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The Chase

Almost seven years passed until Bruce and Selina met again, even though neither of them was aware of that fact as they both were wearing masks at the time.

Selina was now 24 and clad from head to toe in gray: she was wearing a gray bodysuit, gray gloves, gray boots and a gray mask. That on its own wouldn't have been an usual outfit for a burglar (the 'occupation' she had graduated to after coming to the conclusion that pickpocketing wasn't an adequate long term solution). But that wasn't all there was to the clothes Selina was currently wearing: on top of the mask, two triangular ears protruded and whiskers had been added to the fabric covering Selina's cheekbones; in addition to that, a tail was attached to the backside of the bodysuit. All these parts, bizarre or not, were important for the ensemble, were important to make Selina more than just a random cat burglar - it made her "Catwoman".

A few years ago, the very notion of running around in an animal-themed costume while stealing from Gotham's elite would have been ridiculous to Selina - but now, over the course of the last few months, it had become apparent that if you wanted to be someone of consequence in Gotham, you needed a gimmick to set yourself apart from the slew of faceless, nameless criminals that infested Gotham like the mold in Selina's rundown apartment.

This entire trend had been started by some weirdo with a foible for justice and the color black - the "Batman", as the papers had been quick to dub the masked vigilante who was now prowling Gotham's rooftops. Mere weeks after the Batman's first appearance, small-time crooks were now already afraid of saying his name out loud, fearing that even whispering it would summon its possessor, as if he were a boogeyman.

Recognizing an effective branding strategy when she saw one, Selina was quick to jump on the bandwagon, fashioning herself the outfit she was wearing now on her current job.

"Just a little to the left and…," Selina whispered, ear pressed against the safe she was currently cracking, while carefully, methodically turning its dial. She could hear and feel the fence finally drop into the gates and… "There."

The safe was unlocked.

Selina opened the safe door: a very shiny, and very expensive collection of jewelry was inside. Well, that is, until Selina began putting the gems, necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets into the small, gray backpack she had brought with her.

Soon, the valuables were safely stowed away and the bag securely fastened on her back. Selina locked the safe again. On a first glance, no one would notice that it had been picked empty.

Feeling triumphant from another job well done, Selina snuck out of the penthouse.

She was perched on the balcony balustrade, internally debating whether she should immediately swing by Swifty's pawn shop and go straight home, or prowl the rooftops some more, to scout out the area for the next job, when she felt a presence behind her.

"You better put those back," a deep, raspy voice growled; it wasn't coming from inside the penthouse, but from the roof, and Selina immediately knew to whom it belonged.

Uh-oh. She was in trouble.

Still, Selina wasn't someone who was easily intimidated.

She turned around and slipped back down on the balcony floor smoothly, now casually leaning against the railing she had been crouching on before.

This gave her a second or two to properly take in Gotham's boogeyman, the Batman: He was still standing on the rooftop of the building, towering over her; still, he wouldn't have needed the elevated ground to do so - Selina could see that he was very tall and broad-shouldered, with a long black cape enshrouding the rest of his body, gently blowing in the nightly breeze. The mask he was wearing almost covered the entirety of his face, with only an unsmiling mouth and a strong chin exposed. His eyes were glaring at Selina from behind ghostly white lenses.

Yes, Selina could see why the more fainthearted criminals would be afraid of the Bat - he definitely had that demonic, larger-than-life aura about him…Yet nothing Selina was going to let bother her.

"My, my… If that isn't the famous Batman, protector of Gotham - were all the big baddies too busy to play with you, that you decided to check in on little ol' me?" She asked nonchalantly, as if chatting with the Batman was part of her nightly routine.

"There is nothing little about the string of burglaries committed by the "Catwoman". You have been connected to at least fifteen break-ins this month alone, if not more."

Selina gave Batman a charming smile, theatrically putting a hand over her heart:

"Aww, despite your busy schedule, you still made the time to keep track of my work? I'm flattered, Bats, I really am." She then leaned forward conspiratorially and added in a stage whisper: "If you have been wondering if the Travers' theft was my doing - yes it was; so was the Vreeland job - so technically we're talking about seventeen cases this month. But I think it's cute that you've been giving me the benefit of the doubt," Selina concluded, winking flirtatiously at Batman.

The vigilante seemed taken aback by Selina's playful behavior; still, he kept up the rigidity he'd been displaying throughout their entire encounter.

"You're going to put these back and turn yourself in," he said stoically.

Selina couldn't help the snort that escaped her. Did he really think that this would work on her? Oh no, she wasn't going to make it easy for him; if he wanted to take her in, he'd have to play by her rules. Emphasis on play.

She gave Batman an impish smile: "Make me."

And without warning, in a matter of a second, Selina spun around, hopped on the balustrade and jumped.

She had cased the area thoroughly in preparation for the job and knew all the escape routes by heart. Before landing on the rooftop of the apartment building below her, Selina dove into a roll to lessen the impact, but keep her momentum and she quickly found herself on her feet again; she then ran to the edge of the rooftop and leapt to the next. Thrilled by her daring escape, Selina threw a look over her shoulder, ready to mockingly wave the Batman good-bye - only to discover, to her big surprise, that the masked vigilante was right at her heels, tailing after her!

Selina picked up her speed, zigzagging swiftly across the rooftops in an attempt to lose her shadow; she noticed that she was faster than him, but he proved to have good knowledge of the area and did well anticipating her movements, so he could work around the twists and turns Selina incorporated into her escape route. Numerous rooftops later, just when Selina was about to risk another glance over her shoulder to assess how close the Bat was behind her (she only knew that he was far too close for her liking, as she could hear his heavy, but still pretty regular breathing - he must be in amazing shape to be able to keep up with her like that, Selina registered with some excitement), when she felt a strong tug pulling her backwards and tripping her up; Selina stumbled and fell to the ground, only avoiding landing on her face thanks to years and years of gymnastic practice that instead had Selina tuck herself into a safety roll.

During the fall, all that filled Selina's mind was the realization that her godforsaken tail must have been her (literal) downfall and she swore to herself to screw aesthetics and get rid of that stupid tail asap…

Already slightly winded from the chase, and taken aback by the suddenness of her fall, Selina had underestimated her momentum and didn't end up back on her feet, but on her back, almost slamming into the HVAC unit set up on the rooftop. Before she could manage to scramble to her feet, Selina felt a heavy weight pinning her to the ground. The contents of her backpack pressed uncomfortably against her shoulder blades.

Turning her focus back on the heavy weight pushing her to the ground, Selina found herself face to face with Batman. To stop her from fleeing again, he had thrown himself on top of her, holding down her arms with a vise-like grip.

Selina noticed him immediately readjusting his position slightly, in a gallant effort to take off some of his weight off her while maintaining his secure hold of her - a gesture she very much appreciated: all that muscle mass and body armor of his certainly were heavy.

Still, chest still heaving from the chase, the adrenaline coursing through her veins and the chance to have some one-on-one time with the mysterious "Batman" - the sensation seeker in Selina was just having the time of her life.

"So that's how you make all the girls fall for you, huh?" Selina joked, smiling coyly.

Her remark was met with a stern look and a dry, raspy reply: "Only the ones with a loot worth of $100,000 strapped to their backs."

Batman's estimate of the goods was surprisingly accurate, Selina registered with some surprise; yet, she kept it cool, focused on keeping the playful banter going:

"Aw, and here I thought that I was special." She added a pout for dramatic effect.

Then, Selina quickly trapped Batman's right foot with her left and flipped the vigilante over, switching their positions. Batman's shoulder slightly banged into the HVAC unit Selina had scarcely missed before, causing him to harrumph disgruntedly on impact; his glare intensified.

"Oops," Selina said, completely unapologetic.

She had to admit, she was kind of enjoying the view of Gotham's "Dark Knight" trapped underneath her (for however brief that moment was going to last), and the flirty smile from before returned to Selina's face.

"Well this has been fun, don't you think?"

Another glare.

Unbothered, Selina continued conversationally: "We should do this again sometime."

Feeling Batman starting to strain against her hold, Selina knew she had to be quick: She leaned forward seductively, her lips startlingly close to Batman's face and she could feel him stop struggling for a moment, taken aback by her unexpected behavior.

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she knew that she had captured his attention completely:

"In the meantime…. something to remember me by…"

Selina then closed the gap and kissed him, the Batman, on the lips: first gently, then with some more urgency. His response was at first haltingly, but slowly grew more accommodative - then, all of a sudden, Selina broke off the kiss, jumped to her feet and started running, a wide smile on her face.

Although a little dazed by Catwoman's abrupt departure, Bruce was quick to get up and determined to follow her - when he suddenly found himself being pulled back to the ground again. Confused, Bruce looked behind him to realize that Catwoman had managed to wedge his cape in between the gaps of the HVAC unit, getting it snagged. By the time he had freed his cape, Catwoman was long gone.

Bruce stared into the distance with unseeing eyes, deep in thought.

Hmm… there would be a next time, she had said… And kiss or not, he definitely would not forget about this extraordinary encounter with the "Cat" any time soon…

In the meantime, he really should work on an emergency release for that cape…

Some information nuggets for those who are interested:
- Selina's costume here is pretty much what she wears in "Batman: Year One", except with the backpack inspired by her outfit in the Batman Telltale Games
- Swifty is the pawnshop owner featured in the story "Selina's Big Score" by Darwyn Cooke
- Travers and Vreeland are both people Selina has stolen from: Selina stole from Martha Travers in the very first Batman issue from 1940 and from Veronica Vreeland in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Cat Walk"