Catwoman #72

Issue Details

Synopsis

CRIMES PAY PART 1 Catwoman stands on a clocktower with a bottle of wine. She calls an unknown number and begs the person on the other end to come help her. After finishing the call, she sits down to drink the wine and wait until Zatanna appears. Zatanna asks her why she called, and Selina tells her she needs to forget what she did.  Selina recounts how she "killed" Irena and Helena Dubrovna a few weeks ago. Afterwards, Helena went about her life like normal, but Selina couldn't. She had horrible dreams, and when she was awake, she worried. Too many people knew she was Catwoman, and there was no place to hide. She knew what she had to do, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. For one, she'd need his help to do it.   Selina went to Wayne Manor where she caught Bruce and Tim in the Batcave before they left on patrol. Bruce ordered a reluctant Tim to watch Helena while he and Selina talked, and Tim and Helena walked off together.   Selina revealed to Bruce that she was the one who killed Black Mask. Bruce already knew, and while he disagreed with what she did, he knew she was doing it to protect the innocent. She didn't come to the Batcave to confess to a year-old crime she didn't regret, she came to ask Bruce to help her keep Helena safe by removing her from Catwoman's life.   A few days later, Bruce had arranged things so that Helena would be adopted and her identity was buried under a mountain of legalese, making it impossible to track her down. Selina fantasized about instead of boarding an airplane and taking Helena to Spain where she could grow up cozy and safe far from Gotham, but she knew that was impossible--She took Helena to Wayne Enterprises where she handed Helena over to the social worker, then asked Bruce to leave her alone before she broke down crying.   In the present, Selina tells Zatanna she can learn all the other gory details when she goes poking through her head. Zatanna can't believe Selina wants her to wipe her memory again, and Zatanna tells Selina that she only gave her a nudge when she wiped Selina's memory the first time. Selina was already far along the path. Selina was the one who decided how to live her life, so she'll decide what to do now: If Zatanna casts her spell, as far as Selina's concerned, Helena will never have existed. She begs Selina not to go that to Helena, or to herself.   Selina apologizes for bringing her out here for nothing. She turns to leave, and Zatanna says, "Selina... go home... and maerd."   Selina lies down in bed and dreams that Helena is a teenager coming home dressed as Catwoman. She asks her why, and Helena tells her it's Halloween. She's not taking up the family business, not yet anyway.   Selina wakes up feeling rested, only to find everything in her apartment gone--TV, couch, pictures, lightbulbs, everything. The only thing left behind is... a bomb! Selina jumps out the window just in time as her apartment explodes behind her. She watches her apartment go up in flames and thinks, "No family... no home... and no reason to act like one of the good guys. Nice going, whoever you are. You just picked the worst possible time to cross this cat's path."