Catwoman: Night's Silken Shadow by Jade Gretz

https://www.deviantart.com/jadegretzai/art/Catwoman-Night-s-Silken-Shadow-1095026725

The night clung to Gotham City like a shroud, the sky bruised and heavy, casting the streets in a sickly yellow glow from the aging streetlights. From her perch on a ledge overlooking the grimy alleyways of the Narrows, Selina Kyle—better known as Catwoman—watched with keen, emerald eyes. Her black leather suit clung to her like a second skin, making her almost invisible against the shadows. Her whip coiled at her side, her claws gleaming faintly under the pale light of the moon.

Gotham had been unsettled lately, a strange tension hanging in the air like the lull before a storm. Selina could feel it deep in her bones, the way the city’s usual rhythms had changed. Crime, always bubbling under the surface, had become more chaotic, more violent. Even the typical scum seemed agitated, like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

Rumors had started swirling in the underworld about a new villain, someone different, someone that even the worst of Gotham’s criminals feared. Selina didn’t believe in fear—at least, not in the way others did. It was a tool, something she could use to her advantage. Still, this new name had sent even the most seasoned criminals running for cover.

The whispers spoke of a man named Lazarus Cain, a madman with a thirst for something beyond control of the city. Some claimed he had dabbled in the dark arts, others said he wasn’t entirely human, but all stories agreed on one thing—he was dangerous. People had started disappearing, and their return wasn’t in the form of a grisly corpse. No, it was worse. They came back…changed. And they weren’t the same. They were twisted, hollow versions of themselves, like their souls had been ripped out.

Selina had been tracking Cain’s movements for weeks, sifting through the rumors and piecing together a puzzle that no one else could see. Her leads had finally led her here, to the rotting belly of Gotham where the dregs of the city mingled with its dark secrets.

A soft scuffle below caught her attention. Her pupils narrowed as she zeroed in on a figure slipping into an old warehouse at the far end of the alley. The building had long been abandoned, its windows shattered and doors rusted, but tonight there was a strange light flickering from within.

She smirked to herself. This was it. The final clue in a twisted mystery that had haunted Gotham’s streets for far too long.

Without a sound, she moved, her lithe form slipping into the shadows as if they were her natural element. She descended from her perch in a controlled fall, landing silently on the fire escape below. Her boots barely made a sound on the metal, and within moments, she was at the warehouse’s side entrance.

The door creaked as she pushed it open, but inside, the sound of muffled chanting drowned it out. Selina slipped into the darkness of the warehouse, the smell of damp concrete and mold hitting her nose. The flickering light she had seen from outside was coming from deeper within, casting long, eerie shadows against the crumbling walls.

She followed the light and the sound, every sense on high alert. The chant was unsettling, a guttural whisper that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. As she rounded a corner, the scene before her unfolded in a way she hadn’t expected.

In the center of the cavernous warehouse was a large circle drawn on the floor, the markings unfamiliar and glowing faintly with an unnatural green hue. Around the circle stood figures in long, dark robes, their hoods pulled low to obscure their faces. At the center of the circle, tied to a post, was a man—his eyes wide with terror, his mouth gagged. His skin was pale, almost translucent, and he shuddered as if something cold and terrible was crawling beneath it.

Selina narrowed her eyes, recognizing the man from a missing persons report she had stumbled across days earlier. Her mind raced—was this some kind of ritual? But before she could make a move, her attention was drawn to the figure at the head of the group.

Lazarus Cain.

He stood tall, his gaunt face illuminated by the sickly glow of the circle. His eyes were black pits, his skin pulled tight over sharp bones. He moved with a disturbing grace, his long fingers tracing the air as he muttered something in a language that Selina didn’t recognize.

Then he stopped, his head tilting slightly, as if sensing something. He looked up, and for a brief, heart-stopping moment, his gaze locked onto Selina’s position in the shadows.

“Welcome,” he said, his voice c
...(more at https://www.deviantart.com/jadegretzai).
For more supergirl, chun li, batgirl, tifa, lara croft, wonder woman, rogue and much more, please visit my page at www.deviantart.com/jadegretzai - Thanks for your support :)