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 dad"?
"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, "we've got a call for a potential homicide at 435, Wayne avenue, I need you and Sawyer to go check it out".
"What about the freak", she asked, tossing an MM into her mouth.
"He works with Sawyer, you'lljust have to deal".
"Fine, get the boys in the blue scrubs ready".
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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. 'Sawyer was walking towards the right side of the house while James Sheppard took the left. It wasn't that Kate didn't like him, she just couldn't stand him and his no nonsense way of speaking. Reaching the door she jiggled the handle, and it squeaked open. 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 eight years old, young Terry McGinnis was a fast sprinter, but looking into the fiery eyes of the brown headed detective he knew that he wasn't fast enough. The only thing he had left were tears, tears of 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 kid 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?
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It was quite the sight to see Kate Kane caring for a child, especially knowing her as long as Luke Fox had, she was brash, honest and, if he were also being honest, she was basically a closet mother. She was a natural, though she definitely didn't do everything right. For starters, she gave into her feelings and let Terry do whatever he pleased, which to Luke's relief seemed to be sitting alone and not speaking to anyone. He was lonely and, even though he wouldn't talk, he had so much to say. He hadn't even cried, but each day Luke could see the dam holding back the tears become bigger and stronger.
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"Hey Terry, you wanna play a game"?
Terry reminded silent as he shrugged his shoulders. Kate had tried for days to get Terry to talk. Many nights she had been woken up by his nightmares. She knew, at some point he would need to start talking. That he would need to face the fact that his parents were gone. It had happened with Bruce, with Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian. But now, now it was her turn to help Terry.
"Hey Terry, would you like to take a trip with me"?
"Where?", he asked warily.
"A special place for my family".
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Young Terry McGinnis was scared of crime alley. Yet he marveled at how Kate treated each step into the dark abyss with reverence. As if she knew that it wasn't scary at all. Terry took comfort in that thought and, all of a sudden, he wasn't scared anymore. The shadows were no more scary than a bunny rabbit.
"Terry', Kate said, gaining the young man's attention, 'this is a special place. It's special because, when he was a boy, about your age, my cousin's parents were murdered here".
The young man's breath caught in his throat. There was someone just like him.
"My mother was my aunt's sister, and she died because of the depression she fell into."
Terry felt his heart ache for his new friend. They were more alike than he thought. He finally felt like he had someone who understood him. and, as she knelt, he could see the honesty in her warm, brown eyes.
"Terry, I brought you here because both my cousin and I made the best of a bad situation, because we opened up to people who truly loved us. One day, I hope you will be able to open up to me".
Embracing his friend, Terry finally felt his defenses break down. All the restless nights and nightmares, waking up and finding comfort in arms, though not those of his mother, that held him lovingly and hearing a beautiful voice tell him he was alright. He didn't feel alright, but he knew that, eventually, he would be.
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Luke Fox marveled at the young man who walked into the mansion with Kate. He was not the same boy who had left, he was now smiling and radiant.
"Well, what's got you two so happy"? he asked, setting down his coffee cup.
"Kate took me to the carnival in town today, we had lots of fun".
Silently Kate shot Luke a knowing look. They both had a busy night ahead of them.
"Well, how about getting washed up for dinner, it's almost time to eat".
As Terry took the stairs to the second floor bathroom, Kate walked over to Luke, still watching for Terry to be out of sight.
"Dad called me just after we left Crime Alley, there have been sightings of Joker lookalikes and, with the Carnival having just hired on new talent, it felt too much like a coincidence".
"Agreed. He may be dead, but that doesn't mean his legacy is over".
"Well, after Terry gets to bed we'll get to work on it".
Luke nodded and headed to the kitchen, leaving Kate to think about her new life. Terry, in a short amount of time, had become her life. And she'd be damned if someone took him away from her.
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It was closing time at the carnival, and Jared Finrrick couldn't wait to get out of there. Just that night alone three rides had gone down, keeping him going all night long. First it was a capsule on the ferris wheel losing a bolt on one side, causing it to lean, then a burnt fuse on the Oct-O-Wheel, and just now he got a report of a broken link on the rollercoaster.
'It's a wonder they don't just shut this place down', he thought to himself.
Turning on his headlamp Jared made the slow climb to the top of the ride where the break in the chain was reported. The cold, Gotham wind chilled Jared through his thin coveralls, making him curse himself for not bringing his jacket. With each grasp of the treaded rungs his hands became more numb, forcing him to loop an arm around a rung and breathe into his cupped hands.
'Damn this October air'.
Finally he made it to the top. There, just a few feet away, was the broken link. To the average observer the chain would have appeared to have been snapped due to stress from carrying the cars up the rails too many times, but Jared could tell this wasn't an accident. Quickly he reached into his maintenance bag for his radio.
'Dammit. Of all the nights to forget'.
As he made his way to the ladder it began to rain, soaking Jared to the bone. As he crouched to begin the climb down Jared heard footsteps behind him. He had no time to look before strong arms pushed him over the side, and to his doom.
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45 MINUTES EARLIER
Kate and Luke were silent as they descended into the labyrinth of caves that peppered the underground of the Wayne Estate. Both knew that tonight was a serious matter that required every ounce of attention. But Kate couldn't help but remember the first time she made the descent, and the shocked expression on Luke's face as he watched her do so.
"What are you smiling about"?
"Just thinking about the first time we did this".
Kate stepped out of the old elevator and into a dark abyss. Feeling her ha d along the cold, damp wall she found a large switch. With a loud CLICK the switch flipped and hindreds if LED lights came on. This was IT.
Kate continued to smile as she donned her Batwoman suit. She had long since dropped the pale face paint in favor of a Second Skin material Luke had designed. It was durable, breathable, and most importantly, it disrupted cameras to avoid facial recognition. That was just one of the many upgrades that Luke had made. It was definitely better than the first incarnation.
"Can you modify this suit"?
"Modify it? It's perfect".
"Maybe so, but it doesn't fit me...yet".
She missed that suit, her cousin's suit. But he was gone, and she was here, and that was all that mattered.
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Alright everyone, I hope ya'll enjoy this first chapter in this Batwoman fic. I honestly don't plan on watching the show, but I got this idea from the trailer, how I don't know, so I wrote it down and...well, now it's this. I'm going to write more, but if it doesn't work out...oh what the heck, I'll write anyways because I love this idea and want to flesh it out. Anyways, till next time.
Sincerely
Ficmaniac12