Catwoman’s sharp nails were designed specifically to cut through several inches of glass without any hassle. She’d had them specially designed by an old friend of hers in the business, one that owed her more than a few favors. All it took was one big ‘o’ across the surface, go through it a few more times, and then attach the suction cup on the left palm before easing it out of place.
To think that the Jade Dragon, one of the highest commodities on the market right now—some went so far as to say it was beyond priceless—could be so easily “misplaced.”
The cat burglar eased the big ugly lizard out of its case and tugged on the her grapple, set to automatically reel her back in on her two-tug command. The ride up was agonizingly slow, due to the added weight of her scaly green friend. Eventually she made it back through the skylight, set her prize down on the rooftops.
It looked magnificent in the moonlight. It was so beautiful. Every scale was detailed enough to be rough on her gloved fingertips, and the teeth sharp enough to pierce the latex on her costume. She smiled wickedly at her latest acquisition. It would fetch a pretty penny, no doubt. But then again, so would all the other stuff she’d stolen from the museum that night.
No sense in just throwing it out to the highest bidder now. She’d better wait a while, let the heat die and let people stop looking for it. That way she could take it home and enjoy it a little first. It wasn’t exactly as pretty as, say, a Jade Kitty would be. But there was something about this ugly Asian lizard that she couldn’t help but admire.
Perhaps she could just… keep this one? As a souvenir.
“Who’s an ugly little guy?” Selina whispered as she stroked its hard unmoving beard, “You are. Yes you are. You’re my ugly little guy.”
Standing up on her feet, Selina bent back over to tuck the Jade Dragon under her arm. It was a heavy thing. She certainly wouldn’t be running rooftop to rooftop tonight. It was too big to fit in her bag… and her bag was too full to fit anything else inside of it anyway. She’d certainly hit a big haul tonight, but maybe there was such a thing as too much loot. At least when she was hauling all home herself.
No, she corrected herself with a shake of her head, that was ridiculous. She would just have to find some other way to carry everything back to her apartment. She couldn’t risk two trips out. The cops would be all over this place once the guards realized what had happened. They’d probably check the roof and see her Jade Dragon just sitting there, all by his lonesome, and put him back in that case. Or worse—what if some random two-bit common crook just swooped by and took it for themselves! That would be terrible, someone snooping in on her big score!
Frustrated, Catwoman placed her two weights down on the roof in front of her. One Jade Dragon, one sack of jewelry and art. Both equally heavy, both equally stolen. Both equally hers.
“Hmm… what to do, what to do?” she tapped her exposed chin with a pointer finger, “On one hand, I take the Dragon home first and get him out of the way. On the other I get all these pretty jewels. Maybe I could wear some of the jewels while I… no, Selina, that’s stupid.”
Catwoman would sit there much longer than she probably should have—debating on what to do with her catburglaring conundrum. She was so enthralled in her decision that she barely heard the faint muffled cries of the guards below her, just now discovering that their client’s most priceless piece was missing on the last leg of its tour. Selina looked down through the skylight irately, her expression forming a flirtatious pout.
“Damn.” She hissed, “Gotta figure this out fast.”
Feeling her heartbeat accelerate, Selina’s eyes darted back and forth between her two targets. If she left now, there was no chance in hell she’d get both of them. At this rate she might not even get home without a certain Bat or one of his little do-gooder partners busting her tail—and then she’d lose both marks. Sure the Dragon was more expensive, but the jewels were so pretty…
“Screw it.” Catwoman huffed as she bent over and picked the dragon up under one arm and worked the handle of her messenger bag over the other shoulder, “No way am I losing out on what’s mine.”
***
Elsewhere, deep in the outer regions of space, a tiny trinket floated aimlessly.
Since Ookara’s sudden and unexplained implosion had robbed it of a master, the Orange Ring of Avarice had been sifting aimlessly throughout the fabric of space. It was hunting a new ring bearer, guided by the supreme will of Ophidian the Tempter, and carried the potential power of an entire Lantern Corps inside it.
It had searched, listening to every corner of the universe, and had finally found someone worthy of wielding its light.
Without provocation, it shot off into the distance, a little orange blur behind it.
***
Catwoman fell to the snowy ground of Gotham City with a thud, her knees threatening to give under the immense pressure that her newfound acquisitioned provided. It had taken her too long to shimmy down the pipes and make the small, necessary jumps to avoid breaking her legs. And even then, the trip down had proven dangerous enough despite her precautions. The museum guards were now very aware that someone had come in and cased the joint, and that meant that the GCPD weren’t that far behind. Which also meant that a certain pointy-eared guy in a cape was even closer than they were.
She looked down at her prizes—an ugly green lizard worth more than Selina would ever see in her lifetime, and a sack full of jewels and art and crowns and bracelets and…
Catwoman dashed forward, confident that she was making the right decision. Her footsteps were loud and clumsy, but she was agile enough for it to balance out against the great weight of her loot. If she was lucky, she might just make it home. Put this big ugly bastard on her mantle and stare at it all night, sipping wine while she worked out a few contacts with her fences.
“Halt!” a sudden voice caused her to look up, “Police!”
Shots rang out as Selina ducked behind the building, bullets clipping the brick and sending powder into the air. She pulled the statue a little further into cover, hoping to shield it from any damage it might have otherwise suffered. As more black and whites screeched to the scene, police lights illuminating the alley in a sea of red and blue, Catwoman could only grab the statue and hold it facing her.
“See what you’ve gotten us into?” she whispered to the Jade Dragon, “How am I gonna get out of this one when you’re so heavy?”
She took another passing glance at the sack of other works of art, and then made direct eye contact with her shiny lizard companion. Was all this really worth it? Getting shot at, possibly turned in for yet another act of grand larceny, and maybe even losing her life—for a big green dragon and a bunch of shiny rocks?
Catwoman stared deeply into the Jade Dragon’s eyes as more and more policemens’ voices filled the opening outside the alley before nodding in affirmation.
“Right. What was I thinking?” Selina said affirmatively as she reached to tuck the monster underneath her arm…
At that moment, an orange light shot down from the heavens, going unnoticed by any of the officers present. It hid behind the alley, and hovered some feet off of the ground in front of Catwoman as she huddled with her precious cargo. It was a little ring. Looked like something out of a cereal box. It was bright orange, and glowed with an unholy hue about it.
“Selina Kyle of Earth, you have been chosen.”
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