Title: A New Train
Fandom: Batman
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Bruce/Selina, Alfred, OCs, and a cameo by one certain Beast Boy
Rating: PG/K+
Summary: There's a new train of lineage at Wayne Manor, bringing both new trains of thought and another new train as well...
Word Count: 2,528
Written For: Fan FlashWorks 407: Train
Warnings: N/A
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.









Sometimes she wondered if she had made the right decision. Most cats loved laying in the lap of luxury, and she certainly did finally possess that. Even with the prenuptial agreement she could not honestly fault Bruce for making her sign, even knowing that his nest of Robins had largely been behind most of its clauses, she was set for life. Still she had not factored on remaining so very lonely, or even being lonelier than she was already accustomed to being. She'd never expected Bruce to give up his night life -- she'd long ago had to accept that his mistress, Gotham, would always come first with him in order to even continue their relationship, let alone consider marriage --, but what she had not expected was having to surrender her own.

Or surrender most of her cats, Selina thought sorrowfully as she padded silently through the many corridors of Wayne Manor. It had not started out like this, but then, all marriages changed after the honeymoon. And, while she was being brutally honest with herself, not all people were cut out for marriage, let alone a world-infamous cat burglar and a grown man who still liked to dress up like a bat. They had always been loners by nature, but although Selina had always been a loner, she'd rarely been without a colony of cats at home. She still wasn't without a colony per say, but having her babies stuck outside was far from the same as having them constantly entwining around her long, slender legs and insisting on making every move she, their leader and mother, made.

The mansion was far too quiet, still, and enormous, but suddenly, she was startled out of her gloomy reverie by a black tail twitching from just around the bend leading to the next corridor. She hurried after it and was thrilled to see Onyx had caught a mouse. She bent down, with some effort, and stroked her cat's head, rewarding her for the kill. "You don't have to eat that though, you know," she said, glancing away from the bloody, mutilated body. Onyx's swishing tail was her only answer. Selina noticed that the mouse's head was already missing, but Isis was further up the hall, clearly dining on something.

Her stomach grumbled, and Sel placed a soothing hand to it. Her cats had always hunted, and sometimes, they did prefer their raw, fresh kills to even the finest caviar. The thought of cavier made her own cheeks flush with green. Selina quickly covered her mouth with her hand and turned to rush to the nearest bathroom. She stopped, trying to remember her exact location in the Manor and where exactly the nearest bathroom was. Suddenly, a crystal bowl appeared in front of her.

She sprayed before she could stop herself. Alfred was as smooth and gallant as ever, very much unlike the man who had chased her babies out of his kitchen the previous Sunday, as he swept the bowl away as quickly as it had appeared and handed her a package of wipes. "Thank you, Alfred," she said, blushing, when she was done wiping away the spittle.

"There is a reason, Missus Wayne, why I bring you everything you could ask for and only request that you stay in bed." His mustache twitched, and she knew that the old man was trying to chastise her as though she were a disobedient daughter.

"I can't stay bedridden all the time, Alfred, but I'm sorry about your bowl. Why on Earth would you give me such elegant china to throw up in? I know Bruce has money -- "

"It can be cleaned," he said, cutting her off and shrugging as though they were discussing the weather. "Much like all those curtained litterboxes you insist upon."

"You've chased most of them out," she said, allowing herself to pout. There were not very many people to whom her husband would not stand, but Alfred Pennyworth was often one of them.

"I could hardly allow them to continue to take over my kitchen! Or must I remind you, Your Ladyship, that I had to cook another entire bird just this past Sunday?"

"No," she allowed, her own shoulders sagging. The elegant hallway swayed around her. She thought, for a moment, of leaning against the wall for support but would not allow him the satisfaction of knowing he had been right these past few weeks in insisting that the bed was the best place for her. Being with her children was the best place for her!

"Meow." Selina looked down to see one of her Siamese twining around her bare ankles and loudly voicing her agreement.

She looked sharply back up at Alfred. "Don't you even think of throwing them out!" she declared. "These three never do any harm! And they caught a mouse who invaded the home despite your cleaning efforts!"

"I do try to keep the place spotless -- "

She felt a pang of regret at the dismay in his aging voice. "Alfred, you do a wonderful job! I can't imagine always having to run after Bruce and all his kids and keeping this entire mansion as clean as you always have!"

"You might want to start imagining it, Missus Wayne," Alfred countered slyly, his mustache giving another jerk. "But, first, there's something I'd like to show you if you think you may be capable of stepping outside for a moment?"

She frowned. "If we're going out, I'm going to need to wash up far more thoroughly -- "

"Only to the backyard, Missus Wayne. I'd not think of having you go into this city in your current state."

"You say that like I'm dying, Alfred," she quipped with a sly grin of her own.

"Far from it, Your Ladyship. In your current state, you are the most precious being in this whole world not just to our dear Bruce but to myself as well." He seemed to glow with happiness and perhaps some pride as well. "I have imagined more little feet scampering through this old house ever since Bruce was a lad. He was quite the quiet child, as you may well imagine."

Her grin grew as her emerald eyes sparkled. "I bet he was."

Alfred offered her his arm, and she allowed him to guide her carefully and gracefully towards the back patio. "I'd about given up the idea that you two were ever going to settle down when he finally made the decision to propose."

"You expect me to believe you weren't against our union?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh, Heavens no! I admit I was when you first came into our lives, but since then, I've seen how you care for the Master. The two of you genuinely love each other, and that is far more than I can say for any of his previous..." His mustache twitched with his disdain. "...escorts."

"Really? You wouldn't have rather he ended up with Talia? Or Valerie? Or Doctor Chase? Or maybe even Harley Quinn? That would have been great revenge against the Joker."

"And a very terrible fate indeed for Master Bruce! No, you can stop twitching your tail, Missus Wayne, but I am very, truthfully glad he chose you. It only took him so many decades to do so!"

They both hushed, falling into a silence that was not exactly incompaniable as they walked together, arm in arm, through the mansion's many winding corridors. Around every corner, Selina could see both a moment with Alfred chasing after or otherwise disciplining young Bruce, and a moment she had actually shared with her husband. Alfred was right, of course: it had been a very long journey to earning Bruce's love and trust, and even if he was still gone more often than he was with her, she would not give anything for the relationship they now had, anything except perhaps her cats' happiness. She cared for her kids just as much as he did his, even if his were noisome two-leggers.

As they stepped outside and into bright, golden sunlight, Selina found herself blinking rapidly and unable to see Alfred's face as he admitted in a very soft whisper, "I have often wondered, too, who would be there for him when I am gone, when the time comes for me to have to make my final departure from this world. The Robins and the rest of the superheroes are nice, but they never agree long enough for them to stay with him as I have. Now that he has you," he said, giving her arm a gentle squeeze, "I no longer have to worry. I know my charge will be fine even after my departure."

"Alfred, I -- "

"Oh, come now, Missus Wayne, no need to get emotional. I know with the baby, you can hardly help yourself, but that time is not to come for many more years yet."

She hoped he was right but choked down her emotions nonetheless. She was still not comfortable allowing any man, even her loving husband, to see her so vulnerable. Any vulnerability was a weakness. Emotions were weaknesses. And she, as the new Lady of Wayne Manor, as the mother of the child yet to be born to the great Batman, as the "better half" of the lead Bat duo, and even just simply as Catwoman, could still not allow for her weaknesses to be known. Instead of speaking any further on Alfred's admission, she offered quietly, "Call me Sel."

She had not heard that nickname in some time now, and thought of the first two friends she'd had in this wretched city of sin who had adopted calling her that rather than any of her previous nicknames. She wondered where those two were now and wished again that Bruce would have allowed one of them to be her bridesmaid. Perhaps she could still make Ivy the godmother of their child, she thought, pressing a hand over her belly. Surely nobody would mess with a cild whose parents were Batman and Catwoman and godmother was Poison Ivy, one of the other craziest bitches in the entire world. Selina's lips twisted into a smirk at the thought of the retribution Ivy would take if someone were to mess with her godchild.

Several furry bodies were already rubbing around Seilna's ankles when her eyes finally adjusted to the sharp sunlight, which was such a great contrast to the shadows filling Wayne Manor in the daytime. She glanced around at the various cats who were mewling for her attention, the cheetahs who chirped, the tigers who chuffed, and the lions who simply continued to laze about in the awesome sunlight. She supposed, her lips twitching into another grin, that she could see Alfred's reasoning in not allowing everyone into the Manor. "You know," she commented, "if I had been there, they would have never even attempted to steal that chicken!"

"I have no doubt of that, Your Ladyship -- "

" -- Sel -- "

" -- but you cannot be there every single time, especially with your new duties. To make matters worse, they did sweep the chicken right off of the dining room table in front of Commissioner Gordon!"

"Oh, he's seen worse!"

"Be that as it may, it is not the sort of presentation that we want him to have upon his visits."

She rolled her green eyes. "Like he doesn't already know that Bruce is Batman."

Alfred quirked an eyebrow at her this time.

"His daughter's Oracle!"

"You might be surprised what people can ignore when they desperately want to believe otherwise."

She paused for a moment, considering some of the people she herself had worked with over the years. He led her down the steps, and one of the tigers pressed suddenly against her side. She laid a hand on the big cat's shoulders and allowed both males to guide her across the freshly cut lawn. She paused halfway through the first acre, her own reverie shattered by the unexpected whistle of a train. "Alfred, what -- "

He beamed. "Just come along, Your Ladyship."

"Sel," she muttered again, but he ignored her, carefully directing her instead over a dip and around a grove of trees until she spied the train that had whistled. Her mouth promptly fell open. "Alfred!" She rushed toward the train and the cats of all sizes and colors that filled every individually crafted box.

A familiar, youthful, green, and furry face peered out at her from the engine. "Choo! Choo! All aboard The Little Engine That Does For All Cats!"

The tiger who had walked with her, perfectly matching her pace, suddenly rushed by Selina and sprang into the nearest empty car. He looked back at his mistress, his mouth open and panting joyously. He was clearly laughing.

"Would you like a ride, Missus Wayne?"

Selina was slowly shaking her head in amazement, but she grasped the moment to insist, "On one condition."

Alfred smiled. "Very well. If I must, Sel."

Garfield leaped from the engine to the back of the seat where upon the tiger now sat. He had changed into a tiger already but shifted swiftly into a gorilla so he could bow and properly offer her his hand. "The Mistress would like a ride?" he asked.

"Yes! Yes, I would!" she exclaimed excitedly, still obviously marveling at the train that had been crafted just for her children. "This must have cost thousands!"

"The Master places no price on your happiness, Your Lady--" Alfred stopped at the look she shot him and nodded respectfully. " -- Sel. He wants you, and them, to be happy."

It was Beast Boy who spoke a truth that quieted them both, "He wants you all to be happy." Having guided Selina into the seat beside her tiger, he bounded back to his own seat as the driver. "All aboard!"

"Do wait a moment," Alfred commented. "I'm hardly settled!"

"Settle up fast, old man!"

"Garfield!" Selina scolded. A couple of her cats hissed. The tiger's tail swished, and a lion breathed heavily down the green gorilla's furry back from the first boxcar.

"Sorry! I was just kidding!"

Several cats leapt into the car with Alfred, one settling on his lap, another two on either side of him, and one choosing to sit beside his shoulder and bat a playful paw toward his mustache. "I -- I am ready, I think," the butler said with a touch of uncertainty.

Selina made a tisking sound deep in her throat, and the cat playing with Alfred's mustache stopped and settled down beside his shoulder.

"All aboard!" Garfield called again, beginning to shift controls.

"We're ready, Garfield," Selina called. More ready, she thought happily, than I believe we've ever been in any of our lives until now.

Alfred beamed. He'd been right: Selina Kyle was the perfect match for his son -- his charge, his corrected his mental thinking, just as he was for her. Both Master Bruce and all of Wayne Manor would be fine with her to care for them in his stead.

A cheetah zipped in and pounced onto the last open seat just as Garfield took off with the train. "Choo! Choo!"



The End