Title: Selina

By: Satine16

Disclaimer: None of the characters in the following story belong to me. They are all property of DC comics. I am not doing this for money so please do not sue me! 

Chapter 1: One to Jack…

The screeching of the tires wailed through the parking garage as a sleek black pump jammed the accelerator of the black Jaguar. Going 60mph through the mess of cars and cement pillars it started weaving its way to the exit. There were no scratches on the body as the roaring machine sped into the dark night air. Every turn had been expertly completed, each skid mark ended in perfect time, and each acceleration applied in faultless rhythm. The escape was completed with the tenacity and flair of a fine tuned artist.

Three Hours Earlier…

The night sky was perfectly velvet blue and the array of stars speckled the heavens like diamonds. Although no one, who was anyone, in Gotham City would see them shine that night.

Jonathan Richard Ludlow, Jack to those lucky enough, was the owner of a major chemical weapons corporation, JRL Industries, and one of the richest men in the city. At the age of twenty-one he signed his first contract, and business had been booming ever since. Now, a decade later, he was the forth-richest man in Gotham. To celebrate his successes he claimed the responsibilities of throwing an annual Black and White Ball to benefit an array of Gotham's finest charities. His parties were madly successful, and this was his fifth year throwing the bash. It would also be his last. Bruce Wayne offered to host the gala next year and, surely enough, the board gladly awarded him the honor. The idea that a man six years his junior could have ten times the money, twenty times the publicity, and one hundred times the appeal made Jack's blood boil. There was no one in Gotham Jack hated more than Bruce Wayne. All he needed was enough to dethrone the golden boy, and he would do it. He'd been fighting what appeared to be a losing battle this long.

And so the glitterati came. They arrived with their silver and gold invitations, and were welcomed by the flash bulbs and the blinding lights of the mansion. Jack elected to host his final blast at his home: completely in control and completely over the top. He stood in his main foyer welcoming the guests with a firm handshake and bright smile. Nothing could beat the connections one could make at a Gotham City charity fundraiser. Just as Jack began to shake hands with the mayor he could hear the press erupt outside. He was here.

Surely enough, moments later Bruce Wayne walked in with the lovely, trendy new "it" girl, Vicki Vale, on his arm. Vicki had recently transcended the news world and become the celebrity and gossip girl for all of Gotham, rocketing her fame skyward. Bruce was obviously a fantastic catch for her image, appeal and column.

"Good evening, Bruce. How've you been?" Jack's phony smile quickly cemented on his face as he took his contender's hand.

"Great, Jack yourself?" Bruce was not only the richest man in the city, but by some cruel act of injustice he was also the most handsome.

Jack was about 5'11" with thin, dirty blonde hair, grey eyes, and leathery skin, which, from reckless tanning, wrinkled before its time. He had expensive porcelain veneers to replace what a childhood without braces had destroyed and a thin build which he had inherited from his mother. No matter how hard he tried he was always a little wiry and looked a little out of place in his expensive suits and tuxedos.

Bruce on the other hand always looked like a billion dollars. He was 6'2", with broad shoulders and a solid build. In tuxedos he always commanded one's attention. He had perfect bone structure: high cheek bones, a straight nose and strong jaw. To top it off his lips were perfectly full and perfectly pink and he had a thick head of jet-black hair. He was built like his eternally loved father, Dr. Thomas Wayne. A man all of Gotham revered in life and idolized in death. What Jack didn't know was that Bruce had his mother Martha's radiant blue eyes. They were strong but vulnerable, and to any woman, eternally captivating. Bruce's face was perfect except for the few lines of wear and early age, which had come from the traumas his life had offered. Although, as Jack's last girlfriend clarified, his story only made him mysterious and sexy on a deeper level. She also told Jack she thought he had a homoerotic attraction to Bruce Wayne. The nerve of her. She was found dead in her apartment two weeks after her misguided remark.

"Never better, Bruce. How's business?"

"Booming, Jack. Constantly booming."

"Bruce here doesn't sleep enough," Vicki's syrupy voice cut in.

"Oh, Jack, I'm sorry. Do you know…"

"Vicki Vale. Of course I know of her. Pleasure to finally meet you Ms. Vale," Jack took her gloved hand in his own and raised it to his thin lips.

Vicki was an oversexed and ridiculously attractive redhead. She had gracious curves and a lovely face. Most importantly, she understood her sex appeal, and oozed just the right amount of elegant lady mixed with insatiable vixen. She wore a magnificent diamond necklace around her slender neck, which trickled into her eye -popping cleavage. Her dress was white silk, with a sweetheart neckline and slit to the tip top of her thigh. Her arms were draped with white, silk, elbow length gloves and diamonds frosted her left wrist. Vicki's skin was perfectly tan: the rich color of coffee and the perfect amount of cream and her makeup was flawless. Her wide, round blue eyes, and full lips would hypnotize any man. It was clear Vicki new how to highlight her assets. Jack wondered what it would be like to fuck her. He would probably ask her to leave her strappy, silver stilettos and her diamonds on.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Ludlow. A girl who knows the richest men in Gotham is pretty lucky, I'd say."

"And on the arm of Bruce Wayne no less. Ms. Vale…Can I call you Vicki? Vicki, this evening might just be everything you've ever dreamed," a woman's voice cut in from behind Vicki and Bruce. It was soft and sharp, with distinct pronunciation.

Selina Kyle had just entered the ball. Her platinum blonde hair cascaded down her back and shoulders and she stood in an inky black dress. The neckline was a high boat neck, which eased into a pair of long sleeves. Her shiny black pumps were visible beneath her endless black skirt, the train of which Selina had hooked onto her left hand. Her large, green, cat eyes were lined perfectly with dark fringe and black liner: a throwback to the 1960's. Her perfectly shaped mouth was lined and colored with a deep red lipstick adding to her dressed down, retro appeal. The dark colors of her attire blazed against her complexion. Selina was in everyway the opposite of Vicki: her rock hard, lean form was subtly sexy, as opposed to Vicki's blatant display of femininity.

"Ms. Kyle…" Jack's welcoming tone was offered.

"Selina…" Bruce merely exhaled her name. The last time the two had spoken was six months ago, before Selina left for Metropolis.

"Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are on a first name basis?" Jack spat under his breath.

"Where've you been?" Vicki whispered sardonically in his ear. "They were quite entangled before she up and left for Metropolis. Ms. Kyle," Vicki raised her voice and lifted her eyes to meet Selina's, "I see you came alone."

"Don't people like you always say that it's never who you take with you, all that matters is who you take home?" Selina arched one perfectly shaped eyebrow. "So, how long ago did you give up writing the real news?"

"Selina," Bruce's tone was firm but pleading. He knew just how vicious Selina could be, and Vicki didn't deserve it.

"Sorry, Bruce. I won't start any fights," Selina glided past the three and headed towards the ballroom. Once she slipped by it was clear to them that her dress was completely backless, cut in the shape of a V from her shoulder blades and diving to a dangerously low point at the bottom. She turned her head over her shoulder, and her distinct profile had been clearly outlined: her small pixie nose slightly turned up. "Don't be a stranger, Bruce." With that she slipped into the crowd, and Vicki took his arm and pulled him in the other direction.

Bruce took one last, quick glance over to where Selina had been standing but she was lost to the crowd and Jack was now greeting his latest arrival. Before completely comprehending anything that had happened: Selina's new entrance, and, well, Selina in general, and Vicki, and Jack, and the ball, he was shaking the Mayor's hand.

Two hours later the party was in full swing. Magicians were occupying the main hall, professional dancers interspersed, twirled and spun along with dancing guests in the ballroom, dining and drinking were saved for the immense dining room. Jack had orchestrated an abundance of pleasures for Gotham's finest. Vicki was deep in conversation with the Mayor, his wife and newly rising movie star Jasmine Harrison. Bruce had excused himself to find the restroom, and instead found himself observing the guests as he traveled room to room.

As he made his way through the people, he smiled to himself. The lifestyle of Gotham's finest never ceased to amaze. Without any warning, he was suddenly grabbed by the wrist and pulled into an unpopulated hallway. Selina Kyle pressed her index finger to her lips; her perfectly manicured red nails flawlessly matched her lipstick.

"I told you not to be a stranger, Bruce."

"Selina…"

"Don't. I'm going upstairs to find a ladies, which isn't overflowing with gossipy, annoying females, going on about you. Then I'm leaving. I simply wanted to say a proper goodbye," just then she leaned in and kissed him. Her lips were pliable and supple, just as he remembered them. She kissed him deeply, running her fingernails in his collar and over the buttons in his shirt. "Goodnight, Bruce."

With a small smirk, Selina headed up the stairs. She watched Bruce over her shoulder as she ascended. The expression on his face was a priceless one of befuddlement and enjoyment. Had Selina been more careful, she would have noticed Jack Ludlow watching her climb his winding staircase.

Jack stood at the opposite end of the extensive staircase, grasping the banister in a strained fist. He ground his teeth back and forth slowly, and felt for the gun in his right breast pocket. Once Selina had slipped down the hallway, Jack began to follow her.

Selina, being the expert criminal, quickly sped down the hall to Jack's office. She had memorized the layout earlier, so as to cut down on her time in the office and speed up her flight from the party. Brushing the hair from her eyes, she picked the lock and headed into the office. Checking the hall again for unwelcome eyes, she slipped in and closed the door behind her. Jack made it upstairs in time to see the door shut.

In two steps Selina was across the room. She quickly hacked into his computer system: it was easy to guess the passwords of men with egos. In no time her zip drive was accepting the files she needed. Her pale face was bathed in the glow of the computer screen for only ten minutes, by then she had all she needed and closed the laptop. Selina slipped her zip drive back into her garter, next to her flat dagger, and headed towards the vault.

Jack Ludlow's vault was hidden behind a picture of DaVinci's Vitruvian Man. As she removed the picture, the red carpet squished under his shiny black shoes outside the door. Slowly he removed the gun from his pocket. Selina reached the second of three digits of the vault. The locks cracked open as Jack turned the door handle.

"Game's over, Beautiful," Jack's voice pierced the silence as Selina closed the vault.

"You don't scare me, Ludlow. Your gun certainly doesn't."

"It should. Now I need you to return what you've just taken."

"There's no chance in hell, Jack," Selina began to back up. Her only chance at salvation was through one of the two picture windows in Jack's office. The rest of the walls were solid mahogany and offered no chance at escape. "I know about what you've done, Jack. Testing your chemical warfare on helpless animals. On defenseless people, too. When did you start kidnapping the homeless, Jack?"

"Oh, Selina. You are putting me in a very sticky spot," his voice danced with false air. "Hand me what you are trying to steal from me," he extended his hand.

"Come here and take it," Jack took a step towards her and grasped his gun harder. "You won't win. Even if you do, it won't stop me from showing the pictures of your lab to the media."

"That's too bad," he smiled and his voice had a phony tinge of regret. "I guess your return is ending before it really got started." Two shots were fired from Jack's gun. The silencer masked them completely.

Selina took both. The force from the blasts knocked her out of the plate glass window. She never gave Ludlow the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She simply plummeted into the garbage below in complete silence.

Some time later Selina awoke in the dumpster, covered in her own blood. One bullet was lodged in her shoulder, and one had grazed her side. Jack's gun didn't scare her. He was a terrible shot. Grabbing the slender silver box next to her, Selina used the rest of her energy to push herself from the trash.

Wearing one shoe, her dress torn, glass imbedded in her back, and her bullet wounds bleeding immensely Selina made her way back to her black Jag. Glad again for Bruce, she was able to slip away overlooked, as every head was turned to his departure with Ms. Vale. Finding her car, Selina summoned what little she had left and made her escape.

The cat had lost its first life.