Selina got back home with a groan. Her Catwoman outfit was stuffed in her bag and her ears were still ringing from her run in with the Batman.

“Felicia I’m home,” Selina said as she opened the door and the two cats that were following her rushed inside. “If I sound groggy it’s cause I had a run in with this very insistent client and he quite literally gave me a headache.” Selina realised she still had her mask on and quickly stuffed in inside her bag. “Felicia?”

Selina figured she was probably asleep because she had a long day at school. She quietly walked towards her room and opened the door slightly, a tiny beam of light cutting through. Selina slipped into the corner and walked towards her bed, careful not to make a sound. She reached out to ruffle her hair but only ruffled a pillow.

Selina sighed. “Now where’d you run off to?”

…

The Cat had given them a crate lined with equipment, tools and most importantly masks.

“Look at me,” Holly said, wearing a mask of a cat painted black. She had her hands up and her tongue out. “I’m the Cat lady, kneel before me. Roarrr.”

Felicia chuckled, she straightened up a rope, wrapping it around her waist. “Get serious. You’ll be a laughingstock if you wear a mask like that.”

“At least my mask doesn’t show off most of my face,” Holly said, removing her cat mask. “I mean I can make out most of your distinguishing features with that skimpy mask of yours.”

“It’s comfortable,” Felicia said. “Besides I like to keep things simple.”

In the crate there was also skin-tight clothes. At first, Felicia thought the Cat had an odd fetish but when she put them on, they made her feel lighter and allowed her to slip through corners much easily.

They all lined up in front of the Cat with the equipment of their choice. The cold wind bit through their clothes. The rooftops of Gotham lay in front of them.

“Remember,” the Cat said. “It’s every man and woman for themselves. I’ll be watching you from a far to assess your skills. Whoever brings me in the Egg in one piece gets a free pass to the Syndicate. The rest of you will pack up and forget any of this happened.”

That seemed very naïve for a leader of a syndicate, Felicia thought. Leaving potential witnesses without so much as a warning.

“I have high expectations of you,” the Cat said but he was looking at Felicia when he said it. “Now show me what you all got.”

He looked at all the kids who in turn looked at each other, sizing them up. “Alright children, on your marks.” Everybody tensed up. “Get set.” The tension in the air was electrifying. Felicia stared at Holly, who gave her a nod confirming their plan would go ahead. They had agreed to work together to retrieve the Egg but, call it a thieves’ hunch but Felicia didn’t trust Holly one bit. “Go!”

The sound of footsteps clattered on the rooftop, the moon shining on the eager youths as they leapt from rooftop to rooftop making their way to the museum.

…

Who could’ve stolen the necklace?

“Hey Peter.”

Peter didn’t tell anyone about the necklace. Not that he had anybody to tell in the first place. His only friend was on a journey of self-discovery and everybody in school looked at him like he was an alien when he tried to even connect with even one of them.

“Petterrr.”

He knew better than to bring it out in the open. Most Gotham kids picked up habits from their parents, criminal habits. He knew better than to walk around school with something expensive.

“Peter Parker.”

Felicity was the only suspect but there was no way she knew his locker code or number for that matter. She couldn’t have been the one to…

“Pet…”

“What?” Peter snapped. Jason Todd grinned as he dangled a chocolate bar in front of him, hanging upside down atop the rooftop beams.

“Hey that’s…” Peter said, reaching out for the bar. Jason jumped to the side and unwrapped the chocolate bar, swallowing it up in one gulp.

“You snooze, you lose.”

“You’re an asshole,” Peter said. “You know that? A Grade A asshole. You take after your dad.”

“He’s not my dad,” Jason said suddenly, his cheeks red.

“Oh, sure he isn’t,” Peter said with a grin. “I see how you follow him around the mansion. It’s cute when you do that.”

“Shut up,” Jason said, reddening. “What do you know?”

“I know enough,” Peter said. “Like how you always hide behind him when Alfred gets angry at you. Alfred told me all about it.”

“That asshole,” Jason said. “I’m going to give him a piece of my mind when we get home.”

“Why not do it now?” Peter said. “And leave me alone?”

Jason Todd was annoying. Dick often mentioned how Bruce used to find him annoying, so much so that Dick’s presence drove him off the deep end. Peter figured that with Jason, Bruce already took the plunge which probably explained why he was such an uptight prick during training.

“I’m bored,” Jason muttered. He was lying down on the beams, scrunching up the chocolate wrapper, tapping his fingers against the beam.

Peter had to admit he was bored too. He’d lied to Aunt May saying that he was at a sleepover at a (non-existent) friend’s house and right now, lying atop the beams and looking at the moon through the skylights, Peter would much rather do that than spend another hour with Jason Todd.

There was a web of lasers beneath them criss-crossing around the egg in the centre. The lights hummed and energy brimmed throughout the museum. And just when Peter was starting to make himself comfortable on top of wooden beams, the lights went off.

Peter put on his mask. The eyes started to glow as the world around him brimmed to life in a bluish hue. He turned to see Robin had his mask on, too. The white eyes glowing in the darkness.

“What’s going on?” Robin asked.

Below them they heard shuffling footsteps.

“Bad guys?” Robin asked.

“Bad guys,” Spider-Man confirmed. There were around 3 people running towards the egg. “Now let’s wait. We don’t want to lose the element of…”

Spider-Man heard the ruffling of a cape and there was a flash of yellow in front of him.

“Surprise.”

Spider-Man sighed and joined them.

…

Holly and Felicia navigated through the museum when the lights went off.

“Shit,” Holly muttered.

Felicia knew somebody would turn off the power so she came prepared. She unclipped the night vision goggles from her belt and put it on.

“Follow me.”

Holly followed Felicia through the darkened hallways of the museum until they found themselves in front of the room the Egg was stored when one of the kids burst through the door, his face bruised.

“It’s Robin and Spider-Man,” the guy said through heavy breath. “Get out of here, it’s Robin and…”

A string was attached to his back and he was yanked back into the room letting out a scream.

Holly gave a nervous nod to Felicia and she snuck a peak using her night goggles. She saw a small blurry green figure in a cape and pixie boots alongside a much bigger figure zipping around the air like acrobats. Some of the kids tried fighting back but they were dispatched with relative ease.

“It’s them,” Felicia said.

“Oh shit,” Holly said in a harsh whisper. “The Cat didn’t tell us they’d be there. What are we going to do? What the fuck are we supposed to do?”

Holly was right to panic. Everybody in their right minds knew that Spider-Man and hell even Robin were no joke. They all took on the Joker and all those other freaks. They weren’t to be messed with. For a brief moment, Felicia thought that she should retreat. Cut all evidence that would lead connect her to the Cat and just disappear.

I have high expectations of you.

Felicia was sure he was looking at her when she said it. And this was her one and only opportunity to do the one thing she was good at: stealing. Her one and only opportunity to get out of the rut school and Cobblestone Alley made her feel. To know why The Cat was so interested in her, in all of them.

“Wait for my signal and distract them.”

“What?” Holly whispered.

“I said wait for my signal and distract them,” Felicia said. “I have a plan.”

“Felicia that’s suicide,” Holly hissed. “They’re fast and strong. They’ll catch up to me in not time. I’ll be caught and then you will and then…”

“I have a rope on me,” Felicia said. “There’s a switch on top over there. When I give the signal, you switch it on. Those two will have a hard time getting to us with all the lasers around.”

“But Felicia…”

“Trust me,” Felicia said. “You want to join the Syndicate, right?”

Holly nodded.

“Well let’s show them what we can do.”

They climbed atop the network of beams, stopping atop the golden egg laying below them. Felicia wrapped the rope around her waist, wrapping the strong wire around a beam. Holly stood by the switch. Felicia gave her a nod before descending down to the egg, lowering the wire slowly and slowly down when…

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…

His spider sense started to buzz.

“There’s someone over there,” Jason said.

Spider-Man saw a lady with platinum blonde hair descending down with a wire. Robin dashed towards her; Spider-Man tried getting him to stop when…

…

The lights flashed on. Spider-Man and Robin let out a sudden groan, stumbling around like they were drunk. Felicia gave Holly the thumbs up. Felicia unwrapped the rope around her waist, gloved hands closing in on the egg when suddenly there was a whistling of wind. Felicia narrowly avoided getting her face scratched by the boomerangs Robin threw.

But the worst was yet to come. Spider-Man fumbled onto the lasers and…

…

The sirens blared and the red lights burst to life. Spider-Man regained his bearings just in time to see the girl ascend up a rope as a cage snapped around the empty spot where the egg was.

“You’re not getting away,” Spider-Man said. He attached his webs but Robin was already on it. He jumped in the air, kicking her across the stomach. The thief rolled on the floor.

“Get the egg,” Robin said. “It’s over…”

…

Felicia kicked swung her legs in an arc, hitting the boy in his shins. The boy tripped, falling on the floor. She cast a quick glance at the beams upwards as unwrapped it from the ropes and made a run for it with the egg in her hands.

Felicia wasn’t stupid. She knew she couldn’t trust a girl she just met with something valuable when they were competing, no matter how friendly they got with each other. Felicia needed a way to get up. She saw the grappling hook dangling at Robin’s belt. She reached out for it but the boy was quick. He grinned.

“I know a pickpocket when I see one,” Robin said. Robin tried twisting her wrist but Selina had taught Felicia a thing or two about self-defence and how to fight. Living in Cobblestone Alley you had to know stuff like that.

Felicia slackened her wrist, allowing her to pull from Robin’s grip. Felicia tried scratching at his face but Robin stepped back. She chanced a glance upwards and saw Spider-Man…

…

The girl ran with the egg but Spider-Man was faster. He reached for the egg.

“You know the saying,” Spider-Man said. “Don’t count your eggs before…”

Holly rolled out of the way. Spider-Man quickly regained his bearings. He attached his web to the egg.

“Before you hatch them,” Spider-Man said. He pulled the egg out of her grip before the girl could even grab a hold of it.

“Before you hatch them.”

Spider-Man landed in front of her in a crouch, egg hanging out in his outstretched hand. He stood up, bouncing the egg like it was a ball in his left hand and walking towards her.

“Now tell me,” Spider-Man said. “What’s a girl like you doing on a night like this?”

The girl took a step back. The beams of the rooftop starting to feel a whole lot smaller as Spider-Man walked towards her bouncing the egg in his hands.

“I have to say it was smart,” Spider-Man said. “What you did with the lights. I’m still seeing stars.”

Holly tried reaching for the egg but Spider-Man threw it to his other hand. “Nope, uh uh. Eggs are very delicate. You can’t just throw them around. You have to treat them nicely.”

Holly looked down to see Felicia was still in the middle of…

…

Dodging Robin’s blows. Felicia had to hand it to the kid, his punches hit like a hammer. She looked up to see Holly backing away from Spider-Man as he closed in on her. All Felicia had to do was get the hook hanging on his belt but the kid put up a good defence, not letting Felicia grab a hold of it.

“I have to hand it to you,” Robin said. “You fight well for a girl.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say,” Felicia said. “Didn’t your Bat-Dad teach you manners.”

That seemed to strike a nerve. “He’s not my dad,” the boy shouted. He lunged. Felicia smiled. The perfect opening.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Robin said. He removed Batarangs from his belt and prepared to throw them…

But Felicia was zipping up in the air using his grappling hook.

…

Holly decided to make a run for it.

Spider-Man sighed, he flicked his wrist and Holly could make out the sound of something clicking. “Why do the pretty ones always run? Is it the…”

Spider-Man had no time to react as Felicia kicked him across the railing. The egg flew out of his grip. Felicia reached for it, almost falling of the edge of the beams to grab it.

Spider-Man attached himself to the wall, feeling a little fazed. “That hurt, you know.” He shook his head and for some reason found his gaze trained on the girl’s necklace.

“Wait isn’t that…”

He had no time to think about it as the two girls started to run.

The familiar looking girl with the ashen hair had the egg.

“Hey can you show me the necklace,” Spider-Man said. “The necklace you have on. It looks really…”

Spider-Man launched a web at the egg but before it stuck, Felicia threw it over to Holly who caught it and ran. Spider-Man went after Holly but before he could even get close Holly threw the egg away and Felicia caught it. Spider-Man swerved quickly but Felicia had already fired the grappling hook, swinging in a wide arc towards the door. Spider-Man followed after her, swinging after her too. It would seem they were about to meet by the door and Spider-Man. Robin was dashing after them and the girl had no way to escape but Felicia threw the egg directly through the door where…

…

It was stupid.

Stupid stupid stupid.

Holly probably already made a run for it. There was no way she was there. Her brain told her not to trust her but chalk it down to a feeling, chalk it down to the nice conversation they had beforehand but Felicia decided to take a leap of faith and throw the damn egg through the damn door.

It all seemed to go by in slow motion. The egg going through the door like a cannon ball, the flash of red in front of her and Robin calling her a bitch below. All that greeted her in front was an empty hallway and Spider-Man ready to catch her and take her to the cops. She wondered what Selina would think, she wondered what the trial would look like.

And then it happened. Holly stepped by the hallway.

And Holly caught the egg.

…

Spider-Man was by the door ready to throw a punch. The thief was swinging right towards her and there was no way he’d miss her. Once he caught her the other girl would be easy pickings.

“Hello,” Spider-Man said. The girl was getting closer and closer. “Right in the spiders…”

The girl let go of the grappling hook and rolled on the floor. The wire hit him straight in the face and the girl dashed past him. Spider-Man lunged his hand out desperately before grabbing hold of the girl’s shoulder. The girl grabbed his arm and swung him over her.

“Ow,” Spider-Man mumbled.

Felicia ran past him. Holly was waiting for her with the egg safely clutched in her hands.

“Let’s get out of this place,” Holly said.

Felicia nodded in agreement. Before she could start running, however, a rope wrapped itself around her waist.

“No, you don’t,” Robin said with a sneer. He pulled causing her to trip and stumble. Robin pulled her back and for a brief second Holly looked like she was about to run away with the egg in her clutches.

But then Holly stepped on the rope. Robin let out a growl of frustration removed some Batarangs from his belt. Holly held up the rope and the Batarangs sliced through them. With Robin’s grip around them loosened, Holly and Felicia made a run for it holding the egg in their clutches.

Spider-Man swung into the scene.

“That hurt, you know?” Spider-Man said. “I demand compensation for…”

Felicia slammed a button and Spider-Man slammed into a big metal gate leaving a Spider-Man shaped dent on it.

Felicia and Holly laughed as they made their way out of the museum.

…

“Holy shit I was scared,” Holly said, down as they walked through the rooftops, Holly walking with the occasional skip in her step. Felicia had the egg dangling on her belt, casting the occasional eye to make sure it was fastened there properly. Below them sirens wailed and police cars screeched as they made their way to the museum. “Spider-Man and Robin! I was shaking.” She turned to face Felicia with a big grin on her face. “How the hell did you hold up against Robin for so long?”

Felicia couldn’t help but smile too. “I train sometimes with my sis. When you live where I live you have to learn how to defend yourself.”

“But still, Robin,” Holly said. “If you managed to last that long in a fight with him I think you have Batman in the bag.”

Felicia chuckled. “You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

“But with the way you move you must do some sort of exercise,” Holly said. “You gotta teach me sometime. You fight like a…”

Holly didn’t have time to finish her sentence as piece of wood slammed into her face. Holly crumpled on the floor.

“Holly!” Felicia reached out but a barrel of a gun stopped her.

“Don’t move any further!” Tiny roared. “Or the girl gets it!”

Tiny pointed the gun at Holly.

“Now gimme the egg!” Tiny said. “Or else I’ll take it myself.”

Felicia was surprised she didn’t see Tiny during the heist. A guy that big wouldn’t be easy to miss.

“Where’d you get that gun?”

“Security guard,” Tiny said with a grin. “All I had to do was wait for one of you to steal the egg and… BOOM!” Tiny shouted the boom in an attempt to intimidate Felicia. Felicia didn’t wince “The egg is mine.”

Tiny walked over to Holly and placed a leg over her neck, gun directly over her head. “Now give me the egg.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Holly regain consciousness. She saw her subtly flick her wrist and a pair of claws flick out. She gave her a small nod. Felicia nodded back.

“Fine,” Felicia said, unclipping the egg. “You can have it.”

Holly scratched Tiny across the shin. A gunshot echoed as Tiny roared in pain. Holly rolled out of the way. Felicia and wrapped her legs around his neck pulling him back. Holly took that opportunity to take a stray piece of wood and hit him across the belly.

Tiny fell on the floor, unconscious. His gun clattering on the roof. Felicia unwrapped her legs and walked over to Holly whose forehead was bleeding.

“You okay?” Felicia asked.

Holly was out of breath but she was fine. “I’ll be okay. Compared to Spider-Man and Robin this guy is nothing.”

Holly gave her a smile, blood running down her forehead. Felicia smiled back.

The lights of the apartments below them flashed on and the police sirens.

“Can you walk?” Felicia asked, holding her arm.

Holly grinned. “I can run.”

Felicia and Holly made their way across the rooftops as police sirens wailed in the night.

…

The Cat was waiting for them. He took the egg without a word, held it up in the light and started to inspect it.

Holly was the first one to speak up. “Did we pass your test?”

“Check your pockets,” he muttered, not looking away from the egg.

Felicia and Holly looked through their pockets. Felicia’s hand got a little nick by the fingers. She grabbed a hold of whatever it was in her pocket.

It was a card with the symbol of a cat and co-ordinates at the bottom.

Felicia and Holly looked at each other, excitement plastered all over their faces. The hugged tightly before letting go.

“Thank you,” Holly said.

But the Cat had already disappeared.

…

She took Holly’s number and tucked away the outfit at a secret place at Cobblestone Alley before making her way back home. Holly and Felicia promised each other that they’d call each other once they cracked the co-ordinates. Just to make sure Selina didn’t find anything she tucked the card alongside her outfit so that Selina wouldn’t catch wind of it when she was snooping around.

She opened the door to the apartment, making sure it didn’t creak and her footsteps didn’t make any sounds. As she navigated through the dark hallways she prayed Selina was fast asleep or out working.

She opened the door to her to her room when…

“Kitten,” said a voice that made her heart stop and her spine tingle. “Where have you been?”

The corridor light went on and Selina was by her room door with a huge smile on her face. A smile that told Felicia, Selina wasn’t happy to see her at all.

…

Tiny and the rest of the kids were hauled up to a roof. Their hands and legs were tied.

“Where the hell are you taking us?” Tiny shouted at one of the big dudes that were dragging them up the roof. Tiny noticed they were dressed in police uniforms but the way they were being handled made Tiny think that the people in front of them were anything but officers.

Tiny and the other kids were stripped of all the equipment and clothes they were given, left only in their underwear. The bitter cold dug through their skin as they were thrown into a circle. Tiny and the rest of kids huddled together for warmth as panicked mutterings spread through the group.

The six police officers formed a circle around them.

“What’s going on?”

“Are we under arrest?”

“It was the Cat! The Cat made me do it!”

“Shut up,” screamed one of the police officers. “Stop talking.”

That didn’t help with anything. In fact, that made things worse.

It went on like that until a familiar voice broke through the unease.

“These officers are with me children,” said the Cat, pushing in between the police officers. “Worry not.”

“Tell them to let us go,” chattered one of the kids. “I’m freezing.”

“Yeah,” said another. “We need clothes.”

The Cat raised his hands which made everyone quiet. “Worry not. All your problems will be dealt with soon.”

“What are we doing up here?”

The Cat pulled his gloves up and straightened his hat. “The mission I gave you with the egg was a test of two things. It was a test of your ability and a test of trust. If you children couldn’t trust each other, how could I trust you? Holly and Felicity passed this test with flying colours but I can’t say the same about you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Give me another one and I’ll pass it.”

“I just want to home.”

“Children, please,” the Cat said. “Simmer down.”

The Cat cleared his throat. “Now, while some of you displayed great potential and the rest floundered like fish out of water, you still managed to get yourself caught by the police and unfortunately a job as delicate and secretive as this means you can’t afford to get caught by the police. Luckily my men were also there and managed to claim you before things got out of hand.”

“I need to go pee.”

“Please let me go.”

“I’m sorry.”

“My mum and dad…”

“Unluckily,” the Cat said. “Due to the confidential nature of this mission, you will have to be executed.”

Crying and panic.

“I’m sorry,” the Cat said. “But this is how it has to go.”

Tiny in a fit of rage got up.

“You fucking snake,” Tiny growled. “I’m going to get you… I swear…”

Tiny couldn’t finish his sentence as bullet struck his head. Tiny collapsed on the ground, landing amidst the shaking bodies of the children. Smoke swirled out of the silencer barrel of a police officer’s gun.

The children cried and wailed.

The Cat sighed. “Its unfortunate things have to come to this,” the Cat shrugged. “But what are you going to do?”

The Cat turned to the officer. “Make sure you dispose of the bodies and burn the equipment. I don’t want anything getting back to me.”

The officer nodded. He took out his gun and started firing, the screams of children being cut short by the apathetic fire of silenced barrels.

To be continued…