Chapter 20

Catwoman suddenly found herself faced with an old enemy: boredom. Truth be told, she knew she should welcome a break in the recent action. It wasn't as if Selina Kyle couldn't appreciate the value of relaxing, especially in what was, thugs and mutant animals aside, a tropical paradise. But it was a false peace to her. She couldn't quiet her anxious mind knowing that Tygrus was out there with a homicidal army looking for him, not to mention Batman and Batgirl still missing. Still, if she'd had something to occupy her time, it would have been tolerable. The happy couple was spending as much time as they could alone together. Paul had taken to calling his wife "Dot" (he thought it was a clever play on her fur pattern) and she was calling him Shade. Their act was getting to her stomach. The not so happy couple of Sebastian and Barbara had been discussing issues surrounding the experiments going on at the castle. Ballestros' suck up act was still rather transparent, but Minerva seemed genuinely interested in his information, if not exactly him. That was entertaining for awhile, but ultimately tiring. So she began to isolate herself as much as she could.

Not that she could go anywhere to be alone though. Circumstances dictated they stay put. Any exploring of more than the immediate surrounding area was too dangerous. And the fish in the river were plentiful enough that she couldn't use hunting as a valid excuse to take any risks. She tried testing her fishing skills, but sadly she had the technique of grasping fish out of the water barehanded mastered in a mere hour. So she offered to take "guard duty" at the top of the hill overlooking the river, without bothering to suggest a time anyone should take over for her. Their hide out was at a fork in the river at the bottom of a sloping hill, with a steep stone formation hugging the west side of the river for about a mile and a half to the south, while the fork seemed to cut directly into the rock, creating two pathways guarded on each side by stone. From up top, she could see directly east into the forest, and down river to the south. If they needed to, they could retreat further up river, perhaps climbing the stone walls to the plateau above, or shoot into the thick eastern trees. She guessed Tygrus chose this site because they only needed to really watch the south end, but still had multiple routes of escape. So Catwoman perched herself atop a tree branch and fixed her gaze south, looking for signs of Tygrus (hopefully) or (if they were unlucky) a roaming death squad.

The first day came and went. Minerva relived her briefly once during the night, but at first dawn she demanded her post again. Another day passed, mostly with her laying lazily on a tree branch, one arm swinging to side along with her tail. Night fell; and once again Cheetah offered to take over, this time with Balestros to help. He simply insisted, though Selina sensed she was tiring of him. She once again lay down by the creek bed, the soft sounding flow of water gradually putting her to sleep.


"Catwoman, wake up."

She looked up to see the outline of Tygrus hanging over head. His body blocked out the moon, its light shimmering around the edges of his frame.

For a second, she thought she was dreaming. She reached one hand forward, running a padded finger through the fur on his jaw. The soft sensation made her realize she was awake. She smirked, still prone on the ground. "Hey Tygrus. Glad to see you're back."

"Yes, my search was successful; I found several other cats."

Selina sat up and stretched her arms, looking around her for new friends. But no one else was around; not even Dot/Shade or the Cheetahs. She gave a confused look to Tygrus, who pointed out toward the line of trees atop the hill.

"They are waiting in the forest; I wanted to make sure you were here. I also wished to test your guard. I slipped by the Cheetahs unnoticed. They didn't even smell me. Next time, you should assign that duty to Dorothy; her eyes are the keenest I know.

Selina scratched behind her ear, looking slightly annoyed. "I wanted to leave her and Paul alone to…enjoy themselves. They might not have much time to in the coming weeks. But point taken." She moved to all fours and stretched her whole body out, arching her body taught, then relaxed on her knees, facing him. "So why wake me up without the others?" She leaned forward on her hands, grinning widely, "Another excuse to see me alone?"

Tygrus was silent for a moment, then slowly leaned forward as well, his muzzle just before hers. "Perhaps," he said, his voice soft yet serious, "Does that bother you?"

"No…" she said. Suddenly she stopped, her voice stilled, her body tense; she was flirting like she used to with Batman, but Tygrus was serious…he could read her physical cues, her scent, surely he remembered she couldn't…she needed to stop. She couldn't let him be hurt again.

She sat back on her heels, and made her face stoic, "We shouldn't keep your new friends waiting. I'll wake the others, we'll meet back here."

Tygrus nodded, "Of course, they are tired, but we should not delay introductions." He started to rise, and then stopped, "I almost forgot. Catwoman, you did well bringing them here, just as I knew you would. Thank you." He brought his hand to the side of her head, and brushed his muzzle against her cheek. Before she could react, he was off.

She sat still for a moment, then moved to all fours again. Just find the others, she thought.

There were eight newcomers. Plus six made fourteen altogether. They all gathered in what could be liberally defined as a circle. Some sat by the river, others lounged in trees nearby, seeming almost bored, except when Tygrus, who slowly patrolled the space on all fours, came near. At Tygrus' request, they introduced each other, one at a time, giving their name, age, and whatever skills they might possess. As they did, Selina made mental notes in her head, assessing what they had at their disposal:

Paul and Dorothy revealed themselves to be in their late twenties. Paul had demonstrated some proficiency at fighting and hunting, and "Dot" had proven effective at hiding and spying on the enemy.

They had the two cheetahs, both good doctors, one an excellent thief.

To this they added: two female jaguars, 19 with silver fur and 21 with orange respectively, who seemed protective of each other, a 17 year old male panther "but only for another week," and a smaller, rather malnourished lynx couple in their mid thirties. None seemed to have many skills aside from surviving both the Gotham streets and a deadly jungle. Which admittedly was nothing to scoff at.

However, an older, gray cat was a Vietnam vet, and a cougar had been 24 year old former army reserve member that had fallen on hard times. Finally a 28 year old Siberian tiger woman stood up. She was 6'8", stocky yet muscular, easily the second biggest of them, though well behind Tygrus.

That of course left Selina and Tygrus. All and all not a bad set up for their…what should she call it? A pride? Still, in the end they were just a bunch of scared people in unfamiliar bodies, up against trained soldiers of fortune. Most of them had been homeless a few weeks ago. It was also clear that some of them had only come under at least a degree of duress from Tygrus.

"So…what exactly is your plan big guy?" The cougar had an aura of skepticism in his voice.

Tygrus turned and looked straight at him, which shriveled his bravado considerably. "We stay here, and when they come…we kill them. Together."

There were several moments of silence. The older of the jaguar females spoke. "My sister won't kill anyone. She can't, even if her life depends on it."

Tygrus' voice was balanced, controlled. "Not everyone need fight." He paused, as if he wasn't confident about that statement, "Perhaps not everyone. But we need everyone to help prepare, to watch, if we wish to win against them."

"This is stupid!" It was the cougar again. "They've got almost forty armed thugs working for them!"

"Fifty-four," Tygrus said calmly. "There was at one time seventy-one…but I have eliminated twelve from their ranks, and five have succumbed to disease. At last check, the party that hunts us is made of thirty-one."

Now the cougar's ears turned down, and his voice growled through borne fangs. Tygrus had hurt his pride, and that anger was enough for him to work through his fear of the larger cat. "So we're outnumbered, and they have all the guns. Assault rifles you said? You think we can take them? You're crazy! My chances are better on my own."

He turned to leave. No, Selina thought; hot head or not he was too valuable towards the coming battle. And he would strike doubt in the rest of the…ok, pride it was.

She leapt in front of his path, startling him. He turned his fangs on her, this time with a hand of unsheathed claws reared back in threat. "Get out of the way!" Behind him, Tygrus crouched, ready to attack.

Selina showed him her own fangs, eyes narrowed, body tensed to defend herself. "You think they'll just forget you? You don't think they have a record of you and everyone they kidnapped? That'll they'll risk leaving a scrap of evidence of what they've done here?" She lowered her voice, but not her guard. "Staying together is our best chance to survive. Our only chance."

He turned to look behind at Tygrus, and realized how poor his position was. He tried to maintain an aggressive pose, but his voice broke as said, "We…we can't be expected to stand against two to one odds with no weapons. It's suicide. I'm army, I know this."

Tygrus moved closer, relaxing his stance slightly. "You are cat now. You do not realize what you can do. I can teach you. All of you. The land is in our favor. Trust us."

Suddenly a voice spoke up, light, but distraught. It was the younger jaguar. "No! I don't want this! I don't want to fight! This isn't my body! I won't…learn…" She broke down crying in her sister's arms. Selina approached gently, the older sister eyed her cautiously, but she seemed to be disarmed by her demeanor.

"Listen," She said softly, kneeling next to her, "If we're going to find a cure, we have to survive." She placed a hand on her shoulder, claws safely retracted. "We won't force you to do anything. Just stay with us. It'll be safer, and if you can, we'll find some small way for you to help. Ok?"

After a minute she composed herself, and nodded silently. Her sister mouthed a quiet "Thank you" to Selina. Selina moved back to Tygrus' side.

"Whoever wishes to stay, must agree to work together to help the rest. We will discuss our strategy tomorrow morning. For now we should sleep."

"Amen to that," Minerva said. Without waiting to be dismissed, she turned toward the lake, Ballestros in tow.

Each person or couple began to scatter, looking for a private place to rest. Dorothy offered to keep watch during the night. Tygrus and Catwoman simply waited for everyone else to leave, then laid down in the grass.

"They have skill, but we need time. We need time to prepare and to learn. But the guards could be on us at any moment. Tomorrow we must start as early as possible. Otherwise…"

For the first time, Selina noticed how unnaturally tense Tygrus' muscles and tendons were. His eyes looked heavy. He was clearly stressed. All that work getting them here, convincing them to come along…he was going to burn himself out at this rate. And then he'd be no good to anyone. She had to get him to rest.

"Tygrus" she said as she placed one hand on each shoulder. "You need to relax. We'll handle this all in the morning. Just take your own advice and sleep for now." She wrapped both hands behind his neck, standing on her toes just to reach, and pulled him down even with her.

He slowly moved to one knee, not fighting her pull. "Selina, I am fine, I merely-"

"Relaaaaax…." She gently touched her nose to the hallow of his neck. His voice stopped. His breath, then his heartbeat slowed down. All the fur on his body seemed to settle. A few moments passed. Then, cautiously he placed his own arms around her waist. Selina gasped slightly. But she felt no fear.

"Very well…tomorrow." Slowly, they unwrapped their arms. Tygrus lowered himself to the ground. Selina did the same. They laid on their sides, gazing silently into each other. Finally Tygrus spoke, "Goodnight…and thank Selina…you helped much tonight…again."

"Thanks, you weren't so bad yourself." She smiled slightly, "You make herding cats look easy."

Tygrus' face became confused. "It's a human expression big guy. Just get some sleep."