Worried Starters

The Batman by Dan Mora

He has to pay! You don't have to pay with him.

ꪆ ⋆⁺₊ Zatanna's answer elicited a smirk from Selina's lips before she even finished talking. Pulling off her woolen cowl, the cat burglar slunk gracefully to one of the chairs in Zatanna's living room. She sunk down on it, ankles draped over the arm rest in a completely casual pose. There was no reason for her not to feel at home. The magician was an old friend of hers. They'd both worked a fancy, high end private party at the Iceberg Lounge one night (Selina never understood adults who hire magicians, but with Zatanna's curves and flowing locks, she could see how the male persuasion were swayed). They hit it off and had been friends since.

It was Zatanna's last comment that made Selina snort in amusement. "That loser? Definitely a Star City type," she agreed. "I may have had my eye on him since he first rolled into Gotham, but it wasn't until I heard what he had planned for you, honey, that I pulled the trigger. So to speak." Then she lifted a gloved hand to look at the giant rock that glittered on her finger. "Besides, he might have shit for brains when it comes to social cues, but he sure as hell has good taste in jewelry." She smiled, admiring the diamond, not bothered about whatever arm candy it was originally meant for.

As though coming out of a beautiful day dream, Selina's eyes focused on her friend across the room and she finally lowered her hand. "You won't have to worry about that blowhard anymore. I promise you that, sweetheart."

Response to @felin3fatal3 -> "The least I could do was rob him."

"You did that for me? Sounds like I owe you dinner."

Zatanna couldn't help but grin at the idea of Selina robbing the rich businessman that had tried to run her out of town. The businessman thought it would be a good idea to set up an entertainment area in the city - like a tourist attraction. Animal tamers, fire dancers, magicians. The whole shindig. In Gotham, the best way to attract attention was to chase out the competition that'd staked their claim on the clientele years ago.

The fact that Zatanna couldn't just use her magic to deal with the businessman had been frustrating. However, with Selina robbing the man of every cent he had, that meant the businessman would never even have a chance to try and be her competition for the stage.

"Unless you already planned to rob the guy from the get-go? Guess he was a great target, especially since the man has been flashing cash since he stepped into the city. It was obvious that businessman wasn't from around here."

「 becoming a thief: At the age of seven, Selina was taken to the Gotham orphanage where she lived for three and a half years. Once she was eleven, she ran away, opting to live on the streets instead of at the mercy of the cruel attendants at the orphanage. Life wasn't easier, but she felt free. This is where she picked up the skills as a pick pocket which made her useful to a group of transient teens. They took her in, providing her safety while she provided them money for food.

At the age of fourteen, she was lucky enough to land a job cleaning tables at a diner. Being underaged meant that she was paid under the table which resulted in her being paid far less than she should have. Money was still money, though, and Selina was glad to have the opportunity.

It was at this job that she encountered a wealthy older couple one night. They'd just finished seeing a show at the nearby theater and needed coffee before returning to their upscale end of Gotham. The woman held no qualms about expressing her opinions freely, which extended to Selina's appearance. "Disheveled", "Unsightly", and "A disgrace" were among the finger points. Rather than feel insulted, Selina was transfixed by the woman's coat. A vintage mink fur coat that oozed opulence and superiority.

Selina is absolutely pro animals and usually opts for faux fur, but something about the coat on that woman begged for Selina to liberate it and reclaim it. She was patient, giving the wealthy couple pleasant smiles and staying out of their way, but at the end of her shift, she collected their credit card information from their bill. With that, she was able to find their home address.

It was that night that she broke into their mansion and committed her first home robbery. The experience was exhilarating, giving Selina a high she never felt. There was an element of power given to her that was usually missing her life. She later pawned off most of the belongings, but kept that coat.

After that, she was addicted to the art of robbery. Most of the money she made went into paying for upgraded tools necessary for bigger jobs as she refined her skills.

To this day, she still owns the mink coat. It lives in the back of her closet, a reminder of the power that she once saw and claimed for herself. 」

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ꪆ ⋆⁺₊ Selina wasn't a world traveler, but she knew that there was nothing like the sight of Gotham at night. Imposing gothic architecture mixed with the cyber noir flair of neon lights set the city apart from any other in the world. Surfaces slick with rain provided reflections of the lights from every angle. If she could take her heart out of the equation, Selina could admit that the there was beauty between the cracks and shadows. Unfortunately for her, though, she always led with her heart, letting her emotions rule her actions. When it came to Gotham City, those emotions were less than positive. Sadness, anger, abandonment, resentment just to name a few.

Blüdhaven might be a short drive away, but it was the escape she needed to clear her head. The ability to live her life without any reminders of her scumbag of a dad, and the time to properly mourn Annika were invaluable assets that she wouldn't have been afforded in Gotham. There was a sense of normalcy that her life had been lacking.... until she turned on the news one evening and saw the reports of the Falcone estate up in flames and Sofia Gigante taken into custody. Again.

Selina had no plans to connect with her half sister, but even she had to applaud the "gas leak" that wiped out the Falcones. Able to read between the lines, she knew that Sofia had more to do with it than was reported. Though she had tried to wash her hands of her past, too many thoughts kept niggling at the cat burglar's mind. Annika was strangled... just like her mom was... just like she nearly was. There were too many coincidences between the murders they say "the hangman" committed verses what her father actually did. Unable to suppress her curiosity any longer, Selina packed a bag and took the two hour drive back to the source of her inner turmoil: Gotham City.

Seeking answers, she was able to break into the Commissioner's office that night to search for any documents on The Hangman's murders. With her backpack full of any hardcopy files she could find, Selina sat down at the computer to start working on getting into the local server. That should have everything on the cases that she'd need. Computer hacking wasn't exactly her forte, but she wasn't entirely helpless. As sharp nailed fingers flew over the keyboard, she suddenly froze when a shadow fell over the screen. The scent of leather hit her before any other clue, causing a small, wry smirk to play at her lips.

Turning in her chair, her eyes fell upon the unmistakeable form of the Batman. She kicked her feet up on the desk, looking entirely at home as she regarded him, listening to his version of a greeting. "I could say the same about you, baby," she practically purred. "Don't worry, I won't be long. Mama's just gotta finish up some work." She returned her attention of the computer, fighting to stifle any erroneous feelings that the sight of him stirred up.

@felin3fatal3 ♡'d for a penguin one liner.

❝ you don't seem surprised to see me. ❞

ꪆ ⋆⁺₊ Finding Zatanna alone on the rooftop wasn't a surprise to Selina. What took her aback was the state that she found her friend in. It looked as though the whole world weighed on the magician's shoulders and it pained her heart to witness it. She only hoped that the situation could be remedied as easily as beating some punk to kingdom come.

Hearing the words 'justice league' dashed any of Selina's hope of helping. She sighed and moved to sit next to Zatanna, her legs dangling off the edge of the building as she leaned back on her palms. "You know I've never been their biggest fan. A bunch of goody two-shoes, if you ask me," she said with a smirk. Then she pulled off her knit cap in a show of sympathy. "But I thought you loved being one of them. What happened, Zee?"

Noticing the way her friend anxiously picked at her nail polish, Selina covered her hands with one of her own, giving them a gentle squeeze. "Those losers were lucky to have you, baby."

Response to @felin3fatal3 -> "what life choices brought you here?"

"Well, it's a little hard to stay an average stage magician when people from the Justice League start asking for help. I assume that's not what you're asking about though."

Still dressed up in her regular stage show attire, the woman had taken to the rooftops of Gotham to escape the world for a while. She should've known that it would only be a matter of time before someone found her here. Heroes and villains alike were constantly gallivanting from building to building as if they were crossing the street. Zatanna would've had a better chance of having some alone time if she'd hidden under one of the many bridges throughout the city.

The magician was sure that she looked like a mess. Windswept hair, nail polish that had been absentmindedly picked off had turned into a small pile in her lap. She wasn't even attempting to stop Catwoman from whatever scheme had her running around the city at this late hour.

"Let's just say that the Justice League and I are going our separate ways. It's probably for the best."

𝐒𝐄𝐋  +  /  𝐌𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘  𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐕𝐄  𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆  ─   HEADCANON  &&  DIVERGENT  PORTRAYAL for  HARVEY  DENT   &&  𝐓𝐖𝐎-𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄   by SAVBEAR [25] SHE/THEY / GMT .  𝐍𝐎  𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐒  𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 !   this blog at times contains a lot of gore , you have been warned . [ CARRD ] .

ꪆ ⋆⁺₊ Return it. Of course, like that would happen, Selina thought to herself. Gotham's self-proclaimed protector clearly knew nothing about her mark. The dirtbag who's vault she raided deserved a lot more than theft. There was no way that Selina was just going to put the priceless jewels back after she went through the painstaking process of liberating them to a more worthy owner.

No sooner had she landed a blow than her own back was slammed against the wall. She stopped fighting and looked up at at the familiar, black leather mask through long lashes that poked out from her cowl, her chest heaving as she caught her breath. "And here I thought we were just beginning to have a little fun." Head tilted to the side and she pushed herself up on her tip toes, bringing her face closer to his. "Come on, Vengeance," Selina pleaded with a mischievous look in her eyes. "You and I both know you've got bigger fish to fry than a little ol' pussycat."

Anger built in Bruce's chest- it was comfortable, like an old friend he was familiar with. Selina had gone back to crime, not that he should have had any expectations for her but maybe for a moment he had allowed himself to think she had changed.

His opponent didn't stay down long- honestly, he hadn't expected her to stay down but it was a little disappointing that she wanted to keep this up. His hand shot forward when something yanked on the cable, and he stumbled for a moment before tightening his grip.

"We don't have to do this Selina."

Though quiet, his voice rang through the empty garage as he stepped forward, "Return what you've stolen and we can talk." Taking another step forward- the heavy boots he wore giving away his position the further he walked inside, the vigilante's eyes narrowed as pain radiated through his cheek and his head whipped to the side.

She'd caught him off guard.

The idea irritated him, and without a word, he reached out to grab her by the wrist that had just hit him and used the momentum of the move to spin her around and pin her up against the wall.

"Enough Selina. It's over."

ꪆ ⋆⁺₊  A plan was forming nicely in Selina's mind until an unknown voice distracted her. Turning, brown eyes narrowed at Gotham's celebrity heir, Bruce Wayne. She didn't have to babysit drunk billionaires looking to score, but she also couldn't afford to piss him off and be thrown out of the party. After all, she'd snuck in and needed to keep a low profile. Turning away from him as though she were bored already, Selina made sure her target was still in sight.

"Sure. Just got in Monday," she answered, giving Bruce a half lie. She did just return to Gotham that day, but she figured there was no reason to divulge the fact that Gotham was her original home. Returning her gaze to the man beside her, she gave her blonde wig a little shake to rid her eyes of the hair. "Do you always keep tabs on everyone in Gotham? Sounds tedious, Mr. Wayne." The corners of her mouth twitched in a teasing smirk.

The flood relief benefit offered two main advantages- one it would allow Bruce to use his other name to good use, helping citizens finally reclaim the parts of their city, and two it would allow him to closer monitor the ongoing crime wave. No matter how hard he fought he couldn't seem to put a dent in it, but getting them all together?

Bruce was confident he could at least get something.. find something.

The last person he had expected to run into was Selina; though he supposed he should have seen it coming, the other woman always had a way of surprising him. Clearing his throat he took a step forward, falling into the mask of the playboy. "I don't recognize you." he lied, waving down a waiter and grabbing a drink. "New in town?" he asked, careful to keep his voice light and his gaze soft.