There's a Fine Line Between Love and Hate....And Your Walking It: Chapter 5: The Sword of Affection





Terry awoke to a pain searing his forehead.

"Careful," said a smooth, steady and calming voice. You cut your head on a pipe on the way over hear...."

"Emily?" asked Terry, his eye's not open yet, and feeling to weak to think straight.

"No," said the voice as he opened his eyes. "I left Emily, A.K.A. Fox, back on the roof."

Terry's eyes split open. It was Catwoman! He struggled around gently. He was bound by tight wires, surging with electricity, which would deliver a painful shock if he moved too much or tried to cut the.

"Then you know who I am?" he asked, desperately.

"No," she said. "The mask it's self tore where the cut is. I've been cleaning it through the tear, not by taking your mask off." Truth be told, she didn't know why she hadn't taken off the mask. Wasn't she anxious to know who Batman was? Yes. But it seemed, oh, she struggled for the right word, sacrilegious to find out that way. It was unexplainable......

...



P.O.V:

Terry

A warehouse house in Gotham.



I didn't ask why she hadn't taken off the mask. I didn't want to. By not revealing my secret she was showing a sign of affection, and affection was the last thing I wanted. Affection is a weapon people use against you. It's like a knife, or like my cousin's sword. People take Affection and the cut you deep, deeply in the heart. Only the point causes pain, and never makes the heart bleed, never lets you die of your wounds. Never lets you die unless your brave enough, or stupid enough, to commit suicide. I was never either.

Nobody knows how deeply The Sword of Affection cuts like me.

"Ah!"

I cried out as the searing pain on my forehead returned. It hurt so bad that it threatened to black me out. I wondered if it had hit bone. If it hurt this bad, I figured it must have. I, who have known broken ribs and deep cuts, have never had a head injury that reached me skull, and cut through all the tender nerves in between. At least not till now.

I closed my eyes, giving into the pain. Before blacking out, I opened my eyes enough to see Kat (I shall call her by no other name. I know who she is) was tenderly wiping away at the cut with a towel with something wet and cold on it. I knew now that she had The Sword of Affection and was threatening to slit my throat with it.

I also knew that I had The Sword too.



...



Terry tossed and turned with a bad sleep. It was just him and his father, shouting words once said, words that Terry couldn't remember. All was darkness. Just black, and words, and shouting.

A new voice. The same dark. Punches. His. Hers. It was Melanie.

This time he knew the voice. This time he knew the words. But it was still the same darkness. He wanted to see. To open his eyes. To make the words stop. But he couldn't. He couldn't move, could hardly breath, couldn't force his eyes open and awake. Couldn't make the words, the words that cut with The Sword, stop......

"You're my best friend for twelve years and then you just move away. Then you never talk to me. At least at the first family reunion after you moved, you acted like I was still your cousin and important to you! Then you come here and decide to act all chummy and then you have to be my partner and all that crud! Why can't you just leave me alone! Not like you care any way!"

"Is that what you think?! That I don't care?! The day I moved was the day I died on the inside! If I didn't care about you then I wouldn't be vacationing in Gotham City and I definitely wouldn't be risking my butt out here!"

"You sure have a funny way of showing it......"



Then the last darkness. The last words. His words. His own terrible words. They weren't supposed to cut him. But they did. They cut him very deeply.



"...You want me to be alone, just like you......"



Terry finally woke up. The words were gone, but everything was still dark. Everything except a patch of moonlight that came through the window. He breathed hard. He tried to focus on what had frighten him so. But he couldn't figure it out. He breathed out, a haggard breath. One that threaten to let him burst. To let the tears come. To admit defeat. But he had more control over himself then that.

God, he wanted Emily there! Chastising, criticizing, always-so-perfect Emily! To make him laugh at himself. To make him laugh period. To smile with. To fight with. To hurt with. She had always been there before. But then they built a brick wall between themselves. They were taking it down, brick by brick, but at the same time, in an odd way, they were building it up too. He felt his mind scope reduce to that of a child who's sibling was suddenly gone. She was always there before. Why wasn't she there now?

Terry was suddenly struck with the knowledge that Kat's beautiful, peaceful, full-of-hurt-and-innocence green eyes were watching him.

It was simultaneous. They didn't say a word. Didn't make a sound. Yet they both knew. Kat crossed the room, and kissed him.



...



Emily was scared. She wasn't too proud to admit that. At least not to herself.

"If anything happens to Terry, I'll kill Kat myself!" But the other part of her responded "It won't."

How could Bruce be so calm about a hostage situation? How could he be so calm about a war? Maybe it came from a life time of waging it.

"Well," thought Emily. "I haven't had a life time of experience. I'd rather not need the experience." But Terry was still the kidnapee of Catwoman, and Fox was still the only one who could help.

"Emily," Bruce had said. "When your out there, don't forget to breath."

She had not understood it then. At first she had taken the words as an insult, as if he wasn't treating the situation seriously. But Bruce treated everything seriously, Emily knew that. Even what he said.

She forced herself to pull in a breath as she felt dizziness take over, threatening to black her out. She hadn't thought about breathing. Just Terry.

"Relax, but not so much you become overly confident! Get ready to move in, no don't. Don't make a sound. Breath stupid, breath!"

Her mind battled it's self, and it made her wonder who was winning.



...



"Ok, I've got some questions to ask you," said Terry, straightening up.

"Aren't you the hostage and I'm in charge?" asked Kat, who was filling her nails as she sat on a table in the dark room.

"You'll answer them," said Batman with such confidence, Catwoman wondered if he was right.

She shrugged. "Go ahead then."

"Are you Kathryn Kyle?"

"Now why do you think I'd answer a stupid question like that?"

"I promise I won't tell."

"Your promises don't mean a thing to me," said Kat, bitterly. "Give me one good reason I should answer you."

"Because I'm in love with you," blurted Terry. He hadn't meant to say that. He had meant to just think it. But it was true all the same. Both had looks of shock on there face. After a long while, Catwoman finally spoke.

"Do you promise?"

"Yes," said Batman.

Silence again.

"Then yes. My name is Kathryn Selina Kyle."

"Why are you stealing art?"

"To save Tigers like Riko," she said as she stroked the large purring head.

"Why don't you just set up a donation project?"

"I did, don't you get it! I tried every major business in Gotham, in Metropolis, in places I've never even hear of, let alone seen! That was my first step! Then when Wayne-Powers turned me down, that was it! I had no where else to go, I had no one else to turn to! So, I did what my grandmother did! I stole art! Not so I could live the cosy life! My grandfather provided me with that! It was just a cry for help!" she yelled. "When the world turns it's back on you, turn your back on the world...." she muttered.

They were silent for a while.

"I'll never turn my back on you Kat."



...



Emily took one deep breath before smashing through the door, her sword drawn.

"I SWEAR KAT, IF YOU TOUCHED ONE HAIR ON HIS HEAD I'LL KILL YOU!" she screamed.

Kat laughed. "Relax. Your partners safe Emily."

"I'm so sorry T-" began Fox, but Batman quickly cut her off.

"FOX! CUT THE BLUE WIRE!"

Emily didn't have time to ask questions. She sliced the wire that ran from the titanium ropes to the wall in half as Terry easily wriggled out. He grabbed Fox's arm before the Tiger had time to react, and jetted them out the door.



...



"Don't be mad at me Terry, I hate it when your mad at me...." whimpered Emily pleadingly.

"Why shouldn't I be mad! You didn't even tell me you knew who she was! That she knew who you were! You nearly spilled the beans!" he yelled at her as he paced across the floor of the batcave.

"Terry, I thought-"

"You thought?! You thought?! Well guess what? You thought wrong!"

At this point Emily had burst into tears and had flung her arms around his waist, hugging him and pleading with him.

"Terry, I'm so sorry! I was so scared for you! I didn't think! I just acted! If I lost you I don't know what I'd do!"

Terry realized he'd been a bit to hard on Emily. He hugged her back.

"It'll be okay Emily."



...



Terry sat with Bruce, drinking coffee, telling him all the stuff he'd figured out about why Catwoman was doing what she did, while Emily went to answer the door.

"Ding dong," the bell rang again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she thought to herself. She opened the door. "Yes, How may I help....you?" she said dumfounded, as she looked at Selina Kyle







To Be Continued.....