Gotham City, CT USA
The pair walked past the paparatizzi along the red carpet to the event. As the key donors for the gallery exhibit they were expected to appear… although they were each representing different donor groups. They laughed and smiled for the cameras, but there was no romance, and the old money that knew them knew why. The blonde waitress smiled when she saw them, she asked the bartender for two special drinks and smiled as took the drinks to them.
“Here you are Mister Wayne,” the blonde smiled, “One Gin and Tonic minus the Gin. And a virgin Cranberry cocktail miss.”
“Holly?” Bruce gasped at the blonde in the rubber French maid dress, “Is that you Holly?”
“Yep,” Holly Robinson smiled, “I got picked up by a catering company, ‘Lina is in back getting ready for her show piece for the stage.”
“Holly this is my cousin Katherine Kane,” Bruce said, “Kate this is Holly Robinson, Selina Kyle’s… Protégé?”
“Cousins?” Holly asked.
“Yes, well…” Bruce smiled, “Selina said she couldn’t come, and now I know why, all the single girls on the society pages have blocked my number for the time being and…”
“My girlfriend is out of town visiting family,” Kate smiled.
“Oh?” Holly said, “Here.”
She pulled a rainbow colored wrist band from the cluster on her wrist and handed it to Kate.
“Part of the exhibit is to showcase diversity,” Holly smiled, “Ah hell Drunk signal is up over Table four. I will let ‘Lina know you are here.”
“Drunk signal?” Bruce asked.
“Ever since that late night show did their week in exile from Gotham, everyone has been doing some riff on the ‘Bat-signal,’ Kate rolled her eyes.
“The funniest thing that hack did was be scared of a turtle on live TV,” Bruce muttered.
*
Metropolis NY, USA
Lois sat on her bed in her pajamas looking at the searches on her tablet and laptop. Clark should be coming home tonight, the mission to Mogo had returned and Clark had been a part of the press team that went to record the meeting between the UN delegates and Green Lantern Corps. She should be happy, but the whole latex Wonder Woman and Superman thing that the Castle woman had told her still gnawed at her. Sure enough on her laptop there were sites offering latex Wonder Woman and Superman dress up outfits and on her tablet there was all of the ‘WW love Supes’ fan art.
“Lois?” Clark called from the balcony.
“In here Smallville,” Lois called from the bedroom.
“How did the article on the fetish empire go?” Clark asked as he walked in.
“Don’t bother reading the paper,” Lois tossed him the note book with all her notes and thoughts on the story, “The real story is in there.”
Clark read throw the notes but then stopped and looked at Lois. She was still looking at her tablet and laptop. Clark skimmed the notes and spotted something about him… he put the note book down and walked around to look at the screens his wife was looking at.
“This is what really is bothering you isn’t it?” Clark said leaning down to kiss his wife, “People going on about Superman and Diana?”
“You are my husband!” Lois said, “Damn bitches.”
“Lois calm down, these are some of the same people going on about how Superman and Batman should be married,” Clark sighed.
“Ahh…” Lois tried to push her eyeballs into her skull with her palms… “Ahh!”
“I see you found that rabbit hole,” Clark sympathized.
“YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SPEND TIME ALONE WITH BRUCE AND BERRY ON ANY FARM ANYWHERE!” Lois shouted.
“OK… Well I am going to take a shower,” Clark said, “From what Kara said we can expect Metallo to pop up in the next few days.”
“AHHHH! Don’t mention his name either!” Lois shouted.
*
Bruce and Kate watched Selina in the middle of the catwalk finish tying the knots and then gesturing for the hunks in their rubber gimps suits to hoist the girl into the air suspended from the rope work Selina had just tied around her body…
“Is that why you keep falling into her traps?” Kate whispered to Bruce.
“What would Maggie say if you let her capture you?” Bruce whispered back.
The theme had been Diversity, and as such fetish had worked it’s way in on the more extreme end of thing. Selina was pretending to be one Mistress Irene while on stage, but there was no mistaking the feline grace of the latex clad dominatrix. The girl hanging in mid-air was the painter behind a series of pastels cityscapes on display behind the cousins and being projected onto the screen hung behind the hanging artist. Kate noticed something from the corner of her eye and sighed.
“Miss Kathrine Kane, Bruce Wayne,” Oswald Cobblepot said as he walked over with one of his ‘birds’ in tow.
“Oz,” Bruce managed a smile, “Long time no see, staying out of trouble?”
“Bruce, Katherine, this is Miss Starling,” Oswald introduced the ‘bird’, “Melissa, this is mister Bruce Wayne and Katherine Kane. We went to school together.”
“Oswald,” Kate smiled, “Haven’t seen you since the academy.”
“Yes, I should thank you,” Oswald said softly, “You were the only girl there not after my money or making my life a living hell.”
“Well not to make this about me,” Kate said sheepishly, “But I had my own demons I was dealing with.”
“Yes, I heard,” Oswald pointed at the rainbow bracelet on Kate’s wrist, “I heard you married a cop recently.”
“No, it didn’t work out quite like that…” Kate looked into her drink.
“Sorry to hear that,” Oswald said, “No hard feelings.”
“Come on Ozie, let’s get closer to the stage,” the bird said.
Bruce watched the pair go towards the stage. He noticed the flower tattoo on the back of the girl that matched the one on the belly of the artist on stage.
“You are going to make a point of hurting him next time he gets arrested,” Bruce whispered into Kate’s ear.
“Butterball so much as jay walks and his head is bouncing off the curb,” Kate hissed.
*
The Rubber Queen watched and listened to the exchange via the symbiotes and smiled. Kate Kane would make a wonderful member for her inner court and soon enough she would be a willing member.
*
Lois heard the shower turn off, and she started to wonder… What if the Rubber Queen had told the truth about corrupting her or her husband without even knowing it? Would there be a way to tell? Would trying latex cause a reaction from them if they were corrupted? Lois looked at an image of rubber Wonder Woman lingerie and started clicking. Soon they would send her a red and gold corset, a garter belt and a blue and white panty all in latex. If either her or Clark got excited by this that would mean that that one had been corrupted, right?