"Where are you, Kate? This is Luke… again. Give me a call when you get this."
Kate tossed her phone aside. It was the fifth voicemail from Luke that morning. She was supposed to have been at Wayne Tower by 8am. That was three hours ago. Kate rolled over in bed and shoved her face into a pillow. She was trying to block out the midday sun breaking between the shades, but images of the night before kept flashing like a bad dream in front of her.
It had all been going so well, until she agreed to go up to Sophie's place. That wasn't supposed to happen, and now she was living with the consequences of it. The look on Sophie's face would be cemented in her memory for eternity: confusion, hurt, rejection.
Kate forced herself up as her phone rang for the twenty-zillionth time that morning. She ran her hands over the blankets until it rested on the cool metal of it. Of course, she thought before answering, "Hey Luke, I-"
"You're alive!" Luke exclaimed. His relief was palpable through the phone. "What happened? Where are you? Are you ok?"
Kate wasn't sure what she expected from Luke, but it definitely wasn't this. "I-I'm fine. I'm sorry, I was - it was - it's nothing. I'll be there in an hour."
Luke's response was delayed by a long pause, "Kate, is everything ok?"
Kate pressed her fingers to her eyes, forcing the quiver in her voice down, "Of course. Again, sorry for worrying you - I'll be there soon."
She dropped her phone to the mattress and wiped away the tears that had slipped out. Get it together, Kane. This isn't the time for girly heartbreaks, she reprimanded herself.
Luke had spent the morning tracking their latest most-wanted: a young female who had a history of marking her victims with facial cuts. After a deep dive into the GCPD case database, he was able to determine her recent rendezvous with Nocturna had not been the first time she'd made her mark on Gotham.
He was able to trace five other instances from three years prior to her modus operandi, and that was where he discovered her identity: Duela Dent.
Her case file was otherwise blemish free. Duela had been a star student both academically and within the community. It was after a nervous breakdown at sixteen that anyone saw a deterioration in her performance. The self-imposed stress over her need to succeed had caused her to regress to a shell of herself. Her image in the community and her friendships degraded and ultimately severed. Court proceedings shed light on the first attacks. Of the five, four were former classmates and fifth was Duela herself. Although Duela didn't take the stand, a psychologist weighed in of the attacks stating:
"Ms. Dent's behavior lacked the moral judgement of a mentally healthy teenager. Next to academic achievements, Ms. Dent perceived perfection as a physical characteristic. When she was unable to maintain her status of academic perfection, she sought physical perfection, not by achieving it for herself, but, if you'll excuse my language, by carving it from others. In that way, for Ms. Dent, perfection could be achieved by no one. It became a metaphor for her own academic shortcomings."
His analysis concluded Duela was capable of recovery, but risk of additional self harm without proper treatment would make her a risk to a traditional detention center. With this in mind, the judge ordered her to ten years at Arkham to undergo psychiatric treatment under the guidance of a Dr. Randolph Butler.
Seven years were trimmed off this sentence undoubtedly through bribery and political sway. With a name like Dent, Luke was surprised she'd spent any time in Arkham at all. That was how Gotham worked these days, Luke shuddered. Anyone could be a detriment to society and maintain immunity with a name.
"So Duela mysteriously gets released from Arkham with no public fanfare, and within two weeks she finds an ally in Nocturna, aids and abets killing three people, captures a fourth with the intention to kill, and, if that wasn't enough, betrays Nocturna and gets her killed in the process," Kate summarised with disbelief after reviewing the materials Luke had gathered.
She had arrived shortly after Luke's conversation with her, and Luke couldn't help but notice how terrible she looked.
"Did you even sleep?" Luke asked, interrupting their discussions around Duela. He eyed the shadows under her eyes and her gaunt expression with skepticism. "Because, and, don't take this the wrong way, you look like death."
"Sometimes I wonder why you're still single," Kate shot back. Seeing the unwavering concern on Luke's face, she added, "I'm fine. Honestly. I just have one of those faces that looks worse when rested. My natural beauty thrives on sleep deprivation."
Luke smirked at this, "I don't believe you, and I will drop it... for now. But Kate, I'm a bit worried about you. I know you don't want to hear that, but we're sort of stuck together as long as this Batwoman thing keeps going, so I need you well."
"Heard," Kate responded with a lighthearted dismissiveness. She understood where Luke was coming from - if the roles were reversed she'd be pressing him the same way, but this wasn't something she was ready to discuss with him. She wasn't sure if she ever would be, but now certainly wasn't it. "Now can we get back to Duela?"
Luke nodded begrudgingly before returning his attention to the case file.
"Do we know anything about her treatment, who she was involved with inside Arkham, or who handled her case from GCPD?"
"I can't tell you about her time at Arkham - their database is secure and seemingly impenetrable. It would take someone with some serious skills to access that."
"And we can't exactly knock on the front door…"
"But here's the kicker - this case wasn't handled by GCPD. The Crows delivered Duela to the courts."
"You're kidding," Kate responded with surprise. "Although with the name 'Dent' I'm sure the politically-minded wanted it kept under wraps. Is anyone from the case still active with the Crows? Maybe if they've left we can get them to talk. We could get a better understanding of her habits."
"Good question," Luke said, pulling up the relevant public filing documents. "Ready for another kicker?"
"Always," Kate responded sarcastically.
"Lead Crow was one Mr. Jacob Kane; Second Crow? The one and only Ms. Sophie Moore."
Kate sat back, her mouth agape with surprise.
"This is great - you can go ask her about it."
Kate stared ahead in thought, her mind reeling. Sophie. I am the last person she wants to see, she thought, thinking back to the night before. No, Kate is the last person she wants to see. Batwoman might have a chance, she corrected.
"Kate?"
"What?"
"I said, you should go ask her about this. She could help us track her."
"Right," Kate said, still losing herself in the night prior's events: at the bar with Mary, closing down the bar, the jukebox, Sophie's suspension... "unless you think Batwoman is taking résumés for a sidekick"
Suddenly her phone rang. She looked down and saw it was from an unknown caller, but she took the opportunity to excuse herself from the conversation about Sophie. She promptly got up, giving Luke a 'this'll just take a second gesture.'
Luke watched her walk into the hall with concern. He'd spent enough time with her to know when she was distracted, and whatever this distraction was, it was coming at the wrong time. He also knew pressing the issue with her was the best way to guarantee she would never open up about it. He realized in moments like this he didn't know who to reach out to. Would Kate open up to Mary? Or Sophie? There was only so much he could provide in situations like this, and a big part of it was Kate's want to avoid vulnerability. He lifted his phone and searched his contacts for Mary's number - she'll know what to do, Luke thought, but before he could press 'call's Kate returned and pulled him from his thoughts.
"Good news?" Luke asked, setting his phone aside.
"I think I have an idea," Kate said with a small grin.
Batwoman propelled onto the familiar terrace. The interior was lit but there was no sign of movement inside. If she had been told this morning she'd be back at this apartment building tonight, she'd have never gone to Wayne Tower, but here she was. She would have preferred two weeks shipwrecked alone on an island to this. She took in a breath of crisp evening air and forced the fresh memories of Sophie's teary gaze turn angry down.
Why does this terrace always see me at my weakest? Kate wondered. There was probably some symbolism there, but Kate was in no mood to analyze it. She needed Sophie on board with the plan, but while Batwoman had no reason to be worried about Sophie, Kate did. The night before lingered heavily on Kate's mind, and she hoped the Sophie Batwoman talked to tonight wouldn't let that sway her better judgments.
"You know, if you keep showing up like this, someone's bound to see and it's not going to matter that your little mask is on or that we aren't actually hooking up," Sophie said, stepping out onto the terrace catching Batwoman off guard. "People will still draw conclusions."
"Right, sorry."
"So what, you don't have time to take on Gotham's worst, but you've got time to make house calls?" Sophie accused.
"What? No, I - that's not what happened -"
"Then where were you last night when everything went down? Take the night off or are you just that keen on watching the Crows fail?" Sophie accused.
"I should ask you the same," Kate retorted with more bite than intended, and she immediately regretted her words. Sophie looked like she had been slapped across the face. "I'm sorry. I know you couldn't have been there. Ple-"
"How do you know I couldn't have been there?" Sophie continued, her arms crossed in front of her. Sophie's eyes were narrowed and cold - nothing like the warmth they held a day earlier. Kate knew this Sophie: she was hurting, and her way of dealing was with an offensive approach that included cold aggression. Kate had experienced this version of Sophie less than a handful of times, and she had learned in time that the best solution was not to argue with her. Instead, her approach was to remain passive until Sophie had let all the aggression out. That wouldn't work if she slipped up in her remarks.
Kate took a slow breath: "I heard you'd been suspended. That's not the point though - my comment was out of line." Kate stared at Sophie's unchanging look, "Can we pretend I never said that? I didn't come here to fight with you," Kate pleaded. "I came here because what happened last night can't happen again, and I need your help."
Her words were in reference to the Crows incident, but she also saw their correlation to her and Sophie.
"If you'd heard I was suspended, then you'd know I can't do anything to help you," Sophie responded, her tone no more friendly. "So if you don't mind, get the hell off my terrace."
Sophie motioned to return inside when Kate continued quickly: "I think we have a way around that, but it will take a day or two."
"A way around what, exactly?" Sophie asked. Sophie was hurt and outraged, and Batwoman being the first person she'd come face to face with all day meant she was getting the brute force of Sophie's bottled up frustrations.
"I think there's a way to get you off suspension. I just need you to trust me," Batwoman offered in response.
Trust you? Sophie spat in her mind. Here stood Batwoman, cloaked in her mask and cape and secrets, and she expected Sophie's blind trust.
Her last week had been nothing but reason to never trust: Sophie's trust in the Crows had eroded with their latest antics and lies; her trust in Jacob had all but disappeared when he went over both their heads to get her suspended; and then there was Kate. Kate, who Sophie once trusted enough with her heart. Kate, who Sophie once swore was the most genuine person she'd ever met. Kate, who less than a day ago, had taken Sophie's trust and vulnerability and turned on a dime.
Sophie was done with the two-faced actions, and she wasn't going to let Batwoman now use her as a pawn in some master plan. "Trust isn't something I can give you. If you expect me to help you, I expect honesty and answers from you. That means you fill me in on everything."
"Everything?" Kate asked, a wave of hesitation running through her.
"Is that a problem?"
Kate floundered. This wasn't an ultimatum she came prepared to face. To share everything meant inviting her into a different world - one where Luke's identity would be revealed, one where the slightest slip could make Sophie an active target, one where her judgement and actions could be clouded from knowing Batwoman's identity.
Finally, after a moment she replied simply, "Yes, it is."
Sophie was unphased by this response. She had expected Batwoman to say 'no', and she was struggling to fight against the voice in her head to walk away. She knew her request was unreasonable - Batwoman had established her unwillingness to compromise her identity before.
"Instead, I can offer this," Kate said, looking to negotiate. Without Sophie's involvement, Kate didn't know how they'd gather the necessary intel. "I'll share as much as I can, but I won't compromise the identities of anyone involved."
Sophie eyed Batwoman critically, weighing her words. It felt unfair to Sophie that she was left in the dark, but what she also heard was that she could rely on Batwoman to protect Sophie's identity if push came to shove.
"Ok, let's hear the plan then I'll decide," she said after a minute.
Kate sighed in relief. Halfway there, she thought.
"On Monday, the Crow's board of directors will meet to go over Gotham's temporary mandates while the Crows are under audit," Kate began. "One mandate is that Jacob step down as Lead Crow and an interim be chosen while the review is ongoing. You will be nominated for that role and be in attendance at that meeting. I expect you'll get a call tomorrow about it."
"Wait, hold up," Sophie said, clearly taken aback by Batwoman's knowledge of the situation. "How do you know all of this?"
Kate hesitated at this, but explained, "I know someone on the board," Kate replied. "And before you ask," she cut in before Sophie could interrupt, "I'm not telling you the name. All you need to know is she's an ally working to flip votes in your favor."
She? Sophie clung onto the slip from Batwoman. There were only two women on the board of ten, and Sophie knew for a fact one of them, Margaret Cobblepot, had always been Jacob's ally. Her financial status and preferences for cases that catered to the high-profile made her and Jacob Kane a likely duo. This left the only other female: Mila Cantor. Sophie's impression was that she was a quiet, soft-spoken board member. On a few occasions Sophie had contemplated how she'd made it onto the board in the first place. With no previous experience in combat or law enforcement, and no evident lineage of wealth, this meant Cantor had little clout to wield over the other board members, and that made Sophie skeptical of Batwoman's plan.
"All right," Sophie said, letting her cynicism carry into her tone, "let's say that happens. Then what? Jacob is cast aside and I'm, what, in charge of the Crows? I don't want to rain on this parade, but the board will never go for that. They literally just voted to suspend me - it would take a miracle for this to happen."
"I trust it to happen, and when it does, we can discuss next steps to take down Duela."
"Duela?" Sophie asked, caught off guard "Duela Dent?"
"You know her?" Kate asked, feigning surprised at Sophie's response.
"She was my first case as a Crow. She's locked up in Arkham for another… seven years? Why? Did something happen to her?"
"She was released two weeks ago."
"How? On whose authority?"
Kate relaxed slightly. There was the Sophie Moore Kate knew - the Sophie Moore that left no stone unturned and fought to protect others. "That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out."
Hi all,
I hope you're still enjoying this new take on Batwoman. If you are, things are about to ramp up quickly for Kate and company, so get ready.
Stay safe out there!
All my affection,
EQT.95
