A/N: Hello! This is my new fic I'll be working on these next few months, so be ready for new chapters every couple weeks. Please leave a review/follow if you can! Thanks for reading ya'll!
CHAPTER 1- Mollify
The air was hazed, as usual, in the crime-ridden city. As the woman looked upon the disgusting city, she took note of a purple and blonde speck in the distance. Ling glared at the small speck.
After many moments of glaring at the hero, she looked down onto the residents of her town. Chinatown was primarily Asian, as shown by the name, but was not too different from the rest of Gotham as it was, too, crime-ridden. King Snake made this town almost worse than Gotham, and Ling planned on fixing the man's dishonorable actions.
Ling looked back up to see the blonde woman running and jumping on rooftops.
Then scowled.
Spoiler laughed as she jumped from the bank rooftop onto the rooftops of some apartments. It had been a good night. She stopped more than plenty of muggers and robbers without the interference of a certain bird who always seemed to make an appearance around midnight.
Suddenly the young woman heard a distinct scream, then jumped into immediate action. As she grappled down to the ground, she took note of the mugger, a teenaged-white boy with a gun, and the mugged, a Latino middle-aged man with a satchel in his shaking left hand. The Latino man proceeded to give the boy his satchel with trembling hands while Steph began to creep behind the mugger.
Just after the Latino man gave the mugger his bag, Steph reached for the end of the gun that was then pointing at the mugged. The man attempted to fire while Steph had covered the end of the Glock, but was fortunately stopped by the blonde heroine. Spoiler used her left palm of her hand to slam it into the teenager's right temple, then twisted the boy's right hand to force him to drop his gun. Using kinetic energy, Spoiler used her left leg to swing back then hit the boy straight in his stomach with her knee, knocking the air out of him.
As the teenager took a desperate gulp of air and crumpled to the ground, he let go of the other man's satchel. Steph roughly placed her left leg on the place between the boy's legs and bent down to pick up the stolen satchel. She let out her right hand to the shaken Latino man, then smiled at him, "Here you go!"
He stared at her hand for a few moments, which made her smile slip slightly. "I kinda have other things to do, man..."
The man blinked for the first time in that few moments, then gave a small smirk. "Thanks." He looked her up and down, which made the grin be wiped completely from her bright face, then snatched his satchel. "Spoiler, right?" He interrupted her before she could even reply. "Nice costume. Come here often? Well..."
She mumbled angrily to herself as she left the man, who continued on flirting to thin air. "...stupid purse..." Her agitated attitude continued on when she left for the rooftop of the school and encountered the same bird she was relieved about not seeing this whole night.
"Robin." She greeted the man.
He nodded and gave a curt reply, "Spoiler."
She was taken aback for a moment, then scrunched up her nose cutely. "What's up?" She crossed her arms over her bust.
"Why didn't you yell at that man down there?"
Ah, Steph thought to herself, there is his bluntness. "Why is it any of your business?" She asked with so much sass that Alfred would be impressed. "Plus, if it was any of your business..." she paused to think and look directly at Tim, "which it isn't," he scowled,"then why does it matter? Why should I care about what an asshole thinks of me?"
Robin lifted his head higher and asked with a curious tone. "Do you care about my opinion?" She smirked at him.
"That depends on the moment. Who are you right now?" Her smirk slowly turned into a wide grin as she saw his emotions shift ever-so-slightly in his true Tim fashion. He was quiet for a moment, thinking over what to say next. Before he could make a snark reply, though, Steph made one first. "I guess that answers my question," she paused for dramatic effect, "Al."
He opened his mouth, but closed it again after he realized she was simply teasing him. His surprised look morphed into a small smile. Steph's grin widened even more. Suddenly they both heard a small beep coming from Robin's comm. Said hero reached up to his left ear and Steph heard a click from the comm, conveying that the man answered to his mentor. "...On my way. Robin out."
Spoiler huffed. Of course he has to leave right when we just started. When the call with Batman ended, Tim looked back up at Steph with a sorry look. She bit her lip, slightly angry. "Go save some damsels, Robin." He didn't move. "Go. Do as Daddy says." Steph kissed her teeth frustratedly, then saw him move.
He turned around, then turned again to face Spoiler. "Bye." His stiffness of the statement didn't surprise Steph in the slightest.
Later that night, when Steph returned to her and her mother's apartment, she quickly took off her dirty costume and took a short shower. After doing so, Steph went to her kitchen to get a snack to hold her off until the morning. She hadn't eaten dinner.
Steph stepped into the kitchen quietly, as to make sure that she didn't wake up her sleeping mother. After grabbing a couple granola bars, she tip-toed back into her room. As soon as she finished her snacks, she flopped onto her bed and was immediately immersed in dreams of unicorns, waffles, and a reciprocating Robin.
Steph awoke to the sound of something crashing in the kitchen, which instantly made her jump out of bed and run into the kitchen with a taser. However, the crashing was, from what Steph assessed, a crash of a pan hitting the floor.
The taser still in her hand, Steph asked her mother what she was doing. "What's going on, Mom?"
Her mom looked a little spaced out for a moment, but replied with a growing smile. "Sorry if I startled you, Hun. I wanted to make some eggs."
Crystal Brown had bright green eyes along with brown hair, also featuring a forgiving yet blunt personality. Steph smiled at her mother's shown effort to start to repair their relationship. "Well, then." Stephanie put the taser on the table then picked up her mother's mess and proceeded to give it to said mother. "Do you want any help?" Steph asked her mother this with some sweetness laced in her voice.
"Oh, no, Honey. It's okay. Want some frozen waffles too?" Steph's eyes lit up at the mention of her favorite food, then she nodded enthusiastically. Her mother chuckled, "Well then...go get the paper downstairs, Hun." Steph fled for the paper.
Steph rushed down the stairs similar to how a child would rush down to the ice cream cart. It had been weeks since her mother heated up some waffles for her and it felt good...as though she was wanted again.
Steph began to form a familiar grin on her face as she thought about her mother making an effort (again) to get along with her daughter and be an actual mother. The young woman reached her parcel locker and took out the mail. Bill, Bill, Letter, Newspaper, Bill... Steph skimmed her own mail she had to open, then bolted back upstairs to the fifth floor.
The blonde woman swung the door open when she reached her apartment, almost making her mother drop her now-heated waffles. Steph stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth, then apologized..."Sorry, Mom." Her mother simply gave her daughter a fond yet impatient look, then put the waffles on a plate.
"Here's your food, Stephanie." Steph stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "There's syrup in the fridge, Hun." Steph relaxed her tongue. The young woman placed the mail on the counter near the stove in two piles; one for her, the other for her mother. After that, practically pranced to the fridge to get some syrup, a smile evident on her bright face.
She took out the sugary sweetness then moved over to get her plate. Her smile widened when she picked it up and smelt the heated breakfast. "Thank you so much, Mom!" Her tone and inflection made her mother smile.
Steph sat down at the table, then drenched the waffles in syrup, coating some eggs in the sugary substance as well. She grinned wider, then took a large bite of her waffles, instantly melting at the taste. Her mother, after a couple minutes, joined her in breakfast. They began to converse lightly, only talking about their nights. Steph's mother assumes her daughter has quit being a heroine, and is told that Steph now volunteers at a homeless shelter late at night. Stephanie hated lying to her mother, but she felt she had to; it was a part of being a hero.
After a few moments of silence, Crystal got up to get her regular newspaper. She returned to the table with concentrated look etched upon her face, clearly reading the news. After skimming the rest of the newspaper for a few more seconds, she simply shook her head and huffed to herself. Steph noticed this and decided to question her mother. "What's wrong?"
Her mother ate another piece of her waffle, then replied. "Some gang in Chinatown is apparently on the loose again."
At this, Steph narrowed her eyes. "Can I see that?" Crystal gave her daughter an impatient look. Steph corrected herself. "Please..." Her mother's look dropped and she handed the paper over to her daughter.
Steph hurriedly opened the paper to find a short article on the Chinatown gang, the Golden Dragons, on page five below the obituaries. It read:
In other news, it seems as though the Chinatown gang, the "Golden Dragons", have found their footing again. The previous leader, who labeled himself "King Snake", is still in prison, however. It has not been reported on whom this new leader is, but we can only hope that either the GCPD or local Bat can take them down.
If you have any information regarding...
Stephanie stopped reading, as she had read enough. She dropped the paper on the table, her appetite suddenly spoiled (no pun intended). The 17-year-old girl looked up at her mother, who was not paying attention to her daughter but at the food on her plate.
I have to look into this. Tonight. Steph thought to herself as she threw out the rest of her meal. Her mother noticed this peculiar behavior, though, before Steph could go and change into her civvies. Her left brow raised, hands flat on the table, Crystal interrogated her daughter. "Stephanie, what's wrong? Were your eggs undercooked or something?" Steph relaxed her tongue.
"No, they were good, Mom." Steph took a deep breath, then conveyed a tired grin. "I'm just tired, so I'm gonna go take a nap. Unless you want me to help wash the dishes?" Steph placed her dirty plate in the sink. Her mother sighed tiredly.
"Just wash your own dishes, Steph. I guess I'll take an early nap too. It was a really late night at the hospital yesterday." Steph nodded, then cleaned her plate.
"Sorry, Mom. I guess I'll leave you alone." Stephanie said all of this with a forced smile. Crystal simply nodded at her daughter, then got up to place her dirty plate in the sink and left for her room.
After making sure that her mother was out of hearing distance, Steph took the newspaper from the table, then left for her own room to change into her regular clothes.
Time to investigate Chinatown.
A/N: You made it! Yay! Anyways, don't forget to leave a review and follow ;) Buh-Bye!