Second Chances: Batwoman

Chapter 24

Batwoman was standing on the rooftop of Candy Lady's house as she watched in satisfaction as the GCPD forced her into the back of the cop car, all while she was insisting that she'd done nothing wrong. Something that Batwoman suspected would not go well for her at her trial. A trial that she knew Helena wanted to oversee and she was prepared to use whatever connections she had to in order to ensure that she could.

Then she turned her attention over to where Ryan Wilder was currently on a gurney being loaded into an ambulance since while she looked relatively okay from Batwoman's perspective, she was no doctor. However, seeing the look on Ryan's face got her thinking.

"Luke, you there?" Batwoman asked.

"Where else would I be? What's up?" Luke asked over the comms.

"Find out what hospital Ryan Wilder is being taken to and inform them that Kate Kane will be covering any and all of her medical expenses." Batwoman said.

"Done. And I'm guessing that means I should start working on a Robin costume for her?" Luke asked with a chuckle, which Batwoman shared.

"One, I don't think Robin is the right look for her and two, I'm not sure if I'm gonna go that far." Batwoman said.

"I'll start getting a room ready for Ryan at the mansion." Mary now said over the comms.

"Really Mary?" Batwoman asked.

"What, you've never shown this kind of interest in a kid before and considering what happened to Beth, I can see how taking in Ryan might seem like a do over for you." Mary said.

"Way to take away any chance of me denying I'm going to do it Mary. But first I need to call a few people and we're not telling her anything about this until we're sure that she wants it." Batwoman said.

"I'm going to let Bruce know to expect your call, since I'm guessing he's one of the people you want to talk to?" Luke asked.

"Considering he's done this three times, yeah." Batwoman said as she decided to disappear before anyone saw her, since while she was proud of her work here, a real hero did not seek credit for something like this.

"In case you're interested, Ryan is being taken to Gotham Memorial." Luke said.

"Have her transferred to Gotham General, that's a better hospital." Batwoman said.

"Copy that." Luke said.

Kate was so glad that her suit wasn't the only thing that was laced with nanites. During their last trip to National City, Brainy had given Luke the technology he used to create the nanite suit, so Luke had used them to upgrade her motorcycle so that it could turn into the bat bike and back easily, allowing for easy transportation anywhere.

When she arrived to where she'd stashed it, she retracted her suit into her watch and then used her watch to switch her bike to civilian mode, which included her helmet, which did have her custom red and black paint job on it and she put her helmet on, hooked the keys into the ignition and drove off while also dialing Bruce to talk to him as she drove.

"Kate, what a surprise." Bruce said in a voice that indicated that he'd clearly been expecting this call.

"Luke brought you up to speed?" Kate asked as she drove.

"Yep. So, you're thinking about taking in a stray?" Bruce asked.

"More like already committed to it and just need to sign the papers to make it official. Do you have any advice for me?" Kate asked.

"Ryan sounds a lot like Dick was when I first took him in. You need to give Ryan something to focus her anger towards the world at. You need to give her an enemy to focus that anger on. For Dick and Jason, it was me, though we both know that Jason didn't work out." Bruce said.

"Yeah, any ideas on how to keep Ryan from going all Red Hood?" Kate asked, grateful that at least that character was still locked up, since unlike the rest of Bruce's rogues gallery, Jason Todd had not been locked up in Arkham when the breakout happened.

"My advice, keep a close eye on her. The reason I lost Jason was because I blinded myself to his issues. Issues that he and I had in common. And most importantly, remember that she's still a kid, so make sure that she gets a taste of normal life. Part of Jason's problem was that he focused only on being Robin. He never took the time to develop a real life as Jason Todd. Dick and Helena were both naturals at living the whole double life thing, but Jason could only focus on one and he chose to only be Robin." Bruce said and Kate could hear the regret in his voice about that.

"Good to know. That's why I'm going to wait until Ryan has built a life as a normal teenager before I let her have a suit. I mean, I'll start training her sooner, but I'm not gonna let her actually take up a mantle until I know that she's got some level of balance between these two worlds." Kate said.

"You're terrified of being a parent aren't you?" Bruce asked and Kate sighed.

"You have no idea. Fighting the worst Gotham has to offer I can handle, but trying to be a mom to a girl who likely doesn't want one, that terrifies me." Kate said.

"You'll be fine Kate. Your dad might be an ass, but Gabi Kane was a great mother and you'll be just as good as she was. And besides, you can use your dad as a cautionary tale. Everything to know not to do." Bruce said.

"That might also apply to you and being the Bat." Kate said.

"That was something I hoped you'd take away from this Kate. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Be a better bat than I was. A better hero and all around a better person." Bruce said and Kate smiled.

"I'll make you proud Bruce." Kate said.

"You already have. Now go, there's a kid out there who needs your help." Bruce said as he hung up and Kate continued to drive towards the hospital.