Chapter 6: Calling In Reinforcements

Takashi Morinozuka gazed at his phone with a blank expression. He hadn't been allowed to go with Mitsukuni but they hadn't been grounded from their cell phones. Their families understood that they needed some kind of contact. And even with that technology, Mitsukuni had yet to send him a single text. Not even a missed phone call. Perhaps it was jet lag? What if he was simply sleeping the first day away?

Why did he not believe his own thoughts?

Suddenly a blinking light drew his eyes back to his phone. A video? Mitsukuni sent him a video? He turned it on and, a second later, wished he hadn't. There was his charge, his cousin, chained up. Someone else was filming him with all the grace of an amature. The person was laughing and telling Honey to smile for the camera. The jokes that were said were in very bad taste and, judging by the feminine laughter, there was more than one person there, watching this torture, encouraging it. And Mitsukuni was crying...

The camera flipped around, displaying two clowns(?) still laughing. "Oh, Mistah J~! You are so funny! Think it's time ta deliver the message?" the girl clown giggled, her red lips spread into a wide grin.

"Of course, Harls! Yo, Bats~ Lookie what I got! Little Robin got his wings clipped. Catwoman's got the details on how you can get him back but I prefer the final act to be authentic so...don't skip out on anything or the brat gets it!" The male clown sported acid green hair, bright red lips that were even wider thanks to the Glasgow smile, and a purple suit with a green bow tie.

The last thing he saw was the phone being thrown into a pot of boiling oil. And then nothing. He had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to track the phone but pulled up the app on his phone. Sure enough, the phone was 'unreachable'. So he only had one option.

xXoXx

The dojo was abandoned by everyone but the Kendo captain. He was waiting, silently impatient, for the only person who could help him now. And soon, he heard the telltale clicking of heels on the dojo floor. He could even hear the smirk in her voice as she commented on them.

"I know no one should be wearing shoes in the dojo but I feel much better with them on. And with 8 lives, I'm sure I can sacrifice 1 of them in order to keep my boots on."

"Cats have 9 lives..." His voice rang hollow.

"I've died once..."

Takashi's lips thinned as his patience ran even thinner. Mitsukuni couldn't afford this banter. They had to save him now! "...Mitsukuni has been kidnapped..."

"I know." Her voice held no surprise. It was simply a fact. She held out a picture that he took. It sickened him to see the crude coloring over his charge. His hand balled up into a fist and crushed the picture. "What did they send you?"

He held out his phone and she took it in her gloved hand. Clicking on the play symbol, she watched the video with her green eyes flashing behind her mask. It was at this time that he noticed the backpack she sported. It was new, even had the tags left on it. And it was full to almost bursting. He vaguely wondered what she had in there when the video was over.

Catwoman hissed in displeasure. "Shit...I was afraid of this." She handed the phone him before handing over the bag as well. "Well, I was getting bored anyway. Still, I wish they hadn't gone this far for a stupid joke. Give that to Kyoya. He can distribute everything amongst my victims. And tell him not to bother looking for prints. I'm not stupid..."

"Where are you going?" Takashi asked, opening the bag. Jewels...tons of jewels...millions of dollars worth of finery that had been subjected to Catwoman's reign of thievery. She was giving it all back?

She'd already started walking away. "I have some calls to make. You might be my Batman but you aren't ready. You need to be THE Batman..."

"We don't have time for their game. Mitsukuni-"

"Will be fine for the time being. It will be much worse if you barge in there without any tools and ignore Joker and Harley Quinn's directions. They're psychopaths...they will hurt him and not give a fuck about his feelings. I can help but I need to set things up. We can't show up without notice. That'll only piss him off more."

"Who?"

"Bruce Wayne...the original Batman. We'll need his help to get you your wings...and then, we can save Honey before anything really bad happens..."

"Why...?"

She sighed. "Because I got bored, remember? There's only so many locks to pick, so many security systems to dismantle and quite frankly...it's been entirely disappointing..."

"No...why are you helping me? Aren't you supposed to be the bad guy...?"

Catwoman stopped and turned to look at him. Those piercing green eyes glinted with something. Annoyance? No...uncertainty. She was going to put her cards on the table. "Selina Kyle...the original Catwoman... She told me that there would be a time when I would have to choose whether I would be bad or good. And sooner or later, I would need help, just like she did. I can't defeat them on my own. I can't save him alone. I need you on my side." She looked at her claws and sighed. "I know I can't expect you to just go with it. You have questions and I can't answer all of them. I won't answer all of them. But...if you want to see Mitsukuni safe, you'll hand over those jewels to Kyoya and meet me at the airport in an hour. Gate 9. We need to talk to Bruce and Selina. They're the only one's who can make this rescue go as smooth as possible."

She left right then, biting her lip. She hoped that he wouldn't tell his family. If they got the police involved, well, it wasn't like the police ever defeated Joker in the past. Batman always delivered. But with Catwoman, would they be victorious?