J. E. Bright - Batman Vs. Catwoman

CHAPTER 1

Selina Kyle pushed herself into the shadowed side of an exposed steel I-beam. A security guard who was doing his rounds in the partially-built building walked into view a moment later. The guard shined his flashlight along the unfinished construction on the dark top floor of Cobblepot Tower.

She saw a tangle of exposed wires in the walls. PVC pipes twisted across the ceiling. Stacks of drywall boards and white buckets of plaster were on the raw concrete floor. They glowed eerily in the flashlights swinging beam.

Even if the security guard spotted Selina, she looked the part. She wore a sensible womens business suit and a hardhat. She also carried a clipboard and had an official-looking badge clipped to her lapel. She was ready to act like an overworked inspector who was doing a late-night check on the construction to make sure it was up to code. In Selinas experience, looking the part was almost always enough. And if absolutely necessary, Selina could simply knock out the guard.

Selina had easily snuck past the guards on the ground floor. She took the construction elevator in the back of the building, which she knew wasnt hooked up to the security system. Now she was in a room that was soon to be Oswald Cobblepots office.

Marble wall panels and statues of all kinds of birds rested at various angles around the room. On one wall was a huge painting of a penguin.

The Penguin is such a birdbrain, thought Catwoman. Although she had to admit that hed become impressively rich ever since his Iceberg Lounge had become popular. To show off the Penguins newfound wealth, Cobblepot Tower was built. It was quite a sight even in its unfinished state.

Finally, the guard finished his inspection of the office. He whistled as he moved on, heading down a corridor of exposed metal framework toward the executive dining room area. He disappeared down a hall.

As soon as the guard was out of earshot, Selina stepped out of the I-beams shadow.

She slunk across the office toward a sturdy door. This door was made of steel, with a high-tech lock on it along with an eye scanner. Only a thin sheet of taped plastic covered the steel hinges that connected the door to the wall.

After peeling back the plastic sheet just enough to access the bolts in the hinges, Selina slid a slim power screwdriver out from her wig. She quickly unscrewed the eight bolts in the two hinges, popping them out into her hand. When she removed the last bolt, Selina pulled firmly on the top hinge.

CRRREEEEEAK! The door slid out of its frame, tilting forward. It hit the floor with a solid THUD!

Because the door remained connected to its lock, the alarm didnt sound.

There was only a narrow space between the door and the doorway that Selina easily squeezed through.

Selina pulled off the wig and hardhat, then shuffled out of her business outfit. She stood in the atrium at the base of a spiral staircase in her real clothes a black catsuit with a mask that had sleek and pointed ears. In this outfit, Selina felt most comfortable. It was who she truly was, really.

She was Catwoman.

She quickly climbed the twisting staircase that threaded upward to the top of the tower. After climbing a few flights, Catwoman reached a platform, a little room that was just barely tall enough for her to stand inside.

On the northern side of the sky-high room was an iron door that looked like a hatch to a submarine. Catwoman twirled the wheel once, then twice, and then pushed the door open.

WOOOOOOOOSH!

As she stuck her head outside into the open sky, wind whipped past the doorway, tugging at her mask. Along the outside of the high capsule was a sort of iron ladder attached to the curved metal wall.

She stepped onto the lowest rung of the ladder, holding onto the doorway and a higher rung. Gotham spread out below her in a dizzying panorama.

Good thing Im not afraid of heights, Catwoman said to herself. She began to climb.

CHAPTER 2

Halfway up the ladder of iron rungs, Catwoman took a second to absorb the breathtaking view of Gotham City at night.

It was a twisted metropolis filled with shadows. Like a graveyard. The tower lights glowing in Gothams skyline went nicely with the gloomy clouds above. Below, the grubby harbor swayed on the rivers black bank, and the red and white lights of the dense traffic on the highway pulsed like a living organism. Gotham was dangerous, difficult, and filled with corruption.

Catwoman smiled. Theres no place like home, she thought.

She continued the single-story climb up the rungs. She stopped just under an unusual statue at the top. It was only a little smaller than a compact car, and was shaped like a giant sparrow in flight.

Most importantly, it was studded all over with huge industrial diamonds. Catwoman simply could not resist snatching some of those big beautiful jewels. They had been set into the sparrow so that spotlights would make it glow over the city like a giant disco ball. It would be quite a sight, but Catwoman thought that the diamonds would look even lovelier in her hidden bank vault. That is, until she sold them on the black market and made a very tidy profit.

Catwoman scrambled onto the platform that held the jeweled bird. She hoisted herself up so she was sitting on top of one of the sparrows outstretched wings. She pulled a small chisel out of her belt.

CLANK! She pried a diamond out of the statues shiny metal feathers. PLUNK. She dropped it into a satin bag, then started chiseling at the next one.

As she worked, she started to grow nervous. Getting up to the jeweled bird had been easy. Too easy. Catwoman peered around at the lower towers nearby, checking for potential threats.

The teetering tower crane that had been used to install the sparrow statue that morning was still looming alongside the building, attached to the corner.

Catwoman had considered using the crane to reach the statue, but she would have been too visible against the night sky. Half the city could have seen her.

Catwoman leaned in close to the biggest diamonds in the eyes. As she peered into one eye, she noticed that it was moving. In fact, it wasnt even a diamond at all. She was surprised to see some sort of gadget inside the curved glass eye a lens.

Hmm, Catwoman thought, peering into the object. The lens looks like a projector, or some kind of weapon

Stop! a deep, amplified voice boomed from the darkness. Those diamonds do not belong to you.

Catwoman glanced upward to see Batman soaring toward her on a zip line connected to his grapnel gun.