Disclaimer: Batman does not belong to me. It belongs to DC Comics.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter One (Patrol With Nightwing):
Gotham was scary at night. Maybe it was the size and the depth of it. Or maybe the bloodred sky. The restlessness of the Gotham streets? Or is it the eerie light of the streetlights? Maybe it was the watchful gaze of Gotham's vigilantees. Whatever it was, I couldn't tell you.
By day, I'm Tim Drake. A student at Brentwood. By night... well... that's a different story. By night I don a cape and mask and go kick some bad guy ass. Sometimes I go with Batman, but he usually lones it out. Either way, I have someone to talk to: Oracle. Still, other nights I patrol with Nightwing, my surrogate brother. Tonight was one of those nights.
Oracle had called Nightwing and I in on a glitch with the security system in the Gotham musem. More accurately, the Jade of Desdemona. The night had been relatively quite, so we decided to check it out. I admit, it is hard to keep up with Nightwing. He somersaulted and glided, and did everything no normal human could have possibly done. I struggled along behind him.
"See anything?" He inquired as I took a look around. Nothing. Then to the left.
"Wait--" I said seeing an open roof panel.
"--I see it too!" He interrupted as a figure in black with a build slightly bigger than Nightwing leaped out. His mask was completely black, and I couldn't see any eye holes. His cape was short and stopped before the hip. It had holes through it and had several tears. It reminded you of a Grim Reaper's Cloak that had shrunk in the dryer. Something that had happened to my own Robin's cape many times over.
The figure spotted us instantaneously and bolted for it. We ran after him while I called him in. "Oracle, we got a situation here. We're bearing south from Gotham museum. Contact Batman and tell him to bring the jet, this guy might be quicker than Nightwing."
"Roger that, Robin." Oracle responded. The click of computer keys were heard in the background.
The runner stopped as Nightwing flipped over him landing directly in front of him. "End of the line--" Unfortunately, Nightwing's planned witty remark was cut short, for the runner lunged to his left, into the darkness of the alley.
I cursed under my breath and leaped after him, with Nightwing a few feet away. We landed at the same time. "Where is he?" I asked to myself. As Nightwing took a step, a roar of a motorcycle was heard and it flew over us. We ducked unnecessarily as the intruder zoomed off.
As the motor's noise died away, the jet's engine got louder. Batman was directly above us. It seems Bruce's timing had gotten worse in his old age.
* * *
"He was quicker than Dick, Bruce." I said to the stern man in front of me. We were back at the musty cave.
"Anything else?" Bruce inquired.
"He was a little bigger than Nightwing. Smaller than you." Robin said hopefully.
"I see." Bruce rubbed his chin. He walked over by the computer and plugged the info in. "Barbara, I want you to cross-analyze the information and see what you can dig up. Whoever it is must be quite the martial artist."
"On it, Batman." Oracle said as her face lit up the screen
"Give me a list on who Cain trained." Batman ordered.
"Cain?" Oracle inquired. "What for?"
"Whoever this newcomer is, he's been trained thoroughly in the martial arts. Only someone trained by the best can make that jump and evade Nightwing and Robin. Cain is more than likely to have taught him."
"Alright. I'll send Cassandra over tomorrow night. She might be able to help bring down the culprit."
"She might. But next time, we come with a plan."
Oracle quickly caught on. "What kind of plan?"
"We know he's tough, and with little luck, he doesn't know much about Batgirl. So we send Batgirl and Nightwing to give chase, then with Tim on the Redbird."
"And you'll be?" Oracle asked, knowing full well of the answer.
Batman merely smiled a daredevil smile and pointed up. His smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. He turned to the other two vigilantees. "I want instant feedback. We need to know as much as possible. What his motives are, why he's here." He turned to the computer where Oracle's face was intently watching. "Inform Cassandra that I want instant feedback from her, too."
"Got it, Bruce." She smiled. "Anything else?"
"No." Batman pulled off his cowl and disappeared into a chamber. He emerged as the infamous Bruce Wayne, Playboy Extraordinare. He put on his fake smile that he uses on everyone. "Have a good night everyone." He proceeded to the upper staircase and disappeared.
"See you tomorrow night, Tim." Nightwing got on his Nightcycle. "I got work tomorrow night as well."
"Alright then." Tim said as he removed his Robin mask. "I should go too, Babs. Alfred would kill me if I miss another class." He got on his motorcycle. Roars of the two motorcycle echoed through the cave, and in a few moments, they were gone.