Chance Encounters [Selina]

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Gotham. On its best day the city could be an equal to a war zone gone bad, but there were few days that Gotham could call "best". It was usually more a collection of bad days, one placed in a line after another, that made Gotham what it was. If ever there was a prime example for a city that should not have been created - not have been allowed to exist - Gotham was it, but still, Helena thought of it as home and that meant she was there for the long haul. She had started out with a personal vendetta against the mafia that had brought her into the world, the very same mafia that had taken her family - her life - away from her, but as time had moved on, so had she. It had been the likes of the Batman and Black Canary that had broadened her vision toward the bigger picture, and she had become thankful for that.

Her normal patrol areas being the northern and western areas of Gotham, Huntress seldom ventured to the other places, though that was not because she was scared. Gotham had received a good number of vigilantes since she had started out and each one seemed to have their own special area in which to patrol. It made their lives easier, and on those rare occasions when extra help was called for, none of then passed up the chance to lend a hand, which was something even the Huntress could use from time to time. Heading toward home after an unusually heavy night, Huntress stepped down on the latest rooftop before she pressed the tab to recoil the line into the grappling gun she carried. The night had been a bad one, the weather with its hot, humid setting making it all the worse, and Helena wanted nothing more than to get home, get out of costume, and step into a shower, but seeing the lone figure two buildings over, changed that - the Catwoman.

The East side was an area that had been particularly dangerous when she had first started out as the Huntress, but once Helena had learned of the under-currents in terms of the area's protector, those dangers had eased off a bit. Catwoman was an enigma every bit as complex as she was herself, and at times, Helena felt they could almost be twins. They were both strongly independent, each one of them playing the game by their own set of rules, and it was those rules that kept them safe. Batman had his rules too, and he even thought of Gotham as "his" city, but he could never really get that thought into Helena's mind, and she had an idea, though she had never tried to prove it, that Catwoman thought the same way too.

One didn't sneak up on the Catwoman, not if they wanted to be treated nicely, and Huntress had learned that the hard way. Swinging onto the adjacent roof just to the feline's left, Huntress made sure to wait long enough for Catwoman to know she was there, before she jumped the short distance from one building to the next, her heavy cape barely flowing off her back side when she did. She kept her hands from her weapons as well, just in case Catwoman didn't know why she was there or what she might be up too, but it was the better part of valor to show Catwoman that she was not there for a fight.

"Catwoman..., it may be an overused cliché, but I am actually just in the neighborhood. How's things?"

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Raising a brow, Selina was a bit, dare she say, shocked to hear the voice addressing her. Huntress. Peculiar. Especially down at the docks..which were usually covered by one of the other 'Bat-themed' one or the other. It didn't always come to her attention who was on rotation for the night. Then again, she wasn't always at the docks, either. So while she lay there, prone on her belly, legs kicking back and forth while she studied the small tablet in front of her, she glanced over her shoulder.

It was her. Wriggling a few fingers, she motioned to the other purple and black clad woman she needed a minute. A fingertip claw lightly pressed to her ear, then she shut the tablet off, sliding it's cover atop it, and into a leather pouch beside her. It was a languid stretch, and then the black clad woman sat up, and smirked at her guest. She looked good, but a bit exhausted. Better than their last encounter, which was a drug-fueled nightmare, and not just for Huntress.

"I've had better nights, and nice to see you. You seem to be doing better than our last little encounter, no?" She drew out jovially. "What brings you to this shit-hole side of Gotham? Are you on the rotation tonight?" She teased, knowing well enough that Huntress had better things to do than take orders from Batman.

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Huntress had taken notice of the request for time, and as privacy was just as important to her as it was Catwoman, Huntress complied, making sure to take a few steps back so as not to get in the feline's personal space. Catwoman had always been a sight and to see that body encased in the leather catsuit prone on the rooftop made Huntress appreciate just how nice looking Catwoman was. If she was into women that view would have been arousing to say the least, but that was only *if* she was into woman, which Huntress reminded herself she was not.

Watching her sign off from whatever she had been doing, if sign-off was the correct term this time, Huntress had leaned back against one of several brick chimneys that dotted the roof and then crossed her arms under her breasts, to wait for Catwoman to finish up. Her comment, quasi question immediately brought back the memories of their last encounter. They had met in some alley when Thomas Eliot had decided to take on the masks of Gotham, and though she had tried, Huntress had fallen to Scarecrow's fear toxins, and though it had been Catwoman to find her in that angry mood, Huntress had not really seen the feline at all, as she had been fighting with herself, thinking Catwoman at the time was her own image.

"Heh, much better, though I still remember that encounter vividly. As to what brings me to the east side, I was using these neighborhoods as a short-cut to another section of town, nothing else really. But now that I'm here, it's odd to find the docks so quiet."

They were quiet, which was a blessing, though as proved more often the case, if an area was quiet, it was merely the calm before the storm. Pushing off the chimney to walk closer to the edge, Huntress scanned the area below then she could actually see, though with the fog rolling in already, her line of sight was getting limited to say the least.

"Why do you consider this section of town the, how did you call it, the "shit-hole side" of Gotham? I've always thought you loved this part of town, though I could be wrong of course. And for the record, I don't do rotations, especially not for Batman."

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Selina smirked, rolling over and springing to her feet in one fluid motion. Another stretch, and Selina yawned slightly. It had been a long day, and night. But this was a welcome surprise, and Huntress was looking good. "Well. Times have changed, as well as the crime rate. Gotham...has always been a shit-hole. And I've found it's easier to hit up more affluent areas for work, than the East End as of late. And you can thank Batman for the quiet out here." She jerked her thumb behind them to the water. "But I do say if we keep saying the word, something might crop up."

Walking over to where Huntress was leaning, she went to mimic the woman's stance, taking in her vantage point. "Any reason you're looking for me tonight? I've got some time, if you're looking for a listening ear." She wasn't going to outright admit her change in rogue activities, but she would listen to the woman; a similar soul that walked the fence in this mostly man's world. And Batman's.

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"Gotham may be many things, Catwoman, but I've never viewed it as what you called it. Then again, any place is what the individual looking at it - makes it."

That Batman was to be credited with making the docks safer was a bit of a stretch in her mind, since the fabled Dark Knight seldom made it to the piers and warehouses, let alone the darker areas of the docks. He still had it in for her, something Huntress was far too aware of, but then all she had t do was consider the source and things would look different. Batman was the self-appointed protector of Gotham and if anyone else decided to work in "his city" they had to have his blessings. Well, she had never had his blessings, but then Huntress had not sought that. As far as she was concerned, the city was wide open. He got there first, maybe, but that was about all.

"And you can thank that hard-headed, opinionated, narrow-minded S.O.B. all you like, but I won't give Batman any credit for anything being done on his own. Gotham is his town? Far from it, and just because he was around first doesn't mean he can order the rest of us around. Or at least he doesn't tell me what to do."

Having pushed off the bricks, Huntress walked the length of the roof's edge for a few minutes, before she stopped to take a closer look at something going on below. From her vantage point she could see quite a good deal of area on the docks below them, and particularly the happenings of a couple of unshaven men that appeared to be dumping something into the water. If they looked suspicious it was because they each continued to look around as if expecting to have some security wander by, but for all she could see, the two of them were alone, though Huntress knew that was about to change.

"I'm sorry, but I suppose I didn't explain myself loud enough earlier. I commented that I was just in the neighborhood, passing by as it were; saw you on this rooftop and decided to make a detour to see how you were. Hold it a minute, but it looks like....."

Looking at her prey while she talked to Catwoman, Huntress leaned forward as if to see more below her, before she paused in the reply. The two men had discarded the first of three boxes back into the bed of the pickup truck they had arrived in and were even now tossing more objects into the water - objects she couldn't quite pick out from where she was. In moments, Huntress pulled out a pair of miniature binoculars to get a better look at the two-some below them, before she quietly gasped at the knowledge of exactly what they were in fact dumping out, and though the kind of crime didn't quite go along with her normal routine, Huntress didn't like what she saw any more than she would have if they were dumping drugs into the harbor.

"Catwoman, we need to put this conversation on hold. Unless I miss my guess, those two guys down there are tossing live baby kittens into the harbor. That..I will not allow. Up for some action?"

Placing the binoculars back into their proper compartment, Huntress ran for the end of the building and then dove off the side, as if she were performing a perfect swan dive. Her hands grasping the the edges of her cape, Huntress glided quickly but quickly toward the two men, while wondering where Catwoman might have gotten too. If she remembered anything at all about the feline, then it was that she tended to protect cats, but anyone that did what these two were doing deserved to be beaten to a pulp..., she just hoped she got to the idiots before Catwoman did.

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Selina smirked. She couldn't recall if Huntress was a born and bred Gothamite. Either way, she nodded. "Mm. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you should know that one. Gotham is whatever she needs to be. And tonight, she seems a shithole." Different words for the same sentiment. At least she was on the same page with the purple-clad vigilante. As she started speaking of Batman, she had to pay attention. She'd had her own issues with the man in black as of late, and was willing to listen to another with an axe to grind.

"Oh? It seems he has been slipping more than a bit in his duties as of late. And this, well, hasn't been sitting well with many of us, on either side. And it's good to see more of you striking out on your own. You, Nightwing. Maybe someone will finally best him in his..duties." She said flatly, a hint of challenge in her tone.

Hearing the gasp, Catwoman strode to where the woman stated the sighting, then lept off the rooftop. While that was not exactly her preferred mode of transport, Selina did have to admit it was impressive. And moreso; ballsy. But as it was, quite a bit of this reeked of ...planning. A chance running into eachother? When Catwoman had been monitoring for an hour prior..and now, there is a duo of vagrants dumping, of all things; kittens into the pier? It set her jaw firmly, as she was torn to go look, and be caught in a net she didn't care for, or to allow boxes of innocent animals to perish. It was a lose-lose choice, and honestly? She was no vigilante.

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Her grappling gun fired half way down, Huntress didn’t bother to see if the barbed projectile had found its mark before she released her old on the cape and started in on the swing that would bring her down in the middle of the two hoodlums. She was sure Catwoman was right behind her but even then she didn’t have the time to look, much less care if she was. The happenings below them may have been minimal by their standards, but one just couldn’t allow anyone to kill innocent kittens, even if that someone happened to be her.

Landing on her feet, Huntress quickly drove a scissor kick to the left that all but knocked the one man down, but that didn’t stop him from tossing the box and the rest of the kittens into the drink. One look down at the water told Huntress the cats were safe for the moment as their box acted as a sort of boat, though she knew that as time went on, the cardboard would begin to absorbed the water and it would soon sink. The look cost her any element of surprise though, as the second box was slammed into the side of her head, sending Huntress stumbling off to her right, before she was able to regain her footing, but by then the other man had gotten to his feet and had pulled out a gun, the laser light dancing off her chest while he spoke to the other goon.

“Hey, this is one of them bat people, Batgirl I think they call her. I thought you said Catwoman would be here.”

“So I made a mistake, just off her and then we’ll get out of here.”

“Batgirl? Now you’re really trying to piss me off.”

Her hand under the cape when she had regained her footing, Huntress suddenly threw one of her throwing stars at the goon which had attacked her. Though it did little to knock him down, it did succeed in garnering the other man’s attention, and once his eyes had been averted, Huntress attacked. Like the Batman, she had grown to despise guns, and after a few hard and perfectly aimed blows, the man she now held by the front of his shirt would find it very to even hold a gun, let alone fire one, as weeks if not months of recuperation for the broken hands would be all her would be able to think of.

“Now, you mentioned Catwoman? What was your plan for this, for her? And the name’s Huntress.”

“Shit, this ones Batman’s girl friend, lets get out of here.”

“You’re not going anywhere…, what the? Damn it.”

It was a split second choice, but one Huntress really didn’t have a choice in making. The second box full of kittens tossed into the murky waters below, Huntress was left with no option other than to dive in after them, and though she was able to rescue both boxes and their contents, the distraction had cost her the prey. Still, Huntress had to wonder why they were dumping the kittens into the harbor in the first place, why the two idiots considered her to be Batman’s girlfriend of all things, and most importantly, why hadn’t Catwoman sought to rescue the kittens herself, as she was well known to have an affliction for anything “cat” related, and her behavior here was so unlike her, so much so, that Huntress was left to wonder if the woman standing up on the rooftop was the real McCoy.

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It was a few seconds before Catwoman took to action. Tandem-crime fighting was not her forte; she was an independant operator, but had teamed up once or twice prior. So while Huntress was a blur of action in purple and black, taking out one man, and then diving into the water with a measured elegance, Catwoman shook her head, a well placed kick and takedown on the second man securing their immobility. It was moments to tie them together painfully, one of the leather jackets removed from the man as well. Jaw set, she had to shake her head. Since when did people confused who was perceived as Batman's girlfriend? While Huntress was in purple and black, and bat-themed, in a way, it was no Cat-ears. Maybe they were just entry-level thugs. But something wasn't sitting right with her. And while she did own a black catsuit, and a purple one, and liked options, the former was her choice for the night; something to blend in a bit better on the overcast night.

As Huntress went after the one box, Selina went to the tossed one, righting it and gingerly listening for any sound within. She'd wait until the other woman surfaced before opening it; just in case there was something fishy; possibly a trap. Two is better than one in that case, always.

So when the vigilante surfaced, Selina offered a hand to pull her from the cool water, the procured leather jacket held out to ward off the chill. A moment to take the second box off the woman's hand and set beside the other, and she shook her head. "I'm not in the crime fighting business," Catwoman started, slowly. "...So whatever goes down now, you didn't see. I know the bait is kittens...and I'm Catwoman, and this is more than likely a setup, considering the theme, and from what they were doing, but this is not my kink, Huntress. I steal things, I don't save them." Nodding to where the two men were unconscious and lashed together, she waited to see what the vigilante wanted to do next. The innocent animals would need attention, as would this little...situation. And if this modicum of compassion didn't convince the other woman she was who she was portraying, the gal must be blind. No woman she knew could fill out the leather suit like Catwoman did. Nor offer the snark, and feline agility like she did. And if she was still questioning that, Catwoman would have to question if the drugs she'd been dosed with last time had a lasting impression on the bold woman.

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"I never thought you did, Catwoman, that why we don't always get along, your stealing I mean. But then, unlike the Bat, I tend to do things my way, not his. As for kinks, dressing up in that leather outfit would be a kink to some people, every bit as the vinyl costume I wear. As for these two..."

*As for these two, they are mine to deal with Huntress. Now, I would suggest that you two remain perfectly still, as I would hate to put holes in either of those tight looking body's of yours. Gentlemen, get our two out of there, and if the ladies try anything, you have my permission to deal with them.*

Huntress cursed herself for not hearing the approach or seeing the other thugs coming in from all sides. Surrounded in minutes, she stood there with her not yet ready for prime time vigilante and waited. The garishly dressed leader of the somewhat disorganized group was someone Huntress had dealings with once before but he had changed, or at least his choice in fashion had. If they had been out in the open in the middle of the day, his shiny plastic clothing, the bright yellows and pinks, would have given Helena headaches, if she had not been blinded by the light.

"It's been awhile, Murphy, and I see your taste in clothing hasn't gotten much better."

*Says the tart in the second skin vinyl costume. I'm not here to discuss my attire, Huntress.*

"Then what are you here to do, besides waste my time and bore Catwoman and I to death?"

The movement was slight, but it was still just enough for Huntress to see what was about to happen. The trick was to judge which of the idiots with the guns would pull their trigger first and for that, Huntress had to remain perfectly still. She had no idea what Catwoman might do, but she had an idea that if it came down to survival, then she'd fight every bit as much as her namesake, and Helena could still remember those claws of her. They had sliced the barrel of her triple barreled gun off slicker than scum off a Louisiana swamp and left Huntress very impressed by her fighting skills - skills she really didn't want to go up against any time soon, though she would love to watch what Catwoman did to these poor excuses for thugs.

*The idea was to get Catwoman here so we could then lure Batman out into the open, but we got you. Still, Batman will come to rescue the two of you so you have done us a favor, Huntress. Now, lose the weapons, you too, Catwoman.*

"You aren't smart enough to get this set up, Murphy. Who's bank rolling your play here?"

*Shut up.*

"Wrong answer..., mind if I help you out? Watch your back, Catwoman."

Smiling deviously, Huntress pretended to raise her hands in surrender before she turned and drove a hard kick straight into Murphy's nose. She could hear the cartilage crunching under the impact, telling her Murphy would be talking more like a soprano for the next few weeks, but by then she had already spun around to drive an equally hard back-handed blow to the base of his neck, rendering Murphy unconscious before his knees touched the pavement.

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Selina had to chuckle. Huntress wasn't quite getting her meaning, but that was ok. She was one of the few vigilantes that she even took the time to chat with, and not fight. As she opened her mouth to answer, she was barely able to get out the words before another voice broken in, interrupting thier conversation. Snapping her head around, she realized the garishly dressed man, AND his goons knew Huntress. And they seemed to appreciate a fit body in tight apparel. Men.

The banter was not witting coming from the man, and a quick glance to Huntress said she had something up her sleeve. Catwoman herself was figuring out where everyone had hidden, sadly, not hard in the docks, under the shadows, and was now mentally placing the goons. It seemed like mere seconds before Huntress had the main thug down, and Catwoman herself was shifting into action; whip in hand snapping at one man, a well placed kick to the sternum dropping another. "How many more are there, Huntress!" She called, another well-placed palm to the nose dropping another goon, her whip cracking in his ear as well. "And this shit, is what is not my kink! You can keep the crime-fighting and kicking ass, I'll stick with stealing!" She responded with a laugh to the other woman.

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"I get that, Catwoman....crime fighting is not your thing, nor is a fight, but these guys aren't giving us any choice. Oh and to answer your question as to their numbers, not enough, they should have brought more men."

Crouching to get under a blow intended for her head, Huntress lashed out with a strong upper cut to her attacker's jaw, a blow that literally snapped his head clean off his shoulders before a follow up kick to the front of his knee broke bone, dropping the man like a puppet that had its strings cut. Catwoman had been concerned about numbers, and for good reason as they seemed to have come out of the woodwork, but what Huntress had said about there not being enough had been true, at least where she was concerned.

Reaching for her weapon of choice, Huntress pushed the hidden button in the center of the collapsed bo-staff and then waited for it to extend to its full length of five and a half feet, before she brought the Titanium-Steel staff to bear on the attackers. In minutes it was a ballet of death and destruction, as Huntress swung the staff into one man's stomach or another man's head, each blow doing major damage that would require each man to receive medical attention.

"If you get tired, just let me know. I can handle these goons."

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The other woman was a whirlwind. Together, the women working was a tornado of black and purple, one man dropping with such force from a kick to the head, Selina actually paused. "Damn. Remind me to not piss you off," she added, a final boot to the stomach dropping one stubborn goon. "And there is always a choice, it's just few are willing to actually step out, and make it." Which was true. And still, the fact of beating several men lead by someone who dressed like a clown, and acted like one (But was nothing like the Joker), left a bad taste in her mouth.

"I don't think I have enough wire to bind them all," she commented, her breath still rapid after that little dance. Hands on her hips, she nudged one of the downed men with the tip of her boot, her nose scrunching in disgust. "Maybe next time we can just settle for drink at a bar, you know." Catwoman teased, impressed by the woman's fighting prowess. "Now?" She asked, on what to do next. She bet it didn't involve calling Batman, or Nightwing.

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"Riot straps, which are little more than thick pipe ties, do the trick for me, though this number will press even that number of ties. There is an alternative though."

Pulling out another tie, Huntress grabbed the wrist on one man then the other, before she placed the two wrists together. In a minute, she had both wrists tightly bound together by the one tie, a process she repeated several more times until the hoodlums were all bound in one semi-large circle. With their bodies surrounding a very tall wooden pillar, Huntress doubted they would be getting away any time soon, and as they were still mostly out of it, Huntress took the time to search them for clues, tossing whatever she found on a growing pile behind her.

Most of what she found was useless, though some of the items seemed to suggest there was a power broker behind the scheme, but without direct, collaborating evidence, Huntress knew she wouldn't have much - if anything - to work with. Standing, Huntress held onto the three different matchbook cases from various known underworld lounges, her eyes studying them for details, before she shook her head and showed them to Catwoman. Even she knew such evidence, if one could even call such a coincidence as what she had in her hands, was paper thin, and as she did not have a search warrant, nothing of what she found would be admissible in a court of law, but still, she had wanted to find out at least something.

"Matchbook cases, but in and of themselves, they don't tell us much. You suggested a drink somewhere?"

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She used nearly the remainder of her wire helping to bind the thugs, and then watched Huntress use her method. It was quite useful, and economical. Biting her lip as she looked over the matchbooks, she started thinking. Hot-beds of crime, she knew at least two of them. The third was a mystery to her, and something she didn't want to pursue. "I'd usually invite you to the Iceberg, but considering you're not quite it's standard clientele, we could go to another place that is a bit more welcoming. It's just a few miles from here, on the waterfront. And they tend to keep the leering to a minimum; for women, and masks." A chuckle punctuated her last word as she walked over to her small hip back and slung it's strap over her head.

Hopefully Huntress was going to put in a call to someone to pick up the trash, considering she'd already neatly packaged everyone. If Batman didn't see eye to eye with her, he was missing out. While her methods were a bit more forward, they were efficient. "So, who do you think is behind these assholes? And what were they after...with trying to get to me, to get to Batman? They should know I don't take kindly to being used as bait." And in the aftermath of the fight, she remembered the boxes of kittens. Something had to be done about them before they vacated the scene.

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"Hummm, the Iceberg would have been interesting. I've been there before, as a patron, but I can see your point. OK, the waterfront it is then..., and I'll try to keep my leering to a minimal. But first I need to have the city take out the trash."

Smiling deviously, Huntress pulled out a cell phone and touched one of the many speed dials on the main screen. In moments she was telling the GCPD dispatch what had happened and where they could collect the offering, before promising to come in to file the full report. She would have to find a way to keep Catwoman out of it, since Batman might well end up reading something of the report itself, but that would be dealt with later.

Closing the link, Huntress took in Catwoman's look and then touched another button on the phone, and in minutes she was giving the directions on how to find where they were, so Gotham Animal Protective Services could come by to gather up the kittens. she did not bother to go into details as to the whys of their attempted drowning, though Huntress did hear the almost mocking laughter at the thought of a mask rescuing kittens instead of protecting the city, something she had been forced to hear several times over already in her career.

"GCPD will be along shortly to collect the garbage and the animal protective services will stop by within the hour to gather up the kittens. But to answer your question, I'm not sure, though one name does come to mind, as he's expressed an interest in the east side in the past."

Rupert Thorne, a name that had been of interest to her for some time in that they had had a few run ins. His plan for the east side had been to tear most of it down, shunting the area's population elsewhere, before rebuilding the east side into a multipurpose development with businesses, town-homes, shopping areas, and entertainment areas, all exclusive for those willing to buy into the gated community but a project that would almost certainly involve kickbacks, bribes, and shoddy construction practices, anything to make a buck without protecting the occupants.

"Anyway, I have a bike parked two blocks over and I can give you a lift if you don't have a ride."