Catwalk

[moonshadows]

"...not just for yourself, you understand, but for all those poor widdle stuffed critters what never had da chance ta fight back..."

The doll looks surprisingly mock-sympathetic, but I don't buy it. "Oh, barf."

Dummy - if that's his name - thrusts the doll out at me. "It's a fifty-fifty cut," the doll says angrily. "Take it or leave it. You in, or what?"

I think for a minute before taking the envelope.

The doll does me the favor of dropping me off at my apartment building. I ride the elevator to the penthouse in silence, greet my cat, open a can of food for her, and watch as she eats daintily. “I’m going out, Isis," I say gently as I stand, leaving the envelope on the counter. "Don't wait up."

"Mrow..." She purrs at my petting and goes back to her dinner.

I retrieve the envelope before I leave, rolling it tight and slipping it under my belt. The night air tastes like freedom as I throw myself from building to building, twirling and leaping and running and climbing in sheer, delicious joy. Finally, I scale the side of my target, being careful to be silent as I search for the right window. When I find it, the room is just as it's been described. I stretch one hand, the ultra-sharp claws extending from my glove, and-

-tap. Tap. Tap.

Commissioner Gordon stands and comes all the way to the window before showing the slightest hint of surprise, but he still opens it. "You're not Batman."

"How kind of you to notice," I joke. "May I come in?"

He moves aside. "Oh, of course."

As I enter, I slide the roll from my belt and offer it to him.

"What's this?" Gordon takes the envelope and opens it cautiously.

"I was approached earlier this evening by a foul-mouthed puppet and his mild-mannered dummy. 'This' is how they planned to set me up and double-cross me - if I'd been foolish enough to take them up on it."

Gordon looks up from the paperwork. "And instead, you bring it to me. Why?"

I cross my arms. "I'm not foolish enough to risk my freedom for some sparkly jewels, and I'm not stupid enough to think anyone has my best interests in mind." A soft but deliberate throat-clearing behind me alerts me to the fact that we're not alone. "...except him."

Batman brushes past, intent on the papers in Gordon's hand. They both read for a moment.

"What do you think?" Batman asks.

Gordon frowns. "We'd have to wait until here to bust them."

Batman grins at me from under his mask. "How'd you like to slip your leash for a little bit tonight?"

"What are you suggesting?"

Gordon looks up. "Follow the plan up to...Isis?"

"My cat."

"...getting discovered, then book it for the exit. Not the trapped one. Get out of that building however you like, as long as it's not damaging anything. We'll take care of the rest."

I frown, but Batman beats me to it. "I'll collect Isis and put her on the roof of the building across the way. She'll be safe."

"No one on this side will know you were involved but me and Batman, and he doesn't give police statements. This won't violate your parole."

Police condoned breaking and entering. I like it. "You've got yourself a willing catspaw, Commissioner."

 

**********************************

 

“You never answered Gordon’s question,” Batman says as we watch the puppet and his minions being led away in handcuffs from the safety of a nearby rooftop. “You could have turned Scarface down. You didn’t have to bring it to the police.”

“I could have, but all that would have done is kept me clean. No one would have known but me and him. I wanted to punish him for trying to use me like that.”

“Aaaaand?”

I sigh. Should have known he’d hear what I wasn’t saying. “And I wanted Veronica to suffer, too.”

He’s silent for a long moment, which is a relief when I expected him to chide me. I guess he agrees.

“Were you tempted by Scarface’s proposition?”

“Risk losing what’s most important to me for pretty stones and petty revenge? Hardly. I know better than that.”

“It was a good plan. You probably wouldn’t have been caught. It wouldn’t have been a significant risk to your probation.”

He’s testing me. Measuring my commitment to staying on the right side of the law. I smile and kiss his cheek. “I wasn’t talking about my freedom.”

It takes him a second for my meaning to sink in, but by then I’m halfway across the roof. By the time he turns around, I’ve already jumped.

 

**********************************

 

He beats me back to my penthouse, naturally. I flick on the living room light to discover his foreboding silhouette standing by the couch. Unperturbed, I slide my hood off and shake out my hair.

“Did you really mean that?” There’s only hard suspicion in his voice and he turns slightly to follow me with his eyes as I slip behind the screen to change. “You value your cat over your freedom?”

Okay, wait. That’s not…why would he think…? Oh. Right. The viral plague incident. I tie the robe’s sash and come out to face his grim but very handsome clenched jaw.

“Yes, but there’s something I value even higher than her life.”

He doesn’t move as I stop in front of him and lay one hand on his chest. “And what’s that?”

My other hand cups his cowled cheek. “This.”

At first, his lips are hard, pressed into a thin line beneath mine. That doesn’t last. They open all of a sudden, and he kisses me with feral hunger, the desperation of a drowning man clutching a life preserver, the mindless gratitude of a man in the desert drinking cool, pure water. He breaks the kiss finally, breathing heavily, one hand in my hair and the other on my hip. For a long moment, Batman simply looks astonished. Then he grins.

“And here I thought cats couldn’t be domesticated.”

I grin right back. “Don’t get me wrong; no cat is every truly tame. There’s always some part of us that’s wild and can’t be caged.”

“I don’t believe in caging wild animals.” The grin fades. “Selina…doesn’t it bother you that we might never be able to have more than this?”

“Not in the slightest.” My fingers trace the symbol on his chest. “You’re the Batman. You don’t let anything stop you when you really want something, and you’ll wait as long as it takes to get it. I’m just the kitty-cat. So I’ll keep playing aloof until it’s safe, and trust you to handle the rest.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“You deal with freaks and crazies every night; you see the dark side of human nature so much that you forget people aren’t all like that. I’ll never be anything but a predator, and you’re used to the predators being your enemies. I understand.”

He holds me tighter. “I keep thinking you’ll slip back…that one day, I’ll have to cuff you again. Take you to Arkham. Watch as the person I care about is devoured by insanity and resentment. It’s happened before. Or worse – that if I let my guard down, something will happen to you. ”

I nod. It almost happened once, although thankfully not again. 

“Selina…” His hands move to my shoulders and he regards me seriously. “Thank you for being you. After dealing with ‘freaks and crazies’, it’s…refreshing…to think back on your criminal escapades and remember that even though you were on the wrong side of the law, you didn’t have any grandiose delusions or all-consuming obsessions.”

“Why, Batman, are you thanking me for having been a petty cat burglar?”

He answers my grin with one of his own. “Not quite. I’m thanking you for only having been a petty cat burglar. Although…if you hadn’t been on the wrong side of the law, I never would have met the real you and my other self never would have had a chance.”

“Glad I could help.”

We share another sizzling kiss, and he takes his leave. They say crime doesn’t pay, but in my case I think it paid off quite well.