[COLOR=SLATEGRAY][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3] P R E S E N T[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR] [CENTER][img]https://i.imgur.com/P9RhgII.png[/img][/CENTER] [center][color=darkgray][b][sub]C H A P T E R O N E : G R O W I N G P A I N S[/sub][/b][/color][b][color=INDIANRED][sup][h1]CAT'S CRADLE[/h1][/sup][/color][/b] [SUP][SUP][COLOR=SLATEGRAY][B]F E A T U R I N G [@Inkarnate] A S T H E B L A C K C A T[/B][/COLOR][/SUP][/SUP][/center] [COLOR=INDIANRED][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]G O T H A M C I T Y[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup][color=SILVER]November 18[sup]th[/sup], 2017 - 12:45 AM | [i]The Coventry[/i][/color][/sup][/INDENT] [INDENT][INDENT]Gotham always had a story, costumed freaks were never far away. It was what Fernando Lopez lived for, his livelihood counted on it. He was a nightcrawler, an amateur reporter, barely above an ambulance chaser in the eyes of most emergency service workers. Lopez had been working a story on the Escabedo Cartel, tracking their hideout to an abandoned ice creamery. [I]Snowy Cones Ice Cream[/i] In years gone by the factory would have been the type of place that Lopez would expect to run into Mister Freeze or [i]hell[/i], even the Penguin in his juvenile days. Pulling out his camera to record his approach, movement on the roof caught his attention. Looking towards the night sky, Lopez saw the bat-signal illuminating the horizon as its light outlined the figure of a woman in a catsuit moving along the rooftop. Someone stealing from the Escabedos was certainly worthy of news, even more so when Fernando's source had given him the notion the Cartel was currently in the middle of dealing with New York City's own Kingpin. Watching the thief move with subtle grace, Lopez forget to mind his surroundings and very quickly found a gun pointed in his direction. The sound of gunfire caused him to immediately drop to the ground, dialing nine-one-one before stammering into his phone. [B]"Cat thief, shots fired, help!"[/B][/INDENT][/INDENT] [COLOR=INDIANRED][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]G O T H A M C I T Y[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup][color=SILVER]November 18[sup]th[/sup], 2017 - 12:45 AM | [i]The Coventry[/i][/color][/sup][/INDENT] [INDENT][INDENT]The Northern winds were almost bone-chilling as Damian rode atop of Goliath's back. The Sprang River opened up beneath the pair as the Bowery bowed to the shore of the water body before Damian crossed into the Gotham Heights as they rose from the shore parting the sky with dark shadowy silhouettes and the flashes of lights from lit interiors. Looking Southward, Damian could see the Bat-Signal illuminating the cold night sky as it shone triumphantly. That was something for his father to answer to, Damian had no interest in chasing down whichever cop was trying too hard to be Gordon at the moment. Catwoman was thought to have moved on from Gotham, the Bat had not tangled with the Cat in nearly a decade, their last encounter shortly after Damian had arrived in Gotham. She had come to the cave, anxious to meet with Bruce, but Damian's presence had left her perturbed and dismissive. Whatever she had wanted to tell Bruce, she never did, instead, the pair had a falling out which ended with Selina's departure from Gotham. The Batcomputer had reported a sighting of the Cat in Paris about two weeks ago, which led Damian to believe that the current perpetrator was not Selina but another [i]copy-cat[/i]. [COLOR=INDIANRED][B][i]That was Dick-levels of bad.[/i] [/B][/COLOR] The dragon bat's massive silhouette suddenly blocked out the light on the ground below as Goliath cast a shadow that would make even the most hardened criminal quake in their boots. Spotting the sole thief moving along the rooftops, Damian turned Goliath on a direct collision course. Bracing himself, Damian moved from his saddled position into a crouch as Goliath did a flyby only for the young Dark Knight to backflip into the air and land face the woman in the domino mask. [COLOR=INDIANRED][B]"Little cold for a midnight stroll."[/B][/COLOR] Damian stated gruffly as he maintained a defensive position. For some, the bat on the chest was enough to end the fight, for others, it was a challenge. The cat thief jumped back, landing on her feet as a metal case dangled from her fingers. It seemed like the heist would’ve gone off without a hitch had it not been for the interference of Lopez’s call. To try to pull one over him in [i]his[/i] city? Pathetic. [b][color=A5B0BA]“I guess the cat is out of the bag. You must be the famous caped crusader.”[/color][/b] She cooed, as if she wasn’t in the slightest bit intimidated. This was the “famous” Black Cat of Manhattan and according to the Bat-computer’s files one that was dangerous enough to not underestimate due to over fifty years of information on the supposed thief’s career. However, this incarnation of the Black Cat was still relatively “new”. Only a few years of noteworthy experience with her biggest claim to fame being the associate of New York’s famed web-slinger. Her Modus Operandi wasn’t all that different than Catwoman’s own, though he wondered what the [i]Arachnid[/i] knew about her that he did not. [COLOR=INDIANRED][B]"TT."[/B][/COLOR] Damian didn't make any further remarks as he moved forward, feinting a fist before bringing a reverse roundhouse towards the Cat's left hand. Aiming to remove the stolen contents from her possession, Damian let out a sharp whistle as Goliath circled back around, diving towards the rooftop once again. [b][color=A5B0BA]“Hands off, Bats.”[/color][/b] She uttered as she jumped back, the kick missing its mark as her feet touched the ground. [b][color=A5B0BA]“I worked long and hard planning this heist to leave with thi—”[/color][/b] She cut herself off as her eyes caught the figure of Goliath coming in for the kill. Damian wondered if she was scared or intimidated by his faithful companion, though for some reason he couldn’t quite get a read on her body language. The mask that covered her face alongside strands of silver hair made it difficult to gauge her facial expressions. [i]Smart.[/i] Either way, it was clear that Goliath had made the Cat reconsider her current choice of action as she faulted to continue forward. Suddenly, she darted rightward—off of the building itself. The familiar sound of a grappling hook ‘clicking’ followed. Cursing inwardly, Damian followed suit, diving over the edge as the wings of the suit spread out to slow his descent. Goliath flew in parallel with him, as Damian attempted to slice the Cat's grappling line with a batarang before climbing onto to Goliath's back as the dragon bat evened out and began to ascend again. Leaping from Goliath's back, Damian landed on the ground at the same moment as the Cat. Not wanting to allow the cat a second to regain herself, Damian immediately engaged his foe. [b][color=A5B0BA]“You know, you’re a lot smaller in person.”[/color][/b] She quipped as she dodged to the left, the weight of the case somehow not affecting her. Even in peak condition? Was he dealing with a metahuman on top of a cat thief? The blow of her foot to the back of his head alerted Damian he had let his guard down. Truth be told, the girl was far more interesting than he had anticipated. This lead to an unfortunate lack of focus that was now showing despite Damian's best efforts otherwise. Another blow rocked his cowl as Damian let out a growl. It was time to get serious. Blocking a third blow, Damian reached into his belt, producing a hilt as a blade of energy emitted from it. The weapon was developed by Timothy Drake for a former teammate of his, but Damian had perfected the design. It wouldn't cut human flesh, but it was going to hurt. [b][color=A5B0BA]“Oooh. [i]Fancy.[/i] That’ll add nicely to my trophy wall.”[/color][/b] Another jab of humor, she was neither impressed nor intimidated. Both of which would have given Damain an edge and yet here he was fighting on even ground with a girl who had no right to be as skilled in combat as the son of the Batman. Each swing of his blade came up empty as the two engaged in a deadly dance, their feet trampling the fresh dusting of snow that had fallen all over Gotham. He caught it out of the corner of his eye, her right hand reached into her utility belt in a snap instant, though given his limited information he could only guess what she had retrieved as he turned to face her with sword in hand. Her every look and movement were sleights against him—sleights against his [i]legacy[/i]. How many years had he trained now for him to get so few strikes in? Compared to him, no matter whatever metagene she had, she was an [i]amateur.[/i] He almost could hear his mother’s voice behind him, taunting him. [COLOR=DarkSeaGreen][B][i]You're such a disappointment, Damian.[/i][/B][/COLOR] Gritting his teeth, Damian forced his mother's voice out of his head only to take a sucker punch from the Cat as he landed on his back. There was no helping it now, she was in his head and this was a losing battle. Cursing inwardly, his father would never have fallen for such nonsense. Activating the thermal vision in his cowl, Damian threw a handful of smoke pellets to the ground as he gripped the hilt of his weapon with both hands, drawing the blade back and rushing into the cloud. As he swung, Damian's arms were hit by something as they became latched together, a strong, white adhesive spreading across their surface. [b][color=A5B0BA]“Heh. Quite the [i]sticky[/i] situation we've got here.”[/color][/b] The Cat smiled holding up another capsule as Damian's eyes widened. Moving to get out of the way, Damian felt another impact as the second capsule began to spread across his back, entangling his legs before tripping as the Cat delivered her final coup-de-grace sealing Damian's fate as she danced over to the nearly cocooned hero, kicking the hilt from his hands and placing a boot on his chest. [b][color=A5B0BA]“You’re not the [i]real[/i] Batman, are you?”[/color][/b] She teased, her smile causing even more rage to grow within Damian as he struggled fruitlessly against the adhesive. Picking up Damian's sword, the Cat pocketed the blade on her belt as she gave the 'Bat' a wink. [b][color=A5B0BA]“Tell Batman that the Black Cat says ‘hello’, [i]Robin[/i].”[/color][/b] With her final words, the Black Cat disappeared into the night as Damian whistled for Goliath. The dragon bat descended upon the ground as it nuzzled the stuck Damian before clawing at the web-fluid only to pull it's paw back in repulsion at the strange consistency. [B][COLOR=INDIANRED]"TT."[/COLOR][/B][/INDENT][/INDENT]