READER ADVISORY WARNING
I wanted to give this before starting, this episode/chapter will be dealing with topical issues as of this time in the world, which hopefully won't always be the case, hopefully it'll get better. Anyways, racism, police issues and topics like that are tackled here. If you rather not be wishing to read about it, I get that and I'm not sure if I give a great look anyways, if you're a fan of how the Batwoman tv show is handling things, you might not agree with somethings. As always, up to you all. If you skip, this could be considered a filler episode, mainly dealing with some character development. If you're curious about some elements of the episode, feel free to read the end part where I touch on some parts. I hope very much you all shall enjoy and that I've done a respectful job. I've taken 8 weeks, but it might have not been enough time. Best wishes to you all.
Summary: As Kate and Julia continue their investigation into Safiyah's potential plans while in Coryana, Ryan gets a surprise in Gotham when she is contacted by a fellow orphan who used to live in the orphanage alongside her years ago. Despite the seemingly happy reunion, Ryan is horrified to learn that her friend is somehow in trouble for a crime that she was not involved in and did not even commit; prompting her to began her mission to clear her name, finding deep issues rotted in the city.
Ryan returned from a night patrolling the streets of Gotham, Kate Kane was now away from the city, in enemy territory. A mysterious island with an unplesent terrorist organization.
"Welcome back, Bat-oh crap, sorry I mean Black Bat," Luke said, correcting himself embarrassed by the mistake.
Ryan laughed slightly but was also hurt a bit by forgetting her new superhero name. "Can't seem to remember the name huh?" She said jokingly.
Clearing his throat, he replied. "Well uh. Long night, lots of busts and saving people. It's a little tiring watching you work. Or listening rather."
Before Ryan could respond, she got a phone call all of sudden, which surprised her greatly upon seeing the name of the caller. "I'm going to need a sec." She declared, starting to walk away slowly picking up.
"Everything alright? You look spoked." Luke pointed out.
She nodded slowly. "It's someone from my past, someone who meant a lot to me. I just-well, never thought I'd hear from her again. I'll fill you in later, alright?" She picked up stepping further away.
"LaShawna?" Ryan asked with a shocked tone.
"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I know this out of nowhere, but I need help. I'm in Gotham and praying you still are." She replied hopefully.
"I am, what's going on? Why are you back in the city?" Ryan asked, still in complete shock and a slight smile.
"I'll explain when you get here. Going to give you an address. Please, hurry."
Ryan rushed off out of costume to this address given having to take Kate's bike for the time being, which she approved of in important situations. This was most important.
She stopped at a street corner finding a panicked LaShawna.
"Oh, Ryan! Thank you, god!" She exclaimed, hugging you tightly.
"What's happening? I can tell you're totally freaked out."
Clearly paranoid, she looked around before responding. "I've been framed, my roommate, they, they're in cahoots with some serious people. Ones who are planning on doing something very bad and now I've been pinned! All-cause of some stupid mistakes and incompetence. The police want me. It's serious business, and I'm scared to death here, please, help me!" She exclaimed.
"You're innocent? Swear on your parents. Both." Ryan said seriously.
"You don't trust me?" She asked, hurt.
Ryan frowned. "It's been years. People change, promise me."
"I swear on both my parents, I didn't have any part in what those guys are planning for real, it was my roommate."
"Alright. I trust you. What now?" Ryan asked.
Almost like on cue, Ryan spotted a police car coming around a corner. "On the bike, now. I'll get you somewhere safe until this all blows over."
She listened and followed Ryan. "How's this going to all blow over? Nobody knows I've been framed, who can help?" She asked as they just about started to drive away.
"I'm going to keep you safe, and I've got a friend who's going to help prove your innocence. Promise you, not going to let you down. You're like a sister to me and always have been there for me back then." She replied.
"Who's your friend?" Lashawna asked.
"Long story, trust me. Not going to let you get brought in, and I'm going to fix this." Ryan said, determined as they rode off together.
Batwoman
Everyone seen in season 1 or 2, or etc, is the same, unless said otherwise. Including Ruby Rose as Kate Kane. *Credit only*
Vanessa Morgan is Ryan Wilder
Stephanie Beatriz is Renee Montoya.
Grace Gummer is Whisper.
Angela Bassett is Cora Lewis
Mishael Morgan is Lashawna
They pulled up to the orphanage as Lashawna looked greatly surprised. "Damn, never thought I'd see her again."
"Yeah, I've been staying here. Feels like home." Ryan replied.
"Was, for both of us. Longer for you. Which, you know sometimes I wish I never left you alone in that place." Frowned Lashawna.
"Hey, I wasn't alone. Had the best alternative to a real mom I could ask for. And the best alternative for a sister, until you left, got adopted, which I'm glad you did. That family seemed awesome and safe most of all." Ryan replied and smiled. "Oh, reminds me." She hugged her friend tightly. "I did miss you a lot."
"Yeah, same here." She replied smiling back at Ryan. "How long have you been staying here, haven't you got a home yet?"
Ryan looked embarrassed. "I've not gotten a real job, and I'm trying my best to keep this place from falling completely apart."
"Holding onto the past." Lashawna pointed out.
She didn't respond to that. "Oh and uh, my girlfriend's here. She didn't know I was bringing over an old friend, so, sorry about that."
"Are you going to tell her you've got a fugitive here?"
"False fugitive and she'd be fine with it, bending the law is something she's pretty comfortable with."
They went inside finding Whisper who was talking on the phone. "I'm going to have to call you back." She hung up upon seeing them.
"Who's your friend here?" Whisper asked.
"Long story, listen I'm sorry this is so short notice, but she needs to stay here for a little bit. The police are looking for her." Ryan replied looking stressed.
Whisper approached grabbing Ryan's hands. "You look concerned. What's going on?"
"This is Lashawna."
"Oh! I remember her!" She came up to her. "I've heard a lot about you. I'm so happy to have finally met you after all these years!" She exclaimed happily.
"Thank you."
Ryan smiled slightly before remembering the situation immediately. "Listen, I am, so so, sorry. I gotta go."
"Where?" Lashawna asked.
"To clear your name," Ryan replied, making her leave.
The two women now looked at each other awkwardly.
"So um, have a seat, make yourself at home," Whisper said awkwardly, smiling. "What exactly is happening?"
She frowned. "I've been framed for a crime. I-I didn't want to come back into Ryan's life like this or meet her girlfriend under these circumstances." Lashawna confessed.
"Fair enough, I've discovered, life doesn't always make things work out as planned. Apart from Ryan, she's the best part of my life. The only one that isn't rotten." She replied turning away.
"Yeah, Ryan, she's special. You better treat her great." She joked and covered her mouth as she yawned.
"Oh crap, right, you must be tired. Doesn't seem like being chased by the police is a common occurrence for you, huh?" She pointed out jokingly and with some concern.
Lashawna nodded.
Whisper looked around. "Well, we've got some beds left over, could fit you maybe? Ryan takes care of the place sometimes, wanting to keep it intact, so some beds are okay. If you want to rest a little bit, that is of course."
She nodded once again. "I'm really tired, long day, crazy."
"Totally get that, follow me," Whisper said, smiling at her while wondering what exactly Ryan was planning on doing to clear her friend's name.
Speaking of which, Ryan left going inside of her van to call Luke and quickly got him up to speed with everything happening.
"Can't have a regular reunion in this line of work, huh?" He said with sarcasm and sighed. "I'm going to look into anything that roommate's said or clues. Oh, and before you ask, I don't need to know their name."
Ryan sighed with relief. "I should've asked for one anyway. Could've helped."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up. It's not every day a childhood friend returns being framed for a crime they didn't commit. This a lot, like I've said, you're still new to all this, heck so I am somewhat. And hey, looks like I've got something." Luke said.
"What did you find?" Ryan asked, curious.
"Social media posts, a lot. Anti-police, government and all that. Death threats included, not promising statements given." He responded shocked.
"Alright, it must have been serious because the police are looking into it, they've gotta get a lot of these. What makes this special?" Questioned Ryan.
"Well, talks of protests."
"Which isn't a problem. Protests are good, the peaceful kind, which means this isn't that, is it?"
Luke sighed. "Can't tell, they're seeming to talk like it's peaceful, but these death threats. It's quite concerning. One threat is a bomb, and this guy's apparently good at building things. Mechanical. What did the police find I didn't?" He wondered allowed.
"Take your own advice, don't beat yourself up. When's this protest?"
"That's the really bad part. Less than 24 hours, we don't have a lot of time here assuming something bad is being plotted. Which in Gotham, is highly likely."
"Meaning I need to get to the bottom of this now." Ryan declared. "I'm going to see Montoya, hopefully, she'll be willing to trust me with whatever is going on here."
"Sounds good, I'll keep digging in the meantime. Good luck. Get back in touch soon alright?" Luke said seriously.
"Of course. Talk soon." Ryan replied and hung up, heading off to speak to Montoya before she couldn't help starting to remember the past.
Years ago, Ryan was first brought to the orphanage which would be her near-permanent home after the death of her mother for many years, it was now months since the loss of her mother.
She sat looking out the window until one of the caretakers approached, sitting next to her. Their name was Cora Lewis, but Ryan called them Ms. Lewis.
"Why the frown?" She asked a young Ryan.
She shrugged.
"I think you know, how about I take a guess?" She asked.
Ryan shrugged again. "Sure."
"You're feeling alone, why is that?"
"It's true, I'm alone, nobody cares about me. Maybe you."
"Only maybe? And Ryan, I can promise you, that isn't true. You're a wonderful young lady, going to make a lot of friends, but I get the struggles of having troubles making them, kids can be rough. Not to mention ones who lost their parents, but you all have something in common." She smiled a little. "Say, a new young girl say a couple years old then you are coming in just a couple minutes. Don't you think she could use a friend?"
Ryan smiled. "Yeah, you're right she could."
"That's the spirit! Come on, we can wait for her." She said happily.
They processed to sit and wait around for the young girl, who showed up shortly.
"We should wait until they settle okay?" She whispered to Ryan, who waved and smiled at the girl.
Later she went to see her with Ms. Lewis.
"How are you settling? Lashawna right? It's a lovely name." She said looking over at Ryan. "And my friend here is."
It took a moment for Ryan to realize her hint. "Oh, my name is Ryan Wilder, glad to meet you." She smiled again.
"Hi, you heard my name already. Awkward." She laughed.
"Yeah, how are you?"
"Being split from my crappy family, not sure how to feel about it. How about you, Ryan?"
She frowned. "I'm sorry. I'm okay.
"Hey, don't frown, could be worse. So anyway, what kinda stuff do we do around here?" She asked looking around.
Ryan looked at Ms. Lewis, but she smiled at Ryan, giving a thumbs up. "I think I'll leave you two alone now for a little, she'll help you get settled."
"Yeah, yeah, I can try," Ryan replied unsurely.
"You're doing fine, making me feel a bit better and this poopie situation."
Ryan laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess so. I uh, like drawing. Makes me feel good."
"Awesome, same with me, I'd love to see your drawings if that's cool?" Lashawna replied.
"Oh yeah, totally, totally."
Ryan went off with her, while Ms. Lewis watched on happily for her, which made her feel safer and secure about meeting this girl, the defences built up were lowing a bit. Part of herself felt she could be trusted, that part grew more each day.
Ryan shortly went hanging around the rooftop of GCPD, hoping Montoya would appear soon, as it occurred to her only Kate was able to contact her. Thankfully, soon enough the commissioner arrived.
"Where is Batwoman?" She immediately asked before Ryan could even open her mouth.
"Uh, busy. How'd you know I was up here? Do you have a sixth sense or something?"
"Cameras. No sound. Where exactly is Batwoman? People are starting to notice she isn't on the streets, you know. Could cause more trouble to arise. Never know." Montoya said seriously in tone.
Ryan nodded. "Fair enough, alright she's on a mission, not sure when she'll be back. It's protecting Gotham from a massive threat. So, pretty important."
"Okay, tell her I'd like to be informed if this happens again. So, why are you here? No offence, I'd suspect it's not a courtesy call." Joked Montoya.
Nodding yet again, she spoke after taking a breath. "I've got a friend in trouble, she's been framed for a crime she didn't commit, she's a fugitive. Life's in danger, and yeah, you get the point I'm sure."
"Indeed, what's her name? I know of every criminal currently being searched for, and I don't recall any cases that seemed fishy."
"Lashawna Raymond."
Montoya shook her head. "No, I don't recall. Which means something isn't right."
"Well, she's a foster kid, low income, you get what I'm saying," Ryan said, frowning.
"Trust me, when it comes to the law, that doesn't mean they'll fall through the creaks have the police not care to look for them. Quite the reverse, better for showing effectiveness catching criminals, easy picking. As cruel as it sounds. A lot of the higher-ups here are corrupt, we both know that and love money and appears to be doing their jobs well. Which means something else is happening. I'm going to help you, personally, I've got a smell of dirt." She said seriously in a tone looking far more intense than Ryan ever saw the commissioner. "Dirty cops is something I won't tolerate under my watch. We're meant to stand for something, protecting people, keeping the city clean. I'm going to check some things, I'll be right back."
"Hang up. I've got another name. Danny Halliday, they're Lashawna's roommate. I think they've framed her."
Montoya pondered the name. "It rings a bell, I was updated about this anarchist group operating in Gotham, his name was a potential member. Doubt it's a coincidence. How do I contact you again?"
"I could give you my phone, you've clearly not tracked Batwoman."
"Actually, I did a test to see if it was traceable, it wasn't. Yours would be. Don't give it out." Montoya said. "Come back later, I'll get you a lead."
Ryan sighed. "So much wai-" Before she could finish, Luke patched in.
"I've got a location of the roommate!" He exclaimed.
"Perfect timing." She replied.
Soon enough, she headed down into the subway, an abandoned part.
"He's here?" Ryan questioned.
"I'd guess so, I pinged his phone here. Could've dumbed it."
"Or set a trap." She remarked looking around uncomfortable.
Stepping around carefully, she looked at a rat running around. "Hello little friend, have you seen any anarchists?" She asked, knowing the rat wouldn't answer. "Alright Awesome." Investigating further, she discovered a few people wearing those creepy white masks from months ago when she first assisted Batwoman.
Approaching slowly, they noticed fast and started running off panicked. Ryan chased after one of them as they all started to split up.
"Stop!" She shouted, and the running man didn't respond naturally, so she used a Batarang to slow her down, throwing it into his lag. Now laying on the ground for a moment, she caught up and stopped him from getting back up. "That's why you listen when asked to stop."
"You sound like a cop." The man replied and tried to fight back.
She wasn't phased by this and pulled off his mask, seeing he was a young black man, perhaps turned 18 not long ago looking at him.
"Why are you running around with people like this, huh? You seem pretty young, with a bright future ahead of you. Don't you know what those masks did?" She questioned and held him down.
"Giving the finger to a society that hates people like us. I'm helping real heroes, ones that will give these scumbags what they deserve!" He yelled.
Ryan wasn't impressed. "Come on, I'm taking you to the surface to ask some questions, once I call my ally. You better get ready to talk." She said angered.
Back years ago, Ryan and Lashawna as children, now friends for about 2 years, had commonly gone to a store around the block. The owner was quite nice and trusting towards them, which was sweet. Sometimes gave them candy even on good days of business running his corner shop. One day, they had a bit of trouble come their way but didn't go as they'd expected.
"Did you hear Batman took down some child adductor?!" Ryan said happily.
"No, I don't like reading news about those creeps. Haven't I said that?" She replied looking uncomfortable.
She nodded. "Yeah, I just found it so awesome, Batman being out there helping out kids like us."
"Ah, Roger scared you, didn't he? What a jerk, can't believe that guy is like that so much, I don't get him. Why be like that? You shouldn't believe the things he says, he's trying to get at you, I'd kick his butt, I really am thinking of it." They looked around the store some more before two police officers walked in. One of them spotted the two children and started approaching suspiciously as they went to take a closer look at something.
"Hey! What are you two doing, huh?" He asked coming upon them hostilely.
They looked scared. "Nothing." Together they said immediately.
"Yeah right, empty those pockets!"
The other officer was at the counter speaking to the store owner then came up to his partner looking unhappy.
"Enough! Get back in the car. Leave them be." He told the younger man.
Reluctantly he listened leaving.
"I'm sorry about that, young ladies, some people can be, well. Some people are too egure to jump down somebody's throat."
Ryan and Lashawna both frowned.
"Hey, you didn't do anything wrong, don't let that fool make you think you did."
"He sure thought we did, just looking at us," Ryan replied.
The officer nodded. "Yes, he's wrong and believe me, my boss doesn't stand for cops like these, jumping to conclusions. I am truly sorry you had to experience that, stay safe." He stopped. "Let me get something of your choosing, the least I could do."
"Could you stop them?" Ryan asked.
"Who?"
"Racists like that, it'd mean everything. Like, arrest them all or something?"
He frowned. "I'm afraid now. I can do my best. I promise. Come on, let me get you something and hey, take my card, get out of trouble free card, which I know wouldn't be real trouble. I can tell you're good kids, deserve better."
Ryan felt a little better, but Lashawna was still shaken a lot by that moment understandably so, it was unacceptable.
Ryan finished explaining the story, without names of course.
"What's the point of this storytime? One officer has empathy, give him an award!" The young man exclaimed.
Ryan scoffed. "Guess what? Not all cops are horrible scumbags who are racist and want to hurt other people. Skin doesn't always matter, yeah it does sometimes, on rare cases. There are 10's of thousands of police, with that kinda number of course a few hundred or more might be scum. Not all. Not the majority. You believe killing cops will save the world, kill some and you'll piss off those real monsters, then they'll start killing more. You kill more. A cycle. We need to break it. Hate brings more hate. More death. More steps backwards. Think about the future."
"You think love or peace will save the world? Stop living in a fantasy land! Our people will keep dying, even if we don't do a damn thing wrong. What do you expect from us? To lay down, like okay officer man shot me please! Plant a knife! Some drugs! Whatever you need to get off scot-free of my murder. Legel murder."
"That's true. We won't ever stop fighting, but do you want them to be right about you, huh? Those people you really hate, the ones you say are in power? The police, the government, all that?"
He laughed hard, which made Ryan confused. "What the hell is funny here?"
"We're arguing, doesn't matter, you aren't going to change my mind worth a damn. I ain't going to be making you see the truth. All cops, all Crows, are bastards. Welcome to the real world." He replied, shaking his head.
She shook her head, knowing he was right about arguing and not changing anything. A little hope sparked in her seeing Montoya roll-up.
"Thank goodness." She mattered to herself walking up.
"You caught a suspect I see? He seems young." Renee pointed out, looking over at him.
Ryan nodded, frowning. "Yeah. He's not a fan of cops, but I need the help."
"Alright, well, I'd not consider myself most cops." She replied coming towards the kid.
"Hey, listen, my friend here told me you've got a dirty cop hounding you. Tell you what, special one-time deal. Give me a name, you get a chance to turn your life around."
The kid spat in Renee's face. "You let people get killed for nothing and let their killers walk. Why the hell would I tell you skawt?"
"Cause dirty like that is preventing me from fixing this broken department and having my time wasted." She replied seriously.
The kid sighed. "Rick Coffey. That's his name."
"Thank you," Renee said, smiling for a second. "You listen close, don't do anything stupid against anyone in my city and I'll toss you in jail. I've got a way of knowing faces and tracking people down. Got it?"
He nodded as she uncuffed him letting him go.
"What's the plan now?" Ryan asked.
"Getting Coffey to spill what's going down. And you're going to help, which won't be easy." Renee replied, looking at Ryan with some concern.
Back at the orphanage, Lashawna had trouble resting, having her mind racing quite heavily and went to speak once more to Whisper, who was looking over some papers. She softly knocked on the door to her room, which startled her for a moment.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that." Lashawna said, feeling bad.
"It's fine, happens to the best of us." She joked. "What's up?"
"Couldn't sleep, you know? Being a fugitive does that I guess." She joked back but did with a frown as well. "Anyways, what's Ryan up to here? Like, job-wise?"
Whisper hastated with sharing. "Uh, she delivers packages. To people. And drop off points, I helped her get into it. Made a decent living, pretty safe."
She looked skeptical, knowing an important part was being left out. "Packages? Not legal, I'd assume, I don't care to tell anyone, but I do care to know."
"Ryan wouldn't like me lying to you. Yeah, not exactly legal. It was drugs, I think mostly, I hope. Told her to never open them, you know? She never did."
Frowning she turned away.
"I'm guessing you're in a different line of work then?" Whisper asked knowingly.
She nodded. "Part-time, some crappy job while finding a real one here in Gotham. I finished college a few months ago, I was hoping every day that Ryan wouldn't go down a criminal path. It's scared me for so long dreaming of it, thinking she'd get herself killed for nothing worth a crap."
"We needed the money fast, and I needed help. I dragged her into this. Well, she's not wanting to do anymore, trying different things, I've been covering for her. She mentioned thinking of a community center that this rich lady was thinking of opening, helping out there. Seems kinda sketchy to me, but it makes her smile, happy."
Lashawna smiled slightly, a little with concern. "You seem like the kind of person who can protect Ryan."
Whisper laughed. "Trust me, she can take care of herself."
She looked over at her again. "Ryan called you Whisper, is that really your name?"
The woman shrugged. "It's been for a long time. The one I've heard the most, at times I've forgotten it, Ryan reminds me of it sometimes cause she likes it a lot, but knows I don't, reminds me of the past. My crappy family."
"I have a crappy family, my mom wasn't great at all, it's why I got put into a foster home, it took years for somebody to want me. Better people, seems you find better in Ryan."
"Yeah, for sure, why didn't anyone want to adopt you?"
She frowned. "Yeah, I do regret it sometimes."
Ms. Lewis approached a now preteen Ryan and Lashawna after they came back from the store again.
"Lashawna I've got wonderful news, I'm not going to bother telling you in private I know you'll tell Ryan immediately anyways. A family was expressing interest in adopting, and I believe they could be a wonderful fit for you, I recommended you. I know you'll need some time to think, please don't take too long. Don't rush, of course, you know what I mean." She walked off leaving both girls greatly surprised.
"Oh my god! You're getting adopted!" Ryan said happily hugging her friend tightly
Lashawna shook her head. "I don't know, I mean, I'd not be with you if I'm adopted, and I've got no idea when you'll be. I can't just leave you here, I'd feel horrible, and I'd miss you so much."
"Well, I can't keep you here. And what if they're the perfect family?"
"Still got time for that. And more time with you. Seems more important to me personally. I'd never forgive myself." She persisted.
Ryan frowned. "I'm keeping you here then?"
"No, not at all, I'm going to stick around until you get a family."
"What if that never happens? What then? You shouldn't get dragged down by me, you got a life to be living. Please, promise me you'll meet them?" Ryan continued saying persistently.
She looked deeply conflicted. "You don't want me to go, really."
"Of course not, but I want you to be happy and out of this place. Not stuck with me here for the rest of your life. What if someone adopts me? We both can't turn people down could we?" Ryan continued.
"Well yeah, I mean you're right."She replied, confused about what to think.
"I think it's clear what you gotta do, Lashawna." Ryan took a deep breath. "You got to meet that family."
Back in the present, Ryan was escorted by Montoya through the police station. She got some dirty looks, along with confused ones and some respectful ones, seeming as if the police were split on options on her, which never occurred to her the impact her actions were clearly having.
Montoya escorted her into the viewing area of the integration room, only to promptly leave once again then escorting another man into the integration part.
"Sit down please, I wanted to have somewhere private to speak in." She began saying.
He looked confused and slightly concerned. "What's going on commissioner, what exactly is this about?"
"Oh, a dirty cop." She replied swiftly cuffing him to the tablet and shoved him into the chair, which greatly surprised Ryan seeing such force from Montoya.
"What are you doing! Commissioner, you have no-"
She got in his face dead serious. "Dirty cops don't have rights in my department."
"I'm not a dirty cop!"
"Really now? I've asked around, and you were given up pretty fast. Don't try lying, believe me, that'd be a major mistake if you chose to." Montoya threatened which broke through to him.
"Alright, alright. What do you wanna know?"
"What's being planned?" She asked coldly.
"The uh, protest. They're going to hit it, bomb it. Lives will be lost, yeah, but not any worthwhile, useless cops that are making people afraid. Then taken off the street, yeah, it'll progress." He expressed.
Montoya looked shocked. "You think killing your own people will fix things? Bombing a peaceful protest will help?"
"Yes, we do. Some cops, they'll go expose their feelings on people who don't look like them after something like this, blaming surely a non white for this. And when they do, we'll have their names, loud and clear. Clean the department up ourselves, what you've failed to do, you mission when coming here months ago now was fixing the department. Do you want to know how many uncomfortable cases we still have of our cops killing most likely innocent people? To many and we've had enough."
She took a deep breath. "Who are we?"
"I ain't going to tell you."
"Alright, tell me this. You've been working here what? Somewhere between 4-7 years? You've been lucky, I've been one for over 20 years almost, not as lucky. I've gone to calls where I wish, I pray the person didn't have to die. When your in that moment, rushing to god knows what, finding a potentially dangerous person, sometimes you don't think to stun or try to wait. Yeah, we make mistakes and should be punished at times. And we need to have more transparency, more ways of letting how things go down be seen. We need to fix things, but I'll tell you and your friends, this won't help. Call them. Call it off."
The officer looked her dead in the eyes. "No."
Montoya snapped and smashed his head into the table. "No one is dying today! Call it off now! So help me-"
Ryan rushed in having enough. "Hey, could I speak to you real quick?"
She calmed down and went along with Ryan.
"What's the matter?" She asked not ackloging her actions.
In surprise by this, Ryan hastated. "You attacked that guy, he might've deserved it, but you're the commissioner. You can't do that, right?"
"Why exactly not? You and Batwoman break the law every night, hurting people to avoid the cost of lives, I'm doing that too, so please, tell me what's different?"
Ryan didn't like being confrontational towards Montoya but continued. "Your part of the law, trying to keep it together, you can't break under the pressure of this all. It'd set a bad example, one both of us don't want, right?"
"Yeah, yeah." Montoya furiously hit the wall. "I want to fix this city, and he's right nothing is changing. We've still got nothing to clear your friend."
She nodded. "Part of me is worried she's got some role in this. Truly, I've not seen her in years commissioner, she could be a different person now."
"Hey, your friend got us into this lead, otherwise we'd have never known about it. We've got time, we need someone who'll talk."
Thinking for a moment, Ryan had a relazion. "He's got loyalty to his cop's buddies, but not a gang of anarchists. Maybe he'd give them up? Reduced jail time if that's something you can offer?"
Montoya looked unsure. "I don't feel comfortable having a guy like this having any chance of getting back on the streets. I'm not sure about it."
"Hey, we're running out of time here. Running out of choices. We need to do anything to stop this, you know that." Ryan said.
"Yeah, fine, your right. I'll try it." She entered once again after taking a few more deep breaths.
Later Ryan rushed off after getting an address from the officer, who wasn't as loyal as he once appeared to be selling out the anarchists, which would put a damper on his people's plans.
"Another abandoned place. Of course." She muttered to herself, entering the place, finding it more alive on the inside, at least was. At this point, it was obviously being cleared out.
She looked around hiding away, spotting the roommate of Lashawna. "Got you." She said to herself, looking below, not exactly sure how to grab them or if they'd be time to get her friend cleared yet. Stopping these plans needed to be a top priority.
After some waiting, she caught a lucky break as the roommate split off from the group claiming to be wanting a smoke. Following him led to her getting the drop on him, which worked out well, quickly grabbing his mouth and pulling him away to the top of the building thanks to the grappling gun.
"Aright, you're going to start talking, right now!" Ryan exclaimed threateningly. "What are you people planning huh? Where are the bombs!"
The roommate looked nervous. "I-I can't tell, I've risked so much making sure this would work and cost a lot. Like my friend. I'm not telling!"
"What's your friend's name? Lashawna?" She asked, hoping to kill two birds with one stone now, forming an idea.
"How-yeah, yes. Who told you? The cops?"
Ryan shook her head. "She's my friend too. Very close to me, and you hurt her, put her life into danger! Did you think she didn't matter?"
"No! Of course not, she knew partially, of what I was doing. What the plan was, taking down the corrupt, not all these deaths, but I'm sure she'd understand if I got the time to explain. How about I try to explain to you then?" He suggested.
"I've already heard it, and it wasn't funny the first time," Ryan replied.
They frowned. "You aren't listening to us is the issue!"
Ryan got aggressive. "I'm tired of people threatening innocent lives expecting people to understand. Turn yourself in, clear Lashawna and tell me where the people in charge are. One of your partners already sold you out, how else do you think I've found your group?" She pointed out. "Cops will be here soon, surrendering will help. Protect people. If any cops try anything dirty, you'll record it right? I'm sure you've all got your ways of doing it."
He nodded, looking surprised. "Why the suggestion? What makes you care? I'm confused."
"Will it record or not?"
"Yeah, we've got built-in recorders in case of cops showing up to catch em in the act of any dirty crap."
"Good. Then maybe you can get cops punished legally speaking then if they even do anything. So tell me now, where are the cops who are helping you? Those ones are dirty too, you know, so why not tell?" She said, half lying.
With a frowned he gave an address. "Thanks and remember to clear our mutual friend, when you wake up." She knocked him out and called Montoya to inform her of everything going on. Finishing by saying she knew where the cops were and were going to finish this hanging up giving her the address as well.
Ryan rushed off as fast as she possibly could, wanting to get there first.
"Luke, I've found our dirty friends, I'm going after them now. I wanted to let you know, in case I don't get out. I'm stopping the bombs no matter what."
"What!? Don't talk like that, wait for backup! Surely Montoya will be right behind you!"
Ryan shook her head. "We're running out of time, if they hear about the anarchists being rounded up, they could escape or detonate the bomb or who knows what. I can't wait. Promise me you'll make sure Lashawna is protected?"
"Yes of course I promise, please be careful and be smart," Luke replied as she hung up.
Ryan remembered as she rushed off, the final day of seeing Lashawna at the orphanage. One of the hardest days of her entire life.
"So, it's true, they're going to take you in?" Ryan asked, surprised.
"Yeah, they are. I was surprised too. They're coming soon apparently, told Ms. Cora they're on the way a couple minutes ago. I am not going to believe it until they walk through the doors." Replied Lashawna.
Ryan couldn't help not crying, which made Lashawna grab onto her tight and give the biggest hug of her entire life. It was comforting, but also heartbreaking, but Ryan didn't want to say that.
"I know they're going to treat you well and Cora said she'd be checking on you from time to time personally," Ryan said, with her voice breaking a bit, feeling this was really happening, her best friend leaving.
"Hey, you'll be okay Ryan, a sweetheart like you is going to make a new friend in no time, you'll forget about me soon enough. It'll be okay." She said, trying to be hopeful, but not realizing it hurt somewhat hearing it for poor Ryan.
"I won't forget you," Ryan said sadly.
Lashawna sighed. "I'm wishing I didn't have to go, even though they seem like a nice family, I don't know."
"No, no, please don't let me discourage you. I know you're going to be happy and okay, it'll be great, you'll see." Ryan said, trying to keep down her sadness.
Cora Lewis approached the girls. "It's time Lashawna. I'm sorry, they said waiting won't be a problem at least."
Ryan and Lashawna continued hugging their last hug, they both tried keeping a strong face as they let go of each other.
"I-I love you, my sister," Ryan said nearly creaking and crying a ton.
"Love you too, Ryan, you're my sister too." She replied.
As she left, Ms. Lewis gave Ryan a massive hug too, hoping it would help, before going with Lashawna to her new family, leaving Ryan alone again. The only comfort being Lashawna would be okay, she didn't care about what happened to herself, only that the person she cared about most, was okay.
Ryan focused once again, getting to her destination. It was a decently sized house and looked a bit run down over time. The clear option was being silent about this, sneaking in from the roof, they'd not expect it. A window was open, which was helpful because someone was smoking, a nasty habit that didn't help their case as Ryan quickly smacked their face against the wall knocking them out cold. Now slowly open the door she looked around the second floor not finding anyone. Which was a relief and not. Now for the first, voices could be heard.
"We've gotta get out of here!" One exclaimed.
"No. Stick to the plan. If we follow through, our 'co-workers' will learn an important lesson. We can't back out now!" Another who seemed in charge replied standing up frustrated.
"If we get captured or sent to jail, it's a death sentence!" They continued to persist.
"You knew exactly what the plan was, being caught was a high possibility, if you wanna leave, then leave."
The man opted for exiting, but Ryan snapped a shot of his face with tech from Luke so Montoya could easily find him later, hopefully.
Now there were only 4 left. A bit easier, but they had guns and she didn't have much protection. Still, couldn't waste any more time. Ryan moved in for the attack tossing batarangs at their hands pushing two into the table which they all sat around. The other 2 reached for their guns, Ryan rushed at one grabbing into it first dismaying it which she learnt from Whisper and smacked the guy in the head and tossed the gun at one of the cops getting up from the now broken table knocking them out. The leader person charged Ryan and surprisingly got some good hits in, holding her against the wall punching her repeatedly. Which increased her anger, making her put a Batarang into his leg to get him off. Two more came right at her as he backed off, and she swiftly tripped them, while reaching for cuffs, putting them on the two still standing. This didn't stop them completely as they used their bodies to attack, Ryan kicked them both back while falling to the ground herself. Leading to the leader guy grasp at her throat.
"Stop trying to-"
Ryan was sick of being told to stop and started hitting his head with a free hand which got him off long enough to use the full force of her body to throw him against the wall, trying herself out a bit.
"Where's the detonator!" She shouted.
He sighed and tossed out to the ground with some of his blood on it. "It's pointless now, I assume the cops are away, correct? I've got no use with those bombs, I'm trying to protect the innocent minorities being attacked. Kill the pigs, like they want and now you stop me. What kind of a hero-"
She smacked him across the face a couple times violently feeling off with herself. "You really think, everyone wants cops dead? Or even hates the police, you don't listen, maybe nobody is listening all yelling at each other. Killing police won't help, calling them pigs, threatening them won't help! How can't you understand this? You're a cop!" Ryan said frustrated.
"The exact problem. We wanna help people, but we're the enemy, how could we possibly help if people believe seeing us we might shoot them dead? The time of the police is over." He exclaimed.
"That's foolish to believe, the time of cops getting away with dirty underhanded crap is over, at least people want it to be, but people like you are making it worse. You need to vet your people better, understand each other, try some transparency!"
"Says, the woman, wearing a mask." He pointed out.
Ryan couldn't respond to that.
"What do you know? Hell, what do I know? We need to all do better." He continued saying.
"What exactly does better mean? I hear that a lot. Better. That's the bare minimum, if you want a call to action, try explaining yourself, talk to people, treat others equally. You think you're protecting us, the victims, the minorities, I'm like you. We're all the same. Stop acting like we're a lesser race that needs protection! You're black too, for god's sake, don't you see? You're making us split up, not working together. Trying to kill innocent people cause you have it inside of that screwed-up head, killing makes the world a better place, eracing people. Think about all the perspectives, don't stay in your bobble. Come on, please?" Ryan pleaded feeling exhausted and angry with all of this.
He leaned his body against the wall still on the ground. "Your neive. Wrong. The heroes of our history, they thought for what they believed in, and it got them nowhere! Only the grave." He replied.
"Those people are heroes and inspirations to many people, not just black people. And don't go speaking about their lives as failures, do you even know how racist this country was? Does anyone anymore! Things are better. And they'll keep getting better. If you act like we're people and not different from anyone else. We're all human. Maybe, just maybe, that's the key to destroying the remainder of racism. If that's even possible, you know, people like that'll always exist, and we can't stop that, we educate people and ignore all the racist people who hate us for no reason. That's the way of winning."
He continued to shake his head. "You're wrong, those racists have guns, will get weapons, will kill us, we're dying, we need to fight! They have to die first! Think of all the young people getting killed! Your stupid, nieve, I'm older than you are, I've seen things you couldn't possibly imagine, your wrong. Dead wrong little girl."
While Ryan was having this heated debate, the non-cuffed cop shot her from behind trying to kill her, only hitting her once fortunately in the shoulder as they were a bit dazed. Ryan dodged and hit the gun away, beating them unconscious in a few hits, now ready to explode in anger.
The leader went to grab the gun, but Ryan was sick of all of it and broke his hand reaching for it. Now mercilessly beating down on him. Hit after hit, more blood and her fists hurt. Then, it stopped the anger, and she was horrified by her actions nearly falling over, but checked his plause first as Montoya rushed inside.
"What the hell happened?'' She questioned having her hand near her gun.
"I-I don't know, he grabbed the gun and his buddy shot me and I-I couldn't stop. He needs an ambience, he's alive. Please. I didn't mean to, he just, he wouldn't stop, he- Please help him."
Montoya approached and put an arm on her shoulder. Then called the paramedics. After she did a sigh came out. "I shouldn't let you go, but, I understand. You uh, saw me snap a little too early. This was a rough case, your bleeding."
"I know, I know. I'll be okay. I'm ashamed of myself. What I did, almost did. Like the other Robin, god, I'm so stupid." Ryan said trembling in her voice and body.
Montoya looked a little confused by that comment but didn't question it further, seeing how bad of a state she was in. "You should go, I'll give a cover story."
"But-" Ryan tried to object.
"No. You're not going down for this. Go. However, could you come to the GCPD roof, later on, I'd like to speak." She said calmly.
Ryan nodded. "Than-Thank you." She left prominently and started speaking to Luke. "It's over, I'm going to check on Lashawna, I'll check in with you soon, I promise." She said with her voice shaky.
"You don't sound alright." He replied.
"I'll be okay, I swear. Talk soon." She hung up and slowly drove towards the orphanage.
Ryan unsuited and hid her suit and tried cleaning up a bit first trying to hide her injuries from both women. Now entering, she tried to pretend everything was alright, but at least felt comforted by Lashawna going to be cleared.
Walking in, Whisper immediately ran up to Ryan hugging her tightly and nearly lifted her up which slightly hurt. "Thank god you're alright!" She exclaimed.
"Thank you, I'm glad to be as well. Why so worried?"
"Look at you, I've seen people trying to hide injuries before, and I'm not blind, your bleeding slightly, what happened?"
Ryan nodded. "I found the roommate, he'll clear Lashawna."
"Really!" She exclaimed happily coming towards them. "Is he okay though?"
"Yeah, he should be fine, besides spending some time in jail, rightfully so." Replied Ryan holding Whisper close.
Indeed of responding, Lashawna looked away, seeming unsure.
"He said by the way, you knew a little of what kind of a guy he was?" Ryan continued as Whisper backed off a little.
"It's true, I partially knew of some of his and those anarchists' plans, but I wasn't involved. You know I'd never be." She responded calmly.
"Did you know they were planning on killing people?" Ryan questioned nervously.
She shook her head. "Of course not, your girlfriend is right, you're not looking well. You should rest." She said concerned. "Speaking of which, she's sweet."
"Thanks." Whisper smiled brightly, not hearing that from anyone, but Ryan.
"I've gotta do a couple things first, fast, then I'll be back alright? Will you still be around? Or?" Ryan questioned unsurely.
"Yeah, I think I should go turn myself in, get this whole thing sorted out. I'm going to be having a difficult time, without a roommate. And before you offer, I don't wanna stick around here." Said Lashawna in a dour tone.
"Yeah, I get it being here," Ryan replied sadly.
"Well, I remember the good times with you. Besides that. It's somewhat cathartic being here again if that makes sense." She replied looking around slowly.
Ryan looked as well. "I get what you mean. Are we going to talk again?"
"Of course, I'm not leaving you again. I feel crappy enough us falling out of contact. I give my number to Whisper. So, hope you'll call and we could have coffee or something." Lashawna said a bit hopefully.
"I'd love that." Replied Ryan happily. "I should get going." She prepared to leave again before Whisper got in front of her.
"Will we talk about what you've done later?" She asked seriously.
"Yes, I swear we will," Ryan responded, lying partially knowing she'd have to come up with lies to her girlfriend, which made her frown as she left.
The first stop was going to see Montoya as asked but first called Luke.
"Hey, how is everything going?" He asked immediately.
"Fine, when we talk, could it be someone besides the cave? I'm exhausted and hungry, quite frankly. Do you know of any places to go?" She asked with a yawn, sounding beat.
"Oh uh sure, I know of a dinner clear by, I'll send you the address. Should I expect any waiting?"
Ryan looked over at the sound of Montoya coming up to the roof. "Hopefully not, see you soon enough." She hung up and tried to mentally prepare herself for whatever Montoya had to say.
"It's truly awkward, not knowing your name. Superhero name that is, I'd personally not care to know the real one." She began saying.
"Not sure if I'm deserving of a name, after what I did ho-" Ryan got cut off.
Montoya shook her head. "Don't be so hard on yourself, your young. Got a good heart inside of you, I can tell. And anger, but I'd be hypocritical to judge you on a single outburst you'll get used to tougher days, as time goes on."
"I just never saw this life for me. Couldn't have imagined one day I'd be playing hero, fighting crime and being given people trying to give any good explanations for murder. Ones who'd truly believe it."
Montoya took in a deep breath, having a lot to say. "Hey, sometimes it could be hard to believe at times, but the reason all of us keep fighting to make this world a better place is due to knowing deep down, there are more good people in the world, then despicable people without care for life. I can't speak for every police officer, of course, but most I know hate inflicting violence. Most hope to never hold a gun on another person, let alone shoot it. Hard for that to be a reality in a place like Gotham, rated every year in 10 top most dangerous cities to live in. Fighting for that better tomorrow is hard, and mistakes are made, but we can't give up. Personally, if it was open to me, I'd be trying to lower police slightly and shift some of that money towards places that could support people, hopefully stopping crimes before the thought crosses their minds. A lot of crocks, people hurting, then there are many who only wanna hurt others for no reason other than lacking empathy. Something fundamentally damaging them, some can be helped, some can't. The world's a tricky place, nothing is clear, it's why it seems one step forward and one step back. Nobody is pleased with how things are, maybe we'll never be. To end positively, which was my goal here. We've gotta keep believing, keep fighting to learn and understand one another. Without understanding and communication, we'll get nowhere. A lot of people today seem to say a lot, but don't listen to anything that is outside their thinking, which can be damaging, believe me, I know. Expending is scary, maybe wrong. And that isn't true, expanding our worldviews is why our world is different than it was a century ago. Maybe going forward ahead one way isn't the answer, it's more complicated than that. I know you, Batwoman, and anyone else working on that team of yours gets it. All of you are Gotham's best chance, and I'll be right along to assist, whenever I can. We'll bring that better tomorrow. Together."
"Wow, quite the speech," Ryan said, surprised.
"Thank you," Montoya replied.
"I appreciate it, you believe in me and how much you still have hope for this world becoming better. It's, wow." A surprised Ryan continued saying.
Montoya nodded. "I've faced a lot of hardships, God knows I've got more, but I won't let it break me. A great man taught me that." She looked at Ryan carefully. "You should get some rest, I can see it in your eyes. You're drained."
"Thank you, I've got one more stop first. Your a kind woman, commissioner, Gotham is lucky to have you around."
"Right back at you. Stay safe and don't fall asleep driving, I'd be very disappointed." She joked before leaving.
Ryan texted Luke, letting him know she was on her way.
At last, her final stop, seeing Luke at this dinner which seemed to be open quite late. Coming inside, she sat across from him, exhausted.
"You want to talk about what happened?" He asked.
She nodded, finding some energy in herself. "I uh, felt a rage, uncontrollable anger come over me, like with Scarecrow. I thought it was only contained to him, but I was naive to think it. I-I beat a guy, badly. Could've killed him, I nearly didn't stop, what if I didn't? How can I be wearing this suit and protecting the city while Kate is away when this is the type of person I truly am? I'm like that Robin, Jason."
Luke shook his head. "You're not Jason, I promise you that Ryan. You have regret, are feeling badly for what you did, you haven't stopped shaking since coming in, you'd never cross that line I can tell."
"It's something he'd do, his violent tendencies got worse over time, right? If I follow that path, Batwoman and Montoya will be having to take me in. I'd be hurting this city. I don't want to be like him and fail myself." Ryan persisted.
Luke looked her in the eyes. "You're a better person, not him, something was fundamentally broken in him. I know Bruce cared about him so much and didn't want to believe he couldn't save him. He helped the first Robin, in some ways, but I do know he was a good person at heart, Bruce only helped him keep that part alive and become a crime fighter in his own right. Nightwing, which is a whole other story. The point is, Jason, over time liked hurting people, maybe he always liked hurting bad people, you don't, you're talking to me, telling me how you feel and don't forget, Jason was an angry child when Bruce met him. We've met you as a grown strong woman, one who's helping people who won't give up, one that makes to save Gotham the right ways. You don't have to deal with your personal burdens alone, you have Kate, Mary and myself now. You're not alone, I swear, and you're not a bad person. In fact, you are Black Bat, and I know damn well, you are only getting started."
Ryan smiled. "You really think so?"
"Positive, Kate believes in you, and you know what, I believe in you too. Thank you for telling the truth. Even Kate messed up on that sometimes, which I've forgiven her, but still, something she needs to work on. I think you've got it down." He said positively.
Ryan continues smiling, but frowned inside, knowing that wasn't entirely true, having lying to her love. However, she didn't dwell on it, listening to Luke's words. Feeling like she was doing the right thing and communicating helped a lot. "Thank you Luke, I'm glad you believe in me." She laughed. "Montoya does too, no idea what you see in me, both of you."
"Simple, a hero. Black Bat. I've warmed up to that name, I think." He replied.
"Great, glad to hear that." Ryan looked at him happier and let out another yawn.
He smirked. "Yeah, you could use some sleep."
"I think this could be a bingo at this point." She joked standing up.
"Actually wait, how about some breakfast? You know, we haven't done anything outside of the cave before."
She nodded. "Oh yeah, alright, sure I'd like that."
"And don't worry, I'll pay."
"Thanks a real gentleman."
"Well I know you don't have a lot of money-" He continued saying before being cut off.
She smirked, "You should've stopped while you were ahead."
He laughed. "Fair enough."
They sat down and continued talking as a waiter came to take their order, they had a great time at the dinner, and it was a better ending to Ryan's night than she expected.
Batwoman
A few things before the response section, Kate will be center stage again in the next chapter and concerning "Black Bat." (If anyone cares or knows who that name belongs too in the comics)
I wanted to explain a bit of this chapter, as I feel it could be a lot or some screw ups. -(if anyone wants deeper insight, if you rather not perfectly fine. I "might" over share here)
Starting off, I wanted to say Montoya's monologue was most of my own personal thoughts and how I believe my version would be as well. Some parts of other debates, we're not my personal feelings. I wanted to give both sides and make it seem equal. No side is right completely. I think Ryan was mostly correct in this story, but you could disagree of course which I tried to have. I disagree a lot with show Ryan.
Next, I wanted to say it was a consideration of splitting into two parts. I've not, I didn't want to take up more time. I know this might be the worst chapter so far and I'm truly sorry if it's a bad one or week one. I've tried so hard on this one. I'd love to hear the thoughts on this and if it should even be followed up on with any spirtical secusers or something like that.
Second last, needing to share something in regards to last chapter. I wanted to apologize truly for my failing last chapter and potentially this one as well sadly. Last time, I rushed it out before it was ready which wasn't a good choice, but I knew this chapter would take longer in the oven, so I didn't want to have two long breaks back to back again like a couple of months ago. My editing of it was partially nonexistent and I hardly proofread it. Given another week, I would've fixed things, but I didn't and for that I'm sorry. I wanted to make this one the best it could be, but not sure if I did, which made the last chapter mess up even worse if this will doesn't pay off. Hopefully, the next chapter will get back on track for quality. I'm going to take as much time with it to get things back on track if it comes to that.
Lastly, I wanted to say Ryan still is developing into becoming Blackbat, she's not fully her best self yet. I just wasn't sure if that was clear this episode, cause idk, like I said, I suspect it'll be very messy. I Did consider the last week of working on it, rewriting some bits of scrapping the whole thing and starting over. Of course, I hasn't.
(More info if you felt this chapter sucked and care, at the very bottom, why? Cause idk, this section is a little bit messy sorry, I had a lot to say)
And now something more for people with comic knowledge.
I know many people love Cassandra Cain, I do too she's one of my favorite comic heroes quite frankly and best Batgirl fight me lol. Kidding it's okay. Jokes aside, I'm sorry to anyone upset by Ryan taking her role in a sense. I'm trying to not make Ryan like Cassandra too much, for reasons you could possibly guess. And cause I want to make Ryan her own person. My "co-writer" and I agreed on Black bat being the best and most logical name for Ryan. She's Batwoman's partner, not a sidekick and hey it worked out for showing her as herself as I figured she'd want not trying to hide herself and be proud. Harkening back to Kate being out as a lesbain as Batwoman, idk could be a scratch there, but whatever. Point is the name works. Don't worry, Cassandra still has another prominent name left. If she'd ever appear…(I can't say, time will)
In response to C.G.
Thank you, I'm glad you thought so, I wasn't as happy with it as I'd have liked, so I hope this episode and the following ones will be even better. I don't mind a little randomness and it's okay if you do slow down a little with the postings. Still a long road ahead and I'm sure you'll think of things to say, even if it's not as much as previous chapters. Slowing down is alright and I'm sure you'll keep having more to share.
And apologies if my responses aren't so great. Along with the chapter as I elebreate more in this section later I think. I don't have high feelings on this one. Consider it, "development hell" unfortunately. It wasn't an easy one to be writing for with my mental state and in general really. I went into this chapter thinking it'd be easy or at least a manageable challenge. It wasn't and I am deeply sorry for it. Seemed like one of the most expectation filled chapters so far.
In regards to everything mentioned about the "BLM" episode – I'm not sure if a two parter would've worked out, I think it truly might have after this mess. The episode did need more time, but I couldn't afford it any longer. I hope it ended up satisfactory at least for Ryan developing more and Renee Montoya too perhaps. I think too have a couple new people remark their dislike for Ryan Wilder made me want to get this over with and lost motivation for giving this episode my all. Along with other things in my personal life, it's a perfect storm. I apologize deeply if it didn't live up to your expectations. And I must admit, it's ironic how tv show Batwoman has tripled down on trying to deal with race issues, poorly I think, but still, I feel badly for not doing too much better.
In regards to Luke's family - I'm glad you are. Oh yeah sure that'd make a lot of sense, I'm not used to personally calling people shorter version of their names like that, so thanks for the reminder, it would make a lot of sense. Yeah, I figured she'd be.
In regards to Nora Fries – Alrighty, that fits perfectly, the first true villain for Black Bat to fight solo and kinda fit what I thought of months ago a lot better. And that does sound good.
New "Poison Ivy-style" Batman Villain in the Comics – Oh I haven't heard of them before, I'll be interested to see how they play out. Would make sense if she did and apparently she was going to be returning in a big way this year. It would be cool if Batwoman faced off against her yeah and fits perfectly with that idea of the children/successors of villains. And I'll be sure to remember that choice if the Gardener ever does appear, which is more likely than not.
In regards to "Operation: Knightfall" – It's been a little challenging, yes, but I think that I can make it work. Kinda like other shows that feature separate plots that come into the main one eventually. Oh yeah, good point, I'm not sure how that'll play out, might go with General Sam Lane just in case and due to I suspect Jacob wouldn't have gone to a criminal like Luthor. (He was exposed as evil again in episode 1 of Supergirl, which honestly felt rushed)
Harvey Bullock "portrayal" suggestion – Alrighty, I'm not sure of them, but as always I trust your "portrayal" suggestions.
Alice's hatred for her family explained in canon – Yeah, it was quite stupid and inconsient, I feel like they've only done that so Alice can become "good" and then Kate could be brainwashed into being like Alice for a little bit. I'm much more confident in your suggestion making a lot more sense and being not stupid. Compared to brainwashing which could likely easily be fixed.
Julia's Storyline Extra Details – Alrighty, that sounds like a fun plotline, I'll be sure to include that whenever getting to it. Thank you.
Why Mary is NOT the one to discover Beth's brain tumor – That makes perfect sense, along with that, Mary isn't even an officially trained doctor and was still going to medical school. Makes a lot more sense Doctor Thompkins' daughter would be more equipped and trained to detract that sort of thing, likely being a super smart doctor like her mother.
Montoya's reaction to Jacob flipping on his feelings towards Batwoman – Yeah, it surely would be confusing at first and I love a lot, like Gordon, she'd know Kate Kane is Batwoman, but keep it secret out of respect. I've always loved that a lot when it comes to Gordon and Batman.
If Supergirl does truly die in Arrowverse canon – This all sounds lovely and perfect send off to their relationship. (Assuming she dies) And a beautiful beginning to Kate and Meggie's life about to begin. It's bittersweet and I love it dearly. I must question however, what do you mean by Kara's "ghost" how does this work exactly? I mean there's a president for ghosts in Arrowverse, so I guess it's not exactly out of nowhere. It just seems a little odd? Maybe? I'm not sure, I can't tell if it's her real "ghost" or something that just can't be explained?
About Holly Robinson – Alrighty, I will think about it, I think season 3 or 4 could work to start it off. Leaning more towards season 4 currently, I'll keep it in mind for season 3 and see if I can fit it into it. My thinking why it'd likely by 4 more so, is due to all the craziness with Brain running the Crows in a militaristic maner making crime less likely. Surely not the new Catwoman, would be a risk on her part which might not help her goals and perhaps seeing the 3 Ghosts of Batwoman, triggers her to start being Catwoman without a doubt in her mind.
About Jacob doing a Jewish Prayer for Kate – I'm not sure, I can assume he would be considering Beth and Kate seemed to be somewhat raised Jewish and it'd mostly likely be the wishes of both parents. Details are a little scarc. (And sorry if I ever said Jacob was Jewish, I was incorrect, it's just Gabi by blood, well and Kate/Beth)
In regards to "The Archer" – Thank you, yeah I'm sure she would. After some thinking, I might have over hyped it perhaps, or it could be this crappy week I'm having (At time of writing this section). Anyways, it was going to be a one off villain Arrow S3x2 "Komodo." (His name is Simon Lacroix apparently) Anyways, my thinking was post Crisis his life went into a different direction after being apprehended by The Arrow. Leading him to become part of Coryana seeking a life change and more defined purpose, now "protecting" the island from danger, while of course ironically being one of the most dangerous people to the citizens. My thought was picking one of many archer villains who didn't really do much on Arrow and having that connection, even though minor. Still, hope it's a bit cool.
In regards to your casting for Julia's former junior SRR partner – Thank you, I'm glad you think so. Alright enjoy.
In regards to the naming of Lesile Thompkins' daughter – Alrighty, I'm going to repeat this soon.
In regards to Sophie having a sister – Yeah it's unfortunate. You've guessed correctly, I think I'll just say Sophie's father walked out on them, surely he would've been mentioned sooner. (Which is the show's fault quite frankly, not mine) I think here Sophie and Jordan will be estranged so she doesn't just pop out of thin air. Not perfect and I'll try to come up with an explanation why Sophie doesn't mention her sister. (Sorry to take more shots at the show, but seriously it was annoying how her sister just seemed to be always living in Gotham and this never came up, ever)
In regards to your proposed Supergirl Anthology Series – Thank you, I'll try my best! Not even sure where to start with it yet lol, hopefully Supergirl's final season will give a little inspiration.
In regards to your reaction to Kate being recast – Yeah. It's super weird how everything has played out, I don't understand her thinking in the slightest. (Well, I have one theory, but I'll keep it to myself sorry, it's not a pleasant one) It was really stupid how it was all handled, they could've even just had her hurt in the first episode requiring some kind of surgery. And it's a great point in Sara Lance and Alura Zor-El's case, more so the latter as it wasn't even a subtle recast. Yeah, it would've been a lot better, I don't get what the heck they're doing over there, this mystery has been annoying and even with the reveal she's alive, the ratings keep dropping more. It was a bad gamble, that's blowing up in their faces it seems like. Wish the mystery was less dragged out or better yet, like you wished, never happened. Mind you, this series would've never existed, so one positive maybe?
About the Desert Rose in flashbacks – That's quite fascinating, I like that a lot. I'm going to try my best to include all of this, I'm hoping to make it akin to those, I love those a lot and it would be pretty fun. No promises I can pull it over sadly, I'll do my best to adapt this proply.
When Kate and Julia's boat gets destroyed before they can leave Coryana – I for sure can do that lol.
Why actually naming Lesile Thompkins' Daughter as Morena is Okay – Alright, I think that would work perfectly fine. I don't think that it should cause an issue on second thoughts. That's a good idea as well, I'll keep it in mind.
Mary's reaction in regards to Beth's Brain Tumor – That is understandable Mary would feel guilty about that and doubt herself being a doctor, I'm sure someone like Kate, Luke, Jacob or even Beth herself would then reassure her, perhaps all of them giving the examples of all she's done. (Along with it makes sense she'd think Alice was psychological all along, they'd have no reason to think otherwise)
When Jacob learns that Kate and Julia are stuck in Coryana – That makes perfect sense he'd nearly do that, as he hinted before and yeah makes sense Kate would remind him of that, would be pretty bad if he caused an international incident and I can believe he would trust Kate and Julia could handle it after calming down. I like that Jacob would personally do that for him, seems quite kind and I'd like to think he'd do that and of course give Kate a massive hug.
The Kali Corporation prior to Saifyah Taking Over – That's what my thinking was like as well, you worded it much better as usually in comparison to my own mind. I like your reasoning behind why Gotham's mayor would be fine with Safiyah, I was thinking it too and I think ultimately get into a little trouble surely once her true nature is revealed. Not enough to be fired yet of course.
How Kate finds out that Saifyah has been threatening Julia and Sophie – That does make quite a bit of sense, I do like this explanation behind it. I was thinking partially The Rifle would hint towards Julia's secret.
Montoya's reaction to Ryan's costumes – That's pretty fun, I'll be sure to add that in.
Ryan arguing with Jacob Kane – I like her points against Jacob's stance on Batman, it's well thought out, I'll be sure to include it. Thank you for the reminder of this.
Supergirl 6x1 - Yeah, let's hope it won't screw anything up, well in fairness, I think that episode was taking place around April 2020, so maybe that helps? Or could ruin everything even more. Let's not panic yet.
My Thoughts About the Joker in the Series:
Before I respond to each point, I wanted to apologize as I don't believe I'll be going with all the ideas here as I'll do my best to explain. I did have my own thinking, which I'll share more of a later date in more detail, I regret not mentioning vaguely at least of my plans for when I believed Joker and Batman would return. I'm sorry again and hope my disagreement doesn't hurt your feelings. I feel bad about it.
#1 Like hinted above, I disagree with this. I am sorry, I'll go with the face being cut off and yeah, I've changed my mind a little on how his return will work. I've been thinking for about 3 months now the Dark Multiverse plot would be the ending with all those villains, ending of course with an epilogue after everything's been wrapped up. My current intention is 8-9 seasons. My head thinking was, Joker would return midway into season 6, along with Batman. Pathing the way for the Court of Owls to have a little more punch, in season 7. Sometimes I forget how much is said, how much you know and don't, which is something I struggle with irl as well. Very sorry.
#2 That does make perfect sense and that plot from Season 2 of the Harley Quinn show was interesting, so I'll do that and good reason why he's not around. It's understandable as well he likely left Gotham and might have possible moved away far, where Batwoman isn't heard about as much as other heroes.
#3 Oh alright, I think that makes some sense. I'll go with it I'm pretty sure.
#4 Would make a lot of sense, I can for sure see Joker planning a grand revenge plan. Along with him being quite pissed off about that being the case, I always thought it was such a weird detail hearing them casual saying his real name.
#5 It'd be very interesting seeing Kate's reaction to this, it is truly underplayed a lot how much she'd hate the Joker, oh well and nice as well Holly would be involved and upset over his returning as well natally. His reaction to seeing her is quite funny as well, I'll be sure to include that.
#6 Makes sense he'd try doing something like that once again, as it worked for Batman and he'd likely be confident in assuming he'd be easily able to defeat the "infer replacement" in his mind, before learning how mistaken he was. That's pretty funny and a great usage of her "superpower" nice thinking!
#7 I love his explanation as to why he'd never reveal Batman's identity, it makes perfect sense and I've thought as much if he ever discovered the true name of this enemy.
#8 Interesting idea giving him one like that story, I do like doing something with it and him going to try turning his child into a "Joker" or something thinking Batwoman would need one and keeping his legacy intact as he always wanted surely. I'll for sure try to fit that in.
#9 That's good they would, maybe I'd have to make an excuse for Julia being unavailable when they'll be trying to contact Alfriad. (Understandable they wouldn't know if he got the message and added tension) Sounds really cool of a final fight and reveal of Batman officially returning silently. I like it a lot, great idea.
Scene Description for S3E2 Cliffhanger Scene:
PS. Alrighty, I'll try my best to improve on the tentative scene given here. I do like it and will keep the core of what you have here. I think you did a good job at visualizing the details, in some ways better than I do with my descriptions so don't be hard on yourself for that. Thank you for helping making this cliffhanger a bit clearer.
In regards to you admitting that you forgot about the Batsuit plot thread –
Okay, thank you, I'm glad you were able to think of those possibilities as I wasn't really able to. It does fit well and brings back a plotpoint I wasn't sure of how to handle so went with ignoring which isn't a great way of handling.
About the nod to the "Meet the Robinsons" movie – I hope it was alright.
Further Evidence that The CW DID LIE about their decision to not pick up the Green Arrow and the Canaries – I'm sorry to hear that, I can tell it's very frustrating finding even more evidence about this being true. I'm not sure if it is a crime, but quite sketchy yeah, hopefully some blowback will come.
An Alternative Ending for the final battle between Batwoman and Joker – I like this alternative ending a lot, it's a fantastic one with the surprise and assistance from Batman who finally arrives to help. It's all shocking and emotional, I don't think it'll be exactly the same by the time I write it, but I'm hoping to keep it mostly the same here cause I love all the thought you put into the Joker.
Jacob becoming an addict - Yeah, it was pretty surprising, but I admit it wasn't a bad plan on the villain's part and makes enough sense he'd be in such a horrible place to completely fall apart. I'm curious what Jacob's role will be on the show, if he doesn't die. Also yes it did get worse, which I must say was pretty sad quite Jacob wasn't really wrong, if the law people were smarter in Gotham then Mary would be in big trouble, as she will be eventually in my own series too like you said with their relationship as well. This is going to sound silly, but I really do have to wonder if a Batwoman writer or something is reading this lol. Then again in all seriousness, I'm sure this was already thought up months ago, so we seem to just have a similar sense of direction in some ways.
Why Montoya hates dirty cops - I'm not sure if you would be surprised by Montoya's change in demeanour to how she's been mostly always calm mainly. So I thought I'd explain her snapping a bit. I was thinking she'd have a deep hate of dirty cops, due to all the years having to work around them while Gordan tried his best to fix things. I believe the turning point would be her partner Chrisbis Allen being murdered by some after getting close to bringing down a bunch. From then on it'd be why now as commissioner she's got a personal mission of sorts to fix the department and not let his death be in vain. This would be revealed a little later, along with more about her history. I feel like that could work.
Comment on the most recent episode (14?) - I was briefly excited seeing Luke going to stop the carjacker, I thought he'd start becoming a hero finally. Then the exact reverse happened. I feel like hopeful speaking, considering it hinted at a possible relationship with Stephaine Brown, (which I'm restraining myself on mentioning her too yet unless she continues to be around) he's hopefully alive. I'm going to stop actively watching if he's dead. And I'm quite upset with Sophie not using her power in the Crows to have that nut's job taken away or jailed better yet. Maybe it'll be the point of her not being around has made the Crows go completely off the rails. He seems like a blood thirty psycho, from what's been shown.
Anyways, I wanted to say how weird it was Batwoman did a "zombie" plot and now seems to be doing a questionable Crow taking over causing trouble. (I don't want the season 3 Crows to be this extreme btw, being a firing squad to innocent people, pushing it) I just thought it was strange or a funny coincidence, you can make up your mind on that.
Last other thing of note, I wanted to say I was now planning on posting this story in AO3 I believe is the name most people call it. I realized only recently that it has a few more stories then this site (Like say, 1000+ somehow) for Batwoman and more readers potentially. Nothing changes, I'll always post here first. I wanted to let you know first and that I most likely will cut the response section for that version as I don't see why I should keep it in two places, no offence meant if at all.
And finally, in regards to my little rent in that update - You made a good point, I apologize for that rant it was very last minute, the show's made me a little bitter, which I think added to my struggles with this chapter. As I don't believe it's handling social issues at all well. Maybe I didn't either. Idk. It's tricky, I didn't want to double down on it any further then I did as I got nervous about screwing it up any further then I have most likely at this point.
In closing, I'm sorry again if I screwed up this chapter and how long it took to finally write it. I was procrastinating so hard, worse than usual in fact. I'm feeling this endless stress and only truly happy when I'm with one person. Or burying myself into a game which I find makes me more stressed in some ways lol. Anywho, I feel like personally this chapter was one of the roughest parts of my time writing this series and I'm deeply hoping that wasn't apparent in the final product. Truly, one of the things working against me most is, I'm writing about all these social issues and trying to not go too far into it, while knowing either you care or you don't. For me it was hard not making it sound one sided and how complicated it all is, while not trying to upset anyone, which isn't an easy task at all. My confidence of how I say things is at an all time low, which is bad for a writer dealing with such a sensitive topic. I thought of scrapping what I had and try pushing this until later, but it would've hurt Ryan's development, which obviously took center stage here. I promise I'll be focusing better on Kate next chapter. Without filler, I hope. Fingers crossed for not having 3 duds in a row.
I considered scrapping this and starting from scratch as I've though of better ideas thought the making of this, in fact I've thought of so many rewrites the episode would be unrecognizable to this. And better, a lot better. However it would've possibly taken another 8 weeks, which is unacceptable.
Quite frankly I was struggling so hard with this project, I jumpstarted one I was trying to creak for 3 years now I think. Funny how my brain works, can't make this work easy, so does something else successfully at last lol. (And I did another secret one, not DC related sorry, expect it sooner then 2021 if you care) You expect that in 2022, the DC one, I hope. I'm planning on making it the best it can be, I'm excited for it if I don't screw up. Batwoman will still be top priority, until I say otherwise. Considering it has been for 8/7 months now, I doubt that'll be changing anytime soon. I have much more faith in the next chapters, as the main plot moves along. Thanks for sticking around everyone, best wishes to you all and I hope to deliver better products as time goes on.