Justice League Fan Fiction ❯ Speed of Lyght ❯ A New Beginning ( Chapter 9 )

She turned down the idea of becoming head of security (while deep down, she would’ve looked forward to giving Simon hell day in and day out); it wasn’t what Bruce Wayne wanted her to do, anyway. Tabitha was hired as the head electrician of Wayne Enterprises. While it wasn’t a glorious job, it paid a glorious salary. She liked the fact that Bruce understood her situation and helped her get an apartment in the Financial District; seeing that he owned the building, the two made an agreement that she would pay double rent when she received her first paycheck. The district overlooked the City Hall District and wasn’t as crime-filled as the areas surrounding the Upper East Side and points north. Via the city buses, it only took her around twenty minutes to report in to work every morning.

She didn’t know why he was so nice to her; instead of giving her a hassle about her head wrap, he let her keep it on as long as it was navy blue, the color of the uniforms the independent electricians had to wear. When he saw that she could do the work of six men, Bruce downsized his contractors and made Tabitha responsible for the upgrade and upkeep of any and everything electrical/electronic in Wayne Tower. After a month of living and working in Gotham, Bruce expanded her expertise to upgrade any building that had his name on it. The majority of the jobs were simple like the security tower one; she could upgrade roughly fifteen towers within an hour. Others were more complicated, like working on computer servers or even upgrading the lighting of an entire building.

She had just finished rewiring the lighting of her boss’s office. She turned to retrieve her toolbox only to see him holding it. She smiled at him.

“Evening, Mr. Wayne! Just finished up here.”

“You already finished the other job…?”

“Two hours ago. Figured that this room needed a bit of work done. Now, when you turn your lights on, they won’t be so dim!” she smiled. He could only shake his head in amazement and looked at the various lights in his office.

“And to think; I figured that I only needed new light bulbs…” he actually laughed.

“It took me a while but I just reconfigured the wiring so that it won’t burn so much electricity as well.” she told him. She slightly looked at Bruce with her toolbox, “Walking me to my next job, boss?”

“No… you’re done for the day.”

“But…”

&ld quo;I was wondering, Miss Lyght… have you visited the Fashion District yet?” he cut her off. She blinked a couple of times at him.

“Uh, no. I’ve been meaning to take a tour but, ah; I don’t wanna run into a bad neighborhood!”

“Good thinking! Well, I’m meeting a friend there; would you like to join me?” he asked. Did he just ask me out, she mused. Bruce Wayne was definitely a handsome man; it was the first thing that everyone took notice of. She had to admit that with that fact alone, she wouldn’t mind being seen in public with him.

It wasn’t the fact that he was really nice to her that made her really like her new boss. It was the fact that he was so down to earth to be the richest man in Gotham City; one of the richest people in the world for that matter. He had enough money to throw away but he always came to work almost casually dressed (although she had a feeling that one of his shirts cost more than her parent’s home). She had heard rumors of him being a party animal; the typical filthy rich bachelor that stayed up all night, partying or on a date with a different, beautiful, exotic model every week. She actually had a hard time believing it; in the daytime, he seemed as mild-mannered as Peter. Looks could be deceiving, she reminded herself. For all she knew, Bruce Wayne could’ve been nothing more but a gorgeous face with loads of money.

“Sure.”

The Fashion District lived up to its name; it was one of the few areas that looked up-to-date. It was home to all of the modern fashion boutiques, fashion designers and supermodels who could afford to live there. It was why she almost gawked at the diner that the two walked inside of. It was a classic 50’s diner, complete with large windows, red and white squared linoleum and red leather retro seats.

He saw her face expression and smirked.

“This is one of my favorite places to eat.”

“Really!” it shocked her.

“Yes. It’s been here ever since I was a kid.” he nodded. She would’ve expected him to prefer one of the restaurants in her neighborhood; ones where she wouldn’t go in because she didn’t have the money or a date, “Just because I’m rich doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the simple things in life. Besides… the coffee’s great here.”

“Sold!”

Th e two sat in a booth by one of the massive windows, talking, laughing and drinking coffee when she noticed who she believed to be an undercover police officer walk inside; the guy was still wearing his holster. He was striking, being tall and muscular with a chocolate brown complexion. His eyes matched her own whiskey brown color, as he immediately noticed her and quickly smiled.

Bruce noticed that Tabitha had reddened a bit and turned to look at who had grabbed her attention. He smiled at the officer.

“Ethan…” he greeted him as he made his way to the booth. He gave Bruce a quick handshake but put his attention back on the woman. Bruce chuckled, “Ethan, this is Tabitha Lyght. Tabitha, this is my good friend, Detective Ethan Bennett.” he introduced. She stuck her hand out and smiled, expecting a handshake. However, Ethan gently grabbed her hand and pressed his full lips on them, making her slightly flustered.

“A pleasure.” he smiled and sat beside her, “I’m curious as to what you’re doing here with this bum…” he tried; he knew that his friend was very popular with attractive women but had a feeling that she was different. Bruce rolled his eyes at his comment.

“She’s my new head technician. Actually… she’s about to be my only one.” he confessed. Ethan and Tabitha looked at him.

“Really?” Ethan asked for her, “It’s not too much for you to handle?” he asked her. She was surprised at what Bruce said; after only a month, he was promoting her. It warmed her that he had that much confidence in her so soon; she took a sip of her coffee and smiled.

“A piece of cake! Mr. Wayne wouldn’t put too much on my plate to handle.”

“Hmm… I really like that southern accent.” he actually looked deeper into her eyes. He cleared his throat when he saw that she tried to shy away from him, “You actually call him ‘Mr. Wayne’? He’s no one special! Seriously, Bruce is a good guy but he has this annoying habit of expecting a lot out of everyone…” he smiled at Bruce.

“Thanks…” he smirked.

&nbs p;

She was glad for the day off; she made plans on doing nothing but sit around the house. She didn’t like the fact that she had no friends; she would’ve enjoyed having a bit of company. There were a couple of people in the apartment building that spoke to her but they were just friendly like that; she didn’t want to feel awkward and try to invite them out for lunch.

As her bagels popped out of the toaster, there was a knock on the door. At that moment, she really wished she had Peter’s spider senses but threw that thought to the back of her mind; the only two people that knew where she lived were Jamila and Bruce. She grabbed a shirt and wrapped it around her hair, just in case it was Bruce.

“Oh… detective; everything okay?” she was actually happy to see Ethan. He stared at her in awe; she looked stunning in a black tank top and silk pajama pants. She donned another head wrap, he noticed and reminded himself to ask her about it later.

“I was just in the neighborhood. I wanted to ask what you were doing in a few hours, say lunchtime. Maybe you’d like a quick tour of Gotham?” he smiled. She found out that only visitors called the city by its full name; many of the locals shortened it to just plain Gotham.

His question made her smile; he just asked her on a date, she happily thought. She was really attracted to him and enjoyed the attention he had given her the day they met. She realized that she wanted nothing more than to go out on a date with the detective. She leaned on her doorframe and smiled wider at what she really realized.

“That sounds really nice. But, um… how’d you know where I lived, though?” she asked. He returned her smile.

“I’m a detective, remember?” he looked deeply into her eyes. She couldn’t help but to slightly melt.

“Hmm… an interesting start to a good relationship…”

After a quick tour, the two rested on a bench by Amusement Mile. It was on the outskirts of one of the rough neighborhoods but Ethan had assured her that she was safe with him. She held in her giggles as she thought that she would have a better chance of protecting him!

She glanced at the rides in the park for a moment and then put her attention back to him, who couldn’t stop staring at her. She smiled at him.

“Thanks for the tour.”

“No problem. Unfortunately, I can’t show you everything in an hour.”

“It’s okay. Must be pretty hard being a cop around here…”

“It has its moments. Not as bad as it used to be a few years back. Don’t let how the city looks fool you; it’s not all that bad here.”

“Huh. So… what happened to change things?” she was curious. Ethan let out a small laugh.

“The Batman…” he couldn’t help smiling a little, shaking his head. She feigned a weird look; how did she know that they had their own superhero as well?

“The… ‘Batman’…?”

“Gotham’s own vigilante.”

“You don’t sound too happy about it…”

“It’s difficult for some of us. Our police chief wants no room for vigilante justice; doesn’t matter if he’s a part of the Justice League or not. He thinks it makes us all look bad.”

“Justice League…?” her question wasn’t fake. He smirked at her.

“You’re so cute when you look clueless like that!” he made her blush, “Seriously?”

“I’ve never been interested in superheroes and stuff like that.”

“You almost sound like our chief…”

“I said I wasn’t interested; never said that they were a bad idea! He’s a good guy, right?”

“Well… he makes our job less stressful, if you ask me. I really don’t mind it, especially since he’s willing to take on the freaks.”

“Who is he; does anyone know?” she asked. Ethan looked straight ahead and shrugged.

“The million dollar question! Could be anyone in Gotham. The chief’s made it our number one priority to stop him.”

“He’s been around for a few years? Hmm…” she thought about it. Was the vigilante that elusive? If he was a mutant, it was possible, she thought. If not, he would have to be a few steps ahead of the police department. Tabitha perked up and smiled at Ethan; it was a possibility, “Detective… are you The Batman?” she had to ask. It would be her luck that the man she had a sudden attraction to was a superhero vigilante. It would make it so much easier for her to tell him about herself and her mutation, as well as her small stint as a super heroine back in New York. He looked at her, wide-eyed and laughed.

“This is the second time I had to remind you that I’m a detective!”

“All the reason why it would make sense that it’s you! All these years and no one’s caught him?” she raised an eyebrow at him. He slightly chuckled.

“It’s not me; trust me. But, now that you put it that way… it could be someone on the force…”

“But, not you?”

“Afraid not.”

“Damnit! Oh, well; wishful thinking…” she looked across the Gotham River. A few miles away was Bruce’s home, Wayne Manor. It was barely noticeable from where they sat but it was the fact that she was able to see a hint of it that put in perspective of how big his home was.

“Wishful thinking? I thought you said you weren’t interesting in superheroes…”

“I know but… just thought it would be cool if you were The Batman, you know? I could be dating The Batman…” her smile widened. It was a good thought, she felt. It made Ethan laugh hard and blush.

“Well, it’s good to know that you’re looking forward to dating me!” he mused. It really was good to know; it made him very hopeful that he had impressed her enough to make her think about it. He looked at his watch and realized how fast time flew, “Ready to head back?” he asked her, getting up. He offered his hand for her as she nodded.

“Let’s not kid each other, detective; we’re already really attracted to each other. We’re not teenagers no more, either. And, unless you’re already spoken for…”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“Nope. So, it’s settled, then!” she smiled. He looked at her and smiled back. They had only spent maybe a couple of hours total with each other but they both felt that it was right. She was right, he reasoned; they weren’t emotionally wreaked teenagers. He pulled her closer to him by her hand.

“Hmm… I guess so. You southerners sure do move fast…” he continued to smile as he inched even closer to her face. Her heartbeat quickened as she prepared for the kiss. She was about to close her eyes until a shrill scream filled the air. It made Ethan quickly look up and narrow his eyes at the masked man running towards them, carrying an obviously stolen purse. The woman behind the man continued to scream for help; her high heels no match for his sneakers. Tabitha turned to take in the situation and when she turned back, she saw that Ethan already had his hand underneath his police-issued jacket, getting ready to draw his weapon. She laid a gentle hand over his, making him look at her in slight confusion. She knew that the robber wouldn’t risk barreling into the two and waited until she saw him in her peripherals.

Before Ethan could react, he saw that Tabitha slightly stuck her leg out, tripping the guy. She made sure that she applied a bit of lightning as she did so, which made him give her an unknowing glare. Tabitha returned the stare, only colder, which told him everything that he needed to know; he did feel a small shock and it did come from her foot! Without saying a word, the masked man scrambled up and ran away, not worrying about the purse anymore. The woman finally made it to the two, out of breath and grabbing her purse off the ground.

“O-oh… t-thank you; thank you very much!”

“No problem, ma’am…” she slightly smiled. Ethan almost laughed; with her thick accent, he imagined her in a cowboy hat, giving it a light tip towards the woman. As the woman left, Tabitha drew her attention back to Ethan who was giving her a warm smile. He lowered his hand from underneath his jacket and placed it over hers.

“He’s getting away; I have a duty to uphold…” he told her. She slightly shrugged.

“No harm, no foul. Pretty sure he’ll do something else stupid soon.”

“Why did you stop me?”

“There wasn’t a need to pull out your gun. You would’ve given chase and would’ve forgot what we were about to do.” she explained. He pulled her closer to him.

“Highly doubt it!” he leaned in once more to kiss her. When they heard a car pull up, they both moaned out their dissatisfaction. He was about to ignore everything and simply kiss the woman until he looked out the corner of his eye. It was a squad car and his partner, Detective Ellen Yin stuck her head out the window. She was a transfer from the Metropolis Police Department but they had been partners for a couple of years. She was oriental with jet black long hair pulled up in a ponytail. Her maple brown eyes stared at the two in curiosity before turning back serious.

“Bennett; we gotta roll…” she made sure it was short and sweet. He thought against introducing the two; Ethan knew that when Yin talked like that, it was important. He gave Tabitha an apologetic look.

“I’ll see you later?”

“You’re the detective; you know where to find me!” she winked at him. He laughed and before he could rush off, Ethan quickly but gently placed his lips on hers, giving her a lingering kiss.

“Before I forget, right? I’ll see you later, Miss Lyght.”

 

“Hmm… Alfred, take a look at this.” he summoned. Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce’s longtime guardian and butler approached the large screen his master was looking at; the two were at the Batcomputer. Being broadcasted was a picture of a young woman in military uniform along with numerous documentations. It wasn’t like him to not do a background check immediately before hiring new personnel however he was highly impressed with her work. It wasn’t until he made the decision that he would want to promote her yet again that he realized he needed to do a background check on her, “Tabitha Lyght: she’s from where she says she’s from. She never mentioned that she was in the military…” it actually explained her toned physique. He was curious as to why she never mentioned it before.

“Is that a problem, sir?”

“Actually… no. She got an honorable discharge so everything’s fine there. The problem is that she said she knows a bit about electronic engineering. Looking under her name, I find nothing; no classes taken, no degree or anything like that: just that she was in the Army. But, under her social…” he typed it in. More documents appeared on the screen, “She dropped out of Columbia University… under the last name Lindsay.” he finished explaining. Alfred looked at the documents and thought.

“Maybe the young lady was married at the time…”

“There’s no record of it.”

“What if the marriage was annulled? There would definitely be no record of it.”

“… You’re right. But… why keep the last name?”

“Matters of the heart, Master Bruce…” it sounded like he was teasing him. Bruce rolled his eyes and sighed a little, “A current suspect?”

“No; a current employee. The best electrician I’ve ever seen, really. I shouldn’t be mad about not finding any degree or certification for electronic engineering; she knows what she’s doing. It’s just that…now that I’m digging, there’s something about her…”

“Be careful that she is not out to sabotage any equipment, sir.”

“She wouldn’t do that. She didn’t even know who I was when we first met! Besides, I check behind her work; it’s perfect. She’s literally made everything indestructible! There’s just something about her; something that she’s hiding…”

 

& nbsp;

Ethan planted a tender kiss on Tabitha’s forehead and sighed heavily.

“If it ain’t one thing, it’s another!” she sighed with him.

“I’ll come by after all this is done… is that okay?”

“Of course, it’s okay!” she smiled and hugged him, “The life of a cop…”

“I guess that’s why most of us aren’t married!”

“Hmph! Be safe…”

“Always!” he smiled, gave her a tender kiss on her lips and left. She sighed and went into the bedroom, let down that their night had been cut short, again. Ugh; it’s not fair, she scowled, taking her head wrap off. Of all the people in Gotham City that she could’ve dated, she chose a detective; one that was being hounded by their chief of police to track down The Batman at whatever cost. It made her wish that she could help out…

Instead of going to her dresser, she went into her closet, digging out the only physical evidence she had of her crime-fighting days; her outfit. She started to reminisce about when she would don the suit almost nightly, in hopes of capturing Alpha and the White Hairs. She thought of Peter and silently cursed herself; she had Jamila keep in contact with him instead of herself: she knew that he would only go to Gotham and try to talk her into coming back to New York. She had heard that he was having his hands full, dealing with a symbiotic suit that tried to take him over but ended up taking over the mind and body of another Daily Bugle photographer, Eddie Brock; he was now known as Venom.

The all too familiar sirens of the GCPD stopped her trip down memory lane. She thought about Ethan’s safety and how the chief, Angel Rojas was always breathing down his and his partner’s neck about capturing and unmasking The Batman. As she put her outfit on, she felt a determination that she would help her boyfriend out as much as she could. She would be the one to catch The Batman or at least show that the vigilante wasn’t bad at all. Tying her mask tight, she took a deep breath and did a Lightning Cloud out of her window.

Her exhilarating tour was stopped short as she noticed a commotion in an alleyway. She shuddered; a reminder of her mutant beginnings. Tabitha had passed by numerous alleyways but this one seemed different. She hid in the dark corners and watched as two men fought. She watched in bewilderment as she immediately recognized the first man: The Batman. His suit was grey, highlighted with black trunks, boots and jagged gloves. His hooded cape was black with a dark blue undertone, flowing to the ground; the hood formed around his face, exposing his jawline only and formed in pointed ears on the top of his head. Yeah, that’s a bat, she reminded herself. The other hint was the black bat symbol encased in a golden oval in the middle of his chest. The caped crusader also wore a gold utility belt snugly around his waist. She wondered if he was in the same field of work as she was and made a mental note to ask Bruce if he had any clue who The Batman could be.

The other character kept her attention as well. His skin was pasty, as if he was wearing white clown makeup. His wild, green hair moved like large dreadlocks as he fought back with The Batman, his red eyes and facial expression wild with insanity. She knew that something was wrong with him; he wore no shoes. Just a purple-sleeved straitjacket, blue jeans and black fingerless gloves.

She stayed hidden and watched as The Batman held his own against the Halloween character’s monkey-style of fighting; she had to admit that she was impressed with his fighting style. The tables were turned when he blew some type of green mist, distracting The Batman and went on an all-out assault. She had seen enough of the attack and came out of the shadows, prompting both to look at her. Tabitha tilted her head and smiled.

“Oh, I get it now; a joker!” she realized. He gave her a disappointed look and gave her an over exaggerated bow.

“It’s just ‘Joker’. And… who might you be?” he asked. Her smile widened as she approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Your worst nightmare[1]…” she looked him dead in the eyes and sent a shock through his body. He slightly yelled out in pain, collapsing to the ground. The Batman glanced in slight amusement as she looked and smiled at him.

“Thanks…” he mumbled; another reminder that maybe she should start trying to disguise her own voice: his was low, raspy and definitely unrecognizable.

“The Batman…” she at first winced at her clichéd attempt at a sultry voice. She shrugged in her mind; it was better than nothing! She glanced at Joker, who was still on the ground in pain, “You really had your hands… full…?” she turned and saw that he had disappeared, “A man of little words… very smart…”

The small shock that she had given Joker helped her make the decision to go back to being a super heroine. She actually missed it and had to admit that it was thrilling to have helped The Batman out. The second thing she decided was to retire her first outfit. She enlisted Jamila’s help and the two came up with a simple design: instead of a crop top (she learned the hard way that it wasn’t the best of ideas during the New York winters), she opted for a black long sleeved top made from synthetic fibers. Tabitha ditched her ACU pants for a pair of black leggings made of the same synthetic material; she even redesigned her mask using the same fibers; she liked the way the material felt as well as how it insulated her natural body heat. The choice of color was the professor’s idea; the way Tabitha had described Gotham, she felt that it was a great idea to make her try to blend into her surroundings.

As usual, Tabitha met Bruce for lunch in the Fashion District; the 50’s diner had become her favorite spot: it was where she met Ethan.

“So… I see you’re seeing more and more of the detective…” Bruce gave her a sly look over his cup of coffee. She slightly blushed as she ate her French fries.

“Uh… you do know that we’re dating, right?”

“I know… just teasing you…” he smiled. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Whatever! We’re seeing as much of each other as GCPD will let us…” she didn’t mean for it to be a joke but he laughed anyway. She had a good point, he thought. With Chief Rojas so adamant about capturing and/or unmasking The Batman, it meant longer hours for his good friend and his partner. He really wished that he could make less appearances but certain situations came up that GCPD definitely couldn’t handle without him.

He was reminded of the close call he received a few nights prior with Joker; had the “electric girl” not shown up, he would’ve fallen prey to his Joker Gas. Another vigilante, he mused. How she conjured up lightning interested him and he wondered if the two would cross paths, again. She was harmless enough… she seemed almost excited to meet him and took care of Joker without even thinking. It was her hair, however, that almost put him in a trance; perfectly white.

He looked at his head electrician and studied her head wrap. Always a t-shirt wrapped around and tied in a tight bun in the back; today’s color was red.

“Tabitha… why do you wear a shirt around your head?” he was really curious. He didn’t have a problem with it; he actually thought it was cute. However, with the mysterious aura that lingered on her, he had to know more about her.

“Oh… it’s a fashion statement in the south. Lots of chicks wear it, saying that it was quicker than fooling with their hair all the time! I figured, what the hell; I ain’t got time to be messing with my hair all the damn time!” she explained in her hard-to-miss, thick southern accent. He just smiled. Her accent was natural; it would’ve been pretty hard to hide it. The electric girl’s voice was sultry, a bit seductive; it wasn’t Tabitha.

“I want to ask you something. I was wondering if you would want to take another important job.” he changed the subject.

“You’re the boss, Mr. Wayne…”

“And, no more of that ‘Mr. Wayne’ stuff! Aren’t we friends?”

“… We are…?”

“You think that these are business lunches?” he laughed, “Anyway… I would like for you to upgrade my security system…”

“I thought that’s what I’ve been doing…”

“… In my home. I want you to work your magic in Wayne Manor.” he clarified. She almost dropped her cup of coffee.

“…… why…?”

“Seriously? Your work is unbelievable. I don’t know how you’ve done it but you’ve made all of my buildings burglarproof AND unhackable! I’d like for my home to be the same…” he said. She could do nothing but blink a few times at him. It surprisingly warmed her to know that Bruce Wayne trusted her to do her delicate work on his personal system. She smiled.

“You can count on me, Mr. Wa… er… Bruce.”

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[1] This quote has been associated with Batman in some form or fashion for a while. However, he technically doesn’t say this until Batman: The Animated Series, in episode “Pretty Poison”.