Some time ago, Batman had been named as the killer of Harvey Dent and a few members of Gotham PD’s finest. The police hunted him with dogs, they chased any shadow that looked like him, to all intents and purposes, it seemed that Batman had joined the dark side of the line the title vigilante placed between hero and villain.

But cats have eyes, and Catwoman’s have cameras, she had seen one of the murders, and she had seen the discussion that Batman and Gordon had had before the dogs had been set upon him. She was not especially sorry for the Batman, who even her four legged spies could not find the identity of, but her activities had been a little more benevolent, at least in terms of women in the rougher areas of town, than they had been self serving since Batman could not act quite so openly. She still robbed the occasional store, the owners needed taking down a peg and there was still something that called out to her, but she had perhaps too earned the title vigilante as opposed to villain.

And that was what had brought her out onto the streets tonight. A crooked cop, Gotham PD still had them, had been leaning upon one of the ladies of the night for free…affection. The abusive sort that left her marked and often during, fearful for her life. That there were prostitutes, Selina and Catwoman both did not like, but accepted, Selina herself had played the part of the dominatrix, Catwoman’s earliest costume had come from such, that was little different. But when someone sought to make life even harder for them…well, Catwoman found herself protective of the vulnerable ladies of Gotham, she knew all too well…

She shook that thought away as she found her target crawling through the streets. She knew where he was going, the common haunt of the girl in question. Catwoman had not spoken to the girl, Selina had taken her for a meal when she had seen her one day, but those two identities were, not of split minds, but very definitely different people as far as the owner of the body they used were concerned. To herself though, she had vowed that the girl would not meet pressure from this cop again, she would see what she could do about her pimp as well in time, but this was her focus. She would break him…and then she would give him to the Scarecrow if he was so inclined.

The wretched man walked into an alley and it was here that Catwoman knew she had her chance. She tossed a small pebble that she had palmed and it skittered onto the path in front of him. Catwoman moves as quickly as a shadow as her target looked above him, she threw another pebble and hit him on the back of the neck, and now, as Catwoman jumped to and perched upon a lower roof, he was panicked, “Batman?”

Catwoman merely smirked and her whip flicked out, catching the cop’s wrist and wrapping around it. She almost purred, “Worse.” She jumped onto the street itself and pulled the cop off balance’, catching him with a spinning back kick that hit him flush under the jaw. Catwoman lost the smirk as she liberated the cop of his handcuffs and made use of them, setting them tight enough that they cut into the flesh of his wrists. It was as she was about to gather him up that she noticed another shape in the shadows. She gave an exaggerated sniff before speaking quietly to the cat that had jumped down the rooftops to join her, “I do believe I smell a flying rodent, Miss Kitty.” She looked directly into the shadows, her tone now neither particularly friendly nor hostile, “Come out of the shadows so we can talk like civilised costumed fugitives or leave, I will be neither denied nor followed.” Her tone softened a fraction, “I do not wish to fight you, but I am quite willing to if you make it necessary."

Catwoman was very definitely someone who did the chasing. She was not accustomed to being the hunted which had been why she had been a little too shaken to venture out for a while after the Unseen Hunter’s attack upon her, but she was not going to closet herself away any more than she already did, she had to be out and about. She did not altogether need to steal, anything now was keeping count and settling slights against she or those desperate who would sell something precious for anything at all and were abused, she herself had more than enough to last her lifetime. What kept her out was that there were certain things Selina Kyle, large cat conservationist, very reluctant socialite and general recluse could not do. This was one of them.

She would defend most anyone she happened to find in trouble if she could without drawing attention to herself, she would extend that to if there was no hero around were the situation desperate, but it was for the ladies of Gotham, other than cats, that she took the initiative for. Whether others did not care about them, were not there at the right time as frequently as she was or could not necessarily get involved without compromising themselves at times, Catwoman had become their de facto protector.

Catwoman did not attack a cop without a good reason. She did not kill, at all, but doing anything to a cop was like kicking a hornets’ nest, it stirred up the rest of the brood and they came out in a swarm. Not that this one was going to be in any position to report back, it was amazing what one could live through and this one...well, he was going to live through a lot, that was to be sure. She had almost enjoyed herself, but then she knew the dangers of indulging in that, no, this was business. The protection of another, one that would never know what Catwoman had done for her nor would likely ever meet her, but was no less important.

She gave a brief nod of her head as Batman said that he had no intention of stopping her. A very brief smile found its way onto her ruby painted lips for but a moment at his further comment, “So it would seem. But cats are nimble enough to avoid the harm people say curiosity does to them, I would ask if bats are as agile.” She meant no harm to the Batman, and someone well versed in martial arts would likely tell that her stance was not one in which she was preparing to try to do so. Of course, that could change quickly, but there would always be a split second warning sign which was not there right now.

Catwoman nodded as Batman spoke of his current position, a frown tugging upon her lips, “Usually, I don’t leave a calling card at all, but given that you’re not exactly the police’s favourite right now…” The cop was squirming and Catwoman was not in the mood for it, though she would not be needlessly vindictive out in the open, he was no threat now. Catwoman rifled through his pockets to find his badge and casually tossed it near a wall. Flicking out the small blades at the fingertips of one of her gloves, she gave a single strike at the brickwork, leaving a mark that would remind one very much of claws. Looking at the work for a moment, she gave a nod at her handiwork, “That should stop them linking it to you, though I hope you appreciate that I shall need to lay low for considerably longer than I intended.” She turned to look at him and fixed him with a direct glance, “I did that for Gotham, not for you. Don’t make me regret it.” In her very deep heart of hearts, she cared about the city, she would just never directly admit it under any circumstances.

It was not a good thing to admit when one was among the serious criminals of the city from time to time, that she had subtly sabotaged plans of mindless destruction in the past was quite enough.