A/N) Here's random fun story. I had fun writing it anyway
He feels them before he sees them.
Robin squints his eyes down on his target of the night, a common purse thief struggling with a woman in a typical run down alleyway on a typical Friday night in Gotham.
But his attention is split.
There was someone following him - badly, but still - following him around most of the night. And if Robin was being honest with himself someone had been attempting to follow him for most of the week...
He just didn't think it was worth noticing or mentioning to himself or anyone else the first two times.
It's Gotham- you get paranoid phantom feelings after living here awhile, it messes with his instincts sometimes.
But yep, someone was most definitely following him- they haven't tried anything yet so that's good but still- what did they want?
Criminal scout? Too obvious.
Undercover CIA secret service? Too clumsy.
Stalker fan? Hmm- that one would be ironic- what with how he got the job as Robin after all.
The woman's screams echo, a cat jumps out of a toppled trash can with a murderous yowl, and the thug lets out a curse when the poor victim hits him across the face with a piece of bottle trash she managed to pick up.
Gothamite for sure this one.
But the thug was bigger and angrier so- time to step in.
A flash of -purple? - zips past his perineal vision and Robin barely has time to register that it's a person - his stalker? - when the purple clad body lands on the thug and sends the thick set man crumbling against the dirty brick wall.
The woman is still gasping from fear and adrenaline as the purple clad Ninja? Lands one messy punch and workable kick after another on the heaving man.
Robin forgot that he was supposed to be the one down there. His eyes are wide as he tries to discern if this person was someone he recognized.
Female, definitely female from the curve of her hip and chest that the dark body suit wasn't hiding at all, her narrow shoulder line that flashed out from under a deep purple cape and her height which her scuffed knee high boots were not adding to was pretty average... calculating the statistics of this person Robin concludes with some concerns-
That he does not know her.
Friend or foe... well she was beating up the bad guy so maybe Friend?
But her technique is messy, her movements so boldly graphed, and her force was misplaced in the wrong muscles...
Amateur.
Stalker fan it is then.
The thug was out though, after he nailed the purple clad girl with a punch to her side before she managed to trip-flip him against his own weight which was something. She staggers a bit and picks up the object of this man's ill willed desire.
"Oh oh, thank you miss- um- are you like a new Batgirl or something?" The lady says, confusion evident in her voice as she wipes away tears and takes her property from the Purple Poser.
"Hey no problem fair citizen!" A false bravado chirps through the full masked face.
Robin resists a snort- what?
"And no- I am not the new Batgirl- that would be cool though but no! You can call me-" she pauses for some reason,"-The Spoiler! And I just spoiled that guys evening plans with your money!"
Okay, this was getting ridiculous.
"O-oh-" the lady cracks... "um... okay, thanks though. Really. Have a good night."
The girl cocks her head and sort of deflates for a moment but puffs her ample chest out anyway and salutes.
"No need for thanks! All in a day's work for your friendly neighborhood Spoiler!" And she swishes her cape dramatically and - and runs... down the alley way.
Robin stares after her, mouth open and eyes wide behind his mask...
What just... happened?
The freshly rescued lady below seems to be thinking the same thing as she scratches her discombobulated head with a small 'huh, weird' and turns to head home, stepping over the still passed out thug.
Ooookay.
That was weird.
"Enjoy the show bird boy?"
Robin gasps and turns around, cape fluttering properly behind him.
"I- no- who are you?" He reaches for his compact titanium staff behind his back just in case. Although, with the unorganized and choppy show he just witnessed earlier he's pretty sure he could take her without a weapon.
But like he said earlier to himself, can't be too careful... and also paranoia.
"I just told you, I'm the Spoiler, or did you miss that part?" She puts her hands on her hips and tilts her masked head at him.
You know, if her voice wasn't so clear and edge-less, her outfit might be unnerving, also maybe if it was less... purple?
"Eggplant."
Huh?
Robin tilts his head at her now completely thrown. What's happening to him? Batman would not be pleased by how befuddled Robin was right now.
"You said if I was wearing less Purple, I resent that, it's Eggplant."
Oh. Had he said something out loud?
"Well- whatever color it is, that doesn't answer my question. Who are you? And why were you stalking me?"
She taps her clothed chin and rocks on her thick boot heels as she tilts forward at the waist coyly, "Hmm, I wonder."
That wasn't an answer either.
Robin narrows his eyes at her now, she's playing a game, he was taught to watch out for games from unknown forces.
"Also I wasn't stalking you- I was observing."
"What for?" Why is he still talking to her? He should just tie her up and take her to Batman or something.
"Duh!" She smacks her forehead, "to see how you do what you do - that and also - you're waaaaay less scary than Batman." She shudders with an unseen memory.
"That... you were following me to see how I-"
"Do the superhero thing!" She says it like it's so obvious and why is he not catching on?
Robin grimaces. Was this how Batman felt when he came charging in? Unconvinced and concerned for his untrained child self?
Maybe.
But no time to worry about that right now.
"Listen - um- we - Spoiler was it?"
She nodes enthusiastically. Eh this was going to be uncomfortable.
"Um - right well, I'm just going to tell you that I-"
"Think I was a dazzling hero? That I'm a natural born crime fighter? That I have a killer fashion sense and bold fighting skills!"
"I think you should take off that silly outfit and go home before you get hurt or worse."
There - it was harsh but it had to be said. Batman has enough problems to deal with and a wannabe in an 'eggplant' colored outfit shouldn't be added to the list.
But he feels her deflate then bristle even if he can't see her facial expressions.
Her stance gets defensive and her hands go to her hips more firmly this time, less hero posing more offended." Hey now, what makes you say that?"
How to put this delicately?
"Besides your atrocious form and terrible clumsy attempt to stop a purse thief? You have no stealth and I could sense you coming a mile away." Well, that wasn't delicate but Robin doesn't want a well-meaning innocence death on his hands.
Best to be direct.
She steps back. "You can't judge me, who are you to judge how and what I can do?"
Uh oh. Defensive and getting angry.
"Listen Miss -"
"Spoiler!"
"-what we do is dangerous and not everyone should be out here jumping around untrained in brightly colored capes okay. You could seriously get killed."
She huffs at him and if her hair was showing from under her obnoxious purple hood she would have flipped it.
"Well thanks for your two cents Mr. Righteous. But I'm going to be a kick-butt hero and if you're not going to help me out then I'm going to do it alone. See ya, jerk."
Robin's eyes widen as she turns to jump off the ledge of the rooftop. "Wait no wait!"
She dives and he's too late to grab her when she flips midair and lands too hard for her knees to be healthy for long on the ground below her. Then, with a clear flip of her hand she sticks her thumbs where her ears should be and wiggles her fingers at him...
He's pretty sure that sock mask over her face was supposed to limit her ability to express much... her body language however clearly showed what she thought of him.
Robin almost laughs... but then the very real idea that this individual could potentially get herself killed sinks in again and he lets out a sigh. He should probably catch her.
He's about to do just that when a gunshot rings out from somewhere in the opposite direction and he's lost eyes on the girl.
Oh well... maybe, if she's smart she'll take what he said to heart and take off the cape.
Stalker fans couldn't be that crazy right?
Um- he takes out his grappler shooter and aims - he's not being hypocritical... he's not.
He jumps off the roof and swings.
And anyway, it takes a certain type to be able to handle this for real. And not everyone could be that type.
Three armed robberies and four mugging attempts later and Robin still can't shake the worrying niggle in the back of his mind.