Life seemed to stand still for Bruce as he held the limp body of the young doctor in his arms. Her features were captivating before the blast. Her eyes were bright and cheery and her skin as flawless as a porcelain doll. The woman seemed naïve and ignorant of the Joker's ways. Bruce felt like she may have deserved what she got. It seemed very strange to him that anyone could form an attachment to someone who was so detached from the world. Nevertheless, Bruce showed no bias to helping those who were lost or in need, just as Batman would always have done.

The blast had managed to leave severe bruising under Dr. Quinzel's eyes, so much to the point that it almost looked like she was wearing a rounded mask to cover her beautiful baby blues. Her hair had fallen loose of it's tightly wound bun and flowed down in waves nearly touching the ground as Batman carried her through the carnage. He trudged past various piles of rubble and on toward the gaping hole the blast had made just feet away from her. She was lucky to be in such good shape considering how close she was to the explosion.

Bruce looked up to be met by four paramedics who instantly snatched the woman from his arms and carried her to the ambulance without a stretcher. The blast was so massive that piles of debris made it nearly impossible to wheel anything over. Bruce stood silently as she was carted away and placed carefully into the vehicle. He noticed that she began stirring as the double doors to the ambulance began to close. Bruce couldn't make out what she started to say but noticed her pale hand reaching up in the back window with nothing but a middle finger waving in the air.

He scoffed at her attitude and at the thought that she was not grateful that her life had been spared this time. Next time the Joker would not be so careless, next time he would finish her, just like he did with Rachel.

Bruce then took in the sight of the building and noticed that despite the amount of explosives used, the damage was mainly centered on the Joker's cell. It was obvious that it was an escape attempt, but he couldn't shake the feeling that maybe someone was actually trying to kill the Joker. Just as that thought popped up his transmitter buzzed in a familiar voice. Johnny was paging him. Bruce shrugged off his frustration and answered without a word.

"Hey, I have some bad news…"

"Of course you do," Bruce growled.

"He has Babs. I am going after that bastard."

"Where? Robin? Where is he?"

Bruce had waited for a reply and got nothing but white noise. Johnny had thrown out the receiver just like he did on several occasions. It angered Bruce that Johnny did not take his advice readily. He was impulsive and untactful. But Bruce knew it was only because it was for Barbara. For a while now, Bruce had struggled with words to tell Johnny that he was considering her as a part of their technical team. He wanted what was best for his predecessor but had not realized that Johnny had an emotional connection to Barbara. He had planned on bringing them together at the event, which is currently going on without them, in hopes that they could connect the dots without actually telling them. Bruce hated having to give out all the answers. He felt the need to make them more like clues to a deeper meaning.

Just as he had been following the clues that led to the Joker's escape. He already had an idea of who had left the pieces behind but could not seem to find Spoiler at will. Each time she would elude him, however clumsily. On their last encounter, Bruce had found a trace of blonde hair left at a scene of a violent robbery gone wrong. The only reason it had gone wrong was that the crooks were missing a single pin to a grenade in a pile of them. A note had been left on the pile mentioning the tiny detail and before they had time to run the whole building went up in smoke.

Bruce had a feeling that Spoiler had pulled the pin and left the note. He was furious with her tactics and wanted her to stop the game she was playing. She was no heroine to him, she was an annoyance and hindrance to anything Batman stood for. Bruce wanted nothing more than to have her arrested and held accountable for the murder of men who needed to be brought to justice. That and he had a sneaking suspicion that she had dumped waffle syrup all over him upon meeting her for the first time. It seems as if Spoiler does not like people getting too close to her.

But those were different matters. It was time to let Robin fly solo as Nightwing. It was time for Johnny to face the fear of possibly losing the one he cares about more than his identity. It's time for Johnny to save his "Rachel".

Johnny sprinted across town with a rush he had never felt before. Some of his energy stemmed from his anger with Bruce-Johnny was not Bruce Wayne's Robin and he was furious that Batman threw his name around to get what he wanted. He ran across streets dodging taxi cabs and bikes, he even managed to knock over several newsstands along the way. His mind was bent around getting to Barbara, the woman he had loved since he first met her at school. Barbara was often times in the midst of danger, but always with petty crooks who wanted to get revenge on her father, the police commissioner. But, Babs was no woman to mess with. She knew her whole life that times like that would happen, so she prepared for them through training and tactics. However, this was the first time she had ever been captured by the Joker. This was the first time Johnny felt that she was actually in danger.

He continued to sprint until he saw his motorcycle parked exactly how he left it on the side street next to the police station. As he gripped the handle bars he noticed a figure jumping from rooftops across the street. He immediately knew who it was and he knew he had to get to Babs first.

"Spoiler," He scoffed. As he hurled his bike onto the sidewalk.

He kept up with her until he nearly struck a lady with a cart full of roses to which he sharply turned onto the street and across a busy intersection. Cars blared horns and profanities were shouted as he sped through the light. He never even glanced back.

Johnny had lost visual on Spoiler as he passed the Gotham City Library and he quickly found out why.

The street was covered in random debris as if a tornado had just barreled down the sidewalk. Street lamps were emitting sparks as they lay sideways on the ground and trash cans were strewn across the pavement like pieces of confetti. Tire tracks made a swirl of patterns across the street with tactless maneuvering. It was clear that Barbara was not going down without a fight, but Johnny's heart sank when he approached the bridge.

He screeched to a full stop at the edge of the bridge where a large gap of concrete had been blown out. It was clear that something had gone wrong. The tire tracks stopped at the void in the bridge and Johnny knew that it could only mean that the car had been driven off the bridge and into the frigid water below.

He peered over the edge of the bridge only to see the tail end of Nicolas Gage's car barley bobbing at the surface and quickly descending. His first thought was to jump in and see if Barbara was still inside but something else caught his eye. The wind had kicked up the tail coat of his tuxedo that he had dressed in for the night along with a small pink flower that barely made it to Johnny's neatly polished shoe before it dove off the chasm. And then he heard a familiar whimper from behind him. He turned quickly to meet Barbara.

She stood there looking dumbfounded and apparently without shoes. He looked at her for no more than a split second before he took her into his arms. He didn't care if she struggled against him. She thrashed against his embrace but he did not let go of her. She sobbed into his chest as he ran his fingers through her matted hair.

"You weren't there," She muttered.

"I am here now, Babs. You're going to be –"

"No! You weren't there Johnny! You are never there when I need you! Where were you?" She yelled.

Johnny looked like a truck had just ran him over repeatedly as she threw his arms off of her. He was confused by her reaction but he had realized that she was right. It was always Nightwing who came to save her. It was Nightwing who was there to comfort her the day her brother died. And again, Nightwing when her mom left her here with her dad. But this was not the time to tell her. . . . not like this. He hated to see her cry, mostly because she only cried when she meant it. And Johnny knew she meant it this time . . . He braced himself for the next words that escaped her lips.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, JOHNNY! I don't need your help!" She exclaimed.

But he would have none of it. He was the man she deserved, not the one in the mask but the one controlling it. He pulled her in tightly and looked down at her tear-stained face. Her breath caught sharply at his urgency and roughness. He loosened his grip as his palm trialed down her ivory skin and toward her waist. His head lowered sinfully close to her ear as he whispered to her.

"I told you to call me—"

Before he could utter the meaning of his existence he was interrupted by the clearing of someone's throat. Spoiler had done it again. Ruined Johnny's moment with Barbara. She sat perched on top of a lamp post like a bird on its perch. She looked down at the two of them as if she was waiting for a response of gratitude from either one of them.

She was the one that had placed a spike strip in the road. Spoiler had caught up with the Joker and managed to bust out a rear window for Barbara's escape. It was hardly a clean getaway, her knees were scraped and bruised, her shoes were missing, and her hair and makeup made it seem like she had just rolled out of bed. Babs was lucky to have gotten out in one piece. Thanks to Spoiler.

Her royal purple cape draped down behind her as she continued to wait patiently. Her face was always covered with a custom gas mask that smoothed itself into the features of her face. Her eyes were shielded only by the long hood that covered her face so that you would have to literally be in her face to see it. That's how she functioned, always at a distance, close to the action but not close enough to be seen.

"Don't you two have a party to go to?" She asked in a muffled voice.

Johnny spun around and gave the Spoiler a long look at his middle finger.

"You do more harm than good, you know that?" He barked

She scoffed at him as she pulled out her hook-shot device. She clung to the end of it as it latched itself onto a neighboring building. Before she made her exit she turned back toward them.

"You will have to find out eventually, I suppose. Maybe my clues aren't blunt enough for you two."

And as plain as that the Spoiler was gone, around the corner and out of sight.

As soon as she was gone, Johnny looked back at Barbara who was already making her way to his motorcycle. Normally she would ask for a helmet but considering what she just escaped, she felt that she could take the risk.

Johnny walked casually over to the bike and gave a long look at her to make sure she had stopped crying before he plopped on the front. She gently sat behind him and tucked her arms around his waist. She was intrigued at the sight of him on a motorcycle in a tuxedo. It was almost comical the way he looked driving it. She could only imagine how she looked on the back.

"Are we good…?" He asked hesitantly

"Just drive. We are late," Barbara said coldly.

"No offence Babs, but you look like hell. Are you sure you wanna go?"

"Stephanie will bring me a change of clothes," She said in a matter-of-fact tone. Unlike Johnny, she was well aware of the alternate identity of her closest friend. And she knew that Stephanie would swing by her home and pick out something fashionable for Barbara to wear. Steph had always protested the black dress Barbara was currently wearing. She could almost picture her now, swinging through the buildings muttering about her wardrobe. It was Stephanie's fashion sense that helped Barbara design her newest suit for her masked man crush, who is in a heap of trouble for not being here tonight.

Johnny shook his head and cranked up the bike. Of course Stephanie would bring her clothes. Oh, no. Stephanie. He had forgotten that he was supposed to meet up with her at the event…. Not that he really cared that much… He cared more about the fact that the Joker had managed to escape his watery grave. He had planned on sitting down with Barbara to ask her exactly what had happened. But he decided getting Babs to safety was more important than that. What safer place than Bruce Wayne's Mansion?

The police had already made their way to the scene as Barbara and Johnny rode off into the distance. Barbara's father hopped out of a squad car and had started to yell at Johnny to stop, but he felt the urge to just let them go. Barbara was alive and well enough to get on a bike. It was a thing she had not done since his son had passed….

The commissioner stood watching the bike disappear into the night. His thoughts of how the events of tonight were going rumbled in his head. The Joker had escaped, kidnapped his daughter, Gage was missing, and Batman has made a comeback—again. There was one small detail that he noticed about each situation, in fact, it was small and purple. He put his hands on his hips and called over a fellow officer to collaborate with.

"What do we know about this Spoiler character?"

"Well, sir, it's definitely a girl. I have never seen a man do the splits while wearing a full body suit and a hooded cape. And, it's purple. Who wears purple?"

"Where did she get her technology? Who is she working for? Why is she in every place at the right time?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Well, these are the things we need to know."

"What should we do now, sir?"

"Get two teams together and head over to the party. I don't want what happened to my daughter to happen again! More than likely the Joker will come back to finish the job."

"Are you coming, sir?"

"No. I am going to find Gage, and when I do, I might shoot him."

Stephanie quickly rounded the corner and into an alley. She made sure the coast was clear before she lifted her hood and lowered her mask. Toward the back of the alley there was a fire escape leading up to her apartment building. It was a mere two stories up, an easy climb without the need of the hook-shot Barbara had given her. As she climbed the ladder her long cape draped downward nearly catching onto the edge of the ladder. She gave it a quick flap and continued toward the open window to her bedroom.

"Okay, Babs. What shall we dress you in?" Stephanie was ecstatic to get the chance to show off her lavish wardrobe on someone else. Her dad was never around but always seemed to leave plenty of shopping money for Stephanie, which she gladly spent on fabric and accessories.

Black was Barbara's best color, but Stephanie wanted her to feel radiant. After going through something that traumatic, she could use a little pick me up. But, despite what dress she had to pick, Babs had specific instructions to pack the other suit as well. She had completed it this morning but failed to mention that the suit- a prototype- was intended for Barbara to wear rather than a solid built man.

Stephanie grabbed one of her more sturdy suitcases and piled in several items including makeup, brushes, hair pins and accessories, earrings, golden heels to match the gown, various perfume samples, and even a few packs of gum—she always thought ahead.

The gown was a fine choice for such an action packed evening. Barbara had planned on snooping at the mansion, with Stephanie's help of course. She recalled the phone call she had with Barbara a few hours ago.

"Hey Babs! What's up?"

"Hey Steph! How is the suit coming along?"

"It's finished and ready for a test drive. But, I cannot do all the technical stuff… that's all on you! I did follow the pattern you gave me and sewed in the wires EXACTLY how you mentioned."

"Yeah, sorry about the specifics, it's just a one shot thing when it comes to electrode pulses. One shock and you're dead, ya know?"

"Well, I was thinking about that and I made a few modifications that can keep that from happening…."

"Like…?"

"I coated the wires in a thin layer of rubber. You will still see a glow from the pulse but it shouldn't feel painful. If anything, I would imagine it may tingle, kind of like you can feel the surge…. Do you follow me?"

"I love you! That is a brilliant idea!"

"Well, I guess that makes me a genius like you! I mean, everyone knows rubber doesn't carry a charge!"

"Yes, but I am pretty sure rubber suits are out of functionality these days."

"Not to mention, a pain to get out of…"

"Okay, so the plan is on for tonight?"

"Yep! Johnny is in my grasp!"

"Good. I need you to keep him distracted while I go snooping around. I don't want him running his mouth to his boss about anything I say or do."

"So, what about the OTHER guy? You, know, that one guy that snuck into your room last week…hint hint."

"Stephanie, I hope you know that I am still a virgin."

"For now."

"Oh, goodness. Stephanie. I don't think he will be a problem tonight."

"Um, I never think he is a problem any night! If you don't want him, I'll take him!"

"Okay, bring the suit tonight, and no funny business! Spoiler does not need to throw any clues to anyone about what I am doing."

"You got it, my little batgirl."

"Steph, you're crazy."

"Thanks! I'll see you tonight!"

Stephanie was just about to head out before she realized that she had not dressed to impress. She put the suitcase on the bed and pulled out a fun cocktail dress and two masks. One was for Barbara and the other to match her own dress. It was a silver number with glints of purple sequins arranged in a smooth pattern. The dress itself was a strapless top with gray ribbon to lace up the back. Stephanie had to make sure that Johnny would be perfectly distracted from Barbara. Stephanie had barely turned 18 but was more than equipped to catch the eyes of any man on the prowl.

She gave herself one final glance over and placed the mask on her forehead. She shook her head with approval and did a quick spin to show off her purple tulle underneath. And just as quickly she grabbed the suitcase and headed downstairs and out the door. She waved her hand in the air and whistled for a taxi. Her anticipation was building as she climbed into the cab, so much so that she forgot to look at the driver as she climbed in.

"Where to, Stephanie….?" A raspy voice asked.

Stephanie froze. Her fear instantly took over and rendered her speechless. She slowly looked up into the eyes of nothingness. There was all but a black mask in the shape of a skull looking down at her cowering in the back seat. The door to the taxi slammed shut behind her at the hands of another man wearing a red and black ski mask who was tagging along with them.

"Where-wwher—"

"Where is your dad? Oh, I was hoping you could tell me. You see, your father has been stealing from some very bad people and they would very much like every penny back. Of course… they are willing to negotiate… But seeing as Arthur has disappeared, it looks like we may have to find him the old fashioned way. Slowly and painfully," The voice finished.

Stephanie had climbed into a cab with a man known for his skill in torture tactics. Black Mask was only hired by the "elite" mob bosses when they wanted someone dead-in this case, her dad. Stephanie could assume that she would become his bait—his bloody trophy until her father decided to show up. She knew if she struggled or tried to run now that it would only cause her more pain in the end…. But she had a commitment to Barbara…. She was not about to break a promise. Stephanie had been doing so well as Spoiler that she started to feel more confident in her choice to make a run for it.

Black Mask shifted in his seat when he saw the look in her eyes toward the rear door. He would make her suffer for running but she already knew that. He was keen on documenting his torture for all of Gotham to fear the mask. Each victim that ran never saw the light of day again. He wondered if she was aware that he knew about her alternate identity, he wondered what it would be like to torture another mask . . .

"You could escape. I will not stop you, but I will find you. It's only a matter of when and where. Consider that when you go out tonight. Consider your closest friends watching you dancing, laughing, and having the time of your life. Consider those things when I have you in my grasp. It will be a darkness the likes of which Gotham has never seen before—they will watch me crush your pretty little face in my bare hands…."

Before Stephanie could allow such dark words to have an effect on her, she heaved her suitcase into the glass of the locked door and watched it shatter. She paused for a moment before she made her escape. She was not afraid of him. She was angered by his darkness and his lack of humanity. She really wanted to end his life right then and right there. But, she knew she would have her chance to Spoil another plain, to ruin another plot, and to become another hero.

"Promise?" Stephanie laughed as she made a dash for the sidewalk.

She walked away quickly from the cab that pulled away into the opposite direction and she walked with confidence toward a busier part of town to catch a bus. As she climbed the steps Black Mask's voice echoed in her head. Already, he had begun his torture on her mind. "No!" She told herself. She would not let another criminal ruin her night. She was dying to see Barbara put on her dress, mostly because she knew that after tonight, Barbara would be taking on a different role in her life. Barbara was going to become the Batgirl she had always deserved to be—and Stephanie is going to be a part of it. She would become a better "Robin" than Nightwing . She was going to give Batman something he needed, and he needed Barbara.