It had been months since she'd started her training. Bryce had been a black belt for some time and still continued to learn anything she could. It never hurt to know more.
Sitting on her bed in the hotel, Bryce's heart fluttered nervously. One look at her calendar showed a circle around the days date. Tonight was the night she would go out and get to know the town from the rooftops. There was no stealing involved but she figured if she found something easy to take, then it would be good for her learning.
The alarm suddenly sounded on her cell phone, making her jump. Getting up she looked at herself in the full length mirror that the hotel had supplied her with. The suit wasn't the most elaborate but she knew it worked for now.
A simple black leotard painted with a yellow-tan paint in the shape of a bird with an extra large tail. She had on a pair of black driving gloves and her own pair of black dancing shoes. She had found a white mask and cut it to resemble bird wings and painted it the same yellow as the bird on her leotard. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, which wasn't the loveliest thing in the world seeing as how her layered hair stuck out, making it resemble some sort of barbed wire ball.
Hours into the night and Bryce was getting tired. She had scaled up buildings by using the fire escapes and anything else that was climbable. Now she sat on the ledge of one roof, catching her breath and resting her tired legs.
A few more nights of this and she would be able to start looking into stealing. Shuddering at the thought of committing a crime, Bryce rubbed her arms and legs trying to make the goosebumps go away. The thought of going to jail if she was caught wasn't a pleasant one. Maybe if she gave everything back the next day, she thought with a sigh.
As she stood to leave, she heard a noise. Twisting suddenly to see what it was, she slipped and fell onto the roof bottom first. Wincing as she stood she opened one eye and nearly fell again. Standing by the ladder from the fire escape was Nightwing. He stared at her for a moment and then took a step forward.
Bryce stepped back, her heel hitting the short wall behind her. Nightwing ran forward but stopped when he saw she had caught herself. Her breath was coming fast as her heartbeat sped up. He was between her and the fire escape. There was the door into the building, but most had locks on them. Turning her head she saw the building next to her. The rooftop didn't seem that far away. She could probably make the leap, she was a ballerina after all.
"Who are you?" Nightwing asked.
Bryce didn't answer. She continued to measure the distance between the buildings. As if Nightwing guessed her thoughts he held out his hand.
"I wouldn't do that. It's a long jump."
It was what she'd have to do. She hadn't done anything but that didn't mean he wouldn't suspect her. It never occurred to her that she might see him tonight, if it had, she would have figured out a story to tell him. Instead she was left with this.
She stepped away from the wall slowly so he wouldn't try to grab her, making it look as if she wasn't going to jump. Watching him she saw him relax and then she ran for it. When she approached the wall she jumped onto it and pushed off, giving her more force as she leaped into the air.
She could hear Nightwing cursing to himself but she didn't dare look back, she had to stick the landing.
As her foot hit the roof of the next building she pulled her wait off it and rolled. When she was up again she ran for the fire escape and moved fluidly down its many landings.
On the ground she took a second to look up. Nightwing had jumped the roof as well and was already halfway down the fire escape. Bryce ran full out before he had the chance to make it to her.
She had come to know the streets pretty well in her months of living there. Without looking back she continued to run down side streets and back alleys, making sure she would lose him.
Soon she was out of breath. Stepping into a dark alley she hid there to catch her breath. Leaning against the wall, she tilted her head back and stared at the sky. The lights from the city blotted out any stars.
Her chest heaved as she continued to breathe heavily. It stunk in the alley but it was better to hide while standing still.
A hand reached out of the darkness and pinned her shoulder to the wall. Another hand shot out, pinning her other shoulder against the wall. Her heart thudded against her chest, causing her to lose her breath for a second.
"Now I'm only going to ask one more time," Nightwing said as he stepped into what little light made it into the alley. "Who are you?"
Bryce turned her head away from him. He let go of one shoulder and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"Tell me," he demanded. "Also, why were you running? What did you do?"
"Nothing!" she said.
"Then why run? You have to have been up to something. Were you about to do something?"
"No. I was actually about to go home." She twist around and dislodged his hands from her chin and shoulder. Stepping away from him she took a fighting stance.
"Then it makes no sense to run."
"Maybe I'm not trying to make sense. Confusion is a fun toy. Look let me go home. I didn't do anything."
"I will once you tell me who you are and what you're doing in my city?"
"Your city? I thought Batman was the crime fighter here?"
"He's busy at the moment. Don't change the subject. If I have to ask again you're going to regret it."
Bryce thought fast. She hadn't really thought about what she'd call herself. Nothing came to her, though. Looking at Nightwing she saw he grew more and more irritated the longer she took to respond.
Without another thought Bryce threw a punch at him. While he was dodging that she ran past him. He grabbed her arm but she turned, bringing her foot up making contact with the side of his head. He fell like a ton of bricks. She hated hurting him but she didn't feel like explaining herself tonight when she had nothing to tell.
Back in the hotel, Bryce changed out of her costume and hid the clothes in the back of a drawer. She then ran water in the tub for a bath. When the water was high enough she got in, turning the faucet off.
A sigh escaped her as she sat back in the tub, letting the warm water wash over her. She felt grimy after climbing all over the city. Her mind made pictures out of the textured ceiling as she stared at it, half thinking about what she had to do next.
She was still apprehensive about stealing but it was the smallest crime she could think to commit. Suddenly she dunked her head under the water. When she surfaced she wiped the water from her eyes with a towel. Stealing would have to do. She would get used to it.
In the weeks that followed her first night out, Bryce had studied lock picking so she could get inside buildings with ease. She'd also looked into security systems. She wanted to be completely prepared.
Now she was out in her costume again, her sights set on a jewelry store. It wasn't an elaborate heist but it would do for her first one. She had staked the place out while she studied everything she could about what would be protecting the pretty trinkets.
The security guards had finished their first round for the night and had gone back to their surveillance room. Bryce moved into action. The power for this particular store was in a box behind the building. It was locked with a simple but annoying lock.
When she found the box, Bryce set to work pulling the picks out of her bun. It took her nearly five minutes to open all the locks. The number of locks is what made the act so annoying.
Once inside she began to clip wires and move them around. She only had a matter of seconds to place them in their new homes. The power supply would keep things working only that long once the circuits were broken.
She saw the light go off for the alarm once she'd finished. Now it was a matter of getting into the building. There was a door on the roof that was easy enough to get into. The front or back doors were secured by the night guards from the inside. Everyone always forgot about the roof.
Slipping in through the roof access, she made her way quietly to the top floor of the store. She didn't have really any specific pieces in mind to steal. She figured she'd just grab what she could before anyone noticed something was up with the cameras.
There were dim lights on in the display cases. Bryce nearly gasped when she saw the necklaces, earring, rings, and other jewelry. Shaking her head quickly she went behind the case and began picking at the pitiful lock that held the glass door closed.
Her heart pounded in her ears. She could barely hear the clicks as she worked her picks inside the metal lock. When she had it open she was afraid someone could hear her heart for how loud it was. Breathing through her mouth, she reached in and picked out a few of the heavily bejeweled pieces. Stuffing those into a bag she had over her shoulder she moved on to the next case.
It wasn't long before she had to get out of there. She got up slowly and looked around. The guards would be starting their second round any minute. Quickly, but quietly, she made her way back to the roof.
Once outside someone grabbed her by the wrist as she shut the door. She spun around to see Nightwing standing there, a smug grin on his face.
"I knew you'd be up to something eventually. I've been watching you," he said, still holding her wrist.
"You've been stalking me? How pervy!"
"Wow, haven't been called a pervert in quite some time. You female thieves are all the same. You think every man is out to get you."
"Well obviously you are since you're holding my wrist. Now if you please, I must be going." Bryce maneuvered out of his grip and ran.
Nightwing was hot on her heels but she knew she'd get away. As she reached the edge of the roof she jumped and landed on the fire escape on the next building. Making her way down, she laughed.
"Gotta be quicker than that, buddy!" She landed on the ground and ran, making her way to a dead end alley where she could escape but he couldn't. He may have lived her longer than her but she'd set up a few escape routes while getting to know the city.
The alley wasn't far. Once she slipped into its shadows she used the large dumpster to launch herself at a high window sill that she knew would be there. As she pulled herself up she quickly grabbed hold to an overhang above the window. As she pulled her feet up to stand on the sill she made her way to the next window, then the next. When she was high enough she heard Nightwing down below.
He was slower than she thought, she thought with inner laughter. Now she leaped for the high wall and crouched low so as not to be silhouetted by the lights from the next street. There was a club on that street that she'd been to a few times. Plenty of strange people frequented it. Bryce had chosen the particular jewelry store for its closeness to an easy getaway.
"By the way," she called down to Nightwing who looked up. "You can call me Nightingale!" With a laugh she slid off the top of the wall, landing in a dumpster filled with garbage bags full of shredded paper. She scrabbled out of the dumpster and bolted for the club. She slid past the doorman and hid herself in the crowd as she made her way to the restrooms to change into the clothing she had hidden there.
When she was sure it was safe to leave the club she made her way outside. Looking around all she saw were the remnants of a once long line for the club, a few cars by the curb, and nothing else. Nightwing was sure to have searched for a while.
Bryce looked up at the roofs as she waited for a taxi. She knew Nightwing was patient, he could have made himself comfortable atop the buildings, thinking she had gone into the club. She didn't see anything unusual up high and shrugged, thinking something else had happened that he needed to check.
The next day Bryce made her way to the next town over and shipped the jewels back to the store. They'd be surprised and she doubted they'd even let the press know someone had broken into the store; they definitely wouldn't let on that the jewelry had been returned. Most jewelry stores thought they had a good system, she knew they'd be shamed if they let on that their security had been beat.
Once she was done with that she went back to her hotel. While she'd slept the night before, she had a dream about her stealing. In it she had made a calling card for herself. It was a cheesy thing but when she woke up that morning it sounded exciting.
Now she sat on her computer looking up what she had dreamed about. It would be a small sound producing piece, like those they put inside cards. Since she had figured Nightingale was a suitable name, why not put a nightingale's song inside the piece? All she had to do was find one small enough and with little markings as to who made it.
Dick stormed into the batcave, pulling off his mask and throwing it onto the computer console. Bruce sat in the chair in his Batman costume.
"Rough night?" he asked absently as he searched through a database.
"Try a rough month," Dick grumbled back as he pounded a fist on the console.
"Try not to break my computer, Dick, it's new."
Dick sat in a chair instead and sighed. "More than twenty jewelry stores have been broken into. Two museums reported things going missing a few nights ago. We have no fingerprints or anything to tell us who's been up to it except the same damned birdcall. Every time I get to the scene the culprit's already gone and all I can hear is that stupid twitter!"
"Well you can relax now because I went to one of the most recent crime scenes and found the device making the sound." Bruce held up a small white plastic thing with a small cord hanging off it. He pulled the string and the familiar call began.
"Have you analyzed it?" Dick stood and took the thing from Bruce's fingers.
"I was doing that when you came in. I've actually got a match already."
"What is it?"
"A nightingale," Bruce stated simply as he turned the chair to face Dick. "I knew it had to be when I first heard it but I haven't heard one in so many years I had to be sure. As for you," he jabbed a finger at Dick, "You should have known that."
"How the hell should I know it? Nightingales aren't native to America."
"It's not been that long since you've been to a country where they had them. Anyways," he sighed. "Now that you know the calling card of this thief what do you think?"
Dick sat back down, the device still in his hand, and thought. Suddenly it hit him. "Nightingale!" he cried. "How stupid am I?"
"That's a rhetorical question right?"
Dick wasn't listening. "Do you remember me telling you about that female thief? She called herself Nightingale the second time we met. She had just robbed a jewelry store! How could I have forgotten?"
"Have you seen her since?"
"No, I thought she might've just been passing through."
"Getting a little sloppy aren't we?"
"Well not any more. I'm going to catch her if it's the last thing I do!"
