The Lone Knight (Under The Cowl Book #1)

CHAPTER 1

Dressed in her uniformed colors of purple and black with her tattered combat boots, worn leather belt stitched to hold her handmade grappling gun, break-away staff, custom made baterangs, and knives she stole from her part-time job at the Iceberg Lounge, reminded Stephanie of what she nearly forgot; the feeling of being truly alive under the shine of the moon's light.

It was easy to walk away from this life the first time. Free from the crime fighting, free from the bone aching bruises and sleepless nights. And for awhile that freedom was liberating. Until the realization of what she could not escape felt inherently apart of her, her intolerance towards injustice and the thrill that came with eliminating the scum from her streets. It marked her return as one of Gotham City's infamous cape crusaders ready to comb the night.

Stephanie tugged slightly on her hooded cape draped across her back, coloring the darkness with its dark shade of purple.

She listened to its ominous ripple against the wind, like a flag marking the hour of the night at its darkest and coldest in song.

It felt like she never left, standing above the peppered streetlights and traffic below. Most of Gotham City's seedy underbelly climb its way to the surface at night, salivating and waiting for the moment to strike terror in the hearts of the innocent.

"What are you doing here?" A voice said behind her.

Stephanie reached to secure her hood covering her long golden locks.

"Relax, kid, it's only me."

Stephanie recognized the voice.

She took her time to turn around.

Aware that this woman was speaking to her like an old acquaintance, Stephanie knew she had to be careful and maintain her cover.

From the corner of her eye she peaked through the top of her hood. Stephanie wanted to say she recognized the tall broad-shouldered woman in the long tan duster and fedora to match. But without a face to see under the hat this woman wore, she couldn't be sure.

The woman stepped forward and into the moonlight freed from the clouds above.

"Renee Montoya."

"The one and only."

"How did you find me?"

"For a girl who worked alongside Batman you should already know the answer."

"You're not wearing your creepy second face." Stephanie mocked. "Leslie must have told you where to find me."

"She worries about you."

"There's nothing to worry about."

"She told me you were the one who wanted no part of this life anymore."

"What can I say, I'm an addict. You should know, it runs in my family."

"Why don't you go on home? You have class in the morning if I recall."

"Are you keeping tabs on me?"

"I'm just looking out for a friend."

"I have late morning class, so you don't have to worry about me missing any. Right now, I'm right where I need to be."

"Leslie pulled a lot of strings to get you into Gotham University. The least you can do is tell her that you'll be late coming home. You're a smart girl Stephanie. Don't waste the second chance you've been given by doing what you ran away from."

"I'm grateful for what Leslie did for me, and I know I'll never be able to properly repay her kindness. But this is who I am, who I need to be. And I'm not going to run away from it again."

Renee sighed heavily. "Black Mask maybe gone, but there are still people loyal to man's name, and they remember what the Spoiler did to him and his crew."

"They don't scare me. Plus I haven't seen one of them since I came back, I think I'm good. Now Gotham without Batman is what scares me. Did you know it's been three months since anyone has seen him?"

"There's been talk."

"Oh, now you sound like you really care." Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"Does that mean you have to be the one to fill his shoes?"

"Someone has to. Crime has swelled since he disappeared."

"You've never had to do this alone."

Stephanie's eyes narrowed. "I started alone. Your confidence in my ability is far from desired, Detective Montoya."

"Said the girl I just snuck up on."

"You sure about that?" Stephanie turned around to reveal her phone and the captured video recording of Detective Montoya on the elevator to get here, and from the corner camera above the roof door. "You did well to hide you face, but you never had me at a disadvantage. Whatever you say will not stop me, so you might as well be on your way."

"I have no plans to stop you, only to warn you. The GCPD does not see you as a friendly vigilante after what happen last week."

"You mean when I stopped those thieves from getting away."

"Three out of the four are still in the hospital. And the cop you hit suffered a broken collar bone."

"That was an accident."

"Doesn't matter, the police have orders to arrest you. But if you happen to resist they have orders to shoot."

"I've been through worse."

"I know." Renee replied almost a little unnerved.

Neither said a word. Stephanie dug her fingers into the palm of her hand at the thought of what she wanted to forget.

She remembered the taste of blood that followed the insane pounding she felt on her face. Eye swollen shut and barely able to see out of the other, she sat helpless with her hands bound behind her back while listening to the ramblings of a mad man. Stephanie thought she was going to die on the night she took on Black Mask. Going head to head in a grueling fight she almost won against Roman Sionis, until she dropped her guard and ended up his captive.

Beaten to an inch of her life, many, including Batman were lead to believe she died at the hand of the ruthless mob boss. But not before Stephanie found the strength to free herself from her bindings by breaking both her wrist. It took Stephanie a long time to remember how she tackled Black Mask through a window where they plummeted five stories.

Her forearm impaled by a broken pipe sticking out of the wall against the building where she fell from saved her life.

When Stephanie heard Black Mask survived the onslaught of moving traffic, a part of her was relieved. At least he'll know the agony of broken bones while forced to live like a cripple, hopefully for the rest of his life.

"Are you out here for revenge?" Renee finally broke down and asked.

Stephanie gave Renee a sideways look. Revenge had been on her mind for years. It was all she thought about day in and day out during her recuperation. She imagined herself standing over the hospital bed of Black Mask and taking her hands to wrap them around his neck. Even from a thousand miles away it was easy to stalk him online despite his low social media presence. He surrounded himself with cronies' dependent on their phones she hacked. Costing his illegal businesses a couple hundred thousand dollars, which was all she could do. "I'm grateful to both you and Leslie for saving my life. And I don't mean to sound ungrateful. But my therapist told me I should be more honest with those who care about me. You two stole my life during a time I was most vulnerable. The one thing in my life that made me feel whole, you two took it from me. But now I'm back, and I'm here to stay."