Summary:-Betty comes to tell Kate about what's happened the last few weeks. Kate devises a plan to watch over Betty from the guise of Batwoman. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The Sequoia, Kate Kane's beloved yacht, lies floating in the harbor outside the city. The paper lanterns strung up along the ship's side give it a festive atmosphere but it's still a regal thing stretchiing out across the water as it rides a little low into the waves. Kate's decided to set out the table for dinner on the deck of the ship, lit by candles and the moon. It's not as ostentatious as the surroundings suggest, flowers decorating the middle of the table and the kept warm nearby. It's hard to tell if Kate had someone else cook or did it herself. She's here, though. Dressed in a jade gown that sets off the green of her eyes, her hair combed forward until it looks almost like burnished flames. The shoulderless dress shows off Kate's tattoos, from the nautical star between her shoulder blades to the flowers and other decorations on her bared arms. There are quite a few images there, as always.
In stark contrast to the woman and her majesty, Betty is less of herself than before. Her form is somewhat sickly, worn and weathered, and her eyes scream of countless hours spent wide-awake against her will. Not in a gown or pumps, nothing a shadow of the old Betty would remember, she joins the woman after stepping onto the boat, her attire civilian and almost lazy. Her hair is pulled back in a tail, loose and falling undone.
As her eyes meet Kate, she can't help the breath that passes her nude lips. Eyeing the table, she frowns, her brows dipping low in an instant expression of apology. "M-may we eat below deck?" She asks, giving a glance over her shoulder.
"…You don't need to ask permission. "Kate's eyes widen as soon as they alight upon Betty and hse's already moving to gather the other woman into her arms for a form but gentle hug. Afterward, Kate is all too quick to usher her guest down belowdecks, into the confines of the sturdy yacht. It's a place of safety, if one were to ask Kate, and it certainly seems to be a well-built vessel. A very keen eye might also note that it's been reinforced at some point. "I'll go up and get out food in a second. Liz, I-" A beat. "What happened?" She asks simply.
Betty Brant folds against Kate, embracing her tightly before the pair move down. Looking around, she nods to Kate, staying silent for the time being until she claims a seat. "Don't worry about the food for now." She requests, watching over the red-head and offering her a smile. "A, wow…a lot, actually. I was dealing with what happened to mom. I-ah…part of me is upset I didn't get the killing blow on the bastard that lead the whole thing." Brushing along her thighs, she rocks slightly before settling back. "Mom passed and I…lost it a lil, I think. I started helping some friends out, but in helping, I got into trouble." Swallowing, she eyes Kate pointedly. "What do you think about Batman?" She asks. "Do you think he's a murderer?"
Kate shakes her head once, firmly. "Batman didn't murder anyone. There's no way. But someone powerful wants us to think he did," the woman replies simply. To hear her tell it there's no question nor room for error in the statement. She'll wrap her arms around Betty once more and draw her back in close, their respective heights such that she ends up tucking Betty's head to her shoulder as she does. "Tell me more," she requests gently. "I know that when my mother died I didn't want anything more than to kill every one of the sons of bitches who took her from me," she whispers then. "If there's anything at all I can do to help, tell me."
"I agree with you," she nods gently, seeming to feel the same way about Batman as Kate did. "That's why I did that article about it. It wasn't pointed, but it meant the same thing." Thinning her lips, she glance up to Kate's jawline, her arm slinking around the woman's lower back. "I know who's doing it, so does he. That's why I'm, well, marked. Someone wants me dead now and I stayed away because I didn't want you getting hurt, too." A pause. "I can't kill everyone that hurt my family. They're already dead. I don't even have anyone to be angry at anymore…"
"There's nothing wrong with being angry," Kate replies gently. She doesn't release Betty from that embrace, instead choosing to whisper to her. She places a kiss into the smaller woman's golden hair, atop her head. "But I do have one bone to pick with you," she continues rather seriously. "I can protect you. I have resources. And training. You don't need to stay away to keep me safe. …I don't want that. Let me help keep you safe." All of this whilst cradling Betty in her arms. "Do you have any idea who is after you…?"
"I didn't mean…" Betty sighs, nodding gently and frowning at herself all the more. "I don't know everything you can do, but I don't like risking it. I didn't do it to upset you. I have a couple places I'm hiding out…" At the question, Betty pulls away and nods simply. "I do. The two framing Batman are known as Victor Zsasz and Clayface."
"It has nothing to do with upsetting me, Betty," Kate replies. "That's not the point. I… I care about you. And I don't want to lose you—- if something happened because I wasn't there. Again. It-" She trails off and then breathes a soft, serious sigh. As Betty pulls away Kate is left to consider her seriously. A brow is arched at the names given. "Zsasz?" She repeats back for confirmation. "It makes sense," Kate finally observes. "Hmm." She's apparently deep in thought for now. "You can hide out with me for now, at least. You have yur gun, right…?"
"I hate hiding…" Betty frowns down at herself. "I'm staying with some powerful friends. And at a place where only someone insane would attempt to go." Eyes up, she shakes her head. "Don't you get it, though? I care about you, too. If you got hurt because of me…" They were two sides of the same coin on the issue.
"Wait," she stalls. "You know who this Zsasz character is? I mean, I have some intel but, why do you know him?"
"I have connections of my own," Kate replies, a bit cagily. SHe takes a deep breath ad then holds it for a couple of measured beats. "And yes. I get it," she'll finish quietly. "But what good is any of this if you can't protect people you care about?" Ultimately, Kate ends with a soft sigh. "What are you going to do now?"
Betty Brant sits back, shifting in her seat. She does not, however, leave Kate's side. Silent, considering the woman before her, the blonde's gaze drifts for a moment or more. "Help Batman." She decides at length. "I…gaze what I had, some leads, to a cop who wanted to help him, too. I can probably spread it a bit more, a few more connections. I feel like screaming it out, but Batman told me not to. The more people I tell, the more targets are lined up. I mean, this isn't even about a story or anything like that. It's about taking down monsters."
"Let me help you help him," Kate replies simply, in a tone that brooks no argument. If Betty refuses Kate will go out and find her own trouble- or worse. "You can't tell people because the crosshairs are out. So… What are you going to do instead?" SHe tilts her head slightly to the left, studying Betty as she asks this question. There's something particularly discerning about those intense green eyes. "…Start by giving me whatever you have. I can make some calls. I know some people who will be able to help." Finally, Katherine shakes her head and breathes a heavy sigh. "For now- you should eat something. If you feel up to it?"
Silent, gaze off and tired, Betty doesn't answer at first. She stares back, cracking slightly before shaking her head. "I don't..know what I'm going to do, Kate. I don't know much of what to do anymore since mom…" Shaking her head, she brushes back any loose strands before exhaling smoothly. Digging into her inner pocket, she offers out a simple USB key to Kate. "Here. I have copies but, if you can help him, too…" Why not? "I hate to play paranoid on you but I'm starting to worry that being here for so long isn't safe for you." A hand up, she makes to silence Kate, if only her initial reaction. "I know we just talked about this." A pause, she considers. "I'm not hungry yet, but I'd like to see you again. Soon."
"…How soon?" Kate asks slowly, her voice thick with some unresolved tension. She doesn't say it again, instead taking the USB from Betty and tucking it into her palm after a reflexive gesture reminds her that gowns don't tend to have convenient pockets. "Don't be a stranger, Liz. Please." Kate purses those red lips lightly, tilting er head slightly as she continues to study Betty's features, as if to memorize them.
"Tomorrow night?" Betty suggests, frowning as she watches the shift in Kate's features. "I don't mean to be," she promises. "I never liked being the stranger." With the key now in Kate's possession, Betty moves to stand once more. "Maybe…maybe we should visit New Jersey sometime." She suggests, even if her nose curls up just a touch at the suggestion.
"Tomorrow night," Kate agrees. "And if you want to see Jersey I think we can manage. It's not all terrible." That last is noted with a bit of wry amusement. "I go there for business sometimes. …We can drive there whenever you like." She rolls her shoulders lightly, almost in a shrug. "Just… Call me. From a burner. And let me know where you want to meet up."
Betty Brant nods and steps closer. Wrapping her arms around the crimson haired beauty, Brant takes her time to nestle her face in and against the other woman's throat. "I'm remembering what it's like," she tells her gently. "Be patient with me." She requests before placing a kiss on the woman's cheeks. Cradling her face, she plants another embrace on her lips. Smooth, slow, loving. Brow to brow, even if she presses up on her toes, she lingers there before pulling back and starting to head for the door out.
Once Betty leaves Kate heads upstairs to clean up from dinner. She throws one of wine glasses against the floor. "AH!" Red liquid seeps into the deck of the ship as the marine stares, her cheeks red, breaths coming in sudden, heaving gasps. Then she heads downstairs, and presses a button. A wall panel swings upon and the heiress pulls down the mask of Batwoman to cradle it between in both hands, staring into lightless eyes.