I will say this once and only once: All characters and names and titles do not belong to me. They belong to DC Comics and whatever other respective owners they have. I am not affiliated with anyone. I own nothing but my plots and my own rants and side notes. Thank you and enjoy.

Strangers in the Night

Chapter One - Strange Encounters

Selina walked in to her dark apartment. She threw her keys into a bowl on a shabby table set next to the door and kicked her heels off, all the while loosening her hair which has been held uptight in a serious bun. This had been a routine for the past three years in which she lived by herself. Being alone took a toll on her but she never let anyone tell, except for maybe her cat, Isis, who had kept her company during the long nights with tear-filled eyes and mouth stuffed with Ben & Jerry's.

She had barely made it into her half-kitchen when the doorbell rang, announcing an unwanted visitor. Sighing, Selina sucked it up and made her way towards the main entrance of her humble abode. Without checking who it was, a bad habit Tom had admonished her on time after time, she opened the door to encounter a young blonde girl with big doe eyes. She wore a bright yellow shirt and a mundane brown skirt with a tell tale sash going across her torso, displaying several badges of courage and accomplishments. Her eyes shone with innocence as she held up a box of "Julie's Chocki Chips" and she spoke in a high pitched voice:

"Good evening, ma'am. My name is Candy Smithins and I am a proud girl scout. I come here all the way from Metropolis in hopes of-"

The door slammed on the young girl as Selina turned on her heal and continued to make her way towards her kitchen. After a couple of seconds, she heard the resigned pitter patter of small feet fade away as they made their way down the apartment building and eventually, outside.

Selina wasn't always like this. At least, that's what she'd like to say. She was raised in a modest home with quiet parents. That is, until her father was fired from his day-job at LexCorp and drank himself into oblivion. His anger was hard to handle, and thus he took it out on his poor wife, Maria Kyle. When she wasn't around, wallowing in her bedroom, Brian Kyle would abuse his daughters, Selina and Magdalene. Selina, often being brave would take most blows until her father was tired and he'd pass out, sparing her sister all the gruesome pain. Eventually, her mother had given up on everything and had then committed suicide, leaving Selina and Maggie on their own with their ill-minded father. When social workers found out about their predicament due to the girls constant absence in school, they had the girls separated and placed in foster homes.

Then things seemingly got worse. Her next "father" had taken a liking to Selina's curvaceous body; lean, strong and ample. Needless to say, he abused her in a different manner. Selina, at the age of sixteen, got tired of his ways and placed a sedative in his food one day, rendering him unconscious for a day or two; long enough for Selina to escape.

She then encountered Ted Grant, who took her under his wing and taught her everything he knew. She learned how to fight, how to predict her opponent's next move, and how to be sly when needed. This all added up to make her an expert thief, a talent she realized she had when she was merely eighteen years old. But her moral standards and her love for her sister were enough to keep her from sinking so low.

So she then did all she could do: Search for Maggie. She searched for a year for a Magdalene Kyle and eventually found her living with a remote family in Oregon. The family was a low-middle class family who could hardly support themselves and their three kids, excluding Maggie. After a month of knowing this Maggie and her new family, Selina was told that her young fifteen year old sister was diagnosed with Leukemia. Selina felt desperate and miserable, she had no way to help her sick sister or her poor family. No money to give them and no comfort either, since she lived in Gotham and couldn't buy a second ticket to Oregon.

That's when she met Tom. Tom was a bit older than the men she usually dated, being ten years her senior. He was thirty when they first met at Gotham Central Bank, where he worked at. She had come in to ask to take money out of her account, only to realize she was a couple dollars short of a thousand dollars. Tom offered his condolences by taking her out for a cup of coffee. The cup of coffee turned into lunch dates, which turned into dinner dates which would then result in late nights, and even went as far as moving in together.

Tom, realizing his girlfriend's desperation to save her sister, offered to help and she, without hesitating thanked him profusely and accepted his offer. Three months later she was receiving news that Maggie had been improving and had only one small payment of twelve thousand dollars to complete the pay for the treatment. Only then would she really be cured. Tom, having heard of this, withdrew exactly twelve thousand dollars to give Maggie and was making his way to Selina's apartment when he was ambushed.

Seven men cornered him in the famous "Crime Alley" where two of Gotham's most prominent members had died once, and where another resident would. They shot him thirteen times in the chest and once on the knee. This was accurate because Selina had the memory of acknowledging the body burned into her memories. And before she knew it, her boyfriend was dead, and her sister was dying.

Since no one could pay for chemotherapy, Maggie had two weeks left to live, furthering plunging Selina into a deep abyss of depression. Two weeks later, a letter of condolences came in the mail from the Jones family who had adopted Maggie. They spoke about how grateful they were because of her actions towards her sister and they thanked her for everything she and Tom had done. They told her of how Maggie never went a single day without speaking of her "Brave Sister Selina" and how she cherished the girl and the ground she walked on.

This letter brought Selina to tears and she thought that people this good and gracious should't deserve such poverty. They had taken Maggie in and supported her, when they could hardly support themselves. She had to repay them someway, even if it was the last thing she did. And so, this quest brought an idea to her mind. She would use her plundering expertise to gain money and give them to the poor.

And that's exactly what she did. She stole from small antique stores and thrift shops and eventually museums and galleries. She became so good at her job, she did it quite often. But not often enough to get people to notice there was a trend. She would give some of her findings to those poor unfortunate souls in the East End of Gotham. She felt that even though she was doing a heinous crime, she was getting some good out of it.

So in reality, she was a good person on the inside. Sort of. Except for the fact that she stole and she beat up men who tried to hurt her or the innocent. Well, she can't be all good either. I mean, ask the Caped Crusader for example. He doesn't seem to be her biggest fan, and that's saying a lot, seeing as it took a while for him to notice her. But notice her he did. And he noticed her well.

It was one night, Selina was out in the fire escape, watching the night sky as it twinkled with stars and the hopes of innocent children. She saw a black figure jump from the corner of her eye. Squinting, she could barely make out a tall figure…and a cape…and some pointy ears….My god! It was the infamous Batman! He was real! All those stories, all those tales and legends she had heard of the masked vigilante. She never once believed them. That is, until that very second. She was mesmerized as she watched him dance across the skyline, jumping from building to building until he located the crook and dove in a graceful dive.

Selina had sighed and made a vow that she would catch his attention. But how? Isis purred at her and jumped onto her lap, giving Selina all the inspiration she needed. She hastily located some pieces of leather and sewed them together. Piece after piece, making a skin-tight leather cat suit with the minor stitching hardly noticeable. She zipped up some black knee-high boots and donned a cat-like mask, making sure to tuck in all those voluminous curls. Once she was done, red lipstick and thick liner and all, she grabbed a whip Tom had once kept as decoration (for god knows what reason) and decisively made her way towards the fire escape.

The Catwoman was born.

She remembered all the lessons WildCat had once forced her to endure, and, in a minutes time, was leaping off the fire escape and onto the neighboring building. A rush of adrenaline had filled her with excitement, her pulse quickening as she realized she wanted more. Running so as to get an impulse, she leaped again…and again…and again, until she was in front of Wayne Tower, the most formidable tower yet. Before she made ascended towards the tower, a small object seemed to shine from the corner of her eye. In a jewelry store just adjacent to the building she was in, was a diamond ring that shone like the stars in the sky that night.

Her mind was screaming at her to grab it, that she had helped people enough and now it was her time to be selfish. Her conscious was telling her not to, that she would get caught and would probably harm others in the process. Then a mischievous smile graced her face as she remembered that her sole purpose for being outside was to attract a certain tall, dark, and handsome stranger. And that was motivation enough.

With a smile, she jumped off the ledge of the building and into the vacant sidewalk where the occasional car would make itself known. Once the coast was clear, she jaywalked across the street and made her way into the alley next to the jewelry store. Climbing up the fire escape and onto the roof where she broke through the vent to make her way in, The Cat slid through the small opening, sliding down until she landed on the marble floor with a quiet thud. She didn't seem to notice that the motion sensors had alerted the police and The Bat that she was there, but Selina was too engrossed in the shiny "toy" that she didn't notice a black shadow behind her.

"Who are you?" a deep voice grunted, forcing the hairs on Selina's body to stand up and give her chills as his voice rang throughout her entire being. When she didn't reply, the man inquired again, this time with more fervor. This made her jump a little.

"Well, well, well. Whaddaya know?" Selina smiled to herself as she forced her voice to be deeper and more seductive. Turning on her heal, she flashed the Bat a smile, trying to hide her shock at how close he really was and how she could finally see all of his features.

He was tall, about 6'2 (A towering height to her 5'7) and well built. But that didn't seem to be a proper description of the man. His kevlar suit made his muscles seem bulkier, made him seem stronger and more formidable. They were huge and protruding, impressive as well. Every part of him was toned, which made Selina wonder if every part was as impressive as his physique showed to be. His late cape made him seem less human, like a looming demon, and his mask made his face seem square and outlined his jaw. And not to mention he had these icy blue eyes that stood out like a sore thumb from all the black. They were deep and full of memories. Full of terror and misery. Full of secrets.

Prrrr.

"Looks like the Batsy here has come to crash my party." she pouted as she walked around him in circles. "Well, that won't do, because ya see, Bats, I really want that shiny ol' rock over there and I don't think you're going to let me take it." She took a bold step and draped herself over his shoulder blade.

"You're right." he grunted again.

Selina frowned. "You don't seem to be the talking type, eh? Well, I'm just gonna get out of your hair right now…." What the Bat had yet to notice was the fact that a small diamond ring was in the inner pockets of Selina's leather suit, something she hoped would be kept up until she had left the premises.

However, before she could make it back up the air vent, a strong hand grasped her ankle and pulled her down roughly, causing her to fall onto the ground once more. "Me-OW! Didn't your Momma ever teach you to never manhandle a lady?" She was met with silence. "Well, if you wanna play…let's."

She swung a kick at him, which was quickly stopped by the strong force known as his arm. She was shocked momentarily, not expecting him to be so quick. Who are you kidding, she thought, it's Batman. And despite her thoughts, she continued her ministrations, trying to land a good one on him. While he was distracted by the same old curl that kept sneaking out of its place, Selina managed to punch him squarely in the jaw, making him stop out of the shock. With that window of opportunity, she kneed his gut and elbowed him onto the floor, where he collapsed with a grunt. She placed a leather clad foot on his chest and whispered: "Listen, Bats. You seem like a nice guy, but tough luck, I don't like nice guys. You get in the way of too many things. I promise not to get in your hair a lot, unless I really want to. But if you're ever interested in meeting me again, I'll be perched on top of Wayne Corp at midnight, every night…I have a feeling I won't be needing to give you directions."

She was met with silence again.

"Suit yourself. Hasta luego, Bat Boy." And with that she disappeared into the night, leaving a baffled and disgruntled Batman in her wake.

AN: Thank you for reading this little plot that has been bubbling in my mind for the past whatevers. I don't promise strictly consistent updates, but I do promise the eventual completion of this story, which is more than what can be said about more than half of these BatCat stories.

Tell me what you think: Yay or Nay?

And have a purrfect day,

-MM