9794/Cat meets Kitten

Cat meets Kitten
Date of Scene:	24 January 2022
Location:	Burnley - Bleake Island
Synopsis:	In her temporary(?) Bat guise, Selina makes contact with Helena Wayne. Selina comes away suspicious, but ultimately unaware of her own strange connection with the Huntress.
Cast of Characters:	Helena Wayne, Selina Kyle

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Helena Wayne has posed:
Another evening in Gotham, means another street fight for Huntress. To be fair, it's more of an ambush than an actual fight. She's been logging various gang activity in this part of the city, now that she's 'claimed' the Amusement Mile as her own. And this particular gang is one of her regulars.

It's a bit of a mess. Three of them never stood a chance in her initial rush; two are unconscious from where she landed on them and the third has his wrist stapled to a wall with a crossbow bolt. The other three went down the hard way, and Huntress is zip-tying wrists together while checking for ID's and possible evidence.

Selina Kyle has posed:
There are certain sights you come to expect when you're involved in this aspect of Gotham.

An alleyway full of battered thugs is one!

Seeing the distinct shadow of the Bat rise up on the space in front of you is another. Sooner or later.

That very shadow seems to grow from behind Helena, and stretch out in front of her. But the source of that shadow - once seen directly, standing in front of a bright moon on the edge of the nearby rooftop - cuts a rather different figure, and speaks with a very different voice. Both... rather feminine.

"*Well* now...!" the figure says while Helena's back is still turned, sounding rather like a cat who's spotted a mouse. "I'm pretty sure there's a whole script for *this...*" Selina Kyle says, standing with her arms folded, clad in a costume nearly identical to Batman's, but clearly fitted for her different figure. She tilts her head and smirks a little as she finishes, "... but I'm not sure I'm the Bat for that job."

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena recognizes that shadow all to well, of course. She grew up with it, after all. Spotting the ears first, the rest of the figure is also familiar. And the voice seals the deal.

Honestly, she's been both looking forward to this moment and dreading it all the same. I mean, how do you really start off the conversation?

The figure in black and purple rises slowly before she turns to take a look. Even backlit as she is, Huntress recognizes the masked figure as well as the emblem.

Purple lips curl into a wry smile. "Well you're definitely not -Him-, that's for sure." she begins. Yes, always lead with sarcasm. And add a twist. "Shouldn't you be wearing something more, oh, feline?"

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina gives a lazy sort of shrug and replies "You don't know that~. The stories could be all wrong as far as you know..." Selina gives a small but slightly worrying grin, "... and I could be ten times as scary."

That smile disappears, however, when Helena brings up 'feline' attire. For all Selina knows at the moment, Helena could be a brand new figure in Gotham - one of dozens who've misguidedly donned a costume and tried to crowbar themselves into the crusade - and she doesn't know whether she's met the real Batman. But that comment brings Selina a different concern.

Selina's cape flares open with a snap as she drops from the rooftop and soars down to ground level, and it shoots almost staight upward as she hits pavement, only to fall all around her, shrouding her body.

Selina lands with her side turned to Helena, and then slowly turns her head to look at the younger heroine as she asks "... What makes you say that?" with an edge of ice in her voice.

It's not the 'angry mom' voice. It's the 'mom's been pissed off by a criminal' voice, which is subtly but worryingly different.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Huntress quietly congratulates herself on the twist. Got to play this very carefully, now. As the Cat-Bat snaps out the wings to glide down and make her landing, Huntress simply watches. And she waits for the right opportunity.

Cat-Bat is standing in profile to her, so Huntress does a smooth walk-over to adjust their relative positions. It's smooth and effortless, not -quite- as effortless as Catwoman would make it, but the young woman's definitely done this before. With the cape, no less.

The smile remains, joined by a little head-tilt now. "It's the way you move. You can tell a lot about a person by how they move, how they fight, even by how they talk." Pause. "I'm Huntress."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina quietly watches Helena move. Her brow lowers, and her mouth forms a straight line as she keeps her gaze on Helena; struck when Helena takes a similar stance to what Selina had done just recently. Something about this makes her distinctly uncomfortable.

"... I'm Batman." She says very flatly. "Do I have another stalker? Because we generally don't need that many reasons to run new costumes out of town."

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena manages to suppress the giggle-snort at the other's introduction, her smile broadening a little. Okay, we'll roll with it, if that's how she wants to play it.

"Listen, I've already met at least two Batgirls, Batwoman, Flamebird, another Huntress and I talked with Oracle." She counts on her fingers as she lists them off. "Oh, I almost forgot Red Robin. Near as I can tell, the roster is getting kind of full."

She looks over the obviously-female Batman once more. "Is there any way I can get a playbook or something? Maybe even an opera program?"

Selina Kyle has posed:
The eyelets of Selina's mask narrow, the same as her actual eyes do behind the mask. "So a really well-engrained stalker." She determines, lifting her hands with a shrug that opens her cape, as she walks past Huntress. "If there's a pamphlet, I haven't read it." she says, which sounds very Mom. "And if one hasn't been presented to you yet, I'm not gonna dig one up for you." she adds, which... doesn't really. Selina was never a perfect person, or a perfect mother in pretty much any reality, but she'd never spoken to Helena with such a breezy lack of attachment, but then, Selina doesn't know this girl from Adam.

Plus being spoken to the same way Selina speaks to most other people is surprisingly frustrating from this side of the conversation.

There's lessons to be learned there, but Selina doesn't have an ear for them right now.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena's composure holds, while inwardly laughing uncontrollably. Yes, definitely like mom... and also NOT like mom. No, this certainly isn't the woman who raised her. THAT woman was trying to do the right thing, to teach her daughter how to fly while simultaneously trying to protect her from falling.

As Cat-Bat walks, no *saunters* past, Helena replies. "Good. Then you -must- be the real thing, because no one else I've asked cared to provide one either." Everyone else also questioned her motives, which is another plus on Selina's ledger.

"I'm fairly new to Gotham and I've been working this part of town." Don't ask, just mark your territory and protect it. Another mom-thing. "If that's a problem, I'd be happy to settle it the old-fashioned way." Here, Huntress gestures around to the unconscious gangers.

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina gives a long sigh that sounds oddly pleased, tilting her head backward and rather self-indulgently saying aloud: "Solid evidence that everyone's still just winging it~" with little regard to any fecade that she's the original Bat. Selina Kyle has never revered anyone a day in her life; so that, at least, is consistent with the woman who raised Helena. It's hard to say how much of her is like this because she hasn't been hit with motherhood, and much of it is that she's just... different.

Selina's shoulders shake with a sharp "Ha!" and another soft sigh as she lowers her head, saying "Ooooooh, honey..." before turning her head to look back at Helena over her shoulder, and finishing, somewhat more coldly, but with no less of a smile: "... you don't want that."

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena doesn't settle into a fighting stance, however. Instead, when Selina turns to look back she finds Huntress just shaking her head slowly. "Seriously? You think I want to fight? 'the hell is wrong with you people, anyway?"

She already did the mental math on this one. Dad taught her to fight, the same as mom taught her acrobatics and how to escape. In a straight fight she's pretty sure she could take this woman, but she's also sure it wouldn't be a staight fight.

And that's also not on her agenda.

"What I -meant- was... there's a nice Indian take-out place around the corner. How about we split an order of spicy chicken curry?" Shifting her stance, Helena puts both hands on her hips in a very mom-pose. "My treat, since I'm the tourist."

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina shrugs her shoulders and looks away once more, saying "You brought it up." in a much more normal voice. She has no idea what to make of this kid.

The 'Indian take-out' line prompts an uncomfortable silence. Many a long night has ended with piles of Indian food in both timelines. That makes twice on one occassion that this person as known or insinuated way too much about her without Selina having ever met her.

"... I'm not dressed for the occasion." She answers finally, without turning around. "Just keep your nose clean."

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena is a pretty good judge of body language, and mentally checks that box after the uncomfortable silence. She got her answers, at the price of making a particular Catwoman more than a little uncomfortable. On the plus side, she also didn't let the cat out of the bag (keeping with the metaphor).

"Well if you change your mind or just want to talk, I cover as far as the old amusement park." And with that, she lets Selina keep her back turned or even just walk away.

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina, oblivious to Helena's careful observation, shakes her head. "Kids." She says, fishing her grapple gun from where it's clipped onto her utility belt. "Always starting out in Clown territory." With that she fires a line upward into the nearest building, and lets it lift her away with a snap of her cape flapping behind her.