Tim made a quiet noise from the back of his throat as he rested his elbows on the desk while placing his forehead into the palms of his hands. It had been thirty-two minutes since Gwen had last informed him of her progress. Not that he was having a doubt in her skills, but he was wondering if anyone other than Batman could decipher anything about this. He was shaken from his thoughts when his comm. link went off.
"Yeah?" He asked hurriedly assuming that she had something for him.
"Sorry Tim. Still waiting on the results from the analysis," she informed with a short chuckle.
"Fair enough. So what's up?" He asked as he sat up in his chair.
"I was wondering, how did you and Selina meet up? I don't recall her mentioning that she had adopted a fairly wealthy kid off the streets," Gwen said.
Tim leaned back in his seat and sighed a bit before shaking his head a bit.
"Of all the times you could have asked, why now?"
"Curiosity," she replied with a short burst of laughter.
"Fair enough," he uttered as he continued to stare out into the abyss that was Gotham before beginning his tale.
Flashback:
An alley in the dark streets of Gotham sat mainly empty except for one thing, a small figure that was trotting around seemingly searching for something. Upon closer inspection, the figure turned out to be a boy of about four or five with a grungy white t-shirt, sneakers, a dirty sweater, and some worn jeans. His black hair was a disheveled mess and his face was covered partly in dirt and dust, but that didn't bother him as he continued to search for food.
"Wait, you mean you were a rich heir, but you were roaming around on the streets?" Gwen asked in surprise, unintentionally interrupting his story.
"What do you expect? I was just a kid and I didn't know any better," he replied with a neutral tone.
"Right. Sorry. Please continue," she said as she quickly checked over the information of the on-going analysis.
The five year-old Tim continued to search through and behind dumpsters for any money, food, or clothing items before making his way to the abandoned apartment he had found a few weeks ago. At the same time, a crime was taking place about a block down the street at the Merchant's Bank. Catwoman leapt out through the hole she had made in one of the overhead windows before she took off running back towards her apartment, but as she did a flip across the gap between two buildings, the pouch containing her spoils somehow fell and disappeared into the alley below. After landing on the rooftop, she dashed over to the edge and peered into the alley below while slightly gritting her teeth for a moment.
"Dammit," muttered under her breath before hopping over the ledge.
After landing in a crouched position, Catwoman began to scan the general area for any sign of her ill-gotten goods before turning around when she felt a presence behind her. She got into a defensive stance with the claws in her gloves out fully expecting it to be a drunken man, another criminal, a police officer, or even the Batman, but she was taken by surprise when the presence belonged to a small boy with innocent and lovely blue eyes. Selina retracted the claws on her gloves and stared at the boy before her eyes widened a bit when he held up her pouch.
"All here… Promise," he squeaked out as he shook the bag just a little bit so that the rattle of the content inside could be heard.
"Wait wait wait, you mean to tell me that you two had one of those chance encounters that some people describe as an intervention from Jesus or something?" Gwen asked as she was getting more into the story.
"You can say that. Selina and I wouldn't," Tim responded with a slight chuckle.
"Did you find out what it was she had appropriated from the bank?" Gwen asked with some curiosity.
"Is your analysis of the contents of the bag done yet?" Tim asked having grown slightly tired of the interruptions.
"No. Why?"
"If you want me to finish this before that's done, I will need the comm. link to myself," he informed.
"Alright alright… You aren't accidentally forgetting about how your water broke or something are you?" She asked before letting out a short burst of laughter.
"Gwen… I kinda really hate you right now," he muttered before getting back to his story.
Catwoman shifted her eyes from the bag back to the boy for a moment before she really took in his features and his appearance before slowly crouching down to come as close to eye level as possible.
"I believe you sweetie… I-I'm Selina," she informed as she introduced herself with a small smile.
"What's your name?" She asked as she pointed at him.
"Timothy Drake," the boy replied with large eyes filled with curiosity and wonder.
Selina nodded her head a bit as she kept her eyes locked on his.
"It's nice to meet you, but where are your parents?" She asked with genuine concern.
She was shaken from her calm and collected manner for a moment when she noticed the visible reaction he had to that question before she heard him sob as tears began to fall.
"Th-They're gone," he replied as he shook his head quickly a few times.
"In a fire," he choked out between sobs.
Selina's heart broke at that. He was all alone now in the world, and that was something that she could relate to. Looking at him, she could tell that he hadn't been alone for more than maybe a few months, so he could still be saved from the dangers that haunted the streets of Gotham.
"Would you like a home… And a new family Tim? You can come with me if you don't mind sharing," she informed with an encouraging smile on her face.
Tim stared at her for a moment as if thinking it over. He had just run away from the foster system, and yet here this lady was offering him a new place to call home seemingly without any caveats. Deciding that he could at least give it a shot, he nodded his head a bit before shaking the pouch again without saying a word. Selina laughed softly before gently shaking her head as she slowly approached him before scooping him up in her arms. She also felt a warmth radiate through her body as she began to make her way home with him. It was that same warmth she experienced every time she brought home a stray.
"You hold on to that. We'll be home soon kitten," she told him as she climbed up the fire-escape with him before making her way back to her apartment, albeit at a slower pace this time. By the time they got there, Tim had already fallen asleep in Selina's arms with the pouch clutched tightly against his chest. She couldn't help but smile at the sight while she carried him into the bathroom to clean him off. As soon as she turned on the water, Tim began to stir before he yawned quietly and gently nuzzled his head under her chin.
"I'll get you into bed just as soon as we get you cleaned up," she whispered to him while gently rubbing his back.
"Mkay," he uttered out tiredly as he helped her undress himself so that she could give him a bath.
Stepping into the warm water was like heaven for the young boy. He couldn't remember exactly what bathing was like since he started living on the streets, but he was beginning to open up more to Selina and the prospect of a new home. Once that was done and he was dried off, Selina handed him an energy bar which he quickly devoured before carrying him into her bedroom and pulling the sheets back and laying him down. Deciding that she wasn't going to get anything else down or that she didn't want to leave her young kitten alone, she peeled off her suit and tossed on some sweats and a tank top before climbing into bed beside Tim and pulling the covers over them. Tim scooted towards her before curling up against her and quickly falling asleep again, and Selina couldn't help but smile at the realization that she had stumbled into motherhood somehow. She gently kissed his head before turning off the light from the lamp beside her on the nightstand while making a mental note to look into Tim's biological family sometime tomorrow.
"Sounds like nice way to end the night," Gwen offered sincerely.
"It was… I owe her a lot," Tim uttered aloud more so to himself than to Gwen.
When the morning came, Tim woke with a yawn before sitting up and stretching when he noticed that Selina was already up. The smell of eggs and bacon drew him to the kitchen where she stood in front of the stove preparing breakfast for them both. Tim trudged over to her and gently tugged on her sweatpants to get her attention.
"Need help?" He asked as he looked up at her with a gaze of genuine curiosity.
"Thanks Kitten, but I can handle it," she assured before turning off the stove, then grabbing two plates and loading them up with food.
"Enjoy," she said as she carried the plates over to the table before setting them down and helping him into his seat.
He nodded, and began to eat with her. During their meal, she told him of what the news said of his parents' deaths, but assured him that she would be around forever if he wanted her to be. She also informed him of his inheritance and told him that they would have to get that taken care of soon before it was handed off to whomever. After finishing breakfast, they went to take care of that situation, and while some were happy to see the Drake child survive, Selina could easily tell that some were unhappy knowing that their instant paydays were denied. She did catch something though, or rather someone: Bruce Wayne, who was more than happy that Tim was still alive. It turned out that he could sort of relate to the tragic tale about the loss of one's parents, and while he did offer to adopt Tim, both Tim and Selina were adamant that he would be better off with her.
"So you chose to stay with Selina rather boost your wealth and fame with Bruce Wayne?" Gwen asked in slight shock.
"It wouldn't be the same. Besides, I love mom. No one could ever take her place," he informed with a smile on his face.
Upon returning to the apartment, Tim surprised Selina by saying he wanted to be cool like the leather pants lady, and after she came down from her laughing fit, she tested Tim out a bit to see what he was made of before finally deciding to take him on as both an apprentice and a full-fledged son. After years of serious physical exercise, martial arts training, gymnast training, and a few other areas of training and discipline, Tim, now age 14, stood beside his mother and began to prowl the nights as a thief/crime-fighter, and thus Stray was born.
"Interesting story there Timmy. Ever consider making a movie out of it?" Gwen asked with a chuckle.
"If I do, you can be the director," he replied evenly.
"Guess that mea- hang on," she began as she began to type away at her keyboard for a moment.
"Looks like we got something," she informed him after reading over the results.
"Tell me where," he said as he grabbed his cap and his gear before heading out to the balcony.
"Looks like a factory down in the industrial district. Tim-" she began before being cut off by him.
"Relax Gwen. I promise that if anything big goes down, I'll call the bats to come deal with it," he informed with a chuckle before hoping over the railing and taking off towards his destination.
