Jacob put the last of the presents in the SUV right after Kate's and Beth's Bat-mitzvah. "Oh, no, it looks like there's no room for the girls. I guess I'll have to give some of these presents away to make room in the back," Jacob teased.
"Very funny, dad," Beth rolled her eyes.
"I'm fucking serious," Jacob said stone-faced.
"We can go with mom," Kate suggested.
"Oh, fuck me, right?" Jacob said irritably. "Now that you're officially young women, making your own decisions, remember the Torah prohibits homosexuality, cross-dressing, and tattoos," he said looking straight at Kate. "And theft and murder," he said looking at Beth.
"Jacob, stop," Gabi told him off.
"Great party. I'll see you at home," Jacob said giving her a kiss goodbye.
"Well, there was one gift that couldn't fit in the car," Gabi said giving them two small jewelry boxes.
"Awesome," Kate said upon seeing the ruby necklace.
"Our birthstone," Beth remarked.
"Actually, you were both born in January so your birthstone is actually garnet but thanks for playing," Gabi corrected.
"So?" Kate wondered.
"Red is the color of love, passion, courage, and war. At some point, you two will both have to wrestle with these emotions. What defines your character is how you balance them. So, keep them close to your heart, because I'll be thinking of you when I wear mine," Gabi said showing them her earring.
"And someday, you'll both find yourselves encountering a very special person that has glowing ruby eyes," Gabi predicted.
"End simulation," Beth said as she took her Obsidian lenses off. She was in the Bat-Cave with Brainiac 5 watching over her. "Using my old memories to manipulate me? Even for a gal like me, that's cold."
"Deciphering what is true and what is false will make the true moments all that more impressionable," Brainiac 5 told her.
"Do you have other memories?" Beth asked hopefully.
"I have all of them," Brainiac 5 replied.
Meanwhile, Batwoman dropped down to save a woman from being sexually assaulted by an obnoxiously drunk man. Batwoman easily beat the man down. "Thank you, Batwoman," the woman gushed.
"Prostitution is illegal," Batwoman told her off.
"I'm not a prostitute," the woman said offended.
"Then why are you wearing a prostitute's uniform?" Batwoman asked getting close to her.
The beaten man then fired his pistol at Batwoman's back sparking off the suit. He fired a few more times at her as Batwoman turned around to face him. Batwoman quickly disarmed him, pointed the pistol at his head, and fired killing him. The woman shrieked and ran off.
Batwoman looked over the cheap pistol and threw it aside. She then used her projector cable gun to take off. Soon thereafter, Batwoman rode into the Bat-Cave and took off her cowl revealing herself as Kara. "Turning your back on a still conscious assailant was sloppy," Brainiac 5 chided.
"I have a lot on my mind," Kara admitted. "I just needed to blow off some steam."
"It's the pregnancy, isn't it?" Brainiac 5 assumed.
"Yeah," Kara said anxiously.
Kara, in civilians, and Brainiac 5 took the elevator to the top floor. "How the fuck did this happen?" Kara demanded.
"Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much they...," Brainiac 5 began.
"Don't fuck with me, Barney," Kara said crossly as she sat behind her desk.
"The genetics of humans, Kryptonians, and the Insane are compatible when it comes to reproduction. Your power-level in your base form is so high you never had to worry about anyone's sperm being able to penetrate your uterus' defenses. However, Mon-El is now on par with your base form when he's Super Insane 4. That is when it happened," Brainiac 5 explained.
"I couldn't help myself, Barney. He was so red, so fury, and that tail. He's like an animal in that form," Kara said feeling a sexual high just thinking about it.
"Without condoning...or condemning...I understand," Brainiac 5 allowed.
"What Jor and Kal did, natural reproduction, was so taboo in Kryptonian tradition. I never thought I would repeat their mistake. I created Mara and Kon in a pod, like any decent Kryptonian would," Kara said reflectively.
"You have always been willing to butt tradition when it suited you," Brainiac 5 reminded her.
"Maybe creating children in pods is a tradition worth keeping," Kara said thoughtfully.
"You are apprehensive," Brainiac 5 sensed.
"I'm scared as shit. What if the child is too strong for me to even control? What if the child is too weak and cannot survive?" Kara said flustered.
"I'll always be with you to monitor your progress with maximum privacy," Brainiac 5 assured her. "When do you intend to tell Mon?"
"I don't know," Kara admitted.
"I suggest stepping down from your superhero duties until the next season," Brainiac 5 advised.
"I did just that and Nia was almost killed by a cyborg," Kara shook her head. "Leviathon is still out there."
"If anything happened to the child, I don't know if your fragile psyche would be able to handle it. You are as much a threat to this world as you are its savior," Brainiac 5 said.
"I know," Kara nodded.
Kate then entered the room interrupting their discussion. "What's up?" she asked ignorantly.
"Heteornormative stuff. Nothing that would interest someone like you," Kara said dismissively.
"Well, okay then," Kate said, put off.
"We have August Cartwright. Beth has been playing with him this last week," Kara revealed.
"By playing, you mean torturing," Kate assumed.
"He will not be permanently damaged," Brainiac 5 assured her.
"Normally, I would go into a rant about how fucked up this is but not with this guy," Kate said shaking her head.
"We're going to play a game with your father. Your cooperation is mandatory," Kara ordered.
"Well...shit," Kate sighed.
The next morning, Jacob knocked on the door of Kate's Lesbian bar. "What couldn't you tell me over the phone?" he asked annoyed.
"I need you to promise you won't kill him," Kate said vaguely.
"Kill who?" Jacob wondered.
"That didn't sound like a promise," Kate said thinking this might be a bad idea after all.
"Kate, open the damn door," Jacob ordered and then forced his way inside. He then eyed August Cartwright tied to a chair. "How did you find him?" he asked after looking him over.
"Batwoman dropped his ass on my doorstep," Kate said truthfully. She then handed his wallet over to Jacob. "It would appear he has been masquerading Gotham's elite as its beloved plastic surgeon."
"Right under our nose," Jacob said pissed-off as he threw the wallet to the floor.
"We need to call the GCPD and get him arrested," Kate advised.
"Yeah, fuck those guys. They arrested me on that bullshit murder charge and then allowed that Fed to...," Jacob let it hang.
"What do you suggest? We kill him, bury his body, and go on with our lives?" Kate asked incredulously.
"Rise and shine, you son-of-a-bitch," Jacob said angrily as August awoke.
"I was expecting the GCPD," August muttered.
"Well, you've got one meaner. Do you want me to start with your nose or your kneecaps?" Jacob asked.
"You don't intimidate me, Mr. Kane. I am the master of games. I won't let you win," August said to him. "I am always focused, my plans calculated, pointed, collateral damage kept to a minimum."
Jacob proceeded to choke his ass. "Dad, stop!" Kate tugged at him and then finally got him off of him. "If we kill him, we're no better than he is."
Flashback
The crime lords of the Religion of Crime met in Rome to discuss their next move. Present were the leaders of the 13 covens. "With Bruno dead, I am now your new leader. Does any dispute this?" Red Queen said to them all.
No one did. "After repeated attempts to capture Katherine Kane, we have now reached the conclusion that acquiring her is a waste of time and resources. She is too heavily protected by the US military. Our failure to capture both Elizabeth and Katherine Kane has led to this moment. We require both to lead our fine organization, twins in crime. I have, therefore, decided that Elizabeth shall be disposed of," Red Queen said.
She then turned to August Cartwright. "Do what must be done. Off with her head," Red Queen ordered.
"It shall be done, mother," August replied.
Instead, August warned Alice of her impending assassination. "I knew who I was this morning but I've changed a few times since then," Alice said amusedly.
What followed was a total massacre as Alice and her Rabbit gang slaughtered the 13 coven leaders and then went straight for the Red Queen. Alice circled a defiant Red Queen. "Your majesty, we finally meet," Alice mocked.
"You changed your hair. Why the fuck would you do that?" Red Queen asked her.
"It's actually a wig so calm your tits," Alice told her off.
"Shame, you were such a pretty girl," Red Queen mocked. "Get me a cup of coffee and some cream," she ordered.
"I don't think you appreciate the power dynamic at play here," Alice denied.
"Get me my cream!" Red Queen shouted at her.
"Alright, damn," Alice said motioning for one of her Rabbits to get some.
"We're out of cream," the Rabbit returned.
"Well...shit," Alice frowned. She then noticed the Red Queen's ruby earrings. "Where did you get those?"
"My son, August, dug up your mother's grave and fetched me them. I hope you don't mind," Red Queen mocked.
"Well...actually, I do mind," Alice said to her and then motioned for her men to splash gasoline on Red Queen. "You know the thing about gasoline. It's cheap."
"The fuck? You know who the fuck I am? You kill me and you will be hunted forever; you, and your wretched family. I am the Red Queen, bitch!" Red Queen shouted at her.
"Everything burns...including you, Your Majesty," Alice said giving her a curtsey and then lit Red Queen on fire. Alice watched as Red Queen screamed and thrashed about. When she was ash, Alice then collected the ruby earrings.
"I'm going to need a moment alone, boys," Alice said to her gang.
Once they were all gone, she sobbed uncontrollably.
End Flashback
August rambled on once Jacob recovered himself. "It was my mother that siphoned off her happiness, snuffed her spark, beat her so hard and so often that it became easier for Alice to become numb than human."
"I am going to skin you alive," Jacob threatened.
"This is his," Kate said handing over August's smartphone. "Trace it and see where it leads."
"Why not kill me now? It's what you want," August tempted. "You're no different than me, Mr. Kane."
"Fuck you," Jacob spat.
"Do you know what I did to your wife's grave? You see, envy is my particular sin," August admitted.
"What the fuck did you do?" Jacob demanded.
"Your wife was so beautiful...even as a corpse. I couldn't help myself, so I took her lovely head," August said.
"You're lying," Jacob refused to believe it.
"Check my pockets," August said to him.
Jacob went ahead and searched him finding the ruby earrings. "My God," he realized.
"He could have gotten those anywhere," Kate said reasonably.
Jacob took his pistol out and aimed it at August's head. "Dad, don't," Kate pleaded.
"If you're not going to shoot me, could you give me a glass of water," August antagonized.
"Shut up, just shut the fuck up!" Jacob said ready to pull the trigger.
"You're boring, Mr. Kane. You're boring me," August rolled his eyes.
Jacob went to single action on his pistol. "Dad, please," Kate said to him.
Finally, Jacob withdrew his gun from August and pistol-whipped him instead. "I'm not like you. I never will be," Jacob said to him and then left the room.
August eyed Jacob and waited to see if he would come back. Satisfied he wouldn't return, he snapped off his restraints and morphed into Brainiac 5. "We done playing games?" Kate asked.
"Not quite," Brainiac 5 said and then called Jacob using Kate's phone. "Beth is alive. She's at 614 Williams Street," Brainiac 5 said mimicking Kate's voice.
"How do you know?" Jacob asked suspiciously.
"We cut a deal," Brainiac 5 said vaguely still using Kate's voice and then hung up.-
"Creepy as fuck," Kate remarked.
Jacob rushed over to where Beth was and found her sulking at the base of the stairs of a two-story wrecked house. Jacob gave a look of surprise, seeing her alive and then walked over to her. "Where's Kate?" Beth asked.
"She's with Cartwright," Jacob said softly. "She got him to tell me where you were."
"And you came running," Beth realized. "Why?"
"Because I care and to keep whatever sanity you have left," Jacob said.
"Touching," Beth nodded. "I'm ready to come home now."
"I'll get you the best doctors at a secluded psychiatric hospital. No one will know you're there," Jacob offered.
"Sounds great," Beth smiled.
At the Bat-Cave, Kara, Kate, and Brainiac 5 looked over a chained up August Cartwright. "What I said about what he did to your mother's corpse was true," Brainiac 5 said handing Kate a pistol.
"Is it true? About the earrings?" Kate asked him.
"Yeah," August said with a truth-seeking collar around his neck.
Kate raised her pistol at him with tears in her eyes. "If you kill him, I won't blame you," Kara said softly.
Kate's hand shook as she struggled to control her emotions. "No," she said finally and handed the pistol back to Brainiac 5.
"Good," Kara said pleased.
Brainiac 5 emptied the pistol of its magazine and showed that it was full of blanks. "Thank you," Kate said appreciatively.
"No problem," Brainiac 5 said then loaded his own magazine into the pistol. He then shot August in the neck, shocking Kate. After a brief struggle, August bled out.
Kara then incinerated the body to nothing. "Bodies don't bury themselves."
"Are we done with these tests?" Kate asked impatiently.
"I suppose," Kara said uncommittedly.
"I'll see my way out," Kate said walking off.
Kara turned to Brainiac 5. "And how is our favorite crazy girl?"
"She's been relatively calm," Brainiac 5 said showing Beth in a cell reading Alice in Wonderland.
Author's Notes: I'm not inclined to have Kate fall to the Dark Side and be a killer. That is the dynamic between Kate and Kara, the light and the dark between them. I can understand deviating from the comics but you have to provide a better story in place of them, not a Silence of the Lambs rip-off which is what's been going on for the last ten episodes. The show keeps spinning its wheels with characters captured, released, captured, released, etc.
