The Bat and the Cat

There was a warm breeze through Gotham tonight, blowing Batwoman’s cape behind her as she patrolled the city. It was a quiet night which was rarely a good thing but all seemed well and Kate allowed herself to hope for a moment that she could turn in early and get a decent sleep.

That hope was shattered when her communicator buzzed. Answering it, she heard the unmistakable voice of Batman.

“Kate, you busy?” He said quickly.

“No, all quiet so far. What’s up?”

“We have a situation that we need your help with. Meet us at 1211 Conroy road.”

“Wait, us? Who else is involved?” Kate’s question went unanswered as Bruce hung up before she even finished talking. Not knowing if he didn’t hear her or if he was just a jackass, Kate grabbed her grapple gun and made her way towards the destination, wondering what kind of emergency had Bruce so shaken up.

Kate enjoyed the feeling of the air rushing against her, her red wig blowing behind her just as much as her cape. It made the warm summer nights a little easier to handle, especially when the bat suit made things so much worse. She hoped that whatever this problem was, it could be dealt with quickly so she could go home, peel it off and have a nice cool shower.

She arrived at the given address, seeing an apartment block. Annoyed at Bruce for hanging up before giving her a room number, she notices a balcony with an open door, the curtains blowing in the breeze, guessing that that was her destination. She used her cape to glide down towards it, landing silently and stopping as she overheard voices from within. Although she couldn’t tell what they were saying, she could easily recognize the voices of Bruce, Tim and…

Selina?!

Kate pushed past the curtains, seeing the cat burglar sitting on the bed in her tight leather costume, her mask on the nightstand, not bothering with secret identities with them. All heads turned to her and Kate understood why Bruce was so tense, everything about Selina got under his skin in a way that no other criminal could. Except maybe the Joker.

“What took you?” Bruce asked gruffly.

“I had shitty directions. What’s going on?” She asked, her eyes darting between Batman and Catwoman, who looked like she was enjoying herself way too much despite appearing to be a prisoner.

“Slumber party” she said cheekily, “we needed another girl for the wet t-shirt contest and you were Bruce’s first choice.”

“Selina knows where Penguin’s keeping his goods” Bruce explained, ignoring Selina’s jokes. “We need you to keep an eye on her while Robin and I check it out.”

“Wait, you want me to babysit?” Kate asked incredulously. “Why can’t Robin do it?”

“Because Robin can’t stop staring at my chest,” Selina said carefree. “I think handsome is worried that I’ll corrupt the kid or something.”

Robin blushed bright red and looked away from Selina as Bruce pulled Kate aside for a private talk. “You know Selina’s… reputation. Robin’s young, I can’t afford letting her get into his head.”

Kate wanted to argue but she knew he had a point. Selina had gotten in Bruce’s head before and she could easily get into Tims. She was the best choice but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“Fine, just don’t take too long. She’s definitely up to something.”

Bruce nodded before telling Robin to follow him, they left dramatically through the same window Kate entered through, leaving her alone with Catwoman who was still sitting on the edge of the bed, beaming at Kate.

“So what do you want to do? Scary stories? Mani-pedis? Naked pillow fight? I’m up for anything.”

Kate sighed under her breath, it was going to be a long night.