As "Gotham's" presumptive future Catwoman, young Selina Kyle's just getting into the earliest of her feline nine lives -- but as actress Camren Bicondova keeps discovering, they're never without some serious intrigue.

As the saga of the pre-Batman Gotham City returns with a run of episodes to close out its third season, Bicondova is back as Selina, once again straddling the line between good girl and bad girl following a major falling out with the slowly emerging Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne. And as the 17-year-old actress revealed to a small group of press, Selina will face new temptations to walk on the more shadowy side of the street than her justice-seeking paramour.

We left Selina and Bruce in a pretty fractured place when we last saw them. How does their relationship fare as the season picks up?

Camren Bicondova: That relationship is crazy. It's not necessarily toxic, their relationship, but it's definitely a wild ride. When we pick up this season, it's kind of catching them on their little downfall. Then for the rest of the season after that, it's them going their separate ways and trying to figure out who they are.

How does Selena move forward from being betrayed by her mother yet again?

I think it impacts her immensely. I think because Selina didn't want to start a relationship with her mom again, because her mom did her so wrong from the beginning of her life. The fact that she abandoned her again, just in a different way, it hurts Selina, because all she wants to feel is loved. I think that betrayal from her mother definitely skyrockets her into this direction that she didn't necessarily see herself going into.

As the remainder of Season 3 plays out, how much more does she evolve toward becoming the Catwoman we know she could become as an adult?

She does evolve a little more towards that direction, but she definitely does not become Catwoman. She's just searching for what she wants in life, and she's searching for what she necessarily needs also. She knows that she wants independence, and she knows that she needs to survive, but it's a question of, does she want to continue surviving, or does she want to go above and beyond that?

Where does that search for independence take her?

It takes her to a certain person that she thinks could help her. Then no more. No, I'm not going to say any more than that.

You are a dancer as well -- did any of your dance background help you with Selina's physicality?

Definitely. The majority of Selina's being is her body language and the way that she moves. Because she doesn't say much, most of her communication revolves around how her body sits and moves. If I weren't a dancer, I don't think that I would be able to pull Selina off. I'm pretty sure that I would not be able to play this role if I wasn't a dancer. So it definitely helps.

What character would you like to see Selina ally with, whether it's a true partnership or not? Who would you like to see her interact more with?

I think a little interaction with Jerome would be cool -- I don't necessarily think an alliance with Jerome would be good for her. She needs some stability in her life. She has enough chaos going on. She needs stability.

But as far as an alliance goes, I don't think she's ever had an alliance with Barbara. I think that would be cool. Even if it's like a little like, "Oh, we're friends -- okay, bye." I think that would be a really cool dynamic.

There was a glimmer of a connection early in the series...

The only way that that happened was because Selina broke into her apartment and was squatting there. At the time, Barbara was having some drinking issues, and Selina does not deal with things like that. She can deal with shady business of all sorts, but she will not deal with drug addiction or alcoholism. I think Selina kind of shied away from her because of that. I think they just went their separate ways. I don't think they dislike each other, I just think they were just not good mix.

Selina takes on a leadership role with Poison Ivy, even though Ivy looks like an adult. How does that go?

She does. It's so funny. It's always great when I get to work with Maggie [Geha] because Maggie is so much taller than me; she's the sweetest person -- she's literally Ivy. I think out of everyone, the person who is the most like her character is Maggie.

I love their dynamic, because Selina is just this short little thing, this small package with a lot of boom. Ivy is just this really tall, beautiful piece of Ivy-ness, but she's so dorky, and she's so innocent. So it's really fun playing that dynamic of this little person who is much more wise, and much more confident, talking to this very tall person who's very innocent and not so wise.

"Gotham" airs Mondays on Fox.