12 A New Rivalry

Selina and Bruce made it out of the building. Out in the distance, several police vehicles raced towards the bank, their lights flashing and their alarms blaring.

Selina grabbed Bruce's hand and dragged him along with her and away from the crime scene. She didn't want to deal with the police since it would be such a hassle.

And so, they quickly made their way through the streets. Luckily, no one had spotted them leaving.

Meanwhile, Several officers in tactical gear rushed out of their vehicles and entered the building. They were calm and disciplined, moving in formation. The Commissioner, Jim Gordon, was among them, his gun drawn and ready to fight.

"Are they still inside?" Jim Gordon asked the bank manager who had survived the whole ordeal.

"I'm not sure! They might still be in the safe room!" The bank manager quickly said. "B-but, there was a man, asian-looking, he helped everyone escape. I think he went after the robbers."

"Then we gotta move," Jim Gordon said. "Everyone, move slowly. Go through every room."

As the officers slowly made their way through the smoke, they checked through each room, inspecting around corners for the robbers. Still no sign.

Once they made their way to the safe room, they were stunned. Four robbers were lying on the ground unconscious.

"What the hell happened here?" Jim Gordon asked in confusion.

Meanwhile, Selina finally stopped walking and turned around, "You shouldn't do that anymore; you're lucky I'd save you back there."

"Appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself just fine," he said, not backing down. If he could, Bruce would have done it again.

"Yeah, you're one hell of a fighter, I get that, but what about guns, Bruce? How do you defend against that?" She argued. "Tell me."

Bruce paused for a moment. No matter how much he trained himself in the way of martial arts, he won't be able to stop a bullet no matter what. Unless he was superhuman, it just wasn't possible.

"I can't," he finally said. "I know that. But, I would still risk my life to stop them."

Selina looked at him with disbelief. He was definitely crazy. Yet, it made her even more interested in him, wondering what he will do next.

"There's really no stopping you, is there?" Selina sighed out in defeat. Then, she suddenly reached out her hand. "Your phone. Give it to me."

"Huh, why?"

"In case something goes wrong, you can call me up. I'll be there in no time," she answered.

"But I don't have one."

"Wha- what do you mean you don't have one?! Did you just woke up to the 21st century or something?"

"Well... what if I told you I actually came from a different universe?"

"Oh, haha. Good one, Joker. Now hand over over the phone," she demanded, her paws wide open.

"I really don't have a phone. I actually planned on buying one today," he said truthfully.

Selina facepalmed herself. Why did the man she found herself interested in so out of the ordinary?

"Then I'll just do this," Selina grabbed Bruce's hand. She reached into her pocket from her black jacket and pulled out a red lipstick. She then wrote down her number across Bruce's arm.

"There. Call me when you bought yourself a phone, alright? I'll be heading home now, so I'll see you later, Bruce," as Selina walked away, she suddenly stopped for a moment. "Oh yeah and don't forget about our date, too. I want somewhere fancy. See ya~"

She blew him a kiss goodbye.

Later that day, Bruce walked up the steps to his apartment already exhausted. He had to go through all of the motions just to purchase a single phone. It didn't help at all that all models look practically the same.

And that price tag. It practically drained two weeks worth of wages. If he was back on his Earth, he wouldn't care, but... come on, man. He would still need to learn how to use it properly. Maybe he should get Barbara to help him out.

Suddenly, Bruce's vision was covered up by a pair of soft hands.

"Guess who."

"Is it already 5 o' clock, Barbara?" Bruce Lee asked, gently pulling Barbara's hands away.

"That's right. Training time," she said. Her blue eyes glanced down at the bag in his hands. "Oh? Did you finally get a new phone? It's about time."

"It drained out my bank, too," he said, taking out the keys to unlock the door to his apartment. Bruce Lee flicked the lights on as the both of them walked inside.

"I can help you learn how to use your phone," Barbara offered. "Lord knows how bad you are with technology."

"That would be great, actually," he nodded. Bruce quickly realized the other bag in his hand and held it out to her. "By the way, I also got you something, Barbara."

"Really? What is it?" She took the bag from him, a joyful smile graced her face.

"Some sweets from the bakery," he answered. "I thought you might like them. You were training hard, so I wanted to give you something for your hard work."

Barbara's face turned flush red, "Oh... thank you. But, you didn't have to do that for me, Bruce."

However, she couldn't stop herself from smiling, glancing down at the gift she had recieved. Her hands held tightly onto the bag as if she was about to lose it.

"I wanted to," Bruce ruffled Barbara's gorgeous, red hair.

When Barbara looked back at him again, she felt her heart raced a bit. She didn't think she would fall in love anyone else, but... she was starting to think otherwise.

"Anyways, are you gonna teach me how to use a phone or what?" He asked.

"Sure!"

Barbara began to teach him the basics. Bruce Lee was both shocked and confused at the same time. How could something like this exist? It was like something straight out of a sci-fi movie! After some time, he was finally starting to get the hang of it now.

"And that's how you do it! Simple enough, right?" Barbara said. "And look, I'm your first contact!"

"So... if I wanted to add a new contact, where would I go?" Bruce asked.

"Wait, you got another person's number?" Barbara didn't mean to be nosy, but it was an itch that she needed to scratch.

"Yeah, besides your dad, she was one of the first people when I first got here," he answered. "I came across her today, and she gave me her number."

Bruce pulled back his sleeve, revealing Selina's number written across his arm.. He didn't need to hide the fact. What was there to lie about?

Barbara's lips drooped into a small frown when she saw it. Red lipstick, too. Barbara quickly calmed herself down. There wasn't any need to get so worked up. Besides, he said they were only friends.

"What was her name?" She wanted to know more about this mysterious woman.

"Selina, why?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.

Barbara grew even more solemn, her brows furrowing. No, that couldn't be. It wasn't THAT Catwoman, right? Maybe, a different Selina. But, it could be her since Bruce had already encountered Catwoman at the warehouse in Old Gotham.

"She wouldn't happen to have black hair and green eyes. right?" She asked.

"Wait- how do you know that?"

"Listen, the Selina that you know isn't what she seems to be, Bruce," Barbara solemnly said.

"What do you mean? What's going on, Barbara?" Bruce Lee was completely confused.

"That woman you've met- she's actually Catwoman," she laid out the truth to him. "Her full name is Selina Kyle. More importantly, she's a thief; a criminal."

Bruce Lee was completely shocked. He thought they were quite similar, but he played it off as a mere coincidence and didn't think much about it. Now, putting two and two together, it made complete sense.

"Even if she is a thief, I don't necessarily think she is a bad person. She did save my life," Bruce said.

"Still, she might be leading you on. I don't trust her. She's bad news."

"Until that happens, I will still put my trust in her. But, thank you for telling me this."

Barbara balled her fists in worry. She did feel good about this. Not one bit. She just couldn't put herself to trust Catwoman. However, Barbara knew that she couldn't control Bruce. After all, it was his choice to talk and befriend whomever he pleases.

She just hoped that nothing bad would happen to him.

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