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drabble | urgent.
 u r g e n t. challenge 4: your character finds a huge cargo crate filled with child prostitutes. How will your character react and handle the situation?
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There were many things that could never surprise Selina Kyle. With all she�d been through in this crazy series of events called life, Selina--tonight donning her alter ego of Catwoman--was stunned at her discovery.
How she wound up in this once-abandoned shipyard was a tale that could mirror any of her conquests in the past. A rather attentive kitty, Selina was privy to the goings-on of Gotham�s less-than-desireables. She�d catch wind of some sort of new scheme, new racket, or new headquarters. The only goal she ever had in mind was making some sort of profit of her own. Usually the muscle involved were too doltish and easily outwitted. Selina would be long gone before the dons and capos even noticed...
But...this.
Her heart sank. Realization settled in swiftly. The criminal world wasn�t one always of glitz and glamour. There were so many disgusting things and equally nauseating people.
Selina spent the vast majority of her livelihood in Gotham�s East End. The grimiest district in the metropolis, the East End was infamously known for being the area where two of Gotham�s wealthiest lost their lives in a brutal double homicide. The murders left their only child an orphan, and the sole heir to all their fortune.
While Bruce Wayne wined and dined with the most elite despite the untimely loss, the East End suffered in a rapid decline. Property values, already weak, plummeted. Crime rates were rising at alarming rates and poverty knew nearly everyone who resided in the community. Gangsters and the like made the East End their home for doing business, knowing that the area was barely policed.
Catwoman grew up here, and it was her childhood home. Struggling through her own complications of suddenly becoming parentless, she was forced to grow up much earlier than any normal child. Selina knew quite well what many girls turned to the make a quick buck around here. Sex sells and prostitution was the norm.
But...this.
This wasn�t acceptable. Selina didn�t know who was behind this racket, but their days were about to be numbered.
What Selina thought would be a gold mine stash of weapons or potentially even the suddenly coveted vibranium--a mineral sourced from a world away--turned out to be exactly the opposite. This space underground was guarded--Catwoman was able to slink inside and subdue the slabs of meat that called themselves skilled forces. The crates were rather large, and already opened at the top. A fresh shipment, she mused to herself, not realizing that once she peeked over the side...
They were all children. Boys and girls, seemingly from all over the globe. Frightened eyes, weary faces, and a pain that no one should bear at such a young age--much less at all.
She swore on her life that she�d get them out of here. Every single one of them. Selina needed to find records--names, addresses, even financial documents. It wouldn�t be difficult to get access to any encrypted files. She considered herself rather savvy in hacking when need be, if the job weren�t too complicated. However, the Cat couldn�t waste a second more. She needed help with this mission. This couldn�t be a task handled by a single cat burglar. There was no telling how many more crates of children would wash ashore, how many more men and women were involved in this. It would also be impossible to simply walk out with dozens of kids in tow. Much too dangerous--and where would they go?
Selina exhaled a shaky breath. Though they always would have their differences, there was one thing that both she and Bruce could agree on. Their definitions of justice were similar, it was the execution of it where Catwoman found they clashed. The kitten wasn�t above using guns as a means to subdue her enemies and she was surely not above murder when a situation called for it.
The woman pulls out her smartphone, annoyingly branded by Wayne Enterprises but a handy tool of communication nonetheless. She tapped away via text on an app whose specific use was for coded exchanges.
Bats. Need help. East End at abandoned shipyard. Captured children in danger. URGENT.
Once finished, she slipped the phone back into her bosom. �Don�t worry,� she finally spoke, unsure if they would understand her. �You�re going home. You�re all going home.�
writing challenge | "urgent" | /315510
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