It was a dark and dreary day, which, to be fair, is the norm for Gotham City. The city seemed to have an enteral shroud of darkness over it. Hence, their protector was the "Dark Knight," aka Batman.
The depressing weather conditions seemed to have settled over one region, particularly the regional cemetery. However, it remained one of few locations without a futuristic upgrade.
The city hadn't wanted to take any chances with disturbing the dead's final resting place. Again, with their luck? If they'd done anything to the burial ground, they'd have more then just madmen running loose. Consequently, the burial site remained untouched by the passage of time. Right now, under the shelter of an ancient oak tree, a teenage lass was leaving flowers on a tiny grave.
Only one word came to mind to describe the girl, mousy. Unlike most teenagers of the time, she dressed rather conservatively. Her ebony hair was in a librarian bun, making her pale skin tone stand out more. Her brilliant green eyes were hidden behind enormously thick glasses.
Again, her clothes weren't the alluring trend most adolescent girls wore nowadays. She wore a plain white shirt, a long ebony skirt, and dress shoes. Again, she looked more like an elderly librarian then a teenager. The girl gradually sat on the ground. Then in a barely audible voice, she started talking.
"Hello, Mother. It's me, Julie, again. I still can't believe its been ten years since you passed. But, of course, Dad had only been dead half that time. I'm surprised he didn't die sooner, given he'd been drinking well before twenty-one," she sighed heavily.
"If you're wondering about school, Mom? It's been okay. I get adequate grades, particularly in physics. Yet, I'm still just a wallflower to everyone at Hill High. I've no companions and remain invisible to everyone around me.
Even the professors don't seem to recognize I'm there most of the time. The only pals I've are the fur babies I take care of at the animal shelter," she wiped a tear away.
"My current guardians are alright. Except I'm also invisible to them most of the time. I wish I could stand out more. But sadly, I'm not sure how. I wish there were something I could do," she unexpectedly paused in her conversation. Then, turning her head, she could perceive a young male's voice also having a conversation.
Quietly the girl got up and then peeked through the nearby bushes. Her heart nearly leaped out of her throat. Standing nearby was the lad she'd been crushing on since seventh grade! Terry McGinnis.
He was so gorgeous! Plus, despite his stint in juvie, he is a good person. No one is perfect. Overall, Julie liked Terry for plenty of reasons. However, she also didn't understand why he stuck with Dana Tan.
Dana didn't have anything going for her besides being a hot chick. Julie couldn't identify much regarding Dana, only that she was a fair student, attractive, and not part of anything outside of school.
Again, Dana seemed relatively flat as an individual. Hence, Julie honestly didn't know what Terry saw in her other then her pretty face. But, frankly, in Julie's opinion? Dana was positively irritating.
Julie quietly listened as Terry stood over his father's grave. He, too, seemed to be playing catch up with his dad, Warren. Julie had gone to the funeral, but no one even noticed her. Again, she remained invisible. Well, her invisibility evaporated as she tumbled through the brush. This startled the dark-haired teen who had presumed he was alone.
He quickly dropped to his knees, "Are you alright?" he asked concerningly. He quickly looked over the young lady to see if she was alright. She nodded she was okay. Other then how her cheeks flushed with how embarrassed she was.
"I'm so sorry! I've always been a bit klutzy! I didn't mean to startle you!" she quickly apologized as he helped her.
"Wow, slow down! Why are you so worked up? You're acting like you committed a crime," as he tried to get her to calm down.
"Isn't it an invasion of privacy to eavesdrop?" she stammered, unquestionably frightened.
"How are you eavesdropping at a cemetery? Everyone here is either dead or allowed to talk to their lost loved ones. So it's not that big a deal," the blue-eyed boy pointed out.
"I suppose you're right," even though her pale cheeks were still red. Then, decided to break the ice and ease the tension, Terry introduced himself.
"My name is Terry, Terry McGinnis. What's yours?" he said politely.
Looking down at her shoes, she replied, "I already know your name, Terry. We're in the same physic, chemistry, and language classes at Hill High. I also know your grades have slipped since your father passed away. I also know you only managed to get a C- on our previous physic test. Which I'm assuming your mother wasn't happy about?"
He looked stunned that she knew that. Now he flushed, embarrassed by inadvertently slighting the lady before him."I swear I've never seen you before, Ms...?"
"Hathaway. Julie Michelle Hathaway, to be precise. We've been in the same school since seventh grade. However, I'm not surprised you haven't detected me. No one does, to be frank. I've continuously been seen as a wallflower. So part of the surroundings, not an individual."
Terry looked quite regretful that he hadn't noticed her before. "I apologize for not noticing you before. It's insulting and unacceptable to disregard someone," he quickly apologized.
She shook her head, "I'm used to it, Terry. Before I transferred into our previous school? In my original school, everyone tended to ignore me too. I only received attention as the target of bullies or rumors."
"What sort of rumors? Moreover, why did they bully you?" he couldn't help but ask. She looked a bit uncomfortable before answering, "Rumors that its my fault my mother committed suicide.
Or they ridiculed me because my father drank himself to death. So, I didn't have a happy childhood. What do you expect when you're born into poverty? If I wasn't being laughed at for my garments. People had to make me feel worse regarding my home life."
Terry looked dumbfounded. That wasn't what he expected her to say. He couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. He tried not to show it figuring she wouldn't want to be pitied. "Um, do you want to go out? I don't mean a date," he corrected himself. "But would you like to grab a beefy burger or something?"
She looked taken aback by his offer but nodded. So they went to the nearest burger joint. They spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and getting to know each other. Terry became quite fascinated with Julie's backstory.
He discovered that she was placed in foster care after her parents perished. Her foster parents were alright but still not incredibly supportive. She split her time between studying and working at an animal shelter. While people tended to overlook her, the animals at the sanctuary didn't. She had an affinity for felines, who instantly bonded with her.
She mentioned that the staff at the haven nicknamed her "Catwoman." She knew the name was of an old adversary of Batman from long ago. But, again, she was smart enough to know who Batman was now; he wasn't the same from over forty years ago. If there was one thing Julie prided herself on, it was her intelligence. She did offer to help Terry bring up his grades some.
He told her he'd liked that very much. Yet admitted his job with Bruce Wayne kept him exceptionally busy. Julie told him she was pretty flexible. Then being a true gentleman, he walked her back to her apartment.
Terry overlooked a jealous-looking Dana from across the street. Dana had been standing with Chelsea and Blade. It'd been Chelsea who'd glimpsed Terry. Dana had intended to call out to her boyfriend but stopped.
So the girls kept walking. "Who do you think that girl was? I mean, whoever she was, she's a downright loser. I mean, she's dressed like an old maid!" laughed Blade, to which Chelsea laughed too.
"Yes, why would any boy, let alone anyone notice that plain Jane? Terry must've felt a lot of pity to be with her!" Dana listened to her friends before replying, "I guess it isn't a big deal. Terry's matured a lot since working for Mr. Wayne. So I suppose he was just doing a good deed."
The girls all nodded in agreement. They didn't know Julie had heard them. She had excellent hearing. Truthfully, she always felt more like an actual Catwoman then a girl. She hadn't let anyone know how sharp her senses were. Nor how she possessed a cat's strength, flexibility, and even claws.
If anyone bothered to look at her nails, they see they looked like cat claws, not fingernails. Julie sighed as she glanced around her room. Which again had quite a lot of cat-related things. Plus, more then a few photographs of Catwoman. Another thing she'd never let anyone know?
She felt a deep connection to this woman. She also dreamed of how to redeem the reputation of Catwoman. For now, though, it stayed a ridiculous dream. Then, the next day at school, Julie nervously approached Terry. He was in the quad chitchatting with Dana. They seemed to be disputing about something that she had no idea. Still, she strolled over to him.
"Hello, Terry. How are you today?" she asked in her sheepish voice. He whirled around in shock but not nearly as shocked as Dana. "Julie! I wasn't expecting to see you today."
"Julie? Who's Julie?" demanded Dana angrily.
"Um, I'm standing right here, you know," as she adjusted her thick glasses. "I just came over to ask Terry if he wanted to join me in the library after school. I said yesterday that I attempt to help bring up his grades in physics."
"Sure, that will be fine. I don't have to work for Mr. Wayne today. So we can meet up." he smiled at her. She smiled back before replying. "Okay, see you after school," as she walked away. As she did, she noticed that the couple started quarreling once more.
Dana seemed pissed he was going to be alone with a girl. Terry reminded her it wasn't a date. That Julie had merely offered to help him with his grades. There was nothing to stress about.
Dana didn't look satisfied as she stormed off in a huff. Terry shook his head. Maybe Bruce was right, and relationships were overrated. Still, he hoped an emergency didn't crop up. If he didn't bring his grades up and quickly? Then Gotham would be without its Dark Night for quite some time. Between him being grounded and summer school.
Also, he'd to pass their subsequent physics examination. It counted for a quarter of their final grand. He couldn't flunk it, or summer school was a guarantee! So after school, he found himself in the library where Julie was waiting for him.
"Do you like Goldfish crackers?" as she offered him some from her snack pack. He took a few as the tutoring started. Julie tried to keep her emotions to herself and strictly focus on tutoring. They managed to do two hours of studying before Terry dropped her off.
However, once again, Julie's uncanny feline capabilities surfaced. She silently shadowed Terry with her capability to see in the dark. She quickly discovered he was the Dark Knight! After seeing him fly off, her only thought was to join him. She returned to her apartment, where she pulled out a project she'd worked on for two years.
She'd devised her own Catwoman ensemble. It was her favorite color, Byzantium, a dark tone of purple Her outfit consisted of a leotard, long clawed gloves, thigh-boots with a captivating cat masquerade mask. She finished the look by adding black eye shadow, dark red lipstick, and cat-eye contacts. She also let her lengthy ebony hair flow freely down her back. Then, clipping on her utility belt, she smiled.
Well, the day had finally come to redeem the reputation of Catwoman. She'd longed her whole life to convert the thief into a hero. Furthermore, knowing her crush was Batman? Well, it seemed like perfect irony. Considering anyone who knew the Dark Knight's history knew how Catwoman and Batman had a complicated relationship. Well, time to see if this one would work out where the other one hadn't!
Finally embracing the feline soul inside her, she took to the rooftops for the first time in her life. She wasn't the mousy wallflower everyone overlooked. Instead, she felt her inner self come to life. She quickly found her prey as Terry seemed to have run into a bit of trouble. He was busy fighting some hoodlums and needed some help. Smiling, she jumped into battle, surprising everyone.
She began to fight like an actual feline while using her predecessor's trademark weapon, a whip. The sheer adrenaline rush was virtually intoxicating. She quickly found herself back to back with Terry. "Whoever you are, this isn't the time to play games!" Terry snapped.
She merely flirted back. "Why? Hasn't the big bad bat missed his favorite alley cat? I find this to be the purr-fect way to reconnect! After so many decades, of course. So why don't we become the purr-fect double act?"
Terry couldn't believe this young woman thought flirting and making puns were acceptable now! However, he had to admit she had style and seemed to take to this hero job ideally! After the battle, she climbed up a nearby tree. "Well, that was fun! We should do another double date soon!" she giggled playfully.
"Who are you?! Seriously?!" he demanded.
"Oh, poor little bat. It seems you've forgotten your old friend, Catwoman. Don't worry. I'm not like one before. Although, as I'm sure, you are nothing like the old man either! And don't get in a tizzy! Anyone with an ounce of sense knows you are not the original bat. Anymore then I'm the original cat! Still, I hope to have some fun with you again.
Now, if you excuse me? I've to get going before the cat flap gets locked up! See you!" as she blew him a kiss before disappearing into the night. Or course, Terry went straight to Bruce to see if he'd any answers. Bruce admitted the new Catwoman reminded him greatly of Selina Kyle.
However, despite their physical similarities and this new cat's abilities? He couldn't believe they were related. Terry asked how he could be sure. Bruce said the only way it'd be possible is if whoever stole Selina's eggs created this girl.
Terry was flabbergasted, so Bruce explained the favor he'd done for Selina years ago. Selina, despite her beauty and skills, hadn't settled down. Despite their relationship. Before she went to prison for the last time? She had Wayne Enterprise freeze her eggs.
She hoped to have a child one day after her prison sentence. However, before a week passed, someone stole Selina's eggs. This led to her dying of a broken heart in prison. So if this new Catwoman was Selina's biological daughter? They'd have to find out who she was to protect her.
The following school day, Julie had given herself a slight makeover. Her long ebony was now in a voluminous hairstyle. Her new outfit was a perfect white shirt and a dark purple skirt with a flower choker. She ditched her glasses for contacts and wore some makeup as well.
Her first night as Catwoman had emboldened her greatly. Now, she wanted the world to see she wasn't just a wallflower! She also hoped this caught Terry's attention. Now that she knew his secret? How long before she let him find out hers?
The following three months were a beautiful tango between Batman and Catwoman. There was also some drama at the school as Julie spent more time with Terry, who became attracted to her.
To Julie's pleasure, he slowly realized that there wasn't much substance to Dana. Also, she didn't seem to understand him at all. But, somehow, Julie did understand him. More then he cared to admit.
The breakup between Terry and Dana was the talk of the school for about a month. Yet even more gossip was running amok when everyone found out how he'd started dating the school nobody.
Eventually, the inevitable happened, and the two costume crime fighters revealed their secrets to each other. A DNA test secretly done by Bruce confirmed that Julie was the biological daughter of Selina Kyle. Yet, they still didn't know who stole Selina's eggs or why they ended up in Julie's birth mother's body. But at least this time, the bat and cat were finally together!
Julie: Ann Hathaway.