Somewhere in Gotham, April 22, 2016, 6:00 am
Stephanie peeled her eyes open, noticing at once they were not in the gray deserted streets of Gotham, but in a room, it was small, and slightly messy, it looked like it had at one point been an office, though everything else had been moved to make room for the three vigilantes tied and bound to their chairs. They were all so pressed together that it was hard to know where she ended and the twin wonders began.
Sniffling past the pain in her head at being knocked out to look around jumping as much as she could in her seat with a small startled yelp when she felt fingers at her waist, and she glared at the the teen boy, "Hey, perv Wonder, watch the hands there or next time it might be something worse then a brick hitting your face."
Robin glared at her over his shoulder, though she still saw the unintended blush over the bridge of his nose, "I`m trying to get us free."
"I think your both forgetting that there are still people with guns in this building that will kill us at any moment," Nightwing stated very matter of factly, "So keep it down."
Stephanie raised and eye brow at him, her blue eye glaring behind the black domino mask while Robin returned to his duty of getting them free, Nightwing doing the same as he snapped a rope, loosening his arm, getting slightly more reach as his fingers worked on the knots in the rope.
She herself pulled on her wrist growling internally when she felt the cuffs were still on her. She once more looked over her shoulder, seeing the blank looks on both of their face, or what part of their faces she could see from her angle, in that moment hearing a loud tear and snap of the ropes, Robin and Nightwing jumping to their feet quickly, Nightwing`s bare fingers going to the edge of his mask as Robin knelled down behind her shredding the rope with a tiny fold-able blade he tucked back into a small compartment in the bottom of his boot.
Stephanie blinked at him, "You know...you guys are weird."
Robin gave nor made any type of reply to this as he looked to Nightwing, the middle of his mask twitching slightly as his brows knitted together underneath. "Coms are down, which means were in grid lock zone."
"Grid lock Zone?" Stephanie asked, standing up, and spinning around a few times to look at her hands that were still cuffed behind her back.
Nightwing nodded, "The Riddler, I assume you read the papers, he released a data virus into Gotham`s power grid, some of the League best hackers were at it all night and we stopped all of Gotham from losing power, but the lower ranking areas that are running on older power systems still got shut off for a few hours and there are a few blocks that when you step into them all devices go into immediate shut down, so no phones, lights and com links."
"And no contacting for back up." Robin sighed, "Whats the plan?"
"We get our things back, and we get out of here, regroup at the Cave." Nightwing said and Stephanie frowned, "What about Gully, we cant just leave him, after this even he`d have the brains to lay low."
"We cant do anything pertaining to Gully if were dead," Robin stated, "our main objective now is to get our of here with a low levels of bullet intake."
She twisted around, giving them a clear view of her hands, "I also think getting out of here in one peace would go a lot smoother if I had my hands."
"The keys are in my belt, and they took those a long with our gloves." the teen boy stated, crossing his arms over his chest, cape draping over his shoulders.
"Your going to have to stay close by to one of us, probably Robin," Nightwing stated, looking to the door, "I tend to go where the spotlight takes me."
"I noticed that last time Mr. Restive." She grumbled.
"Last time?"
"So, how do we get your gear back and get gone with our tails between our legs?" she asked in a small pout, she wasn't going to lie, she was kind of hoping to knock a few skulls in, or see these two in action again.
"Hard and Fast." Nightwing growled white optic lenses narrowing, he looked to Robin, "Hit them fast and only stun them, the more their flailing around for use the lenses time they`ll have to look at her."
"Right," Robin nodded, "Once I get my gloves I can route the com link through the JLA system and it`ll be a bridge to the Cave, from there I can contact Batman for pick up back to the Cave."
"I get to go to the Bat Cave?" Stephanie asked with a blink. Both of the vigilantes looking to her, "Blind folded."
"Ready?" Nightwing asked stepping in front of the door and Robin nodded, she herself nodded but she was certain even if she wasn't they'd drag her along, they didn't seem like the type to slow down for anyone.
Just as she thought that, Nightwing shoved into the door, shoulder first, wood crashing and shattering around them as they wasted no time in jumping out of the room and racing down the empty hall-way and slipping around the corner, Nightwing preforming a tight round off and jumping back up, his heel hitting the man who ran around the corner, Nightwing shoving the man behind him to Robin who flashed forward and threw his right elbow into the man`s jaw before using his other hand to shove him into the wall, pulling Stephanie further down the hallway where Nightwing swept the feet of another man.
Robin and Stephanie jumped over his rolling body, maybe she had been wrong about the whole not seeing them in action thing.
Nightwing and Robin zipped back and forth between men who came and went, carrying guns, bats or small knifes. They were fluid, like water or actual shadows, Nightwing having his own...finesse to the way he moves like silk or smoke in the wind, floating to the smallest spaces in the most interesting angles while Robin was different on a whole new level.
He was less with the flips and more with just moving, his eyes watching everything and if the white wasnt covering his eyes you`d probably get a head ache with how much his eyes darted around analyzing how someone moved and what they might do next in the span of a few second, all while figuring out what you were going to do before them.
She felt like she was watching a nature documentary, one that wasnt boring and had along of abs, and if she wasnt her she probably would've blushed profusely at that thought.
They were running, Robin smashing the next door with his knees and the three of them hurrying into a larger room, with about five men, holding all types of assorted good, and on the table lay their things, thought she didnt notice the guns pointed at them till Robin wrapped an arm around her waist and they hit the ground, bullets hitting the wall where they had just been, Nightwing already leaping forwards, flipping past the men and onto one side of the table, long enough for it to rocket their things over to them.
Robin slipped on his gloves and belt quickly with a low audible click, looking to the blond girl when she cleared her throat, with a sigh he pulled out the keys to the cuffs, "Dont leave our sides, it`ll be worse if we have to look for you."
I`m shaken` in my boots as we speak." She said dryly, Robin grabbing the railing of they ramp and flipping over it to help Nightwing with the last of the goons, Stephanie running out and helping now that the hero`s weren't guarding her every move.
She shoved her fist in the first face she saw a grin spearing her face, "UGH! You have no Idea how much steam I need to blow off right now!"
She kicked her foot out like she was kicking a soccer ball, catching someone's side with her heel just as someone wrapped an arm around her waist holding a thin blade to her throat. The silver catching the dim light of the swaying lamps over head, pained moans of the unconscious men at their feel filling the rather silent air as the two vigilantes stopped and turned to her, the unmistakable scent of beer and cheap cigars filling her nose, "Gully." she growled.
"Should `a stayed dead sweat heart," he said voice rattling as the blade pressed against her skin.
"You think I`m gonna stop spoiling his plans just for some stupid sense of security?" She asked, baffled, "Think again cheap skate, no one one gonna stop me from doing what needs done, I`m the only spoiler around here!"
She shoved her head back, hard, and she felt it, but the feel and the sound of Gully`s nose breaking felt so much better internally, leaving her totally not caring that their was blood in her hair now as Nightwing grabbed her hand and pulled her away from Gully roughly, throwing her to Robin who she beamed at, "Not too bad, Eh?"
Robin blinked at her, not giving her any reply as he gloved ghosted over her collar bone and pressed down quickly, the purple suited girl almost dropping to the floor before he caught her. Looking up and Nightwing as he readjusted the girl over his shoulder, the older man dragging Gully over, The other goons around them groaning as they started to wake.
Nightwing gave a small jerk of his head to the busted door, hanging off it`s hinges from the brawl and Robin wasted no time dodging out it, the blue vigilante not to far behind with their other company.
Gotham City- Bat Cave April 22, 2016, 8:34 am
The cave was of course a naturally dark place, even with the added lighting and the glare the large super computer gave off,though stubborn shadows still clung to the walls and under tables or thrived in the dark hallway leading to the several other man made rooms.
Though it was never truly silent in the Cave, with the Bat`s screeching in their enclosure, the tap of the disputer keys, the sound of Ace`s claw`s on the hard stone or like now, the high pitched beep of a heart beat monitor and deep hum of the Computer.
Robin standing beside the medical bed, looking over the tablet and the given information on it, his other hand ghosting above the screen, ready to scroll down as Batman walked back over to the medical area from the computer, pulling up a small holo-screen on Gully Carson and someone else named Arthur Brown. His tough skimmed the back of his lips, anxiously wanting to ask about Arthur Brown though his focus needed to remain on Stephanie Brown, a local missing teen.
When they had first taken off her mask he was slightly ashamed to say he didnt at first recognize her, but when her finger prints and blood showed her I.D it jogged his memory, seeing as he and Nightwing were the ones who longed all the kid-napped teen`s video`s into the League data-base last year when it had all gone down.
He had come back to the cave with the Purple vigilante , while Nightwing had taken care of Gully, dropping the man off in police custody for the time being, while they unmasked the female at base, though something in the back of his mind told him she might not be too pleased with this predicament. Though this was protocol, so he wasnt too worried.
"Arthur Brown, Aka Clue-Master," Bruce said eyes narrowing slightly at the screen and Tim looked up from his tablet, "Do you know him?"
"Yes," Bruce nodded, "I ran into him only a...a few years back, he was still robbing banks at the time though his game plan`s seemed to have risen slightly, since his second release from Prison." Bruce stated, his jaw tightening and Tim bit his lip discretely, a few years, meaning around Jason`s time...but that was a whole other story, "and his second capture was due to an anonymous tip."
Tim pulled up another holo screen, "and his several other trips to jail and a questioning table were from a similar source," Tim looked down at the still unconscious girl, before glaceing back at Bruce, "She did call herself spoiler."
"I dont care what she calls herself," Bruce said with a bit of bite to it, "she`s not going to be doing it any more, I`ll look into Arthur Brown, as well as his connection to Gully Carson, luckily Carson will be easier to locate now that he`s in a GCPD holding cell."
"What about her?"
Bruce looked down at Stephanie Brown, blinking once and his jaw clenching softly as he looked at the sleeping girl, her chest rising and falling with even breaths of sleep and Bruce looked up, "Take her home to her mother, Crystal Brown, they live just on the edge of Devil`s Square, Stephanie has been missing for over a month for whatever reason, the only reason were not turning her in now is because of her contribution to her father's multiple captures, but again, she will not be continuing her role as a...Spoiler. Whether her actions are just, shes untrained, unfit, and undisciplined, she has no restraint, her motives are too personal, and each and every report of a purple figure following Cluemaster leads to explosions, property damage and gun fights, she is wreak-less and will get everyone killed if not herself." Batman stated looking back to the girl who was still sleeping soundly, unable to fully justify herself.
"I`ll be telling her this later, after we find ClueMaster." Batman stated, waving his hand to dissipate the holo-screens, "She`s got less then forty minutes before she wakes up, take her home, then return to the tower for sparing practice, Nightwing will follow shortly after were done interrogating Gully."
Tim nodded, holding his tongue, it wasnt like he didnt want to spar with the meta`s of his team, it was more so that he`d rather be here working this case. But he complied with Batman`s orders and he slipped his hands under Stephanie's knees and behind her back, picking her up and heading over to the Red-Bird, the roof of the car sliding open even before he got there to lay the girl into the passenger seat.
Robin jumped into the drivers seat, bouncing on the leather seat, and started the engine, closed the top of the car with a hiss. And with a loud growl of the engine followed the Batmoblie out into daylight.
Gotham, GCPD, April 22, 2016, 9:16 am
"Bats in broad day light?" The man asked, leaning back in the old wooden seat that creaked under his weight, the chain linking to the hand cuffs and the table, jingling with the movement. The red haired man smirking at the two masked hero`s, who held a narrowed eyed gaze, "I`m flattered."
"Your also sick in the head," Nightwing hissed, arms crossed over his chest, "attacking teen girls, robbing banks, not to mention working with the Red Dragon`s and the Whisper Gang, how low can one man sink Carson?"
Gully rolled his shoulders, his jaw clenching and after a pause he spoke, "I`m not saying anything, I anit no rat."
"You dont have to," Batman said evenly, "but with your record your likely to go away for a very long time, and if you dont talk it only add to three levels of obstruction, from two murderous gangs and a man who seems to have a shadow for a daughter, if you do happen to cooperate your sentence can be minimized."
Gully rolled his head back and groaned inwardly with a loud sigh, "You know know as well as I do Bat that this people dont tolerate snitches."
"Then Tell us about the girl," Nightwing growled, "Why is she so armament about bringing her father in?"
Gully chuckled loudly, "Now that," He pointed at the between the two of them, "IS a interesting story, see Everyone knows about the person taking a big interest in his career, they dont really know who it is and no one cares, they just told `im to take care of it, so Arthur did, killed her, pushed her off the docks, Fuck knows how she made it. The girl, Steph, I met her a few times before, smart ass that one, I dont know why she started following `im before her 'death' maybe it had somethin` to do with her mum, Dont know, dont care, but her being back isnt good new that for sure."
"Why is that? What is ClueMaster planing Carson?" Batman asked with narrowed eyes.
"somethin` big, and it`s Spoiler`s fault Arthur`s good at what he does but with her in the picture he`s a laughing stack, he took her out because she`d just get in the way, and there is a lot of money in this, s`why I robbed the bank, gotta spend money to make money," He said, "Anyway, Arthur`s got this whole plan, it doesnt just involve Whisper gang and the Red Dragons, naw it involves all of them, givein` back to the people."
"Giveing what back?" Nightwing asked and Batman held up his hand for silence from his protege, eyes still on Gully, "Where did the money go to Gully, three banks have been hit before the last, all by Arthur`s men, wheres all the money going to?" He asked and Gully bit his lip.
"The gangs, gun, drugs and other stuff, but Arthur`s keepin` a lot of it in a hide out up in Star-City, but were the only ones who know about it, it`s part of his end game." Gully said.
"What`s his end game, who`s controlling the gun distribution and the drug intake?" Batman interrogated.
"Penguine`s got the drugs, Black Mask is disturbing weapons," he said, before pausing and making a concerned face, "listen, Arthur is just trying to cut his way to the top with Penguin and Black mask, and all the other crime bosses, but to do it, he`s gotta give, you know like I said, taking territory just make`s enemies-,"
"Arthur is using the money he stole from the bank to buy guns and drugs and pushing the boundaries on the cities crime-filled locations, their going to try and take the surrounding neighborhood that are Police protected." Batman said and Gully nodded, "Viva la-Revolution I guess."
Nightwing frowned deeply, "But that`s insane, even with the amount of guns and money Arthur is distributing it wouldnt be enough to get him territory, the gangs wont exactly play fair, they`ll kill him and take whatever territory he tires to claim."
"Swat I said to him but all he said was he had it covered." Gully said before sighing, he leaned forward, the chains rattling loudly as he leaned his arms on the table, looking intently at the two hero`s, "Look, talk to Danny on this, Danny Bleek, him and Mat," Gully groaned sitting up, rubbing his hands over his face before pressing a finger to the table, "A-And watch the girl, like I said she`s a smart ass and I hate her guts, I mean, it`s her fault I`m in here but I aint a monster, I dont wanna see Arthur have to killer her again."
"What are you talking about, you tired to kill her last night." Nightwing growled and Gully rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, I knew ou birds wouldnt let me do it, you know, thought I could scare her or somethin`."
"Your an outstanding citizen." Nightwing stated dryly before looking to Batman, "I go by the house and see if she`s waken up yet."
"The house?" Gully asked loudly, "Crystal`s place? You better hurry, casue last I knew when Arthur found out Steph was still alive he had the place watched."
Gotham, Brow Residence, April 22, 2016, 9:12 am
Stephanie groaned inwardly, her head pounding as her eyes adjusted to the light and the sound of birds on the telephone wires outside. She forced her eyes to stay closed as she tried to remember what had happened, she remembered last night, Nightwing, Robin, the Red Dragon Gang, Gully, then...
"What an ass-hole." she growled running her hands over her face, instantly her eyes opened and she sat up, feeling her face, and how it fell like there was no mask on it, because there wasnt, "That ASS!" she practically yelled, before looked around the room, eyes even wider as her mind took in the enclosure of her old room, she could feel the panic attack starting even before she stumbled off the bed and threw the door open, the door hitting the back wall hard as it swung open.
She ran past the old living room, still messy as ever before she skit-ted into the kitchen and pulled the back door open and jumped ther three stone steps into the tiny year, she almost made it to the back gate before a hand grabbed her hood and pulled, the collar of her suit chocking her even before the rang came over her mouth and she could only think :What an ass.
While not too far off perched in a tall oak belonging to a nearby worn out park sat Robin, his Red-Bird parked just under him close the foot of the tree, as he pressed the sides of his domino to zoom back out, glade he had waited for the girl to wake up and he recorded the licenses plate of the three black vans as they hauled the girl away.
Just as he did so an alert came in, his R insignia blinking and he pressed it, hearing Batman`s voice and asking him to return to the Brown residence.
"No need, Stephanie is already on the move, albeit, against her own will, with the Whisper gang. In pursuit now, over." Robin said, before dropping down into the open roof of the Red-bird and flooring it after the three black vans.