HOME | DD

Description

One more story featuring my 'The Dark Knight...Reloaded!' Batman before I really get 'Judgment Day' and 'Paramour' back off the ground again! (Like The Perfect Mirror, this is something I've been working on off and on for while.) As I explained before, it's headcanon sorta stuff, my idea of a kinder and old-fashioned Batman who works to save the world even as he's reaching the end of his sixth decade. Basically, a hero motivated by the best in himself, not the worst in himself like the Batman we've had to live with since after the 1980's...just because comics writers like things dark and complex.

And brother, nothing's been more complex in the world of the Batman than his relationship with the Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle! You know what I mean. They've been friends and almost-lovers as often as they've been enemies! Every fan loves the tension between them, but you can only go so long before one must ask, "Okay, will they be a couple or won't they?" A long time back that question was answered by the Golden Age-Earth Two versions of Batman and Catwoman...they finally got hitched. Those of you who know what I'm talking about also know there wasn't a happy ending for them, unfortunately.

Batman and Catwoman deserve a lot better, and I'd like to give that to them, at least in my imagination! So I present to you a story where, after years of chasing one another, working together, and so damn clearly desiring each other on so many levels, we can finally cut to the chase. I want them to be a couple, and you'll see it happen in the story that goes with each part!

By the way, a criticism I always had of Frank Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, to which I owe the inspiration and at the same time felt could have been brighter than what I'm giving you now. According to Frank and DC (and this also references his BATMAN: YEAR ONE story), Selina Kyle was a prostitute before she became the Catwoman...and sometime around when Batman retired, she quit being Catwoman to become a madam. Yeah. That's some forward thinking, Frank! That was the best he could do for Catwoman, and I wish I was just making it up.

Well, I imagined something different to do justice for a great character like Catwoman...just read on, and I hope you like the art that goes with the story, too!

Oh, by the way! Yes, in this story the Catwoman is almost as old as the Batman, and he's just barely on the good side of sixty. And as you can see in the art, she's still a showstopper. If you can't buy into that, remember Michelle Pfeiffer when she was Catwoman in BATMAN RETURNS? Michelle still looks incredible almost 25 years later, right? So there! Also, I love that 'Long Halloween' costume because she looks virtually nude; you might like where my imagination went when I thought of what her costume is made of! ^_^

It must also be said that Batman and Catwoman belong to DC Comics, not me...this is all for entertainment, and I won't make a cent!

---
Part One

It was a hot summer night in Gotham City, and the Batman was restless...waiting.

He waited at the top of one of his city's more gothic towers like a gargoyle watching over the citizens he long ago devoted his life to protecting. It wasn't the night for his weekly patrol of Gotham. Carrie was still at Wayne Manor studying for her college classes. The city itself was as peaceful as could be imagined. There hadn't been any serious crimes in Gotham for years because of the Batman...most criminals knew better than to try anything here. Things across the world were uneventful, there was no crisis for the Batman and his Super Friends in the Justice League of America to fight.

And yet The Caped Crusader was restless...his chiseled, aged face reflected the troubled feeling in his heart and soul.

He was restless, and he knew exactly why.

It had been nearly six years. Six years since he last saw her. How long had he asked himself what happened to her and why she left? How long had he searched for her in his every free moment...and then he tasked his super-advanced Bat-Computer in his Batcave to find any possible trace online, and it searched ever since only to still have no results? Yes, he had been restless for so long...and he did his best to hide it from Carrie and Alfred, he didn't want them to worry about him, and he'd barely succeeded.

It had been nearly six years, and he was starting to lose hope --

The Batman heard a slight sound behind him on the gothic rooftop. He stiffened and rose to his full formidable height. But he didn't turn around. The hero's instincts told him it wasn't a threat, but he didn't like this, either. The Dark Knight said in a quiet, resonant voice, "Whoever you are, come out where I can see you...it's impolite to try to sneak up on someone."

And an answer came...a woman's voice spoke like a cat: "Meow!"

The Batman almost froze with shock. Almost. He spun around and looked up to the voice. His eyes widened. "You...!"

"Yes, darling...me." She was leaning on the side of an upper support column, fully relaxed...the very image of pure sensuality. Selina Kyle. The Catwoman. She was almost as old as the Batman was, but you wouldn't have known it. Her gorgeous, enticing body that still could compete with an Olympian's when it came to agility and grace was sheathed in purple, except for her black gloves and boots. The cat's ears on her head seemed similiar to the Sphinx breed of feline. The Catwoman's ruby red lips pursed in a sinful smile as she said, "Time is never kind, Batman, but you still look as good as the last time I saw you. You make me want to lap every inch of you up."

The Batman stared at her, and it had been a long time since he sounded so astonished. "My god, it really is you. The years have been generous to you too, Catwoman. You're...a vision."

The Catwoman's eyes fixed on Batman as she began to lower herself from the column to the roof where he stood. Her smile brightened. "You sound pretty generous yourself."

"I'm serious. And it has been a long time since I last saw you, Selina."

Her smile faltered...only a little as she began to approach him. The Catwoman said softly, "I know."

The Batman smiled and playfully said, "Fortunately, I'm still on the good side of my sixties...and that means you must be -- "

"Ah-ah!" Catwoman grinned as she raised one of her clawed fingers in a 'no-no!' gesture. "Gentlemen don't ask a lady's age...besides, we never tell!" Then she said, "I like your new partner...she looks like such a sweetie, but I'm so glad she finally stopped dressing like me! I know she joined you a -- "

"A year after you left," Batman finished for her mildly. "Yes." The tension was there between them. Like she never even left six years ago. He shook his head slowly. "You look like you haven't aged a day. No...you look better."

The Feline Femme stopped before him and stretched her amazing body, lifting her arms high over her head. God, she was so seductive. "That's purr-fectly sweet of you to say, darling. Want to know my secret?"

"Clean living?"

"Oh, you know me better than that..."

"Yes, I do." He asked with curiosity, "What kind of costume is that? Latex?"

The Catwoman informed him with her purring tone, "Liquid latex. All I have to do is paint it on my naked body before I put on my gloves and boots. I paint almost every inch of myself, right up to my mask and cat's ears." She lifted her chin and displayed the smooth purple of her neck. "Not a seam at all. I love the way it hugs my body...the way it moves with me...every flex...every stretch..."

The Batman kept himself stoic. Barely. "Interesting...and extremely provocative."

She grinned...god, her lips were perfect... "I'd be disappointed if I didn't get a rise out of a man like this. What about you, darling?" She took a deliberate step closer and asked, "Am I getting a rise out of you?"

The hero was silent for a long moment before he answered, "Let's just say...my answer wouldn't disappoint you." His gaze shifted. Enough dancing...he needed desperately to know why. "It's been almost six years, Catwoman. Six years since you left Gotham. And disappeared."

The Catwoman simply said, "Oh, you sound like you've missed me." In spite of her casual attitude, he saw something in her eyes. So guarded. Tentative.

"You should know me well enough to know that I did. You left many times over the years, for a few months or even a year at time, so it wasn't strange at first. I only asked you once why, and you said...how did you put it...?"

The Catwoman's clawed hands perched on her killer hips...she answered, "From time to time, a girl needs to decompress. Just get away from it all. And it was never anything wrong with you, I just needed...'me' time."

Every emotion he felt for the past six years were there in the Batman's voice...the need... "But it was different until tonight. Six years, and I had no idea where you went, I didn't know where to even start looking for you. It was like you dropped off the face of the earth."

Selina Kyle hesitated to say anything, but only for a moment. She looked away from him. "It's hard to find a stray if she doesn't want to be found."

As she looked away, he slowly approached her, carefully. "I had hoped it was simply that. I hoped that...nothing happened to you." Finally, he said with deep emotion, "I missed you, Selina. I missed you so much."

The Catwoman looked at him again. Her expression was fully guarded, deliberately neutral, but she couldn't keep from saying thickly, "I-I missed you too, darling."

The Batman frowned. "Really?" There was a challenge in his tone. "I knew you, Catwoman...at least, I thought I did. We were once enemies back in the day. From the first night we met, when you were simply known as a jewel thief and you called yourself The Cat."

She smiled fondly as she remembered. "Mmm. You crossed my path a few times after that, and I had to start wearing a costume, too. Ever since I became Catwoman, I've felt so much...yummier."

"I've always wanted to ask you...why be a cat?"

Her eyes gazed into his, challenging him in turn. "I'll answer...but only if you finally tell me what made you want to be a big bat first!"

It was his turn to be guarded. For good reason. While everyone knew that Selina Kyle was Catwoman, no one knew Batman's secret identity, or even a single clue of why he became the guardian of Gotham City. He answered quietly, "Before I started my crusade against criminals, I tried to figure out what I'd be. Those who commit crime are a paranoid, greedy, superstitious, cowardly lot. I knew I had to be something that would strike fear into them." It was as if he stared past Selina then as he recalled. "I saw a bat one night, and I remembered how bats scared me so deeply as a child. Seeing the bat was...a sign. An omen."

Selina looked at the Dark Knight thoughtfully. "I never imagined that, darling. A childhood fear made you the Batman you are today."

"Oh, a bat inspired me...but it wasn't why I became Batman."

"Of course." The Catwoman's eyes reflected the lights of Gotham's cityscape. "Forgive me for saying so...but I already figured out why."

The Batman frowned. "Excuse me?"

The Catwoman's expression was so soft as she spoke. "It must have been a criminal who hurt you so deeply and made you want to fight criminals. It had to be something deeply traumatic. Something, perhaps, like the deaths of your parents." Then, Selina Kyle asked with an unexpectedly gentle voice:

"Or am I wrong...Bruce?"

Announcer: Holy Bat-astrophe! The Catwoman knows the Batman's greatest secret! How could she know?? And what will this mean for our Caped Crusader?!

For the answers, return to us next week...same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel!

TO BE CONTINUED
Lulz, actually, you can find the second part here! xD

charlesws.deviantart.com/art/T…

---

Giving credit where it's due!

XNALara created by Dusan Pavlicek

XPS created by Dusan and XNAaraL

Models:

TDKR Batman from Batman: Arkham City by and The Long Halloween Catwoman from same by

City from Burnout Paradise by

Devil May Cry 4 Platform by

Description

One more story featuring my 'The Dark Knight...Reloaded!' Batman before I really get 'Judgment Day' and 'Paramour' back off the ground again! (Like The Perfect Mirror, this is something I've been working on off and on for while.) As I explained before, it's headcanon sorta stuff, my idea of a kinder and old-fashioned Batman who works to save the world even as he's reaching the end of his sixth decade. Basically, a hero motivated by the best in himself, not the worst in himself like the Batman we've had to live with since after the 1980's...just because comics writers like things dark and complex.

And brother, nothing's been more complex in the world of the Batman than his relationship with the Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle! You know what I mean. They've been friends and almost-lovers as often as they've been enemies! Every fan loves the tension between them, but you can only go so long before one must ask, "Okay, will they be a couple or won't they?" A long time back that question was answered by the Golden Age-Earth Two versions of Batman and Catwoman...they finally got hitched. Those of you who know what I'm talking about also know there wasn't a happy ending for them, unfortunately.

Batman and Catwoman deserve a lot better, and I'd like to give that to them, at least in my imagination! So I present to you a story where, after years of chasing one another, working together, and so damn clearly desiring each other on so many levels, we can finally cut to the chase. I want them to be a couple, and you'll see it happen in the story that goes with each part!

By the way, a criticism I always had of Frank Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, to which I owe the inspiration and at the same time felt could have been brighter than what I'm giving you now. According to Frank and DC (and this also references his BATMAN: YEAR ONE story), Selina Kyle was a prostitute before she became the Catwoman...and sometime around when Batman retired, she quit being Catwoman to become a madam. Yeah. That's some forward thinking, Frank! That was the best he could do for Catwoman, and I wish I was just making it up.

Well, I imagined something different to do justice for a great character like Catwoman...just read on, and I hope you like the art that goes with the story, too!

Oh, by the way! Yes, in this story the Catwoman is almost as old as the Batman, and he's just barely on the good side of sixty. And as you can see in the art, she's still a showstopper. If you can't buy into that, remember Michelle Pfeiffer when she was Catwoman in BATMAN RETURNS? Michelle still looks incredible almost 25 years later, right? So there! Also, I love that 'Long Halloween' costume because she looks virtually nude; you might like where my imagination went when I thought of what her costume is made of! ^_^

It must also be said that Batman and Catwoman belong to DC Comics, not me...this is all for entertainment, and I won't make a cent!

---
Part One

It was a hot summer night in Gotham City, and the Batman was restless...waiting.

He waited at the top of one of his city's more gothic towers like a gargoyle watching over the citizens he long ago devoted his life to protecting. It wasn't the night for his weekly patrol of Gotham. Carrie was still at Wayne Manor studying for her college classes. The city itself was as peaceful as could be imagined. There hadn't been any serious crimes in Gotham for years because of the Batman...most criminals knew better than to try anything here. Things across the world were uneventful, there was no crisis for the Batman and his Super Friends in the Justice League of America to fight.

And yet The Caped Crusader was restless...his chiseled, aged face reflected the troubled feeling in his heart and soul.

He was restless, and he knew exactly why.

It had been nearly six years. Six years since he last saw her. How long had he asked himself what happened to her and why she left? How long had he searched for her in his every free moment...and then he tasked his super-advanced Bat-Computer in his Batcave to find any possible trace online, and it searched ever since only to still have no results? Yes, he had been restless for so long...and he did his best to hide it from Carrie and Alfred, he didn't want them to worry about him, and he'd barely succeeded.

It had been nearly six years, and he was starting to lose hope --

The Batman heard a slight sound behind him on the gothic rooftop. He stiffened and rose to his full formidable height. But he didn't turn around. The hero's instincts told him it wasn't a threat, but he didn't like this, either. The Dark Knight said in a quiet, resonant voice, "Whoever you are, come out where I can see you...it's impolite to try to sneak up on someone."

And an answer came...a woman's voice spoke like a cat: "Meow!"

The Batman almost froze with shock. Almost. He spun around and looked up to the voice. His eyes widened. "You...!"

"Yes, darling...me." She was leaning on the side of an upper support column, fully relaxed...the very image of pure sensuality. Selina Kyle. The Catwoman. She was almost as old as the Batman was, but you wouldn't have known it. Her gorgeous, enticing body that still could compete with an Olympian's when it came to agility and grace was sheathed in purple, except for her black gloves and boots. The cat's ears on her head seemed similiar to the Sphinx breed of feline. The Catwoman's ruby red lips pursed in a sinful smile as she said, "Time is never kind, Batman, but you still look as good as the last time I saw you. You make me want to lap every inch of you up."

The Batman stared at her, and it had been a long time since he sounded so astonished. "My god, it really is you. The years have been generous to you too, Catwoman. You're...a vision."

The Catwoman's eyes fixed on Batman as she began to lower herself from the column to the roof where he stood. Her smile brightened. "You sound pretty generous yourself."

"I'm serious. And it has been a long time since I last saw you, Selina."

Her smile faltered...only a little as she began to approach him. The Catwoman said softly, "I know."

The Batman smiled and playfully said, "Fortunately, I'm still on the good side of my sixties...and that means you must be -- "

"Ah-ah!" Catwoman grinned as she raised one of her clawed fingers in a 'no-no!' gesture. "Gentlemen don't ask a lady's age...besides, we never tell!" Then she said, "I like your new partner...she looks like such a sweetie, but I'm so glad she finally stopped dressing like me! I know she joined you a -- "

"A year after you left," Batman finished for her mildly. "Yes." The tension was there between them. Like she never even left six years ago. He shook his head slowly. "You look like you haven't aged a day. No...you look better."

The Feline Femme stopped before him and stretched her amazing body, lifting her arms high over her head. God, she was so seductive. "That's purr-fectly sweet of you to say, darling. Want to know my secret?"

"Clean living?"

"Oh, you know me better than that..."

"Yes, I do." He asked with curiosity, "What kind of costume is that? Latex?"

The Catwoman informed him with her purring tone, "Liquid latex. All I have to do is paint it on my naked body before I put on my gloves and boots. I paint almost every inch of myself, right up to my mask and cat's ears." She lifted her chin and displayed the smooth purple of her neck. "Not a seam at all. I love the way it hugs my body...the way it moves with me...every flex...every stretch..."

The Batman kept himself stoic. Barely. "Interesting...and extremely provocative."

She grinned...god, her lips were perfect... "I'd be disappointed if I didn't get a rise out of a man like this. What about you, darling?" She took a deliberate step closer and asked, "Am I getting a rise out of you?"

The hero was silent for a long moment before he answered, "Let's just say...my answer wouldn't disappoint you." His gaze shifted. Enough dancing...he needed desperately to know why. "It's been almost six years, Catwoman. Six years since you left Gotham. And disappeared."

The Catwoman simply said, "Oh, you sound like you've missed me." In spite of her casual attitude, he saw something in her eyes. So guarded. Tentative.

"You should know me well enough to know that I did. You left many times over the years, for a few months or even a year at time, so it wasn't strange at first. I only asked you once why, and you said...how did you put it...?"

The Catwoman's clawed hands perched on her killer hips...she answered, "From time to time, a girl needs to decompress. Just get away from it all. And it was never anything wrong with you, I just needed...'me' time."

Every emotion he felt for the past six years were there in the Batman's voice...the need... "But it was different until tonight. Six years, and I had no idea where you went, I didn't know where to even start looking for you. It was like you dropped off the face of the earth."

Selina Kyle hesitated to say anything, but only for a moment. She looked away from him. "It's hard to find a stray if she doesn't want to be found."

As she looked away, he slowly approached her, carefully. "I had hoped it was simply that. I hoped that...nothing happened to you." Finally, he said with deep emotion, "I missed you, Selina. I missed you so much."

The Catwoman looked at him again. Her expression was fully guarded, deliberately neutral, but she couldn't keep from saying thickly, "I-I missed you too, darling."

The Batman frowned. "Really?" There was a challenge in his tone. "I knew you, Catwoman...at least, I thought I did. We were once enemies back in the day. From the first night we met, when you were simply known as a jewel thief and you called yourself The Cat."

She smiled fondly as she remembered. "Mmm. You crossed my path a few times after that, and I had to start wearing a costume, too. Ever since I became Catwoman, I've felt so much...yummier."

"I've always wanted to ask you...why be a cat?"

Her eyes gazed into his, challenging him in turn. "I'll answer...but only if you finally tell me what made you want to be a big bat first!"

It was his turn to be guarded. For good reason. While everyone knew that Selina Kyle was Catwoman, no one knew Batman's secret identity, or even a single clue of why he became the guardian of Gotham City. He answered quietly, "Before I started my crusade against criminals, I tried to figure out what I'd be. Those who commit crime are a paranoid, greedy, superstitious, cowardly lot. I knew I had to be something that would strike fear into them." It was as if he stared past Selina then as he recalled. "I saw a bat one night, and I remembered how bats scared me so deeply as a child. Seeing the bat was...a sign. An omen."

Selina looked at the Dark Knight thoughtfully. "I never imagined that, darling. A childhood fear made you the Batman you are today."

"Oh, a bat inspired me...but it wasn't why I became Batman."

"Of course." The Catwoman's eyes reflected the lights of Gotham's cityscape. "Forgive me for saying so...but I already figured out why."

The Batman frowned. "Excuse me?"

The Catwoman's expression was so soft as she spoke. "It must have been a criminal who hurt you so deeply and made you want to fight criminals. It had to be something deeply traumatic. Something, perhaps, like the deaths of your parents." Then, Selina Kyle asked with an unexpectedly gentle voice:

"Or am I wrong...Bruce?"

Announcer: Holy Bat-astrophe! The Catwoman knows the Batman's greatest secret! How could she know?? And what will this mean for our Caped Crusader?!

For the answers, return to us next week...same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel!

TO BE CONTINUED
Lulz, actually, you can find the second part here! xD

charlesws.deviantart.com/art/T…

---

Giving credit where it's due!

XNALara created by Dusan Pavlicek

XPS created by Dusan and XNAaraL

Models:

TDKR Batman from Batman: Arkham City by and The Long Halloween Catwoman from same by

City from Burnout Paradise by

Devil May Cry 4 Platform by