Walking along the streets of Gotham again felt strange. There was that comfortable feeling of familiarity, of being on ones home turf. Selina had been away from the city for about a year and a half and it still felt like lying down in your own bed. The sheets felt like an old friend. The creases which had been moulded by your own body, fit perfectly. But there was also fear. Fear of those monsters she had escaped from. The ones who had no doubt looked for her. She had been a valuable commodity after all.
Selina still had no idea what had happened to Sylvia Sinclair. She was still tormented by the guilt and hoped every single day that her friend was able to escape. However, she couldn't think about all that right then. As her first priority was to find a safe place for herself.
She decided to head for the East End. It was far from safe. But at least she knew it well. Last time she was there, empty abandoned buildings were in abundance. After looking around for a bit, she finally found a five storied building that looked unoccupied. When she entered, she realized why. The floors all had huge holes in them. In fact, if you looked up, you could actually see the the ceiling of the fifth floor through the series of holes on each proceeding floor. The stairs looked sturdy. Selina considered the basement, but quickly dismissed the idea as it looked like it was prone to flooding. She climbed up the stairs.
Every apartment had portions of the floor missing. Selina wondered if a bomb had gone off in this place. The loft was the only part of the building that was somewhat livable. Getting to it was tricky though. Selina had to hop and skip over many missing steps. If it wasn't for her superior sense of balance, she wouldn't have been able to reach the door. The inside of the loft was decent enough. Cement floor, a large window on one side, a few shelves on the wall. The building had no electricity, so getting in and out at night could be risky. But at least she could sleep here and not be murdered. This place would have to do for now.
Selina sat by the window, watching the sunset and munching on an apple she had stolen earlier. Her thoughts drifted towards the family she had lost. It had been two months since Del Halperm's death. Selina remembered being held by Alison as she cried her lungs out beside his dead body. They buried him in the local cemetery, as he had no family. Selina had watched the man she looked up to, the man who protected her and comforted her in a way her own so called father never did, being lowered into the ground.
Running the circus without Del was daunting enough. But what really made them lose the business was all the debt it was under. Not indebted to banks but to loan sharks. They weren't paid back in time and Harry, Alison and Mason knew that all of their lives could be in real danger. So they decided it would be best if the circus was shut down and if they all found something else to do. The adults also decided that the kids should become wards of the State. Brendan and Tamsyn agreed and would be picked up by a social worker. Harry advised Selina to go with them, but she had no faith in the system. She told him she'd rather go back to Gotham. Harry didn't try to stop her. Just give her some travelling money and wished her well. That very afternoon, Selina was on a Grey Hound to Gotham.
Tears formed in her eyes as she thought of Del's kindness, his sense of humour, his witty comebacks. She was grateful to have met him but a part of her wished she hadn't allowed herself to get attached to him. To any of them. Forming emotional bonds only led to heartbreak. She needed to remember this lesson. She was all alone and needed to do what was necessary to survive in this jungle. She would never allow herself to be vulnerable again. Never let them see her cry. Never let them see her hurt.
The next morning, Selina bought a lock for her door before setting off to look for any poorly guarded houses or stores she could rob. She was extra careful when she entered Park Row. She didn't know if Peter J. Lawler and rest of his creeps were still active. And although she had grown three inches in the past year and a half and her hair was shorter, Selina still kept the hood of her jacket over her head. She managed to swipe two wallets before she reached one of the nicer parts of town and soon came across a house that looked vulnerable. No dog bowl or dog house, cacti in the front yard but that wouldn't stop Selina. She hid behind a tree and saw the husband kiss his wife and kid good bye before driving to work in a nice car. The kid looked about two years old, which meant she probably slept through the night. She this house was ideal.
Selina spent the day in her loft, practicing her gymnastics and contortion, and reading a book she stole from a library. For lunch she ate raw fruits, milk and whole wheat crackers, and chicken tacos for dinner, heeding Del's advice to always eat a balanced diet. The tacos were the only thing she actually paid for. She showered at a local motel by sneaking into a bathroom.
At night, she'd go to work.
Picking the lock on the backdoor was easy. Selina figured these people probably bolted the front door for good measure. Entering stealthily, she took what she could get her hands on as she planned to make a quick exit. The kitchen knives looked expensive so she grabbed the two biggest ones. There were small brass figurines over the fire place. They could fetch a good price and went into her backpack. The bedroom on the first floor was empty, probably a guest room. Selina looked in not expecting to find much but spotted a vase. Looked worth a pretty penny. Her backpack was nearly full and on hearing a shuffling from upstairs, she quickly left from the back door. She gently closed it behind her. If the owners came down and saw that the back door was wide open they'd call the police immediately. This would severely shorten the time she had on her hands to get out of the area. If the cops saw her on the streets at night with a full backpack, they'd surely be suspicious.
Later on in the loft, Selina examined her loot in the glow of a battery operated lantern. She decides she was going to keep the knives. They were sharp and she liked how they felt in her hands. As for the brass figurines and the vase, they'd be sold. But to whom? Mama Fortuna was tight with all the fences in the city. If she went to them, she'd surely find out that Selina was back and was stealing for herself. And that was the last thing she needed. There was only one person she could think of. Gwen Altamont. She used to be one of the major players in the East End, until she fell out with Fortuna. After things turned ugly between them the vindictive slum lord did all she could to cripple Gwen's business and isolate her from the city's criminal network. Selina could strike a deal with her, without her having to worry about Fortuna finding out.
Gwen Altamont had seen better days. Just a few years ago her business, that is the business of buying the selling stolen items, was thriving. From precious stones to rare antiques, she traded in the finest of things and was rolling on cash. That was until she caught on to Fortuna trying to pass off an imitation of a Picasso painting as the real mccoy. Gwen was no art historian, but she knew enough about the goods she dealt in to spot a fake. Words were exchanged, allegations were hurled. It ended with Gwen punching Fortuna in her smugly smiling face. And that pretty much marked the end of her career as a fence. Mama Fortuna used her influence to ensure that no thief in the city would do business with her. Gwen was forced to turn her parents' home in Park Row into a bed and breakfast.
This morning as she sat in her living room over a pile of unpaid bills, she heard a noise coming from her bedroom. She went over to check it out and found nothing. She shrugged and figured it must have been her imagination. She returned to the living room to find a young girl sitting in her chair.
"WHAT THE HELL??? HOW... HOW'D YOU GET IN??", screamed a very surprised Gwen.
"Gwen, don't you remember me?" Selina asked, getting up.
At first she was confused, but within seconds Gwen recognized the young lady before her.
"Selina?" she asked, starting to smile a bit.
"In the flesh", Selina said, taking the smile forming on Gwen's lips as a good omen.
"Girl! Where have you been?" Gwen sat down, as did Selina.
"Everywhere" Selina replied briefly.
"I heard what happened. Heard that bitch sold you."
"I got out." Selina felt no need to elaborate and got down to business, "anyway, the reason I came here is because I have some goods to flog. Look." She took out the vase and figurines and set them on the coffee table.
Gwen examined the items. The figurines were ok. Maybe the whole bunch could fetch thirty bucks. But the vase was special. Using her limited knowledge, she guessed it was from the Meiji period. If it was, she could easily get at least five hundred dollars for it. However, she still had one major concern.
" I can't sell in Gotham anymore, but I still have contacts in Bludhaven and Fitchburg. However, you need to understand that I'd be taking a huge risk by doing business with you. If Fortuna finds out, she'd send her men after both you and me."
Selina had been expecting her to say something like this and had reply ready.
"I understand you'd be risking a lot Gwen, but I can see you have financial problems. And I'm, well I'm stealing to stay alive. And I can't sell to any other fence besides you."
"Go on", Gwen said leaning forward.
"I'm suggesting that we operate under the radar. You sell the stuff outside Gotham, make sure no one finds out. And I'll bring you all my goods and make sure no one finds out. Come on, Gwen. I'm good at this. I can get you nice things."
Gwen raised an eyebrow and asked "Missy, how old are you?"
"Thirteen. Why"?
"Are you sure? Cause you got negotiation skills girl!"
"So.... you'll do it?"
"Tell you what. I can't make any promises, but I'm gonna get in touch with my sources and see if I can work out a deal. Why don't you come back with this stuff ....umm...tomorrow evening?"
"Ok Gwen. I'll see you tomorrow."
Selina picked up the items and was about to leave when Gwen said, "Selina, it's good to see you again."
"Yeah, you too Gwen."
Selina went back the next evening and turned out that Gwen was able to strike a deal after all. The entire haul fetched seven hundred dollars. They split it 50-50 and sealed their partnership with a handshake.
Selina's scores had an impressive success rate. She would steal. Gwen would sell. They'd split the money. Gwen couldn't sell in Gotham anymore but she did have contacts who could provide info about possible scores. The two of them worked Gotham without Fortuna or her cronies funding out.
However, it wasn't long before things would take a nasty turn. One night, Selina was robbing a house in the suburbs and putting some very nice jewelry into her bag, when she was shocked to see three young men enter the home from the same window that she had used. For a few seconds, all of them were frozen in place.
Then one of the guys spoke.
"Todd, someone beat us to the job!"
"I know dummy. I ain't blind." replied the one who was probably named Todd.
"It's some girl!" said another.
Selina didn't wait around. She whizzed past the guys before they even knew what happened. Unfortunately for her, they had their motorcycles parked just a short distance from the house and soon caught up to her.
"We'll teach you to move in on our mark you little bitch!" Todd, clearly their leader snarled as he snatched her bag. The other three holding her back.
"HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!!" Selina screamed. She kicked and struggled to get free but a punch to her gut had her bending over.
She got back up however and tried to take her loot back. This time she recieved several punches to the face. She fought back but this only seemed to anger the boys even more. All four of them were in their late teens and were bigger than Selina. Pretty soon they had her on the ground in a foetal position as their brutal kicks rained down on her.
They did stop however when they heard police sirens.
"We see you again you little cunt, we'll finish what we started. Or maybe we'll give you to our boss!" Todd told her with a vicious sneer before he and his friends ran off.
Selina couldn't get up before the cop got to her. Her mid section was killing her and she could feel her right eye beginning to shut on account of being swollen.
The cop told her to settle down and that she was hurt.
'Oh look! A rocket scientist!' She thought bitterly.
At the hospital, Selina's injuries were tended to. She had a cracked rib, several laceration on her arms and her face and a black eye.
The cop, Officer Flannery questioned her about what had happened. Selina made up some story about how she was robbed.
When he asked her to file a formal police complaint, she refused. He was able to decipher pretty quickly that she was lying.
"You fought back?" Flannery asked.
"Obviously!" Selina snapped, irritated
"Four guys. Older and bigger than you and you still fought back. Well that wasn't very smart."
Selina remained silent. The cop continued.
"Look, I can tell you're just another pretty thief. There's hundreds of them in this city. Those boys who did this to you were just the underlings. You do not want the big fishes to come after you. And if you're going to survive by yourself, you need to know how to defend yourself."
He reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. He then pulled out a business card.
"I don't need some dumb social worker." Selina said, eyeing the card.
"This isn't a social worker" said Flannery, "this is a guy who can teach you how to fight. Take some time to recover. Then go see him."
Selina spent the next two weeks healing from her wounds. Her rib injury made it difficult to climb and hop into her loft. Getting out to get food, or to use the bathroom in the nearby motel was also excruciating. The whole time she either slept or berated herself for letting those rats get the best of her. She kept reading the name on the card Officer Flannery gave her. Ted Grant. She wondered if it was THE Ted Grant. The former Boxing world champion. The newspapers said he was retired and was living in Gotham.
Ted Grant had just finished his morning workout when his doorbell rang. He didn't get many visitors so this was unusual. He opened the door to find a teenage girl.
"Holy shit! It is you!" Selina said, staring at Grant wide eyed.
"Yes. It's me" Ted said flatly, "And who are you kid? Selling something for your school?"
"I'm here to learn how to fight." Selina replied hastily, "Officer Flannery sent me."
"I don't know any Flannery." Ted spoke in that same even tempered way. He took a long look at Selina. He could tell she had lost a fight recently. He told her to come in.
"So you got beaten up and now you want me to teach you how to fight." Ted said as the two of them sat on his couch.
"Yeah. You're not gonna?" Selina asked
"Where are your parents, kid?"
"My name's Selina. And they're dead." came the straightforward answer.
Ted thought for a second. His life had recently become more complicated than he was comfortable with. The mafia had it in for him. Training another student wasn't exaxtly part of his plan. He had just gotten done training the last one. But an orphan. An orphan in Gotham getting attacked. This was the kind of thing Ted Grant couldn't turn his back on.
"Ok, I'll train you. But it'll cost you one hundred dollars an hour." He told her, hoping she would refuse. Then he could send her to someone else and be done with it.
"One hundred dollars." Selina repeated, "oh sure! Just let me got pick some bills from that money tree I own."
"Hey if it's too much for you i can recommend someone else who'll train you. I'm actually offering you a huge discount. I just got done teaching a rich kid and he paid five hundred an hour."
Ted studied Selina's eyes as she considered this. He liked the grit he saw in them.
"No. You're the best and I'm going to be trained by you. I'll get the money."
"All right. Be back here tomorrow morning, six am. Sharp. We'll train four hours a day. Five days a week."
"You'll teach me everything you know?"
"Everything kid. Boxing, kickboxing, Capoeira, Hapkido and Krav Maga."
Selina had expected learning to fight to be fun, but for the first few days she felt like she would die. Ted's training regime was unforgiving. It included strength training, cardio along with learning how to throw punches. Before she could throw punches however, Selina had to learn how to shift her weight and balance herself for the right stance. It was daunting. But she was determined.
At the end of the first day of training, she handed Ted four hundred dollars. For the four hours. Selina had had to work extra hard picking pockets to accumulate the cash.
Ted looked at the money, chuckled and gave it back to her.
"Keep it kid. I don't need your money. I've made plenty of my own."
Selina was confused.
"But you said...."
"Never mind what I said. Just follow by diet plan to the T and be here every morning Tuesday to Saturday. I'm gonna make a beast out of you."
When her training first began, Selina was met with the realization of how weak she was. How easily she could be overpowered. But as the weeks and months went by, and her training progressed, she grew stronger. By the end of her eighth month of training, she had learned the basics of boxing and several martial arts. The streets weren't so scary anymore. Any creep trying to get fresh with her was taught a nasty lesson. If someone tried to deprive her of her loot, all they'd leave with was a black eye. Her kicks and punches hurt. She had bought a punching bag and boxing gloves and practiced in her loft everyday, even after training with Ted.
Ted stressed on the importance of Selina controlling her anger. "Fighting in an emotional state can be disastrous, Selina."
She had no idea how she was supposed to do that so he taught her meditation techniques. At first it seemed ridiculous to sit in her loft for half an hour everyday with her eyes closed and chanting the word "Om". But in a few days, she began to enjoy it and relish the peace in brought. Meditation not only helped control her anger, but also made her more focused and helped with improving the precision of her hits.
Selina's growing combat skills had also made her a more successful thief as she could now go into places where she was afraid to tread before. Such as hideouts of small time criminals. Gwen would often express concern at the risks she was taking, even though she was overjoyed to see all the goodies being brought to her. Business was good. For both of them.
One night Selina got her hands on a whip. She was robbing a "club" that was basically a brothel. She was stuffing their money into her pockets when a woman in a corset and thigh highs came in unexpectedly. She was carrying the said whip. Behind her were two men. Selina delivered a kick to the woman's chin, dazing her. She picked up the whip and hit one of the guys with it. The other one tried to attack her but her punches were too fast and too precise. He joined the woman on the floor and Selina escaped through the window with the money and the whip.
Once she back in her building, she took a good look at her new toy. She had liked the way it felt when she swung it. She cracked it again, but this time the tip connected with her own hand. And it burned. This thing could hurt her if she didn't use it properly. So she was going to learn.
The next morning as Selina approached Ted's house, she saw a limousine parked in front of it. On it's hood was a stylized 'W'. What was going on? She hid behind a tree and watched as a distinguished looking middle aged man came out of the house, followed by a boy who looked about her age. Ted shook hands with both of them. She took in the boy's looks. His black hair and piercing blue eyes. Very handsome. They talked to Ted for a while, before leaving.
"Who were those guys?" she asked Ted.
"That's the kid I told you about. The one I trained before you. He's leaving town and wanted to say goodbye."
"Oh right!" Selina rolled her eyes, "the rich boy who paid five hundred an hour."
"You know, he and you are more alike than you think. He had trouble controlling his anger too." Ted remarked.
"Yeah? What was he angry about? Didn't get the brand of caviar he wanted? Anyway, I need you to teach me how to use this."
She showed Ted the whip.
He took it and examined it before asking, "what kind of places have you been getting into young lady?"
"Nevermind where I got it Ted!" Selina said impatiently, "do you know how to use it or not?"
Ted cracked the whip and agreed to teach her.
Another year went by and now a fifteen year old Selina was a competent fighter. Two years of training with a world champion had done wonders for her. Not only did she feel safer and more competent, her living conditions had improved too. With all the money she was making, she was able to move into a studio apartment. Her age could be an issue but she told the manager she was eighteen. She was tall for her age. And the few hundred dollar bills she slipped the guy ensured that he didn't ask any further questions. Selina never used her name and went by "Beth Tucci".
The night was when she came out to play. Taking whatever shiny treasures caught her eye, or was pointed out to her by Gwen. She wore a plain leather mask over her face, while she had spent over an hour sewing. No one was ever able to track her down to her home. She was like a shadow. Forever out of reach of the cops and other criminals. The local slum lords were trying to gather intel on this new thief but no one seemed to know anything about her. Selina always got a kick out of hearing their cronies asking around about some girl who wore a mask, and no one seemed to know what they were talking about.
When not stealing or learning martial arts, Selina would broaden her mind and acquire knowledge. She had already learned French and German and was now trying to learn Russian. Her apartment had books on various subjects such as history, philosophy, science, other cultures. The more she learned, the more determined she became to one day leave this place. She wanted to see the world. To experience all the flavours of life. No one was going to stop her from stealing those flavours for herself.
One day, after she had matched Ted hit for hit and they were relaxing in his lounge, he told her he was leaving Gotham.
"But I don't understand. Why?" Selina asked, suddenly feeling an ache in her heart.
"I need to go Selina. I'm not gonna go into details but things are getting difficult for me in this city."
"Well, is there anything I can do to help?"
Ted smiled indulgently. "No kid. Even a tigress like you can't help me."
He took a few swigs of his lemonade before looking at Selina and telling her "Selina, you're one of the best students I've ever had. I really enjoyed teaching you. And I have taught you everything I know. Ideally, your training should have gone on for at least another year. However, if you take good care of yourself and practice regularly, you're going to be a formidable fighter one day."
Selina responded by putting her arms around Ted and hugging him tight. He hugged her back. Having this feisty young girl around had been wonderful and he was glad to have met her.
"Thanks Ted" Selina said, holding back her tears.
"Hey!" Ted said cheerily, "you're my beast. Don't go all soft on me", making Selina laugh.
After saying goodbye to Ted at the airport, Selina once again felt that familiar sense of loss come over her. It was the same feeling she had when she was prevented from seeing Maggie. Or when she bid farewell to her circus friends. But she shook it off. She couldn't afford such weakness. Vulnerability and tears were not for her. She needed to stay strong and unshakable.
Weeks passed and life went on as usual. Selina's thievery was bringing her a kind of notoriety in the East End. Notoriety that soon reached the ears of a monster from her past. Mama Fortuna was growing more and more aware of a thief on her turf. One that didn't pay her any tribute to her.
Selina had been attacked while in the middle of a job before. Either by another thief or by the one she was robbing. However, in recent weeks, the attacks had grown in frequency. On most occasions, she was able to fight the goons off. At times when she was out numbered she would escape. Smoke bombs certainly came in handy.
"She's going to find out that I've been fencing for you Selina. That's what I'm afraid of."
"Gwen, no one has ever seen me bring you my stuff. I come and go without being seen."
"So far Selina. One mistake is all it's going to take."
Gwen's words did make a lot of sense. Fortuna's network was widespread. And it was gaining on Selina.
“If you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life, whereas death is certain if you cling to your corner.”
So said the great Chinese general, Sun Tzu.
Selina had been reading about him and this quote in particular was one she could relate to. She was cornered. If she kept running and cowering like a mouse, she would be crushed sooner or later. But showing Fortuna that she wasn't afraid might give her a chance.
Mama Fortuna, the self styled Queen of Alley Town, had just finished placing her jewellery and several wads of cash in her safe. She then went off to take a shower before retiring for the night.
Business was good. She had been providing a steady supply of pretty young girls to Peter Lawler. He was miffed with her when that Selina escaped but now it was all water under the bridge. It seemed the girl was back and had grown too big for her britches. If she could somehow capture her and deliver her back to Lawler, their business relationship would grow much stronger.
Thinking these thoughts she came out of the bathroom to find her safe open. And empty. She ran to it and was about to call out to her bodyguards when a voice said, "lost something?"
Fortuna turned towards the window to see Selina Kyle there. A bag in her hands, which obviously held the contents of the safe.
"You!" Fortuna growled.
"Yes, me" Selina growled back, "thought you could scare me? Well think again. I'm taking your money and jewels Fortuna to let you know that I can. You're not getting rid of me. Not without burning yourself."
Before a shocked Fortuna could utter a word, Selina's smoke bomb took away her visibility. When the smoke cleared she was nowhere to be found. Her men looked for her everywhere but it was as if she had vanished.
It was Selina's demeanour that unsettled Fortuna even more than how easily she had broken in and robbed her. No longer was she that scared little girl. The girl she had seen that night, though still young, had the aura of a jungle cat. Cool, collected and confident.
A game had begun between Selina Kyle and her former boss and first mentor. That of a hunter going after her prey.
Which of them would be the hunter and which the hunted, only time would tell.
The 13-year-old teenagers I know... Well, let's say it only works in a comic ;-))
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