Work Text:
Save Batwoman Wildmoore Agenda- Meaning of Life
FLASHBACK
Ryan rolled over in bed, hoping to interest the taller woman in a pre-breakfast meal. Instead, she found herself greeted by cold sheets, a note, and a purple white tulip. Was this revenge or a subtle hint?
Ryan Wilder,
I wish I was waking up in your arms
X
Soph
There was an imprint of Sophie’s lips above her name. Ryan kissed the imprint and rolled out of bed and headed to the washroom.
Good Morning, my Batwoman was written in purple lipstick on the mirror. When she looked in the mirror, Ryan saw that there was a purple lipstick mark on her cheek.
“Sophie Moore, are you one-upping me right now?” Ryan took a shower and got dressed for the day. When she got into the kitchen there was another note.
Coffee is made and there’s tofu scramble in the fridge
X
Sophie
Another note that ended with a purple kiss.
Batwoman and the Commissioner may seem like a power couple, but in reality, it turned out to be a series of missed connections and in Ryan’s case, waking up alone in bed. The notes brought a smile to Ryan’s face but also made Sophie’s absence even more present. Batwoman patrolled the streets of Gotham at night. While Sophie had to strike a balance between being the Commissioner and a part of the Bat Team. She was only human after all; there were limitations to what she could achieve over 24 hours.
Ryan was also struggling in her own way; she wasn’t as fully healed as she let on but Sophie’s new responsibilities helped her leverage returning to the field in her favor. The viral video of Mary wildly planting on the streets of Gotham had been scrubbed from the internet thanks to the powers of the Commissioner, mitigating the damage it could have done. Things were slowly returning to normal at the clinic except for Luke and Mary. The plants had him spooked even though all evidence of Poison Ivy was gone. Also, his own experience of surviving a gunshot gave Luke insight into what dealing with trauma could do to a person. This coupled with the zombies Luke took the approach of giving Mary space to deal with her pain rather than over-engaging. The team was in a good place, but things felt different with less of Sophie around. She had gotten into a rhythm of having her partner around practically all day. Sophie was in and out so quickly, they connected most on missions which left little time for conversation outside of that. These days she saw more of BlackCat or Black Catwoman than Sophie Moore, her girlfriend, and sounding board.
There was another reason she was avoiding discussing this with Sophie: her lady love was having nightmares about the fall out from the bomb. Sophie’s guilt was eating away at her slumber; it wasn’t until the most recent dream that she was able to confirm that Sophie had no idea what was happening at night.
40 degrees North, 73 degrees West
40 degrees North, 73 degrees West
40 degrees North, 73 degrees West
40 degrees North, 73 degrees West
Sophie would repeat the coordinates until what Ryan concluded was the explosion except Sophie had put herself in the center of the blast. The sudden stopping of everything and the peace that would follow after each nightmare led Ryan to believe that nightmare always ended with Sophie unalive. The thought caused Ryan’s heart to skip a beat. Ryan’s instincts told her that if she brought this up it would only make the guilt Sophie was experiencing worse. She didn’t want to pile on the worry on Sophie who deserved the space to settle into her new role.
Sophie had been using all of her resources and newfound connections as Commissioner to fast-track the response to the zombie outbreak. Ryan was able to catch Jada up to speed so, Jeturian Labs was also now helping to find a cure. Depending on Mary alone wasn’t the best idea; time was of the essence and Gotham needed all of the best working hard to find a cure. There was still the matter of figuring out how King Shark and Central City metahumans kept popping up in Gotham. Something needed to be under control before the next curveball was thrown.
She visited the bomb site personally and collected forensic collect samples of everything. She created a task force with every level of law enforcement in the city, the best scientists, and had a specialized wing at Gotham Hospital reserved for any victims of the acid attack or the Zombies. Sophie was relentless in her role.
“Have those lab results come back yet?”
"No Commissioner, we only sent them 30 minutes ago”
“With the advanced technology Jeturian Industries has, we should have received the results 29 minutes ago,” the person froze unsure of what to do next, Sophie hung her head, “call Jeturian and get an update.”
She was heading out to the Mayor’s office. They were heading to Arkham to see what they could learn from the inmates there about what was going on in the streets. The Mayor felt it necessary to be there as it would send confidence to the citizens of Gotham that everything was being done to protect them. The city had been in a state of lockdown in an effort to keep the zombie incidents at a low level. But Gotham was a city of crime and people on the streets; it only resulted in the most vulnerable falling prey to the latest scourge harming Gotham’s streets.
Sophie: Tell me you are making more progress with your day than I am
Ryan: That depends on how you define progress; I’m headed to the clinic.
Sophie: Still can’t believe that happened
Ryan: Yeah, I think we’ve seen the last of that. Now that we know, it’s PTSD. We have a plan. What’s on your agenda?
Sophie: Heading to Hartley’s office and then to Arkham
Ryan: To harass my brother, again
Sophie: I’m going to give you an opportunity to walk that one back
Ryan: Sorry, I know you’re just doing your job
Sophie: Try to remember that. We’re supposed to be Gotham’s new power couple.
Ryan knew she messed up; she was incredibly proud of Sophie; at that moment, she wondered if she had impressed upon the older woman just how proud of her she was. She remembered how broken Sophie was when she didn’t get the role the last time It was then she made a mental note to really show Sophie a good time; there had been acknowledgment but there really hadn’t been a celebration of Sophie’s success. Sophie was deserving of the ultimate celebration. She wondered if Sophie’s success would create the safest scenario to meet Diane Moore. From Ryan’s perspective, becoming Commissioner of Gotham had to break through at least one layer of Diane Moore’s anti-queer hate. Surely, Diane had given much thought to the meaning of life since she and Sophie last spoke to each other. Ryan had gotten both of her families back; it all felt so impossible. It gave her hope that Sophie could have her family back together too. Ryan decided that she was planning a celebratory dinner and would enlist Jordan and Mary’s help. Both loved event planning and she thought this might help Mary cope with the PTSD she was experiencing.
When Sophie arrived at the Mayor’s Office, she expected it to be a quick turnaround to head to Arkham.
“Hello Mayor, the vehicles are ready downstairs. I have assembled a security team for both transport and there is a strategic team at Arkham as well,” Sophie was still standing in the doorway of Hartley’s office.
“Thank you, Sophie. This is precisely why we hired you for the job. We should have done it the first time. This leads me to what we need to discuss, close the door and come in,” Sophie obliged the Mayor's request.
“Let me just send a message that there will be a slight delay in our arrival,” After sending the message to the team posted at Arkham Sophie took a seat.
“Since your days as a Crow, there have been rumblings about your relationship with Batwoman which given her importance to the city, we view as an asset,” the Mayor was being very careful with her words.
“I would agree, Mayor, but I suspect there is something else,” Sophie had a hunch of where this was going but she awaited verbal confirmation.
“As we work to tackle corruption and crime in Gotham, our new commissioner is dating the Prodigal daughter of Jada Jet, who is also the sister of Marquis Jet, one of the inmates in Arkham. Given the cover-ups, we learned about Jet and your proximity to that family, are you prepared to hold all of Gotham accountable? How much does this position mean to you Commissioner Moore?” The Mayor leaned forward in her chair as she posed the question. If Sophie understood correctly, she was beginning to think that this appointment wasn’t her dream come true, but another card in the deck of Gotham’s corrupt- the Mayor included.
“Mayor, I left the Crows because I wanted to do right by Gotham. It took me a long time to see that the organization I dedicated so much of my life to was a part of the problem. I’ve made my own mistakes; I personally know what it means to fail the forgotten in this city. This role and what I intend to achieve speaks to the very meaning of life for me. We have a responsibility to bring fairness, justice, and safety to every resident of Gotham,” Sophie intentionally avoided speaking directly to any mention of the Jet Familly. She had clued into the Mayor’s game but had also been avoiding addressing this conflict of interest head-on. Ryan and Sophie didn’t speak in detail about how Batwoman, the Commissioner, and Hotshot Catwoman would navigate this new responsibility. They simply kept doing and protecting Gotham. The Mayor’s revelation had moved that conversation to the top of Sophie’s priority list.
Sophie’s phone rang.
“Hello… What? When? How on earth did this happen? Get me the Warden at Arkham now. What do you mean you can’t? Dammit! I’ll brief the Mayor. Alert every officer in the city, and turn on the Bat-Signal.”
The Mayor had already sprung from behind her desk the moment she heard the tone in Sophie’s voice. By the time, Sophie hung up the phone Ryan had already sent her a text message. Jada had heard before anyone else because she had an inside connection at Arkham.
“What’s happened, Moore?”
“Marquis Jet along with three other inmates have escaped,” Sophie immediately knew her gut was right but that’s a victory she couldn’t share with Ryan. This was going to devastate her.
“Mayor, I have to go but I will be sure to update you on the manhunt. I’m making this our top priority. Do you have somewhere private I can make a phone call?”
“Yes, there is a meeting room just two doors to your left,” Sophie left the Mayor’s office and head to call Ryan.
Ryan was at the clinic with Mary. For Mary, Ryan was hovering but she understood why her best friend was staying so close.
“Mom already called me. We need to make sure he’s okay.”
“Are you serious right now, Ryan?” Marquis can’t be trusted.”
“We don’t know that until we find him. He could have been a pawn in someone else’s escape. Mom said that he wasn’t the only one that escaped,” Ryan is lucky she couldn’t see the look on Sophie’s face right now. Sophie decided to move forward.
“Two guards died in the process of that escape,” Sophie said exasperatedly
“And we don’t know that he killed them. He is the son of one of the most powerful people in Gotham that’s a target on his back.”
“Might I remind you that Marquis tried to kill you, your mother, and me,” Sophie wished Ryan was in front of her. They heard each other better through touch than words. Though Ryan seemed to wear blinders when it came to her restored birth family.
“And we gave him the joy buzzer and it worked. I believe in my brother,” Was she trying to convince Sophie or herself?
“Ryan, suit up, Gotham needs Batwoman,” She could hear in Sophie’s tone that this conversation wasn’t over.
“She’s right, Ryan,” Mary said with a lot of care and understanding in her voice, “and she needs to hear from you that she’s right.”
“What makes her right this time, Mary?”
“Ryan, Sophie gave up her livelihood to earn your trust. She believed in you and laid her entire sense of self on the line to follow that truth. You’re certainly giving Marquis and Jada a lot of faith without either of them doing the work.”
“Mary, everything I have asked my Mom to do she did, and Marquis, I can’t give up on him,” Ryan pushed back.
“I just hope Sophie isn’t the price you pay for that faith.”
An alert came in on Ryan’s phone simultaneously. It was a newsfeed. Mary opened the alert and Ryan’s jaw dropped. “Sophie’s gut has been right all along,” Ryan thought to herself.
“Guess who’s back, citizens of Gotham?,” Marquis let out a giggle and ended it with his signature Joker smile, “my dear old sister, so eager to have a happy family. You were better off in foster care, Sis. I made a promise to hurt the people I care about one by one. When I heard the news that your sidepiece was now Commissioner Sidepiece, plus those questions, doubting that I had changed. I gotta say, your girlfriend hurt my feelings so, let’s play a little game, shall we. Since Mommie Dearest only has eyes for you these days, it’s only right I got a Mommy of my own,” Marquis walked a few steps into the dark room he was broadcasting from and switched on a light.
“Getting Luke, now, and Ryan—”
“I know.”
In the meeting room at the Mayor’s office, Sophie let out a piercing scream of sheer terror. Unconscious and seated between two barrels was Diane Moore. Marquis waved smelling salts in front of Diane and focused the camera on her face as she woke, “well Commissioner, your move.”
Marquis laughed and slapped Diane Moore across the face knocking her out.