Map scours the wooded area around Wayne Manor with her namesake in hand. She's 68% sure that Batman has his base in this area. The girl has collected everything she could on the vigilante. She's traced sightings and directions and graphed them out. If all her math was right Batman in somewhere in this 360 acre area. If you cover one acre a week, with 52 weeks it's only 6.9 years. Maps lets out an audible sigh. Despite being statistically improbable she hopes that she might find them today.
Maps walks over tree roots blindly until the sound of dripping water catches her ear. The brown haired girl turns and walks toward the noise. She moves through vegetation and a cave rises in front of her. "Cool." She sets her backpack down and pulls her head lamp out of the front pocket. As she starts into the cave she turn in ton. The light disappears quickly and the paths begin to split. Every time they do, she sticks a piece of duct tape to the dryest section of wall she can find. The girl looks around in wonder, making a mental note to get the detective club in here. They would have a field day. Midway in she stumbles onto a flat pah with tire tracks. Maps bends down to check them out, and decides to follow them in the direction that heads even deeper in. 'What if they're the batmobile? Bats live in caves.' She thinks to herself. The ever so faint sound of voices reached her ears, they are distorted and being carried only by echos.
Despite the statistical improbability of finding the Bat cave on her first day of searching, she get excited. The caves stretch on for miles and the girl hopes that her dumb luck will get her there. She turns a corner and the cavern opens up into a massive space. She instantly knows that it's the Batcave. "Oh. My. God"
The two heads, one sitting and a smaller standing, over by a vast computer whip around around.
Map's joy is briefly replaced with fear, until the smaller figure simply asks, "Maps?"
The girl runs closer, and she recognized the boy. "Knew it!"
"How'd you get in?" asks a stern voice.
"The caves." She starts looking around. "This place is huge! I mean like, echo!" She announces and her voice bounces around.
"The caves go on for miles." starts Bruce, "How did you find this spot?"
"Luck, destiny. Actually, I just found the tire tracks."
Bruce looks over to Damian quickly, who is clearly annoyed, trying to figure out what to do. He is familiar with her and the girl knows him and does not seem to be afraid of either of them. That is interesting, most people cower at Batman, but this girl just looks excite. "Go show her around." He says to Damian.
"Shouldn't we be getting her out?"
"I'll figure it out. "
"-tt-"
The boy walks down to her.
He joins her at a display case holding some small relics from their adventures. She seems awed by two-Face's coin. "You shouldn't be here."
"This place is so cool though. You should offer tours."
"You're missing the secret part."
"The Justice League offers tours."
"No. They don't."
"Yes they do. I've been on one." Damian lets it go.
"-tt-" Map whirls around looking a the batcomputer. A map of the sewage tunnel catches her eye. It's much more detailed than anyone she has seen before, well except her own. She walks up to it and Bruce Wayne sits next to her, studying her.
"Your're map is wrong Mr. Wayne." He looks over to her.
"How so? I've made it myself."
"You're missing some passages, they're tiny, about two feet tall, and they connect some of the bigger tunnels together." She swings her bag around and reaches inside and pulls out a stack of folded pieces of papers. She peeks inside each of them, before passing one over to Bruce. "This is mine I made it last summer."
"I assume that's how you got the name Maps."
"Yep. If you want to hold on to it you can."
"Now, you know that you can tell no one what you're found out here today."
"Yep."
"Because if people knew who Batman and Robin really are then things could get really bad."
"I figured. Don't worry my lips are sealed."
Bruce pauses before continuing, "Perhaps you could stop by with some more of your maps and make sure everything is up to date. Plus Daiman could use some company."
The young boy glares as the girl speaks out in agreement.
o.0.o
Maps has stoped by quite a few time now and Bruce notices his son slowly taking a liking to her. He'll catch him explaining some long winded story to her about a small souvenir. Currently, he hears bateranges hit the wall way off target as he climbs down into the Batcave. Finally one hits home and a female voice cries out, "Look I hit it! Dami look!"
"It was decent." says his son.
The voices stop for a moment and Damian starts sputtering. He has never heard the boy not have a remark before. He reaches the bottom stair and clears his throat, as he enters the room.
"Father," states Daiman turning around with his face red.
"Maps," stars Bruce, "It's getting late, you best head back to school."
"Oh right. Thanks Mr. Wayne."
"I'll take you."
"Thanks Dami."
o.0.o
After patrol Damian returns to his room and calls the only person he can think of.
"Hey Damian, what's up?"
"I fear my life has reached the point where I must ask you for advice."
"Girl or Bruce?"
"Girl. I expect to see you in 33 minutes."
"You want me to drive to Gotham?"
"Yes."
"At 3 am."
"Yes."
"Let me get dressed." Dick Grayson hangs up the phone and Damian sits on his bed, knowing that he will never live down asking him for help.
"Does wittle Damian have a crush?" Dick says as he reaches his brother's doorway.
"Get in and close the door."
Dick does as he's told and flops down on Damian's bed, kicking his feet up. "Who is she?"
"Her name is Maps."
"And..."
"And she goes to Gotham Academy."
"You got a lot of work to do."
"You appear to be of no help. I simply wanted to know if you had any input on how to ask a person out."
"I do, but if you can't say anymore about her than where she goes to school and her name than you probably shouldn't be trying to ask her out."
"-tt-"
"Give me something to work with!" He pines dramatically.
"She is loud. Always excited."
"So the opposite of you?"
"I suppose."
"Opposites attract. What does she like do?"
"Some stupid game. Summoners and Swords."
"Okay first off. Don't call something she likes stupid. That will only get you in trouble." Dick says from experience. "But how about taking her to a movie, a little cliche, but make it something she'll like."
"Alright. That it is then. Goodbye."
"You did not just have me drive from Bludhaven for a 10 minute conversation."
"The conversation was much shorter than 10 minutes."
"Call her."
"Now?"
"Yes now. Face time."
"No."
"Yes." Dick makes a lounge for the boy's phone with a smile on his face, but Damian sees the lunge and jumps out of the way. Dick flips over him and snatches it. That is when it get serious.
Alfred hears the commotion from the kitchen and begins to walk down the hall wanting to know what on Earth Damian was possibly doing.
The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway and the boy hear them instantly stopping their fighting, with Dick having the phone. Damian sends Dick a death glare while the older boy starts unlocking his phone. There is a knock as Dick gets in.
"Everything is fine, Pennyworth." states Damian as he opens the door.
"Hey Al." says Dick from the bed.
"Master Dick I did not know you were here."
"Decided to stop by."
"But now I suppose it was you two that I heard in here."
"I don't know what you mean." states Dick to innocently as he finds his way into Damian's contacts.
"Well, I'm not patching you two up." Says Alfred as he turns to leave, and as soon as he does, Dick presses call and Damian launches at him. Luckily for Dick, Maps picks up immediately.
"Damian!" She says with excitement and "oh" she responds realizing that it is not him.
"Hi I'm Dick. Damian's brother." He tosses the phone to Damian who catches it and flips the camera toward him.
"Hey Maps." He says with his persona flipping on a dime. Dick smiles as he notices it.
"What's up?"
"Oh nothing." His eyes catch the background. "Where are you?"
"Inside the walls of the dormitory."
"Of course you are. Uh Maps I wanted to ask you something."
"Yes." She says certainly.
"Wait, What?"
"I'll go out with you." Dick lets out a large laugh, while Damian reels; his plan has gone ary.
"How did you know?"
"You're not as unpredictable as you think."
"So Friday at 6."
"Let's do 5:30."
"That works."
"See you then."
"Don't get lost."
"I got my map." she says holding up a piece of paper. The call ends.
"Jesus Christ." laughs Dick, "that girl is perfect for you."
o.0.o
Damian met Maps at the edge of Gotham Academy's property.
"Hi" She says, "Oh I like your shirt."
Damian looks down at himself and shirt he spent the last hour choosing.
"Thanks You look nice too." Maps is wearing an oversized sweatshirt and leggings.
"I hear the Maze Runner is pretty good."
"The book was alright."
"You read the book?"
"Last night."
"Wait you read the book just for today?"
"Yes." Maps grins from ear to ear.
"That's so sweet."
She grabs the popcorn from the man behind the counter and Damian picks up the soda. "So, what's your favorite movie?" she asks.
"I haven't seen many."
"Why? They're so much fun!"
"Grandfather called them frivolous and Bruce is not a fan."
" Oh Damian Wayne, we are having a marathon." On that note they enter the theatre.
1/4 of the way through he slips his arm around her shoulders.
1/2 through she curls up next to him.
3/4 of the way done, they lock hands.
They walk outside into the cooling air, "It was entertaining." notes Damian mostly to himself because Maps is bouncing around excited.
"It was great!"
"The acting was mediocre."
"Sooooooo good."
"The special effects-"
She snaps back to Damian. "Wasn't it amazing?"
"Yes," says Damian with a smile and resignation, "It was."
o.0.o
"You know, I didn't know you had a brother."
"I don't. There is no blood. Dick was the first Robin."
"He seemed nice."
"He is the least insufferable of the lot."
"So, there are more brothers?"
"They are not my brothers.
"Fine. Who are your not brothers?"
"An ape and a fool."
Noticing she's not getting anywhere she switches it up, "Anyway, I think that it's cool you have such a big family. I just have Jake."
"I suppose I should meet Jake. It only seems proper."
A small chuckle escapes Map's lips. "Some of the things you say make you seem as if your from a completely different part of the world."
"Who says I'm not?"
"Are you?"
"It's a long story and you have to get back to school."
"I'll figure you out, Dami."
"I have no doubt."
O.0.o
They reach the end of Gotham Academy's property and begin to bid goodbye. "I had fun tonight." She starts.
"Shall I take you out again?"
Maps moves closer to him, "I think so."
Damian panics at her movement closer to him and jumps back. "Uh okay. I'll see you at the cave soon right?"
Her hand rubs her neck as she scoots back leaving a bigger space between them. "Yeah. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." They both turn away cursing themselves.
