Gotham's skyline was a jagged silhouette against the silver moon. The wind carried the faint hum of the city — sirens, laughter, danger.
Batman crouched on the edge of a rooftop, cape trailing like the shadow of a storm. He had been tracking jewel thieves all night, and the trail had led here.
A faint click of heels on concrete made him turn.
"You're getting sloppy, Bat," came the familiar voice.
Selina Kyle stepped into the moonlight, her black catsuit glistening with raindrops. In one gloved hand, she twirled a diamond necklace — the very one stolen from the Whitmore Gala.
"You could've returned it," he said, his voice low.
"I could have," she replied, stepping closer, her smile teasing. "But then you wouldn't have chased me, and where's the fun in that?"
They stood face to face now, the space between them charged with something neither of them would name.
"You know this has to end, Selina," Batman said, though his voice lacked conviction.
"Maybe," she whispered, brushing past him — close enough for her perfume to linger — "but not tonight."
Before he could react, she was already vaulting over the rooftop ledge, her whip snapping against a nearby building. The diamond necklace was gone from her hand.
Batman looked down to see it lying on the ledge where she'd stood, glinting in the moonlight.
She always left him something — a clue, a challenge, or maybe… a promise?
?