Chapter 10

As Nightstar got closer to the streets where Damian said Mr. Freeze was, she noticed the air seemed crisper. She couldn't feel the cold the way full-Earthlings did as her Tamaranean heritage meant her body acted as a heat source but she could still sense the drastic change.

The air was crisper, the sky was darker and there even were snowflakes visible in the distance.

And people said Gotham didn't have any magic to it. To Nightstar, this seemed like magic. What was the saying? Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

"Nightstar!" Robin called, signalling to her. She dropped down beside him and an oddly human-shaped pile of ice.

A flash of red was visible underneath the shine of the frozen water.

"Is that…?"

"Drake went and got himself frozen," Robin explained. He sounded annoyed. "You can free him, right?"

"Possibly," she responded, holding her hands up to the ice. She channelled just enough heat to get the ice to melt but not enough to cause her hands to light up. She didn't need easily-recognisable starbolts right now. "Why are you wearing the Robin suit?"

"-tt-. Father thought I didn't make a good Batman and ordered me to wear this or be grounded."

"That sucks," she responded. Robin nodded in sagely agreement. "For what it's worth, I thought you made a good Batman."

"Your opinion doesn't change anything," Robin spat in annoyance. Nightstar ignored the flash of anger and reminded herself that this was just what he was like. Besides, he had something taken from him. She'd probably run away if her dad took Nightstar away from her.

"J-Jumping around on rooftops and calling yourself Batman doesn't make you Batman." It was at that statement that Nightstar realised she made a mistake in thawing Red Robin from the chest and head first.

"No, caring about people does that. And Robin does care," she countered with a glare she hoped silently ordered him to shut up.

Red Robin stared up at her in disbelief. Nightstar was just glad he didn't make a comment. Maybe he knew, on some level, that she was right.

"Are you melting the ice with your bare hands?" Red Robin asked flatly.

Nightstar's heart stopped. Her mind stopped. She looked down at her hands and then back to Red Robin's mask and then back to her hands.

She pursed her lips together and silently kept melting the ice.

Once he was free, Red Robin didn't have time to question her. Mr. Freeze was generating chaos in the city.

Nightstar didn't like the look he shot her as he leapt into action. It was… negative.

"Father's going to know about your powers," Robin pointed out in a subdued tone. "I apologise for my part in that."

Nightstar pushed it to the side with an, 'it's okay'. She decided to ignore it and let happen, happen. It wasn't like she could change it now and, even if she could go back to when she arrived, she would still choose to help Red Robin.

She chose now to help all the other frozen people around them. Most seemed just annoyed at the amount of time lost being frozen in the street. Some gave her a quick grunted 'thanks' before going on their way.

It was easier to smile as she worked. Robin stayed nearby, fighting or scaring off anyone who decided to make a big deal of Nightstar's powers.

When it was all over, Red Robin and Batman had taken down Mr. Freeze while Robin and Nightstar had worked on freeing civilians.

"You'd think we'd have a heat ray or something for when this happens," Dick commented as he appeared with a grin and a light-hearted comment.

Batman huffed before moving to stand before Nightstar. She felt three inches tall, even though they were around the same height. The black of his armour, the black of his cowl and the black of his cape all blended together to create a rather imposing figure.

"Hello, Batman," she said politely.

"Why are you here?" he questioned with a growl. Nightstar didn't like it, it felt too much like an accusation but she also knew it was the way he talked. Instead, she tried to recall the growl her father had back when he was Batman. It had been amusing when he slipped into it during their calls.

"I called her," Robin quickly said in a defending tone. It was nice and she smiled at him. She even caught her dad smiling at him.

"-tt-" Robin made a motion which meant he was rolling his eyes underneath his mask.

"I would like to know what you are," Batman said, while the words were harsh, his voice was soft. Almost kind. Nightstar saw that he was able to use tact.

"Batman?" Dick questioned in confusion. Robin mouthed an apology at him.

"I used my powers to free people from the ice," Nightstar said, directing her description to Batman even though it was for her dad's benefit. "Got a problem with that?" She flicked a strand of her hair away from her face as she spoke, trying to look intimidating.

"You have powers. Does that include transforming?"

"No," she responded instantly. What was he talking about?

"What are you talking about, father?" Robin asked.

"While we were gone, a serial killer was captured by police. She had kidnapped and murdered countless women."

Batman glanced over at Robin and Nightstar wondered what they were silently communicating. It had to be something as Robin's posture straightened like a solider. She had learnt quickly that was his reaction to being challenged or scolded.

"What does this have to do with Nightstar?" Dick questioned.

"One of the women seen with the killer is still missing." Batman motioned to Red Robin who brought up an image using the screen built into his glove. "She shares a facial structure with Nightstar."

"If I could transform, wouldn't that be the first thing I changed?" Nightstar asked the first question which came to her mind.

"Is this you?" Batman asked, showing her the picture and ignoring her comment.

Nightstar certain recognised the disguise in the picture. It looked like it had been taken by one of the CV cameras along the street she had walked down with the killer. Being in disguise, she hadn't thought about avoiding the cameras. It seemed the killer had become bold enough to not worry about them either.

Red Robin or Oracle had been invested enough to trace the killer's location a few hours before their arrest. That was not good.

"Did you say something about a killer?" Dick questioned. Nightstar knew that this was not good at all.

"A serial murder," Batman clarified.

"She liked taking women and doing rather... horrific things to them," Red Robin commented.

"And this picture?" Dick questioned, pointing at Nightstar. Because she was watching his reactions, she noticed the momentary jump of his gaze to her and back.

He knew it was her. This was not going to end well.

"The last victim we know of. Unfortunately, she vanished before the arrest and hadn't been found," Red Robin said.

"She vanished?"

"Well, she wasn't there when the police turned up. The killer was unconscious."

Dick gave a short sigh of relief.

"I helped take her down," Nightstar admitted. As long as she didn't say anything about bait. "And I'm not here to be questioned. Everything you need to know is in the police report." She prayed her father didn't check the police report.