Morning came less than a few hours after Huntress' little brawl with the unknown cat burglar. The sun began to rise on all corners of New Gotham and on this day, the three women and one butler at the clock tower deep in the city, were not necessarily having a good start on their morning. Reading the newspaper as she sipped her coffee, the beautiful Barbara Gordon looked up to see her friend and young protégé Dinah Lance enter their living room of sorts.
"Good morning Dinah." Barbara said not too cheerfully.
"Morning. What's the matter with you? Bad press or something?" Dinah questioned as she took a seat at the table. Arriving with a plate of eggs, bacon and a glass of orange juice, Alfred Pennyworth greeted Dinah and went on his way back.
"Check this out." Barbara scoffed as she handed the paper over to Dinah who read the headline.
"Cat-burglar strikes again. Stealing from jewelry stores and boutiques blah blah, reminiscent of old villain Catwoman, or could it possibly be her…hmm. So let me guess, Helena had a bad night last night with this cat burglar?" Dinah asked handing back the paper to Barbara.
"You're damn right. That bitch posing as my mother needs to stop this insanity." Helena said as she made her way downstairs as well. Yawning and putting a hand through her hair, she took a seat next to Dinah and looked very pissed off.
"Yeah well if she took you down last night, kitty has some tricks up her paws." Barbara said.
"Oh please, she got some lucky shots in is all. But I'm telling you, she's taking the Catwoman thing a little too seriously. That was my mother's mantle and it will remain hers." Helena said intently as she stole a sip of orange juice from Dinah.
"So Dinah, school's out. What are your plans today?" Barbara questioned as Dinah stabbed her eggs with her fork.
"Well I was planning on sitting on my butt till one, watching these rednecks go on talk shows. But I'm meeting up with this guy I met at Dark Horse a few nights ago. His name is Avery." Dinah said looking at the others.
"Wait a minute; you went to the bar without me? Is that why my navy outfit is doused with Long Island Iced Tea?" Helena asked.
"Ah yeah, you see I was kinda flirting with him, and then there was just major slurpage going on with the drink, I'm sorry." Dinah laughed as Helena looked like she was about to have a stroke.
"Dammit. I wanted Reese to see me in that. You're loads of help Dinah." Helena spat out sarcastically as she got up from the table in anger. Walking off into the next room, she pushed Alfred from out of her way, making him drop his platter of croissants. Barbara rolled her eyes and wheeled over toward her computer as Dinah helped Alfred out. Now coming toward Barbara, Dinah asked her,
"Did I say something wrong to her?"
"No, you didn't. It's just that Helena gets very moody when her mother is the topic of discussion. You know, it just brings up old memories." Barbara said punching in information into her large supercomputer.
"I know the feeling. This cat burglar imitating Selina Kyle is starting to be a big deal. Maybe I should come with Helena tonight to look for her, my Canary Cry could be of some help." Dinah suggested as Barbara turned to her.
"Yeah it could, but knowing Helena, I'm thinking that the Catwoman-wannabe is someone Helena wants to bring to justice by herself." Barbara smiled as she continued on with her task.
In the other room however, Helena stood in front of a mirror in tears. In her hand she held up a picture she had once taken with her mother. It was her high school graduation photo with Helena beaming with her certificate in hand, and Selina looking on as the proud mother also beaming. Helena's tear rolled down onto the photograph and she remembered what her mother told her that day.
"Never in my life has there been anyone that I've loved with my heart and soul. Then came you. I love you so much, Helena." Selina said to her.
"Mom…I miss you so much." Helena choked. But, Helena had to face the day but her lament and memories of her mom stayed with her throughout the clock tower.
Not a great distance from the clock tower where the three Birds nested, was a rather large but abandoned warehouse. Coming through the rooftop of where the warehouse was, the cat burglar who fought Helena some hours ago once again landed on her feet in the dusty and cobweb infested warehouse. Right in the middle of the warehouse was a porcelain statue of a cat. Taking it's tail and switching it upward, the cat burglar once again fell down to another level, but this one was more pleasant and cleaner than the upstairs. Morning light filling the room, the cat burglar stood in front of five other women clothed just like her and three men with leather on, but minus the cat mask she wore.
One lady however, stood in front of the people with a silky black robe and a cat mask that allowed her to expose her golden hair and blue eyes. At the moment she was busy feeding three cats. She turned to look at our familiar cat burglar who took off her mask and handed the bag of booty to the cat lady. The girl gave the cat lady a beautiful smile.
"I trust everything went smoothly tonight, Vera. Oh, and the goodies. They're fabulous." The cat lady said as she took a look at the necklace Vera stole. She placed it around her neck and it glittered with the light on her.
"Anything for you, Mistress Bast. You delivered me into this wonderful life, and I will continue to prove my gratitude." Vera said as she made a little bow. The other cat ladies and the guys clapped after Vera's little speech. Mistress Bast took a seat on her throne and sipped a champagne glass that was filled with the bubbly.
"So, did you come into contact with her?" the Mistress questioned.
"Yes. Huntress as they call her is a formidable adversary and she would make a great edition to our sisterhood." Vera informed.
"Very well then, you shall continue to work on her. But you, you will bring me another female metahuman who will join us as well?" Mistress Bast questioned as well to a young man. He walked up to her and bowed also.
"Yes, Mistress. Her name is Dinah Lance, and I sense a great power from her. With the powers of the cat, she'll do you a great good." The guy informed.
"Great. Bring her to me, and I'll handsomely compensate you Avery." Mistress Bast said as she looked at the guy. Avery himself had a devious smirk on his face as Mistress Bast continued to feed her cats and feed her ego by fancying her new necklace.
-Xtreme Slayer