Gotham City

Present Day

Alleytown

12:46 A.M.

Selina Kyle woke up with a start, her mind rebooting in blissful ignorance for only a moment before the all too familiar sensations of her aching past returned to inhabit her present self.

Wincing slightly as she felt the torn cushion of a sofa caress her sore back, the battered woman could only sigh as all of the familiar emotions flooded back to her as well.

Humiliation. Anger. Regret.

Fully opening her eyes after allowing herself another moment to wallow in self-pity, she took in her surroundings.

It was a small and damp basement, with its unassuming demeanor making it one of many safe houses that she had established all throughout Gotham City in case of situations like the one she was currently in.

Besides the sofa she was sitting on, the only other pieces of furniture were small chairs and counters nailed into the wall with a single walk-in closet.

A human-sized mirror leaned against the wall adjoining her, catching the corner of her eye. Craning her head towards it almost out of morbid curiosity, the Selina Kyle that stared back was a physical shell of the Catwoman who could stand up to the Bat himself.

Her cowl had been taken off, letting her usually closely cropped jet black hair drape over her damp hairline in spiky waves. Piercing green eyes stared at the reflection before trailing down to her battered face.

Angry red blotches decorated her lips, with her right cheekbone almost bloated beyond recognition. A skin-deep gash, already stitched up. trickled just below her ear. And that was just everything that was below her neck.

Her catsuit had been unzipped all the way to the belly button, revealing a series of white bandages that snaked around her bruised abdomen all the way up to her sports bra.

She then made an attempt to stand up, only for a stinging sensation emanating from her left thigh to make her immediately regret that decision. Slouching back against the couch, she cursed under her breath as her hand traced over a length of gauze tightly wrapped around her lacerated flesh.

Still wincing, she was about to make another attempt to get back up when the sound of footsteps descending down the wooden stairwell captivated her attention.

Stretching her bandaged right forearm as the steps croaked noisily with every step, Selina continued to watch on as the person reached the bottom level.

Stepping forward, the dimly lit room revealed a teenage girl with shoulder-length red hair cascading down her broad shoulders. Dressed in green cargo pants and a designer T-Shirt, she wore a concerned look across her sharp features as she walked towards Selina with a heated rag in hand.

"You're awake," the girl spoke simply, before pulling a chair up and offering the older woman the cloth.

"Guess I have you to thank for that, don't I?" Taking the rag, Selina pressed it against her swollen lower lip as the girl sat down with a weary sigh.

"I followed the protocol like you said. Checked the area before bringing the van. Made sure no one was following us, and took the backroads back here," she told Selina listlessly, wiping her own sweaty brow.

"Thank you, Kitrina," Selina replied with a sincere smile, to which she was met by a modest shrug by the adolescent. "You saved my life back there."

"Hey, you saved mine first," Kitrina smiled back, before nodding at her bandages. "You got banged up pretty bad, so I'm going to assume that the My Alibi job went about as expected."

Taking Selina's telling expression for confirmation, she continued, "Your face was swollen up like a monkey butt, so I had to practically drown you in ice until it cooled down. I had to stitch up a few places, mainly on your arm and obviously leg. Nothing broken as far as I could tell, but your ribs were so tender someone could probably order them medium well. So BTW, breathing will be a bitch for a while."

"Anything else, doc?"

Shrugging, she brought one leg up to her chest. "All and all, you're lucky to be alive. No infection as far as I could tell. Leg wasn't cut too deep, but you could pull the stitches if you're not careful."

"You remember how I had Falcone's face marked as my next scratching post for a while?" she mused, flexing her gloved fingertips for a moment before clenching them angrily.

"Don't remind me of that mega douchebag," Katrina grumbled under her breath.

"Well, turns out he answers to an even bigger douchebag." She almost hated the next words coming out of her mouth. "Warren White."

Kitrina's frown quickly evaporated. "The shark guy?"

"You know him?"

"I know of him," Katrina sighed, hugging her knees together as a tense shudder coursed through her. "Word has it the dude filed his teeth like that in the asylum so he could bite his way out. And once he got out, his crew's been rolling heads ever since. He's got all the big time gangs by the balls. Dragons. Five Fingers, you know them. No one's seen anything like it."

"Well, I have it on good authority that he also has Holly and the other girls," Selina told her, much to her surprise.

The girl's jaw nearly dropped. "That psycho has Holly?"

"Had, unless I get off my ass and do something." Her voice turned to regret as she continued talking. "I got cocky after Falcone and decided to try the diplomatic option first."

"Your foot up his ass?" Kitrina offered with a smirk.

"He wasn't the only one I met, Kit. Evidently, his chauffeur is a Born Again Henchman or whatever. He surprised me, and not in the fun way. Let's just say it wasn't exactly my most shining moment," she finished, the washcloth still scrunched up against her bruised cheek.

"At least you escaped. Did you find out where they were going?"

"I do now." Reaching into her belt, she unveiled her own tracking device with a blinking red icon that indicated the crime boss's current whereabouts. "Their base is in Dixon. That's where Holly will be."

"And another ass kicking if you're seriously doing this alone," Kitrina pointed out tensely, crossing her arms. "Selina, you just went up against two guys and ended up shit's creek, literally. Now, you're thinking of fighting his whole crew, without any backup?"

Pushing herself off the cushion, she ran a hand down her still hurt leg before turning to the skeptical redhead.

"I don't need backup," she replied curtly, brushing past her on the way to the closet. "The Bat still has his pointy ears stuck in Arkham City for God knows how much longer. By the time he broods back over here, it'll be too late for Holly and the others."

"Okay, so Batman's out of the question." Sighing dejectedly, she perked back up as another thought crossed her mind. "Maybe I could come with you this time. Obviously from a safe distance but I can be your eyes and ears. Plus you've trained me enough, so maybe if-"

"Absolutely not." Opening the closet door while promptly closing the door on that possibility, Selina let her eyes sift through the makeshift armory for a moment before they landed on something familiar. "This isn't for debate, Kit. I do this alone, always."

A brief spell of nostalgia swelled within the master chief as she fondly examined a purple catsuit with matching black arm sleeves and thigh high boots that she had worn for a Halloween heist not long after becoming Catwoman. Her fingers lovingly traced down the slash marks and occasional bullet hole that adorned the now faded fabric all the way to the torn waistline, before unclipping a bullwhip from the belt and re-attaching it around her own waist.

"Well you're gonna lose alone with these guys again if you don't have some kind of edge," Kitrina remarked cynically, as Selina continued rummaging through the cardboard mountains of old equipment.

"My thoughts exactly, dear," she mused for a moment, before finally retrieving a small knapsack from behind some magnet-plated boots. Opening the zipper, her eyes suddenly lit up as she pondered the contents of a nearby metallic box peeping out from underneath a prototype mask.

The words "His Things," sketched across the front in now faded Sharpie, gave the East End protector some pause for thought before she finally acted on it.

Blowing some dust off the cover before opening it fully, she peered down with an intrigued look before grasping the handle of the gadget and holding it up for plain view.

Immediately stuffing it in the backpack along with some the other contents of the object, she kicked it back out of sight before gingerly standing back up with the backpack now slung around her shoulder.

Turning back to Kitrina with a determined fire once again ignited in her eyes, she donned her cowl over her face once again.

"Kit, as soon as I leave here I want you to go to one of the safe places here in Alleytown. No contact with anyone and I mean anyone until I call you," she instructed sternly, adjusting the bandages around her leg.

Holding up her hand to silence the teenager's initial protests, she continued. "You saved my life tonight, but now I need you to save your own. White is going to burn down the whole neighborhood until he finds me. And now that he knows I actually have a heart, he'll use all of you as bait to lure me out."

"He already has, Selina. He knows about Holly, and that you'll be coming to him to get to her," Holly stressed.

"You almost sound like him now," she smirked coyly, playfully ruffling the redhead's unkempt locks before zipping up the rest of her suit to conceal the rib belt. "Trap or no trap, I'm not letting those girls go through what I did. Or worse. Is the bike still outside?"

Tossing her the keys, Kitrina nodded at her leg. "Careful with the kick, or you'll tear your stitches getting there."

Patting her on the shoulder reassuringly one last time before starting towards the stairs, Selina called out, "Remember what I said, Kitrina. No contact and stay out of sight. I'm ending this tonight without any more collateral."

"Aye aye," Kitrina replied with a mock salute, before stretching groggily. "Give him a kick from me when you see White, huh?

Stopping at the first step, a sly grin crossed the master thief's face as she turned back to the girl one last time.

"Believe me sweetie, I'll do more than that."


Gotham City

Present Day

Dixon Docks

12:58 A.M.

"Alright boys, just received orders from the boss. Until they find Catwoman's body Mr. White wants roll call every ten minutes or it's your ass. I'll start. McNeil?"

"Bite me, Donny."

"Rip here. No sign of any capes from my position."

"Locke. Same here"

"..."

"Mayhew? Mayhew, report in dammit!"

"Idiot probably has his walkie turned off."

"Maybe. I'll go check it out. Keep your eyes out for anything!"

The thug named Donny grumbled to himself before cocking his automatic rifle and slowly descending down the platform next to the shipping warehouse that overlooked part of Gotham Harbor.

Slowly plodding down the riveted steps until he reached the ground level of the shipping yard surrounding the warehouse, Donny cast a few glances at the rows of dilapidated cranes that towered above him like rusted giants from another era before turning back towards the warehouse.

A sizable building with several truck entrances lined up along its exterior perimeter, it cast an ominous shadow over the various industrial shipping containers and delivery trucks that littered the courtyard.

His eyes continued to trail upwards until they made contact with the man standing atop the rooftop with a sniper rifle at the ready, night goggles conspicuous even in the midnight sky.

Donny saluted the man once before continuing to make his rounds around the shipping containers.

With Donny's back to him, the sniper's bored whistle was suddenly cut short by a balled projectile whizzing through the air and wrapping around his neck. Falling down in a surprised state, he barely had time to register what was happening before his world became enveloped by darkness.

Still strutting by with his weapon confidently poised against his shoulder, Donny merely shook his head as he passed by a perpetually bored Locke fishing in his jacket pocket for a lighter while leaning against a shipping container.

Finally finding the device in one hand, he was just about to light his cigarette when a shadowy loop suddenly coiled around his neck and violently yanked him back into the darkness surrounding the container where his muffled protests were quickly ended by an audible punching sound.

Coming to a stop in front of one particular shipping container, Donny sighed again as he hefted the rifle with both hands.

"Mayhew, I know you get off on this sort of thing but do it on your own time, eh?" he started to jeer lightly, circling around the container. "The boss wants at least one pair of eyes on the cargo at all times, and if you can't keep your-"

He stopped cold in his tracks as he came across the barely stirring body of his colleague, facedown on the ground with his walkie nowhere in sight.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath, eyes bulging in frantic realization as he briefly scrambled for his own walkie-talkie before wheeling around to warn the others.

Turning around, he started to run towards the warehouse only to meet the blunt end of a rusted crowbar smashing brutally into his panicked face.

Flopping down to the ground with the weapon spiraling out of his now limp fingers, a single line of blood trickled down his lip before his eyes glazed over in a groggy haze.

Letting the crowbar clatter to the ground harmlessly at her feet, Catwoman sorely stretched her swinging arm for a moment before crouching down and crawling atop his now drooling body.

Reaching inside his jacket until she heard the metallic jingle, she stood back up with a set of keys wrapped around one gloved finger.

Eyeing a nearby six-wheeler parked next to one of the designated entrances for a second, she then stepped over his body and sauntered towards the shipping container.

Though it was the same size as the other ones, the metallic snakes of chain links that wrapped around a bronze padlock at the center only confirmed her suspicions.

Grasping the oversized padlock in one palm before toggling the keychain with the other, she then inserted the appropriate key inside and twisted upwards until the satisfying click ringed her ears.

The doors slowly creaked open, rays of light outlining Catwoman's silhouette and fully illuminating the enclosed space.

A relieved sigh escaped Selina Kyle as she gazed upon the five teenage girls, former My Alibi workers, huddled together through ankle chains like common cattle. Still clad in the same provocative attire and dresses from the shift they were in at the time of their abduction, their eyes, fearful and quivering, told a story in itself.

Dried mascara and tears streamed down their faces became fully visible even as she fully opened the doors, the East End protector reaching out with her hand and an assuring smile.

"You're all safe now. I'm going to take you-" Selina started to tell them, before her eyes picked up on a notable absence from the battered group.

"Where's Holly?" she demanded, prompting the girls to exchange sorrowful glances.