Ch. 8 Old Threads

I don't like this. I was in bed rereading old text messages from Tim. They were sweet little messages that he'd send me throughout the day when he was bored at work. I would sneak a peak at my phone during class and read the messages. They would always get me through a boring lecture. The only reason I was in bed at eleven o'clock on a Sunday evening was because Tim asked me to.

Tim was meeting with Lynx to get any information that could help us get a better idea of what was happening throughout the Gotham underground. We were on patrol together when he suggested that he go check in on her.

In reality, I still didn't know what actually happened between them. All I knew was that Tim talked to Lynx and told her they were over. He broke off whatever they had so that he could be with me. I guess this makes me sound like a paranoid girlfriend, but I know that Lynx doesn't like me. That fact alone made her a wild card. I don't know how they left things. Was she okay with their break up? Was she furious? I had no idea of knowing what Lynx would do to Tim if he managed to track her down. However, I do trust Tim completely and I decided not to betray that trust and returned home like he suggested.

The only noise I heard was crickets outside. As much as I wanted to fall asleep and stop worrying, it's been hard to snooze recently. Damian was right, there have been a ridiculous amount of murders scattered across Gotham. The number of gang related violence has doubled since the night of the gala last weekend. Everyone in Gotham was scared they could become targets or collateral damage.

It's been pretty tough the past week. Bruce has had us looking everywhere for any sort of clue of what the heck was going on. Plus, the fact that everyone knew Jason was back in Gotham didn't help either. Tim has been especially suspicious about Jason's return. I'm so lucky that he didn't know that I knew Jason. But there was no use trying to sort everything out now. I put my phone aside and brought the covers over my head and tried to fall sleep.

"Okay, pencils down. Turn in your exam on the way out," my English teacher instructed. I quickly filled in the last blank before I stood up, brushed the eraser rubbings off my leggings, gathered my book bag and handed my test to my professor.

I couldn't get out of that lecture hall fast enough. I felt pretty confident on my exam. Sure I barely had time to read any of the stories that were assigned, but the exam just covered Julius Caesar and Oedipus Rex, no big deal. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. Today seemed like it was going to be a good day, completely different compared to how I was feeling earlier this morning.

I absentmindedly took my phone out of my pocket and checked to see if I received any texts during the exam. Nothing. I shrugged and continued to walk towards the entrance of the campus, until I bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" I quickly apologized before I looked up to see Tim smiling and shaking his head.

A smile danced onto my face when I saw him. Having an exam on a Monday morning totally bummed me out, but seeing Tim made it better. He most likely came from work, which would explain the reason why he was wearing his black suit. I noticed that his hair looked different, he styled it to look like it was kinda blowing in the wind, and it looked good on him. I gave him a quick peck on the lips as I wrapped my arm in the curve of his.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, boyfriend?" I chirped. I laid my head on his shoulder as we continued to make our way to the edge of the campus.

"What? I can't come and see you at school now?" Tim asked in a mock hurt voice. I raised an eyebrow and gave him a quick look. Tim laughed as he continued walking towards the parking lot. "I decided to eat out for lunch today and was wondering if you'd like to join me."

"Well, how could I say no?" I quipped. Tim then relieved my shoulder of the weight of my book bag, placing it in the passenger seat of the Redbird. I laid my head back on his shoulder as he led me towards the many shops and small restaurants that surrounded the University. "I like your hair by the way."

"Thanks, thought I'd try something new," Tim beamed.

We walked in silence for a while, enjoying the beautiful spring weather. It was windy, and I was lucky that I decided to bring a sweater. I decided to stop when we passed the glass shop that I admired once before. Most of the ornaments were as I remembered them. However, the robin was missing and the collection of ornaments seemed a bit dimmer without it. Hmm, someone must have bought it? After a few minutes of staring Tim tugged at my arm, signaling that we should continue walking towards our mini-date.

"So, did you dig up anything useful last night?" I whispered, breaking the silence.

Tim's face fell, "Actually, no. She didn't want to speak with me."

I nodded as I let his answer sink in. Part of me was glad that Lynx didn't want to see him, and another part felt bad due to the fact that Tim may have lost a valuable ally because of me. I looked up to see Tim staring at me, smiling his carefree smile as he planted a chaste kiss on my forehead. That was enough for me to forget my concerns.

"Thanks for giving me a ride home, boyfriend." I smiled as Tim walked me to my door. "Will I see you tonight?"

"Sorry Stephie, I'm going to be with the Titans for a couple of days. There are some things we need to check out, blah blah blah," Tim confessed.

"S'okay, don't have too much fun while you're there though," I teased as I pulled Tim into a kiss. He wrapped his arms around my waist as he brought me closer to him. The kiss lingered as we basked in each other's presence, a small comfort in our crazy lives. Tim broke the kiss and gave me a wink, as he walked back towards the Redbird.

I kept waving until Tim was no longer in my vision. Today was perfect. It seems that every moment together meant so much more. I'm so glad to see him happy too. For too long, Tim's been in the darkness that often comes with the Bat territory. He's lost so much, and I can't help but feel proud that he's still standing strong and relying on the people who care about him most.

I relished in the fact that this time, things would work out. I let out a sigh as I turned the keys, unlocking the door. However, when I entered the living room, I walked into a scene that sent shivers down my spine. There he was, Jason Todd, sitting on the couch, eating cookies and laughing with my mom. They noticed that I arrived home and brought me into their conversation.

"Stephanie, dear. Your friend Jason's here to meet you for your calculus study session." Mom held back a chuckle. Whatever they were talking about before I came in must have been pretty funny.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting Jason, I didn't know we had a session tonight," I mumbled.

"Y'know I told you she forgot about me, Mrs. Brown," Jason laughed. His pretty boy charm has obviously won over Mom.

"How was your exam today, Stephanie?" Mom asked, completely oblivious to the tension in the room.

"Pretty good, it took a little longer than I thought. Then afterwards, I went out with Tim," I replied. My answer caused Jason to stand straighter and raise an eyebrow.

"That's great sweetheart. I'll get out of your hair and let you kids hit the books," Mom sat up from the chair, grabbed her purse and headed out of the house, leaving me alone with Jason in our living room.

I close the distance between us and grip his arm; but I'm unable to get my hand completely around his firm bicep. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to study, remember? Your mom is really nice," Jason chuckled.

I released his arm and ran my hands through my hair in complete irritation. "Why did you introduce yourself to my mom! Are you crazy?"

"Oh c'mon, she thinks I'm a kid from your calculus class who needs help. No harm done," Jason shrugged. He scooted over so I could have a seat with him on the couch.

"What if I decided to invite Tim inside, huh? What then?" I accused.

"C'mon Steph, I already knew that he wasn't coming in," Jason shrugged. I let out a sigh. As much as I wanted to be upset at him, it was difficult. It didn't help that he wore the black v-neck he wore on our date. The fabric conformed to the contours of his muscles perfectly, totally distracting.

"Why are you really here, Jason?" I asked as I took the seat next to him. Jason wouldn't have come to my house unannounced without good reason.

Jason remained silent as he took out a few pictures out of his jacket pocket and laid them on the table. I leaned forward to get a better look at them. The first picture had three men in suits I didn't recognize in an apartment building. There were similar pictures of men in suits taken all around Gotham.

"These guys are the ones who have been behind the unexplained killings around Gotham. All third rate mercs who came from out of town. It seems like they want to make a name for themselves but I'm not sure who their employer is," Jason explained. "I kinda need your help."

It was almost midnight and I have been perched on this rooftop for the past hour waiting for Jason to show up. It was raining and my legs were starting to cramp due to crouching for so long. I had to convince Wendy that I didn't need her to keep an eye on me tonight. Luckily enough, she didn't pry into my reasons for wanting to run solo.

Jason told me to meet him on one of the warehouses near Gotham River. I found it odd that he decided to pick such an out of the way meeting place. Nevertheless, I told him that I'd meet him here. I waited ten more minutes before I felt a chill run up my spine. I turned to see Jason behind me, raindrops dripping off of his smooth scarlet helmet.

"Been waiting long?" Jason smirked.

"I've been here for an hour you douche! Why are you so late?" I yelled, as I shivered from the cold.

"I couldn't figure out what to wear," he cracked. I sighed in response. There was nothing out of the ordinary about his Red Hood attire this evening. The only thing that looked different was that he had a bulletproof vest under his jacket.

"Well while you were busy dressing up, I was here watching over nothing." My complaints fell on deaf ears as Jason walked over to join me at the edge of the rooftop.

"Look, it took me an extra hour to track down and get the info out of my source," Jason shrugged. "But I got what we need and we have to move fast."

We ran for several minutes, the cold rain pierced my exposed skin like knives. However, the torrential downpour didn't even hinder Jason's pace. Jason running was a sight to behold. It was amazing how fast and graceful he could move with such a large figure. It was difficult balancing my admiration and annoyance with Jason. One minute he could irritate the hell out of me, and the next I absentmindedly catch myself checking him out. I allowed the rain to wash away those thoughts as we jumped onto an abandoned apartment building and finally stopped running.

"We're here." Jason pointed towards the adjacent warehouse, where we saw light from one of the windows.

I looked at the warehouse and recognized it immediately. It was the warehouse that Lynx used as her gang's base. There were people inside the building doing who knows what. Then I noticed an office section of the warehouse where Lynx was sitting in a chair behind a desk. It looked as if she was waiting for someone. Soon the other lights throughout the warehouse turned off and Lynx was the only one left in the hideout. She removed her mask and placed it on the desk, revealing the familiar face of a beautiful young woman.

"Man, she's smokin'. No wonder Tim had the hots for her," Jason whistled.

"Why are we here Hood?" I spat back. Meeting him like this already made me uncomfortable, and now it seemed like we were about to talk to Lynx. Not my ideal night.

"My snitch told me that Lynx might know something about those pictures I showed you earlier. So, here we are," Jason stated. He leapt off of the roof and landed onto the ground in front of the office door. I quickly joined him, as he opened the door.

Lynx turned around with a hopeful look in her eyes. She looked like a lovesick schoolgirl, waiting for the man of her dreams. However, when she realized that it was the Red Hood visiting, she instantly reformed her gang leader visage.

"What do you want?" Lynx spat. She didn't seem at all disturbed by the fact that Jason just barged into her hideout.

"We have a few questions," Jason answered as he stepped away from the doorframe, allowing me to enter the office and reveal my presence. Lynx huffed as soon as we made eye contact.

"No, leave," Lynx ordered as she turned around to exit the office through another door.

Jason took out one of his guns from the holster and pointed it towards Lynx. "That wasn't a request."

Lynx stopped her retreat and turned stare Jason down once again. It seemed like she knew what he was asking about. She crossed her arms and as if she was contemplating whether or not to answer. After a few moments of silence, Lynx answered, "They are meeting at Crime Alley in an hour, abandoned building across clinic."

"See that wasn't so hard," Jason quipped as he put his weapon away and exited the office. I turned to follow Jason as Lynx's words stopped me in my tracks.

"You don't deserve him."

We were able to make it to Crime Alley in no time due to the fact that Jason had one of his safe houses nearby. We made a quick stop and grabbed his motorcycle, which sped up our travel time. Once we neared Crime Alley, we dismounted the bike so that we could stealthily climb onto the roof of Leslie Thompkin's clinic. Once there, I noticed that there was a single illuminated window the in the not-so-abandoned apartment building.

Jason pulled out a pair of binoculars pointed towards the window. I grabbed my binoculars from my utility belt and scanned the room and found a completely empty room except for a single table in the middle. There were the three men in suits that surrounded the table. It seemed like the men were waiting for someone. At that moment, I saw the door open and the men stood up to greet whoever was entering. The men blocked my view of who came through the door, but whoever it was, they were wearing a costume. Although I couldn't see exactly whom they were greeting, I was able to see what color they he or she was wearing. It was a familiar color. Eggplant.

The men finally sat down and what I saw caused my eyes to widen. The men were greeting someone in the Spoiler costume. I couldn't believe it; I never thought that someone would steal my old threads. I stiffened at the thought that someone has been parading around Gotham, committing murders and other crimes in my old costume.

Jason noticed how affected I was and put a hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

I answered with a nod, but I was still a bit shaken. I needed to know who that person was but Batman wouldn't want me to just rush in there and take on those mercs on my own without fully knowing the situation. Maybe I shouldn't have come without Proxy watching my back. At least with Wendy watching over me, I wouldn't be alone. Then I remembered that I wasn't actually alone.

"You have my back, Hood?" I turned and asked Jason.

"You know it, blondie," Jason answered as he pulled his gloves tight.

I launched my grappling hook and propelled myself into the room. I saw Jason following my lead as I crashed through the window. Before the mercs could reach for their weapons, Jason landed next to me pointing his guns at the men and shot off a few warning shots. I hope he doesn't kill anyone tonight! That would not go well with Bruce.

The copycat Spoiler was surprised by our intrusion. She turned and ran out the door she came through. I followed Spoiler as she made her way through the maze of debris throughout the hall. There was a reason this building was abandoned. Some of the walls were collapsed and some stairs were missing. Overall, it was a perfect place for a secret meeting.

Once I cleared the several flights of broken stairs, I finally made it to the roof. She was on the opposite side of the roof, and it seemed like she wanted to have some room for a fight. There were no apparent weapons on her costume, so I ran towards Spoiler in an attempt to apprehend her.

"Batgirl watch out!" Jason tackled me to the ground as I heard a small explosion erupt on the rooftop.

"Spoiler's planted proximity mines throughout the roof! We have to be careful," Jason warned.

Since that was the case, I decided to change my tactics. I grabbed a hold of Jason's waist and launched my grappling hook to the adjacent building, pulling the two of us out of harm's way. I then threw a few electro-rangs across the rooftop. Spoiler saw what I was planning on doing and also launched a grappling hook to lunge herself onto the safety of our rooftop. When the electro-rangs connected, a few of them set off mines, causing other explosions. The accompanying electric jolt from the rest of the electro-rangs caused the simultaneous detonations of the other mines.

After the commotion, Spoiler quickly got up and took up a fighting stance. I lunged towards her as I grabbed my boomstick, prepared to swing my weapon. However, Spoiler quickly dodged my swing and revealed hidden blades. She lunged towards me with relentless fervor. I was able to dodge her knives, but I wasn't able to hit her either. I foolishly dropped my defense and Spoiler was able to kick my stomach, causing the wind to get knocked out of me.

I was doubled over and attempting to catch my breath when Jason came up from behind me and unsheathed his own knife, slashing away at Spoiler. Both seemed evenly matched and there was no way to tell who would come out victorious. However, the instant Spoiler stopped her onslaught of slashes, Jason then pulled out one of his guns and threatened to shoot her. The whites of her mask widened as she stilled.

I ran up towards Jason as fast as I could and pushed his arm upwards as he was about to shoot. The pang of the gunshot echoed through the night sky. Spoiler took the opportunity to toss a gas pellet onto the ground, which filled the air with thick smoke. When the smoke cleared, Spoiler was gone.

"What the hell! You just let her get away!" Jason accused.

"You were about to kill her!" I retorted. There was no way I was about to let Jason murder someone right in front of me.

"She probably would have done the same to you!"

"Doesn't matter, that's not how Batman does things. That's not how I do things." I crossed my arms and stood my ground as Jason walked towards me. His helmet inched closer and closer to my face. He stopped so close that I could see my reflection in the metallic red mask.

"Fine, whatever," Jason acquiesced, taking a step back. He rummaged through his pockets and presented me with a few papers. "These are some of the jobs the mercs were going to run for the Spoiler. There are also some planned drug exchanges and weapons deals that the mercs were supposed to enforce. It's hard to believe that this Spoiler is the mastermind behind all of this."

I looked through the papers and noticed something familiar about the weapons that were supposed to be sold. "It says here that Spoiler's gang is supposed to be selling a case of darts coated with neurotoxin."

"Yeah, so?" Jason shrugged, obviously not catching the importance.

"So, this particular neurotoxin has been used by the League of Assassins. I'm betting that Spoiler is working with them," I hypothesized. Things were finally making some sense; the rise in gang activity, the arms deals and even the mysterious dart.

Police sirens were approaching followed by fire engines. The explosions on the other rooftop caused the roof to collapse. There was also a small fire that resulted from the detonations. This one person caused so much trouble, and she was wearing my old costume. Can't say that's the type of legacy I wanted for the Spoiler.

"Well, I guess we'll find out next time we see her then," Jason sighed. He stretched his arms above his head as made his way towards the edge of the roof.

"Yeah, next time."