I own nothing and no one.
Catwoman balanced on the edge of the roof reveling in the night air. It was a gorgeous night, especially for Gotham. She felt so alive! The diamonds she had acquired were tucked safely in her belt; the wind wound its way around her body, fluttering her hair. There was only one thing missing.
As if on cue a voice growled behind her. "Catwoman."
She spun delicately on the tip of one toe and bounced down to the rooftop, smiling with delight at the dark figure looming there. Other women would be terrified but her heart simply swelled.
"What took you so long, Tiger?" She purred as she danced over to him. Her fingers glided up the armour covering his chest. "I've been waiting."
"I want the diamonds, Catwoman. Now." Batman snarled.
"Oh." She shivered. "Let me think. Diamonds. Diamonds. Diamonds." She danced back out of range and turned round. "I guess you'll have to search me…if you can catch me."
"No." There was something brutal and final about the word that caused Catwoman to turn around.
"No?" She questioned.
"You heard me. The chase is over. Catwoman, Batman, it's finished. I'm not doing this dance anymore." He loomed over her. "Selina Kyle. Bruce Wayne, also finished. I'm done with you."
Selina swallowed hard. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke. "What about Di-?"
"Dick? Really?" Batman threw back his head and laughed. It was harsh and cruel. "You didn't honestly think that you ever had a chance of staying in his life, did you? I'm not letting you near him. Even if I did, he doesn't want to see you! You're a thief, nothing but a common criminal!"
He stepped forward and grabbed her arm. "Now give me the diamonds."
She struggled against him. "Let me go!"
"Fine, have it your way." He whispered softly. He released her with a shove. She stumbled backwards and was falling.
Selina jerked awake, heart pounding, gasping for air. She sat bolt upright in her bed, sending Isis tumbling. The cat meowed and rubbed against her.
Selina scrubbed her hands over her face and into her hair. "Just a nightmare, just a nightmare." She put her head on to her knees. Batman's words echoed in her head. I'm not letting you near him. Even if I did, he doesn't want to see you! You're a thief, nothing but a common criminal!
"What am I going to do, Isis?" Selina turned her head to look at cat, who placed a concerned paw on her leg. "What am I going to do?"
WAYNE MANOR
TWO WEEKS LATER
"Did I do something wrong?" Alfred and Bruce both started at the sound of Dick's miserable voice in the quiet kitchen. The boy was staring at his breakfast.
Bruce looked at Alfred quickly, who shook his head. "Why do you think you did something wrong?" He asked.
"It's been two weeks." Dick looked up at Bruce with tears shimmering in his eyes. "Selina hasn't called or come to see me or anything. Is she mad at me?"
"Selina would never be mad at you. You're her favourite person." Bruce smiled at him. "I haven't seen her or talked to her either."
"Did you do something to make her mad?" The little boy asked his eyes wide.
"Yes, Master Bruce," Asked Alfred. "did you do something?"
Bruce stared at Alfred for a moment. "No. I did not do something. Selina isn't mad at me. Or Dick. Or anyone else. I'm sure she's just busy with her Foundation. Or something." Now that he thought about there had been no sign of Catwoman for the last two weeks. It wasn't like Selina and Catwoman hadn't disappeared before but there had never been an eight year old depending on her make some sort of an appearance in his life previously. "I'll look into it. Okay?"
Dick nodded and poked at his breakfast. "Okay."
SELINA KYLE'S PENTHOUSE
Two days later Bruce let himself into Selina's apartment with his key. It looked exactly the same as it had the last time he had been there to check on her whereabouts – empty. No sign of Selina, Isis was gone as well. His admin had called Selina's to schedule a meeting. She had reported back that Selina was out of the country unexpectedly but that Selina's admin, Andrea, would contact them as soon as she got back. At this point, Andrea didn't know when that would be.
Bruce had checked all of Selina's known aliases, not one had crossed a border anywhere. Facial recognition software had not yet picked her up anywhere either but she was exceptional with disguises. All of the safehouses he knew about showed no signs of being used. There was no hint of Selina or Catwoman anywhere in the world.
At the sound of the door opening Bruce faded back into the shadows. A slim figure slipped in and opened the cat carrier she held in one hand.
"There you go, Isis. Safely back home."
"Selina."
Selina started and stared up at him. Bruce studied her. She looked tired and not quite right somehow.
"Bruce. What are you doing here?" She asked softly.
"I could ask you the same question." He responded.
"I live here." She laughed recovering.
"True but you disappeared off the face of the planet without a word to anyone for over two weeks." Bruce paused. "Dick is worried."
Selina froze and then closed her eyes for a moment. "I had something to do. It didn't go quite as planned. I'm –"
"Were you on a job?" Bruce snarled. "Dick's been sick with worry while you disappeared on a job?"
"There's nothing to worry about. I'm here, aren't I?" Selina snarled back. "I can take care of myself."
"He's a little boy who's lost enough already! He doesn't need to worry about losing you because you're out stealing." Bruce growled at her.
"But it's perfectly okay if he worries about losing you while fighting crime!" She snapped.
"I don't disappear without any good reason!" He glared at her. "Besides, you know perfectly well that the two are completely different."
"Get out."
He stopped moving completely. "What?"
"You heard me. Get out." She waited for two minutes after he closed the door silently behind him before she collapsed on to the couch with tears streaming down her face. Isis crawled up into her lap to snuggle. Selina curled into the couch cushions and cried herself to sleep.
KYLE FOUNDATION OFFICES
FOUR DAYS LATER
"Mr. Tierney, what can I do for you today?" Selina juggled her phone to her ear as she scrolled through the reports on her computer screen. "I don't usually talk to my lawyer this often in one week unless something is going on with the Foundation. Nothing is going on is it?"
"No, Miss Kyle, the Foundation is fine." The lawyer cleared his throat. "It's in regards to the failsafe you had us put in to place when you went away couple of weeks ago."
"The one I gave you instructions to cancel a few days ago?" She said stiffly.
"Yes, that one." He cleared his throat again. "We have, we have a student working with us, learning as it were, and an error was made. Not a huge one, and I'm sure, seeing as how you're friends it can be easily corrected."
"What kind of error, Mr. Tierney?" She demanded.
"The letter to Mr. Wayne was couriered to his home today." He said weakly.
"Of course it was." She cursed silently. "I'll handle this, Mr. Tierney."
"Thank you so much, Miss Kyle."
Selina pressed fist to the center of her forehead and groaned as she hung up the phone. This was not going to be the highlight of her week.
WAYNE MANOR
ONE HOUR LATER
Selina found Bruce sitting behind the big desk that had belonged to his father in the study holding the open letter. She loved to watch him sit at that desk, knowing what it meant to him. The memories he had of time spent there with his father. Unfortunately, there was no time for that.
"You're not supposed to have read that. I'm not dead." She said lightly from the doorway.
"It says 'In The Event of My Death or Disappearance' Selina." He frowned at her.
"Well then still applies. I'm right here." She posed better in case he'd missed that.
"You did disappear though." A lesser observer might have missed his eyes sweeping over her. "Why am I getting this now?"
"Semantics, Bruce." You can do this Selina. As Selina Kyle or Catwoman she could bring men to their knees. It was harder with Bruce but she knew him, hoped he couldn't just turn off his attraction to her, at least enough to get her through this. Be calm, pretend this isn't a big deal and you'll get out of this. She strolled towards him, stopping on the opposite side of the old desk. "Mix up at the lawyers; you were never supposed to get it. I'll just take it back and we'll forget it ever existed."
She leaned slightly forward, reaching for the paper. His large hand closed over her wrist and she froze.
"We need to talk." He said.
"You don't do that but thanks for the thought." She smirked.
"I jumped to conclusions." He sighed.
Emerald eyes jumped to meet sapphire ones. Selina exhaled and eased down into a chair. "I didn't exactly try to correct you. Fault on both sides."
"Why? What happened?" He questioned.
"Are you going to let me go?" She gave a gentle tug on her wrist.
He gave her a slight smile. "Are you going to stay?" She nodded after only a brief hesitation and he released her wrist. She pulled her hand through his enjoying the warmth. He was always so warm.
"Selina Kyle is clean. The Foundation is clean. All of the money, once it gets anywhere near either me or the Foundation is clean. No one even knows that Catwoman even is Selina Kyle since someone was so generous as to near turn me over and no one else could catch me. I was never stupid enough to let the underworld know who I was." Selina took a deep breath and sat up straighter. "I needed to make Catwoman clean. Her offshore accounts aren't really a problem. They're in places that can't be tracked and for what I intended her to do next its better if she has separate funds from Selina Kyle. Making her clean meant making sure everyone knows she's no longer available for contract. It will take time for everyone to believe but they will. Still some people had to be told in person. That didn't go well. "
"You were injured." Bruce got up and rounded the desk. It made sense, something had been off the night he had seen her in her penthouse. He crouched in front of her and started pulling her blouse out of her skirt. She put her hands on his arms to stop him.
"I can undress myself." She sighed. She unbuttoned the blouse and pulled it off. The bruising on her back and side was mostly a sickly yellow at this point, a good deal of it covered by the wrapping on her ribs.
He ran his hands gently over her injured flesh. "Selina." He said softly.
"You should see the other guys." She joked.
"Not funny."
"No, but worth it. Catwoman's out." She smiled at him.
"You could have been killed." His eyes flashed.
"Still would have been worth it." The smile was sad this time. "I would have died on the good side of the law, or at least trying to be, and Dick would have millions. The half that didn't go to charity anyway."
"You did this for Dick."
"I'm pretty sure the letter specified that or did you not get that far?" She smirked at him.
"I did but I just – he wouldn't have wanted you to get yourself killed trying." Bruce told her.
"Better that than to disappear or die doing a job." She responded, her eyes flicking away.
"I didn't mean that." He said softly.
Her eyes flicked back. "Maybe not but it doesn't make it any less true. Catwoman's made a statement – she fights for the good guys now. Once those nine lives are used up I might get through the Pearly Gates. So. Truce?"
"I have a better idea – can we forget that fight happened and say I missed you? Dick wasn't the only one sick with worry." He stroked his thumb over her cheek.
"That sounds," She took a breath in and let it out. "really good to me." He leaned forward to kiss her and she stopped him with hand on his chest. "There's one thing. That statement I made? It was pretty big. You might be getting some ummm, concerned calls from colleagues soon."
Something like humour glittered in Bruce's eyes. "Oh, how I've missed you." He crushed her against him and kissed her.
"Bru- Bru-Bruce. Hu-hurts!" Selina finally gasped.
"Selina! I'm sorry! I'm going to have Alfred check those ribs." Selina just nodded weakly against his chest as he carried her to the couch and yelled for Alfred.
If Selina truly wanted to have a life with Bruce she was going to have to give up her life of crime. It just couldn't continue and getting out wasn't going to be easy. For the purposes of my universe Dick was more as much her motivation as Bruce so she get out of the game early on and plans to be a hero.