New Earth: Batwoman

Chapter 13

"Why exactly are you looking into the cases of Judge Calverick?" Helena asked Luke as she entered the Batcave the following morning.

"Because something seems a bit off about a lot of these cases." Luke said as he hated himself for doing this, but he knew he had to, since the more he looked into it, the more he realized that Kate had been right. There were too many similarities in these cases to just be accidents or coincidences. Now he was thinking that maybe the guy who had killed his dad had been framed.

"What do you mean?" Helena asked.

"Take a look at this list of criminals and tell me if anything about it stands out to you." Luke said and Helena nodded as she began looking through the files and she began to see the same thing Luke was.

"You're right. Not only are all these guys of the similar group. Black, hispanic, latino, even muslim and poor, but their stories line up almost completely. The only changes in them are the weapons mentioned in each case." Helena said.

"Yep. And not only that, notice the other names besides Calverick's." Luke said.

"Detective Stu Donnelly and Prosecutor." Helena said as she looked up at Luke.

"Prosecutor Angus Stanton. The same guy who claimed to have put the man who killed my dad away." Luke said.

"You know after your dad was murdered, my dad wasted no expense in searching for the person responsible. Even after Reggie Harris was convicted, it took me and Alfred to convince him that justice had been served and get him to stop searching for leads that weren't there. And it turns out this whole time, an innocent man could be suffering for something he didn't do and the person who really did it is still at large." Helena said.

"Hey, don't feel bad yet. We still don't know which cases were fudged." Luke said.

"I'm just curious, have you shown Kate any of this?" Helena asked.

"Her dad wanted to see her about something. I think it has to do with Alice." Luke said.

"Who's Alice?" Helena asked.

"Right, you've only been back a day. Alice is Gotham's newest psychopath, but honestly, while she and Kate have only locked horns once, I think that Alice may end up becoming Batwoman's Joker." Luke said, even though he knew that was already the case. Just as the Joker had been Batman's greatest enemy, Alice had already become Batwoman's greatest enemy before on one earth and he had no doubt that she'd become it again.

"Great. Nice to know that despite everything, one thing remains constant in Gotham. When a Bat comes out, they always have one enemy who stands out among the other." Helena said, rolling her eyes at that.

"We could use your help taking her down." Luke said.

"And you'll have it. I'm back in Gotham for the long haul now. My city needs me." Helena said and Luke smiled.

"Dad, what's going on? Why were you so desperate to see me?" Kate asked as she entered her father's office at Crow's HQ.

"Last night Alice called me from one of the Crow's secure phones." Jacob said.

"What? Are you okay?" Kate asked.

"I'm fine. But the reason I called you is because the way she spoke, I think she at least knows something about where your mom and sister are." Jacob said.

"That just makes the need to find her even greater. Even if we don't like the answers she gives us, at least she'll give us answers." Kate said and Jacob nodded in agreement.

"And she's not the only psychopath I plan to put behind bars." Jacob said and Kate rolled her eyes.

"Seriously dad. Batwoman hasn't even been here a week yet and you're already gunning after her." Kate said.

"Kate, can't you tell that she's the reason Alice is a problem? She brought out all the crazies in Gotham just like Batman did." Jacob said and Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Do you even hear yourself? Do you even remember that Alice showed up in Gotham before Batwoman did? In fact, she kidnapped one of your agents and if I recall correctly, she's the one who saved Sophie." Kate said.

"She undermines the city's officials." Jacob said.

"The GCPD don't seem to mind it. In fact, they welcome it. Are you just jealous that Batwoman and before her, Batman, did a better job of doing your job than you do?" Kate asked.

"Until she leaves just like Batman did and when she does, she'll end up leaving Gotham at the mercy of crazies." Jacob said.

"Is that what this is about?" Kate asked.

"The city has been disappointed by that symbol before and it's only a matter of time until it happens again. The Crows protect gotham and we don't just disappear when it's convenient for us." Jacob said.

"No, you just only protect people who can afford it. The reason the public loves the Bat more than the Crows is because she protects everyone, not just the rich, but the people who actually need help." Kate said as she walked away from her father, not willing to get into this with him again, since she knew that nothing was likely to change her father's mind about the Bat, no matter how many people she saved.