Just in case you guys haven't noticed, this story has been rewritten, so if you haven't already, I recommend reading it from the beginning before reading this chapter for it all to make sense.

The following day found Kate and Mary going out for lunch, since Mary had told Kate that she had something important to talk to her about.

"So, you going to the ceremony tonight?" Mary asked as they sat at their table, waiting for their waiter to bring their food out to them.

"No. I told dad that I wasn't really ready to interact with a bunch of people on that scale yet and thankfully he understood." Kate said.

"Okay, now I'm wishing I'd been the one stranded on the island, then I'd have an excuse not to go tonight." Mary said.

"Sounds like we both have the same view of turning off the bat light. It's a mistake that Gotham will regret.

"Okay, are you sure that you've fully recovered from whatever you went through, since the Kate Kane I knew would never say that." Mary said and Kate laughed.

"Amnesia has its advantages. It allowed me to look at Batman from an unbiased point of view and I realize that it was unfair of me to keep blaming him for something he had no control over. He's not Superman, he couldn't fly. Besides, he did a better job of protecting Gotham than the Crows ever did." Kate said.

"Don't let Dad or Sophie hear you say that." Mary said.

"Please, I've got Sophie wrapped around my finger and we both know it, since she'll do anything to get my forgiveness." Kate said.

"You still love her don't you?" Mary asked and Kate nodded.

"She's the one thing I could remember clearly about my past even with my amnesia. But don't tell her that, I want to string her along for a bit, see if I can get her to beg me to take her back." Kate said.

"Normally I'd say you're being immature, but I think you're owed that, though you should know that your death, it hit her pretty hard. It hit all of us pretty hard. Sophie, dad and I, we all mourned you in different ways." Mary said.

"But not Catherine." Kate said.

"My mom mourned, but not as severely as the rest of us did. But then again, you two were never close. You refused to see her as your real mom." Mary said.

"Yeah, that hasn't changed." Kate said.

"I know. I'm just glad that you didn't let that stop us from becoming real sisters." Mary said.

"We always will be, no matter what Mary. But anyways, what did you want to talk to me about, because I know you're stalling." Kate asked as their food was delivered and Mary took a deep breath.

"I'm gay." Mary said, shocking Kate, because of all the things she ever thought she'd hear Mary say, that was not one of them, in either reality.

"Wait what?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, it shocked me too when I first realized it, but I am." Mary said.

"How did you figure it out?" Kate asked.

"It wasn't until after you died. I didn't really have much of a support system to help me through it, since dad was dealing with his grief in his own way and so was Sophie and mom was busy with her company and helping dad, so I kind of just spiraled. I started drinking and partying hard. Nearly started using drugs, but then one night, a woman saved my life. Her name is Ryan and she was the one who convinced me that what I was doing was not what you'd want me to do. She gave me a shoulder to cry on and helped me turn my life around." Mary said with a smile.

"And I'm guessing that things evolved from there." Kate asked and Mary nodded.

"She went from being a stranger to being a friend to being my best friend to being my surrogate sister to being the love of my life. She helped me come to terms with my sexuality and we've been together for nearly two years." Mary said.

"So, when do I get to meet her?" Kate asked.

"Promise me that you won't scare her away like you did every guy I went out with in high school." Mary said.

"Relax, I promise, plus, it sounds like I did you a favor. But seriously Mary, it sounds like this Ryan girl is the only reason I had a sister to come home to. I owe her big time for taking care of you while I couldn't. Just one question. Do our parents know?" Kate asked.

"No, you're the first person I came out to and the main reason for that is because I know that while they'd have no problems with me being gay like you, I know that neither of them would approve of Ryan." Mary said.

"Really, why?" Kate asked, though she did feel honored that she was the first person Mary had come out to.

"Because she's poor and she's an ex-con, though that last one is only because she was in the wrong place and wrong time." Mary said.

"I believe you, since I know that you wouldn't have given her your heart if she didn't deserve it. I would like to talk to her about it though. Though I do agree with you. But Mary, you have to tell them. Trust me, both you and Ryan are going to be miserable if you keep having to hide and eventually you will end up losing her if she keeps feeling like you're ashamed of her." Kate said.

"I know. But I don't have your courage Kate. I don't think that I can handle coming out to them and telling them about Ryan just to hear them reject her." Mary said.

"What if I'm there with you to have your back. I think that I can at least get dad to back down and get him to give Ryan a chance." Kate said.

"I'd really appreciate that." Mary said to her gratefully as they finished eating and paid the check.

"You sure you don't want to ride with me on my bike?" Kate asked Mary as they left the restaurant.

"Unless you somehow got driving lessons while you were gone, I'm sticking to my stance that Kate Kane should not have anyone with her in any kind of vehicle when she is the driver because you are a maniac." Mary said and Kate laughed.

"Just checking. I'll see you later at the penthouse." Kate said and Mary nodded as she got in her car and Kate got on her bike and they both headed in their separate directions. Mary towards the penthouse to get ready for the ceremony that she really wished she wasn't going to and Kate for Wayne Tower so that she could prepare to make a fool out of Gotham's elite tonight by revealing to them all that the Bat was back, new and improved.

Kate pulled her bike into the underground garage of Wayne Tower and had just parked and taken off her helmet, only to feel a small prick in the back of her neck as she felt a dart enter it.

"Seriously Alice, since when do you do things without flair?" Kate asked, since she knew that her lunatic sister was the only person who'd pull something like this so soon, though Kate was not sure why she'd do this before announcing her presence to Gotham. Seems more like something she'd do in an attempt to extort her dad, but honestly, she didn't have time to worry about that as she lost consciousness.

Kate awoke to someone smacking her face slightly harshly and she groaned when she opened her eyes to find an unpleasantly familiar face kneeling in front of her as she found herself tied to a chair.

"Wakey wakey." Alice said with a grin as Kate groaned.

"Okay, if you kidnapped me to try and extort money from the Crows, you clearly don't know my dad very well." Kate said.

"Oh no, you're wrong. I happen to know Commander Kane very well and I know that once he realizes that his darling daughter Kate has vanished without a trace yet again, he will do anything to get her back safely. But I guess he'll only do that for his favorite daughter." Alice said.

"Who are you and what are you talking about? Kate asked, even though she knew the answer to both those questions.

"My, my Kate, I'm hurt. I thought you'd recognize your own flesh and blood." Alice said with a demented grin.

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked.

"Here's a hint. The last time you saw me was right before you let me and mom fall off a bridge in a car into a river." Alice said.

"Beth." Kate said, trying to seem stunned by that revelation.

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner. Though I have to admit, I go by Alice now these days. Good to see you again sis. I guess we have something in common now. We've both been abandoned by daddy dearest." Alice said.

"What is this about, because I have a feeling that if you wanted to let me know you were alive you wouldn't have kidnapped me." Kate said.

"True. You see, I have questions about where you were those five years you were gone, since unlike our shockingly gullible father, I'm not falling for the whole amnesia act. Your head is too thick to be damaged by a plane crash." Alice said.

"Wow, you had to go there." Kate said.

"What, I've missed out on over a decade of teasing my sister, I need to catch up." Alice said.

"What do you want to know?" Kate asked.

"I have a very good guess about where you landed, but I want you to confirm it, since before I do anything, I need to fill in the blanks." Alice said.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

"Tell me, how did Safiyah get you into her bed?" Alice asked with a grin and this time, Kate's shock was genuine, since she had no idea that Alice knew about Coryana.

"You know about Coryana?" Kate asked.

"Of course I do, since like you, I also spent time there, though it's clear that your time was much more pleasant than mine was." Alice said in her usual cheerful manner.

"How did you figure out I landed there?" Kate asked.

"It wasn't hard for someone who knows what to look for to put the pieces together. Your plane goes down over the Mediterranean, you're found on an island that is not on any maps or charts and then the most curious thing of all, you come home with not a scratch on you. The only way all that makes sense if you washed up on the home of the desert rose." Alice said.

"Definitely going to need to have a talk with Safiyah about not telling me she knew you." Kate said.

"Don't waste your breath. I stopped trying to figure out what goes through that woman's head years ago. But right now, I'm more interested in your tale. How did you get Safiyah to take you in and perhaps even more importantly, how you got her to let you leave." Alice said.

"Got anything to drink here, because it's a hell of a story." Kate said.

"Don't push your luck. Now spill." Alice said.

"Someone had my plane shot down, wasn't you was it?" Kate asked.

"Please, if I wanted you dead at that time, I would've done it myself to ensure you actually stayed dead. But anyways, go on." Alice said.

"I was badly hurt when I washed up on Coryana. I thought for sure I was going to die and see you and mom in the afterlife. But instead, Safiyah's people found me and brought me to her and she decided to take pity on me." Kate said.

"Yeah, nice try, but we've both met Safiyah and we both know that she doesn't do anything for free. So what did you have to give her in exchange?" Alice asked.

"Five years of my life. I guess she found out about my history and thought that I'd make a good addition to her army. Still can't believe that she let me leave." Kate said.

"Neither can I. But I think I know why she did it. Why she let you come home and it wasn't whatever reason she gave you. She let you come here to face me. I guess she has a sort of twisted sense of humor." Alice said.

"I'm not even going to ask what you mean by that, but anyways, is there anything else you want to know, because I have a thing I need to do." Kate said.

"Really, and what might that be?" Alice asked, only to be surprised when she turned around to find her sister had worked her way out of her restraints.

"We were both apparently trained by Safiyah, you should've known I'd escape." Kate said.

"Even so, I thought I'd have more time. But then again, no time like the present." Alice said as she pulled out her butterfly knife and charged at her sister, who dodged and knocked the blade out of her hand.

"Fine, we'll do this the harder way." Alice said as the two sisters began fighting in hand to hand combat, both of them equally matched in skill, since like Kate had said, they'd had the same teacher, but apparently, Safiyah had taught Kate some more advanced moves, since she eventually managed to kick her sister back.

"Never learned that one." Alice said.

"The queen taught it to me herself. Guess she liked me more. Her parting gift proved that." Kate said, a bit smug about that, though she still needed to have a conversation with Safiyah.

"Unless it was a desert rose, I doubt that." Alice said, panting heavily.

"You'd be surprised." Kate said.

"Wait what?" Alice asked, only to have Kate take advantage of her distracted state and knock her out before making her escape.