Author's Note) Introducing a new point of view character! Gavin wrote the beginning of this but found he struggled with Catwoman, so I took over and wrote the vast bulk of it (very little of Gavin's actual text actually made its way into what you see below). He did, however, give me a starting point to work with, so that's great. Anyway, I hope you like it. If you're really enjoying this story and the long delays are getting to you, I am really sorry. My other fanfiction (The Last of Them) is slowing progress on this a little because the chapters are so long. Next up is either a Superman or a Green Arrow chapter. Which would you prefer? Let us know in reviews!

CATWOMAN

The loading yard of the LuthorCorp warehouse was eerily silent. Moving trucks sat in rows, untouched for some time, sat in straight rows, parked. Some of their doors were shut, and bodies lay in them. Poor suckers probably thought they could keep out the gas, she thought. She moved past corpses that lay in large, geometric circles – from above, it might even look like they were dancers, making shapes for the leisure of those high above them… but to Selina Kyle, they were just more corpses. It took a lot to turn Catwoman's stomach, but this certainly came close to it. They look terrified… and delighted. Creepy. As much as the cat burglar liked a little chaos, this was too much. Catwoman knew that Mad Hatter had been caught up in the gas, and she wasn't going to be next. She'd found a mask quickly, and attached it. Her goggles were over her eyes, though the mist produced a strange yellow glow that made it easy to see her way – though not too far ahead.

She made her way over to the door, doubting anybody was still inside. Selina had been surprised to hear from Batman in the midst of this madness, and even more surprised to find out what he wanted: use of her services. Here was me thinking you were just an unyielding goody-too-shoes. Nice to know you're a little flexible on justice, Bats. The burglar had no clue how a yellow rock was going to help stop the madness in Gotham, but she had some faith in old broody-too-shoes.

"The way I see it," Catwoman had explained to him, "if this doesn't stop, time will come when we just run outta air. I'll give you this one for free." Had she been near him, she would have winked. Catwoman did not have that privilege. "Well, maybe you could take me out to dinner when this is all over," she had added.

Batman grunted in reply. "Goodbye, Selina."

She had started to say goodbye, but it was too late – he had hung up.

Catwoman traced the frame of the metal control panel with one of her claws, and then flicked them inwards. It snapped open. If she could disable the lockdown, prying it open would be child's play… And then her communicator started bleeping. She sighed. The information projected onto her large red goggles gave her the ID: Holly Robinson. A finger pressed on the side of her goggles and answered.

"I'm a little busy here, Holls."

"I just got back to Gotham. What the hell is going on in there?"

"In? You're outside the quarantine dome?"

"Yeah –"

"Get far away from here then. Go to Star City. New York. Somewhere away from here. Metropolis isn't safe either…"

In the background, Selina heard the sound of a car door slam shut. Holly's voice seemed strained when she spoke again; she was leaning over. No doubt hotwiring a car. There had been a time where Holly had taken over the mantle of Catwoman, but it hadn't suited her. She didn't like the suit. Selina, however, liked the way it clung to her body. "What are you doing?"

"Helping save the day."

"Turning over a new leaf?"

The imagery set her on edge. Vines had crawled their way over the facility; it was the first thing she had noticed (after the smiling corpses). "Something like that."

"Stay safe. Love ya," Holly said, and the sound of a kiss came through the phone. The line went dead.

Selina licked her lips as she looked through the many, many wires that were entangled inside the control box. Luckily, she'd seen one of this design before. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all. She cut a blue wire, and the doors began to open slowly. "At least make it difficult for me." She had thought it would take the gas some time to seep into the building, and was surprised when the yellow stuff had already spilled into the room, filling it and hanging in the air.

Her high-heeled boots came into contact not with concrete, but thick, lush green grass. Words failed her then at the sight of what lay ahead of her; amidst steel walls were gnarled trees, huge, sprawling vines that twisted and moved on the floor. They seemed to sense her arrival, and backed away a little. "Just what I needed. A complication."

The facility had never been abandoned and yet it seemed that the plants there should have taken years to get to their current sizes. Or seconds, if they've got a little fairy dust from Gotham City's greenest thumb… She removed her whip from her belt.

"If that red-headed whore is in here, I best keep my feet off the lawn," she quipped.

Selina brandished her whip at a vine upwards and lifted herself off the ground and onto an upturned crate. She activated Batman's little toy and hooked it onto her belt. The wonderful dark knight had courteously left it for her behind Gotham's classiest garbage can. "Oh, Batman," she said aloud when she found it. "What a special night."

"It's like a Geiger counter," he explained. "It'll help you find what you're looking for."

"I'm not going to have to wear a radiation suit, am I?"

"No, you'll be safe."

"Phew. That wouldn't be flattering at all."

The small hand-held device began to click as soon as she flicked on its switch; a yellow light flashing off and on in the corner. "Just follow the clicking," she sighed and continued.

Avoiding all things green and growing was a time-consuming and necessary precaution; she leapt onto every patch of dirt and bare ground she could see. I have to hand it to her, she's made steel ground as fertile as a field. Selena wasn't much of a fighter, she preferred to go in and get out with as little hassle as possible. She usually got it, too; she was a proficient sneaker. Still, stand on one little stray branch and she would know.

Selena noticed that a box had been knocked open. High-grade scientific equipment was stored inside. Expensive stuff. I wonder if old Bats would object if I picked a few pockets whilst I was in here. It's not as if Luthor is going to miss them…

The deeper Selena got into the warehouse the thinner the yellow gas clouds became. She cracked doors and made use of crawlspaces where she could. It became clear to her eventually that the building was no warehouse; it was a scientific facility. Had there been people inside – which there were not – then the defences would be alert, and it would have made it much more challenging. But the gas made it challenging too, and once the gas disappeared, it was replaced with something else: spores. Probably best to just keep this mask on, she reckoned.

It wasn't much longer until normal equipment stopped appearing and the truly expensive things started to crop up. A box full of Kryptonite bars had smashed open and were strewn across the floor, radiating and pulsing a faint green glow. Eerie. What was once an exosuit had been twisted through and smashed apart by vines that now retreated away from Catwoman. "Must be Luthor's old stuff. The man was crazy, but at least he had good taste." By "good taste", she meant "expensive".

The clicking began to click in frenzy, mingling with a new beeping tone. Sounds like the prize is just around the corner… Catwoman said and leapt onto a large steel container. A tiny collection of vines began to creak as they turned towards her. Are they watching me? Selina had to admit that there had been a suspicion growing inside her that she was being watched since she had set foot in the place. "Don't tell your mama I was here, mmkay?" she said playfully and moved on. Their direction changed and they followed her… watching.

There was shipping container in the corner of the room, but it wasn't your average Joe. It was coated by a fine white steel that made her bite her bottom lip a little. I need to get me one of those, she thought, walking towards it. The vines seemed to whistle behind her and she ignored them.

With more noise and effort than she would have liked, she eventually cut a small cat-flap in the container, just enough for her to slip in, and crawled inside. Catwoman activated the nightvision on her goggles and she could see everything; but there wasn't much to be seen. In a corner, there was a small table holding a piece of steel the size of a pencil case. She sliced down its side with a finely honed claw and out fell a small yellow rock. About the size of a battery, it was not what she expected. I was expecting something I little bigger, she sighed, and dropped it into a pouch in her belt. "And now I just have to get out of –"

Two thumps sounded from one end of the container. The tips of two plant vines with barbed tops had punched through the container and began to spread across the wall… she could see them crawling towards her. With one great tug, the vines ripped the metal steel walls away and the room, leaving her exposed. The night vision automatically turned itself off when light flooded in, almost blinding her temporarily. A woman stepped into view.

Poison Ivy's body was most exposed, but for a green thong, a bra made of thin vines and a red overcoat that coated very little. Her skin had a green tinge all over, and Selina herself couldn't deny the allure of the woman… the sensuality of her. Fiery red curls tumbled all the way down to the small of her back. She looked angry, taking deep breaths, her cleavage rising and falling, immense.

"I know you're not a people person Ivy, but I might just take that to heart."

"What are you doing in here, Cat?"

"Oh, you know, just browsing the merchandise," Catwoman replied, leaning on her hips. Selena's stance and tone was cool and casual but her mind was racing. Find a way out find a way out find a way out. In her own way, this woman was as warped as Joker. A deranged ecoterrorist. Human life was to be swatted by her.

"Really?" Ivy said, walking towards her slowly. Well ain't she got some swagger. "See anything you like?"

"If you're talking about yourself, I'm sorry to disappoint you, honey. My type is tall, dark and brooding."

"What have you got there?" she asked, vines rising slowly around her.

"Oh, come on, Ivy," she said, sighing. "I don't want to cause trouble. I actually agree with the whole save the rainforest thing."

"You called me a whore," she said simply, with a lot of heat.

"Great. The vines have eyes and the grass has ears."

"I know what you have in your belt, Catwoman," she said. "I've been searching for it for some time. So have my babies," she said. The woman was telling the truth; the vines seemed excited, edging back and forth around Selina. It was unsettling. "It makes us stronger. We can do things we never could before with that rock. Can't you see them already? They're all around you…"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"The gold rock. Give it to me, or I will take it."

There was something smooth in Ivy's voice that made Selina want to give her the rock. She could feel herself going a little light-headed, a little woozy. She shook her head and removed her whip. "Come on then, bitch."

The vines snapped at her, but she had her own vine – a whip with sharp edged and a furious slash; she savaged the barbed heads of the vines off, but they kept coming back. Where one fell dead – and Ivy screamed for each that fell – two more sprouted. Selina, taking a leaf out of Batman's book, took to the ceiling. The vines grew in response, but they couldn't reach her.

And then the flat lid of a tree smashed into the ceiling, denting it, smashing away the rafters to the side. She almost fell, but caught her footing again. That was close, and then she saw it come towards her again – she tried to move out of the way, but it caught her and she was forced through the roof. The tree kept growing, always when she thought it was going to stop. She knew she had no choice… the tree kept growing, she could feel the tree throbbing beneath her. She got her hand on some of this rock earlier. It's so powerful. She began to get cold, and she jumped off the tree, using her whip to snap onto the tree. Above, she heard a great explosion and a rip, and she saw… … she saw two green lights beyond the big yellow dome, and she saw it tear and rip.

Gas began to leak out of the dome, spilling into the world.