Rebirth of The Black Cat[Batman, Fanfiction]

[Stygiane]

Prologue​

All over her, they crawled. Skittering across the thin and frail parts which she called arms, paler than foam from the atlantic. Plying through dark hairs made of bristles only to burrow themselves beneath her skin, tearing and ripping through her once soft flesh, like savage beasts—capturing droplets of blood as quickly as they begin to drip onto the porcelain linen.

Her legs and back, were no different, subject to their ravaging of her body. Once a temple, now a desolate cage, trapping her pitiful soul within it. Those terrible things were a singular entity. It was a parasite that she could not rid herself of, an endless cycle which she could never put to a halt, always seeming to strike once the sun had set and the murky clouds rolled across the midnight skies.

As quick as they had come, the parasite and its spawn would crawl from her pores and evaporate into the humidity. There was silence. Darkness. Pure and utter darkness, enveloping her entire body. It hadn't been over. Unable to move her body, she lied there and let it take her. All of her functions seemed to fail. A scream could not be forced from her dry lips, her eyelids did not have the energy to be lifted. The saliva building up in her mouth sat at the back of her throat, desperately trying to make its way down the small crevice before her tonsils shriveled into nothing.

And then, there was nothing. Silence.

Then a scream.

"Athena!" the name barging from her lips, after she gasped to gather all of the air inside of the small, unlit room. Cheeks wet with a sudden warmness, contrasting with the cold that overtook her, tears… never felt so nice. "My name is Athena." Beads of sweat traced her forehead and nose, breaths ragged, eyes wide enough to pop out of their sockets. Pulling her legs close to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, the shadows of nothingness surrounded her. Putrid blackness intruded her lungs, intertwining with them until it was almost impossible for her to continue to take in even breaths.

Suddenly, the door swung open, fast and heavy footsteps making their way over to her. "Athena? Athena, what's wrong?" the familiar voice filled her ears, pulling a piece of her back from the nightmare she lived. Her mother's tone etched with concern, flowing like that of a river under a moonlit sky, in a sweet whisper that would lull even those well rested to sleep. A tone she only used with her.

Eyes connected with hers, a soft chartreuse visible even with the absence of light. The natural slitted, feline manner they often retained, had vanished while peering into the eyes of her daughter. Pixie cut, black hair framed her face, battered from wars, mental and corporeal, scars only a few could possibly see. Light freckles littered across her pale features. The simple sight, of even just those specks of imperfections of her skin, made every worry she had fade away.

The bed squeaked with the additional weight. Before she could even answer her questions, her mother's arms were tightly wrapped around her body. "You had the nightmare again." More of a question than a statement, Athena slowly nodded her head, gradually falling into the comfort of her mother, a faint scent of jasmine clouding her nostrils.

Trotting a few seconds behind her, had been a small cat. It's coat white and sleek, tail swishing from side to side as it slinked its way closer to the bed, preparing to leap upwards. The small cat rubbed its head against her, purring a tender sound. Like most white cats, its eyes almost matched hers, blue.

"It's okay," she whispered into her ear, gently circling her hand around the small of her back, "oh, baby, you're okay." Mom pulled closer, much like a lioness protecting her cub. "You're home. You're home."

A soft breeze beginning to drift from the window beside her, made its way to where she sat. It was cold, fresh. Athena nodded, closing her eyes to turn her head towards the open window where she could see nothingness. Her world, it seemed so bleak and frightening, so surreal, like she had been plucked from the universe itself and placed in a foreign place where everything had been against her, even her own dreams.

She closed her eyes again, as more tears rolled down her cheeks, creating another streak of sorrow. Sobbing into the shoulder of her mother, suddenly, something changed. Behind her closed eyes, was not darkness, but light. Athena lifted her eyelids, taking in the sight in front of her. The sky was once a void, with not a star to light the way.

"I'm home," taking in the first steady breath in hours, somehow finding it within herself to utter words that felt so foreign to her. Her solace, it had been found.

One star rested in the center of the sky. The clouds had parted, allowing for it to chase away the shadows of the city. A symbol of justice, it might have been, but it was a symbol of hope as well. A glimmer of hope that one day, all the nightmares would cease to exist. This was Gotham's star. Gold illumination poured into the room, something brilliant. It was only a simply insignia.

A black bat.

 

[Stygiane]

One:
Rebirth​

They often say, everybody dies in their nightmares and live in peace in their dreams. What they didn't know was, all dreams are just a facade. There is no such thing as peace or happiness in the unwaking world. Dreams were a sweet dystopia masked as the closest thing to heaven a living being could reach, and then once their guard is down, the only direction they are lead to are their worst possible realities. And one day… waking up from it will be impossible.

"I think it's time to tell your father what's been happening." The way her clear eyes were fixed was unyielding. Alight with solemnity, while the wrinkles on her forehead sent her into old age.

Still, Athena sat on the white sofa, her head positioned to the floor. The milky carpet was a better sight than her mother at the moment. Her summer tanned feet, were bare, allowing her toes to freely grab small tufts of the feathery material.

Things weren't always like this-- the royal pristine furnishings, the double bathrooms, the master bedroom with a guest room to go along with it. There was a time when this apartment would have just been a makeshift, only used for sleeping, eating, and making her income as a lady of the night. The time when, Selina Kyle was not a mother to anyone or anything, and hadn't planned on it in a million years, at that. Then came the safe houses, those were never really homes. She would have to leave within the next week due to some criminal after Catwoman's tail. During those times, a sudden birth happened and that child certainly didn't live in that environment. That's how the stories usually went, anyway.
Eventually, she turned things around. She 'grew up.' She was no longer Catwoman or Selina Kyle, she let those parts of her go and became the woman inside of her that's been blooming since the day she met him.

Just, Selina.

She moved out of the most crime ridden part of Gotham--or in her words, the most opportunistic-- and into a building on the nicer side of the city. She could have chosen any place to live, yet she still chose something decently affordable, yet large enough to be pined after. Not extravagant, and off in the hills, somewhere.

She shook her head. "No."

Mother had probably tilted her head in confusion, her eyebrows dropping, allowing a youthful appearance to return. Her lips would be fixed into a tight frown and her cheeks would slowly become a shade of cherry red, indicating her agitation. Athena kept her sight directed at her freshly polished, black toenails.

"Why not?" her mother let out a deep sigh, that of frustration and not of desperation, not yet. "I don't understand you sometimes."

Athena took in a breath, "I won't tell him. I'm not going to bother him with something that isn't even a big deal. He's a busy man, he doesn't want to hear about some stupid dream." Her voice was small, something despondent trailed behind her words.

It wasn't just some stupid dream. Deep within her, she knew that was the truth. Saying otherwise, made things easier. It made them clearer, it gave her a false hope that maybe, just maybe, it was just a stupid dream and not some nightmare prophecy of a dark future. "It's really not important. It's nothing."

There was light shuffling, back and forth, indicating that her mother was in fact getting irritated with her, it was a trait she learned herself. "Christ," she hissed, "he loves you! He loves you so much, Athena. Whatever you had to say, he would listen in a heartbeat, no matter what was going on at the company, no matter what was happening in the city." Her pacing stopped, she had most likely assumed her ever-so-motherly hand on hip position. "He would know as well as I do that it isn't 'nothing.' You wake up in the middle of the night screaming and in cold sweats, you're scared, and I know that isn't something you can admit, but I know that if it wasn't true, you wouldn't have been here for the past three weeks."

"Leave it alone, really--" before she could even think of finishing her sentence, a pair of hands grasped her shoulders, the grip wouldn't be easy to wriggle out of.

"Athena Mira Kyle W--" her mother began, putting a halt in her speech once Athena had finally brought her eyes away from her feet. "You're making eye contact, good." She narrowed her eyes, the slitted glare began to form, although forced, her tone was kept low and she spoke slowly, "listen to me, you're even more stubborn than the both of us because you get it from us, but if you don't tell him, I will."

Without saying a word, she shrugged her mother's hands off her shoulders and stood, "do what you want, doesn't mean i'll talk to him." She started toward the hallway which led to the front door. "I'm taking a walk."

Outsiders will always claim that Gotham is a terrible, terrible place. It should be wiped from the face of the planet, they say. Damned to the worse circle of Hell, they say. Because those are the only solutions to helping this city. Right. Those people don't live in this city day in and day out, they will never truly understand the sins of this city, only what the news reporters tell them. Therefore, they will never be capable of fathoming its many beauties.

There was always the calm before the storm, the moments of sunset before nightfall. When twilight spread across the skies, as though a bucket of paint had been kicked over by the gods, leaking hues of violet smoke, fallen autumn leaves, and rose pink, an amalgamation from an artist's touch. When the traffic slowed, and the carlights were like flashlights in the dark. When the scents from the street vendors began to fade as they retired for the day, yet still lingered all the same making one wish they had come sooner.

Those outsiders would never understand that Gotham was as good as Metropolis, or Starling, or even Central City. If even better, as it was the closest to flesh and blood a city could get. Endlessly battling between virtue and sin. It was the most human, and like many humans, it had work to do.

The breeze picked up, tangling within the long, black locks she had neglected to comb through today. At least, the street she had been walking down was without glass windows, not wanting to feel worse by catching a glimpse of her crazed appearance-- possibly resembling a wild banshee. Grimacing at the thought, she continued down the stony pavement. It began to grow darker within seconds, which is why it was a surprise that her mom even allowed her this walk. Yes, she was nineteen years old, and yes neither of her parents let her grow up without learning 'self defense,' as they liked to call it, because regardless of the beauty Gotham had-- it was still a dangerous place. Not only for a young woman, but a young woman of her current position.

Athena's eyebrows had naturally risen, without her realization at first. Often pondering things that ought not to be pondered.

Within a few seconds of idle strolling, her brain switched its focus. A frown formed on her lips, as she averted her gaze to the light sparkling of the pavement. Stubbornness was a natural trait of hers, it came as natural as breathing or swallowing. She brought her arms around her chest. As much as she was reluctant to admit it, mom was right, the nightmare was something. She was still wrong too. Dad wouldn't be able to do anything, as much as people thought he was, he wasn't a god. He was just a man. He wouldn't be able to help her this time, not like he did all those years ago. What was the use in telling him? So he could worry and put all his energy into something he couldn't possibly fix?

"No." Athena closed her eyes, letting a sigh escape her lips and running her fingers through slightly tangled hair. If only all her worries could have faded away along with that single breath.

She would have continued down the path, to cross the street and begin making her way back to the apartment. Instead, her eyes snapped open, as she turned her head down an alleyway. The cover to a trash can tumbled to the ground, covered in rust and muck as it rolled in her direction before slowing into a spin at her feet. In the distance were muffled sounds of screeching and guttural growling. Against her better judgement, Athena started to move her feet forward into the alley. The still quiet of the streets should have without a doubt been a sign that it was time to go home.

The deeper she went into the alley, the more intense the screeching became. High pitched and in quick bursts. The trash can had been knocked over, garbage spread all around the scene. Resisting the urge to hold her nose, she stepped in the center of the alley. Rotten fish and severed body parts, surely entangling with her fresh clothes.

"Hey!" she yelled, drawing power from the back of her throat, much like that of a growl. At the sound of her voice, the two cats that had been viciously rolling around the clearing, wielding teeth and claw, separated. Similar to soldiers responding to their commander. Each landed on their paws. The calico, mixed equally with colors of tan and black had her back hunched, teeth baring as she growled lowly, steadily raising the octave. The black cat seemed to hold a defensive position, but was not afraid to be offensive in the slightest.

The hiss came from Athena this time, "stop it!" Slowly bending down a few inches away.

At the sudden motion, the calico sprinted off from the scene, like a murderer from their crime. Athena sighed, "that's alright. You're not going to run away, are you?" Yes, she was talking to an animal that could supposedly not understand her. Except, it could.

The feline blended in with the night, its fur sleek for a stray, a shimmering trail along her pelt appeared as a strip of stars in the midnight sky. Its posture changed once the enemy left, sitting straight up with its tail curled around its paws. Pretty, cerulean eyes staring quizzically back at her.
She let out a soft chuckle, a smile forming across her lips. "You've got eyes like mine, girl," keeping her voice mellow, a tone that she didn't use with other people, for they wouldn't be able to understand the language she spoke. It was for her cats, only. She reached her palm outwards, nodding for the cat to come forward.

Seconds passed, after the cat tilted her head, seemingly contemplating whether or not she should trust her. But that wasn't true, she already did trust her, the cat was just being difficult. There was a twinkle in her eyes, a look of mischief, right before she started to pad over, a limp in her trot. The black cat rubbed its head against her palm.

Gently rubbing her fingers against her small ears, shaking her head in amusement. "Now what were you girls fighting about? Hopefully not a stupid tom cat, you're too pretty to be fighting over that."

The midnight cat plopped on the ground, laying sideways before flipping over onto her back. There were several bleeding wounds on the cat's stomach, albeit small. Athena raised an eyebrow, "you trust me that much, huh? After that other girl got you like that?"

It didn't take her long to come to a final decision. It wasn't even something she had to think about, honestly. She sat down on the cold ground, crossing her legs. "How about this? You can come home with me on one condition--" The feline's ears perked up as she listened, she was a quiet one. "From here on out, you're my very own sidekick. Sage the Cat. Besides," she paused for a second, a smirk crossing her lips, "Athena does need her trusty owl."

The feline jumped to her paws.

Athena nearly opened her mouth to speak, until a knot began to form in the pit of her stomach, the hairs on her arms and back erecting. Feelings not of her own, but of her new sidekick. Sage opened her mouth, baring long, sharp teeth, her nose wrinkling as a fierce hiss came from her. It was directed at someone or-- something other than her.

"Behind you." The first words of the feline echoed inside of her head, Sage had been the perfect name choice, as she was older than her new owner by many years.

As she inhaled, the air stuck to her nostrils like a tangible blob, instead of going down into her lungs. This air had a certain taste. Awful, awful, things. Athena forced herself to stand, shrugging away the emotions of Sage. Whoever was behind her, wouldn't want to be soon enough.
"Look, dude, you might think i'm some little girl but you don't want to mess with me." Her eyes fixed into a narrowed glare, not once has she had to defend herself in her own city. She didn't want to start now. Her legs got into a natural position of defense, she spoke clear, but low, a warning. "So, I suggest--"

The words caught in her throat, much like the air in her nostrils. They would choke her before coming out. The sight before her was no man or woman, for that matter. Athena fought the dying inclination to scream. The thing in front of her was wholly of black matter, crafted from the souls of the most deplorable people on this planet, and jammed into one being. Its face was outlined in the form of a humanoid, yet there were no features. The night was pitch and so was it, perhaps even darker, yet she could see it clearly, almost like there was a hidden night light built inside of its fibers. It wanted people to see it in all of its glory, it wanted people to know that it wasn't just another shadow. That this wasn't just the night playing tricks on its victims.

Time slowed, her heart seemed to take pause. In only a matter of seconds, the fear that Sage felt crept into her entire being. It would not let go. As she stared, frozen, into the void set of eyes the creature possessed, she nearly thought she felt them. The parasites. Seeping into the last part of her life that she was convinced they couldn't touch, they shouldn't be able to get her while she was awake!

"Child. If you presume yourself capable of challenging me, then you are utterly mistaken. For I am the nightmare you were never aware that you possessed." The voice was feminine, yet distorted. Echoing all around her, entrancing her to remain still before the thing that could very well kill her. It's mouth did not move.

The hairs on the back of her neck and arms stood erect, tingling a sensation never felt before. Her muscles screamed at her. Do something. Dread dawned over her shoulders, must move quickly. It was purely instinctual, almost like her very senses were communicating to her, like her and these inanimate functions had a bond.

"Now, be a good little mortal and stay still." Filled to the brim with depravity. Malicious ink wrote the words she spoke. The being stretched out her darker than midnight hand, claws protruding from her fingertips, on a smaller scale but shaped like that of a lion or tiger claw. As she reached for her face, Athena's eyes widened, she couldn't even conjure up a scream, let alone defend herself. The screeching of her muscles resembled the cats fighting, they desperately wished to move, kick, punch, something. Until, they were overridden by one thing.

Death.

The claws of the being latched onto her skin, like a hunter capturing its prey, like the parasites capturing her blood. The moment they made contact, everything became dark, as if the light had gotten sucked out of existence. An invisible hand had reached into her physical body, shifting through any and every plane until coming in contact with the correct one. The one where her soul resided. A tight grip, ripping away everything she knew she had-- and everything she didn't. The need to retch, scream, and gasp for air flooded her at once. Every bone inside her body was getting plucked out one by one and snapped in half, sending waves of agony from her toes to her temples. Her lungs had collapsed into her abdomen, and her heart had imploded to only be dissected and carried away for safekeeping, the destruction of her vital organs was not enough, there had to be pain and suffering, everlasting.

It all happened in a matter of seconds, yet in a matter of hours. It all came to a pause. Her last moments.

The world faded to white.

"Hmm. It seems you are only just budding. I cannot do it yet. Not yet."

Collapsing to the ground and managing to catch her fall with her hands, all of the contents of breakfast and lunch rushed upwards, a reverse waterfall. Orange juice did not go well with PB&J. She lifted up her head, eyelids drooping slightly, mustering up a voice. The being of darkness had lifted herself into the air, towering over her insignificant figure, a hellish god born of malice.

"Who…" Athena coughed, flecks of blood splattered the pavement. "What are you?"

The creature tilted her head, to the left, while bringing her chin upwards, glowering down at her as if she were a piece of flesh and not a human being with a meaningful life, a loving family. So much to lose. But, this is what gods have become. Hiding away in their heavens, to dictate the lives of mortals, putting it beneath them to actually discover how much potential they have.

"Child, if you are dying to know. . ." she drew out her words, toying with her catch, as if she had some grand reveal that would shatter her psyche, break the broken.

A blink was a long time for a god. A blink was all it took to miss something important. Athena now knew why the sudden knowing self-satisfaction had overcome the being. Her breath caught in her throat, this time not from anyone elses doing, eyes widening, lips parting slightly.

It couldn't be.

"I, am you." Her face, her face was perfectly attached to fit the black figure, with not a detail incorrect. From the tiny moles that sporadically appeared on parts of her face, to the length of her eyelashes which framed her eyes. It wasn't until then, that she did see it. She did have her father's eyes. She could never understand, looking into a mirror, but when someone else wearing her face, stared back at her… she did not see herself, she saw him.

Was this all a ruse? A mind trick to get into her head and eventually drive her insane? The nightmares, now this, it was all to make her insane. The hairs across her arms stood with an abruptness, and then dropped. Another attack? No. No. This was different. They said no. Her face, plastered onto that she-devil was not some simple illusion, it was--

The she-devil's head tilted back into a neutral position. Now that her facial features were more than depths of nothingness, her lips curved into a smirk. Even if she had her face, she looked nothing like her in that moment. Something dark, wicked. "But, you can call me Malice. The title you gave me."

She… was capable of reading her mind? Before Athena could speak, her phone buzzed in her back pocket. She swore she only took her attention off of that thing for a second, long enough to blink. And within the next second, she was gone. Faded into the night, and back to whichever Hell she came from.

Left alone once again, during the time where the nightmares would get her. Athena tilted her head toward the ground. The splatters of blood, her blood, had begun to dry into the pavement, like the blood of many others. It was all real. They were coming for her now in the dream that she called the waking world. All dreams were just a facade. Her body ached as she forced herself to sit upwards, back against the dumpster. Still, she pulled her knees into her chest. Alone. Mother can't help now. No one can. No one will. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, as she rocked slowly back and forth. Thrown into a cold and endless, torment. One that would not even allow her to cry.

A soft, small sound. It brought her back. Back into her body, let her reclaim it as her own and not some shell the darkness of her mind could manipulate. A meow. It was a meow. At the same time, it was a mother's coo, an 'everything will be alright.'

"Sage?" Athena turned her head, a single tear rolling her her cheek, after minutes of straining to be released, voice frail as she shuddered. She hated it.

The small cat leapt onto the dumpster within a single bound, climbing onto her shoulder. A slightly rough tongue swiped across her cheek, wiping the tear dry. A light purr emitted from her chest. "You... will never be alone, my dear, Athena. What good would your owl be if not with you?"

A laugh came out in a scoff, all she could manage, it hurt to even do that. Although, she smiled, weak but yet it brought her strength.
"Let's go home."

 

[Stygiane]

Two:
Growing Pains​

Sleep didn't come that night.

It didn't come any night for the next couple of weeks, for that matter. Exhaustion dripped from her entirety, like sweat from exercise that was an extensive, no pain no gain type. Binding her muscles when she attempted to make a move, pulled backwards and spun her around, and then before she could even make it across the room, she sat back down on the sofa, the velvet fabric embraced her with warmth. Any task she thought she wanted to accomplish, now forgotten.

Cats were nocturnal creatures, much like bats who often dwelled in caves unlit, even in the light of day. Nighttime and its pleasures was stolen from her a long time ago, ever since the nightmares began three months before. But this, this was different. Having sleep disrupted in the middle of the night was much better than not having any sleep at all. Even naps seemed hard to come by, for fear of this night scourge attacking her by day. A shudder passed through her body, regardless of the hot air wafting into the apartment through the cracked slider doors. Every single second her eyes were closed, its face plagued that once peaceful darkness. That she-devil. That Malice. That--

Chimes rang throughout the room, the sound was not soft and sweet, but piercing and harsh, as if a strong gust of wind had blown against the silver cylinders. A deep, buzz reverberated into her ear, resembling that of a swarm of vengeful bees after the death of their queen. It jolted Athena awake from the clutches of an inevitable daymare. Her widened eyes closed the moment she had opened them, bracing herself for the impact of the floor… that never came.

Blinking her eyes open, her face was only seconds away from hitting the floor, and that is where it remained as she held herself up, hands fanned out and feet arched. The fatigue hanging off her bones and clouding her mind, made her gape as she continued to hold up her own body weight.
Immediately once the realization slapped her back to reality, her strength gave way and her chin hit beyond the softness of the carpet. Athena shook her head, slowly sitting up. The chimes and buzzing sounded once again, in unison. She shook her head again, wincing slightly as she scrunched up her nose and squinted her eyes, covering the entrance to her eardrum with a finger, an oncoming headache. She grabbed her cellphone. Not only was the sound annoying, but it rudely woke her. Well… at least that was better than getting woken up by her own face.

"Good morning." The slurred voice sounded, so groggy it could have belonged to someone else.

"It's well past morning, Athena. But, good afternoon." Her father's heavy voice came as an eye-opener, almost like they hadn't spoken in years, despite that they had.

Athena smiled, leaving her eyes closed for a few seconds after her blink, "can't ever give me a break, can you?"

"Absolutely not. The world doesn't take breaks and neither should you." There was a brief pause, therefore she stayed silent, sensing he had more to say. "Where have you been? Your second semester ended two months ago, you haven't been home since."

She took in a breath, "I've been… with mom," Athena glanced at the carpet for a split second and then out the slider doors, "just hanging with her, you know?"

As she had taken one in, Dad let one out, not being able to tell if he was frustrated with her or if he was preparing what he was about to say next as she spoke. "And you haven't called?" If she had been face to face with him, he would have raised an eyebrow, giving her that look that called nonsense. "That's unlike you," he paused again, "are you alright? You know I can help y--"

Athena pressed her lips together, "look, dad. I appreciate it, but whatever mom told you, I don't want to talk about it." If she possessed heat vision, the window would now have a hole burned straight through its core.

"Selina didn't tell me anything."

Damnit. She slapped her palm against her forehead, kicking herself mentally. No matter how tired she was, she knew what came next. Father was at his best, she was not. The longest it took him to solve a case was probably a week, and that might have been a stretch. He had to have caught on.

"What is going on?" It almost felt like he was interrogating someone and not his daughter. More a demand than a question, especially when he already knew the answer to it. This was interrogation. "Athena--" His mind, had most likely already started to jump to conclusions, actions of stealth, rescue plans and the like. Physical things. Except, there was nothing he could do to physically help her. Unless he planned to stick himself in her mind and throw little batarangs at Malice.

Cutting him off, her voice sounded dry and scratchy when she tried to be stern in this state. "No, dad. Nothing is going on," Athena sighed loudly, "now I've got to go. Bye." She pulled the phone away from her ear.

"Athena, Athena!" His voice raised slightly above normal, grew deeper at the same time. A last desperate attempt to get her to stay, although he knew very well she would not. That's what it sounded like, anyway. "Do not han--"

The finger she held hovering over the end call button finally interrupted him. The double beep indicating that she call had ended. Throwing her phone across the sofa, she leaned backwards, tilting her head back, groaning.

"He is so going to kill me."

A voice sounded within the walls in her mind, always at the wrong time. Without the state of dire Sage was in before, her way of speaking was eloquent, flowing like silver and gold. If Sage had been human, she would be a lady of power in Gotham without a doubt, and she would gain those social standings without a man. Donning a regal attire, of all white to oppose her dark skin, it would be paired with a flowing, transparent cape and veil. Her very presence would draw breaths and intimidate competition. "I would kill you as well if I was your father." Retaining a knowingly impish tone, she might have been very wise but that didn't allow her from speaking like a know it all, instead of humbly profound.

"Shut up, Sage." Athena turned toward the feline, who was sitting on the arm of the sofa, her tail comfortably wrapped around her paws. That was her all-knowing position. Annoying.

Sage tilted her head, blinking, although cats didn't need to do so, the next thought had a certain and sudden seriousness to it. "I am the only one who saw that foul creature. It is very real, Athena. I witnessed it's face develop into yours, I witnessed it simply drift away into the night. It is not something to be trifled with." This conversation, had suddenly turned into chiding. She was being chided by a cat. "Yes, you are being chided by a cat," she made a sound similar to that of clearing her throat, although it appeared to be a sudden hairball, "as I was saying. You know this as well I do, with your recent developed senses."

She sat agape, a sudden feeling loomed behind her, only just now grasping a fact that had been eating away at her for weeks now. "My…"
Athena shook her head, "no…" she paused, her voice cracking slightly, as if it was strained. "No, I did. It's just I couldn't, I didn't--I thought it was just because I was so tired."

The small feline opened her mouth in a yawn, showing delicate but sharp teeth and a long, pink tongue which curled in her mouth. "Humans are so very dim, even when they are more than just human."

A natural urge to protest boiled in her throat, instead she bit down on her cheek. Sage didn't deserve that, not when she was only trying to help. Trying to prevent her death.

There had been a few minutes ago, when she fell off the sofa, almost half asleep, completely exhausted from not sleeping in fourteen days and counting, yet she caught herself with such ease, mirroring a cat falling from its scratcher and landing on its paws, like the nimble creatures they were. Or when her phone started ringing, the volume was at its lowest so she would 'accidentally' miss calls from people like her dad, still the sound was almost blaring, it was vivid like that of a realistic dream where all her senses were amplified.

It was as though… she had become one of the creatures that she commanded.

Saliva built up at the back of her throat. "Sage, what exactly are you trying to say?" Athena held her head with her hands, attempting not to sound so despondent. Refusing to look into the truthful eyes of the familiar.

The cat let out a sigh of her own, the voices of felines were always so over dramatic. If feminine, they were similar to an actress playing a role in the 70's, going quite overboard, but they couldn't help it. It might have been due to the fact that, cats didn't traditionally sound like humans. "There is something drastically different about you from when we first met in that alley. Our bond tells me so. Before, we simply understood each other, but empathy still has its barriers. Now… it seems we are of the same species. We are kindred, our barriers have broken. Can't you feel it?"

Athena tilted her head upwards. There were alot of things she felt, so it was amongst the many. She stood, swiping her palm down her face, pulling bits of skin with it. The headache made itself more than known, continuous throbbing at her temples. "I don't know… I don't know what I feel."

She turned away from her familiar, the silence in her mind meant the conversation was over. And if it wasn't, she was ending it anyway by walking down the entrance hallway, passing the front door, turning a small corner. Now standing at the end, three doors surrounded her. One was a sliding door for storage, the one to her right led into her room and the one in front of her was where she wanted to go.

Her fingers wrapped rested on the cold, steel knob. Sleep dawned on her, as she finally opened the frosted door, stepping into the sterile bathroom.

Translucent, crystal tile glimmered without the touch of sunlight, always catching her attention. Sliding open the glass doors of the shower, she turned it to its hottest temperature. Waiting, she stood in front of the mirrors framed with gold, undressing until there was nothing left but bare body and her face.

The dark circles around her eyes were endless, her eyelids were inclined to droop as she held them open, which explained the faint red that discolored her sclera. With every blink, her lids fought against her. The once deep blue hue seemed to dull, a loss of intensity, that she-devil not only scared her half to death but stole her natural vitality. The steam crept toward the center of the large mirror until there was no other sight to be seen. Her appearance blurred, unreachable in the world beyond the mist.

Where was she? Who?

She stepped into the shower, the water hit her skin. Athena flinched at the sudden impact. It had been replaced with hail, making harsh contact with her nerves, except, it was still water. Of course, all showers had different pressures, but she had taken many showers in this bathroom and never was she attacked by hail.

Athena let out an ouch, before rushing to turn down the heat. This annoyed her further, because warm water never really did anything for her, but the bullets of water never actually felt like bullets either.

"Cats don't like water…" Sage's voice sounded as if she had yelled across the room, lightly singsonging.

Poking her head out of the shower, "shut up!" Athena mocked the previous alteration to the voice her friend had made, then stuck her head back inside.. The lowering of the temperature seemed to help, but the sensations trickled and marched across her skin all the same, similar to the parasites. This would have to do.

She let out a breath, slicking some hair back, some frustrations released. Water dripped from her face, clouding her vision all it wanted but she could still see the sterling silver faucet and the retractable shower head awfully clearly. Not even bothering to blink the water out of her eyes, it simply rolled out like tears.

"So...weird." Says the one who can communicate with cats and… do that other thing. Athena shook her head, scolding herself for even thinking about it. It was dangerous, nothing good came from it. All it did was hurt people, compared to the basic empathic connection with the feline species.

What Sage had been talking about was different from both those things, or maybe it stemmed from one. Maybe sleep deprivation was making her go mad.

Stop it.

This was what always got her into trouble, being insanely good at thinking of explanations for things that could not be explained. Those explanations were excuses, tickets out of her life that could never possibly be normal. And anything she couldn't explain or make out to be a least a little bit realistic, she would separate herself from it. Pretend it didn't exist. Exhibit A: Her goddamn family of vigilantes.

"God you're such a coward, Athena," she muttered so low under her breath, sure not even Sage could hear her. The water streaming from the shower head hissed, something swirled within her. Power? Anger? Hate? It had been brewing for a time now, she was just too stuck in realism to discover it. Her eyes began to sting, yet she hadn't shed tears in awhile, there was a slight compression similar to if one's eyeballs had been getting pushed inside of their sockets.

A yell tangled with pent up emotions arising from her chest. A retaliation on Malice. Infuriation at feeling so out of place all the time, knowing deep within her that there was something very, very wrong, but not knowing why and the parasites that followed behind that feeling, tormenting her in her dreams. The burning desire to rip them into pieces, and their pieces into pieces until they were beyond microscopic. "You. Are. Such. A. Coward!" Without thinking, solely acting, she sent a punch to the crystalline tilted wall in front of her, and then another, and then another. Teeth grinding, her lips parted to take in deep breaths to feed the sudden anger which fueled her energy. When she opened her eyes, they did not widen, in surprise nor fear.

The crystalline tile. Once crafted to perfection and now, nearly beaten to the base of the wall. Fragments of crystal laid between her toes, most of them being carried down the drain by the small stream of water.

Turning her hands from palm to back several times. There was no blood, bruises, not even a tiny scratch. No grains of crystal were ingrained into her skin, her pale knuckles were only faintly red from the impact, as if she simply had a rash.

No more excuses. She needed answers to all these problems that overtook her life within a couple of weeks. The she-devil. The nightmares. This--this feeling of displacement. And now… these new found capabilities. Athena didn't need to be a detective to know that they were all connected. The world of practicality had outcasted her a long time ago, since the day she was born to Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne. There was no fork in the road, no crossroads. There was only one single path and whether it was filled with the darkness of an abyss or light in the facade of a never ending dream, she would follow it.

Athena narrowed her eyes. Whichever path led her to the creature who stole her face. The one who started this all.

"Malice."