{the assenting spoiler}

-A snare lurked in every possibility-

The thing that sucked? Steph had been enjoying herself. Like, way too much, and she was annoyed at herself for cutting the entire thing short. She couldn't remember the last time she'd kissed a guy like that, or even really craved a boy anyway. And god, was she craving that stupid cat. He'd tasted like blood, which she found a little odd, but it was a familiar taste. He was so soft too, she'd been surprised by his touches. The boy was as gentile as he was sweet. And boy, was he sweet.

Oh shit, she thought as she bolted down an alleyway, the stolen knives in hand. I really like him. That is just my luck, wow. She ran, trying to push thoughts of him out of her head and focus on getting back to her safe house— or rather, her old apartment, which was barren as hell nowadays. It made her sad and nostalgic. She really despised Deathstroke, and she knew there had to be a way out, but she was too terrified to try and find one. So instead, she did as she was bid. And if that meant stealing from an adorable boy that she had been intensely crushing on for years? Well, she'd had worse gigs.

Also, he was chasing after her. She liked that.

She was ghost hunting. It was proving fruitless, and she was growing swiftly irritated, because the boy had disappeared. He hadn't made a move since apparently trying to kill Jason Todd in the hospital. Now that she saw Catlad's face clearly, she knew that he was the one who had kidnapped Todd earlier in the day. Which had been why she'd approached him in the first place. Aside from her sad attraction to him, he could have the key to finding the Ghost.

Ra's al Ghul had not specified the boy's name. He merely called him the Ghost, which made things tricky. If the kid was using an alias, she couldn't know, because Ra's had left out key details. Stephanie knew the boy was ten, and she knew what he looked like for the most part, but god, she wished he'd told her a bit of his background. Who was he, anyway? And why the hell was he so important?

Anyway, so she'd stolen the weapons the Ghost had used. Big deal. She probably needed them more anyway. We should be working together, she thought, twisting around a corner. She didn't dare look back to see if Catlad— Tim Drake, according to the news— was still following her. No, she'd just keep running, and hope that maybe somehow she'd lost him.

How silly of her.

He'd somehow snuck onto a fire escape above her. And so when he jumped down in front of her, she immediately found herself in attack mode. She punched him in the stomach, reeling back and ducking as he moved, his leg darting out. She moved fast, feeling adrenaline pumping in her veins as she pushed off him, spinning around to run the opposite way. She hadn't given him enough credit. Tim Drake was fast. He'd caught her not because he was stronger, which she knew he wasn't, but because she'd underestimated him. Deathstroke would have smacked her for that.

He tackled her, slamming his knee between her shoulder blades, and she gasped, the knives clattering away from her. She winced as her cheek was forced against the dark, scummy alley street, and she glared up at him in irritation. "You know," she hissed, squirming as she felt him bind her wrists. "This is really not how I expected our first date to go. Well, okay, maybe I hoped it would go a little like this, but—"

He flipped her over, pinning her shoulders to the ground. She blinked at the close proximity, and she smiled. She liked this better. "Why did you steal those?" he asked her, ignoring how she leaned her head up to try and get a kiss in. This sucks, she thought glumly.

"I needed them?" Stephanie shrugged, but he had too much pressure on her shoulders. "I'm on a job, okay?"

"What job?" Tim's eyes were narrowed, but his voice was still soft. He didn't want to hurt her, and it was too plain.

"Can't say," she said, smiling up at him wanly.

"Come on," he whispered, his eyes softening. She watched him with a dull gaze, and she sighed, shaking her head. "Please, Spoiler?"

"Aw," she said, smirking a bit. "Stop being cute. I can't tell you, kitty, okay? Totes confidential. Like, if I spill, I'll be executed sort of confidential." She smiled big at him, watching his face transform in horror. "Geddit now?"

"Who are you working for?" Tim asked, leaning backwards. She sighed, and glared away from him.

"Not the good guys," she said. "I'm not even a thief anymore. I've gone lower than that."

"Spoiler—" Tim sucked in a breath through his teeth, and he shook his head. "Steph. You can talk to me, okay? How much trouble are you in?"

"None right now," she said. She closed her eyes, and she relished in the thought of how nice it was to just have someone there who genuinely seemed to care. "But if I fail, I'm dead. Simple."

"Not so simple." Tim crawled off her, still gripping her shoulders as she sat up. "Let me help you."

"If this is because of the date thing…" Stephanie stared at him, and she shook her head. "You know you're not actually obligated to follow through? Like, it's a nice thought, but I don't think it's going to happen."

"Why not?" Tim seemed to be urging something he didn't quite understand, and Stephanie wanted it more than anything. "I'll help you, and then you can help me, and then we can go on that date. How does that sound?"

"Amazing," she admitted, "but… I don't know. Do you really want to help me?"

"We seem to be after the same thing." Tim let go of her shoulders and leaned over, scooping up the knives. He held them up, and for the first time Stephanie noticed they were different. She never did have an eye for that sort of detail. Two things had frustrated Deathstroke immensely while training her: her reluctance to kill, and her complete lack of knowledge on weapons. "I think you can help me. I'm looking for the person who tried to kill Jason Todd at the hospital yesterday… and I'm guessing so are you."

"Which one did he use?" she asked, looking between them. One was fancier than the other. If she had to guess, she'd go with that one. It just had a nice flare.

"The kunai." Tim held up the plainer one, and she frowned. "The knife is from a completely different assassin who went after Jason about an hour ago."

"Is that what that's from?" she asked, jerking her chin at his cheek. She'd noticed the thin red line on his cheek, but she'd thought better than to comment.

"Yeah." Tim was still holding up the kunai, and he was watching her steadily. "That "little brother" you were talking about. Was he the assassin?"

Stephanie sighed, and averted her gaze. And then, reluctantly, she nodded. "I don't know that much about him, before you ask," she said. "The truth is, I know so little about him, my hopes of catching him are like, sub-zero at the moment. I know he's called the Ghost."

"Why?"

Stephanie shrugged. "He's quiet?" she offered. The alleyway smelled like stale beer and piss, and she hated it. But this was as private as things were going to get. "Uh… his hair is white. I know that. But, honestly, I've never seen the kid before in my life. Not even a picture."

"Then how are you supposed to find him?" Tim looked shocked, and she didn't blame him. The mission felt like a fluke to her too. "Why did you even take this assignment, Spoiler? This sounds like suicide."

"I didn't have a choice, okay?" She glared at her knees, pulling them up to her chest. Her arms were still tied behind her back. "I got caught up in a bad crowd. Like, think of the worst. I'm probably there."

"I doubt that," he whispered. He sounded so sincere, it hurt to think about it. To him, she was just a cute thief that had forked over a nice prize once. He didn't know how horrible she could be. She liked it that way. "You don't seem so bad."

"I kicked you in the mouth," Steph reminded, smiling at him. He smiled back, and shrugged.

"Better friends of mine have done worse." He tilted his head, and she watched him put the knives into his bag. "So, do we have a deal?"

"You know that means turning the kid over to me when you catch him," Stephanie said slowly.

"When we catch him," Tim corrected. "And we'll cross that bridge later. For right now—"

"Heeey, kitty kitty kitty!" chirped a sharp, rapid voice. Steph's head snapped behind her, and she saw a blur of yellow and red as a moving form slid to a stop before them. A tiny brunette boy in bright yellow spandex stood there, grinning so big, she found herself grinning too. Even though not too long ago, she'd been trying to beat that smile away. "Tying up girls in allies? Naughty boy!"

"Just a precaution, Kid Flash," Tim sighed. "Also, keep your voice down. This isn't Central, and you don't want unnecessary attention."

"Right," Kid Flash said in a loud whisper. "Sorry, Catlad. So, the mighty Oracle is beckoning us back to base, and I am personally wiped. I could do for a few chilidogs, if you feel me."

"Wasn't on her grocery list," Tim said, rolling his eyes. "But I'm sure you'll manage."

"But," Kid Flash whined, his eyes going wide. "Chilidogs!"

"Shouldn't you be with your dad?" Tim asked, his shoulders hunching in slight irritation.

Kid Flash looked shocked for a moment, startled into silence. "Wally's not my dad," the boy said, his voice very soft, and almost sad.

"Well," Tim said with a shrug. "Selina's not my mom. But that doesn't make her any less special to me."

"But…" The boy looked so startled, Stephanie wanted to hug him. She couldn't though, because she was tied up. "I dunno, man, that's just too weird. Wally as a dad? He's like, barely old enough to drink! Okay, that's an exaggeration on my part, oops, but still! That's weird to think about. I mean—"

"Keep it down," Tim said, reaching for Steph's neck. She gave him an inquisitive glance as he unwound the periwinkle scarf from her neck. "Anyway, you never answered my question. Where's the Flash?"

"The Flash is here?" Stephanie gaped. "Shouldn't he be… like, with the Justice League? Or something?"

"Titans gig," Kid Flash said, grinning. "Besides, the other Flash is with the League."

"There's two Flashes?" That made her head spin a little. "Uh, what? Since when?"

Kid Flash gave a lazy shrug. "I dunno." He looked to Tim, and he pursed his lips. "Well, the last time I checked with him, the Wallman was over at the Harbor. Arsenal made an appearance, I think. Wow, sorry, you know who these people are, right? Totally forgetting you're not part of the team."

That seemed to make Tim happy. He smiled, and gave a laugh. "No, it's okay," Tim said, shaking his head. "I'm glad you feel that way. It's better than all of you hating me because of my career choice."

"Just convert," Kid Flash urged in his loud, whispery voice. "Come on. The world could stand one less thief."

"I do heroics," Tim said. "Just not all the time. I have to have balance in my life, okay? I'm still a greedy piece of shit."

"Nah." Kid Flash shook his head fast, his brown hair going into a mop of windswept strands. "You don't do it for the money."

"No?"

"He doesn't?" Steph asked, her eyebrows rising. This was all very interesting, but she was being left out of the conversation, which sucked.

"Nope." Kid Flash grinned broadly. "You steal because it makes you feel good. Like you belong to something."

"Wow." Tim stared at the boy, and he blinked rapidly. "Wow, I don't even know how to respond to that."

"Ooh, ooh." Stephanie bounced in place. "You could punch him!"

"No, I'm not upset." Tim looked puzzled, and Stephanie stared at him and wondered if Kid Flash was right. I wish I had that motivation, she thought. The truth was, she was greedy and selfish. But who cared? "Anyway, I promised I would be back like, half an hour ago. So…"

Stephanie was smiling broadly as Tim draped her scarf across her eyes, effectively blinding her. He tied it tight, and she gave a loud, dreamy sigh. "Oh, I love this game," she said, feeling herself being picked up. "Well, I know that's you, kitty. Kid over there would never be so handsy."

"Sorry," Tim said, adjusting his grip so he was holding her bridal style. "Better?"

"No. I liked the other way."

"Too bad."

"This is really cute," Kid Flash said. "Who are you again?"

"Don't recognize me?" Steph taunted. "I only tried to kill you like… a week ago, Flash boy."

"Kid Flash!" he corrected with a snap. "And… oh man! Spoiler? For real! Hey, dude, you shouldn't be dragging her around! She's Deathstroke's kid!"

"I've met his kid," Steph said with a sigh. "She's actually really cool, I wish he didn't make us beat the shit out of each other."

"Dude!"

"Deathstroke?" Tim sounded confused. "That's what you meant? Steph, we can get you away from him."

"No you can't," Stephanie sighed.

"If you're scared of him—"

"It's not Deathstroke I'm scared of," Stephanie said, her voice barely over a whisper. She clutched at Tim's coat, and she was once again filled with thoughts about what might happen to her if she returned without the Ghost in hand.


Note: I really love Bart. And his personality is way easier to write than Conner's lol, I ain't going there. Anyone who I neglect, particularly Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark, are being neglected because I don't know their personalities well enough to write them. Also they're not really needed for the plot, but they are needed on the team to clean up Gotham. Really. Gotham needs it.

You know, I don't really need to remind you every chapter that I stole these dumbass quotes from Victor Hugo, but hey. Vic Hugo. So sugoi.