Strangers in the Night

Chapter Three - Strange Nights

Not much could be said about Selina Kyle as she walked out of the Daily Planet's building. She was, essentially, a "hot mess," with her hair disheveled and her heels in her hand. She tried her mightiest to ignore the stares and the hushed murmurs. To brush off the snorts and giggles heard around her, the people laughing at her expense.

She had walked in that morning with high hopes of getting rid of the article that haunted her from earlier that morning. How had the news traveled so fast? Somebody had to be following her. And so, after angrily ripping the newspaper, Selina threw on a coat, put on some heels and made her way to Metropolis' very own Daily Planet. She had politely asked the handsome young man, Mr. Kent, to lead her to the Lois Lane person who had written the article about her. Once he had done so, she patiently demanded the article be removed, only to be met with the infamous question of "Why?"

To this, Selina had no answer. I mean, what could she say? I'm the catwoman you speak of, and the way you portray me is wrong, please remove me from this paper so that people don't find out about me and I can continue stealing?

Somehow, Selina thought it wasn't a good way to respond, but it was the only reason in her head. Maybe this publicity is kind of a good thing, she thought, maybe it'll catch his attention….

Having her mind made up, Selina's scowl turned into a rightful smirk and the stomping of her feet evolved into a slight sway in the motion of her hips as she walked. She unclipped her hair and ran her hand through the thick curls, while placing her heels on with her right hand. Now people were staring, but it was in no way for the same reason.

She briefly wondered how Tom would react to her nightly endeavors. Would he be disappointed? Happy? Neutral? Would he shun her and all that she was, or would he welcome catwoman with open arms? After his death, Selina had tried her hardest to please him, or his memory at least. She thought that maybe he wouldn't be so proud of her after all, but then again, he'd probably want her to move on….

The question was though, was she ready?

Three days later, after Selina Kyle's life was stable once more (she had to apologize to Miss Lane for her actions in order to get her job back) she had donned the dark purple spandex once more. Her black leather boots flexed comfortable under the curl of her foot and her cat mask would stretch as she smiled. Selina made sure to have her whip with her as she decisively leapt out of her window and into the cold October night.

Jumping from building to building took some practice and was a strenuous activity. However, Selina was certain that after a couple of nights of this routine, her technique would eventually become something more graceful and catlike. So despite the large gaps and the moments between alleys were she would have to catch her breath, Selina made it to the top of the Wayne Tower in record time. She decided that sitting down might be a good idea now, since she had arrived at her destination and no one seemed to be there yet.

She chose a comfortable space between two large columns and admired the view of Gotham at night. The stars twinkled, promising false dreams to all those youngsters who admired the same view she did. She remembered once upon a time having the same hopes as the children of gotham did. Then her mother died, and her father fell into an oblivion, and her sister was gone, and the only two people she cared for died.

Selina can't quite remember how long she sat there, or what she was waiting for. The last part was a lie, she had kind of told Batman to meet her there a couple nights ago but she wouldn't let that be her sole reason. So why else was she sitting on the rooftop of the Wayne Tower? To enjoy the scenery of course.

She glanced at her watch and saw that it was an hour and a half past midnight. He wouldn't show up, she thought. Sighing deeply, Selina gracefully rose from her crouched position and stepped gingerly on the edge of the roof. Just one more step could solve all her problems. But she wouldn't give in that easily, not when she had some renewed hope.

A song popped into her curious mind and she began to hum it, steadily at first, unsure of the first stanza of lyrics. Then the famous chorus rang brightly in her head and her voice became louder as she sang out to the rhythm of the song. Her head bobbed accordingly and her hips swayed to the imaginary music her brain was emitting. She felt like she was nine again, living in a home she thought was perfect.

And then the moment was gone.

Broken by a deep, throaty chuckle.

Oh, hell no. Did I just make Batman laugh? Selina turned around immediately expecting to see the caped crusader with his infamous scowl in tact, but was disappointedly met with the shadows the gargoyles cast upon the roof. Her eyes danced across the rooftop, trying to make out any cloaked figures basking in the darkness of the shadows.

Nothing.

She turned back to the South, facing the skyline she was earlier admiring only to be met with surprisingly light blue eyes. She let out a small yelp, one which Batman found oddly endearing, and proceeded to turn as red as the tomato she had cut up earlier that day for her lunch. (It didn't do her any good since the tomatoes only made her sandwich soggy.)

Batman, with his mischief filled oceanic eyes allowed the corner of his lips to turn up for a fragment of a second - something the feline pleasantly noticed - before returning to his stone wall facade.

Selina was bold enough to smack his protected chest with a gloved and clawed up hand of hers. "Why would you sneak up on me like that?" she demanded, furious but elated to see that he had shown up.

Silence.

"And did I just catch you smiling?" Her eyes glinted with the mischief that was now gone from Batman's eyes.

Deterred by the constant silence he was emitting, Selina frowned slightly before pushing him out of the way and sitting down on the edge of the rooftop. "How long have you been here anyway?" she mumbled, playing with the heel of her boot.

"A while."

She scoffed, blaming herself for being surprised at his blunt and abrupt statement. He's Batman, he's not going to share all the delicious details about his ever so dark life. Not even the average man did that, not that Batman was an average man, but still. Selina rolled her eyes and turned to face him, finding him a couple feet behind her, standing as still as the statue next to him. "Don't you ever relax? Sit down, have a chat with a friend?"

"We're not friends." Ouch.

The contempt must have shown on her face because his fierce gaze softened a little. She could have almost sworn to have heard a "sorry" whispered from his mouth, but it was probably just the breeze that was tricking her. "Well then why are you here?" she asked, trying to play nonchalantly. As if his comment didn't hurt. As if he didn't matter. As if she didn't care.

"To protect the people of Gotham." his voice was the same monotonous gruff tone he always used, and she wondered what he really sounded like, not when he was growling or when he was fighting someone who was on the other side of the law. The real him. Whoever it was.

Selina let out a chortle, "And what, you think of me as a threat?"

Silence.

"Fair enough, Batman. You want a threat, then you'll get one. I just wanted to get closer to the masked vigilante that saves the lives of the innocent everyday. Get to know who was the man behind the cowl." With every few words, Selina stepped closer. The clank of her heels echoing through the night. The only sounds were those of her shoes, her voice, his breathing, and the chilly wind that occupied the night air. It felt almost like a private moment. Almost. "Why don't you just tell me who you are."

"That's irrelevant."

"It is not. I want to get to know you, Batman. Don't you want to know me?" by this point, Selina was a couple inches from his face, her hand gingerly resting on his shoulder, inquiring. His hands were stiffly at his side, as if he wasn't sure what to do. So he left them there. Selina stared at his eyes, searching for something, anything that would prove he wasn't just a man running on autopilot, defeating evil for sole purpose, just for the sake of the good. She wanted to know who he really was. What he sounded like.

She wanted to know if he spoke in his sleep, if he sung in the shower, how he liked his eggs, did he read the paper, and if so which one. She wanted to find out if he drove actual cars, or was he more into motorcycles. Was he rich? Was he poor? Did he have a good sense of humor? Doubt it. Did he like his coffee black or with lots of sugar? What was his favorite color? Black. Okay, that one was a given. What was his actual smile like?

All these questions she had bubbling in her head. And she doubted that he would ever answer them, lest she got really close to him and he let her in. A girl can dream huh?

"I know all that I need to know. You're a criminal. You're on the wrong side of the law." his eyes were tense, quiet, sure. Solid; as if hiding something.

"You think I'm a criminal? Do you want a criminal?" Silence. "Then you're going to get one." With a scowl in tact on both of their faces, Selina turned and walked across the roof to the edge. "Sayonara, Batman." And with that she dove down the one hundred and something floors until she managed to land on the awning on one of the eastern windows of the tower, luckily. But she thought that maybe for once, dying wouldn't be so bad.

It didn't escape her notice that the Caped Crusader had called out her name as she dove down the building. Smirking up at him, who was now leaning over the roof, ensuring her safety, she waved. Then he was gone.

Well, that was fast. What did you think he was going to come after you or something? Keep dreaming, Kitty.

And then he appeared, right next to her. "Wh-wha, Batman? But you were just…."

He didn't offer an explanation and neither did she. For all he knew, she was now a criminal. Hell, she basically confessed that a couple hundred floors above their current spot. So she made a run for it. Sprinting across the empty road to a store that sold who knows what and climbing up through the western fire escape. Quickly climbing up with the help of her whip, she dared a glance back to find the vigilante zooming to the top, past her with his grappling hook. Damned bat with his damned toys.

When they both reached the top, a silent face off occurred. She stared intensely at him and he retaliated, unflinching. Selina cracked her whip and strung it around a pole in the adjacent building that was behind him. Smiling seductively, she sprinted past the caped man and leapt off the current building he was in, as to which he did the same. As she swung to the top, she threw a rock she had managed to pick up while running from the awning's landing. Narrowly missing, but close enough to distract him momentarily, the Catwoman sped off to the top of the building. From the zenith level, she glanced down at the Crusader who was now staring up at her in appreciation.

"Hope you enjoyed the view, Batty, cuz it's the only thing you're catching tonight!" Selina blew him a kiss and was off, swallowed by the shadows of the night that would, in a couple of hours, turn into the lovely daylight of the day.

AN: So yes, I know i'm a bit delayed. Was kind of stretching to see how many reviews I could get on the past two. So here we're closing on the past, by the end of Chapter five or the middle (not sure yet) we'll reach the present.

The next episode is the Caped Crusader's third person POV, so it should be interesting to find out what he found on this Catwoman person….

Til next time, meow.

-MM