Chapter 8 - Red Hood

School felt like a necessary annoyance. Not that Mar'i didn't make friends, people seemed to like her. But, those friends only saw Mar'i Grayson. They couldn't know about Nightstar.

"Hey, Mar'i!" a couple of girls called as the final bell went for the day. "We're going to the shops, want to come?"

Mar'i agreed after a few moments thought. It wasn't like she was expected anywhere else and it was the shops, not a house or something.

"So, what's your story?" Tegan, one of the girls, asked.

"Yeah, where'd you come from and why come to Gotham of all places?" Nikki added.

"Dad moved us here for work," Mar'i responded politely.

"Don't mind these two," Ellie commented, slapping Nikki in the chest. "So rude."

"Hey, we're just curious!" Tegan countered. "After all, Mar'i looks like a model and people like that don't come to Gotham."

"My mum used to be a model," Mar'i informed them. She didn't give names or say that she looked a lot like her mother. It was just enough information to stop their fighting and change the subject. "So, how are we taking the bus?"

"Nah, Nikki's boy is driving us," Tegan informed her.

Mar'i paused. She didn't like the idea of getting into a car with an unknown driver.

"Whoa. No one mentioned any boys."

"He's not coming with us, silly!" Tegan pointed out.

"Besides, you shouldn't have any problems with boys," Nikki commented. "Don't you hang around that older boy?"

"Colin? He helped me out. He's nice," Mar'i pointed out.

"Yeah, so? My beau is nice."

"Come on, Niks, you totally know the Batman's going to get him," Ellie snorted.

"What?" Mar'i questioned.

"Right, you're from out of town," Ellie said, misunderstanding Mar'i's confusion. "Batman's like a, well, nobody really knows what he is. He just appeared one day and started protecting Gotham; or so some people claim. Others reckon he came to punish criminals. Like Nikki's beau."

"What did he do?" Mar'i questioned.

"He's just a street racer!" Nikki whined, throwing her hands in the air. "It's not like he killed anybody!"

Mar'i was certainly not going to get in a car with these people. Nikki's boyfriend might be able to drive safely outside of races but she had a feeling her dad would kill her, ironically enough as her dad had been in a few car races and chases himself. It wasn't 'fair' and her dad knew it. He just said that they were difficult people in different circumstances. For example, his father wasn't around to stop him from doing dangerous things.

At least he admitted that he does dangerous things.

"Hey, Mar'i," Tegan said, "who's that waving at you?"

Mar'i looked where she was pointing. Across the street was a familiar figure in sunglasses and a suit. She felt her heart stop because it was rare to see her dad in a suit and her mind immediately started tallying up all the things she did while he was gone which he would disapprove of.

"That's my dad," she said, bidding them goodbye and crossing to meet him. "Hey, dad. You're back."

"And in one piece," Dick responded with a smile and a flourish. Mar'i gave him a hard stare. "I mean it. Bruce was the one who got hurt this time. Alfred was saying something about him breaking his ankle when I left. Damian will probably continue being Batman until it heals."

Mar'i recalled that her dad had known about Damian's plan.

"So, you really think Damian should be Batman?" she questioned as they got into the car Dick had borrowed.

"You tell me," he responded. "You were the one here while he was Batman. Anyway, there's nothing Damian takes more seriously than Batman."

Mar'i had to nod in agreement as she thought of Damian's determination to make Gotham's streets safe.

Nightstar leapt across the space between two rooftops and waited. This was the position.

"Hello?" she called out, looking around. There was nothing hiding in the shadows and the street below was close to silent.

It was still and dark, the kind of night which seemed peaceful.

Then there was a flash of red at the side of the roof, suggesting that Nightstar's peaceful night was about to end.

"Did you really need to help that drunk get home?" Red Hood questioned, hoisting himself over the edge of the roof. He pulled himself into full standing height, brushing imaginary dirt off his jacket.

"I just splashed water in his face and followed him so he didn't get hurt," she responded with a shrug. It wasn't like the drunk had taken all her attention. She had managed to break up a fight and stop a car thief at the same time.

She was good at this, as much as her father didn't want to admit it.

"Mmm, he probably would have made it home in the morning," Red Hood pointed out. He tilted his body so Nightstar's eyes were drawn to his guns.

Too bad for him, she already knew that he didn't shoot to kill. He certainly wouldn't kill a girl who he believed he could still persuade.

"He would have been cold and hungry from sleeping in the streets. That's if he survived the night." Gotham could be a harsh place.

Red Hood titled his head in thought.

"You know, you've been making some people very annoyed."

"Really?" Nightstar mused.

"Really. Thought I might inform you that you haven't been dealing with the original Batman. And he's back."

Nightstar smiled.

"Who's back?" She wanted to test how easy it was to make Red Hood lose his temper.

"The original Batman," Red Hood scoffed. "And if you've not smart enough to figure any of that out, then you should probably quit."

And there it was. The 'q' word.

"You bats really like telling people to quit," she scoffed right back, pointing right at the red bat emblem on his chest.

He shrugged. "We don't want to see anyone get hurt. That includes people stupid enough to believe that this is all fun and games. People die."

"Like you?" She knew the story of the second Robin's death. Not just his but any death which occurred in the hero community.

Her father wanted her to understand the danger of this work. All it really did was make her more determined to be out here, helping.

Red Hood seemed to snap out of whatever shock had overcome him.

"You think you can survive? Prove it," he said.

Nightstar's reflexes kicked in and she ducked as he quickly covered the distance between them and sweeped a kick over where her head had been moments before.

She twirled a step around him and wrapped her arms around his left arm. He struggled but couldn't break her hold.

"So, Hood, my turn. Who sent you?" she questioned.

"What are you talking about?" he growled back. She let him go and watched as he staggered forward from the force of his struggles.

"You wouldn't bother with me unless someone asked you to," she explained, stepping out of the way of his punches. She wouldn't be able to keep it up for long but she didn't need long.

"Maybe you are smart," he commented. She felt he was smirking under the hood.

A moment later, there was a stinging pain in her side as a kick made contact. She rolled with the impact and out of the way of Red Hood's grab for her.

It left her crouched on the ground and in the perfect position to sweep him with a low kick.

Red Hood flipped over it, putting distance between them.

They sized each other up.

"Should I start guessing?" Nightstar questioned with a smirk. "It was probably Red Robin."

She didn't wait for confirmation, she could get that from Damian or her dad. Nightstar bolted for the closest ledge and jumped off in a swan dive. There were a couple of bars on a window about three floors down she knew she could grab.

Her hands gripped them and she swung herself across and around the building, landing on the fire escape around the corner.

She had planned this. The reason she picked this building to confront her not-so-mysterious follow was because it possessed the setup to allow her to make a sharp turn almost mid-air.

Without relying on her flight.

"I admit, that was kind of cool," her dad muttered from the shadows as Nightstar hit the ground.

"Thank you, thank you," she said with a couple of bows. He laughed and gave her a clap.

"Of course, I didn't sign you up for gymnastics so you could go pole dancing on barred windows," he added with a slight tone of disapproval.

Nightstar raised a masked eyebrow.

"Really? That's what you choose to criticise? That move was a work of amazement and you know it. If anything, you should scold me for making Red Hood mad."

"That one's going to come back to bite you as it is," he responded with a smirk. "And I'm going to say 'I told you so'."

"Thanks dad, you're a real hero."