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From The Begining: Days Past Pt. 1 - First Night Out
3 years ago....
Round and around, twirl around the metal pole. Stop, drop it low, turn around. Shake, shake, shake.
That was the routine Selina knew to start a dance during a fast paced song. She shook her buttocks while men slung money on the stage. After hearing a few whistles, that was the cue to turn around and shake her tits, barely contained in a small black bra. It fit with the fishnet stockings and thong she wore. The less, the better when it came to making money.
At twenty three years old, stripping was the most she knew out of life. Growing up on the hard streets of Gotham, running through alleys and struggling to survive. It was easy to identify with the stray cats that came and went from her apartment.
Her muscles were already grown from five solid years of dancing and training. Stomach crunches were her favorite work out. When she could afford a gym membership, she took her frustrations out on punching and kicking a bag hanging from chains. When she could no longer afford that membership, Selina had to learn how to sneak in and continue her training. It was no different than dance practice and learning new moves to flex her body.
It was easier than she expected. She had made a talent out of sneaking in places and hiding, going back to her childhood when she had to hide. It was easy for her to lurk in the shadows and hide, always observing.
While dancing on stage, she observed the men. Lust in their eyes, hungry for her beautiful body. So many men she encountered made her think of her father. All through life, she learned to think twice about trusting men, going back to the man who was never there for a day in her life.
Before working at this club, there was another just a few years ago. Selina had learned from first hand experience that men and women could be cut from the same cloth. A madam was no better than a pimp in her eyes. One could use and abuse someone for as long as they desired as long as they paid the price in cash. Throw in some extra twenties or fifties, and it's all fair game, or so they say.
Through those experiences, Selina decided she was not going to be a victim. Not like the other girls who were chewed up and spit out by these rotten streets. Hardships and pain in life had only motivated her to push to become stronger. She refused to let anyone lord over her like early in her life. Nine lives came with no masters or gods to hold her down.
If a man could dress like a bat and jump off rooftops, then she could dress like a cat and rob from the rich.
She made her decision that summer, but it would be some time before she had her first night on the prowl....
3 months later, a kitten prowled from the rooftops. Wind blowing through her long blonde hair fixed behind a mask. It took her 3 months to make a suit to conceal her identity and figure out her plans of thieving.
The suit was nothing to be proud of. Latex and vinyl pieces stitched and sewn together. A little tight around the hips. Shiny from the latex and visible from the stitches, she would not be able to properly blend in with the darkness when hiding. The worst part? It looked cheap.
Remembering that first night standing on the rooftop and gazing down, Selina could still recall that feeling of escape. She may have been a stripper outside the mask, known for twirling around a pole and sitting on men's laps who were willing to pay extra money. Under the mask, she forgot all about how much she hated her own life.
Gazing down from the rooftop, she had no fear when she jumped to another roof top and began to crawl. Many years ago, Selina had accidentally discovered how to grab ledges and arch herself up walls. That talent came in handy as she learned how to use her new claw gloves, slowly taking her time to climb walls if needed.
So many players and big shots who went to the club had luxury apartment suites across the town. Selina knew from her own surveillance, many of them were foolish enough to leave the windows uncovered.
She learned the layouts of hotels from exploring them. It was easy to put on different clothes and sneak your way inside an apartment building as if she worked there and start digging through paperwork. One thing to keep in mind, in case something went wrong, they all had a fire exit from the grand staircase. A perfect hiding place to carefully sneak onto the roof top.
In the beginning, the only tool she had was the whip, not counting her claws in the gloves. Razor sharp and had been perfectly sharpened and tested on glass.
It was such a wonderful feeling to give those claws their first true test across a glass window. Cutting out the right circle shape to slide her arm through and unlock the window and crawl into a dark hotel room.
The first victim of her robbery efforts was a gangster undoubtedly sitting his sleazy ass back at the night club, leaving his home locked and quiet. Easy pickings for Selina to sneak in with a small backpack and collect some loot.
She spent an hour in his dark suite. It was there she knew, that some sort of night vision goggles needed to be added to her suit. That first night was more of a learning lesson than anything else. A better suit and goggles were needed.
Before leaving, the man arrived home. Light shined from the open door as he slid into his home and then turned the light on. Selina found herself in the kitchen, crouching under the sink and hiding.
Selina expected to be out of the suite before he arrived back. This was not good, with no darkness to hide in. She knew she had to confront him and fight her way out. The time had come to put all her skills to the test from hard training.
She waited for him to step in the kitchen. The man turned and looked in her sight. For a slight moment, she could see the fear and shock in his eyes.
"What the hell!?"
Rising up from her crouched position, Selina grabbed the sink and raised her feet, kicking him as hard as she could in the stomach. He went flying backwards, groaning in pain, but Selina was not done yet. She reached for his head and then jumped behind him, kicking him again to watch him go flying forward, landing on his chest and sliding across the kitchen floor. The backpack was still on her back. Selina dashed for the open window, climbing out as the man got back up.
It was there that she learned a valuable lesson, trying to climb out of a hotel window, 17 stories high in the sky. She slipped, grabbing onto a ledge and it barely slipping from her right hand. She groaned, digging her claws into a piece of the concrete wall only to fall a bit further. By the time she dug both claws into a brick to maintain a position, voices were heard in the background from the open window. She had to think quick.
Gazing at the building next to the hotel, it was a risky move to make, but Selina saw no other choice. There was a perched light sticking out from the building along a row of windows. She pushed her feet against the wall and went for her whip, grabbing it and then jumping to the other building. She slung the whip around the light pole, using it to swing to the other building, but with one mistake, Selina went crashing through a window. Glass shattered, going in all directions as she landed in an empty office building. She slid on her knees, feeling pain in her legs and then heard an alarm going off.
Out of breath and slightly aggravated, she was not done yet. The office cubicle was a pain to run through, but she ran like hell, dashing across the room as the alarm became louder and louder. Standing at a window from the opposite side, she dug her claws into it, leaving lines in the glass and then kicked her foot to shatter it completely. From there, she climbed out the window and tried to carefully go down. One step at a time while the alarm was loudly blaring. A test of patience to keep a cool, calm and collected head. One by one, she went down the floors until she saw a street light.
She jumped onto the light, balancing herself until she got to the end and then pounced off, landing on the hood of a black car, but slipped and ended up rolling down the hood, denting the car and rocking it until she hit the ground. In pain and aggravated, Selina growled and stomped her clenched right fist onto the hood, causing another alarm to go off. This one was her own fault, acting out in rage.
Once she was on her feet, she ran down an alley, then another and got out of dodge before the police could show up. An hour later, she was back at her apartment, exhausted and sweaty by the time she removed the suit to check if it had any cuts from the glass. Scratches were there, but luckily no glass penetrated it. Selina felt bruised on her knees and left hip.
One thing she knew for sure after that night. This homemade stitched together suit was not suffice. She needed something better. Something that would blend in easier in the darkness without bright white stitches visible. She also needed new gloves. Something that would work easier with climbing ledges and scaling buildings. Night vision goggles were also on her list of desires. Last but not least, Selina wanted a belt to go with the suit.
And so the memories remained when looking at her first suit hanging in the closet, there just in case she had nothing else to wear for a night out on the prowl.
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