"Do yourselves a favor, and stay down," Lark called out, as he dropped an unconscious thug on the floor from the catwalks above. He flipped forward through the air and landed on the ground, in the middle of a dozen unconscious thugs. His gear had had a few upgrades, especially since he'd been growing a lot.
His armor, namely the chest plate, gauntlets and boots, had been reinforced with slightly heavier, more durable anti-ballistic plates. It retained the Zylon Fibers around the joints to maintain movement but also protect from bullets and knives. His right gauntlet also now had a mini computer, with a holographic interface, built into it. It was mostly for hacking and bypassing security, as well as encryption, decryption, and of course, linking up with Oracle and Batwoman's computer in the HQ. His domino mask now sported a few different types of vision that he could cycle through, including telescopic vision; no need for binoculars anymore.
The design of his costume was somewhat the same, except for a few design choices he personally made, such as the Lark Symbol on his right shoulder. The gauntlets now stretched to his elbows, with gold trim right at the elbow, and gold trip right at his knees. His new utility belt was of a sleek design with compartments instead of pouches, black, with the Lark symbol as a belt buckle. He had a gun holster on one hip, and his tactical stun baton on his other hip. The suit also came with some new security features, namely the utility belt which was booby trapped to electrocute anyone who didn't know how to properly remove it. His domino mask was of the same design. All in all, Lark's armor possessed a whole world of new upgrades.
Lark and Batwoman had been keeping a close eye on Rupert Thorne the last few months. With Grave seemingly having up and disappeared three years ago, they had turned their focus, fully, back to the criminals they could find. And Rupert Thorne was at the top of the list.
He'd been a big player in Gotham for decades, since the era of Carmine Falcone. Back then, he'd just your average Crime Boss; Carmine was the boss of bosses. But when the Falcone Empire fell, he swooped in and swiftly took control over large swaths of the Gotham's Criminal Underground. The fall of the Falcones gave rise to other major mob bosses, however; Arnold Stromwell, and Black Mask.
But a lot had changed in the last three years; Stromwell's control over the Gotham Underground was falling apart and Rupert Throne was losing street reputation bit by bit. Though Thorne's hold over the organized crime was still strong, his flagging reputation made it possible for Black Mask to make gains in his own bid for dominance over Gotham City. Of the three, Black Mask was the most sadistic and cruel.
There was only one group in Gotham City that truly presented a problem for all three of them, however; Joker's Gang. Joker was a rogue element, aligned with no one but himself. He ran a gang of fellow psychopaths and degenerates, who all shared his twisted sense of humor. While the Joker showed no interest in controlling Gotham's crime, he was still a threat to all three of the most powerful Crime Bosses in Gotham.
Things had changed for him, too; for him, Kate, Bruce, and Dick. After Dick graduated from High School, he moved out of the manor and into his own apartment in Uptown Gotham. He also took up a new secret identity; Nightwing. Bruce also released his trust fund to him, something his parents had set aside for him before they died. He'd given it to Lucius, and over the years, Lucius had turned it into a multi-million dollar fortune.
Bruce also had a new sidekick, a new Robin; Timothy Jackson Drake. He was the son of a globetrotting businessman named Jack Drake. The kid was only 13 and currently still in training. He'd puzzled out Batman and Nightwing's identities all on his own. He confronted Dick first, then Bruce. With Dick's help, they persuaded Bruce to take on a new Robin.
As for himself, Jason was now in his senior year of High School, having turned 18 last month, and was at the top of his class with Straight As and a GPA of 4.0. He hadn't told Kate just yet, but he wanted to go to West Point, like she had, and like her father had before her.
As for Dinah, he and Dinah had become good friends. Though she wasn't a licensed therapist, he still saw he at least once a week, usually while beating up dirt bags, and talked about whatever was bothering him. It helped him work through some of his issues, including his anger a bit. Child trafficking of any kind was a trigger for him, so until they were confident he could handle such missions without flying off the handle, he'd been kept away from them. Jason hadn't been happy about that, but his time with Dinah helped him learn to cope with that particular trigger. Aside from his "therapy", Jason found he liked hanging out with Dinah besides; she was almost like a second mentor, and even taught him some boxing and Jeet Kun Do.
Not all of the news was good, however. Last year, Barbara had been bound to a wheel chair, paralyzed from the waist down. The Joker showed up at her house and crippled her with a point-blank gun blast. She was a fighter though, and so although she couldn't be Batgirl, she continued to aid in fighting Gotham's Crime as Oracle. Jason had been benched after that incident though, because he personally hunted down the Joker and beat him. He wasn't going to kill the clown, much as he wanted to, but Nightwing showed up and stopped him from going any further. He ended up going back to Arkham, but with an arm and a leg cast, stitched in his forehead, and a split lip.
Currently, Batman was dealing with Two-Face on the opposite side of the city with Nightwing's, formerly Robin, help. Batwoman and Lark took it upon themselves to bust up one of Thorne's weapon smuggling schemes that he'd tried to hid with one of his legitimate businesses. It was exceedingly difficult to put Thorne away for any extended amount of time, because of his connections, but that didn't mean they couldn't fuck up his schemes.
Lark heard gun shots in the distance and quickly raced off toward the source. He exited the warehouse, out onto the docks. Batwoman was, naturally, holding her own against a bunch of thugs, armed with various weapons, from guns to baseball bats. One of them even brandished a machete as he charged at black clad vigilante.
"Batwoman!" Lark called, racing across the docks. He drew a grappling gun and fired it at a thug charging at her from behind. The line wrapped around him and Lark pulled, hard, yanking the thug backward and into one of his buddies. He knocked them both off of the docks and into the water below. Batwoman didn't so much as glance back at him; she knew Lark had her back.
"Do yourselves a favor and give up now," Batwoman called, flipping backward and kicking a thug in the jaw as she bent backwards. She caught herself on her hands, then completed the back flip, right onto another guy's shoulders. She rained punches down on her face, then hopped off of him and back handed another attacker.
"I don't think so BatBitch," another man snarled.
"BatBitch, huh? I'll give you points for originality," she replied, decking the guy in the face "but I'll take a few teeth in compensation for it," she finished, flipping forward and delivering a devastating axe heel to his head, knocking him out cold. "Mind your manners, or next time it'll be your leg."
"You heard the lady!" Lark called as he leaped into the air and lunged at one of her attackers. "Mind" he shouted, kicking one man in the face and landing on his feet. "Your," he swept the legs of two thugs. They crashed against the floor and he delivered a couple of punches to each of their faces to knock them out. "Manners." Lark got to his feet and clapped his hands together, turning to Batwoman and flashing a smirk.
"Good work, Lark. That seems to be the last of them. Did you-"
"Tie them all up and alert the GCPD? I did. They should be on their way soon," Lark interrupted. Batwoman smiled a bit and gestured toward their motorcycles, hidden just across the street from the docks.
"Right then. Let's finish up the rest of patrol for the night and get back to HQ," Batwoman replied as the two of them mounted their motorcycles. "Oracle, is there anything else going on in Gotham that needs attention?"
"Nope. Other than Batman and Nightwing's tussle with Two-Face and his gang, the rest of Gotham seems clear," Oracle replied over the comms.
"Batman, Nightwing, do you two need a hand with Two-Face?" Lark asked. There was a silence from their end of the comms for a few moments, before Nightwing answered.
"Nah, we're all good! 'Bout to wrap up here! Batman, heads up!" Nightwing shouted before the comm cut out. Lark glanced over at Batwoman, who shrugged her shoulders.
"They can handle it. So lets finish tonight's patrol and then head back home. I'll bet Figaro misses you," Batwoman said to him, flashing a smirk. Lark chuckled a bit, and together, the two of them revved their motorcycles and raced off into the night.
Jason groaned as he cracked his knuckles and popped his shoulders a bit as he stripped out of his gear and hit the showers. Kate shooed him off to bed and opted to stay up for a little while longer and go over some evidence and data on her computer, as well as prepare for her father's arrival in the morning.
"Night Kate!" Jason called as he rubbed his bare shoulder and made his way for the lift.
"Good night, Jason," Kate called back without turning from the screen. She glanced back and watched him get into the lift, then turned her attention back to the screen.
Jason sighed as he padded into the loft. He heard a soft meow and looked down to see Figaro, a black and white Maine Coon cat, sitting at his feet. Jason smiled brightly at the cat; Kate had brought him home as a birthday present last year, and his color almost instantly reminded him of Figaro, that little black and white kitten from Pinocchio.
"Figaro! Hey little guy!" Jason cooed, bending down to pick the cat up. At a year old, Figaro was as big as a regular house cat, but given another year or so, and he'd double in size, to roughly the size of a collie.
Figaro started to purr when Jason cradled him in his arms as he moved through the loft. Jason patted the kittens soft fur, scratching his ears as he padded through the loft and toward his bedroom. Figaro jumped out of his arms in front of her water dish, leaving Jason to go into his room. Exhausted, the teen heaved a sigh and climbed into bed.Thank god it's Friday.
He let his thoughts settle, and became aware of Figaro jumping onto his bed. He glanced over at the cat, then huffed a little in annoyance when he made himself comfortable by curling up right beside his neck.
"Get your ass out of my face," Jason muttered at the cat. Figaro glanced back at him and shifted a little, then laid down to go to sleep. Jason heaved a sigh and patted Figaro a little, before rolling over to find sleep.
Meanwhile, back in the HQ above, Kate was still working on a case. She and Batman had been keeping a close eye out for Grave the last few years. There were signs and traces here or there, but nothing solid to confirm that they were still here beyond a doubt. As an example, occasionally, a child might disappear from the Bowery, but that was common; it could've been anyone. They'd investigate, but find no trace of the child, however.
Grave was on the back burner for the most part these days. With no leads to follow up on and no trace of them anywhere in Gotham, it was foolish to chase after nothing. And so they'd been focused on taking down the threats that they could actually see.
"Alright, thanks Oracle. Let me know if you find anything," Kate said to her. Oracle flashed a smile and nodded in reply.
"You bet. Good night."
Kate wrapped up her investigations for the night and moved across the cave to change out of her gear. With that down, she made his way down the lift, into the loft, then to the bathroom for a shower. After that, she made her way to Jason's bed room to check on him; there she found Jason fast asleep, with Figaro curled up on his chest. She chuckled a bit to herself at how adorable the sight was, then made her way to her own room. Her father was coming tomorrow. He and Jason seemed to get along well, and they had no secrets; he knew she and he were Batwoman and Lark.
Kate made her way to her bedroom but stopped before the window. She looked out over the city below, taking in the sight of the city, basked in the soft glow of the city lights. Grave was out there somewhere, she could feel it. She was going to find them, and out an end to their schemes, one way or another.