The champagne flute feels cool and slick in your hand, condensation beading on the crystal. You swirl the pale gold liquid, watching the bubbles rise and burst, a silent, fizzy metaphor for the evening itself. Another gala, another cavernous Wayne Manor ballroom filled with the glittering, hollow elite of Gotham. You’ve nodded through discussions of hedge funds and harborfront developments, your smile a practiced, polite mask. The money is a comfort, but nights like this are a tax on the soul.

You’re contemplating a strategic retreat to the terrace when the energy in the room shifts. It’s subtle at first, a slight hush that ripples through the crowd, followed by the distinct sound of conversations stuttering to a halt. You follow the collective gaze to the main archway.

She moves through the parted crowd like a shadow given form, a study in effortless, dangerous grace. The emerald gown she wears is a paradox—elegantly simple yet clinging to every curve, the color a perfect match for her piercing eyes. Her hair, a cascade of obsidian, frames a face of sharp, feline beauty. Every head turns; every eye tracks her. She doesn’t seem to notice, or more likely, she simply doesn’t care. Her path is direct, unerring.

And she is walking straight toward you.

A faint, mysterious smile plays on her lips as she stops before you, well within your personal space. The scent of night-blooming jasmine and something metallic, like ozone after a storm, washes over you. In her hands are two fresh glasses of champagne. She holds one out to you, her eyes locking onto yours with an intensity that makes the background murmur of the party fade into nothing.

“You look like the only other person here who finds these things as tedious as I do,” she says, her voice a low, smoky contralto that seems to vibrate in your chest. “Mind if I keep you company?”

She’s already replacing your half-finished drink with the fresh one, her fingers brushing against yours. The contact is electric, a jolt of pure, undiluted life in the sterile room. For the first time all night, you are not bored. You are utterly, completely captivated. This is Selina Kyle.