I've only been patrolling for three hours and I've already stopped two muggings, one attempt to steal a car, and one attempted rape. I'm perched on top of the Gotham Cathedral overlooking the city when Oracle beeps at me.
"How's it going Batwoman?"
"Fine, looks like word of Hatter's escape finally spread."
"I figured as much. The police have been working overtime tonight."
"And, so will I." I huff. "I'm not going to get much sleep tonight, am I?"
"Actually, I thought about that." I can hear Barbara giggle, which is weird. "I called in for a little back-up."
"Back-up? I don't need back-up."
"Yes, you do. So, I asked someone if they could come help you."
"Who?"
"Me." I spin around to see a pair of feet a couple yards from my face. I follow the feet up to see they belong to none other than Supergirl. "Hello, Batwoman. I hope I didn't startle you?" I don't want to admit she did, so I shake my head. "That's good." Supergirl descends onto the church's roof. "Oracle called me and said you might need help tonight." Just as she's mentioned, Oracle pops in my ear.
"What do you think? Is she cool or what?" Supergirl moves to stand next to me and looks over the ledge at the city below.
"It's hard to say. I've only just met her."
"You'll like her, Batwoman, trust me. She won't let you down."
"How can I be sure of that?"
"Because she's never let me down." I look at Supergirl scanning the city. I'm curious how much of the city she can actually see with that super-vision of hers. Speaking of super-powers, I'm certain she can hear everything Barbara is saying to me. I walk around the corner and lean against one of the gargoyles that protects the church.
"Just because you trust her doesn't mean I do."
"I know, I know. Look, if you don't trust her that's fine, but she is going to help you."
"Can't someone else help me with the patrol?"
Barbara sighs. "No, and that's final." She cuts the connection before I can give a rebuttal. I sigh and pull my shoulders back so I can face Supergirl. To my surprise, she's standing a couple feet from me. With her so close, I can take in her appearance without being too obvious.
She's dressed in what I assume is her official Kryptonian robe. It's all white and stops at her ankles. She stands tall—at least 5'9"—with her arms crossed in front of her. Her long, blonde hair is wavy and stops a few inches below her shoulders. Her hair covers a golden band that seems to wrap around her head and sits an inch above her eyebrows. But out of all her features, the one that amazes me the most are her eyes. They're light blue and remind me of Caribbean waters. And it's not just the color that amazes me but how intense they are. It feels like she is looking straight through me at my soul.
"Is there something you want?" I ask her.
She raises an eyebrow at me and shakes her head. "I just thought you should know why you're stuck with me."
"And?"
"Batman is on a mission with the League, Nightwing is with the Outsiders, Red Robin is in Star City with Speedy, and Batgirl and Robin are investigating the Mad Hatter's escape."
"And what about the 'Super' family?"
"Superman is on a mission for the League as well and Superboy is with Shazam and Miss Martian. Are you satisfied?"
"For now. But aren't you supposed to be in DC or something?"
"I was but Wonder Woman was called into the League to handle an issue in Greece, and Kazakhstan doesn't trust Wonder Girl enough to finish the peace talks between them. So, with nothing to do, I answered Oracle's call and came here." When I move past Supergirl, I make sure to knock her in the shoulder. Bad idea. Really bad idea. As soon as my shoulder hits hers a pain shoots through my arm. Invulnerability, right. I act like my arm isn't throbbing as I move to the other side of the gargoyle.
"How long are you going to be helping?" I feel Supergirl move behind me and stand on my left.
"As long as I'm needed." Great, she'll be around for a while. I peer over the ledge at the cars and occasional person.
"What-" Before I even finished my sentence Supergirl takes off at super-speed and almost knocks me off the building. I stand there in shock for a few minutes before she speeds back next to me and almost knocks me off the ledge again.
"Sorry, there was a robbery at a jewelry store and another at a department store I had to handle." I look at Supergirl. She's standing tall and fierce. Her face is serious and her eyes cold and stoic. To her, this is just another job and I'm just her temporary partner.
XXX
It's late in the afternoon. I'm standing outside my new store waiting for the previous owner to show up and give me the keys. I decided to open a store to make it easier for me to do my job as Batwoman. I wasn't sure what it should be at first, but when Barbara mentioned how much I love books it hit me to open a book store. I just had to get suppliers and such. It's a good thing I'm rich.
"Kate!" I look to my left and see Barbara's friend, Linda Lee-Danvers, across the street waving to me. She looks both ways before she crosses. "Hi Kate, remember me? We met yesterday at the coffee shop. I'm Barb's friend."
"I remember you." I shake her hand. It's hot in mine like it was yesterday.
"Cool, I was walking down the street when I recognized you by your red hair. What are you doing outside a closed store?"
"I'm waiting for the previous owner to come and give me the keys."
"Oh, are you opening your own shop?" Linda shifts the bag she had yesterday from one shoulder to the other. She struggles with the weight as she moves it to the other side.
"Yes."
She raises an eyebrow at me then smiles. "You're not much of a talker are you, Kate?"
"Not with people I don't know."
Linda laughs and sticks her hands in her jacket pockets. "I know what you mean. Sorry, I'm just curious. Which helps me do my job, but most people don't like when I fire off questions at them."
"I know what you mean."
Linda laughs again then looks at her watch. "Look, I've got an interview to go to. It was nice seeing you again, Kate." She's halfway turned from me when I grab her arm. I'm surprised by what I feel through the jacket. You can't tell from her clothes, but she has strong arms underneath all those layers. It feels like I'm holding onto a steel bar. When she faces me again I let go of her arm.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to ask you something."
"Oh, okay." Suddenly, I forget what I want to ask and instead ask for her number. The raise of her eyebrows tells me she's surprised by my question but, agrees to give it to me. She pulls out a pen from her jacket's breast pocket and writes her number on my palm. It feels weird having my hand held by her hands. They're warm and feel surprisingly strong. "There you go. I'll see you around, Kane." She winks at me then walks away. As soon as she disappears around a corner I feel a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders and someone practically jump on my back.
"So, who's the chick, Kate?" Stephanie Brown slides herself in front of me. Her blonde hair blows around her face from her erratic movements.
"Just a friend of Barbara." Stephanie looks back in the direction of where Linda disappeared then at me.
"She seems a bit uptight and nerdy to be a friend of Babs."
"Exactly." I smile at Stephanie, who just shrugs and pulls out a Nutri-Grain bar from her pocket. She waits with me until the previous owner shows up an hour late with the keys to my new store.
When this was first written, Shazam was still Captain Marvel. Greece also had declared bankruptcy, which is subtly referenced with Diana heading to Greece to handle a situation.