We all pick at the dinner Alfred has prepared, before giving up entirely.
"Let's just get this over with." I suggest. My nerves are through the roof, and I know this discussion is going to make or break this whole arrangement.
"Right. Anyone want another drink?" Dick offers, topping his own glass up.
"Can you please be serious." Barbara rolls her eyes. Bruce shoots Dick a look, silencing him. "I have a question." She continues. "How long have you been back in Gotham?"
Oh good. An easy one. "Almost three weeks or so."
"And where have you been staying?" Tim demands, starting me down. I glance around. Everyone in the room knows the answer to this.
It's a test.
"The last couple of weeks I've been staying here with Bruce." I begin, and everyone waits for me to continue. "And my first night back in Gotham I spent in a homeless shelter." Deep breath, moment of truth. "And the time in between, I spent with Edward… Nygma." I look around the room at everyone's reaction.
Bruce gives nothing away- after all, none of this is new to him. Barbara and Dick look as if I've just said something disgusting, faces all screwed up like there's a bad smell. And Tim… Tim is looking victorious.
"At least she didn't lie." Barbara says in my defence. Everyone ignores her.
"Because you're in some sort of sick relationship, right?" Tim continues.
"Yes." I force myself to hold his gaze. Looking away would be a sign of submission, and I am not giving in.
"In a relationship with the guy who held you hostage last time you were in Gotham. That's pretty messed up, new girl." Dick interjects.
"A lot has happened since then." I insist. "A lot has changed."
"Tim, can you please get to the point of your interrogation?" Bruce asks sharply. I look up at him, and recognise his 'running out of patience' look. I should recognise it, he gives it to me often enough.
"Fine." Tim replies to the older man, before turning to me. "How much of what you've learnt here are you telling Nygma?"
"What?" I exclaim. I knew they might think that, but it's insulting all the same. "Not a damn thing, Drake! Yeah, I may be close with Riddler, but Batman is my hero. I've idolised the man since I was ten years old. He is all that is good in this city, completely incorruptible. He's someone people can trust; he gives them something to believe in, and is always succeeding where the police fail! He gives everyone hope. Believe me or not, but I would never, I mean never, help destroy him." I finish, almost breathless.
At some point I've leapt out of my chair, and I'm standing over the table, shouting down at Tim. His eyes narrow at me.
Oh crap. I've done it now.
"Yeah! Go new girl, that's what I'm talking about!" Dick whoops, clapping. Even Barbara joins in, laughing. Bruce gently holds my arm and pulls me back down into my chair.
"Idolise?" He repeats quietly, one eyebrow arched.
"Yeah yeah, don't get a big head about it." I mumble, embarrassed by my outburst.
"Tim? Satisfied?" Bruce asks, looking away from me after a moment. I raise my eyes to meet the other boy's, and after a moment, he nods.
"Yeah. For now, I guess I am." The 'but I'm watching you' goes unsaid.
"Thank God. Now, new girl, pass that bottle." Dick says, earning a disapproving look from Bruce. "What? I'm celebrating. We have a new member."
"Speaking of new member," Barbara says while I pass the nearly empty bottle of wine to Dick. "Did you find my present?"
"I did." I smile at her. "It's really for me? No kidding?" I'm half afraid it's a sick joke.
Barbara smiles softly. "No kidding. I feel like I know you, from everything Bruce has said. And you remind me of another girl Bruce took under his wing, years ago."
"I swear, I'll do my best." I promise her. Dick passes me a full glass, encouraging me to drink up. I do. We empty two bottles, and by the time we all part for the night, we're a little more comfortable with each other. I still don't want to come across Tim with no one else there to mediate, but I'll take it one day at a time.
I slowly walk up the grand staircase towards my bedroom, head spinning a little. I shouldn't have let Dick talk me into a third glass. I can already feel an easy friendship forming between us, and I'd like to get to know Barbara better. I'd always admired her, and knowing her in person only magnifies that.
I make it to my room and collapse onto the bed, lacking the motivation to get changed out of my clothes. Eventually, I doze off.
¿?
I wake up sometime in the night to kick my shoes and my jeans off, so I'm not too uncomfortable when I wake up again in the morning. I wander down to the kitchen in search of coffee to soothe my slightly pounding head. To my surprise, Dick is sitting at the breakfast bar, drinking coffee and making his way through a huge stack of pancakes.
"Any coffee left?" I ask by way of greeting.
He gestures towards the pot on the counter, mouth too full of pancakes to talk. I get busy pouring myself a cup, adding milk and sugar. After the first few sips, I start to feel a little more human.
"Thought you were never going to get out of bed." He says finally. "Have a nice sleep in?"
"Sleep in?" I exclaim. "It's 6:30 in the morning!"
"Yeah." He says as if stating the obvious. "Bruce doesn't get you up at five?" I shake my head. "Must be going soft in his old age."
"I wouldn't let him hear you say that." I laugh.
"Too late." Bruce enters the room, glaring at Dick. "You'll regret that." He threatens, helping himself to a cup of coffee and leans up against the counter.
"No doubt." Dick replies, but he doesn't sound overly worried.
"So, what's the plan today?" I ask, finishing my coffee, ready to start the day. Bruce looks thoughtful.
"Dick, are you still tracking that arms deal?" He asks after a beat.
"Sure am. Hoping it goes down sometime this week. Sionis has been particularly hard to find this time around." He chews thoughtfully. "New girl. You up for it?"
"Helping you with Sionis? Hell yes!"
"Perfect. I'll take new girl out; see if she can handle herself." He winks at me. "Talk to Tim. I doubt he mentioned it last night, but I think he's onto something big." He says to Bruce before standing up to face me. "Pack your gear, newbie, you're with me today."
I give him a quick salute which makes him laugh and Bruce smile before dashing off to the Batcave. I grab a duffle bag from the cupboard, and carefully put my new Bat Suit in it. I put my mask in on top, and zip up the bag. Running back across the manor, I stick my head around the corner of the kitchen where Bruce and Dick are still talking.
"Hey Boy Wonder, do I have time for a shower?" I ask, dropping my bag near the door.
"Sure. But Tim is Boy Wonder now, not me!" He shouts, but I'm already gone and halfway up the stairs. I take a shower and get dressed in record time. I tie my still damp hair up out of my face and dash back down, coming to a stop in front of Dick, slightly breathless.
"Good to go." I announce.
"Right. Let's move." He grabs my bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "We'll report in tonight and let you know where we're up to." I barely have time to shout a goodbye to Bruce before I'm following Dick out to his car. We drive in silence for a while, listening to the radio, until Dick reaches out and turns it down.
"Look newbie, this is the only time I'm going to say this, so listen up." I sit up a little, attentive. "I don't know what your deal is with The Riddler, and honestly, I don't want to know, but if you screw us over, I'll come for you. Not to mention Tim. And it won't be pretty. Deal?" He says, his tone amiable, but his words send a shiver down my spine.
"Sounds fair." I reply, trying to keep my tone as light as his. "But just so you know, I wouldn't sell Bruce out. Or any of you." I correct. "I meant what I said last night. That man has been my hero for over a decade, and even though he may be an ass in person, he's still my hero." I don't have to fake the sincerity in my voice.
"Well." He seems to be struggling for words. "That's… good." He clears his throat. "Alright, enough emotional confessions of adoration. This is my place." We've stopped outside an unimpressive apartment block. I grab my back out of the back seat and follow him up several flights of stairs. I'm getting winded when we finally stop in front of a door, and Dick lets us in.
"Whoa." I breathe as we walk in, dropping my bag. The apartment block wasn't much to look at outside, but Dick's apartment is immaculate. It's all sleek modern style, dark woods and top of the line appliances throughout the apartment, with a display of weapons on the wall above the large television. And it all looks expensive. "Dude, how do you afford this? Crime fighting pays this good?" He snorts.
"Nah. But living with Bruce, I got accustomed to a certain lifestyle." He says, gesturing around. "Technically, I'm an Assistant… something at Wayne Enterprises, and that pays very well." He winks, making me laugh. "Right. Those files on the table are everything I have. Make yourself familiar with the case. I'm going to shower. Don't touch my weapons." With that he stalks off.
I sit down at the large dining table, pulling files towards me and begin to read. Dick comes out of the shower sometime later, sits next to me and grabs a stack of surveillance photos.
"This is Roman Sionis. I'm sure you're familiar with him." He glances up at me, and I nod in answer. "Well word is he has a big arms deal in the works. And if he gets this stuff, he'll put it straight out on the streets. Hand guns, semi automatics, full automatics, RPGs, the works. Gang violence will spike, along with other gun crime, it's just a mess. Better to stop it at Sionis." I nod in agreement.
"Good plan. Do you know who he's buying the guns from?" It may not be important, but I'm interested.
"A contact of his in Bludhaven. I've traced it to Sionis in Gotham, thought I'd give Bruce a hand with it." He shrugs. "Not that it matters. The guns are in the city, and Sionis gets his hands on them this week sometime. I just have to narrow down the when and where."
"And how are we going to find that out?"
"With some not so gentle persuasion of Sionis's men." He replies with a grin that makes me glad he's not after me. "The stack of files to your left is all the profiles I have on known associates of Sionis. Make yourself familiar with all of them, enough that you'd recognise them by sight. I'll take you out with me tonight, if you think you're ready for it?"
I only think about it for a beat. "I am so ready for it!" This is what I've been waiting for. A chance to get out on the streets, to prove to Bruce and everyone that I can be a hero too.
"Alright newbie. Start going through those files, I'll get the coffee going." He pushes his chair back and stands up.
"I'm on it. Out of curiosity, when do you plan on actually calling me by name? It's Belle, by the way."
"I know your name, newbie. And I'll keep calling new girl until you're not the new girl anymore." He says, not bothering to look up while he makes the coffee.
"And when do I stop being the new girl?" I ask, exasperated.
"Well, Tim was the new guy before you…" He trails off, focusing on not spilling the coffees as he brings the mugs over to the table.
"How long did it take for you to start calling him by name?" I prompt when I realise he isn't going to keep talking.
"Well you got here yesterday, so… yesterday." He grins. I roll my eyes at him.
"Great. So I'm new girl until someone else joins the team." I clarify.
"Yep. So get used to it, new girl. Now, pass me some of those profiles. I need to brush up on some faces myself."
A/N: Another update? I know, I was shocked too! Let me know your thoughts!