Standard Disclaimer

AN: I have to say thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story and kept encouraging me to write. It really motivated me to get of my butt (or rather, get back on my butt) and start typing. I'll do a reviews section at the end. Also, seems to have outlawed asterisks, so I have to use bars. Formatting nightmare. Oh well, here it is, chapter 4.

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Chapter 4: Cat's Cradle

Kissing Selina Kyle wasn't a new experience for him. He'd done it numerous times, both as Bruce Wayne and Batman. His first impulse, as it always was with her, was to kiss back. But he never worked on impulses. And he hated being surprised.

He grabbed her arms to pull her away from him. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who'd had this idea.

Catwoman let out a small gasp as she was yanked backwards and up. Batman tilted his head back to see Selina suspended in mid-air by the same lasso that had subdued Cheetah. Diana was hovering a few feet above, gripping the golden ends, a frown etched onto her mouth. Damn it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Selina yelled up to her captor

"I won't stand by while my teammate is being attacked."

"Attacked?" Selina laughed as she grabbed the lasso above her head. "You really are from an island with no men." She pulled hard on the rope.

Diana held firm. "You can struggle, but it'll do you no good. This lasso was forged from the gold of Olympus and cannot be broken."

"Oh, I'm not trying to break it," Catwoman said, extending her petite legs forward, backward and then forward again. The pensile rope moved back and forth with her actions, providing her with the momentum she needed to swing upward. She pointed her toes, and before Diana could react, she delivered a kick to her midsection. The force of the impact caused Wonder Woman to drop the ends she was holding.

With the lasso still attached around her waist, Catwoman curled herself into a small ball, preparing to flip and then gracefully land on the ground. A cat always landed on its feet. Before she was able to execute her maneuver, however, the lasso constricted against her stomach, and she felt her torso jerk upwards again. Casting a glance behind her, she saw Wonder Woman once again holding the end of the rope.

"You recover fast," Selina told her, "but don't worry, I've got plenty more where that came fro--"

"Enough!" Both women looked away from each other and back to the man they'd forgotten on the ground. His face was hard, and his mouth a thin line. "Diana, put her down."

Wonder Woman's mouth flew open, while Selina folded her arms and smirked. "You heard the man, Diana. Down I go."

Diana ignored her. "But she's a common criminal!"

"Common?" Selina uncrossed her arms and bared her razor sharp fingernails. "I ought to tear a hole in your--"

"I said enough," Batman growled again. "Diana, let her go. She not here to fight." He gave Selina a pointed look, warning her against trying anything.

Diana glared at him, looking like she was going to argue. Instead, she slackened her hold, and let the lasso drop Selina to the ground. Catwoman landed lightly, yanking the rope from around her body and tossing it back up to Diana. The Amazon caught it and refastened it to her waist as she landed behind Selina.

"Why are you here, Selina?"

"Can't a girl just drop in to say hello?" She leaned casually against the Batmobile.

He wondered how she'd been able to get into the vehicle again. He'd increased its security features the last time she'd done so, but apparently not enough. Selina always found a way to breach his defenses; he fluctuated between liking and hating her for that. "No."

She frowned at him. "Always the pessimist." One side of her mouth slowly lifted. "That's what I love about you. It keeps me honest."

"How wonderful for you." Diana placed her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyebrows.

Catwoman glared at Diana, and then back at Batman. "Where'd you pick her up?" She asked, jerking a thumb in Wonder Woman's direction. "Ms. America swimsuit cont--?"

"Why are you here?" Batman interrupted. Allowing Diana to be further taunted would not be a good idea.

Selina pushed her hips off the Batmobile first, cocking her head to the side. "I already told you." Pulling the rest of her body off the car, she stepped lightly towards Batman, gently leaning against him once at his side. She put her left arm around his neck, and gently traced the bat on his chest with her right. "It's our anniversary. Seven years ago today, was the first time we met."

Batman's mouth stayed in a firm line. "You were trying to steal something, and I was trying to stop you."

"See, you do remember," she purred. "I guess it was burned into your mind too. We always were quite the pair, weren't we? Two lovers, trapped on opposite sides of the law, both fighting for justice. It's quite poetic, don't you think?" She tilted her head, looking back at Diana with a slight smile on her face.

Diana hands remained on her hips, and she ignored Catwoman's grin. "We should take her to the police," she told Batman forcefully.

"No."

"No?" Both women asked simultaneously. Catman's surprise melted into a smile, Diana's into a frown.

"She hasn't done anything wrong."

Diana met the hard slits in his cowl. "Yet."

"She won't do anything wrong."

"You can be so sure about that?"

"Yes."

His tone was so confident, so final, that Diana could think of little to say in rebuttal. It made her blood boil. "Fine." She uncrossed her arms and fisted them at her side. "I should go. You seem to have everything under control here." She turned sharply on the heel of her boot, ready to life herself off the ground.

"Diana." She turned to look at him from her position three feet off the ground. He didn't speak again, and if she hadn't known any better, show would have thought he was unsure of what else to say.

Finally, he nodded to her. She wasn't sure what to make of this gesture, but she found herself slowly nodding back. Her early anger dissipated as she looked at him for reasons she wasn't completely sure of. "I'll keep my comm open. Contact me if you need anything." She took one last look at Catwoman, who had unwrapped herself from Batman and was now standing on her own. She couldn't help the small frown that tugged at her lips.

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Catwoman watched the retreating back of the Amazon with slightly raised eyebrows. Through the corner of her eye she could tell that Batman was doing the same. Well, this was certainly a new development.

She turned her body to face him, hands placed gently at her hips. "She doesn't really seem your type." Her voice didn't sound as indifferent as she hoped it would.

He didn't answer her, but she hadn't really expected him to. That was the dichotomy of their relationship. They were close, but not ever personal.

"Selina." His voice was pointed. This was a question and warning rolled into one.

She raised her hands in mock capitulation. "Hey, don't worry. I'll be on my best behavior." She crossed her pinky over her heart. "I promise, nothing funny."

He looked at her for a second, and then nodded.

"I have information...sort of."

"Sort of."

"It's nothing concrete, but I thought you should know about it. Think of it as an anniversary present."

He nodded again, before glancing quickly at the alley they still stood in. "Not here. Let's go."

She felt the fabric of his cape brush against her body as he moved quickly towards the sleek car behind them. The touch was gentle, subtle, just like it always had been. The contact made her body tingle, and she closed her eyes slightly at the pleasant feeling.

"Get in." His gruff order forced her back into reality. He was already seated in the driver's seat, and was watching her, waiting for her to sit too.

She smirked and lightly lifted herself over the passenger side door and into the black leather chair. "I like this, is it new?" she asked, patting the upholstery.

He closed the over-hatch and gunned the accelerator.

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"There's been a lot of talk recently. Underground. " She had her legs curled under her so that she could face him as she spoke. Her head rested against her gloved palm.

"About?"

"Big jobs. People are being hired out. A lot of money is being put down, apparently."

"What are these jobs? Burglaries? Assassinations?"

She shrugged. "I wish I knew, but for some reason I'm being kept out of the loop. I've got a gut feeling though…they're not out for lives. It's a material thing."

The slits in his cowl narrowed, and she could practically hear the gears in his head turning.

"Why would they try to keep this from you?"

"I couldn't really figure it out at first either. I'm not much of a freelancer, so I wasn't too worried. But then it became obvious that they were purposely trying to prevent information from reaching me. And after thinking about it, there was only one good reason I could come up with."

"Me," he concluded, filling the last piece in for her.

She nodded. "Involving me would be a direct link to Batman." She sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "Having your personal attachments smeared across Gotham's crime district can be bad for business. Especially if the attachment is you." She rolled her neck to look at him. His face was forward, unresponsive. "Not that I'm complaining," she amended, even though she'd failed to get a rise out of him, again. Picking at the fabric of her jumpsuit, she found herself wishing for their relationship to be what it used to be. He used to enjoy playing the game. Now...she couldn't really tell if he was still playing or not.

"That's what's got you so interested, isn't it? A crime spree you can't be a part of."

His sudden speech startled her. She pushed herself straighter in the chair, feeling more than a little defensive. "Hey, I'm good at what I do. And I do feel like my toes are being stepped on here."

"You never used to care about being a hired gun, Selina. You used to have a cause." He's voice was stiff and factual, but he might as well have been scolding her like a little girl.

"You have no right to judge me. Just save those morals you like to dish out for Robin or Nightwing. I don't need them. I have my own reasons for doing what I do. So don't talk to me like I've sold out, because you don't even know me." Her words had become more heated than she'd intended, but she hadn't been able to help herself. He just had a way of pushing her as of late. She hated that this is what they'd become.

He was quiet for a long time, and she though that that would be the end of the conversation. But his deep voice cut through the silence. "You're right," he confirmed with quiet intensity, "These days, I don't know you." And before she had time to process what he said, he changed the subject. "I'll check my sources, see if they've got anything."

She shook her head, slightly stunned. "Somebody's going through an awful lot of trouble to keep the details quiet. I don't think you're going to have much luck." Her voice was as low as his.

For the first time during the ride, he turned and looked at her. "You have a plan." It wasn't a question.

She smiled hesitantly, extending the proverbial olive branch. "More like a lead. I think I know two people who are involved. Maybe we should go pay them a visit?"

"I think that's a good idea."

"Just like old times, huh?" She smiled at him again, trying to push the tension in the car away. Trying to make things normal between them again, like they used to be. "Head towards the south end. Brightmeyer Avenue, I think."

He frowned, and she knew that he was making the connection. "The old greenhouse."

"Wonder what the girls could be up to in there."

He tightened his grip on his steering yoke.

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To Be Continued in "Harley and Ivy, Part 1"

AN2: You know, I just cannot apologize enough to everyone who's been reading this story. I just can't. I've been slacking, and that's why there was no update for a million years. But I finally sat down and got this chapter out. Now don't yell at Selina for chasing Diana away, it had to be done for a little while. She's got to get her Bat time in too ;o). But the Amazon will be back, that's for sure. So tell me what you think!

Review Responses:

E.M. Noel: Haha, yeah, Bruce is one talented man…he can bag movie stars from the 50s! Lol. Thanks for reading!

DoubleL27: Yeah, Catwoman is fun to write. She can really get Brucey all flustered. But that's not to say that Diana's isn't equally talented in doing that. Poor guy! But I decided to flesh out the Bat/Cat relationship for a bit…they'd hit quite a bump in the road when the New Animated Series took off, but it was never really resolved.

Spiderbob: Thank you very much! Well, there was a TNAS episode in which CW had broken into the Batmobile to wait for Bats. I don't know how she managed that, but the woman has skill ;o).

Batman's Kawaii Sex-kitten, TallieCat, ZL2, Brutal2003, Angelic Temptress, enfant-terrible, bob, -, s3lina k1le, antisocial mint, sweety, phantasm, knight's shadow, jypsee, hermaria, and every one else who reviewed: Thanks for reading guys, I'm sorry it took so long to update.

LadyVader5: Well, I would love to see an all out fight between Cats and Wondy (I think there may have been a comic about that too). That would be great. But for the purposes of my story, I couldn't let them tussle too much. Neither they, nor Bats would have allowed it to go on for too long. But hopefully that mini-fight was enough ;o). It sure was fun to write.

Mars2916: I got hooked on JL because of Bats and Wondy. I loved their little game in "Maid of Honor." But as a TAS fan too, I can see the appeal of BM/CW. I think these two will always care about each other. That isn't always enough to make a relationship work though…and the series never gave us any real closure. How will everything play out in my story? Well, you'll have to wait and see ;o).

Miguel Dubón: I'm glad it made you smile. When I first started thinking about all of Batman's love interests in just the cartoon, I couldn't help but laugh. He's a pimp. But what if he ran into all those women at about the same time, while he was with another woman that he cared for? And thus this story was born. I hope you liked this chapter too, and sorry it took so long!

Ambrosia: Yikes…thanks for catching those mistakes. I must apologize for them. I try to weed out all the grammar/spelling errors, but I'm prone to brain flubs. Hopefully, I got all of them this time. And I'm glad you like the angle I'm going for…it's a lot of fun to write!

MadMaddie: Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad you liked it. The plotline was actually inspired by a post I made at JLUniverse. We were all recounting Batman's many women, and I thought it'd be hilarious if all his girls showed up one night, when he was out with his new girl. Arti told me to write it, and…I did. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!