Ok, I thought I would just make a point of saying a little something at the begining of this fanfic because I didn't think it would be so popular so I didn't bother. Anyway. I do not own Batman or any of the characters or places used etc etc, EXCEPT I do own Miss Sophie Swift, Katherine and Rowena because I thought them up... (however I would love to own Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne because he kicks ass, but not the point hehe)
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Chapter 1- Miss Sophie Swift
"Miss Swift, are you ok?" Sophie opened her eyes to see Katherine standing by her bed a worried expression on her face, "Bad dream?"
"Yes." Sophie struggled to sit up wiping her hand over her forehead and was surprised to find it covered in sweat. She paused thinking for a moment and then the dream came flooding back to her.
"Do you want some breakfast Miss Swift?" asked Katherine carefully, after a nightmare Sophie was likely to throw a fit of rage about petty things like breakfast.
"Yeah, ok." Sophie flicked her hair from her face and rubbed her sore head. "And an aspirin please Katherine."
"Right you are, Miss." Katherine hurried from the room leaving Sophie to contemplate her dream. She sat on the edge of her bed in her silk nightgown, then shook her head and slid off her bed. Then she dropped to the floor and started to do push-ups.
Katherine re-entered the well furnished room with the breakfast tray and aspirin and smiled to see her employer doing exercises so early in the morning.
"Miss, are you sure you should be exercising when you have a headache?"
Grinning, Sophie jumped to her feet,
"Oh, thank you." She accepted a glass of water and took the aspirin, "Of course I should Katherine, you know better than anyone else that I need to keep fit."
"Well... oh, Rowena called last night whilst you were out." Katherine remembered,
"Ah, did she?" Sophie grabbed her towels off their hook, "Can you call her back for me and tell her I'll be out of the shower in five minutes to talk to her." She headed for her en-suite bathroom,
"Miss Swift, no breakfast?" asked Katherine, "Even superheroes need food, you know."
Sophie flashed her a smile,
"Maybe."
Ten minutes later Rowena Spitfire, a renowned inventor and scientist, sat opposite Sophie who had emerged from her shower feeling much better, and now it was down to business.
"I have some designs drafted up for you to inspect, here and here..." Rowena handed Sophie some sheets of paper with drawings, Sophie studied them closely,
"Uh huh, uh huh..." she mused and nodded, scanning them.
"Sophie..." said Rowena, "Katherine said you had another nightmare last night."
"Yeah..." Sophie pretended to be absorbed in the drawings,
"I know it isn't my place to ask, but if you want to talk about it..." Rowena trailed off nervously, then ploughed on, "sometimes it helps, you know?"
"Ah, Rowena, what am I paying you for?" Sophie joked looking up from the paper, Rowena smiled
"Of course, sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Sophie placed the papers down and pointed to one of the drawings, "See here?"
"Mm."
"Are you sure this will withstand Bazooka fire?" she asked, Rowena's eyebrows shot up,
"Bazooka... fire? What exactly are you going to be doing with this?"
Sophie gave another secretive smile,
"I heard on the news that the Batman's 'Bat pod' was destroyed by a bazooka." She settled back in her chair waiting for Rowena to respond. Rowena returned the smile,
"Batman's Bat pod." She said carefully.
"What, you think it isn't true?" Sophie tapped her pen on the table impatiently, "Rowena, I don't think at this stage we can deny he exists."
"I'm not denying he exists," Rowena said, "but I was wondering how you knew that."
"Hm?"
"The Bat pod being destroyed by a bazooka."
"Ah... Rowena, do you watch the news?" again the smile.
"You are watching him closely aren't you?" Rowena guessed, "I wonder why..."
"So is this bazooka proof?" demanded Sophie changing the subject, when you were incredibly rich it cost you nothing to change the subject whenever you wanted, although she often felt a twinge of guilt.
"Well... nothing really is," Rowena said, "that's the point of a bazooka."
"Then what am I going to do if I run into Bazooka fire?"
"I could design it so that a separate vehicle emits from it?" suggested Rowena,
"No, I'm not copying the Batman," Sophie thought for a moment, "Are you sure you can't make it Bazooka proof?"
"Does the Batman bother you at all?" asked Rowena, "You know that Gotham doesn't need two superheroes..."
"Gotham does need them, but doesn't have two superheroes." Stated Sophie, "The Batman is now public enemy number one and wanted by every single police man this side of the country, and I am not a superhero."
"Oh, no?" Rowena smiled, "Ok then, you win, I'll try to make it bazooka proof, but I can't guarantee that it will be possible, however, I will attempt to incorporate it into the design..."
"Oh good, well, see you then." Sophie rose and stretched, "Sorry to rush you but I'm afraid I have to train or I get lazy,"
"Ah, ok. Good doing business with you." She shook her hand and then allowed Katherine, who had just re-appeared in the room, to lead her to the entrance hall.
Sophie watched her go quietly, and then strolled through the doorway and out of the room where she'd just met Rowena. She came into another room which was just off the ballroom where she often held social parties. This other room was furnished like a bathroom, and was, unless you counted the shower which was a hydraulic lift. This lift led to an underground cavern where Sophie was able to keep everything that allowed her to become the other person she was. Sophie stepped into the lift and turned the on switch then pressed a button on top of the shower head and the lift whizzed into life abruptly taking her down.
When the lift stopped, Sophie stepped out and paused to survey her surroundings. She never grew tired of what she'd built beneath her house. A secret underground lab, garage and practise area. On the far wall, opposite the lift, was a rack of different weapons. There was a Kaskara, Nimcha, Jian, Wodao, Nodachi, Katana, two Katanas which could be used together, and a various number of spears. Alongside these were an assortment of small or large things one could throw and grappling hooks that could be shot out of a pistol like thing. Sophie selected the Katana, a personal favourite of hers, and changed into her work out clothes and began to practise. Fast and slow strokes, large and small, then she did a backwards flip and slashed the air. Approving of the movement she did this again. Then she slid the Katana into a scabbard on her back and climbed one of the cave's walls, when she reached a ledge, she took a deep breath and jumped, landing neatly on her feet. Sophie smiled to herself. She was ready for tonight.
Sophie returned upstairs sometime later to find Katherine holding an invitation for her,
"What's this, Katherine?" she asked pleasantly,
"An invitation, for a party, Miss." She replied.
"Oh." Sophie tossed it aside and headed upstairs to change, but Katherine called after her,
"You're not going?"
Sophie turned around halfway up the marble staircase,
"I think not Katherine, you know how busy I am these days."
"This is your social life, Sophie, if you don't heed the call of your fellow millionaires then people will begin to ask questions about what you do with your time and you money." Katherine had a steal edge to her voice, but Sophie shrugged,
"I am busy tonight."
"Sophie Swift! These people are the people of your class, your parent's friends. You cannot back out of this invitation."
"I usually do." Sophie was impatient, "Why not tonight?"
"Because this isn't just a millionaire, this is a billionaire. This man is the owner of the enterprises that, alongside a few others, have shares in your parent's business. If you don't turn up your wealth could decline a lot." Katherine was often wise when she wanted to be.
"I see..." Sophie thought about it for a moment, "Alright, I'll go, but just this once." Then she went upstairs.
Perhaps a brief history of Miss Sophie Swift would be appropriate now. Her parents had been great supporters in the changing of Gotham; they wanted so much for the place. But they were utterly alone in their beliefs as no one else supported it. After her mother's murder, Sophie's father had gone to pieces and vanished. Many said he'd died. Everything was left to Sophie who was slowly watching her home fall apart. So she went away and trained with various different teachers so she learnt many different fighting styles, hence the reason for the African and Asian weapons that lined the wall of her cavern. When she'd returned she had reimbursed the family business and was once again a millionaire living off her family's fortunes. She's wandered the underworld of the city and tried to make things right, but there were too many criminals for her to do anything about them without causing a big scene so she'd lain low, helping those she came across but nothing more. And then he'd come. The Batman. A terror of the night and the man who'd helped Gotham City as she'd tried to do, and after him had come Batman wannabees, people who dressed up in black like him and generally got themselves in trouble. So Sophie had come out of her shell and back onto the streets, this time with a name, an outfit and a secret. She was determined to do what the Batman couldn't do, and now she was determined to help him regain the people's trust. And she was just 26 years old.