Chapter One: Bird-runners?
(AN: Batman is not mine)
A small shadow crouched on the roof of a waterside pub at one of Gotham Cities biggest seaports. It watched a group of men unloading crates from the hold of a cargo ship called 'The Seagull'.
The shadow was a fifteen-year-old vigilante whom the people of Gotham had named Blue-Jay. Most thought she was one of Batman's side-kicks, but the truth was she wasn't. She and the bat clan were on the same side, just not on the same team, Blue-Jay was more of a freelancer.
At first, the bat family had been hostile and distrustful of her, not that she blamed them; after all, they still weren't sure of her motive for putting on the mask. But after the crisis with Ra's Al Ghul trying to destroy the city, they had been forced to acknowledge Blue-Jay as a competent crime fighter. They still were not on the greatest of terms, but they had gained a respect for her when she had risked her life in an attempt to stop Ra's, and she had gained a greater respect for them, having saved her after she had been captured.
They were tentative allies, though Blue-Jay was hoping they'd warm up to her a little more over time.
"You've been practicing." Blue-Jay said suddenly, focusing her binoculars on the cargo hold. A moment later, another small figure came out of the shadows. This one was dressed in a costume similar to hers, only his was red and black to her blue and grey, also, his hair was short, messy and black, while hers was long, smooth and platinum blond.
Robin approached her, frowning. She seemed to sense his mood because she lowered her binoculars and turned to look at him "I mean it, you're improving." She said and motioned for him to come up beside her.
He settled into a crouch beside her, pulling out his own binoculars and looking where she was looking. He hadn't said anything, but she thought she could detect a small hint of pride at her compliment.
"I have a question for you." He said suddenly "Shoot." "That night when we first er…met, why did you attack me?" "I wanted to see what you were capable of. And I got more than I expected, like a handful of bruises." "Oh." He was silent for a moment before speaking again "But then why did you handcuff me to a tree and kiss me?" "The handcuffs were more of insurance that you wouldn't follow me, and the kiss…" she paused, then said, smiling slightly "Whether you're wearing your mask or not, you're still cute."
He stared at her for a moment before she noticed a small blush creep into his cheeks. He reached up and rubbed the back of his head "You think I'm cute?" he asked, a little awkwardly "Of course I do, and I'm not the only one. Just try Googleing 'Robin' and you'll see what I mean." He looked at her quizzically for a moment before turning his attention back to the ship.
"What are we looking at?" He asked. "Gunrunners, not sure what the shipment is though, so I've been hanging back. But I do know that only a fraction of the shipment is staying in Gotham, the rest is going to Kaznia." Robin was staring at her again. "What?" "How do you know this stuff?" "Inside information and a lot of hard-core hacking." He seemed to want to ask more, but decided that that she wasn't likely to say more and once again looked back at the boat.
"When do we go in?" Robin asked after about ten minuets of silence. "We don't." he gave her an odd look "We tip the cops off about the shipment to Kaznia, then follow the merchandise that stays in Gotham to the dealers. It may put more guns on the streets for a small amount of time, but it will also let us map out their operation and, hopefully, lead us to the kingpin."
This seemed to pacify the boy, but what she didn't mention was that she already knew who the kingpin was: her own father.
"And what next?" Blue-Jay and Robin both started a little as Batman came out of the shadows not five feet from them. "We follow and track the shipments that are leaving the country and find out who the buyers are." He nodded, seeing sense in it as she went back to watching.
About five minuets later, she put away her binoculars and jumped off the roof, landing on a windowsill below before jumping onto a pile of crates and then climbing down them. Robin followed before Batman could stop him.
Blue-Jay moved quickly and quietly through the shadows of the crates until she was close to the van that the Gotham shipment was being loaded into. Feeling someone behind her she glanced back, and saw that Robin had followed her. He came up beside her once she spotted him and they both crouched low, waiting.
But their opportunity never came, because before they were able to make their move for the truck, Batman grabbed them by the shoulders and pulled them back. Blue-Jay turned to look at him and he nodded to their right. They looked, and saw another truck coming up to the boat to be loaded. Blue-Jay narrowed her eyes in confusion. What was the other truck being loaded with?
Her eyes widened when she saw what: Birds.
Cage after cage of birds was being loaded into the truck, parakeets, falcons, eagles, sea birds, and more. Blue-Jay had to suppress a groan and rolled her eyes. She knew what those were for.
Batman and Robin, however, were mystified. After all, what would gunrunners be doing with birds? Batman made to pull out a tracker but Blue-Jay stopped him "Don't bother; I know where those are going." He raised an eyebrow but shot the tracker at the truck carrying the guns instead, just moments before it drove off.
After the truck was gone, the three slipped silently away from the docks. Batman leading, the two small teens following side by side.
When they were a safe distance from the ship, Batman asked "Mind telling us what the birds were for?" but there was no answer, he and Robin turned, to find that the girl was gone.
(Review please)
(AN: Sorry it took me a while, I've been having some writers-block. But I'll do my best to return said block to one of my cousins' old play sets, where it belongs.)