"You look like you had a run in with your sister."

"Worse." Kate leaned back on her chair and watched Luke. Why did he always wear a suit? He could wear anything he wanted or was it a part of his disguise?

"Sophie."

"Why would you bring up her name?"

"Because if not Alice did something crazy it's Sophie who can shake you enough to look like hell. Don't tell me she wants to tell your father who Batwoman is."

"No." Kate was not sure what was worse: Sophie telling her father she was Batwoman or Sophie not having the strength to stand up for herself. Kate had no idea what had happened between her and her husband while she had tried to give them some space, what she had seen and heard was, that Tyler had given Sophie the ring back and Sophie hadn't told him, she wanted to be with Kate. On top of that, Sophie had kind of put their relationship on pause. A relationship, that had just started to warm up again.

And Kate missed her lips, missed kissing Sophie already.

"But?" Luke's voice missed the usual tease, the mock he had used when they had watched Sophie in the bar.

"But she kind of decided you are right: Batwoman can't have a girlfriend. At least not the one she wants to have." How had her cousin manage? Had all these different women made him happy? Or had he felt as lonely as Kate felt. She had tried to move on, she had tried to be with somebody else and Reegan had ended it after two dates. For a very good reason. Kate had lied to her. Something, she couldn't change in order to make sure Reegan had no idea what her real job was. Had Bruce not cared that he had hurt so many women? Did he believe these lies were the better alternative to the truth? And had he left because he was sick and tired of the lies and wanted to live an ordinary life?

"I'm sorry."

"She left me the second time. Kind of."

"Will she go back to the Crows?"

"Yes." As Sophie had said, it was the only life she knew, the only thing that defined her. She had no idea who she was without her job and Kate was afraid, Sophie needed her job to escape the truth about herself, the truth, she didn't want to hear, to see. "She won't tell my father I'm Batwoman and she will help me again. At least that is what she told me." Which meant, Sophie would pick her over her job. Or had these been only words?

"We better make sure she doesn't have to save you a second time."

"Exactly my thoughts."

"How about you put on that suit and catch a lunatic? Somebody walks around and cuts women with a carpet knife. Makes them grin from ear to ear."

"Am I only one who thinks about the Cheshire Cat and that Alice is involved? Grinning from ear to ear, it's what the damn cat did in the cartoon."

"With Alice everything is possible. Sometimes psychopaths like to pair up."

Yeah, that was why Alice and Mouse got along. They were both psychopaths. Maybe they found a third person to play their sick games.

"Or, she is related to one of your cousin's old enemies. This city has some many crazy psychopaths, they have families and sometimes the family members are very much alike."

Like her and Bruce. Both put on a suit to protect the city and both of them were alone because of what they did.

"I'm on her." Kate got up. It was not like she had anything else to do. Being a single, Again. Only for a second she allowed herself to imagine how great it could have been if Sophie and she had worked together on this, had stopped whoever hurt the influencer. Sophie and she had been such a great team at Point Rock, they had complemented the other. Everything could have been perfect.

If Sophie was ready to come out and stand up to the world.

But apparently she was not ready for this step.