CHAPTER 4: Patrol
Christine's POV
I run out of the classroom as soon as I hear the bell ring. Instead of staying back with my friends from Gotham Academy like I usually do, I head straight for the limo, not bothering with where Tim is. I hurry into the vehicle, nearly tripping on my way in, as Alfred closes the door behind me.
"Calm down Miss Christine." Alfred says rather calmly.
But I can't help it. Today's the day. I keep bouncing up and down in my leather seat as I wait for Tim to come so that we can go home.
"Ugh...where IS he?" I'm starting to get irritated. Of all the days he decides to become a slow-poke... I'm scanning the crowd of navy blue and white clothed boys and girls when I spot Tim talking to some blond chick. Awww, Tim's finally being a dawg! Too bad he chose today... I push open the car door and run towards him as Alfred starts yelling in protest. As I approach Tim, I can hear them talking about some science project. Damn, it's just school stuff... Why does Tim always have to be so shy?
"Geez Tim, c'mon! Move it!" I grab his arm and pull him violently away from that girl. Tim starts calling after her as I drag him closer to the limo. I open the door, shove him inside, hop in myself, and slam the car door.
"Alfred let's get a move on! I don't wanna be late!" I order.
"Miss Christine, this car will not budge unless you ask me politely!" He says rather harshly.
"Alfred, would you please put your foot on the gas pedal and drive us home so that I don't die of excitement in the back seat of this car?" I say in a slightly murderous tone with a fake smile on my face.
Alfred sighs as the engine roars to life.
"You know it's only three o'clock right?" Tim asks me.
"Exactly! And my teachers decided to assign me a research paper, an essay about "Why the death penalty is good or bad," another essay about "My Hero," and I still have to memorize my lines for the mini play our class is doing for the talent show! If I don't finish most of that I won't be allowed to go out tonight!"
"What about the rest of the weekend?"
"Tomorrow we have that rich-people party for that event-thingy, and Sunday I promised Dick that we could spend a brother-sister day together. Ugh... I don't know why."
Alfred butts in. "He just wishes to get to know you better."
"I know, but he's had an entire year to do that, and maybe even longer! Now no one disturb me!"
I take out my iPad from my backpack and start working on my research paper. Who needs to research online when you have Tim! I just ask him a bunch of questions and type his answers onto my iPad. By the time we arrive at Wayne Manor, I am nearly done with my paper. I quickly shove my iPad into my backpack, sling it over my shoulder, and race to the door. I knock rapidly and repeatedly ring the doorbell until Bruce, obviously irritated, opens the door. Running past him, I nearly collide with Dick on my way to the staircase. He reaches his arms out to grab me, but I slip under his arm and hurry up the staircase.
"Chris!" Bruce calls out.
"Busy!" I yell back. "Oh and you're home early!"
Bruce's POV
The sound of a door slamming fills the suddenly quiet mansion. I have no idea what to make of that. Is she excited, upset, scared? Chris is so confusing. As if reading my mind, Alfred breaks the silence.
"She's very excited for tonight, she nearly pulled off Master Tim's arm trying to get him to hurry up."
This is new. The closest she was to being this excited was when I got her a pony last Christmas. Every day for three weeks, she would insist on going to the stables to visit Bluebell and force either Dick or me to bring her. I trusted Dick to end that madness, but I'm never making that mistake again. They ended up bringing home a Welsh Corgi that she named Ben, and Dick's excuse: I couldn't say no to my little sister! I wish Dick wasn't so pathetic sometimes...
I walk up the steps and approach her room. I slowly open the door to find her sitting at her desk typing furiously on her computer. I stand next to her and read what's on the computer. "The Death Penalty: Why It's Wrong by Christine Grayson-Wayne." I still remember the day she bursted into my study and told me she wanted to change her name back to Grayson. I was happy that she was honoring her parents by taking back her birth name.
"Are you ok?" I ask cautiously.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just excited." She says, obviously trying to focus on what she is writing.
"Ok." Good...excited is better than upset or scared. "When you're done with homework, go down to the Batcave and change into your costume."
"Ok. Alfred changed my outfit right? Because when you first showed it to me, I felt like I would rather..." she's about to say something but then her gaze shifts to the window and her blue eyes widen. "I'd rather, erm, be forced to socialize for the rest of my life than be caught wearing THAT."
"That's hurtful. I helped Alfred with the design. Is something wrong? You suddenly stopped what you were doing." She had stopped typing her report and kept staring out the window. I turn around, but nothing is there. When I look back at Chris, she is shaking her head and muttering, "Nothing, nothing..." before her mind comes back to the conversation.
"Did you think I could stop criminals with hot pink and cuteness?" Obviously attempting to change the subject. "I told you blue and purple, and maybe red, would be nice."
"Now you can protect Gotham with your meanness and tendency to hurt people's feelings in your blue and purple costume." I decide to let her change it.
"You just hurt MY feelings, but at least you changed my costume! Thanks." She says with a smile on her face.
"Alright well I'll let you finish what you're doing so that you can go out on patrol tonight. You'd better hurry, the sun is setting."
"Thanks for the support." She says sarcastically.
"No problem!" I reply, grinning at my hard-working daughter.
****Break****
Christine's POV
Finally! I finished all three of my essays! Memorizing lines won't be that hard. I hurry downstairs and put my hands on the side of the large grandfather clock in the study. I pull open the heavy door as it reveals the hidden staircase. I descend the stairs after quietly closing the door behind me. Every step I take echoes in the Batcave. Every few seconds a drop of water falling from a stalactite can be heard. When I reach the bottom of the staircase, I can see Alfred holding my costume in his hands. I run up to him, grab my costume, and hurry to go and change. This is the best day of my life!
****Break****
Dick's POV
"She's taking a while." I hear Bruce say as I come out dressed in my Nightwing costume.
"Maybe she's admiring herself just like Master Dick did the first time he wore his Robin costume." Alfred replied.
"At least my costume has pants and no underwear showing."
The three of us turn to see Chris in her black and purple costume grinning at us. She is wearing tight black boots with a dark purple lining at the top of the boot. She has the same purple lining on her black gauntlets. The rest of her outfit is black except for her shiny utility belt and purple insignia of a bird with its wings spread out. Her domino mask and cape are like Robin's, except her cape is a very dark blue just like the thin headband keeping her shiny black hair out of her face.
"Nice!" I say, and her grin grows bigger.
"Is it comfortable? Can you move in it?" Bruce asks.
"I can get used to the tightness, and I can move for the most part." Chris replies as she jumps on everything in the Batcave while doing flips and handstands and punches in the air. All the while she has that same silly grin on her face. She jumps on top of the Batmobile and stretches her arms and legs while constantly saying "tight..."
"Well are we going or what?"
"We're just waiting for Robin," Batman replies.
As if by the mention of his name, Tim emerges in his Robin costume. When he notices Christine in her Nightingale costume, he turns slightly red. Chris smirks and hops down from the Batmobile. When Tim first met Christine, he had a small crush on her. He was logical, though, because he forced himself to move on. Tim was pretty obvious, so Chris and I knew about it. Chris didn't seem to mind, even though Tim had just become her brother at the time, making it really awkward. She even helped Tim by setting him up with that blond girl in his class.
"C'mon slow-pokes! The city of Gotham awaits!" Chris says while smiling like a lunatic.
****Break****
Christine's POV
This is great. My first night on patrol and what are we doing? Squatting on a rooftop looking for "suspicious activity." I'm about stand up because my legs are beginning to feel numb when Batman glares at me. I go back to my squatting position and look down on the dark street. Why did Bruce have to be so overprotective. I was about to go to the East side with Nightwing when Batman stopped me and sent Robin with him instead. I asked him why and all he said was, "You'll be in less danger." Dammit. Everywhere I go I'm in danger, especially now that I've taken up this responsibility. He knows that someday I'm gonna grow up and I won't need "protecting." He trained me more strenuously the weeks leading up to today, and, to my surprise, I never collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. I can handle low life criminals, but I know my limits. Batman even gave me a set of rules to follow! I'm supposed to go back to the Batcave with the Batmobile (in autopilot, if he finds out I tried to drive it myself I'd be grounded for a month) if any of the super-dangerous criminals show up such as The Joker, Bane, Two Face, etc. If anything happens to Batman, Nightwing, and Robin, I'm supposed to stay at home and contact some people from the Justice League. Really? He thinks that I can't help them in any way! Ugh...
Suddenly, Robin's voice comes in through the intercom.
"The Joker's got Nightwing! You'd better hu-"
"Robin! Robin come in!" Batman begins yelling. "Damn that clown. Nightingale, you know the rules."
"What? But it's my first night on patrol, and you want to send me home early while you get to beat the Joker to a pulp?!" I yell at him.
"Get in the Batmobile and head back to the cave," Batman growls.
"Fine," I grunt while avoiding his gaze.
I look back up and he's gone. I stand there, the wind blowing at my face and pushing my hair back. I take in a deep breath and smile at myself, probably looking like a psychopath.
"Rules are meant to be broken."
****Break****
Bruce's POV
Ugh...what happened? I look up and see the Joker's hideous face smiling down at me. I'm strapped onto a table, Nightwing and Robin are tied to chairs, a gun pointed at each of them. The guns are connected to some sort of machine, each with fake fingers on the triggers. I begin to try and release myself from my bonds when the Joker's voice interrupts.
"No no no Batsy! Try to escape and your baby birdies go bye bye!" Joker laughs in my face.
The street lights outside suddenly turn off.
"I swear to God I'll kill you if you murder them!" I growl at him.
"Are you sure? I thought it would only take one dead little Robin to make you kill me. I knew you loved me too much!"
Out the window, I see a man with a crimson helmet on the opposite roof. I can tell he's deciding whether or not to take action. We are on the East side of Gotham, his territory, but he only gets into other people's business when it comes to his drug ring. I flick that aside for the moment when Joker's words finally hit me.
"Go to hell."
"Already have."
What was that? I swear I saw a shadow move by the gun in front of Nightwing. I see a glimpse of something shiny and black before it disappears. Oh no... she didn't...
Joker keeps rambling on about Jason's pain as he killed him, but I am now focused on the girl quietly disabling the machine with the gun. Nightingale scans her surroundings and the look on her face makes me want to scream to her. She can't take on the Joker! The look of determination on her face tells me that she's made up her mind. I've seen that look before, when she kept trying to persuade me to let her come out at night and fight crime alongside her family. Those eyes, the way she looked at me back then with those dark blue eyes, and I already knew that there was no way she was going to give up. She's not going to give up and find another way out because that's not like her, and she knows, and I know, that there's no way she'll get to the gun in front of Robin without getting spotted. Nightingale looks up at the lights, grabs a few batarangs from her belt, and breaks every light bulb. Thank God her aim has improved! The room is engulfed by darkness.
"What's this? It can't be Red Hood...there would've been bangs!"
The sound of metal clattering on the floor makes the Joker jump. He bends down to pick it up, probably a batarang, when Nightingale kicks him in the stomach. She punches him a few times in the face and knocks him off balance. Joker falls to the floor, blood flowing out of his nose and mouth. He barely put up a fight!
Christine's POV
I turn around just as the emergency generator kicks in and the street lights turn back on. Thank God that took forever, or else my plan would have failed. Light floods into the room. Batman is freeing himself while Nightwing is disabling the gun in front of Robin. Stupid Joker...he should have connected each gun to all three of them, not just Batman and the person it was aiming at. Villains are stupid.
Batman makes his way towards me, an angry look on his face. I suppose he always looks angry, but this was ten times worse.
"You disobeyed my orders and you could have gotten yourself killed." He says in a deadly tone.
"Sorry, but I did what I thought was right. See! You're fine!" I exclaimed in a slightly irritated tone.
"But you didn't need to risk anything."
"This job is all about risks. I decided to do this. I'm pretty sure I know what I got myself into." I state, glaring at him. He's being unreasonable. I helped him! What the hell is wrong with him?!
"No you don't, not really..."
"I can't believe you. Why can't you just accept that I saved your sorry asses! You just HAVE to do everything yourself."
"It's not like that."
"You sure?!"
"NIGHTINGALE!"
Suddenly, I am swept off my feet. Next thing I know, I'm in a chokehold with a gun pointed at my temple.
"Well well well, looks like Batsy got a new little birdie! And a girlie too, that's new! Of course there was that other Robin, but you're not Robin, he's over there! Then Who. Are. You?" Joker says as he chuckles in my face, spitting a bit on me. Disgusting.
"Let her go." Batman threatens.
"Is Daddy Bats begging? OOOHH This is fun! I've got a gun pointed at Daddy's Little Girl!"
I evaluate my situation. Gun to the head. Chokehold, but not really effective. Joker has no idea who I am or what I am capable of. Oh...this is the moment I've been waiting for, trained for, and destined to do. I look at Batman. He seems surprised, probably because I am smirking at him instead of having a look of fear on my face with tears in my eyes. I swing my leg backwards and kick him right where it hurts the most. He drops the gun and coils in pain, a look of surprise on his face, as I elbow him in the face, knocking him out once again. I look down at the Joker's crumpled body, then back up at my family. There are all staring at me in astonishment. I smile back at them like a lunatic.
****Break****
A knock on my door interrupts my reading...again. First it was Dick, who came to tell me that what I did was, well, awesome, and that I should listen to Bruce next time because he was really worried for me. Then, it was Alfred. He brought me some cookies and milk and told me what he thought about my actions, which was close to what Dick said. Then Tim came in, who asked me how I was, and that he was amazed by what I did back there. Thank you Tim! Now, there is only one person left.
"Come in, Bruce."
The door opens and reveals Bruce in a t-shirt and boxers. Ugh... he forgot he's supposed to wear shorts now that there's a girl in the family. I shield my eyes and frown.
"Daddy! Go put on some shorts!"
A minute later the door opens again, and thankfully he did.
I roll my eyes as I begin talking. "Now are you going to scold me about how my actions could've gotten me killed or injured and how I was being irresponsible and disobedient because I didn't listen to you and that you're disappointed in me and-"
Bruce interrupts. "Initially I was going to say that, but I realized that you were right. You only did what you did because you were concerned for our safety. I only got mad at you for the same reason. You're my daughter, and I love you. I just don't want you to get hurt."
"Well that obviously will happen. It'll be a miracle if I don't get a scratch while working with Batman." I say while smiling at him.
He smiles back. "Just don't scare me like that again."
"No promises." I reply, still smiling at him.
"Oh no." His smile fades as he looks at me with a bit of horror in his eyes. Then his blue eyes switch back to a look of caring. "Goodnight Christine," Bruce whispers as he kisses my forehead.
"Goodnight Daddy." I whisper back.
He's about to turn off the lights when he suddenly stops and turns to me.
"Earlier while you were working on your report, what did you see outside your window?"
I stare into Bruce's blue eyes as I remember the light reflecting off of a crimson helmet. He didn't do anything though, just stood on my balcony...staring at the two of us, mainly me. I couldn't see his eyes, but I knew that he was looking into my blue eyes, into my soul. I shudder at the thought. The whole "looking into my soul" thing creeps me out.
"Nothing, Bruce, don't worry."
I saw Jason Todd, the young man under the Red Hood. The son that died about five years ago and came back (I do my research!) The brother that I never knew, and may never know.
A/N: So yeah...don't worry Damian will come in later on, please leave a review and tell us what you guys think