New Earth: Batwoman

Chapter 43

The following day, Kate was a bit nervous about how Mary would react to the huge bombshell she was about to drop, but at the same time, she knew that she needed to tell her sister the truth, especially since Alice knew her identity, which in turn made Mary a target, the only target that Alice had a chance at hitting, since her father was locked up in prison, her mother was in a rehab facility, Sophie was leader of the Crows and Luke and Helena were both members of her team. Really, Mary was the only soft target Kate had and the only way she'd agree to letting Sophie place some extra protection on her was if she knew the truth. Plus, Kate knew that Mary was not as dumb as she made people think she was, so it was only a matter of time until she discovered her identity for herself, so Kate figured that it would be better if she just tore the bandage off plain and simple.

"Okay Kate, why did you want to see me here?" Mary asked her sister as she entered Kate's office.

"Two reasons. The first one is that I need your official consent before Kane Industries officially acquires Hamilton Dynamics." Kate said, since she was planning on buying Hamilton Dynamics, if only to save it from bankruptcy and not so that she'd have the authority to shut down their bat killing weaponry projects.

"Still can't believe you're doing that after what my mom did." Mary said.

"Your mom is the one who was in the wrong, but all the people who work for her don't deserve to lose their jobs because the company is going under." Kate said.

"You really have changed haven't you Kate? The old you wouldn't have thought twice about something like that." Mary said, a feeling a little guilty that she hadn't.

"Unlike my father, I'm done blaming people for things they have no control over." Kate said.

"I guess that explains why you're not hunting Batwoman like he did." Mary said.

"Well, that's one of the reasons. And that's another reason I asked you to meet me here. There's something important I need to tell you." Kate said, turning off video surveillance in her office as she said that.

"Okay, and what might that be?" Mary asked as Kate looked around before taking a deep breath.

"The main reason I'm not after Batwoman is because I am Batwoman." Kate said and Mary burst out laughing.

"You're Batwoman? You? No offense Kate, but you don't exactly seem like the Lady Crusader." Mary laughed, only to stop short when Kate twisted the container holding her aunt Martha's necklace, revealing the secret entrance to the Batcave.

"You were saying?" Kate asked.

"I take it back." Mary said as she wrapped her head around the bombshell her sister had just dropped on her while walking into the elevator as if she was in a trance.

"No photos or streaming." Kate said and Mary nodded as Kate pressed the button, which led to the door closing and the elevator taking them down to the Batcave.

When they arrived, Mary was in awe as she looked around the Batcave.

"Wow, so this is where you spend your nights?" Mary asked.

"Some of them." Kate said.

"This is incredible." Mary said.

"Yeah, I felt the same way when I first found this place." Kate agreed as she led Mary into the lair.

"So wait, you didn't build this place?" Mary asked.

"Are you kidding, there's too much black. Definitely not my style." Kate said.

"On that we agree." Helena said as she and Luke joined them.

"What is your cousin doing here?" Mary asked.

"I'm the Huntress." Helena said.

"Really. So does everyone in your family operate outside the law in some way?" Mary asked.

"Well my mom doesn't." Kate said.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Mary asked.

"Who do you think started all this? Do you really think it's a coincidence that the Batcave is located underneath former Wayne Tower." Helena said as the pieces fell into place for Mary.

"Wait, Bruce Wayne is Batman." Mary said and Kate nodded.

"Yep. Then he up and left Gotham hanging, so I decided to give it what it needed. A Bat, since let's face it, no matter how good the Crows were, it was the Bat that kept the criminals in line here in Gotham." Kate said.

"But why are you telling me now?" Mary asked.

"Because Kate and I both agreed that if we're going to keep jumping off rooftops and fighting people who want to kill us, it could be useful to have someone with actual medical training down here." Helena said.

"And you want it to be me?" Mary asked.

"We do." Kate said.

"Well they do. I'm on the fence about letting a well known social media influencer know about our secret operation." Luke said.

"And who are you exactly?" Mary asked.

"Lucius Fox's son Luke. He is one of my most trusted allies, but he doesn't exactly like having new people down here. He nearly blew a fuse when I found this place." Kate said.

"Kate and Helena may trust you, but I still think that despite the values you could bring, letting you in here is a mistake." Luke said.

"If we can trust the head of the crows with this, I think we can trust her." Kate said.

"Wait, Sophie knows you're Batwoman?" Mary asked.

"She does. I didn't want my relationship with her to be based on lies, though she actually figured it out herself. In fact, it's why she quit the Crows when she found out the lengths my dad was willing to go to take Helena and I down." Kate said.

"And who else knows about this?" Mary asked.

"Aside from us, there's Sophie, Bruce, Alfred, my mom, Julia Pennyworth and my psycho sister." Kate said.

"Wait, Alice knows that you're Batwoman?" Mary asked.

"Yes and I still do not know why she hasn't exposed it to the whole world. Especially after I put her in Arkham." Kate said.

"Well, let's just be grateful she hasn't, though I'm sure she has a much more sinister plot in mind." Helena said.

"So, you want to join?" Kate asked.

"Absolutely and I promise I won't say a word." Mary said.

"Good, because if you do, well." Kate said, leaving that threat hanging.

"Got it." Mary gulped slightly.