N- VENDETTA
Gotham skyline...never before had it brought such mixed feelings to Selina. To anybody flying over, or just driving in, Gotham would look like a beautiful tower of achievement. Scientific. Humanitarian. Political. Criminal.
Such beauty…
But people who had seen the worst of Gotham's scum, experienced its cruelty, been left to rot on streets wet with blood more often than rain, like Selina Kyle? They knew better. They knew that it would be better for everyone if Joker or somebody had burned it to the ground, or if Ivy replaced it with a jungle...but for some reason, Selina just couldn't let it happen.
Why not though? Why let this city stay corrupted? Why let it suffer from the poison of The Joker, The Riddler, Two Face, Scarecrow, and the rest of the damn fringe? Why not let it be put out of its misery?
Because, Selina answered herself, there's still, somehow, innocent people in Gotham City who need protection. Innocent children...innocent women…
And men? Selina scoffed at the idea. Men had their chance. Chances, at that. But they chose to prey on the weaker women.
Unfortunately for them, Catwoman is no weak woman….Once upon a time, she had been. Long ago, helpless on the streets, hunted, and used and abused...Selina shook herself. Those days are over...
The Iceberg Lounge was the best place to find out anything you needed to know. A lot of rich people had their hands in everything. Particularly, the pockets of Gotham City's people. Well, Selina was no stranger to having her hands in the pockets of others.
Truely, it shocked Selina to know how careless Gotham's wealthiest are with their things. Just a "I'm drunk" gag, a little stumble, bump into the rich man, empty his pocket, and get out of dodge.
Easy.
Three wallets later, and Selina finally got what she needed to buy what she needed.
The man was wearing a black suit, of course, but Selina identified him by the badge hiding on his belt. Gerald Shay. Incidentally, his badge was the same color as his Rolex. Selina took note of this.
"Officer Shay," said the petite young woman walking toward him with blood red lips and short black hair. "A pleasure to finally meet. You have what I asked for?"
Shay opened his coat pocket. "Depends, Ms. Kyle," he smirked, "on if you have what I asked for."
Selina opened her purse and emptied all three of the wallets. "I think we agreed on three thousand?" She said, not making eye contact.
"You pickpocketed these people, didn't you?" Shay asked. Selina didn't answer. "I could arrest you for that."
"Oh, but Jerry…" Selina sipped a drink. "What good would that do anybody?"
Selina handed him the money, and he handed her a card.
"We're done then." Shay offered his hand to shake.
Selina took it and stared into his eyes this time as she shook his hand. "It's been a pleasure to do business with you." She smiled as she let go and walked away.
"Probably time to head home…" Shay mumbled to himself as he looked to his watch…
That's odd, he thought. Surely he wore his special watch tonight?
278 Gothropolis Drive-
It felt good to be her again. Clad in the tight black vinyl and latex, looking through the eyes of a cat, whip hanging from her side...oh yes...Catwoman was back in business. There'd be no parole board to stop her from doing what needed to be done this time. No restraint.
Try as he might, even Batman wouldn't be able to stop her.
She looked down at the unassuming building. Looked like it had been condemned for a while. Seemed to be collapsing on itself. That made Penguin's business here that much more vile and disgusting.
Speak of the wannabe devil, and he shall appear. He entered that building, and Catwoman closed some of the distance, but stayed out of sight.
There was a hole in the once sturdy, wooden roof, and Catwoman crawled through...crawled through to see just the kind of hell she knew Penguin had been keeper of.
The building was full of women...women in rags...women in torn dresses...women with bruises, and cuts, and stains on their clothes...women in captivity….it made Catwoman's blood boil.
Then she saw her prey. Oswald Cobblepot himself. He escorted other men in suits into the building, escorted himself by several armed guards.
"Help! Please! Help us!" The women screamed, until they were silenced by gunshots fired into the air.
Catwoman kept watching.
"Gentlemen….take your pick, and I'll tell you the price…" Penguin chuckled. "Don't ya hear them beggin' ya to take 'em?" He squawked.
Just as she thought...Penguin was SELLING girls…
A bigger man in a suit strolled through the waves of screaming women, all shackled to one another...and his eye settled on a blonde. Calmly glaring at him, and even more, glaring at Cobblepot.
Catwoman saw him grab the woman by the chin.
"And what can YOU do for me, sweety?" The man growled like a rabid pig, which Catwoman had decided was the appropriate term for men like him.
"I'm a bit loud…" The woman said, a growling tone of her own.
"We'll just see about that…" The man thrusted his hand onto her, and Catwoman couldn't stand it anymore. She pounced on the man, and he managed to knock her back and to the floor.
He went for his gun, but suddenly an ear shattering sound sent him stumbling back.
The blonde helped Catwoman to her feet as more men approached.
"Unlock me! Hurry!" The blonde demanded.
Catwoman obeyed, and flicked out an artificial claw, and picked the lock on the blonde's cuffs.
"We have to get these women to safety." The blonde said, glancing at Catwoman, and ripping off the tag that was on her forehead.
"Better idea." Catwoman said as she wrapped her whip around two of the approaching men, jumped onto the wall, and swung herself into the Penguin, kicking his gun from his hand, then kicking him through the decaying wall, onto the lawn in front. She caught the gun, and took aim at the men she'd tethered herself to.
Suddenly, a hand knocked the gun from Catwoman's hand. The blonde. "No killing." The blonde warned her. Maybe she wasn't as cool as Catwoman had thought her to be.
The two women ran out to the lawn where Penguin was struggling to rise to his feet.
"Protect him! He's important!" One man yelled, and the rest followed.
Catwoman grabbed Cobblepot and snatched him to his feet, sticking her claw to his neck.
"All of you stop! One more step and he dies!" Catwoman commanded them.
"You gals are bluffing! Heroes don't kill!" One of the men laughed.
Catwoman growled as she started sinking her claw into Penguin's neck. "Who the hell ever called me a hero?"
The blonde exchanged a glance with Catwoman. Catwoman dropped Penguin, and the men stepped forward. At that moment, the blonde stomped her foot forward, and opened her mouth...and Catwoman couldn't believe what she heard.
With one shriek all of the men took off running, covering their ears, some of them stumbling, others falling…
Once the men cleared out, the blonde turned to see Catwoman gaping at her in disbelief.
"What...the hell...are you…?" Catwoman stammered.
"Wait…" the blonde turned to an intensely cursing Penguin, and drove her fist into his head, knocking him out.
"My name is Dinah Lance. I've been undercover the last few months to bring down Penguin's human trafficking ring in Gotham City. I was going to wait a while longer, but it looks like if I didn't act someone else would."
Catwoman studied Dinah carefully. She wore some ripped fishnets, with combat boots, and a worn out leather jacket.
"You're one of those metahuman heroes I've heard about…" Catwoman took her mask off, showing Dinah that same surprised look on her face. "Dinah, huh? Do you...do you go by a different name?" Selina asked.
"What, like an alias?"
Catwoman nodded.
"A couple friends of mine have been kicking around the name of "Black Canary". What do you think?"
Catwoman nodded again. "I think it works…Uh...I'm Catwoman, by the way."
"Yeah, I got that. Listen, you seem to have some fight in you. I know your reputation. I studied it as a cop. But where I come from, and who I work with, it doesn't really matter...you oughta come back to Star City with me and meet the girls."
"What, like a team up club or something?" Catwoman scoffed.
"Working title is Birds of Prey, but yeah."
"I'll keep you in mind. Thanks for the help…" Catwoman said. Uncomfortably, Dinah noted.
Birds of Prey, huh? Interesting that she invited a cat, Selina chuckled.
THE END