"Reckless as usual, Master Damian?" Alfred asked.
Damian scowled at his butler. Lynn carefully bandaged Damian's hand and sighed.
"Sometimes I think you have a death wish, D." Lynn said.
"I was merely using the most effective solution to solving the problem when the situation deemed it necessary."
"You're lucky you weren't infected. If the cut was any deeper, you'd probably need a new hand…." Lynn said while examining Damian's hand.
"You're being over dramatic. I can take care of myself just fine – I don't need stitches." Damian said scowling.
Lynn pinched Damian's cheek.
"with me by your side – as if I'd let you walk around with a bleeding arm. What is wrong with you? Stiches aren't so bad... you're not even afraid of needles anyway."
Damian clicked his tongue.
"Women are such a pain. They worry about every single thing in the world even when it does not concern their well-being." Alfred frowned and pulled Damian's hand to his eye level.
"Master Damian, I'd appreciate if you learned to thank Lady Lynn for her concern towards your rash behavior instead of putting down the entire female population." Alfred said with a raised eyebrow.
Damian furrowed his eyebrows.
"Marvelous work, Lady Lynn. I'm surprised you know thorough medical care at such a young age. Where did you pick up this…odd skill if I may ask?"
Damian stared at Lynn.
"That's right. you've never mentioned anything before." Damian said, curiosity getting the better of him.
Lynn's eyes casted downwards to her loafers and her mouth hung open. She clenched her fists and bit her lower lip.
"An old colleague of my mother taught me everything I know…it was a very long time ago though." Lynn's back was facing the two as she cleaned up.
Damian and Alfred exchanged glances.
"Damian, you hacked into the mainframe again didn't you?! Do you know how hard it is to rewir-" Tim stopped abruptly as he stepped into Damian's room.
Sea blue eyes met hazel ones and Tim shrieked.
"Master Tim, please refrain from trying to commit murder while we have guests around. I shall make tea for everyone." Alfred said before he left.
"What do you want, Drake? I'm busy." Damian said.
Tim glared at Damian.
"You must be Lynn, I'm Tim Drake – Damian's older brother. I've heard so much about you." Tim said as he stood before Lynn with a flashy smile.
"He's not my brother." Damian rolled his eyes.
Tim scowled at Damian.
"You've heard about me…? From D?" Lynn asked.
Damian shot a death glare at Tim.
"Um…. Well, from both Alfred and Dick as well. I heard you've been taking really good care of our little troublemaker. Must be tough huh…." Tim said.
Honestly, Tim wasn't afraid of Damian but he really didn't want to rewire the entire mainframe again today.
"Oh, I-it's nothing. D's a really good kid at heart!" Lynn exclaimed happily.
Tim suppressed his laughter by coughing very loudly.
"I'm sorry, did you say 'good kid'?" Tim couldn't believe his ears. Someone used the word 'good' and 'Damian' in the same sentence. Was that theoretically possible?
Damian wanted to murder Drake so bad right now.
"D has a heart of gold under that rock solid exterior of toughness – he just isn't good at expressing his feelings." Lynn smiled.
Damian squinted his eyes and used his right hand to cover Lynn's mouth.
Muffled noises came out of Damian's hand.
"What do you want, Drake? I don't have time to chit chat with you about things like coffee and Conner's muscles."
Tim scowled.
"Bruce is still in England for a board meeting so he has given me instructions on bringing you along with me for tonight's event." Tim said.
Lynn looked up at middle parted black hair and blue eyes.
Damian clicked his tongue.
"Father is being delusional. I can go by myself – I don't need you to hold me back, Drake." Damian frowned.
"Master Damian, with your current injuries I would kindly advise you to refrain from tonight's activities." Alfred said.
Damian opened his mouth ready to speak his mind.
"But of course, you would never listen to other people's advice." Alfred continued.
"D, you have some sort of high end gala tonight? Can't you just skip it?" Lynn asked.
"I'm still very much in one piece, Reddington. I still have legs and arms attached – you're overreacting."
Tim raised an eyebrow.
"D, I'm worried about you. I don't want you being reckless and end up killing yourself."
"Woman, I don't need you worrying about me when I can take care of myself just fine!" Damian yelled.
Lynn frowned and crossed her arms over chest. Lynn approached Damian with furrowed eyebrows and puffed cheeks.
"If you can't see the difference between being worried about your well-being and overreacting – I don't see why my presence is welcomed here."
Lynn was tired – she had many other things to do on her agenda and with Damian being a stubborn little prick she found no reason to stay any longer. She needed to stay calm and preserve her energy for many more other priorities tonight.
Damian blinked and bit his lower lip.
Shit.
"Reddingt-"
"It was nice meeting you, Tim. I look forward to seeing you some other time but if you'll excuse me." Lynn said as she headed for the door.
"Would you like to me to send you home?" Tim said scratching the back of his head.
"Wait Reddington." Damian said.
"It's fine, Tim. Thank you for the kind gesture but I'd like to walk back home today."
Tim closed his mouth.
Alfred approached with a tray of tea and cookies.
"Leaving so soon, Lady Lynn?" Alfred raised an eyebrow while maintaining his neutral expression.
"Yes, thank you for the food Alfred."
Lynn slid through the double doors without a second word.
"She was worried about you – and you told her off and made her mad. Nice job, Damian. I never thought the day would come for me to say this, but you seriously need to start taking dating advice from Dick." Tim said.
"Go to hell, Drake."
"Hey, Ed!" Lynn said as she waved happily and ran down the hall towards Edward's locker.
"Hey, Lynn. Done for the day?" Ed asked as he closed his locker with a 'thud'.
Edward wore the classic Gotham Academy uniform with a grey blazer and a checkered tie. He was taller than Lynn by two heads and had a smile on his face.
Lynn smiled and chimed.
"You're done with class right?" Lynn asked.
Edward nodded as his slung his backpack over his shoulders – his messy blonde hair tangled as the wind blew before them.
"Great! Let's go!" Lynn stated as she held Edward's left hand and dragged him to the exit.
"What? Where are we going? I need to be back at Kord Tech for a –"
"Your company can survive without you for a day, Ed. You're a kid – have some fun for once!" Lynn said.
"And some extra calories to your diet."
"I'll have the mac and cheese, a large vanilla milkshake and the Red velvet." Lynn said.
"I'll have the-" Edward was cut off.
"He'll have what I have." Lynn smiled at the waitress before scavenging her backpack.
"You're going to regret for the rest of your life if you don't try their bestsellers on the menu." Lynn said.
"Are you sure you can finish all that?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lynn laughed.
"You mistake me for the girls in the cheerleading squad. I have no desire to go on a low carb, dairy-free, gluten-free diet. I might die from the lack of cheese, potatoes or milkshakes." Lynn replied.
Edward smirked.
"You know…. You're a lot different from the usual girls I've met. You're…..unique." Ed started.
Lynn snorted and furrowed her eyebrows.
"You do know unique is just a glorified word for weird right?"
Ed laughed.
"No, seriously. I mean most girls I meet eat salad for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – talk about celebrities and discuss about butt and lip implants. Oh, and they will never ever eat fries in front of guys – because it ruins their image."
Lynn rolled her eyes at him.
"Is that the life of every teenage girl nowadays? I'd rather jump off a building then not be allowed to eat greasy fries in front of a guy." Lynn said as she shoved a handful of fries into her mouth.
Edward snorted and dug into his milkshake.
"Oh my god."
Lynn raised an eyebrow.
"This. Is. Amazing. How could I have lived all my life without knowing this delicious concussion existed on the face of the earth?"
"Edward my man, welcome to my world." Lynn said as she held her milkshake in the air.
"I have a feeling we were destined to meet, Lynn Reddington." Edward said.
Lynn smirked and raised an eyebrow.
"I mean what is the chance two super weirdos can get this excited about milkshakes?"
"wait till you taste the Red Velvet cake because that my friend, is going to knock your socks off."
"I'm not even wearing socks but I'm beyond excited to try them."
The waitress approached their table with a tray of food.
"Mac and cheese for two?" The waitress gave the both of them a long and weird stare as she set the food in front of us.
"Thanks." Lynn said.
"So, putting all these amazing food aside – I have a favor to ask." Lynn said.
Edward looked at her with a mouth full of mac and cheese.
"This." Lynn said as she held a tiny black memory card in her hands.
"Please don't tell me you're not going ahead with the plan to hack into national security to change their screensavers to Deadpool's ass." Edward said with a shocked face.
Lynn hit his arm.
"I've been trying to decrypt the encryption on this for weeks but this is way beyond my level. I kind of need you to help me crack this." Lynn said.
"And this is?" Edward furrowed his eyebrows.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone." Lynn said, her eyes looking straight into his light blue ones.
Edward looked down at Lynn's hand holding onto his left, her grip tightening. Edward gulped and looked back into hazel eyes.
"Alright, I won't tell anyone. Now what is this anyway?" Edward asked.
Lynn sighed in relief.
"They're classified files from the Attorney General's office."
Edward choked on his mac and cheese.
"What?!" He raised his voice.
Lynn silenced him by covering his mouth.
"Calm down. My father's a detective and he's working on this case…he thinks someone from the District Attorney's office is leaking information back to illegal information brokers across Gotham. He managed to have someone copy the software but the encryption is top ninja level. And I thought, 'hey, if only I knew someone who had the brains to decrypt this!' "
"Wait, your father's a detective?"
Lynn nodded.
Edward was suddenly silent and stared down at his mac and cheese. He furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms.
"and you want me, to decrypt the DA's office system software? Doesn't the GCPD have their own super IT hackers. People that are way above my pay grade?" Edward asked.
"Don't be silly. You earn 10 times more than what the GCPD would be able to pay them! You're Ted Kord's grandson! I've seen you on the news! You're a role model, Ed. The fact that you're coming up with the most innovative and creative technology in the country when you're only a kid is astonishing!"
Edward frowned and scratched the back of his head. The idea of getting skin deep with authorities like the GCPD and the DA's office wasn't exactly his idea of fun. He could risk getting himself exposed... Which was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.
"please? with cherries on top? You'd be helping a lot of people, Ed. Gotham is plagued with villains and criminals on a daily basis... If we can do our part in helping this city, even if it's only a little – we can prevent the killings of more innocent people, we can bring peace to the citizens of Gotham."
Edward placed his milkshake on top of the counter – looking into his own hazy reflection on the milkshake's frosted glass. His mind was telling him no…. to stop getting himself involved in all this. He wanted an escape – not something to get him even deeper to no return.
"Ed?" Lynn asked.
Edward looked into hazel eyes and adjusted his thick black framed glasses.
"Are you sure you're not running for office?" Edward asked with a smirk.
"Who's that?" Lynn asked.
Lynn looked at blonde wavy hair styled into a perfect up-do accompanied with bold red lips - coral blue eyes twinkling as her arched eyebrows furrowed.
"Victoria Banks. The most popular and prettiest girl in all of Gotham Academy." Lindsey rolled her eyes.
Lindsey was a quiet and shy girl who worked backstage in Drama club. She had short strawberry auburn hair and was probably the only person Lynn had met that was shorter than her.
"Why do I get a feeling that my bitch radar is going off like crazy?" Lynn raised her eyebrow.
"I've heard she has a reputation for sleeping with all the hotties in school – and that includes Kenneth Bucktard." Lindsey replied.
Lynn furrowed her eyebrows and gave Lindsey a nasty look.
"That's gross eww – she slept with Fucktart? I'd rather sleep with Donald Trump…"
Lindsey rolled her eyes at Lynn.
"What's she doing?" Lindsey asked.
The two of them were having lunch behind a big oak tree in the garden of the academy. The garden was right behind the main science lab building.
"More importantly, what's she doing in the science lab? She sure doesn't look like someone who spends her free time looking at red blood cells."
Lynn and Lindsey peeked out from the big oak tree and tried their best to get a closer look.
"Oh, there's someone else!" Lindsey said.
A man with a white lab coat opened the door of the main building and greeted the girl in. the two of them stared into each other's eyes and smirked before closing the door.
"That man…." Lynn said putting a finger on her chin.
"Isn't that who teaches the junior year chemistry? I heard he's a douchebag." Lindsey said.
Lynn was about to ask more when the bell sounded heavily.
"times like these I'm thankful that I'm short."
The black Kevlar surrounded her small body like a shield, and her metal cladded combat boots weighed heavily as she moved through the AC vent. Her hair was tied into a braid and the black mask stuck to her face skin tight.
"Two lefts, three rights… this is it." She looked through the small vents and once she felt that there weren't any guards she lifted up the metal casing and jumped down to the floor beneath her gently.
Darkness engulfed her as she relied on the bare moonlight to make her way through the room. Supercomputers and processors lined up the room and she stood in front of one. She crouches down and unlocks the zipper beside her suit and shoves out a tiny device.
She inserts the device into the slot behind the computer and waits for the screen to light up.
The screen lights up and the program runs. She immediately works on typing on the keyboard.
Search: Digger Harkness
Results found: (1)
Digger Harkness AKA Captain Boomerang
Escaped from Iron Heights Prison two months ago.
Current whereabouts unknown.
Known associates: The Rouges
"That wasn't helpful at all…" She says as she types another name into the search result.
Results found: (1)
MetLabs File
"What's this…?" she raised an eyebrow as she clicked the file.
A pop up window showed up and the lights went on.
You do not have permission to view this file. Access denied.
"Shit."
"Security breach. Code red. I repeat security breach, Code red."
the alarms around her sounded loudly as the lights turned on in the hallways. She crouches down and reaches out for the device and drops it back into the side of her suit and makes a run for the door. She starts running for the nearest exit as she hears footsteps behind her.
"Hands in the air!" Multiple guards armed heavily with guns are on her trail.
She runs faster for the nearest window on the third floor but as she gets closer a metal door slides down trapping her with the multiple guards without an exit.
"Should have thought twice before breaking and entering into ARGUS." One of the guards says as he aims his gun at her.
She frowns as she puts her hands in the air.
"Try anything funny and this will end very badly for you-" The guard says halfway as she flips the man twice her size onto the ground and with a painful break of his arm. The guard screams in pain and the other guards fire their weapon.
Bullets are firing across thin air until a transparent force field collides with the bullets and they fall scattered to the ground.
"What the hell?!"
She raises one hand out and her eyes now glow a burning red as she brings the force field down and sends the guards flying towards the end of the wall simultaneously.
One guard rushes towards her and sends a punch her way. She dodges it swiftly while tripping the guard to his knees and kicks another in the face.
More come crashing at her and she closes her eyes for a second and reopens them as she snaps her fingers. A swift fire erupts out of thin air and she manipulates the fire into a circle around her.
"A fire? How?!" The guards start coughing and back away from the blazing fire.
The safety system works its magic and the metal doors are reverting back to reveal the exit. The sprinklers system start gushing out water from the ceiling and the blazing fire starts to simmer down.
The figure makes a run for the exit without a second thought as two of the guards start chasing her.
"Hey!" She leaps towards the exit and jumps out of a window on the third floor.
The two guards stare in awe as her figure erupts into flames and ignites the dark night sky.
She gives them one last look as she floats on air then vanishes into the night sky.
"Hey, Lynn!" Edward's voice called out from behind her.
Lynn turned around only to bump into Edward's chest.
"Sorry…" Lynn said as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.
Edward raised his eyebrow.
"Tough night?" He asked.
"You bet…" Lynn said as she yawned.
Edward leaned against the lockers as he looked into sleepy hazel eyes.
"what do you say we go for milkshakes?" Edward asked rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away.
Lynn stopped in the middle of her tracks.
"Sur-"
"Reddington."
Lynn turned around only to be greeted by strict emerald eyes and black hair. Damian wore the classic Gotham Academy uniform except he ditched the blazer and his checkered tie was loosely dangling by his collar.
"Damian?" Lynn asked.
Damian shuffled his spiky black hair and shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers.
"I apologize." Damian said.
Lynn furrowed her eyebrows and scratched her chin.
"I'm sorry I'm really tired and I don't think I caught that. What did you say?" Lynn asked.
Damian frowned.
"I said…..I'm sorry for the other day. I shouldn't have treated you like that when you were just genuinely concern about my well-being."
Lynn stood frozen for a few seconds until she remembered what happened.
"Oh, you mean that night? I forgot… it's no big deal really D. Apology accepted." Lynn said.
Here I am being worried about how I was supposed to apologize and this woman has the audacity to tell me she forgot?
Damian scowled.
"D?" Lynn asked.
I didn't come here for nothing.
"I'll treat you to milkshakes today. My treat – as compensation." Damian said.
Lynn looked back at Edward and back at Damian and then back at Edward again.
"I'm sorry D but Ed kind of asked first." Lynn said.
Damian shot a predatory glare at Edward and he flinched.
Why do I get a feeling he wants to kill me in unimaginable ways?
"Ed?" Damian asked, annoyed.
"Edward, this is Damian." Lynn announced.
"So you're Damian Wayne? I've heard so much about Bruce Wayne's son." Edward said as he reached out his hand.
Damian shook his head with tad bit too much force and sent an icy glare towards the boy before him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kord." Damian said.
Edward winced as he looked at his red, swollen hand.
"Reddington, do I need to remind you I've known you longer than him? And that means I should be prioritized when it comes to spending time with my friend."
Lynn bit her lower lip and stared back at Edward.
"Maybe we could reschedule, Ed?" Lynn asked.
Damian smirked as he literally did a happy dance in his head.
In yah face, sucker!
Edward frowned and he was not backing down.
"This is about the chip you gave me the other day." Edward whispered in her ear.
Lynn's eyes lit up and she sighed.
"D… this is kind of important. Do you think we could-"
"I knew her first, Kord. She's coming with me!" Damian announced rather publicly as he grabbed Lynn by the wrist and shoved her behind his back protectively.
Damian was always one who wanted to keep things dearest to him to himself. As a child, his favorite toys were always his and his only and no one would dare to touch them.
Ongoing lookers by the hallway gave the three of them awkward glances at what looked like a love triangle.
Edward who was usually shy but dorky frowned.
"Look Damian, Lynn and I have some important business to discuss." Edward wasn't going to back down. in the past, he would have never thought of going up against someone like Damian Wayne but after seeing how Lynn's eyes lit up when it came to Damian Wayne made him feel…. Vulnerable.
Damian gasped.
This guy was calling Lynn on a first name basis…. He knew her for way longer than her and they weren't even on that level!
"Guys…let's calm down alright?" Lynn said as she got between the two guys.
"I know the perfect solution!"
"So… two chocolate milkshakes and one mac n cheese." Lynn said.
"I'll have a serving of whole wheat pancakes with extra blueberries and a tall glass of orange juice." Damian said.
"I'll have the casserole with mashed potatoes." Edward said.
The waitress walked back to the counter with their orders.
"D, you don't mind Edward and I eating meat will you?" Lynn asked.
"He's vegan?" Edward asked.
"I'm a vegetarian. I suppose you don't know the difference between the two, do you?" Damian asked.
Edward frowned.
"D…." Lynn warned sending him a glare.
Damian clicked his tongue.
Their orders arrived and Lynn happily gulped down her chocolate milkshake.
"So, I assume the two of you met in Drama Club activities?" Damian asked.
Lynn and Edward exchanged glances and nodded.
I put down my guard for one second and some guy comes waltzing into her life.
"Ed's in charge of the technical stuff in the club. He's amazing! He can do everything by himself!" Lynn announced happily.
Edward awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he smiled. He wasn't used to praises thrown at his face.
"You're over exaggerating, Lynn."
Lynn chomped down on a spoonful of mac n cheese.
"So I heard Kord Technologies has a new internship program for college students." Lynn said with a mouthful of macaroni.
Edward ate his casserole, "Mhm. One of the interns is my new assistant – you should meet him some time. His name's Ja-"
"You've went to the Kord Tech HQ?" Damian asked.
Lynn gulped.
"Yes…?"
Damian squinted his eyes and chomped down on his pancakes.
"You know you're welcome to come by Wayne Enterprises any time. Wayne Tech, Wayne Pharmaceuticals are all subsidiaries under WE after all. If you're lucky, you won't have to see Drake there." Damian said with an arrogant tone.
"Really?! I always wanted to visit! It'd be nice if I could meet Tim again…."
Edward frowned.
"Kord Tech has a talking AI as its building operator." Edward said.
"Wayne Tech has the most secure security system in the world."
"Kord Tech built the particle accelerator prototype."
"Wayne Tech has the Bat-"
"I have a dog that eats carrots!" Lynn yelled.
The two boys looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Jesus Christ. Rich people and their never ending egos – can't you just finish your food in silence?" Lynn asked rolling her eyes.
Edward lowered his head and went back to eating his casserole.
"Instead of hearing the two of you bragging about your multi-dollar companies, why don't you two come over my house next time? Movie night!" Lynn said.
"No. I will not tolerate another Disney movie. I will kill you, woman." Damian said.
"I don't mind watching Disney movies." Edward said with a smile.
"Then you don't have to come D."
Damian clenched his fists.
No way in hell I'm going to let some nerd spend the night with her alone.
"No. I'll come - but I declare the need for my own popcorn." Damian said.
The waitress walked over with a bill in her hands.
"The total will be $25."
Lynn fished out for her purse ready to pay her share of the bill but Edward stopped her.
"I'll pay. My treat."
Damian scowled and took out a $50 dollar bill from his wallet.
"I don't need someone else paying my food – plus It's only right to leave a generous tip." Damian replied.
"A $25 dollar tip? That's equal the amount of what we just ate, D." Lynn said.
Edward scowled and fished out another bill.
"$75!" Edward announced.
Damian declared war starting now.
"$100!"
"$110!"
"$130!"
"$200!" Damian yelled.
Edward smirked.
"$250 hah!" Edward said as he slammed the multiple bills on the table.
Damian clicked his tongue and grunted in annoyance.
"Damn it." Damian said as he flipped his wallet upside down scavenging for more cash.
Lynn sweat dropped and slammed her palm against her forehead. Seriously, why did she have to be friends with billionaires? It was like they carried bundles of cash with them.
Arguing about who should give a bigger tip at a diner? My life is over. They're going to humiliate me and get me kicked out from my favorite place.
She pulled out $30 from her purse and gave it to the waitress in silent.
The waitress thanked her and left the table.
"So what is this about?" Lynn asked as she sat in the bean bag of Edward's private office.
Edward turned around and keyed in a passcode into his computer.
"Lynn."
Lynn looked up at Edward's sea blue eyes in awe.
Edward crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the office.
"The chip you gave me the other day. Where is it from?" Edward asked, eyes suddenly serious.
Lynn opens her mouth and shuts it close before opening them again.
"District Attorney's office. I told you my father's from the GCPD-"
"I traced the source of the information and it says it's the property of the CIA." Edward said.
The two stared straight into each other's eyes. Lynn's mouth went dry as she struggled to find the right words.
"either this chip's lying or it's you, Lynn – and I would have known if the information inside here is fabricated."
Edward's hands grip against the glass table and his voice is small and wavering.
"Who are you, Lynn Reddington?"
I know I've been gone for way too long – but I kind of just finished my finals two days ago and I've been typing nonstop since then. I apologize if this was a long wait! I'll be hosting a SHOUTOUT event to help out anyone who wants to promote their books on wattpad so be sure to check out the next chapter (which will be a notice/information regarding the shoutout event.)
I hope more and more people are getting a better idea of what's installed for the future of warmth and will continue to support and read warmth! If you liked today's long awaited chapter – be sure to vote, comment, review, kudos! Tell me who you think is Phoenix and what's going to happen the next chapter – there's a big easter egg in today's chapter where I will introduce a new character very soon.
For the time I was gone DC has been really upping their game at SDCC and boy did I wish I was there…. Who else is excited for the killing joke, wonder woman, justice league, suicide squad and the lego batman? I know I am!