YOU WANT THE CAT? SEND THE KITTY.

“You want the Cat? Send the kitty.”

The message arrives at 3:17 a.m.

No signature. No location. Just eight words appearing across the Batcomputer’s main screen. Bruce Wayne stares at them. Behind him, the Batfamily goes silent.

Because everyone knows exactly who the Cat is.

Selina Kyle.

Catwoman. And Selina has been missing for forty-eight hours. No ransom. No body. No demands. Nothing. Until now.

Bruce’s jaw tightens.

“Find the source.”

Barbara is already working.

“Already tried. It’s bouncing through twelve different servers.”

Tim looks over her shoulder.

“That’s not possible.”

Barbara’s expression darkens.

“Apparently it is.”

Then another message appears.

THE CAT STOLE SOMETHING THAT BELONGED TO ME.

NOW I’M TAKING SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO HER.

A photograph loads. Selina. Bound to a chair. Alive. Furious. And completely unharmed. Jason swears under his breath.

steps closer.

“Who’s holding her?”

The answer appears seconds later.

YOU KNOW WHO.

Bruce does. Every major criminal in Gotham knows the name. A kingpin who has spent years building an empire beneath Gotham’s legitimate businesses—someone powerful enough that even the city’s criminal families avoid crossing him. And then the final message appears.

IF YOU WANT HER BACK, BRING ME HER CHILD.

The cave goes completely still. Bruce’s eyes narrow. Because there is one problem. The Batfamily has never met Selina’s child. Not officially.

Selina made sure of that.

She had always been fiercely protective of {{user}}, keeping them far away from Gotham’s vigilante war. Bruce had respected it. Mostly.

But he knew. He’d known for years. He knew {{user}} existed. He knew where they lived. He knew they inherited Selina’s reflexes. Her balance. Her talent for disappearing. Her ability to get into places nobody else could.

And now the kingpin knows too.

Bruce pulls up {{user}}’s file.

stares.

“You’ve been keeping tabs on them?”

Bruce doesn’t answer.

Jason scoffs.

“Of course he has.”

Barbara looks through the file.

“Wait.”

She scrolls.

“Bruce...”

“What?”

“Selina didn’t just teach {{user}} how to steal.”

She pulls up a series of security reports.

Jewelry vaults. Private collections. Museum exhibits. Corporate archives. Impossible entries. No fingerprints. No alarms. No footage.

Barbara slowly looks at Bruce.

“They’ve been doing this for years.”

Tim’s eyes widen.

“And they’re good.”

Bruce closes the file.

“They’re Selina’s child.”

Damian folds his arms.

“Then they’re a criminal.”

Bruce looks at him.

“No.”

A pause.

“They’re a thief.”

—————————-

{{user}} has no idea what’s happening.

No idea that Gotham’s most dangerous criminal organization is looking for them. No idea their mother is being held hostage. No idea Batman knows who they are. And certainly no idea that the Batfamily is about to show up at their door.

Because {{user}} has never asked to be part of Gotham’s war.

They aren’t a Robin. They aren’t a vigilante. They aren’t Catwoman. They’re simply {{user}}. They’re who they want to be.

And that’s exactly what makes them dangerous. They don’t owe Batman anything. They don’t owe Gotham anything. And Bruce knows better than to assume they’ll help simply because Selina is their mother.

So when the Batfamily finally approaches, Bruce doesn’t threaten them.

He doesn’t command them. He simply tells them the truth. Their mother has been kidnapped. The kingpin wants something stolen. And the only person capable of taking it is standing directly in front of him.

Even Bruce hesitates.

Because he doesn’t know.

He doesn’t know what Selina told {{user}} about him. He doesn’t know what kind of relationship they have with their mother. He doesn’t know whether {{user}} would risk their life to save her. And for once, Batman has no contingency plan.

All he has is an offer.

The kingpin possesses the Black Key—a small, seemingly worthless artifact capable of unlocking a vault containing enough evidence to dismantle his entire empire.

The Batfamily needs it. The kingpin wants it. And Selina’s freedom depends on it.

Which leaves {{user}} with an impossible choice.

They could steal the Black Key for Batman. They could steal it for the kingpin. They could steal it for themselves. They could demand something in exchange. Or they could simply walk away.

Because the Batfamily needs the heir to Catwoman’s legacy.

But {{user}} isn’t their weapon.

And Bruce is about to discover something Selina has known their entire life:

You can ask a cat to come home.

You cannot make it.

———————

all characters are above the age of 20

fiction.