Moving Forward

by snuffybaby

Realizing that she needs a change and to finally leave a hopeless relationship, Catwoman leaves Gotham. She finds herself in Metropolis

Title: Moving Forward

Author: snuffybaby

Disclaimer: Bob Kane and Bill Finger own the Batman Universe

Rating: PG

Pairing: BatCat

Spoilers: anything Batman related? Nothing in particular… borrowed some from Smallville 1005 "Isis"

Summary: Realizing that she needs a change and to finally leave a hopeless relationship, Catwoman leaves Gotham. She finds herself in Metropolis

Author's Note:

Inspired by Finding Liberty by Tauvian; and Catwoman's New Beginning by blackgoddess123

looked up Superman's suit – biotech Superman #7 (New 52)… not quite how I described in this ff

---

"Catwoman."

She hadn't heard him land on the roof of the GCPD headquarters, but she didn't flinch at his greeting. Instead, she continued to look out at the night sky, emblazoned with the Bat signal. "Batman," she responded softly.

He walked over to the light and switched it off. "It's not a toy."

"No," she finally turned around, "it's not… but it's the fastest way to get your attention."

Studying her curiously, he asked, "Well?"

"We've known each other for years now; dancing our little dance… and I finally realized that no matter how much I want us to be more, that's never going to happen. You won't let it." She walked up to him, stopping when they were toe-to-toe. Talking a bracing breath, she sighed, "So it's time I move on."

Batman's mind worked rapidly, processing her words, trying to gauge what her hidden intent was.

"I'm leaving Gotham."

"How long?"

"Permanently." She reached up and cupped his cheek. "This is goodbye." Before he could get a word in edgewise, she leaned up and pressed her lips against his for a deep, parting kiss, leaving him speechless. She backed away from him slowly, whispering one last time, "Goodbye," before diving off the roof.

She was out of sight before he reached the ledge, but he launched his grapnel and headed toward her condo. When he landed on her balcony, he entered through the unlatched sliding doors to find that apartment vacant. He spent the next hours trying to determine if she'd left any clues about where or why she was going.

It wasn't until he arrived home after a fruitless search and uneventful patrol that he found any answers.

Alfred stood in the cave holding a silver tray for him. "This arrived for you this evening."

Bruce glanced down at the letter, his name scrawled across it in elegant handwriting. "Thank you." He sat down in from the computer and turned the envelope in his hands. Opening it, he read.

Dear Bruce,

By the time you receive this, I've already left Gotham behind. I don't have the words to express how much these last few months with you have meant to me… but I can't help but feel that as much as I've been open with you about who I am and my past, you have been holding yourself back from me. And as much as I want to share a life with you, I don't believe you feel the same way.

It's probably cowardly of me to leave without telling you this face-to-face, but I thought this would be easier for the both of us to have a clean break. Neither of us really likes goodbyes.

Find someone you can love and trust, Bruce, because as much as I know you love me, I don't think you'll ever really trust me. And you deserve someone you can trust.

Have a good life, Bruce.

Don't try to find me.

I love you… always.

Selina

---

Richard arrived at Wayne Manor in record time after an urgent call from Alfred. "What's up, Al? Where's the fire?"

"Master Richard, it's Master Bruce, sir. He received some news two evenings ago and he has not come up from the cave since."

Frowning, he asked, "What kind of news?"

"It seems that Miss. Kyle ended their relationship."

Dick's eyes blinked in surprise. "Bruce and Selina were dating."

"For some months now." Alfred added, "And Catwoman has informed Batman that she has left Gotham."

"For how long?" This news struck Dick even harder. Batman and Catwoman had been playing a flirtatious game of Bat and Cat for as long as he could remember. For her to up and leave…

"I believe that it is a permanent arrangement."

He couldn't believe it. "Did something happen? Did he do something idiotic to drive her away?"

"Not that I'm aware."

Nodding, he headed down to the cave to find Bruce brooding in front of the computer… and still dressed in his uniform. "Hey, old man, how are things shaking?"

Bruce didn't even look his way. "Alfred called you."

Dropping the pretense of a normal visit, Dick nodded. "He's worried."

"I'm fine."

His eyes went to the monitors, scanning any and all information related to Selina Kyle. There were name searches of all known aliases, old safe houses that Batman knew she used, bank accounts… you name it, Bruce was following the trail. "How long have you been looking for her?"

"It's none of your business."

"Bruce, Alfred's worried. Hell, I'm worried. I didn't even know you were seeing Selina." At Bruce's glare, Dick amended, "I didn't know you were seeing Selina as Bruce Wayne. You've been seeing her as Batman for years."

"We were not seeing each other."

"Could have fooled me. I can't even remember the number of times that you sent me to gather evidence when there was nothing to be gathered."

If Bruce were anyone else, he would have growled in anger, but instead, he kept his emotionless mask. "Go away, Dick."

Sighing, Dick placed a hand on Bruce's chair. "The searches are automated. You don't have to hide down here to watch the computer run." He fell silent for a moment. "Do you want to talk about it?" He continued, knowing that Bruce wasn't going to respond. "Did you say or do something to piss her off? It must have been bad to make her run away from Gotham."

Bruce's fist clenched. It was the only outward sign that he felt anything. "Selina fell in love with me."

"That doesn't seem like a reason for her to leave. And honestly that's not news. It was obvious to all of us that Catwoman loves you."

"Catwoman loves Batman. Selina loves Bruce."

Dick's mouth dropped, but he recovered quickly. "Did you tell her? Is that it? She couldn't take being with Batman and Bruce? But that's perfect, because she loves both of you and you love both of her – you know Catwoman and Selina." He would have continued to ramble, but he realized the truth. "You didn't tell her."

"I never got the chance."

---

Selina hummed as she settled herself into her new place. She'd been in Metropolis for two weeks now, setting up. Her cats were slowly acclimating to their new environment. They were taking the change better than her.

Sighing, she cuddled with her black cat, Isis. "Do you think I'll ever get used to the bright city lights?"

She had noticed the difference as soon as she stepped off the plane. Metropolis was cleaner and brighter than any city she'd ever been too. People were inherently nicer too. She'd actually seen someone pick up a wallet and return it to its owner.

"You know why we came here, don't you?" Selina said softly. "Bruce would never think to look for me here. Not in the land of Superman. It's the perfect place to hide for now. And the work is decent." She'd decided to hang up her catsuit for now, instead using an alias to get a job as assistant curator at the Metropolis Museum. She'd be able to put her skills to use in a legitimate way.

Along with her new identity, she decided to go with a new hairstyle. Instead of leaving her raven black locks short and spiky, she'd grown it out and added extensions so her hair was now long and wavy, a style she hadn't kept since she was a young girl. Seeing that she was no longer traipsing across roof tops, she didn't see any harm in having long waves again. It made her feel like an entirely new person.

"It's a new day," Selina announced. "New city, new life." Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her things and headed out for the day.

Settling in to her new office at work, she put away her things and started her day with her routine stroll through the museum. It was her habit to spend the better part of the morning immersing herself in the exhibits. Today, she decided to spend time in the Egyptian wing. While she admired all the feline icons found in the exhibit, she spotted a familiar face.

Her plan to avoid him was curtailed when he asked politely, "Excuse me, miss, do you work here?"

"I do," she smiled, "how may I help you?"

"Clark Kent," he pulled out his press badge to show her, "Daily Planet. I'm doing some research on Egyptian artifacts and was wondering if you could help me."

"I'd be happy to help if I can." Selina held her hand to him. "Selina Dubrovna. I'm the assistant curator for the museum."

"Pleased to meet you." He shook her hand brusquely, before pulling out a notepad and pen from his jacket pocket. "I have a list of questions that I was hoping someone could help me with. Oliver Queen was preparing a fundraising event surrounding the myth of Osiris and Isis. There was an amulet-"

"The Amulet of Isis. I had heard that it was stolen." She looped her arm around his and guided him to her office. "Legend says the amulet is cursed. The soul who took it will be condemned to hell." She shrugged, "That is if you believe in curses."

"I've seen odder things." He scribbled some notes. "So whoever took it will just be cursed? So everyone involved in the excavation would have been affected as well?"

"Right?" She was pleased to find this reporter was on the brighter side. "People don't really understand how legends really work. I believe there is truth to the legend though, but there's more to the curse than ruthlessly damning anyone who touches it."

"Is there any research that backs up your belief?"

"For you to print?" She gestured for him to take a seat in a chair, while she went around her desk. Typing a few things into her keyboard, she pulled up well documented research into the legend. She smiled engagingly at him. "How much information do you need?"

He blushed and sputtered awkwardly.

They spent the next hour discussing the legend.

By the end, Clark asked, "Your best educated guess, if there was a curse, how do think it would be activated?"

Selina pondered the question, studying the photos in front of her. "Sunlight."

"Really?"

"That's my best guess."

"And to reverse any curse?"

"Depends on the results of the curse."

"Sickness, death, possession? You know, the standards?"

She tapped a well-manicured nail against her chin. "If something was released from the amulet… sunlight."

"Sunlight," he repeated. "You think it's that simple?"

She shrugged, "If you believe in curses…"

Taking some final notes, he smiled, "Thank you for your time."

"Not a problem. It's a nice break from sitting alone in my office all day. I enjoyed the company." She gave him a flirtatious smile.

His cheeks tinted red again. "Well, I've taken up enough of your day. Maybe, I could take up some of your night as well? Let me treat you to dinner? As a thank you?"

"I'd love to." She glanced quickly at her calendar. "Tomorrow night?"

"I'll pick you up here at 8 pm?"

"It's a date." She walked him to her office door, bussing him softly on cheek. "See you tomorrow, Clark."

"Enjoy the rest of your day, Selina."

Selina waved him goodbye. After spending the last hours with him, she wasn't surprised that Bruce considered him a friend. Clark was an intelligent, if sheepish, conversationalist. She'd enjoy spending more time with him.

---

Green Lantern had followed Black Canary all morning. Ever since she'd been infected with Isis's spirit, she'd been flying all over town searching for more Egyptian artifacts. So far she hadn't hurt anyone, but they'd have to stop her soon.

Batman had managed to uncover that if Isis was successful in rejoining Osiris's heart with his body, she'd bring hell to earth. He hadn't had much luck with finding a solution to dispossessing Canary.

"We can't kill her," Green Arrow insisted. "There has to be a way to save her."

Superman appeared on scene. "I might have a solution. Get me the amulet."

The Justice League converged on Black Canary. Working together, they were easily able to get the amulet away from her.

Once it was in hand, Superman used his heat vision to shine sunlight on to the amulet.

They watched as Isis left Canary and returned to the amulet.

Green Arrow caught Black Canary before she hit the ground, unconscious once the possession ended.

Studying the amulet, Superman silently sent up a thank you to Selina.

"How'd you figure it out?" Batman stopped beside his friend.

"I stopped at the Metropolis Museum – the Egyptian wing. The curator was very helpful."

Batman studied him for a moment before he grunted.

"Well, thank your friend for us," GL said, looking over at Black Canary and Green Arrow. "I'm sure we're all glad that hell wasn't brought to earth."

---

Selina's smile widened when she saw Clark standing outside her office with a bouquet of pink roses. "Hi," she came around her desk, leaning up to kiss his cheek in greeting.

"These are for you." He held the roses to her.

"Thank you. They're lovely. Let me just grab my coat and then we can head for dinner."

He helped her with her jacket. "I wanted to say thank you again for your help yesterday. It was extremely helpful in recovering the missing amulet."

She took the flowers, cradling them in one arm, while taking his arm with her free one. "I did see something in the news about how the Justice League was able to return the amulet to Oliver Queen."

"Oliver's an old friend. I happened to mention what we'd discussed-"

"And he passed the information to the authorities, who then passed it to the Justice League." She gave his arm a friendly squeeze, "You keep some pretty illustrious company if you call Oliver Queen a close friend."

Clark shrugged, "He spent some time in Metropolis years ago – Queen Industries business. We ran into each other while I was still a copy boy at the Planet. We hit it off."

"And what could a down to earth kind of guy like you have in common with that playboy billionaire?" she teased.

He smiled sheepishly. "More than you'd think."

She eyed him with interest. "There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there, Mr. Kent?"

"I could say the same thing about you."

---

Lois frowned as she studied her partner. Clark had been surprisingly absent during the last few weeks; disappearing after work, at lunch; showing up to work late. She knew he wasn't working on a story, because she could always tell when he was working on something hush-hush. And he was surprisingly closed mouthed about what he was doing every day. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Smallville, are you seeing somebody?"

His rhythmic typing slowed briefly. "Why would you say that?"

"You've been disappearing a lot. More so than usual and I know there's no story. If you had one, Perry would have already spilled the beans to me. So, 'fess up."

"If you must know, I met the new assistant curator from the Metropolis Museum. She moved into town a couple months ago. I've been helping her familiarize herself with the city… and we happen to enjoy each other's company."

Her eyebrow quirked, suddenly relaxing. "Another nerd to add to your circle of friends?"

"I would hardly classify myself as a nerd. Although, nerd is très chic these days," a cultured voice spoke from behind Lois.

Lois turned around to find a raven haired beauty with the most brilliant green eyes. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like she'd been punched in the gut.

Clark checked his watch quickly. "You're early."

Selina gestured briefly to the young redhead. "I found myself listless and looking for amusement, so I arrived early. Jimmy here has been showing me around. The newspaper business seems fascinating. I especially enjoy your editor. Perry's all bluster and gruff, but he's a sweetheart."

"Not to everyone," he smiled, typing the finishing words to his article. He grabbed his jacket, standing. "Selina, this is my partner, Lois Lane. Lois, Selina Dubrovna."

The ladies shook hands.

"So, you and Clark are…"

"Friends," Selina smiled, not revealing anything to the reporter. "Perry's not the only sweetheart in this place. Clark's been lovely enough to show me around. Although, two months in this beautiful city, it's almost like I've lived here all my life. The only experience I think I'm missing is setting my eyes on the studly big blue hero that's won this city's hearts."

"Just look to the sky, Miss. Dubrovna," Jimmy grinned. "Superman's always around."

"Maybe I'll hang out on some rooftops to see if I can catch a glimpse." Her eyes sparkled at the idea.

"If you do that, we'll miss lunch," Clark smiled. "We can try to get a table on the patio though. Increase your chances of spotting him."

"See, such a sweetheart," Selina said to Lois, while she took Clark's arm. "It was nice meeting you, Lois, Jimmy."

Clark waved goodbye to his coworkers as he guided Selina out.

"By the way, Clark, do you own a tux? The Museum is hosting a fundraiser next week. I was wondering if you'd escort me?"

Lois watched the pair walk off. "Jimmy, what do you know about her?"

"Other than what CK's mentioned, not much. She's a looker though. Clark always was attracted to the dark haired beauties. Miss. Dubrovna though is super classy. You can hear hints of Paris in her accent."

"Dubrovna's a Russian name," Lois pointed out.

"She studied at the Sorbonne and worked in France until moving to Metropolis. Although, I think she's American."

"Hmph," she grunted, turning back to her work. She'd dig into Dubrovna later. For now, she had an article to finish.

---

Selina tapped a finger against Clark's forearm as they strolled down the street. "You did notice that Lois was extremely jealous?"

"What? No, we're just friends. She's seeing another journalist, Jonathan Carroll. They're talking about moving in together."

"I see," she said, although her tone was clear – she didn't believe any of it.

"Seriously, we're just friends."

"Clark, you and I are just friends. You and Lois? I could probably set fire to the unresolved sexual tension between you two."

Clark and Selina quickly realized that there was nothing between the two of them. There was no spark, no fire, no attraction. They settled into an easy friendship. Selina liked to tease him and poke fun at his occasional farm boy perspectives; while Clark gave as good as he got and taught her not to be as cynical about the world as she was. They evened each other out.

"You're reading too much into it. Lois is protective of me. Just like you are," he pointed out, opening the door to the restaurant they'd reached. "You probably just saw her being weary of the new woman in my life." He spoke quickly with the waiter and they were led to a table.

"Exactly, she's worried that I'll snatch you up and take you from her." Selina thanked the waiter that helped her with her chair. "I know jealousy, Clark. I inspire it in many women, so believe me when I tell you she was jealous." She reached for the menu. "If you ask me, she's probably been too distracted by the illustrious Big Blue to know what her real feelings are. This Carroll character you say she's dating? Let me guess, he's overseas a lot, so she hardly sees him?"

"Yeah, he's a foreign correspondent. He's in town two weeks at a time. How'd you know?"

"I know people." She tapped the table. "Mark my words, Lois has probably been in love with you since she met you. She's just been too stupid to see it."

Clark shook his head. "Selina, I'm pretty sure you're reading too much into this. You saw her for what – all of two minutes? There's no way you could tell how Lois feels about me. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'd know if Lois was in love with me. I'll admit I'm a little dense when it comes to relationship stuff, but I'm not that dense."

"You're a lot dense," She smiled at him. "Don't worry though. I'm here now to help you out."

"Please keep your nose out of my love life."

"What love life?"

---

"Hey, Kent," Lois called out to him as he was returning from lunch. She ambushed him, forcing him into the copy room, closing the door, so that they could have a private conversation. "What do you know about this Selina Dubrovna?"

"Lois, what is this about?" he sighed, wondering why the women in his life were so pushy.

"You've been spending a lot of time with her. I just want to make sure she's not taking advantage of you."

"I appreciate the concern, but if my mother doesn't have any issues with Selina, why should you?"

"Dubrovna met your mother? I haven't even met your mother and I've known you for years. How serious are things really between you two?"

"Mom was visiting last weekend. Selina gave us a private tour of the museum. They hit it off," he shrugged. "Selina has entertaining stories about the Metropolis elite. She's got the big city, high society polish and knows how to use it, but she equally knows how to mock it. Mom finds it all to be a hoot."

"A hoot?" she frowned.

"They exchange recipes too. Selina's an excellent cook. She makes the best hollandaise for her eggs benedict. I think Mom traded her for the family's secret recipe for fried chicken."

"How lovely," Lois said dryly. "Answer the question, Smallville."

"What was the question again?"

"How serious are you two? Are you a couple? Dating? Friends with benefits?"

"We're friends."

"I don't believe you."

"Then why bother asking?"

"To see if you'd lie to my face."

"Lois, how many years have you known me? Have you ever known me to lie?"

"There's a first time for everything." She reached for another explanation, "Maybe your delusional then. The woman was draping herself all over you."

"Selina's affectionate. We're friends."

Lois growled in frustration and then decided to just abandon the conversation. "Forget it." She stormed out, leaving Clark to look on in confusion.

---

Handing a flute of champagne to Selina, Clark asked, "So what is the museum fundraising for tonight?"

"The museum." She took a sip from the glass. "My boss wants to see if he can raise enough funds to acquire some new additions to the Kryptonian wing. He heard the curator from Star City boasting that his wing on Krypton housed the most complete collection of artifacts on the planet. Needless to say, my boss was not pleased. This being Superman's hometown and all."

"I'm pretty sure Superman would argue that he has the most complete collection on the planet. In the entire universe for that matter."

"But he can't prove it without giving the public access," she pointed out. "So now it's a battle between Star City and Metropolis."

"Who's winning?"

"Pretty evenly matched. Hopefully this fundraiser will help Metropolis pull ahead." Selina raised her hand and adjusted his bowtie. "Did I tell you that you look extremely handsome tonight? You clean up nicely."

"Thank you. You look beautiful."

"This old thing?" she smiled, gesturing down to her curve hugging black cocktail dress.

His hand touched her diamond bracelet. "Not to mention all the bling."

"Gift from an old beau. It's not the kind of thing I can wear every day." She spun the bracelet around her wrist, her thoughts going back to the night that Bruce had given it to her for their one month anniversary. She had a soft, sad smile on her face at the memory.

"Must have been some beau."

Her smile turned sly. "Well, he was a billionaire, so he tossed these around like candy to all the girls."

Clark's hand closed around hers. "We might not have known each other long, but I recognize that look. You loved him… and you lost him. When you're ready, I'm here for you. I've been told that I have a great shoulder to cry on."

"You're sweet, Clark. I might just take you up on that offer some day."

He gave her hand another squeeze and was about to offer another reassuring comment, when he heard glass breaking and bodies dropping to the ground. Listening more closely, he heard the click of guns cocking.

Nothing got passed Selina. She noticed quickly that his attention had wandered. "I'm going to go schmooze with those old money bags for a moment. Meet you by the dessert table?"

"Sounds great."

She walked off, knowing that if she looked back he wouldn't be standing there. Her lip quirked up, her suspicions confirmed. "I knew he was interesting, Bruce, I just didn't realize how interesting." She bit her cheek at her second slip up of the evening. She needed to forget about Bruce. Her eyes fell to the bracelet that adorned her wrist. Perhaps it was time to part with her mementos.

With a bracing breath, she plastered on her most engaging smile and went about conning money from the deep pockets of Metropolis's elite.

---

Superman quickly scooped up the thieves and handed them over to police custody. With a final glance, he returned to the soiree in his tux. He grabbed a plate and stacked a few amuse-bouche on it. He savored the buffet, his eyes wandering the crowd until they landed on Selina. He could tell that she was not enjoying herself. He could also see that her eyes kept wandering to the sparkling Incan Headdress on loan for the evening. On top of that, she kept checking the cameras and the plain clothes security. If he didn't know better, he would suspect that she was casing the place.

Clark felt Selina's relief when she reached him. "Exciting evening?"

"I'd probably find more excitement at the bottom of a dish." She reached up and straightened his bowtie for the second time that evening. "The most fun I had tonight? I heard Superman showed up to stop a robbery. Some low rent thugs tried to break into the precious gem wing."

"Low rent?"

She rolled her eyes. "If they were any kind of thieves, they'd've gone for the coin collection. Easier to carry; easier to fence."

"You seem to know a lot about this."

"I've been in the museum business for the better part of a decade," she said as an explanation.

"Maybe I'll need to pick your brain someday if there's a major museum heist."

"Not at this museum," she remarked. "I convinced boss man to upgrade security as soon as I got here. I defy anyone to find any holes in the system."

Clark raised an eyebrow at her bravado. "And tonight?"

"They got in, but they didn't get out, did they? Even if Superman hadn't shown, the police were already on their way – silent alarms." She grabbed a chocolate covered strawberry from the dessert spread.

"And you know security systems too," he smiled. "Is there anything you don't know?"

"Possibly, but I do know my way around a search engine." She wiggled her fingers in delight.

They both looked up when there were shouts from the front hall and then gunfire. Glancing at each other, they rushed behind a display case.

"This is a stickup. Put your jewels and your wallets in the bags and nobody gets hurt," shouted the masked man. He gestured to his cohorts, who rushed to the patrons, holding sacks out to accept their loot. "Move fast and no one gets hurt."

Selina glared at them. "How do they expect to get out of here? I know I'm new in town, but even I know Superman will take care of them." She glanced over at Clark and saw him leaned back against the case, sweat dripping down his face. "Oh my god, Clark," she whispered. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, undoing his bowtie. He assumed the robbers knew they were safe, because they were carrying Kryptonite. "They're Intergang."

"So what? They just happen to be carrying Kryptonite on them?" She rolled her eyes at him when he started to deny what she'd been implying. "Oh stuff it, Clark. No time to argue with me. I figured out your secret weeks ago." She glanced around the side of the case to see how far the crew had gotten. "I don't see any green rocks."

"There has to be," he rasped.

"Do you have enough energy to do your x-ray thing?" Her eyes kept scanning the thugs, looking for any sign of the Kryptonian rock. Her eyes suddenly widened in realization. "It's the display. Of course we had to take cover behind the Kryptonite display case. The falling glass must have cracked the lead shielding." Reaching into her purse, she pulled out lock picks and opened the back of the case with swift precision. She glanced again to make sure the robbers weren't paying attention to their corner of the room. Slipping her hand quickly into the case, she withdrew the offensive rocks and put them into her purse, clipping it shut.

Clark instantly felt relief. "Your purse is lead lined?"

She gave him a cheeky smirk, "Can't have people peeking into my things, now can I?" She glanced around again. "Now, if you've recovered, Superman making an appearance would be fantastic."

He nodded before he swooshed away.

The gang of would-be thieves were taken care of in a flash.

The police and the patrons all thanked Superman.

Selina made sure to stay away from the cameras. She didn't want her picture showing up in the morning paper. She ducked out when she could, expecting that Clark would stop by her place when he had the chance.

Changed out of her evening finery, Selina settled on to her sofa with Isis curled in her lap and Cinnamon napping beside her. She was sipping a glass of wine and enjoying light jazz when she felt the gust of air from her balcony. "And I thought the nights of Capes visiting my balcony were over."

Superman floated in. "Sorry, I should have knocked."

She waved away his apology. "I expected it."

"We need to talk."

"I assumed," she smiled at him. "Did you want to get into something more comfortable? I can't imagine Kryptonian battle gear is that comfortable."

"How do you know so much?" he asked, even as he touched his shield and the battle gear melted away, leaving his tux pants and white shirt.

"Excellent researcher," she explained. "I did at one point consider whether it would be profitable to get my hands on Kryptonian gear. You'll be happy to know there's not much of a black market for it."

"Selina, your last name wouldn't happen to be Kyle, would it?"

"It was at one point in my life. And I'd appreciate if you'd keep that little fact to yourself."

"So Batman told you who I was?"

She snorted, "You know Bruce better than that. He's a vault when it comes to that type of information. Even with my skills, it's one that I'd never be able to break into."

"Bruce might be an impenetrable vault, but that doesn't mean the Batcomputer is. With your reputation, I wouldn't be surprised if you found a way into that."

She considered the possibility for a moment before shrugging, "I had a few unspoken rules when it came to dealing with Batman. There were certain things that I'd never try to steal – breaking into the Batcave was one of them. Any art on loan from the Waynes was another."

"I caught him muttering a few times that he was working on upgrading the Batmobile locks because he's found you sitting in it a few times."

"Breaking into his car and waiting for him to show up is not the same as breaking into his car and then taking it for a joyride. I had to have some fun with the Bat."

He nodded, trying to wrap his head around her logic. He was also trying to reconcile what he knew of Selina Dubrovna with what he knew of Selina Kyle. He thought the most straightforward thing to do was to simply ask. "So what exactly is Catwoman doing in Metropolis?"

She traced her finger around the lip of her glass. "Catwoman isn't in Metropolis. She's retired."

He nodded again. For the past months, he'd been listening to her talk about her past in the vaguest of terms. A lot of it was starting to make sense now. "You've turned over a new leaf."

"Well, I haven't exactly gone all white hat, but I can guarantee that I'm not in the business of stealing anymore. Although, don't be surprised to find me breaking into unbreakable vaults. I do plan on keeping up my skills; and you know, so that I can scratch an itch now and then."

"Hence the lock pick tools you just happen to be carrying around."

"Well, my suit is in storage." She studied him and his calm demeanor. "Clark, I didn't know you were Superman when I met you. If I had, I would have steered clear."

"And when you found out?"

"Well, I'd like to think we've become friends… I just don't abandon my friends."

He gave her a winning a smile. "I don't abandon my friends either." He reached out and took her hand. "I would like to know why you left Gotham though."

She sighed. "I didn't lie. I moved to Metropolis to start over… and to get away from Bruce."

"You had a falling out?" he asked in concern. He hadn't heard Bruce mention anything about Catwoman in recent months.

Selina shook her head. "I finally realized that Bruce will never share his life with me. He doesn't trust me with his secrets."

"But he told you that he's Batman." His mouth dropped when she continued shaking her head. "He didn't tell you?"

"No. I figured it out. We spent six blissful months together – Bruce and Selina. And when I found out, I was fine with it. I went along with the vague excuses – why he had to end a date early, the odd bruises that he always seemed to have, why he'd stand me up at the theatre. It got to be too much. I didn't see him ever sharing himself with me… so I left."

"Selina, I'm the first to admit that Bruce is a little closed off," he ignored her pfft at his understatement, "but for him to spend so much time with you…"

"He loved me," she finished for him, "just like I loved him. That wasn't the problem. He loved me, but he was never going to trust me." She twisted her wrist to change the hold he had on her hand, so that she was gripping his. "Clark, you cannot tell Bruce that I'm here. I chose Metropolis because he'd never even guess that I'd come here. You can't tell him."

"I can't lie to him."

"You won't be lying to him, because he'd never ask."

"A lie of omission is still a lie."

"Clark, promise you won't tell him." Her eyes narrowed suddenly. "Actually, promise that you won't even allude to or hint at my location, or that you know where to find me."

"Selina-"

"Promise, Clark, or I'm packing up right now and you'll never see me again."

"Where would you go? Selina, you can't keep running."

"I'm not running," she crossed her arms petulantly.

"If you weren't running, you'd face Bruce and discuss this like an adult."

"Go stick your nose into someone else's love life."

"I'll stay out of yours if you stay out of mine."

She grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Deal."

He gapped at her in disbelief when she took his hand for a handshake. "That doesn't count."

"That absolutely counts."

"You don't play fair."

"I never said I did."

---

"How was Badhnisia?" Selina asked softly, handing Clark a mug of tea.

"As bad as you'd expect," he sighed, slumping down in 'his spot'. The wingback chair in her living room had quickly become his.

Cinnamon instantly leapt into his lap, purring as his person gently pet him.

She sat down across from him on the sofa. "You did what you could."

"I know. Natural disasters are just… so pointless."

"Like there's a point to all those criminals you have to deal with day in and day out?" She patted his arm. "You know as well as I do that it's a never ending cycle. You're doing what you can to save lives. That's more than a lot of people do. That's what matters."

He offered a weak smile. "Thanks. I needed the pep talk. It's just been a long day."

"What you need is to find a nice woman to curl up with on nights like this," she said matter-of-factly. "To remind you that there is good in the world."

His eyes twinkled. "Isn't that why I have you?"

She threw a pillow at him. "That ship sank before it even touched the water."

Cinnamon opened an eye and glared at his other person for disrupting his massage. He only closed it again when the petting resumed.

"Cinnamon then. He enjoys my company."

"You need humanoid companionship. No one in the League catch your eye?"

"What happened to the rule of staying out of each other's love life?"

"Please, you don't see me telling Wonderbra to keep her self-righteous eyes off you, do you?"

"What's wrong with Diana?"

"Other than she's a sanctimonious bitch? You can do better."

"Sheath the claws, please." He set his cup down on the coffee table. "I think you'd like her if you got to know her."

"Don't hold your breath."

"I can hold my breath pretty long."

She rolled her eyes. "Ask some of the other members of your clubhouse. I'm pretty sure a lot of them find her overbearing. They just put up with her out of respect to you."

"And because she can bench press half the planet?"

"Pay attention during your next meeting. How much of the time does she spend talking? And how many of your League actually pay attention when she does talk? You can't tell me that you don't find yourself drifting off."

---

Superman, seated at his spot at the League table, began fidgeting during the regular meeting at Watchtower. It was all Selina's fault. If she hadn't pointed out how verbose Diana seemed to be, he never would have noticed.

Across the table, Flash wasn't doing much better than him. Superman could feel the gentle vibration caused by his jittery leg. GL, Aquaman and J'onn seemed to be meditating; and he had no idea what Batman was doing behind his mask. He could be asleep for all Superman could tell. And Oracle was a floating computer generated head, so who knows what she was doing.

When Diana finally paused in her rant, Batman interrupted, "Oracle, please take down in the minutes that Wonder Woman would prefer the minutes be distributed to all League members – including reserve members – one week prior to subsequent meetings. Attached should be the schedule for monitor duty. Any change in schedule - switching shifts, etc once it has been published must be approved by at least two members at this table."

"Of course, Batman."

He turned his gaze to Wonder Woman. "Satisfied?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"If there's no other new business, meeting adjourned."

Oracle quickly blinked out.

Flash nudged GL and whispered, "All your fault. I should never have agreed to swap shifts with you."

"I think I've suffered enough punishment," his eyes trailed to Diana, "don't you?"

"And we had to suffer along with you."

Wonder Woman let out a loud harrumph and then sauntered away.

J'onn and Arthur disappeared toward the teleporters.

Batman glanced at his friend. "Superman, is something on your mind? You seemed particularly restless today."

"I'm fine. I just never realized how long-winded Wonder Woman can be."

"We've been meeting together for years now and you're only just realizing it?"

"I guess I never did. Not until someone pointed it out to me. I'm a trained listener, so apparently I don't usually notice verboseness." He noted with a self-deprecating shrug. "Although, now I wish I hadn't noticed. I have a feeling League meetings will be unbearable from now on."

"Diana does love to lecture. I spend most of her rambling cataloguing the upgrades I have planned. I've successfully upgraded the Batmobile, the Batwing, the Batcave and my own suit multiple times over the years."

"Not the Batcomputer?" Superman asked, joking.

"That requires a bit more focus," he responded blandly. They began walking towards the transporters themselves. "Who finally pointed out this observation to you?" He barely contained his eyebrow arching, when he saw Superman hesitating.

"No one in the League. My curator friend. I guess she noticed it from the press conferences that Wonder Woman holds."

The corner of Batman's lip twitched. "Girlfriend?"

"No," Superman's face took on barely a hint of pink, but he knew Batman noticed it. "We're just friends."

He grunted in acknowledgement. He programmed his destination and was gone without a goodbye.

"What's this we hear about a GF, GL?" Flash zipped over beside Superman, flinging an arm around his shoulders. "Are you keeping secrets, Supe?"

GL smirked, "Perhaps your lady curator?"

Superman simply shook his head and programmed his own coordinates. "Later, guys."

---

"Bruce Wayne," Lois announced loudly as soon as her eyes landed on the billionaire. "To what do we owe your visit to our side of the country?"

"Business." He stopped in front of her and exchanged cheek kisses. "Where's your partner? I was hoping to catch you both and treat you to dinner."

"Clark? He's probably off with his curator."

Bruce's well manicured eyebrow quirked. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Lois?"

"Hardly. Clark can spend his free time with whoever he wants."

"And he's been spending a lot of it with Miss. Dubrovna," Jimmy chimed in.

"She's a good friend." Clark appeared behind Jimmy. He reached his hand out to shake Bruce's hand. "I didn't know you were going to be in town."

"I'm here for a fundraising event at the Metropolis Grande."

"And off the record?" Lois asked curiously, moving closer to the conversation.

Unconsciously, the three were slowly shifting positions to block out any interlopers – including Jimmy.

He added softly, knowing he could trust these two to keep their mouths shut. "Off the record, I'm here to visit the Metropolis branch of WayneTech. They've made a couple discoveries that I thought would be interesting."

"Well, there's no rest for the extremely wicked."

He smirked. "Of course there is. Why else would I invite you two to dinner? Clark, you should invite your friend. The more the merrier."

"I'll extend the invitation, but she might be busy tonight." Clark already knew what Selina's answer was going to be, but no harm in asking.

Lois scoffed, "Who would pass on the opportunity to dine with Bruce Wayne? If nothing else, it would be her chance to chat up another potential donor for the museum."

"Lois, people are allowed to have plans." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

Clark, why are you calling me? I just saw you five minutes ago.

"My friend, Bruce is in town. He offered to take Lois and I to dinner and invited you too. Are you free?" Clark turned his back on his friends, hoping to hide his face in case Bruce could read anything from it.

What do you mean he's in town?

"You've heard me mention Bruce before. Bruce Wayne? He's in town for a fundraiser."

He heard her sigh. WayneTech then. What blasted breakthrough did they make that would bring him here? Whatever. Politely tell Mr. Wayne that I thank him for the invite, but I can't make it tonight. I have plans. Perhaps another time.

Clark covered the mouthpiece and relayed her answer, giving Bruce an apologetic look before turning back to his phone conversation. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Bye, Clark. Thanks for the warning. When you get a chance, text me his itinerary if you know it.

"Will do. Have a good night." He heard the click of dead air before he pocketed his phone. "She's got plans."

Lois crossed her arms. "So you mentioned." She smirked at Bruce, "I guess even your name can't get you everything. Oh well, what's another raven haired beauty?"

"Perhaps she's shy?" Bruce shrugged, insouciant. "I'll be by around six to pick you two up?"

"Sure."

"What restaurant?" Clark asked, "You know, just in case I don't make it back in time. Perry's assigned me to the press conference at S.T.A.R. Labs."

---

Selina looked up at the knock at her door. When her eyes landed on familiar baby blues, she gave an internal sigh of relief that she'd prepared for this. She had a feeling that Bruce would be curious about her, especially since she'd been spending so much time with Clark. There was only a slim chance that he wouldn't take the opportunity to meet her in person.

As soon as she got off the phone with Clark, she'd reached into her emergency bag. She redid her makeup to cooler tones. Putting in brown contacts and thick framed black glasses, she combed down her bangs and twisted her long black locks into a messy bun. She swapped all her jewelry for simple silver and slipped her feet out of her four inch stilettos and into slightly more conservative three inch pumps instead. She was the picture of geek chic.

Standing at her office door was the illustrious Bruce Wayne.

As a final addition to her disguise, she adopted an accent. "May I help you?"

"Bruce Wayne," he introduced himself. "I'm a friend of Clark Kent's?"

"Monsieur Wayne, yes, Clark mentioned that you were visiting."

"Please, call me Bruce." He pointed a finger at her. "Let me guess, Paris, France with a hint of Russian?"

She smiled graciously, "Not many hear the Russian."

"It's my pony trick," he grinned, "the one thing – other than my money – that I can impress people with."

"I'm sure there are many things that impress people about you." It took everything she had not to roll her eyes at his fop act. "Are you looking for a tour of the museum? If so, I would be happy to arrange it."

"I had a bit of free time and I was curious to meet Clark's friend." His eyes tilted down to her name plate. "May I call you, Selina?"

"Of course." She gestured for him to take a seat. "Clark has been a gem, taking me under his wing, as it were."

"It's his Kansas background. Mrs. Kent raised him right."

"Maman Kent is delightful. She taught Clark to cook. Not many men can do that." Her eyes twinkled with pleasure.

"I know I can't." He studied her. "So you and Clark are…?"

"Friends." Her cheeks blushed red, "He is very handsome, but he is mon petit frère."

"I see."

"You are worried for Clark?" she looked at him with wide guileless eyes.

"Like you said, he's like my little brother."

"I worry too," she sighed. "He seems enamored with Wonder Woman. I told him he can do better. Someone not so… bossy." She turned to her computer, keying in some final sentences and skimming the subjects of the new email in her inbox. "I believe that he is in love with Lois, but is too blind to see it."

"Lois and Clark?" Bruce said, considering the idea. "In that situation, I believe Lois is the one that is too blind to see it."

"Denial," she gave him an impish smile.

"Selina, what can I do to convince you to join us for dinner tonight? You'll be an excellent addition to the party."

"Another time," she said regretfully. "Reunion with friends from Paris. Early dinner and then theatre."

"Sounds like an evening you can't miss." Standing, he said, "Well, I've taken up too much of your time. It was lovely to meet you, Selina. Maybe next time I'm in town, you'll make time for me."

She stood, walking him to the door. "It was a pleasure meeting you too."

"Have a lovely evening, Miss. Dubrovna."

"You too, Monsieur Wayne," she grinned at him. "Tell Clark I said hello."

As soon as he was out of sight, she glanced around the room, looking for any devices he might have left behind. Not spotting any, she decided to be safe and keep the appearance up until she could bring her tools in to do a thorough scan. She hated playing the doe-eyed innocent, but it was the only persona she knew that would throw Bruce off.

Grabbing her phone, she texted Clark the details of her appearance, so that he wouldn't slip up when he spoke with Bruce.

---

"Sorry I'm late," Clark joined Bruce and Lois at the table. He was still straightening his tie as the maitre d' took his jacket. "The press conference went long. S.T.A.R. Labs had technical difficulties with their demonstration and started later than expected."

"Well, that's embarrassing," Lois remarked. "What was the demo?"

"Enhanced Mars Rover."

"I'm glad you got the short end of the stick. Sounds like a snoozer."

He shrugged, "I passed the time talking with the other journalists. Found a moment to chat with Selina." He glanced at Bruce. "She mentioned you stopped by the museum to meet her."

"I found some time to kill."

"Bruce-"

"You've mentioned her quite a bit since you met her. And I wanted to meet the woman that helped defeat the amulet of Isis." He explained to Lois, "Clark met Selina while researching the Egyptian goddess Isis. She gave him some helpful information, which he passed to Oliver that helped the Justice League defeat the amulet and save Black Canary."

Lois knew Clark and Oliver were friends. She also knew that Oliver was Green Arrow and Dinah was Black Canary. What she didn't know was how much Clark knew. Glancing between the two men, she decided to keep her mouth shut about secret identities. "Seems your curator is becoming a regular superhero."

"Can you please stop referring to her by her profession? She has a name."

"He's so protective," she remarked dryly. "Bruce, what did you think of Selina?"

"She seems charming. From what little I gathered, she seems like delightful company. She definitely cares a great deal for Clark. She referred to him as her petite frère." Bruce smiled over the lip of his glass.

"How darling."

"I think Lois might feel a little threatened," Clark smirked. "Perry couldn't stop raving about Selina after he met her. Lois isn't Perry's only golden girl anymore."

"I'll feel threatened when dear Selina starts scooping me on stories," she retorted.

"Then we're all lucky that she's a museum curator and not a journalist," Bruce stopped the argument before it blossomed into an all-out war. "Clark, you're sure there's nothing more going on between you and Selina?"

Lois covered her face in dismay. "Please don't tell me you're going to chase after her now too?"

Clark patted her hand. "You should give her a chance. You might find that you have more in common than you think."

"What could we possibly have in common?"

"Well, me for one. And you both seem to have this unnatural dislike of Wonder Woman."

She paused, considering. "Not a Wonder Woman fan?"

"Nope. She refers to her as Wonderbra."

Lois chuckled. "Maybe I will give her a chance."

Clark turned to Bruce. "And to answer your unspoken question, you can try, but I don't think she'll go for you."

"Why? What's wrong with me? I'm rich. I'm handsome. I'm charming."

"And so modest," Lois interjected sarcastically.

Bruce studied his friend's demeanor. "You know something."

"I'm allowed to have secrets too, Bruce."

It was the first time that Clark heard Batman's grunt coming from Bruce. He couldn't keep the grin from overtaking his face.

---

Selina was finally able to breathe easy when Clark confirmed that Bruce left town. She'd had to fake a bad hangover and stay home the day after Bruce had visited the museum, so he wouldn't be suspicious if he stopped by. Isis and Cinnamon also didn't appreciate being trapped in her bedroom for two days.

After the disruption of Bruce's visit, things went back to her new version of normal. Her days became pretty routine. Luckily her nights were another story.

She'd still managed to find herself on a rooftop a couple nights a week. She'd test her skills breaking into all the 'impregnable' safes and security systems. It was on the night when she decided to break into LuthorCorp that she wanted to smack herself in the head.

With a deep sigh, she said, "They always said curiosity would kill a cat."

With no other choice, she made copies of the information and braced herself to break the news to Clark.

"Good, you came as Superman. That'll make this a little easier."

He floated into her apartment. "What's going on?"

"You remember how months ago when you found out my secret identity, I mentioned how I still planned to flex my skills and commit the occasional B&E for fun?"

"You stole something?" he said incredulously.

"Not on purpose, but when I realized what it was, I couldn't do nothing." She handed him the files that she'd photographed from Lex's office. "Lex uncovered something that could destroy you."

Clark's expression went grim. "This was in Lex's office?"

"I may have found myself breaking into LexCorp, which by the way, their security is a joke." She twirled her wine glass in hand. "His computer security is laughable too."

"I'll take this to the League." He closed the file and glanced back at her. "Thank you for this."

"You're not going to tell me that I shouldn't have been snooping at LexCorp?"

"You already know you shouldn't. Would my saying so stop you from doing it again?"

"Unlikely," she smirked.

"Then I'll save my breath. I'll let you know what happens with this."

"No need. I'm sure I'll see it on the news."

---

"How did you get this?" Batman lowered the file.

"Confidential source. It came directly from Luthor's computer." Superman was using the Watchtower computers to find corroborating evidence.

Batman had never known Superman to be so secretive. Superman had always been forthcoming when it came to League business. He filed it away to be considered at a later date. "Luthor managed to dig up Doomsday – an unstoppable Kryptonian experiment – from beneath Earth's crust?"

"To clarify, Doomsday was not a Kryptonian experiment. An alien of unknown origin performed his experiments on Krypton. And yes, it seems that when Zod launched Doomsday into outer space, he somehow ended up here." Superman studied the satellite imagery.

"There's definitely a dig site at that location."

"Recon?"

"Green Lantern and Flash are on the ground."

"Any idea how to stop an unstoppable destroyer?"

---

Selina dropped her keys on the counter as soon as she entered her apartment. Gently nudging the door closed, she carried her bag of groceries to the kitchenette. As soon as she put away her last item, she closed the cabinet and asked, "How did you figure it out?"

Batman took a step out of the shadows by the sliding doors. "I had a feeling."

She sensed his presence almost as soon as she got home. She had gone through the motions of completing her chores, so that she could gather her thoughts. Grabbing a bottle of red from the wine rack, she went to work opening the bottle. "A feeling."

"Superman knows?"

"I'm pretty sure you don't need me to answer that."

"He didn't tell me."

She set the cork aside and poured herself a glass. She poured two and set the second on the table for him before she took a seat on the sofa. She waited for Isis to leap into her lap before she replied. "I didn't think he did. Clark made me a promise."

He understood what that implied. Clark made her a promise and she knew that he'd keep it. "Clark?"

She let out a soft snort. "It didn't take me long to figure it out. I'm not an idiot."

"No, you're not."

"It's been months, why are you here?" She finally asked.

"Selina, you left without giving me a chance."

"A chance to do what? You've had years to do something. Suddenly I leave and you're interested? Too little, too late."

He sat down on the coffee table in front of her. "You didn't give me a chance to give you this." He held a ring box open in front of her.

The diamond encrusted vintage engagement ring was breathtaking. She always knew if Bruce ever decided to pop the question, he'd go over the top without being gaudy. "It's beautiful."

"I love you, Selina Kyle."

"I love you." She leaned forward and pressed the softest of kisses against his lips. "But I can't marry you."

"I'm not asking you to marry Batman. I'm asking you to marry Bruce Wayne," he whipped off his cowl. He expected to see shock or surprise in her expression, but saw none. His brow furled. "You knew. Why didn't you say something?"

"Because I was waiting for you to trust me." She reached up and cupped his face, her eyes pooling with tears. "I'm sorry, Bruce, but I can't. I can't marry you." She brushed her tears away. "You need to leave."

"Why?" He took her wrists gently. "We love each other. We were happy together."

"That was a lie, Bruce. It was a fantasy. You can't expect me to live a life where you hide a part of yourself away from me."

His jaw clenched. "It wasn't a lie."

"It was." She leaned her forehead against his. "You lied to me every day about where you were going or why you were late or how you got your bruises. And I let you, because I wanted you to trust me enough to tell me the truth."

"I trust you."

Selina shook her head. "You don't."

"Don't tell me what I feel, Selina."

"Then it's how I feel. You can't expect me to believe that my leaving didn't affect you."

"Of course it did," he admitted. "You left me. You said goodbye to Batman, but you left Bruce a Dear John."

"I couldn't handle saying goodbye to you twice."

"That's not how I saw it. I spent years thinking that you were in love with Batman and only decided to settle for Bruce."

She gave him a scandalized look. "That's not true."

"I realized that. That's why I was planning on telling you." He finally saw the surprised look that he'd been expecting earlier.

"You were?" She couldn't help the touch of skepticism, but she knew that he wouldn't lie to her about this.

He grunted in acknowledgment.

She sighed. "This is such a mess."

"It seems to suit us."

Taking a deep bracing breath, she stood. "You need to leave."

"Selina-"

"No. This is too much. I need to think."

Bruce studied her silently. When he finally nodded, he pulled his cowl back on and stood. He handed her a Batcomm. "So you can reach me." Impulsively, he leaned in and took her lips, kissing her long and deep. When he finally pulled back, he smirked, "To help you think."

"Meow," she purred. "Not the kind of thinking I need right now."

"It would definitely help my cause." He was out the window and diving off the balcony before she could comment further.

"Bruce," she exhaled in mild exasperation. Turning, she noticed that he'd left the ring.

---

"You called?" Superman stepped into her living room.

Selina rolled her eyes. "Exactly. I called. As in I used the phone."

"I was on my way." As he approached her, his battle gear reabsorbed and he was left in a white t-shirt and jeans.

She tossed a pair of glasses at him. "He knows."

"Who knows?" he asked in confusion, but then it suddenly dawned on him. "Bruce figured it out on his own. I promise I didn't say anything."

"Pfft. I know you didn't say anything. He's Bruce. He figured it out." She was cuddled on the sofa with Isis, enjoying her glass of wine. She rested her head against his shoulder when he sat beside her. With a sigh, she twirled her glass in her hands. "I told him I needed time to think."

"Do you love him?"

"You know that was never a problem. Batman is a glorious bastard of epic proportions, but he's my glorious bastard. And Bruce… he's everything I could want in a man."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Can I trust that he trusts me?" She felt tears slipping from her eyes, a small wet stain building on Clark's shirt. "I don't know if I could survive if a few years down he realizes that he doesn't."

He took the glass from her hands and set it on the table. Lacing his fingers with hers, he said reassuringly, "We both know that Bruce has trust issues. We also know that when he decides that he does trust someone, he does. Bruce knows himself. He prides himself on it."

Selina brushed away her tears. "He is irritating that way."

"If he says he trusts you, I believe it."

She sniffed and nodded. "You're right."

"Give him a chance. You're perfect for each other."

"You're sweet, Clark."

"So I've been told."

Selina grinned, realizing the moratorium on discussing love lives was now gone. "You should really consider dating Lois. I think you'd be perfect for each other."

"I thought we agree-" he stopped as he realized the change in their circumstances. He dropped his head back. "This is not fair."

Laughing delightedly, she stated, "At least one good thing definitely came out of this."

---

Stepping off the platform of the Watchtower teleporter, Selina ignored the blaring computerized alerts of an intruder and stormed her way through the Justice League headquarters toward the monitor hub where she assumed the League was gathered mourning the death of Superman. She'd gone to the Planet to meet Clark for lunch where she caught the battle between him and Doomsday all over the television broadcasts.

As soon as the outcome was apparent, she'd rushed back to her apartment and then to her hideout and her storage locker to grab what she needed. She then proceeded to break into the most secure base not-known to man.

Batman looked up first, his eyebrow quirking behind his mask.

The rest of the team looked at her in surprise.

Wonder Woman stood up in anger, demanding, "How did you get here? How dare you intrude in our time of grief!" She was about to charge when J'onn stepped in her way.

"How did she get up here?" Flash whispered to GL.

GL looked at Batman. "She Supe's curator friend?"

Pulling back in distaste, Wonder Woman sneered, "Do not tell me that Kal-El was fool enough to give her a transport controller?"

"Kal-El did not give me a transport controller," Selina finally spoke. "Your transporter system isn't as secure as you would hope." Turning her gaze to Batman, she asked, "Can we speak in private?" When he didn't respond immediately, she added, "I couldn't reach you through your usual channels. It's important, otherwise, I would never have tipped my hand." She smirked, "You know how I enjoy beating you at your own game."

He grunted, knowing full well Selina must have been preening in delight that she had broken League security so easily. He stood to join her. "You'll tell me where the hole is?"

"Where's the fun in that?" She pivoted on her heel, leading the way out. "Tell you what, if you don't figure it out, feel free to ask and I guarantee I'll tell you."

He grunted again.

"Wait!" Flash called, "You're really not going to tell us?"

Selina led the way to the science lab and began keying commands into Watchtower's computer.

Batman stood patiently behind her. "He's entombed in his ice fortress. The body buried in Metropolis was a decoy. We weren't going to risk anyone desecrating his remains."

"Perfect, then we can head straight there after I take care of Doomsday." She easily located the deformed science experiment and using the Watchtower teleporters, sent him deep into the earth, having him materialize in solid rock. "That should hold him for now."

"Doomsday is dead."

"Pfft. He's indestructible. Give him enough time and he'll regenerate. Not unlike our alien friend." Selina grabbed her things again and headed to the transporter room.

"Selina, hold on a minute." He touched her elbow to stop her. "You said you wanted to talk."

"I do, but time's wasting. We can talk on the way."

"On the way… to the fortress? Why?"

"Superman is alive, but he won't be that way for much longer."

---

Bruce took off his cape and cowl as soon as they reached Clark's ice fortress. "How did you know how to get in here?"

"As I told Clark, I did some research before on Kryptonian artifacts-"

"There's no black market for Kryptonian artifacts."

"So I discovered." Selina was bundled in a warm parka; her hands encased in fur-lined gloves as she went about placing crystals here and there in the main console. "But that was after I got my hands on a few interesting Kryptonian relics. Needless to say, I'm fully versed in all things Krypton now, especially after Clark gave me access to this place." With a final twist of a crystal, the whole place lit up.

"Selina Kyle," the disembodied voice boomed, "why have you trespassed in this sanctuary again?"

"Jor-El," she purred, "I thought you'd miss our little chats."

"You are not welcome here."

Bruce frowned. "I thought you were allowed here."

She gave him an impish smile, before addressing the AI, "Check again, ice box. Your son gave me leave to visit as I please."

It took a minute for the computer to process the request. "It seems you are correct, Selina Kyle. How may I be of assistance?"

"Kal-El was injured during a battle with Doomsday. He's currently entombed in the next room."

"I will scan his injuries."

She leaned over and whispered to Bruce, "I almost heard a hint of concern in the ice box."

Bruce grunted. "Why did you even need me here?"

"Selina Kyle," Jor-El boomed, "Kal-El is gravely injured. His life signs are minimal. He must be moved to this chamber and the regeneration process begun immediately."

"Right," Bruce muttered, "you need me to do the heavy lifting." He might be complaining, but on the inside, he felt a burst of hope that his friend was not actually dead. Going over to the next room, Bruce disabled the stasis field around Clark and lifted the heavy body over his shoulder. Carrying him back to the main chamber, he gently laid him out on the table that appeared. "Will this work?"

Jor-El replied, "It is unknown. We may not have made it in time to save him."

"Why didn't you activate when we arrived with Kal-El earlier?" he asked curiously.

"That is unknown."

Selina touched Bruce's arm. "Clark had deactivated the AI. Found him to be a tad intrusive."

Bruce grunted, watching as a dome of light surrounded his friend. "How long before we know?"

"We must wait twenty-four earth hours. After, we will assess his condition." Jor-El AI opened another chamber off to the side. "You may rest and wait in the rooms next door."

---

J'onn found Batman sitting in the monitor hub for his shift at Watchtower. "Any news?"

Bruce knew that of all of them, he would not be able to hide the truth from J'onn. "The first twenty-four hours revealed no change. The AI does not seem hopeful that he will recover."

"We both know that Superman's will is strong. He will survive."

His typical grunt of acknowledgement seemed to reassure the Martian Manhunter. "In the meantime, we just need to make sure his city survives his temporary absence."

"GL and Arrow are patrolling."

"How is everyone else recovering?" Many were injured after the battle with Doomsday; most had recovered physically, but they were all grieving.

"Reasonably well." He paused before adding, "They will be angry with you once he returns."

"Nothing new."

J'onn studied him a moment longer. Being a telepath, he could have easily read what was going on in Bruce's mind, but he would not invade without permission. Instead, he found that it was good practice to learn to read Bruce's posture and expressions – as blank as they were. "How are things going with Miss. Dubrovna?"

"Selina Kyle," Bruce explained.

"Ah, Catwoman. Well, that explains how she managed to find her way up here."

"Not quite."

J'onn blinked – unnecessarily – in surprise. "You have not figured out how she did it?"

"No."

"Cloned someone's signal?"

"No."

"Created a new signal?"

"No."

"Used another transporter?"

"No."

"How did she do it?"

"I'm working on it."

J'onn was even more impressed with Catwoman. It took quite a lot to stump the Dark Knight. He thought a moment and then asked, "Is there something going on between you and Miss. Kyle?"

Batman's only response was to grunt and then he proceeded to ignore the Martian.

---

"Where is he?" Lois demanded.

Selina removed her glasses and turned to the woman who'd just stormed into her office. She'd been expecting the reporter to show up eventually; especially now that Superman was 'dead' and Clark had gone missing. "Lois, how are you?"

"Cut the bull. Where is Clark?"

"I haven't heard from him lately," she played dumb. "Is something wrong?"

"Of course something is wrong. Clark is missing. You must have noticed. You've been attached at the hip for months now."

Selina checked her phone. "He mentioned he'd be out of town for a couple days and that he'd let me know when he was back. I haven't thought anything of it."

"What? He went out of town? Where? Does Perry know?" Lois looked like she was going to go off the rails.

"Lois," Selina said calmly, "are you alright? Do you want to take a seat?"

"No, I'm not alright!" She ended up slumped in a guest chair. Tears started pouring from her eyes. "Superman died! Superman died in my arms. He died and the city is going to hell now." Her hand went to her chest. "And it's like I can't breathe… because he meant so much to me." Her voice almost cracked, "And the one person… the one person that might be able to help me deal with this… he's gone too." She brushed her tears away. "You're sure Clark's alright? He's not lost in the rubble somewhere?"

Selina's opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out.

Lois caught the hesitation. "You did see him after the battle? He must have called to check on you or let you know he's okay."

"I saw Clark the day before the battle. But I'm sure if he was in Metropolis, the Green Lantern or Green Arrow would have found him."

"The morgue and the hospitals are filled with John Does. Have you spoken to his mother? Maybe he's been in contact with her?"

"I can call her," she offered. Reaching for her phone, Selina braced herself for the call. She'd already spoken to Martha when she returned from the fortress. She'd had to give her the news that her son was alive, but hanging on by a thread. Martha had wanted to go straight to the fortress to be with him, but Selina had convinced her to wait until the weekend, so that it would be less suspicious for her to disappear. "Martha? It's Selina. How are you?"

You know, holding it together. You.

"Good, good. I'm at work and I just noticed that it's been awhile since I've heard from Clark."

Someone's with you, isn't there?

"Yes, he did mention that he would be out of town for a few days."

Let me guess. It's Lois, isn't it? Clark always said she was like a pit-bull when it came to sniffing out the news.

"Yes, he's definitely mentioned that before. He's doing well?" Selina could tell that Lois's posture was relaxing.

We're still on for tomorrow?

"Of course. I'll speak with you again soon."

Thank you, Selina. I'm glad Clark has a friend like you.

Her eyes softened. "Thank you. The next time you speak to Clark, let him know I said the same." She hung up the phone and let Lois know, "Martha said he was fine."

"Did she say where he is?"

"She didn't mention it."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Did she say when he'd be back?"

"I didn't think to ask." Selina bit her lip and glanced at the phone. "I could call her back."

"No, it's fine. He's your boyfriend. If you're not worried, why should I be? I'm only his partner." Lois crossed her arms, angry now that Clark had left town without letting her know. And apparently he was ignoring her phone calls and emails.

Green eyes went wide, before she laughed. "Is that what you think? Clark and I aren't dating. He's like my little brother."

Lois's eyebrow rose. "You don't have to lie. Clark can date whoever he wants."

"Clark's a sweetie, but we're definitely not dating. I have a boyfriend."

"Really?" She really could not believe that there was nothing going on between Clark and his curator. They were just too close to each other; almost intimate. Her head turned when she heard a knock at the door. "Bruce?"

"Lois," he greeted, "are you and Selina visiting? I can come back later. The new Krypton exhibit looks like it would be interesting to peruse."

"Wait a minute." Lois aimed a finger at first Selina and then to Bruce. "You two? How did that happen?"

"Selina actually hails from Gotham." He went to his love's side, taking her hand.

"We had a bit of a lover's spat and I left to come here." She couldn't help the slight blush when he kissed her hand.

"Took me almost six months to find her again, but I'm persistent." His blue eyes sparkled with happiness. "I groveled and I managed to convince her to take me back. Now I'm doing what I can to convince her to move back to Gotham."

"Wait a minute. Selina? As in Selina Kyle? As in Catwoman?" Lois said incredulously. She glared at the other woman. "Did Clark know?"

"Of course, why do you think we got along so well? We had this glorious bastard in common." She patted Bruce's side. "How you managed to be such close friends with Clark has always been a mystery to me. He's such a wholesome, down to earth darling. And you're… not."

Lois tried to wrap her mind around all the new information. Her eyes narrowed at Bruce. "But you met Selina when you were in town months ago. You didn't say anything."

"She disguised herself. I didn't recognize her right away."

"You didn't recognize someone?" the reporter said in disbelief.

"Hiding in plain sight is one of the easiest and best disguises," Selina remarked. "Besides personality and posture really make a difference when you don't expect to see the obvious."

"Please," Lois scoffed at the idea. It was more likely that Bruce had a reason for not admitting he recognized her. He was a trained observer and if Selina was the love of his life, surely he would have seen through her disguise right away.

"Believe what you will." Selina went about shutting down her computer and grabbing her things. "I'm sure Clark is fine. He'll be back in Metropolis for you to pester in no time." She looped her arm around Bruce's. "When he does come back, you might want to think about letting him know what he means to you."

"Clark knows he's the best partner I've ever had," Lois said, a little flustered by what Selina was suggesting.

"Hmm, is that really all he is to you? Your partner?"

---

It had been a week and Clark was finally showing signs of recovery. Martha sat by his side, reading to him from Grimm's Fairy Tales; something she used to do when he was a child. She began to breathe a little easier when Jor-El said there was improvement. It was slow, but it was something.

A steaming mug of tea appeared in front of her. She looked up to see Selina. "Thank you."

"You have to stay warm. This place isn't exactly the tropics." Selina went about checking her scarf and the extra blanket around her shoulders; not to mention her gloved hands. "Why don't you go warm up in the other room. I'll sit with Clark."

"I'm fine, Selina. I promise." Martha gripped the blanket. "I think I've gotten used to the cold."

"Martha, Clark wouldn't want you to get sick sitting by his side." Selina took the book from her hands. "Go into the other room and warm up. You can watch from the monitors."

"I don't want him to be alone when he wakes." She was reluctant to leave, but she obediently stood.

"You'll be right next door. The first sign of him waking, you'll be by his side." She gently gave her a nudge.

"Thank you, Selina."

Bruce arrived and looped her arm around his to guide her to the other room. "We're all here for Clark."

"You two are such sweethearts." Martha followed him to the side room, which was more temperate for humans. "Well, Bruce, you will keep me company, won't you?"

"Of course." He helped her into a chair. He puttered around a bit – grabbing the fresh pot of tea and coffee for himself; grabbing the meal that Selina had prepared and setting it on the table for he and Martha to share; and finally finding cutlery. Once everything seemed in place, he took a seat across from her. "I'm sure you've heard this already, but Clark is stubborn. He'll pull through. He'd be ashamed to be defeated by an undefeatable monster."

She smiled. "You know my son well."

"Well, as much as I don't say it, Clark is a friend."

"You've been good for each other over the years. I can't think of anyone who's been such a good friend to him. Well, other than Selina." Martha took a few bites of food. "This is delicious."

Surprised, he looked at the plate in front of him. He didn't know that Selina knew how to cook. When they had been together in Gotham, Alfred always prepared meals or they had gone out. "Selina made it."

"Oh, I'm sure. I've only known her a short time – Clark introduced us not long after they met – and we've been exchanging recipes ever since. Selina is quite the cook." She smiled as she thought back on her own surprise that such an elegant, city woman knew how to cook so well. "I was so shocked when she offered to cook that weekend. Selina appears so cultured, so sophisticated; not the type that has ever done any of the everyday things; but she's so down to earth."

"She does know how to blend well in any environment."

"Like you." Martha noticed his well hidden surprise. "Bruce, you've become almost like a second son to me. You don't think I've followed your exploits – both as Batman and Bruce – in the papers? Not to mention that Matches Malone character." Her eyes crinkled with her smile. "No, Clark didn't tell me. There was just something familiar about his exploits; and of course as soon as I saw the photos of Matches in the paper, I knew." She patted his hand reassuringly, "No one will know that you are Matches. People see what they like; and no one would ever dream that Matches and Bruce Wayne were the same person."

"You, on the other hand, have a lot of experience seeing through those disguises."

"Seeing Clark switch between Clark Kent and Superman… if I hadn't helped him practice, I'm sure I would never know that they were both the same man. Not to mention all your friends that end up finding their way to the farm – both in and out of uniform. I believe only Selina managed to trick me." Her knowing eyes caught his as she continued. "She showed up at my door – brown contacts, glasses, shorter heels and a French accent. We spoke for almost an hour before she finally dropped the disguise."

Bruce knew exactly what persona Selina must have used. The same one that managed to fool him when he was in Metropolis and weary of Clark's curator. "Selina must have been relieved that you couldn't see through her disguise."

Martha had spent the rest of that evening consoling Selina about her love for her glorious bastard. It only made sense to Martha why Selina would love such a man when she recently discovered that he was Bruce. "She was… but she was also disappointed. I think she wanted there to be some flaw so that the person she used it with would have a chance of figuring her out."

He shook his head. "I didn't."

"How did you figure out that Selina Dubrovna was Selina Kyle then?"

"A lot of little things. Her love of art; her wide ranging knowledge of almost everything; Lois's dislike of Selina's closeness to Clark; the way Clark seemed less than forthcoming about her… and the fact that I set up surveillance and watched her."

Martha set her cup down hard. "You stalked her?"

"I was worried about Clark. New woman in his life, who seemed to have the answer to everything; and she managed to influence his views-"

"You didn't trust Clark's judgment?"

"He's a little too trusting sometimes."

"I did raise him to see the good in people; but I didn't raise a fool."

Bruce nodded his acknowledgement; accepting the chastisement. "Everything worked out though. I found Selina."

Her eyebrow rose in curiosity. "How are things going between you and Selina?"

"Better… I think. All our cards are on the table now."

"And you trust each other?"

"I trust her." He grunted, "Whether or not she believes me is another thing."

"Well, she's giving you a chance, so make the best of it."

"I promise I'm using every opportunity." He slowly spun his coffee mug on the table. "The months I spent looking for her… I wasn't… I wasn't whole… as if I lost a part of myself. I don't think I'll feel whole again; not until I convince her to move back to Gotham." His blue eyes lifted to hers. "She's being stubborn though. Adamant that we take things slow. You would think that more than a decade of flirting and dancing around each other was slow enough." He glowered slightly, adding, "And of course she insists that she has friends in Metropolis that she doesn't want to abandon."

Martha smiled, "You mean Clark."

"She really does think of him as her younger brother. They've bonded." His arms crossed, as he leaned back in his chair. "Not like the man can't zip over to Gotham in seconds to visit every day. And the woman has somehow managed to break through all the security features I put on Watchtower and is using the League transporter as her personal toy."

"Give her time, Bruce. Selina's recovering from months where she believed that she'd never be with you again. She broke her heart giving you up. It will take some time for her to believe that she can have happiness."

His mind considered the situation and the view Martha was presenting to him. He'd been patient, but he hadn't understood. "I am. I will give her all the time she needs."

"She'll come around."

---

"Master Bruce, any news on Mr. Kent?" Alfred asked upon seeing his absent ward.

"Progress. Slow progress. The AI seems hopeful." Bruce made his way up to his rooms, setting his bag down. He'd returned to Gotham to check on the Bat-family as well as to get a fresh set of clothes. "Martha and Selina are staying at the fortress. They both took some time off work, so they could stay with him."

Alfred couldn't help but ask, "And how is Miss. Selina?"

Bruce paused to consider his answer. "She's doing well in Metropolis. Better than she ever did while she was here."

"You believe she won't come back?"

"She's thriving in Metropolis. She's put her past as Catwoman behind her. She's even helped the League out in the background." He reached for a photo of her he had framed by his bedside. "I'm beginning to wonder if she would be better off staying there."'

"Sir, I believe Miss. Selina would thrive wherever she found herself."

"Alfred, she managed to make it out of Gotham unscathed. Maybe it's selfish of me to want to drag her back."

"Perhaps, sir, it would be best to leave that decision to her."

"Yeah, Bruce, wouldn't want to scare her off again." Dick leaned in the door frame.

"Dick," Bruce acknowledged his son's presence.

"I'm surprised you came back without the lovely Miss. Kyle."

Jason brushed passed Dick, forcing his way into his father's room. He threw himself on to Bruce's bed, sprawling on his side. "I was hoping to officially say 'hi' to my new mommy."

"Yeah, we've always been missing a Bat-mom in this family." Tim walked in and leaned back against a dresser.

"It's about time too," Jason remarked, "you and Selina have been dancing around each other for years. The sexual tension -"

"What Jason means is that we'd welcome her into the family," Dick smiled, his hand was clamped over Damian's mouth to prevent him from saying something rude. "Even this little bird."

"Dick, let go of your brother," Bruce ordered.

Damian threw off Dick's arm. "We already have a Bat-mom. You." He sent his older brother a smirk, before turning to his dad and grumbled, kicking the floor, "Father, if the thief makes you happy, I have no complaints. I am not calling her mom though."

"Little D, you're growing up," Dick wiped a fake tear from his eye.

"So when do we get to welcome Selina into the family?" Tim asked.

Bruce remained silent, continuing his chore of packing his clothes.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Please don't tell me you screwed it up already?"

"He already screwed things up," Dick smirked, "I just thought he would have patched things up by now. Pull out the charm or whatever and convince Selina to come back, already."

"If you must know, we have patched things up." Bruce closed his bag and looked up at his sons. "We're taking things slow."

"How much slower can you possibly get?" Jason groaned, falling back.

Tim kicked Jason's shoe, shutting him up. "She's being cautious. It's understandable. Bruce scared her off; a few words won't suddenly fix everything."

"Forget what I said," Damian smirked, "Tim's the Bat-mom."

Bruce ruffled Damian's hair. "Be good for Alfred. All of you. I'll be back in another few days."

"With our new Bat-mom?" Jason asked curiously.

Bruce simply grunted. He wanted so much to say 'yes'.

"Why does the servant get to be in charge?" Damian complained, following his dad back out.

Dick wrapped an arm around his shoulder, holding him tight. "Would you prefer answering to me?"

"Let go of me," he demanded, struggling. "At least Alfred can cook."

Jason and Tim followed them down the stairs. Leaning against the banister, Jason smirked, "I'll cross my fingers that the next time I visit, you'll be overrun with cats."

"It'll be interesting to have a woman in the family," Tim added. "Especially someone as talented as Catwoman. Maybe she'll teach us a few things."

"Tt," Damian scoffed, "what could that thief possibly teach us?"

"She did manage to break into Watchtower," Bruce admitted, watching all his sons stunned in shock. "I still haven't figured out how." He gave them a wave before he was out the door.

Alfred called after him, "Good luck, sir."

Tim voiced his surprise first, "She broke into Watchtower?"

Jason grinned, "She's cooler than I thought."

---

Wonder Woman got in Batman's way. "What have you been hiding?"

"Step out of my way, Diana," he growled.

"You're hiding something."

Flash rolled his eyes. "He's the Bat. He's always hiding something."

She took a step closer to Batman. "I saw the transporter logs. You've been spending a lot of time in Kal-El's fortress. What are you doing there?"

Green Lantern tried to step in. "We lost an ally; a friend. Are we not allowed to grieve?"

"He took his thief up there with him."

"Selina is Superman's friend."

Wonder Woman glared. "She's a thief! She's the infamous Catwoman. Someone you should have thrown into your Gotham Asylum years ago."

Batman crossed his arms. "Where's the proof?" He stared her down. "You have no proof, because there is none. If there was any shred of proof, then I guarantee you, Catwoman would be in jail."

"Please, like the woman doesn't have you chasing her around like a love sick monkey."

"Need I remind you that Catwoman has assisted the League many times over the years."

Flash winced, remembering their encounter with Prometheus; and the whole debacle with Zatanna and Bruce's missing twenty minutes.

"And more recently, it was her help that saved Canary from Isis. And she was the one that warned Superman about Doomsday."

"Like that did him any good," Wonder Woman sneered.

J'onn placed his hand on Wonder Woman's shoulder. "Don't let your grief turn to anger."

A tear dripped from her eye. She brushed it away in anger, aiming an accusing finger at Batman. "He is hiding something and I'm not letting him off this satellite until he tells me what it is."

J'onn and Bruce exchanged looks. Bruce tried extremely hard to control his eye roll. He sighed internally and gave J'onn an imperceptible nod.

"Batman has been going to the fortress, because Superman is alive."

"What?!" resounded through the satellite.

Batman said patiently, "Selina knew enough about Kryptonians and the fortress to know that Clark was not actually dead. She activated the fortress and Clark has been in a healing chamber for the past two weeks. The AI believes that he will be fully healed in another month."

"You hid this from us?" Wonder Woman said, betrayed. "How could you?"

"Because I didn't believe it was possible. Even the AI wasn't sure we got Clark into the chamber in time."

"He didn't want to get anyone's hopes up," J'onn explained. "And I agreed."

GL pushed aside his resentment at being kept in the dark and asked, "You're sure Supe is okay?"

"He will be." Batman gave a steady glare at Wonder Woman, "And you have a thief to thank for that."

---

"Clark?" Martha whispered softly when she saw his eyes flutter. When she finally set eyes on his beautiful baby blues, she covered her mouth to contain her tears. "Clark."

"Mom?"

"You're okay." She leaned over him and kissed his forehead. "You're okay."

He sat up, blinking. "Doomsday?"

"You stopped him." Bruce stood by his feet. "Took a beating though. The world thinks you're dead."

"What?" He rubbed his face, trying to understand what he'd just been told. "How long was I out?"

"Six weeks."

Selina arrived from the other room, a sly smile on her face. "Well, good morning, sleeping beauty. Look who finally decided to wake up." She tossed him a shirt.

"Thanks." He pulled on the shirt, buttoning it up. "I take it, I have you to thank for getting me into the healing chamber."

"You can thank Bruce for that. You can't very well expect me to be able to lug your fat ass around." She stopped by his side and gave him a hug. "You can thank me for turning it on though." She kissed his cheek before pulling back. "You know I have a knack for turning things on."

Clark laughed, kissing her cheek. "Well, thank you."

"Yeah, what would you do without me?"

---

Donning his suit, Superman called, "Come in," when the knock came at his door.

Batman entered. "How are you feeling?"

"Last round of tests with Jor-El say I'm back to one hundred percent. Not a single sign that I was almost killed by Doomsday." He studied his own image in the mirror. "It's like it never happened."

"Well, it did happen. Just because the body is healed, doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"I guess we'll see if there's any lasting effects."

"Just… don't be surprised if you have nightmares. If you do, I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks." He took a moment before turning the conversation to a lighter topic. "So, how are things between you and Selina? Did you use all the time spent together by my bedside to woo her back to you?"

Batman smirked, "We're good."

His eyebrow quirked. "That's it? I've been on my deathbed for six weeks and that's all you'll tell me?"

"I asked her to marry me."

Clark's lips spread into a wide grin. "Congratulations! You're perfect for each other."

"She hasn't answered me yet."

"What? Why not?"

"Well, actually, she said 'no', but I asked her to think about it."

"I don't understand."

Bruce explained, "She's reluctant to leave the life she's built in Metropolis… she doesn't seem to trust what we have will last."

"But she's giving you a chance." Clark clapped a hand on his shoulder. "She'll come around. Just give her some space."

"I'm worried that she won't believe in us; that she won't risk the happiness that she's found in Metropolis with you."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Bruce, you know there's nothing between Selina and I."

"You're family, Clark. You and Martha are her family now." Bruce had a calm expression on his face. "You grew up with a wonderful family, so you might not understand what it means to finally find a family of your own. I can't begrudge Selina that."

---

Superman had made a glorious return to Metropolis; announcing his presence by saving Lois after she'd been thrown off a balcony by one of Intergang's crew. He'd given her a few quotes and then went on his way, once again the omnipresent watcher of the bright city.

"Where is Clark?"

Selina removed her glasses again and turned to the intruder that once again arrived at her door. "Lois, have you tried just calling him?"

"Of course I have. I've called and texted and emailed, but nothing. It's been two months. Even Superman came back from the dead. Where is he?" Lois ranted. "Perry won't tell me a damn thing either. Spouted some crap about being on assignment, but Perry can't lie worth a damn. So I know there's something more going on." She pointed an accusing finger at the raven-headed beauty, "You took a leave of absence for one month too. Returned one day before Superman reappeared. Coincidence? I think not. Now tell me what I want to know."

"Are you accusing me of being with Clark or with Superman?" she asked calmly.

The question flustered Lois. Shaking her head, she said, "Just tell me where Clark is."

"At this moment, I believe he should be returning home now. Wayne One landed not too long ago."

"What?"

"Bruce requested a favor of Clark. Flew him to Superman's fortress to watch over Big Blue while he recuperated."

Lois leaned back in confusion. "Why Clark?"

"Bruce trusts him and it would be inconspicuous to the rest of the world for Clark to be absent for an extended period."

"But Superman came back days ago."

"Flying – even by private jet – takes quite a bit of time from where Clark was."

---

"How did things go with Lois?" Selina handed Clark a glass of wine as soon as he crossed her threshold.

His cheeks flushed slightly. "Things went well. We're going on a date tomorrow night."

She chuckled, "I'm glad you both finally took your blinders off. It only took dying for it to happen."

"I guess I gained a little perspective from everything that's happened. I shouldn't waste time; I don't want to have any regrets." He sat in his spot, waiting for Cinnamon to leap into his lap. "Missed you," he stroked the cat's fur. "I'm thinking I might have to get a cat of my own."

"You barely have time to care for yourself, let alone a cat." She took her seat at the couch. "Besides, you have that dog of yours."

"Superman has a dog. Clark Kent doesn't have any pets."

"The way you speak about yourself… be careful you don't develop multiple personalities."

"Dangers of having a secret identity."

They sat in companionable silence, each stroking a cat and enjoying their wine.

Selina studied him. "Do you have any regrets?"

He thought for a moment. "None worth mentioning. I will admit that if I had recognized that there was something between Lois and I, I would have regretted not doing something about it. Now I don't have to."

"You both were in denial… or just blind. Just make sure you tell her about your secret identities sooner rather than later." She gestured with her glass in her hand, "Although, I think she's close to realizing that truth. She's smart and I may have left some breadcrumbs for her."

"Selina, please don't meddle. Lois and I haven't even had our first date yet. Things might not go anywhere."

"Pfft, please. I'm sure you'll be all over each other in no time. You didn't see how concerned she was for you when she thought you might be missing. And I mean Clark Kent, not Superman."

He was pleased to hear that. He always had this fear that any woman would love him for being Superman and not for being Clark Kent; but he was both. "So, how are you and Bruce?"

"Good," she gazed down at her glass with a small smile. "Really good."

Clark could read Selina well enough to know what those few words meant. "So, do you need help packing?"

---

Bruce returned home after a long day at Wayne Enterprises. He was curious to see a large moving truck blocking his driveway and a horde of people moving furniture and boxes into the manor. Stopping his Porsche behind the truck, he got out and wandered in, picking up the chatter of workers until he spotted the cause of the chaos.

Selina stood in the foyer with Alfred directing the movers.

Maintaining his cool demeanor, Bruce stopped in front of her. "How much of the manor are you taking over?"

She smiled up at him, her emerald eyes twinkling in delight. "Not much, maybe a wing."

"Perhaps one and a half wings, sir," Alfred corrected.

Bruce turned his attention to the items being moved into his home. "I take it you had all this in storage?"

"Various storage facilities," she answered, omitting that those facilities included not only actual storage facilities, but also safe houses, warehouses and properties she kept all over Gotham. "I'm not moving everything in, only the important things."

His eyebrow quirked up. If this is what she considered 'only the important things,' he began to wonder how much she'd actually managed to accumulate over the years. Admittedly, he was also a bit of a pack rat, but if this was a sign of things to come, he'd have to make plans to add another wing to the property… or perhaps expand the Batcave. "Can I help with any of this?" he gestured his hand at the chaos.

"No, darling. Alfred and I have everything well in hand." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Go play in your study. This mess will be dealt with in another hour or so."

He nodded. "Then I'll get out of your way."

"Ah, sir, I should warn you that Miss. Selina has barricaded her felines in the study so that they do not get underfoot of the movers."

"And Ace and Titus?"

"Master Damian has locked himself in his room with Titus, while Ace is in the study."

Warning in mind, Bruce headed to his study, slipping in quickly to prevent any animals from escaping. He didn't have to worry, since Ace was curled up and dozing by the fire. Apparently Isis and Cinnamon were equally content to cuddle with the German Shepherd and nap. None seemed disturbed by his entrance.

Settling in at his desk, he prepared to use his spare time to look over more Wayne Enterprises reports. Instead, he found his mind wandering to the implications of Selina's presence in the manor. He was optimistic that she had finally determined to trust in his trust in her. He was not quite optimistic enough that she had decided to accept his proposal.

Bruce had worried that he'd scared her away as soon as his proposal had left his lips. He'd run scenario after scenario in his head since that night, but he hadn't come into any reasonable conclusions.

Selina had always been unpredictable.

But that was part of why he loved her.

"Hello, handsome," she purred, disturbing his ruminations. "How was your day?"

"Uneventful… until I arrived home." He reflexively wheeled his chair away from his desk making room for her to sit in his lap. "I take it, you decided to give me another chance?"

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "What makes you think that?"

His lip twitched. "The fact that you've taken over almost half of my house."

"The storage fees were becoming astronomical," she fiddled with his tie, "I thought I'd save on my monthly expenses by moving everything into this big empty house."

"It's not so empty." His arms wrapped around her waist. "The children are constantly coming and going; leaving their things."

"Not to mention the piles of heirlooms your ancestors left you. How many generations of Waynes have lived here?"

"Quite a few."

"And how many generations of Wayne knickknacks were moved here?"

"Quite a few more."

"Hmm. So it would seem like my things would hardly be noticed." She pressed a simple kiss to his lips.

Cutting to the chase, he asked the important question, "Have you decided to move back to Gotham?"

Her fingers played with the short hairs at the nape of his neck. "I think it's safe to say that."

His grip around her tightened. "And we're sharing a bedroom?"

"I've taken over most of the closet. Alfred moved half of your things to another room. I'm actually wondering if we should break down a wall and expand the closet into the next room."

Nodding somberly, he agreed, "Your shoe collection does need a home."

"Pfft, you have enough tailored suits to fill three rooms. Not to mention all those souvenirs you have in the cave." She kissed his temple, "And I'm sure there are more safes in this mausoleum that I haven't uncovered yet with troves of treasure."

"Perhaps a few." He trailed his hand down her left arm, taking her hand. He kissed the back of it, admiring the ring on that finger. Meeting her gaze, he arched an eyebrow in question.

Selina nodded.

Bruce kissed her hand again before stealing her lips in a deep embrace. When he finally pulled back, he whispered, "Welcome home."

---

"This doesn't mean I have to call you Mother, does it?" Damian glowered at the raven haired woman sitting at the breakfast table across from him.

Selina returned his glower with one of her own. "Don't you call your actual mother that?"

He nodded.

"Then definitely not."

"Tt. Thief it is then." He stabbed at his oatmeal, studying it hard so that he didn't have to look at her.

She smirked. "Kitten, you don't know the half of it."

"My name is Damian."

"Would you prefer I call you, little bird?"

"I would prefer you call me, Damian." His grip tightened around the handle of his spoon.

"Tough." Her attention returned to her tablet where she had been catching up on Gotham news.

Alfred arrived with a fresh pot of tea. "Master Damian, need I remind you that the oatmeal is food and not a weapon."

The boy had just been prepared to fling his breakfast at the woman. "I will not stand for name calling from that thief!"

Her eyebrow rose. "Name calling? They're terms of endearment; nicknames."

"They imply weakness! I am not weak."

"Damian," she lowered the tablet back to the table and said seriously, "My name is Catwoman. I love cats."

He frowned in confusion.

"You're Robin, which is a bird," she continued to explain simply. "And unfortunately for you, you are the baby of the family."

His brow furrowed further.

"The names are not meant to say you are weak." She shrugged, "I used to call all the Robins, baby bird."

His lip curled into a snarl, as he processed the information. Grumbling, he muttered, "Kitten is better."

"Excellent choice, sir." Alfred topped off his milk.

She smiled, "I am partial to kitten myself."

---

"So, have you guys set a date yet?" Clark leaned back in the lounge chair, stroking Cinnamon's fur.

Selina raised a challenging eyebrow. "How are things going between you and Lois? Have you told her about your multiple personalities yet?"

He pouted, "Dual identity, not multiple personality."

"To-may-to, to-mah-to," she shrugged. "Alfred," she smirked when the butler entered with a tray of food, "you really don't need to feed him. That just gives him extra incentive to visit more often than he does."

"I was given to understand that Mr. Kent was always welcome in the manor." Alfred carefully set the tray on the side table beside Clark, making sure everything was just so.

"Alfred, you didn't have to." He grabbed the knife and fork though, "But thank you. This looks delicious."

Selina swiped a breadstick from the tray. "Martha probably has dinner waiting for him too."

Clark shrugged. "I eat a lot." He smirked before looking to Alfred, "Have the stubborn couple made any progress on their wedding plans?"

"None whatsoever, sir." Alfred quirked an eyebrow at Selina, "But I have hope that it will not take another decade for Master Bruce and Miss Selina to reach the next stage of their relationship."

"Alfred," she matched his dry tone, "you know very well that Bruce and I do things differently. We're enjoying being engaged and when we feel like it, we'll do the whole wedding thing. No fanfare though. Bruce hardly likes parties." She leaned over and patted Clark's knee. "And don't worry. You'll be invited."

"Thanks," he grinned widely.

Her eyes twinkled. "Someone needs to bring Martha here."

His smile dropped. "Ha, ha. Like you couldn't just send one of Bruce's jets."

"You're faster… and definitely less conspicuous."

Alfred interjected, "I'm sure Master Bruce has already begun working on a plan to keep the paparazzi out of the loop."

"That might be beyond Bruce's considerable intellect and evil genius. We may just need to get married on that satellite of his in order to keep the press out of it."

"Watchtower doesn't belong to Bruce," Clark commented.

"Because funding it, designing it and building it doesn't mean a thing?" she said archly.

"Hey, there's a lot of Kryptonian tech up there too. Not to mention, I mined half the raw material that went into it." He huffed, setting aside the empty dishes that previously contained his first dinner.

"Don't pout, Clark. You know I'm teasing. You and Bruce share ownership of your little satellite."

He glared at her, extremely tempted to stick out his tongue. "Keep it up, Selina, and I'll break the news to Bruce about how you gained access."

"You know?"

They all turned when they heard the deep voice of the new arrival.

"Bruce," Selina patted the empty space on the sofa beside her, "you're home from patrol early."

He grunted, settling beside her and taking her free hand, lacing their fingers together. "Quiet night. Left it to the kids to finish the rounds." His ice blue eyes met Clark's, "Well?"

"I do."

"Relax," soothing him by rubbing circles on the back of his hand. "He asked me and I told him."

"I didn't figure it out." Clark shook his head with a chuckle, "Believe me, there's no way I would have. Knowing how, I'm not surprised that you haven't got it yet."

Studying both their faces, he asked, "Should we be worried that someone else might be able to infiltrate Watchtower in the same way?"

"Not a chance."

With a final grunt, Bruce turned the conversation back to wedding planning. "How does a winter wedding sound?"

Selina eyed him curiously. "You're not thinking about having our wedding up at the Fortress, are you?"

"Here, at the manor. We agreed to keep the ceremony small and I already have most of the League programmed into the security system."

"Gotham does look beautiful covered in snow."

"We'll use Christmas or New Years as an excuse for the gathering; release a statement to the press as soon as we're on a jet out of here for our honeymoon."

"Oh, la, la," she smiled seductively, curling her arm around his neck, "I get a wedding and a honeymoon? How will Bruce Wayne survive without Batman for a month?"

His eyebrows lowered. "A week."

"I'll accept your compromise provided that we go somewhere secluded and warm; and I have your full attention for the entire week."

"Barring any apocalypses or worldwide disasters."

"You'll have to make up any missed time. And sitting by your sick bed doesn't count."

"Deal."

"Congratulations, Master Bruce, Miss Selina. I'll begin making the arrangements right away."

Clark grinned. "I can't wait to tell Mom the good news."

---

Landing on the roof beside the black cloaked figure, Nightwing remarked, "New look?"

"Just out for a midnight prowl," Selina purred.

He took in her outfit. Gone were the familiar Catwoman jumpsuit, whip and googles; present were black leggings under a simple black wrap dress and a silvery-black scarf wrapped around her neck and head like a hooded cowl. "Going for the mysterious look? Can you even still flip in that?" he tilted his head, wondering if the long skirt would get in her way.

"Oh, little bird," she laughed, "have you taken an interest in fashion?"

He flushed slightly behind his mask, grumbling, "Just making an observation."

"Well, don't worry about me and my outfit. We get along perfectly well together."

Leaning in closer, he noticed another difference. "Are you wearing contacts? I swore your eyes were green."

"Haven't you heard? There's an imposter Catwoman gallivanting around town. Completely ruining my reputation by being caught on camera all the time. She has blue eyes."

"You're not setting her up, are you?"

"Possibly. Catwoman has a reputation to protect… even if she has retired."

"Well, I'll let you know if I spot her." He was about to continue on his patrol. "Does Batman know that you're out here?"

"Darling, what he doesn't know, won't hurt him."

He was smart enough not to make any retorts about that. He simply shrugged and headed on his way. "Welcome to the Family… officially, that is."

Later into the morning, Nightwing checked in with Oracle. "Hey, O, does Catwoman have a new codename?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Why do you ask?"

"New look."

"I see. Well, you'll probably have more luck with an answer if you ask her yourself."

Taking the advice, Dick stopped at the manor the next morning, but mostly because Alfred had extended an invitation. He made his way directly to the breakfast parlor to dine on the breakfast spread that Alfred always laid out. "Morning, Family," he greeted cheerfully, quickly grabbing a plate and dishing food on to it. When his plate was piled with a food mountain, he took his seat and nodded his thanks to Alfred when a coffee cup was set in front of him.

Damian's eyes had followed his older brother's movements as soon as he had entered the room. He stabbed grumpily at his oatmeal and scoffed when he saw the amount of food Dick was about to gorge himself on.

"Kitten," Selina admonished softly.

"He's going to be a big fat cow," he mumbled.

"Hey, I burn off all the calories in one night," Dick said defensively.

"Ignore your brother's atrocious eating habits, kitten." Selina stirred fruit into her low fat Greek yogurt. "I'm surprised your father never taught him any better."

A grunt came from behind the morning paper. "I tried." A finger nudged the plate of fruit and plain whole wheat toast as emphasis.

"I'm a growing boy," Dick argued, shamelessly digging into his breakfast.

"I believe it's more likely that you're taking advantage of the availability of large quantities of food." Bruce finally lowered his paper, folding it neatly before setting it aside.

"Al's a great chef," he shrugged, stuffing his mouth with bacon.

Selina sighed, "At least he has table manners."

"Of course. Otherwise Alfred would never agree to feed him."

Dick made sure to swallow before asking, "So what's going on? Why was I summoned?"

Damian's back became painfully straight. "Is he being replaced?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "You were hardly summoned."

"Bruce wanted you to be the next to know… before our more general acquaintances were extended the invitation-"

"We've set a wedding date."

"Really?" Dick said excitedly, "When's the happy day?"

"First Saturday of December. The invites will go out for a Christmas party."

"But it'll be a wedding in disguise? Excellent. Congrats, Old Man, Selina. I'd kiss you, but I don't think you'd enjoy being smeared with bacon fat," he grinned.

"No, not really," Selina smirked. "We'll enjoy our white wedding."

Dick blinked. "What if it doesn't snow?"

She rolled her eyes as if the solution were obvious. "Superman."

---

Bruce wrapped his arms around Selina's waist. "What's this I hear about you going 'prowling' last night?"

"I did warn you. Catwoman might have retired but I do on occasion still enjoy a good prowl." She slid her hands up his arms to lace her fingers behind his neck. "Are we about to have an argument?"

Stealing a quick kiss, he shook his head. "As long as you stay safe and let someone know when you go out."

"I'll even carry one of those blasted comms that the Family all have."

Smiling, he tucked a comm in her pocket. "Made just for you."

Frowning, she asked, "Am I really that predictable?"

"Not even close. I'm just extremely prepared."

---

Jason, Cassandra and Damian were lined up and seated on the sofa in Selina's sitting room. They watched the woman seated in front of them.

Glaring at the trio, she started, "I don't care that you're Red Hood, Batgirl and Robin. You will – all three of you – dress appropriately for my wedding." Finger aimed at Jason first, "You will wear a suit-"

"My guns-"

"Will fit under the suit jacket. Alfred has agreed to assist with tailoring a jacket that will conceal them. I do not want to see that beat up brown jacket of yours." Her perfectly shaped eyebrow rose in challenge when it looked like he wanted to argue.

Jason was wise to close his mouth and nod. "Yes, Mom."

"Don't be cheeky." Her attention turned to the female of the group. "Cassandra, you will accompany Barbara and I to shop for a dress. You will have your hair and makeup done and you will like it. Got it?"

Wide eyed, Cassandra could only nod obediently.

Her expression softening since she was getting her way – much more easily when it came to these three than she'd anticipated – she finally looked at her youngest. "Kitten?"

Arms crossed, Damian grumbled, "Fine. I'll wear whatever the butler sets out for me."

Smiling, Selina remarked, "Perfect. Since you darlings are being so cooperative, I'll speak to Bruce about allowing you to leave early that night so that you can still patrol. I'll even see if I can have a Rogue or two escape from Arkham so that you have someone ready to beat up."

---

Clark tucked her hand around his elbow. "Are you ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Selina shook her head. "What were we thinking? We can't do this."

"I've been told that having cold feet on your wedding day is normal." He smiled at her. "By the way, you look beautiful."

She glared at him. "This is ridiculous. We're supposed to be enemies. We can't get married."

"You were never really enemies. Bruce always had a soft spot for you… even before you began dating. It's why you had that ten year courtship."

"Courtship? Who even uses that word anymore?" She pulled away from him and began to pace. "How did we manage to delude ourselves into thinking that we can do something as normal as getting married? He's a crime fighter, a cape, a vigilante. And I'm-"

"Not. But you're not a criminal either. And even crime fighters have lives. It's why we all have dual identities."

"Multiple personalities," she said reflexively.

"Selina, you and Bruce are both stubborn enough to make this work. You've proved it already. You've merged your lives. You're living in the manor. You've got the Bat Family running scared of you. Heck, half the League tiptoes around you, just like they do Batman."

"Bruce and I were meant for each other," she said out loud to convince herself that it was true.

Clark stopped in front of her and tilted her head up to look at him. "You and Bruce are meant for each other." Studying her in silence, watching her calm, he asked, "Should I get Mom? She'll tell you right away that you're being silly."

Selina took a deep, calming breath. "No, I'm fine. I am."

"You ready to get this show on the road?" He could hear the murmuring coming from the other side of the door. People were beginning to get restless, but he was going to be patient and give her all the time in the world. He wanted to make sure that when she walked down the aisle, she knew that it was the right thing for her; that she and Bruce were practically made for each other.

The muscles in her stomach suddenly unclenched as the world around her righted. She loved Bruce and he loved her. They'd gone through enough to prove that it was fact. The wedding was just a ceremony so the rest of the world would know what they already knew – that they were meant for each other.

Taking Clark's arm again, she nodded. "I'm ready."

The signal was given and the bridesmaids processed down the aisle toward the altar, followed by Clark and Selina.

"Thank you," she whispered softly to him, "for giving me away."

He grinned, "I couldn't refuse. Besides, I'm claiming responsibility for getting the two of you back together. You wouldn't be together if it weren't for me."

She smirked at him before her eyes drifted to a certain brunette sitting on the groom's side. "Does that mean I get to give you away when the time comes?"

His cheeks pinked, but he didn't get the opportunity to reply. He noticed when Selina and Bruce locked eyes on each other and they both became lost. Reaching the altar, Clark shook Bruce's hand before kissing Selina's cheek and handing her off. He stepped back to take a seat.

Bruce took a moment to ask, "Cold feet?"

She smiled up at him. "Warm enough. It's a bride's prerogative to be fickle in any and all things."

He released a soft grunt before stating, "You look gorgeous."

Her green eyes twinkled. "You're beautiful."

Turning their attention to the officiate, the ceremony went by in a blur and the happy couple were finally announced as Mr. and Mrs. Wayne.

Clasping hands, they leaned into each other for their kiss. Whispering, 'I love you's, they shared a silent moment before they turned to receive the congratulations and cheers of their friends and family.

---

Diana sipped slowly at her champagne glass, silently watching all the happy couples.

"It was a beautiful ceremony," Dinah commented.

"Yes."

"They look very happy together."

"So they do."

Oliver barged in on the awkward chat. "Who knew Bruce could smile like that? I thought his face was going to crack. You know, because of his permanent scowl? I wonder if this means we'll see a lighter, happier Batman out in the field."

"Unlikely," Diana answered.

Dinah laughed, "If anything, the scowl will only deepen. Any time wasted away from Selina will likely make him grumpier."

His grin dropped at the thought. "I need another drink."

---

"Congratulations!" Martha kissed both their cheeks. "The ceremony was lovely."

"Thank you," Bruce smiled. "And thank you for coming."

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world. You're both already family." She laughed, "And it was no trouble to make it to Gotham. I can pretty much make it anywhere with no trouble at all." She glanced over at her son. "Selina, you look gorgeous."

"I should change." Her hands brushed down her voluminous skirt. "It's beautiful, extremely couture, but not great for mobility." She leaned in to kiss Martha's cheek. "Thank you for allowing me to borrow your son. I'm leaving Bruce in your care for now. Be right back."

"You both look so happy." Martha took Bruce's arm, giving him a motherly squeeze. "I'm glad you two stubborn mules managed to figure things out."

"We are stubborn. And we're definitely happy."

---

J'onn stopped beside Diana. "Your mind is projecting." He tilted his head and said calmly, "You may not believe it, but you will find companionship."

Her eyes drifted over to where Clark was seated close to Lois. "I do not believe that that is true. There is no one on this world that is like me."

"No, there may not be; but there is likely someone that will complement you; as Lois complements Clark and Selina complements Bruce."

"Perhaps."

---

After hours of celebration and conversations, Bruce and Selina took a moment for themselves.

"So?" he asked softly.

Reading his look, she rolled her eyes. "You can't let anything go, can you?" Huffing, she admitted, "So I had a minor freak out. Clark managed to talk me down."

"Good."

She jabbed him in the side. "There's something you're not telling me."

"There's a reason Clark wasn't my best man. He had a much more important job that I needed him to do."

"I asked him to give me away."

Shaking his head, he gave her a quick kiss. "Getting you to the altar."

"What?" she said in surprised shock.

"He was the only one I knew – with absolute certainty – who could get you to the altar… by any means necessary." His blue eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. He was enjoying her baffled expression, releasing a soft grunt when she punched him in the gut.

"I can't believe you."

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her to him. "I wasn't going to risk you running away again."

Relaxing against him, she relented. "Fine, but I wasn't actually considering running… only calling off the wedding. Marriage is such a… such a normal thing."

"And we're not normal."

---

Lois leaned into her dance partner, enjoying the slow swaying. "Smallville, who knew you could dance?"

"My mom taught me."

"Are there any other huge revelations I should know about?"

"Not that I know of."

"Not even your secret identity?" she asked tentatively.

Clark didn't miss a beat. "Not much of a revelation since you already know."

She leaned back to look up at his face. "You know that I know?"

"Of course," he grinned. "I've been watching you put the pieces together."

"Were you ever going to tell me?" she demanded.

"I thought it was better this way."

"You could have just told me," she grumbled.

He studied her closely. "Would you have believed me?"

"Of course not."

"Exactly."

They were interrupted by the bride and groom bumping into them.

Bruce's eyebrow twitched slightly at Selina's intentional stumble.

Selina smiled slyly. "Lois, thank you for coming."

"Congrats on tying the knot. Never thought I'd see the day when Bruce settled down." Lois had learned to accept the relationship between Selina and Clark. Spending time with the both of them – after she understood that Clark was really interested in her – she quickly realized that there was no competition. He really did see Selina as family; his sister for lack of a better description. "In fact, I thought the world would end if it ever happened."

"I could say the same about you," she replied dryly.

"Selina-"

Lois stopped Clark from talking. "Good thing Bruce and I know a good thing when we see it."

"Pfft, I highly doubt that," she alluded to the fact that it took the reporter years to notice Clark.

It was Lois's turn to smirked, acknowledging the jab. "I guess I should say, we know when to hold on to a good thing."

"Hmm," Selina hummed, considering. She decided to take it easy on her for Clark's benefit. "Well, as long as everyone's happy." She eyed the pair and noticed a slight change in their interaction. "I take it Clark looped you in on his multiple personalities?"

The reporter couldn't help it when her smirk widened into a grin. "Multiple personality?" She glanced up at her boyfriend. "Is that what you call it?"

Clark rolled his eyes. "That's what Selina calls it."

"It's cute."

"It's accurate," Selina countered. Spotting Bruce's frown, she shrugged, "You should hear how you capes refer to yourselves."

---

"Be good." Selina hugged a reluctant Damian. "Listen to what Alfred says."

"Tt," He scoffed. "Why is the butler always in charge?"

"Because you're not old enough to be in charge."

"I'm old enough to go out and stop criminals."

"Do you know how to feed yourself?"

He opened his mouth to argue, before snapping it shut again. Nodding petulantly, he huffed. "Do you have to go?"

"Kitten, are you going to miss us?" she teased.

"No," he flushed. "I just don't like change."

"Well, your father and I will only be gone for a week. I couldn't convince Bruce to be away from Gotham for longer. We'll be back before you know it."

"Fine."

"If you'd like, Dick has offered to stay at the manor with you?"

"No! The butler and I will be fine."

"If you'd prefer, I can probably have Jason or Tim stop by. Maybe Cassie? I know how well you get along with other assassins."

"I'm not a child."

Selina raised an eyebrow. "Even adults get lonely." She patted his shoulder. "You know what, I'll call them. Make sure they take turns stopping by." It would help save his pride if he didn't have to make the call. She kissed his cheek. "Be good. Now go say goodbye to your father."

As Damian dragged his feet away, Alfred stopped beside her. "Have a wonderful honeymoon, Miss. Selina."

"Thank you, Alfred. Watch out for Damian. Feel free to lock him in the Batcave if he becomes unruly."

"Of course, madam."

"See you in a week." She gave him a jaunty wave before joining Bruce at the car. "Ready?"

Having sent Damian back to Alfred, he opened the passenger door for her. "Ready."

Settling herself in the car, she waited for Bruce to buckle in. "You're sure you can handle a vacation?"

Taking her hand, he nodded. "It's only a week. How much trouble can they possibly get into?"

---

The End