Birds of a Feather (Oswald Cobblepot)

Shadow of the Bat (Bonus Scene)

In a dark, deserted alleyway, a happy family walks home from the theater. The three of them are smiling, as they'd just treated themselves to a wonderful show. But just then, out of the shadows, steps a man masked in black. He raises a gun.

"Gimme all your money!"

The father steps back, placing a hand on his only child, "We'll give you what you want."

Two shots are fired, followed by two bodies hitting the wet pavement. The killer makes a run for it, leaving the couple's only daughter, drenched in the blood of her parents. She screams, and lightning flashes, the child casting a shadow of a bat. The origin, of the Batwoman.

Years pass, and the couple's daughter has grown into a fine young woman. A member of society, she's the life of every high-class social event, always with a different lover for every occasion.

But by night, this fair, fragile woman became the shadow of darkness, a hero of the night who wrote wrongs, and stopped evil-doers.

But even the darkest of knights need a companion. The Batwoman's daytime persona attended many shows, but unbeknownst to her this performance would turn deadly.Three performers, a mother, a father, and their young daughter. A brilliant family of entertainers. But just as their routine reaches its climax, tragedy strikes. The parents isolate themselves from their child to perform a duet, and a faulty rope snaps, leaving them defenseless in their demise. Heartbroken, their young daughter is left orphaned, just as the Batwoman was as a little girl. She takes her in, giving her a costumed identity of her own: the Trickstress.

Now, the two fight together as the dynamic duo of justice, meeting many friends along the way. A reformed criminal, given superpowers by a chemical accident. An ordinary man harnessing god-like powers from a mystical space relic. An alien refugee of many faces with omnipotent abilities. A man, faster than a silver bullet but with a heart of gold. All of these heroes came together to form a society of superheroes, those dedicated to protecting the Earth from ever-present threats.

But back home, trouble was brewing. The woman behind the Batwoman was troubled. She'd fallen in love with a wonderful man, an upstanding officer of the law. But she had to forever keep her identity a secret, even from the one she trusted the most. So she hid, playing the part of the nosy, nagging housewife to vent the feelings that she could never express. She lived a lie for him, and it was eating away at her conscience. Meanwhile, the Trickstress was in the middle of her own affair. She'd fallen for a villain most vile, one who was not afraid to manipulate, and abuse her. The both of them seeking unattainable goals and fantastical delusions from one another, they both were forever doomed to a dance of unfulfilled dreams and wicked delights. But these dilemmas were trivial compared to the dynamic duo's greatest threat yet.

It arrived one night, a man of tainted white with soulless eyes. The dynamic duo made quick work of their attacker, but he was only the first of many. Thousands of them descended on the duo like a flock of birds. Trusted allies of the Batwoman had betrayed her to the masked men in white, and she spiraled into madness, leaving the Trickstress on her own.

And so fell the Batwoman, her legacy left dead, and forgotten. But in the shadows, a young boy had grown up in her presence, one who'd been watching, very carefully, determined not to make the same mistakes, to pick up where she'd left off. That boy, now a man, stood from the rooftops, watching over all those in need. This was the next avenger of the night, a masked vigilante of darkness. He is the-

"Up writing another one of your crime stories, Master Bruce?" an older man asks, stepping into Wayne Manor's study. It's a stormy night, the drawn curtains revealing the beating rain and occasional lightning strikes.

Bruce Wayne looks up from his notebook, not having heard Alfred come in, "Oh, yes Alfred. I was just finishing up for the night."

"Good. Best be getting ready for bed then," he nods, before stepping out of the room.

Bruce taps his pen, looking down at where he'd stopped. He'd need a name for his successor to the Batwoman, but what would it be? Something catchy, memorable, but not too cheesy, or obvious. He picks up one of the newspaper cutouts he kept tucked in his notebook. He'd been keeping up on the paper articles and news footage of the Batwoman and the Trickstress, and thought that the mysterious hero, like any, deserves a story behind her.He sighs, slipping the newspaper back into the notebook. Maybe it will come to him on another night. He gets up from his father's chair, and as he places his notebook into his pocket, lightning flashes from behind him, revealing a tall shadow, shaped like a bat.

Author's Note: Even though I'm not returning until June, I still wanted to thank you guys somehow for exceeding your goal. So, as thanks, I've written this bonus content just for you guys. See you in June :D