One - Riley Starts to "save the world" or Whatever

Earth 168

Location: Gotham, New Jersey

Date: December 1, 2023

Time: 7:15 P.M.

"Hey, flame face! Ya dropped this!" Alright, not my best quip, but it'll have to work, Riley thought as she returned the fireball. Flame man didn't seem to like that very much as he kept throwing fire at her.

"Insolent Child!" flamey whined.

"Says the one squealing like a pig on helium!" Riley called while dodging The Man of Flame's well, flames.

"Soon you will bow to the great and powerful Catas-"

"YEET!" Riley screamed at the top of her lungs as she blasted a long spire of water from the nearby water fountain into Catas-whatever's face. It's a miracle this city still has those at all, much less such a fancy one. "Oh I'm sorry, did I ruin your villainous monologue?" Riley said as she strolled across the square. Somehow, fireball dude stood back up and tried to blast her with more fire.

"Dude! You should know by now that fire doesn't do shit!" Riley said as she caught the sphere of flame and hurled it into the fountain.

"Vile insignificant youth! You dare interrupt the imminent Catastrophe!"

So that's his name! "Dude, maybe when you get a gimmick that isn't man dripping in flames, sure!"

Flashback - Westview

Riley A. James opened her eyes to seemingly nothing out of place. And yet everything felt wrong. The room looked exactly the same as when she had gone to sleep the night before. If that even was last night, she thought. It felt as if she had slept for decades , almost like after The Blip. Riley looked at the clock. 8:30. It's Monday, right? Why didn't my alarm go off?

"Weird." she said as she rolled out of bed and checked her phone. Saturday? had I really slept through an entire week? She set down her phone, and as she did so she noticed the red, purple, and blue swirling tendrils encasing her left forearm.

But when she blinked, it was gone.

Now - Gotham City

Catastrophe flailed and screamed as Riley formed blue chains of energy around him. "What, too tight?" She said as she dragged and tied Catastrophe to the fountain in the middle of the square. The plaque on the side of the basin read Donated by Bruce Wayne. Thanks, Brucie.

After the police arrested Catastrophe, likely finding the note and origami that she left for them to find, the new vigilante's first patrol was rather uneventful. She stopped three muggings, two grand theft bicycles, and directed a large group of tourists to the best restaurants in town, and a few other things. She also got yelled at by some old guy telling me to "leave the heroics to Batman," but other than that, everyone was pretty nice. For Gotham, that is.

Which is probably why Riley was surprised when at about 9:30, Nightwing showed up. She was sitting on the side of a building watching the sun set over Old Gotham when suddenly someone landed on the building behind her. She tried to stay calm as they walked over and sat down next to her. After what was probably 5 minutes they said "So, you're the newbie."

Riley looked up. Nightwing? He had slightly long black hair, to the point that he probably should have gotten it cut a month or two before, and smooth, tan skin that had turned somewhat pink-ish, likely due to the cold.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Blüdhaven?" She asked.

Nightwing simply smiled and replied "And aren't you supposed to be in bed? It's late."

She looked down at her phone and then glared up at him. "It's 9:37. I have no idea what you're talking about."

And how did he know I wasn't an adult? I pitched my voice down with an auditory illusion for this exact reason. "Far enough, but I would feel better if you stepped away from the edge of the building a bit, '' Nightwing said, and she did as she was asked.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until Riley said, "So, why are you even here? Its pretty obvious that you didn't want to make small talk with the newbie."

Nightwing sat, thinking for a moment and then said "I want to know how you defeated Catastrophe."

Flashback - Westview

Riley walked downstairs and got breakfast and coffee, still processing what happened in her room. She walked to the living room and sat down on the couch next to McKenzie. She was wearing the old, stained blue Superman shirt that Riley had gotten her when they visited Metropolis and her strange pendant that when Riley asked what it was, she merely told her that it was a gift from John, and that he would keep them safe. The girl was only four years old at the time, so she had believed it. She couldn't have been more wrong.

McKenzie's eyes were glued to the TV and soon, Riley found out why.

Now - Gotham City

"He's been driving us in circles for weeks."

"Oh, that's it? Magic." Riley responded. Nightwing tilted his head in obvious disbelief. "What, you don't believe me? Here, watch" she slowly allowed blue tendrils of smoke-like energy to pool in the palm of her right hand. Now that caught Nightwing's attention. As he stared on, she let the energy flow and swirl in complicated patterns up and down her forearm.

"Where did you learn that?" Nightwing asked, eyes unmoving.

"I didn't."

"What the hell do you mean you didn't?" Nightwing asked, voice rising.

"I donno," Riley shrugged, "It kinda just happened overnight." More or less, but you doesn't need to know the exact specifics, boy scout. She let the energy disperse into the air.

"How long have you had these powers for?"

Nightwing asked. "Less than a month," Riley mumbled, staring at her lap.

"What? Please speak up, kid." Nightwing encouraged.

She tilted her head towards him "Less than a month," she said louder.

Nightwing sighed and asked, "And how much training do you have?"

Riley looked down and sarcastically counted on her fingers "Do you count reading books or not?" She said, the anxiety in my voice obvious.

"No. Why?" Nightwing asked.

"Then almost none." Riley said with false cheer.

"Why almost?" Nightwing asked, clearly concerned for her well-being.

"I've done some experimentation with some spells in an alley, if that counts, as well as martial arts and gymnastics training since I was like, three."

"I wouldn't consider that 'almost none.'" Nightwing countered.

"I meant in the magic field." She explained.

"How many fist fights have you been in?" Nightwing queried.

"Two or three, in my vigilante career, that is."

Nightwing did a small double-take before Riley said "magic, remember?"

The conversation went on like this for quite a time, before Riley said "alright, well, I'd better get going."

Nightwing nodded slightly and said "Would you like it if I walked you home?"

"Oh, hell no! I mean, no offense but, secret I.D. and all, so, no thanks." She picked up her backpack, stood up and turned around, back facing the edge of the building and the rest of Gotham.

"What are you doing?" Nightwing asked in a fast, worried voice.

"There are cameras pointed at us from every angle and I, for one, intend to make a statement." Riley said, sliding her backpack over her shoulder.

In that exact moment, Nightwing was speechless.

And that was when Riley A. James leapt off the building in an unstoppable Freefall.