Chapter 9: The Cat's Gratitude (2)
If the night is quiet enough, you can hear the sound of the harbor even in the alleys of Bristolhaven; the night sky is as still as the Black Sea, with stars shimmering like scattered diamonds. In the silent city, neon lights sparsely illuminate the streets, and at times like this, the sea seems to engulf the city.
Today was one such quiet night.
Nightwing, who had finished his nightly patrol early, hadn't forgotten the phone call he received that afternoon. In fact, he had messaged Tim on the same day he dropped off the girl in Gotham.
"Tim, " numerous questions lingered in Dick's mind, "What about the investigation I asked you to do, about that girl named Baia?"
In the Batcave, Tim didn't pause his work, took a sip of coffee, and answered Nightwing's call, "Speaking of that, investigating this matter didn't even take me ten minutes."
"Sounds like it went smoothly?"
"Quite the opposite. The answer is a blank slate."
"Surveillance footage, movement patterns, family relations, spending records, facial recognition, DNA, fingerprints, voice prints," Tim said, "Everything is a blank slate. You might not believe it, but she appeared out of thin air at the doorstep of Bristolhaven Police Station. I checked the surveillance footage from that day, it hadn't been tampered with, but there was a two-second gap, and she appeared during those two seconds."
"And the rental email, the IP wasn't heavily encrypted because it wasn't sent through the network to the landlord's email."
"Appeared out of thin air again?"
"Correct."
"With your personality, you wouldn't overlook such a suspicious point, right?"
"Mm-hmm, she's invited you to dinner, remember to go." Tim said, "Your level of affection for this girl is surprisingly beyond my expectations."
"You...!" Dick was speechless, "Forget it, I'm not surprised at all. Any other developments?"
"Of course."
Red Robin tapped the table at a fixed frequency.
"She has an interesting neighbor."
Although there are only a few supervillains who are actively involved in crime, Gotham's rogues gallery is far from small. Even with the resources of the Bat-family, it's impossible to keep track of every villain's movements. Currently, this "girl who appeared out of thin air" was living a quiet life, so she was simply added to the surveillance list.
He instructed Nightwing, "If possible, help me set up a few monitors over there."
"Surveillance of the girl's daily life? Sounds a bit creepy. But why didn't you go yourself?"
"The area around the house is covered," Tim said, "But I don't want to get scratched by a cat."
"So you're sending me? Great. Have you told Bruce about this?"
"He's busy dealing with the upstairs neighbor of the 'girl who appeared out of thin air,' so he'll probably find out soon enough."
If the night is quiet enough, the hunters hidden in Gotham's dirty corners will step out. Gunshots, screams, and cries will soon fill the air between the skyscrapers, while the bright lights and dazzling neon will obscure all discrepancies.
Only darkness can swallow Gotham.
"Just in case you didn't know, coming out so late isn't part of my plans for nightlife," Baia, bundled up tightly by Selina, tucked her hands into the fluffy sleeves. She hadn't worn gloves, and her fingertips were freezing red—she hated it. To stay discreet, Selina had chosen an all-black outfit for her, with only a dark green scarf tied around her neck as a splash of color.
The young witch in black.
In this attire, Baia looked a bit menacing when she didn't smile.
Catwoman crouched low on a rusty iron railing on the rooftop, her posture graceful and agile. She focused her gaze on a distant building, "Darling, has anyone told you it's not good to be such a homebody?"
Then, she turned to look at Baia, who was sitting on a broken cardboard box, "I remember your ability can neutralize the poison pollen of Poison Ivy."
Baia nodded.
"Very well, darling," Selina jumped down from the railing, "Would you like to test how far you can do that?"
System: I feel like Selina has a lot of dangerous ideas, but it sounds so thrilling.
Baia: "Enough with the chatter, how far is the casting range? I'm curious about that."
System: Remember your dizziness? The casting range also depends on your mental strength. Speaking of which, the system paused. With your current mental strength, it should be within visual range, about three to four hundred meters, right?
"Let's start with two hundred meters," Baia jumped up and dusted off the dirt from her clothes. "But remember to do it somewhere I can see."
"If it's okay, give me a signal." With the crisp sound of the whip cutting through the air, Catwoman leaped lightly into the air.
System: Looks like two hundred meters is okay.
Baia made a gesture indicating Catwoman to go another fifty meters.
The final result of the test showed that the dispelling effect of the skill was fine within three hundred meters, but beyond that, Baia started to get a headache.
Returning from the rooftop where buildings stood side by side, Catwoman was in a good mood. "That's enough."
"Want to find a suitable observation deck?" Catwoman said, "Next, I'm going to settle some personal scores."
Baia asked, "What about me?"
Catwoman leaned down and tousled her hair, "You're responsible for keeping me safe."
"You know, I usually work alone," she continued, tossing her a simple communicator, "Having a sidekick is a first for me, so the equipment is a bit basic, don't mind."
Baia curiously played with the small device in her hand, then turned it on with a switch, and a faint crackling sound came from the earpiece.
It's well known that Catwoman is an agile speed-type superhero—super anti-hero? It's hard to define. But people always seem to forget that she can effortlessly carry two large bags of money while jumping between rooftops.
However, she's not particularly good at carrying children, after all, saving others is not her job.
That's why Catwoman grabbed Baia like a sack of potatoes when they jumped off the rooftop.
She placed the pale-faced Baia in a carefully observed safe spot where she should be able to support Catwoman smoothly from here. And the brainless eco-terrorist probably wouldn't notice that she brought a long-distance cheat with her, especially when Catwoman's high heels were stepping on her face.
"Next time, let's take the motorcycle," Baia's face turned pale, "I'm about to throw up."
"The motorcycle can't help you climb walls, baby."
This spot was slightly higher than the dome of the glass conservatory opposite, giving Baia a sense of security. Of course, the main reason she wasn't particularly afraid was that she had no concept of Poison Ivy herself.
"I'll do my best to make sure nothing happens to you," Selina kissed her forehead, then handed her another small prop, "But if you're really in danger, don't hesitate, press this immediately."
The black communicator had a small bat symbol on it.
Baia: "Wow, this is—"
As she looked up, Selina had disappeared.
"Look who's here," the redhead beauty in light clothing teased the vines in front of her with her fingers, her voice was so seductive, but anyone could hear the displeasure in her magnetic voice, "Little kitty."
Tick. Tick. Tick.
"We still have some unfinished business, don't we, red-haired?" Catwoman no longer hid her footsteps with silent steps, she stepped out of the darkness with deliberate steps, one hand crossed over her chest, and the other hand, adorned with sharp claws, held a rare flower that had just been violently torn apart. As Selina's hand slowly clenched, the beautiful flower was reduced to shattered petals on the ground.
The sound of high heels gradually slowed down, and with the final tap on the ground, the large glass panes of the greenhouse shattered. The biting cold wind quickly filled the greenhouse, and the snowflake-like sharp glass cut the fragile plants into pieces.
At the same time, monstrous vines burst out of the soil.
"You will pay for what you've done, Selina," Poison Ivy's voice was low and angry, "It seems that what I asked you to do has failed as well."
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ChatGPT
Selina effortlessly maneuvered among the crazy plants, her black cat-like figure leaping between the vines as if weightless feathers. The sharp-toothed red man-eating flowers opened and lunged towards her with a foul wind, but time and again, they only caught glimpses of her.
"You mean Penguin's precious flower pot?" Catwoman laughed, "Oh, I brought it for you. Its leaves are stuck to the soles of my shoes. Would you like to come and find it yourself?"
"Do you think you can provoke nature?" Poison Ivy spread her arms, stretching her body, allowing the plants to lift her up, "Your veins will become the spore beds, and your body will become the nourishment for my greenhouse!"
"I have a prophecy too," Selina spoke fearlessly, her voice sweet but with an edge, as the sharp claws of the cat cut through the vines, causing them to wither, "Today, not only will you lose face, but you'll also roll back to Arkham, you wretch."
A flicker of pain flashed in Ivy's eyes, then anger masked it. She sneered, "I almost forgot you're Batman's little lover, of course, you get special treatment."
Upon hearing this, Selina's expression soured, "I've never asked him for anything."
Before she could finish, her black figure had already appeared behind Ivy, claws raised high.
The redhead remained calm, a vine passing diagonally in front of her blocked Catwoman's attack, and she smiled with satisfaction, her beautiful green eyes gleaming as if her prey had taken the bait. Catwoman immediately changed tactics, crouching low and delivering a vicious kick to Ivy's exposed abdomen with an unbelievable flexibility.
How to tame a disobedient wildcat?
Ivy grunted as she bent back, cushioning the blow, but fell into the throne of vines that had been woven for her.
If only she could be tangled up in yarn.
In her greenhouse, Catwoman had no chance of defeating her, not even a chance of escape. Ivy had confidence in this. She gracefully crossed her legs, waiting for her prey to take the bait once again.
Vines had already entwined Selina's legs, and once her agility was restricted, the situation would take a turn for the worse. She would soon be entangled to death and pushed to Ivy's feet.
Ivy raised Catwoman's chin, "Got you, little kitty."
As the vines loosened their grip on Selina, Ivy grabbed her forearm and pulled her in front of her, their lips gently touching.
Her deadly kiss had never failed.
This cat was just another of her toys.
But Selina's eyes only showed confusion for less than a second. She licked her lips and almost touched noses with Ivy, her voice husky with a hint of mockery.
"Got you, red," Selina said literally, using her sharp claws to grab a handful of Ivy's beautiful red curls, while her other hand, claws outstretched, left three prominent blood marks on Ivy's stunning face. Ivy screamed in shock and anger.
"How is this possible?"
With such a commotion, Gotham's other nocturnal creature couldn't possibly have not noticed.
In fact, she could almost hear the Batmobile's engine.
"Want another kiss, baby?" she whispered venomously in Ivy's ear, slamming her head against the wall with force, "You almost got me killed. Penguin wants you, what does he want to do?—How about I hand you over to him?"
Selina knew she had to leave.
Because she didn't want to hear that man say those words.
He always said, "Enough, Selina."
"Enough, Selina."
A voice, deep and hoarse from a voice changer, came from behind her.
This was bad.
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