Ridley's P.O.V.
I had been so tired from my excursion and what had happened that I completely ignored Selina's worried fussing and Jons lecturing, walking right past them and upstairs to my room where I promptly passed out.
I didn't wake up until well into the afternoon the next day. Yawning, I wandered over to one of the trash bags and pulled out a shirt that said "You know what's odd? Numbers not divisible by 2". Digging out a pair of yoga pants, I put my clothes on before heading downstairs. I made a mental note to unpack my things later.
Entering the kitchen I saw Edward and Jon standing by the stove, for once they weren't arguing. I didn't see Selina anywhere so I assumed that she either wasn't coming by today or she got caught up in something.
"Good after- Oh, I like the shirt," Edward smirked when he saw what was on my shirt.
"Huh?" Jon said, peering over at me. He read my shirt and frowned, "I don't get it."
"Of course you don't." Edward snorted.
I gave him a shy smile before going over to the refrigerator and opening it. Calling the Rouges by the names they were known ask had been a barrier between me and them in a psychological sense. Now with that gone, I worried about what would happen. I would most definitely get closer to them, but was it such a bad thing? To some, it might be.
Grabbing a container of mixed fruit, I shut the refrigerator door and sat down at the small wooden table in the middle of the room. I'd never been much of a big eater, and only ate a lot when I was with Bruce because both he and Alfred would bug me about it. Picking up a strawberry I popped it into my mouth and started chewing.
"Is that all you're going to eat?" Edward asked. "Wouldn't you like some toast or something?"
I'm fine, I signed, my mouth still full. Ah, one of the many upsides of sign language.
Edward looked doubtful but didn't say anything else about it.
"Edward filled me in on what happened yesterday, at least from his perspective," Jon said leaning forward on the counter. "So tell me, how was your little bit of freedom?"
"In no way was Jon implying that you won't be able to go out in the future," Edward added hastily, glaring at Jon.
Jon rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to know what she did before you found her that's all!"
Nothing much. I signed before eating a grape. I ran, literally, into someone, or rather they ran into me.
"Someone ran into her." Edward translated.
"Who was that?" Jon asked, looking semi-interested.
The commissioners' daughter.
Jon looked at Edward for translation.
"She ran into the Barbra Gordon."
"You ran into Barbra Gordon?" Jon asked in disbelief. "How'd she not recognize you? She's heading your case!"
I know that. I signed. She told me. Obviously, I was lucky she didn't recognize me or I wouldn't be here right now.
Edward translated for Jon and he rolled his eyes again.
"Obviously I know that! Do I look stupid to you?"
Yes.
Edward chuckled before asking me a question: "She dragged you into a coffee shop, what did you two talk about?"
Nothing much. It was so easy to lie, mainly because I'd been doing it for a long time. Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't a compulsive liar, I only lied if I couldn't help it, or if I needed to, like now.
She wanted to know more about me so I lied about who I was and where I was from.
"What did you tell her?" Edward asked.
That I recently moved from Star City and that I had a sister.
Edward stiffened. "Did you now... Interesting." He glanced at Jon who pretended not to pay attention.
Why? Is that a problem?
"No," he said, "it's not. I was just surprised that you could come up with something like that on the fly."
"Either you translate or we get her something to write on." Jon interrupted. "I don't like hearing only one side of the conversation."
"Just deal with it," Edward said irritated.
Where's Selina? I asked, quickly changing the subject. I didn't know how to stop a fight if they got in the middle of one, so the best I could hope for was that I could stop it before it happened.
"Selina has to go and grab something for tonight," Edward said.
Grab things for tonight? Was something going on? Oh! I realized what he was talking about. They were going to pull off a heist.
"She also is going to grab something for you as well." Edward continued.
What kind of things? I inquired.
"You'll see." He gave me a sly grin.
"She should be back by now," Jon remarked. "She said she'd be back in two hours, it's pushing 2 1/2."
"She'll be here when she gets here." Edward snapped before turning to me. "After what happened yesterday I want to train you to at least be able to defend yourself."
"So you're sticking which your ridiculous plan then?" Jon asked.
"It's not ridiculous." Edward retorted. "It's necessary."
What's necessary?
"You learning to defend yourself," Edward told me.
"Now that's not the whole story, is it?" Jon said. "You want her to join us."
"Jonathan!" Edward said harshly.
"What is it, Edward," Jon replied. "That's what you wanted right? Stop dancing around the subject and just say it already!"
"I wanted to wait until she got more settled here!" Edward yelled. "She only got here like a week ago!"
"How long were you planning to wait then?" Jon shot back.
"I don't know!" Edward said throwing his hands up in the air.
I slammed my hand on the table to get their attention. They both whipped their heads towards me in surprise.
Are you two done yet? I signed, eye twitching in annoyance.
Edward at least had the guts to look apologetic. Jon just stood there fuming, I didn't try to understand why; it wasn't that big of a deal. Sure it bothered me a bit that they wanted me to join them in causing general mayhem around the city, but I had been expecting something like it so it wasn't a huge shock.
"You're not mad," Edward stated, studying my face.
"She should be," Jon grunted.
Edward glared at Jon before turning his attention back to me.
"So will you allow the others and I to train you?" He asked.
Sure. I didn't bother telling him that I already knew how to fight, it'd just bring up unwanted questions of how I learned it.
"Great," Edward said approvingly. "Let's all go down to the basement."
You have a basement? I signed, following after him as Jon brought up the rear.
"Yep," Edward said. I followed him to a part of the warehouse that I hadn't been in before.
We walked past Jon's lab and Edwards challenge rooms all the way to the back wall. Edward placed his hand on the wall and gave it a push, causing the section of the wall to swing open revealing a set of cement stairs leading down.
"We have to keep this disguised so no one can easily find it." Edward explained, leading the way down the steps. I followed closely behind trying not to rip and fall. Jon closed the door behind us and for a moment we were in complete darkness before lights flickered on above us.
"There's a whole labyrinth of tunnels and rooms under here. My most dangerous challenge rooms are housed down here as well as our storage."
Hitting the last of the steps, I found myself in a fairly well-lit hallway. It was a dull grey and had a few doors on its surface here and there. The hum of the fluorescent lights was the only sound. I followed Edward as he moved down the hall, passing various unmarked doors before stopping in front of one in the middle of the hall.
The door made almost no noise when Edward opened it to reveal a large room that contained various types of weaponry and practice dummies. I saw everything from machine guns to quarterstaves. It was almost, but not quite, as impressive as the Bat Caves training room.
"Have a look around," Edward said, shutting the door once we'd all filed in.
A rack of weapons that stood apart from the others against the wall caught my eye and I walked over to get a better look. Unlike the guns and various other weapons, these were ancient, as in not modern. A wicked double bladed sickle hung from a peg, and I assumed that it was Jon's simply because it went with his aesthetic. Running my eye over the others on display, my eye snagged on an elegant looking rapier. I had a strange adoration when it came to these sorts of swords.
Picking it up gingerly, I was surprised to find that it fit nearly perfectly in my hand and that it was perfectly balanced as well. I swung it around a bit, causing Edward and Jon to jump backwards.
"Watch it." The latter hissed. "You almost impaled me."
I glanced at Edward who didn't say anything, but looked troubled at the sight of the blade. Studying the rapier more closely, I saw that the hilt, which was made up of several intertwined lengths of metal, formed that of a dancing dragon. The head, which was pointing down the length of the blade, had two eyes inlayed with what looked like onyx. A smaller piece of metal which kind of seemed out of place hung down closer to the grip than the rest of it.
I set it back on the rack reluctantly and signed: It's really pretty. I like it.
"It's yours then," Edward said. "Just make sure that you actually know how to wield it properly before you try anything."
"Edward!" Jon protested. "It's-"
"I know very well of who's it was before," Edward said curtly, cutting him off.
What are you talking about? I signed, a little bit curious.
"It... belonged to another Rouge at one point," Edward said hesitantly.
"Doesn't matter who." Jon added.
Gave them both a suspicious look. Clearly, they were hiding something. I wondered why they didn't want to talk about it.
"It's has a secret button that releases its other form," Edward said. "The rapier I mean."
Really? I signed before picking it back up.
"Push down that piece of metal there." Edward pointed towards the piece that I had noted was out of place.
I jumped when the blade shot out a good five more feet. It had already been about three feet long, the typical length of a rapier, but when I hit the lever, it ended up being around four and a half. Walking a good distance away from Edward and Jon, I flicked my wrist, witch caused the blade to whip out like, well, a whip. I must've had a stupid grin on my face because Edward chuckled.
"I think she likes it, Jon," he said.
"Yay us," Jon said sarcastically.
Releasing the lever, I studied the blade closer than I had before. There. Barely noticeable, small seams of where the pieces fit together. Incredible, they were nearly impossible to detect. The wires holding the pieces together must've been extremely thin as well.
"Should I tell her about that feature?" Edward asked Jon.
"God no," Jon said automatically. "Please don't."
"If I don't then she might get electrocuted." Edward pointed out.
What now? My interest piqued.
"The blade is able to conduct electricity when charged," Edward explained. "When fully charged, it has the strength of a taser."
I grinned widely. This was so cool! Even better than the bulky thing that had been my weapon at Wayne Manor.
"Cut that out," Jon complained, "you look like Joker."
I stuck my tongue out at him in response.
Putting it I the crook of my arm I asked Edward a question: How do you charge it?
"Batteries," Edward said, shaking his head when he saw my expression. "I know. It's horrible. I'll figure out a way to fix it later. For now, here." He dug some batteries out of his pocket (because every good Rouge had a random stash of batteries in his pocket), and tossed them to me. "Base of the hilt." He told me. "But first..." He walked over to a file cabinet and opened one of the drawers, taking out a pair of gloves. "Handling it with your bare hands will most certainly end up badly."
Taking the gloves and putting them on, I inspecting the pommel of the sword. I saw that it had the ability to open. Placing the batteries inside and closing the capsule. Getting a good grip on the hilt, I glanced at Edward uncertainly.
"Go on and activate it." He encouraged. "Just don't hit one of us."
Nodding, I pressed down on the lever and flicked the whip towards the wall. The blade whipped out with all the force of the electricity behind it. The spaces between the blade glowed yellow as electricity danced along it, gorging a three-foot mark in the cement wall. I jumped and dropped the rapier in surprise. The electricity winked out and the blade snapped back into place.
"Impressive huh?" Edward said with a smug look.
Very. I signed, picking it back up and placing it back on the rack gingerly.
"I think that we should start with some hand to hand combat," Edward said. "You seem to have a good grasp so far on the rapier, but I have no desire to get impaled or tased."
My mind flashed back to when Richard had told me almost the exact same thing.
Of course.
"Shall we then?" Edward motioned to the center of the room where a large mat several square feet across, lay.
Picking up some wrappings from a bin sitting on a low table, I wrapped my hands and stepped onto the mat.
"I just want to know where you are." Edward said. "I noticed that you seemed to have some grasp of hand to hand, but I want to know how far that expertise goes."
Farther than you think, I thought silently taking my stance.
"Ok," Edward began, "just try and-"
I threw my first punch before he could finish his sentence. He cursed and dodged before I hit him in the face.
"You're good." He said. "But I'm better."
He rushed at me and I dodged, spinning around and using his momentum against him, I pushed him forward. Edward barely managed to not fall on his face as he stumbled forward. He turned around with a scowl on his face. I smirked and extended my hand and made a 'come here' gesture. Edward rushed me again and this time the fight lasted longer.
I figured out what Edwards fighting style was, or rather, the lack of it. He fought well, but not nearly as well as others that I've seen. He was a bookworm, not a warrior.
Jon stood back the whole time making unnecessary comments about both of our fighting styles, mainly Edwards. I didn't want to even try and understand why.
Another issue that I realized was that Edward was progressively making me use more complicated moves to either hit him or evade him. I knew that it was part of him figuring out how much I knew, but it was fast approaching the point where I had to use the moves that Bruce personally taught me. The moves he only used when he was Batman. Warning bells in my head told me I should stop, but some greater force wasn't letting me. Was it pride? Fear or shame? I didn't know. I just had to continue.
Seeing an opening (really the only opening) I blocked Edwards punch with my left arm and grabbed his wrist placing my right hand on his shoulder before kicking his feet out from under him. Edward lay there stunned. Either from the force of my attack or from sheer surprise. I smirked down at him.
"Hey!" Jon said, shooting to his feet from where he was sitting. "I've only seen that move a few times it's-"
"A classic Batman move." Edward finished, getting to his feet and brushing himself off. "I figured." He winked at me and I scowled. So that's what he was after. A confirmation that Bruce was Batman.
"How would Ridley know how to do that?" Jon demanded. "She lived with Bruce Wayne, not Batman. Unless..." He paused and shock and understanding crossed his face.
"Took you long enough," Edward said smugly.
"You knew?" Jon demanded.
"Of course," Edward said haughtily, "I'm the Riddler. Did you honestly think that I didn't know Bruce Wayne was Batman?"