Chapter 89. A merry acquaintance

//I apologise for the long hiatus again, it's just that work issues have been more serious than I thought they would be. The next chapter will be published as early as this weekend//

It was now the third hour of the masquerade, and there was no sign of the thief. I even wondered if she had managed to slip under Barbara Gordon. But that was simply impossible, since the superheroine had ambushed her near the only entrance to the vault, and the head of Leviathan had taken great care to protect her wealth. I took time out from the delicatessen table to personally assess the thickness and material of the walls, which, even under the Sculptor's spell, were still strong enough so that it would not be possible to quietly make a hole or use powerful explosives like in some bank robbery films. Unless, of course, Catwoman decided to blow the place to hell, though even then there was a chance that the vault would remain intact.

Selina, however, had never in my memory resorted to such crude methods. Instead, she preferred to carefully hack her way through every obstacle in her way, and a single entrance, in this case, guaranteed an encounter with the legendary thief. But sitting in ambush for so long was a dreary task, so it was no surprise that Harley offered to take over for a while and let Babs come to the party with me, but the redhead firmly refused the offer, as well as the offer to race on the master's bed, because the girl was doing a real superhero thing on a tip from a government agency, which, as I mentioned, is a serious bid for the big leagues.... At this point, my beloved and I resembled parents seeing their child off to first grade for the first time. Harley even got a little emotional and furtively wiped her tears of pride with a designer curtain hanging from the window.

"It looks like something went wrong, or Catwoman decided to commit a robbery after the party."

I shared my thoughts with Harley when we got back to the ballroom. I'd successfully renewed the cloaking spell, and for the next two hours I didn't have to worry about Mousey being spotted.

"No, she'll definitely show up," said the blonde beauty, deftly grabbing a champagne glass from the waiter. "Without guests the security level will be much higher, so even the territory will be much more difficult to get into, not to mention the vault with the stone."

And, as if confirming the words of the beautiful companion, there was an extraneous noise at the entrance, and then the perpetrators of it appeared.

Black Mask and Catwoman were accompanied by six bodyguards in elegant white suits. Bats' friend appeared at the masquerade in her original look, which had undergone some changes to meet the local high fashion standards. Thus, a stylish tight black jumpsuit turned into a closed dark purple evening dress with a thigh-length neckline and a heavy dark green cape, and her head was adorned with a hood with cute cat ears and a small mask covering only the area around her eyes. Her companion was much less imaginative, choosing to disguise himself as no one (though it was definitely not my place to judge such an approach). His clothes were a white suit, almost like those of bodyguards, but made of more expensive materials, and his head was entirely enclosed in a skull-like black mask with cut-outs for the eyes and a grin of white diamond-shaped teeth, for the constant wearing of which the criminal got his nickname. I knew about the perpetrator of the commotion from the stories of my beloved, and in the old crime reports he had appeared more than once, because for a long time it was the Mask, or Roman Sionis, smuggled weapons in Gotham, until he was squeezed out of there by Italian mafia clans together with Penguin, after which he settled on the northeastern coast of the States, where he began to slowly build a new criminal empire.

"Hey, what the hell?"

By happy coincidence, the procession bumped into the "Joker" and tried to move him aside. Only the young man was not ready to put up with the insolence of people who came from nowhere and immediately snatched a stylish purple revolver.

I'll have to get it for myself sometime, and the winner's trophy too. Hmm, I think I'm beginning to understand why the First was so pissed off when the Joker became Jay Arkham.

~Click, click, click, click~

The safeties on the guards' pistols clicked happily, and they themselves competently covered their employer with their green-eyed companion.

"Enough, I will not tolerate conflict in my house," a loud, commanding voice from the top of the front stairs caused some of the bodyguards to switch to the new stimulus, and they immediately lowered their weapons, for there stood the mistress of the evening. The heavy machine gun that was calmly held by a large bald albino with a light reddish beard and the look of a professional ripper standing next to Minerva made them switch their brains on.

Tobias Whale, a rather curious character, whose misadventures Alfred told me about while I was doing the invitations. At one time the criminal was running around Gotham, and then, after getting a kick out of Bats and losing a big shipment of drugs, he moved to Metropolis. Yeah, right under the boyscout's nose, but the funny thing is that even there he had to deal with the Grim Mouse, who decided to take a stroll through the city after a dinner party at Lex Luthor's house. And I don't know if the man is unrealistically lucky to have escaped the Greatest Detective twice, or if he's cursed, because after Metropolis he managed to meet up with Bats in South America one more time. Alfred was very upset about this, for it was with great difficulty that he had managed to persuade his host to take a three-day holiday.

But never mind the bald African-American albino, for the star of the evening was Minerva. Her perfect dark skin hinted that she was either descended from African ancestors, or she was too fond of sunbathing. Her thick, long brown hair was styled in an elaborate style. Slightly plump lips, lined with pink lipstick, were frozen in a cheeky yet attractive smirk. And the eyes! Beautiful green pools in which one wanted to drown. And all this splendor was emphasized by an ancient dark dress with a corset and a high white collar, as well as a real aura of power, as if an empress appeared before us.

A quick check with true sight revealed some strange anomaly. Her aura was too dense. At the same time, it consisted of several scarlet hues of energy at once, which were not like demonic mana, and also, the darker parts seemed to be at a deeper layer of reality. A curious phenomenon.

"If you'll excuse me, Lady Minerva," spoke Black Mask, interrupting my musings. He stepped around his bodyguards and bowed politely. "Due to the recent conflict with Amparo Cardenas' men, my guards have become a bit jumpy?"

"I've heard about it, so I don't hold a grudge," she closed her eyes, looking something like a large cat. "I promise that your little conflict will be completely resolved soon, unless, of course, you've changed your mind."

"No, I haven't. I dare not even think of turning down such a generous offer."

"Very good, Sionis, very good. Then I think we can go to my office to discuss the details in more detail."

"One moment, Lady Minerva," the supercriminal replied, before quickly turning back to his escort. "I apologies, my dear, business is not waiting."

"Find me later," Selina gently touched his mask.

"I will," he intercepted the girl's hand and mimicked a kiss. Still, the completely closed mask does not allow to enjoy the touch, and with the absorption of food there are probably some problems.

"Yep... Pictures do not convey even a tenth of her beauty," my lovely companion said thoughtfully, when the mistress of the mansion together with Roman and his minions left the hall.

"I can only agree."

"And maybe we..." Harley began to speak with a vulgar grin, and sparks of anticipation flickered in her eyes.

"According to Interpol and Bats, she's a supercriminal, and she's going to jail soon. Why don't we get Zee to have sex with Abby on the altar of Shadow Peak?"

That's a good alternative. I was a little alarmed by the strange reaction of my body, because the same Hawkgirl was very similar in type, but did not cause such a strong desire to get into bed.

"Oh, come on. It's like Ivy and I are innocent lambs. She may be confused, but a good shag with real superheroes will set her on the right track! Well, and she's obviously better than this..." the blonde nodded towards Catwoman, who was wandering around the room.

"Did you buy this diamond or just seduce it on your finger?" She turned to one of the women who had a ring with a large gemstone on her finger. "Ugh, keep an eye on it, or I might just steal it," this phrase went to the couple, where the beau was dressed in a bat costume. But he was wrong about his size, for he was no more than six feet tall, but three times the width of the original Gotham Guard.\

"Ragget cat… We were right not to have her in the harem. We don't need a little girl like that," Harley hissed angrily, watching Selina flirting with everyone. Her appearance with Black Mask and their conversations hinted at an unconventional working relationship.

Yeah... As Bats had said, Selina's behavior was alarming. She's very light-headed, as if she's had a few bottles of alcohol or something fun to smoke, and I'm more inclined to the second option. In addition, many of her phrases sound completely inappropriate, causing the desire to punch facepalm. Although it can be such an unusual way to distract the interlocutor, because I have noticed how a couple of guests lost their jewellery after a short conversation with the thief. She has yet to rob the vault, and the commotion caused by a petty theft would be unnecessary, which also raises questions about Catwoman's adequacy.

However, I was watching Bats's girlfriend only out of the corner of my eye, for most of my attention was spent on maintaining the eavesdropping charms. I managed to put them on a secure case, which was handcuffed to the wrist of one of Black Mask's bodyguards, before they disappeared on the first floor. I was really lucky here, because the charms read the sound vibrations in a certain area and transmitted them to the caster, and without a large enough flat surface, I couldn't even dream of a proper audition. And to hang such a thing on someone else's aura is not very convenient due to the presence of resistance, and to force it through... Well, then even an ordinary person can feel that something is wrong here, not to mention the mistress of the mansion with a strange dual aura. Actually, the information we received made us adjust our further plans a bit, because Roman didn't come just to pay his respects and settle a small conflict with one of the Leviathan cartel members by paying a payoff. Instead, the man decided to join the criminal organization as a full member. Apparently, his candidacy has already been pre-approved and there are still some formalities that will be settled at the upcoming meeting in Madrid, where the whole gang can be covered at once.

In a good way, of course, should have curtailed the operation now and not allow Selina to get to the vault, so as not to alert the mistress of the mansion before the time, but the curator of Interpol, on the contrary, rejoiced at the information received. So the Catwoman's recruitment will happen anyway, but instead of being a bait to make Lady Minerva reveal her true nature, the thief will act as a reinforcement for the Leviathan members... As far as I could understand, Barbara's clean reputation won't matter much at the upcoming meeting, because her allies have made a mess of things for a couple of years of uninterrupted shooting. Amparo Cardenas, mentioned by Black Mask, was not just some leftist Latina, but an El Paso crime boss called La Dama, whose influence extended throughout the central United States. Even Harley was aware of this particular hottie, even though the woman had never once wandered into Gotham, which was already an indicator. And a regular person, according to the rumours.

By the way, the other members of the hobby circle could not boast of superpowers and great fame. At least, in my previous life, I hadn't seen them mentioned in comic books, although they might have appeared, but I'd never been a fan of drawn pictures of men in tight tights. For example, Oyabun Naguri was in charge of the Yakuza, Doctor Tzin-Tzin was in charge of the Chinese cartel, and Moxie Mannheim controlled the south-west of America. But Catwoman, given her improved body and mastery of the whip, and with Mouse's support, should be able to take them out in a single bound, and Harley and I are going to be on duty nearby in case of emergencies. But we'll have to wait until then, and in the meantime, my love and I continued to enjoy the lovely evening, waiting for the thief to make her move.

***In the same ballroom***

She felt light and cheerful. It had been a long time since she had felt so much elation, for it wouldn't be long before she had one marvellous shiny trinket in her hands. Especially the name "Eye of Isis", just perfect with the name of her favourite kitty, which right now makes the motion sensors on the roof of the estate go crazy. It's the third day in a row that Isis has made such a promenade, so the guards will soon have to disable some of the security systems so as not to disturb the guests and the mistress of the mansion, and Selina's cameras will simply bypass or loop the image. Fortunately, her mask perfectly recognises blind spots, and special devices in the form of circles with cute cat ears can temporarily fool even Batmobile cameras, not to mention more primitive video systems.

And no. The beginning of her relationship with Gotham's Guard couldn't make her give up such a wonderful hobby... Or could... Somehow she'd made it through a month without adding to her collection, but then...

A nasty pain pierced her head, knocking her out of her thoughts, and immediately followed by another wave of euphoria. Never mind, she must steal the stone, and it was also worth checking out Sionis' gift for Leviathan. Selina herself didn't realize where she got this information, but the thought persistently flashed through her mind that there was some kind of powerful steroid hidden in Black Mask's case. Something like supersoldier serum for a poor man with lots of side effects.

That's right! She was offered a lot of money if she got a sample. Something for her children to inherit and her grandchildren to inherit. Although, given the personality of the potential father, the heirs will definitely not feel constrained in money, but the sample is still worth stealing, or what if she wants to install a pool in the BatCave or buy a small island for summer holidays, and the money is not enough?

Chuckling to herself, Selina Kyle complimented another man dressed in a Batman costume and hurried into one of the unoccupied rooms. Judging by the tracker she'd discreetly placed on one of the Masked goons, the case was in the vault, which meant she wouldn't have to make a detour for it.

The thickly lined cloak that had been thrown over her shoulders was slit open, revealing the traditional Catwoman costume. Still, in an evening gown, acrobatic stunts are not quite comfortable.

"Purr, it's just like it sounds," the girl said contentedly when she was fully dressed and the mask interface showed that some of the security systems had been disabled.

She climbed out through the window and simply began to follow the pre-planned route. Her natural flexibility and agility simply prevented the rare patrols from noticing the silent shadow, and the special claws in her gloves allowed her to climb steep walls with ease, so it wasn't long before she found herself at a huge safe door.

"God, what a primitive thing to do."

She gently touched the rotary knob, and the door swung open silently, revealing a marvelous view of the treasures hidden inside. Although the only treasure she could see was a large emerald lying on a special stand in the middle of the room.

"It's beautiful, but let's do the secondary task first," the lenses marked a lot of laser lines crossing the available space around the main target, but they left a passage to small cells, one of which should contain the case.

***And once again, one green-haired gentleman***.

I was distracted from my dance with Harley by Mousey's thoughtful voice in my earpiece.

"Is she sure she's here for the Eye of Isis?"

"Is there any reason to doubt it?"

"She ignored the emerald and now she's opening the boxes... Oh, that's the case Black Mask brought," said the redhead.

"And what's inside?"

"Some vials with a dark green liquid... Um... Do I need to activate the alarm? Catwoman didn't touch the emerald, which means Lady Minerva won't be too angry."

"Wait a few minutes, she can't help but ignore the main treasure."

My phrase proved prophetic. As soon as the vial was in the thief's bag, she was busy stealing the Eye of Isis, and the young heroine only had to remove the cat-like smiley-face device from the nearest camera to resume the broadcast. The guards of the manor turned out to be real professionals, because not even ten seconds after the image of the open safe door appeared, the siren went off, and with it the guards present at the party ran like a pissed off person. Now all that was left was to help Selina leave this celebration of life and hand her over to the caring hands of Interpol agents.