For the first time in her short life, Selina Kyle is completely alone in the world. Her mother had raised her on the brutal streets of Gotham City. Now, Selina had been abandoned on them at the tender age of twelve. The last time Selina saw her mother, she was getting in a car with a man. That was a week ago. When she doesn't return to any of their meetup spots, Selina knows in her heart that her mother is gone forever. For days Selina wanders the sidewalks in a fugue. She effortlessly picks pockets while searching for her mother's face in the sea of people going about their daily business. Selina hates them all for carrying on like nothing is wrong, like Gotham isn't broken. Gotham's streets had always been littered with orphans and runaways. No one ever did a damn thing about it other than placing the occasional call to Social Services before politely forgetting again. Unable to stay awake any longer, Selina ducks into an empty alley as the sun is setting. Actually sleeping at night is a bad idea but Selina only plans on closing her eyes for an hour or so. She puts her back to a wall near the mouth of the alley so she wouldn't be trapped if attacked while dozing. Selina raises her raggedy hood to conceal her long, dark hair and pulls up her goggles to obscure her pretty face. On the streets, a young, attractive female is the worst thing to be, Selina had practically been born with that knowledge. She rubs her hands against her jeans to warm herself but pauses after focusing on her olive-tinged fingers peeking out from her gloves. In that moment, Selina hates every inch of herself. Her so-called exotic beauty had only ever been good for putting a target on her back. Her dusky skin is likely the reason her mother had left her behind. Selina had always envied her mother's alabaster complexion, blue eyes, and flaxen hair. There wasn't a door in Gotham her beauty couldn't open. Selina was always left to wait outside because of her appearance. If she looked more like her mother, she'd probably be with her now.
"Damn you," Selina whispers it at first "Damn you, damn you!" She begins to scream and turns to punch the brick wall behind her repeatedly. Her unprotected hands cry out in pain as her fingerless gloves are torn to shreds against the brick. A normal kid would've stopped by now but the agony just makes her angrier. Blood seeps from her knuckles as she continues to punch the wall without slowing down.
"Hey, kid," A voice comes from the mouth of the alley "Knock that off, you're gonna need those fists for scrapping."
Selina turns around and sees a teenaged boy standing at the alley's mouth with a takeout bag tucked under an arm. He's nearly six feet tall with bright blue eyes, a clean-shaven face, and light brown hair that had recently been trimmed and slicked back with gel. He's wearing a crisp white button-down with designer slacks and Italian shoes. Selina can tell right away he's no street kid.
"Fuck off," Selina hisses as she coils her body into a crouch "I don't turn tricks!"
"Whoa," the boy sets the brown paper bag down and holds up his hands "Just trying to save you from fucking up your punching hand."
"What do you care?" Selina pulls her goggles down around her neck and puts up her bleeding fists, fully prepared to defend herself if it came to that.
"Just chill out, you little alleycat," The boy kneels down and starts opening the bag of food "Not so long ago I was like you, alone and afraid."
"Yeah right, rich boy," Selina doesn't drop her guard even though she's starving "I'm not afraid of anything and I'm not so easily bought."
"Rich, right," The boy suddenly lets out a stream of bubbly laughter "Smart gal like you should be able to tell, I just started as a runner for the mob."
"The mob," It hadn't occurred to Selina yet that Gotham held job opportunities for people with her skillset "Do they pay cash, no weird sex stuff?"
"Yup, cash and no weird sex required," He pulls out two meatball subs and holds one out for Selina "I'm pretty much a glorified errand boy."
"Let me get this straight," Selina accepts the sub and sits down to eat with her benefactor "You make food runs, pick up their dry-cleaning, whatever, and you make enough to stay off the street?"
"Sure do," He throws her a charming grin and bites into his sub "My turn to ask questions, what's your name?"
"Selina," She says after a moment "Who are you?"
"That won't work at all," He shakes his head "You can call me Jay."
"What's wrong with my name, Jay?" Selina wrinkles her brow, her name was the only thing her mother had left her.
"This is Gotham," Jay smiles brightly "Everyone goes by a fake name here, come up with a good one."
"Fair point," Selina takes a huge bite and meat sauce trickles down her chin "You sure your bosses won't kill you for giving their dinner away?"
"Please," Jay pulls out a wad of cash and gives Selina a hundred dollar bill before putting it back in his pocket "It's Gotham, you can buy a meatball sub on every corner." Jay grabs a napkin from the paper bag and dabs the sauce from Selina's face.
"I don't know what to say." Selina quickly rolls up the bill and stashes it in a boot.
"Just come up with a cool name and make sure everyone knows you're tough shit." Jay cleans his hands and gets to his feet.
"Will do," Selina nods thoughtfully "Thanks for the food, I guess."
"It was nothing," Jay checks his wallet to be sure Selina hadn't lifted it "Listen, don't ever be ashamed of what you are, own it, unapologetically."
"What are you," Selina chuckles "Runner by day, self-help guru to the homeless by night?"
"Just helping out a fellow rogue," Jay pats her on the head before he turns his back to leave "Good luck, little Alleycat."
"Cat," Selina says under her breath as Jay walks away into the night "That has a nice ring to it."
Five Years Later
Selina Kyle ended up taking Jay's advice to heart even though she never saw him again after that night. Rather than work for the mob and answer to a master, Selina takes her skills to work for herself. She'd always been a climber so she works as a second-story girl for a time with other petty criminals. They always got in, got the valuables, and got out without anyone being the wiser thanks to Selina. She meticulously cased their targets for days and learned their schedules so she and her partners weren't interrupted on the job. For a brief time, she runs with a woman named Tabitha whose weapon of choice was a bullwhip. In their circle of criminals she's known as Tigress. After some begging on Selina's end, Tabitha agrees to teach Selina all she knows about combat. Tigress trains her to wield the whip and ends up molding the young Cat into a vicious warrior. Just when Selina begins to feel she'd found family at last, her mentor is ripped from her life with no warning. Much like her mother, Tabitha disappears into the ether after gifting Selina her favorite whip. Selina was never able to find out what truly happened to her mentor. On the street rumors abound she'd been killed by a gangster, maybe the Penguin or that rich prick, Roman Sionis. Selina shakes off Tabitha's vanishing like it never happened, not wanting to face the grief she felt over being abandoned again. Once Selina saves enough to get her own place she rents a hole-in-the wall studio apartment in the heart of Gotham. With her criminal career on the rise, Selina needs a cover so she fills out the paperwork to take her GED. She passes with flying colors and enrolls in community college, pretending to take an interest in photojournalism.
Selina works alone now and still conducts rigorous legwork while planning a job. 'I'm in college for photography' was the perfect excuse for carrying her high-def camera everywhere. For a time, Selina shot on film and developed the photos in a tiny closet she'd converted into a dark room. Now, she owns a laptop and a much better camera but old habits die hard. She dresses in a black leather catsuit while on the job with Tabitha's whip on her hip. A set of night vision goggles with a mask underneath conceal her identity. When pushed back off her face, the goggles look like cat ears, earning her the name "Catwoman" in the media. Selina's bread and butter is robbing mansions while their occupants are otherwise engaged but hunting easy prey had lost it's appeal recently. Whispers of a new crime lord rising swirl in the underworld and Selina finds herself intrigued by what she hears. Apparently, this gangster had a nasty run-in with the Batman that left him forever changed. Some thought he was a criminal genius, others said he was a power-hungry madman. The Cat had always thought the Batman was an urban legend told to frighten criminals since she'd never encountered him on any of her heists. This new crime lord went by Joker and if the rumors were true, he runs his operation out of a strip club once owned by the mob, the Grin And Bare It. Selina knew more than a few of the girls that danced there and they were always gossiping about what could possibly be in Joker's safe in his office. The moment Selina heard the word "safe", she knew she had to be the one to rob it. The Cat gets to work planning how she'd pull this job off. Joker wasn't just a punk with a few goons, his men were numerous and known for being loyal past the point of sanity. After hearing rumors of Joker's paranoia, Selina knows she has to plan this job differently. Since it's always best to case a target from the inside, Selina asks one of her dancer friends to help her get a gig as a cocktail waitress. Before long, the Cat is slinging drinks to Joker's men at the Grin And Bare It every night. She doesn't see him for the first time until she'd been working there for a few weeks. The Cat had assumed the rumors about his appearance were just that, rumors. When he emerges from his office that night near closing time, she finally gets a look at him. The green hair, bleached skin, and red lips of legend were all there. At this point the Cat concludes his look consists of hair dye and lots of makeup. She doesn't believe the story circulating about Batman throwing Joker into a vat of acid at Ace Chemicals. Joker could be masquerading to build up his reputation, just like Selina had been doing all these years. Selina watches him from the bar as he makes his way across the room. Joker whispers something to one of his goons and immediately returns to his office without a word to any of his other employees. Selina takes note that all of his dancers give him a wide berth and follows their example. For a thief of Selina's stature, there's a time to be invisible and a time to be seen. Once the club shuts down Selina overhears a bartender talking to one of Joker's goons. Tomorrow, Joker's favorite henchman, Jonny Frost would be released from Blackgate and the boys intended to welcome him home properly with a party. Selina smiles to herself while she collects her coat and purse to leave for the night. The next time she came to this grimy club, it would be as Catwoman.
Due to her late night work schedule, Selina sleeps in on the day of her greatest heist yet. She wakes an hour before sundown like a nocturnal animal and stretches luxuriously before climbing out of bed. First, she packs her alter ego's suit, goggles, and mask into a tiny clutch purse along with her rolled-up whip. Then she slips into the strapless, black cocktail dress that served as the uniform for the club's waitresses. The Cat dumps her makeup bag out in front of a mirror and does her makeup like the other waitresses, the same way she'd been wearing it for weeks. For a moment Selina is tempted to go over her eyes again with black liner but that was for Catwoman, not Selina Kyle the mild-mannered cocktail waitress. With her makeup done, Selina grabs a brush and pulls her long, dark hair back into the high ponytail she wears every night with the uniform. The Cat grabs half of the ponytail in each hand and gives it a quick tug to tighten it. Her disguise has to be perfect because she'd be deviating from the club's rules when it comes to footwear tonight. Selina would need boots to sneak her safecracking kit into the event. Joker's men searched every dancer and waitress' bag that came into his club. She'd already tested how thorough they were by carrying the empty clutch in a larger purse filled to the brim with lip gloss, sunglasses, and random articles of clothing. The crime lord's men were thorough but not thorough enough to want to find out if the clutch was filled with tampons. Selina laughs a little to herself as she sprinkles the bag with a few more 'girly' items to keep Joker's men out of her alter ego's bag. Finally, she sits on her bed and pulls on a pair of knee-high leather boots with a slight heel. After stuffing her safecracking kit deep into a boot, Selina pauses to look in the mirror.
"Not bad for an alleycat," She smirks at her reflection and smooths her hands down the dress, admiring herself "Not bad at all."
Selina double-checks every piece of her disguise and gear even though she knows she couldn't be more prepared. Satisfied, Selina tosses her keys into her bag and leaves the shoebox apartment, turning off the lights on her way out. When she returned, she'd possess whatever Joker kept in his safe and her reputation would skyrocket from cat burglar to the most notorious thief in Gotham. Soon, Selina would be the boss of her own operation. Hell, maybe she'd take out Joker tonight and end up running his goon squad. Once she gets down to the street Selina pauses to breathe in the cool, night air before slinking off into the shadows to carry out her plan.
When Selina conceived her plan to rob Joker, she thought the night would be full of action and heart-stopping suspense. Instead, the night surprises her in a different way. Selina finds herself bored out of her mind, running drinks from the bar to tables packed with drunken goons. Joker's men didn't even dump her bag out like they usually did when she arrived at work every night. No one even notices she's wearing boots instead of the black pumps that go with the uniform. For whatever reason, Jonny Frost's return has Joker's men excited. Selina gathers all the intel she can while working the party, taking drink orders. The problem was he hadn't been released just yet so Joker's men get hammered while watching whichever girl is onstage. Most of them go for private dances since Joker had decreed his thugs didn't have to pay for booze or the girls' time tonight. He did however encourage them to tip generously. True to his mysterious reputation, Joker stays holed up in his office much to Selina's frustration. She'd never get this job done if the crime lord didn't come out to play. No one had seen him and he likely wouldn't surface until Jonny Frost's arrival. Selina delivers another round of drinks to a table and feels an unwelcome hand on her ass. She lets out a fake, surprised squeal and quickly recoils from the goon that was grabbing on her. She fights the urge to start knocking men out with her drink tray and hustles back to the bar.
"Are you ok," Asks one of the male bartenders "They know they're not allowed to touch the waitresses."
"I'm fine," Selina lays her tray on the bar so it can be loaded with shot glasses "Anyone heard from Jonny?" She asks casually.
"You too, huh," The bartender chuckles, amused by Selina's question "I know he's quite the looker but I'll tell you right now, Jonny's true love is protecting J."
"Yeah, me too," Selina plays along, grateful for the intel "That's too bad I was hoping to snag him tonight." She leans on the bar so it pushes her cleavage up in the tiny strapless dress, capturing the bartender's full attention.
"Good luck with that," He manages to pour the shots without spilling a drop of liquor "He'll probably go straight to a champagne room with the boss."
"Good to know," Selina picks up the tray and winks "Maybe I can score a backstage pass."
"Be careful," He looks Selina up and down appreciatively as she saunters away "The other girls will slit your throat if they think you're angling for Jonny."
"Yikes," Selina pauses to touch her throat dramatically "Maybe I'll try my luck with the boss."
"Definitely don't do that," The man suddenly becomes serious "J's about business and he don't appreciate distractions as much as I do."
"Duly warned." Selina says over her shoulder as she walks away, swinging her hips.
After several more hours of keeping up her facade, Jonny Frost finally makes his entrance with a goon that must've been sent to drive him. He kicks the front door open and walks through it holding his fists up in triumph. The bartender wasn't wrong, Joker's most loyal soldier is quite the pretty boy. Selina nearly loses focus for a moment taking him in. Frost stands at well over six feet tall, his face could've passed for angelic if he didn't have a few scars marring his smooth complexion. His eyes are an icy shade of blue and he's well muscled but not a meat-bag with chin-length platinum hair tucked behind his ears. The club goes silent, then Joker's men stand and raise their glasses. As if on cue, Joker's office door swings open and the colorful crime lord emerges. Tonight, he's sporting a full tuxedo with tails, a black fedora that screams "Gangster!" and a bright purple tie. He's carrying a cane with a jester's head on the handle to complete the look. No one says a word as Joker swaggers to the middle of the room and comes to a stop leaning on his cane. Upon seeing his boss, Jonny lowers his head and lays a fist over his heart. Joker grabs a shot from a nearby waitresses' tray and raises it in the air.
"To Jonny Frost," Joker grins with mirth "The man that the government couldn't hold and hell didn't want!"
"To Jonny!" The rest of the goons echo while waiting on Joker to give a signal that the toast was complete. Selina looks around the club, caught off-guard by the respect and loyalty these people held for Joker. Too late, Selina realizes Joker runs his gang like a cult.
"Thanks, Sweetie," Jonny says to Selina in passing after taking a shot from her tray "Damn, it's good to be home, J!"
"Like I said," Joker throws back his shot "Nobody else wanted you!"
"Fuck to the no," Jonny downs his shot and drops the glass on the floor "Anyway, I'm pretty sure I heard something about free strippers and booze all night?"
Joker's men cheer and toast Jonny one more time before doing their shots. Jonny works his way through the crowd after initially getting mobbed and finally makes it to his boss' side. Joker nods to his favorite henchman and the two leave for VIP, Joker's cane clicks against the floor as they walk into a shadowy hallway on the far wall. Selina waits a few minutes to be sure they'd really gone, then she slips into a janitor's closet on the same wall as Joker's office while everyone is distracted or drunk. She quickly sheds her waitress uniform and changes into the Catsuit. Once she's zipped up, Selina lets her hair down and puts on her mask with the goggles resting atop her head. She doesn't truly need the goggles, Selina had always possessed perfect night vision. She'd made them a part of Catwoman's identity because her mother bought her first pair to protect Selina's eyes from Gotham's harsh weather. Rather than shunning her pain, Selina owned it and wielded it like a weapon. Finally, Catwoman slips out of the closet and walks right into Joker's office without being seen. She makes sure the door is locked behind her, then she makes a beeline to the safe.
"Hello, beautiful," Catwoman tells the safe while she reaches into her boot for the kit "Ready to come home with Mama?"
Author's note : Sorry about the cliffhanger. Trying to make my chapters bite-sized. I thought it would be fun to examine a young Joker and Catwoman working their way up Gotham's organized crime ladder while dealing with the Bat. More Bat Villains to come. This is a side project for me so please review if you want more chapters. I have another story going whichever one gets the most action gets updated faster you know how it is ;)