Kate Kane sat at her desk, pen twirling between her fingers, feet propped up and several pens already stuck in the cheap drywall of the Gotham City Police Station.
"That's coming out of your paycheck again Katey".
"Sue me. Why is it that criminals are only active at night"?
"Cause something's gotta occupy your free time. What about Richard, he's always been there when you needed to blow off some steam".
"Titan business with Kory".
"Barbara"?
"Vacationing in Oahu, lucky bi..".
"Katey", her father said sternly, looking in the direction of the approaching Commissioner Gordon.
"Detective Kane", he said, standing in front of her desk, "there's a civil disruption on 435, Wayne avenue".
"So, get Johnson to look into it", she said, tossing an MM into her mouth.
"I would, but Johnson hasn't been costing the department repairs by puncturing the walls".
"Fine, I'll take care of your little scuffle".
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435 Wayne Avenue
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Wayne avenue wasn't the classiest part of town, but it sure wasn't the worst; not even close. 435 was the residence of Dr. Warren McGinnis, his wife Mary and their only son, Terrence, though he preferred Terry. More often than not as of late, Dr. McGinnis had been staying late at his work as a physicist for Wayne Enterprises, working on a top secret substance that was sure to revolutionize the clean energy field for years to come.
The McGinnis home was nice, nicer then the rats nest she had grown up in before her dad found her. Her mom had been a junkie who was never home, forcing Kate to live on the streets and, when she was old enough, more like desperate, she found money elsewhere. It was a time she regretted, hated and wished had never happened. But had it not she would have never found her dad who had been part of the group that took down her pimp and was now locked away in BLACKGATE Prison.
Her ankle high boots crunched gravel as she approached the door of the residence, her gun holstered but unlatched just in case. 'Some disturbance', she thought, 'not even a peep". That's when she heard a scurrying sound inside. Drawing her sidearm she pushed in the door, the latch having been shattered. The door opened into a spacious foye, and a figure climbing out of the window at the back. 'Its just a kid, a kid who might know what happened here'.
It wasn't hard to guess what happened, but she needed details right now, and observations just wouldn't cut it. After all, she wasn't Batman.
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While only twelve years old young Terry McGinnis was a fast sprinter, but looking into the fiery eyes of the redheaded detective he knew he wasn't fast enough. The only thing he had left were tears, tears pain and loss for his parents, and tears of hatred for the men that took them from him.
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GCPD/Desk of Detective Kane
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Kate sat across from the red eyed boy who was currently nursing a hot cocoa and wrapped in a shock blanket. She could see his eyes, though he looked away from everything, they were the same eyes that her cousin has, had?, she didn't know, he'd been gone for ten years, more than half this kid's lifetime. But she had a feeling that this jid needed someone, not someone provided by the system, thise people, by her experience, were crap people working for a crap system.
"Terry, I'm going to go talk to that man over there", she said, pointing towards her father, "but I'll still be able to see you okay"?
He nodded, but as soon as she stood and turned her back he lunged forward and hugged her around her waist.
"Don't leave me", he begged, tears running down his cheeks.
"Hey, it's ok", she said, wiping away his tears, "I'll be right back".
But Terry's grip tightened, refusing to let go of her. This was going to be difficult.
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Wayne Manor
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Luke Foxe was as loyal as a butler, but constantly insisted he wasn't, much to the amusement of Kate. He was currently working on making at least two of the many rooms in the Manor livable, 'Three if I'm unlucky', he thought. The old house hadn't seen many occupants over the years and everything was dust covered and every piece of furniture was covered in white sheets.
As he was finishing up the last room he heard the front door open.
"This is Wayne Manor Terry, normally my cousin lives here but he's away for a bit".
Luke's first impression of the boy was sympathy. He was too young to be alone in the world, but this world, the Bat world, seemed to be filled with tragedy. It was something that Kate was too familiar with. It was tragedy that had caused her to don the suit in the first place.
"You can't do this", Luke Foxe shouted to the redhead walking briskly into the study. She reached for a book, pulled it, and the bookcase slid apart, revealing an elevator. "You can't go down there". But she just smirked as the gate closed and the elevator descended, leaving Mr. Foxe with a dumbfounded expression.
That was the beginning of her working relationship with Luke, now, a couple of years later they had been through the fire and had come out the other side. He had become invaluable, and a very good friend.
"Terry, this is Luke, he's my friend and he's going to help you with anything you need".
"Hello Terry", Luke said, holding out his hand, but Terry just clung tighter to Kate.
"That's alright, I have your rooms set up, the kitchen isn't stocked for a long period but I can arrange for more, if you need anything I'll be in my room, not being anyone's Butler", thia last part he pointedly said to Kate, who just laughed at her friend. He truly was something else.
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Kate ended up sleeping with Terry. It was storming outside and the little man had just been through too much in one day, more than anyone had a right too.
It was weird for Kate to be this close to a kid, any did. She wasn't the mother type and she didn't want to be, but there was so much about this kid that reminded her of Bruce, her Bruce. Bruce Wayne was her cousin, their mothers were sisters and it broke her mother when Martha died, so much that she sank into a drug fueled fog and never came back. She didn't know her dad growing up, he and her mother had had a one night stand and then he was gone the next day. It had taken a lot for her to accept him, but when she did ahe loved him to no end, and he loved her. And now, it seemed that some of that love now belonged to the boy sleeping beside her, hugging her, silently begging her to never leave. How could she refuse?