"Starting tomorrow, we're basically strangers again."
- Fujimiya Amane (The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten)
...
"Catwoman."
Barbara's face was serious as she looked at the pretty woman in front of her.
"I heard that you quit this business two years ago, but I didn't expect you to start again today. Why?"
"Sometimes, people just want to reminisce about the past, don't they?"
Catwoman smiled slightly and asked in return.
Selina Kyle, who is also known as Catwoman, used to be one of the top thieves in Gotham/.
She had deals with different gangs in Gotham and had her fair share of conflicts and grudges.
She was also one of the few criminals who were able to get away from Batman.
At least in the eyes of Gotham citizens, there are very few criminals who have never been caught by Batman, and Catwoman is one of them.
There are those who say that Catwoman is the greast criminal Bathan had ever encounter, while others say that they like each other.
No matter what the truth is, this famous thief vanished without a trace after he met Batman many times and never stole anything again.
There are people who think that Catwoman might have made enough money to last a lifetime and decided to retire from her criminal activities.
However, today she reappeared in Gotham, and this time she had her eyes set on the world-famous 'Hope Diamond.'
In order to get into the exhibition as an insider and make things easier for herself, she even disguised herself as both Kim and Lily.
As a top thief, Catwoman was naturally skilled in disguise, but she wasn't as proficient as Phantom Thief, who could change into people of any gender or age.
She could only disguise herself as a female with a similar body type.
Bang!
Just then, the door of the bathroom was kicked open and Dick rushed in.
"Selina!"
"Oh, Little Robin is here too. Where's your Bat?"
Catwoman maintained her composure and even spoke in a playful manner while Batgirl and Robin were present.
"If Batman saw what you're doing now, he would be very angry."
Dick said it with a serious face.
"Why don't you just enjoy your retirement?"
"Firstly, I don't recall ever saying I was retiring, and I'm not old enough to retire. Secondly, I heard that Gotham has a new Batgirl and a young thief making headlines. I'm quite curious to meet him,her or they/."
"Now, Batgirl is right in front of me, and even though I haven't seen the real face of Phantom Thief, this guy has exposed all of my plans, causing me a great deal of trouble. It makes me more and more eager to play with him."
A strong sense of interest showed on Catwoman's face.
"Oh, and your magician friend is pretty quick. I almost didn't notice he planted this on me!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Catwoman swiftly threw two small black objects at Dick and Barbara.
Dick and Barbara subconsciously moved to the side and then realized the objects thrown were their transmitters and bugs.
"Tell Batman I said hi..."
When they turned around, Catwoman had already gotten out the window and vanished without a trace.
Barbara ran quickly to the window and stuck her head out to look outside.
However, no matter where she looked—up or down, left or right—she couldn't find Catwoman's figure.
"This woman is really fast!"
Barbara complained. She felt like Catwoman never really took them seriously from the start.
"Let's not worry about her for now. Selina is still the same old Selina."
Dick said as he picked up the transmitters and bug devices from the floor calmly.
"You seem... familiar with her? And her attitude toward you seems quite friendly. She even asked us to say hi to Batman for her. Naturally, Gotham's criminals don't want Batman's attention."
Barbara asked curiously.
Suddenly, as if she had realized something, her eyes widened, and she said, "Could it be?"
"Those rumors about Batman and Catwoman having a relationship are true!"
Dick silently nodded.
"You haven't been around for long, so you might not know much about the past. Batman did indeed have a romantic relationship with Catwoman... or rather, Bruce and Selina did."
"In all the years I've known Bruce, that was the first time he dated someone with the same person as two different identities, and it's the only time I've seen him show excitement about 'dating.'"
Hearing this, Barbara covered her mouth in astonishment and said, "It sounds like he really loved her. It's unbelievable! I thought Batman despised every criminal, that he'd never feel any feelings towards anyone."
"I used to think that too, but it's not that simple."
Dick explained.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! There's a pervert!"
A loud scream followed the push of the bathroom door opening once more at that precise moment.
A young woman wearing employee clothes stood at the door, pointing at Dick and screaming, her eyes tightly shut and not bold enough to look inside.
Suddenly, Dick and Barbara realized that they were in the women's bathroom.
They quickly followed Catwoman's lead and jumped out of the window.
"What's going on? Where's the pervert?"
Soon, the woman's screams attracted two security guards.
"It's in there, a blindfolded man. There might be a woman with him, she could be in danger! It's terrifying! I can't even bear to look!"
The woman covered her eyes with both hands and spoke nervously.
"Uh... Ms., please take another look. There's nothing in there."
When the security guards saw that the women's bathroom was empty, they were puzzled.
"What?"
The woman slowly opened her eyes and peered into the bathroom through her fingers. When she looked inside, she saw that no one was there.
"Huh? But I clearly saw..."
"Ms., you must be tired from work and experiencing hallucinations. There's nothing here, not even a shadow outside."
The guards leaned out of the window and looked outside.
On the rooftop, Dick and Barbara let out a sigh of relief.
"We were lucky to escape quickly. Otherwise, tomorrow's newspaper headlines would've been, 'Batman's sidekick Robin caught trespassing in the women's bathroom like a perverted maniac.'"
"At least we resolved Catwoman's issue. Now, the only thing left is to deal with the Phantom Thief tomorrow."
Lying on the rooftop, Dick wore an exhausted expression.
"I don't know why, but even though we haven't done much these past couple of days, I'm more tired than I used to be patrolling all night."
"It's pathetic that you're feeling tired at such a young age."
Barbara responded with a sympathetic look.
Dick rolled his eyes but didn't lose his temper.
Instead, he let out a sigh. "The Phantom Thief's actions are completely unpredictable. He's like a phantom, leaving no trace. We can't imagine what he'll do next."
"Like today, even though we knew something was off with Lily and we bugged and tracked her, it was ultimately the Phantom Thief who ruined Catwoman's plan."
"I won't come tomorrow."
Barbara suddenly said.
"This time you'll have to handle catching the Phantom Thief on your own."
...
A/N: If we reach 900 power stones today, I will release an additional chapter tomorrow.
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