Chapter 11

Kate came home after her dinner with her father to find that Luke had not driven Kara back over to her penthouse. She wondered what those two were up to, but it was just a distraction from how badly things went at dinner. That's when she heard laughter in the hallway. Luke didn't even get to use the key that Kate had given him, as the brunette opened the door.

"Hey Kate," Kara smiled and held up a six pack of beer.

"How'd things go?" Luke asked noticing that his friend had a look on her face. Kate basically just threw her hands up in the air and walked away toward the kitchen. Luke leaned over to the blonde and whispered,

"You better handle this." Kara nodded and whispered back,

"Thanks for tonight." Luke smiled. They had hit it off and had probably spent more time getting to know each other than they did talking about Kate.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said out loud before heading back out the penthouse door. Kara strode over to her friend who was leaning up against the counter where the sink was.

"That bad huh?" The blonde asked as she opened the fridge and put the beer in.

"Well, it certainly didn't go great," Kate huffed. Typically, this would be the moment when Kara would hug the person she was talking to, but she wasn't sure if that was what Kate really needed. The brunette forced herself off the counter and just shook her head.

"You have to be you. No one can make you be anyone else, but I think you already know that," Kara said. Kate nodded and it was then that she felt the blonde pulling her into a hug.

"What happened?" The blonde asked after she let the brunette go.

"Things started off bumpy. He was concerned that I'd put you in danger, but then he was also concerned that you shouldn't be nosing around in my day job," Kate started.

"I am a reporter and your day job makes you newsworthy," Kara pointed out.

"He's overprotective, has been since…" Kate heaved a sigh. The blonde nodded before she said,

"You've been wandering the world learning about survival, certainly he doesn't think you're completely helpless."

"No, but I think he just isn't dealing with the fact that his other daughter was alive and we basically…" Kara cut her off.

"You didn't abandon her. There was no evidence that Beth was alive. You spent all that time looking, hoping, and trying to ignore the voices in the back of your head that kept telling you she was gone. None of what has happened is your fault," this was something Kate already knew, but she needed to hear it sometimes - from someone who was detached from the situation.

"Now what else happened?" The blonde could feel there was more to it.

"Mary said that with Supergirl visiting and helping Batwoman, things would be safer for everyone in Gotham. She said because then it would give the Crows the ability to focus on other things than the Wonderland Gang. She knew it was a dangerous thing to say, given how my Dad hates vigilantes, but I think she was trying to give me a preview of how he'd react," Kate explained.

"Mary is a good sister but I'm guessing he didn't take kindly to the valid comment," Kara said.

"He said that vigilantes didn't have a place in Gotham City. At that moment I just wanted to scream how without us so called vigilantes, Crisis would have ended very differently but…" her friend trailed off.

"But to most of the world, it never happened," the blonde said.

"Yeah, so I pointed out that vigilantes brought down Lex Luthor. He seemingly had no answer to that, but the rest of the dinner was spent in tense silence," Kate frowned.

"He'll be a tough nut to crack but we'll get him converted. Don't worry," Kara smiled. Her friend chuckled.

"There's that pesky hope again," the brunette said.

"I'm sure the pesky courage is around here somewhere," Kara winked. Kate chuckled before reaching into the fridge for that beer that her friend brought over. It wasn't cold yet, but she didn't care.

"So, fill me in on what you and Luke found on Alice," Kate said, heading for the couch.

"After a scan of the local news, Professor Darby of Gotham University's geology department was found dead in his office a little while back. Lucius Fox sent him some Kryptonite to investigate. We think Alice is maybe looking for someone to replicate Kryptonite. Luke forwarded everything he had off to Sophie – minus the Kryptonite info, of course. She isn't suspicious of him or of you for looking into Alice?" The blonde wondered, sitting down next to her friend.

"So, Alice is out to get me and she's laying low. As for Sophie, no. She thinks Luke is helping Kate, not realizing that he's also helping Batwoman," the brunette explained, taking a drink from the bottle.

"Because of what happened to his father," Kara said. She was a little surprised that her friend was taking the news in stride but then again this wasn't the first time her sister was trying to kill her. As of right now, Alice had no argument with Supergirl, so there wasn't much to worry about on her own end.

"Exactly. You guys got to talking huh?" Kate asked.

"We did. The Bat Computer is apparently running an algorithm to try and find connections between Marvin Delacroix and anything that might be criminal in nature. We figured there couldn't be since he was a CEO, because who would vote a convicted criminal into such a position, but it couldn't hurt to check. Our guess is that Alice is under the impression that Delacroix could somehow fabricate the Kryptonite. As far as I know, you can't do it completely through chemicals, though acid is used in the process," the blonde told her.

"So, she really doesn't know what she's doing but she's putting Delacroix's life in danger. Sophie will make sure he has extra security and maybe a little help from Batwoman and Supergirl might not be a bad idea," Kate winked, drinking some more. The bottle was now empty and she headed back to the fridge, making sure to grab one for her friend, even though she knew it wouldn't have any effect on her.

"I agree. This might be an opportunity to capture Alice," Kara said, as she watched her friend walk back to the couch. She took the offered beer bottle and quickly removed the cap.

"You know, not many know this, but Ace Chemical is the birthplace of The Joker. Bruce left notes on some of his enemies in a place that only I would look. It was in these notes that I discovered Bruce killed the Joker. Luke knows. Just the two of us really know. Most are just comfortable with the idea that he's still locked up in Arkham Asylum."

"He was Bruce's greatest enemy and he killed a lot of people, but Bruce said in his notes that he, as a vigilante, could never cross the line. Never become those he sought but then he did what he did. He regretted it but how long can you stare into the abyss before you realize it's been staring back at you for a long time?" Kate wondered. Kara nodded before saying,

"We all have that villain that pushes our buttons. That one where we think that the world would be a better place without them. It is easy to forget sometimes that our burden is a heavy one. The abyss may stare back but you can't let it win." She paused for a swig of her drink, seeing that Kate was agreeing with what she said. The brunette had already crossed that line and she knew it was something she'd regret for the rest of her days.

"It's funny you know…" the blonde started.

"What is?" The brunette wasn't sure what she meant.

"Kal worked with a vigilante once. He said that this guy had tons of gadgets and lots of demons. I can only assume it was Bruce," Kara smirked.

"I have to wonder if that demon is what caused Bruce to disappear," Kate said.

"Could be but would Bruce want you to find him? Maybe he disappeared for more than just what happened to the Joker," her friend wondered.

"Could be. Let's focus on our current problems and then I'll worry about Bruce," Kate winked.

To Be Continued…