Shame on you? [Selina]

[Deleted]

Bruce drove away from the asylum and almost felt himself relax. Ever since Bruce had been made aware of Ra's presence at Selina's office he had felt nearly panicked. He had acted out of his ordinary behavior. In a sense it had been a good thing, after all now Selina had seen her priority in his eyes, but it never suited to so openly reveal your hand to enemies. Especially Ra's Al Ghul. 

He watched Selina send out a text message. Probably to Charlotte, maybe to her secretary. He felt relief as he thought that. He was starting to catalog evidence in his mind again, and that meant that he had a chance of figuring out the long term plans of the League of Assassins. His more businesslike manner indicated where his priorities lay; he was making sure that Charlotte and Selina would be protected, first and foremost.

"We need to make sure Charlotte is safe and that no one sees where she goes. I could have Tim keep an eye on her..." Tim was in school at the moment though, it would be too obvious if he disappeared, "No. Nightwing is the better choice."

This conversation was the best one to have. Not only was it important to organize their defense, it also allowed Bruce to avoid further awkward discussions like those he had embarrassed himself with during their previous drive. Selina meant a great deal to him, but he had always assured himself that she wasn't a woman who wanted the kind of relationship that led to arguments, back-and-forths, or any of the rest of it. Tonight had been shocking, not just because of what he learned about Selina, but because of how strong his emotional reaction to it was.

Selina may have been a step ahead of him in this instance. After all, he had no idea who she had texted.

[Deleted]

Relaxed is not what she felt. Being threatened, and then dealing with this loveliest of new revelations, and being pulled from work prematurely due to something that she might have been clued in on. From Batman. Sitting quietly in the two-seated roadster, she shook her head lightly. Setting her phone aside, she was about to say something when Bruce started to speak.

Her eyelids fluttered as his words washed over her. Swallowing once, then twice, she glanced at him before staring straight ahead at the road. "Now that you mention it, Bruce, that is a fantastic idea. Other than the fact she is in my care, has been educated in how to defend herself, and goes to school?" She paused, and looked at him again, this time physically turning in her spot, seatbelt barring nothing.

"She is in private school, with protocols such as the one I initiated today. Dick and Kory are already acquainted with her, and she is aware of who they are. She is safely at the mansion right now. As for Tim? He's younger than her, and while quite capable, considering his own training at your hand, he is also mandated to attend school for another six years as well. Then again, considering his intellect..." She let that last bit hang in there air. Tim was brilliant. And she'd even worked with him side-by-side to gauge what she would need to do for when she debuted Charlotte.

But what Bruce was proposing was ridiculous. And mildly insulting. She was surprised he would welcome Charlotte willingly, or even project the feeling, but she possessed an inkling he was operating as the Bat, clad in Bruce Wayne's custom suit and tie.

"And Dick? Are you unaware, or just having a momentary lapse of memory as he is a Police Officer, in Bludhaven, and would probably dislike being pulled for a security detail on his near-step-father's love-interest's ward? " She blinked again as her words spilled coolly from her lips.

Shifting to right herself in her seat, she smoothed down her skirt and cleared her throat. "I do appreciate the concern, but it seems I have it covered in this instance. You may want to shift your intellect on how exactly we're going to word to her that you are Batman, and that is the reason she was whisked off to your Mansion. She's quite aware of who I am, but it's still going to be a shock for her. Most kids with her upbringing are scared of you, as you saw when you first met her. And to realize the tall tales of Catwoman and Batman being a thing, coming to life before her...And then realizing that she has such protection of not only Catwoman, but the Bat-family. You can understand why I would like us to broach this carefully to a sixteen year old."

[Deleted]

Bruce frowned at Selina's sarcasm. He had a priority, now, and Selina was trying to keep him distracted from it. Bruce kept their car running at the speed limit, though he only had thoughts of getting to Wayne Manor. It was times like this that made him wish for the Batmobile as his regular vehicle. 

"Protocols are all well and good, Selina, but it's time for damage control. Do you honestly believe that you can plan for Ra's Al Ghul? Even I put most of my hopes into him being too distracted to come to Gotham. When he shows his face there's no higher priority than disabling him for as long as I can."

He turned out onto the highway and narrowed his eyes. "Tim should stay at school. We can't afford to risk his cover...Dick will do it. He knows Ra's, and he knows how dangerous this is. You could stand to learn the lesson."

He considered as he listened to her speak some more. She wanted him to tell the girl his real identity. "You always add more variables to the equation," he said firmly, "If I'm going to be revealing to this girl who I am..." He trailed off, reconsidering his words. "Selina...you know her. You should be the one to tell her. How would you like to go about this?"

Bruce wanted to continue the argument. He wanted to show her the fool, but there were more important things. The League...Charlotte...Selina herself. He couldn't risk her, and the more they argued the more likely she was to run off on her own. Bruce couldn't have that. He wouldn't be able to rest, he wouldn't be able to take off the mask even, not until he had tracked her down. Better to make sure she didn't want to leave in the first place.

[Deleted]

As soon as the words came from her mouth her head snapped to him. "Plan for this? I wasn't aware that you had a 300 year old nemesis slash mentor who knew who you were, knew who I was, and that I have a minor in my care. If you'd trusted me enough with that little tidbit, maybe I would've had a better plan for goddamn damage control. Maybe if you trusted me with even an iota of information about your life that I am now a part of, we wouldn't be calmly discussing 'damage control' right now. Damage control to me is being able to knock that vile man out in my own office, after he not only threatens my life, but Charlotte's."

"Now you're going to tell me that keeping M99 on me at all times, especially at work is a bad way to 'handle things,' when you're not around." Clearing her throat, she shook her head, running her fingers through her hair. "Are you going to assign me a Bat-member? Maybe Batgirl? Have Dick check in on me at the office more than he already has? What next? You have some evil ex-girlfriend I should be aware of that is going to threaten me next? Any other protocols or information you'd like to pass my way so I don't have to call you in to keep me safe? Because seriously. My home is safe. Better security than your home. And trust me on that statement. You have bulbs out on your property. This Ra's is disposed of at the Asylum for now, but what next? Why not just kill him? Threat eliminated."

Her jaw clenched for a second, and he spoke again. Did he really say that? Was he this deluded? "Well, of course Tim should stay at school. And Dick? You're really going to pull Dick from his work, and from Kory, for this? No. I don't care. Having an officer from Bludhaven is going to draw more attention to her. She's come from the streets, to a new school, and is finally doing well. I am not going to have a tail put on her at school, at practice, no. Fuck no, Bruce."

She wasn't yelling. That was the thing about Selina. She didn't regularly yell. Rarely, if ever. Instead she grew quite calm, her voice measured and precise. "You can stand to learn to trust. How about that lesson?" She fired back at him. Blinking again rapidly, her lashes fluttering, she couldn't understand how he was phrasing things. Honestly. Like it was mathematics and not people. Not relationships.

"This isn't algebra. This is life. And she's already suspect of who I am. She's not stupid. She's a teen that came from a shit home in the East End, and was going to go go Juvie. I have a heart, and saw something, and took her in. I'm giving her a home a life, a chance, Bruce. And you saw her that one night. She was scared out of her mind about who Batman is. And for her to see that you willingly came to my home...said something about me. The fact that you watch over my home, which may have been a bit of a stretch, but to her? It gives her a hope, and an understanding that even me, can hold their own against the night. And it's probably better we're both there." She paused again, running through options, not variables in her mind. Charlotte knew she worked a lot. But she didn't know who she was. And with Selina taking her to Wayne Manor, of all places, would be peculiar for the teen's mind to rationalize. Afterall, he's just some playboy in the news, right?

Right.

Rubbing at her eyes, she didn't quite know how to go about this. Maybe that is what parenting was about. Not always knowing what was going to happen, but knowing it'd be ok after the dust settled. Love, respect, trust and all that. And the duplicity that she had been trying to outshine with the good she had been hiding with the bad.

"Two things, Bruce. You've done this thrice over. Dick is mostly well adjusted. Jason didn't come out as well. And now you have Tim. You've done it three times. I'm trying once to save a girl from a worse life than I had been through. The streets of Gotham, worthless parents which is worse than having no parents. How can you question, or even judge me trying to bring her up with hope, when you've gone about it more than once, with failure? You've been a parent, and more than that. Don't fault me for trying, when I have the means to change one life."

She sighed lightly, her head shaking one more time. "And we not only have to tell her that you are Batman, and I brought you to the safest place I'm know, but she's unaware of who I really am." ...all she knew is that Selina was a night owl, a bit peculiar, had high, and low profile friends[because who is friends with Cops, and Playboys equally?] and that she did a lot of work at night sometimes.


Letting those words hang in the air between them, she continued quietly,"She's not aware that I am Catwoman, either, Bruce."

[Deleted]

"Well you know now," Bruce said, a bit of heat entering his voice. "And yet you still want to do everything your way. As though I haven't dealt with the man long enough to get to know him. To learn his strategies, his tricks..." Bruce trailed off for a moment, "Of course I had no idea he would come to Gotham and chase after you. I've always been the sole antagonist in his delusional narrative. This is the first time he's come after someone like you."

It's the first time there's been someone like you...

"Damage control has nothing to do with knocking Ra's out," Bruce explained, calm again as he always was when speaking of a member of the rogue's gallery. "The man is immortal, with all of the experiences that come with that. He would beat you eventually. Knocking him out humiliated him. Now he won't pursue you just to get to me; he'll pursue you to end a grudge. Your actions seemed to take the initiative, but all they did was incense him against you."

Bruce knew that he was laying too much blame at her feet, but this was an argument he had been unable to back out of. Selina wouldn't accept merely setting a plan of action, even though Bruce thoroughly believed that talk could be saved for later. 

"Keep the M99. When I was younger I kept 7-PET on me at all times. Now..." Bruce considered for a moment, "I synthesize my own chemicals. Nothing the market will have heard of. No matter, the M99 will help keep you safe. Just don't rely on it."

Naloxone can be used as an antidote for M99.

Bruce was remembering his research on 7-PET when he remembered Naloxone. Still, he would be sure to keep doses on him at all times from now on. Even if Selina never used it, Ra's would likely find a delicious irony in dosing him.

"I'll do what I need to when it comes to Ra's Al Ghul," Bruce answered her. "Dick understands that. If he doesn't...well then I didn't do my job. You should only have to face Ra's once to know that numbers matter. The more we have defending against him the better. If I thought I could rely on Kory I'd call on her too. Don't you understand the danger we're facing yet? I don't even do this for the Joker..."

Bruce pulled off of the highway and took the road towards far North Gotham, which would lead to Wayne Manor, however he stopped suddenly on the side of the road and turned to look Selina in the eyes. "This is as big a disaster as we've ever faced together. I trust you, and I trust my team. I'm trying to make you better, not tell you you're inferior. We have to be able to trust each other now. We have to be on the same page...otherwise we've already lost. I promise that none of Ra's' team will be divided. None of them will argue."

"...She doesn't know who you are?" Bruce considered for a moment. "I'll follow your lead, but maybe we should lead with that. Seems like it would matter more to her than which random stranger is Batman."

[Deleted]

"You're treating this like it's the first time I've had some irritated at me, Bruce. I've taken care of worse, easier. And it seems that he came after Charlotte. Not me specifically. But he seemed to know not only the chain of events, but how it would rope you in to this. To me that sounds like we need to swap a few trade secrets. It doesn't matter that you play on one side of the fence, and I walk it. We need to communicate, and trust each other. I'm not joking."

She shook her head at him, calm as he was, but the heat and passion was still in her voice. She knew how to argue the right way, logic and words fighting for her instead of screaming and blaming one another. "What the hell would you have done. His suit was 300 years old. And he claimed he knew you, and who I was. I don't fuck around when I'm at work, I plan for things that shouldn't happen. I've learned before, the hard way what happens when you do trust those that assume to know you. And I dont rely on it. I needed to keep him down while you made your way over. If I would've known he was immortal, and your sensei, I'd have taken a different tact." And she had Alec. She wasn't just some feeble thing that needed saving, but he'd never listen to her on that point. But she did lightly acknowledge his own impressive knowledge of chemicals. She might need to talk to him later about a certain formula she'd picked up years ago that was worth a pretty penny. But not now. He'd see it as a distraction and it wouldn't get them anywhere on the topic at hand.

So she took a grounding deep breath and exhaled slowly as he kept going about this al Ghul character. She assumed he meant Ducard, but didn't assume too much. "You can't just factor on doing everything on your own. Nor can you expect others to just drop their own lives to run to your aid. This man may be an unkillable menace, but that doesn't mean you can just....call Dick like some dog to your side." As he mentioned the Joker she went stiff, realizing all the pain and bullshit she'd gone through with him. Her secrets laid bare, her body broken, her trust in an untainted man shattered.

"The Joker is something different all together. And you have set protocols for him, too. Ones that are sent to the PD that I'm aware of. So it's not a new thing, it's just different, and dire in a whole new way. Don't mince things with me, Bruce." Turning toward him she just watched him. "I believe the fact that I had to drug an old man that is old as dirt, and had to call you to my place of work is pretty serious. Just because I'm not screaming and losing my shit like some vapid socialite doesn't mean I don't get the grave nature of this whole situation. I'm Catwoman, and Selina Kyle, not some vapid damsel in distress you have to rescue. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate you in this, but..." She shook her head and let out a sigh.

Now Charlotte. "Yes. She just knows that I have money, no parents, was once a juvenile delinquent like she is, and she thinks I'm eccentric. And that's a nice way to put it. And she doesn't quite understand why someone so weird as me would help someone like her. So aside from that, yes, I should tell her who I am. But she's not stupid. She's going to wonder why I had her brought to, of all places, Bruce Wayne's home. You don't come off as an impressive person for protection in the media, hon. So she's going to ask questions. I wouldn't have brought her in to my life if she wasn't curious and keen." But he was right. She had to come up with a plan, and fast.

"You've done this before, thrice over, even. Any tips for divulging my secret identity to a sixteen year old? How do you even make sure they don't squeal?" ...other than the fact that if anyone went after Bruce for being Batman, it would come off as laughable. Same for Selina. Other than the feline themes, it made no sense. Unless someone wanted to do a lot of digging in the past, but it would come off as a crackpot's wild theory. She just really liked cats.

[Deleted]

Bruce frowned as he listened, "There really wasn't much choice. Those boys were perceptive, curious, and they needed to fight crime as much I needed them to. At the end of the day it has to be about trust." Bruce hesitated. He knew how strange it was to think of him as trusting, but it was the truth, "In your heart you know if she can keep your secret, and if you can then you know the only option is to be honest and straightforward."

They were getting near Wayne Manor, but still had a bit more time to talk. Bruce was calming down as he considered his past with Dick, Jason, and now Tim. Their aid had been essential countless times, and they had taught Bruce how to trust and how to grow his family. Even now, when they sometimes had their differences, Bruce knew that they would all look after each other when the chips were down.

"...If you can trust her with Catwoman, I'll trust your judgement. She'll need to know what she's gotten into, Batman, Robin, and all."

He didn't like the idea of letting a virtual stranger into the Batcave, but he knew that to protect Selina and Charlotte he would have to let her know his secret, and he knew that Selina would appreciate his trust in her, even if it took her awhile to let him know. She was still upset, after all.

"Selina, I'll tell you everything I know about Al Ghul, but I don't know if it will help. I have more history with him than most and I still haven't learned all of his tricks, as much as I've tried. We have to work together if we're going to stay safe from him. You're right about that."

[Deleted]

She exhaled sharply through her nose. Him. She was coming down off her anger at him, but she was still seething. And the problem set before them, well, would take a team effort. Something they hadn't done since the FBI ordeal. China. Her eyes screwed tightly closed for a moment.

"I trust her. I just don't know if she can handle this much weird thrown at her all at once." Even now she felt the tug toward the teen. Maternal pulls, and not just indigestion or even some sort of heart condition. And she was acutely aware of how close they were to his home. And the nearing truth.

"I think that will be the best way. No doubt her time with Kory and Dick will have raised more than a few questions. She is aware I'm close with you, but considering how polarized we are, it will be...interesting." Her eyes opened, and she shrugged, turning to him one more. It was not like he had to expose the Batcave to Charlotte. She may be interested, but not everything had to be laid bare. They would have to play it by ear, on reaction.

"I just...still don't know how you could do this, time after time, and still...risk everything." She stated quietly. She was saying more in her abscence of words than she had planned. It was more than just taking a child in to your life, but risking their livelihood for a harder, but more rewarding, risky life. Was she selfish for subjecting Charlotte to it? She believed she wasn't, considering she was bettering the girl's overall expereinces. But how did one ever really know if it was truly what was good for everyone?

His voice brought her back to the task at hand, her voice growing sharp. "Any information will help, Bruce. I wasn't even aware of who he was, other than something was just clear wrong. He knew too much, and that suit. My god you are a shit magnet. Men who don't die, nearly every freak not in heels comes after you. So yes, it sounds like we're going to have to work together if he somehow is going after me, and mine as well now. Pencil in a time and date, and we'll have storytime, Handsome."