Their first stop was the animal shelter. There, Catwoman was a wonder to watch. She moved like a shadow, like a thought, a ripple on the water, a whisper in the wind. She was pure grace. Up the wall, in the window, and a moment later out the door. She had the animals locked up safe in the blink of an eye, from aardvark to zebra. (Well, not really. But only because there weren't any zebras.)
And then she was off again, up to the rooftops with all the slinky grace of a panther prowling at midnight. They could hear her giving instructions to someone over a radio, directions to the animal shelter, and orders to take the truck and its feline occupants to their previously appointed destination. Wherever that was. Then she melted off into the night.
The girls followed, scaling the wall with considerably more difficulty. They reached the roof just in time to see her leaping across the chasm to the next one.
"We're going to get ourselves killed chasing after her," Techie groaned. The Captain nodded cheerfully, got a running start, and made the jump before she could lose her nerve. Techie followed.
Across the rooftops they went, keeping to the shadows and employing their top stealth mode. They lost sight of Catwoman once or twice, only to spot her a moment later on the other side of a nigh-impossible bit of footwork. It was quite the thrilling chase. How many people could claim to have shadowed Gotham's greatest cat burglar through her own territory?
But even the greatest chase must come to an end. When Catwoman slipped into a penthouse through a locked, barred window, there was no sheltered spot for them to wait out of sight for her to make her exit.
They popped on up to the roof, where they could look down on the sights and sounds of Gotham and talk without fear of interruption.
"I wish I could move like that," the Captain sighed. She stretched, raising one leg into the air and pointing her toes like a ballerina.
"Don't throw your hip out." Reluctantly, the Captain sat down.
"Fine. But still."
"I know. It would be easier if she would stop being so awesome."
"Why can't anybody we meet just suck?" the Captain grumbled. "Why do they all have to have redeeming qualities?"
"Same reason all the good people have the suck factor deep down," Techie shrugged. It wasn't much of an answer, but it was the best either of them was likely to get.
They both stared off into space, brooding. Techie kept her eyes on the overcast night sky. The Captain looked down, down at the remote and glittering city. Most nights, Techie might have seen a winged shadow wavering against the clouds inside its circle of light, reminding those below who was really in charge of Gotham.
But tonight, it was the Captain who saw the first evidence of the Bat.
"Ops, hide!"
Techie didn't question the order. They both sprinted to the other side of the roof, where they dropped down to a narrow ledge, out of sight, but still able to look and listen.
First Batman appeared with a flap and a thump, visible only for a moment before he melted into the shadows. Then came Catwoman, from the other direction, a glittering yellow diamond in her hand, a faint clink coming from the pouch on her belt.
"What did Moira Pevensey ever do to you?"
Catwoman didn't seem at all surprised to hear Batman's deep gravel.
"I was wondering how long it was going to take you to show up. It's not very nice to keep a lady waiting." She played with the jewel, unconcerned with anything but the sparkle, as Batman stepped into the light.
"This is the second time you've robbed her this month. You're not usually this sloppy."
Catwoman frowned.
"Now you're just being rude. Besides, how else was I going to make sure you'd come?"
It was amazingly difficult to stifle their giggles. Catwoman? Batman? A romantic tryst? Watching this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and giggling would draw the wrong kind of attention and ruin the moment. But at times like this, giggling was almost unavoidable.
"Well, handsome?" Catwoman ran her claws down Batman's chest. He gave her the granite-faced glare.
"Well?"
"Well, well, well," she purred. He didn't go for it, as she must have known he wouldn't.
"Hand them over."
Catwoman pouted artfully.
"Aw…you never let me have any fun."
"No," he said.
Catwoman's pout deepened, sensual and calculated.
"Oh, all right. If that's the way you want it." She tossed the diamond at him, and, in the same fluid motion, dropped to the ground and swept a kick at his ankles. Techie could have cheered when she saw Batman fall flat on his back and the diamond drop neatly back into Catwoman's gloved palm.
Batman wasn't incapacitated for long, of course. He came up gracefully, a batarang singing just under Catwoman's feet as she leapt for an overhanging flagpole and swung herself onto a nearby ledge.
"You're slow, Batman. I thought you wanted to get your hands on me." She arched her back, prepared to spring over to another ledge.
"Give it up, Catwoman." There was no hesitation in his face or voice. Only the most careful observer would have seen the way he looked at her. He hid it well, that overwhelming desire to reach out and touch her. Catwoman hid her own desire even better, right there in plain sight. She was purring, deep in her throat, nearly vibrating with the need to circle around him, rub herself against his legs, mark him as hers. And she played it as a tease. Brilliant.
"I'll give in when you give in." He leaped up after her, all powerful muscularity and determination. She sprang just out of his reach.
"Selina! I don't have time for this cat and mouse!"
"No time? You mean you're leaving me so soon? Well, this wouldn't be the first time I let you take a rain check. Do you run out on a lot of women like this, or is it just for me?"
"Don't make me coax you down from your tree," he said sternly. Techie smothered another giggle, hardly able to believe that Batman was joking around with a criminal (even if there were distinct stick-up-his-ass undertones) and that she was around to hear it. It was a dream come true, it was.
"Why don't you come up after me?"
"S…" He might have been about to call her by name again, or it might only have been an exasperated sigh. "Catwoman."
"Batman." His word was hard; hers was a caress. "Come up if you're coming. If not, I have a date with a scratching post." She stretched luxuriously, claws digging into the marble.
Techie moved backwards, feeling carefully for her footholds. Beside her, the Captain did the same. It was time to leave the lovebirds—love-mammals? Whatever they were, it was time to leave them alone.