"It's not so bad, I guess," I gave my mom a smile that I hoped she believed. The rain was coming down in showers, and we hadn't even bothered to bring an umbrella. For someone who had once been Catwoman, mom didn't seem to mind getting wet a whole lot. Truth was I missed Paris and the school I'd been to there, and American high school in New Gotham just wasn't all that. I was bored. I was lonely, and I missed my friends. "I'm sure I'll get used to it."
"I'm sorry," Selina Kyle said pulling me against her in a one armed hug. "I just thought it was time that we came home."
"Home was Paris or Rome. I really love Rome, and London, god I miss London mom."
"I know Kitten," she said as we stopped for a red light, brushing some of my dark hair out of my face. "But it was time. It wasn't fair to your father to keep you away from him."
"Kept me away for almost sixteen years mom," I said with a shrug as we watched the light change, and dashed across the busy street. One thing I did have to say for American drivers, they were less likely to run you over on the sidewalk than they were in Europe, especially Italy where I'd found out just how high I could jump avoiding a careening mini once. "Some world's greatest detective he turned out to be. Didn't even know he knocked you up."
"Helena!"
"Well it's true. I mean, shouldn't he have noticed. I, mom, you didn't exactly wear baggy clothes!" We both started laughing so hard that we had to stop walking. I'd seen her Catwoman costumes. There had been so many over the years and not a one left anything to the imagination, and he was the Batman. Shouldn't he have known?
The rain came down harder, drenching us both to the skin. It was cold, but I didn't mind. I could see that mom was starting to have enough of it though. Her inner cat was starting to forget that she wasn't a tiger, and didn't like water. I didn't mind the rain. I think I liked it really, must be all the bat blood in me or something.
"Well, I wasn't exactly known for holding still long enough for him to notice." She laced her fingers in mine, and we picked up the pace. Our penthouse wasn't far now, only a couple of blocks. A trio of New Gotham's finest shot past us sirens and lights shattering the beauty of the night with their noise. I felt my heart rate pick up as they went by, and had to fight the urge to follow them to see what was going on. "Don't you dare. Curiosity killed the cat little Kitten."
"I know mom. I was just wondering what's up." More cop cars went by. I found myself paying more and more attention to the rain soaked street and the sky. Wondering when He'd show up. Where was the Batman? I'd met Bruce Wayne. He was a git. Had no more use for me than I did him. Pretended to be happy to find out he had a kid, but I couldn't see any happiness in his blue eyes. They had just been cold. There really is no Bruce Wayne anymore, mom tried to explain to me. He's just a mask that Batman wears. I think she should have just brought me up on a rooftop somewhere to wait for him to go by. Maybe the Batman would have been more interesting and interested in me than Bruce had been, but I doubted it.
It was my fault that it happened. I was craning my neck back, looking up into the rain trying to catch any sight of his cape when it happened. A guy bumped into us – hard. Mom slammed right into me. She was Catwoman. She never lost her balance! I watched while the rain poured down as she fell onto the sidewalk. The only color I could see was red. Her blood was everywhere. I fell to my knees besides her, pressing my hands against the deep wound trying to save her life. "MOM! Someone help me! MOM!"