrible weather and I-uh…I’ve got nothing better to do. Unless you’re busy, you know, I-…I don’t want to intrude on your ‘You time’ or anything like that. "
–Bruce sounded nervous and a bit shy. He fully suited up and switched the phone connection to that in his helmet to communicate. If she didn’t pick up, he would practically leave a message with exactly what was previously said. He climbed onto the Bat Mobile and revved the engine before storming out of the Bat cave, the roar of the engine as it pulled the entire body of the car forward echoed through the cave, causing a horde of bats to scurry from one side of the room to another.-
Catwoman: Her phone sat alone on the kitchen counter next to her apartment keys, on nights like tonight she'd need neither. As it rang a few times her voice mail picked up, it was generic and didn't state her name or even repeat the phone number. Selina ducked under the thin cover outside of the jewelry store with a shiver, her lower lip quivering from the cold as she rubbed her left hand over her right arm to try and warm it. "I hate the rain." She cursed the night, and how it was going so far as she saw her chances of getting herself out of the mess she had created slipped through her gloved fingers. Waiting a moment she moved around the edge of the building heading towards the back as she pulled tools from her utility belt. Disabling the security system was easy for her, much easier than the room at the opera house and only took a few minutes to do. Picking the locks on the door took a bit longer as her hands shook a bit from the cold. Kneeling down outside of the back door, she worked in silence as thunder rumbled across the city. --Maroni threw his phone to the floor, the object breaking into pieces, scattering across his living room floor. Rage boiled inside of him as he paced, clenching and unclenching his fists. The woman had been working with Batman all along, she had come to him, taken his money and used it to work with the Gotham freak. Sal stopped pacing and breathed deep. If his men couldn't capture her in his preferred way, then he'd just have to set a trap.
-Police officers calmly drove onto the scene, unmarked vehicles, six cars, twelve police officers patiently waiting, Bullock would speak over the radio.- “Alright, this kitty cat is prob’Lee wet, smelling of fer’balls and eager fer us ta’ take her away!” “PH 1 standing by.” “PH 2 standing by.” –Harvey smiled and maneuvered the tooth pick in between his teeth.- “Aight…just settle for a moment, have a group go around back.” “Lieutenant we got 437’s on your 6-8.” –Harvey then lifted his hat.- “We got some snipers? Awh, nice!” –Montoya next to Harvey propped her elbow on the steering wheel of the car.- “I bet you’re in a good mood.”