Homecoming (Bruce)

[Catwoman]

Ever since Batman went out with a bang, Selina didn’t feel the same. She buried her emotions and told herself she didn’t care – she didn’t. It wasn’t like he’d ever meant anything to her, right? They had a fun routine, nothing more. A chase, a fight, a flirt, then an all too serious line spoiling the scene. It was amusing, and predictable, like clockwork, but she had come to enjoy it over the years. But it wasn’t as though she actually cared for him. She’d gotten over him after he ended things after Hush. Or so she told herself. So why did she feel like she’d be sucker punched in the stomach after she found out he was dead?

Selina felt like she needed to blow off some steam and get out of Gotham for a while. She toured across the country, visiting Metropolis, New York City, Chicago, and L.A., wrapping her claws across any goodies she could find. Without Batman around (well, the Batman, Dick was around), she fell back into her usual habits. No more anti-heroics, no more allying herself with the good guys. It was back to numero uno, good ol’ fashioned egotism. The sun rose and set with her, so far as she was concerned. Hadn’t she told Batman that once, many years ago?

It was funny how much she missed it. She felt… liberated by resuming her selfish thieving work. Well, not totally selfish. As always, some of her profit went into wildlife preserves. But all good things had to come to an end. Catwoman felt like her road trip lasted long enough, and she was ready to return to her old stomping grounds – Gotham. And what better way to welcome herself home than to see the sights, and take what she wanted?

It would be a lie if she said she wasn’t prepared for this. She’d done some browsing on the web on her homecoming voyage, and found a few new attractions in Gotham that held her interest. A statue of Baast - too predictable. A shipment of illegal arms to a crime syndicate – too heroic. Or a crystal clear ruby, prized at a cool 15 Mil – purrfect. The ruby was held at an auction house. If the auctions were for charity or something like that, she probably wouldn’t have touched it. But this was all personal, meaning the ruby was all hers.

Breaking into the auction house had been easy enough. Disabling electronic security measures proved to be surprisingly simple, which made Selina wonder why she hadn’t heard about any previous break ins. She was good, yes, damned talented, in fact, but a Grade B thief could have broken through the security and bypassed electronic locks. And for a 15 Million Dollar ruby, with a rich historic background, who wouldn’t have broke in by now? Maybe the thieves were getting rusty. Maybe Dick was doing a better job than Bruce ever had?

Slinking through the corridors, she eventually found her way to the room it would most likely be stored in. No signs of guards so far, either. Damn, security was lax. Spying through her yellow goggles, her vivid green eyes swept over the room, before landing on a glass case containing the ruby. She sauntered over towards it, and inspected the case. No signs of security measures here, either. With a shrug to herself too easy! she lifted up the case and grabbed the ruby.

Maybe she should have gone after the illegal arms shipment. At least it would have proved to be exciting – something to keep her skills sharp.

[The Dark Knight]

There was something about the different stages of crime that Bruce had come to understand. There was the low level, petty thugs doing it for greed or out of anger, there were the homicidal maniacs bent on total destruction and then there were the odd few that had some kind of point to prove. Regardless, all three classes did it out of a twisted sense of satisfaction. One particular criminal he had developed a unique relationship with was Catwoman. At first, Bruce viewed her as just a thrill seeking burgular, but their encounters turned from collisions to almost innocent intimacy.

She was, however, just a memory to Bruce. A chapter in a book filled with highs and lows; dreams and nightmares. How could he focus on one person? When he had so many others to focus on; well, at least Selina wasn't a psychotic maniac. She had her own issues, but, she just handled them differently to someone such as the Joker or even himself? There was always that lingering feeling of attraction that Bruce had towards her, but he always dismissed that as immature flirting.

Tonight, the Batman was perched high above the business district of Gotham. Overlooking a generally bustling district was often a hard job, but Batman had the ears and eyes of a all-seeing eagle. Not to mention his thermal vision that he currently had activated inside his cowl. Why was the Dark Knight here? He had heard of the movement of items of great fortune to the auction house, and was curious to see if it would lure any unsuspecting criminals out of hiding. Bruce's instincts were always right about these things.

And tonight was no exception.

His thermal vision picked up a figure off the roof of the auction house, obviously making a covert entrance. The Dark Knight watched as the figure rather expertly disabled the security countermeasures and then entered the building. They knew what they were doing. Batman stood up from the ledge, and literally lept off towards the streets below. Extending his cape, the giant bat glided towards the roof of the building; before pulling his body upwards and using the air to slow him down. Landing on the roof, he examined the entrance the figure had made and decided to follow in after them. Falling down through the entrance, the Dark Knight extended his cape to slow his landing, before he hit the ground. Raising his eyes, they fell upon a figure. It was a woman; but he couldn't see her face, as she had her back to him.

"Drop the ruby." It came out in a distinctive growl, unqiue to the Dark Knight. It was half of his mind games, becoming more than just a man in a cape in the minds of his opponent. Standing completely upright, the Batman had his cape covering most of his lower body, but he had a batarang concealed beneath the cape. Now, why did this scenario feel so damn familiar to him?

[Catwoman]

A strange feeling of anticipation swept over her flesh, chilling the surface but boiling her blood. She knew this feeling. It was the feeling of the hunt, of being watched, of playing cat and mouse. Security guards never gave her this feeling – no, whoever was near was a professional, someone capable of challenging her. Turning on her feminine wiles, Catwoman shifted her weight to one hip. She began to place the ruby in her satchel when a familiar growl sounded from behind her. Drop the ruby. How humorless and blatant. If that was Dick, he’d gotten damned good at imitating Bruce’s voice… and his nonexistent sense of humor.

The female turned her head ever so slightly, and caught a glance out of the corner of her eye, behind her visors. He was too large to be Dick. An imitator? Batman had certainly had his fair share of posers in the past, be them fans or people out to ruin his reputation. Hush, as far as Selina knew, was still wearing Bruce’s face during daytime. Bastard. She had half a mind to scratch his face off… assuming she cared. Which she didn’t. Given this one’s eagerness to fight the “forces of evil” she was pretty sure he was little more than a rabid fan.

After all, there was no way that was Bruce. Regardless of her adrenaline level said.

As usual, rather than following the orders of the would be do-gooder, Catwoman pocketed the ruby away. “Another batboy? What, you guys start breeding when I wasn’t looking?” Selina mocked playfully as she turned around to face him fully. Now that he was within her sight, her stomach churned even more. His body language said Bruce. Even the hardened expression on his strikingly familiar features said Bruce. But she wasn’t willing to accept it. Batman couldn’t be alive – famed crime fighter or no. No one came back from the dead so long later, unless they were zombies. She had some knowledge of the Lazarus Pits to know resurrection needed to be relatively immediate.

And this certainly didn’t look like a zombie. Besides, even if this were Bruce, it couldn’t be! She’d just gotten over his death! Not that she particularly cared, mind you. She just missed their routine exchanges, nothing more.

Her gloved hand hung at her side near her whip. She slowly began to back away from the Imposter Bat. There was a window behind her, and she had every intention of living with the ruby in her hand. Easy steal or not, she’d claimed it fair and square. On the plus side, though, a pursuit would lighten up this formerly dull situation. As she neared the wall, she turned and charged towards the window, crashing through it. Hurdling towards the ground, she grabbed onto her whip and swung it, latching it onto a nearby pipe. Her body swung forward through the air, and propelled her onto a nearby rooftop.

If he wanted it that badly, he could chase her.

((Hope you don't mind a chase scene! ;D If not, I can edit.))

[The Dark Knight]

When Selina turned around, it took everything he had to stop Bruce from acting surprised. He didn't even doubt it was her, he knew that pose, that form, that voice and above all, that scent. He should have suspected it earlier, watching her from the rooftops, high above the city. Now, here they were, in a scene that was almost a exact repeat of their former meetings when they first met. Bruce hadn't forgotten the games Selina would play with him; and he was expecting another round of them tonight. But did she know it was him? Obviously not, she was suspecting Bruce to be a imposter. Good. He had the element of surprise now.

Typical of Selina, she was intent on having a chase. Bruce knew it before she even jumped out the window. Bruce had stepped forward as she lept out the window, and he watched as she expertly soared through the air, latching her whip onto a pipe and swinging onto a building.

"Women." He muttered to himself as pulled his arm behind his back, reaching to his utility belt and retrieving his grapple gun. Stepping onto the window ledge, his eyes tracking Selina as she moved expertly onto the rooftop. With a inhale of breath, he jumped off the window ledge. Soaring through the air using his cape, he descended towards the rooftop that she had just landed on. Pulling his cape upwards, he slowed his flight as he landed on the rooftop, breaking into a sprint as soon as he hit the surface. She was fast and already making her way across the rooftop.

He had to remember. This was Selina Kyle; she wasn't just a criminal, she was a professional.

Edit: Colouring the speech.

[Catwoman]

If there was one advantage that Selina had over the Dark Knight, or his imposters, it was speed. She was one of the fastest, if not the fastest non-metahuman around. People could outsmart her, and even overpower her, but few could outmaneuver her. It had taken the Caped Crusader a few encounters to fully anticipate and plan around her agility. Even her stealth could be rendered useless by the multitude of gadgets that the batfamily had in their arsenal. But her speed, agility, and all around grace was a hard thing for even gadgets to successfully best.

And she did it all in heels. Not very high heels, but heels nonetheless. She deserved a medal of some kind.

She didn’t even stop to see if the Batfake was following her. She suspected her was, and if he was, all the more fun for her. If not, well, she could at least get some proper exercise this way. As soon as she landed on the first rooftop, she sped across it, and aimed for a vent. She vaulted off of it onto the roof access door, and pushed off, grasping onto the next rooftop. The female didn’t stop – not even for a moment. She wove around ledges, scaled the sides of buildings, and climbed her way higher and higher.

And this time, she paused. She purposely backed herself onto an edge of a several-dozen-story building, and, rather than jumping onto the nearby rooftop, allowed herself to plummet towards the ground. The further she fell, the faster she seemed to hurdle towards the pavement, before she wrapped her whip around a nearby horizontal pole for banners. But the pole didn’t hold – not as well as she intended, anyway. It snapped before she reached full swing, sending her off-mark onto a rooftop. She still landed onto it, but she staggered and tumbled from the sudden jerk in her swing.

Recovering from her awkward landing, she leapt off this two story rooftop and onto the alley way below. Landing in a crouched position, she quickly surveyed her surroundings. Rather than running, she ducked into a small nook between buildings. Hopefully that had thrown the Batfake off. If not… well, the night was young. There was still fun to be had. And this position was an excellent ambush point if he got too near.

((There's a good chance she'll try to bolt again, just so you know. xD))

[The Dark Knight]

She was fast, faster than he remembered. The problem was, she had the distinct advantage with her speed. Not only was she younger, but her costume was quite lightweight, despite the armored corset. Whereas the Dark Knight's armour, though having been modified for speed, still weighed down on him as he travelled. If the Bat was going to catch the Cat, the Bat would need to use his own assest's to his advantage.

"Activate sonar vision." With a audible command, the electronics inside the Dark Knight's cowl responded by switching his vision to a sonar vision. He could now, much more clearly, see objects and buildings and any other obstacles due to the bat-like vision his cowl was creating. By emitting a sound, the vision would read the sound, and pick up anything solid that it would come into contact with. There was more to perception than just eye sight.

Watching the masked woman speed across rooftops, the Dark Knight took a moment to scan the area. She was heading towards a several dozen story building, one that Batman was familiar with; having being perched there overlooking his city many a time. He had a plan. Sprinting across the rooftop he was on, he followed Catwoman as she lept with scary skill and agility, seemingly knowing where she was going to land before she even jumped. The Dark Knight lept from building to building, using his grapple hook to make the necessary distances that his feet and wings could not. It was when the woman started to ascend that the Dark Knight detoured from his course.

Branching to the left of the building, his sonar vision still activated, he increased his pace as he combined movements of lengthy jumps, gliding and grappling. He was now far below where the woman was, and his sonar vision allowed him to have clear view of where she was. He watched, knowing exactly what she was going to do. This was Selina Kyle, she loved thrills and of course she'd decide to just fall off a building. But the Dark Knight was ready.

When she lept off, normal eyesight would fail to catch her as she was wearing complete black, camoflaguing her in the night blackness. But the Dark Knight was using his Bat-vision; the eyes of a sound directed Bat. Leaping off the building, he extended his cape in full span as he soared directly towards her. He watched as she removed her whip and prepared to lasso herself to another ledge.

Problem was, as soon as she made that minor slip up with the pipe, the Dark Knight had caught her in his arms.

With his arms now holding her, his cape wasn't keeping them in the air. Releasing one hand from her body, he latched his grapple onto a nearby ledge and hoisted the two of them onto a rooftop. Dropping her onto the surface of the rooftop, he stood over her, a strong look on his face as he deactivated the Sonar vision. "I know how you move, Selina."

[Catwoman]

With the sudden jerk, Catwoman had been ready to land on the roof on target, well, slightly off target, but hopefully still on the roof, when she was suddenly jerked. She was being held, and rescued… by the Batfake. Even by Bruce, Selina was far from fond of playing the damsel in distress. The thief struggled in his arms, wiggling and elbowing in an attempt to get free before they landed on the roof. She didn’t need rescuing – she could have saved herself! Damn it. Now she seemed like some incompetent female type.

She’d almost been ready to fire a hostile line at him when he began to speak.

Selina’s breath caught in her throat, and her heart plunged into her stomach. He said her name. She’d been able to deny it before, in spite of the familiarity, in spite of his appearance and stature, in spite of his body language, in spite of his voice and style, but it was impossible when he said her name. It wasn’t Dick, she knew that much, and he was the only one that knew her identity besides… Bruce. She stood still for a moment, breathless while her heart rate dropped temporarily.

“Bruce…”

She stepped back, distancing herself from the man. He was alive…? She wasn’t sure how she felt. Shocked, relieved, grateful, and furious. The emotions battled within her, and her features twitched and contorted fractionally into a turbulent expression before a shadow crossed her face, making her inscrutable. Was this some kind of joke? Had he been playing undercover for these past few months? Had the rest of the batfamily played along with it? Even though she’d never been a part of the clan, she thought she was close enough, and supportive enough to know the truth. Ice water laced into her veins.

The criminal felt devastated. This was as bad as when she found out he was dead. Why had he shown up now? Part of her thought she would have been more happy to well and bury him, to get on with her life, to resume life before Batman. Only moments before, she felt so confident, and so sure of herself, so alive. Now it felt like she was feverish and ill.

She backed away again. She didn’t think she could stick around for this reunion. Breathing time was needed, time to think, time to distance herself.

[The Dark Knight]

It wasn't hard for Bruce to read Selina's response to him declaring her name. She was, like his children, shocked to the point of silence that he was still alive. This in itself truly made Bruce realise just how much of a impact he had on so many lives; and he was proud to have this kind of immense effect. His time, however, is not over yet and by all the strength left in him; or rather, returned to him, he will see this city to a light far beyond anything it is used to.

Watching Selina's reaction, was mildly painful to the man beneath the cowl. When it came to Catwoman, he couldn't quite put a finger on the feelings she gave him. At first, what seemed like one sided flirtation turned into a mutul innocent attraction. The irony was, that it would never be anything more than that. It was as if the two of them were destined to remain in these high-school games that they seemed to play with each other. The typical game of boy chases girl, or girl chases boy. Taking it in turns to see who could be the victor. Deep down, Bruce enjoyed every minute of it; though he would never admit it.

He watched as she moved away from him, too shocked to say anything witty. The Batman's instinct, however, did not trust the woman's actions. This could all well be a act in order for her to slip from his grasp and escape with the ruby. If she was going to leave, he would allow her to, but not with the ruby.

"The ruby, Selina." Typical of Batman. All work, no play. Well, Catwoman was always good at making some 'adjustments' to Batman's schedule. Yet, deep down, he did feel a mild amount of compassion and curiosity to what was going on inside her head.

(Apologies if it's sort of vague. Pretty tired from work. Although, it should give you something to work with.)

[Catwoman]

Her green eyes flickered behind the goggles down to the ruby in the satchel. It was almost painful to look at Bruce. It wasn’t because he was her savior, or her salvation, like so many in Gotham seemed to view him as. To Selina, he had rarely been more than a man behind a mask; not a symbol or a messiah, after all, she had never needed to be saved like so many in this city had. And she had always thrived in her situation, no matter how bad things were in Gotham, she was a survivor, and this was her home.

Her expression hardened, and for a moment it appeared as though she might consider running with the ruby. Ordinarily, Selina would have baited, manipulated, flirted, insulted, attacked, or even have run to keep her prize. Hell, she would have only the matter of a few seconds ago. Instead, she handed it over willingly with hardly so much as a second thought. She suddenly felt very old, very tired, and very bitter. She wasn’t in the mood to run from him, not even for a 15 million dollar ruby. Truth be told, she didn’t even feel like being near him right now.

Why did he have such a big effect on her? She had unbound by these feelings once – she had viewed their encounters as little more than games. Then she had begun to anticipate, and even look forward to them from time to time. And then she began to change herself, to work on the side of the law for him, for his approval. Selina wasn’t sure what was more frightening; the fact that she was in love with a man she could barely hold a real conversation with, or the fact that said man had been able to change her without so much as asking.

This angered Selina, angered her more than almost anything else. It wasn’t so much the fact that he was alive, but the thoughts that came with his return. Did he even deserve to hold such a powerful sway over her? He had felt the same way a few times, she was positive, but it wasn’t a constant, numbing thing. He hadn’t altered himself to be with her. She wasn’t supposed to have weakness or vulnerability to such an extreme for a man. She was supposed to be empowered, capable of adapting to a situation without compromising her resolve.

Unable to bear another minute near this man and her confusing, and conflicting thoughts, Catwoman leapt off the edge of the build they were on, and plummeted only a few short stories below. Had her mind been fully gathered, she would have realized that there were documents in that satchel. But it wasn’t. She wanted little more than to get far, far away from him and think everything over.

((Aww, it's not big. *pet pet* Sorry mine is so... rambly. I felt like needed to express the thoughts and feelings in her head. He can stop her if he really wants to - she isn't running or anything like that. If not, I'll have to PM you or something as to what else is in the bag and we can incorporate that sometime later.))

[The Dark Knight]

The Silent Protector of Gotham stayed completely motionless as Catwoman seemed to compeltely lose her emotional bearings. His cape was hanging low, covering almost all of his body in a trademark stance. His head was bowed forward slightly, as if he was facing mostly the ground, but really, his eyes were concentrating on the woman. He was assessing everything, disecting her reactions and ensuring that, not only she wouldn't try anything, but also if she was alright.

As stated earlier, Bruce did care for Selina, deep down. Despite his rather shaky attempted relationship, he still had a longing attraction for her that did delve deeper than a adrenaline fueled lust. It made things harder than they needed to be, as Bruce learnt the hard way what happens when his heart gets involved in the business of the Dark Knight. Catwoman had her heart ripped out, and essentially died before him. That wasn't the first instance of being heartbroken either, what with Talia's longing loyalty to her father and his love being used and abuse. It was the very moment he subconsciously decided to get involved with a woman, that he was treading on thin ice. Colder than anything that Mr. Freeze could conjour.

He watched her step back slowly, and he made no movement. He was pleased she returned the ruby, but he was mildly concerned for her now. Why was she resorting to her old ways? Was it because he had gone, and she had nothing left to believe in? It hurt him that his death had caused the destruction of so many people's sanities. He couldn't speak to her now, she was far too shocked. She needed time, and he respected that.

Leaving her to her emotional escape, he moved forward and collected the satchel. Opening it, he retrieved the ruby, but not just that. There were documents, papers holding information about certain locations around Gotham. Bruce sighed beneath the cowl, he was now mildly worried about Selina. But he would have to give her the time she needed. It was time to head back to the cave and think this night over.