Disclaimer: The Characters from "The Batman" are owned by DC Comics, Warner Bros., Bob Kane and God knows how many other people by now. This is a story done purely for fun and not to make profit whatsoever. Any original characters that may appear belong to the writer and can be used with permission.
"Is anybody still watching after all that"?
Opportunity Breaks In
The night doorman of Gotham Plaza stared at the ID in his hand with an arched eyebrow. He then looked down at the blonde teenaged girl smiling up at him, her wide smile almost identical to the one in the picture on the small card. Everything seemed to be in order but still something just felt a bit...off.
"Emily...Smith?" he asked suspiciously.
"Uh huh," the girl nodded, her twin pony tails shaking a bit with the motion.
"Is that any relation to old Mrs. Smith up on 26?"
"Totally! She's, like, my grandmother and I'm here for a surprise visit. It would be sooooo cool if you could just let me without telling her. You know, to keep the surprise,"she explained in a cheerful, bubbly voice.
"Well it is against the rules, but..." the doorman started but left his sentence hang as he looked her over.
The girl certainly looked innocent enough. Especially in the Catholic School Girl outfit she was wearing. He fought back a stupid grin as she shifted her weight from her left foot to her right one, causing the green plaid skirt to sway enticingly around her hips. He then looked down at the ID in his hand again and remembered that according to it she was only sixteen and so had to quickly push away any impure thoughts. He coughed nervously then handed the card back to her.
"Well you seem like a sweet enough kid and Mrs. Smith is a nice old lady so...yeah I'll let you go in. Just this one. It'll be our little secret," he said with a small wink as he pulled open the door.
"Oh thank you! Thank you so much mister! You don't know how much this means to me!" Emily cheered as she snatched the ID back and slid it back into her oversized purse.
She then jumped up a bit to give the doorman a quick kiss on the cheek before she practically bounded through the open door. This time he couldn't fight off the goofy grin as he watched her sashay her way to the elevator. She spun around on her heel, against causing her skirt to swing up temptingly, then blew him a kiss before the doors closed. Once she was out of his sight her cheerful smile turned into a crocked smirk.
"All too easy," she muttered to herself as she looked at the floor buttons. "Let's see...penthouse is usually the best place to start."
She pressed the metal button marked "P" then leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms under her chest. As she waited for the elevator to take her to the appropriate floor, she stared at her reflection in the well polished metal doors. She just had to shake her had head at how well the whole "bubbly blonde Catholic School Girl" routine worked. Again. She really didn't get it but it seemed like every time threw on this outfit and added a few "likes" and "ums" to her sentences and guys of all ages practically fell over themselves wanting to help her out. A few girls too. There was just something about this outfit that seemed to have magical powers of their own. While she didn't get it, she certainly used it to her advantage.
The whole "blonde bimbo" thing worked out well too. Not that that was a stereotype she was particularly proud of endorsing but it got the job done. Much like when she wore the school girl outfit, though, it seemed men were all to happy to assist the "helpless blonde girl". It was like it was hardwired into their brains. She always wondered how they'd react when they learned that "dumb blonde" pulled a massive con over on them. As fun as seeing those looks may be, however, it was always in her best interest to be long gone by the time they figured out they'd been had.
Her thoughts were brought to an abrupt end by the loud "ding" that signaled the elevator had stopped. She pushed herself off the wall and straightened out her plaid skirt before she poked her head out from the elevator doors. She looked up and down the hallway to make sure no one was milling about. When she was sure it was safe she stepped out into the hall and stood perfectly still. As the doors closed behind her she looked around again, this time for security cameras. Buildings like this usually had two mentalities when it came to cameras on their penthouse levels. Either they had them all over the place and recording all day to protect their residents wealth, or they had none so the more upstanding members of society couldn't be blackmailed for their little...indiscretions. Thankfully Gotham Plaza seemed to be the latter kind of building.
Emily smiled widely as she happily strode down the hallways, carefully inspecting the doors for her target.
"Eenie, meenie, minnie...you!" she declared as she stopped at the door near the end of the hall.
She knelt down in front of the lock and slipped the strap to her brown leather purse of her left shoulder. While the big, chunky thing certainly wasn't stylish, it was a good place to hold all the stuff she needed. Like her trusty lock picking kit. She fished it out from one of the side compartments and popped it open with a quick flip of her thumb. She hummed softly as she picked out the tools she needed and stuck them in the lock.
I still can't believe you can get the latest in high tech key cards for a hotel room these days but people are still relying on the old lock and key method for their own houses, she mused as she positioned the tools. Oh well, it just makes my job that much easier.
Her smile widened when she heard the telltale "click" of the lock giving way. She packed up her tools and the kit then slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. Thankfully it was well oiled so there was no irritating squeak to possibly give away her position. She opened it just enough for her to slip inside thought the crack then quickly, and quietly, push it shut again. She pulled a small flashlight out of her purse and started to walk around the spacious apartment in search of something worth stealing.
Hmmm...not bad, not bad at all, she thought as she looked around at all the expensive looking furniture and items. Couple of nice couches, big screen TV, great stereo system and...a whole lot of cat things.
She frowned a bit at all the paintings and sculptures of cats scattered throughout the living room. Which were in addition to the fancy pillows, toys and of course cat hairs all over the place. Sure signs of someone with more than one cat and pretty obsessed with them.
Probably some middle aged workaholic woman with no friends, no boyfriend and a messed up family so she just lives with her cats can calls them her 'babies' or something like that, she though in dismay. God those people are pathetic. Well at least she's gotta have a nice job considering all the stuff she has. Just hope there's something worth stealing.
She continued to snoop around the living room, occasionally adding something that looked valuable to her purse but the actual spoils were surprisingly low. She was beginning to wonder if she picked the wrong apartment. She was about to give up when she turned her flashlight towards a rather nondescript closet door next to a bookcase. It was the kind designed to look like a piece of the wall and probably would be missed by more than a few people with just a casual glance. In fact it was made for just that purpose; to be so plain and unassuming that you wouldn't give a second thought. Of course in her line of work anything that worked so hard to be so ordinary usually ended up having something extraordinary inside it.
Maybe this won't be a complete bust after all, Emily thought with a grin as she approached the closet.
A quick pass over with the flashlight and her own well trained eyes revealed the hidden clasp and she enthusiastically pulled the closet door open. Despite her usual adherence to stealth, she couldn't help but let out an audible gasp at what she found inside. Her eyes went wide as she mouth hung open and she dropped her flashlight. Even in the darkened room she could still see it though. There in the closet, hanging rather casually on a coat hanger, was a black leather body suit with a pair clawed tipped maroon gloves, black boots and mask with two large cat like ears on top. It even had a pair of orange tinted goggles shaped like cat's eyes attached to it.
That's when it all hit her. The outfit, the fancy apartment, all the cat themed stuff. There was only one person in Gotham who'd have all this stuff in one place. And it was really not someone she wanted to steal from or run into while she was stealing from her.
"Oh man, oh man, oh man," Emily muttered as she stepped backwards in shock.
Unfortunately her retreat was stopped when she gently bumped into something. Despite herself she let out a surprised shriek and quickly spun around in alarm. She was going to try to run away but the sudden spin combined with the over riding sense of panic she was feeling at the moment cause her to fall flat on her backside. She let out a pained groan but any discomfort she felt was quickly forgotten when she saw the figure standing before her. It was definitely not frumpy, wrinkled, house dressing wearing middle aged woman she first expected.
Instead the looked to be in her late 20's and in excellent shape. A fact accented by the black, silk nightgown she was wearing that stopped just above her knees. Her long, black hair shined in the moonlight that poured in from the room through the cracks in the blinds. It also helped to perfectly illuminate her piercing blue eyes that were narrowed at her. Of course none of that was what really caught Emily's attention. Rather it was the long, dangerous looking whip the woman held in her right hand that looked like it was ready to snap at her at any second. Then there were the three cats at her feet that looked just a ready to attack as their master did.
"Boy did you the wrong apartment to break into," Selina Kyle growled as she flexed her right arm and caused the whip to ripple a bit.
Emily continued to stare up in horrible for a few seconds before she started to crawl backwards in a futile attempt to get away from the whip wielding woman. Unfortunately she only got as far as the wall next to the closet she regretted opening. Her breath came in quick gasps as she tried to think of something she could say to save herself a rather brutal lashing.
"I-i-i-if you turn me over to the cops I'll tell 'em what I saw! I swear!" she sputtered lamely.
"The police?" Selina asked indignantly. "Pffft! What kind of self respecting thief to you take me for?"
"S-so you're...not gonna turn me in?" the blonde asked hopefully.
"Trust me, going to the police is not on the top of my 'To Do' list," she remarked and started to pace a bit. "But I can't just let you go either now that you've found out my secret."
"I won't tell anyone! I swear! I promise!"
"And I'm supposed to believe you...why?" Selina asked with an arched eyebrow.
Emily stuttered as she watched the cats pace back and fourth dangerously. After a few seconds she finally shook her head when she realized she couldn't come up with a valid reason.
"I suppose I could always leave you in the alleyway and let someone else take the credit for it," the nightie clad woman mused.
"No you can't!" the teenager shouted in surprise as she jumped to her feet.
Selina couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Relax I'm only joking."
"Thank God," Emily sighed in release.
"You're not used to getting caught, are you?"
"Well...this would be the first time."
"Really? Using nothing but that thing, huh?" she asked, pointing to the girl's large purse.
"Yeah. Well that and a few other things and outfits."
"So then you don't do this whole Catholic School Girl thing all the time then?"
"Not...all the time," Emily blushed a bit.
"Whatever works I suppose," Selina muttered with a shake of her head. "Still it's a bit fetishy don't you think?"
"Oh and a leather body suit and cat ears, isn't?" the teen thief shot back, jabbing her thumb towards the hanging costume.
The older thief smirked at the response. "Well you're not a spineless as you appear. Good. Least it should make this more interesting."
"Huh?"
Selina let out a soft sigh as she relaxed her posture which caused her cats to do the same before they wondered off to other parts of the apartment. She then walked over to the girl and held out a hand to help her up.
"If we're going to talk at least have the decency to stand up," she instructed.
"Talk?" Emily asked even as she took the offered hand.
"That's what I said," Selina retorted and pulled the girl to her feet.
"About what?" she asked as she dusted off her clothes.
"First I want to know who I'm talking to."
"Emily. Emily Smith."
The black haired thief narrowed her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips and stared at the girl. Emily tried to challenge her but quickly realized that that probably wasn't a good idea at the moment. She sighed and slumped her shoulders.
"Okay fine, Emily is my first name but my last name is really Draven," she explained.
"'Draven'?" Selina repeated with an arched brow.
"Would I really make a name like that?" the blonde challenged.
The older woman seemed to think about it. "Alright, good point. So, I'm assuming the fake name was to con you way into the building?"
"Yep. Smith's the most common last name in the country so I just go up to whoever I need to, tell 'em my name or flash them an ID and they just assume I'm related to someone in the building. It's nine times out of ten."
"Hmmmm....you know that's actually not bad. Little amateurish perhaps but not bad," Selina noted.
"Hey it's kept me alive this long," Emily noted.
"How long?"
"About four years now."
Selina tucked the hand holding her whip under her chin and paced a bit in thought. She then regarded the girl out of the corner of her eye.
"So that means you work alone then, right?" she questioned.
At that, Emily seemed to get rather uncomfortable. "Well...yeah. I mean I have a few people I've run into and worked with a few times but mostly I prefer to work alone."
"No family then?" she pressed.
The uncomfortable look on the blonde teen's face increased with the question. She looked down at the white and yellow titled floor to avoid eye contact before she moved over to the couch and plopped herself down on it. Selina crossed her arms over her chest as she carefully watched the girl. A tense moment of silence passed between them in the moonlit room. Once the silence threatened to become too overwhelming Emily finally spoke up.
"No. No family. Not for awhile now," she confessed softly.
Selina still seemed a bit guarded but at least showed some interest.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Why do you care?" the girl snapped bitterly.
"Don't you know that cats are naturally curious?"
"I know that usually doesn't end well for them."
"Then how about the fact that I'm the one with the whip?" Selina taunted as she casually waved the whip.
The young con artist growled a bit and crossed her legs and arms as she leaned back on the couch. She nevertheless relented and took a deep breath before she recounted her tale.
"When I was 12 my parents and I came to Gotham on a sight seeing tour. We stopped by a carnival and somewhere between the Tilt-A-Whirl and the cotton candy station I...lost them," she explained with a sullen expression. It quickly turned into a bitter one though as she continued. "Or rather they ran out on me. I looked for them everywhere and even went to the lost child hut the carnival set up. I sat there all day watching as other crying kids' parents came to pick them up, hoping that each time it was my parents walking through the door. But they never showed up. Course the cops wanted to put me in a foster home but I ran out on that and been living on my own ever since then."
Selina's face was impassive as she listened to the girl's story and studied her face and movements carefully.
"Well it's a good story but how I do know it's true. You are a con artist after all," she pointed out.
"I don't really care what you think!" Emily snapped, jumping to her feet. "It's true and if you don't believe me well than that's just your problem!"
"Okay, now I believe you."
The blonde blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
The older woman smirked as she moved to sit own the couch and motioned for the girl to do the same. Still feeling a bit lost, she did just that, staring intently at her lethal hostess.
"I believe you because anger like that can't be faked," Selina explained. "You could have rehearsed that speech and those emotions for years but when you get really mad you can't hide it."
"Huh. Never thought about it before," Emily muttered
"Which is what we're going to work on," she remarked as she picked up one of her cats laid it on her lap.
"'We'?"
"Yep. From your story it sounds like you're a stray. And aside from being a good thief, the other thing I'm really good is picking up strays. Isn't that right baby?" she cooed as she scratched the cat in her lap under it chin.
Ha! Knew it! Emily thought with a self satisfied smirk. It faded when she took in what Selina had said. "Wait, so what are we talking about here? You want to...adopt me or something?"
"'Or something'," she joked. "Like you I usually work alone but lately I've been thinking about getting a partner but it's so hard to know who to trust these days."
"And you really trust me?"
"At the moment I don't really have a choice. I don't think you'll tell anyone my secret but I'd rather keep you in my sights just to make sure. Plus with a bit of training you could be a pretty good thief yourself."
"Hey I'm already a really good thief thank you very much," Emily stated rather proudly.
"Then you could be a better one," the dark haired woman pointed out. "So what do you say?"
The blonde girl stared at her uncertainly for a few seconds before her gaze turned to the costume hanging in the closet that started this whole mess. It didn't sound like that bad a deal, honestly and was certainly better than anything she had going on right now. Plus if she was "adopted" by this woman then she'd at least have a stable place to live again. No more seedy hotels or soup kitchens that ask too many question. And it was a pretty nice place even with the cats. Still there was one thing that was bugging her.
"Am I gonna have to wear a costume?" she asked almost apprehensively.
"Oh yes," Selina smiled. "Like I said I've been in the market for my own Catgirl. Think you might be prefect fit."
"Do I really have to use that name?"
"That's the deal."
Emily thought it over for a bit longer.
"Alright fine," she relented. "But I want to design my own costume!"
"You drive a hard bargain," Selina smirked then held a hand out. "Put her there partner!"
The young thief took the hand and shook it weakly.
"Um...thanks," she remarked. "So...what do we do now?"
"Well we'll start your training tomorrow. For now," the raven haired woman paused as she stood up and stretched in a rather cat like manner, "I'm going back to bed. You can sleep on the couch if you want we'll work something else out later."
With that she started to slick off back to her room, leaving Emily alone in with only the light of the moon and her discarded flashlight. As she watched her new mentor walk away something else occurred to her.
"Hey waitaminute!" she called out. "You never told me you name!"
The other woman stopped and thought about that.
"Yeah I guess I didn't," she teased. "Well why not, I'm Selina. Selina Kyle. Now then Emily, good night get plenty of sleep because we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."
She gave a casual wave over her shoulder before she slipped into her bedroom and closed the door. Emily blinked a few times before she laid back on the couch and crossed her hands behind her head. She stared up at the dark ceiling for several seconds, trying to wrap her brain around the weird turn her already unusual life had just taken.
Selina Kyle. Catwoman. I broke into the apartment of Catwoman. And I just agreed to become her "Catgirl" sidekick, she reviewed in her head before she turned over onto her side. I really want to believe my life can't get any weirder than this but I think the weirdness has just begun.
The End...For Now.
Author's Notes: So here I am writing a fic I really shouldn't be writing. I honestly tried to fight this one back because it's something I'm sure has been done before already and really kinda gave me something else I didn't need to work on and did complicate things since I already have a Catgirl in my Kim Possible series. Not to mention I'm trying to limit the amount of OCs I'm putting in "The Batman" universe since there are already plenty of characters from the DC universe I could just adjust to that universe. But still this one just wouldn't leave me alone and was clawing to get out. Plus I just really wanted to post something here on FF.N since it's been two months since I posted my last chapter and I felt like having some activity on my account. That and I just really wanted to be able to write something and actually finish it in a day or so. Work's been so busy it's really set be behind on my current KP fic and that's just frustrating as hell.
So here we are. I know I left this completely open ended and that was on purpose. I didn't want to put a "To Be Continued..." because that feels like an obligation to have to follow up on that idea right away. I do plan on following up on this one I just have no idea when I'll do that. Hence the "For Now" tagged onto "The End" there. So I will bring on Emily as Selina's full fledged sidekick Catgirl at some point in time.
Just don't hold your breath for it.