DC Universe- 2100

Derek closes the newspaper and throws it back on the table. "Lorelei!...", he calls and waits before sighing, walking over to a panel on the wall. He pushes a button combination into the panel, activating a call down to the cave. "Lorelei."

"Yes? What is it?" Lorie says over the comm.

"I will be back in a couple of hours, I've got a quick meeting and then I'm off for the day."

Brass sits alone in her office and skims through the papers, stopping particularly on the Batman article while waiting on her meeting.

"You wanted to see me.", Derek says and walks into her office.

"Hello," she says in a surprisingly professional tone. "I'm afraid I have to do something that goes against most everything I believe in. I have to ask a favor."

Derek stares at her with an indifferent and blank stare before nodding in certain realisation. "Yes, that is rather unusual to hear from you. What is it that you need?"

"The venom smugglers. We upset their boss. He's in Gotham and there's a price on my head. They'll suspect ME to do something about it. They'll be ready for anything I can throw their way. But you have a few resources that I don't. Paradox was forced to confess why he stole all of the criminals. He said that Lorelei, your adopted sister, had a 'Bat Communicator' and he was hunting Batman. If she really has some connection to Batman...I could use his help is what I'm saying."

Derek looks at her for a moment, having noticed a slight waver in her still professional manner. Still, this was difficult to answer. "...I will look into it.", was all he said.

"Thank you, Derek," she says before returning to her work. "That was all."

Derek looks at her a final moment before leaving. He'd be busy tonight.

That night, Lorie goes to have a smoothie at the cafe she'd met Angelica. She missed Angelica, to be honest. She'd be back soon hopefully.

Batman heads toward the Aerocorp building.

Lorie sits and drinks a strawberry smoothie, thinking things over when she hears a knock on the window. Standing there is a woman with long, red hair. Looking around, Lorelei gets up and leaves with this woman.


Meanwhile, Brass stands on the roof where Batman arrives. "So...you do exist. Good to know."

"I tend to keep a low profile.", Batman says.

"Well, I take it my friend told you what I need."

"Protection, or rather someone to strike first."

"Striking first would be useful. He's a venom thug. THE venom thug. Given your own history, I'll let you guess what he calls himself."

"Bane...", Batman says and nods. "Are you sure?"

"He's not just after me, Batman. He's after you. And what's worse? He's after Gotham. I'm just a means to an end as far as he's concerned. And so are you."

"Do you have anything on him? Anything recent that I can use?"

"He arrived in Gotham at least a week ago. I think he might have contacts in Arkham. Not sure who."

"I'll look into it.", Batman says and turns to leave.

Brass then sits down at her desk as Batman leaves.

Meanwhile, Lorie sits at home after having had a talk with Bat-Woman. She was in a state of emptiness...a state that would soon enough be corrected when she receives word of someone at the front desk to speak with her. Upon her arrival, she stops dead in her tracks to see a sloppily dressed man with his arms crossed. "So there you are," he says.

"...Dad," Lorelei says rather coldly. There is a silence between the two for a brief moment. It'd been years since she'd seen her father. But she still remembered shooting him in the knee and shoulder as a toddler. "What do you want?"

"Figured you've been playin' Cinderella long enough. Let's go, you're comin' home."

Lorelei breaks free of his grip on her wrist in a heartbeat. "If you touch me again, you'll regret it."

"Did...did you just threaten me? Hoho...no. No, I don't think ya did," her father says before raising his hand and smacking Lorie across the face once. Lorie stands there with her head turned and narrows her eyes. The next smack comes far too soon for her to cool herself off. She catches his arm and flips him across the lobby floor. "You little..." Her father then gets up and security tackles him. "Get off'a me! I said...GET OFF!" He suddenly picks up the three of them, much to Lorelei's surprise. She thought she'd smelled something familiar.

"So...Dad...who's your supplier?"

Her father throws the three security guards aside and pulls a gun, as Lorelei did expect. The gun is suddenly struck from his hand by a batarang and Bat-Woman lands on him. "Batman, it's Lorelei!" Lorie screams into Bat-Woman's communicator after linking the frequencies. "There's a problem at the tower!" Bat-Woman suddenly flies over Lorie's head and through the window, having been thrown and landed on a car.

"Get out of here.", Batman says, already standing behind her.