3015/Cats and Bats, Living Together, Mass Hysteria... Not Really.

Cats and Bats, Living Together, Mass Hysteria... Not Really.
Date of Scene:	02 November 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Batgirl and Catwoman meet on a rooftop... and hey, what's it to Batgirl if a criminal loses some jade?
Cast of Characters:	Catwoman, Oracle

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Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman has been somewhat busy lately. Not all of it was of the ill-gotten gain type. Some of the busy times were related to keeping the worst of the scum out of Gotham's East End. Who says cats have to be evil all the time? Cats are one thing all the time - fickle. The rest just gets pushed off the shelves when it suits them.

Tonight Catwoman was in China Town. Not to play vigilante though. This time she got wind of a deliciously intriguing little jade figurine in the possession of one of the Dragon gang bosses. But he didn't need it anymore. No. Catwoman had decided it was now rightfully meant to belong to her.

The shadow of a figure flashes across numerous rooftops as the catburglar makes her way toward her target's property. Only a block away now.

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl has been pulling patrol in Chinatown for the past several nights, courtesy of Bat-rotations. Most of what she's doing is just watching. The flash of shadow across the corner of her eye brings her head around to study the night's rooftops. Was Batman checking up on her? Nightwing or Robin making a pass across the territory? When none of the guys shows up, Batgirl decides that a change of perspective is a good plan. A different angle.

Launching a grappling hook with a near-silent hiss of compressed air, she is airborne off the corner of the tenement she's perched on and winging rapidly down the block high above street level. No one ever seems to look up. You'd think that in Gotham, they'd learn. But they don't, and she lands on the rooftop that was Catwoman's target, unbeknowst to the caped vigilante. She peers thoughtfully down into the street below as she retracts her line.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman skids to a stop. Although skidding would suggest plenty of noise where there really isn't. She saw the shadow of Batgirl drop onto the roof if only because she was on the very same elevation as the female bat. Pausing for a moment Catwoman grinned and began slowly stalking up, down on all fours, her shoulders, spine and hips swaying as her namesake feline would. She moves with no more noise than a cat and sticks to the shadows as she creeps closer.

Oracle has posed:
Though trained to listen for the smallest of sounds, Batgirl is not perfect. Nor is her hearing superhuman. Batman, for instance, *always* gets the drop on everyone. Shiva sneaks up on her. And now, apparently, so do the cat burglar. Or so it appears, when the statuesque form doesn't turn in the direction of Catwoman's approach.

At the very last second, though, something alerts the redhead. A sound? Perhaps. Or perhaps just that sixth sense of not being alone anymore. Of being watched, stalked. The woman's figure tenses, and she seems to... wait.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman has little doubt Batgirl is aware that she is here. Whether or not the female bat can see her in the shadows? Well that just depends on if the Big Bad Bat shares his cool toys with the kids or if they just get the hand-me-downs. She isn't scared of Batgirl. Mindful? Wary? Sure. But that's the default for cats. Always cautious. She methodically scouts out the area around her target, mind pouring over the entry points, escape routes. Where she can try to lure Batgirl and then disappear and make good her little side job. But then... cats like to stalk prey. And bats are really just winged mice. Right? A coy little purr as she slips up behind Batgirl, just beyond arm's reach.

Oracle has posed:
Yeah.... that soft sound brings Batgirl around to face the new arrival. "Haven't you figured out yet which you want to be?" she asks in something of a wry tone. "Sometimes you're the good guy, sometimes you're the bad guy. It's like you're bipolar or something." She seems to be... teasing? At the very least, she's not attacking.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman doesn't move from atop the rooftop A/C unit she is perched atop. Looking Batgirl in the eyes, she grins slowly, widely. "Oh come on now, Batgirl. I'm not Joker. I'm perfectly sane." She pauses and looks alarmed briefly, "I think." Then she grins again, "I'm just a modern day Robin Hood. What can I say? Sometimes a girl has to steal in order to help out those in need..."

Oracle has posed:
"Isn't that what all crazy people say?" Batgirl quips lightly. And then she just shakes her head, her lips quirking into a bit of a smile. "You're incorrigible," she informs the other woman. Leaning her hips back onto the raised edge of the building, she crosses her arms. "So... who's in need this time?" she asks, as if the question is casual and not a challenge.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman laughs lazily. "Perhaps so." She idly trails a clawed finger along the metal housing of the cooling unit she is perched atop. "But to answer your question - even though I don't have to." She shrugs a shoulder, "Me. It's time I pampered myself. It isn't like I'm taking something from a fine, upstanding member of society. You /do/ know whose laundry service we're conversing atop.. right?" She's sure Batgirl knows. Or should know.

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl sighs. "I'm quite well aware," she agrees. Rolling her eyes, she tells Catwoman, "No matter how much I might ... not think you need jail, I still can't let you run about stealing crap on my watch. Come back next week. Or next month. I'm gonna be in Chinatown for a while. We can't afford the Tong to join in that crap up there in the Bludhaven/Gotham corridor between the Russians and the Ukrainians. So I'm overwatch. No thieving while I'm watching. Pretty please?"

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman rolls her eyes. "If I don't separate Mr. Han from his already ill-gotten prize tonight, it'll be gone when it ships out in thirty six hours." She shakes her head, "If it's that difficult for you, go take a powder break. Get a mochaccino. A smoke break. Whatever it is that you scouts do when you're not being brow beaten by the Big Boss" she teases playfully. "Really. Run along." Her hand flicks off in some direction in a lazy gesture.

Oracle has posed:
"No," Batgirl retorts. "You'll have to wait until I actually get a legit call away." She sighs. "And then I'll pretend I didn't see anything at all and let Batman deal with you. Cuz...." She sighs. "Because you're stealing from assholes, and I just can't find it in me to care." She can't help it, she starts to laugh. "If you ever repeat that, I'll deny it... I don't need Bats up in my grille."

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman gasps. "My. What language. Are you old enough that he doesn't have an auto soap dispensor to wash out your mouth? I thought all you Bat-kids could say was "Gee. Gosh! Darn!" She can't help it and says wickedly, "Fiddlesticks..." eyes sparkling behind her goggles, lips curled into a devilish grin. "Go on, Miss Bat. There are annoying insects a block over. They're pushing a new recipe of drugs laced with drain cleaner and bleach. I was going to go say hello myself, but.... I'm willing to share my catch sometimes. For a good cause. C'mon. Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."

Oracle has posed:
"Yeah, yeah. Fiddlesticks is my favorite one," Batgirl agrees. "Along with Holy Batsignals!" She grins at Catwoman and then she's informed about the drugs a block over. "Crap. Seriously?" She sighs. "Bas business plan," she points out. "And we definitely don't need kids getting their hands on drugs cut with that kind of stuff." She pivots on a heel and starts walking across the rooftop. "You better be in and out before I get back, Catty. And next time.... bring the mochaccino with you." She flashes a smile over her shoulder at the thief, even as she fires the grapple at the building the next block over.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman is already disappearing into the HVAC ductwork by the time Batgirl is talking about next time. A smile on her lips, fingers waggling out the vent and slipping inside. Sometimes hunting isn't half as fun as it is to just play with a mouse. Let it know that someting could have happened, then let it go on its way.

Oracle has posed:
She blew it.

Well, okay. Not really. Batgirl has been doing as he asked and keeping close tabs on Chinatown. But hey -- even she can't be everywhere in Chinatown at once. So ... if a jade figurine was stolen from a Tong crime lord while she was off dealing with drug dealers who lace their product with drain cleaner and bleach? Wellllll.... it's a small price to pay. A stolen item doesn't honestly stack up against saving a bunch of lives from laced drugs.

Unless, of course, you knew that Catwoman was playing in the sandbox and you kinda let her.

So last night, as penance for her 'screw-up,' Barbara took to the Cave for heavy-duty training. Hours and hours of it. And then in the midst of it, a stray thought passed through that rather brilliant mind and derailed all training sessions. She raced for the main computer array, gave Batman only the briefest of warnings, and then took the whole shebang offline.

After climbing around the guts of the Beast, she is finally booting it back up. Bruce has known her long enough to know when he walks in and finds her talking to herself, there's some kind of a breakthrough going on. "I have no idea why Tim didn't think of this before -- he's the app guy!! I mean, really."