"Catwoman."
Barbara's voice was calm, but her body remained tense and ready to move at any moment.
In front of her stood Selina Kyle.
Catwoman
Black leather suit.
Cat-ear mask.
Whip in hand.
Confident smile.
"I heard you retired two years ago," Barbara continued. "I didn't expect you to come back now. Why?"
Catwoman tilted her head slightly, her red lips curving.
"Sometimes," she said lazily, "people just feel nostalgic."
Selina Kyle had once been Gotham's most famous thief. She had dealings with almost every major gang in the city. She had enemies everywhere.
And yet—
She was one of the very few criminals who had never truly been captured by Batman.
Batman
In Gotham's streets, that alone made her legendary.
Some rumors claimed Catwoman and Batman shared an ambiguous relationship.
Others insisted they were eternal rivals.
No one knew the full truth.
But after multiple confrontations with Batman, Catwoman suddenly vanished.
No more robberies.
No more sightings.
People believed she had made enough money to last a lifetime and quietly disappeared.
Until today.
Now she had reappeared in Gotham—
And set her sights on the world-famous Hope Diamond.
To achieve this, she had even disguised herself as Biska and Kailina, infiltrating the Orpheus Jewelry Exhibition Hall as internal staff. She carefully arranged everything—hidden equipment, escape routes, countermeasures.
Unlike Kaito Kid, Selina couldn't disguise herself as anyone. She could only imitate women with similar height and body type.
But that was enough.
Bang!
Suddenly, the restroom door burst open.
Dick rushed in.
"Selina!"
Robin
Catwoman glanced at him with amusement.
"Oh? Little Robin is here too. Where's your family's adult tonight?"
Even surrounded by Batgirl and Robin, she showed no fear.
Instead, she looked entertained.
Batgirl
"If Batman saw what you're doing," Dick said sternly, "he'd be very disappointed."
Catwoman rolled her eyes slightly.
"First of all, I never announced retirement. And I'm certainly not old enough to retire."
She turned toward Barbara with a teasing smile.
"Second, I heard Gotham recently gained a Batgirl and a Kaito Kid. I was curious."
She took a slow step forward.
"Batgirl is standing in front of me. As for Kaito Kid… I haven't seen his real face. But I must say—he ruined my arrangements and cost me quite a bit. That makes me want to meet him even more."
Her eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Oh, by the way—your magician friend has very fast hands, doesn't he? I almost didn't notice when he planted these."
Before either of them could react—
Whoosh!
Catwoman flicked her wrist.
Two small black devices flew toward them.
Dick and Barbara instinctively dodged.
They hit the wall and fell to the floor.
Transmitters.
Wiretaps.
Barbara's jaw tightened.
She had been monitored.
"Send my regards to Batman."
In the next instant, Catwoman leaped backward through the window.
By the time Barbara rushed forward and looked outside—
She was gone.
Up.
Down.
Left.
Right.
Nothing.
"This woman runs unbelievably fast," Barbara muttered, annoyed. She realized Selina had never truly taken them seriously.
Dick picked up the transmitter calmly.
"Don't worry. That's Selina."
Barbara turned to him.
"You seem… familiar with her."
She hesitated.
"She asked us to greet Batman. Most criminals avoid even saying his name. Why is she so relaxed?"
Then Barbara's eyes widened.
"Wait—don't tell me the rumors are true."
"The ones about Batman and Catwoman being… close?"
Dick sighed.
"You haven't been with us long," he said quietly. "So you don't know the past."
He paused.
"Batman did have a relationship with Catwoman."
Then he corrected himself.
"Bruce did. With Selina."
Bruce Wayne
"In all the years I've known Bruce," Dick continued, "that was the only time I saw him date someone—twice."
"Twice?" Barbara blinked.
"Once as Bruce Wayne. Once as Batman."
"It was the only time I ever saw him genuinely look forward to a date."
Barbara covered her mouth in shock.
"I can't imagine Batman in love."
"I couldn't either," Dick admitted. "But things are rarely that simple."
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Suddenly—
A piercing scream echoed from the restroom entrance.
"Pervert!!"
Dick and Barbara froze.
A young female staff member stood at the doorway, pointing inside, eyes squeezed shut in horror.
"There's a masked man in here! And a woman too! It's awful! I don't even dare look!"
Only then did Dick and Barbara realize—
They were standing inside the women's restroom.
Without another word, both of them dashed toward the window.
Two shadows leaped out and vanished.
Moments later, two guards rushed in.
"Where's the pervert?"
The staff member kept her hands over her eyes.
"Right there! A blindfolded man! I think he was harassing a woman!"
The guards exchanged confused glances.
"Miss… there's no one here."
"What?"
She slowly peeked through her fingers.
The restroom was empty.
The window was open.
Nothing else.
"Maybe you're just tired," one guard said awkwardly. "There's no one here. And no one outside either."
They even leaned out the window to check.
On the rooftop above—
Dick and Barbara crouched low.
They exhaled in relief.
"That was close," Dick muttered. "Imagine tomorrow's headline—'Robin Caught Sneaking into Women's Restroom.'"
Barbara couldn't help but laugh despite herself.
"At least we solved the Catwoman problem. Now it's just Kaito Kid left."
Dick lay flat against the rooftop, staring at the night sky.
"For some reason," he said tiredly, "I feel more exhausted these two days than during full-night patrols."
Barbara smirked.
"So weak at such a young age. How tragic."
Dick rolled his eyes but didn't argue.
"Kaito Kid is impossible to predict," he said instead. "Even though we identified Kailina as suspicious and tracked her… in the end, it was Kaito Kid who destroyed Catwoman's plan."
"That's what's frightening."
Barbara was quiet for a moment.
Then she said something unexpected.
"I'm not coming tomorrow."
Dick turned his head sharply.
"What?"
"This time," she said calmly, "catching Kaito Kid is up to you alone."
The wind swept across the Gotham skyline.
Somewhere in the city—
A Phantom Thief was smiling.
And tomorrow—
The stage would finally be set.
--------------------------------
🕷️ End of Chapter
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