Disclaimer: Don't own anything except original characters. All material (c) to respective owners. I write these for fun and make no profit. They're just random plot bunnies that live within my strange mind.
AN: This story is a AU. Batman will be mention but this revolves mostly around the villain of the story and issues with Selina Kyle (Catwoman)
Chapter 1: Visits & Returns
What on earth was she thinking doing this? Again she had let her cousin win her over with a promise that in Gotham city she could find another designing job. Granted she had enjoyed her time in college and once she found her first job was happy, but it wouldn't last since the biggest of their accounts had fallen through. 'Regal Heights Designs' had collapsed in on itself after the owner managed to get in over his head, which forced her job to disappear along with many others. She didn't want to start all over in a new place, she had rather liked working in the small town several miles away from Gotham city, and she liked the quiet and seclusion it offered. She had heard countless times about the mischief within the city and the strange 'Batman' that protected the residents and their homes within the brick loud masses, she was also very aware of the criminals within the city and the true promise of chaos. She didn't want that life, but found herself with little choice.
No job would mean no home and she would be in trouble eventually. The problem with small towns in her case was little jobs for her skills and little hope of having any other choices than to take Selina's offer to stay with her for a while. "Sometimes my cousin is far too persuasive." She considered how often she had let the woman talk her into things and groaned miserably.
She hated to travel and the noise of the other passengers on the train was giving her a bit of a tension headache. She had enclosed herself in one of the travel booths, thankful no one had tried to join her or make conversation. She had enough on her mind and the last thing she needed was more stress to add to it. She assumed by the next day her feet would ache, her head would hurt far worse and she would be completely exhausted before she found a job. She had only given it one day because a city the size of Gotham was very likely full of designer jobs and being skilled in house design, and dress design was why she could qualify easily for one of those jobs.
Attention passengers, we will be arriving at Gotham Station in twenty minutes. Please gather your items and step to your nearest exit.
She mimicked the voice sarcastically before glaring down at herself reserved to face a new life, even if she had liked her old one far better. She brushed at her black pinstripe pants and adjusted her matching blazer, before sliding her white shirt back into place around her hips. She gather her two black leather carry-on bags, and made a brisk exit into the tiny hall for her nearest way off the train.
Selina stood among the familiar station wondering why she was so anxious to hide from he cousin. She and Grace had always been like sisters, but then she considered her recent issues and new found nightlife. She cringed mentally at how Grace would react; she didn't need this stress on top of somehow managing a slow growing relationship with Bruce.
Strangely neither had spoken of the day Max Shreck had died at her hand, or the Penguin better known as Oswald Cobblepot had died in that murky sewer. Her mind drifted to those moments of revealing between her and Bruce, they each shared one another's secret and it had brought them closer. 'Catwoman' and 'Batman' were now known to one another, but they still kept their lives separate at all costs, she was after all still considered a criminal.
She smirked slightly her catty self seeming to appear in a familiar fashion, before she glanced up around her environment for the hundredth time that afternoon. The station was gray, silver and very dismal. Wooden benches stretched cross the white tiled floor and lead into the railway tunnels before her like snakes slithering to their home. There were so many people that day she was half worried she would miss Grace's appearance, but reassured herself that Grace would never miss her unruly look.
Unfortunately in her haste that morning she hadn't had a chance to attempt to tame her wild short curly blond locks, or managed to make herself the business presentable she had been so accomplished at. Her black sweater was wrinkled and gray pleated skirt looked as though it had seen better days, scratching at her legs reminding her how much she despised the wool it was made out of. Her only presentable thing at the moment was a small smile seeing the large silver train come into the tunnel and starting to slow.
Grace glanced up at the last call before sighing miserably at the gloomy outlook of searching for another job in a large city. She paused long enough to pull her waist length straight brown hair off her shoulders and closed her eyes letting out a soft snort, knowing Selina would not approve of how she had streaked it with red weeks before her last job went down the drain. She felt the red gave her character and her own sort of personal touch.
Once she stepped onto the platform and thanked a man for her luggage carrier, her search led her into the largely crowded station. She found herself almost withdrawing into herself, why did it have to have so many people and she wondered why Selina wasn't there at her side to rescue her.
She glanced up at a familiar voice and allowed her soft green eyes to roam the station. "GRACIE SABLE!" she loathed that childish nickname Selina seemed so adamant about using during her visits and frowned menacingly among the crowd. "GRACIE? WHERE ARE YOU?" finally spotting the familiar wild curly blond bob, Grace easily maneuvered herself through the onlookers feeling her face heat at the inquisitive stairs.
"Thanks so much for the attention Selina Kyle." She stopped her silver cart in front of Selina giving her a firm unappreciative glare, she was not happy with her greeting or the stares around her. Slowly those familiar blue eyes met hers taking in her appearance, which made her realize she would hear more of a lecture than greeting in minutes.
Slowly Selina took in her cousins appearance, the suit was common choice in her normal fashion sense because Grace had always been a bit on the bookish side. Selina noticed she had paled considerably since her last visit, normal excited soft green eyes oddly cold, her first impression of Grace was she had left to visit family for a funeral. Her eyes then fell on the red streaks within the brown curtain around her back and shoulders; Selina felt her mouth form into a thin line and shook her head.
"Gracie what did you do to your hair?" her tone indicated no nonsense and the saddened look on her expression reminded Grace exactly why she hadn't felt like seeing her cousin right away.
Grace shrugged stifling a sarcastic comment, before following Selina carefully to the station exit. "It fit my personality at the time…I think I should dye it black now, just to annoy you." She smirked seeing Selina give her a dirty look, before she realized her cousin no longer wore the black owl like glasses and stopped outside the station. "Where are your glasses Selina?" she couldn't resist the mocking tone in her voice.
Selina realized her first mistake and mentally kicked herself. "I finally decided on contacts…" she paused watching Grace arch a brow when a black limo pulled up to the curb beside them. "…I'll explain everything shortly, give Alfred your bags Gracie." She motioned to an elderly gentleman who stepped from the limo with a kind smile.
"Grace." She warned firmly seeing Selina roll her eyes, before ducking into the black limo. "I hate Gracie so much." Irritated now she took the time to study the driver of the car and her surroundings.
Alfred seemed kind enough with silver hair and grandfatherly wrinkles to ease her tension. His blue eyes were gently hidden behind gold spectacles and he wore a suit of black more befitting of a butler, whom also chauffeured his master and guests around. "Who is this Alfred and what has Selina not told me?" Grace decided it was questions reserved for their ride, before glancing around at the large buildings surrounding her. Grays, blacks, pale red brick, and tan mocked her curious stares. The streets were blanketed with snow and the crisp air bit into her as the wind picked up at that very moment.
People walked past not bothering to look at her, which she favored over the attention in the train station and went on their ways dodging traffic, other bodies and gossiping over the latest news of their infamous hero 'Batman'. Grace found herself grimace hearing about a recent past event that happened during the Christmas festivities and something about a man called 'Max Shreck', she really didn't like gossip and preferred truth to that more than anything. "Dead men tell no tales…I would assume no one knows the real story anyway." She shivered being hit with another gust of wind and turned to a tug sensation on her wrist.
"Gracie…get in her before you catch cold." Selina thanked 'Alfred' before watching her cousin slide into the leather seats of the rich limo, feeling it drive off toward her home. "I have a lot to talk with you about, but first you need to know about my current…" She considered Grace's reaction and knew that she would be in for a world of explanations she didn't feel like getting into. "…man." Grace's eyes widened a slow genuine smile briefly gracing her thin pink tinted lips.
"About time Selina…I'm all ears; I could use a bit of cheering up after recent events." For once Grace felt pleased with her visit and tilted her head in a thoughtful way waiting for the story.
Selina spoke of how her job had fallen through with Max Shreck's company, for obvious reasons and some she left out for necessity. She explained how she had gotten very close to Bruce Wayne and a bit about him, his background, and who Alfred was. Grace learned that Alfred had practically raised Bruce and the tragedy of his parents, she learned of how important the man really was and a bit about Wayne Industries. Selina had been hired to work there taking care of important files, which Bruce seemed to trust solely to her and how they were still in the process of understanding themselves, along with the relationship.
While all this actually interested her familiar thirst for knowledge, Grace couldn't shake the feeling something was very different with her once mousey cousin. Selina Kyle had always been on the timid side, low self esteem, weary, and thorough, except when they were teens and then there was the wild child. It was odd that she had become this confident woman that spent her time with a very public man, another thing she come to realize was Selina would be dragging her along to social events and trying to get their once close relationship back on track. "I should have gone elsewhere…Metropolis maybe?" instead of voicing her dark thoughts she noticed Selina had suddenly withdrew into herself for some reason or another.
"Nina?" it had been years since she allowed the childish nickname past her lips, but something in Selina's now dull blue gaze had her concerned.
Selina smiled at the familiar name before meeting those soft green eyes and sighing. "Just thinking of the corruption uncovered about my boss…and how he wronged all of his employees." "Including murdering me and causing me to become what I am now." She kept her darker thoughts to her heart, she wasn't about to involve Grace in the chaos she and Bruce now shared in their lives. "Maybe Bruce can find you a design job…
"No Selina…please let me do this much on my own. I need my independence right now, especially after what happened at my old job and the mess I was thrown through. I am not ready to trust a business man with Bruce's publicity until I try things on my own. I relented and accepted to stay with you, that is all I can promise." Grace knew Selina's motherly nature would kick in eventually, she loved her cousin like a sister but that didn't mean she would let Selina run her life for her.
She could handle the big bad 'Gotham City' on her own. "Alright Gracie…just please don't get too discouraged. People aren't quite as kind in the city…
"They weren't much better in the small town I lived in." Grace forced a smile trying desperately not to get touchy over 'Gracie' again; it was one of Selina's habits that would never be broken. "We've stopped."
Sure enough Selina registered Alfred opening the door and offering her help out. Grace was granted the same courtesy thanking Alfred for unloading her things. Her eyes scanned over the tall gray building she assumed Selina called home, before lingering on her cousins' almost twitchy behavior. Grace again got the impression Selina was hiding something important, but knew better than to pry. Once someone started prying Selina had an unmistakable habit of completely shutting herself off.
"This is a mistake…I love Gracie, but bringing her here to stay…what was I thinking?" Selina glanced over her cousin briefly before taking a deep breath and grasping some of her cases. She started to the double glass door up the slightly slippery ice covered steps, hoping the glaring slick nature wouldn't make them both meet the sidewalk painfully. Once they were inside she walked to the main desk to situate her cousins' stay, which left Grace to observe the building with an inquisitive look.
Grace's face formed into a fine line, she observed the gloomy tan walls, stained bronze carpet and wondered why Selina was living here if she had such a wonderful boyfriend. The walls cast dreary water stained shadows across the dimly lit main room, the scarred and half lopsided main desk almost mocking the dilapidated area. "Great…I've come to live in every designers nightmare." Instead of complaining she knew she was very lucky to even have a place to go, once she got a job she wouldn't need to dislike her living arrangements or feel like she was slowly suffocating in her cousins' world.
Grace returned her attention to Selina watching her motion her up a set of stairs, with a black iron like banister. She reluctantly followed dreading what she would find in her cousins apartment and the condition it would be in. The tan walls seem to follow her with silent eyes, teasing and scornfully reminding her of her predicament. Instead of focusing on how wrong things were, she focused on plans to get up as early as humanly possible and find a job the next day. She wasn't willing to go mad while staying in a city; she wasn't willing to surrender without a good long hard fight. She had done it before and would do it again.
Selina easily opened the door to her apartment. "Honey I'm home." She smiled at the curious expression Grace offered her, before a black cat made an appearance scrubbing at her feet. "Midnight." Instead of furthering the explanation she showed Grace where to place her cases and went quickly to attend to her black fur ball.
The apartment was in much better condition than the building itself, this quickly caught Grace off guard. It was her cousins' apartment in every way, the neon sign off to the wall, old antique couch and pale pink colored walls. The light wood floor was worn with a path that led often between the bedroom and kitchenette, her lips formed into a soft smile. It felt like home in a way, even if it wasn't hers and she easily slipped into the small bedroom shaking her head at the disaster she found.
Clothes strewn about casually over the large double bed, clearly unmade for at least two days. Selina's sewing supplies littered one corner, which didn't surprise her in the least. "She still likes to toy with her own design ideas." She could never understand why Selina had settled for secretarial positions when she had a love for design deep down. The room was a soft barely noticeable lavender, dresser made of dark wood hidden under layers of makeup, jewelry, scarves, hats, and more items she was used to seeing. She was definitely in Selina's world now and would have to face facts.
"I really need a job." She stifled her sigh of defeat before piling her things neatly beside the closet and leaning against the door. "Selina…how many cats do you have?" she glanced around the apartment and noticed at least fifteen various colored cats lingering around, more coming in and some going out.
Selina grimaced seeing the familiar felines were still invading her home, she knew why they came and went as they pleased. She had no intention of explaining that to her cousin and wondered briefly how much Grace would believe with the idea forming in the recess of her mind.
Grace stepped to the small kitchen arms crossed and eyes scanning the few still coming in and out the kitchen window. "They like me for some reason or another. The only one that I own is Midnight. I let them come and go as they please, it keeps down the mice population." She shrugged glancing around the small kitchen, brushing aside old dishes and wondering what she should make for dinner. "Gracie…can you get the phone?"
Grace sighed giving Selina a look of contempt before doing what she was asked. "Hello? Selina Kyle's residence…" he stopped hearing a soft male voice on the other end and felt her brow furrow. "…Selina…it's Bruce Wayne." She heard a clatter from the kitchen and watched her cousin scramble over taking the receiver.
Deciding to give Selina her privacy Grace started to pick up her cousins bedroom out of habit. She discarded the clothing from the bed and proceeded to sort the black and white linens, carefully tucking in the bottom corners and brushing out wrinkles. She advanced on to sort out the clothing strewn about gathering what was clean in neat piles within the chaos of the tiny closet and putting the dirties in a large wicker hamper off by the window. Her eyes landed on the bright lights of Gotham City, slowly growing brighter as the sky grew darker. That world out there was big and made a brief panic well within her; she started to doubt why she had come and if she would ever fit into such a large city. She was a small town girl at heart and the city out there seemed so ominous.
She pushed aside those fears her pride getting the better of her situation again. She wasn't going to let that stop her, she had determination, skill and wasn't about to surrender just yet. No matter how foreboding the city seemed, she still had her independence and would survive.
Selina stepped into the room shaking her head at how it was starting to look neat and presentable. "Gracie?" slowly Grace jerked her attention away from the portentous city outside and met those half lidded amused blue eyes trailing across the room. "Bruce would like us to join him for dinner…apparently Alfred gave you great reviews." She smiled seeing Grace wrinkle her face in puzzlement.
"How? I didn't even speak to him…except for thank you." Grace found her cousin peculiar in a pleasant way, but was worried she wouldn't exactly be thrilled with her rich boyfriend and Mr. Wayne's strange butler didn't even know her well enough to assume she was pleasant.
"Alfred is good at reading people…very pleasant man actually. Would you like to go?" those pleading eyes made Grace internally cringe, but she knew what she would eventually say because for some reason she always let Selina win, but only in some situations.
"Do I get a choice?" Grace surrendered to the playful glare aimed her way and wondered what kind of life her cousin would be dragging her into this time.
The deadly circus still lingered in the caverns of the only home they had known since Penguin had saved them from the freak show they defined themselves with. A circus they were no longer, things had turned considerably dreary for the entire troop and now they had no one to lead them. It would seem they lost their independence with their now deceased friend, but in reality none of them could agree on who would run their criminal operation or how they would repair some of the caverns that collapsed during the explosion at Gotham Zoo. They still had a comfortable cavern within the shadows of their former home; it was also considerably warmer thanks to the absence of the penguins that used to freely roam with them.
"We should be out creating chaos in memory and vengeance of him." Hissed the poodle woman keeping her pet close to her breast glaring around at her circus comrades.
Her curled highly piled blonde hair was limp in various areas around her face, dark makeup smeared with angry tears. Her pink Victorian styled gown was withered, tattered and had grime like many of their clothing, but she was still beautiful in an ethereal sort of way to her friends.
The organ grinder glanced around the silent room, carefully maneuvering himself between his familiar family. "She's right." His soft dark voice silenced the arguing among themselves for a minute. "We should avenge Penguin…he was part of our family. He would still be alive if it wasn't for the Batman and that…" he stopped hearing something rustling within the shadows.
His dark eyes steadied toward the sound deep within the tunnels, his hand clutching his coat in concern. The poodle woman glanced up seeing his unruly hair seemed to stand on end at the new sound, his face paling far more than the natural pallor. Everyone stiffened at the new sound, someone was within their sanctuary and it seemed ominously threatening. She froze when her poodle took off to the shadows feeling the organ grinders hand on her shoulder preventing her concerned retrieval of the scruffy animal.
The members of the deadly circus grew silent and a startled gasp among the troop was audibly noticed by the lone tall figure within the shadows. They had seen his fate upon their return to their ruined home; the strong man had finished the wall off allowing it to collapse in on his grave to bury the painful memories of their lost member.
He stood into the pale light offered by the many grates of Gotham city smirking darkly. "It was not his doing…Penguin brought his fate upon himself." Slowly his leather clad hand lifted open palm in a gesture that was followed by a half bow. "The Batman is responsible and that mangy Catwoman who betrayed you all…killed my brother Michael without a bit of concern for his family. My family…yet they don't know of me." Green-blue eyes scanned the dark recesses of the shadowy caverns, this would be home as much as he loathed it, but he would ascend and place his plan into action soon enough.
"Y-You-You're d-dead." The poodle woman was startled jumping when her pet come running into her arms, she promptly cradled the matted dog to her chest.
"Michael Shreck is dead…I'm finally existing." The organ grinder studied the once thought ghost before them closely.
He was the same in every aspect except the madness lingering within the Green-blue gaze stated the truth of evil that lay within his soul. This man was heartless, cold and vengeance would be the end of their suffering. He was going to win control whether by their choice or force. He wore a suite of black, barely noticeable dark gray pinstripes laced the fine material and a black cloak lingered about his shoulders sweeping his shins like a forgotten memory. He was evil, much more so than the man that they knew as Max Shreck, this man was full of darkness.
"Who are you?" managed the fearful poodle woman seeing the organ grinder snap from his observations mouth opening as if to protest her question.
He leered into the large group of deadly performers, before producing a top hat from behind him and brushing back his gray hair placing the hat into place. "The Ringmaster…but most of you know me as Max Shreck. Michael was my twin, and it was a plan of mine long ago to place him in the public eye. Apparently the plan I had didn't end well." He sounded sarcastically bitter forcing many of the members to wince. "Any arguments?"
The room was silent, deadly silent no one dared to stand up against him. This Max Shreck reflected fear, hatred, and the promise of a new beginning for all of them.