Guys,

This week is kicking my butt. I'm so, so sorry for the late post. I can make no promises about getting another chapter out this weekend, but it's my goal.

A humongo-ginormous-gargantuan thank you to the reviews. I've gotta give four special hollars: Gals1991, Borg27, Nixxa997, 'alex' - y'all are so dope.

Thanks for coming back again and again to check out the latest bits.

Cheers, EQT.95


"Anything?"

"Radio silence."

A heavy sigh from Kate transmitted back to Luke at the batcave.

"Aren't you glad we're wasting a Saturday afternoon at this?" he remarked back.

"I was going to waste it here one way or another," Kate retorted, alluding to Melvin's invitation. "Besides, I'd rather be safe than sorry, and I distinctly remember telling you I could do this alone."

"And leave all this fun to you? Not a chance," Luke replied dismissively. Kate shook her head, knowing full well that even if he didn't want to be there, he wouldn't let Kate do this alone.

"How's the suit?"

"Hot. This thing can check vitals, but it doesn't have a/c?"

"Bruce didn't exactly make it a habit of working during the day. Solar radiation wasn't really a problem for him."

"Well let's put it on the improvements list."

"Sure, right below 'x-ray vision' and 'cocktail dispenser'."

"See? Batsuit 2.0 is going to be epic."

It was Luke's turn to sigh heavily, and Kate felt an unfamiliar smile creep across her lips. She scanned the growing crowds, noting that the parade would start on the northeast corner of Robinson Park and make its way to the circle before turning toward Diamond District. The route was ambitious, and the turnout was expected to be high for how few actual participants would be involved in the parade. It was the first time it would be run in years, and there was an effort to get the public involved but the generally depleted morale of the city provided lackluster results. The grand marshals were typically given to the Mayor or similarly positioned leadership position, and this year was no different. Kate was positioned in full gear at the midpoint of the first length on a nearby rooftop. She'd considered scouting the site out in civilian clothes but knew that wouldn't do anyone any good if anything happened.

"I don't see any squads," Kate remarked in reference to the familiar Crow vehicles that commonly appeared at these events.

"Squads? They're not here."

"What?"

"Or didn't you hear?"

"No…?"

"Only one day out of the job and already losing track of the Crows," Luke joked. "Although this was Tuesday news, so you don't really have an excu-"

"Luke."

"Fine, fine. They were pulled from the event."

"What?"

"Yea. The city is trying to make an effort at amplifying the GCPD in light of the Crows well… approval ratings."

"That seems…"

"Reckless?"

"To put it simply, yes."

"Couldn't agree more."

"So how many GCPD are stationed around this thing?"

"Well, there are typically four squad cars in this neighborhood on a normal Saturday so…"

"...So?" Kate asked, waiting for Luke to finish his sentence.

"So… There are four squad cars."

"Total?" Kate asked, unable to contain her surprise.

"Was that not clear? Do I need to be better at my inflection?"

"You just need to be less sarcastic."

"Says the kettle."


"I'm surprised you wanted to come," Renee said excitedly.

"Yea, well, I've never been…" Sophie said, glancing around at the growing crowd.

"Oh really? I used to come every year as a kid. When I was eight I even got to ride in one of the clown cars - turns out it was being driven by the Joker, so other than being held hostage for a week after that, it was a great experience."

"That's gre- wait, what?" Sophie asked, her surprise clear. "Did you just say the Joker? You were held hostage by the Joker?"

"I'm kidding. Just seeing if you were listening. You look distracted - everything ok?"

"Yea, yea… just…"

"This isn't really for pleasure, is it?" Renee asked, reading Sophie's true intentions.

"It just feels like-"

"Like something's going to happen? Babe, it's a bunch of over-achieving college students dressed up in furry costumes with a scraggy bunch of volunteers dragging an ancient blimp-of-a balloon down the streets of Gotham. The most questionable thing will be whether the candy they throw is considered candy, and I can answer that one no problem: ten year old salt water taffy is not real candy."

Sophie did not look relieved by these words as she weighed them against her gut which was telling her something bad was going to happen.

"Take a day off. Not everything is a job."

"Fine, ok," Sophie said, only half-giving in, but it was enough to get a grin of excitement out of Renee.

"Great, so, obviously we need food-"

"We just ate."

"Babe. This isn't any normal day. It's the Gotham City Parade," Renee practically beamed back. It was only then that Sophie realized this was a tradition Renee had probably taken part in her entire life. That it was back after years of hiatus was reason to celebrate with whatever traditions she had grown up with.

"Ok, you got it. What are we eating?"

"You save our spots. I'll be back!" she called, already backing away toward the less populated edge of the sidewalk.


"So I've been thinking about the safehouse."

"Ok…" Kate replied suspiciously. It wasn't like Luke to indulge in her nickname for the penthouse.

"What are your thoughts on 'mauve' as a color?"

"It sounds like a weird yellow."

"Wh-? No, just… it's a shade of purple - named after the mallow?"

"A purple color is named after marshmallow? That makes no sense," Kate asked in confusion.

"A… a marshmallow? No, Kate, a mallow. It's a type of flower," Luke sighed. "Honestly, I don't even know why I talk."

"I'll never understand how Bruce let you in his ear all those years. Were your topics of conversation this ridiculous for his stakeouts."

"Well… no."

"Mauve…" Kate muttered softly as she shook her head and glanced back over the parapet.


"Sophie?" came a familiar voice from behind her. She perked up, realizing she'd heard the same voice less than a day earlier.

"Melvin -? Wh- what are you… if I didn't know any better-"

"You'd think I was the worst spy-slash-stalker on the planet?" Melvin grinned.

"Something like that," Sophie replied.

"Looks like fate just wants us together. You here alone, too?"

"Renee just dashed off for parade food."

"Interesting," Melvin replied coolly. "And what exactly is 'parade food'?"

"Haven't the slightest," Sophie admitted, suddenly happy she'd eaten before. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for Renee to return with something entirely experimental and inedible. "What are you doing here?"

"Last day in town - thought I'd take in the greatest Gotham has to offer," Melvin grinned, glancing around at the crowds of people.

"Last day? What? I thought you were-"

"Yes, yes, we all thought that. Turns out my next project has legs and it's a sprinter," Melvin joked.

"Can you tell me about it?"

"I'd have to kill you."

"Seems like a fair trade."

Melvin laughed, and Sophie felt her cheeks widen in memory of their time at Point Rock. She felt a tinge of sadness at knowing he would be gone so soon.

"I'm off to London for a bit, but I'll be back stateside soon enough," he said ambiguously.

"Special project?"

"Something like that. I need to convince the powers that be to let me choose the team though."

"Sounds important."

"Well, it'll certainly be some ground-up work. It's too bad you're here; I could use someone like you around."

"Always with the flattery."

"I'm serious," Melvin said, his face dropping into seriousness as he let his own thoughts catch up with his words. "Actually, yea… I mean, you've got the experience, and I know you have the smarts and skills needed…"

"Who knows - a month from now I might be out on my ass anyways," Sophie joked thinking about Jacob's retaliation when he would finally be reinstated in a few weeks.

"Would you consider it?"

Sophie laughed. "Consider it? You haven't told me what I'm supposed to be considering."

"The SSR is establishing a U.S. base-"

"No shit," Sophie said, a small fantasy building in her mind. "Really?"

"How do you feel about Atlanta?"


"Looks like rain," Kate said lamely, wandering a few rooftops over from her original lookout spot.

"Forecast is changing - there's some isolated clouds in the area," Luke replied with the same level of disinterest.

"Maybe it'll bring in a cool front…"

"Doubtful."

A boring silence passed between them.

"So this mauve… Where were you thinking mauve would go?" Kate said finally.

"I wasn't thinking everywhere: maybe just the kitchen-"

"No."

"Or the bathroom…?"

Kate paused, contemplating the idea of a purple bathroom. "I want to see paint samples."

"I've already narrowed it to three."

"And it's purple?"

"Yea."

"Nothing too bold, right?"

"No, no - it's… it's like a paler... lilac. You know lilac?"

Kate paused as a memory interrupted her thoughts. "Yea… yea, I know lilac," she said softly. After a moment she abruptly pulled herself back to the present. "But no patterns."

"For the safehouse? I wouldn't dream of it," Luke replied with the sound of a smile in his voice.

"Do you have anything else for the kitchen?" Kate offered as an olive branch.


"That's weird," Melvin scowled in confusion at the row of storefronts across the street.

"What is?"

"I could have sworn that hardware store…"

"You need a hammer or something, Mel?" Sophie teased.

"It's Melvin," he mocked back before turning serious again. "I asked Kate to come to this today, but she had some excuse that she was expecting a delivery from a 'Bob's Hardware'," he said, pointing to the boarded up storefront.

"Maybe there's another location?" Sophie offered before breaking into laughter as he pulled out his phone to check. "Since when have you doubted Kate?"

"Since she started lying to me."

Sophie stared at Melvin in disbelief. "I think if there's one thing we can both agree on, it's that Kate doesn't lie to yo-"

"There isn't," he cut in.

"What?"

"There isn't another location. This is the only one. It's been closed for three months," he continued, a small scowl of disappointment on his face. Sophie read it and immediately knew he was hurt that Kate could have lied to him.

"Maybe you misheard."

"Nope," Melvin said, shaking his head in annoyance. "I remember because I made a joke about it last night."

"I… I don't know - maybe call her?" Sophie offered, unsure how to address her friend's frustration. "She's been a bit… spaced out lately with everything. She's… she might have misremembered the place."

Melvin's eyes narrowed, not believing a word Sophie was saying. He watched her eyes bulge slightly as she caught sight of a familiar figure bobbing toward them.

"Renee's coming back - no Kate talk."

"Why would she lie though?"

"What did I just say-"

"Ah, Martin," Renee said, recognizing the now familiar face. She had a half-eaten hot dog in one hand, and an uneaten one, caramel corn, and cotton candy in the other.

"Melvin," Sophie and Melvin corrected in unison. Renee shrugged indifferently, and Sophie eyed her as she tried to conceal a sly grin.

"So, who's lying?" she asked before chomping into the partial hot dog.

"Uh, Melvin's sister," Sophie said quickly.

"Which one?" she asked, distracted by the balancing act she was performing with the food in her hands.

Melvin stared quizzically back at Renee.

"You have like, thirty-three, right?" she asked as she handed him the caramel corn.

Melvin broke into a smile as he glanced between her and Sophie. "Close… six, actually."

"Thirty-three, six; at a certain point it's all the same."

"You have siblings?" Melvin asked, his hand helping itself to the sugary treat Renee had surrendered.

"Four brothers."

Melvin whistled low through the mouthful of kernels. "Where do you fall?"

"Youngest."

"Me too!" he said excitedly, forgetting the train of thought from moments earlier.

"Sophie says there's a whole album of you in dresses as a kid."

"Not by choice," Melvin quickly defended, shooting Sophie a quick glare as she broke into a wide mischievous grin.

"No, I get it; dresses are the worst."


"Shit."

"What? Something happen?"

"My alibi is boarded up," she cursed from the latest rooftop.

"Is that supposed to make sense? Don't you mean your alibi is rock solid? Who says boarded u-"

"I told Melvin I couldn't meet him today because I was waiting on a delivery from Bob's Hardware."

"Oh. Yea, that place has been closed for months-"

"Yea, I can see it from here," Kate cut in annoyed.

"But what are the chances Melvin even sees that?"

"I'm gonna say... one hundred percent?"

"Generous."

"Well, he just texted me."

"So what's your excuse th-"

"And now he's calling. Hang on… hello?... Hey Melvin."

"Wow, this guy is fast," Luke remarked in Kate's ear.

"Yea, I'm literally just finding out now, too. Turns out it was a scam… only a couple thousand… no, I'm not calling the cops."

"He clearly hasn't spent much time in Gotham," Luke chuckled.

"...yea, sounds good. Text me the intersection… Who?... I see… no, no, it's - it's fine… I'll just - it's fine… I'm not lying… Melvin, drop it, yea?... Fine. Hopefully I'll make it before the show starts… great, see you soon."

"Should I bother asking?" Luke chimed in after Kate ended the call. He could pick up the strain in her voice as the call had evolved and wished he'd heard the other side.

"No," Kate said abruptly, her mood soured by the conversation.

"Did you just promise an appearance?"

"I couldn't exactly not show up."

"See? This is why you should have me come up with the lies," Luke said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, so I can date another Angelique?" she shot back, her mood only slightly improved.

"She was an amazing woman and you broke her heart."

Kate rolled her eyes at Luke's commitment to his fiction.

"So Melvin," Luke asked, reorienting around the newest obstacle.

"Right, my plan is to get lost or something."

"I'll find out what streets are closed-"

"-so that I never actually make it-"

"-until the parade is over-"

"-or you're at least in the clear."

"Exactly."

"Good thing it-"

A piercing tone cut through their banter, and Kate found herself pressing her hands to her ears to suppress it. She looked down at the streets to see scores of others doing the same. After a moment the high-pitched noise fell silent. Kate surveyed the area, searching for anything obviously amiss. Silence fell over the street as the crowd below did the same, also unsure where the noise came from.

"What just happened?" Luke asked. "My ears are ringing - was that from your end?"

"Yea… it sounded like audio feedback."

"From what? Is there supposed to be music?"

"No," Kate said, shaking her head as she glanced around at adjacent rooftops in growing curiosity. "Unless you count bad high school marching bands."

"Hey, I played trumpet in my marching band."

"Of course," Kate sighed, unsurprised by another example of how opposite their childhoods were.

A moment later the sound of a low hum followed by tapping rang through the streets. A small throat-clearing introduced the echo of a voice:

"Ahem, hello? Hello, is this thing w-"

Another low tone cut in before accelerating toward a higher pitch as before.

"-working?" More background noise drowned out any words coming through the speakers. "Hello? Hello?! Ah, here we go… Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the re-first annual Gotham City Parade!"

A sporadic and confused applause could be heard from the crowd below, as they too searched the surrounding buildings for where the voice was being projected from. A hiss and pop emanated through the streets as more audio feedback buzzed over the hidden speakers.

"I will be serving as your emcee for the length of this underwhelming performance. For three years Gotham's citizens sat in wait for the City to be re-energized into action and give the people the traditions it deserves!"

The voice had a deep rasp to it but carried hints of pomp and circumstance even if the remarks were tongue in cheek. To Kate, there was an eerie carnivalesque quality to it.

"Luke, are you hearing this?"

"Yea."

"Is it live?"

"I think so. It looks like whoever it is is tapping into the emergency speaker system."

"The emergency… I thought that was put out of commission years ago?" Kate asked. She recalled briefly seeing the shiny speakers installed along the streets of Gotham when she was a kid. It was an untested strategy for improving neighborhood safety. With all of the crime, the city thought the best way to communicate immediate dangers was through the installation of larger speakers in each borough. After years of ineffective operation and late-night false alarms, funding for their upkeep was stripped from the city's budget, and they'd fallen into disrepair. That they were able to function after all of these years was surprising news to Kate.

"It was; no one has used it in years. I'm surprised it still works," Luke replied, voicing Kate's thoughts.

"Can you track it?" she asked. "I don't trust this."

"Already working on it. Head south toward the circle"


"Is this always a part of the parade?" Sophie asked, noting the quizzical looks around them as the Gotham High School marching band serenaded their block with a terrible rendition of Sweet Caroline.

"No, must be new," Renee shouted over the off-rhythm snare. She poked her head distractedly over the crowds to see the Bat-Balloon on the horizon bouncing toward them. "Honestly, once the balloon passes, I'm down to bail. This is… well, it reminds me of my childhood."

"Depressing? Bleak? Narrated by a strange man with a raspy voice?" Melvin asked curiously. Being nearly six inches taller, he had a better vantage of the upcoming line-up, and he began understanding why Kate was so against coming in the first place.

"And serving as Grand Marshall this year is none other than Mayor Aubrey James! He is a man of vast privilege now entering his eighth corrupt term. Isn't it funny what old money does in a city full of crooked politicians?"

"Did he just…?" Melvin asked.

"Diss the Mayor? Yea," Sophie said, her senses spiking.

"Maybe he's just getting the crowd warmed up? It's not like James' approval ratings are stellar," Renee commented.

"But didn't that guy just say he's entering his eighth term?"

"You've never spent much time in Gotham, have you?" Renee asked, a smirk appearing as Melvin stared back in confusion. "Consider this a crash course: things don't happen because it has public support - they happen because a few families with old money pull the strings."

"Like the Wayne family?" Melvin asked, nodding toward the tower looming in the distance.

"Sure, the Waynes, the Cobblepots, the Elliots, the Crownes, the Kanes…" Renee rattled off.

"Kane? Like, like Kate Kane?" Melvin asked with some surprise.

Renee laughed. "I thought you two went to school together."

"We did…"

"And it never came up that her family owns 80 percent of Gotham?"

"That sounds a bit extreme," Melvin countered, his eyes narrowed in skepticism.

"It's not," Sophie said distractedly, her eyes scanning the surrounding buildings. "Basically if it doesn't have 'Wayne' on it-"

"The Kane family owns it. It was only in the last few years they sold off chunks of it to fund the Crows. The Elliot family was a big buyer in that sell-off. I heard it's all because of bad blood between Bruce Wayne and Tommy Elliot," Renee cut in.

Renee continued educating Melvin on the history of Gotham real estate as Sophie surveyed the parapets. She was well aware of the Kane family's presence in Gotham, but what she didn't understand was why a mysterious voice echoing through the streets wasn't causing more concern.

"I'm sure many of you are eagerly awaiting the prized Bat-Balloon! It has a tarnished history. As many might remember, the balloon was premiered three years into the Batman's reign over Gotham's baddies. Ironic that a balloon of rubber outlasted the caped crusader. After three years of collecting dust, the old bag has been inflated to treat the city of Gotham to a bit of nostalgia."

"I'll be right back," Sophie muttered, stepping away from Melvin and Renee who were now in a heated discussion about Gotham's 'new' money.

"-Hamilton Dynamics is imported money-"

"-but they make some of the most cutting edge weaponry."

"That's not even on topic. We're talking about Gotham's elite."

Sophie wandered through the crowds, her eyes fixed upward. The voice broke in again, and Sophie took the chance to look for movement in the surrounding areas. A flicker of black caught her attention, and she looked up to see a familiar cape disappear as quickly as it appeared. She stared for a moment, confirming her suspicions before bolting south, trailing the movement of Batwoman as she fled over the rooftops.


"Anything?" Kate asked, slightly winded.

"Three more blocks, I think. The closer you get, the better I can pick up the feed."

"Got it," Kate replied before vaulting herself across an alley onto an adjacent rooftop. "Any chance we can get that Batsuit 2.0 in beta?"

"I'll have ice ready for when you're back."

"That didn't answer my question," Kate shot back as she leapt to a fire stair.


Sophie scanned the top of the buildings, worried she'd lost Batwoman. The sounds of the raspy voice was creating an eerie silence over the crowds, and onlookers were glancing curiously between each other. She turned off the main strip, convinced she'd lost the red-headed cowl.

She paused briefly, barely registering the words coming through the speakers when she caught sight of Batwoman swinging across an intersection. Sophie glanced around trying to determine if anyone from the crowd had seen the vigilante, but they were all distracted by the incoming parade and booming narration. She continued her advances in the direction Batwoman had just swung toward, the concern in her gut growing. If Batwoman was involving herself, something definitely wasn't right.


"Ok, I'm in," Kate said. It had taken an extra minute to gain access to the building. It took Luke pestering her to break a window to finally give in and shatter the glass of a small pane. Kate glanced around, noting the degraded state of the space. "Why do bad guys always hide out in dingy buildings?" she muttered.

"Because of the low rent and guaranteed privacy, I imagine," Luke countered sarcastically. Kate grinned as she stepped into the main hall. She was on the ground level and noted the dated but classic charm of the interiors.

"So, where next? Left? Right? Up? Dow-"

A sound from her left made Kate turn. Her eyes landed on a door that, seconds later, was kicked open. Kate's fingers instinctively reached for her bo-staff before her eyes adjusted to the new light being cast into the hallway.

"Sophie?" she asked, unable to hide her surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I assume."

"Kate, this guy is saying some weird stuff," Luke echoed in her ear, making reference to the commentator still ringing through the streets.. "Talking about the nostalgia of old Gotham? And the signal is getting distorted, which either means we're way off, or we're getting close."

"Where we going?" Sophie asked, her chest rising and falling quickly from her chase to catch up with Batwoman.

"You're staying here," Kate said defensively. Her focus had pivoted entirely at the sight of Sophie.

"No, I'm coming with you."

"This isn't a nego-"

"Kate, if she wants to tag along-" Luke started.

"No," Kate interrupted.

"We both know she's too stubborn to sit back and wait."

"L- it's not… fine, but this is… good," Kate hissed, her annoyance clear.

Sophie watched the one-sided dialogue with growing confusion. It suddenly occurred to her that Batwoman had to have a partner - how else could she navigate around the city with such accuracy?

Without another word, Batwoman took off down the hall. Sophie quickly followed after, matching her step for step as she mysteriously navigated them through the building. That Batwoman didn't stop her could only mean that the voice on the other side of the radio had persuaded her to drop it. For that, Sophie was secretly pleased, if not slightly jealous at the sway this mysterious voice had over the vigilante. At one point Batwoman paused, staring off in a strange concentration before backtracking which only reinforced Sophie's conclusion: someone was guiding them.

"Is there someone-"

"Shh," Batowman cut in sharply.

After three floors of stairs and an endless maze of twists and turns, Batwoman halted in front of a door. The only sounds were her and Sophie's heavy breathing and a muted voice from the other side that carried the cadence of the announcer reverberating through the streets below. Batwoman lifted her hand to motion Sophie to remain behind.

Sophie glared back in disagreement. After a tense stare-off in the dark hallway, Sophie sighed in defeat. She watched Batwoman press her ear to the door for a moment before backing away enough to deliver a forceful kick. The door broke open, and the voice inside the room overflowed into the hall.

Batwoman quickly entered the room, scanninging it for the voice's body. Sophie glanced in and followed after, surveying the space in a mirrored direction to Batwoman. Instead of a person, they found a speaker box set in front of a microphone:

"Well ladies and gents, that's all for me, and right on time! It looks like our guest of honor has just arrived!"

Sophie's eyes fell onto the set-up. It was situated on a stool with a full contraption of wires behind it. Within that contraption was a set of red digital numbers behind the speaker. It took only a second for Sophie to realize they were counting down: 00:13… 00:12… 00:11...

"Is that…?" she asked, trying to interpret the gadget's set-up.

00:09...

"You may be wondering what this little countdown is for, Batwoman."

Sophie and Batwoman both froze, their eyes fixed on the speaker. The sound from the speaker was still being transmitted through the streets, and they could hear the delayed broadcast echoing from the outside into the room.

00:08

"I'll give you two hints: -"

00:07

"Sophie, get out-" Batwoman said quietly, standing over the contraption, but Sophie didn't budge, her eyes glancing between the speaker and Batwoman.

"Number 1: there will be two 'booms' -"

00:05

"-two booms?" Sophie repeated, working through the words.

"- and number 2: it has the power to pluck a symbol from the sky."

"Sophie-" Batwoman said, looking over and realizing she was still in the room. There was a strain in her voice that made Sophie's stomach drop.

00:04

"They're bombs," Sophie said. "Two bombs-"

"It has been a true pleasure spending this time with you-"

00:03…

"- but I need to be off before the sound of Batwoman's screams -"

"Sophie, we need to get-"

00:02…

"- are transmitted across the city."

"-out."

00:01

"Enjoy the parade!"

The last words faded into nothing as a bright flash erupted. A deafening sound blew through the space, and the last thing Sophie felt was a heavy force engulf her.