Two chapters within four days, I'm on a roll, wewt wewt!

This chapter also marks the end of the non-canon story line for now but I'm really interested in hearing if people have enjoyed reading it so far and your thoughts on the story.

Constructive criticism is welcome!

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Chapter 10

Loyalty

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M'gann smiled as she flew towards the Zetabeam her cheeks were flushed and her head giddy with excitement.

If she closed her eyes she could still feel the heat of Superboy's gaze on her skin. It made her tingle with a feeling she hadn't yet learnt the human word for, something she had always thought about but never experienced.

The Bialya mission had been a near disaster. None of them had expected to encounter another telepath, let alone one as powerful as Psimon and with Aqualad now out of commission and their questions left unanswered if felt as if they had nothing to show for their struggles.

Well...we have that...Sphere thing...

But they still didn't find out the why.

The Martian wished Robin had been there with them, the Boy Wonder would have been a huge aid in their brief amnesia induced states but she didn't dwell on it. After all Batman had needed him in Gotham or so they had been lead to believe.

Despite everything M'gann was happy how things had turned out, the experience seemed to have brought Wally and Artemis closer and they all had learnt a great deal about working together under intense pressure and changing circumstances.

But the result that M'gann loved the most was her and Superboy were now growing closer. She didn't know what it meant but there was something there between them now, an energy she couldn't see or touch but she felt it all the same.

With every day she spent on this planet her dreams of living a human life seemed that much closer.

I have to be careful...

She needed to speak to her Uncle, the emotions running through her were intoxicating and powerful and even though she wanted to explore them further she feared they may be too overwhelming unless she could control them.

M'gann wouldn't risk losing this connection with Superboy by accidentally showing him what she truly looked like...she was prepared to do whatever it took to keep him with her.

To her surprise there was already a group gathered by the Zetabeam, she could see her Uncle talking quietly with Batman who was coated with dusty bits of rubble, Robin stood next to him in a similar dirtied state.

But it was the fourth member of the group that made M'gann pause.

He was an inch or two taller than Superboy with short black hair dressed in a tight black leather costume. The unknown teen stood with his face down as the three vigilantes stood around him, but what really caught M'gann's attention was the blinking red lights on the collar wrapped around his neck.

What happened...?

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A few hours earlier...

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Robin

Dent's hideout was much bigger on the inside a maze of twists and turns filled with crates full of illicit goods stacked to the ceiling, the lack of dust and stale air told Robin that Dent had been operating from this site for a long time perhaps even while he was in Arkham.

How they hadn't caught onto this before now was disturbing.

There was no way Dent could have managed a site this big without help from higher powers which meant there was either traitors among the GCPD or someone else was out there pulling strings for the madman.

Dick didn't like either of those ideas.

Up ahead 'Sparkles' ran down the hallways intent on reaching his partner in crime, his heavy thuds splintered the floor boards under foot making enough noise to wake the dead.

He wasn't kidding about stealth not being a strong point...

There was more gunfire coming from further in but the walls distorted the noise making it difficult to accurately pinpoint, Sparkles picked up the pace and after taking a wrong turn into a dead end he growled with frustration.

"Screw it!"

He backed up a couple of steps and prepared to charge at the wall but Robin quickly reached out and grabbed him by the arm.

"Woah there! Not a good idea"

Sparkles stilled at the firm grip on his forearm looking at the young vigilante with a determined expression.

"I can't find my way around in here...so I'm going to make my own way"

This guy has way too much in common with Superboy.

"As I said, not a good idea, breaking down the inner walls of an old building will weaken the structure and I don't think you want to bring the house down on us do you?"

"Right...no, I just-"

"Want to find her, I know, we will, just take a moment to think things through"

"There's no time! She could be hurt or-"

"She isn't"

"How would you know that?!"

Robin grit his teeth. He didn't like being snapped at.

"Because she lured us in here on purpose"

"She was fighting Dent"

Robin rolled his eyes behind the lenses.

"And in the middle of the fight she randomly decided to turn her communicator on?"

Selina wouldn't bother with communicators if the fight was serious, contacting 'Sparkles' had been a deliberate move.

"She in trouble and she needs help!"

Robin could see that the meta was growing agitated with him.

"Or she needs a distraction and what better way than to bring in an unstable meta-human"

Sparkles visibly recoiled at those last words.

Dick swallowed trying to gathering his thoughts together, it wasn't the other teen who the Boy Wonder was angry with it was Selina.

She had him under her thumb and was willing to use him however she saw fit to get what she wanted meanwhile he remained oblivious to this fact because he mistook her manipulation for a friendly gesture believing that Gotham's most infamous thief was actually 'helping' him.

She was going to drop him the second he became a burden.

"Look...I know we have different opinions about her but believe me when I say she is fine, if there's one thing Selina is good at it's looking after herself"

He huffed shoulders relaxing a little.

"I can't argue that...but we still need to make sure she's okay"

Robin bit his tongue.

Selina did not deserve this kind of loyalty, this poor guy actually trusts her and it pained Dick to know she was going to betray that trust.

"Follow my lead, I know the layout of the building and I can track Selina's communicator, don't get yourself worked up and keep a clear head, okay?"

The taller male nodded.

"Alright...stay close"

This time they moved with new found purpose Sparkles let Robin guide him through the mess of hallways taking him round twists and bends that he would have ran right past and soon enough they emerged from the maze into a large open court room.

It was empty aside from a few dusty wooden benches, the windows on either side of the court room were missing letting cool air drift in. Robin tapped his wrist computer checking the communicators location and frowned.

"Says the communicators right here"

"It is"

Dick watched as the meta bent down and picked up a small black device off the ground.

She knew I was tracking it.

"What happened?"

Judging from the two bullets holes in the ceiling and the overturned benches Robin assumed that this was where Selina ran into Dent. She must have thrown the communicator on the ground during the fight...but those things are designed to stay in whatever happens they only come out when they are forcibly removed.

"Robin?"

"Sorry...thinking, looks like there was a struggle, communicator is here so that means we are exactly where she wanted us to b-"

Both of the teens snapped their attention to the exit near the end of the courtroom where a shadowed figure entered Robin had a trio of batarangs in his hand in a heart beat but a silky voice stopped him from throwing them.

"Easy there boy-birdie"

Catwoman limped out of the shadows cowl pulled down holding her right side tightly with a grim expression of pain painted on her face.

"Selina!"

"Hey there Spar-"

Her voice was overcame by a pained gasp as she fell her meta-human was at her side in an instant gently supporting her frame.

"What happened? How badly are you hurt? Should we call an-"

Selina held one slender claw up.

"Shhhh, no time, Harv set up a trap for Batman, he needs help"

She tried to get back up but fell back down Robin huffed at the display.

"Nice act, really think I was going to fall for it"

The meta glared daggers at Robin.

"What's wrong with you she's hurt!"

"She's faking it"

The stonework in the walls shook.

"I've had enough of your paranoid prejudice! Seriously what the fuc-"

"Enough!"

Selina gasped letting go of her chest to prop herself up on one hand.

"This is why I hate teenagers, too many moods swings..."

Robin sneered at her.

"Whatever you might think birdie Harv has set a trap for your Daddy-Bats"

"And I'm supposed to take your word for it"

"Call him."

Dick scowled but couldn't ignore the paranoid prickles in the back of his mind.

"R to B come in B"

No reply came.

"B respond"

Nothing.

"Robin. Dent is going to kill him."

He clenched his fists, she was pulling on his strings he knew it but he couldn't ignore that facts, sometimes the truth was the easiest way to manipulate someone.

Robin pointed at the other teen.

"Stay here"

He had to grind his teeth together when he saw the glimmer in Catwoman's eye as he ran past them disappearing further into the building.

Dick hoped Bruce was okay unlike that self-centered thief he knew what it meant to be loyal and as the sidekick ran he made a silent promise to himself that he would wipe that smug look of Selina's face one day.

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Ethan

Ethan watched Robin leave silently seething inside.

How could he be so cynical! He may have known Selina longer but he only knew her from his side of the line; he hadn't worked with her, fought with her and like hell did Ethan believe that he knew her.

He let it go for now, it didn't matter anyway especially since this provided them with the perfect opportunity to escape. To hell with these vigilantes Ethan didn't need them, not now not ever.

"I've had enough of this place, think you can make it outside Selin-"

The feeling of something cold clamping around his neck made Ethan whip his gaze back to the wounded thief but before he could process anything a high voltage pulsed through his veins bringing him to the floor as his body convulsed.

"I am really sorry about this kid...I mean it, I am sorry, it's nothing personal"

Selina stood over him all previous signs of injury now gone.

She's not hurt...

"I mean it's not like I enjoy being two-faced...huh...that's ironic"

Ethan clawed at the metal around his neck whimpering when he realized what it was.

Inhibitor collar...she put an inhibitor collar on me...

The collar let out another pulse that sapped the strength from his muscles making the teen cry out.

"W-why!?"

Catwoman bit her lip.

"Harv hid the device somewhere, bastard wouldn't tell me where, my guess is he'll have it smuggled back to him somehow if he manages to escape the Bat tonight..."

The weight of the collar felt like it was growing heavier.

"...and without it I have no way to stop said Bat from tracking me...so I need time...I need a distraction"

Tears burned in Ethan's eyes as he remembered Robin's words from earlier.

'Or she needs a distraction and what better way than to bring in an unstable meta-human'

A new kind of pain worked its way through his body one that didn't come from the collar but instead stabbed from within.

"You'll keep the Bat busy for awhile right? You can do that for little old me"

That same pain filled Ethan's voice when he spoke.

"F-fuck you!"

Selina frowned pouting at her incapacitated partner.

"Such language"

There was fighting going on further inside the building they could hear it through the walls, Selina eyed the hallway Robin had disappeared into warily then moved towards the opposite exit.

"I trusted you!"

The thief froze back still facing the teen.

"I TRUSTED YOU!"

Ethan's voice broke as he tried to not sound like he wasn't hurt like hell by her betrayal.

"You should have known better than to play with stray cats Sparkles"

He couldn't take this, after everything he had been through he couldn't let someone else screw him over like this. She had lied to him, played him like a fiddle and snapped him in two without hesitation. She'd used his Mother against him, used it to her advantage, her voice from their first encounter whispered in his ear.

'A golden opportunity for those who know how to take it'

He ground his teeth together, anger giving strength back to his bones as he pulled himself up to stand on shaky legs.

Selina turned, head tilted to the side curiously.

"I won't let you get away with this...I won't! This...This isn't fair!"

Catwoman's brows shot up in surprise but that quickly gave way to loud silky laughter.

Ethan ran at her the hurt and rage spurring him on. Selina glided out of his reach as he took a swing ducking under his arm and bringing her knee up into his stomach.

Ethan hunched over wheezing out a breath then he tried to tackle her but instead ended up meeting a metal toe-capped boot, the kick knocked him down and what ever rage he had seeped into the cold floor.

Ethan could feel warm liquid trickle down his face, without his powers he was no match for the thief.

Selina crouched next to him this time her face was full of sympathy.

"You're right, this isn't fair..."

The collar sparked up again nearly pushing him into a sweet blissful void of unconsciousness.

"...but this is Gotham, its kill or be killed, luckily you didn't end up learning that the hard way, and whatever you might think this is better than what those maniacs out there would have done to you"

Ethan didn't reply, he couldn't, his tongue felt like a paper weight in his mouth.

"I'm not one of the bad guys but I'm not one of the good ones either...I wish this could have turned out better"

Catwoman got up and positioned herself by the exit pulling her cowl over her head and the goggles over her eyes.

"See you around kid"

With that she left Ethan there on the floor bloody and broken with that cursed collar pulling him further and further away from the waking world and when the darkness finally took him Ethan dreamt of cats lapping at warm milk and bats swarming from above.

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Soooooo...who saw that coming?

Not gonna lie I totally saw it coming...cause y'know...I writ it.

I was torn over this, on the one hand Catwoman isn't a villain and she will occasionally do some good but she isn't exactly an upstanding citizen either. I wanted to show that darker side of what she is willing to do to get herself ahead of the game and the lines she is willing to cross to do so.

Regardless, hope you enjoyed reading.