Chapter 3 – Batman?

The dark figure had the bat cowl on their head, were covered from shoulders to below the knees in a long dark grey jacket with the black bat-symbol across their chest and shoulders. Nightstar thought the expansive back collar which shielded their neck looked familiar. Black boots crunched the gravel and the glint of a yellow utility belt around their waist was the only colour on their outfit.

They were Batman but not Batman.

"Abuse, guess... who is that?" Batman growled to Abuse, cutting himself off as he pointed at Nightstar.

"Don't mind me," Nightstar responded. She held up her hands and smiled to illustrate her harmlessness.

Batman glared at her.

"Mar'i?" he questioned. The word, her name, sent a shot to her chest. Before she could register that she recognised this guy, she had to shut him up.

"Shh! Secret identities are important to some people!" she said, shoving both of the men further into the alley. Abuse was surprised at her strength while Batman moved before she could apply too much force.

"You have got to be kidding me," Batman huffed.

Abuse looked between the two. He then focused on Nightstar, causing a pit to grow in her stomach.

"You're... oh."

"Yeah. Oh," Batman sneered. "What are you doing on Gotham's streets and in that ridiculous costume?"

"Ridiculous?" she growled back at him. Damian Wayne, it had to be. Her outfit was fine. "What do you have against colour, you meanie?"

"'Meanie'?" Abuse snickered.

"Shut up," Batman and Nightstar said in unison to him. It didn't have the desired effect as Abuse started laughing. The hoarse sound filled the alley and they all realised that they probably should move somewhere even less public.

'Batman' had a safe house nearby where they could relocate to. Once inside, they stood around. None of them wanted to start so Mar'i took the role.

"So... Batman? How'd that happen?" she asked Damian.

Damian glared and then sighed, pulling the cowl off his head. His hair stuck to his forehead, damp with sweat. He didn't seem to care about that.

"Father went out of town and I decided to fill in for him while he's away."

"While he was gone you decided to take the Batsuit?" Abuse questioned in surprise. His voice changed pitch towards the end and he seemed to be getting smaller. "Isn't he going to be mad?" By the end of that sentence, Mar'i was looking at a familiar tall but skinny and unimposing figure.

"Of course not," Damian responded. "I asked Grayson beforehand and Penny-One is also aware of my change in mantle. It's not permanent." His tone suggested that Damian was going to work to prove himself and maybe it would become a permanent change.

Mar'i nodded, noting that Damian didn't mention telling Bruce, and looked over at Colin.

"And... Colin Wilkes?"

Colin looked shocked while Damian smirked.

"-tt-, really Mar'i Grayson, you should know better than that," he said. "Or did your father not teach you the 'no names in the field' rule?" He paused while a thought occurred to him. "Does he even know?"

"Of course he knows!" Mar'i shouted at Damian, hair flaring up. Her dad trusted her to make the right choices!

"What? Mar'i?" Colin questioned, looking between the two. "So, you two do know each other." He had thought as much when he told Damian about the girl he helped the previous day. Damian had asked a few questions before going quiet.

"She once came to stay with me and Grayson," Damian explained in an off-handed manner. "She's Grayson's illegitimate girl-child with that alien woman."

"Wow. That's cool," Colin said. Mar'i smiled at him and pulled her mask off so he could see her eyes. "So cool. I guess you've been doing this a long time then?"

Mar'i flinched. Damian smirked.

"Dad didn't want me in danger," Mar'i responded. "But, I do know a lot."

"-tt-"

"No really! Just test me."

"Um..." Colin couldn't think of what to say.

"I'll test you," Damian said. He attacked with little warning, foot flying up to knock into Mar'i's side. She blocked it with her arms as well as doing small, quick steps to the side to minimise his impact. As she moved, she twirled into a kick of her own.

Damian jumped back to dodge. They were both smirking as they closed the distance between each other.

Mar'i tried to grab him, only for Damian to turn the move back on her and try and flip her into the ground. She floated but he kicked a heel into her back, sending her to the ground.

Mar'i fumed, hair curling like purple fire above her. She could imagine the victorious pose Damian was probably performing.

Colin blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to process everything that had happened.

"Wow," he finally stated.

"That's right."

"Although I don't think posing as Batman above a beaten down hero is really a smart way to start your Dark Knight career," Colin commented.

Mar'i barked a laugh, as much as she could with her chest squashed against the ground. Damian jumped off her a moment later.

"-tt- We do whatever it takes to subdue our prey."

"'Prey'?" Mar'i questioned with a giggle. His reactions were kind of funny.

"Ugh!" Damian groaned and stomped around. "I just came to see Abuse, why am I dealing with you too?"

"You don't have to. The city is big enough that we don't have to work together," Mar'i pointed out. She pulled up a map on the monitor. "If we tell each other which areas we want, then we don't have to meet up or deal with each other."

"I'm Batman," Damian pointed out, "the city is mine!"

"I can keep you up to date on where we are," Colin said. Mar'i smiled at him while Damian raged in the background.

"Fine," Damian finally huffed. "You can take Amusement Mile or something."

"I want the Diamond District tonight," Mar'i countered with her arms crossed over her chest. "Amusement Mile's on the edge of the city and, unless there's something big going down, everybody avoids that place."

"Fine," Damian huffed again, throwing his hands into the air.

While the Diamond District was usually Catwoman's hangout and had a lot of small, break and enter crimes, it was quiet as Nightstar leapt across the rooftops. She performed short stakeouts around the taller buildings, looking for anything suspicious.

"Gotham is nice at night," she sighed as she looked over the buildings. Despite the hour, there were a few cars travelling down the road.

She even saw Red Hood's bike rush down the road, the hood shining in the street-lamps like a red-coloured police siren.

Near sunrise, Nightstar found her way back to her apartment. There was an email from her dad, asking how her night went. She fell asleep wondering if she should inform him that Damian was playing at being Batman.

The good thing about Saturday was that she could sleep in. Since very few people knew where she and her dad lived, there was no chance of anyone coming to visit.

"Damian, you can't just go into a girl's room!"

Mar'i woke to the sounds of conversation, not registering the words or owners until after she had thrown the knife hidden under her pillow at them.

Colin's stared at the knife embedded up to its handle in the wall.

Damian let out an undignified squeak.

Mar'i stared in disbelief.

"What. Are you doing. In my room?" she questioned. Her eyes glowed as she wondered if she was still dreaming.

"We came to visit," Colin said.

Damian ignored the question and tried to pull the knife out of the wall.

"Does your father know you throw knives in your sleep?" he grunted.

"He knows about the knife," she responded haughtily. "How did you find this place?"

"I checked school records for your address," Damian responded as if it was obvious.

Mar'i's hands lit up.

"Fine," she hissed. They had managed to find her and she had to give them that and let them visit. "But get out of MY ROOM!"

She fired, chasing them out so she could get dressed for the day.