Title : Under Your Skin
Author : Madd13
Rating : M for later chapters
Disclaimer : All credit to DC Comics to the creation of all characters involved.
Summery : They've been at it for years, getting under each other's skin. They've finally had enough.
"Calm down, big guy. When have I ever messed with you?" The Cat asked, taking slow steps backwards. The only thing keeping her safe right now was the bear in her hands. Her claws were out but she wasn't digging them into the stuffed animal. Yet. She would be dead faster than she could say teddy bear if she actually hurt the ball of fluff. She didn't understand why Bane left it just laying about. If it was really that special to him, one would think he would keep it tucked somewhere safe.
The giant of a man continued to move forward. "You are messing with me now," He pointed out. Excellent argument. Catwoman was in Bane's house, rooting through his things. "I'm doing this as a favor for someone. He didn't tell me who's place I was breaking into." The wall was only feet behind her. She would have to find a different way out of here. Maybe appealing to his intellect would appease him enough. He was smart enough to see her logic.
"Come on, Bane. You're the man who broke the Bat. I can fight him to a stand still, sure, but Big B is still twice my size. If you can break him, you could kill me," She stated, still holding the bear out in front of her like a shield. Her words did make Bane pause. He was considering her position now. "You know I'm a survivor first and foremost. If you were me, would you really try going up against you?" Ah, and the real reason why she would never think to pit herself against someone easily four times her size. He was a big man all on his own. His natural physique was more than enough to put her down.
If he went back on Venom then she was little more than a bug to him. Was he beatable? Probably. Was she going to test that? Hell no!
Bane was working through her reasoning, really thinking over what he knew of her and their situation now. "You are correct. You are no match for me physically. It would, indeed, be unwise for you to try me. Tell me, who sent you and what for?" He asked. The anger from his face was slowly ebbing away, but Selina could tell he was still irritated that she had his bear. "Don't you worry about him, Jolly Green. I'll take care of this one," She growled. Oh, how this guy was going to get a beating for sending her here.
Slowly, gently, Catwoman leaned down and carefully placed Osito on the floor. She eased away from the bear then took off for the nearest window to jump out of. She hurriedly made her way back into the city and toward her new target. He was so dead meat.
/
Noah was in the hospital. He was being treated for a few broken fingers and a broken nose. The nose was easy to work around. Calculator's tinkering was going to be on hold for a little while though. It was hard to work on computers with all that bandaging getting in the way. Selina smirked at the thought. Now he was going to owe her big time. Sending her for some random items in Bane's house came with a big ticket price. As far as she was concerned, the things Noah had wanted were barely better than baubles. He could make reproductions of the "artifacts" and done what he needed with those.
She tsked as she wandering down an aisle frowning at all the stuffed animals staring at her. Maybe it was because she had never had one as a child, but these things creeped her out. Still, she felt almost obligated to buy one. She was hoping that this little peace offering would keep Bane off her tail. He might have seen her reasoning, but breaking into his home was still disrespectful. Something like that, anyway. He would be the type to get his feathers ruffled for such a small infraction. At least she didn't actually take anything.
A sharp tap behind her drew her attention away from the shelves. Selina turned and immediately regretted it. "Is there a child in your life I am unaware of? May I meet the little squirt?" Edward asked with an annoying smile. The raven haired woman scowled as she spoke, "There's no kid and you wouldn't be allowed near it if there was. What are you doing here?" She would say he probably followed her, but this was the first time in a few months that she had seen him.
In fact, Edward had been rather silent around the city for some time. She knew he had been laying low while trying to accustom himself to his new reformed life. However, he just had a loud personality so it seemed odd that no one had really heard from him. Ozzie had been oddly put off by this. The Penguin had always been a strange bird though so it seemed reasonable that these two flocked together.
The auburn haired man waved off the question. "Everyone needs to do a little shopping now and then. As an upstanding citizen of this crime-ridden city I am entitled to purchase things," He answered. Despite the mildly harsh tone he received, the former criminal master mind brushed it off. He was all too used to those around him being a little less than friendly. Okay, a lot less than friendly. In fact, this was down right amiable on his scale. If he thought such encounters counted for anything, this would be a big old win.
That had nothing to do with the mystery of why Selina Kyle, a woman with no children in her life, was looking at stuffed animals. The woman in question grabbed a bear with a pink bow around its neck. "Stop staring at me," She hissed, uncomfortable with the scrutiny and disliking that she was doing this for Bane. It was to try and cover her ass, but it still didn't sit right with her. As she walked forward, Edward lightly grabbed her arm.
"Do you need something to cuddle in the middle of the night?" He whispered, leaning in close. "I can think of something better." The expression on his face suggested that he was the thing that could replace the teddy bear. She shoved him away, disgusted at his overture. "Actually, if you want to replace the teddy bear, I'll tell Bane that you'll be Osito's wife." That seductive look on Edward's face vanished and he paled. Like Selina, he was a survivalist and his thought process mirrored her own when it came to Bane. The master mind could probably think circles around Bane, but there were few that he could physically fight. He was a scrapper at best and he had to run sooner rather than later.
He cleared his throat and straightened his tie. "Well, perhaps I shall just accompany you around the store. Wouldn't want any hooligans pestering such a lovely lady," He amended, feigning being a gentleman. If he really tried, he probably could, but Selina knew better. Edward could be hard to intimidate but Bane just had that effect on people. Oddly, his obsession with his teddy bear didn't detract from the fact that he could break their bones with one hand.
The feline fatale rolled her eyes and tried to hurry off. They both knew that she could handle "hooligans" better than he could. Still, Edward was hard to shake off and he easily caught up with her with his long gait. Selina was unaware that this meeting was all circumstance. He was trying to shake someone himself, and ducked in here. Now that he had her at his side, he was going to use her as a shield if need be. He would enjoy the change until he gained a new set of scratches or they were able to part without him getting ambushed.
Green eyes drifted to the sassy woman. "What happened with Bane?" He asked quietly, knowing that if he was too pushy she would just clam up. Catwoman was a tough nut to crack in general, but thankfully he was still able to read her at least a little. That had to be one of the more attractive qualities about her; Selina could still be such a mystery. His question did earn him a frown though. "A misunderstanding. Peace offering," She answered, holding up the bear. Well, that did answer his questions. Now he understood why she had been looking at the stuffed animals.
He really wanted to know what this misunderstanding was, but that would be pushing his luck. Since he still needed his shield he couldn't question her more about it. Some other time then. He contented himself with watching those around them wander to and fro, going about their business. It was difficult for him to settle into such normalcy. He really didn't see the point in trying to be a typical person after so many years of being something so far above ordinary.
The pair stepped up to a line, both ready to leave. Edward, the reckless and daring person that he was, pressed against Selina. His arms went around her waist. For the barest of moments, normal wouldn't have seemed so bad if this would have been part of his daily life. The low growl coming from the woman he was curled around was the first thing that put a little fear in him. She might not have her claws, but Selina was certainly capable of drawing blood.
The second thing that actually made him let go was the shrill voice behind them. "Mister N?" The blond calling for Edward was turned away from them as the puzzle master glanced to see where he was. "Sorry, my cute kitten. Really must dash," He whispered, his hands lightly sliding over her hips as he hurried away. The Cat was mildly dumbfounded. That had been one of the more abrupt exits from Nygma that she had seen. Well, now she knew how to sent him running.