Beyond the Limit [DC fanfic]

//Someone has broken into your home, sir. Enter Speed State?//

A relatively peaceful sleep was shattered by the sound of his front door opening and closing.

Joseph sat up, bleary-eyed. He knew he'd locked it.

A silhouette stood in the doorway—tall, lithe, and unmistakable. A black bodysuit, knee-high boots, a goggled cowl with pointed cat-ears. The retractable claws on her gloves gleamed in the dim light.

Joseph opened his mouth to ask how she found him, but she beat him to it.

"First thing's first. No names. If you have to, find something else to call yourself. Catwoman, for example. Purrfect, right?"

"Original. Did you give yourself that one?" Joseph quipped, only to freeze as her claws flicked out, gently pressing beneath his chin.

"Uhh… It's very cool."

"I'd love to see you come up with something better, Joey." She smirked, then pointed toward his back room. "Go get ready. We're wasting time. I've got a month to make something serviceable out of you."

Not eager to get scratched, Joseph scrambled to his room. He threw on dark clothes, a beanie, and a black surgical mask.

"Ready," he said, stepping back into the living room.

Selina gave him a once-over, much like she had in her penthouse. Then she smirked.

"No, you're not. But you will be."

She led him to the rooftop, testing his ability to move silently through the building. If he couldn't manage that, he had no business being a thief.

Once outside, she looked up at the Gotham skyline, a slow smile spreading across her lips.

"Alright. First lesson—learn how to move. You're in decent shape, but you need to be better. So here's what you're going to do. Follow me. Keep up."

Joseph's eyes widened. She expected him to run rooftops with her.

Without another word, Selina took off, vaulting over an alleyway in one smooth motion.

Joseph grit his teeth and ran, launching himself across. He landed—barely.

Selina shook her head.

"What's wrong? I made it," he said.

"By three feet," she pointed out. "You put everything you had into one jump. That's wasted effort. Do that in a chase, and someone will flatten you while you're recovering."

Joseph frowned. 'Nova, help me out. Not too much.'

//Allocating 30% CPU to increase senses and physical strength by 25%.//

'What's the max you can give me?'

//50% for senses. 100% for strength. Prolonged use may damage the body.//

Selina grabbed his chin, turning his head toward the gap. "Gauge distance and elevation. Trust me. Your body already knows what it's capable of."

Joseph nodded, and they continued. Most of the first night was spent learning how to move—vaulting, climbing, landing quietly.

Simple in theory. But by the time they were done, he was a mess even with Nova helping him out. And he felt it.

Selina? Not a hair out of place.

This was going to be tough.

**

Week two dipped into practical burglary, and what to do if everything went sideways. Catwoman had set up a share of obstacle courses in a warehouse where no one would bother the two of them while she educated him.

The answers to getting caught fell into four categories: run, fight just enough to escape, try to team up, or surrender.

"Joker."

"Run and hope he didn't see me." Joseph said, but secretly he thought 'Nah. I'd win.'

Selina smirked. He clearly wanted no part of Gotham's supercriminals or caped do-gooders.

"Let's switch it up. Superman."

Joseph, mid-rope climb, turned to give her an incredulous look. "That's a trick question! No Metropolis! You said never go to Metropolis! It's not worth it."

"Because you won't be able to get away from Superman no matter what you try, and whatever you steal will most likely be LexCorp's, which comes with a whole new set of problems. You're listening." She absentmindedly stroked the black cat that had followed her. "Now finish your climb and do another lap."

**

Catwoman observed Joseph's movements as he hit a human-shaped dummy with everything she'd been able to unload on him combat-wise in regards to technique that she learned from Ted. Pursing her lips she looked over his handiwork as he struck. Everything he took aim at was meant to debilitate and slow down an enemy. 

She wasn't expecting him to outright beat anyone down initially. There was only so much she could do with a handful of weeks to get him up to speed. But Joseph seemed to be a natural with good speed, strength, and endurance.

His movements were tight, efficient. A quick jab—not to land, but to draw attention—then his forearm crashed into where the dummy's throat would be. He yanked it in for a knee to the groin, then an elbow to the head and neck.

"Nice," she said. "Don't be gentle. If a hit gives you an opening to escape, take it. If you think you can put someone down, do it. Heroes won't kill you, but they won't go easy either."

She stepped behind him, a playful gleam in her eye.

Joseph felt a shift in the air—then her hand was on his shoulder, yanking him backward as her foot swept his leg. He hit the ground hard, rolling onto his side to avoid a follow-up.

Not fast enough.

Selina's knee pinned his chest before he could recover.

"Predictable," she mused.

Joseph grit his teeth, twisting his torso sharply. He managed to throw her weight off, but as he scrambled to his feet, she caught his wrist and used his own momentum to flip him onto his back again.

"Better," she admitted. "Sloppy, but better."

He groaned, shaking off the impact, and shot a glare up at her.

"Again," she said, stepping back, gesturing for him to come at her.

Joseph exhaled through his nose and lunged. This time, he didn't try to go straight for her. Instead, he faked a left hook, but when she dodged, he twisted, using the momentum to sweep at her legs.

She hopped over it effortlessly.

He expected that.

The second his leg passed under her, he drove forward, tackling her midair.

They hit the ground hard, rolling across the warehouse floor. Selina twisted first, ending up on top, claws grazing his collarbone.

She smirked. "Clever."

Joseph clenched his jaw, shifting his weight beneath her. Then, in one sharp motion, he wrenched his legs up, hooking them around her waist, and flipped them over.

Now he was on top.

Selina blinked. Then, laughing, she shoved him off with her knee and rolled back onto her feet in one smooth motion.

"You're learning." She stretched, looking entirely unbothered. "Alright, kid. One more round."

Joseph wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yeah?" He dropped into a ready stance. "This time, I'll actually land a hit."

Selina grinned, beckoning him with a crook of her finger. "We'll see about that."