Batwoman #25

Issue Details

Synopsis

...OR HIGH WATER Six years ago, Kate Kane had grown to associate her home town of Gotham with death, so it was unwelcome news when her father Jacob called to inform her that her uncle Philip had been killed. And so, she was compelled to return home, despite her feelings, for the funeral. There, she reunited with Alfred Pennyworth, who invited her to the reception at Wayne Manor after the burial.   On the way to the manor though, Kate and Jacob heard news of the coming tropical storm Rene, immediately followed by breaking news of the Riddler's attack on Gotham, resulting in a power outage. Meanwhile, members of the Metropolis Police Department - including Maggie Sawyer - had been sent to Gotham in order to provide relief and support for the beleaguered GCPD.   At Wayne Manor, Kate felt she needed some air, and found herself standing over the grave plots of Thomas and Martha Wayne. She was startled there by their son Bruce, but not unhappy to see him. Seriously, she asked him whether the death of his parents, he mother and twin sister, and now their uncle Philip might indicate that there is a curse on their family. Stonily, Bruce responded that murder is not a curse, but a terrible crime that must see terrible justice served upon its perpetrators. Hearing that, their cousin Bette, who had been eavesdropping, commented that only those two could be more depressing than a funeral. She urged them to come back inside for dessert, and aside to Bruce, Kate mused that at least Bette was still young. Stepping inside, Bruce led everyone in a toast to his uncle Philip, before urging them to go back to their homes and prepare for the coming storm.   At her father's house, Kate wished there was something she could do to help - like patrolling the streets to prevent looting; a soldierly duty. Amused, Jacob explained that while she was home, she was a civilian. Her time would come soon enough. After he had gone to sleep, Kate resolved that she could not simply sit on her hands, and decked herself out in denim and dark makeup, to bring the fight to the bad guys. Sneaking into Bruce's garage, she stole a motorcycle, and rode to Gotham City.   Maggie Sawyer, meanwhile, had such a sense of duty and such an eagerness that the GCPD quartermasters longed for more like her on their force.   Elsewhere, a group of looters commandeered a window-washing trolley in order to break into the home of one of their employers and steal enough jewelry to sell it and get out of Gotham. However, with the rain coming down - and their general ineptitude - they made a clumsy job of it. So clumsy, in fact, that they dropped one of their tools out into the street, drawing Kate's attention. They had also drawn the attention of their boss's son, who was home and left a message on his window asking for help. Kate spotted this, and resolved to answer his call, breaking into the building, and listening for any sound that might indicate where her prey were.   As the looters discovered the stash of jewelry, Kate found the young boy hiding under a table, and he explained that his parents' flight home had been cancelled. Taking him under an arm, she led him to the door, hoping to get him to safety, but they were spotted. Placing herself between the boy and the thug, she quickly knocked the gun from his hand and took it, shooting through a window, and leaping out into the swimming pool below. Even as she landed, alive in the water, the thugs were quick to send a barrage of bullets down around her, clipping her arm.   She feigned death as they reached her, and dragged her out of the pool, rising up in time to toss one of them into the pool. She then began to beat on the other two until she felt a gun pressed to the back of her head, and heard a voice telling her to freeze. The gun and the voice belonged to Maggie Sawyer.   Jacob picked Kate up from the hospital, and was not as proud as one might expect to hear of how she thwarted a jewel heist and saved a young child. In the car, on the way home, he began to berate her, but when she failed to respond, he realized that she had fallen asleep long ago. Sighing, he admitted that she was a good soldier.