A/N: Hello! This is just a short note to clarify (since I completely forgot last chapter...sorry!) that this story idea was based off of an idea of the tumblr user ibmiller. They have been incredibly helpful and I would really appreciate it if you could give him or her a follow. Anyways! Don't forget to leave a review/leave criticism...I would appreciate it! Thank you to the guest who left a review last chapter. By the last chapter I will be giving a shoutout to everyone who leaves a review. Annddddddd onto the second chapter!
CHAPTER 2- Mollify
Opening another tab, Tim sighed to himself. Though the amount of information they had on Ling was limited, he was still able to find some on the investigation. From his personal experiences he knew all he could about the villain, but he couldn't tell that to Stephanie.
Tim had been researching for about three hours now, which, sadly, wasn't too unusual for him. He reached for another drink of his precious caffeine when he heard a blatantly loud clearing of a throat behind him. Tim looked up from the cave's computer, about to ask Alfred how much time had passed, when he heard a familiar female voice.
"What do you know about the 'Golden Dragons'?"
Tim closed his bloodshot eyes for a moment, then turned around to face the blonde.
Steph's sneakers scraped on the sidewalk as she quickly walked over to the local bus stop. "Wait!" The bus driver that was turning to leave jerked to a stop when he heard a familiar cry. The bus driver, Adam, rolled his eyes fondly when he recognized the call as Stephanie's. Said young woman frantically ran onto the bus with a sorry look etched on her face.
"Super sorry, Adam!" The 20-year-old man just smiled. "I left my apartment late and my mom was taking forever to-"
He interrupted her, "Take a seat, Steph." She stopped, then gave a flustered smile to the bus driver. When she turned her body to the rows behind the drivers, she heard a quiet gasp.
"Right..." She stepped over to the second row take a seat.
Before Steph could take a seat, however, she heard a small voice behind her seat. Steph's head jerked up and she smiled a bit. The woman got up from her seat and turned her body to face the voice behind her.
"Hello, miss!" Steph tilted her head to the side when she heard the voice; she didn't notice anyone in the seat behind her own until she tilted her head down to see a dark-skinned girl whom looked to be about 7 years old.
"Hello!" Steph replied with the same vigor that the girl greeted her with.
"Well, miss, sorry to interrupt you, but I wanted to ask a question." The young lady looked around to make sure no one was listening, even though the bus was practically empty.
"Go ahead." Steph raised her eyebrows animatedly.
The girl looked around again, and her inflection changed to a whisper. "Well, I wanted to ask if you're a...superhero." Steph's eyebrows dropped in a slight panic, but then she remembered that this was a child and shifted her surprised expression back to a friendly one. "The other night a superhero Spoiler saved me from a bad guy who wanted to hurt me..."
Steph nodded, the memory of saving a young girl from being raped by an older man coming up. Although the young woman felt bad for the situation, she didn't let that change her attitude. "Really? She sounds super cool."
The animated grin on Steph's face made the girl feel comfortable, so she spoke up again. "I just wanted to say thank you to miss Spoiler."
Steph's animated expression changed to a fond and thankful one, then she replied with a light voice, "Well," Steph looked around in a child-like manner, a mischievous smile coming up on her bright face. "You're right." The girl's eyes widened and Stephanie continued, "I'm a superhero." Steph knew if this girl was smart enough to figure out her favorite superhero's identity, she would also be smart enough to not tell anyone if gently told.
The girl's smile almost blinded Steph. "You are?" Steph simply nodded. "You're Spoiler?" Stephanie nodded again. Whispering forgotten, the girl excitedly continued, "Thank you so much, miss!"
Steph's wide grin returned. "You're very welcome..." Steph waited for the girl to introduce herself.
"Zendaya, miss. But you can call me Zay!" Zay's enthusiasm made Steph smile wider.
"Hello, Zay." Stephanie shot out her right hand for the young lady to shake. After they shook hands, Stephanie introduced herself. "My name's Steph."
"Nice to meet you, miss Steph!" The young woman was slightly impressed by the girl's manners. That was rare to find in Gotham.
"Nice to meet you too, Zay." Steph chuckled at the giddy look on the girl's face. Steph's grin slipped and she began to whisper again, "I also must remind you, Zay, that you can't go telling everyone I'm a superhero." Zay's expression became serious, imitading the older woman's expression.
"I promise I won't tell anyone, miss Steph!" The girl lifted her right pinky. "Pinky promise."
Zay's confident tone made Steph relieved, so she let out her right pinky and they made the promise. "Pinky promise."
After a few seconds, Steph looked up to see familiar streets that came right before her stop. "I'm sorry, Zay, but I have to get going." Zendaya's face fell, a small pout beginning to form. "But I think that we're going to meet again in the future." The look in Steph's eyes and grin assured Zay that they would most definitely meet again, so the girl's smile returned.
Steph began to get up, so Zay animatedly said a goodbye. "Bye, miss Steph!"
"Goodbye, Zay!" Stephanie got up and swiftly walked down to the driver's exit, quickly thanking the driver as he stopped the bus, "Thanks, Adam!"
He smiled. "No problem, Steph." He waved at her with a couple fingers that were resting on the steering wheel.
As Steph walked off the bus, she grinned to herself. What a polite girl...
With a backpack on her back and a thoughtful yet light look etched on her face, she began to walk to the richer neighborhoods. As she passed by lavish mansions and manors, she took note of the addresses to make sure she wasn't skipping the Wayne's. Steph scowled when she remembered the absolute train wreck of Bruce Wayne.
He had treated her horribly.
When she finally recognized the proper address on an expensive-looking manor after few minutes, she stopped walking and faced the property. Letting the backpack fall from her shoulders, she shifted her bag to be held by her left hand, then leapt up to climb the slightly rusted fence.
When she finally made it over the fence, she scrunched up her brows and shifted the backpack on her shoulders again. Why don't I hear the alarm going off? She relaxed her face when she remembered that Alfred probably already knew she was here. She chuckled to herself. Funny old man...
Before she could even knock, the door widened to reveal the butler wearing a neutral look on his face. "Miss Stephanie. I presume you are here for Master Tim?" His neutral look shifted to a teasing one, his head slightly tipped to the right.
She smiled widely. "Yeah. I need to see him for some help on homework." Her lie made Alfred's eyes narrow since he instantly recognized the familiar fib.
Her smile faltered a little when she saw the glare.
"I was not aware that you are in summer school, Miss Stephanie." His comment almost made Steph completely lose her grin.
"Uh...yeah..." Alfred still looked unimpressed. "It's been hard and I know Tim is like, suuuuppeerrr-"
"You know the password to the cave, Miss Stephanie, correct?" She stopped talking, stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth, and quickly nodded with wide eyes, facade broken. "Good." He opened the door wider for her. "Off you go now. "
Her genuine grin back, Steph jogged over to the clock in the main study, then put the correct time in.
10:47.
Tim looked at Steph with some question in his eyes. "Why do you want to know about the Golden Dragons?"
Steph sighed. He always does this when I ask him questions. She reluctantly began to explain herself. "Well," she licked her lips, "I saw a short description of them in the paper. They were under the obituaries. And apparently they're back. In my territory."
Tim paused. "Who said that Chinatown was your territory?"
She stopped and gave him a glare that could kill. "I said so." Steph pouted as she crossed her arms and stuck up her nose cutely, making a 'humph' noise.
Tim raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to make an argument, but backed down as he knew that it would only make things worse. He may be stubborn but he was smart enough to know when to stop. "O-kay."
She looked satisfied with herself for a moment, then stopped. "Wait." He pursed his lips. "You've changed the subject." Tim simply blinked at her and raised both of his eyebrows. "What do you know about the Golden Dragons?" He dropped his eyebrows.
Then sighed.
So he began to explain. "The Golden Dragons are a gang in Chinatown. Through some research I've concluded that the gang is now being controlled by a villain named Lynx. I've, " he paused to think, "fought her before. She primarily uses swords and knives as weapons, but she's not afraid to use whatever's in her sight. She's been trained as an assassin." The look on his face displayed little emotion, since he knew if he was vulnerable in front of her he would reveal too much.
Stephanie nodded and a concentrated look appeared on her face. Tim continued, "Described as Chinese with black hair and light brown eyes. She usually wears a cat-like helmet and a red and blue costume." He stopped to let her absorb this information. "I also think she knows Cass..."
Stephanie stopped concentrating and looked up at Tim again. "What do you mean? Why would she know Cass?" The 17-year old-looked confused and worried.
Tim sighed again. "Well...I suspect she knows of all of our identities." Steph's eyebrows scrunched together in more confusion. "She's too smart to not know. I mean from my...observations it seems as if she has an IQ almost equal to mine." The young woman was even more confused. Why is he acting like that? "And it seems that Batgirl and Lynx fight often. And they both have the same fighting style, so I wouldn't be surprised if they've clashed a few times. When I mentioned Ling to Cass, she didn't really say anything, but she did seem kinda irked. I think they have some history-"
His lengthy explanation was interrupted by an abashed Stephanie. "Ling?"
Tim paused awkwardly for a full minute, opening his mouth multiple times but failing to say anything. "That's Lynx."
Her head tilted and eyes widened. "Oh." She continued after a moment of silence, "Do you know her personally then?" Her tone was almost accusing and made Tim feel uneasy.
Tim placed his bottom lip in between his teeth. "Uh...yeah."
She stopped and her expression shifted to a demanding one. "Where does she live?"
Tim pursed his lips then removed all emotion from his face. "That's private information."
The young woman's eyes narrowed greatly, and a small pout began to form on her bottom lip again. Then she tightened her lip and lifted her head up high. "Fine," she stated defiantly, "I'll find out that 'private information' by myself." She gestured wildly.
Although the young man looked somewhat surprised, he secretly knew she would say something similar to that. Tim looked at Steph with a blank.
"Bruce is going to be pissed." Tim immediately regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth; and it showed on his face.
"Well, then. Let him be." Her head up high, she began to leave the room with an angry aura. "Thanks." Tim pursed his lips again, cursing his own mind. "Bye."
Now in Chinatown, Stephanie walked down the sidewalk of 23rd with her head down. Even in civvies, Steph was a sore thumb when compared to other walkers - who were, of course, mostly Asian.
The young woman observed her surroundings, taking note of the hurrying citizens and rundown restaurants. A woman with abnormally blonde hair was walking down the street, holding her purse so tight her knuckles were white. A man with a long beard was jogging in a track suit, but the most unusual part of his outfit was the gun holster lying on his left hip. After a few more minutes of walking and observing, she stepped onto Hamilton Avenue by taking a right. However, when she saw the young man she was trying to avoid, she jerked to a stop. Her eyes narrowed for the second time that day, then she walked over to Alvin, who was furiously typing on his phone.
He stopped typing when he heard her steps, but still looked down at his phone in slight shame. Tim did look up, however, when he heard Steph's throat clear loudly. He gave a nervous smile.
"What the heck are you doing here?" Steph looked annoyed.
Alvin gulped loudly, then used some of his superhero courage. "This is public territory..."
He swore he saw her eye twitch.
"I told you this was my territory!" She whisper-shouted. Steph looked around to make sure no one was listening, then Tim noticed a Chinese woman dressed in a cat-like costume on the rooftop of a local restaurant. "Did Bruce send you or somethin'?"
"No, Bruce didn't send me." In his usual Alvin manner, he affirmed all of this with a blank face as to not reveal anything. "I came to make sure you didn't get into danger."
Stephanie's ears began to turn red. "Why would I be in danger?" Tim shifted his eyes to the Asian woman again, and he began to secretly take notes on his phone. "Are you only doing this because I'm a girl?!"
Tim jerked his head to look at Stephanie, surprised at her accusation. "No, of course not! It's just that-"
Steph interrupted him angrily, so Tim, annoyed, shifted his attention back to the cause of his interest. "Cause I thought we established that this is my part of-" She was interrupted by Tim's never-ending interest with something behind her. She scrunched up her eyebrows and turned to look at the object of his curiosity. "What the he-"
Steph stopped when she turned and saw his new interest. It was a woman of Asian descent with black hair wearing a blue and red cat suit. Just what Tim said Lynx looks like. Her tone changed to a curious one, "is that Lynx-"
Her sentence was stopped when she heard a zipper being opened. Steph turned around to see Tim furiously taking off his jacket. Her eyes widened and her heart began to beat faster, but then she remembered that he probably has his costume on under his civvies. Stupid over-prepared bats.
She then looked down at herself and sighed. Fortunately, she wore her Spoiler costume under her civvies before she left the apartment this suspected something of this sort would happen. Now I'm an over-prepared bat. Dandy. She thought to herself sarcastically. When she looked back up after she finished changing, she saw Robin ready to fight.
Steph quickly looked up at the sky, which was thankfully turning dark. "Ready?" Robin asked his peer.
Spoiler looked down from the sky, faced him, and nodded determinedly.
A/N: So...do you guys like it so far? Thanks for reading, ya'll!