catch me if you [ can ], Batman

[Selina Kyle]

deleted by T.

[Bruce Wayne]

How strong of a hold can a city have on a man? What sort of a connection did there need to be in order for a man to return, time after time, to a city that did not love him? Perhaps the connection was forged during the formative years, when the man was but a boy and the city rapidly developing into a place without resources, hope, or honor. It took, one would assume, extreme circumstances to build this bond between Batman and Gotham. There was no other way to explain this one undeniable fact: no matter what was happening in the world, no matter how far he traveled, no matter what condition he was in, Bruce Wayne and the Batman would always call Gotham City home.

And why? There was nothing special about Gotham. It was big. It was loud. It was dirty. It was just like any other sprawling city in the northern hemisphere. Once he hit the big time and had joined the Justice League, Bruce could have moved anywhere. He could have lived up in space if he really wanted. If Alfred agreed, they could have moved to a mansion in sunny, perfect Malibu, far away from the bleak streets of their hometown. Yet, he stayed. No one can ever say for sure why, but so many theories have been tossed around. Bruce lost his parents, and so replaced that emptiness with love for the city the revered and cared for. Or, Bruce never had any children of his own, and so chose to defend and protect a city of nameless faces instead, a population clearly in need of a father's guiding hand. Maybe, it's more simple than that. Maybe it's not. The only one who would truly no the answer would be Bruce, and even he was not completely sure why he kept coming back for more abuse. He supposed it was the stability, that in an unpredictable life, it was reassuring to know where your home was and who would be there to greet you at the door when you finally came back.

Bruce knew that Gotham would never survive without him. He had, at this point, so ingrained the figure of Batman as the city's protector that, if word were to get out that the man in the tricked out kevlar suit was gone for good, it would immediately be under seige. When it came down to it, Gotham was probably beyond repair. Batman continued to seal up the cracks, but something - someone - would always slip through, unnoticed at first, but eventually causing enough of a leak to catch the attention of one of Gotham's many defenders. There would never be a permanent fix, but Batman and his comrades would always be there to patch up what they could.

One of those who kept slipping through the cracks (probably because she was so stealthy and slim), was Gotham's own Catwoman. Their working relationship was nothing personal. She robbed, he tried to catch her and return the goods. He wasn't specifically targeting her, and she wasn't stealing just to get on his nerves. It just... came with the job. She chose to pilfer and purloin, and he had pledged to stop people like her. And so, these many years, their interactions had been interesting, to say the least. At least she isn't one of the psychotic ones, Batman thought, perched on the rooftop of 450 West St., a considerably tall apartment building, but by no means the tallest in all the city. Batman was never the target of Catwoman's escapades. She did her own thing, and he often tagged along to put a stop to it.

He hadn't intended to stalk her tonight. Coincidentally, he had been staking out Joshua McAllister's house. Bruce the Businessman had caught wind of a irresponsible deal that had left too many in Gotham jobless. And so Bruce the Protector had to figure out a way to expose McAllister's corruption. The socailly responsible wealthy were tolerated by Batman. Those without regard for his people, however, were not so lucky.

The night thus far had been painfully boring. That is, until Catwoman showed up. He wasn't even going to bother to stop her tonight. In fact, he was going to just let her walk away undisturbed, mostly because he had too much on his mind to banter or spar with her. Fate, on the other hand, had other plans. Moments after she exited the house, jewels in pocket, she was up on his roof. He watched her as she swung across the way, landed on a firescape, and then made her way to the top of the building. He doubted that she had known he was here. Still, when she discovered she was not alone, she would either be very mad, or gleeful at the thought of bothering the Bat. He could only sigh and note that, at the very least, the night would not be totally boring. Perhaps he would question her about the Registration nonsense, get a feel for her thoughts on the matter. He had a feeling she would be against it.

Batman was set up in a shadow, of course, outside of the realm of the street lamps. He didn't know for sure, but it was likely she hadn't seem him yet. Might as well get the first word in, make her jump a little. "I see you've been busy," he remarked, a slight smirk playing on his lips, the only visible piece of his face. His voice was also less gruff than the one he used most of the time with criminals. Would she notice?

[Selina Kyle]

deleted by T.