Note: As I've pointed out before, this fic is a sequel to my first one, the original Batman: Defender of Gotham. You should probably read the Cat Season chapter in the original before this one, for the events in it are referenced repeatedly.

Batgirl's perspective:

Batgirl had been troubled for some time. Relations between the Traylors and other mostly unknown crime families had supposedly been getting more tense ever since that team of psychopaths that the Traylors had put together months before had failed to defeat The Batman.

As Robin got on the Batcycle behind Batgirl and Batman entered the Batmobile, Batgirl asked, "Is there any possibility that the hostilities between the Traylors and other crime families will cool down?"

"I hope not," said Robin. "If we can't bust them, seeing them destroy each other is the next best thing."

"Very shortsighted of you," disagreed Batman. "History has shown that it's unwise to underestimate a gang's ability to quickly rebuild. Whether the Traylors go down but cripple or destroy two or three of the others or beat the odds, fewer, stronger mobs will be very bad for Gotham in the long run."

"Dad taught me that about gang wars when I was a little girl," recalled Batgirl. "So we're back to how scary this situation is. In a way I wish the mobs would just start the war. Get it over with."

"Be careful what you wish for," warned Batman.

Alfred's perspective:

After his day at school, Jason Todd was watching TV in his room. It gave Alfred a welcome break from Jason's attitude. Perhaps it was because he had been poor and for a short time, homeless, but he wasn't all that well-behaved. He had a tendency to complain and had a certain cockiness. He was smart and athletic, though.

Bruce, Dick, and Barbara didn't care one bit for Jason's attitude. Alfred, however, kept his temper. He knew from experience that young people were like this.

Mary Woods' perspective:

Spring break. For most people, this was vacation time. For Mary Woods' children, though, it was go to the grandparents' house week. People in the mountain West wanted to be left alone, after all.

But although Mary usually stayed with the kids on this week-long stay at her parents' home, she couldn't this time. The Catwoman had murdered her husband the year before. Mary had wondered if Catwoman was all bad, but she'd proven it. It was checkout time. As a huntress, Mary was going to finish what her husband had started, bring Catwoman's carcass home, and cook her for the kids and grandparents.

But as Mary was on the plane to a small town just outside Gotham, she thought harder. Why should Catwoman die but leave one of America's greatest heroes, The Batman, sad about someone who it was an open secret that he misguidedly loved? Plus, after what the murder of Mary's husband had put her through, she certainly wasn't doing that to an honorable man like Batman. Perhaps this wouldn't be as simple a hunting trip as Mary had believed.

Catwoman's perspective:

There was another job to pull. Catwoman was watching her target, a mansion. Inside lived a tycoon who swindled people and hurt the environment that animals like Catwoman's namesake struggled to live without. There was also a gold-digging wife who collaborated with this so she would have a lot of fur coats to buy. Catwoman hated people like this.

Lights went out. It was time.

Suddenly, Catwoman felt something sharp in the back of her neck. It was a dart. As Catwoman realized this, she felt like she had put on thirty pounds. Must have been tranquilizer in the dart. That meant that now was not the time to take it out, even if it hurt a bit.

What Catwoman was doing had changed. She jumped off the house she was on and hightailed it through the plush neighborhood. Suddenly, she felt another dart strike her right arm. She grunted in pain and fear. Fear because she could no longer be anywhere near one hundred percent!

Catwoman looked back. Nobody there. But she was pretty sure who it was. The Batgirl and Robin probably couldn't get the drop on her, but The Batman might. If he loved Catwoman too much to beat her down, drug-tipped darts from the shadows was probably his best strategy.

"So afraid of physical commitment so you take me out unseen?" asked Catwoman out loud. "White boys." Personal shots seemed to be all the ones Catwoman could dish out; another dart hit her left buttock several steps outside of the neighborhood. "Perv!"

Catwoman could see stores and other buildings around. Another dart and she was done. She had to lose Batman fast. Catwoman ran around the right side of a building, then went back to the left from its front before charging straight. A left turn lasted a few minutes before Catwoman ducked into an alley and sat down.

By now, the three shots of tranquilizer had taken their toll. Catwoman's body badly wanted sleep. But thirty-three seconds passed without the sounds of footsteps except for a few nobodies passing by on the sidewalk outside the alley. "Try as many times as you want, Dark Knight," Catwoman said dreamily but quietly. "You'll never catch me." Suddenly, a diagonal-down dart struck her right leg and a brown-haired woman in green huntress' camouflage jumped down from the two-story building that Catwoman was leaning against.

"Maybe not," declared the woodswoman. "But I will." She looked well-conditioned. This is so not my night.

Slowly standing up, Catwoman finally realized, "You're not Batman."

"No, and thank God for that," confirmed the woodswoman. "Living so far away from the wild is so... unnatural."

Catwoman was in no shape to fight, so she ran a few steps before she, unbalanced by the tranquilizer flowing through four spots, fell on her face. "It's time for you to pay the piper," said the woodswoman before the lights went out.

Mary's perspective:

Mary Woods stood over an unconscious Catwoman and turned her on her back. "Let's see what you look like under there," said Mary, taking off the mask. It was an attractive black woman that Mary would have had to stop her late husband from looking at too hard. Other than that, there was nothing remarkable about this face. Not quite as dramatic as she'd imagined the moment.

No matter; the moment was big enough. With one slash of her hunting knife to the throat, Mary could eliminate one of the world's most notorious criminals, rectify the one weakness of one the world's greatest heroes, avenge the death of Mary's husband, and have good eating ready to be taken to the kids and cooked for them.

But again, should Mary break Batman's heart like this? Mary had felt that some time ago, and it wasn't pleasant. Besides, Mary would have liked Catwoman to understand why her death was essential. That meant that she had to live a little longer.

Catwoman's perspective:

Catwoman was shaken by the face back to consciousness. It was the woodswoman. She backed up a few meters and stared at Catwoman, hands on hips. This gave The Princess of Plunder a chance to assess.

Her mask was off and she was still very drowsy from the tranquilizer darts. It looked like Catwoman was being held in a rural cabin. She was chained up and hung upside-down directly over a bed of spikes. Her clawed gloves were still on, but they couldn't cut through chains. The woodswoman had done her homework. Now, even if Catwoman could get out of her chains, she would fall to her death.

"What's this all about?" asked Catwoman. "Why'd you jump me?"

"You are one over-rated crook," giggled the woodswoman under my breath. "It's bad enough that you were so easily caught, but you haven't even figured out who I am yet?"

Catwoman shook her head.

"You remember that hunter from the West that you killed last year?" asked the woodswoman. "I see you do. He was my husband. Name's Mary."

So that's what this is about. A crying wife wants revenge. "For the record," said Catwoman, "I didn't kill him. My pet cougar did."

"Don't split hairs with me."

"I offered to call him off. Your husband wouldn't give in."

"I see no reason to believe you. You're a thief. Greed, lies, and stealin' are what you do. The only reason I haven't killed you is because that would break The Batman's heart."

Catwoman perked up. This was the break she needed. "Hey, I saved his life once. Guess it's time he returned the favor."

"Don't bet on it. I'll show him that he can do better."

"Like you?"

"Not this soon after Tim died. And sure as Hell never you."

Batman's perspective:

The Batsignal was cast. Duty was calling.

Upon arriving on the rooftop of GCPD HQ, Commissioner Gordon said, "This came for you. I'll think it'll pique your interest." He handed Batman a picture with a note attached underneath. It was a woman in a huntress' camouflage standing next to an unmasked Catwoman, who was being chained upside-down over a bed of spikes. She had twisted around enough to obscure her face. Not that it looked like that would do her much good without help. The note read:

Look for us in a cabin in the forest near Petersville just outside
Gotham. Come alone or she gets a well-deserved shooting.

P.S. Despite what your assumption may be, I'm not your
enemy. Catwoman is.

That piqued Batman's interest, all right. It looked like this woman was a crimefighter trying to bring Catwoman to justice. But then, why was it necessary to get Batman's attention? Catwoman was in perfect position to be secured and taken to jail. There was a lot more to it. Batman thought about calling Robin and Batgirl, but something inside told The Dark Knight that perhaps with Catwoman, he should handle it alone, if possible.

Batman searched the forest until he saw a clearing it was a cabin. Batman entered through a window upstairs to a bedroom. No one was there. Batman checked the other rooms. Nothing yet... Finally, he carefully went downstairs. It looked more and more like a trap was about to be sprung.

Walking down the stairs, Batman discovered Catwoman, still strung upside-down over spikes. This time, Batman could see her face. It was an attractive black woman with medium length hair. With her secret out, catching her shouldn't be hard. The trick was saving her.

As he entered the living room, Batman saw the woodswoman from the photo with a hunting rifle sitting on a couch. "I finally get to meet the famous Batman," the woodswoman walked towards Batman with a smile, rifle pointed harmlessly upwards. "Name's Mary Woods." She held out her left hand. Batman hesitated before shaking it.

"I saved your life once," called Catwoman. "Time to pay your debt to me. Please, this white bitch is crazy. She's gonna shoot and cook me for her kids and parents."

"Some hunters in Africa eat people who mean them harm, right?" asked Mary. "Since you're a black woman, you should know this. I'm tired of talking to you anyway. Batman... you're one of justice's great champions. But why on God's green Earth is she still free?"

That question hit home. Batman kept telling himself that it was because Catwoman hadn't taken chances like other criminals did and because she was very, very good. But Batman felt as though his feelings were a little at fault. Nonetheless he clung to the illusion that said, "Because I haven't been able to?"

"I thought you might make this hard," sighed Mary.

"I'll gladly do it now," promised Batman. "Or if you want the credit, take it. Just don't shoot her."

"Sorry," said Mary forcefully. "She's gotta pay the price."

"Since when does burglary merit death?" asked Batman.

"It can ruin people's lives," said Mary. "But that ain't why I'm doing this anyhow. She murdered my husband. And yes, it was murder."

That took Batman by surprise. Murder was something he couldn't forgive. "Is this true?" he asked Catwoman.

"Hell, no," Catwoman insisted. "I may be a lot of bad things, but murderer isn't on the list." Batman believed her. She'd done good in the past and passed up chances to kill enemies. Just recently, she chose to try to embarrass Batgirl by unmasking her rather than kill her. Regardless of what Mary said or even believed, it couldn't have been as she remembered.

"So much for makin' this easy," lamented Mary. She shot at the chain holding Catwoman over the spikes. Catwoman closed her eyes in fear.

"Don't," shouted Batman. He had stopped criminals from dying before, but for some reason, he felt as though he didn't want to go on living if he couldn't save Catwoman from this righteously psychotic country lady. Of course, that meant that Mary Woods was right about one thing: Batman's feelings were helping Catwoman's chances of remaining free.

"Time for you to make a choice, Dark Knight," Mary began her ultimatum. "If I shoot the other side of that chain link, the bad kitty will fall into the spikes and die! If you try to side with her against decent folk, you're the first to get it. You're either a man of justice or her man. Choose the latter and I do promise to make sure that you're buried together. I do love me a good or, even, bad romance. By the way, that link won't hold forever, so you might wanna choose fast."

And Batman was thinking fast. He had been shut into a tight spot. There was no way to rescue Catwoman without opening himself to Mary's shot. But he couldn't just let Catwoman die. He could see the broken chain link growing looser. He had to think fast. But what was he going to come up with?

Batman walked towards the door out of the cabin.

"No," cried Catwoman. "You can't just abandon me. You know this is murder."

"He's chosen to be a hero," Mary taunted Catwoman. "Not an accomplice. Sorry."

Sensing that Mary was now focused on Catwoman and not Batman, he turned towards Mary and Bataranged the rifle out her hand. Mary dived at the gun, but a running baseball slide kicked her in the head, knocking her away from the weapon.

Mary drew a pistol, but Batman kicked it away as well. Standing up, Mary kicked at Batman's head. Dodging it, Batman caught the outstretched leg in his left arm and delivered three body blows, an uppercut, and a backhand to render Mary unconscious.

Turning to Catwoman, Batman saw that she about to fall and did a running dive. As the chain link totally severed itself, Batman caught Catwoman, and the two went clear of the spikes.

Looking down at Catwoman, Batman asked, "All you alright?"

"Better than OK," Catwoman thematically purred.

"You know this can't last," Batman reminded her.

Catwoman groaned. "At least let me get what's coming to me." With that she leaned in to kiss Batman. He returned it for a few seconds before he felt at knee in his groin and rolled off in pain.

Batman heard Catwoman shaking the chain off her. By the time he got up, Catwoman had already shaken off the chain and was out the door. Batman pursued, although slowed down by the pain in his groin.

"Don't try it," warned Batman. "I know your face now. Our war is over. Your sentence is short or long." Catwoman escaped deeper into the woods.

So it's the hard way.

Selina Kyle's perspective:

Because you cannot drive a car just anywhere in a forest, staying a step ahead of Batman was easy. The harder part began when Catwoman reached Gotham City. Catwoman had to stick to the shadows and buildings on the way to the car of her alter-ego, Selina Kyle.

Eventually, she reached her car and changed into her regular clothes. For a moment, she wanted to believe that her troubles were over. It was an illusion.

She eventually reached her apartment. Entering it through the window, she saw that her pet cougar, Caesarion, was asleep. Selina checked the time. 2:19 in the morning. Well, I did have to get out of a forest by foot.

Selina entered the bedroom of her roommate and best friend, Sabisia Williams, and woke her up. Sabisia yawned before smiling and hugging Selina. "You're all right," she said with glee.

"No I'm not," said Selina. "Batman and the bitch wife of that hunter who tried to kill me last year saw my face. My loved and mortal enemy will find me by the end of the week. We've gotta get rid of anything that can be traced from Catwoman to me. First of all, you said my fake permit to train a cougar can't be cracked. Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," promised Sabisia. "Even if they could find the Columbian gangster who made it, it wouldn't be worth taking international risks by extraditing a guy whose hands seem to be clean. That's not our problem."

"Then we keep Caesarion," said Selina in a slightly less concerned manner. "After all, I do love the handsome prince. You need to take my Catsuit and wipe it thoroughly, shred, and finally burn the pieces in a junkyard."

"Isn't that a little extreme?" asked Sabisia.

"Hell, no! This is Batman. Now that he's seen my face, he'll know who I am soon. My only hope is stopping him from proving it. Get to it. He could be here any minute now."

Bruce's perspective:

The entirety of Bruce's lunch and coffee breaks at work were spent researching all of the taller, athletic black women in Gotham City. Bruce was finally in reach of the one piece of evidence he needed to put Catwoman in the pound. Then she would have no choice but to rehabilitate and spill all she knew of the Gotham underworld in return for early parole. And Bruce would be that parole officer. Maybe more than that to her, but that was the unforeseeable future.

The only problem was that there were almost two million black women in Gotham. That left a lot of suspects to rule out. Bruce continued his research at home in his study. At one point, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon arrived and Bruce told them that he couldn't patrol yet. Therefore they went without him.

Two hours and forty-eight minutes after returning to Wayne Manor, Bruce made a breakthrough. Selina Kyle looked exactly like the unmasked Catwoman that Batman and Mary Woods had seen. More reading revealed that Selina had the same love of cats and contempt for society that Catwoman did. Yes, this is definitely the one.

Selina's perspective:

Selina went to the kitchen to pour two glasses of brandy and took them to the living room to Sabisia. "A toast for luck," requested Selina.

"I don't know," said Sabisia. "It's a quarter past eleven. He might not find you."

"No," Selina dismissed that out of hand. "He'll find me. That man in a goddamn genius! The only reason he hasn't put me away yet is because I played it nothing less than perfectly, even in that fight I lost to him, and thank God the cops were idiots who couldn't hold onto me. I'm going on trial, Sabisia. If I lose, I'm going up the river and my assets will be seized. Even if I escape, I'll be in poverty again and in every black book and 'Most Wanted' list in the world! I really think I need luck."

Sabisia took a glass. They two women gently touched their glasses together and drank.

"What will you do if they find you guilty?" asked Sabisia.

"I guess I'll have to suck up my pride and take Batman's deal," said Selina in a deadpan way. "Might be too late."

"I guess I'll be taken in as your accomplice," said Sabisia.

"You wish! I'll tell 'em you're The Catwoman." They both laughed at Selina's joke.

A few minutes short of midnight, Selina heard a voice on a megaphone say, "Selina Kyle - or Catwoman, whatever ya wanna be called - you're under arrest for numerous counts of burglary, aggravated assault, conspiracy, and illicit trade. This place is completely surrounded. Come out with yer front legs up!"

"We're coming down," shouted Selina reluctantly. "Don't fight it," she whispered to Sabisia. "We're not done yet." They went down the elevator and out the apartment lobby door.

"I told ya we'd get ya, bitch Cat," gloated the fat detective leading this bust as two uniformed officers slapped handcuffs on Selina and Sabisia.

"Do I know you, chubby?" asked Selina. She meant it. She could not remember ever seeing this man.

"You don't remember?" asked the Detective. "Ya scratched up Montoya here's face an' dislocated one o' my knees!"

"From what I hear about The Catwoman, who I most definitely am not," lied Selina, "You cops probably blend in for her. I know I can't recall any specific bugs that I step on."

"And yet we gotcha fer seven-to-twenty!"

"Not officially. And somehow I doubt you could catch more than shoplifters without the Caped Crusaders."

After a long check-in process, Selina was officially behind bars for the first time in her life. She shared a cell with a white female shoplifter who seemed for all the world like she hadn't made it past the first grade. She found it that hard to carry on a conversation This was going to be a long trial. Selina was ready to get some sleep when she heard knocking on the cell window. It was Batman.

"So The Dark Knight isn't so afraid of his feelings to talk after all," said Selina. "And I had so little faith after you weren't there for my arrest."

"I was watching from afar to see if you escaped."

"Whatever," smirked Selina. "I hope you're breaking me out or giving me a chance to vent professional and loving frustration on you. If you're here to gloat, I think I'll take the second option anyway."

"None of the above," said Batman. "I can still get you rehabilitated. You can be in society and free or against it and in prison. It's not a choice."

"Not so fast," cautioned Catwoman. "Still a trial. You haven't gotten me yet."

"All over but the shooting," declared Batman.

"On the contrary," argued Catwoman, "You don't have photos of my face or any of my equipment. No proof. So there may be a reasonable doubt."

"You don't give up, do you?"

"You never do. Why should I?"

"I don't give up because I fight for a just cause."

"A cause for a corrupt and evil status quo. Git, sexy! Before I have the guards order you away."

Batman's perspective:

Batgirl and Robin were waiting for Batman at the Batmobile and Batcycle. "What did she say?" asked Robin.

"The wrong things," said Batman.

"Let her say the wrong things," beamed Batgirl. "She's history!"

"I wish I could be sure of that," said Batman. "We really don't have that strong a case."

"We've got a photo of everything about her but her face. She's athletic. And Mary will identify her as Catwoman, hurt on cross-examination or not. It should be enough."

"She has yet to reveal her trump card," Batman revealed.

"If I didn't know better," noted Batgirl with a hard look at Batman, "I'd say you were hopeful she gets off."

Ignoring Batgirl, Batman continued, "Because her crimes are against the wealthy and she is said to be a generous donor to charities, civil rights groups, and environmentalists, especially conservationists, Selina will have a lot of public and financial support."

"We've got the law," said Batgirl. "We've got the facts."

"All she's got is changing the subject," said Robin.

"You're young," Batman said simply.

Selina's perspective:

While Selina and Sabisia could not use their stolen or illegally-gotten booty traded for money to fund their defense from jail, Batman's predictions of friendly organizations donating money came true. But it was not as though Selina didn't believe in these causes. In fact, these causes proved that The Catwoman was not really a villainess but a criminal with genuine convictions. Who said there was no honor among thieves?

The prosecutor in Selina and Sabisia's case was Patricia Franklyn. She had presented the photo of Selina unmasked and in Catwoman costume with her faced turned away from the camera. However, Catwoman and Selina's hair and body type were identical. So Selina and Sabisia's lawyer, Howie Feinstilt, told them that this was not a guaranteed acquittal.

After four days of evidence presentation, witness testimony, and Howie's rebuttals to them, it was time for the star witness: Mary Woods.

Mary entered the courtroom in handcuffs. She was a confessed kidnapper and attempted murderess who had been admitted into Arkham Asylum, after all. She took the witness stand and gave Selina a "See? I'm taking you out after all?" kind of look.

After a lot of mundane questioning, Franklyn asked, "Can you point to the face of the burglar that you kidnapped?" Immediately, Mary pointed at Selina.

"It's on you," whispered Selina to Howie. And it was true. If the jury believed Mary, the verdict would have to be guilty.

"Please," begged Sabisia. "I didn't do anything wrong but befriend a criminal. No offense, Selina."

As Howie walked over to Mary, Selina apologized, "Sorry I dragged you into this, Sabisia."

"I knew the risks," Sabisia smiled at her friend. "And we haven't been sent to any prison yet."

"Why did you go after The Catwoman?" asked Howie.

"To avenge my husband's death," explained Mary.

"That wasn't among the charges agai..." began Howie.

"Objection," interrupted Franklyn. "My witness's inability to substantiate her accusations have nothing to do with whether she can identify the defendant. That is her main purpose in this trial."

"Sustained," said Judge Robert Paine.

"How traumatic was the death of your husband?" asked Howie.

"Objection, relevance?" demanded Franklyn.

"Overruled," said Paine. "A trauma could affect Mrs. Woods ability to identify Ms. Kyle."

"After I get off of this stand," assured Mary, "I'll give the police a list of names for you. They'll tell you that I'm a great mother, then and now! Tough luck."

"I understand you came because of The Batman. You must have heard the rumors that he has an ongoing affair with Catwoman."

"If you're suggesting that I'm crushing on Batman," smiled Mary, "I don't feel anything for him but respect for a hero."

"How do we know that?" asked Howie.

"Objection," said Franklyn. "If Mr. Feinstilt is gonna accuse my client of lying under oath, he'd better justify that."

"I wasn't accusing her of lying," said Howie. He seemed to immediately realize that he had debunked himself by not standing by his attack. Selina placed her right palm over her face. Making Mary look a victim ain't exactly what I'd hoped for.

"If Mr. Feinstilt has no valid objections to Mrs. Woods' testimony," demanded Franklyn, "I think this court should move on."

The jury was certainly not happy about this. Neither were Selina and Sabisia. Ask better questions, dumbass! You haven't earned half of what we're paying you!

"I... I..." Howie was stammering. Selina couldn't believe this. You know our freedom depends on you and you're out of ammo? And ammo for what's been a toy gun so far!

Howie finally asked, "Is it not true that you intended to eat Catwoman?" Laughter could be heard from the audience.

"Your honor, please end this," insisted an angry Franklyn.

"Of course," said Paine. "Mrs. Woods, I thank you for your time. We'll be in touch."

"Nonsense," said Mary. "I ain't got anything to hide. I was nervous about it when my husband first suggested it, but Catwoman is essentially an animal. So, yeah, I wanted to cook and eat her with the kids and their grandparents. They do it in different parts of the world, right?"

Selina looked at the jury. It looked repulsed. Howie may had come back from the brink. Was he related to Batman? Could he even be... no, that made no sense. Batman wanted Selina to be rehabilitated, not acquitted.

"Objection, objection," Franklyn shouted to the attention of everyone who was grossed out. "Witnesses with unpopular lifestyles come in here every day and have their testimonies respected."

"Agreed," said Paine. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, cannibalism has nothing to do with being able to recognize a suspect. Please disregard it."

Batman's perspective:

A week later, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl had shut down a drug dealing gang. "Something troubling you?" Batman asked Batgirl.

"It's Catwoman," said Batgirl. "Deliberations are going into the sixth day for what's a very simple case. If they've gone on this long..."

"Relax," said Robin. "Only Mary Woods and her dead, psycho husband's eating habits could get Catwoman off. Judge said it's off-limits."

"And what makes you think juries always listen?" asked Batman. Neither Robin nor Batgirl answered him.

Selina's perspective:

Nine days of deliberation had come and gone. It was time.

"We find the defendant, Selina Kyle..." began the foreman, "Not guilty."

Selina smiled and nodded. She was just as good at getting out of tight spots as Batman. Selina may not have had a secret identity anymore, but as long as she didn't let anyone but Sabisia or Caesarion see her changing clothes, it wouldn't matter. She patted Howie on the shoulder, and hugged Sabisia.

"Question is," asked Howie, "Did we win because they didn't believe Woods or because she's a cannibal?" "Who cares?" whispered Selina. "The important thing is, we're free." Indeed, let the forces of greed and corruptions keep everything nailed down because The Catwoman was a criminal that capture could not stop!

Returning to the apartment, Selina saw that half the place was checking out rather than be Catwoman's neighbors. Their cluelessness was duly noted.

Entering her living room, Caesarion lovingly tackled Selina. "Did you miss me, big boy?" asked Selina as she petted him.

It was just then that Selina sensed someone. It was a sense only a girlfriend or mortal enemy would notice. "Sabisia," she commanded, "Get Caesarion out of the room. Now. This isn't over after all." Sabisia did as she was told, though Caesarion wasn't happy about it.

Selina walked over to a shadow in a corner of the room and triumphantly grinned, "It's gotta be killing you. You know who I am but can't do anything with that information." She sensuously stretched her head back and rubbed her neck and left hip with her hands. "Or can you?"

Batman walked out of the shadow and to Selina. It wasn't clear if Selina would win another prize or not. "You know," said Batman, "If Mary had told anyone before her testimony that she wanted to eat you so Franklyn would be prepared for that, you'd be on your way to Blackgate Prison."

"After a year of this," Catwoman stared her opponent and doomed lover down with hands on her hips, "The time for moral victories is over. Might as well face it, baby, you can't catch me. I'd say, 'At least not that way,' but I don't think I'd be the predator there, baby! But if it's any consolation, you don't owe me anymore." Freedom's fun. I get to gloat and I can see that he's one step away from literally throwing himself at me.

"You have bigger problems than me," said Batman.

"Come again?"

"I was thinking about Mary Woods. How all this started because her husband died trying to kill you. And you've also incurred the wrath of The Joker, Scarface, and Riddler in the past."

"Funny how you didn't mention that I went after The Joker and Scarface for you, not that you seem particularly thankful." If appealing to Batman's love didn't enable Selina to make a deal with him, maybe shame had a better chance.

"And," Batman ignored Selina, "You must have plenty of other enemies. Now they know who you are. You're not safe when you take off that costume anymore."

"What do you propose?"

"I have a hidden place. You share all you know about the Gotham underworld with me, I'll hide you there. They'll never find you. All you have to do is be straight. And if you want me... I won't push you away. After all, I would be indebted to you again."

"You can never accept me for what I am, can you?"

"No."

"Then I'm afraid our relationship has hit the brick wall once again."

"Like I said, it's the only way you're safe."

This time, Selina had to think about what she was going to say. She sighed. "Surely you know what it's like, Batman. I suck at math, but shouldn't you have been killed ten times by now?"

"Thirty-seven in my conservative estimate," corrected Batman.

"I think I'll take my chances with certain death as well," said Selina.

"Why?"

"'Cause I'm a fool who flirts with death. Like you. For now, the war continues until one of us wins or dies. Speaking of which..." Selina opened a glass door to the apartment balcony and looked. "I knew it. An attempted murder down below." It was a man pinning down another man and struggling to fatally stab him. Batman jumped over the balcony.

Somehow, Selina felt as though she shouldn't check to see whether Batman survived the fight he was about to get into.