The park stretched out in the center of the city, an oasis of
vibrant green in the middle of an urban jungle. The figure emerged from
the trees, her mane of red flowing around her shoulders. 'I wonder if
she'll be here tonight?' Dryad thought.
Once upon a time the criminally mad scientist known as Poison
Ivy wanted to preserve herself, even beyond the death of her organic
body. Studying the transformations of several plant based beings like
Solomon Grundy, the Swamp Thing and others she devised a method of
encoding her consciousness and DNA onto plant matter, ultimately
creating a new lifeform. Sadly, Dryad wasn't quite what she had planned.
The figure in black slipped through the trees, leaping from
branch to branch until she dropped down into the clearing. Her costume
hugged her head to toe, a soft gray with black gloves and boots. A
stylized cat's head logo was on her chest and the lenses of her mask
glowed golden.
"Catwoman," Dryad nodded, "good to see you."
Catwoman gave a catlike smile, red lips parting just slightly.
"Dryad," she said, "I got your message, what's going on?"
"With Kestrel out of town more often on Justice League
business," Dryad said, the plants that made up her slim body twitching
slightly, "I thought we should keep a wary eye out."
"Of course," Catwoman purred. She tilted her head to the side,
"It has nothing to do with the stories that Kestrel is dating the new
Steel?"
"What do you mean?" Dryad narrowed her eyes.
Catwoman stood there casually as she said, "I know how much of a
crush you have on the lady, even though she's never even noticed you."
Dryad stood there, her eyes flashing with barely restrained
anger. "I shouldn't have wasted my time," she finally growled out,
turning away and then striding off, disappearing into the darker green
of the urban forest.
"Wait," Catwoman started to say then she stopped, dropping her
outstretched hand. "Guess I pushed her a little too far," she murmured
to herself, silently moving off. Trying to follow Dryad into the woods
was a fool's move with her plant powers, and if she was that mad she
might do something they'd both regret.
Catwoman moved across the park just like her namesake, bounding
from branch to branch back the way she came. She reached the edge of the
park and a black van, one that she keyed open by remote control. She
climbed into the back after making sure no one saw her, locking the
doors with a single verbal command. She stripped the costume off and in
a few moments the slim blonde climbed up to the driver's seat dressed in
jeans and a buttoned shirt.
"I'll have to try and track Dryad down tomorrow night," Jane
Vale sighed as she started up the van, pulling out into the street.
She had come here to Gotham because of her aunt, the famous
reporter Vicky Vale. The woman had covered the news in papers and on TV
for years, even dating the reclusive Bruce Wayne in his younger days.
The family had been drawn together for the reading of her will, a sad
affair for all of them. Of course Jane was a bit surprised to receive
the family home here in the city, despite everyone's urging to just sell
it away.
Jane Vale had seized the opportunity to work on her non-fiction
book on the history of costumes and the psychology of superhumans.
Pairing up with Dr. Lisa Tyler they had worked for months on the book
until.... things went wrong.
Jane sighed to herself glumly as she pulled up to the apartment
building, getting the case out from the back of the van and then heading
inside. She rode the elevator upstairs and went over to her suite,
unlocking the front door. In the near darkness of the room she could see
the answering machine's warning light blinking red.
Jane hit the switch and Lisa's eerily familiar voice came on.
Jane froze, listening as Lisa said, "You know, guilt really is a great
motivator. I look forward to discussing it with you, along with your
fears." There was a loud click after that, then pure silence.
"God," Jane sighed, walking over to the fridge and getting out a
bottle of beer. She cracked it open as she flopped down on the couch
with a soft thump.
Dr. Lisa Tyler had been attacked one night after reassuring Jane
that she'd be all right out on her own. The attacker had brutally raped
her, leaving her bleeding and beaten in the alley until someone stumbled
over her and called the police.
Lisa seemed to be recovering from the trauma she'd at first, but
more and more she grew obsessive over fear, both what she experienced
and those others had. Jane tried to talk her into seeing a psychiatrist
but Lisa ignored her, instead fixating on a minor criminal. The
Scarecrow had never been a major player in Gotham but he had troubled
Batman and his allies over the years before finally dropping out of
sight.
"Wonder if I could have headed it off," Jane ran a hand through
her blonde hair, "pushed her into another direction?"
Jane had come home one night to find Lisa waiting there,
standing in the shadows. Turning on the lights revealed her dressed in a
white labcoat, an odd look in her dark eyes. Quietly she explained her
intention to become the Scarecrow, to embrace the fear that had changed
her life and Jane's pleading words fell on deaf ears. As Lisa left she
kissed her once, their first and only kiss, then the black haired older
woman was gone.
'And I haven't seen her since,' Jane thought to herself glumly.
Scarecrow had appeared in public days later, battling against
the heroine Raven to try to get to the rapist who had attacked her.
Using some kind of fear chemicals she had wreaked havoc at the detention
center but ultimately was stopped from murdering her target. Still, she
did escape and had continued to operate as a villainess in Gotham.
'So I put a costume on to try and catch her,' Jane thought.
Catwoman had been a logical choice, she was agile and fast as
was the outlaw hero, and she apparently had no successor. Designing the
costume was pretty easy but actually learning how to play hero was
tough. Gotham was an unforgiving mistress and Jane had nearly been shot
a few times before she finally began to take it all seriously.
"Of course," Jane muttered to herself as she finished off her
first beer, "Kestrel managed to catch Scarecrow by then."
Lisa had been shipped off to the Fortress, the high security
facility created for holding surperhumans before Jane could even talk to
her. Jane had put her costume away and began to save up for the trip
when she heard about the Fortress break-out. It shouldn't have been
possible but the Fortress was torn down, Scarecrow disappearing as
hundreds of criminals rampaged.
The night of the breakout had been the first time that Oracle
had contacted her directly, the mysterious information service for
heroes. Oracle organized the defense of Gotham even as the Justice
League fought to contain the worst of the worst, Catwoman thrown in the
middle of it all.
Raven, Robin, the Huntress, Knight, her and others fought as
criminals returned to Gotham, rounding up the second and third
stringers. She found a connection forming with the heroes and
vigilantes, a bond that lasted even after the battle ended.
Raven had approached her as the other heroes scattered, the
woman simply a shadow in the twilight. "You did well," she said, her
voice muffled by the full face mask she wore.
Catwoman blinked at her as she said, "I thought you told me you
didn't need amateurs cluttering up the night?"
There was actually a slight smile visible in the black mask as
Raven mildly said, "I have been known to be wrong."
Catwoman nodded, "Thank you, but I don't know if I'll be doing
this again."
"You want to stop the Scarecrow," Raven said calmly, "to try and
help your friend." As Catwoman gaped at her she added, "I asked Oracle."
"She lives up to the name," Catwoman muttered.
Raven tilted her head to the side, "Scarecrow needs help,
someone to guide her back to sanity." A grim smile, "Her obsession with
costumes and heroes grows, so much so that you may not be able to reach
her out of one."
"So if I want to help her," Catwoman growled, "I have to fight
her."
"I'm afraid so," Raven agreed, her cape swirling as she simply
disappeared.
Jane shook herself free from the memory, rising to walk over to
the window. 'Where are you Lisa?' she thought to herself mournfully. She
looked over to the costume, sitting in it's case then sighed as alarms
went off in the distance. "Guess I'm going out again tonight," she
murmured.
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