Batman (TAS) – Partnerships

“This party is so bo-o-ring...”, was what Selina Kyle whispered to herself inside another fundraiser for some Gotham City’s charity in Gotham’s Museum. She went to the party by invitation of Hamilton Weir, a good friend and former boyfriend of hers. But, by her face, the brunette wasn’t to keen to join the usual chit-chat of celebrities and socialites talking about their lives and how they are rich, nice and bought a new house or a car.

The boredom at Selina’s looks hardly led anyone to think that she was also the woman who donned the alias of ‘Catwoman’, the daring female burglar, the terror of any Gotham City’s place where jewlery and any valuable article could be found. The one that lived in the imagination of many as a fearless thief and a seductive villainess, that didn’t made choice between anyone to be a lover for her. However, that night, she was only Selina Kyle, another jet-set woman in search of anything pleasant to do.

“Selina, you hardly talked with anyone tonight. What’s going on with you?”, asked a worried Hamilton, approaching her friend.

“I just don’t feel well talking with those people. They don’t fit me at all. They aren’t like me, they talk about stuff that I am not interested...”, argued the brunette.

“If this is the problem, why did you come in first place?”

“Because of you Hamilton. I know you are the organizer of this fundraiser and I would not let a friend down on this kind of situation. That thing isn’t my kind of thing at all and you know that”

“I know...” Hamilton replied “But you need to cheer up a little. Maybe if I show you a thing that I bought at Europe...”

“What it is?”, asked a curious Ms. Kyle.

Hamilton took her to where, shielded by a glass, it was a crown, filled of gold, diamond and other gems. Selina immediately got mesmerized with that object, shining in its whole glory and beautiness.

“The Crown of the Princess of Moravia...”, said Selina, reading the plaque below the crown “It’s so beautiful. Where did you get it, Hamilton?”

“I bought in a auction the Moravian Royal Family was doing. For more unbelievable it sounds, they were going through financial straits and they auctioned many of their objects and assets”, explained the enterpreuner.

“You must paid really big to have that!”

“Well, I cannot disclose the terms of the auction, but I have to say this artifact is priceless. And I am donating it to the museum as form to get funds by visitation and expositions here”

“Donating this? You are such a big heart, Hamilton!”, praised Selina, still getting mesmerized by that crown that she didn’t noticed her friend leaving the place to talk with his friends or even what he said later. The piece was so perfect and so stunning that Selina immediately run ideas in her mind on how to steal the crown and even profit with her.

“Impressive catch this one from Hamilton, huh? If you knew the price of that in the market, you would get crazy!”, said a female voice that broke Selina’s trance. When she turned to her right side, she found a long haired brunette, with a patch of her covering one of her eyes and a tube sandcolored dress.

“Are you talking with me?”, asked a puzzled Selina.

“Well, there is no one else here but you, ma’am. But if I interrupted your train of thought, I am very sorry” apologized the girl.

“It’s okay ... I am not the kind of woman that get scared so easily”, stated the short haired brunette.

“But it wasn’t my intention to do that with you ... Hamilton just told me about the crown and I came here to see it”

“Do you know Hamilton?”

“Yeah, I am a good friend of him. My name is Talia Al Ghul. Pleased to meet you...”

“Selina Kyle. And I am pleased to meet you, Miss Al Ghul ... with this last name ... are you from Arabian ancestry?”

“Yes, part of my family has Arabian ancestry. I guess something from my father or my mother ... anyway, I saw you talking earlier with Hamilton, and he told me about you”, said Talia. “He told me your name was Selina, right?”

“Yes, nice to meet you. I am Selina Kyle”, replied the shorthaired brunette.

“Hamilton told me good stuff about you. He informed me that you are really interested in such objects”

“What you have to know is that I feel like in another universe when I am with precious and priceless objects like this crown or that sculpture or the painting”

“Well, then you would be the perfect person for me”, the long haired girl commented.

“Excuse me?”

“Please, let me explain. I am beginning here in Gotham a company that works with very rare art objects. I think you’ve saw in the news, it’s ‘TAG’. Well, I think you know what the name means”

“Really?”, Selina’s interest rose. “Expecting I am going to be a client?”

“Only if you are interested. We have many objects that might pick your attention, many of them cost millions of dollars!”, Talia explained.

“If you have a nice bargain to me, I think I can take it”

Selina and Talia right off the bat had that ‘connection’. The two dark-haired women began to talk about ancient artifacts and art pieces, with Miss Al Ghul showing Miss Kyle what she had in the catalog. Things that made her mind run ideas of how Catwoman would get these. Even if her main interest was the crown, TAG could be a place she would enjoy to spend during one of these nights.

“What about I give you my card. Then if you have interest in anything, we might talk”

“Thanks, Talia. I will see what I can do. You seem a very nice person”

“You too, Selina”

Then the shorthaired brunette found herself again talking with other people and two women were apart from each other. But fate would be ‘guilty’ to put them again to meet. And for that, it would be somewhere between the pleasure and the rage.

The next day, Hamilton Ware’s place was again the point of visitation from Selina. But this time, she wasn’t as her civilian person, but as Catwoman. The brunette managed to break into her friend’s apartment, but using an unusual (to her) way to be inside.

During the party, she managed to ‘steal’ (and then return) his keys for her to have a copy of them done for the invasion. This only happened because his building had one of the strongest security apparatus in whole Gotham. She tried to break in the ‘old way’ at least four times but at none the results were the desired.

“I am in. And here is a ‘fuck you’ to your bullcrap security thing”

Then, she had to find the crown. She feared Mr. Ware donated it before she ever had her hand on it. Of course then her ‘visit’ would be in waste and her plans had to change. But it wouldn’t be that time.

She walked around his large apartment, empty because Hamilton had a date that day. It was her lucky day, but Catwoman had a ‘hint’ that everything was too ‘easy’. However, that was an opportunity she wouldn’t waste.

“Now, time to find where that damn Moravian crown is”

The cat burglar took her time to look up for the Moravian Princess Crown. First, she went to where the object was exposed during the party, but it wasn’t there. Of course, Hamilton had put into somewhere secret and without any trace that a crown was there. The next logical choice was his safe in his suite.

“I think I remember the right combination...”

She tried one password and nothing. Then the other and nada. Only after like fifteen different combinations she found the right one (was something related to his parents wedding anniversary). But when the safe was there, nothing! There was no crown!

“Dammit! I knew you liked to full thieves, Hamilton. But you could not give a hand to a friend!”

Catwoman’s annoyance was visible through the black and white mask of hers. Hamilton had a knack to prank anyone who dared to steal stuff from him and that day, with a priceless royal crown at his temporary possession, it wouldn’t different. The brunette thought about tearing the place apart, but it would be too much to her.

“Think, Selina ... you gotta think ... where that darn crown is is!?”

Time was ticking out and she feared the apartment owner would be there soon to get her in act. The lady thief had to think where that crown was, if it wasn’t being already in the possession of other people. A woman like her wasn’t to be bummed by a trick.

“If I were Hamilton Ware, where I would hide a priceless Moravian crown?. Let’s see...”

Then Selina thought about every single outlandish place inside that building that could store such artifact, a crown that many people would kill to have their hands on. By any logic someone in her job only knew, she decided to go to his bathroom! And what if Hamilton was trying to really play a trick on any bold thief...

And he was. Only in a world where a paranoid man lived, a bathroom would be the place. Catwoman followed her unbeatable instinct and managed to notice a few pieces of the floor arranged in a very weird way. Looking at, she decided to use her skills to move them and a small hole with a box was there. When the box was open, the crown was there. Ready for her to get.

“Son of a bitch ... you are going to pay for that, Hamilton Ware”

The same way Catwoman managed to sneak in she sneaked out his apartment. Not before covering all her traces and not even making him imagine she was there. To replace the crown, she used her imagination to put something of the same size and weight, maybe a way to ‘punish’ her dearest friend to try to screw her plans...

“May I help you, ma’am?”, said a chanel-haired blonde when Selina approached TAG’s reception.

“I am here to talk with Talia Al Ghul”

“Name, please?”

“Selina Kyle. She will remember me...”

TAG Enterprises occupied a museum-styled building around one of Gotham’s wealthiest neighborhoods. It was the perfect place where art of insurmountable price was to be exhibited and sold. And the right place where the rich and famous of the city would go if they needed something.

The blonde used her phone to talk with her boss and owner of the company, Talia Al Ghul. After half a minute, the call was off and the receptionist informed her that she was ok to go.

“Miss Al Ghul will receive in a while. Her office is in the end of that corridor”

A corridor full of pictures from trips and ancient artifacts and masks, from Peru to Australia, from Eastern Europe to Zambia, donned the walls. Selina having increased interest and curiosity, with Talia’s pics around the world placed between the masks.

“One girl like me would have the field trip of her dreams here”

At the end of the corridor, a bulletproof glass door written ‘TALIA AL GHU, TAG ENTERPRISES CEO’ in all black and capital letters was here. Even if she knew the owner waited for her, the shorthaired brunette didn’t resist to knock on the door.

KNOCK KNOCK

“It’s open!”

“Am I interrupting anything?”

“You aren’t! Please, come in!”

Quickly Selina and Talia did all the greetings needed, kisses, hugs and whatever else. The socialite was thrilled to see the art dealer’s office, full of pictures and ancient artifacts as the corridor was.

“I can see your take your job seriously. Look how many statues, masks and everything else!”

“These? Well, these are gifts I get from collectors and friends, mostly. I don’t have the artifacts I sell or deal here. I have them in storages. Guess you know the reason”, said Talia.

“I understand ... I know how it is, you must be aware if no one wants to steal such precious stuff. These are my showcase items, sort of speaking ... mind coffee?”

“I think I’ll accept it!”

The two dark-haired ladies began then to talk, as Talia explained the story behind TAG Enterprises. Selina was thrilled when the long haired woman shared some of her exploits, from hunting deity statues in Mexico to spending large amounts of cash to pay for rare paintings from famous European artists. Her Catwoman instinct suddenly aroused herself to realize she could be in ‘heaven’, as it could be a large target for her criminal incursions.

“I take my job seriously, Selina. There is nothing I cannot do to find the best artifacts for my collection and satisfy my clients. Museums, private collectors, galleries, I have a world of contacts who I supply stuff for them”

“You must be the most badass woman in the world, Talia”

“I confess I am not, but I know how to deal with those ordeals”

The chat went neat, but then something took Selina Kyle’s attention off. The small TV set at the office was on and a report about the Moravian Princess crown’s robbery was on. On screen, the famous Gotham television reporter Summer Gleeson from the scene.

“After two days, police doesn’t have any clue about who stole the Princess of Moravian crown. But they learned through security camera footage that the time is another job from the Catwoman, the fearless lady burglar. We got a copy from the footage and here at GTV we were allowed to broadcast it in first hand”

The shorthaired was caught by surprise with that. She was used to see news about her burglary on TV, but it was on the comfort of her home with her beloved cats. It was the first time she watched reports about her exploits with someone else around. Her heart beat fast, something she managed to control during her criminal career. But the moment wasn’t the one she expected to do it. She began to sweat and, unlikely to someone like her, thoughts she never would imagine to have, like fear, began to appear.

Talia followed the news as well and noticed Selina’s shocked mood. She knew her and Hamilton were close, but her reaction took her attention because it seemed more than just shock because your acquaintance’s apartment being broken in and a valuable possession of his stolen.

“Selina? What happened? Are you feeling well? You seem bothered with something”

“Ah ... Oh ... Oh! Ah! Well ... sorry! Sorry, Talia, is that...”

“I understand”, the longhaired with hair eye-patch said with a smile trying to cool it off. “I heard the news yesterday and I am shocked as well! I could not believe someone would do that with Hamilton!”

“Me too”, the shorthaired tried to disguise the real reasons behind her annoyance. “I found out on the news and talked with Hamilton yesterday. But only now seeing on TV, I realized how bad it is”

“I heard much about this Catwoman. I read about her burglar exploits. Is she that sneaky as press portays?”

“Well ... I don’t know. I heard much about her. Catwoman surely knows how to steal from people; she always finds a way to evade police. Even Batman!”

Selina was embarrassed but she didn’t want to show how much she was and the reasons that made her act like that. Talia pretty much dodged it by taking the conversation to other heights. And it worked, because the shorthaired brunette returned to the relief.

During the talk, the two women just shared stuff from their both personal lives, but left in the air a deal to happen. Both exchanged numbers and agreed to meet again for lunch sometime.

“It was good to meet you again, Selina! Let’s get in touch!”

“I hope so, Talia! See you soon!”

Selina Kyle left TAG Enterprises relieved that her shock with her robbery being news didn’t gave clues to Talia. But Miss Al Ghul gave a wicked smile after the other girl left the room.

“So, guess I was right all the time. Selina Kyle IS Catwoman. If she wants to play with me, I’ll have a surprise on deck for her”

Selina and Talia began a blossoming friendship by there, as they met a few times afterwards, to discuss art, selling of artifacts and history. The shorthaired brunette’s interest was more than just knowing about new stuff and talk with a woman who shared the same taste with her. There was more than that ... for both women...

The ‘Moravian Crown’ vanished in the news as the police could not find a single clue about Catwoman’s whereabouts. And the plot thickened when they law enforcement learned that the crown just returned to Mr. Ware’s possession. Without any kind of reason, the crown appeared back to his apartment. Why Gotham City’s most famous lady burglar decided to return it?

Selina decided to do it because, besides avoiding being source of any kind of police meddling (a thief has to keep him or herself dusting any breach for being in jail), she had loftier goals. Something unlike the Moravian Princess possession, who was more a way to show she could do it. And that would be inside Talia Al Ghul’s company headquarters.

It was too risky for her to attempt such after stealing the crown, but to Catwoman, the addiction to the thrill is too much to say ‘no’. And there she was, at the rooftop of a nearby building near TAG Enterprises, eying her prizes.

“Let’s see what we can do with this”

Catwoman’s original intention was to test their security, as she noticed it could have a few flaws. But if there was some artifact or something valuable to steal, why not? It was time to know if Talia could have something valuable.

The cat burglar spotted a window at the left wing of the building, perfect for her to sneak in. With her powerful stealth, the Gothamite managed to talk and climb to the window and push it without much effort. Even her thought it seemed ‘too easy’ to find out no security people around, but she was used to know what was legit or not.

“Here doesn’t seem the place where the good stuff is”

From her pocket she picked a heatseeking binocular pair and roamed around the room, full of boxes but many of them just full of foam or hay. When she tried to left, the door was closed. But her trusted special key was always there for that. Soon, the brunette began to roam around the HQs, trying to find where TAG stored the precious things she loved to rob.

As it seemed, it was ‘easy’ but not that much. She wandered around the building and even entered into Talia’s office, but there wasn’t anything valuable there. During her walk, a security guard seemed to approach where she was, but Catwoman managed to hide herself at a dark corner in an empty corridor.

“Fuck! Where is that shit is?”

The wait was over by stepping down a ladder which finished with a large door. She tried to open it, but no avail. Once again, her knowledge showed and her special key, now coupled with a few devices she carried for occasions when she couldn’t break into places, were used to force her entry there.

“My God! Am I in Heaven or?”

The room was full of statues, paintings, sculptures, other art forms. Many of them made of or covered with gold, rubies, diamonds, emeralds and precious stones. Others were the historical and rare kind, things which were priceless materials and so on. Selina immediately felt like a kid in a toy store.

“Well, Talia. I think I will play a little with you. You are good, but in this game, I am better”

The object of choice was a, too obvious, a porcelain figure of a cat, with a golden collar with many precious stones, some of the rare kind. At the showcase glass, it was written it was a piece from 12th century coming from Indochina. The right choice for the right adventure.

“Come to mama, little kitten. I’ll take care of you”

Catwoman managed to lift the glass from the showcase slowly, without triggering the alarm system. Next, the porcelain cat was at her arms, with the brunette burglar nursing it like a child. Guess it was easy, but too easy?

“Now you are mine, sweetie”

Selina, however, noticed the noise of steps, possibly from the security. But she was at the underground of the building, with almost no exit. Almost because, when the steps were getting closer and louder, they went as fast as it came. The shorthaired woman sighed of relief and quickly left the room, evading security.

To another window, now at the other wing of TAG Enterprises building, Catwoman managed to leave, with the priceless cat piece on her hands. She claimed victory as she left in the dark of the night. But, not so much, since from another room, monitors and tv screens taped through hidden cameras and showed every second of the action to someone at a undisclosed room, which seemed the security one. There, the surprise: Talia watched everything. And again a malicious smile from her lips.

“It looks like the kitten bit the bait. I am going to have so much fun with you, Selina...”, said Talia, with a very naughty tone on her voice and caressing her body through her dress. It seemed Ms. Al Ghul was about to ‘punish’ her for her crime in not a very orthodox way.

“Oh, hi Talia! Yes, I heard about it, it’s on TV all the time. I feel deeply sorry for you, you shouldn’t deserve that. Yeah, I know, it’s bad. I hope your company can recover in time ... if you want, I can pay you a visit to see what is going on and see how I could help. Okay, that’s right. I’ll see you soon. Bye”