The Light in Darkness

Chapter 15: Epilogue

-Batman-

Three Months Later

It has just been three months since Catwoman and I rescued Katrina from the hands of Scarecrow, and yet things are still not going so well for Ms. Parkman. It seems that while I was gone, Nightwing had discovered that Rosa had aided Scarecrow into getting Katrina's files. Which we did end up arresting Rosa for and she did ended up pleading guilty for her crime. And surprisingly, the judge took pity on her for it. He also didn't charge her at all, but instead offered a plea bargain. The judge explained to Rosa, that he wasn't concerned at all about punishing her, but in fact, more concerned over the surviving child Crane experimented on, Katrina. So in exchange for her jail time, it was ruled that Rosa was to report to the officials, such as myself or the police, on a weekly basis for six months on Katrina's recovery and if there was any mental health concerns or behavior changes, she was to report to us immediately. Upon hearing this, I expected her to call constantly for the first month about Katrina's mental state, but what I didn't expect was for it to carry on for three whole months!

Both the police and I get messages about Katrina about three to four times a week, and each time, the message isn't all that great. The first message I received from Rosa was the day Katrina was released from the hospital. I remember how her voice sounded so upset as she spoke to me about this new behavior Katrina was displaying. Before Rosa got to the topic at hand however, she explained how Katrina, at the hospital, kept asking if Dr. Crane or anyone else had survived the fire. Rosa told me how she did what she was told by the judge and replied with a lie to Katrina's question. You see, the whole reason Rosa lied was for Katrina's protection program. It was created to keep her safe from Scarecrow and ever since she discovered who he was, we needed to make sure she wouldn't go out looking for him again. So for Katrina's safety, the judge ordered Rosa to lie about Crane's survival. Rosa told me over the phone, how she made it sound like to Katrina that only Katrina, Catwoman, and myself survived the blast and the others had died in the explosion. While in reality, Jonathan Crane had also survived the blast and was at the moment rotting in Arkham.

Anyway, the first emergency phone call I had received from Rosa about Katrina was about her sudden isolated behavior. Rosa explained how after she lied about Dr. Crane's death, which Katrina easily believed, Katrina instantly went into a deep like depression. Where basically, Katrina locked herself in her own room the minute she returned home and only came out when she need to use the restroom. Rosa said the only other time she saw Katrina that night, was when she was returning to her bedroom after using the bathroom. "Her hair and face was a mess, it looked as if she had been weeping for that monster for hours. And when I tried to get close to comfort her, she yelled at me and pushed me away before slamming and locking the door in my face! She's never done this to me before!" I remember Rosa saying in a worried tone. "It's probably just a phase of grief or trauma, this is quite normal in recent victims." I reassured, "Just give her some space and time, and I'm sure she'll be back to her normal self pretty soon." If only I could've know that this was just the beginning of Katrina's many issues and that they were about to get much worst.

You see, soon after Katrina's grieving stage was over, I had suggested that Rosa attempted moving onto phase two of Katrina's new protection program. Which required her to change Katrina's current appearance, school, and name. I know that sounds harsh, but please understand. It's for Katrina's own well being and safety against getting kidnapped again. Katrina understood the need for a new school and seemed to be happy for changing it when she was ready to return, but the name change and hair was a different story. Katrina really didn't want to change her hair and especially her name, if anything, she hated that idea. But through a bit of psychological pushes, Rosa was able to do both. Rosa was able to get Billy, and Sophie to influence her into getting the new hair color trend. Which was the color black and a completely fake trend. And by giving Katrina a new nickname, she was able to shorten her name to Kate. Which isn't all that bad, but what more could she have done? Katrina or Kate has been through enough as it is, especially when she lost all her new friends at the hands of Crane.