New Earth: Batwoman

Chapter 4

"The Bat is back Gotham. Last night, several witnesses recounted seeing the caped crusader make his first appearance in Gotham in over 3 years. But now this reporter is left wondering why he came back now and perhaps even more importantly, why did he leave us in the first place." Kate and Luke listened to Vesper Fairchild say on the radio.

"When I find him, I intend to answer that question. Seriously, even in this new reality, you have no idea where Bruce is or why he left?" Kate asked Luke.

"No, it seems like the one thing Bruce Wayne has in common across realities is that he likes to keep things like that to himself. Only person I can think of who might know those answers is Alfred." Luke said.

"And chances are, wherever Bruce went, he took Alfred with him." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"Pretty much. We could see if Julia's been in touch with her father, but she's almost as hard to track down as Bruce." Luke said and Kate nodded.

"In the meantime, I think it's time I inform Gotham that their Bat is not what they think." Kate said.

"How are you planning on doing that?" Luke asked.

"Taking a page out of Oliver Queen's book." Kate said.

"Right, you are going to introduce me to the Green Arrow right?" Luke asked.

"And the Flash and Supergirl. Eventually." Kate promised.

"Great, but anyways, what did you mean?" Luke asked.

"You remember how Green Arrow made his debut in Star City? Right?" Kate asked and Luke quickly caught on.

"I'll get ready to broadcast." Luke said and Kate nodded as they got a call from the lobby.

"Excuse me Ms. Kane, you have a visitor." the secretary said.

"Who?" Kate asked.

"Sophie Moore. She says she knows you and she's also wearing a Crows jacket." the guy said and Luke and Kate exchanged looks.

"Head down to the Batcave and get started, I'll see what Sophie wants." Kate said and Luke nodded as he opened the door to the batcave before heading down there.

"Send her up." Kate said once the entrance to the bat cave closed.

A few minutes later, Kate heard the elevator open and Sophie walked into her office.

"Hey Kate." Sophie said awkwardly.

"I heard about what happened. Glad to see you're safe." Kate said.

"Thanks. Your dad told me you were back in town. I'm touched that you came back just because I was in trouble." Sophie said.

"Well, they say you never truly get over your first love. Even if they don't love you back." Kate said and Sophie sighed.

"Look Kate, I am sorry about what happened." Sophie began.

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one who sold out my integrity to stay in a place that didn't even want me. But now I have to know. Was it worth it?" Kate asked.

"Excuse me?" Sophie asked, not completely understanding.

"Was graduating worth throwing away what we had. Or was it even real to you?" Kate asked, since she needed to know if this Sophie felt the same way the old one did.

"No. Everyday I wish I had your courage. I wish that I'd done exactly what we'd planned on doing. And yes, what we had was real to me. It was everything." Sophie said.

"And you threw it away for your career." Kate said.

"I know. If I could go back, do things differently, I would've left with you. But I can't." Sophie said and Kate nodded.

"Look Sophie, I still care about you, but I can't be with someone who feels like they have to hide me from the world." Kate said.

"I get it. And I wish I had your courage, I really do." Sophie said.

"You're a crow, having to report to my dad alone takes some serious guts." Kate said and Sophie smiled.

"What I mean is that you have the courage to be out and not care about what that means. You don't care what other people think about you. That is something that I am still struggling with." Sophie said and Kate smiled.

"It wasn't always easy, but then again, I've never been one to like taking the easy path. It's too boring. And Sophie, while I get that you aren't ready to come out yet or whatever, I know that someday, you will be and you'll be happier because of it. And while I can't tell you it will be easy, it will get easier and I will be there to help you when you're ready." Kate said.

"Okay, I have to admit, when I came over, I was half expecting you to tell me to go to hell." Sophie said and Kate smiled.

"I've had five years to reflect and look back on things. Once I calmed down, I tried to look at things from your perspective and believe me I'm not happy about what you did, I can understand why you did it." Kate said.

"Wow, looks like that time away did you some good." Sophie said.

"My opinion on you isn't the only thing that's changed." Kate said.

"What do you mean?" Sophie asked.

"I finally see Batman as the hero he was." Kate said.

"Okay, now I'm concerned. The Kate Kane I met at Point Rock hated Batman for what happened to your family on his watch." Sophie said.

"Like I said, I had a lot of time to think while I was away. And I realized that the crash wasn't Batman's fault. He didn't drive my mom's car off the ramp and he thought he'd saved her and Beth. Besides, he saved 2 dozen other kids, plus myself that day, so it's hard to be mad at him without seeming selfish." Kate said.

"Wow, that is a new way to look at things." Sophie said.

"I heard it was Batman who saved you last night." Kate said.

"It wasn't Batman. It was a woman." Sophie said.

"So Batwoman?" Kate asked.

"She saved my life." Sophie confirmed.

"And yet I'm guessing my dad wants to lock her up." Kate asked.

"Unlike you, his opinion of vigilantes, especially the Bat, hasn't changed." Sophie said.

"I know, I already hashed it out with him about that. But what do you think? And don't give me the Crows answer." Kate said and Sophie smiled.

"Honestly, I don't know. While I believe in what the Crows stand for, I can't deny that Batman did a lot of good for the city before he vanished. I think it's too soon to tell if this Batwoman is the same. But saving me, it's a good start. Though she should come out of the shadows and make sure Gotham knows that she's not Batman." Sophie said.

"I'm sure she'll let them know when she's ready." Kate said.

"Anyways, thanks for the talk, but I'd better get back to work. I just wanted to say hi." Sophie said.

"Thanks. I'll see you around." Kate said and Sophie nodded as she walked out of the office.