A Bat's Light of Hope (Closed)

Bruce finally spotted Kat and holding Serenity's hand he made his way towards her. They had to slip past a few policemen, but they were so busy it was easy and finally they got to her.
"Kat how are you are you okay, you look a bit under the weather," Bruce said as the got near her.
"Oh Bruce," Kat exclaimed as she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "I didn't see you and thought you might have been injured."
He blushed and looked down a little." Actually Kat Serenity and I were near an exit and in the confusion we were able to slip out and run to get the police. We were probably the safest of everybody."
"You two did this. Oh you are wonderful. You probably don't know then that the Batman and a mysterious woman in white showed up and rescued us anyway but you did the right thing. I am proud of you two."
"Well we couldn't let them get all that charity money and goods now could we Kat," he grinned, "Especially seeing as a few are mine."
Kat thumped him in the arm and laughed. "Bruce you are such the idiot. I know you couldn't really give two cents for those things over a human life, but they will be ready to pick up tomorrow. Just have your check book ready mister, you owe us a lot of money."
"Actually Kat how about I just give you one for a Million dollars and we call it even. That place could use it and you are doing great work down there. Just don't tell the others.They hate when I trump them with donations. They always think I am trying to show off."
"Your secrets safe with me Bruce. I know why your doing it and thank you, this will really help out." she stepped up and kissed him on the cheek. "Just write the amount tomorrow and I will say you are all paid up."
"Thanks Kat."

Serenity listened to the conversation between Bruce and Kat and noticed that Kat had mentioned Batman. So that was the dark hero's name and she had been right that he had been around a while. So why hadn't she heard of him before? No matter, she'd talk to Bruce in the car and see what he knows about Batman. Now all that had to be done was to wait until they were accounted for and they would probably leave after.

"So Kat who do we have to check in with?"
"Oh see that gentleman with the clipboard. Go give him your names and then get checked out by one of the paramedics. Once you have a green wristband you can go home. I have to stay and account for everything. I will see you tomorrow Bruce."
"Bye Kat and good luck", they waved as they walked over.
Ten minutes later they were walking out of the crime scene. It had not taken long. They had given their names and a quick glance by the Doc and they had their bands. They showed them to one of the guards on the barrier and they were through. Bruce led her towards the car. "Alfred texted me earlier where he would meet us," he explained to her questioning gaze. He opened the door for her and slipped in beside her. "Miss Serenity's place Alfred."
"Very good sir."
As the car made it's slow way through traffic he turned to her."Not exactly what I had planned for tonight but I guess it was memorable. you must let me make it up to you. How about I take you out on a real date sometime?"

Serenity smiled. "It was a wonderful evening up until the robbers of course. But since you insist on making it up, I won't say no to another date. Call me anytime you want to set that up."

"Anyway, forgive me for being out of the loop, I've never paid much attention to the news enough apparently. But I'm curious to know what you might know about Batman."

Bruce was startled. A person living in Gotham that did not know about the Dark Knight. Then again she had only recently moved here and he certainly wasn't big news everywhere.
"Ah the Batman. our dark protector. He showed up a while ago and has been cleaning up Gotham's streets of criminals and low life's ever since. Of course depending on who you ask he is either a Hero or a bigger Menace than the criminals he puts away. Some believe he attracts all kinds of super criminals to the city just so they can say they took down the Bat, but others are of the opinion he has done more to help this place than anyone else. All I know is the criminals fear him and that's good enough for me. Me I think he is a guy in a suit doing some good, but you wouldn't catch me doing it. He must have some super powers or something like those other hero's you read about in the paper's. You know Superman or Wonder Woman. I mean could you imagine doing that sort of thing without them it would be suicide," he laughed.

"I don't think it would be suicide to do such a thing without powers." She giggled. "Though I really seem out of the loop now." Her cheeks tinted with her embarrassment. "Like I said, I haven't been reading the newspapers all that much in the two years I've been in Gotham. So even those names are new to me. Only superheroes I've heard of before tonight were the ones that were in Japan."

"Ah the Japanese super heroes like Rising Sun,Mr Unknown and the Sailors. Yes I have heard of them, they are the protectors of the Japanese way of life and it's people. I must admit I have only heard of them because of my extensive business trips abroad. I probably know a lot of superheroes around the world. Every country seems to have their own now."

As they had been talking Alfred had managed to drive all the way to Serenity's place. "We have arrived Master Bruce."
"Ah thank you Alfred." He stepped out and then helped her out. "So I will call you to arrange that date and if you need a lift back to the ballroom tomorrow I can pick you up as well."

"I'll be awaiting that call." She smiled. "Oh in my excitement of everything, I forgot something. Thank you for the roses. They're very beautiful. I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed his cheek once more, gave a little wave to Alfred and headed inside.

Bruce waved back at her and watched as she walked inside with a huge grin on his face. Getting back into the car he eased back into his seat as Alfred drove off towards Wayne manor. "A wholly successful night on both accounts I see Sir. A robbery thwarted and a good date. I don't know which is the better result. Will you be seeing this woman again?"
"I am hoping I will be seeing a lot more of her Alfred. There is just something about her."
He couldn't see it, but a small grin of pleasure spread across Alfred's face. It had been a long time since he had heard those words from his Master's mouth. He hoped this one would last.

As they approached the Manor his demeanor changed. "It is still early Alfred and I have work to do. I will be down in the cave if you need me. I need to analyze some footage from my suit tonight. There is a new heroine in town and I want to know all I can about her before I go on patrol tomorrow night. If we meet up again I need to be prepared."

As Serenity began removing her jewelry, she headed to her room, a little surprised to find the guardian cats Luna and Artemis waiting for her.
"You've been quite difficult to track down Serena."
"It's Serenity now, Luna. And I'm sorry for leaving you two behind but if I had, you guys would've spent the flight locked up in carriers."
"It's in the past. At least you're safe." Artemis spoke up. "Did you have a nice time?" He indicated her attire.
"I did Artemis. Went to a charity function as Bruce Wayne's date. He was a perfect gentleman by the way." She then went on explaining the rest of the night and told them she'd be careful if she encountered Batman again

Bruce had descended into the Batcave as soon as he had stepped into the mansion. He had already retrieved the memory stick from the utility belt of the suit in the case from the car and once in front of his computers downloaded everything he had seen from tonight's fight into them. He now did this with all his suits so he would not miss anything no matter how small. It allowed him to recreate a 3dimensional scene of what he had seen and experienced, the computer filling in some of the blanks with educated guesses that were accurate to 1 in 100million.

For now he just wanted the raw footage. He watched as he ran over the rooftops then entered the building, took out the two guards then approached the third and then looked up. Pausing the tape he saw her. A glowing white figure standing in the open skylight throwing what looked like a whip made of hearts at the criminal in front of him. The picture was a little blurry as he had been running and he had only glanced that way but he knew he had a better shot of her coming up. He advanced the tape and saw the crook fall unconscious and then she landed in front of him and turned to him. Again he stopped the tape and took a good look. A woman in a distinctive uniform. All white, with white hair and a white staff. The only color on her was the colored stripes on her dress and some gold on her staff and wrists. Looking at her face he was surprised to see it still blurred with a silvery hue. He tried some computer tricks but no matter what he did it remained that way. Obviously this was one of her powers. Well he snapped an image of her and sent it coursing through his data banks. He would know soon if she matched any known super hero's or villains on file.

Serenity on the other hand, had no idea that her alter ego was being looked up. After changing out of the dress and into her pajamas and letting her hair down, she settled down for bed with the two feline guardians curled up at the other end.


Meanwhile, Bruce's attempt to match the unknown heroine to others showed a potential match to the Sailors of Japan due to uniform.

The computer had been running for a rather long time worrying Bruce. If it had not found something in the first ten minutes she was not well known. Twenty and she was obscure. The programme had been running for over forty minutes now. Finally it beeped at him and displayed it's results. No exact match had been found anywhere in the world for her or her powers in the last 100 years. The closest the computer could come up with was a small group of heroines that had appeared in Japan.

These girls had been dressed in similar clothes to the girl he was searching for and like her their faces never showed up on any recording device. Bruce called up images for these girls and his pulse started to race. The uniforms were very similar, the white woman's just being a bit more elaborate. The other thing that excited him was the colors of the uniforms.Each of them corresponded to a stripe on the white woman's skirt. They were obviously related in some way. He requested all information about this Sailor Squad the computer could find and then went to get some tea. It looked like he would be having another night of little sleep.

There would be footage of each one in order of first appearance. Faces still blurred. First was Sailor Moon, name given and power type listed as light. Next was Sailor Mercury with ice power, followed by Sailor Mars with fire, Sailor Jupiter with lightning, Sailor Venus with love, Neptune and Uranus with water and wind respectively, Sailor Saturn with destruction and rebirth and finally Sailor Pluto with power over time.

The footage would show some of the different enemies. The last being other Sailors, along with new Sailor allies. The new allies having their faces blurred and a different uniform type.

Bruce had been up to all hours of the morning studying the files and limited video they had of these Sailors. He had to admit they were very good. They worked well as a team and had defeated some truly evil opponents. Sometimes it was good to get a case like this that reminded you that you were not fighting this battle alone, that there were others out there like you doing the same thing.

From what he was able to piece together the Sailors had come to earth to defeat a group of monsters that had tried to take over the world from Japan. The first to arrive had been their leader Sailor Moon. Then the others Mars,Mercury, Venus,Saturn,Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Pluto. Each of them controlled one power. Sailor Mercury with ice power, followed by Sailor Mars with fire, Sailor Jupiter with lightning, Sailor Venus with love, Neptune and Uranus with water and wind respectively, Sailor Saturn with destruction and rebirth and finally Sailor Pluto with power over time. Sailor Moon had the power of Light.

The girls had fought for a long time but any time they were caught on camera or film their faces came out mysteriously blurred, What was even weirder was that while everyone agreed that they never wore masks no one could ever describe their faces. Later on several more of these sailors arrived but everyone has now agreed that they are now no longer active but the monsters they fought have disappeared too.

Bruce was sure he was now dealing with a new Sailor. Just who she was and why she was in Gotham and not Japan was a mystery. Perhaps he could ask Serenity if she had heard about these Sailors while she lived in Japan. It would be good to have first hand knowledge. He just needed a way to bring it up.

Serenity on the other hand, slept through the night and was awake on her own the next morning. After she had gotten dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, she wasn't surprised to find the guardian felines with all her magazines spread out in front of them on the living room floor. Well not all of them, just the ones that mention Bruce.

She shook her head at the two cats and held back a giggle. If she was right, and she likely was, Luna was curious to know more and roped poor Artemis into helping her. Serenity turned and started making breakfast. As she cooked, she started making a list in her mind of things she'd have to pick up now that Luna and Artemis had joined her. After all, there would have to be an impression that Luna and Artemis were normal, everyday house cats.

Every now and then Luna would speak up about Bruce's playboy behavior or her suspicions about Batman and Serenity would calmly reassure the feline on both accounts that Luna had nothing to worry about. Finally after eating and grabbing her purse and phone and new communicator watch from Luna, she headed out the door to run to the petstore, dialing Bruce as she walked to her car.

Bruce had managed to grab about four hours of sleep, his usual amount of sleep when he was working so he actually woke up refreshed. He grabbed a shower and a shave and while sitting down to breakfast he caught up with all the latest news and finance information. Batman and his suspected Sailor had made the headlines but there was still the usual gangland going on's as well. It seemed that someone was making a move down in the docks and vice heartland of the city. Over the past few weeks several unsolved murders had occurred that had been reported on but nobody had taken much notice of. He knew better though. The people had all been minor bosses in various gangs around those areas, and if they were being killed off what else was happening down there.

On the happy side his stocks were continuing to rise, including the few small companies he was developing under pseudonyms that people did not know about. These companies helped finance his Batman side of things. As he was finishing breakfast his phone rang and the caller ID told him it was Serenity. Smiling happily he picked it up. "Good morning Serenity, To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Serenity smiled. "Good morning to you too Bruce. I was calling to see when you were planning to head back to the ballroom. I thought it might make things easier to meet you there. I'll be out anyway since I'm heading to the petstore to pick up some things. A couple of cats wandered outside my door and I couldn't resist taking them in. So now I just need to pick up the necessities for them."

Bruce smiled. He could see Serenity with a few cats but could never see her as that 'Cat' lady. "Well I am just finishing my breakfast and was planning on driving down there in about half an hour, so I could meet you there in about an hour. Would that give you enough time to do all the things you need to get done and still meet me?"

He was only guessing on the time anyway. What with Gotham traffic these days he was hoping it would take him 30 minutes to drive there. It normally took twenty and he had added 10 to be sure but who knew these days.

"An hour is perfect. Helps that I know what to look for already. Just gotta hope that traffic works for us today and not against us. Anyway, I'm about to pull off. See you in an hour." She hung up and put her phone away before starting the car and pulling off for the pet store

He hung up and went to change. casual was the name of the game today. Simple shirt with a casual jacket. A pair of jeans and casual shoes.
his ever present watch/communicator this his casual style one and not much else except for his aviator sunglasses. Walking into the garage he wondered what car to take. The Ferrari was a little to flashy but the hummer was too big. Ah the Bentley, that would do.He grabbed the keys and was soon racing down his drive on his way to the ball room.

Luck seemed to be on her side where traffic was concerned as it didn't take her too long to reach the pet store. Once inside, she grabbed the necessary things; litter box, litter, food, etc. As she paid for the items, she looked at the time, seeing she had a half hour before she had to meet Bruce. She loaded up he trunk and climbed in before pulling off towards the ballroom

Bruce made good time and he pulled into the ball rooms parking lot a little earlier than he expected. Several other cars were there along with an assortment of police cars and vehicles. Guess they were still going over the crime scene. He hoped they had released the auction items. He would hate to have come down here for nothing. Then he thought of Serenity and smiled. Well the trip would not have been for nothing then.

Looking around he spotted Kat's car so at least she was here but he noticed that two large policemen were stationed at the entrance to her offices. That could be a problem or just good procedure. He got out and waited by his car for Serenity to show up so they could go in together.

He didn't have to wait long as Serenity pulled up soon after. Just before she stepped out of the car, she looked around in her glove compartment for something. As she stepped out, it could be seen that the something she grabbed was a hair tie. Hair tie on her wrist, she pulled her hair up into a high ponytail as a precaution, unsure of what might be going on. She smiled as she saw Bruce and walked over to him. "Think they're still going over everything?"

He smiled brightly at her as she walked over to him genuinely glad to see her. She looked beautiful even in her casual clothes. Bruce was sure she could make rags look stunning. "That's what I'm thinking. The goons are probably on the door just to make sure the people going in actually have business inside. Want to wander over with me and find out?"

At a nod from her he linked arms with her and strolled over. At the door he nodded to the police and flashed his drivers license even though he was one of the most recognized people in the world. "Bruce Wayne to see Ms Kathryn De Witt. I am here to pick up some items I purchased last night. The ladies name is Serenity, she is with me and is here to do likewise."
The policeman talked into his two way and then listened. He must have liked what he heard because he smiled and motioned them through. "Sorry Mr Wayne but we have to be careful after yesterday."
"That's okay boys I know your only doing your jobs," he smiled.

They walked towards Kat's office and they saw several more officers scouring the place. He thought it odd as the robbery had occurred in the Ball room not in the offices. As they got to Kat's office it was opened by another officer and they walked in to find a stressed Kat sitting behind her desk. She still managed a smile as they walked in and rose to great them. "Bruce, Serenity good to see you. Sorry about the police but someone tried to get in last night and failed. I really don't know what is going on. I have your items ready to go though all I need is your check and there yours."

Bruce smiled at the touch of eagerness in her voice but pulled out his check book. "Oh I am paying for Ms Serenity's as well Kat." He wrote out the check and handed it over and watched as Kat's eyes widened. "Bruce this is double what you promised. Are you sure," she looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"It's fine Kat, I checked my stocks this morning and we had a bit of a windfall. Besides who needs it more, a rich idiot like me or the needy down there."
Kat embraced him and kissed his cheek. "There are those of us who know your secret Bruce Wayne. You do more for this city than they will ever know," Bruce tensed for a second before she continued, "How many times have you done things like this without telling them. How many soup kitchens are funded by Wayne enterprises. You are not the rich playboy they make you out to be. Now get out of here before I fight this woman for you."

Bruce laughed and took his items, handing Serenity her books and walked out.