Quick note - Thanks to everyone who is reading this story! And my apologies for any typos. I don't have a beta and no one has read this (other than me!) before I post it. I've read it about a million times but I still miss stuff. Thanks for your patience :)

Chapter 4

If there was one constant he could rely on, it was that all plans involving Selina Kyle would go awry. Upon seeing her use her phone at the museum, he decided to utilize experimental WayneTech technology to clone her cellphone. The program worked up to 6 feet away; he could have stood a reasonable distance from her and let the tech do its work. Instead, he spoke to her. He flirted with her. He kissed her.

It'd gone too far; pushing her against the wall, her crimson-tipped fingernails lightly dragging along his tie and down his arms. She made his blood burn with her soft, pliable lips; her mouth tasting of sweet wine, her body warm against his. Of course, when it was over, he was missing his cufflinks.

Such a stupid thing for him to do. He hadn't needed to kiss her to get the information he wanted - her cellphone pictures of the room were exactly what he expected to find. He knew better. He knew he knew better. And he did it anyway.

When they'd pulled apart, he watched confusion flicker across her features as she stared into his open face. She recognized him. She didn't know who she recognized, she couldn't place him, but she saw him for what he really was. That was dangerous. Irritated, he slammed his foot down harder on the Batmobile's accelerator.

Losing the cufflinks didn't upset him. No, his anger stemmed from letting his mask slip like some amateur who'd only been in the game a short while. Pulling her to him, relishing once again in the electricity that sparked between them, and then asking her to leave with him - not Bruce Wayne, him. Unacceptable.

The only explanation he could come up with for his behavior (though not one he was willing to admit to) was that he missed Selina. Missed chasing her across Gotham and watching her graceful form move through the night. He missed their banter - her banter, really, he limited himself to short, mostly monosyllabic replies. He'd missed her warmth and her lips and her scent. Alone in his bed after patrol, on the edge of sleep, he'd find himself thinking of her. Thinking about how she looked at him like she wanted nothing more than to go to bed with him. Thinking about the way she'd sometimes bite his lower lip on the end of a kiss. Thinking about the way her hips felt in his hands as she straddled him in the rain...

Winding roads and thickets of old growth trees gave way to the amber street lights of Gotham. He needed to focus. There was no question that Catwoman would attempt to take the Queen's Ruby tonight. The Batman would stop her because that was his job. Nothing else mattered outside his mission.

"Be advised, silent alarm tripped at 19th and Washington." The police scanner in the Batmobile crackled to life. The address of the museum. He glanced at the clock - 12:13. Early for Catwoman, she's usually an after one a.m. kind of girl. She must have anticipated his early arrival.

The back wheels skidded and screeched as he turned left onto 19th street. Museum ETA in 43 seconds. He was out of the Batmobile and halfway up the side of the building before it dawned on him - Since when does Catwoman trip silent alarms?

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With the grace of a ballet dancer she carefully twisted her body around the motion sensor beams. Undetectable to the naked eye, the beams burned red through the enhanced lenses of her goggles. Even with the slow, precise movements required to navigate the infrared beams, this was easier than expected. At this pace, she'd have the ruby and be back in her hotel in approximately 27 minutes. With a final twist of her hips she reached the Queen's Ruby.

Like the other gems in the room, it was softly illuminated to enhance its beauty. Selina's brow furrowed. Something was off, it wasn't refracting the light properly. Suddenly, the motion sensor beams surrounding her shut off. Cold began to spread across her shoulders. This wasn't right.

"Stop right there." Her eyes closed as gooseflesh broke out along the back of her neck. Him. It was always him.

"Well, well. My first night back in town and look who decided to pay me a visit. I'm flattered," she purred as she turned to face him. "Have you missed me, handsome?"

And he was handsome. As handsome as she remembered - big, broad, a monument to modern athleticism and the latest in body armor technology. He always took her breath away and tonight was no exception.

"You tripped the silent alarm," Batman said, as he wrapped his cape around his body like a shroud.

"Honey, I don't trip silent alarms. Besides, that's impossible in this room." He cocked his head to the side as he studied her and tapped something on the side of his cowl.

"There was a call on the police scanner about a silent alarm at this address. But my sensors aren't picking up anything coming from the building." The cold that had settled in her spine wrapped itself around her throat. This was all wrong and they both knew it.

"We've got to get out of here," she said, the ruby catching her eye again. There was something off about it, something she couldn't quite put her finger on...

"Agreed."

"Wait..." She crouched down to examine the stone.

"Leave it!" he growled.

"It's fake."

He froze, his cape rustling. In seconds he was at her shoulder.

"We've got two minutes and fourteen seconds before the police arrive," he said.

"See how the light isn't refracting properly on the left side? And the color is off?" He examined the case as she talked. "These flaws wouldn't have been noticeable had this case been lighted properly."

"How do you mean?"

"The lights are only coming from the sides. In a typical gem case, the lights are positioned at the top, bottom, and the sides. It enhances the cut and clarity. And the sparkle, of course."

"Someone's already been here. The security sensors for the glass have been eaten through." He pointed to a barely noticeable gap in the discreetly hidden wires. Producing a clean cotton swab and empty test tube from his utility belt, he took a sample of the corroded material left behind.

"How? There wasn't time for anyone to break in."

The sound of glass shattering drew their attention. A small black ball fell from the broken skylight. A grenade.

"Down!" Batman yelled as he pulled his cape up to shield them. And then the world went white.