Batwoman crept along the top of the warehouse, keeping a silent watch on Gotham City. She had studied crime patterns over the last few days and noticed a rise in the level of assaults and robberies in this certain part of the city, which already had a
pretty bad reputation. Already that night she had saved a prostitute from getting beaten by her pimp and stopped a gang from jumping a man who was just trying to get back to his family after a long day of work in one of the factories. The gang members had
been easy enough to deal with, and now they waited in an alleyway as she heard the sound of a police siren coming to arrest them.
A slight smile spread across Kate Kane's face as she wondered in the back of her mind if they would knew it was her that subdued these thugs or if it was any of Gotham’s other vigilantes? Suddenly, from out of the darkness a scream rang out and Batwoman whipped
her head in the direction of the loud noise. It had to have been at least two buildings over.
Kate ran as fast as she could and leapt from the top of one building to the roof slightly below it. The distance between the two was easily cleared and she landed softly thanks to flaring out her cape at the last second. The next building was much higher
and she reached into her utility belt and grabbed her grapnel gun. She raised it in the direction of the top of the roof and fired, sending a grappling hook and cable soaring into the air until it broke through the cement wall and stuck. Batwoman didn’t
have to wait long before the cable began to retract and it carried her up to the top of the roof. From there she again used the shadows to hide any trace of herself as she again crept along and peered over to see a large man roughing up a much smaller woman
almost directly below her in an alleyway. The woman tried to fight back, but Batwoman saw that she was just too weak for his raw brute strength.
Batwoman wasted little time. She took a quick second to plan her attack before springing into action. The redheaded crime fighter leapt over the side of the building as her cape caught the air as she deftly flew down all three
stories. Just as she reached the man and his female victim in the alleyway, her cape caught in the wind and she flipped in mid-air. The last thing the mugger saw before it was too late was the crimson-colored inside of Batwoman’s cape as it billowed in the
wind, followed by the red blur of her boots as they collided with his face. The big man fell unconscious as Batwoman landed triumphantly next to his hulking body.
Kate took her time to look at her handiwork before addressing the woman that was crouching down next to her. Batwoman’s eyes narrowed when she saw the woman was trembling uncontrollably and her heart went out to the poor girl. Judging
by her stylish white trench coat and diamond earrings the woman had never been in a situation like this before. She certainly didn’t frequent areas like this since she was basically calling out for people to mug her with the expensive clothes she had on.
“Everything is going to be OK. You won’t have to worry about him anymore. He’s going to be busy taking all of his meals at Blackgate Prison in liquid form for a while to even think about hurting anyone again,” Batwoman said, as
she reached out her hand to help the woman up, “Just a word of warning. If you are going to visit this part of town, wear something a little less lavish.”
It was then that the woman straightened herself and stood up. Kate recognized the woman immediately as the journalist and part-time television personality, Vicky Vale. But Miss Vale was acting much different than how a recent assault-victim
should have been acting. A feeling of dread fell over Batwoman when she realized that what she thought were soft whimpers of distress turned out to be a constant, soft laughter coming from the reporter. A pleased, triumphant smile spread over Vicky’s lips.
Vicky then cocked her head to the side and she looked Batwoman directly in the eyes. There was an odd little mischievous smile on her face and for a second Kate thought she saw what looked two smudges of what appeared to be black
lipstick on her neck as her red hair blew back with the wind before it fell back on her shoulders.
Batwoman was taken aback by this strange turn of events. Vicky Vale definitely wasn’t acting like the self-assured reporter she had seen on television, and the thought did occur to her that Miss Vale could have been on some form
of mind-expanding drugs. Vicky then raised her arm and pointed down the alleyway. Kate’s eyes followed the direction of her finger, as Vicky slowly backed away. Turning back to the retreating reporter, Batwoman noted how Vicky seemed to be gliding in her
strides. The definitive sounds of the woman’s fashionable high-heels clicking on the concrete in the deathly quiet of the Gotham City night were the only evidence that Vicky’s feet were indeed on the ground.
For a split second, Batwoman felt that it was her duty to follow the redheaded reporter and find out why Miss Vale was acting so differently. However, she had pointed down the alley and if there were some drug dealer or even worse
down there then Vicky would simply have to wait. Taking a moment to survey her surroundings before heading down the alleyway and checking for any hint of a trap, Batwoman proceeded cautiously down the alley. Her hand fell to her utility belt and she grasped
her batarang as she tread carefully toward what appeared to be a dead end when something caught her eye. There at the end of the alley was a kneeling figure covered in a long, flowing black cloak with her back turned to the heroine. Still looking around
for any places thugs might spring from in the alley, Kate began to walk towards the lone figure. As she approached her, Batwoman recognized that the figure had a definite feminine figure.
“Excuse me? Miss?” Batwoman called out, hoping not to startle the woman. “This isn’t the best part of town. I can help you get out of here.”