Chapter Six: On the trail of the Cat!

"Tell 'em I'm sick," Dick said, not looking up from the Cray monitors. "Ask 'em for my homework assignments for the next few days. And don't worry. I won't fall behind."

"But Master Bruce left specific orders that you were not to miss any school during his absence!" Alfred protested.

"Sorry, Alf," Dick muttered. "But this is one time that little Dicky doesn't follow orders."

"Master Richard, I must insist--!" Alfred began.

Dick stopped what he was doing and spun his desk chair around to face his friend and confidant.

"Look, Alfred," Dick said with quiet intensity. "I wouldn't do this if it wasn't important. You *know* that. Bruce has been delayed in Europe. Gotham *needs* me on the job while he's gone. This *Catwoman* made a fool out of me, and I don't intend to let her get away with it. I'm going to--"

"--I *thought* that it was the protection of the city that was important, young sir," Alfred interrupted. "It sounds to me as if you are being driven by the need to avenge this Catwoman for humiliating you."

Dick stared at Alfred as if he'd been slapped. He shook his head in vehement denial. "No! That's *not* true! Catwoman has been going around Gotham robbing its leading citizens blind. My *only* motivation is stop her crime spree and see that she's brought to justice!"

"I see. And this Catwoman's current 'crime spree,' as you call it, includes rescuing common household cats from homes that have been less than sterling in their pets' treatment. Tipping you off about a robbery in progress of two priceless Siberian Tigers. Rescuing you from the female tiger's attack, and--" Alfred paused, placing his thumb and forefinger on his chin. "--Oh, pardon me. It seems that I've come back to the fact that she humiliated you."

Dick glared icicles at Alfred. Clenching his fists at his sides, and unable to trust himself to speak, Dick abruptly turned and made his way to the Batcave's gym. Not bothering to change into his workout clothes, Dick threw himself onto one of the apparatuses and started on one of his more complicated routines with a vengeance.

Alfred watched silently for a long moment, then left without another word.

Dick worked feverishly, driven by a stinging fury that only a sixteen-year-old boy who's been shamed by a woman can feel.

"I'll *show* her!" Dick muttered, swinging and releasing, gripping then releasing again. "Just wait. I don't care what it takes--" Swing, release, somersault, catch, exchange, repeat. "--but when I catch up to her--" Release, free-fall, tuck, roll, grip. "--I'm going to..."

Dick abruptly stopped his forward momentum. This awkward halt to his routine made his arms feel as if they were being pulled out of their sockets. Reaching his left hand out for a nearby safety line, Dick took a solid handhold, then lowered himself slowly to the floor.

Dick stood on the gym floor for several minutes, assessing his inner motivations. Alfred was right. Dick *was* out for personal vengeance.

Dick sighed. "You're a real loser, Grayson. Bruce finally *trusts* you to act like an adult, and what do you do? You act like the worst kind of rookie batter who's just had his ears dusted off by a major league pitcher." Dick kicked at an invisible object. "And look at how you talked to Alfred. Like a spoiled brat!"

"Oh, I wouldn't call you that, Master Dick," Alfred's quiet voice said behind him. Dick whirled around.

"But it's the truth, Alfred! I *did* act like a brat."

"Indubitably, young sir," Alfred said, drolly. "Nevertheless, I *still* wouldn't call you that."

Dick stared wordlessly at Alfred. Realizing that the Wayne butler was gently teasing him, he broke out in an embarrassed grin. Dick ducked his head and scuffed the floor in front of him. "I'm sorry, Alf...I was wrong. Can you forgive me?"

"Nothing to forgive, young sir," Alfred reassured his youngest charge. Then in his best Drill Sergeant's voice commanded, "You have five minutes to be upstairs. Showered, dressed and ready for school. Go!"

Dick took off, taking the steps that led up to the Manor three at a time.

Dick quickly fell into his new temporary routine: school, homework, dinner, and evening patrol. Because this was a regular school week, Robin was under a strict curfew. He had to be back home by midnight, or Robin's wings would be clipped.

Because of the inflexible limits that he was forced to work under, Robin planned his days carefully, almost to the exact minute. Dick optimized any free time he received during the school day, catching up on schoolwork or required reading. Therefore, by the time he roared his Porsche into its berth in the vast Wayne parking garage, Dick had but a minimum of homework to complete.

By four-thirty, Dick was already downstairs in the Batcave working on his current Catwoman case. Having developed a working hypothesis--Catwoman was somehow tied to the original Cat burglar of thirty-seven years ago--Dick worked furiously on finding the missing link.

Selina Kyle...the woman's image kept coming back to Dick. Her soft, almost purr-like laugh, the graceful way she moved, her slim athletic build...Dick knew in his gut that she and this Catwoman were one and same.

He paused for a moment, thinking about Bruce. How would this discovery affect his guardian? More than anything else in the world, Dick wanted Bruce to be happy. Bruce had had so much pain in his life that sometimes it seemed a cloud of sadness hung over him. The last thing Dick wanted was to bring him more pain.

Dick shook his head. No, if Bruce had the same suspicions that Dick did, he wouldn't hesitate to pursue any leads. The worst action Dick could take in this matter was inaction. Dick went over in his mind everything he could remember about the dinner party...

Selina insisting that Gordon talk about the current burglaries.

Selina questioning whether they suspected the burglar was male.

Selina urging Barbara to share what she'd found out about the burglaries of thirty-seven years ago.

Selina laughing and saying...

Dick paused, sitting up straighter. "Wait a minute! What did she say? Something about how we're under a-a 'reign of terror'--?"

Selina's sultry voice rang in his head: "So Gotham is in the grips of a reign of terror being visited upon us by a sixty-two year old burglar?"

Dick sat still, his heart racing. He held a pen in his hand and was absentmindedly clicking it. Realizing what he was doing, Dick began to chew it instead.

"Selina said, 'a sixty-two year old burglar,'" Dick mused. "*Not* a 'thirty- seven-year old' one." He began twirling the pen from finger to finger. "Now *who* exactly was she talking about?" Dick muttered.

Sitting back on his swivel chair, Dick began swinging himself back and forth, lost in thought. Abruptly coming to a decision, Dick sat up and immediately started running a new search on 'Selina Kyle'...

Hours later, too late to go out on patrol, Dick finally put the Crays in sleep mode. He squeezed his tired eyes, saddened by the information he'd finally managed to uncover.

If Selina Kyle and the Catwoman weren't one and the same person, then Dick would eat his cape.

Now, he thought.

"Oh, excuse me, ma'am!" Dick apologized profusely, quickly getting down on his hands and knees. He'd deliberately bumped into his target, practically knocking her to the floor. "I wasn't watching what I was--" He stopped, open-mouthed.

"Selina!" Dick cried, in wide-eyed shock. "I can't believe it!" Looking around at the scattered parcels, he gulped and started helping her gather her purchases. "Oh, brother...I am *so* sorry!"

Selina gave a soft laugh. "Don't be silly, Dick. It was an accident." She stood slowly, accepting her packages from the slightly chastised-looking boy. "Tell me. What are you *doing* here?" Selina's expression took in the sprawling Gotham City indoor mall. "Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

Dick laughed.

"Are you *kidding*? School's out for the day! I usually go straight home, but Alfred gave me a pass for the afternoon." He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know...just thought I'd hang for a couple of hours. You know, check the place out..."

He paused as a pair of high school girls passed by them, giggling when they noticed him. Dick unselfconsciously followed them with his eyes. Feeling Selina's gaze on him, he turned to her, smiling sheepishly.

"Check out the sights," he added, humorously waggling his eye brows.

"I see," Selina said, returning his smile. "Well, if it wouldn't ruin your reputation, would you care to join me for a quick bite? I was just about to take a dinner break."

Dick turned on his best smile. "Oh, please! Spending time with you, Selina, can only *enhance* my reputation! In fact," he added sotto voce, "a couple of my classmates are standing over there turning slightly green." Offering to take her packages, Dick and Selina started walking towards the mall food court.

As they sat with their fast food selections, Dick pointed at Selina's taco salad with his fork. He'd opted for a Greek salad and a side of bread sticks.

"Funny, you don't seem the type," he said thoughtfully. "I mean, you look so, um, *athletic* and *fit*, I guess." He blushed suddenly, remembering the Catwoman costume.

Selina's eyes smiled at him. "Oh, I'm full of vices, Dick," she warned. "You'd be surprised."

I'll bet you are, he thought, darkly. Smiling guilelessly, Dick concentrated on his salad for a several moments. Finally, as if overcome with curiosity, he asked, "Selina...you don't have to answer this if you don't want to...I mean it's really none of my business, but--"

Dick looked away momentarily, as if gauging his next words.

"Now you've got me interested," Selina said. "Go on. But what--?" she nudged him.

"Well, Bruce hasn't really talked to me about it, and I was kinda wondering...How did you two meet? I mean, one day Bruce is his usual taciturn self. Asking me if I've done my homework and what am I studying in school. The next day, he's telling me he'd like me to meet you."

"And having you meet me...that's unusual?" Selina's voice was carefully neutral, but Dick could tell that her interest was piqued.

"Heck, yeah!" Dick replied. "I mean, Bruce has a real playboy reputation in town and everything, but it's all gossip. Really!" He caught Selina's disbelieving gaze and blushed. "Well...mostly, anyway. At least, I *think* it is--" Dick felt himself stumbling. This wasn't how the conversation was supposed to go, he scolded himself!

"Never mind all that," Selina said. "I don't think I *want* to know!"

Dick smiled gratefully. "What I meant to say was that Bruce has never really brought someone home for me to meet. So..." Dick paused, assessing the effect of his words. "I figure that you must be someone pretty special to him." He shrugged. "That's all, honest! I was just curious how you two met, and--"

"--And what?" she asked, gently. Dick swallowed. He was entering dangerous ground. Dick was no longer investigating a case, he was now asking a personal question on behalf of Bruce *and* himself.

"And what your intentions are with Bruce," he said quietly. To mask his confusion, Dick took a quick bite out of his breadstick. He felt Selina watching him, weighing the motivation behind the question. Finally, as if satisfied of his need for truth, Selina answered his questions.

"Bruce and I met quite by design," she began. At his startled look, Selina laughed softly. "Oh, yes. I wrangled and invitation to the special showing of the Catseye Jewel at the Gotham Museum of Gemology a few weeks ago. It's currently on loan from Peru."

Dick nodded. "Yeah, that's right. It's believed to have been part of an Inca ruler's scepter. The scepter's end was supposed to be in the shape of a puma's head, the sign of Incan royal power. The jewel was literally the eye of the puma. The story goes that the Catseye was endowed with some kind of mystical power. Whoever possessed it was said to be able to magically transform themselves into the form of the South American great puma."

"Yes," Selina agreed, nodding. "Apparently not long after the Europeans began exploring the jungles of South America, they heard about the Catseye and its power. The Spanish Conquistadors killed the Inca ruler and stole the scepter. Besides the Catseye, the scepter was lavishly decorated with several more precious gems. These were all removed and scattered among the Spaniards. The Catseye is the only one that's ever been recovered."

"Unfortunately," Selina sighed, "the arcane knowledge of how to use the Catseye's morphing powers was lost along with the death of the last person who wielded it, the Inca ruler. Have you seen the Catseye exhibit?" She asked Dick. He shook his head, no.

"It's quite exquisite and quite priceless," Selina said, giving Dick a look of almost childlike delight. "It's also a one of a kind gemstone. No one knows the location of the mine where such a gem might have been discovered, although many treasure hunters have tried and failed."

"What about the scepter?" Dick asked. "I thought I read in the literature that Bruce brought home that the Catseye's power was somehow mystically tied to the puma head."

Selina nodded. "Yes, I believe that's part of the legend. Unfortunately, the scepter was made of pure gold. The Conquistadors probably melted it down to ingots immediately."

Dick nodded thoughtfully and they ate in companionable silence for a few moments. Finally, Dick broached the question uppermost on his mind.

"So how does Bruce fall into the picture?" Dick asked, forcing the issue back to his guardian.

Selina smiled with genuine affection.

"You're really concerned for his welfare, aren't you? Okay, I'd read an article about Bruce in _Forbes Magazine_. I admit to being just a touch fascinated by him. Not yet forty and already one of the wealthiest men in the world? What girl could resist? Then I read about the Wayne Foundation and about the real good that Bruce and the Wayne billions have done for the people of Gotham City."

Selina laughed, a deep throaty laugh that a sent an involuntary reaction through Dick's being. Selina shook her head as if she still couldn't believe what she'd read.

"Young, gorgeous, rich, *and* a philanthropist? I suppose I thought him too good to be true and just wanted to find out for myself."

"And did you?" Dick asked. "Find out that he's too good to be true?"

Selina looked at Dick seriously. "The jury's still out on that one," she replied, enigmatically. Selina held Dick's gaze. He felt that she was trying to see if she could find out more about Bruce through him.

"Well, if you ask me," Dick offered, "Bruce is the greatest guy in the world. But then, I'm biased."

Selina smiled and gathering her packets, she stood up. "I'll keep that in mind."

Dick stood up, too. "He really cares for you, Selina...Keep *that* in mind."

Leaning over, Selina kissed him gently on the cheek. "I will, Dick. I promise."

With that, Selina walked away and was quickly swallowed by the crowd.

Robin parked his motorcycle in the dark, filthy alleyway. The place was overflowing with rancid garbage, which had been carelessly dumped over the years. A city sanitation inspector's warning citation was posted slightly above Robin's eye level. The date was five years ago.

Robin shook his head. The city's sanitation department was rife with graft, nepotism, and union cronyism. The DA's office had not been able to find enough evidence to bring indictments against anyone so far. However, while it was a thorn on the city's side, Batman still hadn't seen a need to enter the case.

More and more, Batman was concentrating on stopping the increasing numbers of the criminally insane who were of the Joker's caliber, while less and less on "ordinary" racketeering. Unless Commissioner Gordon called him in on these cases, Batman felt that the GCPD was well equipped to handle them.

While investigating his current Catwoman case and her tip on a black market trade in rare and endangered animals, Robin researched Leo Maxie and his many business dealings. After all, the two would-be thieves he'd stopped at the Gotham Zoo belonged to Maxie and were apparently working under *his* orders.

In the course of his research, Robin discovered that Leo Maxie originally gained a foothold in the local city contracting rackets through his cousin, a minor official in the Sanitation Department. Since then, Maxie's own garbage pickup contracting business grew to become the largest in Gotham.

So far the problem the city faced wasn't the loss of sanitation services, but rather of the smaller sub-contractors being squeezed out by Maxie's hired thugs. Still, any hard evidence against Maxie tended to disappear, usually in the form of some hapless mook washing up several miles to the south on the Jersey shore.

Still others disappeared permanently. They'd probably been sent on a bon voyage party to the bottom of the sea replete with a new pair of cement overshoes, Robin thought wryly.

He looked around the squalid alleyway and took a sniff. Grimacing at the foul odor, he decided that maybe *Robin* could step in and look into the problem.

"Hey, if I want a part in cleaning up the city," he quipped, "I may as well start here." As soon as Batman returned from Europe, Robin would start investigating the Gotham Sanitation Department.

For now, though, Robin was checking out a lead on his current case at the Gotham City loading docks. Keeping to the shadows, the Boy Wonder wended his way through the seedy and dilapidated seaside district. According to his information, the ship he was looking for should be berthed at Pier No. 5. Rounding another long-abandoned warehouse, Robin saw her.

The _Tiger Lily_, an ancient, tramp merchant ship out of Macao. She was riding low in the water, indicating that her cargo hold was full.

"Good," Robin muttered. She hadn't been off-loaded, yet. Moving stealthily, Robin grabbed one of the ship's tie-down ropes and began climbing. Reaching the ship's railing, the teen vigilante quietly made his way to the cargo hatch. Finding the emergency escape hatch, Robin made easy work of the rusty lock used to secure it.

Feeling his way cautiously, Robin eased into the cargo hold, and finding a ladder, quickly lowered himself to the deck below. Taking out a penlight, the young crimefighter quickly looked around. What he found made him slightly ill.

His presence was greeted with a sudden stirring of dozens of caged animals, from lions and tigers to rare, exotic birds. Robin noted several large elephant tusks stacked on cargo pallets, sans the elephants that they'd come from. Other pallets were loaded with animal pelts, mostly tigers, although a few lion manes showed that the King of the Beasts had not been spared.

And the smell! These animals must have traveled under intolerable conditions. It was obvious that their cages had not been cleaned during the entire trip. Robin wondered if they'd even been fed.

Shaking his head in disgust, Robin turned to go. He'd found enough evidence here to have Maxie locked up for a very long time.

The sound of a machine gun bolt being pulled back suddenly echoed in the cavernous hold. At the same time, the floodlights flared on.

"Well, lookee here, Mister Maxie. A little birdie just flew in."

"Yes, Gordo, and ain't it a coincidence...I just happen to trade in rare and exotic birds."

Robin looked around. He was surrounded.

Okay, Grayson, he thought calmly. Time for Plan B!

"Plan B," Robin snorted in self-disgust. Okay, being tied up with heavy chains and hanging upside down over the Bengal tigers' cage wasn't exactly what he had planned. But hey, there was plenty time...before dinner, he gulped.

The tigers circled menacingly below him, roaring their rage and maddened by their hunger.

Maxie stood over by the side. He was wearing a heavy black overcoat, an aquamarine cravat with a bold amethyst pin, and--Robin did a double take--a Homburg! Maxie wore the hat at a rakish angle, the picture of an old-time gangster. He took a long puff from a foul-smelling cigar.

Probably trying to kill the choking odor from the animal cages, Robin thought sourly.

"Gordo, show the little Bird-boy just how playful my kittens are."

Gordo grinned evilly and turned to do as he was told. He reached into a giant- sized cooler that was sitting immediately outside the tiger cage and pulled out a large slab of meat. Nodding at one his men, Gordo allowed the other henchman to hook the meat to the end of a long metal pole.

Robin watched, fascinated as the tigers suddenly tore into the meat in a wild feeding frenzy. As they feasted, the large predators roared their killer challenges at one another as each vied for a piece of the proffered meat.

Closing his eyes against Maxie's dinner plans for him, Robin concentrated on his chains. Breathing slowly to calm his rapidly beating heart, Robin went over his training step-by-step.

Calmly, he worked his fingers to his utility belt. Contorting his body with superhuman effort, Robin managed to reach the right compartment. Careful not to drop it, he removed the special sliver of jagged metal that he kept there. It was a gift from a Grayson family friend, the Great Carlo, the Haly Circus escape artist.

Palming the piece of metal, Robin again worked his muscles to perform impossible, minute movements. As he worked, the savage growls of the starving tigers faded into the background. They were replaced with the soothing sounds of Uncle Carl's quiet encouragement...

"Close your mind to the crowds, Dicky. It's only you and the chains that bind you. Break free, Dicky. You can do it. You're my best student, Dicky. You have the gift..."

The deep baritone of his new mentor's commands abruptly replaced Uncle Carl's soft voice.

"Robin, you won't have time to think, only react. You must be prepared. Once again, take it by the numbers..."

"By the numbers..." Robin whispered. He heard a click. He was free. Opening his eyes, Robin looked around furtively. Maxie and his boys were preoccupied by the tigers' demoniac table manners.

"Well, this is *one* guest who's not coming to dinner," Robin muttered. "Heads up!" he yelled. The gangsters all looked up to where Robin was hanging.

Or at least, to their surprised confusion, to where he'd just been hanging. His empty chains and shackles hung limply. Laughing from the shadows, Robin taunted, "Made you loo-ook!"

Maxie and his men immediately broke into chaotic commotion, their frenzied shouts and randomly wild firing inside the closed quarters reminiscent of the tigers' own savage behavior of just a few minutes before.

"Find him!" screamed Maxie. "Find him, you morons! And when you do...kill him! Shoot him on sight! He's fish bait!"

"Aww-ww, Maxie," Robin's voice filtered mockingly over the din. "And here I thought we'd bonded!" A whirring, whistling sound preceded the floodlights suddenly going out.

"Oh, man!" one of Maxie's thugs wailed. "He's got one of them Bata-ma-thingies! You know, a Bat-whatchacallit!"

"A Batarang, you dope!" another said. "Now shut up, Stevie! If he can hear you, he can take you out--"

Silence.

"Lenny?" the first voice wailed. "Lenny, where *are* you, bro?" Out of the dark, an ironfisted punch dislocated the two-bit hood's jaw.

"Sorry, Stevie, but you should've listened to your brother and kept your mouth shut," Robin chastised. "Oh, and *this* is for leaving me stranded in the Tigers' lair at the zoo."

Lenny was instantly taken out of play, just as Stevie predicted.

"Gordo! Gordo, where are you?" Maxie's angry, frustrated voice rang out in the dark. "Greaser...Red Dog...Lenny! Where *is* everybody? Answer me, dammit!"

"Now, now...no need for that kind of language," Robin said. "I'm still a kid, remember? Your men are all here, Maxie. Look!"

Robin threw a switch, and the emergency lights came on. Maxie looked up and around. Hanging from the overhead cargo grapplers, Maxie saw the unconscious forms of the creme of his organization.

"It's not possible," he whimpered.

"Oh, please," Robin said self-deprecatingly. "You're embarrassing me." Snapping a pair of Bat-cuffs on the racketeer, Robin added, "Oh, by the way, Maxie, it's *you're* turn."

When the GCPD found Maxie and his henchmen a few hours later, he was screaming and blubbering in near hysteria. Whoever captured and secured him in the cargo hold must've had a perverse sense of humor, because the gangster was hanging, chained and upside down, over the tigers' cage. Maxie's face was a mere three inches beyond the tigers' nearest reach.

When he was finally lowered to safety, Leo Maxie was a pathetic, broken man. He'd even soiled his own pants.

Gordon and Bullock looked up at the grappling hook from where they'd freed Maxie. "The boy went a little too far," Gordon said sternly. "I'll have to have a little talk with him." Looking around at the emaciated, starving animals, that had been forced to lie in their own filth, Gordon amended his statement.

"Well, maybe I'll thank him first," he said gruffly. "*Then* I'll chew him out!"

Robin waited patiently, crouched in the deep gloom afforded by the shadows. It was almost midnight, and if he was late getting home, Alfred was gonna clobber him. Oh, well, crime didn't stop at midnight, he thought defensively. When was the *last* time some crook turned into a pumpkin at the stroke of twelve?

As he waited, Robin suddenly caught sight of a darker shadow flitting across the skylights. Bingo! Just in time.

He watched slightly in awe by the daring professionalism of the Catwoman. She calmly extended her claws and delicately cut through the skylight, as easily as slicing through butter. Next, she released a rappelling line and quickly lowered herself to the museum floor.

Catwoman carefully removed a small aerosol spray from her carryall. Turning 360 degrees, she lightly sprayed the air immediately around her. Robin saw that the aerosol released a light, powdered mist. Catwoman immediately donned a pair of night vision goggles.

Robin followed suit with his Starlite night goggles. When he turned them on, he saw that the powder Catwoman sprayed revealed the complex array of photoelectric laser beams that comprised the major part of the museum's security measures.

"Not bad," Robin intoned admiringly. Catwoman next took out a small case and removed a number of small disks. Not quite being able to make out what the these circular items were, Robin grinned in admiration when he saw her meticulously set them up in a complicated pattern.

The disks were actually mirrors, and Catwoman was using them to reflect the laser beams back in on themselves. Soon, she'd cleared an area large enough for her to walk through.

Satisfied that her path was now unobstructed, Catwoman walked towards the Catseye exhibition.

"You know, if turned you all of that ingenuity towards less criminal pastimes, you could probably end up owning this town...honestly."

Catwoman let out a startled feline yowl, cracking her whip in the direction of Robin's voice.

"Temper, temper," he teased.

"Little birds should know better than to play with cats," Catwoman warned.

"True, but I'm not all that little any more," Robin said. He threw his Batarang and its razor-sharp edge sliced Catwoman's whip in two. She suddenly leaped high, grabbing onto one of the gem displays.

"Oh, little Robin, you shouldn't have done that," Catwoman said, threateningly. "That was my favorite whip." Jumping off the display she'd been standing on, Catwoman used her momentum to topple the heavy case over, scattering hundreds of precious gems across the highly polished museum floor.

"Now see what you made do," her voice mocked from out of the dark. "I wasn't going to cause any damage...I was only going to take the Catseye. But *noo-ooo* *you* have to appear and spoil my fun."

"Sorry, lady, but I couldn't let you take a priceless museum piece like the Catseye. It belongs to the people of Peru, and they've entrusted it to the people of Gotham. Batman's entrusted Gotham to me...so, there you are. It falls to me to see that the Catseye is protected during its stay in the city."

"Look, Robin, you seem like a nice, decent kid," Catwoman's voice said placatingly. "I don't want to hurt you. So why don't you be a good little bird and go on home? I promise that I'll only take the Catseye, nothing else. Look, I wasn't lying about Maxie and his black market trade with endangered animals, was I?"

"No, you weren't," Robin answered. He was moving quietly among the various displays. "Unfortunately for you, Maxie and his boys weren't able to take me out. They should all be under the GCPD's authority by now."

"Boy Wonder, you don't believe that I *wanted* Maxie to win, now do you?" Catwoman's voice rang with insincerity. "I sincerely wanted you to stop his vile operation. You don't think I let you go alone thinking that you couldn't handle them?"

"Your confidence in me is making me all teary-eyed, Catwoman," Robin said sarcastically as he quietly took out one of his bolas. Finally spotting the slim figure of the feline femme fatale, Robin whirled the heavy instrument and let fly. Catwoman heard the bolas high-pitched whir as they flew towards her.

To Robin's shock, Catwoman instantly counterattacked with a *second* whip. Where'd *that* come from, Robin thought surprised! Catwoman stood slowly and looked at the Boy Wonder menacingly.

"That's it, little bird," she said, cracking her long whip expertly. "The kid gloves are off!" To demonstrate her deadly accuracy, Catwoman's whip lashed out at one of gem displays sitting in the middle of the floor. At first it looked like nothing had happened. Catwoman walked calmly up to it, and with her eyes on Robin, gently nudged the glass display case with her hand. The case broke neatly into two halves.

"Uh-oh. Time for Plan B," Robin muttered. He instantly shot out a jump line and barely managed to escape the Catwoman's deadly whip.

"Listen, Catwoman," Robin urged, once he'd landed safely. "The GCPD is probably on its way by now. No way you knocking over all of these display cases didn't set off some kind of silent alarm." As if to prove his point, the distinct sounds of sirens could be heard fast approaching.

"Come on, Catwoman, give it up. You *can't escape!"

"Sorry, kid, but the word *can't* just isn't in my vocabulary!" With that Catwoman cracked her whip again, this time setting off the halon fire extinguishers. Robin quickly donned his re-breather. The halon gas was deadly if inhaled. It worked by cutting off all the oxygen in a room in order to extinguish the flames. Because he was still wearing his Starlite goggles, Robin's eyes were protected against the gas; however, he had to exit the museum quickly.

Needless to say, Robin lost Catwoman in the misty fog of the rapidly spreading gas cloud. Looking up, Robin saw that the rappelling rope that Catwoman lowered from the skylight was still hanging from the rooftop opening. Taking a running leap, Robin grabbed the rope and quickly began climbing up.

The caustic gas was beginning to seep inside his goggles' seams, causing his eyes to water. Rapidly blinking against the growing irritation, Robin climbed faster. As he neared the opening, Robin thought he saw a shadow flitting across opening. Robin saw a hand reach inside, and to his dismay, five razor-sharp retractable claws suddenly appeared.

"You call yourself, Robin," Catwoman's mocking laugh rang out. "Then fly, little bird, fly!" Catwoman's razor claws sliced through the heavy nylon rope, clipping Robin's wings.

"Plan C--!" Robin yelped, feeling himself falling awkwardly. Keeping his head, he coolly took out his grappling gun and fired off a jump line. Catwoman gave a distinctive angry yowl and disappeared from the open skylight. Robin climbed through and, not taking time to get his bearings, took off after her. He had a feeling he knew where she was heading.

As he took to the Gotham skyline, Robin went over in his head the information he'd managed to dig up over the week on Selina Kyle. Born thirty years ago, Selina grew up with an abusive mother and an alcoholic father. Not understanding the pain of her childhood, the little girl believed that the abuse she received at the hands of her mother was deserved.

"If I could only be a good little girl," Selina later told Child Welfare Services. Because she received only pain at the hands of her mother, Selina naturally turned for affection to her alcoholic father.

According to the CWS sealed files, Selina learned to cope with her family situation. From her mother she learned to not give her heart without expecting pain in return. And from her father she learned a sleight-of-hand skill that became necessary for putting food on the table. During her father's sporadic, sober periods, Selina also learned about the Cat, and about what he called 'the conspiracy of silence' in Gotham City.

Robin discovered that 'the Cat' survived his fall into the Gotham River, but lost his night's haul in the process. Furthermore, his injuries precluded him from ever pulling any other jobs. He'd married Selina's mother the year before, and due in part to his early success as a burglar, they'd been happy.

Then he took his crippling spill into the Gotham River, and Serena grew embittered over his failure and the loss of thousands of dollars, money that the Kyles could use.

Disgusted by him, Serena refused any further intimate contact with her husband. Then one night, in a drunken rage, he forced himself on her, and Selina was the result. Serena hated her own child from the day of her daughter's conception, and made the emerald-eyed, dark-haired girl's life miserable from the day she was born.

The social worker assigned to the Kyle family noted that during his irregular periods of sobriety, Selina's father saw to the baby's care, feeding her and changing her. But usually, the baby was forced to remain in the same filthy diapers, sometimes for several days.

Child Welfare Services removed Selina from the Kyle household on at least five separate occasions, but in each case, she was returned after only a few days with warnings against continued neglect.

Thankfully for Selina, Serena died when the little girl was only seven, a victim of Crime Alley. Just a few years before, the murder of a wealthy couple had taken place in almost the same spot. Selina's father found the situation almost ironic.

According to caseworkers, Selina revealed that her father would sometimes talk about her mother's death, almost as if it were a joke. "Imagine," he'd say to Selina, "the Waynes were killed in almost the same spot as your mother. Ain't life funny?"

Curious about her father's callous statement, Selina asked him about it. The caseworker files stated that Mr. Kyle suffered from paranoid delusions, believing that he was the victim of a vast conspiracy perpetrated by some of Gotham City's leading citizens and the GCPD.

Apparently, Selina's father confided in her about the Cat and the final failed heist. The former cat burglar believed Officer Gordon and possibly the Waynes lied about the money. The GCPD reported the loot as lost along with The Cat. Neither was ever recovered.

"A quarter of a mil, kitten," her father would brood. "They kept it and then lied about it. And your old man never got to spend one red cent." At this point, her father would invariably start weeping. "Not one red cent, kitten."

So Selina Kyle learned the rudiments of being a pickpocket and burglary from her father. The almost superhuman skill she'd achieved came from her own desire for revenge against those she believed had wronged her father.

Robin shook his head, sadly. "I guess she never really cared for Bruce, after all."

"That's not exactly true, Boy Wonder," she replied from the shadows. They were standing in the skeletal remains of the Katmandu Towers. The building was due for demolition tomorrow morning at dawn. Robin swallowed, unsure of her. Selina *was* a criminal, but she wasn't really evil. And she *had* tipped him off about Maxie's black market operation.

"The Wayne family kept that money and divided it with Gordon. Easy money...untraceable. After all, it had been stolen by a known cat burglar who'd taken it with him to his death. Who'd ever suspect?"

"That's crazy, Selina," Robin protested. "The Waynes were incredibly wealthy already. Their net worth was in the millions. Doctor Wayne developed several new surgical procedures that were destined to save countless lives. But his pioneering procedures needed new, improved instrumentation. Doctor Wayne was forced to develop these new instruments that have since become standard surgical equipment. Don't you see...he *owned* the patents on these new surgical tools." Robin felt like he was pleading.

"That, plus some wise investments made him a wealthy man. But first and foremost, Doctor Wayne was interested in helping others, not in making money. That's why he and his wife started the Wayne Foundation. That night, your father stole the donations from a charity fundraiser. That money was supposed to go to the Gotham City Children's hospital, but it disappeared along with your father. The Waynes couldn't let the sick children of Gotham down, so they took a quarter of a million of their *own* money and donated it to the hospital."

"And how do *you* know all this, Boy Wonder? Or should I say, Dick Grayson? Did your guardian tell you all this? You admitted yourself that you think the man walks on water...'the greatest guy in the world' is how I believed you described him."

"Okay," Robin admitted. He deliberately removed his mask. "No more lies. Yeah, I'm Dick Grayson. But if I'm Dick, then just who do you think is Batman? Do you think for a minute that a man who's devoted himself all of these years to helping others by bringing criminals to justice would lie about his parents?" Robin paused.

"*Your* father was an admitted criminal, Selina. Who would *you* believe if you were in my shoes?"

"*NO*!!!" Catwoman cried out in hot denial. "They *lied*! *They* took the money, and tried to hide the fact by trying to kill my father." Without warning, Catwoman lashed out with her whip. Caught off guard, Robin was unable to dodge its stinging tip in time. The whip curled around Robin's neck, and he felt it suddenly yank him off his feet.

Robin went flying into open space, dangling helplessly by the neck from Catwoman's whip. Desperately grabbing the whip with both hands, Robin managed to raise his body high enough to relieve the choking tension around his neck. Reaching up, Robin angrily removed the offending coils.

"Are you crazy?!" Robin called up. "You've never *killed* anybody, Selina. Are you *trying* to get Batman to come after you?" As he talked, Robin swung sideways until he was able to reach one of the building's beams. Sitting down for a second to catch his breath, Robin massaged his neck. *That* stung. He noticed blood on his gauntlets. His own.

Abruptly, a lithe figure dropped down next to him. Robin quickly back flipped and assumed a defensive posture.

"Take it easy, Dick," Selina said quietly. "I'm not looking for a fight." Dick looked at her suspiciously. "I *promise*," she said. "Look, I'm even putting the whip away."

With long-practiced ease, she expertly coiled it around her left arm. Dick nodded reluctantly. Selina reached her hand out to his chin.

"Here let me look at that." She gently moved his head back and forth, examining the ugly red welts that were quickly forming around his neck. There was blood seeping from several cuts.

"Hmmmmm. Looks ugly. Here, hold on." Selina reached into her carryall and took out a palm-sized aerosol spray can. She gently sprayed the cooling mist on the boy's neck, quickly bringing temporary relief.

"Thanks," Dick said sincerely.

"Don't mention it," she said, putting the can away again. "Look, Dick, you gave me a lot to think about...again!" They smiled as they both recalled their earlier dinner conversation. "What if I promised to leave Gotham? Would that square things between us?"

"Selina, you know I can't let you go. You robbed thousands of dollars in jewels and cash from Gotham's citizens. You also broke into the gemology museum and caused several thousands of dollars worth of damage! As much as I'd like to, it's my duty to see that you're brought in."

Selina smiled tenderly. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"I know, little Robin, but I had to ask." Before Robin could react, he felt a fine, cold mist being sprayed across his face.

"No!" Dick groaned. "Not againnn..."

The warning klaxons woke him up! Voices were coming over loudspeakers.

"We repeat...if anyone is inside the condemned premises of the Katmandu Tower, you must vacate now! This building is due for demolition in five minutes and counting. Clear the building. We repeat, this building is about to be destroyed in...four minutes, thirty seconds...!"

Robin sat up, dazed. He was on the roof of the Katmandu Tower. He could see that the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. The Tower was supposed to be demolished at dawn, he recalled confused. He had to get away.

Robin attempted to regain his feet, but promptly fell back on his knees. Catwoman must've sprayed him with an exceptionally powerful sleeping agent. His head was full of cobwebs, and he was seeing double. Robin blinked his eyes to clear his blurred vision.

The warnings sounded again..."Two minutes, fifteen seconds..." Robin had to get to safety. He started crawling to the edge of the building, seemingly an inch at a time. The rooftop wavered in front of him. His hands and arms seemed unnaturally elongated. He heard a loud thumping in his ears. His heartbeat, Robin realized.

As he moved forward, Robin's vision began dancing crazily. He started seeing whirling bright colors as the sun's early rays began catching and reflecting off the rooftop. What was that, he wondered? Lovely hues the colors of the rainbow, a sunburst on the decaying old tower.

Clearing his vision, Robin stared at the mirage. "It can't be," he whispered, blinking rapidly. Forcing himself to crawl faster, Robin came up on the mirage. It was still there. He reached out and touched it. It was real! A weather- beaten black leather bag was wedged in tightly between two air conditioner intake pipes.

The bright, diffused colors that Robin's blurred vision had seen were the jewels that 'the Cat' stole on that night so long ago. Some had spilled out from a tear near the bottom. Robin quickly looked inside the bag, and not surprisingly found a large amount of cash.

"I don't believe this," he whispered, awed. "I just don't believe this." The stolen money and jewels must've been waiting, jammed in the same place all these years.

"You have forty-five seconds...!" The loudspeakers called out.

The warnings continued, but Robin had long since shot out a jump line and flown to safety. Within seconds, Gotham City rocked with the carefully controlled implosions that brought down the decayed Katmandu Towers. As Robin turned to go, he caught sight of another figure in the early morning sun, watching the demolition of a piece of Gotham history.

Perhaps she'd be able to sleep a little more peacefully tonight...

Epilogue

Robin crept through the dark, dank tunnels that comprised the labyrinthine underground complex of the Gotham City sewer system. Batman was thankfully due back on the following night. While Robin held his end all week, he was really looking forward to his senior partner's return.

"This solo stuff isn't all it's cracked up to be," he muttered. Robin grimaced as a rat scampered over his foot. "Tell me that didn't just happen," he groaned. A week of working solo had done much to erase the slightest veneer of romantic adventure from it.

At the moment, Robin was on the trail of a new and dangerous villain who called himself 'Killer Croc.' So far the eyewitness accounts intimated that the name wasn't an exaggeration.

Surrounded by dripping sewage, and a smell that rivaled the cargo hold on the _Tiger Lily_, Robin reflected on his performance of the previous week. Except for the fact that Catwoman got away (and truth be told, he wasn't sorry she did), Robin felt a well-deserved pride.

Even Commissioner Gordon thanked him for a job well done. "Yeah, then he chewed me out for hanging Maxie over the tiger cage." Gordon warned him that if he ever pulled another stunt like that, Robin would be brought up on charges for use of excessive force.

As for Alfred...First, for breaking curfew during a school night, and not returning home before dawn, the loyal assistant and surrogate grandfather chewed Dick out as only Alfred could with his highly polished turn of phrase.

Then noticing that his young charge was suffering from several superficial cuts and welts to the neck and that he was also slightly disoriented from the sleeping agent, Alfred instantly marched Dick up to bed amidst his weak protests. Robin gave a rueful shake of his head. Only Alfred could reduce a superhero to stammering defensiveness.

As Robin walked through the endless stream of foul-running water, he grinned.

"It looks like sixteen isn't gonna be such a bad year after all--" At that moment, Robin was startled by the sudden appearance immediately in front of him of a giant, scaly, man-shaped creature. As the refugee from a B-horror movie leaped out of the water, the nightmarish monster bellowed his anger in a long, blood-curdling roar.

"Who dares disturb Killer Croc?"

Robin gulped, frozen in place. As Killer Croc became aware of his visitor, he grinned, smacking his lips.

"Ah...looks like a tasty morsel," he said, reaching quickly for his unexpected snack. The monster moved with the darting swiftness of an attacking cobra.

Croc's threatening move was what Robin needed to snap him out of his shock. He immediately leaped sideways, just escaping Killer Croc's deadly reach. Landing in a crouch, Robin took out his insta-net and quickly shot out the lightweight, Nomex triple-weave wire mesh. In a flash, it looped itself around the mutant man-creature.

Stepping back, Robin inhaled a deep sigh of relief, and immediately choked on the foul smell. Feeling his hands shaking, Robin made a show of nonchalantly dusting them off. Killer Croc howled, enraged by his bonds. He thrashed about in the water in a wild frenzy, his bellows reaching new volumes. Robin watched mesmerized. Croc's wild gyrations reminded Robin a bit too much of the man- creature's reptilian namesake, the crocodiles.

Robin decided that the wire mesh net needed reinforcing. He took out a Batline and began slowly walking towards the dangerous prisoner. Robin didn't take two steps before Killer Croc managed to break his bonds.

"You're mine, little morsel!" Killer Croc screamed. "When I finish with you, there won't even be any bones left!" The deadly mutant began advancing on the Boy Wonder.

Okay, Grayson, another fine mess you've gotten yourself into. Now what?

Narrowing his eyes with a new determination, Robin reached for his utility belt.

"Time for Plan B!" he said with a feral grin.

The End

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