Chapter 2
The blonde teen gasped while finding herself back to where she first sat in meditation. She blinked and rubbed her eyes when adjusting her deep trance of tranquility before getting the headphones off.
"Wow...I can't believe that just happened," the blonde teen admitted, as she got up and walked to the computer to look up certain information. "It all felt like a dream...or at least a nightmare. Still, there is another way to look for answers, with or without Phantom Stranger. "
Lea gathered clues involving 'Louie Moxon', 'Joe Chill', and anything that happened between 30 to 40 years back in Gotham City. For almost an hour or more, she went through several news articles until coming across two very important news articles. After seeing through both, the blonde teen gasped and covered her mouth in shock.
"...I need to see Batman immediately," Lea stated, bringing her ring to transform into Midnight Hope and flying out to the Watchtower…along with taking the following articles with her plus photos she got from Hatty.
She was greeted by J'onn, who let her inside. "Is everything alright, Hope?" He asked her.
"I have to talk to Batman in private face to face as soon as possible, J'onn," Hope replied quickly and firmly, her voice filled with concern. "Please…It's important."
J'onn could sense her fear and nodded before his eyes glowed for a moment. "Batman will meet you in the second meeting room on your left," he said. "It'll be empty, save for the two of you, and it's soundproof."
"Thank you," Hope replied softly, making her way to the room. "I hope I know what I'm doing."
Batman arrived just as she did and he opened the door, gesturing for her to go inside first. She did and he entered, too, closing the door and turning on the soundproof devices. "Manhunter told me that you needed to speak with me urgently," he said calmly.
"I did...," Hope responded, looking troubled before changing it to a somewhat serious look. "Batman, I came across a disturbing truth that I wasn't sure how to make heads or tails about it. One that involves your very existence as the Dark Knight. Stuff on why you would be so thorough on not just villains, but also heroes on us to take down. And don't deny that last part because I know you do...Even files on me, as well. Even so, I don't care if you plan to hurt me or the others. Because I know who you are...And I seriously mean that I know who you are."
Batman looked at her before it hit him. "Joe Chill's death," he said. "So, I did sense someone else other than Phantom Stranger and Spectre there."
"Yeah...it was me," Hope replied, not denying it. "Phantom Stranger showed me only the bits and pieces of how you reacted involving Joe Chill. I saw your brawl at that tiki place, the Batcave in tracking the thug, inside the Batmobile, and where it all ended in making the hardest choice. From all of that...he didn't reveal your identity to me. Even when you took your cowl down to reveal your face to Joe Chill, I was only behind you from a distance and didn't try to peek...even when I thought you were going to end him as a killer."
The Blue Lantern breathed gently while rubbing her arms in comfort while looking down.
Batman sighed. "Something tells me you know who I am or have a guess as to who I am."
"I do. Despite that little memory show Phantom Stranger showed me, I did my own homework in knowing who is behind the mask of Batman," Hope stated, looking serious yet sympathetic. "You are Bruce Wayne. One of the richest men in Gotham City. Your parents Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered at an alleyway not far from the Gotham Movie Theater one Winter night when you were only just a little boy. I can only guess that Joe Chill was the lowlife sent by Moxie to do the dirty deed...which was why you went savage on him years later led to the following fiasco in the present/past. I'm really sorry that happened to you. It...must have been hard."
"It was," he admitted, a bit impressed by the Blue Lantern's deduction while putting his cowl down in revealing his face. "Do you think I did the right thing?"
"I know you did, Bats..er Bruce," Hope stated, taking a deep breath before looking at Batman/Bruce seriously again. "But you still took a big risk where anger and revenge clouded your judgment. One where it almost created a terrible disaster if Joe survived instead. And you were lucky that Joe didn't reveal your identity on the spot in front of your greatest foes. If I had tried something similar to what you did on someone who'd hurt my family, then I would have risked putting them and the people I care about in danger with disastrous results. I understand that you thought there wasn't anything to risk in revealing your identity to the man who started everything in being Batman, but I feel like you've forgotten the people who see you as a family in the present. Whether with or without the mask."
Batman noted that the Blue Lantern looked more worried now. "Something else is on your mind too," he said and it wasn't a question.
"Yes. I also worry that your actions have caused something you most likely didn't know," Midnight Hope responded. "That moment Joe Chill was finished...you weren't alone. And I don't mean Spectre, Phantom Stranger, or myself. I have reasons to believe that someone witnessed your final meeting with Joe Chill. And I think he's the same one who tried convincing me not to trust you."
To prove her point, Midnight Hope brought out the pictures given to her by a certain Mad boy and presented them to the Cape Crusader.
He looked at them and nodded, putting his cowl back on. "I can see why this would plant doubt in your mind," he said, before looking at her. "As Spectre once asked me, 'what will you do with this knowledge?'"
"I honestly don't know, Bats," Hope answered with a gentle sigh, looking troubled. "Hatty told me his reasons why he doesn't trust you, and I already did my own research to prove him wrong...sort of. Still, he's no different from me. He's just some teen kid with his own personal stuff. I won't share this information with him or the others. I'll keep doing the right thing. Make the people I care about proud. Just like you do every day with your parents."
Batman looked surprised before he smiled. "Thank you, Hope," he said. "And for the record, you do make us proud. We may not always say it, but it's true."
"Thanks, Batman," Hope said, giving a caring smile before hugging the Dark Knight that surprised him. "Believe me, after everything that happened, you needed this. It was overdue."
He slowly hugged her back. "Thank you, Hope," he said.
Midnight Hope sighed, after pulling away from the hug and rubbing her own neck. "Look, Bats, I get not many know your little secret identity club. Either you discover everyone else's identity first and eventually share yours through hard trust that needs to be earned or vice versa or not at all. Since I figured out your secret identity, it seems only fair that I share mine with you…unless you already solved who I am behind the mask some time ago."
"I did some research on you and know you are a teenager who balances school and being a Blue Lantern," he said. "But I have yet to figure out who you are exactly. "
"Yeah...those are the basics," Midnight Hope stated, taking a deep breath to let out slowly. "However, I am still unsure of what you'll do involving me. Hatty told me that you kept files on both heroes and villains to exploit weaknesses in taking out. It's how Owlman took out the heroes. Is that true, too?"
"Yes," he said with a nod. "But the files on the heroes are for extreme emergencies, like being mind controlled or going rogue."
"The Starro invasion," the Blue Lantern said.
"Yes," he said.
"...I will reveal my identity to you under a few conditions," Hope bargained, still looking serious. "One; you cannot put this in your digital files in the Batcave where it might fall into the wrong hands. Or if you already have, delete everything. No digital backups. No papered copies. No anything."
He raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Alright," he said.
"And two, you have to promise me to keep yourself from researching my family," Hope concluded. "I understand you want to be thorough about everything, but I am uncomfortable about someone like you digging too deep into my or anyone's private life without permission. If you need more information about me or if something serious has happened to me where basic information isn't enough, go to GL for emergencies only."
"That is a big ask, Hope," he said. "But I applaud you for looking out for your family and not wanting them to be in danger."
"You got to promise me, Bats…please," Hope requested, her eyes sincere.
He nodded. "You have my word, Hope," he said.
Nodding, the Blue Lantern took a moment to prepare herself for what to say next. "All right...Batman...my real identity...is Lea. Lea Carolina Thompson."
To prove her point, she brought out her ring to detransform herself in civilian form. Revealing her natural blonde ribbon curls, Autumn eyes, and regular clothes of a light blue jacket, gold outlined jeaned skirt, legging pants, and sneakers.
He nodded. "I have seen you around the city. I never fully suspected you as the same Blue Lantern saving others."
"Yeah...I get that a lot," Lea shrugged, not surprised by that comment. "But that's the whole idea in this hero business. The best way to not be noticed is to let your hero persona be the brave and daring version while the regular version is a shy pushover nobody people least expect. Or something like that."
"You're not a pushover, Lea," he said. "You are strong and quick on your feet and a good hero."
"I know...I appreciate it, Bruce," Lea responded, looking away from that with a small frown.
"...I'll admit, I acted rashly after coming so close to finally closing my parent's case," Batman responded, helping change the subject.
"I get it. I know what it's like to lose yourself through negative emotions," Lea said, looking at her ring while gently rubbing it. "Makes you do stupid things. You already saw how that went when I got rage-poisoned a while back. Said and did stuff I wasn't proud of admitting and doing."
"Rage and anger can lead us to say what we feel and not think straight," Batman said, sympathetically.
"Right...While there is a Red Lantern Corps, only one happened to be good...and he was part of the reason for me wanting to be a Lantern," Lea admitted, keeping a calm yet serious demeanor. "I first met GL the moment my uncle disappeared a few years back and we've been close ever since. That bond led me to my first space adventure which soon earned my Blue Lantern ring in becoming Midnight Hope. Since then, I've been holding on to hope for not just myself but for others, too. While GL isn't my uncle by blood, he's been family to me...and part of never giving up hope when others have. The moment he told me stories about his team, I became a fan of Razer. A Red Lantern who lost his first love and later had his heart healed with a new one. When she disappeared, Razer didn't give up and spent half a decade looking for her...which led to him earning a Blue Lantern ring and becoming a double Lantern ring holder of Hope and Rage. Determination, if you will."
Batman nodded and smiled. "Razer is a good person and has proven himself a valuable ally as you have," he said.
"Of course. I didn't think I'd live my own adventure...Especially when it involved helping Razer complete his mission that made me a permanent member of the Blue Lantern Corps," Lea said, bashfully. "A lot happened that one Summer. I read so many comic books my uncle created to know the hero and villain story basics. The same goes for collaborating on our own comic stories. We enjoyed illustrating together."
Batman nodded. "Lea, I trust you will not tell anyone what you have learned about me?" He asked.
"I won't. I already know the hero code of not revealing secret identities," Lea assured, bringing out her ring to transform into Midnight Hope again. "Besides, you're not the only hero I've kept a secret for a long while."
He smiled before he grew curious. "Hope. Before you go…How did you know?" He questioned. "What gave me away?"
Smiling gently, Midnight Hope turned around and brought out the two main articles she printed out for Batman to look at. One involved a charity costume ball over thirty years ago where the theme was winged creatures. The other was followed by a serious tragedy of a wealthy family where only one witness survived.
"After looking up Moxie, Joe Chill, and anything around thirty or forty years back, only one connection made sense as the missing piece: Thomas Wayne. He wore a bat costume long before Batman existed at this charity event and Moxie was there as the leader of that mystery mobster gang trying to rob the place. Once I looked him up on what happened, along with his wife, I figured it out from there. You and your father must share the same taste in bats."
Batman smiled. "That we do," he said with a nod.
Just then, the alarm sounded and he looked up the threat. "Penguin's causing trouble," he said before turning to Hope. "We're the only two available to stop him."
She smiled. "Then let's go stop him, Bats," she said.
"Agreed, Hope."
They left the Watchtower, ready to team up and beat back crime like heroes do.
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