Of course it was Catwoman. Her place was completely overrun by feline overlords. The willful, chaotic cats ruled the carpet, the couch, the bed, and the shelves. The moment Kaitou Kid stepped inside, all the cats stared at him with glittering eyes. A few even approached and surrounded him.
Ignoring the cats, Kid tilted his head and listened. The sound of running water reached Liu A'dou's ears—someone was in the shower.
So... she was in the bathroom? He really picked the worst time to show up.
Still, surrounded by so many cats, and with nothing better to do, Liu A'dou reached out and gently petted their heads and chins. It didn't take long for him to make friends with the entire pride.
But there were just too many of them. Being Catwoman's full-time servant must be exhausting. How much time did she spend every day just tending to them? No wonder she couldn't hold down a regular job and had to become a thief. Everything had a cause and effect.
"Are my babies hungry?" Catwoman called out from the shower when she heard the meowing. "Hold on, Mommy's coming!"
Liu A'dou quickly set down the cat in his arms and stood up. But once cats decide they like someone, they're not so easy to shake off. And his outfit still carried the scent of pigeons—so the cats scrambled to climb on him again.
Claws hooked into his pants as they tried to climb up, while others used the shelves to leap onto his shoulders. It was nearly impossible to maintain that iconic magician's poise. Until now, he'd only been covered in pigeons—this was his first time getting swarmed by cats.
Kaitou Kid no longer looked like a phantom thief. He looked like an exotic animal tamer.
The bathroom door opened.
Bathed in light, a graceful silhouette swayed into the room like a noble consort stepping from an ancient bath—elegant and ethereal. "Babies, Mommy's here."
Her silk robe clung damply to her chest and neck, clinging in all the right places. Her wet, brown curls spilled down like floating duckweed. And today, aside from the cats, there was an extra-lucky viewer witnessing it all.
Whoa. Catwoman's figure was incredible. Just as alluring as Ada Wong's, but in a totally different way.
Then their eyes met—one second, maybe two.
Neither spoke.
Catwoman moved first. She tossed the towel she was using to dry her hair, blocking his vision, and sprang into action. Swift as a big cat, she stepped up onto the back of the couch and closed the distance in seconds. Her long, pale leg whipped out like a scythe aimed straight at him.
This was a woman shaped by Gotham's underbelly. Her first instinct was always to attack—just like a stray cat. To her, strangers brought no safety, only danger.
Naturally, Liu A'dou wasn't about to let a long leg land across his face. But there was no way he was going to pass up a chance for close contact either. He raised a gloved hand to block her kick—too bad the glove kept him from feeling her smooth skin. What a shame.
"Don't be mad. I'm not here to hurt you. Selina," he called her name, hoping it would calm her down.
But Catwoman didn't listen to a single word coming from a man who had broken into her home. She leaned back, spun, and launched a second kick—her silk robe fluttering in the air.
Liu A'dou really wanted to warn her that she wasn't wearing any underwear, but thought better of it. He'd keep the image in his mind, no need to say it out loud and make things awkward.
That thought lasted only a second. This time, Liu A'dou didn't block her attack. Instead, he twisted his wrist, catching her leg mid-swing and spinning her body into a full three-hundred-sixty-degree turn midair, neutralizing her assault completely.
"Calm down. I'm not your enemy. I'm here to tell you that Iselin is safe now. You don't have to do anything for those people anymore."
That stopped her cold.
She flopped backward onto the sofa, her chest heaving, her robe gaping at the front.
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded.
"Kaitou Kid," Liu A'dou said calmly. "They were threatening you to get Bruce's fingerprints, right? If that's true, you don't have to go through with it anymore."
"..." Catwoman stared at the man buried in a pile of cats. She'd heard of Kaitou Kid before—a strange thief who always sent a calling card before stealing. But why was this thief trying to stop her?
"You're too late. I already handed over the fingerprints," Catwoman said as she sat up and adjusted her silk robe.
Damn it. Once again, he wasn't fast enough. A lousy peacekeeper at best, always one step behind the enemy.
"Who did you give them to?" Liu A'dou asked.
"Fish Mooney."
Liu A'dou nodded. He figured he'd done all he could. The rest—he'd hand off to Batman.
Brushing the cats off him, Liu A'dou sprang out the window. Before he left, he glanced back at Catwoman fixing her robe—still quite a sight. Worth the visit.
Watching him fly off, Selina narrowed her eyes. Who the hell was this guy, really? Didn't he realize how serious this whole situation was? Fish Mooney was just the front—there were far more dangerous people behind her. Best to stay out of it and save herself.
Looked like it'd be another sleepless night.
Liu A'dou headed straight for the Batcave. He made a mental note—tonight, he was going to give Batman a scare.
With a dive, his delta glider tore through the waterfall and into Batman's secret base. As the water pressure surged around him, Liu A'dou used Ripple to repel the moisture from his body and stay dry.
As expected, Batman was there—still analyzing who had taken his fingerprints.
Perfect time to strike.
Liu A'dou landed silently on the ground.
Yes, finally. Time to get revenge for those three times he'd been caught off guard.
Striking a cool pose with his back against a column, legs at a sixty-degree angle, hands in his pockets, and head lowered just a bit—he began.
"The woman who took Bruce Wayne's fingerprints was Catwoman. But she was just the delivery girl. Someone else needed them."
Batman turned around.
There stood Kid, leaning like he'd been there forever, totally casual.
Batman didn't flinch. His face showed zero surprise. "What do you know?"
Damn. So much for the dramatic entrance.
All that posing—completely wasted. Batman went straight to business, ignoring all of it.
Liu A'dou sighed and stepped forward a few paces. "It's Bane. A guy named Bane wants to ruin you. Break you. Destroy your reputation."
Batman looked at him. Clearly, he already knew Kid had figured out his identity.
"You know who I am?"
Kid nodded. "Yeah. But don't worry. I won't say anything about Bruce being Batman. But there's something else you should know—Bane also knows who you are. That's why he's got a whole plan aimed straight at you. He hasn't acted yet, but once he does, it'll be a tidal wave. You might not be able to stop him."
"And one more thing. Bane's got a terrifying virus. Just a drop turns people into walking corpses. They lose reason but keep enough instinct to hunt and bite. That's how the virus spreads—through bites. Extremely dangerous. Plus, he plans to crash your fortune through the stock exchange. You'll be attacked on all sides."
"I know." Batman didn't even blink. Not a flicker of shock. He calmly continued working, digging deeper into Bane's background.
Liu A'dou wasn't worried. With Batman's brain, now that he had this much intel, he'd definitely come up with a plan before Bane made his move.
"Then I'll be waiting for your good news," Liu A'dou said to himself as he turned to leave. This part—he'd leave to Batman.
Silent Gotham.
No one knew this silence was just the weight of the storm about to break.
"Gotham City. Batman. Let's see what you're really made of," Bane growled, arms folded across his chest straps.
His challenge had been declared. War was about to begin.