City of Chaos: Black Cat/Robin

The dwindling twilight in New York City was usually the wrong time of night for her to come out of hiding. She much preferred the sheer blackness of the witching hour, or shortly thereafter. When there was a semblance of light poking through the clouds, she typically would have stepped back down off the ledge through the open window and back into her apartment, letting the night progress undisturbed.

But even though the evening was young and still devoid of total darkness, there was something curious about it all. Something that metaphorically tickled her whiskers. For the Black Cat, curiousity was another factor to be weighed against her own determination.

Barely clad in a solid black outfit that revealed more of her ample cleavage then most strippers would be comfortable with, Felicia Hardy, also known as the night thief the Black Cat, stood poised atop the ledge she nearly felt compelled to step down from. Giving in to her curiosity, she stuck out her arm from the top of which sprung out a clawed drop line. The jagged end stuck into the corner of the building across the street, latching into place. She didn't bother checking the resiliency of it before leaping into the air and swinging across the open gap.

She never checked or discounted her own abilities. She knew her limits and she was more than happy to toy with fate. She counted luck among her assets, knowing and trusting in it enough that the only doubt left in her mind was if she would return home with something shiny or not.

Her plan for the evening, nearly ruined from the flashing light spread out all across the city, was back on course. She had all ready done the leg work for the heist and wasn't about to let a little heat storm dissuade her. The gems recently placed in the New York Repository were much too precious to not be added to her collection.

What the Black Cat did not realize however, was that what she had dismissed as simple heat lightning was in fact something much more sinister and evil. If she had looked over her shoulder while swinging away from her building, she would have noticed cloudy arms of darkness jet down from the swirling maestrom above and encapsulate entire chunks of the city. Once the black shadows retreated from whatever they covered, things had noticably been changed.

More focused on the current object of her desire, the Black Cat remained ignorant of this alarming situation, but she would not remain ignorant for long.

Things were never as they seemed in Gotham City, that much was obvious even to tourists. Whereas the brooding city had somewhat of a reputation for the darker things in life, it could still be a good place to live. Respectable residents held down respectable jobs and led respectable lives. Given the stigma Gotham recieved over other cities like Metropolis and Star City, beneath the stereotypes and expectations sat a world of mostly content people.

That wasn't to say that the rumors weren't true. Gotham did have a high crime rate, and it did attract the more colorful populace, if not downright strange and eerie. But thanks in large part to a select group of protectors, Gotham remained a decent place to raise a family.

One of those protectors understood that ideal more than the rest. Things were never as they seemed. What may look like a car jacking might just be someone who lost their keys. Conversely, what may look like a corner deli might just be a front for a crack house. It was hard to tell in Gotham. He had seen it all during his short tenure as a hero, but he still understood how things worked in Gotham.

His black cape hid away the brilliant scarlet of his costume and a black domino mask kept his identity a secret. His name was Tim Drake, and while during most of his time he appeared as a teenager that was worried about his chemistry midterm, in reality he was one of the most highly trained people in the country. Known to the underworld as Robin, he was the other half of a lengendary duo that had sworn a pledge to protect Gotham and its residents.

Robin sat on the top of a watertower, overlooking a city that appeared to be in flux. He was baffled and disoriented, but he didn't allow his face to show it. He had been taught to keep in control of his faculties, even if the world really looked like it was being destroyed by an unseen force. He watched as more and more of the spiraling inky shadows covered sections of the city, somehow molding them into something else entirely.

He was unsure of how to proceed. His mentor was out of contact, possibly because of the situation unfolding before him. Whatever the reason, he couldn't stand by while the city was thrown into disorder. He needed to move, needed to do something. Aside from calling in for bigger calvary however, he didn't know what to do.

Then he saw a dark figure crawl overtop the edge of a building from where he sat. It was a woman, but she was far enough away that he couldn't make out who she was specifically. He watched her trot to the other end of the roof and then carelessly leap off the edge. Whoever she was she obviously had a distinct purpose tonight. She moved gracefully, reminding him of a particular Gotham resident that had crossed his path more than once.

"Selina?" he muttered aloud. "What are you doing out of Arkham?"

Robin stood up and slid off the watertower, with his grappling hook all ready twirling in his hand before the reached the roof's edge. Despite the rampant insanity falling atop Gotham, he knew better then to let a wayward thief go unchecked.

The Black Cat reached the Repository easily enough. She found happiness in the fact that New York's finest had been occupied with other matters and wouldn't be around to bother her tonight. She had business to attend to and had no need for underpaid heroes to get in her way.

At least, that was what she told herself to keep calm. On her way she had noticed that the path she had designated to get to the Repository had been altered. Not in the fact that someone had scrapped a building or erected a new traffic light where there had once been none. Instead things were outright changed and garbled, as the city blocks had been twisted by the black deluge overhead. She remained focused on her task at hand, and if the brewing magical storm, no longer induced by simple clouds she noted, would keep a certain wallcrawler off her back then all the better.

If she was honest with herself, she would have acknowledged the fright from the transformations brought on by the storm. Even still, opportunity didn’t present itself as much as it used to. Tonight was the night she took the gems, as planned.

The Depository was an old foundation of New York, once used to house important records of state. In recent years it had been contracted by the local government to store other items of great value when said items had to layover in the city. Museum pieces, rare art, the occasional manuscript, and even precious gems. The last of which was what the Black Cat was after tonight.

She perched her lithe body on the opposing building to the Depository, studying the face of it to make sure no strange changes had been made since she last saw it. Typically she didn’t bother with such a frivolity, but given tonight’s odd chaos, she thought it prudent. Everything seemed intact, for the most part.

She purred softly with content, standing up and firing off her claw line to swing across to the Depository. It caught the corner and she swung across, but not to the roof. She instead let the rope go slack in her grasp, and gave herself enough length to gently land against the front wall. She steadied her footing and began to repel down the face of the Depository.

“Easiest way is through the front door,” she said. “Well, window anyway.”

She paused in her descent just beside one of the stained glass windows that ran the length of the face of the building. She had visited the Depository several times as Felicia, and noticed a weak point in their security. The farthest window in the front on the right side was in a blind spot where the cameras were concerned. All she had to do was slip in, walk across the ceiling, and disable the cameras from the security desk on the far side.

While walking on ceilings, to most, seems impossible the Black Cat had made it her stock in trade to do the impossible. Unsheathing the diamond-tipped claws in her gloves, she etched out a sizable hole in the window. She removed the cut piece and set it on the ledge and swung inside with enough grace to match her namesake.

Once inside she let go of the rope and activated the magnetic devices inside her costume. The soles of her boot hummed quietly as magnetic fields extended out and latched onto the steel beams inside the walls. She was limited in how and where she could move by only being able to trace the beams, but she would be able to get to the other end of the room without much trouble.

Her stark white hair bounced back and forth as she tip-toed across the ceiling in a straight line upside down. She was enjoying herself, all the while keeping her mind off the eerie black maelstrom raging outside. Once she was immediately above the security desk she deactivated the magnetism and flipped over in the air, placing her right side up when she landed. A quick flip of a switch later and the security grid for the whole building was shut down.

“It looks like cats do always land on their feet,” someone said, startling her. “Although you’re not the kitten I expected. No one tell you that motif was taken?”

Her first expectation was to see the Spider kneeling against the wall. The casual tone of the voice reminded her of him, and she had to admit that she was sad when the voice turned out to belong to someone younger. Much younger.

“A little past your bedtime, isn’t it?” she replied with a smile.

The young man, who looked to be barely old enough to drive a car, leapt through the hole she had cut and gently touched down on the floor. His black and red cape swept out behind him when his legs bent upon landing, adding a dramatic flare that the Black Cat had to admit interested her. Young he may be, but at least he had style.

“There’s a lot of assumptions being made tonight,” Robin said. “Such as, I assume you’re not part of the night cleaning crew.”

“Who’s to say I’m not?” Felicia stepped out from behind the security desk, adding a touch of swagger to her walk. If there was one thing she knew, it was men. If this teenager wanted to break in his hero career, he wasn’t going to do it on her crime.

Robin tensed as she approached. He didn’t want to outright strike a woman unless he had to. Although with the ensuing madness reigning down on the city outside he might not have much time to waste with this Catwoman wannabe.

“How about you run along home and come find me in a few years…” Felicia said with a soft purr under her words. She gently etched a finger along Robin’s shoulder tracing the body armor beneath the cape.

Robin snapped his hand out and caught her by the wrist. “How about I run you in for breaking and entering?”

The Black Cat frowned. “Such a shame.”

She moved quickly, striking fast and furious. Her free hand lashed out and clipped his cape, her claws digging in to his side. The body armor Robin wore protected him but the shock of the movement caused him to jump back. He let her wrist go and immediately wished he hadn’t.

The Black Cat kicked high, twirling in the air to deliver a powerful kick directly at the young man’s head. Had it connected, he surely would have been knocked out. Instead, Robin’s intensive training allowed him to read his opponent well, and even though he had just met her, he had all ready assessed her movements. He blocked the kick easily and followed through, returning the kick to her midsection.

Felicia, surprised, doubled over and stepped back. “You…you hit me!”

“Um…sorry?”

“Bad manners, little boy,” the Black Cat said with a scowl. With a flick of her other hand, she unsheathed her other set of claws and made herself ready to swipe again.

*BOOM!*

The entire building shook and upset both of their balance. Bits of glass and brick cascaded down on them as the entire front of the Depository blew inward. The explosion was limited to just the immediate area and the dust quickly cleared. Robin recovered first, swiping his cape out of the way to get a better look at what had just happened. He clutched something in his hand, similar to a throwing star, readying to use it if need be.

The Black Cat had been knocked completely over, but she bounded back to her feet with ease. She focused on her young adversary only to find that she didn’t interest him anymore. She couldn’t blame him. She was having a hard time not paying attention to the three armored men walking through the crumbled entrance too.

“See?” the leader of the trio said. He wore the bulkiest set of gunmetal gray armor, with a large backpack. “I told you we could blow it out without blowing it up.”

“Whatever,” the second member of the trio replied. He was easily the tallest of the crew, and was carrying what appeared to be a sword. “Let’s just grab the gems and get out of here. Cops are sure to be here soon after that noise.”

“Yeah, right,” the third and final member added. He was the shortest and was carrying a bulky rifle that had cables feeding directly into his armor. “With all the shit hitting the fan out there tonight, like they’ll even notice. I mean…uh, hey, guys?”

The other two paused and looked at their short comrade. They followed his line of sight to see both Robin and the Black Cat staring back at them. “Crap,” the leader said as he reached around to his backpack and pulled out a nozzle of some sort. “Costumes are all ready here. Waste ‘em, boys!”

“You have got to be kidding me,” the Black Cat muttered as she dove for cover. She tried to weigh the chances of two hits on the same place in the same night for the same reason, and grew a slight headache. This was not what she needed tonight.

The leader of the crew belched out a spew of flame from the nozzle, which burned hot enough to render steel into useless scrap. The gout of flame roared toward Robin, who threw his cape over his face for defense and then jumped to the side. His cape, a mesh of special flame retardant fabrics, served its purpose and protected him. He tucked into a roll and upon springing back up let the object in his hand fly.

The ‘rang, desgined after a specific theme, tumbled through the air but remained on an exact course. Robin had mastered its use a few years ago and was confident in his aim. The leader didn’t even notice it coming for him over the waves of flame he was shooting. The ‘rang sliced into the fuel cable feeding the flame thrower, cutting off the weapon’s source. The flame abruptly stopped and the leader looked over his bulky, armored shoulder to see what the problem was.

“Little punk,” he said and threw down the now useless nozzle. “Wait are you two blockheads waiting for? Kill them!”

As much as the Black Cat wanted to grab the gems before someone else, she instead readied her cat’s line. Maybe it was the fact that Robin had indirectly just saved her, or maybe it was that she hated to leave a minor unaccompanied, or maybe she wanted a little more action. Whatever the reason, a smile crossed her face as she sprung into action.

The Black Cat hopped onto the edge of the security desk and shot into the air again. The other two armored men, the tall and short ones, rushed Robin. Felicia somersaulted in the air and flipped on the magnetics again in her costume. She aimed a kick at the taller armored man, the one with the sword, and connected with much more force than usual thanks to the magnetic field being emitted from the soles of her boots. It slammed her boot down into the man’s torso, causing him to stumble over onto his back.

“Can’t believe I’m doing this for jailbait,” the Black Cat muttered.

“I heard that,” Robin shot back as he ran straight at the small gunman. The direct charge offset the gunman’s stance. He fired wildly, barely coming within a reasonable shot of the oncoming Boy Wonder.

Robin ducked under the last shot and slipped easily inside the gunman’s arc, avoiding any other attempts to be targeted. The range was much too close now. Robin knew that trying to tackle a man in bulky armor would be useless, but thanks to his training he was not without his a decent offense.

Robin slapped the rifle aside as he palmed an electrode from his utility belt. The gunman exclaimed a protest but it was cut short once the Boy Wonder stuck the electrode onto his armor and pulled the trigger. “I noticed you don’t have insulation,” Robin said as he switched off the zapper. “Might want to think about that for next time.”

The short gunman fell to his knees and then the floor. A bit of smoke rose from the holes in helmet but he was alive. He would be disoriented until the police arrived to take him away, but Robin had made sure not to set the electrode at a lethal voltage.

“Move!”

The Black Cat shoved Robin out of the way of a shimmering blade just in time. The taller swordsman, now focused on his fallen friend and the boy who had felled him, swung wildly with his vibrating sword. It hummed loudly as he swung, meaning it was more than a simple refined piece of metal. Missing Robin, the blade struck the floor and sliced a chunk out of it as easily as if it were made of butter.

Both of the costumed vigilantes tumbled over one another. The stopped rolling with Felicia on top of the youth, which made her smile. “You owe me one,” she said before sliding off and standing up.

Robin grimaced and hopped up himself, narrowly avoiding another strike from the vibrating blade. The swordsman cut the air between the two, splitting them apart as they each back flipped out of the way. The blade managed to take off a piece of Robin’s cape, irritating him.

“I owe you both,” the swordsman scolded. “You screwed this score up for me! This was going to get us out of debt to the big man, ya here? Now we’re got to clean youse up before we clean the place out!”

“Cry me a river,” the Black Cat said as she bounded out of the way of another sword swipe. “Hey, little birdie. Mind if I borrow this?”

She pivoted close to Robin and snatched the defensive electrode from his grasp with ease. Rolling beneath another mad swing of the swordsman’s weapon, she tucked her knees in to her chest and stabbed him with the crackling part of the lifted equipment. Just the same way his partner had fallen, so did he.

“Nice toy,” she said casually as she tossed the electrode back to its proper owner. “Steal it from your daddy’s dresser?”

Robin raised an eyebrow behind his domino mask. “You’ve got a mouth on you, haven’t you.”

“I thought you would never notice.”

The sound of clanking metal caught both of their attentions. They turned, no longer distracted by each other to see the leader, the remaining armored thief, trying to tiptoe his way to freedom. With each slow step of his bulky, armored foot he was one more step closer to being away from the two vigilantes, however he failed think that his quiet exit would be anything but.

The Black Cat pointed a thumb in the general direction of the slow and pitiful escape. Robin chuckled.

When the police were able to circumvent the general relentlessness of the entire city going crazy, and finally made their way to the Repository, they found two things. The first of which was three wannabe robbers with disabled mechanized armor, hanging from the ceiling by a thin, nylon cord.

The second made no sense to them. Outside the vault that housed a set of valuable gems was a series of claw marks gouged into the steel. It didn’t match anything the armored trio had on their possession, leading them to believe a forth party had stumbled onto the scene. However, near the scratches were several black splotched. Scorch marks. Possibly from a powerful concentrated dose of electricity. What the police didn’t know was that the clues pointed to an altercation between two people on different sides of the law.

The night continued to pass on, along with other meetings, gatherings, and oddities that would baffle the police just the same.

END