Gotham was abuzz after the jaw-dropping return of the Batman. Katherine Kane was sitting in the living room of her apartment, watching the news with soaring amusement.
She was relieved to see that she had brought so much joy to everyone in the city with the return of such a beloved hero. No, they hadn’t met her yet. They still believed it was The Batman who had returned to rescue Gotham from the growing darkness but she was fine that they didn’t know the full truth. One day, they would know.
For now, she was as anonymous as she could be. No one would expect a woman to don the mask or to take the responsibility of such an important figure to Gotham. It made her feel good as she sat back in her apartment, knowing no one knew the wiser.
Suddenly, an idea came to her mind.
Like Batman, she needed a base. A place she could go to and perform her operations undetected and unknown. But where? Where did Bruce Wayne’s base reside? Maybe if she found it she could reclaim it.
The thought got better and better the more she thought about it until she finally got the nerve to get off of her butt, grab her coat, and head out of the apartment.
Just as she did that, Marcon was also coming out of his apartment. When he saw her he smiled. She smiled back.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
“Fine. Still a bit shook from the other night but…I’m fine.”
She nodded. “Good.”
She was about to head downstairs when he stopped her as he continued to talk.
“Did you see it? Batman’s come back,” he said excitedly.
She grinned. “I know. It’s kind of unbelievable, isn’t it?”
“At first I thought it was a trick but apparently it isn’t. I…I can’t believe it!”
She marveled at the joy in his eyes. The joy that she had created. Deep down, she wanted to tell him. To let him know that it was her. That she was the one who was now wearing the mask. But if she did, she could put him in great danger. Now she was beginning to understand maybe how hard it was to be the new Batman.
He looked at her, his head slightly cocking. “Were you about to say something?”
She shook her head. “No. Nothing. I’m just…really excited to see he’s back.”
She turned to leave when he stopped her in her tracks again as he said, “I’m sorry about how I acted the other day. I actually had a really fun time…and yeah it was kind of scary facing that burglar and seeing you about to go all ham on that guy,” she chuckled, “but I did like seeing you in that mode. It’s nice to know someone like you.”
“Why? Because you can go out and have a bodyguard?”
He chuckled. “It comes in handy.”
Her smile widened. There was a pause before she said, “I had fun the other night too, by the way. You’re…a good friend.”
“Maybe we can do it again some time.”
She nodded, reaching out her hand to his, giving her some dap. “Definitely.”
With that, she finally left but she could feel his eyes still watching her. She left the apartment building, got on her motorcycle, and took off toward Wayne Enterprises Building. She had a friend to talk to.
Annlyel Online 