Chapter 5

Rachel POV

When Rachel woke up the apartment was pitch black. Kate was gone, and the TV was shut off. How long had she been asleep? Rachel peered at her phone. It was 10:47pm. She sat up and stretched. If she was going to do this, now was the time.

Rachel went into the bedroom and pulled the lock box out from under her bed. She put in the pin code and opened it up. She removed her clothes and put on a sports bra. She pulled her costume out of the box and was glad that the material had been made from scuba diving fabric. It would help keep her somewhat warm.

Rachel put on some under armor, and then pulled the skin-tight suit on. The suit was all black aside from purple fabric on each side of her waist. She pulled on her purple boots. They were durable but light which allowed her to run on slippery terrain and allowed her to do acrobatics with ease. She braided her long blonde hair into a single braid to keep it out of her face. Her mask was also dark purple but simple. Her heat resistant gloves were light and also had grip, though they were pretty worn out from sliding down rope. She was ready.

Rachel looked in the mirror and took a deep breath. "This is for you mom and dad. Please protect me" she whispered. Though she worked out 4 days a week, Rachel knew she was out of practice. She hoped it was like riding a bike.

Rachel pried her bedroom window open and climbed onto the roof. The dry cold air hit her face like a bullet. She shivered but her suit was keeping her decently warm. While warm, it was not armor. She could not afford to take any bullets or a knife. But that's how she was trained. A good warrior can fight, but the best warrior can dodge.

She had no supplies, not even a utility belt. Just her bare fists which were a force to be reckoned with. She fell forward into a summer sault and grabbed the fire escape ladder below her. Before she knew it, she was flying from roof to roof. She was right. It was like riding a bike.

Rachel landed in the alley way on 5th street. There was still police tape up around the crime scene. No one was around so she emerged from the shadows. Rachel took a quick look around but didn't see any kind of clues as to how the young women were killed. She found the spot where the bodies were found. The clean up crew had been through here, but Rachel didn't need to examine blood splatters or weapons.

She removed one of her gloves and touched the cold pavement. She let her guards down and focused on the spot. There was still DNA here. In the blink of an eye Rachel was seeing Caroline's final moments.

Please let me go! I've done everything you said" Caroline screamed. She was in a cell along with seven other women, one of them being Beatrice.

Caroline was sore all over, especially between her legs. She was bleeding there. A man in a black suit stood in front of the cell. Rachel recognized him as Falcone, the mob leader.

"My client was very disappointed with the two of you. I am no longer in need of you. Scarecrow take care of them. And move the rest of them to warehouse 19 in Bludhaven" Falcone commanded.

The women screamed and cried as a terrifying man walked into the cell. He wore a bag over his head and noose around his neck. The last thing Caroline saw was this man standing over her and he began to stab her in the abdomen over and over. After the first 6 hits, Caroline's consciousness faded.

Rachel was thrown back to the present gasping for air. She pulled her glove back on and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She fought the urge to vomit and held her abdomen tightly. Her gift allowed her to hear others thoughts, as well as see and feel memories, but at a cost. The images she saw would prey on her through her dreams. But it was a small price to pay. She knew where the other women were held up.

Rachel pulled up her phone and searched Bludhaven on Maps. She didn't know the address but using the app she was able to locate warehouse 19. It was a 20-minute car ride from her location. Rachel was not prepared to go in this alone. She had no weapons or supplies. She was not only dealing with Falcone, a crime lord who was known around the entire country, but now Scarecrow. He was the most dangerous. She had researched him when he made the headlines a few years back. The only person who knew how to deal with Scarecrow, was Batman.

No. she would not contact him. If he caught wind of her, she was done. Would probably end up in Arkham because vigilantism was against the law. Her life would be over. But those women needed to be rescued. Rachel did the only thing she could do, she removed her mask, and called a cab.

"Hey lady, are you sure you want me to drop you off here? The docs are dangerous for a young woman like yourself. Women have gone missing around here" he said looking worried. Rachel handed him his cab fare and thanked him. She appreciated his concern; at least there were good people still out there.

"I'll be fine. I'm meeting someone here" she explained. With one last look the man drove off. Rachel checked her surroundings and when the cost was clear she put her mask back on. It was close to midnight. She had to act fast or risk losing more lives.

She snuck around the dock and wove in between cargo until she found warehouse 19. It was heavily guarded. Rachel didn't have night goggles, but she could feel at least 12 guards. All of them had guns. There were 9 additional people in the warehouse. Rachel pushed her barriers outward and could feel them. 5 women were in there being guarded by 4 men. Scarecrow was not here, nor was Falcone.

"The best way to do this was to take out the 12 guards one by one and hide their bodies" she thought. All of them were fairly spaced out and the ones that were clumped together could be forced to split up. That is if their minds were weak enough.

Rachel picked up a stone and threw it a storage container. One of the guards motioned for his partner to check it out. When the man rounded the corner Rachel round house kicked him in the face. He fell to the ground out cold.

"Hey Pete, see anything" his partner shouted. Rachel quick pulled his body out of the way and threw him in an empty storage container. When his partner came around the corner Rachel took choked him out and hid his body as well.

"Well this is easier than I thought" Rachel thought. She continued this method, and after about 15 minutes all the guards were disposed of and no one had been alerted. She locked the storage container and approached the back door of the Warehouse. This was the tricky part. The 4 men inside all had guns, and she couldn't alert any of them. The women inside were at risk for being hostages.

Rachel had picked up a pistol from one of the other guards. She aimed at a light on the ceiling and fired. Three shots later the warehouse was pitch black aside from the guards guns, which had flash lights.

"What's going on! We need back up" one of them shouted. Rachel took advantage of their distraction and outright sprinted toward them. They began to fire, which she tumbled out of the way. She slid between the legs of one and threw herself back up. She wrapped her legs Around his head and pulled him to the ground. She elbowed him in the face. She side stepped the second man and tried to snatch his gun. He was stronger than her, so instead she slammed his gun into his face. After he fell to the ground and sprinted towards the 3rd man. She knocked his weapon away, and he swung at her. She dodged his punch and grabbed his outstretched arm, flipping him over her shoulder. She heard him crack his head on the cement. The fourth man was turning around in circles pointing his flash light around. The beam of the light was trembling. He was terrified.

"Batman?" he called out. Rachel smirked. This perp thought she was Batman?

"Wrong" she said from the shadows. It was dark but Rachel didn't need to see, She could hear everything in the room. She could feel him in her mind. Rachel was in her element, and this was going to end now.

"Who are you" he asked trembling.

"Huntress." The last guard didn't see her coming, and with a swift punch to the gut and an elbow to the face he was out cold.

Rachel sighed with relief. She searched the men for keys and when she found them she ran over to the cell. She unlocked the door and the women didn't move.

"It's ok your safe now. Come with me" she said motioning for them to follow her. One by one the women left the cell. They were all filthy, and most of them were young. One girl looked to be no more than 12 years old. Rachel felt sick to her stomach. The young girl hugged Rachel around her waste.

"Thank you, Ms., I knew one of Batman's friends would come" she exclaimed. Rachel didn't correct her but hugged the young girl back.

"Everyone Head towards the main road and signal help. When you speak with the police tell them that the guards are locked in that storage container there" Rachel said pointing. Rachel then left the women. She had to get out of here. She didn't have a car, and she was sure someone would have heard the gun fire. As she ran, she felt free for the first time in a long time.

Bruce POV

Bruce was on patrol when Dick called him. "Dick" he said over the com.

"The captured women were saved and 16 guards were arrested. All of them had ties with Falcone. You were right, Falcone is involved" Dick said.

"Good job Dick, how did you manage to find them" Bruce asked.

"Well you're not going to like this part. I didn't find them. I questioned one of the guards and he said a woman came at them from out of the dark. Said her name was Huntress" Dick explained.

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Did you find any weapons or anything else that could lead to this person" Bruce asked.

"Nothing. No finger prints or blood to speak of" Dick said. "I thought of maybe Catwoman, but this isn't Selina. None of the guards had claw marks or whip marks of any kind. Besides, there was money in the office and it was all there" Dick explained.

Bruce rubbed his chin. So he had a rogue vigilante in his city. All they knew was it was a woman.

"Dick meet me at the cave. We need to regroup and figure out who she is before she gets herself killed.

"See you soon boss." Bruce had been tracking Falcone for weeks. Whoever this person was, she was good. He didn't find a shred of evidence of where the women could be. How did she figure it out? Or maybe she was close to Falcone somehow. Either way he was going to find out. Nothing happened in his city without Batman knowing.

Rachel POV

Rachel climbed into her window a little past 2:30 am. Kate was fast asleep in her bed. Rachel tip toed into the bathroom and removed her uniform. She was completely numb from the cold. She ran the shower and just melted under the hot water. Once she was warmed up and clean, she threw on some sleeping boxers and a camie. She returned her uniform to the lock box and went into the kitchen. Rachel had only eaten a bagel, and a small sandwich today.

Hunger pains were setting in. She opened the fridge and was met with the bare essentials. She settled on the couch with some pretzels and hummus and ate until she started to doze off. Tonight made her feel alive. Perhaps she could make a difference here in Gotham. Batman was sure to get wind of this tonight, but she didn't care. She was probably his equal match. Rachel had taken out large men before, who were trained to fight just like her. The only difference was she didn't have gadgets, or any supplies for that matter. Rachel put the hummus back in the fridge and went to her bed. She was exhausted and was asleep in less than 3 minutes.

Hi everyone. Soon you will start to learn more about Rachels past. And the next chapter will fast forward to Monday when she goes to Wayne Tower. Which means more Bruce and Rachel interaction! Please leave a review and stay tuned for more