She is not the same as the Batman who came before. This is obvious. She cannot wear the old costume and pretend. She is small. She is light. She is fast. She cannot hide this.

People notice. The new police commissioner starts back. Then she looks Cass up and down and says, 

“You’re not Batman.”

Cass points to the symbol on her chest. 

The commissioner frowns. “Batwoman?”

They don’t have time for this. “The case,” Cass says. The commissioner startles again. “Tell me.”

“It’s for Batman,” the woman says. “I’m not authorized—”

“Well, gee! It’s a good thing she’s Batman!”

Maps swings in just as Batman flips another clown over her shoulder. She grabs the kid and launches up into her next swing.

“Robin! Down!”

Change of plans. Maps cuts the grapple and hits the ground on her back, kid clutched to her chest. Over her shoulder, something explodes.

Maps rolls with the impact and hops to her feet. “It’s okay,” she says. The boy clings to her red-and-green armor. “You’re safe now.”

She throws her grapple. They land on the roof. It’s Maps’ job to keep the kid safe, but Batman could still use some help. 

“Batgirl, come in!”

“Batgirl here.” Tiffany taps the earpiece in her cowl. “I isolated the psychoactive compound and checked it against our database. Turns out, it’s not Joker toxin.”

“What?” Maps says. 

“I’m not a hundred percent,” Tiffany says. “But I think it looks like a variant of Dimethyltryptamine. Super potent, but the trip only lasts fifteen or twenty minutes.”

“And you come back as a laughing zombie.” 

“And that.”

Batman moves on the edge of Tiffany’s vision. She can’t quite hide her startle response. Batman tilts her head the way that means she’s smiling. She nudges Tiffany’s shoulder. 

“Good work. Let’s go.”

Author's Note

at least partly inspired by this art, and how much I love the idea of Cass becoming Batman. I would love to write more in this universe someday.