Meow
Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Serenity Anderson
A/N: Hellllo to all my lovely reviewers! I'll say it again, and keep saying it…I LOVE ALL YOU GUYS! Enjoy!
GambitGirl2008, lol you'll find out soon enough! Here's your update!
Red Tigress, hehe, what can I say? You have to be careful around the cats…
alias245, ahh, don't beg! Here, Here!
Maid of the Mer, YEAY! Muffins! I love muffins! Here's your update!
CATgrl, lol, I hope your coffee was good. But the song was supposed to make ya think and throw you off, well not you, but you know what I mean…lol that's why I had to use it!
Velvet Shadow, I absolutely love your hyper happy dance! Lol makes me feel good, so here, don't wait anymore!
Ratdogtwo:blushes: thanks. I'm glad you like the cliffhangers, I like to keep you guys on your toes ever now and then ;) and I'll block trash for you any day! Lol.
Sand Lord, lol, I love writing the tension between Terry and Serenity. Love conquering all? Well hafta wait and see!
lt. commander richie, I'm glad yout hink it's goodyful, and well, I don't want you to wait too much longer, so here…lol
Kyoko Kasshu Minamino, AH, I'm glad you're so enthused! But I don't want the suspence to drive you crazy, I like you sane…no wait, I like you crazy like me…and there's lots of things id want batstud (I LOVE THAT WORD, you're a genius) to do…but alas I only have on hour free, (of course I'd rent him!) has the offer expired yet! I hope not!
SerenityJc, I'm happy that you're loving this! Don't wait anymore, here you go!
Galaxya, hehe, wait no more, here's the next chap for your enjoyment!
FAMAS, hehe thanks. Good things come to those who wait ;) :hint hint:
NekoGuyFan, lol, okay, I wont stop cause I don't want your cats to chase me!
Alllrighty…this chap is going to be a little lighter and hopefully a little bit funny…think of it as the calm before the storm... ;)
As always, Let me know what you think, and Have A Nice Day! ;) ;)
§§
Batman looked around and frowned slightly. There was something wrong here, he could feel it…the air seemed very still and everything was quiet…almost too quiet. He tilted his head and listened, nothing. He went further inside and looked around once more, eyeing every single detail. Still nothing…he would at least have heard her speaking to her cat, or making teasing remarks about the security system but no, there was only silence. That was odd. He felt his shoulders tense slightly…had Wayne been wrong? Maybe she wasn't here…
He cautiously walked all the way inside and realized why it felt so off.
Catwoman was long gone already, and so was the jewelry. He let out a frustrated sigh scanning the ground for clues. How was it that she already had escaped? He had made it over in good time; she should have still been around here somewhere, but no, she was already gone, and there wasn't even a single cat hair on the ground!
He grit his teeth as he suppressed a groan of frustration. How did she keep getting the drop on him? He turned away but something sparkling caught his eye. Turning to face it fully he felt his mouth drop open as he took it all in.
He found the jewels.
Spelt out in the glittering gems was the word 'Purr.'
His head tilted to the side and his eyes squinted slightly as he took in this little note. He felt both happy and unsure about this little display. A part of him felt something a kin to hope rise inside of him. If she left the jewels maybe she would cut down on the stealing and eventually stop altogether…Maybe this was a sign that he was making progress with her…
But then there was the other part of him that didn't see this as a happy moment. That made him become wary of her, what was she up to? Why would she leave something after she went through the trouble of breaking in here only to write him a message?
..:McGinnis:..
Crap, he's not going to be happy, Terry thought.
"She's gone."
There was a moment of silence and Batman knew that, that wasn't what Wayne had wanted to hear.
..:Jewelry:..
A heavy sigh,
"Still here…"
..:What do you mean? She left it:..
I don't know, he thought."Here look," he said instead and showed Wayne exactly what he was talking about.
A moment of silence again as he studied the image.
..:Purr:.. Wayne questioned.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Batman replied looking around once more. Nothing else was even the slightest bit out of place or missing.
..:I'm going to check out the surveillance video, go do a sweep of the area:..
He didn't need to be told twice and did a quick sweep of the area while thoughts ran through his mind…
Why would she go through all the trouble of breaking in here, only to move them into a sign for him? A sign? She wanted him to see this, but the question was why?
What was Catwoman up to?
§§
Catwoman smiled as she gently unlocked the window, the white of her teeth shinning in the night. She had broken into the museum, the diamond district, condos, and various rich snobs houses, one girl from high school would be Childs play.
She should be in an out in ten minutes, tops.
She slid the window up and glided into the room with ease. Her eyes immediately accustomed to the darkness and quickly latched onto the sleeping girl in the bed. The figures body was moving slowly up and down with calm even breaths which clearly signaled that she was sleeping.
This here before her was Terry McGinnis's best friend. Max. What better way to send a message to somebody than through their friends? Catwoman tilted her head slightly already knowing what she wanted, and was going to do.
She extracted her class with a soft hiss and smiled into the darkness of the room.
The game had begun…
Morning would come all too soon.
§§
-Next Morning-
Through the haze of drowsiness Max heard her alarm go off and rolled over groaning. She definitely didn't want to get up today, she couldn't remember what day it was, or why exactly she had to get up, but knew that already she didn't want to move from the warm confines of her bed. She reached out one hand to smack the snooze button but stopped when she felt something soft in her hand.
Blearily she opened one eye and looked at what was in her hand only to frown. Cloth?
She slowly sat up to look at it more closely and her mouth dropped open when she really saw what it was. What the…
Her sheets had been shredded!
Her sheets, that she had been SLEEPING in, where shredded to bits all around her! She looked around with wide eyes and her mouth dropped open further when she spotted her wall.
There, scratched into her wall was the word, 'Meow.'
For a good couple minutes her brain refused to process what exactly was going on around her. She couldn't hear the noise of her radio blaring some random song or the sounds of her mother moving around in the kitchen. She couldn't hear anything over the roaring pounding in her ears, which was slowly increasing in volume.
Realizing that she was still gaping at her wall, she shook herself and her thoughts and began to assess the situation.
Well, it didn't take a genius to figure out who had left her this little message, but the question was why her? Catwoman only played around with Batman-
Unless…
Oh no…there was no way was there?
Was there a chance she knew Terry was Batman?
Max's eyes quickly flickered around her room as she tried to organize her thoughts. Why else would Catwoman visit her? She had nothing of value to steal at all. And if she knew that Terry was Batman then she knew that Max knew that Terry was Batman due to this little display...Wow that was a tongue twisting thought.
Max slowly rose from her bed and retrieved her cell phone, ignoring the chillness of the floor beneath her bare feet. Her eyes wandered to her window and noticed that it was open; she hadn't let it open the previous night... She had to call Terry and tell him what was going on. She rubbed her forehead as she dialed his number and let out a long breath.
Boy, Mr. Wayne was not going to be happy about this…
Not happy at all…
§§
Terry and Max stood side by side in stone silence, like two children standing before the principal, as Bruce Wayne, the principal, glowered. No wait, he was beyond glowering at them.
"So let me get this straight," his voice graveled but yet remained eerily calm, "your sheets were shredded and the word 'meow' was scratched into your wall."
Max nodded her head; she had picked up pretty quickly when, and when not to say anything. This was one of those times when you were NOT supposed to say anything.
"She knows," he said and his voice lowered an octave.
Max had quickly decided long ago that she was definitely intimidated by Mister Wayne. She didn't care how old he was, he gave off this powerful vibe that he could jump out of his chair at any moment and judo kick you into next week…
"I don't know how!" Terry defended, "It's not like I pulled my mask off and said 'Hey, look, I'm Terry McGinnis!'"
"Think McGinnis," Bruce growled out turning back to face the computer.
Terry looked at Max for help but she only shrugged her shoulders and bit her lip. It wasn't Max's fault, but Terry knew she felt guilty anyway...the bearer of bad news and all.
Terry wracked his brain to try and figure out when Catwoman learned it was him. He quickly went over each encounter with Serenity and Catwoman to find a link; if there was one- he wasn't even sure it was her anymore! The most recent thing he could think of was at his house when-
"Serenity saw me without a shirt," Terry blurted suddenly and was met with raised eyebrows from Max. He blushed slightly under her gaze and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Somebody's been keeping secrets," she muttered under her breath.
"No, I mean, she was at my apartment one day and walked in on me changing the bandage on my arm," he clarified fighting down his blush, "must have recognized her handiwork," he finished dryly.
"Well, that explains the song-"
"What song?" the outburst came from Wayne who was now gazing at the pair with an odd look.
"Last night at the juice bar, you know where all the people with lives hang out and-"
"Get to the point," Wayne snapped.
Not the time to dance around Terry, Max chided in her head casting a nervous glance at him.
"She sang this song that was really confusing…um…How'd it go Max? Ugh…something about being face to face or something."
Wayne looked at him for a long moment before turning around and pulling open a sound file. Max and Terry looked at each other and shrugged before turning back to Wayne. The song that Serenity sang the previous night floated throughout the cave and echoed off the walls.
"Was it this?" he asked gruffly not turning from the computer, his fist tightly clenched even though neither Max nor Terry could see it.
"YES!" Terry exclaimed "That's it, and it really freaked me out, but then I got your call while she was still singing it and-"
"Do you know why Catwoman was long gone when you arrived?" Wayne questioned turning off the song without explanation. "Because the alarm was delayed," he met Terry's eyes, "The alarm had been purposely set off, then delayed…I'm still tracing where interference came from- but I have no doubt that it was her. She meant to throw you off. The song, the alarm…everything."
Bruce's lip twitched slightly.
"She's playing with you."
An alarm suddenly sounded on the computer and Bruce turned around again and began typing furiously on the keys while the pair watched him anxiously in silence.
"There's a phone call going out of the apartment," he informed them without turning around.
Terry looked confused for a moment, "But I never put a bug on their phone line…"
Bruce looked over his shoulder at him with one of those looks.
"There are many other ways to listen in on a phone conversation," he said blandly, "Now be quiet so we can hear…"
§§
Serenity bit her lip as the phone rang.
..:Arkham Retirement Home:..
"Hello, Room 222 please."
..:Who's calling:..
They always gave her a problem when she called…a running joke they had…Guess she didn't sound older, huh?
"Serenity."
..:Serenity who:..
They loved to toy with her. She and Selina were pretty much the only people who called or visited there, and they knew it.
"Ha ha Candice, very funny," Serenity drawled with a small grin.
..:Just teasing you dear, I'll put you through:..
"Thanks."
The line went silent as it connected through to Uncle Harvey's room. It only took a couple of seconds before she heard a gruff voice answer the line.
..:Yeah, who is it:..
AH, Two-face was talking right now.
"It's me," She said knowing full well that they would know who it was.
..:Ah, the baby cat, what do you want fleabag:..
She couldn't help but laugh. The first time he, meaning Two-face, said this to her she almost broke down and cried because she really thought he meant it. After hearing it every single time you called you sort of found the humor in it. This was Two-face talking and you had to remember that he was more than a little vulgar if you didn't appease him.
"What's the matter, only one shot of espresso today?" Serenity teased.
What most people didn't know was that both Uncle Harvey and Two face were coffee addicts and needed a coffee with a double shot of espresso every two days.
The response to her little quip was a low growling noise. Ha, she loved getting them riled up.
..:Funny baby cat, funny:..
"I try, anyway I wanted to talk about this weekend…"
..:What's the matter pet? You're still going to come visit us aren't you:..
Ah, THAT would be Uncle Harvey. Care and concern was always Harvey. Two-face was rough and crude, also the pet names helped identify who was currently talking.
Pet Harvey.
Baby cat Two-face.
Sometimes it was amazing how they could switch back and forth so quickly. It was hard at first, but you catch on.
"I don't know," Serenity said softly absently twirling some hair around her finger.
..:We know that this is your bad time of the month-:..
"What!" She cut them off, slightly confused. Why were they talking about her period?
..:Anniversary pet:.. they reminded gently and she smacked herself on the forehead, literally.
She knew it was her mom and brother's anniversary, it was just when she heard them say, 'time of the month' that wasn't what she thought of…At least, not normally.
"Yeah, I-I know, you just…threw me for a second…" she rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand. How could she think they were talking about her PERIOD?
Ugh, she needed more sleep.
"Maybe I'll stop by for a little while," she relented, seeing Uncle Harvey and Two-face always was interesting to say the least, maybe it would make her feel better...
..:Bring that damn game again:.. a harsh voice barked at her. She broke from her thoughts and narrowed her eyes at the receiver.
"They probably wont let me!" she barked back at them, "You BROKE the last one I brought…remember? You threw it against the wall and then out the window!"
..:It cheated:.. They snarled in defense.
She continued like she hadn't heard him.
"THEN, I had to buy a NEW one…"
..:IT CHEATED:.. He snapped again raising his voice.
"You were pretty scary looking," she admitted before smiling. Her amusement could be heard in her tone, "but it would have been better without that war-cry you did as you ripped it from the wall."
..:THAT DAMN GAME CHEATED:.. They shouted and she heard a small bang come over the line; he broke something. As soon as Two-faced popped Uncle Harvey usually took over. She grinned and continued,
"Do you know the nurses came running into the room as soon as it hit the wall?"
..: …:.. The only thing she heard over the line were low breathing noises.
"Starting looking around like they expected to see the Bat incarnate doing the Macarena around the room."
..: …:.. The breathing on the line began to pick up faster and faster.
"Looked at the smashed game on the ground surrounded by buttons from the controller…" Serenity started to giggle lightly at the memory.
..: … :.. only a low growling noise.
"The controller wires hanging out the window…"
..:IT CHEATED!:.. They roared and Serenity was sure it echoed off the walls of his room.
"Then they look at ME and say 'Guess the computer won.'" Serenity couldn't control it anymore and began laughing out right.
..:That game was cheating pet:.. a much calmer poised voice spoke up and she knew that Two-face was taking a breather for the moment.
"Well, you didn't have to go breaking it," she muttered loud enough for them to hear.
..:You're stalling, what makes you hesitant to come visit us? Surely it wasn't the little game fiasco…:..
Serenity let out a sigh and put her forehead on her bent knee. How to explain it…She was becoming addicted to the nightlife? She was currently working on unmasking Batman? Well, she had him unmasked…she was toying with Batman?
..:Does it have anything to do with that new Batboy:.. He asked her.
Somehow Uncle Harvey could always read her thoughts. But then they pulled a 180…
..:Are you having second thoughts…:.. they questioned again quietly; gently.
They didn't have to finish their sentence because she knew what they meant, about becoming Catwoman.
That took her by surprise…was she? No. No she wasn't. Becoming Catwoman was like a saving grace to her, it gave her purpose. When life gives you lemons damnit you squirt it in somebody's eye and kick their ass…wait, that wasn't how the saying went…
Anyway, that wasn't the problem.
"I'm not ashamed to be the person that I am today," she said softly but strongly.
Selina never told Harvey that Batman was Bruce Wayne and Serenity couldn't tell Harvey that she knew who the new Batman was. They still had connections even if they were old and in a retirement home- that reminded her.
"I'm just…still adjusting to everything…but before I forget I want to give both of you a little message," she said a low tone coming to her voice.
She heard them chuckle over the line and knew that they were both listening.
"Tell the boys you put out on the streets to find…them…to cut it out!" she snapped. Her hand gripped the phone a little tighter.
After Selina told Harvey and Two-face about the little attack on her they had contacted some of their connections to be on the look out to find that small pack of Jokerz. As sweet as it was that they were looking out for her, surprisingly both of them, she wanted to do justice herself. They didn't attack Uncle Harvey or Two-face, they attacked her, and it would be HER that got retribution.
..:We don't know what you're talking about pet-:..
"Cut the crap, I had a little 'chat' with them."
..:We still don't-:..
"I saw the tattoos on their backs. Two masks; one sad, one happy."
An amused chuckle was heard.
..:And just what were you doing to see those baby cat:..
Ah, Two-face asking the fun questions. Serenity gave a throaty laugh before answering,
"Oh, I have my ways," she purred.
The line was silent a moment before Harvey spoke up,
..:You sound just like Selina:..
Serenity raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I DO live with her…wait, wait, wait, we're getting off topic. I'm telling both of you to call off your boys, I am going to take care of them."
..:NOBODY MESSES WITH BABY CAT BUT US:.. Two-face burst out and Serenity felt both loved and frustrated at the same time. It was rare times like these when Two-face actually showed an iota of concern over her well-being.
"But they are MINE! Do you hear me? Mine!"
They started to say something but she cut them off and it was the angriest they had ever heard her.
"You will tell you're boys to back off, or when I see them I'm going to do the same thing to them that I'm going to do to those assclowns," she said low and silkily.
..:Pet:..
"Tell them to back off or when I see them, I'll carve my name into them." Her voice was deadly and calm.
The line was silent for a few moments.
..:I see now why you two are perfect for each other…:.. they mused. For a moment she couldn't tell who was speaking, but then deduced it was Harvey. Two-face would have been more vulgar…
Serenity and the boys continued on for a few more moments of making small talk and pleasantries but what they said repeated itself over and over in her head.
You two are perfect for each other…Selina and Serenity.
The two cats.
A small smile spread across her face as she hung up the phone…
They were right; they were perfect for each other.
Me-ow