Second Chances: Batwoman - Rough Draft

Chapter 10

Okay, I'm doing a rewrite of chapter 10 of Batwoman, since honestly, I realized that the old version did not really capture how any Bruce or Kate would act. Batman would never announce his retirement to Gotham. I think you'll find this version a bit better.

"Damn, where did you learn to fight like this, because they definitely did not teach you this at Point Rock." Bruce said as he and Kate sparred, since he wanted to make sure that Kate was ready before he passed on the reins to her.

"On an island called Coryana." Kate said and Bruce sighed.

"That's where you were when your plane went down wasn't it." Bruce said and Kate nodded as they continued sparring.

"Yeah, it was a very long five years, but there, I healed and also learned to fight. I'm still surprised that the island's queen let me leave or that she let me stay, since one of the island's rules is no outsiders." Kate said.

"Sounds like Coryana is even more remote than Nanda Parbat." Bruce said, taking Kate aback.

"As in the League of Assassins." Kate said.

"How do you know about them?" Bruce asked.

"Because in the old world, Oliver Queen was trained by them and so was his sister. In fact, based on what I'd heard, it sounds like you and he have a common acquaintance." Kate said as they ended their sparring session.

"Who?" Bruce asked.

"Talia al Ghul. Based on what Sara Lance told me in the old reality about her old friend was that Oliver was trained by her." Kate said, since Sara had told her about Oliver Queen back when they were trapped at the Vanishing Point, since Kate had been curious about Oliver's history and Sara seemed like the best person to ask.

"I'm not even surprised to hear that. I guess after Talia's plans for me failed, she needed a new student to turn into an assassin." Bruce said.

"Okay, it sounds like you and Oliver need to talk soon." Kate said.

"Maybe." Bruce admitted, but before they could continue, Luke entered the Batcave.

"What's up?" Kate asked him, seeing an urgent look on his face.

"That bat signal was just turned on and I was wondering which one of you wants to get it." Luke said.

"It's all you. You've got what it takes." Bruce said and Kate grinned, only to find that her suit was missing.

"Where's my suit and why is Bruce's on the podium?" Kate asked.

"Because I reached out to some of your superhero friends' tech support like you said, specifically Cisco Ramon and he helped me make this." Luke said as he held out a red and black digital watch with a red bat symbol on it.

"A watch?" Kate asked.

"It's more than a watch." Luke said as Kate raised an eyebrow, but took the watch from him and put it on her wrist, which immediately caused it to light up.

"What's this? An LED screen?" Kate asked.

"Not exactly. Click the button on the side." Luke said with a grin and Kate rolled her eyes and did so, only to be surprised when the screen flipped up to reveal some kind of scanner.

"It's a thumb scanner already programmed with your thumbprint, so try it out." Luke said and Kate sighed, but nodded.

"Okay then." Kate said as she pressed her thumb against the scanner and it lit up green and suddenly, the watch dissolved into a flurry of nanites that if Kate was honest, looked like bats, encompassed her and took the form of her suit.

"Okay, this is cool." Batwoman said as she looked around.

"Yeah, I have to admit, Cisco definitely knows how to upgrade a super suit. By combining his nanotech research with my dad's original notes on the tech in the batsuit and making it portable. The bat shaped nanites were his idea, though I do agree that they're badass. He had a lot of ideas for upgrades." Luke said.

"I'll let you geek out over that once I find out who turned on the bat signal and why." Batwoman said as she headed out.

Ryan Wilder was wondering what was taking Batman so long to answer the bat signal, since it had been nearly 20 minutes since she'd turned it on and he still wasn't here yet. Though she sighed in relief when she heard the familiar sound of his grappling hook and turned to see a caped crusader land on the roof of the building, to her surprise, it wasn't Batman, but a woman wearing a suit similar to his, only with red accents and red wig.

"Who are you?" Ryan asked.

"Batwoman." Batwoman said.

"What happened to Batman?" Ryan asked.

"Not important right now, but he sent me. Now what's going on?" Batwoman asked.

"My girlfriend was kidnapped." Ryan said and now she had Batwoman's attention.

"By who?" Batwoman asked.

"I don't know. She was on her way home from work and she was calling me to let me know she was gonna pick up dinner on her way when she got grabbed. I don't know who took her or why, but even though her dad is the Crows commander, I'd much rather have Batman be the one to save her, since something tells me that he's got a better chance at finding her. No offense to you." Ryan said.

"None taken, you only just met me. But I promise you, I will find your girlfriend and I'll bring her home." Batwoman said.

"I hope so. Because I can't lose Mary. Not after everyone else I've lost." Ryan said.

"And you won't, I promise. But you should tell her family. They have a right to know." Batwoman said and Ryan nodded as Batwoman jumped off the roof.

"So, who was it?" Luke asked when Kate returned to the Batcave.

"It was Ryan, Mary's been kidnapped and I'm willing to bet that Alice is behind it. This is how she gets even with Catherine." Kate said.

"I'll start combing every security camera in the city for any trace of Mary." Luke said.

"Ryan said that Mary called her on her way home from work, which means the clinic. Start there." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"I'll also access the GPS on Mary's phone, see if I can at least figure out where she was when Alice disabled it." Luke said.

"Do it." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"You wanna go check in on your dad?" Luke asked.

"No, he'd likely push me away, it's always been his coping mechanism. He'll throw himself into his work and not rest until he finds Mary. He'd just see me as a distraction, but I'll call Sophie, ask her to keep an eye on her for me once I know that my dad knows that Mary is missing." Kate said and Luke nodded.