Author's Note; Thank you to all the people who privately Emailed me with thier comments, or commented in my live journal! You guys rock, and I personally dedicate this chapter to everyone who's given me thier comments to help me through this slump! Especially, Billa1! But also, to everyone else who supported me through this; spotluck, tanyarachel... and of course, those who have been with me for the long haul; kittybats, roguecatwoman, digi-gal-rocks, Friendly-Feline, sweetgirl8353, Harlequin Girl, and halla442! It was you guys that gave me the courage and inspiration to waste my one day off gripped in a writing frenzy and finishing this! Two chapters to go after this!
In a New York minute
Everything can change
In a New York minute
Things can get pretty strange
Don Henley - New York Minute
Selina had to admit, Thomas had great taste.
While Batman looked around the museum for Thomas, she said she'd do the same. She got sidetracked by the shinies, as any cat would have. Especially a cat who took an extra vicodin this afternoon.
She was in the tapestries room, studying several woven pieces of art Thomas had acquired. In the back corner was a simple piece, maybe three feet across and about four feet long. The image was faded, Selina knew it to be over five-hundred years old, and was English in origin.
A lion was perched on a throne, a lioness calmly licked her paw directly beneath him, and below them on the floor was a litter of lion cubs worrying the meat off of a fallen stag. It represented the king and his family as they devoured their enemies, at the time.
What ticked her off more then anything, is she spent five years trying to get that piece! It had been in the Louvre for decades (And right now, she had no beef with the Parisians, so she couldn't let herself steal it.). It had been stolen, then sold, and sold again until she could barely keep track of anything while other matters concerned her.
And now, here it was.
She grabbed the tapestry and tore it off the wall in a fit of anger, "Son of a--" and was surprised when it shredded in her hands, (That jerk made a fake!) and revealed a small door.
"Hey Bats," she yelled, "I think I found something!"
It killed her curiosity to wait for the calvary, but she waited. Batman stood near the exit, seemingly looking at nothing, but she knew he was taking in everything. His mind was working from every angle, trying to prepare for every contingency. So, it was her job to relax him a bit.
"Didn't think I had a rogue's gallery, did you?"
She could see him mentally stop and give the barest instant of a smirk, "No, I didn't."
She put a hand on her hip, unsure of what to say next, but feeling like she had to say something, "I'll try to be good in front of Wonder Bra—I mean, well, you know what I mean." She turned her back to Batman, she had already started screwing things up, how was she going to be... later?
He put a hand on her shoulder, "You'll be fine." he paused, unsure, "You're feeling alright?"
She turned back, brushing off his hand, "Yeah, I'm fine."
He looked down, then reached for something in his belt, a small gun with a canister the size of a lighter in it; "Take this; it's strong. I use it sometimes when... when it's too much. It doesn't last long, but usually, long enough."
She nodded and reached her hand to take it, her fingers stroking his wrist unconsciously. His fingers curled around her hand and stayed there for a moment.
Wonder Woman and Agent Faraday landed outside the door and began to walk towards them, both Selina and Batman pulling back their hands. Selina tucked the pain-killer in her boot.
Wonder Woman looked around and eyed Batman suspiciously, "Did we miss anything?" Her gaze then turned to Selina and narrowed. A common thief!, she thought, He's risking all this for someone who belongs in jail with the rest of them!
That's my competition, alright. Selina thought, Tall, leggy, full figured. Attitude though, I can see that from here... This is gonna be a long night...
Batman looked at Wonder Woman, "We've been waiting for you."
Selina smirked as she admitted to herself that she liked being on Batman's upper hand cut to someone else.
Wonder Woman put a hand on her hip, "Sorry, we've been trying to stop your rogue gallery."
"Selina's." Batman said idly, ignoring Wonder Woman's confused look.
Agent Faraday smirked at Selina, "Catwoman, wanted in ten different states, recently pardoned of all charges against you in the state of New York for apprehending Daggett... and of course, your high priced lawyers." He held out his hand.
Selina shook it with a smirk, "Charmed, I'm sure."
"Two beautiful women, could have been a worse night." he quipped.
Wonder Woman glared at him. He promptly reached for the pack of cigarettes in his vest pocket and lit one quickly. He exhaled, "I stand corrected." After Batman and Selina went through the small door, he bowed slightly, "After you, Princess."
The passageway was narrow and dark, Batman didn't use a light since he was used to working in the dark and could see fine. That, and he didn't want to lose the element of surprise.
Selina followed behind, annoyed Wonder Woman was so close, but dealt with it.
Wonder Woman too, didn't like being so close to someone who belonged behind bars, but there was a bigger issue at hand.
Needless to say, Agent Faraday was happy to be in the back, but said nothing and enjoyed the view.
Batman held up a hand to stop them, and tapped a different ear-piece he had that helped with long distance hearing. He had spotted both Dorian and Blake in the center of a large underground cave. Inside, the giant cat was cleaning itself off in a large cage, Garth, the gorilla henchman of Dorian's, standing watch next to it.
On a table that was draped with a rich red looking linen and a single taper candle in a brass candlestick holder, where the three items; The statue standing tall and proud, the eye on it's chain, and the sistrum.
He listened in;
"We need to work quickly," Dorian said to Thomas, "We don't have long before it gets back to Batman that the cat was taken."
Thomas shook his head, "I don't think he knows anything."
Dorian growled, "That makes three of us. How the devil do we get these to work?"
Thomas' eyes glanced to the cat, "Maybe the spilling of blood?"
The doctor shook his head, "I don't want to do that unless we have no other options. Magnificent specimen, shame to waste it."
"True," Thomas conceded.
Dorian paced, "This is infuriating! She should have been summoned by now and I should have what is rightfully mine!"
Thomas yawned, "Oh please, not the 'Power of a God' thing again. You can't honestly believe a Goddess would give you her power."
"And why not?" Dorian snapped, "We both prefer cats to people! I will be her avatar, dispensing her justice through the world! Like your idea is any different!"
Thomas only smirked, "Selina Kyle is the most remarkable woman I have ever met, to have her on my arm and the world at my feet? Who could ask for more?"
Batman's eyes narrowed, if he hadn't hated them both already, he did now.
"What is it?" Selina whispered to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Not good." was all he replied.
They watched as one of the cat-men approached the table. One of them grabbed at the necklace while the other inquisitively watched. The cat-man turned it this way and that, before putting it on. It was the show of light that brought Dorian and Thomas' attention.
"Put that down immediately!" Dorian shouted.
But the Cat-man didn't hear him. He was mesmerized by the statue. He reached for the sistrum. Before he could reach it, Garth ran over fist over fist, and grabbed the necklace off of him, "Doc said to take this off!"
The cat-man seemed stunned, and only then did he hear Dorian's reprimand and slinked off with the other cat-man to, proverbially, lick his wounds.
Garth handed the necklace to Dorian who looked it over, "I think we've figured it out..." he said thoughtfully. His attention snapped to Thomas, "Quickly, before they show up!"
"Too late!" Wonder Woman cried, having heard everything with her excellent hearing. She flew over to Dorian before anyone else could move.
Faraday cocked his gun and looked to Selina, "I think that's our cue."
She nodded and took her whip out. Wonder Woman grabbed the necklace from Dorian and zoomed in the air. She was tempted to crush it in her grip, but knew Batman needed it. One of the cat-men jumped on her rebound and tackled her to the ground. She threw him off before it registered that he had taken the necklace with him.
The cat-man tossed the necklace to Garth, only to have a batarang hit it mid-flight and alter it's course to the other cat-man's waiting hands.
Faraday was on him in an instant, and they grappled for the artifact.
Selina's whip cracked with every calm step she took towards Blake. "Been a while." she said with a growl in her voice.
"Yes, dear, I've been meaning to ask," The claws on the bracelet he wore snicked out in a menacing posture, "How have you been?"
She crouched low as they circled each other. Blake leapt forward, slashing at Catwoman's middle. She flipped backwards and slashed her whip at him while he regained his balance. It struck him and left a gash from shoulder to shoulder. She dropped with one hand on the floor in a ready stance.
Blake touched the line of blood on his chest idly, "Touche. First blood to you."
He never noticed Batman come up behind him and put him in a choke hold. As the world began to go black, Batman whispered in his ear, "If you ever go near Selina, by Heaven I'll make sure you regret it.". Only when Blake passed out, did Batman release him.
Selina smiled, "We make a good team."
Dorian had retreated calmly to the back of the room, he shouted to Garth, "Get rid of them!" and pointed at the superheroes with his cane.
Garth gave a primal scream before launching himself into the fray at Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman grappled with the second cat-man, and with Garth she was starting to get pissed off. With a growl, she threw the two off of her and flew about ten feet off the ground to survey the area.
The second cat assisted the first who was fighting Faraday for the necklace. Faraday shot into the belly of one of them with his laser-gun. He flew off and smacked hard into the ground. Wonder Woman cried out, "Faraday!" before rushing at the other.
Batman was being held by Garth who yelled, "Do not interfere with the master's work!" Selina had come up behind Garth and slashed at his back. Infuriated, Garth released Batman and howled in rage at Selina. She smirked and whipped him across the legs. Unfortunately for her, he had grabbed the whip and pulled forward, causing her to fall to the ground as pain exploded through her.
"I don't know why the Doc liked you so much, you're weak!"
Her eyes narrowed. Knowing Garth had her whip and he was stronger then she was, she let it go, springing back on her haunches, ignoring the pain the best she could. She flashed out her claws and hissed.
He grabbed the whip and smacked the butt of it across her face, even though she had tried to move out of it's way, the pain had crippled her.
Batman elbowed Garth in the back of the head and knocked him out. He helped Selina up and said nothing. Selina took out the little gun and shot herself in the arm and took a deep breath. She smirked up at Batman, "Works like a charm."
While all this went on, no one noticed the cat-man Faraday had shot, get away with the Eye. He crawled back to Dorian and with shaky hand, held out the Eye. Dorian stroked it's head, "You've done well, rest."
Promptly, the cat fell unconscious from it's beating, having had permission from his master to pass out.
Dorian clenched the Eye tightly in his hand as it flared to life, the light stifled by his grip. The rest continued fighting as Dorian saw everything in a new light, specifically the sistrum lit in a glowing blue-gold light, as did a previously invisible keyhole that appeared on the cat statue's chest.
He grabbed the sistrum from the table, his eyes lit with power, "I see it! Bast, hear me!"
Wonder Woman flung the last cat-man off of Faraday as she took in the light from her peripherals, "Batman! He's summoning--"
But it was too late, The end of the sistrum plunged into the cat statue. Light, and a wave of force that felt both powerful and ancient, threw everyone to the ground and woke up the previously unconscious Blake.
Wonder Woman stood in-front of Faraday with her wrists crossed, trying to absorbe the impact, Batman did the same and shielded Selina with his body.
It was then, a deep and powerful voice shook the cave, causing dust to fall around them all;
"I, who have not been summoned in over two millenia, have been called. Tell me, who has summoned the great and powerful Ubasti?"