Batgirl Beyond Act 4 Chapter 1, a batman beyond fanfic

Batgirl Beyond- Act Four

Dedication: This act is dedicated to one of my very best buds, Sokai-sama, who helped me iron out the plot even though she isn't particularly up-to-date on everything that's going on, and helping me figure out how to get to key points in this Act! This one's for you, Sokai-sama!

Author's Comments: Yes, this first chapter DOES have lots of romantics involved in it. I'm feeling mushy and sentimental after all that action and explosions, ok? Not every chapter has to have an important, life altering/changing mission, and yes, you do get to know briefly what became of ZETA and little Ruby. I DO mention them as well! There was a ton of booms, blasts, and satellites going up in flames in the last Act.

A lot WILL go down in this chapter, however, that affects the rest of this act. Hell, affects the rest of this story and how the characters interact with each other once things calm down from the trip to France. But no worries, not loosing any of the characters or anything! (Just in case people have their favorites and all).

But I am glad to be getting back to the old gang, Max/Oracle, Bruce, Dick, Babs, Titania, etc. A nice change of pace, and not having to type with the dang French accent! Man that was hard... not to mention, not having to write for the Justice League characters. Yeesh, talk about a challenge .

I would also like to advise any new readers to go back and read the first 3 acts to gain a better perspective of my Batgirl, and the universe itself that I have worked around the story so to speak. Wouldn't do anyone any good to go into this story blindly about halfway through ;)

Edit on 7/23/2012- Well, it's been a while since I've done any writing after getting to page twelve on this. Why? Where to begin... about 3 weeks ago my Dads health started failing, then two weeks ago, we're told to get him to the hospital 3 ½ hours away from here pronto. And he's gotta go in for brain surgery to have a golf-ball sized tumor removed. I don't remember the exact name of the tumor, but in short, it was stage 4 brain cancer. Now he is a treatment facility for daily physical and mental therapy to help him get through this, and I am house sitting for him and mom with things finally calmed down. He's gonna go in for chemo and radiation in about 3 weeks or so, then I'll be able to call him Q-ball! (Avatar: The Last Airbender joke as a result of him probably going bald as a side effect of chemo and radiation therapy in the near future). We are lucky this thing didn't kill him. Seriously. Now he is on the road to recovery, and my mom and dad are getting remarried after 5 or 6 years of being divorced.

With things calming down, and my family getting back together, I finally have some time to settle down and do something more normal for myself. With help from Sokai, I was pretty much able to map out the entirety of this act, and iron out a few things that didn't quite sound right for my version of the Bat-universe. Some of my initial ideas were way out there, but others I stuck with for the sake of my story-telling. She pretty much encouraged me to do some writing, or something for myself to help me work through some of my emotional distress as a result of the incident with my dad.

At any rate, I've still got this first chapter of Act 4 to finish before I can move on to the other fun stuff. Time to switch from completely inappropriate music on my YouTube playlist to something more suiting for this story line...

Anywho, I hope you guys enjoy this next act! Onward to adventure! -cough-

Chapter One: X Marks the Spot

After ZETA decided to stay in France with Ruby and look after the girl, things became rather quiet in Gotham City for a time. Caitlyn was pretty much cornered by her friend Melody to 'spill' about Paris, and her time in France. So, while leaving out the parts as Batgirl, she explained all the shops she went to, and where and what she ate.

"And you were there with McGinnis even?" Melody asked with a suspicious, almost accusing, grin on her face.

"Please... Nothing happened if that's what you're alluding to." Shrugged Caitlyn, shoving the three days stuck in a cave with him out of her mind.

"Oh come on! You were in France, Paris of all places, the most romantic country in the world for thousands of years and you come back to tell me nothing happened?" Melody looked heartbroken and thunderstruck at the news.

"Yep." Max came to her rescue just in time. "That's the same story she gave me when I grilled her for info." Though not exactly, since with Max, she could at least tell the whole truth about what happened. "C'mon, Cate, I need to start giving you the low-down on homework and upcoming tests." Max said as she pulled Caitlyn away from Melody and her friends.

"Thanks for the save." Caitlyn breathed, scratching the back of her head nervously.

"No problem." Max waved her hand like she was batting at an annoying fly. "But seriously, though, Paris? How can you act so blasé about that?"

"Well, the mission sort of over shadowed everything, ya know?" Caitlyn shrugged as they reached her locker.

"Yeah, hanging out with the Royal Family, being stuck underground for three days with no one else but Terry company really overshadows the whole being in Paris, France thing." Max rolled her eyes.

"Never thought I'd get this kind of welcome back though." Caitlyn said honestly as a group of random girls waved at her as they passed and she waved back.

"Come on, have you forgotten how popular you were as a cheerleader, apart from being the Commissioner's Granddaughter? Things like that don't simply go away, you know? Have you thought about going back into the troupe? I've heard it's not been quite the same after you left." Max pointed out.

"Nah. I've got way too much going on right now with my job, trying to hang out with you guys, and homework... I'd go insane if I added that back to my schedule." Shrugged Caitlyn, finding the thumb drives she was looking for for their next class.

"That's a shame, doll-" A young man said, having spotted her.

"Nathan? I see they let you out of the hospital while I was gone." Caitlyn said, having to fight hard to hide her dread at the fact that he was back at school after his incident at the football game several weeks ago.

"Indeed. And I was thinking it'd be sweet if you'd go with me to Beepee's for a burger tonight to celebrate my good health." Nathan grinned nonchalantly, referring to the popular burger joint kids liked to go to after school, a game or on the weekends.

"Sorry, she's got plans." Terry had seen Nathan approaching through the crowd as he grabbed his own books for his next class.

"McGinnis? She's going out with you now?" Nathan blinked in disbelief. "You've gone a long way, baby. Call me when your sanity comes back if you wanna hang out with a real man."

"Sorry Nathan, you're not my type. I believe this is the... hundredth time I've told you?" Caitlyn closed her locker after getting the remainder of her school supplies.

"So... are you two going out now?" Max looked between Terry and Caitlyn.

"Guess you could say it like that?" Caitlyn shrugged casually as Terry waved when he suddenly realized what time it was. Even though her face was a brilliant red as she thought about it.

"It seems the trip to France certainly did some good for you." Max commented, noticing the changes in behavior since Caitlyn came back. She was acting more like a sixteen year old should rather than someone who'd seen all that she'd been through.

"Well, it's just like Nana said when I came back... Nothing like an overseas trip, and a mission to prevent a Global World Disaster to put things in perspective and redefine who you really are." Caitlyn said in an undertone as they joined the cue of classmates to their Trigonometry class.

It was a bit of a culture shock as Caitlyn readjusted to being back home. Every now and then, she'd be caught talking exclusively in French again until Max or Terry reminded her that she was back in America, not still in Paris- to which she'd blush furiously at and apologize to those she'd been talking to. But finally after a few weeks she adjusted fully.

Terry was a whole different matter, apart from going back to sleeping through his morning classes and getting detention for it again, the time schedule switch was harder to adjust back to and caught up to him halfway through the second week.

In the middle of trigonometry class, Caitlyn elbowed him as the teacher approached.

"McGinnis, it appears that my lessons aren't interesting enough to keep you awake. I should warn you that while this is a review, everything being covered on here will be in your midterm next week." This little lecture got moans of mutiny from other classmates as well this time. "And as a result of sleeping through class, here's an extra homework disc for you, McGinnis. Make sure it's completed by Friday." He handed Terry the disc before returning to the rest of the class.

"Nothing like some extra homework to slap a person awake." Max snickered.

"I'm glad I didn't get any extra work for this weekend. Grandpa says he's gonna have extra work for me as it is with the after school job coming up." Caitlyn referred to the fact that Dick had promised to have her earn whatever free time she got this weekend through work as Batgirl. "But, math is evil." She added at a glare from Terry.

"Relax, I made notes. And I made copies of said notes." Max pulled from her notebook two sets of Trigonometry notes, one for each of her friends. "Especially since I've seen what Cate calls her 'note-taking'. It's even scarier than the task of having to adjust different time-zones."

"Thanks Max." Terry looked over Max's work as Caitlyn outright hugged the pink-haired genius and said over and over that Max was a lifesaver for her sanity.

"Anytime. Just make sure to promise me you two will get at least a B plus on the exam, and I won't ask for anything else in return." Grinned Max.

"Hey doll," Came a voice that made Caitlyn cringe. "Couldn't help but hear about your math problems-"

"Bet you could." Caitlyn grumbled as she turned to see Nathan approaching, looking like he'd rebounded from the earlier rejection rather well.

"-And was wondering if you wouldn't mind some private tutoring. I'm not a bad math teacher, if I do say so myself." Nathan grinned, pushing her friends out of the way.

"Sorry, but I've got all the help I need with these. And these you can't delete or destroy by attacking the computer system." Caitlyn managed to slip away as another wave of students threatened to engulf them. "Yeesh, what a conceited jerk." She tucked her notes into her math notebook as she rejoined Max and Terry at the other end of the hall. "Once again, Max, I owe you one for saving me with these notes."

"Don't get why you won't just let me smack him around a time or two though to get it through his thick skull you're not going out with him, though." Terry said resentfully to Max, who had pulled the indignant Terry away with her to avoid a fight in the middle of school hallways.

"Well, for one, I'm a big girl and can handle myself." Caitlyn grinned as she opened her locker.

"And two, it wouldn't be good for our resident hero to be put in detention AGAIN for fighting." Max added.

It was after school that same day as the trio left, Nathan watched from a tree off to their left.

"Hey Nate, still haven't won her over eh?" A friend of his elbowed him from behind. "You'd think she'd see what there was to gain by going out with a jock."

"Oh, but she will soon, she will soon. C'mon, let's go say hi to the T's." Nathan turned away once Caitlyn was out of sight. He needed to take out some of his frustrations, and the best way to do that was to take it out on another rival gang.

"You need to be careful about that guy, Cate." Terry was saying after he looked back and saw the jock was still watching them. "Last time someone acted like that, they wound up in Juvenile hall."

"You worry too much, Terr." Caitlyn shrugged.

"Plus, that guy's a Joker." Max added, especially since for whatever reason, Caitlyn seemed to be a magnet for unwanted attention from the bad guys ever since she became Batgirl. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was also the granddaughter of the Police Commissioner, and now her only descendant, is what Max figured. That was prime bait for trouble, especially in Gotham.

"Oh c'mon, guys, you're just worrying about nothing. After work, I'm going to the club since unlike a certain McGinnis, I don't have extra homework for tonight." Caitlyn smirked.

"Sure, rub it in." Terry sighed.

"I think I'm gonna join you at the club. Melody's gonna be there too, right?" Max asked.

"Yep, and Titiania. She said she went there while I was over in France and enjoyed herself. So we'll be up a member." Nodded Caitlyn.

"See you later then, I turn off here." Max waved, sensing Caitlyn was starting to get a little 'prickly' again at the subject of the Jokers gang.

Once Max was gone, Terry turned to Caitlyn.

"Cate, why do you have to be like that?" He asked. "All I was trying to do was warn you about Nathan and you get all snipey at me."

"Well, for one, Terr, I can take care of myself if anything happens." Replied Caitlyn with a 'huff' of a sigh.

"Not the way I remember it..." Grumbled Terry, thinking back to all the times he's already saved her from certain death, or being crushed by random rocks falling from the unstable ceiling of a cave. He then noticed her eyes narrowing in a dangerous sort of way that told him he was treading in shifty waters right now again. And he also recalled talking about why she had a hard time simply accepting him as a friend, then boyfriend. One of the many things they talked about back in France when they were trapped in the cave system for nearly three days. "But whatever floats your boat." He added quickly to save face. "But just to remind you, I already told you that I'm not gonna leave you alone to go try something crazy to get yourself killed."

"Oh come on! You're still on about that?" Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "I was depressed, distraught, and upset in general when I admitted to thinking about that. And you're avoiding the main topic here." She added, poking him in the chest.

"Which is...?" Blinked Terry.

"Nathan, and your concern about him because he's a Joker, and I have the feeling you don't much like his advances on me either. He's been doing that ever since I first started as a cheerleader. Back when you were still in Juvi'." She added, referring to his days before Batman. "And I'm telling you I can handle the jerk. Been able to ward him off this long, haven't I?"

"Hey, why bring up yet another sore topic? You know I've changed since then." Terry couldn't help but feel a little stung at how accurate her memory could be with certain topics. "It's not that I don't think you can handle yourself. I've been around you long enough to know you're more than capable. But... you haven't necessarily fared well with the Jokers in the last year or so. So I can't help but be a little worried."

"That's gonna change. Grandpa said I'm done with my training with Wonder Woman, and next time we meet, I'm gonna show them what it means to be the granddaughter of both the original Batgirl, and Nightwing." Snarled Caitlyn, feeling her own twinge of annoyance at the subject at hand.

"That'll be something to see." Mumbled Terry as they reached an inter-section, seeing the old flare in her eyes as she made her statement.

"So you can stop your worrying, McGinnis. I'm gonna be just fine." She added as they stopped to wait for traffic.

"Right, whatever you say Cate. At least let me walk you home." Said Terry.

"Fine. Whatever it takes to ease your conscience." Shrugged Caitlyn, brushing some of her ebony hair behind her ears. She still wasn't feeling particularly thrilled about everything, but since she came back from France, her attitude towards most things in life had generally improved. Though she was still skeptical about Terry, Max, even Titania. As her luck with people hadn't been all that great in the last few years, what with two of her ex-classmates having killed her parents, and her ex-best-friend joining said killers in their reign of twisted terror of the streets of Gotham, she was ever so slowly regaining her trust in people. The kids in France she helped rescue certainly helped her break down some emotional barriers, but the social barriers were still up and strong. And apparently Terry could see that. Especially since lately, any sign or sense of trouble and Caitlyn was on the defensive.

Caitlyn's view that she had usually been such a good judge in the character of a person was shattered when Leia left to join the Dediere twins as Princess Hart. Since then, she'd simply grown to accept the fact that nobody was going to stick around forever, and distanced herself from nearly everyone emotionally. She acted normally on the outside, staying within her own little group of friends these days, keeping an eye on Melody- Leia's older sister- and every now and then going to visit Melody's grandmother in the hospital. Apart from keeping up her night shifts as Batgirl now that she was back with Batman and Titania to help ease the distances she had to travel over Gotham City, more hands meaning more areas covered.

As they crossed the street fifteen minutes later in silence, there was a sudden screeching of wheels and laughter as a gang of Jokers nearly ran them over zooming right past without a second thought.

"You ok?" Terry asked after having pulled a startled Caitlyn across the street to safety as the Jokers laughed raucously at them. He blinked as the man dressed up as the Joker himself glanced back with narrowed eyes of intense dislike for him as he helped Caitlyn.

"I'm fine. What was that all about?" She asked, watching as the gang moved on to another block, followed shortly by a small caravan of police hover-cars.

"I'm sure we'll see it on the news tonight." Terry rolled his eyes.

Sure enough, by the time Terry had walked Caitlyn home that evening, Dick had the television on to the news.

"Hey you two," Dick said when they joined the old man in the living room. "Just in time for the first half of the news."

"Nana working late tonight again?" Asked Caitlyn.

"Yep. And so will you. The Jokers' activity seems to be on the rise lately." Dick nodded as Titania came into the room and spotted Caitlyn and Terry.

"Hey, it's the two lovebirds. How's it going, Mc-Bat-face?" Titania grinned, floating over to watch the latest reports with them.

"Mc-Bat-face?" Blinked Terry, looking down at Caitlyn, who shrugged, just as stumped as he was at the nickname.

Then dawning comprehension came over Caitlyn's face in regards to her grandfather's statement.

"Wait-wait-wait... Grandpa, you can't make me work tonight! I made plans with Titania, Max and Melody at the club!" She screeched.

"Sorry, but those plans are going to have to be post-poned." Dick took a long, amused, swig of his evening coffee.

"You let me hang out with Terry all the time." Caitlyn jerked her thumb at Terry, who decided it was best to stay out of this one for a change, and backed away a few steps from the brewing argument.

"That's because he's Batman, and sometimes it's easier to keep heroes in one place."

"Titania's a hero-ine! How come I barely have time to hang with her then?" Caitlyn asked. Once again her grandfather's logic was baffling her.

"Because that's just a little more danger than I can put up with right now. If you two got into a cat-fight over some boy or random topic, I don't want to see violet laser eye beams destroying half the city." Dick didn't miss a single beat in this argument.

"I wouldn't destroy one of the few cities on this God-forsaken rock you call a planet that I actually love!" Titania said, flaring up at once with indignation.

"Regardless, Cate, you're still working tonight after homework." Dick said in a 'this-is-final' sort of way.

"Great. Wonderful way to end my day. Sorry, Titania... I tried." Caitlyn sighed in defeat, a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Grandpa, let me ask you something, is there any point in my life we're you're gonna let me have a normal social life?"

"Nope." Replied the old man, and Terry had to stifle a chuckle and a smirk, remembering he asked Bruce that very same question once, and got the exact same response. Then Dick decided to go a step farther on that simple answer. "Your a heroine, Caitlyn. And heroines don't get social lives. I find it amazing that you've been able to lead a double life this long, to be honest."

"But Grandpa-!" Caitlyn looked like she wasn't ready to give up the fight just yet, until Dick glared at her with narrowed blue eyes. "O-on second thought... I think I'll go grab a quick bite to eat and join you on the shift tonight, Terr." She said rather shakily. It wasn't often her grandfather gave her that glare. And she hated that glare.

"See you in a bit then." Terry shrugged. He waved at Dick and Titania before leaving.

"Is that supposed to be your version of the Bat-glare or something?" Titania looked at the old man, who went back to watching the news. Dick blinked.

"Aren't you supposed to be working too?" He asked pointedly

Miserable old coot. Titania thought rather begrudgingly before leaving so she wouldn't be treated with the same glare herself. She stuck her tongue out at Dick and blew a raspberry at him before leaving.

"Seriously, Cate, doesn't he ever lighten up on the whole 'being a hero and taking it seriously' act?" Titania went into the kitchen where Caitlyn was waiting for her microwave dinner to finish being nuked in the microwave.

"Nope. I would've thought Changeling and Starfire would've helped him out of that at one point." She replied, referring to an old friend and ex-girlfriend Dick had told her about when she was a kid.

"But still!This is obviously a different generation than his, and we DO have a sense of humor." Titania groaned, knowing who she was talking about from the time that she took a 'dip' into Caitlyn's mind when they first met.

The microwaved beeped at Caitlyn, and she reached for the pot-holders to grab hold of her meal- Chinese tonight- then her soda, and went to the dining table where she could watch the news as she ate from. Dick had left the television on before going back down to the Command Room for her. It was small things like that which made her feel bad for giving him such a hard time about wanting to go out and have fun with her friends.

"Yeah, but I think he and Bruce both take their jobs too seriously. I mean, I was able to have fun over in France even with all the chaos going on. Especially when Princess Verity took me to that club. Man that was fun." Caitlyn sighed, almost missing her French friend. "OH... Hush up, this is what I was wanting to see about." She added when Titania opened her mouth.

She turned the volume up higher as the newscaster began the article on the latest Jokers activity.

"Two deaths reported today as a result of gang members from the Jokers clan attacking the T's near the Dusty Burgers joint today. The Jokers nearly ran over two teens on their way to raid the T's." The reporter said, showing the security camera clip of the moment right when the Jokers' gang zipped around the street when Caitlyn and Terry had the right-a-way to cross, nearly running them over.

"Wow, you didn't mention you and McGinnis were nearly in a wreck today." Titania looked rather offended between the two, noting how quickly Terry bailed on them.

"I wanted to, but you see where the conversation went." Shrugged Caitlyn as the reporter went on to say that it was the latest in a rise of gang activity in Gotham City that has the citizens in an uproar.

"They say it's the latest in a rise of violence?" Blinked Titania. "Please. From what I understand, gang activity and random crimes is nothing new for Gotham."

"Yeah. Hate to say it, but it's pretty standard. All this work Bruce and Grandpa have done for America hasn't amounted to much." Shrugged Caitlyn. "I think Grandpa once said that there will always be evil, and the idiots who want to emulate evil."

"Sounds like something the old coot would say." Nodded Titania. "Well, I'll meet you on the field and let you finish in piece." She patted her friend on the head, as customary for someone on her planet towards their closest friends to do, like a parent on Earth might do to their child, close friends would do to each other. It had taken Caitlyn a bit to get used to some of Titania's customs.

After Titania had floated away to tell Dick she was 'going on patrol', Caitlyn finished her meal in silence, watching the news, occasionally shaking her head in dismay at the fact that nothing had really changed since she went on the trip to France. Once she was done, she dumped the empty microwave dinner in the garbage, rinsed off the fork, drained the last of her soda, and went to change into her Batgirl outfit.

"Ah... Nothing like a rousing game with the T's." The lead Joker grinned. "To put a smile on my face." He added, looking back at his comrades, most of whom all laughed with him at the result of their little 'game' this afternoon.

"And now it's time to have a little fun of our own, right J-Man?" Asked a girl who resembled Harley Quinn, walking up to him and leaning over to show off her cleavage.

"Knock it off babes, you know I only got eyes for one gal." He snarled warningly, and she stepped away, looking rather wide-eyed at her friends, one of whom smirked.

"A gal who won't even look twice at you? C'mon J-man, you've been pining for that cheerleader babe for years now and you haven't gotten any closer to winning her over." The man in the pink tutu said with a chuckle.

J-man pulled what looked like a toy laser gun out of his pocket, and pointed it at Chuko.

"What was that you were saying, pinkey?" He growled in his most dangerous voice. He wasn't the leader of the Jokers gang for nothing, after all.

"W-what I was saying is that if you want her all t-that badly, is maybe you should consider taking a more direct approach." Chucko stammered. "You know, put a smile on all her friends' faces."

The smile broadened on J-Man's own face at the thought.

"Ah... I get what you're saying." J-Man raised his gun in thought. "I like your thinking today, Chucko... Kinda scary."

"What, that he's thinking or that he gave you an idea?" The clown with a constant frown on his face asked.

"Both." J-Man laughed, and the others joined in. "I'll have to plan this one out for it to work, but it just might bring some more smiles to everyone's faces in town." He put his gun away finally.

Batgirl was leaning over a stone gargoyle, over looking the part of town she'd rather be down in as Caitlyn right now with a glare of jealousy as she saw Max standing in line to their favorite club with Melody- who was constantly checking her watch- until Max spotted the pointy-eared shadow and her eyes went wide for a moment as non-verbal communication went between the two.

"Hey, Melody, why don't we just go on in? I don't think Caitlyn's gonna make it tonight." Max said suddenly as Caitlyn vanished into the shadows.

"It's a shame, I was looking forward to having another round of Karaoke-night with her. We haven't had a chance since before she went off to France." Melody looked rather disappointed.

"Yeah. That's life as the Commissioner's Granddaughter for ya." Max herded Melody to the bouncer where they showed their ID's and were let in.

"Great... Just when I thought I'd have something fun to do after school today." Mumbled Batgirl as she flew over Gotham to another point higher up.

"Enough grumbling, Caitlyn." Dick's voice came over the communication's unit in her mask. "Go and check the north sector."

"Aye-aye Captain." Retorted a rather moody Batgirl before taking off in that direction.

Back in the Command Room, Dick was grinning to himself. Back when he was her age, he took every chance he got to go on patrol and stop some random crime from happening. He'd have dropped everything at Titans' Tower- which he helped build- in Jump City, and gone off in an instant. His granddaughter was rather more confrontational, even more so than her mother had been, when it came to being on duty, or going out on dates or hanging out with her friends.

Batman was busy checking out a known hang out of the Jokers gang, using the invisibility cloaking device on his suit to avoid detection as he leaned in to listen to their conversation.

"We'll strike in the next week. I have some things at school I still have to take care of, you know, maintain the good persona while all this is going on." J-Man was saying.

"Please, sir, who is this chick you keep on rambling about?" Asked a rather newer face to the crew with a red clown-nose on his face and Joker-style make-up painted to hide his identity.

"Boss, why not show the new kid?" Asked the clown that never smiled.

Reaching into his pocket, J-Man pulled out the picture card he always carried with him and tossed it at the new-comer like a Kunai knife.

"The Commissioner's Granddaughter?" Blinked the young man.

"The very same." J-Man laughed. Batman was suddenly paying a lot more attention to what they were talking about while staying as quiet as he could, making sure to record everything on the device in his fingers. "I've had my eyes on her ever since she made the cheerleading squad. I mean, come on, nothing more fitting and traditional than the hottest cheerleader in the group going out with the hottest of the Jocks on the team they're rooting for."

"But isn't she going out with that McGinnis twip?" The newcomer tossed the picture back at the J-Man, who's eyes narrowed at the mention of the name.

"Yeah, so what? That's gonna end soon anyway, the way I see them squabbling all the time at school. I'm just... getting ahead of the game is all." J-Man smirked as dawning comprehension finally crossed the young clown's face. "I'll let you know when it's gonna happen. I'm gonna enlist the Deeds and their little Princess to aid in the capture. Should make things go easier, I know those three and little miss Bordener go way back, after all. Now... Lets wrap for the night. Unlike you idiots, I need to sack it."

"McGinnis, get out of there. I don't think you'll learn anything else at this point." Bruce's voice came over the intercom. "I have one more stop for you to check up on before meeting up with Batgirl and Titania."

"Gotcha." Batman replied in an unheard whisper. He knew now that he'd have to keep an eye on Nathan, not to mention Caitlyn. Which should be thrilling... Thought Batman, thinking about how she got lately if he acted too 'clingy' for her liking, in her words.

Batgirl landed near the Gotham City bank and watched it. Just as she was about to report everything ok, alarms blared.

"Hero time." She said, leaping down, activating her invisibility cloaking device on the suit and vanishing from site as she entered the bank.

Red X was standing there, inspecting the diamond he was stealing. It had been a long time since he'd been on the field as a thief, villain or otherwise. But being the grandson of the one who stole the suit originally from Robin at the time the mask was worn by Dick Grayson, this new Red X was just as much of a mystery as the previous.

"Not bad." X muttered, then he let out an unexpected yell of sudden pain as a Bat-a-rang shot across his wrists, forcing him to drop the diamond. He spun around, expecting to see Batman, but instead, he thought his heart might have skipped a beat. "Hey cutie, didn't expect to see you around." He said as several red X shaped throwing stars shot up out from the wrists of his suit, much like the Bat-suits' own current design. "You come this way often?" He backed up a couple paces as she reached behind her back for something.

"Yeah. To put punks like you behind bars." She retorted, ignoring the fact that he was flirting with her as the silver javelin sprang to life and she took the fighting stance.

Red X recognized this style at once, as the one his grandfather told him of constantly the original Robin used in his own fights. Even her pose was similar to the old holo-cubes he watched.

"I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Red X commented as his foot found the diamond.

"And I see you're here for that diamond. Why? Who is it for?" Retorted Batgirl.

"Wouldn't you love to know?" Now Red X was tired of waiting for someone to make a move, and he launched the X throwing stars at Batgirl, who flipped in an elegant cartwheel to the left to avoid being hit by them as they expanded. The last X throwing star expanded right in front of her, threatening to wrap around her upon contact, but her own Bat-a-rang sliced through it and forced Red X to dodge to the floor as it hit the wall and exploded on contact. Next thing he saw was a black fist coming in contact with his face just as he was rising back up, and he resorted to swinging his leg up around in a round-house style kick to her head, which she blocked with her javelin.

"You know, cutie, it's almost like we're in a dance." Red X commented as she swerved to avoid another of his red X throwing stars.

"Sorry, but you're not my type." Batgirl replied to another one of his advances, ramming her fist into his stomach before pulling away. "Why is it all these guys keep coming on to me? It's so annoying."

"Well, for one, not many chicks can pull off a skin tight leather suit." Red X recovered rather quickly as he doubled back a bit. He was thinking, and thinking fast. While they were clearly enemies, he still didn't hate her. That was too strong of a word, after all. He saw the laser grid switch on the other end of the wall behind her, and beneath his mask, grinned. Pulling out another red X throwing star, he shot it over Batgirl, who ducked, then watched as the X expanded just enough to cover the switch and activate the laser grid. At the same time, he pulled what looked like a small, smooth, silver golf ball from his belt, then threw it right at the ground while looking right at Batgirl. "It was fun meeting you, cutie. I hope to see you again."

"Not so fast!" Batgirl shouted. And she found herself all the more grateful for her years as a cheerleader, and her training as a martial artist before she became Batgirl. She maneuvered easily through the lasers without triggering a single explosion, reaching Red X before he completely vanished just as he reached for the diamond. Using all the strength of the suit, she grabbed his face with her free hand, then threw him through a carefully calculated trajectory in the still activated laser grid. He slammed against the far wall with a rather loud crash, dropping the diamond.

Batgirl picked it up as it rolled to her feet.

"Smooth move, Bats." Red X groaned, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry, but no crimes are gonna be committed tonight." Batgirl held the diamond firmly in her free hand, staring over at Red X. She could hear the sound of the bank's security guards approaching. "Since you haven't necessarily committed anything other than breaking and entering... I'll give you two options, whoever the heck you are."

Red X's attention was suddenly peaked. Did she think she could negotiate with him?

"One, you can leave the diamond, and this bank without facing much in the way of jail time. Or two, you can hang around and see how long it takes for me and the police to cart you away for life." She said, holding up the diamond.

"Not everyone likes to play the hero, Bats... But I think this time I'll take you up on that offer." Red X said without hesitation.

"Then get going. And if you come back here again, there will be no second or third chances, buddy." Batgirl added rather seriously.

Once Red X had vanished, she set the diamond down and did her own vanishing act herself, feeling glad that at least one thing was going right today, even if he only listened to her because he had a crush on her. It was better cooperation than no cooperation at all and winding up blowing up the bank, after all.

"So you let Red X go?" Dick's voice came over the intercom in her outfit. He was quite indignant about the fact that his granddaughter had given the guy a break, when he himself never agreed with anything remotely related to that suit or whoever it was behind it.

"Why not? He didn't try to steal the diamond again, and he seemed intelligent enough to take me up on the offer." Batgirl didn't see what the problem was.

After she met up with Batman and Titania, and told them what happened, the three decided to go see Dick about who Red X was.

Dick blinked when he saw the three standing there as he turned around in his chair when he heard them coming back.

"So, Grandfather dearest whom I love so much, you gonna tell me who this fellow is and why he bothered you so much?" Asked Batgirl, using the sarcasm that she was so well known for in her family to get the answer she needed.

There was a pause, during which Dick raised an eyebrow at his Granddaughter. Then he sighed, as he decided it was better to answer than leave her looking for answers through other less reliable sources.

"Red X was a mistake. A mistake I made many years ago during the fight against a man called Slade. Later on he changed his name to Deathstroke." Dick said after taking a sip of his coffee. "Back then, see, I was obsessed with capturing him and bringing him to justice. He'd hurt my friends, the girl I was dating at the time, and even myself more than I cared to admit to any of them. I was willing to do anything... ANYTHING to achieve that goal. So I created Red X to get close to him, in a persona that no one else would know about. I impressed Slade, yet as I continued to gain his trust, to gain his favor, before it was too late, I was saved by my friends. I realized my mistake, it nearly cost me my friends, and my team that I'd worked so hard to form in Jump City. I locked the suit away in Titan's Tower after that, making sure that no one could get to it. Only a fool would try to steal it, and an even bigger fool would take it for a joy ride, as Raven said." He sighed, remembering the whole incident like it was yesterday.

"And?" Batman prompted when Batgirl didn't speak.

"A few months later, someone managed to break in while myself and the Titans were abroad forming the Titan Network." Dick continued. "A very skilled young man, who proved more than a match for me, and my team. That is why I want you to be careful around Red X, Caitlyn. No ordinary person could have broken into Titans Tower. And it's clear that whoever it was passed the suit and the skills onto someone else now."

"Wait, so you never found out who Red X was after they stole it?" Asked Titania abruptly.

"No. But it wasn't from lack of searching for answers. All I know is what he told me during our first encounter... He is a thief, who doesn't always like to play the roll of the good guy. But that doesn't mean he doesn't know how." He recited the words as they came to him in his head rather easily, for an event that happened at the time.

"Well, I know Red X has a sketchy past, but this one seems to have more brains than the other." Shrugged Batgirl. "Not to sound insensitive or anything, Grandpa, but I made sure he understood that if he turns up again, I'd be more than a match for his sorry ass. But I will be careful around him in the future." She added at a look from her grandfather. What was it with people since she came back from France? She wondered, her eyes narrowed in slight annoyance. All she's been hearing about since she returned was 'be careful about this person, that person, and that group of gang members'. Did they not think she could take care of herself? Sure, she had a rough start as Batgirl, getting her ass handed to her time and again, but she had the training, a real abroad mission that wound up successful on all fronts, and now she was back and whooped Red X's butt at the bank. She didn't claim to know it all, or have all the skills of Nightwing or the original Batgirl, but hell, she was trained by Wonder Woman and if that didn't count for nothing from their perspective, she didn't know what would at this point.

"I think it's time you went to bed, Cate. It's almost two A.M." Dick said to break the awkward silence after looking at his watch. "Same goes for you two." He added to Batman and Titania. "It's a quiet night. I don't think Bruce should mind if you take the night off for a change."

"Here's hoping. I need to catch up on some R and R. I'm seriously REM deprived lately." Batman shrugged. He waved at Caitlyn and Titania before heading towards the exit. "See you tomorrow."

"I think I could tell that in class earlier today." Batgirl said with a smirk as Titania giggled like a mad-woman.

"You just HAD To bring that up again, didn't you?" Batman retorted. "I swear one of these days I'll get back at you for that one." He added, turning to leave as Batgirl waved and Titania doubled over with her giggles.

"Ok, he's gone. You can stop laughing." Batgirl said, removing her cowl and looking rather disturbed at how much Titania was laughing right now. Titania tended to be rather weird when she didn't get a full eight hours of sleep in every night. It was the one clue that showed Titania hadn't slept well the night before for whatever reason. When she started having uncontrollable giggling fits at things that weren't really all that funny, cracking jokes that no one else understood, or using her power of flight more often than she walked during the day.

"S-Sorry. Couldn't help it." Giggled Titania, wiping her eyes with the back of her index finger.

"Yeah. That's a sign that you need sleep. Sleep deprivation tends to turn you crazier than normal." Caitlyn blinked.

"I am NOT crazy!" Titania shrieked, her voice causing Caitlyn to step back a few paces, her green eyes rather wide in surprise. "I'm just... a little tired is all." Titania finally admitted after looking from Dick's wide eyes to Caitlyn's wide eyes.

"Then you know how to solve that problem." Dick pointed at the stairs that led to the main house above them.

"Goodnight, Grandpa." Caitlyn rushed over to hug Dick before following her alien Princess of a friend, who was already floating towards the stairs, yawning widely along the way.

Once they were in the hallway, they were met with another voice.

"Another long night as the cities' guardians, eh?" Barbara Gordon had finally come home after a long night in the office, since there wasn't a lot of city issues to be dealt with after the Joker gang incident.

"Yeah, we were just headed to bed, Nana." Caitlyn rushed over to hug her grandmother Titania hovered in the hallway for a moment.

"Goodnight." Titania waved, heading straight for her room and closing the door swiftly behind her.

"Heard you ran into a bit of trouble today with the Jokers?" Barbara commented.

"Yeah, but it's all taken care of now." Shrugged Caitlyn. She was grateful that in this house, one didn't always get in trouble for staying up too late at night. Being Batgirl, staying up into the wee hours of the morning sort of came with the territory, as both Barbara and Dick knew from personal experience.

The next morning as Caitlyn was walking to school, she was thinking about the tale of Red X that her grandfather had divulged. For a moment she wondered what it would be like to have her own rival villain of sorts, then she remembered the Deeds and Princess Hart and nearly giggled at the irony of it all. What was wrong with her today? The day had barely started, yet she was starting to laugh at things that weren't really all that funny, just ironic.

"Hey, someone looks distracted." Max's voice came from behind when she got closer to the school and joined the throng of students walking towards it. "Something happen between you and Terry?"

"Don't hold your breath, Max. It's said and done, remember?" Caitlyn said, though this time in a much better, lighter mood than Max had seen her in a while. She was even smiling as she said this. "No, I was actually thinking how I'm not all that different from Grandpa. I mean, he had Slade and Red X as arch rivals, or enemies... and who knows how many more baddies he went up against over the years before he retired. And me..."

"You've gotten on the black list of the Jokerz gang as your alter ego, as well as made enemies with the dude who recently tried to overtake France in an unsuccessful coup-de-tat." Max reeled off, glad to see her friend in such high spirits even after learning about one of her grandfather's former enemies. "You know, you super heroes have all the fun, flying around and fighting the bad guys."

"I wouldn't go that far." Terry popped up seemingly out of nowhere with a quick arm around Caitlyn as Nathan looked like he was ready to approach her again.

Caitlyn let out a squeal of sudden freight, jumping several inches before pummeling Terry with the hand that wasn't holding her backpack.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She said.

"Ok! Ok! You know, you're fun in the mornings though." Terry added once she'd calmed down.

"You should see her on the days you miss school and she's trying to simply walk down the halls without running into anyone." Max couldn't help but gang up on her with a smirk on her face.

"Hey now, why the mutiny? Did I do something wrong?" Caitlyn looked between the two, completely lost in the conversation.

Nathan decided to take advantage of the moment, walking right up to her.

"You would if you didn't say you'd be going out with me tonight." He said, completely ignoring Max and Terry.

"Uh, Cate, can I talk to you for a second?" Terry said in a low whisper, pulling her aside.

"Terr, what's up?" She asked, looking up at him with a raised ebony brow.

"You need to be careful with him, remember, he's a Joker." He made sure to keep his voice low as Max fended Nathan off. "And just last night I overheard him and his group plotting to do something to you unless you agreed to go out with him."

"Great, I'll keep that in mind. Terry, you worry too much." Caitlyn poked him lightly in the chest, forcing herself to stay in an apparent good mood even though it was threatening to ebb a little at this news.

"But you believe me, right? You need to be careful, and be on your guard. Even if it's not now, something could still happen on the way." Terry pressed the subject, not letting go of her arm.

"Terry, I'll be fine. I can take care of myself if anything happened, you know? Don't you trust me?" She asked, looking right into his eyes.

Terry felt for a moment like he was being put on the spot.

"You know I do, but that doesn't mean I won't stop keeping an eye on you. Especially not now with the Jokers gang on your tail." He said rather quickly.

"Hate to break up your lovers' quarrel, but you're gonna be cutting it close." Max jerked her thumb at the clock in the hallway.

"Crap!" Caitlyn said when she realized she only had three minutes to speed walk to her next class with Max.

"Cate, make sure to keep an eye out." Terry said as she scrambled to grab her books and pens for note taking.

"Yeah, yeah. A joker gang member could be lurking under my desk in biology. Terry, I think you're getting paranoid." Caitlyn said hurriedly before kissing him on the cheek and dashing off after Max.

"Well, I think it naturally takes a bit of paranoia to do his line of work, ya know?" Max commented once Terry was out of ear shot. "Working for Bruce Wayne and all."

To which Caitlyn shrugged as they walked into their classroom and took their seats.

All in all, by the end of the day, Caitlyn thought she did rather well in keeping her temper with everyone. She had plans to make up not being at the club the night before with Max and Melody after homework was done, so by seven that evening, she was in line with her two friends.

"Terry couldn't make it?" Caitlyn asked, looking through the crowd.

"Old Bruce probably held him back again." Melody shrugged. "Dunno why you insist on hanging out with him, Cate."

"He tried holding me back." Terry said, meeting up with the group.

"Glad you could make it, Terr." Caitlyn grinned as the line moved forward a bit. "What kept you?"

"Just making sure things are in order for keeping an extra eye on you." He whispered while Melody was distracted by one of her cheerleader friends.

"Terry, I've told you before I can take care of myself." Caitlyn growled at him.

"And I'm telling you, the Jokerz are planning something, and they aren't the gang they were before Deedee and Knave joined them."

"C'mon, you two, stop arguing and let's have some fun!" Max dragged Caitlyn away from him when it looked like she was going to start a big argument with him in public. "That's what we came here for, not a lovers' quarrel."

After that, the music was too loud to have any real arguments or conversation with each other. As one of her favorite songs came on, Caitlyn couldn't help it as she danced and lost herself in the music for the first time in ages.

The Jokerz gang had infiltrated the club without incident, and J-Man spotted Caitlyn with Terry without difficulty. It made J-Man's blood boil at the sight, and he looked over at Knave and the Deedee twins, who all nodded in response to the unspoken order to strike.

Music still blaring from all sides, the siblings moved in. Knave stripped off the black jacket, revealing his purple vest and the look he usually went for during his strikes on Gotham, then from his pockets, he withdrew several small silver spheres and tossed them casually into the crowd.

As smoke filled the club, people started screaming. They knew what was going on, and started to panic. Whoever was doing this, no one could see. As Knave caused the chaos that he loved so much by throwing more gas filled spheres, he also withdrew several of his favorite playing cards, tossing them at a few of the decorative displays, and at the laser disco ball at the top center of the ceiling, showering glass upon the now stricken party-goers, as they started to thin out.

Caitlyn heard the screams, even over the blaring music as Terry and Max stopped dancing, looking around, she could see Knave standing in the midst of the now thinning crowd.

"I'll be back." Terry whispered, and quicker than a flash he was gone as Caitlyn and Max were backing up.

Without her suit, Caitlyn didn't have what she needed to properly fight back.

"Hey Caty, long time no see." Sharon and Sheryl smirked broadly as they joined their brother Knave, smoke swirling around them as the music finally came to a halt on the loud speakers.

Sharon and Sheryl withdrew their whips, cracking them as they sprang to life.

"Move!" Caitlyn shouted at Max, who didn't need telling twice.

"Ignore pinky, we're only here for one!" J-Man ordered as Caitlyn dived off to the side and the whips tore apart portions of the wall that they came in contact with.

Glad for her cheerleader and martial arts training, Caitlyn managed to summersault her way to the nearest stairs up to the next level of the club.

Sharon's whip cracked like lightning in the building, grabbing hold of the railing of the stairs and ripping them apart, forcing Caitlyn to back-flip several times onto the upper level as the stairs began to crumble at her feet.

"Quite acrobatic, isn't she sis?" Sharon commented.

"Not as acrobatic as us, sis." Sheryl smirked, and with a cracking of her whip, Sheryl wrapped the end around the railing of the second level of the club, using the whip to vault herself up a level and landing behind Caitlyn, as Sharon imitated her and landed in front of their target.

"Now, Boardener, you're coming with us." J-Man had joined them seconds later on the same level.

"Not exactly." An unpleasant voice made them stop in their tracks as Batman crashed through the ceiling window.

"Let's even up the odds a little more." Titania also appeared from a different section.

"What kept you guys?" Caitlyn demanded as Batman landed in front of her.

"Can't you at least say 'hey, it's great you guys came to save my skin'?" Asked Titania with a twinge of annoyance.

"Get 'em!" J-Man shouted, and Knave decided to attack the blond alien princess, shooting several of his playing cards at her from behind, while the twins cracked their whips at Batman and Caitlyn.

"Smack-down in the dance club, eh?" Titania commented as the multiple explosions caught her off guard, sending her flying to the ground with a loud crash.

"Titania!" Caitlyn shouted as Knave advanced on her friend.

"You have something more important to worry about, dear Caty." Sharon hissed as Batman vanished from sight. She decided to take advantage of his apparent disappearing act until seconds later, she was being flung from the second level into one of the beverage tables. Sheryl stared wildly around, looking for the culprit, cracking her whip wherever she thought she saw a flicker of movement, until quite abruptly she too was sent flying over the edge of the second level, right on to her sister who was just starting to stand up again.

Batman reappeared in between Caitlyn and J-Man, while Titania used her laser beams from her eyes to send Knave into the far wall.

"I believe the phrase you Terrans would use in a moment like this is 'an eye for an eye' right?" Titania commented as Knave collapsed, unconscious to the ground. She looked over at the twins, who's eyes went wide at the sight of the alien princess then passed out cold. "A wise choice." She mumbled, looking up to see a brief skirmish between Batman and J-Man, as Batman made some well calculated punches, effectively sending the gang member to the ground as the police could be heard making their way into the club.

"Is everyone ok in here?" Barbara Gordon asked, at the same moment J-Man fled the scene.

"It's fine, Nana!" Caitlyn called, jumping from the second floor to the first without skipping a beat. "Batman and Titania came and got things under control." She added, looking around to see no sign of either figures.

"Don't ever let me see you doing something like that again without your suit on." Barbara said in a low voice, in regards to Caitlyn jumping a floor as though it were nothing.

"Sorry." Caitlyn said, looking rather abashed at herself.

Knave was quickly recovering from the blow he received at the hands of Titania, and realized he and his sisters were about to be arrested. Acting quickly, he withdrew at least four spheres from his pockets, then threw them at the approaching policemen and women. While they were all wasting time coughing and spluttering, Knave got his sisters out of the building as quickly as possible. By the time the smoke faded completely, they were gone.

"If you're ok, then go somewhere else for the rest of your evening and stay safe." Barbara said, knowing how important it was to her granddaughter to have at least some sense of normalcy in her life. "Of course, you know your grandfather will hear about this."

"Great, looking forward to that talk tonight." Caitlyn rolled her eyes, waving at a few police officers she knew through her grandmother's work.

As she left the now police-swamped night club, she saw Terry standing outside, hands in his pockets with an 'I told you so' kind of look on his face.

"See why I was concerned? They're planning something." He said as she approached.

"Yeah, yeah. You were right, I was wrong. Happy now?" She shrugged sarcastically.

"Not particularly. I'll be happy when the danger has passed." Terry replied. "C'mon, let's go get a burger."

Once they were at the burger joint, Terry sat her down at a spot away from their fellow classmates, and it was a moody silence until he struck up the conversation.

"You did good on your own for a bit, I admit, till Titania and I got there. But you see what I've been trying to tell you about the Jokerz' planning something?" He said.

"And did you see that I could handle myself quite well on my own? All I'm asking is to have my space, you know McGinnis? I mean... what was the point of my grandpa training me under Wonder Woman if I couldn't handle things on my own?" She added in a lower voice.

"Look, just because I wanna make sure you're safe doesn't mean I don't doubt your skills as a fighter, ok? I've been around ladies enough to know that they are quite capable in handling their ground in a fight."

"Then why not let me handle myself on my own? I can handle those witches on my own, and I still owe them for what they did to my family." Caitlyn said after a rather big swallow of burger, referring to Sharon and Sheryl.

"Exactly. I'm trying to make sure you don't make any mistakes you'll wind up regretting the rest of your life. Revenge is great and all, believe me. But it hangs over you the rest of your living days." Terry replied with narrowed eyes. "And besides, you're my girlfriend. I wouldn't be doing my job if I let you go off and do something completely reckless like get in a fight with the Jokerz that could kill you. You know the Jokerz would love it if you went straight to them right now, with their leader so fixated on you becoming his girl. I'm not gonna let that happen."

Caitlyn looked at Terry for a long moment as she munched on some fries, thinking about what he said. As much as it made sense, she still didn't like feeling she was being over-protected by Terry, and coddled by her grandparents.

Terry could see Caitlyn trying to find a hole in his statement that she could fire back with, and decided to go one step farther.

"Look, Cate, since we first started getting to know each other, all I've done is try and look out for you and make sure you don't do anything stupid as your alter ego, or otherwise. I care about you, and want nothing more than your happiness, but I'm not about to let you go crazy against the Jokerz no matter how much they hurt you. I know you're constantly hoping for the chance to get back at them for what they did to your folks, believe me. I was the same way about Powers after he killed my old man. But that is exactly why I can't let you out of my sight until the Jokerz give up on their plans to capture you. You think I wanna see what they'll do to you if they succeed, and then you continue to refuse their leader's demands? With Deedee and Knave on their side now, they are a lot more dangerous than they used to be." He stopped finally, as he took another bite of his burger.

"You don't think I'm well aware of all that, McGinnis?" She snarled, setting her soda down. "I am well aware of what Deedee and Knave are capable of, and that the gang has gone up a notch since they joined. I'm also well aware of your feelings for me, if I didn't know them by now, I'd be an idiot. But let me also tell you this, I can handle things on my own and I do not want all this protection and coddling. If I'm to grow as a person, and as my alter ego, I need to be allowed to do just that. I don't care about any threats, I don't care about some stupid gang. What I care about is you, my grandparents, our friends, and Gotham." She was fighting really hard not to raise her voice, but the look in her green eyes was enough for Terry to see that she was close to loosing her temper. "If I'm going to get into a fight at work, then I'll do it. Extra protection or not. If I'm gonna wind up being a damsel in distress, it's not gonna be willing or easy on any level."

"Hey, message received loud and clear, but I'm still going to look out for you and keep as close an eye on you as I can until the danger has passed." Terry replied with a shrug. "Being in a relationship means dealing with these kinds of things when the danger and or threat presents itself, you know."

"Then I hope you can keep up. Thanks for the burger." She said, standing up from her seat. Then she heard a beep on her cell phone.

"Where do you think you're going?" Asked Terry with a raised eyebrow.

"Apparently there's a robbery at the Wayne-Powers' science lab, according to grandpa." She replied after reading the text message.

"Then I'm coming with you." Terry rose from his seat as well.

The two finished the last few bites of their meal, and departed from the burger joint moments later.

The shadow of Red X flitted in and out of sight as the X-shaped throwing stars shot at the security cameras, effectively destroying each one that he came across until he reached the lab that he was looking for.

"Xynthonium... just the shot in the arm that I need." He said, looking around at the room as he broke in.

The room was circular, all gray, sleek and laser grid protected. Thanks to the infra-red detection in his mask, Red X was able to maneuver his way towards the nearest Xynthonium container on the wall.

"Sorry, Red X, but your visit to the doctor is going to have to wait." Batgirl's voice came from above, and Red X looked up just in time to dodge to the side to avoid being struck by her Bat-a-rangs then shot his own X-shaped throwing stars at her. Jumping up into the air, she landed in the middle of the room.

"Smooth move, now you've got a whole room of laser beams to maneuver through." Commented Red X with a chuckle in his voice.

Batgirl wasted no time in activating her cowl's infra-red detectors, and knew exactly where the beams were before jumping through, crouching, and within a few moments, had reached Red X just as he grabbed the jar of glowing Xynthonium that he was seeking.

Nearby, Batman had been watching what was going on as Titania joined him.

"Aren't you going in to help?" Asked the alien princess.

"Nope, she's got everything under control. Besides, it's not Red X I'm worried about right now. I'm gonna be going to look in on the Jokerz. Catch you later." Batman said before taking off.

Titania frowned, rolled her eyes and watched as Red X made his way to the other end of the room before Batgirl sent a Bat-a-rang at the door control panel, effectively shutting it down and the door closed shut on him.

"No where to run and hide now, Red X. I told you before that if you turned up I wouldn't be so lenient on you the second time around." She said.

"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Red X commented, in regards to a personal comparison between Batgirl and Nightwing. He certainly knew more than he let on about the history of Nightwing versus Red X.

"I'll tell you to drop the vial, Red X. I'm not gonna ask what you need such a rare, valuable element for. That'll just waste time." She withdrew two of her silver javelins, and Red X backed against the wall, getting in the fighting position.

"And I'm gonna say one more time it's a shame you've gotta be so prickly. We'd make a hot couple." Red X stated before sending an X throwing star at her. She ducked just as it expanded to occupy the space in the room like a giant, red barrier, then it exploded with a massive force. He had just created his own escape.

Slightly winded, Batgirl jumped after him using her javelins to help ease her landing and flip herself over Red X on the ground level of the Wayne-Powers science institute building. Facing each other on the sidewalk after the fall that seemed to last forever, Batgirl and Red X stood for several moments in silence.

"You think I'm prickly now? I've got a boyfriend, and it took months for me to trust him enough for that step." She said before running at Red X, then disappearing from sight.

"Ok, hot-shot, where'd you go?" He demanded, staring around wildly, activating his own thermal readers on his mask just in time to see the javelins come swinging at his face and stomach. He grabbed hold of the javelin that aimed for his gut, but missed the weapon slamming into his skull with such force that it sent him flying.

"Awe, the little birdie went and fell down." Batgirl teased.

Red X groaned as he stood up, dazed with a spinning head.

"So the bat does have a sense of humor after all." He commented. "Good to know."

"She also has a friend." Titania said, flying down and hovering beside Batgirl.

"Two beautiful ladies in one night..." Red X commented. "I must be lucky."

"Or unfortunate." Titania snapped, raising her hands as violet spheres of energy formed, and Batgirl took her own fighting stance.

There were two consecutive blasts from her hands as the violet energy was released with the force of two bombs, sending cement and rocks in every direction and smoke billowing around Red X.

"What kind of snarky remark are you gonna make now, boy?" Asked Titania, before suddenly being wrapped in a giant, sticky X shaped trap that he sent flying at her through the smoke.

"I'd say X marks the spot, lady." Red X replied, walking through the smoke as she fell to the ground, unable to break free of the mess she was in. He sent another of his X shaped throwing stars at Titania, this time aiming for her head as her violet eyes began to glow, and the X expanded to completely block out her eyes.

She let out a scream of rage and pain as her laser beams were sent back at her when she tried to cut through the unpleasant mess.

"Let her go!" Batgirl demanded.

"Sorry, ain't gonna happen-" He was interrupted when a pair of knees came slamming into his face, and was barely able to block the javelin from Batgirl the moment he said he wasn't going to let Titania free. "I happen to like our little dance a bit much for it to be interrupted by your friend."

"Ok, you obviously didn't hear me when I said I was taken. But yeah, I do happen to have a boyfriend who might not like you so much right about now if he knew." Batgirl raised an amused eyebrow at Red X as she said this. Because while she was talking, Red X had not made a single move.

"Hey, I can't help it if I like a lady in tights. Now... if you don't mind, I'm gonna be getting on my way here..." He made to grab something from his belt, until Batgirl sent two Bat-a-rangs across his wrists.

"Actually, I do mind. I gave you your last chance. Now you're going to jail." She retorted.

"Awe, and things were going so well between us. Hate to tell you, doll, but I ain't going to jail anytime soon. Try and catch me." Red X sent several spheres filled with impenetrable black gas at Batgirl, who started coughing and spluttering at once.

"Batgirl! Batgirl...!" Dick's voice came over the intercom unit in her ears the moment he saw danger.

"I'm fine, boss..." Batgirl said, looking around. "But Red X got away." She said as the smoke was blown away by a gust of wind.

There was the sound of an explosion as Titania concentrated her energy into a cocoon-like form around her body underneath the Red X entrapment that kept her from helping Batgirl, then with a fierce blast that nearly knocked Batgirl off her feet, Titania burst free.

"Ugh, finally." Titania sighed, wiping the remainders of the red goop off her face and forehead. "That little Terran boy thinks he can mess with us... Next time we meet, he'll have another thing coming." She snarled, violet electricity erupting from her fisted right hand.

"Dude, I'm with you and all. But I think we should bail before the police get here." Batgirl said, hearing the approaching sirens.

Moments later, Batgirl and Titania were standing on the top of the nearby skyscraper over looking the Wayne-Powers science institute building.

"Man, your grandma's having a busy night tonight." Titania commented. "First the Jokerz gang says hello, and now this."

"Comes with the territory." Batgirl shrugged. She was far too used to her grandmother's crazy work hours to really be offended by it at this point in her life.

Batman, in the meantime was checking up on the very same Jokerz gang that struck the dance club earlier that night. Walking quietly across the rooftop of the gang's hide-out, he activated his suit's invisibility cloak before jumping in through a large enough hole in the wall, hiding behind a pillar support beam of the building as he listened in on the conversation.

"Damn that Bat..." Knave grumbled as he sat down on an old, moth-eaten recliner. "Next time he shows up, I'm gonna rub him out, and rub him out good."

"Ditto... the Bat and his friend wrecked my plans. Now I'm gonna have to move on to the next one." J-Man frowned as his original crew walked in with bags full of credit cards.

"Hey J-Man, how'd it go? We just got ourselves some compensation for doing good behavior and all." The largest of the men wearing a pink tutu laughed.

"Please, can't you see our J-Man isn't happy, Chucko?" Ghoul sneered at the now silent J-Man.

"Besides, weren't you saying there's a plan B?" Asked Knave.

"Indeed there is. But it's gonna have to wait. We have to lay low for a little while again. I don't want things being impossible to achieve. If I'm going to get my way, we have to make sure everything is in place." J-Man said with a laugh resemblance of the original Joker, currently still in Arkham Asylum.

"You catch all that?" Batman whispered in to his intercom link to Bruce, who was still in the Batcave keeping an eye on things.

"Yeah, I got it. Why don't you head on back for the night. It won't do for you to strike before they've actually done anything. We'll need sufficient proof that they were going to do anything other than the 'he-said, she-said' that's going on. And one attack at the dance club isn't enough." Bruce added when Terry was about to say something.

"All right, fine." Replied Terry with a frown. "At least we know where they're hiding at for when they do try something else." He said before leaping up back through the rooftop.

"Ugh, I swear... one day these late nights are gonna be the end of me." Caitlyn said when she reached her grandfather's command center with Titania at the end of the night shift. "Grandpa, I'm sorry Red X got away. I screwed up."

"No, it's ok. What matters is you're safe." Dick replied. "Whoever stole the suit from me obviously passed those skills on to this new fellow. You'll get your chance to nail this guy and find out who he is. And I'm sure you're gonna make us all proud when you do." He said as he stood up to hug her goodnight. "Now off to bed. Your grandmother is going to have another long night ahead of her thanks to the Jokerz and Red X saying hello."

"Thanks, I seriously need to saw some logs." Caitlyn yawned, feeling like she was starting to fade as she took off her mask.

"Hey, at least we got to have some fun tonight." Titania grinned, flying over to Caitlyn to make sure her friend made it up the stairs.

"Sure, if you call nearly being kidnapped by a rogue gang of Joker wanna-be's fun, and then having a long-wanted criminal escape because he took advantage of the second chance you were trying to give him fun, then yeah, I'll go along with you on that." Caitlyn shrugged.

"Hey, just trying to lighten things up for you." Titania closed the door behind her as they reached the main house. "What's eating you, anyways? And don't say it's nothing, and don't ignore me. I can read your mind if you don't wanna tell me willingly." She added as they made towards Caitlyn's bedroom.

Caitlyn shot an annoyed glare at her before sighing.

"Fine, at least let me get into my pj's, then we can talk." She said, and Titania stood outside the bedroom door until Caitlyn gave the 'all-clear' to enter.

Closing the door behind her, Titania walked over to her friend, who was sitting on her bed with a giant, brown stuffed bear in her arms that she'd had since she was eight years old. A Christmas gift from her father.

"So, what's eating you?" Titania asked as she floated over, sitting lightly on the bed beside her friend.

"It's all this crap with the Jokerz gang, that's what. And I'm always being told 'be careful, Cate, be careful! We don't want you getting hurt!' Even by Terry... I mean, seriously... one would think I can handle myself! Sure, Red X got away today, but that doesn't mean I won't have another chance at catching him." Caitlyn finally said, her voice rising uncontrollably. "Ever since I came back from France I've been told to take care, and be careful. Then Terry apparently finds out the Jokerz are planning on something involving me and the J-Man or whatever the hell he calls himself. I mean... Terry and I just barely started dating. It took me ages to warm up to the idea, now he's acting all mister protective... more than before. It's freaking annoying, and getting on my nerves."

"Well, it's nothing new, really. From what I understand. There've always been tension between the gangs of Gotham and the Police Commissioner. And besides, I think it's been obvious from the get-go that McGinnis has had feelings for you. Otherwise he wouldn't go through such troubles to keep you safe in the end. I mean, seriously... One could make a movie about it all." Titania smiled.

"I know, but I just want the chance to prove myself to them all. I can be my own Bat... you know? I've been under my grandmother's shadow, and who knows what my mom did as Batgirl. All I know about that is at one point when I was a baby I was kidnapped, and she had Green Lantern help her rescue me. And hello... I've got Nightwing to stand under too. Ugh..." Caitlyn ran a hand over her face. "One would think that with all they went through when they were under the mantle, they'd let me have a little more wiggle room. I still find it hard to believe that the people I used to worship in the comics and vid cubes as a kid are my family members. Now they are all telling me 'be careful, Cate, don't worry Cate, be cautious Cate'." Caitlyn shook her head, once again holding on to her stuffed bear.

"Hey, they all just care about you. And if you haven't noticed, you've had quite a few scrapes with death as it is already. You're not even a year into being Batgirl and all this has happened. And honestly, I think you're lucky to have so many mentors and people looking out for you. I had to learn all on my own back home. All the mentors and teachers were already busy with students they hand picked themselves. They didn't have time to waste on a scrawny, blond, temperamental princess from the Beloved Royal Family." Titania said, taking off her cloak at last, setting it on the bed as she recalled some of her experiences in teaching herself how to use her powers. "My father was a pacifist, and Mother, while she was kind and loving, didn't quite have the temperament to be a teacher to a young upstart like myself."

"Guess it's not all roses and perfumes, being a princess, huh?" Caitlyn grinned at her friend, who grinned back.

"I like it a lot better here on Earth. You think you have it rough, but at least you have people looking out for you. And people who love you very, very much. Hell, if you can even get bad-boys like Red X and Batman to like you, even with your temper and impatience, there's something that they see in you. Right?" Titania smiled, looking up at the ceiling now.

"Yeah... and what would that be? A girl with poor judgement in people, at least Earthlings, an impatient, violent temper. An ego problem, and someone who's not the brightest when it comes to technology and computers. That's a real star attraction for a guy." Caitlyn couldn't help but laugh at herself.

"I was gonna say a pretty smile, a kind heart even though it has been broken. A young Terran who certainly knows her way around the ball room, and certainly can tear it up in the dance club. Not to mention talented with languages, even without the Bat-suit's help. Someone who is worth protecting. I can certainly see where these guys are coming from, ya know?" Titania smiled fondly, as she recalled some of the better qualities of Caitlyn that she'd observed since she arrived on Earth. "You're willing to give people chances when they deserve none, and have the potential to do what it takes to see the success of a mission. I gleaned that much when I dipped into your mind when we first met." She admitted.

"I just wish the others saw things like you do. I get so annoyed and angry when I'm told again and again by my grandparents and even Terry to be careful, watch out, and don't do anything too reckless. I mean, come on! How am I supposed to learn if I can't make mistakes!" Caitlyn brushed some of her ebony hair behind her ears. "How am I supposed to prove if I can live up to my expectations if I'm not given the opportunity..." She buried the bottom half of her face in her stuffed bear.

"Your grandparents are just scared that you'll go too far. They lost their daughter and son-in-law. They don't wanna loose you. And Terry is looking out for you as he knows best. He knows what the gang is capable of, with the Deedee twins and their older brother Knave a part of their group now." Titania put a hand on Caitlyn's shoulder. "Terry was just trying to make sure you understand the risks until the danger has passed."

"I know, I get it. But I still don't like it, and just want the chance to prove myself." Caitlyn sighed.

"Prove yourself to whom? I thought you did quite well in France, and you've been doing even better since you got back." Titania asked.

"Forget it, sorry I said that. I'm just tired." Rubbing her eyes with her left hand, Caitlyn looked up to see Titania staring her straight in the face.

"I know you're frustrated, at a lot of things right now, Cate." Titania said in a calm, non-condescending tone of voice that caught the Terran's attention. "You've heard nothing but words of caution and warnings from those you care about most, when you were hoping to hear a little more gratitude, or at least something other than the aforementioned. You don't have to worry about hearing that from me. I've seen the potential for greatness in your mind. The opportunity will arise, and you will save the world with nothing but your own grit, wit and elbow grease I believe is the phrase you Terrans would use." The alien princess was leaning in to make sure Caitlyn was paying attention. "As your old man said, your time will come. And you will make us all proud. You have already made me proud to be your friend, trusting me enough to talk to me without screaming your head off and all." Shrugged the princess casually.

"I tried not to." Caitlyn gave a small smile, looking rather abashed at herself. "Thanks for listening though, I do feel a bit better about-" The last of her sentence was lost when, next thing she knew, Titania's lips were meeting hers in a kiss that rendered her speechless and blinking rapidly.

When Titania finally broke the kiss, the Princess saw the shock in the Terran's face as Caitlyn covered her mouth with her left hand, still holding on to the stuffed bear with her right.

"Look... I know you're constantly annoyed at McGinnis... constantly angry at him. But I just had to put that out there. Let you know how I really feel about you, Caitlyn. I listen because I care about you, very much. But unfortunately, I agree with the others and don't want to see you hurt or injured." Titania took advantage of the stunned silence.

"B-but... you and me... we're..." Caitlyn couldn't quite find the words to explain what was going through her mind. Her shock at the kiss after having just spilled her heart out to the Princess, and being told that the Princess thought of her as more than a friend.

"You should know... On my planet, we do not put much store in the sex of a person. If they are good, kind and just we accept them as they are. So long as there is someone in the family to carry on the legacy, we can love whom we wish without worry about pay back or political consequences." Titania said swiftly, knowing what Caitlyn was going to say. "I understand it's different here on Earth. But I do not see the problem."

"I...I..." Caitlyn stammered. She took a moment to gather herself, take a deep breath. "I need some time, Titania. I need time... to think about everything. What I really want, who I really want to be with. But I just want to know... even if by some chance I don't choose you... you would still be my friend here?"

"Of course. Without a doubt." Titania said with such confidence, that even in her shocked state of mind, Caitlyn smiled back. "If I were to stop being your friend due to you choosing a different lover... that would make me no better than that Terran who calls herself Princess Hart."

"Thank you... for understanding." Caitlyn said, then looked at the door. "I need rest, please."

"Sure thing." When Titania reached the door, she paused. "I'm going to tell McGinnis. He'll probably be pissed at me for this, but I'd rather have everything out in the open and honest."

"Oh that'll be a barrel of fun." Sighed a now very tired, still very numb Caitlyn as the Princess left.

Once the door shut behind her, Caitlyn got underneath the covers, and stared up at the ceiling, her mind still in a daze after what happened. Of course she had to get a friend in the form of an alien race who doesn't care about the gender of a person. While Titania might think it would make things easier for her, it didn't. She was still mad at Terry for teaming up with her grandfather on the protective level in regards to the Jokerz, and now confused as hell about what to do about her relationships between Terry and Titania. Rolling over, she fell into an uneasy sleep that night.

Author's Comments, part 3- Yeesh. This section, or chapter, is getting big. So I'm going to be splitting it at this point so I can move on to the next without it being over powering for my readers. I think it closes nicely, tension building, Red X saying hello and a few other things going on. I hope you guys can forgive me for taking so long for getting this out to you, and hope that it makes for a good opener in regards to my series, if you've grown to like it at all by this point. I will be starting with the heart of the first part of this story shortly. Consider this just an extremely long prelude of what's to come.

On to the next chapter!