Work Text:
The elevator door opened, and a clearly infuriated Sophie quickly exited. Ryan did her best to keep up, but Sophie’s pace, and long legs, were making it extremely difficult.
“Soph, would you please just slow down,” Ryan called out as Sophie approached the desk in Ryan’s office.
“I am so tired of these criminals thinking they’re the cleverest person to ever walk the earth.”
Ryan was worried. She’d never seen Sophie get this upset over an interrogation before. Cautiously approaching her girlfriend, Ryan took Sophie’s hands in hers. “Please, just take a breath,” she said with a smile.
“That’s not fair,” Sophie said, shaking her head. “You know I can’t resist that smile.”
“Why do you think I use it so much,” Ryan said before kissing Sophie.
“He knew, Ryan. During that entire interrogation, he knew exactly where Marquis and Zsasz were, but he sat there toying with those detectives anyway. Do you know how much time he wasted? How much of a head start he gave those two?” Sophie said before sitting on the edge of the desk. “And why, of all places, did it have to be Coryana?”
“I know, babe, it’s not ideal. But we can’t just let them stay there and regroup. We need to get there and end all of this.”
“I’m tired, Ryan. I’m tired of chasing. I’m tired of fighting. I’m just tired.”
Ryan stood in between Sophie’s legs and wrapped her arms around her. “I know, I get it. I’m tired too.”
Sophie rested her forehead on Ryan’s. “Thank you for calming me down,” she said before kissing her.
“Any time,” Ryan said, leaning in for another kiss. “So, how about this? We wait a couple of days before we go to Coryana. We can rest, build our strength back up –”
“Spend a day in bed,” Sophie said, pulling Ryan closer.
“Mmm, definitely that,” Ryan laughed. “Babe, we’ve been going almost nonstop since we got back to Gotham, and honestly, I don’t like what it’s doing to you. So, I say we take a day or two and just recharge. What do you say?”
“What do you say about what?” they heard Mary say as she walked towards them.
Ryan gave Sophie a quick peck on the cheek before turning around.
“Hey Mary, what’s up?” Ryan said.
“Nothing much, I just came to see what was happening here before I go back to the clinic. I should have known I’d find you two all… intertwined in here,” she laughed.
“Ha, funny. Look, I have to make a quick call,” Sophie said, pulling out her phone. “Why don’t you two go down to the Bat Cave, and I’ll meet you in a bit.”
“Alright,” Ryan replied, kissing Sophie once more before grabbing Mary’s hand. “Come on, I’ll explain everything to you and Luke.”
==========================================
“Hey y’all,” Sophie called out as she rounded the tree stump in the middle of the Batcave.
Mary, Ryan and Luke all turned around.
“What’s happening in here? Anything I need to know about?” Sophie asked as she approached the wall of monitors.
“Nothing much here,” Luke replied. “It’s actually been eerily quiet. I can’t imagine that’s a good thing. At least not in this city, not after everything that just happened.”
“Probably not, but I’ll take the momentary reprieve,” Sophie said, sitting on the table.
“Did everything go alright on your call? You look kind of distracted,” Ryan said, holding Sophie’s hand.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just needed to call Jordan. I promised I’d meet her for dinner tonight.” Sophie gave Ryan a reassuring smile before turning back to the monitors. “So, did Ryan fill you in on everything we know so far?”
“She did,” Luke responded. “Why the hell would they go to Coryana? And why would Safiyah let them stay? There’s no way they’ve stayed hidden from her and Pam Isley. They have to know Marquis and Zsasz are there.”
“I’m sure at least Safiyah knows, and that combined with the fact that they’re still there makes this even more dangerous,” Ryan said.
“So, what do you want to do, Batwoman?” Mary asked.
“First, we need to get there and –”
“Hold on,” Sophie interrupted. “I thought we were gonna take a couple of days before we jumped back into the madness. Do something just for us.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Ryan replied, wrapping her arms around Sophie. “Mmm, all the things you make me want to do, woman.”
“Nope,” Luke said, his eyes quickly darting to the ground.
“Oookay,” Mary said, hopping up from her chair. “I’m going back to the clinic. Be careful on Coryana, call if you need us, and I’ll see you two when you get back.”
“Right, and I’ll just… I’ll put together a gadget travel bag for the both of you,” Luke said as he uncomfortably followed Mary out of the Batcave.
“You’d think they’d be used to this by now,” Ryan laughed.
“You’d think,” Sophie said before leaning in for a kiss.
========================================
When Sophie and Jordan finished ordering their food, she gave Sophie a look.
“What’s on your mind, sis?”
“You know what I’m gonna say, Sophie.”
“Nothing’s changed, Jordan. Can we just not talk about it please?”
“I just wish you two would talk to each other.”
“Jordan, you know I tried. It didn’t work out.”
“Well can’t you try again?”
“Until Mom is ready to accept me, her daughter, for who I am, and I mean all of me, I don’t see the point. She’s made it clear she’s not ready to accept me, and I’m not willing to hide anymore.” Sophie grabbed Jordan’s hand. “I know it hurts you to see us like this. It hurts me to be like this with her, but she’s not giving me any other choice. I’m finally happy, Jordan, truly happy. I’m able to be myself for the first time, and not feel ashamed. I’m in love with an amazing woman that loves me just as much in return, and I’m not going to give any of that up for someone that refuses to stop being closed minded. Even if it is my own mom.”
“I know, you’re right. I just wish it could be different.”
“I know, sweetie, so do I. But until Mom wants it to be, I’m afraid it will stay like this.”
The server sat their plates on the table and walked away.
“Aww man, yours looks better than mine,” Jordan said as she eyeballed Sophie’s food.
“Don’t even think about touching my food, Jordan. You eat what you ordered.”
“Fine,” Jordan said with a devious smile on her face.
“I know that look. What is it?”
“Speaking of being in love, I think I’ve done pretty good going this long without saying something.”
Sophie looked confused until she realized what Jordan was talking about.
“Ok, I’ll give you that one. Go on. Say it and get it out of your system.”
“I knew you two would end up together,” Jordan said excitedly. “Didn’t I tell you a long time ago the vibes were there between you and bartender chic?”
“Yes, you did.”
“And you tried to play it off and act like there was nothing there.”
“Things were different back then, Jordan.”
“Oh please. I knew you two liked each other. You sucked at hiding it.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide anything, I just wasn’t sure about what I was feeling.”
“And what finally made you sure? I mean, beyond me constantly telling you that you needed to be with Ryan.”
Sophie smiled. “I think I knew when I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I just… I couldn’t wait to see her every day. I wanted to be by her, to hear her voice. To see her beautiful smile. I knew I wanted to be with her, but she definitely didn’t make it easy for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“She never fully let on to what she was feeling. I would catch glimpses of what I thought she felt here and there, but just when I thought it might be time to tell her how I felt, she’d shut me out again. I wanted to tell her so bad, but I didn’t want to ruin our friendship in case I was wrong. And I definitely didn’t want to put myself out there and get hurt.”
“What do you think changed for her?”
“I’m not really sure what happened to convince her to finally tell me how she felt, and honestly, I don’t even care. I’m just glad she did.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet. But still, I’m just gonna say… I told you so!”
Sophie couldn’t do anything but laugh and shake her head. “Are you happy now?”
“Yes. Yes I am.”
“Never change, baby sister.”
“Never,” Jordan laughed before stabbing some of Sophie’s food with her fork.
=========================================
When Sophie got back to her apartment, she found it full of glistening candlelight.
“Wow. Is all of this for me?”
Ryan walked around the corner, wearing nothing but a smile. “Of course it is, beautiful. I figured we could get started on that day in bed you mentioned earlier.”
“And what did I do to deserve this?” Sophie said, pointing to all the candles.
“You stayed.”
“What?”
“No matter how childish I acted, or how much I didn’t listen. No matter how much I pushed you away, you stayed. You were always there for me, always helping me, always protecting me. You helped me see that I could do better… that I needed to do better. I know you’ve only wanted the best for me, Soph, and I did nothing but fight you at every turn. But I promise, I’m not doing that anymore.”
Sophie took it all in. All the years she spent alone, hiding herself from the world. Pretending to be someone she wasn’t. She never imagined a moment like this would ever happen for her. A moment where she would be standing there, looking at her beautiful girlfriend, her heart full of love for Ryan. And feeling genuinely loved and desired in return.
By the time Sophie reached Ryan, a smile was all she was wearing, too. “Thank you,” she said before giving Ryan a passionate kiss.
“I’d say you’re welcome, but I’m not sure what you’re thanking me for.”
“For being here with me. For loving me and protecting me. For helping me finally be myself. My life wouldn’t be the same without you, Ryan. You saved me. I know I’ve told you this hundreds of times before, but I’ll never stop telling you… I can’t be without you, Ryan. Not ever. I love you so much.”
Sophie barely finished her sentence before her and Ryan were holding each other tight, kissing so deeply, they could hardly breathe.
Ryan pulled away. “Now let me show you how much I love you,” she said before taking Sophie’s hand, and pulling her to the bed.
=====================================================================
Sophie and Ryan slowly got off the elevator, walking hand in hand towards Luke. “Hey, I was beginning to wonder if you two were gonna show up,” Luke said, turning back to the monitors.
“I think we almost didn’t,” Ryan replied, kissing the top of Sophie’s hand. “But we have some loose ends to tie up, so here we are.”
“Right. So, speaking of loose ends, I have some good news. Just before you got here, Alex called and said they caught Huntress trying to rob a jewelry store in National City. Because she had so many outstanding warrants in so many places, they just decided to lock her up there for now.”
“Good,” Sophie said. “She deserves whatever prison sentence they give her.”
“Yeah, and she better be glad the police got to her before I did. That bitch was gonna pay for putting her hands on my baby,” Ryan said smiling at Sophie.
“Alright, Luke,” Sophie said. “Give us the details. What are we doing once we get to Coryana?”
After going over the plan once more, and checking to make sure they had everything they needed, Sophie and Ryan opened a portal with the extrapolator Cisco gave them at the Hall of Justice, and headed to Coryana.
==========================================
“Ok, Ryan” Sophie said, hitting the button to close the portal. “We need to find someplace to lay low until nightfall. The last thing we need is to end up in one of Safiyah’s cells.”
“Right. I’ll look over there and you –”
Before Ryan could finish, she saw some vines slowly making their way across the ground, heading straight towards her and Sophie.
“Aww, come on,” Ryan said, bracing for what she knew was coming.
The vines quickly wrapped themselves around Sophie and Ryan, squeezing them tight.
“Dammit,” Sophie said, struggling to try and get free. “I think we opened a portal on the wrong side of the island.”
“Yes, ladies, you did,” they heard Pam say as she approached. “What are you doing here? We had a deal. As long as I didn’t hurt anyone, you’d leave Renee and I to live in peace.”
“Pam!” Renee called out, running up to her. “Pam, please. Don’t hurt them. I’m sure they have a good reason for being here.”
“Yes we do,” Ryan said. “Please, just let us go, and we can explain.”
“Let you go? Why, so you can inject me with a new and improved desiccation serum? I think not.”
“Pam, do you really think they’d come here, an island full of vegetation you can use against them, if they were after you?” Renee asked. “Please, just let them explain.” Renee held Pam’s face in her hands. “Please? For me?”
“Dammit. You know I can’t resist that smile,” Pam said, laying her hands on Renee’s.
“I know how that feels,” Sophie said, looking at Ryan.
“Fine, I’ll let you go, but make one move I don’t like, and I’ll hurl you into the ocean.”
“Fair,” Ryan said, pulling the vines off her ankles.
Sophie walked over to Pam and Renee. “You’re right, we had a deal, and I’d never try to go against it. But we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t completely necessary.”
“What’s going on?” Renee asked.
Sophie started to answer, but Ryan didn’t like how close Renee was to her girlfriend, so she stepped in between them and started to explain.
“We’ve been having some… issues back in Gotham, but we’ve almost got it all cleaned up. The last criminals behind all the mess that are still at large are Marquis and Zsasz. And unfortunately, they’re on this island.”
“I knew I felt some odd vibrations, but I thought maybe Safiyah had brought some new recruits onto the island,” Pam said.
“We were hoping to get in and out without being noticed, but now that you’ve found us, maybe you can help,” Sophie said.
“And why would I ever help you two? You, Batwoman, wanted to desiccate me again. And you, Ms. Moore, slept with my girlfriend.”
“Pam,” Renee called out. Embarrassed she brought up her night with Sophie.
“I’m sorry, Renee, but neither of those two things makes me want to do anything but tie them to a tree and leave them there to rot.”
“Ok, you’re right,” Ryan said. “We’ve got some history between us. I’m not super happy that my girlfriend slept with Renee either.”
“Oh my god,” Sophie said, burying her face in her hand.
“But we’re gonna have to find a way to get past that if we’re gonna catch my brother and Zsasz.”
Desperate to keep anyone from mentioning “the night” again, Renee stepped forward. “Ok, so what did you have in mind, Ryan?”
“First, we need to find them. This is a big island, so we’ll need your help with that. Once we find them, we can take it from there.”
“Fine,” Pam said. “But once you find them, I want all of you off this island.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Sophie replied. “You start looking, Ryan and I need to go change.”
==========================================
When Sophie and Ryan came back, they were both wearing their suits. Sophie and Renee stood looking at each other in silence. Renee had never seen Sophie in her suit before.
Noticing their girlfriends staring at one another, Ryan and Pam said “really?” in unison.
After glaring at Sophie, Ryan stood in front of her. “Pam, were you able to pick up on anything while we were gone?”
“She may have found them – on this side of the island,” Renee said.
“They somehow managed to escape detection, but they started to get careless once you arrived,” Pam said.
“That must mean they know we’re here,” Ryan said, turning to look at Sophie. “Alright, since it seems we’ve probably lost the element of surprise, so we might just have to rush them.”
“That’s dangerous, Ryan,” Renee said. “You don’t know what kind of weapons they have.”
“Renee’s right,” Sophie said.
“Oh, so we’re back to you agreeing with her again, huh?” Ryan asked.
“Ryan, now is not the time,” Sophie said, grabbing her arm and pulling her close. “You know who I love, and you know she’s right.”
Suddenly, they heard, “Well, well. Would you look at what we have here.”
Everyone turned to find Marquis and Zsasz standing there with a creepy smile on their faces.
“Well hey there, Ryan. It’s been a while. And you, Ms. Cat Lady. I’m loving the choker. Is that custom?” Zsasz said.
“Why don’t you come get a closer look,” Sophie replied.
Zsasz laughed as Marquis pulled him back. “We don’t have time for this, Vic.”
“Killjoy,” Zsasz mumbled.
Marquis shook his head, then started walking towards Batwoman. “You know, I was just thinking about you, baby sis. And poof, here you are.”
“Yeah, well I’m not here for a family reunion,” Ryan said, stepping closer to Marquis.
Marquis looked over to Pam and Renee. “And what’s your part in this?”
“We have no part,” Pam said, grabbing Renee’s hand. “Do what you will with them, just don’t harm the island, and leave once you’re finished.”
“I can do that, plant lady,” Marcus said, turning his back to Pam and Renee.
Renee looked over to Sophie as Pam started dragging her away. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed.
==========================================
“Alright then, now that we’re alone, let’s get down to business,” Marquis said, smiling and wringing his hands.
“What do you want, Marquis?” Ryan asked.
“You know what I want, baby girl,” he said as he walked closer to her. “I want to destroy everything that you hold near and dear as you helplessly watch. I want to see you in pain. I want to see you left with nothing! And since you were kind enough to bring her along, I think I’ll start with your lil side piece,” he said before lunging for Sophie.
“No!” Ryan yelled, wrapping her arm around Marquis’ neck and throwing him to the ground.
When he saw the chaos begin, Zsasz ran at Sophie. “It looks like it’s me, you, and that lovely choker,” he said before taking a swing.
Sophie ducked then grabbed the whip off her hip and snapped it at Zsasz. “Don’t forget about my favorite accessory.”
“Ooo, sexy,” he said, clearly impressed with how well Sophie handled the whip now. “Too bad it won’t stop me from killing you and taking that choker.”
Ryan could hear Sophie and Zsasz fighting behind her, but she knew she needed to trust that Sophie could take care of herself, and concentrate on Marquis.
“I’ve only ever tried to help you, Marquis. Hell, I defended you to everyone when they said the joy buzzer didn’t work. I’ve always been in your corner. Why do you want to do this to me?”
“To knock you off that damn pedestal you put yourself on.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You think you’re just so much better. Why? Because you used to be nothing but a street rat, and now, somehow, you became CEO of Wayne? Because you walk around in a costume and say you’re fighting crime? Because Mom finally accepted you as her daughter just as she locked me away? You’re an imposter, Ryan. You’re no one. You don’t deserve anything that you have, and that’s why I’m gonna take it all away.”
==========================================
Sophie and Zsasz were deadlocked in their battle until Sophie remembered the chemical aerosol Mary had made for her. Quickly grabbing it from her belt, she got it up and sprayed it just as Zsasz got to her.
He fell back, rubbing his eyes and coughing. “What the… hell di…”
Zsasz dropped to the ground, his eyes wide and fixed.
Sophie walked over and knelt next to him. “I’m sorry, what was that you were saying about killing me and taking my choker?”
“Look at the pretty lights,” Zsasz muttered as he stared at the sky.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Sophie said.
=========================================
Ryan charged Marquis, causing both of them to hit the ground. Quickly, she straddled him, and started punching him with all she had.
“All I wanted was to have my family,” she said, continuing to punch him.
“Ryan,” Sophie called out. “That’s enough.”
“You’ve done nothing but cause me pain,” she said, still beating him.
“Ryan! I said that’s enough,” Sophie said, walking towards the duo.
“You want me to hate you? Fine, you got your wish,” Ryan yelled, still punching Marquis.
“Ryan!” Sophie yelled, grabbing her and dragging her off Marquis. “What’s wrong with you?”
Marquis laughed and tried to crawl away while Sophie was holding Ryan back, when a portal started opening in front of him.
“Did you push the button?” Ryan asked.
“No,” Sophie replied.
Once the portal was fully formed, someone came walking through the bright blue light.
“Is that?” was all Sophie could get out when she saw the person.
Standing in front of Marquis, looking down at him with a confused expression, was the Marquis from Earth 8B that had portaled into the Bat Cave just before they went to Central City.
“You? You’re the one with the pendant?” he asked.
“Who the hell are you, looking like a Dollar Store version of me,” Marquis said as he tried to sit up.
“This isn’t possible. How did you get a pendant?” AU Marquis asked.
“What, you mean this thing?” Marquis said, pulling a green crystal from his pocket and holding it up. “I guess I just know the right people,” he said before laughing.
“I was tracing the signal from the missing pendant. I never expected to find it with you.”
“Surprise,” Marquis said smiling.
“It doesn’t matter, you’re coming with me,” AU Marquis said before grabbing his doppelgänger and bringing him into the blue light.
Once they were both fully engulfed by the light, their pendants started to glow.
“What’s happening?” Ryan asked.
“I have no idea,” Sophie replied.
Violent strikes of light started hitting the men, each time phasing them in and out.
“What are you doing, man?” Marquis yelled.
“It’s not me, I think it’s the pendants. They seem to be reacting to the extrapolator,” AU Marquis yelled back.
The light strikes grew more violent, only now, when they phased out, they merged with each other when they phased back. This happened over and over until finally, there was only one Marquis standing in the light.
“What the hell just happened?” Ryan asked.
“Magic,” Marquis said before letting out a menacing laugh, then backing up into the light.
“Wait, no!” Ryan yelled, running towards Marquis. But just before she reached him, the portal closed.
“What the actual hell?” Sophie asked.
Ryan turned to look at her. “This can’t be good, Soph. That was two separate Marquis’ merged into one. What the hell do we do now?”
“All the pretty lights,” they heard Zsasz say.
“Damn, Sophie. What did you do to him?”
“It doesn’t matter right now. Look, I have no idea what that was, but I know we can’t figure it out from here. First things first, we need to get back to Gotham, and put Zsasz back in his cell.”
“And then?” Ryan asked.
“And then we hope like hell Luke can figure the rest of this out.”