Tim was the first to wake up…and upon opening his eyes, he thought he may rather have remained unconscious. The floor was moving sideways, about four feet beneath him, at a dizzying rate. He tried to shift his weight and discovered his arms were pinned back behind him with thick ropes, and his feet had been tied to some kind of peg in the floor.

He managed to crane his neck around to get a better look at the surrounding area. Batgirl's still form was lying in a heap next to him. He swallowed hard, praying she was all right. From this new angle, he realized that they were inside a truck of some sort, which was speeding along a cobblestone road. One tire hit a particularly large stone throwing everything in the truck into chaos. Batgirl groaned and Tim allowed himself a relieved grin. Now. If he could just figure out… another bump caused him to fall over onto Batgirl. She grunted and kind of tried to push him off, before realizing she, too, was bound.

"What…?"

"Shh!" the truck was slowing. He braced himself, preparing to launch himself at his captors, ramming them with his head if necessary…not the best of plans, but it was all he had. A couple figures appeared at the back edge of the truck and reached in, slicing the bonds that held their feet and yanking them upright. They stumbled alongside their silent attackers…Tim was waiting for the opportune moment to break free and Batgirl, he hoped, was following his lead.

They were half-led, half-dragged into a rather non-descript building. Typical, Tim thought. But once they breached the outer doors, it seemed that they'd entered a whole separate building entirely. Supercomputers, scanners, advanced weaponry, and a number of items he had difficulty identifying lined the walls of a large room. It actually resembled the Batcave in many respects, and Tim felt a jolt of excitement course through him, in spite of the fact that the person who'd created this place was undoubtedly on the wrong side of the law…and most probably intending bodily harm to himself and Batgirl.

They passed through the room and entered a well-furnished office. It was not unlike something he'd seen on occasion visiting Bruce at Wayne Industries…it rivaled the offices of some of the most powerful CEO's and board members in the world. A high-backed chair was turned away, towards a large window that looked out on a view of the city. Tim blinked, realizing it wasn't a window at all, but a well-disguised video screen displaying footage taken at some other point, presumably higher on the building. After all, they hadn't left the ground floor, and yet the scene would imply that they were at a great height. He filed the fact away, wondering what other footage their kidnapper could call upon when needed.

The man holding Tim's left arm said something in a foreign language. He sounded angry. Batgirl stiffened, but Tim remained relaxed, not wanting to alert them to his own fighting abilities. A woman's voice answered the man, calm and unconcerned. The man seemed to argue with her, tightening his grip on Tim's arm. She replied again, her voice harder now, and the chair swiveled around. The woman in the chair was pretty, with long, dark hair, worn loose. She wore an expensive business suit, with minimal jewelry and decoration. She had an exotic look about her, though Tim couldn't place her nationality, but her skin was a dark tan, and her almond-shaped eyes were the color of rich coffee.

Those same eyes now pierced the man who'd spoken with an icy glare that made him shrink back. He released Tim, as did the other man. He noted that Batgirl's captors did likewise. All four men bowed respectively to the woman and filed silently from the room. Batgirl threw a glance at Tim, but he ignored her, focusing, instead, on the lady seated behind the desk.

"Do forgive them for their roughness, I do hope they didn't cause you too much distress. Would you care for a drink?" She indicated a side table with an expensive set of decanters and glasses. Batgirl moved as if to attack and Tim cleared his throat, shaking his head when she paused and glanced back at him.

"Um, no thanks."

"Very well, then. Have a seat." He remained standing. "I suppose you're wondering why I had you brought here." She sat back, apparently at ease.

"Not really." He shrugged, pleased with the way he managed to keep his face in a politely bored mask. She raised an eyebrow in disbelief, then surprised him by smiling…a not altogether pleasant smile, either.
"I can see why he found you to be a threat." Tim stiffened. "I'm sure you've worked out my identity…."

"Scarab, I believe?" His face no longer portrayed boredom…a cold intensity had taken its place.

"Mm. Yes. I should have realized that I didn't manage to kill you. I made the mistaken assumption that Batman would only have let that silly girl work under your name if you had ceased living." Batgirl lunged again, this time ignoring Tim's muffled protest, and seized Scarab by her suit collar. "I see you've improved…this costume works much better for you." Tim didn't bother correcting her mistake. She didn't need to know that Stephanie had died not long after the encounter she referred to. Let her think Batgirl was the same girl. It would give them an advantage.

"Ahem." Batgirl looked at him and he was sure she was giving him a death-glare, but she released Scarab and stepped back.

"I should kill you for that, little girl." She shrugged. "But then again it might make your friend here mad, and I need his cooperation." She turned her gaze back to Tim. "Yes, I'm sure you have no intention of aiding me in any way. Let me explain the situation. I was contracted out to kill Robin. As I was under the impression that I had done so at the time, I let Batman and your little girlfriend here, chase me out of Gotham. Unfortunately my employer didn't consider my proof convincing enough, and proceeded to renege on our deal." She paused, collecting her thoughts.

"So what?" Tim leaned back against the wall, feeling a heady rush of power since she'd said she needed his help…help he really had no intention of providing.

"So what? So, I seem to have lost what loyalty I had towards him at his dishonorable behavior."

"Like hiring an assassin is honorable?" She nodded her head in acknowledgement of his hit.

"I can see where you might be under such an impression. You will allow me to disagree." Batgirl snorted derisively, but otherwise held her peace. "My point is, you have proven to be a more formidable opponent than I had anticipated…my mistake. But when I saw you here in Istanbul…I have my resources…I recognized you as one of the targets I'd identified and correctly deduced that you were, in fact, the person whom I had been hired to kill." Batgirl stiffened, moving a bit towards Tim as if to shield him from an attack. "Oh, give it up." She waved vaguely at Batgirl. "I'm not going to kill him, you silly twit. As I said, he has proven himself a worthy opponent, and more honorable, I'm sure, than the man who was so desperate to see him dead. Therefore I'm going to make you a deal."

"I don't think…ow!" Batgirl broke off as Tim stepped discreetly on her toe. He wasn't sure why she was having so much trouble interpreting body language, but he wanted to hear this proposition before making their escape.

"Wise choice." There was laughter in her voice, and Tim glared at her.

"You want to get to the point?"

"Very well. I am owed a large sum of money. Now, it has occurred to me that delivering you to my former contact I may collect on this debt. On the other hand, he is more likely to kill me to get me out of the way than pay me. Therefore I'm going to allow you to live…"
"Gracious of you." Tim muttered under his breath. The only indication that she'd heard was a slight lifting of her lips as she continued to speak.

"…and in turn you're going to do me a favor." Both Batgirl and Tim looked at her dubiously. "I am in the market for information... information about your particular corner of the world. In exchange for this information I will provide you with what information I have concerning the man who, I assume, is still trying to kill you." She raised her eyebrow and looked between the two of them. "Do we have a deal?"


"No." Batman turned from the monitor and adjusted his airspeed.

"Br…Batman, you said you would let them handle it! Don't you think…"

"I said, no. This isn't open for discussion, Oracle." The redhead on the screen made a face at him.

"You're only going to prove her point…that you don't trust them, that you are out to stop them. If you just give them a little more ti…"

"I will say it again. It has been five hours since I left Batgirl in Istanbul. Even given his ability to evade her, and taking into consideration that he may not have welcomed her with open arms, I still should have heard something by now. Therefore either they're in trouble and need my…"
"They don't always need your interference, just because they're in a tight spot." He was silent for a moment but she didn't worry that she'd overstepped the boundaries…sometimes someone had to with him. She continued ruthlessly. "They have open comms, they could easily call for backup if they needed it. I'm sure that…"

"In that case, they're deliberately avoiding me and I told her that…"

"Oh come off it, Bruce! They're more than capable on their own! The fact that you want them to report every little move, every sneeze, that they make is only going to reaffirm their suspicions that you're trying to hold them back! You've placed so many restrictions on them that they have no choice but to…"

"Enough. You'd use your time more wisely to be searching for clues on your end. Let me handle this."

"You're going to regret it." He clenched his lips in a grim line. "I mean it. Unless that's your goal, to drive them away, make them leave the 'family'…possibly stop being the heroes they are. If that's your goal, then I suppose you know what you're doing. But you won't be doing them, or even Gotham, any favors to end their careers." With that she snapped off the connection, leaving him in silence. He brooded for a moment, checking out some readouts, Barbara's angry words echoing in his mind. He knew she'd managed to refrain from bringing up history, but she'd been thinking about it.

Everyone assumed it had been his behavior that had driven Dick to leave Gotham, become Nightwing, and had put a strain on their relationship ever since. And they were right. But he didn't think that mean he'd been wrong. Dick had grown through his experiences as Nightwing. And while he hadn't exactly planned on him continuing to fight after firing him as Robin, he was now glad he had…he was proud of him. From that experience, as well as his violent encounter with Cassandra after firing her, he felt sure that even if he did try to end their careers as Batgirl and Robin, Tim and Cassandra would continue to fight on their own.

So why was he pushing so hard to control them on this? a little voice prodded. He clenched his fist. He had been telling himself that he wanted to ensure their safety. But that wasn't entirely correct…they'd both been well trained, they could take care of themselves. In truth, Jack Drake's death had shaken him up more than he wanted to admit. It brought back memories of his own losses, and the deaths of the Graysons. There had been times that he himself had been pushed nearly to the breaking point. So how could he expect Tim, who was younger and not as experienced with death, not to come up against the same moral dilemma? He couldn't. And Cassandra…

He closed his eyes, bringing the plane to a hovering halt, and sighed. If anyone could keep Tim from crossing the line it would be Cassandra. Not only because of their deepening relationship, though he had noted this fact, but because she had crossed the line herself. She would recognize the signs if he was pushed too far. And her own feelings of guilt wouldn't allow her to let him cross that line either. Batman opened his eyes and punched in a command. He had things to see to in Gotham…they could handle the investigation on their own...and as Barbara had pointed out, they had their comms with them and could call for backup if it came to that.

The plane made a graceful arc as it turned around, heading back. Batman allowed the autopilot to navigate, leaving him free to do some digging on the onboard computer. There had to be something they were all missing. He could feel it…right beyond his fingertips. The first attack by Scarab had been…he noted the date. Hmm. There hadn't been any major incidents in Tim's life…except… he frowned.

Tim had had a bad encounter with a man named Johnny Warren a few months prior. The man had ended up with his hand blown off because he'd been stupid enough to try to fire his gun while it was encased with a special formula Robin had thrown at him. If that wasn't enough, he disappeared for a few weeks and returned with some kind of superpower that he'd used to nearly destroy Robin and Spoiler.

Batman, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Tim had had a hard time of it for a few months…the second encounter had ended with Warren dead and Tim blaming himself. Though everyone had tried to convince Tim he may not have actually killed Warren, the incident had led to Tim losing faith in himself and almost quitting being Robin. Then, of course, he'd quit anyway, when Jack Drake had discovered his secret life. The whole episode would have simply gone into the Batcomputer's files and been put at the back of Batman's mind except…

An insistent beeping pulled him from his reverie. He glanced up, noting the flashing light on the communication panel. He toggled the switch, irritated at the interruption.

"What?" He didn't bother to hide his annoyance.

"Batman, you need to…" it was Barbara again. He cut her off with a sigh, thinking she was trying to lecture him again. He bit back a growl of impatience…didn't she think he could…he stopped, noting her face. It was drawn, tight.

"What is it?" This time he couldn't keep the worry, rather than the irritation, out of his growl.

"You better get back here…there's been a… an accident."


To be continued…