Two - A flip into crime (fighting)

Earth 168

Location: Gotham

Date: December 1, 2023

Time: 10:00 P.M.

However, it did end.

About three seconds after Riley started falling, she decided to do a backflip. What? She said she was going to make a statement. She positioned herself so that she had a higher chance of landing on her feet. "manifestum itinerantur!" She loudly exclaimed, eyes squeezed shut.

About three seconds later, Riley landed at the back of an alleyway in the middle of the Narrows.

While she would proffer to say she landed gracefully in a cool Black Widow-like pose, in reality Riley landed flat on her back after bouncing off of multiple window awnings, fire escapes and dumpsters. "Ow, fuck, shit, ow!" She cursed at the sky as she tumbled towards the ground. The new vigilante laid on her back for a few moments before sitting up and looking around.

Riley knew this alleyway by heart, but it looked so different at night. This was the alley in which she practiced and learned all of her spells. This was the alley in which Mia and David James were found dead in twelve years ago. She wondered if this was the last thing they ever saw, or the joker's face smiling down at them right before he crushed their skulls with the baseball bat that would later become Harley Quinn's.

That was why Riley chose this alley. First to train in for weeks, perfecting her magic and studying the disturbing and ancient-looking textbooks she found in her neighbor's creepy cult basement, and later to teleport to after her first patrol.

The alley was the perfect distance away that the new vigilante could walk home and back in a short period of time, while not leading anyone directly to her aunt's apartment.

It was also less than a block away from the nearest convenience store.

Riley stood up and collected the things that had managed to fall out of her small forest green backpack. Once she was sure she had all of the books and things, she removed both of her masks and pulled her hair out of the braid it was in.

And with that, she walked out into the Gotham night.

Flashback - Westview

"Today I'm here in the town square of Westview, New Jersey, and you can see here just how much damage was caused by the storm. Witnesses are saying they saw Wanda Maximoff fighting a woman in purple robes, but the avenger hasn't been seen in over 5 years. S.W.O.R.D. is giving no comment at this time. I'm Kevin Smith and this is news 14, back to you, Jessica." Said the man on the screen.

McKenzie turned off the TV as it switched to a woman in a room filled with screens saying "Thank you, Kevin. And now breaking news this morning in Gotham-"

"You would tell me if you had super powers, right?" McKenzie asked. This would be a strange question in any other household, but with Riley and McKenzie James it was completely normal. "Of course, Kenz." Riley answered automatically, but this time she wasn't so sure.

Now - Gotham City

Riley stepped into the convenience store and bought a pack of gum before heading to the bathrooms in the back. This store, like most in the city, had a 'restrooms for customers only' policy, which made her glad she decided to throw her wallet into her bag.

She locked the door to the bathroom stall she was in and changed into a simple outfit of black ripped Jeans, a purple V-neck, and a blue and black flannel. The new vigilante pulled her hair out of the braid it was in, and released all of her illusions.

"Dimittis Furta," Riley whispered. Man, that feels better. Will that always feel so weird?

Then, all she had to do was wait until 10:00, which was when the shift change occurred.

10:00 Came fast and Riley was ready. She bought some snacks and started the trek home.

Ten minutes ago - The Rooftop

Nightwing was panicking. The vigilante he had sworn to keep an eye on had just jumped off a building without a grappling gun. By the time he had gotten to the edge of the building, there was nothing there but green and gold mist. "Oh my god."

The next day - The James's apartment

The moment that the new vigilante stepped into the kitchen, she knew that something was wrong. Her aunt was making waffles. She never did that unless she wanted to talk, had a new boyfriend, or both."Hey, Kenz, what's with the waffles?"

McKenzie looked up and smiled "What, am I not allowed to make a nice meal for once?" she said. It was like she was trying to reassure Riley of something, but that just made her more uneasy. "No, I'm just not use to it,"

"Is that a comment on my cooking skills, young lady?"

"Maybe."

"Oh, Just sit down and eat."

"Fine."

About halfway through the meal Kenzie grabbed the newspaper that was sitting on the table. She flipped the pages until she reached the front page. Riley stiffened when she saw the picture on the page.

It was her, Falling towards the traffic.

The text at the top of the page read

'New hero spotted in Gotham!'

The new vigilante had to read it over 5 times before she could believe it. One night in and they already have pictures. "Riley, are you okay?" Just shows Jimmy Olsen's dedication.

"Yeah, Kenz, I'm fine." She said as she forced herself to break eye contact with the newspaper. "I want you to feel safe, wherever we live, no matter what," McKenzie said. "I know," Riley muttered.

Later in the day - the car

"The polls are in, and the people have spoken! The name of the mystery hero is…

Freefall!"

"Ugh, this guy again?" McKenzie grumbled, turning off the radio. The words I have a name, Reverberated through her skull for the rest of the weekend. She had drained herself that first night, both magically and physically, so Freefall only went out Sunday. Nothing too interesting happened, but she slowly realized I don't know what I'm doing, and I need help.

Monday - Middletown North

"Okay, so I may have gotten myself in over my head and I need your help,"," Riley A. James said hurriedly as she sat down next to Kyle Spencer. He had been her close friend and confidant since she had moved back to Gotham. He was from Metropolis, so he had a less pessimistic view of the world. Which was nice of course, but it also made Riley feel older sometimes. This was strange because she had skipped kindergarten.

"I'm sorry, what?" Kyle asked a bit too loudly.

"Dude!"

"Sorry, do you mean too much homework or..?" he whispered.

"I'll tell you on the walk home, okay?" Riley explained.

The school day flew by, and Freefall could barely focus on what the teachers had to say.

After school

Once the vigilante and her friend had gotten a block away from the building, they pulled into the alley on their left. After checking to make sure they were alone, Riley said "I need you to promise me you won't freak out, no matter what."

"Pinky Promise?"

"Shit! Fine, pinky promise."

"I'm Freefall."

"What? No, you can't-"

"Vocationem Fulgur!" Freefall called, directing the electricity flowing through her veins towards the wall behind Kyle.

"You weren't fucking kidding,"

"Nope!"

"Oh my god, my best friend is a vigilante."

"I know, right?"

"Oh my god, my best friend is a vigilante!"

"You already said that."

"I'm friends with Freefall,"

"Okay, this is getting weird."

"I know Freefall's secret identity."

"Kyle,"

"Freefall knows who I am."

"KYLE! While your nerdy rambling is rather flattering, I need you to focus on what I'm about to say, alright?"

"Yes."

"Good. I told you because I need your help with this, Kyle." He nodded vigorously at her words. "And because I don't really know what I'm doing, people could get hurt."

"Alright, what can I do?"

"And while I'm sure you'll need- wait, what?"

"I want to help you, Riley."

"Yeah, I get that, but I had this whole speech planned and you kinda just messed the whole thing up." The vigilante said hurriedly.

"Again, how can I help?"

"Well, where do you think we should start?"

Five minutes later - Kyle's apartment

"I think we should start with a costume redesign and work from there," Kyle said.

"Got it, what do you have in mind?"

Kyle smiled in an almost creepy way at the question, and pulled some slightly crumpled pieces of paper out of his bag. On them were absolutely stunning sketches of Freefall. Next to each sketch were descriptions of the material, dimensions, and use of the pieces. "Wow," Riley said. "These are beautiful."

"Thanks,"

"Oh, don't get too cocky, you're still an asshole."

"Right, we'll need some supplies for this to work,"

After Kyle had explained what they needed, Riley told him that she thought that they could find some of the materials at her apartment.

Sunday night - GCPD

"Commissioner Gordon," an officer said, "there's something you might want to see." She brought him over to her desk across the station. On the desk were at least four rather full folders, with a scrap of baby blue paper, and a darker blue origami butterfly on top of the pile.

"What is all this?" Jim asked.

"The folders contain all we know about the vigilantes of this city. The note and butterfly were found on the scene, taped to Catastrophe's chest." The officer supplied.

"You can put away all of the folders," The Commissioner said, "but leave the evidence on my desk for later, I have a call to make."

Two minutes later - GCPD Rooftop

"So," Batman said as he laded on the rooftop, "I assume this is about Freefall?"

"Yes," Gordon said, "Is she yours, Bruce?"

"No, which is why I was going to call an old friend to investigate."

"No, you can't be thinking-"

"He's our only option, Jim."

"This is an awful plan."

"Do you have any better ideas?"

Spencer Apartment - Monday 5:00 PM

"Kyle, is that a wizard hat?"

"Hey, I thought it looked cool!"

"Yeah, okay, nerd, what other designs do you have?"

"Too many,"

"That isn't helpful, dude."

He showed her countless sketches before they decided on a version very similar to her original. The new variant, where the first had a plain blue v-neck, had instead had a black graphic t-shirt. The symbol on the front was a diamond the same color as her magic with four slash marks through the middle. The rest was the same as before. Simple black zip-up hoodie, black leggings, and black sneakers with cobalt blue laces. Along with her illusions and two masks, the costume was simple but easy to recognize. It also very clearly had not a single bat on it anywhere.

"Okay, I think I'm ready to go out,"

"Wait! One last thing," Kyle said, handing Riley a pair of earbuds "Maybe I could be you Oracle?"

"You want to be my guy in the chair?"

"Well, yeah. What else could that mean?"

"Oh my god, Kyle,"

"What?"

"Yes!"

"Wait, really?"

"Of course! Dude, you're my best friend, why would I ever say no?"

"I don't know? Take these,"

She took the earbuds out of his hands.

"Gratias tibi!"

"What?"

"That means 'Thank you' in Latin,"

"And you call me a nerd,"

"Oh, shut up,"

"You're welcome, by the way."

Freefalll leaped out of the window mere seconds later, giving a joking salute as she went.