After hearing Holly's account, Selina finally realized she had misunderstood Adam. Deep down, she knew she'd wronged him—but admitting it? That was a whole different issue.
Selina Kyle wasn't the kind of woman to say "sorry." She was tough, prideful, and emotionally armored. Even though she clearly had feelings for the brooding Batman, she still pretended not to care. In that way, she really was a perfect match for the Dark Knight. So now, instead of an apology, she approached Adam with her own kind of directness...
"Hey. Your foot okay? Still hurt?"
Adam blinked. The question came so out of nowhere he didn't register it right away. Then he muttered:
"Hurt? Try stepping on broken glass like it's your morning workout and bleeding all over the place. God knows if I'll end up with tetanus."
Selina rolled her eyes and made a face. "Men," she scoffed, waving Holly over. "Go get some medical supplies. Anything useful. Gauze, bandages, antiseptic—something."
As Holly dashed off, Selina crouched down and took hold of Adam's foot like she was inspecting a cracked antique vase.
"You do know we bleed for seven days every month and don't die, right?" she said flatly. "This little papercut parade you're throwing isn't impressing anyone."
Before he could protest, she was already pulling off his sock. Her fingers—elegant, sure, but deceptively strong—ran lightly over the sole of his foot, picking out embedded shards of glass with casual precision.
This wasn't how Adam had imagined his first close contact with a woman. He'd always pictured something a little more… romantic. Maybe holding hands under streetlights, a shy glance exchanged beneath the stars. Not being pinned to the ground by Gotham's most dangerous femme fatale while she played Operation on his foot.
Still, from up close, Selina was… stunning. When she wasn't in jaguar-mode ready to claw someone's face off, she had this quiet grace—like a high-bred Persian cat stretching in the sun. Sleek, self-assured, dangerous in the most attractive way possible.
Elegant. Wild. Beautiful. It wasn't hard to see why even Batman had fallen for her once.
"I really hope my feet don't smell right now," Adam thought miserably, silently praying to whichever gods oversaw embarrassing moments.
Meanwhile, Selina wasn't thinking anything sentimental. Her brow was furrowed, her attention sharp as she worked on him.
"You boys are delicate as hell," she muttered. "Back when I was living on the street, this kind of wound wouldn't even register. I'd spit on it, wrap it up with whatever was lying around, and move on."
Adam winced. Her version of "medical treatment" was more demolition job than surgery. The way she yanked out a piece of glass that hadn't even been that deep—it was like being peeled. He bit back a yell.
And then came Holly, back from her errand, proudly carrying… a pack of sanitary pads and some gauze. That was it.
Selina didn't bat an eye. She grabbed the pads, tore open the package like it was field rations, and began wrapping Adam's foot with the kind of haste that suggested she was preparing for battle rather than bandaging an injury.
Adam looked down at his foot, now swaddled in layers of feminine hygiene and gauze, and couldn't help but think: This is not how Batman's sidekicks get treated.
"Should I bring out the orange tabby and use it as a distraction while I escape?" he wondered silently. "If she keeps going , she's going to amputate me."
Finally, Selina tied off the bandage, let out a satisfied whistle, and stood up with a smug smile. "There. That's what street smarts gets you. What do you think? Pretty good, right?"
Adam looked at the gauze-wrapped mummy where his foot used to be and sighed. "It looks like I got mugged by a kindergarten arts-and-crafts class."
But Selina wasn't sticking around for commentary. Holly was safe, her conscience was clear (sort of), and she wasn't about to make small talk with the guy she'd just verbally and physically assaulted. She stood up, brushed her hands off, and turned toward the door.
Adam, still dazed but trying to be diplomatic, called after her. "Hey, you can stay the night if you want. I mean, it's safe here. And about that debt you mentioned earlier—maybe I can help?"
Selina didn't even hesitate. "No thanks." ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet
She left without giving him so much as her contact info.
On the walk back, Holly was unusually quiet. Then, in a voice as small as her frame, she muttered, "I… I messed up. I shouldn't have tried to pickpocket that guy."
Selina, ready to scold her, glanced down—and softened.
"Hey… kid," she said with a sigh. "What am I going to do with you? You really thought about going down that road? Selling yourself like the other girls?"
Holly shrugged. In the slums, that life was normal. Easy money, no skills required. Lie down, open your legs, and hope the guy wasn't violent. It beat starving—or so it seemed.
But Selina Kyle wasn't most women. She had the looks, the body, and plenty of offers from rich creeps who'd turn her into their private golden cat—but she'd never once said yes. She carved her own way in Gotham's shadows.
"I get it," Holly said finally. "But what else can we do? That crazy landlord's already charging triple because of all your cats. If we get evicted, we're out on the street."
Selina was quiet for a long moment.
"Yeah… we could have accepted help from that Chinese guy. He didn't seem like a bad person."
Selina's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's the thing. He's too not-bad."
Holly blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I only threw two punches at him. In a dark room, no less. And he still figured out who I was. Not just that—I think he knew me. My habits, my weaknesses. He even threatened me… with a cat."
Selina replayed the moment in her head. "And what was that thing he said on the balcony? Something about not having gold but maybe silver treasures at home? That even Batman couldn't catch me? That I could mop the floor with Gotham's D-list villains?"
"Oh my God," she muttered. "Holly, if he's right… we've been going about this all wrong."
The little girl tilted her head. "Huh?"
Selina grinned, eyes gleaming like a true predator who just spotted her prey.
"That guy, Adam—he's not normal. He might be the answer we've been looking for."
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