The issue opens with Selina explaining why she steals. It was never about grabbing “the shiny thing” for her. It’s about the tactics, the planning, the gear. That’s the mindset she’s in as four women, all dressed in cat suits just like hers, break into her apartment and attack her.
Jonesy, her AI assistant, scans the attackers and gives Selina a tactical edge in the fight. Turns out these women were after something specific, and Selina just caught them in the act. But she’s so wrapped up in her own head and the fight itself that she doesn’t notice they’ve planted a bomb, set to go off in her apartment.
It’s her 25th birthday.
Rewind to Earlier That Same Day
Before all that chaos, Dante Calderone calls her to wish her happy birthday and give her an update on a house he’s been working on for her. They agree to meet up later.
This is also where we learn Selina has a high-tech hideout inside her apartment (basically her own version of the Bat Cave). She’s planning to retire, and she wants to get ahead of it on her own terms rather than waiting for something to force her hand. She’s going through her old suits and gadgets, deciding what she won’t need anymore now that this chapter of her life is closing.
Twelve Years Earlier, Back in Gotham
The story jumps back over a decade ago to show us why Selina is the way she is. Her foster father, Joe, is furious because he’s found out she’s been skimming money off his credit card. He tells her the state doesn’t pay him enough to deal with someone he sees as trash, and he even threatens to let her fall off the balcony.
Selina manages to get free and tells him he’s going to miss those government checks he’s been using to pay off gambling debts he owes to the Falcone family.
In a thought bubble, we learn she’d do anything to escape that life. She originally came to the United States from Cuba on a boat. And out of everything she’s ever stolen, the one thing she treasures is a simple postcard from home.
Present Day: A Villa in Madonie, Sicily
Back in the present, Selina meets Dante at a house in Madonie, a mountainous region in Sicily, Italy. She skips the guided tour and turns down his offer to hire extra staff for the property. She’s made it pretty clear she values her privacy above almost everything else.
There’s also a wild animal on the property that Dante’s crew has been trying to catch and tag. It’s already mauled two of his men. Selina relates to the animal, saying it just wants to be left alone. Just like her.
London: an Old Friend Shows Up
Now we’re in her London apartment. Selina’s sitting there thinking about how different her life is from a normal 25 year old’s, when she realizes someone else is in the room with her.
It’s Holly Robinson, someone she hasn’t seen in seven years. She’s holding a birthday cake. Selina had already thrown a knife across the room before she even processed who it was. It’s sticking out of the cake.
Wondering how Holly bypassed her security system, Holly reminds Selina she taught her everything she knows. Selina asks what’s really going on. When she lifts up Holly’s hair, she notices a black eye. Holly brushes it off and just wants Selina to cut the cake.
Ten Years Ago: How Selina and Holly Met
We jump back again, this time ten years ago, to when Selina and Holly first crossed paths in Gotham. Selina saw a lot of herself in Holly: a loner, a thief, someone without a stable home, and someone carrying a grudge. Holly even had a black eye back then too, in the exact same spot as the one she has now.
Back in London: The Real Reason Holly Came
Holly finally admits the cake isn’t just a birthday gesture. She needs Selina’s help pulling off a job, and she can’t do it alone. She brings up their history as a team, and how Selina was the one who left.
Selina’s response is raw: she cared too much, and she paid the price for it. Holly sarcastically says Selina’s luxury apartment shows how much she’s suffering. When Selina asks if Holly’s in some kind of trouble she needs to get out of, Holly brushes her off, saying she always lands on her feet.
Thinking about the postcard again Selina held onto it since she was a kid. It says “Our Heart” in Spanish and lists ten faded names Selina, possibly family members back in Cuba.
The Reveal
After Holly shows up, more attackers (the same women in cat suits from the opening) burst into the apartment. They’re after a specific object, which turns out to be a valuable pearl hidden inside the birthday cake. Selina fights back, but they manage to steal the pearl, kidnap Holly, and blow up her apartment as they make their escape.
Selina jumps on her ride, a high-tech motorcycle called the Wildcat, and chases them down. She manages to get the pearl back, but she loses Holly in the process. One of the attackers, the one who was better trained than the rest, is shown taking Holly to a warehouse.
Once at the warehouse, the mystery attacker takes off her helmet because she received a call from someone congratulating her. It’s Cassandra Cain, a well known character from mainline DC usually associated with the Batman.
Considering what happened in this issue, is it realistic for Selina to think she can retire? Completely walk away with no consequences? She hadn’t seen these women for seven years.
Why didn’t Jonesy warn Selina about Holly being in the apartment? It seems like Selina has grown a lot in those seven years. Whereas Holly, with the same black eye, hasn’t experienced the same growth. If Holly is able to get into the apartment without Selina knowing, or Jonesy telling her, who else is getting in there? How much does Holly know about present day Selina?
While chasing Cassandra, she told Cassandra: “Give me my friend back!” Perhaps Selina is already in too deep.
