Asprin, Robert Lynn – Catwoman – Tiger Hunt (With Lynn Abbey)

Cats, knickknacks, newspapers, and the ruins of last night’s dinner became airborne.

Selina Kyle had no time for conscious decision-making. She lunged for the nearest flying object, caught a gooey handful of cold Szechuan chicken, and watched with horror as a Ming-dynasty porcelain cat smashed against the wall.

“I liked that,” she complained. “It was my favorite cat—“

Feline heads swiveled and stared with evident disbelief.

“I could’ve gotten three hundred for it, so it must’ve been worth thousands. But I didn’t sell it. I took it because I liked it and kept it because I liked it, and now it’s garbage.”

The cats blinked. One began grooming. Selina snatched a piece of drifted newspaper and cleaned the unappetizing veggies from her hand. The sauce was cold, but the spices still packed a wallop when she swiped them across the scratch the kitten left on her wrist. Once again her reflexes were faster than her thoughts. She had the stinging flesh pressed against her lips before she realized what she’d done, before the blob of paper and sauce ended its slide down the back of the sofa.

“Damn.”

An orange tabby jumped down from a nearly empty bookshelf. It investigated the stain and withdrew, hissing.

“Double-damn.”

Selina’s one-room apartment wasn’t large enough for seven—this afternoon—cats and cat-loving human. She grabbed the newspaper and lobbed it toward the trash can. Her aim was solid, but the canister was already overflowing. The wad bounced to the floor. With a disgusted sigh, Selina packed the soggy newspaper into the canister and scuffed the porcelain bits in the general direction of the radiator. There was a broom somewhere, and roll of liners for the canister, but she didn’t feel like looking for them.