Growing up in Gotham City, Selina Kyle felt like the city offered only two paths: let the rich crush you like a street rat, or try to shine like a diamond on their fingers.
When a break-in went sideways and led to the presumed death of a young Cassandra Cain (and left her mute by damaging her voice), the courts showed zero mercy. That’s when Selina realized that it didn’t matter which path she took in the end. Because of Cassandra, Selina would find herself in the same place no matter what she did.
That place was Blackgate Penitentiary, where a cruel guard constantly taunted her. He gloated over the fact that someone on the outside was paying him extra cash to torment her. Did Selina just take the beatings? Absolutely not.
When the guard turned on a body camera to stream a fight for his mystery boss, Selina didn’t take that lying down. She picked her cuffs, dodged his punch, and broke his arm in four places. She looked straight into the camera lens and promised her secret patron that her story was far from over. Some time after that, a figure wearing a glossy black skull helmet visited her cell.
It’s Black Mask (Roman Sionis) from the Absolute Batman arc The Zoo. He called himself an admirer and stated he wanted to open up a brand-new path for her future.
The Calicos Challenge Fate
Fast forward to the present day. Selina has built a new life for herself along with reuniting with her old crew, the Calicos. But like always, her past comes back to haunt her. The tech inside the Calicos’ helmets hits them with the shocking news that Cassandra Cain is actually alive.
The girl they long thought was dead, the girl that led to Selina doing time in jail is alive and was the one who took Selina’s childhood friend Holly hostage. How she fits into the bigger picture regarding “the yarn,” a glowing blue orb that acts as a ridiculously powerful supercomputer, remains to be seen.
For seven long years, Selina carried massive guilt over Cassandra’s death. Finding out Cassandra survived meant all that guilt was built on a lie. But how could she stop to process that shock when Holly was in danger?
Cassandra forces the Calicos into a terrible spot by making them pick between saving Holly or taking back the yarn. With help from their tech expert Jonesy, the team tracks a massive energy spike to the edge of the city. Selina knows they’re outnumbered, but she refuses to run away. She decides they are going to save Holly and fight their way through, no matter what.
All-Out War on the Neon Streets
Selina and the Calicos dive straight down to the streets of Candia. They trade blows with Cassandra’s shadow fighters, dodge bullets and blade strikes. While Selina fights for the deep connections and family she used to run from, Cassandra treats her shadows like a silent force of pure motion.
So, what happens when the odds get even worse? Cassandra brings in heavy reinforcements, including dangerous commanders with eyepatches and high-tech weapons. Before long, the Calicos are pinned down and running out of options.
Leveling the Playing Field
That is when Selina realizes it’s time to change the rules. Remembering her belief that every tight trap has a hidden weak point, she uses grapple lines to pull her team together and plants an explosive drill charge right into the pavement. The resulting blast tears through the area, throwing Cassandra’s forces back in a massive wave of fire.
That explosion sets off a huge electromagnetic pulse (EMP). In a fraction of a second, the whole city power grid goes dark. Surveillance cameras shut down, high-tech weapons fail, and the giant video screens glitch out.
Triggering the EMP helps level the playing field. Cassandra’s tech-heavy army loses its biggest advantage, though the Calicos lose their own comms and gadgets too. As Gotham plunges into a total blackout, Selina and her crew prepare to move through the dark to rescue Holly and stop Cassandra once and for all.
