Author: Rei and Chris
Rating: R for now, violence, language. Knowing us, it'll probably be NC-17 later.
Feedback: Please leave feedback on the Cats and Bats thread on the Kitten Board.
Summary: An encounter is in the works between Gotham City's grim guardian and its most proficient cat burglar.
Disclaimer: We don't own Batman, Catwoman, or Buffy characters. Blah blah.

Eighteen years had not been kind to Tara Maclay. She and her mother didn't have the most comfortable of lives, but they had got along ok. That all changed a year ago when her mother had died. Many girls in Tara's position would have turned to the streets where they would sell their bodies to those who just did not care about the girls' situation, they just wanted a fuck, a little activity while they told their wives that they were on business trips. Tara was not many girls however. She was currently working two cleaning jobs, including one for 'Rosenberg Enterprises' chaired by the enigmatic young billionaire, Willow Rosenberg. However, even with the generous wages that the richest company in Gotham could afford, she still struggled to make ends meet for her and all that she now called company, a black and white cat she had dubbed Miss Kitty Fantastico and her companion Faith.

That was until she had become Catwoman.

The suede bag falls onto the flowery comforter of Tara Maclay's bed. A hand reaches down and shoves it onto its side, spilling out its contents. Thousands of dollars worth of jewelry is spread out by an inquisitive hand.

"I see you've been busy."

"It passes the time."

"You've been on the news again."

"That's not unusual." The TV flickers on.

'It appears that the masked woman calling herself Catwoman has struck again. This time stealing over eight-hundred-thousand dollars worth of jewelry from a downtown jewelry store. If you come in contact with Catwoman, please contact the authorities immediately, she is extremely dangerous.'

Tara smirked.

"Can I have this, Tare?"

Tara looked over her shoulder. "I got it for you."

Faith held up a large diamond F. The brunette draped the heavy chain around her neck. "Bling-blingin', bitchin', this is the shit, Blondie."

A dark voice came from the window. "That's great, but Tara's got big problems."

"Angel." Tara didn't even turn from her position facing the TV.

"I just came from that store you broke into. I saw that scrawny little bat freak."

Tara tried a ring onto various fingers, finding it fit best on her index.

Faith flopped on the bed, Miss Kitty joined her. "You worried about bat-boy?"

"No."

Angel stepped inside, landing on the carpet below the sill. He ruffled the mewling kitten's ears. "I fought him a while back. He's weak, fights like a girl. He's got weapons though, high tech stuff. Guy knows what he's doing." He grabs a gold ring and slips it on his thumb. "Be careful."

The girls watch Angel jump from the window, they didn't hear him land.

"Damn vampires, freak me the hell out."

"Touching." Tara turned the TV off.

Batman had driven into the Batcave with a sigh, another night, another burglary committed by the mysterious Catwoman. A middle-aged man with glasses walked over to the Batmobile as the shadowy figure stepped out. "It was quite a night I heard."

Batman sighed, "You can say that again Giles, that woman is good." Batman removed his cowl to reveal a feminine face fringed with red hair. Batman reached a glove to his throat and removed a patch, when he spoke again, his voice had changed into that of a woman. "I'll crack it though, no need to worry about that."

Willow Rosenberg reflected, not for the first time, on what had brought her this far. Her parents had been killed by a man who went only by the name of Angel. Turns out that Angel wasn't an ordinary run-of-the-mill crook, he was a vampire. A scared teen of 18, suddenly orphaned, Willow had stumbled into a cave, a few bats had flown at her, scaring the Hell out of her, that was when an idea was born. Being the heiress of a couple of billionaires, and using the knowledge of a family friend, Rupert Giles, Willow had sculpted the identity of Batman for herself. Batman because people are more intimidated when they are fighting a man. Willow's armor was chunky, to give her the build of a man (down to 'big pecs'), but had cleverly been designed to look form fitting. Made of a material designed by Rosenberg Enterprises, the suit was light and allowed plenty of maneuverability, then there was that yellow belt that had soon become known as The Utility Belt.

Willow Rosenberg had become the Dark Crusader, the ultimate vigilante. She had tracked down Angel and they had fought, Angel with brute strength and Willow with the gadgets she used her money to have built and her smarts. Eventually, Angel was incapacitated and imprisoned. That was two years ago, but her lust for vengeance had not been satiated, so, with Gotham under constant threat from forces that the police could not control, by night, she became Batman once again.

Giles' voice brought her out of her revere, "well I doubt that you will be able to do anything about her while you are tired, and you do have that business function tomorrow, maybe you should sleep."

Willow nodded her head, "You're right, as usual, Catwoman can wait for now."