Ep 5, Season 2
The Mystery of Ryan Wilder
Synopsis: With the threat of Tommy Elliot finally resolved, Kate decides to investigate the identity of the young woman who previously saved her. What she learns about the young girl's past and the life she's been living in Gotham will shock Kate to her very core and cause her to question how exactly she's been helping her city.
Disclaimer: Some social issues are hinted towards, but not explicitly brought up in full. (Yet) Also, it appears like 9-10k is just how it'll be going forward lol. This episode is about 6-7k? Not as long as last time. Hope you all enjoy it! (Also, still sorry about somethings not centring)
"You found our mystery's woman identity?" Kate asked, entering the Batcave nearly a week later. "Started thinking you wouldn't be able to creak her identity," She remarked, sarcastically crossing her arms.
Luke shook his head. "Thank you for having confidence in me," He replied sarcastically right back at her, giving a little smirk.
"I don't know, kinda crazy how long it took you and your big brain!" Mary joked.
"Well, now I was a bit distracted by you hanging around. Which I don't mind at all and would be perfectly fine if you continued doing that." Luke replied awkwardly and a little sweaty as he was quite nervous.
Mary smiled a little and scratched the back of her head.
Kate looked at them, unamused by whatever they were currently doing, or rather not. "Alright, you have a name for me?" She asked, leaning in.
"Yeah, Ryan Wilder. Got a positive id of her. Picture and rap sheet too. Looks like she's on the GCPD's radar, or at least was," Luke began explaining.
"What do you mean by was?" Kate asked, looking closely at the screen.
"I'm not sure it's pretty weird. Usually, a known criminal would be actively searched by police, you know, when they've committed crimes. Seems like that wasn't the case with her. Kinda weird." Luke pointed out.
Kate went to suit up. "I'll ask her when I find her." She replied, heading out.
"How are you going to find her? I didn't give you a location!" He exclaimed, very confused by her current plan.
Mary rolled her eyes at Luke, knowing Kate better.
"I'll let you in on a little secret, one of my many specialties happens to be finding people that don't want to be found. I've got enough to find a general location, and having her name will blow this wide open. You'll see, or rather hear." Kate explained and headed out of the cave on her motorcycle
"She's pretty awesome, you shouldn't underestimate her in the slightest bit!" Mary exclaimed, whacking him upside the head gently.
Batwoman
(Experimental, please give thoughts on this inclusion or way to fix/improve. Along with giving your own fan castings. Kinda not realistic casting, but please, nobody to insanely famous or ridiculous)
Staring/Cast
Everyone seen in season 1 or 2, or etc., is the same, including Ruby Rose as Kate Kane.
Vanessa Morgan is Ryan Wilder (Replaced her cause love Vanessa Morgan lol and more seriously, just feel like she'd be better. Also, to make clear, this is a different Ryan Wilder. (And maybe Kate might encounter the Ryan on the show one day?)
Stephanie Beatriz is Renee Montoya. (Doesn't appear)
Grace Gummer is Whisper. (Redhead, fantastic, and in Mr. Robot lol. Not realistic, but not too crazy, I guess)
Ryan Wilder sat inside of her hideout with Whisper in what appeared to be their bedroom. Well, close to it. Was one of the rooms inside kept mostly intact.
"I'll never understand why you're so sentimental about this place. You've explained why, but still personally can't wrap my head around it." Whisper expressed getting dressed, seeming to be heading out.
Ryan shrugged, already dressed but was still lying down in bed, glaring longingly at her. "It was my home for years. I'm pretty attached to my past, what can I say? Like to remember it, keep the way I remembered it."
"Yeah, I know. Still, I can tell it takes a toll. How couldn't it?" She replied, going to hold Ryan's hands softly.
"Past hurts, it does. It's also a part of me, the people I loved, who are gone. Don't want to forget them ever. Know you don't think that way. Because your family sucked." Ryan responded and kissed her.
Whisper smiled slightly. "Well, you are a part of me. Totally stole my heart. Can't go without that and won't leave you. Forget you."
"Same here, beautiful," Ryan replied, smiling widely, playing in Whisper's hair.
She sighed. "Damn, I'd love to stay here with you all day long, just forever. Gotta go work that special employer, the woman with that crap ton of money is still wanting to meet despite losing Alice. No idea what she's wanting, but I'm excited and can't be late! Love you, Ryan!" She declared happily.
Ryan bit her lip, taking a moment to respond. "Love you too, Whisper." She replied and kissed her passionately then let her go, letting her leave.
Once she left, Ryan sighed, feeling bad for delaying with the "Love you" back. It was true. She very much loved Whisper and wanted to be with her. Course, things were always complicated and looking at a gun left behind was just another reminder, Whisper deep down was a criminal.
She walked away from the open area, going outside too watching Whisper drive off. She'd be so pissed if she knew about my other activities. Wonder if she'd even love me in this potential nightmare future. How I'm working against her ultimately, we clash with each other. When she finds out, it'll break her heart. It's tarring away at mine as it is. I'm so nervous, I can't ruin things with her.
Nearby, Batwoman was searching for Wilder, not knowing exactly where she was located. Only the general area. "If I was an orphan and not exactly rich, where would I be hiding out?" Kate pondered aloud. The thinking was interrupted by a few thugs on the street level hanging out in an alleyway, showing off their guns and knives. Trying to look tough and likely going to cause issues. They had a "B" on their clothing, wasn't sure what it meant, she'd be asking.
"Hey, you know these guns don't seem very legal, nor whatever you all are planning on doing, I'm going to bet." Kate expressed and shook her head.
The thugs looked at her and attacked. Bullets and knives always were not an issue in the slightest bit. She quickly dispatched them in a minute, beating them up, one by one. They kindly seemed to wait for their turns. Once all beat up, she broke all their weapons. "Pretty predictable. You guys need a new strategy. Who are you all anyway? Don't seem to recall any two-bit thugs with these jackets." She remarked, getting close to the remaining two thugs' faces. Wasn't much they could do. Batwoman was too powerful.
"We're The Boys!" One of them exclaimed.
"Seriously? Couldn't come up with a better name?" Kate laughed softly.
"We happen to be an all-boys kinda club! You crossing us is going to have payback!" They continued saying.
"You really think saying this crap to me of all people is going to get you far in life?" Batwoman replied, continuing to laugh a little louder.
"We are tough and powerful men!" They continued saying, clearly not reading his situation in the slightest bit. Thug number 2 seemed to understand not stating anything sexist, as it wouldn't lead to pleasant places. Speaking of which, Kate stepped on his leg, which appeared to hurt considering they seemed to pass out.
"Guess your not so tough, huh, smart guy? Now, would you happen to know a woman named Whisper? Figure you, clowns, would-be rivals, cause you know."
The last thug nodded their head. "She's one of many rivals if it makes you feel any better, not all of us are like them. We're forced into his life, gang life. Some of the time, these boss types can be pretty convincing. My mom was threatened that I wouldn't join up. She'd be dead, she's a good person, and I wouldn't let that happen."
Kate didn't look like she believed this. "I highly doubt that now just tell me about Whisper. Does she operate around here?" Kate asked.
"Yes and no, had sightings around this place. Next block over, I'd say that would be your best bet if you're looking for her." The man said.
Batwoman nodded and went away, grappling up back into the rooftops. Having this encounter made her curious to look around a bit more. Everywhere she'd seen so far seemed in pretty bad shape. It was astonishing to see. Kate figured with all she'd done, Gotham was becoming a better place. Shockingly it didn't seem this was true, at least in this area, one she realized hardly was visited by herself.
Meanwhile, outside of Gotham, Alice made her way down country roads, out near the area she swore that would've never been seen again now her capture was dead. Naturally, helped lived in the least expected places. The destination, a creepy old house, wasn't far from where she lived for a good part of her lifetime. This monster being searched out wasn't exactly a happy feeling, knowing the past events they had.
Lovely home. She thought, creeping up towards the house, revealing a gun. Alice wasn't a fan of firearms. Sharp objects were much preferred. However, with his guy, it'd be foolish to not be prepared for the worst. This assumption was correct as approaching closer and daring to step on the lawn led to a net popping out of the ground.
A frowning woman approached, sauntering, with a bag on her head.
"Oh dear, it appears I'm trapped. How about you let me go, and I can speak to your boss. Trust me, we've got history, and I've got an offer that can't be turned down!" Alice exclaimed, trying her best to break free from her restraints hiding her knife.
The woman stared at her. "He's out currently, back soon. You will rest until he returns."
"Well, how long until he returns? This is somewhat time-sensitive. It's about a bat problem plaguing Gotham City. I think he'd be a great exterminator to employe to handle this problem in the most unpleasant way for my traitorous- err, never mind that last part." Alice said, realizing she nearly misspoke revealing Kate's secret to this creepy lady whom she didn't even know.
"You will wait for the master." She restated.
Alice sighed heavily. "Could you please and thank you just let me free? I'll be good, I promise that I shall." She said, trying to sound as menacing as possible.
"No. Master wouldn't be happy with an uninvited guest." She declared.
"Oh, really?" Alice asked, shaking her head and put her knife to the net, hoping she'd be able to cut free. This gave her quite a shock. Literally, knocking her out cold.
Batwoman continued her search for Ryan. This street was much more promising. She quickly spotted an orphanage. "Luke, I think might have just found Wilder." She declared, hopping down and going towards the abandoned building.
"Why do you think that? I'm still coming up with possible locations." He replied.
"Does anything happen to be an orphanage?" Kate asked, heading inside carefully.
"Uh, yeah. One of them is. Precisely the one you're entering right now, actually. How did you figure it out?" He questioned curiously.
Kate shrugged. "Just a hunch. Tracked her down to this general area, Whisper worked around here. We know she's an orphan, good guess she'd be in here. Helps my thinking, knowing this is the only orphanage for a few blocks. Could be wrong."
She walked in, found the place pretty empty as expected. It would seem to a non-knee eye that this place didn't have anyone enter for years and then write it off. Kate knew better. Small things were off. Minor sections seemed less dusty. More cared for. It was fascinating and mysterious. Looking around had more of the same, entering one room revealed a bed, used. Some clothing too. Looking around further and following the pattern of less dust, a weird wall could be found. Fake, something hidden behind it, just like with the Batcave, which made her realize a similar situation could be going on here. She found the switch and opened the door, heading inside.
"What the heck?" She muttered, looking around.
"See something weird?" Luke asked, still on coms.
Kate looked around the secret room. "Could call it that, seems like our Ryan Wilder is a fan of mine. Or obsessed planning on killing me. Seems like the luck of a superhero." She joked and kept looking around, spotting one of her batarangs on display.
"Seemed to borrow one of my batarangs." She continued saying.
"Really? Huh, maybe I should start building trackers into these in case you lose some more. Haven't really thought about that." He pondered aloud.
"Looks like we've got even more fun stuff around here. She's been doing a lot of research about me, Batwoman and Kate Kane. Looks like she's put the two together. If she hasn't blackmailed me or exposed me, going to guess she does not have harmful plans here. Do you wonder what exactly she's up to, help? Wanting to be a vigilante too?" Kate wondered, looking through a pile of files. While she did, the lights went out in the room, going pitch black. Then I was quickly attacked before being able to switch over to night vision. "Hello?" She asked, getting defensive.
The attacker came back from behind, but she was able to predict this happening, countering and tossing the person across the room. Batwoman went to counter more attacks, getting fast blows at her, even a couple hits in. Of course, she was still the superiority fighter in this scenario, so beating back on them wouldn't be too hard. Kate continued blocking and was able to get a few hits of her own, getting them off of herself. This allowed enough time to get closer to the smaller amount of light peeking through the doorway. Batwoman tossed down a smoke bomb and rushed outgaining the higher ground outside of the room. The attacker followed her out, not seeing where she went. They wore a hoodie and couldn't be made out from it, having the hood covering their face, didn't appear to have any weapons either.
Kate waited for a moment, then made her move to tackle the attacker, preparing to continue the fight before they both realized who each other were.
"Batwoman? Oh my god, I'm so sorry for attacking you, I feel like an idiot. Just scared one of the gangs around here broke in and found that secret." Ryan expressed.
She lowered her defensive stance. "I'm sorry for attacking, too, should've figured it would've been you considering I broke into basically your home."
"True, I didn't know what to expect, I was so scared. Thought someone was here to kill my girlfriend or me. Who is out, just so you know, Ms. Batwoman." Said Ryan, somewhat awestruck seeing her hero standing before her.
"You seem pretty paranoid. Would you be expecting someone to kill?" Kate asked, not feeling like it would be good if she seemed like a young woman.
"I am, kinda my girlfriend and other craps fault. I don't mean her fault badly, just to be clear, damn it. Words are becoming very hard right now."
"Sometimes I have that effect on people, primarily fans," Kate said jokingly.
Ryan cleared her throat and sighed. "So um, guess you saw all that, huh? Swear I'm not going to kill you or anything."
"Yeah, I did. I've got a few questions, and you better be planning on answering." Kate declared, crossing her arms.
"Right, of course. It would be best if we talk about stairs and if I shut this. Kinda paranoid about someone walking in and spotting us together. Expressly, my girlfriend, she might try killing us if she saw you." Ryan explained.
"Fair enough," Kate replied, following her.
Shortly after, Ryan hid away her secret room and went upstairs into a distant room next to a window, which seemed like an exit. Batwoman followed her along, keeping a bit on edge, still had a lot of Ryan Wilder to understand yet.
"So, um, yeah. This is pretty insane. I wasn't planning on meeting you, like ever. I mean personally like this, face to face in my orphanage. "
"Well, you know, I make a habit of trying to understand mysterious people," Kate replied, sitting down across from her. "Why have you been following me?"
Ryan sighed. "Just wanted to help, one time. Saw you were in a bad place and couldn't allow you or Gotham to be in danger when I could've been doing something. Which is why I helped you out with those anarchist creeps. Then, against all odds, Whisper helped out Alice, which led to your capture, and I had to help you again. Then, well, a week ago, I was just loving the whole being a hero thing. Was awesome. Is."
"And yet, you're hanging out with bad crowds. I've got no doubt you're a good person deep down in your core. Just why would you be working with these people? Criminals like Whisper?"
"She's not that bad when you actually know her, and she was there for me during a bad time." Ryan expressed.
"Your drug runner past? Did she get you in? Or get you out?" Kate asked curiously.
"Rather not speak of that, right now. How about yourself? I know who you are, but never could really wrap my head around why a billionaire would be wanting to help Gotham by beating the snot out of criminals." Ryan questioned.
Kate smirked. "Can't believe someone as rich as myself would just be wanting to help out the people of Gotham City. Innocent people in need?"
Ryan shook her head and crossed her arms.
"Wow. Haven't more people been helping out make poorer neighbourhoods more lively? You know, I'm sure I've been making a lot of low-income housing. That's gotta help and my other projects in the works?" Kate asked, standing up surprised.
Ryan shook her head.
"Huh, thought I was doing more to help Gotham," Said Kate, a little disappointed and wondering how exactly the city wasn't in a better place yet. "How did you discover my identity anyway? Quite interested in figuring that one out."
Ryan smirked and laughed slightly. "Right, yeah. I was in the heat of running from GCPD and turning my life around, somewhat, as you appeared. People thought it was Batman, but I knew better than that. I wasn't surprised when you turned out to be a woman. My guess was correct. After you came out as a lesbian, kinda inspired me even more, to get interested in your activities and your identity. Took the same thinking of how quickly Green Arrow showed up after Oliver Queen returned home in 2012. Kate Kane comes back, so does Batwoman. Your faces are similar, too, body type, and you seemed like a boss in general. Oh, and you had the money. Which made me figure out Bruce Wayne must have originally been Batman. Anyways, yeah, don't worry, took me sometime before putting this all together. So um, you asked about the neighbourhood, right? Would you like to go see it?" Ryan then asked.
Kate nodded her head. "I'm figuring it would be best changing into something less noticeable." She then pointed out.
"Oh yeah, right." Ryan laughed. "Good point."
Shortly later on, Kate had changed back into civilian clothing, stashing the batsuit away safely. Now she was heading down Gotham's streets with Ryan Wilder, noticing the trash and filthy nature pretty quickly. "Wow, you were not kidding." She said.
"Nope, this place is so nasty. Sometimes I wonder how on earth it's gotten this bad, or rather stays this bad." Ryan replied.
"I'm just not able to understand. How many criminals and gangs are there? Must be their doing. I'm positive. Maybe I need to spend more time cleaning up as Batwoman," She remarked, looking around all others, even the buildings looked as if they'd be falling apart soon. "Gotham is one of the most expensive cities in the world. How the heck is this possible? We've got so many rich people who could easily be putting money into this, and I'm sure Mayor Adkins was doing some initiative. I gave money for it!" Kate exclaimed unhappily by this sight.
"You seem genuinely surprised. Corruption runs deep in this city. Really does suck. Superbad, cops hardly come to this area, you know."
Kate remembered something from earlier. "My teammate and I investigated you earlier tonight, saw the GCPD was after you, then they just dropped it. What happened there?" Kate asked curiously.
"Oh cool, you've got a team?" She stopped herself from continuing and switched over to answering her question. "Right that, yeah. Cops pinned me, then forced me to assist them with their illegal business after some time. Kept their word of cutting me loose. Then kinda tried to have me killed. Didn't work in their favour, lazy shooting. Met Whisper after that, and we fell in love." She expressed blushing a little when mentioning her love of Whisper.
That made Kate smile slightly. "You seem to care a lot about her, despite her being a criminal. I can relate." She replied and sighed. "How long have you two been together?"
"Nearly over a year. Almost our first anniversary, actually. Super excited about that, though I am worried if she finds out about this."
"You mean that desire to help people and Gotham in general?" Kate asked.
She nodded. "Bingo. Got a guess Whisper wouldn't be a fan of you know, helping people and putting away criminals. Going to be an issue one day."
"I know we've just met, but you should genuinely tell her the truth. Take it from me, lying to people you love always blows up in your face." Kate said knowingly.
Ryan didn't respond and nodded. "Crap, over there. Some jerks. Call themselves Demonz. Dumb name for a dumb group. Think they're tough, more annoying than anything else," She pointed out.
"Batwoman met The Boys earlier. How many gangs are there around here?" She asked.
Ryan scoffed and snickered. "Like. 20 or so. Just in this part of Gotham. Just thugs trying to be tough, not real threats. In numbers, it still sucks bad. One of the worst things our city has seen. That's not including mob activity. Or goons or guns for hires. This city is a complete mess, and I'd bid good luck with trying to fix it. Still, you taught me to at least try, even if it's a lost cause," Ryan explained, looking around frowning.
"Happy, I inspired you. Not happy Gotham isn't better despite all I've done," Kate replied, sounding defeated judging from her tone.
"Hey, you've done a lot of good for Gotham, Ms. Kane. Like you've brought down a bunch of crimes, the cops and Crows wouldn't have been able to stop."
Kate felt a little more upbeat, but still can't shake the feeling of not accomplishing enough. "Look at all these people, nobody is helping them out. I've got to take that step and help it better than I have. Be more active."
"Yeah, I'm sure you will," Ryan said, encouraging her hero.
Kate had thought and smiled slightly. "We're both wearing hoods, and over there are a bunch of crooks up to no good. What do you say we do?" She asked.
"Kick their butts," She replied.
The two women did so, carefully sneaking upon them. Ryan explained despite their stupid, unnecessary name, the gang could still be an admirable threat if not handled properly. Strength in numbers is what they had. Kate and Ryan had strengths every other way when it would come to take them down.
Getting closer, it appeared they had a drug deal.
"Looks like it's the Daughter's craw," Ryan stated.
"Who is the Daughter? Is she a gang leader around here?" Kate asked.
Ryan shrugged. "Yeah, don't know her identity. She's popped up just a few weeks ago around here and has been getting a following with like teens."
"Teenagers? Are you serious? This is ridiculous. Why would teenagers be working for a gang?" Kate was quite surprised by this development.
"Welcome to life out here," Ryan replied coldly.
"Horrible, another thing I'm going to fight to change," Kate declared triumphantly.
Together, they moved in on the thugs creeping up, getting the drop on them. Kate silently took one down, showing Ryan what to do. Which she did, not as well, but effectively enough to not alert the others around.
"You ready?" Kate whispered, looking around for reinforcements.
"Oh yeah," Ryan replied, prepared for a fight.
They rushed in and quickly knocked out 4 of the criminals before being spotted. Wasn't much they could do to defend themselves. After all, it was a very tight alleyway, and shooting wasn't going to be easy. Anyone with a gun with their first targets that needed to get knocked out. Thankfully none of the apparent teenagers seemed to have any deadly weapons, so punching and kicking them all into unconsciousness was easy enough for the two women.
"All done, let's destroy these drugs so they can't cause any more harm," Kate remarked, preparing to get rid of them.
Ryan nodded, disgusted, looking down at them all. Finding it horrible and can't bear the sight of them, seeing first hand all the harm it could and did cause.
"Hate this crap, would love it if we could burn down every lab in this city."
Kate finished up getting rid of them permanently. "How many labs would that be? Can't be that many, I've hardly stumbled onto any drug operations, "Said Kate.
It was a surprise upon hearing her response. "You don't know? There are like at least 100 operations going down in this crap hole of a city. Insane, but it's true. Not to mention how many deals are made each night." Expressed Ryan.
"Damn, wasn't expecting to have my spirit crushed tonight by searching you out, Ryan Wilder," Kate replied semi sarcastically.
"Yeah, well. Gotham is a hard place to live in. You're at least trying, which is better than most people." Replied Ryan, trying to sound more positive.
"Should be doing more than trying to make Gotham a better place, need to be. I'm always doing the best I can, always thinking it was good enough. I've stopped a lot of threats, some Gotham doesn't even know about. You wouldn't believe me, but I stopped the universe from being erased and yet, can't stop the drug deals in my city." Kate remarked, completely shocked by these turn of events.
"Hey, don't feel bad, maybe if you-I'm sure you will be able to get them all defeated and put away for all they've done," Ryan said, awkwardly, seeming to want to hide something. Kate didn't feel like pushing on it. Seemed like she was trustworthy. Still, it was best to keep skeptical. Some things were still a mystery about her.
"Let's just get out of here, head back. I've seen enough." Kate declared.
They started walking back and looking around still. On the way back, they saw even more criminals having no regard for caring about innocent people. Couldn't really do much, and they were looking threatening, not posing a real issue. Ryan thought they'd be types to cause trouble. Seemed to feel that way with a lot of people.
"Liked the tour?" Ryan asked sarcastically.
"No, not really, it was important, and I'm happy to have gotten a little peek at least. Even if it was repulsive." Kate replied, phased by what was seen.
"Well, Gotham has you as it's protector. I'm positive without a doubt you're going to change the city for the better, the longer you're around." Ryan said.
"Would be the hope," Kate replied, then sighed. "Did crime make you an Orphan?" She then asked.
Ryan frowned heavily. "Could say that."
"What happened? You can tell me if you want." Kate said, trying to be supportive.
"Okay, I'll share a little. My mom. She was a good person. Genuinely. Rare around here, worked at a hospital as a nurse. Was her dream job, helping people out who really did need it. She was like an angel and cared about everyone." She sighed. "Then, one day, The Scarecrow attacked the hospital. That nutcase was still newish, one of the first attacks. Happened after a breakout from Arkham, he wanted to test out his fear toxin on innocent sick people. Everyone evaluated, leaving them at his mercy. Mom tried to stop him. That failed. He slashed her and gassed her. Once Batman came in and beat the hell out of him, she was put into ICU. She had a secret, was fighting a nasty sickness, not contagious, but didn't tell her work. If she wasn't sick, mom would've lived, but being gassed without a cure for that dose and bleeding. Way too much for her. If only Batman was faster, seemed like he took his sweet time."
Kate could relate with that, though she began to understand it was more complex than seen on the serface. It was still likely best to leave Ryan alone, not mentioning it.
She countuined. "Couldn't stop that monster from killing her. Took her from this world. I was young around then, I'm not sure how old I was. My age didn't matter so much. I just waited until I was 18. Wanting to get free from this place. Still haven't obviously, even with it closed down." Ryan explained.
Kate was surprised and felt horrible for Ryan upon hearing what happened. She put her hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry that happened. It must have affected you greatly. My mom and sister were taken away from me too. I feel like there is more to that story."
Ryan looked down. "Your right, but I'm going to keep that to myself. Thank you very much. I've shared a lot with you already, Ms. Kane."
"Fair enough, wouldn't blame you if you're a little closed off."
Ryan didn't respond to that.
"You know, I've learnt a lot today. Clearly, I've not done enough. I'm thinking of one change that could help make Gotham better. Offering you a job. What kind could be up to you? Seems like you're a fast learner and could genuinely help make this city a better place, if I had to choose, why not help me figure out how to help improve the city?" Kate asked, genuinely thinking hard about giving and creating this job opportunity to make substantial impactful changes to the city.
"Wow, that is, wow. I'm surprised you offered me that," Ryan replied.
"Good surprise or bad?"
Ryan shrugged. "Tempting, I-I need to think about that first."
"Fair, I'll leave it open and hey, going to give you my direct number too. I believe in this being the right way to go forwards," Kate said genuinely and put a hand on her shoulder, smiling, feeling great about this.
Shortly after, they returned to the orphanage. Finding Whisper waiting around inside.
"Ryan, who is this?" She asked on the defence, seeming a bit worried.
"Um, this is-" Ryan didn't know how to respond.
Kate did for her. "I'm Kate Kane, just was looking around this part of Gotham. I Met this kind woman, and now I was just heading out," She expressed, smiling.
"Kate Kane? As in the rich one?" She asked, confused.
"Yes, I just wanted to look around and figure out how to best help the city. I'm assuming you are her girlfriend? She mentioned you, all positive."
"Good to hear," She replied skeptically.
"Now, I'm sorry, really should be heading out. Busy day still, nice day to you both." Kate said, walking off, trying to not get either of them in trouble.
Whisper and Ryan got close to one another. "Why was Kate Kane here?" She looked very much suspicious.
"Not a clue, just ran into her getting harassed and helped her out. Like she ur, said to you. Apparently, she was trying to look around, getting a better sense of Gotham or something like that. Got no idea. It was crazy meeting someone like her," Ryan explained, lying the best she could.
Whisper stared at her for a moment. "Okay, I believe you."
"She offered me a job, like a real one. Totally wasn't expecting that. Wants me to help make Gotham a better place, going to guess she's got other people involved too. Still, pretty crazy, and I've got no idea what to say," Ryan said, which was mostly true.
"You know, could be potentially positive. Getting you out of this life more than ever, wouldn't that be wonderful? You'd be safer, maybe happier," Whisper said softly.
Ryan held her hands and looked into her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Just, that person I was meeting. It's nothing. Got the deal, going to be having big moves soon. Little concerned," She responded, looking away.
"Hey, we'll get through it. She's not planning anything evil, right? Just transporting goods and people in need of protection? No drugs or killers?"
"No, of course not. I wouldn't help out someone who doesn't have our same wishes. Promise Ryan what she's planning, what she'll do. It's going to help, just be a lot of work and get us on the radar. Could backfire badly," Whisper explained.
"Doesn't matter, promise me we'll not do anything to hurt anyone, and I'll be with you until the end. We'll get through this."
"Thank you for the engagement Ryan, and we should talk more about that job offer, maybe after, you know," Whisper said, knowing getting close and kissing her.
"Yes, please."
Elsewhere, Kate returned to the Batcave but first felt like continuing to look around the area. The crime was going around everywhere it seemed. Around every corner, she couldn't help herself from stopping at least a few of these crimes spotted. Each offence stopped seemed like it was caused by all gang members, ones she never heard of ever or even spotted before. Even after all this time, she still couldn't wrap her head around how blind she was to all the crime going on in Gotham City. So Kate continued beating back and disrupting criminals but still felt like it wasn't enough done. Alas, it seemed like it was enough crime-fighting for the night, taking down at least 11 criminal operations in what felt like a montage of her greatest hits. Finally felt like it was time to get Mary and Luke up to speed.
"Hey, think I should be filling you two in now on what happened."
"You're absolutely right about that! We were worried, sick!" Mary exclaimed.
"Right, sorry about that. Sometimes I forget you two are not physic," She joked. "I'm heading back now and figured as much I should be informing you two about everything that I just learnt about. Feels crazy, might wanna sit down."
"We both are. I got Mary a chair, it has wheels," Luke expressed.
"Yes, it does, and I love this chair!" She exclaimed, sounding like she was rolling around in the background.
She got back on her bike. "Alright then, congrats on the chair, Mary, and buckle down for what I've got to share with you two."
Some unknown time later, Alice awoke with a headache and got up. Finding herself in a basement, with hardly any light peeking through. "Again, with this!" She remarked, hitting on the walls. "Let me out!" She shouted.
"I called the master, he's excited having you capture. Asked to deliver food, lucky for you. He'll be back soon anyway, guess you're going to get special treatment." The woman from before said mockingly, walking down the stairs approaching Alice.
She tried to attack the woman, hoping to escape this predicament. Still, She wasn't able to, unfortunately realizing she was tied down.
"When I get out of here-" She started to say threateningly but was cut off.
"I know the crap you always say before doing something evil, trying to scare me isn't going to work. Believe me, Alice, nothing scares me," The woman said.
Alice scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm surrounded by boring people. All-day all night. You know my last minion was the worst, wouldn't get anything down the right and then was captured by Supergirl of all people. Could you please, just cut me a break here? Took me a week to even find this place!" She expressed in annoyance.
"Sometimes life isn't fair, I'm aware of your past. Along with you killing that dear Moose of yours too."
Alice glared at her. "How would you ever know that?"
"Perhaps you should've buried him, Alice would've made it harder to find him," The woman said, smirking at her.
Alice tried once more to break free. "You are lying!" She exclaimed.
"Perhaps, maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. I'll never tell," The woman said, walking away and shutting the door.
She didn't believe the woman's lies. They couldn't be true. How could Mouse have been found? It was true, he was just left there to riot, and couldn't stand the pain of disposing of him despite his betrayal. From her face, she didn't know if it was true.
The team of Kate, Luke and Mary sat around the Cave, processing these relations.
"So, you two were surprised by all this, I'm guessing? This silence is killing me," Kate said, standing up and shaking her head.
"Just can't believe the three of us didn't know any of this," Mary expressed, shocked.
"Same here, guess my neighbourhood wasn't so bad. Feel bad for under-appreciating it and my dad sheltering me from all this crap going on."
Kate walked around the cave. "I seriously need to do more to help Gotham out in better ways, ones that could help. I've not done enough, and I can't shake the feeling that I'll never be able to do enough now." Kate declared.
"You still have a chance to turn this around with that Ryan Wilder girl. She could totally help us out. Maybe in more ways than working a regular old job?" Mary suggested.
"That is true, she's shown off how skilled she is and could be if I helped her advance even further, your right Mary. Could have a partner in the field, but I still don't trust her fully. Can tell she's got secrets buried inside of her. Need more time before then." Kate explained and nodded at Mary.
Luke meanwhile was pulling something up on the computer. "I'm guessing she never told you she wasn't ever adopted or why?" He asked.
"No, I didn't even think of that," Kate replied, walking over with Mary following along.
"Well, it turned out Ryan had something of anger issues. Even violent outbursts throughout her time there, it would seem like. A couple of police reports."
Kate looked confused. "Why could you check the records at the orphanage?"
"That's the thing, there are none. Which doesn't help the feeling of confidence here. Could've been an old place and had paper records or something more insidious?" He questioned, rubbing his chin.
"It was old, saw a portrait of an old woman too. Guess only Ryan holds those records, or she might have burned them. Typically, people don't like sharing. They have anger out burts in my experience," Kate remarked.
"So what? She gets angry, sometimes. I get fried up if someone dares give me the wrong order or something. Nearly a couple peoples heads off actually," Mary realized.
"We're going to have to talk about that more," Kate replied, looking at her.
Mary shook her head. "I'm not going to anger management!" She exclaimed.
Luke cleared his throat. "So, um. This whole thing, it's just. Similar kind of thing that Bruce went though. Which makes me worried a little."
"Why would that be?"
He sighed and took off his glasses. "Okay, so what a lot of the public doesn't know is, there was a second Robin. Not for very long though, Bruce quietly took him in during I think 2013 in the winter, he was trying to take the tires off the Batmobile."
"Hey, whatever happened to that thing?" Mary asked.
"Not a clue, think Bruce took it apart before he quit or-vanished, whatever he did. Anyways, he was young and could fight, so Bruce tried to direct his anger issues elsewhere, like punching bags and such. He broke a lot of bags. Jason was trained for a year before Bruce even thought of making him a Robin. So, he officially was Robin, a savage one, honestly. Like Bruce, he had a thick head, but not the brains or experience. He was careful with him and wasn't sure if this was helping. Then, well, The Joker got a hold of him because he wasn't careful enough, underestimating him, and well, you haven't heard of Jason Todd for a reason." Luke said frowning.
"So he's dead? The Joker killed him? I wonder if that might have been what pushed Bruce over the edge." Kate wondered allowed.
He didn't respond to this and looked away.
"You know, Kate isn't Bruce. I know she won't make the same mistakes again. Especially now that you decided to let, us know this critical information!" Mary expressed, shaking her head at him.
"Mary is right, Ryan isn't like Jason Todd. He was a kid, right? She's a grown woman who is tough, smart, and I won't make the same mistakes with her. I'll get her anger under control and never let her go up against anyone as dangerous as The Joker or Alice all by herself." Kate declared.
"It really wasn't Bruce's choice, that madman lured Jason, thereby taking his mom. Both died in an explosion." Luke expressed.
"Well, it's fortunate that her mother's killer has been locked in Arkham for 5 years without a pep. So don't worry, I'm going to do a better job with Ryan, even if I decide to bring her in here. I can promise without a doubt in my mind, Ryan Wilder will not be a failure. I won't let her down. Her and Gotham, they deserve better than what currently is, and that is a fact." Kate said, crossing her arms. More determined.
Alice was still trapped in the mysterious and dirty basement, getting more impatient having to wait all this time. At least what felt like a long time, perhaps it was her inpatient, it seem like a long time had passed.
A voice began speaking from above at long last, though a microphone. "Hello, Alice, Beth? Been a long time. How many years? Doesn't matter, does it? I'm considering greatly about gasing you. Seeing what results from that would give, perhaps my late friend would visit you? Your father? Your sister? Victims of your many crimes? How many have you hurt? Killed? What a prospect. Give me a reason to not test on you," The voice said coldly and sinisterly.
She laughed. "Gassing me would be such a waste of time. What I could do for you, what we could accomplish together, Gotham would pay dearly. Batwoman, too, have you met her yet? No, I'd assume not, after all, Batman locked you up, and my riot is what freed you, correct? It would be rude betraying me like that, such an absolute insult. You wouldn't want that, would you? Bad for your reputation, and how about for old time's sake? For your old friend and colleague? August Cartwright."
A door opened, revealing light, and a skinny man walked down a set of stairs. "Fine, Alice. Let's work together for old August's sake. You know, I haven't heard from him in a long time. Sometimes I wonder if you killed him," The man said.
"Don't worry, I didn't. He's been dead a long time now, silly goose. Now, wouldn't you want to show Gotham the true nature of fear? Your specialty, doctor."
"Please, Alice, don't call me a doctor. I prefer, The Scarecrow," The man declared.
Batwoman
So, surprise, maybe lol. The mystery man is Scarecrow. I don't think Ryan will be too happy once she learns about his return and escapes from Arkham. C.G thought it was Hugo Strange, which was a great guess. It felt like this was the logical path. I'm excited to use him as a secondary threat as he's my favourite Batman villain. Won't go extreme with using him. He won't be the main villain. I think his primary purpose here should be pretty straightforward.
Also, for Scarecrow's casting, I'd have to say the hope would obviously be Cillian Murphy. If we're trying to keep semi-real or not just super actors, I will go with someone else, but idk who, so open if anyone cares lol. I'd chosen the guy from Gotham, but Scarecrow is meant to be over 40 years old. It could be 50s. I am thinking too hard about this…
Response to C.G.
Hello (:
Yeah, figured it would be a surprise, wasn't my original intention lol. Hope so too. Thank you very much. Oh, that doesn't sound good, at least I'll be put under, and at least they won't be causing you issues. (Don't know if that's how it's always been down)
In regards to response PS. - That is quite sad how we are, dumb with how much social media there is. Perhaps it comes from not wanting to listen to all the different angles of fans, not wanting to pander to any? I'm not sure. Seems odd to piss off the fanbase though, don't get why that's such a common thing lately.
Special Guest Appearances - Thank you so much. I'm happy I handled it well enough.
The Casting Call – Yes, I tried that. Hopefully, it was okay. I'm wondering if that was good, or perhaps I should've had it during the end? Also, not sure if it was clear who was playing who. Guess it's assumed.
Vesper Fairchild Radio Talk – Thank you so much too! You really did make that part happen (: Okay, I'm pretty good at apologizing it would seem. Yes, that was the idea, though something might not have worked. It's fine, I've got stuff like that to happen all the time, like you giving me the suggestions for how to end the plot were much better. Along with this very episode too. Seems to really show multiple heads help a lot!
How The "Three Ghosts of Batwoman" Should Work: I thought so, pretty much had the same thinking as you in concept. That sounds good. I'm super super excited to write about them one day.
#1 That is all pretty fantastic ideas. I'll say for sure that once she shows up, this origin will mainly be kept in tactic. I do have a couple changes/adding I might make, not significant. Just more related to why she'd be going after Batwoman and such. Love the ideas a lot and again will 1000% do them!
#2 Thank you, and I'm happy for the extended details with her and multiple names. Yes, I forgot about that. I'll assume, despite that mask, he still used venom, perhaps it went in through the mask in this universe? (I'm going to believe it was for referencing the film and assuming he wasn't just a strong natural guy. Thank you for the reminder, though) I love all these ideas and, again, will do them all!
#3 Like the mystery behind her, might have fun giving random "potential" origins for her existence though by the characters. Like the supernatural powers too, that would be interesting for Batwoman to go up against (and kinda more like the comics). The way you describe all these three designs are an excellent choice wise btw. Love all the imposter names too. Your ideas for "The Three Ghosts" are incredible, and I hope when I finally do them, it'll be up to your expectations.
Episode Title - Thank you for it. I very much appreciate it as always!
Next Episode Summary Prediction: Great guess/idea. I used it as a guide for the episode pretty much. Wanted the main focus to be Kate & Ryan. I hope that it was well done. I appreciate your predictions, as well. Sorry if the next one might not be able to be predicted.
Reminders about the history of this version of Ryan Wilder - I'll not respond to every point and keep this kinda general, sorry. I love all your ideas and will do my best to keep them all in. Some of it will be spread out during the season, just didn't want to cram all this into this one episode, which I'm sure you expected.
How the First Encounter Between Kate Kane and Ryan Wilder Could Be Approached - I loved your speculation and clearly used a lot of it. Pretty much was having the same thought processing. Hope all that I used was a fair amount of it. Like Kate said, there is still more to Ryan. Loved all your points, and they helped me get this done pretty efficiently, I hope.
Ps. You were right and wrong, excellent guessing though (: I want to keep her past not completely open from day one. I like a little mystery and hope that it'll pay off. For example, Kate doesn't know Ryan might become a killer if she'd see Scarecrow again. Which will happen sooner then they'd both expect, so that's going to be an issue. Also, I feel like she'd be more closed off afraid of opening up. Like she ultimately hasn't with Whisper either despite loving her.
Ultimately, I promise almost all suggestions regarding Ryan and many other things will be kept intact. Hope all that I had in this episode was good.
Also, I wanted to say without spoilers, Ryan won't encounter Scarecrow until episode 7. So, just to keep in mind if you want to figure out what happens next, my current idea might not be guessed. I am open to you trying to guess tho.
It could be considered "filler," tho I do wonder what is considered filler? Like Flash, for example, is called filler a lot. Could I have some examples if anyone cares? Anyways, basically, it'll be "villain of the week" I don't think it's filler ultimately cause it's tied into the whole corruption angle and Batwoman having to work with GCPD. Other stuff too, but I'll keep silent. Hope it'll be enjoyable.
Regarding BlueBird, I hope to bring her in. I was reading when she was first introduced and liked her. I will say that won't be for a bit; however, "Team Batwoman" (or whatever, idk what to call them lol) is pretty full. I'm sure you assumed it would be later on anyways. 100% she will appear and thank you for the suggestion/help as always (:
Finally, thank you again for all the reviews/comments. Chapter 6 might take 3 weeks, and then another delay might be on the horizon. I explain better below, but I'm finally starting Estrogen, and I'm not sure how that will go starting off. Thank you for continuing to read/enjoy, and I'm sorry if any delays start happening. I'm always happy posting and waiting for your reviews/comments.
Best wishes to you.
In response to Silver-Infinite
Thank you, and I agree with that. I can say there will be at least one more crossover with Supergirl and the cast there. It kinda depends on what happens during season 6 if they'll be any more. Hopefully, it'll be the case for it being possible.
Random note, I was reading a bunch of Batwoman comics. I was pretty interested in how different the show is from it all. Personally, idc cause I hate horror and a lot of it was pretty creepy shit. (I know it's ironic I love Scarecrow) Had a lot of good and was different than other bat books. I'm pretty sure fans of the comics mustn't like the show very much.
Additionally, I was upset about how the 2011 Batwoman book was just in the middle of its long storyline. The next issues were non-related and broke up Kate & Maggie, which was a kick to the head. Would've been happy to see what the creative team would've done if not screwed over.
Yet another random note (might rant a little, sorry), so I randomly stumbled across this being surprised. More casting has come out for Batwoman season 2, the biggest one was for Victor Zazz, and two were overlooked, it seemed. So, "Whisper" will be appearing in season 2. (I heard that, which is why I researched her and put her in). However, the twist is, this isn't "Whisper," not really. (to be fair, my "Whisper" isn't much like the source matual, but I'm at least keeping some parts and not smashing two characters together for no reason) It's the character "The Knife" literally the same in every way, even with the same name (Well actually Tahani is her name, Tatiana is "Whisper's name, but come on lol) but whitewashed. WTF? My head hurts with this, pulled it with "Julia Pennyworth," but whatever, here it feels kinda broken. I looked it up, and the name Tatiana doesn't seem like a name for a white woman. Could be wrong, idk, just seems all very dumb and weird. Also, the other guy cast will play "Ocean, a zen Gardner and thinker with a complicated past. A loyal soldier and fighter, Ocean moves to Gotham looking for a new beginning." Pretty weird too. Idk, maybe I'm the only one feeling this way, sorry if so, and please express why I'm wrong to feel this way. (Sorry for the ranting, just season 2 seems super weird from everything heard, could be lousy wording idk)
Finally, a general note for the future. So, as I've hinted before, if you've been paying attention, I am a trans woman. Now I'm starting Estrogen (specifically on Oct 2), super happy about that. The part that affects my writing is, of course, possible side effects. I could potentially struggle for the first few months with energy, pain and getting used to my emotions changing. So, delays might become more frequent. I'm hoping this won't be the case, just felt I should warn you all. Also, hopefully, my writing, in general, won't be affected negatively in general from possible mental changes. (Learned no joke after posting I will have random sparts of joy and extreme sadness for a little, yay. Hope that won't screw anything up)
Along with that comes my Wisdom Teeth, of course, having that done today as I post this in a fewish hours. Exciting. I don't know how much damage that will do.
I've currently got episode 6 written up a bit. Helps just mostly doing my own thing with that episode, which benefits with whatever might happen. Hoping I won't be out of commission for too long.
Best wishes to you all. Hope you all have enjoyed the story until this point and shall continue to. I feel with my luck during this potential "break," Batwoman season 2 footage will come out, which make somethings blow up possible. Idk, I'm writing this last part at 1 am. Leave me alone, lol.
(Okay, update, had to change a couple small, yet huge things. Don't plan on doing that again. Oh, btw my wisdom teeth thing went well. Just pain, I can live with it. Still, likely will take a break even if I write/think behind the scenes. Sorry, I'll be back fast. For C.G, please contuine to feel free with sharing stuff, hope I don't screw up again. I think I'm getting a clearer picture now and shouldn't make as many mistakes I hope, also I'll have a resonse next chapter to all that eye opening explaining, thank you for the big info dump, helping me mentally with recovering getting to focus away from the pain. Along with worrying about my best friend)