Catwoman story - Parts Thirty-One to Thirty-Three (the end)

[dell]

Part Six: The Cobalt Cougar

Robin looks at the blank computer card spit out by the Batcomputer as Batman stands nearby. “Gosh Batman, even the Batcomputer doesn’t have a clue as to what Catwoman is up to. It’s been two months since those pendants were stolen and she hasn’t committed a single crime since then. Do you think was this even the work of Catwoman?”

“That’s an interesting hypothesis, old chum, but I’m certain that this was her work. I fear this long delay only means she’s carefully planning her next theft. She’s clearly learned from her past mistakes and won’t reveal her hand until she’s ready to strike. We must remain ever vigilant.”

“How can we be prepared to stop her when we don’t have any idea what she’s going to do?”

“I may have an idea Robin. Tomorrow night the Wayne Geological Society will be displaying the famous Cobalt Cougar Diamond.”

“Holy Inspector Clouseau! Isn’t that the diamond that has the image of a cougar embedded inside of it?”

“To be more accurate it has a defect, an inclusion in technical terms, that bears a striking resemblance to a crouching cougar when the diamond is held up to the light. And the inclusion has a dark blue tint to it; hence its moniker, the Cobalt Cougar.”

“If Catwoman is on the prowl, then that has to be what she’s after Batman! How could she resist a diamond with an image of a cat inside of it?”

“I don’t think she could resist Robin. And tomorrow night presents her with an incredibly rare opportunity to steal it. The diamond has been kept in an impenetrable vault for the last 25 years. Only after lengthy negotiations with the owner was the Wayne Geological Society granted the exclusive opportunity to be put the gem on public display for a single day.”

“That’s why we haven’t heard from her since she stole those three pendants months ago; she’s been busy planning the heist of this special diamond. But how can she hope to steal it; won’t it be heavily guarded?”

“Security will be extremely heavy. The owner of the gem required the Wayne Geological Society to submit detailed plans for their transporting and displaying the diamond. Five armored cars will be used, with all but one of them acting as decoys. And the diamond must have a minimum of six police officers guarding it at all times. Furthermore, the society is only allowed to have it on display for a single day. The following morning it must be returned to its bank vault under the same heavy security used to transport it to the display site.”

“Holy Fort Knox! How does Catwoman expect to get her paws on it Batman?”

“I can’t answer that question Robin, but if there’s one criminal capable of pulling off a burglary of this magnitude… it’s the Catwoman!”

[elmrgraham]

I purrfectly agree Batman.

[Gorshin Romero]

Why do I keep hearing Henry Mancini music playing in the background?

[elmrgraham]

Could it be the song Love Story?

[High C]

I'm late to the party on this, but it's very good, dell. I especially like the opening of Catwoman getting back to being a Cat-burglar. I don't think the Greenway crew understood that is a necessary part of the character. By the end of the run, Julie Newmar's CW seemed more like a CEO of crime, making her henchmen do most of the dirty work. That was silly. I also like the recruitment of the henchwomen. Keep up the good work!

[dell]

It may appear that Catwoman is shoving the cat-burglary off on her minions in my story, but don't worry, she'll get her paws dirty soon. Here is part seven.

Part Seven: New Uniforms

The girls sat on the floor eagerly waiting for Catwoman to arrive to begin their latest larcenous lesson. The three girls gushed enthusiastically about how well all of them were doing in Catwoman’s special classes and wondered how they would get a chance to put their skills to a real test. Little did they know but they were about to find out.

The Catwoman sauntered into the room and the girls immediately fell silent. Catwoman continued across the room and picked up her cat o’ nine tails from her desk. With her back to her young charges she said, “It’s a good thing all three of you are so eager to put your skills to the test…” She let her words hang in the air for dramatic effect. After a few moments she slowly spun on her heels and then leaned against her desk. The girls stared at Catwoman waiting desperately for her next words. Catwoman reveled in the adoration and let the tension in the room build.

She moved slowly across the room and stopped just in front of the girls. She towered over them and held their complete attention. “Tonight you’re going to show me how much you’ve learned. I’m sending all three of you out to purloin an item. Those of you that return will advance to the next level of training.”

All of the girls stared wide-eyed at Catwoman and wanted to ply her with questions about their tasks, but they all knew better than to interrupt their villainous instructor. She continued in a soft, but commanding voice, “Before I send you out to show me what you’ve learned… you need a change in attire. In the other room you will find uniforms far more suitable than the ones you’re wearing. Off you go! Get out of those mousy uniforms and into something appropriate for a cat burglar in training!”

Brenda was the last to spring to her feet to run to the other room. Catwoman playfully swung her cat o’ nine tails at her dawdling assistant and several of the tendrils found their mark. Brenda yelped and dashed to the other room as Catwoman howled with delight.

Less than 5 minutes later her three young protégés had returned and we’re standing at attention, nervously waiting to be inspected. All three girls were now wearing sleeveless leopard skin print tunics over flat black catsuits. The tunics were cinched at the waist with a gold lame’ sash. And they all had slipped their feet into black ballet style flats that allowed them to move across almost any floor without making a sound.

Catwoman paced back and forth in front of the girls examining each of them without comment. The girls waited anxiously for some reaction from their mentor. Brenda was especially nervous and unable to take her eyes off the cat o’ nine tails every time Catwoman walked by. Finally, Catwoman slowly sauntered over to her desk and laid down the whip. She picked up a wooden box and strolled back to the girls.

Catwoman stopped in front of the blonde-haired beauty, Cassandra. “You shall now be known as Katya.” And with that Catwoman opened the box to reveal the three necklaces she had stolen months before from the Gato and Nephews Fine Jewelry Emporium. “Take a necklace and put it on. You’ll find it is similar to mine both in appearance and function. I’ve added a two way radio to each of your necklaces that is linked to the radio in my necklace. I expect an update from each of you as you complete your task.”

Katya picked up a necklace and exclaimed, “it’s beautiful!” All three protégés stared in wonder at the golden necklace as it dangled from Katya’s fingers. The necklace was similar to Catwoman’s, but it was smaller and lacked all the fancy embellishments, except for the lion head medallion. Katya carefully turned the medallion over and was delighted to see the speaker and microphone on the backside. She quickly slipped it over her head and then stood proudly at attention while Catwoman attended the other two girls.

Catwoman smiled and closed the box. She stepped over to Donna and drew her claws playfully in circles over the top of the box as she stared at her red-haired student. Donna trembled under the withering gaze of her mentor. Finally, Catwoman spoke, “From now on you shall be known as Katrina.” She opened the box and Katrina carefully took one of the necklaces. She admired it for a few seconds and then slipped it over her head. She too then stood at attention as Catwoman moved on to her third student.

Earlier in the day Catwoman had deliberated for a considerable length of time before finally deciding to include Brenda in this special ceremony. The girl had done well enough in basic window jimmying, intermediate safe cracking, and advanced burglar alarm disabling, but Catwoman had a nagging suspicion that the girl just wasn’t cut out for a life of crime.

Catwoman stared intently into the eyes of her final student. The girl stared back. Maybe that’s what disturbed Catwoman about the girl, Brenda was barely intimidated by her mentor. The other two girls practically put Catwoman on a pedestal; not that she didn’t deserve one for being the world’s greatest cat burglar. But this girl acted as if she was almost Catwoman’s equal. An evil smile spread across Catwoman’s face as they would find out tonight just how good this girl was. She had intentionally chosen the toughest assignment for Brenda. If Brenda managed to complete her tasks and didn’t get arrested, she would be worthy of continued training.

Catwoman rested one paw on top of the box as she assigned Brenda her new name. “From this day forward you shall be known as Kitty.” She then opened the box and Kitty carefully took the final necklace and placed it around her neck.

Catwoman slowly returned to her desk and set the box down. She them turned and surveyed her team. They made an impressive sight, three young women at the peak of physical fitness and dressed in identical cat burglar uniforms. If only the citizens of Gotham City knew what was about to be unleashed upon them!

[elmrgraham]

Purrfect Dell.

[dell]

Part Eight: Earning Their Ears

Katya and Katrina were literally shaking with excitement as they continued to stand at attention waiting for Catwoman to give them their assignments; only Kitty remained calm.

Catwoman picked up three pieces of paper from her desk and sauntered back over to her young minions. She handed each of them one of the papers and told them to read and memorize their assignments. After a few minutes she took the papers back, tore them up and threw them in the trash. With her back to the young women she spoke to them, “The three of you are facing a big test tonight. I have taught you everything you need to know to successfully complete your assignments. If you fail…” She glanced over her shoulder and could see a look of deep concern on all three of the girls. She smiled as she continued her warning, “… you will most certainly be arrested and spend a very long time in jail. However… if you succeed, and you will succeed if you use the skills that I have taught you, you will graduate from my beginning cat burglar class.” Catwoman picked up another box from her desk and turned to face her students. “And those who pass will be awarded…” Catwoman slowly opened the box and all three of the girls gasped. Inside the box were three headbands. And attached to each headband was a pair of leopard skin print cat ears. Although colored to match their tunics, the ears were identical in every other way to the ones Catwoman wore.

After the stunning announcement even Kitty couldn’t contain her excitement, and was now just as much atwitter as Katya and Katrina. Catwoman dropped the box on her desk and quickly snatched up her cat o’ nine tails and rushed back to the girls. Brandishing the base of the whip in front of the girls caused the mood in the room to quickly change from glee to one of controlled fear. She chastised the girls for , “You are aspiring cat burglars; not teenagers at a carnival trying to win a silly prize in a game of chance!!!”

Once again her mood changed in a split second; she went from frenzied teacher to cunning leader. She stood up straight, put her shoulders back and assumed a look of utter superiority. “The police can be toyed with, but only using the methods I have taught you. If you are reckless tonight, you will be caught! Complete your assignments and return here unscathed and you will earn your ears. If you do not return, we will not come looking for you! Now, away with you!”

The girls ran for the exit and then split up to go their separate ways. How many would return tonight? Only time will tell.

[elmrgraham]

Purrfect again.

[dell]

Part Nine: Katya Panics

The sun had set over an hour ago, but Katya stayed away from busy streets. She ran through alleys and covered the two miles to her target in less than 20 minutes. She wasn’t winded in the least from her run and quickly approached the back door of her target. She smiled as she read the sign above the back door, ‘The Cobalt Connection - The Finest Blue Gems In The World’.

She quickly found the first burglar alarm and disarmed it in less than a minute. However, her confidence soon waned as disarming the second burglar alarm proved to be a much tougher assignment. At one point she nearly cut the wrong wire, and then she began to question everything she was doing. If Catwoman had been watching her she was certain that she would have been thrown out of the gang on the spot. After 5 minutes she was sweating and breathing harder than she had been after the run to the store. It took her another 10 minutes to finally bypass the alarm; a job that should’ve taken less than 30 seconds.

She took several deep breaths to calm down and then pulled on her gloves and then she jerked the door open and stepped into the store. She cautiously made her way to the jewelry case the Catwoman had indicated in her instructions. She carefully examined it for any additional alarms, but found none. She used a glass cutter on the rear panel of the case and inscribed a four inch circle. She carefully remove the glass and reached in and grabbed the 5 pound bar of cobalt that was the pride and joy of the store’s display. She dropped the bar into the bag Catwoman had given each of them for carrying their plunder.

Having completed her task, she quickly made her way to the back of the store. She looked out the back door to make sure the coast was clear. She reached back into the bag and pulled out a smoke bomb. She activated the device and threw it into the middle of the store. Katya waited until smoke began to pour out of the bomb and began the run back to Catwoman. After travelling a quarter of a mile she used her necklace to check in with Catwoman using the predetermined codes. “Unit C, returning home. I caught my mouse.”

The radio crackled in response, “You’re the first one to check in. Hurry home kitten.” Katya smiled and immediately began to run, eager to show her mentor her ill-gotten gains.

[elmrgraham]

Purrfect Dell.Keep it up.

[dell]

I don't have anything written for the part 11, so this will have to hold you for a while. The good news is that parts 12 to 14 are complete.

Part 10: Katrina Completes Her Assignment

Meanwhile, three miles to the south of Katya, Katrina was having problems of her own. Her target was approximately one and a half miles from the school, but she got turned around in the dark and it took her over an hour to find the road she was looking for. It then took her another 10 minutes to find the correct store; ‘The Cougar Emporium - A Jewelry Purchasing Experience For The Mature, Discerning Woman’.

Once she found the target, Katrina made short work of the two burglar alarms on the back door and was inside in less than three minutes. She also found a burglar alarm on the display case she needed to break into, but quickly bypassed the sensor and opened the case. She reached in and picked up the solid silver cougar that was the store’s unofficial mascot. The ten pound statue was worth a pretty penny just for the precious metal content, but the statue wore a special necklace with a rare green gem that dramatically increased the value of the statue.

Having stolen the item Catwoman had specified, she slipped her bounty into her bag and made her way to the exit. Before leaving, she threw a smoke bomb into the store and then made her getaway. Once outside the store, Katrina wasn’t sure which direction to go to return to the school. She had found the store in a roundabout manner, so she didn’t know which direction would take her home. She guessed, but realized she was going the wrong way after only a few minutes. Then she heard the sirens and realized the police must be heading to the store to investigate the smoke.

She finally determined that she had to go back towards the store to get back to the school. The sirens were getting louder so she slipped into the closest alley. Moments later a Gotham City police car roared by. She sighed, heading back to the store was no longer an option as the police would certainly question anyone in the vicinity of the store.

She decided that she could move through the alleys to avoid the police. And if she stayed at least three blocks away from the store, no one investigating the break-in would suspect that she was involved. It took her another 15 minutes to move through the alleys and circumvent the store, but she finally got back on the street that would take her back to school. Satisfied she could be back within 20 minutes she finally called in, “Unit D, returning home. I caught my mouse.”

The radio crackled in response, “You’re much later than expected.” Katrina sighed as she now anticipated a very poor score on her test, or even outright failure. The radio crackled again, “You’re the second kitten to call in. Hurry home, but watch out for the police; they seem to be everywhere at the moment.” Katrina’s spirits soared as someone else was doing even worse than she was. She still have a chance to pass. She ran as quickly as she could all the way back to school.

[dell]

I decided to split this part into Parts 11 and 12 as it just kept growing. Here is part 11 with Kitty breaking into a store.

Part Eleven: No Honor Among Thieves

Kitty was determined to not only pass this test, but to do it with honors. She knew the best way to do pull off her caper successfully was to avoid being seen whenever possible. Therefore, Kitty took great care in covering the 4 miles to her target. She could have run there in less than 30 minutes, but she took her time and moved cautiously. She finally arrived at her target after an hour and 10 minutes.

Kitty felt tired, more tired than if she had run the entire way. Moving in short bursts and paying close attention to everything she encountered took a lot of energy. She waited in the shadows for 5 minutes to catch her breath and to allow herself to collect her thoughts before she went back on high alert. Feeling refreshed she studied the rear door of the target Catwoman had selected for her, Gato and Nephews Fine Jewelry Emporium.

Seeing no one in the area she launched a single rock from 40 feet away and took out the light that illuminated the back door. Kitty moved quickly to the door and in less than two minutes had disabled both alarms on the door. She slipped inside and slowly worked her way through the store, being careful to check for additional alarms as she went. She smiled as she found a third alarm just as she reached the first display case. She thought to herself that it was rather clever of the store owner to place an alarm there as potential burglars would be distracted by the display case - well, most burglars. Kitty made short work of the third alarm.

Meanwhile, across the alley the luck of the aspiring cat burglar took a turn - for the worse. On the opposite of the alley from Gato and Nephews Fine Jewelry Emporium was West-Ward Ho, a store selling clothing and memorabilia from a popular western TV show. Inside the store was ‘Light Fingered Louie’ who had just cracked the safe and helped himself to the day’s sales receipts. Unfortunately for Kitty he had looked out the store’s rear window just as Kitty broke the light above the backdoor. Seeing an opportunity to place the blame for his robbery of West-Ward Ho on someone else, he audaciously called the police from inside the store to report Kitty.

Meanwhile, Kitty continued to exercise extreme caution as she moved to the display case that held the item she had been tasked with stealing. She moved slowly and all her senses were on full alert. Twelve minutes after she had entered the store she was finally standing beside the display case with the diamond Catwoman had identified as her target. She was about to pop the lock when a police car drove by and shone its spotlight into the store. Kitty had fast reactions and was on the floor before the spotlight lit up the store’s interior. The light swept back and forth four times before the car slowly pulled away.

Kitty was on her feet seconds after the car left the scene. She knew if the police stopped and checked the rear door they would see her handiwork. It was time to move quickly to obtain the item and get out of the store. She popped the lock and opened the rear door of the case. She selected the lone diamond Catwoman had noted and slipped it into her bag. She slid the door of the display case closed and then she heard the back door to the store open.

[dell]

I had real problems with this section. At least a dozen rewrites and I 'm still not thrilled with it. Oh well, it's good enough and moving on let's us get to some juicier stuff. Next up will be "Chief O’Hara’s Brilliant Plan". Seriously, he has a brilliant plan to thwart Catwoman. He does; I'm not kidding. But you'll have to wait for it.

Part Twelve: Kitty Sneaks Out

Kitty froze. She took a few seconds to evaluate the situation and realized the only escape route was straight up. Earlier, as she had slowly worked her way across the store on her way to the display case she had noticed that the drop ceiling in this section of the store had been removed to allow some work to be done on the electrical wiring. The ladder was leaning against the wall and she had no time to retrieve it. And even if she did it would be obvious that she had chosen the ceiling as her hiding place. No, she had to get up there in a less obvious way.

Kitty silently leapt on top of the display case. She pulled the bag holding the diamond from her sash and placed the bag’s drawstrings in her teeth. With the bag free from the sash she pulled the sash loose and held it by one end. She knew she had only one chance at her daring plan. She leapt straight up and swung the sash at the pipe. Her timing was perfect. The sash hit the pipe and the buckle on the free end of the sash swung around to meet her waiting hand. She now had one hand on each end of the sash and was hanging from the pipe.

Thanks to the body building exercises imposed by Selina Kyle, Kitty had no trouble pulling her legs up to the pipe so she could wrap her ankles around it. Just as Kitty’s legs disappeared into the ceiling the beam from Sergeant O’Kelly’s flashlight swung across the display case where Kitty had been perched only moments earlier.

Knowing that she would be quickly spotted if she remained where she was, Kitty knew she had to move deeper into the ceiling. Kitty pulled down on the sash with her left hand which pulled her right hand up, and then over the pipe. With her right hand on the pipe she released the sash and dropped it onto her chest. Grabbing the pipe with both hands she started to silently pull herself along the pipe. She moved carefully in order to disturb as little dust from the top of the pipe as possible. She didn’t want the dust to fall down and give the police a clue as to where she was, but she was also concerned with making herself sneeze.

She moved past the hole and into the dark recess of the ceiling before Sergeant O’Kelly reached the display case. The officer swung his flashlight in a complete circle before he pointed it up. He then called to his partner, “Hey, O’Brien, do you see anything up there?”

O’Brien stood next to his sergeant and looked up into the hole in the ceiling. “Up there? Don’t be daft man! How’n do you think someone got up there? Grew themselves a pair a wings and flew?”

“You’re right; the store seems to be empty. They must have left already. Go call it in and I’ll have another look around while we wait for the store owner to determine what’s missing.”

Kitty had hoped that they both would leave the room so she could drop down to the floor and make her way to a door. At least now she only had one officer to evade. But then Sergeant O’Kelly called to his partner. “O’Brien, turn on the lights on your way out!”

Seconds later the room was filled with light. Kitty decided she needed to make her getaway before things got even worse. She held onto the pipe with one hand and used the other to take the small bag from her teeth. She opened it up and found three smoke bombs.

She slowly moved towards the opening in the ceiling. However, she was so worried about holding on to the smoke bombs and not making any noise that she dislodged a large amount of dust from the top of the pipe. She inhaled some dust and sneezed violently and almost lost her grip. Sergeant O’Kelly pulled his gun and waved it at the ceiling. “Come on out whoever you are!!”

Kitty activated two of the smoke bombs and threw them at the hole in the ceiling a few feet away. They fell to the floor and began spewing huge mounts of smoke. To furhter distract the police she activated the third smoke bomb and threw it a few feet to her left. Sergeant O’Kelly followed the noise made by the smoke bomb as it skittered along the ceiling over his head. The ceiling cavity quickly filled with smoke and Kitty moved to the hole and dropped to the floor. Like a cat, she landed on her feet. She waited a few more seconds for smoke to completely fill the room and then moved towards the front door.

With smoke filling the store from the first two smoke bombs and more smoke billowing out from the ceiling hole the no one saw her drop from the ceiling. To add to the confusion from the smoke she unlocked the front door and pushed it open. Instantly, a burglar alarm went off. Kitty smiled and then slipped out the door. She was a mile away before she stopped running. She looked around and was satisfied that no one had followed her. She picked up the necklace and called in to Catwoman. “Unit B, returning home. It put up quite a fight, but I caught my mouse.”

Catwoman replied, “You’re the last one to check in. It’s late. You should have been home by now.”

Kitty wanted to explain the problems she’d had and why she was late, but she knew Catwoman wouldn’t want to hear it. Besides, it didn’t matter, she had earned her ears. It was time to go home and celebrate with the others and learn what was next in Catwoman's plan.

[elmrgraham]

Purrfect again Dell.