The Claw Of The Dark Knight Chapter 4

The chief and the others quickly bowed before the great cat.

"What is happening?" Barb whispered.

"I'm not sure. They think I am some sort of god." Bruce whispered. The chief then rose up and ran towards them. Bruce placed himself protectively in front of Barb.

"You. Creature of legend. Come to protect our home." The chief smiled.

"Protector?" Bruce asked.

"Yes. You have come to protect us. You here forever!"

"No! We're here to find a cure for this! He is a human! A man! We need help changing him back!" Barb said suddenly.

"No! He must never leave! He our protector!" The chief said.

"I must say, I do like him better in this form and so do they." Catwoman grinned.

"I don't care what any of you think! He's not a guardian!"

"Batgirl, calm down. We will find a solution to this." Bruce said calmly.

"NO leave! STAY FOREVER!" The chief commanded. With those words, he commanded all of his army to go and grab them.

"MOVE IT!" Bruce commanded. Selina and Barb quickly turned to the woods and began to run for their lives.

"CAPTURE! CAPTURE THEM ALL!" The chief yelled. The three soon heard natives screaming and chanting as they chased them across the wilderness!

"Where do we go from here?!" Barb panicked.

"To that waterfall!" Selina yelled. Bruce looked ahead and saw a large waterfall ahead of them.

"Run to the edge! When I give the word, jump!"

"WHAT?!" Selina gasped. Bruce ignored her and waited til the natives were close enough.

"NOW!" He commanded. He then grabbed them both around their waists and dove down into the water. The chief commanded everyone to stop when he saw that they had jumped.

"Look for them and search the water. The protector not die so easily." The chief said softly. The others nodded and then began to head down the cliff to search the water.


Meanwhile…

The waters were very choppy when suddenly Bruce burst out with both girls in his arms. He quickly swam for the sandy ground and pulled them both by him.

"Are you both alright?" He asked. Both girls were breathing hard and did not open their eyes. "Hey…wake up." He whispered, now becoming concerned. When Barb still did not open her eyes, he then began licking Barb on her cheek.

"Mmm, Bruce, s-stop," She groaned, not opening her eyes.

"Wake up; we need to keep moving," Bruce replied, still licking her cheek. He was not even aware that his animal-like behaviors were getting worse.

"Mmmm, B-Bruce," Barb giggled, still keeping her eyes closed and now trying to keep her voice down so Catwoman didn't hear her call him by his real name. Bruce cocked a curious brow and licked her now on her neck, trying to coax her to get up; that made her shoot her eyes open! "EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"That woke you up," He smirked. He then turned over and saw Catwoman gently beginning to open her eyes. He looked at her for a second and then licked her gently on the cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and she turned and rubbed his face.

"I like this new you, Batman," She whispered in a flirty tone.

"Catwoman, that was only to wake you up." He said, matter of factly. "Now that you both are conscious, we can get moving to a safer location. We are only a few hours from the mountain."

"It's so late; how about we camp out in those trees for the night?" Catwoman suggested.

"We are good for at least one more hour; we will camp out in the mountains," Bruce responded. Both women then noticed that he bent over and now began to walk on four legs again.

"Mmmm, so catlike," Catwoman purred. Batman ignored her and kept walking.

"Well this will all change when he is back to normal," Barb growled.

"How do you know he doesn't like this new look?"

"He's not a cat, Selina!"

"Well, he sure is a good one right now. Look at him. So free, so strong! This area is the perfect place to live! No responsibilities!"

"For you maybe, but Batman is the guardian of Gotham!"

"Well, he trained you well; why can't you go back and take his place?"

"Because I am nothing like him! He is the best there is!"

"But have you ever thought about his happiness too? What if he wants to stay here?!" Catwoman argued, now turning to face her.

"WITH WHO?! THE NATIVES?!"

"No…I would be willing to stay here." Catwoman replied with a small grin.

"I bet you would!" Barb hissed.

"Enough, you two," a voice chimed in. Both turned and saw him scratching a tree and stretching his claws. "We need to work together if we are going to get through this."

"Batman?"

"Yes?" Bruce questioned.

"Do you like it here?"

"Perhaps for a vacation. But right now I am more concerned with keeping ahead of the natives," Bruce replied. Barb gasped as he now lied down on the ground and began to gently roll in the grass.

"Isn't he adorable," Catwoman purred, now leaning down and scratching his stomach. Barb heard a deep rumbling and realized Bruce was purring! Suddenly, his green eyes shot open and he stood up.

"We better keep moving," He said as he quickly began to walk down the pathway. Catwoman giggled, stood up, and walked over to Batgirl.

"I think we have our answer." She smirked as she walked to catch up to him.

"You won't win, Catwoman. I don't know what all this is about, but I won't let you get Bruce," Barb whispered angrily to herself. For the rest of the trip, she continued to walk in silence.


A few hours later…

"We're here." Bruce said softly.

"Where?" Barb asked.

"The mountains. At the top, we will be able to solve the mystery of this change." Bruce responded.

"It will be dangerous; there are rock slides and it's getting ready to rain." Selina answered.

"We don't have a choice; we need Batman to change back to normal." Barb replied. Her eyes now opened wide as he now began to walk on all fours again and this time she saw that his fur began to get thicker and his claws were longer!

"It's getting worse!" She thought to herself. "I hope we make it up these mountains soon or Bruce may be trapped like this." And with those words, she and the others began the perilous climb up to the top of the mountains.


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