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Of all the things Robin wanted to deal with today, Spoiler kidnapping a guy and claiming he works for Falcone was pretty low on the list.

Working with Stephanie had always been a nightmare. She went purely off of gut feelings and what 'felt right'. Not in the way Dick did. He had a track record of anticipating the outcome of things before they happened. Steph didn't possess this track record.

Tim tried to keep an open mind, she'd asked for his help after all. So maybe she knew she needed some concrete evidence before going any further.

That was what he thought. That wasn't what he walked into.

He followed her instructions to some abandoned apartments just outside of the slums to find some guy blindfolded, tied to a chair, in the middle of the open room. It shocked him for half a second. Had he stumbled onto something else that he wasn't anticipating. Before he had a chance to probe the man for some information Steph (Well they're in the field so Spoiler) pulled him into a side room.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked her. His voice hushed but angry.

"Doing what you told me." She replied simply.

Robin stared at her for a couple seconds. "When did I tell you to do this?" He gestured back to the tied up man in the living room.

"You said follow up on leads."

"That doesn't mean kidnap them."

"He has information I need."

"What information?"

She pulled a cellphone from behind her, handing it to him. "He has connections to Falcone."

Robin didn't respond. He glanced back at the hostage. He didn't seem like the type of guy that would be involved with someone like Falcone. More like the stereotypical nine to five middle management type of guy.

"How do you know?" He asked her.

"I just do."

Robin huffed. "Spoiler, you need some sort of evidence that he's associated with Falcone."

She hesitated. "My dad keeps a backlog of people like him. I don't have any 'hard proof' that's why I need your help. I don't trust my father but I know he likes to be on the up and up of which crime lord is making some headway."

"Falcone has been nothing but quiet. Has been for years."

He'd been quiet since Dick's time as Robin. After Maronie went down Falcone wasn't far behind. Doing a lot more under the table things. Mobsters were less prevalent than the murderous clowns and man-eating crocodiles that ran around this city. Falcone knew how to play smart. Something Robin admired. Doing enough for everyone to know not to mess with him but not enough to draw attention from the Bat.

But Stephanie wasn't Batman. If her father was keeping track of him she was going to try and figure out why. And would likely get herself exposed or killed while doing it.

"Well maybe he was waiting for the right opportunity." She told him blankly.

Falcone was smart. Robin wouldn't put it past him. "Maybe. But that still doesn't mean that this is okay." He gestured back at the hostage. "Everything about this is illegal."

"We're vigilantes Robin. Everything about us is illegal. And besides you're one to talk. You've kidnapped people before."

No he hadn't, but Batman had. For the same reason she had. He had also done things of equal calibur to kidnapping. Privacy laws were a thing he just took them as a suggestion.

"Let him go. We'll hack into his phone and see what we can dig up that way. If he really is working with Falcone I'll deal with it-"

An argument formed on her lips.

"No Spoiler. If this guy is working with Falcone it's above your pay grade. And if not then he'll just need to get a new phone."

"I can handle Falcone." She mumbled.

Robin almost laughed. "No you can't. I can't. If Falcone is involved it's going to Batman."

"I found the lead. I will not be sidelined because you and Batman don't think I can handle myself."

"I didn't say that. What I said was-"

"It's not what you said Robin, it's how you said it."

Robin didn't understand her logic. He hated that argument, it's not what you said it's how you said it. He could tell Spoiler wasn't going to let this go with a simple I promise to make sure she was involved, especially since he couldn't promise that.

"Okay, fine, we'll just ignore the all logical next steps and do this ourselves so you feel better." Robin snapped.

"I knew you could be reasonable. C'mon let's interrogate him." She turned to go back to the guy.

"Not so fast," he grabbed her arm. "Does he have anything else on him?"

"No. Just the phone and his wallet." She then produced a wallet from her belt handing it over.

He checked himself to make sure she didn't miss anything.

An ID, a couple of credit cards, a picture of him with some other guy, a few receipts, and a handful of ones. Nothing notable.

"Give him back his wallet and let him go. We have his phone. It's all we need anyways." Robin instructs, putting the phone in his belt.

"Of course you'd pick the boring route. What are we gonna do once I cut him loose?"

"Hack into his phone, and consequently his emails, find out who he's been in contact with. Maybe we can smoke Falcone out of hiding and Batman can deal with it. This way you are super helpful and can rub it in his face, cause I can tell you want to do that, and it keeps us safe since neither of us can handle Falcone. Okay?"

"I do like the gloating part." Spoiler considered.

"C'mon, we're wasting time."

She makes a face before turning on her heel to undo his bindings.

He didn't move.

Spoiler must've noticed Robin's worry "I gave him a sedative. It'll wear off shortly. We'll be long gone."

He trusted her enough to know that would at least be true.

They traveled for a few blocks before he stopped her. "Am I correct in assuming that you'll want to be present for the phone hacking?"

She rolls her eyes. "Obviously."

"Okay. In that case we'll meet up tomorrow and check the phone. I'll keep it safe in the meantime."

"Uh, no. I am not going to let you 'deal with this' on the sly." She put air quotes around the last bit. "I am okay doing the hacking and boring work tomorrow but you leave the phone with me." She stuck out her hand.

"Do you not trust me?" Robin was a little surprised.

"No. You're just gonna tell Batman."

"I mean I could tell him without the phone."

She blinked. "Good point. We're not waiting until tomorrow. Give me the phone Robin." She lunged to try and get at his belt.

Robin stepped out of the way before blocking her next attack. "We need to wait until tomorrow."

"Why?!"

"I don't have enough equipment on me to do a full hack job like what might be needed. And I won't be able to sneak back out with it without involving Batman. I'll meet up with you tomorrow with everything we need." It's only a partial lie. He really doesn't need his computer to hack into the phone but it would be helpful if they pull more than expected.

"Then leave the phone with me."

Tim rolls his eyes. He slips the battery and sim card out discreetly before handing her the shell of the phone. "Fine. I'll meet up with you tomorrow. We'll get into the phone and see what we can learn."

He shoots a line before she can argue. She'll be mad he took the good stuff out of the phone but he can't exactly trust her to not go at this alone either. She involved him so he was going to make sure it was done the right way.

Tim knows Stephanie is talented, and is proving herself everyday. He's genuinely impressed with how far she's come. But she's still new. The instincts haven't been completely honed in yet.

"You took the sim card you ass." Stephanie greets him as she punches him in the arm

"Would you have done any different?" Tim asks her.

She huffs out a breath. "Yeah."

"No, you wouldn't have." Tim tells her before reaching into his pocket to produce the needed equipment.

"Well what did you learn with your hacking last night?"

"You really don't trust me." Tim notes, sounding slightly offended. "Nothing, you had the phone. I had a battery and a sim card. The best I could do is track where calls were made."

She deflates a little, before fishing out the phone and handing it to him.

As they walk he puts the phone back together.

"So- where are we doing this? Your place? I'd love to see it."

Tim shoots her a look. "We're going to the library."

"The library?"

"What I should be hearing is 'Thanks for your help Robin. I am so happy that you're helping me with this lead instead of alerting Batman like I know you should.'"

"Instead what you're going to hear is I don't think you should advertise that you know Batman."

Tim rolled his eyes. "C'mon it's only a couple of blocks."

Once they were both settled in a secluded corner they got to work.

The phone didn't have anything linking the guy to Falcone, but it didn't paint a picture of innocents.

"He's calls the same place doesn't he?" Steph comments. "He calls a different number every time. I bet it's a mistress."

"No, it would just be the same number." Tim scrolls through the hundreds of different numbers. There was a phone call made to the same area at the same time every day. "I bet this is a burner."

"A well used burner. There's not normally this much stuff on a burner."

"Yeah, but it's lacking in so many other things it can't be anything else. There's no personal texts, saved contacts, or anything like that."

"Told you that guy was trouble."

"Yeah, maybe, but not for Falcone. These numbers don't connect to his territory."

"Where do they go?"

Tim sucked in a breath. "We're gonna need to stake the location out."

"Again, where is that? Who are we looking for if not Falcone?"

"I'm not sure. It's too far for Falcone, he doesn't like to move. But Maronie or Penguin are more plausible suspects."

Steph blinked before a smirk grew on her face. "We could take out Penguin?"

"Okay, take it down a few notches. No, we can't. Like Falcone we are severely out matched. Anyway, new plan. We stake out the location these calls were being sent too and find out who shows up. Then we tell Batman and go from there."

She made a face at the addition of Batman.

"Stop it." Tim told her. "If anything this is more involved than what we discussed last night."

She scoffed but didn't say anything.

They checked the perimeter of the low brick building.

There were three main entrances, two in an alley and one on the main street. The building was two stories high with minimal visible points. The perfect hideout. Lucky for Tim, unfortunate for them, he'd gotten pretty good at stake out locations.

He'd found an empty apartment building that gave them an excellent view of the main entrance and one of the alley entrances. He set up sensors and cameras by the third one to catch movement, and set up shop to hack into any feed being used in that building including tapping phone calls.

Whoever was hiding out would be unknown to them for only a little longer.

Tim will admit to feeling a little nervous with it just being the two of them. Batman had admitted Spoiler wasn't a threat but didn't say he trusted her.

He felt a little bad. She just wanted to do what he did and kept getting shot down. He could sympathize with why she wants to prove herself so bad.

"I'll say it." Spoiler announces from her position by a window. "Stake outs freaking suck."

"Yeah," Robin agreed. "But they're necessary."

"It has been two and a half hours of no movement."

"Mmmhmm."

"Are we just gonna keep on waiting like this?"

"Unless you know who we're dealing with."

"It's Falcone."

"It's not Falcone."

She sighed before settling back in. "You really think it's Maronie?"

"I don't know what I think. It could be anybody."

"Like Killer Croc?"

Robin scoffed. "Yeah sure. He abandons his home in the sewers and his livelihood of eating rats and terrorizing people at random."

"It's possible." Spoiler thinks. "Stranger things right?"

"I suppose."

"Have you told Batman?"

"Told him what?"

"About this?" She gestured down towards their target.

"No, I said I wouldn't yet."

"Where does he think you are?"

"I told him I wasn't going out tonight so he probably thinks I am at home with my dad."

"Batman isn't your dad?"

Robin shoots her a look. "Of course not."

"What do you mean 'of course not.'? What the hell are we all supposed to think? That he found a random child and said 'hey kid, I'm gonna teach you how to fight crime.' I mean seriously."

"I mean when you put it like that." Robin laughed at the thought. Hadn't it kinda been like that for Jason? "No he's not my dad."

"What is he to you then? Your weird estranged uncle? Older brother who got a little too carried away with the steroids?"

"My partner." Robin answers with full transparency. "That's what Robin is. His partner."

She seems to reflect on his answer before straightening slightly. "We got movement. A couple of guys with super tacky suits."

Robin pulls out binoculars, watching the car approach and the guys, in the 'tacky suits' Spoiler had eloquently pointed out, open the door to let someone out.

"Hey!" She points at the guy getting out of the car. He looks worse for wear. Someone beat him up. "That's the guy I nabbed last night."

Robin watches as they drag him inside. "Okay, you stay here and hold down the fort. I'm gonna try and get an angle inside. See if we can get more info."

Surprisingly, she doesn't argue. "Can I have the binoculars?"

Robin hands them to her before moving to another position. Sure it might be a little dangerous leaving her there but she wasn't stupid enough to try anything without at least having an idea as to what she would be up against.

He checks the back door to find it locked but unguarded. He takes his chances hoping it's the same way on the inside. Luck was apparently on his side.

Robin soundlessly maneuvered the hallways looking for Spoiler abduction victim.

"- this could ruin everything you know." A voice chastises. It sounds familiar. "I have worked hard and some little girl just picks you off the streets?!"

There's the clear sounds of a fist against flesh. If Robin had to guess, someone got hit in the face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know she was following me." the other guy groveled. He sounded petrified. "I'd never seen her before."

Robin knows he's getting closer as the voices grow clearer.

"A good lot that will do us when Batman shows up and takes us all out. You better pray fate is on your side if that happens."

Just before Robin can get to a position that allows him to see into the room he hears the small sharp sound of a coin being flipped in the air.

He feels all the breath leave his lungs as his eyes confirm his worst suspensions.

The man they got the phone from practically on his knees begging at the feet of the extremely dangerous Two-Face.

Robin watches as Dent flicks the coin before snatching it out of midair.

"Of course I could just deal with you now." Dent ponders. "Heads, I let you live and tails…"

He trails off, letting it sink in before flipping the coin.

It lands in his palm. He takes a moment to look over the coin before smiling darkly.

"Ah well-" Dent reaches behind him to pull out a revolver, cocking it. "I guess this is the end."

Maybe Robin should've thought this through a little more. Before he can even consider the consequences of his actions he's got his bo staff ready in one hand and a birdarang soaring out of the other.

It hits Dent's hand causing his aim to go wide missing the other guy by a good six inches.

Two-Face takes a shaky breath in.

Robin hesitates before moving. He isn't sure what Harvey will do.

"Get. Me. That. Bird." Two-Face tells his goons. "Now!"

He turns to shoot the other guy in the head before Robin has a chance to step in again. Not that it matters, he needs to get out of there.

He busts out the still unguarded door (stupid) and shoots a line to get him off the ground. He's gone before Two-Face's guys can even get outside.

Robin loops back around to get back to his and Spoiler's hideout.

She looked at him indecorously. "What the hell happened."

"We need to go."

"Robin."

"It's Two-Face. The guy you kidnapped worked for Two-Face."

She blinked at him before laughing. "Are you serious?"

He shot her a look. "We need to get out of here and tell Batman." he starts packing up his gear. He'll have to wait on the surveillance equipment he placed ground level. It should be hidden enough that it won't get stolen before he gets to it.

"Hey," Spoiler stopped him. "Worked it past tense. What do you mean?"

"Two-Face shot him."

"Damn, yeah. Let's get out of here."

They moved several blocks out, significantly close to where Steph lived.

She stood with her toes hanging just off the edge of the building they stopped at.

"You know that was some lead you found." Robin comments, coming to stand next to her.

"That's because I know what I'm doing." She tells him, glancing back slightly

"I mean you were way off," Robin continues. "This was definitely not Falcone. I was right. But this wasn't nothing. I'll make sure Batman knows where I got it."

She huffed. "You know you could just let me get involved."

"You know that's not up to me."

"It could be."

"This isn't nothing." Robin explains. "I can't force him to train you."

She seemed disappointed. "I am going to rub the fact I found this lead before him, in his face, for all eternity."

Robin chuckled lightly. "Seems only fair."

"I'll see you around." She turned on her heels to face him fully. "Thanks for your help. Even though you're kinda just taking the case from me."

"See you around, Steph"

She nodded slightly. "Alvin." She added before jumping off and making her way home.

Batman was going to be mad about the lead, and tell him he shouldn't have involved Stephanie. He would probably say she's dangerous, and he would be right to an extent.

But Tim thinks that it might be more dangerous to not keep an eye on her than to avoid her completely.

Thank you for all of the love and support for this set of stories. I have one more fluff piece before I get into the final four. I'll be back tomorrow