The sound of the alarm clock jolts me awake several hours later. I stretch my arm across the other side of the bed only to find it empty. Out in the small lounge room, I spy Riddler on the couch, tapping away on his phone.
"Hey." I still sound sleepy, even to my own ears.
"Hey yourself. You don't seem refreshed and ready to fight." He comments, barely looking up.
"Caffeine will help." I wander back out to the kitchen and make two cups of coffee, bringing them back into the lounge. "Are you working on a place to stay?"
"Among other things." He replies vaguely. "You have a message on the Batphone, by the way." The sarcastic use of the bat prefix makes me laugh. I jump up and check my phone.
"Nightwing will be here soon to give me a lift. Nice of him." I say. Riddler just makes a non-committal noise. "I'll be at a warehouse in the east end tonight."
"I know which one. I am aware of where Sionis is conducting business these days."
"Of course you are," I mumble under my breath. "Well, that's where I'll be. If you need to leave the house, please be careful. I can't kick Scarecrow's butt until I've finished kicking Black Mask's." I grin. Riddler mumbles something that sounds like 'can take care of myself.'
A knock sounds at the door. I get up to let Nightwing in, but to my surprise, it's Robin.
"Oh. Uh, hi. Are you giving me a lift?" I ask, feeling awkward. Knowing Tim's feelings about all this, I don't like having him ten feet away from an injured Riddler.
He only nods in response. "Okay, great. I'll just be one second." I dash back into the house. "My ride is here. Except it's not Nightwing, it's Robin, and he particularly hates you. Or hates me. I'm not really sure about that. Anyway, I've gotta go." I press a quick kiss to his cheek. "See you later!"
I rush back to the front door to a stony-faced Robin and follow him out to a car parked in the driveway. The trip to Wayne Manor is completely silent. Robin doesn't start a conversation, and I'm still not quite sure what his problem is so I stay quiet.
Once we pull up I run inside to change clothes. I'm hyper-aware that this is probably the last time I'll be wearing the batsuit. Everyone is already in the batcave waiting when I arrive.
"Sorry to keep everyone waiting," I announce as I enter. Bruce, Dick, Tim and Barbara are all in a circle near the computer. "Who's ready to kick some gangster butt?"
"No need to be overly cheerful new girl, they all know," Dick confirms in a stage whisper.
"Wonderful." I sigh. "Do we have to have a discussion about it now? Or can I go hit something first? I'm not going to turn into one of Gotham's Most Wanted if that's what you're all concerned about. I'm still one of you. I just… don't want you dragging my boyfriend off to Arkham, that's all."
"Can't argue with that," Dick says. I don't think he actually agrees with me so much as he likes to play devil's advocate. Bruce glares at him.
"You'll always have our help." Bruce says, and for a moment I'm touched, until he adds, "As long as you stay on the right side." That sounds more like a warning. In the interest of keeping the peace, I ignore that.
"Thanks, guys." I also ignore the dirty look Tim is giving me. "Can we go stop this arms deal now? I'm ready for my first real crime lord!"
¿?
I'm perched in the rafters of the warehouse looking down at about a dozen goons, all inspecting cases of guns. A lot of guns. I glance over to Bruce in the opposite corner. He's staring down at the scene beneath us, no doubt using his detective vision to check for any surprises lurking in dark corners. Dick and Tim are securing the exits of the building, making sure no one is able to disappear. Once we're finished here, we want to make it as easy as possible for GCPD to round everyone up. Batman has made Gordon aware of the arms deal, so he's expecting a mass arrest at some stage tonight.
The front doors bang open and in strolls Sionis. My body immediately tenses up, ready for action. He looks exactly as I expected, pristine white suit in stark contrast to the black skull mask on his face.
"It's a good night for a deal." He announces to the room. The goons all jeer in agreement as a tall, fat man in a nice suit walks to the middle of the room to meet Black Mask.
"Couldn't agree more." He says, shaking Sionis' hand. "Let me show you what your money is buying." They walk over to a table with several types of firearms laid out on it. I look up from the scene below to Bruce, waiting for his signal. He nods and we both throw batarangs up, smashing the lights overhead, the room descending into darkness. The room turns to madness. Goons are shouting, more than a few of them immediately crying Batman. I turn on the Detective Vision in my cowl. It's trippier than I was expecting, much stranger than using it in the games. I wish I had practised with it before tonight, but I have to make do.
Batman and I drop into the crowd below, dropping several goons almost immediately. The warehouse is in complete chaos. The goons can't see us so they can't shoot us, but in their increasing desperation, a few stray bullets are flying around.
The noise level increases as Tim and Dick enter the fray, chasing goons away from the exits.
"Kill them!" A voice I recognise as Black Mask's shouts. "Half a million for each of them! Bring me their heads!"
Using the cowl, I can see what's going on. Goons are swinging blindly, trying to hit us without knowing where we are. I take out one big guy before he even knows I'm there. I send another one sprawling with a kick to the head and I spot Sionis. He has his signature twin handguns out, firing blindly into the crowd.
"Batman! Nightwing! He's here, on me!" I shout, drawing their attention. Neither of them responds to me but start fighting their way towards Sionis. Unfortunately, my shouting has alerted the goons to where I am. With half a million dollars now on my head, they attack with renewed vigour. I fight back hard, trying to keep one eye on Batman and Nightwing taking on Sionis.
We've definitely got the upper hand. Two dozen goons don't stand a chance against the four of us, especially in the dark. But I've taken one too many hits and my reactions are starting to slow. I'm barely keeping up with the goon I'm fighting. He's strong and fast, and I'm mostly on the defensive, lacking the stamina to take the attack to him.
My focus goes to Batman and Nightwing for a split second, but it's enough for the goon to get the upper hand. A strong punch to my midsection has me sprawling onto the floor, gasping for breath. My head is spinning and I can't make myself stand up, even to get away from the goon advancing on me. He lifts his boot, and I can't do anything but watch it come towards my head and wait for the pain.
It doesn't come. A split second before his boot comes in contact with my face; the goon goes flying into a stack of crates and doesn't get back up. I look over at Tim standing above me. After a beat, he reaches out to give me a hand up.
"Keep your fists up. I've got your six." He says, and we stand back to back. I get a burst of energy, pumped up by Tim's sudden help. With him behind me, I take down several goons in quick succession and I realise we've won. The warehouse floor is littered with goons in varying states of unconsciousness, and Sionis in the middle of the room, cuffed to a pole, cursing at Batman and Nightwing. Tim and I approach, making sure everyone is restrained.
"Cash is on his way with enough officers to take these guys in," Dick announces.
"I might make myself scarce," I say. "I met Cash on my tour of Gotham the other day; I wouldn't want him recognising my voice or something." There's an awkward pause. "Thanks for the fun night, guys. We'll talk soon, no doubt." Bruce nods at me and Dick gives me a friendly punch to the arm.
"I'll give you a ride."Tim offers, and I stare at him open-mouthed before I remember my manners.
"That would be great, thanks." I follow him out to the back of the warehouse. "Is this yours?" I ask, gesturing to a sleek back motorbike sitting beside the back door.
"Yeah. Are you okay to ride?" He asks, handing me a helmet.
"Hell yes! That would be great." I grin at him, putting on the helmet. I climb on the bike behind him and we peal out of the car park and speed down the street. The ride doesn't leave a lot of opportunity for talking, but I love it all the same. The speed, the adrenaline rush it brings; I'm definitely getting a bike.
Tim pulls into the safe house driveway and turns off the motor. I climb off and take off the helmet.
"Thanks for the ride. And for saving my butt earlier." I say, handing back the helmet. "That guy was going to rearrange my face with his boot before you showed up."
"No problem. We all take care of each other." He tells me.
"I appreciate it. But… since when do you include me in the Bat group? I thought you were still very anti-me." I frown. Tim sighs but doesn't look away.
"True. But you're leaving us. And I guess that kind of proves to me that you're not just hanging around to feed information to your criminal boyfriend."
"That's all it took?" I ask in disbelief.
"Yeah that, and Dick and Bruce may have said some stuff too." He shrugs. "I don't know that we're totally cool, I still can't get my head around dating the Riddler, but I don't actively hate you." He says, grinning a little. I smile back. Overall, tonight has been a win. "You have tonight. But you need to find somewhere else to stay."
"Thanks for the heads up. I'll see you around Tim."
"See you 'round, new girl." He says, using Dick's usual nickname. He revs the bike's engine and shoots off down the road, quickly disappearing.
I hurry inside before anyone can see my batsuit. Riddler is still on the couch when I get inside, tapping away on his phone while the news plays quietly on the TV.
"Congratulations; you're breaking news." He says, gesturing vaguely towards the TV.
"Oh cool- is that Vicki Vale?!" I exclaim, settling on the couch next to Riddler.
"It is. And our accommodation is settled, by the way. A car and two untraceable phones will be here in the morning. Well, in a few hours." He says, looking pointedly at the clock.
"I'm going to take a shower and wash the blood out of my hair. I headbutted a guy in the nose, didn't really consider how that was going to work out for me."
"I was going to ask," Riddler says, looking at the drying blood in my hair. "But I thought it would be something like that."
"All in a day's work." I shrug, heading for the bathroom.
I wash my hair and scrub my body, noticing all the tender spots where bruises are already starting to form. The hot water feels amazing on my muscles, aching from being pushed too far, too hard during the fight. It almost takes more will power than I have to shut the water off and crawl into bed. I figure Riddler will wake me when it's time to leave, but for now, I just want to rest.
¿?
Sure enough, I wake soon after to Riddler poking me in the side.
"The car is here. We need to leave before Batman comes with his eviction notice." Riddler tells me. I groan and roll over to look at the clock.
"Edward, it's not even seven o'clock yet. Batman is nocturnal! Let me sleep a little more, I'm begging you."
"You can sleep in the new apartment. I promise you the bed is nicer than this." He looks around the room in distaste. "Batman obviously didn't put too much into the decoration and comfort of his safe house."
"True, it is a bit low on luxury, but it is wonderfully free of Scarecrow." I counter.
"Our new apartment is Crane free too; I've made absolutely sure of it." He says. I groan again.
"Fine. I'm up. But this new apartment better have coffee, or Crane and Batman will be the least of your worries."
¿?
Lucky for him, the coffee at the apartment is excellent. He brings me a cup as a peace offering and I sit on our new kitchen bench and drink it. The new place is small but still has two bedrooms, one of which Riddler has converted to an office with his impressive computer set up. The kitchen is cosy and the bathroom has a shower and deep clawfoot bathtub, which I plan on using to soothe my aching muscles later on.
The whole apartment building is a forgettable building, nothing to distinguish it from the hundreds of other buildings like it in the area. People on the street don't acknowledge each other, just put their heads down and keep walking. It's the perfect place to hide out for a while.
I left my Batphone back at the safe house, but also left a note with my new phone number on it, just in case. I have a funny feeling we're going to need Batman before this whole mess is over.
"Hey, it's Halloween the day after tomorrow." I realise. Riddler raises an eyebrow as if to say so what? "Halloween in Gotham? That's got to be interesting, right? I bet someone has something planned for then. Calendar Man at least would have something going on."
"It's likely." Riddler concedes. "Bit of a cliché, really, but there is always something happening. I suppose you plan on going out crime-fighting?"
"Maybe." I tilt my head, thinking. "I haven't met Calendar Man yet, it could be cool." A thought hits me. "Wait, do kids dress up as Batman for trick or treating? Do they dress up like you? That would be amazing." Riddler looks amused.
"There are usually a lot of little Dark Knights running around, yes. Rogues… not so much. No child really wants to dress up as the clown who killed 20 people the week before Halloween at a death trap carnival. Or as a lunatic psychiatrist who sends people mad."
"Right. My bad. It's a bit different actually living it, isn't it?" I pause for a beat. "I was a Batman character every Halloween for years as a kid. Me and Mom would spend weeks making the costumes…" I trail off, suddenly homesick. Riddler notices my distraction.
"Are you sick of Gotham yet? Have you thought about going home?" He asks, no trace of humour in his voice.
"Of course not. I just… was thinking of home, is all." I shrug. "I miss it, yeah, but I'll go home one day. Just not one day soon." I shake off my homesickness. "The coffee helped, but I am still exhausted. I need real sleep. I'm going for a nap." I drain my cup and head off to the bedroom, leaving Riddler to finish setting up his computer. The bed is just as comfortable as promised, and I drift off easily.
I wake up a little after midday, feeling rested and much better than earlier. Except that I'm starving. I walk out of the bedroom in search of Riddler to suggest going out for lunch but when I see him at the computer, his expression makes me pause.
"Hey. What's going on?" I ask, walking softly into the room.
"Crane." He frowns, turning his chair to face me at the door. "You remember I said he had a visitor?"
"Yeah. Some military guy, right?"
"Right. Now there's a lot of money changing hands too. Large amounts coming out of Crane's accounts, and a lot of activity around a penthouse in Chinatown owned by Crane. It looks like he's hired someone for a job."
"That can't be good." Understatement of the century. "Do you know who? Or what for?"
Riddler shakes his head, and I can see he's not happy to not know exactly what Crane is up to.
"Well how about a lunch break? Even evil geniuses need to eat." I suggest.
"Let me finish here and I'll be out in a moment." He says, turning back to the computer. I walk out to the kitchen and pick up my shiny new untraceable phone. Luckily, I programmed in Bruce's phone number before I left the old phone at the safe house.
Heads up. Edward thinks Crane is up to something big. Maybe keep your pointy ears to the ground for any word on what he's doing.
I hit send and then start typing again.
I'll probably be out tomorrow night if you want some back-up on patrol.
I don't expect a reply so I'm not surprised when none comes. Riddler comes out of the office, shrugging on his coat. "Ready to go?" I smile and nod in response, and we head out to find food.
¿?
"The food in Gotham has been the biggest surprise about being here, honestly," I say, pushing away my plate. "I swear food back home doesn't taste this good."
"Glad we live up to your high expectations." Riddler grins at me from across the table. We're in a booth in a diner and now that I've finished eating, I'm people watching out the window.
"Can I get you two anything else? Coffee? Desert?" The blonde waitress asks as she approaches our booth. She has a pen in her hair and her nametag reads 'Sharon.'
"Just the check please," Riddler says.
"No problem. I'll bring that right over, love." She smiles down at us and saunters back to the cash register to ring up our bill. I look around the diner and see the counter and walls are decorated for Halloween, making me smile. I notice a cop sitting at the counter, drinking coffee and eating a piece of pie.
"There's a police officer in here!" I squeak, immediately panicking. The alarm in my voice catches the cop's attention and he turns to find the source of the noise. I see him look directly at Riddler. I'm tensed, ready to fight or run. But he just nods his head and returns to his pie. I turn to Riddler, still tensed and half ready to run out the door.
"Officer Wicker. We have… an arrangement." He tells me. Sharon the waitress drops off our check and Riddler pays.
"An arrangement. Right. He does jobs for you and in return, you don't kill him?"
"Something like that." He replies, a smirk on his face. I roll my eyes. It's strange, the things you get used to when you hang out with Gotham Rogues. Once upon a time, I would have been outraged at a situation like that. Now, not so much. I shake my head at my thoughts.
"What's wrong?" Riddler asks as he holds the door open for me as we leave. We catch a cab almost immediately and climb in.
"Life sure is something else with you. When we first met I would have been horrified that you were blackmailing some cop into doing your dirty work."
"Your morals are slipping," Riddler smirks. The comment makes me frown. Riddler may have a point. Maybe I need to do some crime-fighting tonight to make me feel like I'm still one of the heroes.
I don't quite feel right wearing the Batgirl suit. Bruce hasn't asked for it back yet, but it doesn't seem like I should keep it any more. The yellow bat symbol on the chest is probably not appropriate now that I'm technically not part of the Bat family. Same goes for the pointy ears on my mask. I should lose the cape too.
But it's fine for tonight. I clip on my utility belt, which is way lighter than I ever thought it would be, and step out into the living room-slash-kitchen area. Riddler is on the couch looking like he's thinking of rolling his eyes at me. I walk over to where he's sitting and notice he was watching the news.
"I'm going out for a while," I tell him, as if he couldn't tell by my clothes. "I'll be late."
"Going out looking for Gotham's Most Wanted?" He raises one eyebrow.
"Well if I was, I've already found one of them." I grin down at him. "You're under arrest, buddy." He holds his wrists up as if surrendering to be handcuffed. I reach out to grab them but he moves so quickly, and suddenly he's holding my wrists, one in each strong hand. I open my mouth to complain but he pulls me down and I land in his lap. I barely have time to huff in surprise at the fall when his mouth is on mine, hot and insistent.
"Damn it Nygma, I have bad guys to go catch," I say, only half-heartedly struggling to get up because, honestly, making out on the couch is also a good way to spend the night.
"You've caught one." He tells me, kissing down my neck. "Job done." I wriggle out of his grip and stand up. He grins up at me as I hold out my hand and lead him back to the bedroom.
The bad guys will still be there in a couple of hours.
¿?
The second time I try to leave is more successful. Riddler lets me go with no argument and I exit out the living room window. I grapple up and run across rooftops, jumping and balancing until I reach my destination- the penthouse in Chinatown Riddler mentioned. I crouch down, camouflaged against the Gotham skyline. After an hour of surveillance, I agree with Riddler. That is a suspicious amount of activity. Dozens of goons trailing in and out, some carrying boxes and bags, but all look dodgy. I grapple over for a closer look. The ceiling is glass so I can see what's happening inside. One quick look tells me Scarecrow isn't here. I feel disappointment, but there are still things I can learn here. I creep around the edges of the roof, getting as close to the glass part of the ceiling as I dare for fear of being seen.
"Is everything ready?" I hear a badly auto-tuned voice from inside.
"Affirmative." One of the goons replies into a radio. "Everything is in place. We're ready and waiting."
"Good. Remember, don't draw attention to yourselves until Scarecrow is ready. The last thing we need is Batman showing up and changing the schedule. The old man may be too scared to kill you, but he has a talent for messing up plans. " Auto-tune says, and I'm taken back by the venom in his voice when he mentions Batman.
"Yes, sir. Over and out." The goon signs off. Whoever these guys are, they're obviously working with, or for, Scarecrow. Most of my mind is busy wondering what they could be planning but a not-so-small-part is also worrying about the fact that I have no idea who these guys are. They don't seem like the usual criminals who work for Gotham's Most Wanted. These guys seem… militarized. More competent than the average goon. And their weapons look more serious. I can see each of the men in the room carrying massive automatic guns. I bet those things pack a punch, whether you're wearing titanium-dipped tri-weave armour or not. I make a mental note to warn Batman. Apparently stopping Two-Face's arms deal was the least of our worries when it comes to guns in Gotham.
I move quietly to the next roof. I have to get back and let Bruce and Riddler know what I've found. I'm standing there in the wind, still panicking about this new information when a voice rings out.
"You know, I'm pretty sure that bat symbol is trademarked. You're going to need a new costume, New Girl." I whirl around to see Nightwing standing behind me, smirking widely.
"That's the trouble with Gotham- so many vigilantes you can't go out at night without running into one of them." I grin at him. "Is this a coincidence or are you tracking me?"
"Our mutual friend who exclusively wears black asked me to check up on Crane. You beat me here." He says, spinning one escrima stick in one hand. "Find out anything interesting?"
"Very interesting. If you can give me a lift tomorrow I'll fill you both in. But I'm glad I ran into you. Do you remember that bet we made?" I ask, one eyebrow raised.
"I do seem to recall something about who could kick more criminal butt. You looking to collect on that?" He scoffs.
"Well, I definitely won, so yeah. Pay up, Nightwing."
"I didn't keep count on who kicked more ass than who, but I guess the point is moot now. You're not really New Girl anymore, are you?" He asked. My heart clenches when I realise he's right.
"Firstly, I definitely kicked more ass than you. Secondly, I think I've gotten so used to you calling me New Girl, I wouldn't even respond if you called me by my name." The idea seems so foreign to me. "I want you to put in a good word with your boss about a new suit. One with less capes and bat symbols. I think this one should go back in its case at the Batcave, ready for the next hero-in-training." I say, gesturing to my bat suit.
"I'm with you on that." Dick agrees. "I'll talk to Batman for you. I don't think he'll have any problem with getting you a new suit. You should have asked for something good, New Girl. You won't win a bet with me again." He winks.
"That ego is going to be your downfall, Nightwing." I taunt, and he rolls his eyes.
"You're no threat to me. I could take you with one hand tied behind my back."
"Be careful, I might take you up on that," I warn. "I'm going to call it a night. Are you staying out?"
"Yeah." He said, putting the lose escrima stick back into its holster on his back. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you then." I give him a two-finger salute and head back to the apartment across rooftops.
I enter the apartment through the living room window, the same way I went out. It's still dark outside, the early hours of the morning, so I change from my bat suit into pyjamas quietly and crawl into bed.
"Catch any bad guys?" Riddler asks sleepily, rolling over to catch me and drag me close.
"Kind of. I'm sorry I woke you, go back to sleep." I whisper back. He mumbles something unintelligible in response and goes back to snoring lightly. I focus on letting the tension leave my body, one limb at a time, and somewhere during my relaxation technique I fall asleep.
A/N: Forgot to post last week because I'm busy and lame like that. Another chapter will be up in a couple of days as penance!