Hola, boys and girls. Thanks as always for the wonderful reviews for "Stories Told and Untold". As promised, here's the quasi-spinoff of the series. I'm not sure how many parts there will be, or how frequently I'll return to it. But for now, please enjoy Part One of Cassandra and Stephanie's adventure.

Thievin' is for Dummies

Starring Batgirl and Robin, the Girl Wonder

By Liam

PART ONE: YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT IN VEGAS, SUGAR

Robin raced along the sidewalk, her eyes scanning the rooftops. She dashed between startled pedestrians and leapfrogged a German shepherd on a leash. Reaching for her utility belt, she grabbed her grapple gun and fired it overhead.

The specialized cable reeled in at amazing speed. In a fluid motion that was the product of months of practice, Robin disengaged her grapple at just the precise moment so that she was catapulted high above the rooftop. Performing a perfect forward somersault, she rolled gracefully to her feet. In an instant, Robin produced a pair of batarangs, ready to unfurl them at any threat.

Months of training with the Batman had honed her skills and sharpened her reflexes. Before latching on with the Dark Knight, Stephanie was The Spoiler, and to call her an amateur crime fighter would be an understatement. She was sloppy, undisciplined, and frankly, a pitiful combatant.

But her hard work had paid off. Less than a year later, Stephanie could sneak up on a half dozen armed thugs with stealth and grace, strike with quickness and precision, and have them all disarmed inside two minutes. She wasn't some kid playing superhero anymore. She was Robin, the Girl Wonder, and she was hella good at her job.

In the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow flitter between A/C units. A batarang flew from her hand, not at where the shadow had been, but where it would be. But her target was clever, ducking just beneath the projectile, and racing to the edge of the rooftop before leaping off.

Robin pursued. At the edge of the rooftop, she peered into the distance. Her target hadn't flown or glided away. So that meant the target was on foot. Clutching her cape, she dropped four stories into the alleyway between the buildings, the fabric billowing like a parachute. After her soft, graceful landing, Robin quickly drew two more batarangs. There was no way she was gonna let the target get away again—

Suddenly Robin shuddered under a heavy impact. A solid mass striking her from behind, square between the shoulders. She crumpled to the ground.

And there was Batgirl, hands on her hips, gazing down at her. Sure, that mask might be covering her face, but Stephanie had no doubt she was smirking beneath that leather.

"Mind…your…surroundings," Batgirl said.

Oh yes. That was a smile in her voice. "You rotten, pernicious snozzwanger!" Stephanie yelled.

"Tag…you're it."

Batgirl fired off a grapple and disappeared into the night.

"Oh no you don't!" Stephanie said. She picked herself up, fired off a grapple, and gave pursuit.

Twenty-five minutes later, the girls sat upon the ledge of the Kane Building, staring out over Gotham's East End. But only after making a pit stop at Burger King. It was kinda funny how the employees working the drive-thru really didn't seem fazed when costumes rolled up to their window.

Stephanie chewed on a chicken sandwich, while Cassandra munched on a triple whopper about the same size as her head. A couple bags of onion rings sat between them. Every so often, the girls would take a slug off the chocolate milkshake they were sharing.

"I'm just sayin'," Stephanie said between bites of onion ring, "that you cheat."

"Do not," Cassandra glared.

"Okay, perhaps cheat is too strong a word. But you were trained by David Cain and Lady Shiva. You're like a kung fu princess. This whole game of tag is like me challenging Bobby Fischer at chess. Of course I'm gonna lose. The deck is stacked against me."

Cassandra grinned. "Not…my fault…you suck."

Stephanie glowered. "I think I liked it better when you couldn't talk at all." She took a bite out of her sandwich. "Man, I have a freakin' chemistry test at eight. I should really get home and review my notes. You're so lucky to be home schooled by Alfred."

"Alfred…puts me…in timeout," Cassandra sulked. Stephanie nearly snorted milkshake out of her nose.

Both girls paused and cocked their heads. Their cowl radios picked up an alert from Gotham Police. Possible armed robbery at a jewelry store on 311 North Benton Avenue.

"That's like four blocks away," Stephanie said. With a wicked grin, she asked, "Ya wanna?"

Cassandra cracked her knuckles. "Let's…do it," she said.

"Rhino! Hurry up, will ya? Sooner we get outta here, sooner I can get to work on my beauty sleep!"

"Yes sir, Mr. Scarface!"

While Rhino and Mugsy smashed and grabbed jewels from the display cases, Tiny and Earl worked with a blowtorch to cut open the safe in the backroom.

"I tell ya, Sugar, good help is hard to find."

"Yes sir, Mr. Scarface."

"Thank goodness I have you, Sugar. You're a step up from that last dummy I had to carry around."

Peyton Riley smiled down at the wooden dummy cradled in her left arm. "Thank you, Mr. Scarface."

"And you're certainly easier on the eyes, toots."

Tall and beautiful, wearing a shimmering red designer gown and matching suede heels, long blonde hair cascading over the left side of her face. Peyton Riley was a picture of beauty. Save for the scars and glass eye the aforementioned hair covered up.

"We've been here five minutes, Mr. Scarface," she reminded. "Two, three minutes max before a police response."

"Right you are, Sugar," Scarface answered. "Alright, boys! Gather up what ya got! Vamanos!"

Rhino and Mugsy tied up their bags. In the back, Tiny scooped diamonds from the freshly cracked safe into a briefcase and hurried to join the others, while Earl struggled to pack up his acetylene torch.

"Alright, boys!" Scarface exclaimed. "Another couple jobs like this, then I say we beat it to Vegas! Let it ride on some blackjack!"

Suddenly a loud crash sounded in back. They turned to find the acetylene torch rig capsized on the floor and no sign of Earl anywhere.

An instant later, the ridiculously inappropriately named Tiny cried out in pain and dropped his briefcase. A sharpened batarang was embedded in his hand.

"Blackjack, eh?" Robin said, standing proudly in the main entranceway. "That's about the only way you're gonna make money in Vegas, because I don't think you'll be making bank on the Strip with that act."

"Well, looky here," Scarface drawled. "If it ain't the new Bat Brat. Get outta here, kid. Come back and fight crime when you can slip into a training bra."

"Ha-ha. Clever. Tell me, have we reached the bit of our witty repartee where I ask which of you is the bigger dummy?"

Peyton made Scarface snap his fingers. "Boys, pluck the little birdie's feathers."

Tiny, Mugsy, and Rhino dropped their loot and drew their weapons. Robin easily evaded the hail of gunfire by retreating from the building, using the wall as cover. But not before she tossed a handful of pellets behind her.

An instant later an explosion of smoke filled the room. And as the goons and Peyton coughed and hacked, Batgirl struck, emerging from the safe room like a phantom.

Tiny, all 6'5, 260 pounds of him, was the one to bear the brunt of her assault. A sharp right cross snapped his head back. Clutching the bulking man by his shoulders, Batgirl brought her knee crashing into his stomach. The wind knocked out of him, Tiny fell in a quivering heap.

An instant after Batgirl launched her attack, Robin leapt into action. Flipping on the echolocation function on her cowl, she could discern objects amidst the cloud of thick grey smoke. She picked the nearest hulking mass of flesh and threw herself at it.

She launched into a flying dropkick, her heavy boots aimed squarely at Mugsy's right kneecap. She tried not to be too pleased at the satisfying sound of his patella shattering under the blow. With a howl of pain, Mugsy fell to his hands and knees. Which, unfortunately for him, brought his chin within striking distance of her "boomstick", a light, but hard metal alloy baton. So he wouldn't walk or talk again for a while. Stephanie was cool with that.

"Boss!" Rhino shouted. "We gotta get out of here!"

"Ya think, ya stupid mook!" Scarface snapped back. The little figure's head craned up to look at Peyton. "Sugar, save yourself."

"But Mr. Scarface…" Peyton started.

"Get goin', Sugar. I'll handle the chickadees. Just wind me up and go."

"Yes sir, Mr. Scarface." To Rhino she said, "Get ready to move."

Setting the dummy on the ground, Peyton wound up a key on his back. Like a toy soldier, Scarface clattered along the floor, right at Batgirl.

"Batgirl, get down!" Robin shouted. But her friend froze, hesitant. And then Robin remembered: Cassandra didn't know how to flip through her cowl's vision modes. With the smoke, she had no idea what was coming.

Robin aimed her grapple at the wall just over Batgirl's shoulder. She rocketed at her friend, grabbing Cassandra and tackling her behind a counter. An instant later, Scarface exploded, his wooden fabrication splintering like shrapnel.

And when Batgirl and Robin looked up, Peyton and Rhino were gone.

"Fish sticks," Stephanie cursed. "Cass, you okay?"

Cassandra nodded. "You?"

She eyed the unconscious bodies of Mugsy and Tiny. "Fine. Except for the fact I have to tell Bats we settled for the consolation prize."

Back at their hideout, Rhino tossed a single bag of loot onto a table. "Sorry, Miss Peyton. That's all I could grab in the confusion."

"Don't worry, Rhino. Once the Boss gets back, he'll show us a new plan. Not only will we be rich, but we'll rid Gotham of its Bat infestation."

"How long will it take for the Boss to return?"

Peyton sat at a work bench littered with wood carving tools. Taking a thick block of wood, she said, "Boss will be back in the morning, good as new."

END PART

So, what do you all think? Reviews make me a happy boy. Anywho, as for "Stories", expect an update this Sunday on October 7. After that, I would expect a week hiatus, with a return on October 21st. I'm scheduled for a week vacation later this month, and I want time to have an extra part or two in reserve. That way I can still update with a new chapter during my vacation, even though I won't be writing during it.