It had been hours since the last worker left the site. Construction ended every day at exactly at five in the evening because people had complained about hearing the noise of the excavator at their dinner tables. Still, large spotlights beamed down on the site like floodlights at football fields. They lit up the zone, covering the ground with long, gangly shadows. A few security guards prowled the area, but Robin wasn't really concerned about them. They were mostly there to keep the homeless out and make sure no one sprayed graffiti on the half-finished buildings.
Robin leaned against the back of the billboard, dwelling in the long shadow it provided. He was turning the disk in his hands, trying to make sense of what it was. The thing was thin and about the same size as a quarter. In its center was a little hole. Other than that, it seemed pretty unimpressive.
It was then he heard the soft tapping of footsteps. He looked up and saw the Specter walking towards him, casual and uncloaked. She, like him, was still wearing her suit. In the dark, Robin noticed how the eyepieces on her helmet glowed a soft blue. He pushed himself off of the billboard as she stopped and crossed her arms.
"I was expecting you to be a little more sneaky," he commented.
The Specter shrugged. "What's the point?" she wondered out loud. "You'd still able to see me. By the way, how were you able to do that?"
Robin wagged a finger at her. "Ah, ah! That's a trade secret!"
The Specter exhaled loudly as she dropped her arms and placed her hands on her hips. Then, she extended a hand forward. "All right. Give me the charger." Robin held the disk out to her. He made it out as if he were about to drop the piece into her hand, but then quickly retracted it back.
"Now that I think about it, I want a few answers before I give this back to you," he said.
As he pulled the disk away, the Specter made a desperate grab for it, but missed. "You fuck!" she hissed. "I had half a mind to just kill you and take the charger, you know! You're lucky I decided to play along!"
"And you're lucky this wasn't just a ruse to trap you and throw you in jail," Robin shot back. Over his shoulder, he called out, "Isn't that right, Batman?" He saw the Specter tense and take a step back. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. Batman isn't here. He doesn't even know we're here."
"First question," the Specter demanded stonily.
"Wow, so pushy. Okay, first question." Robin flipped the disk and caught it like a coin. "What is this? No, I know what this is. It's a conductor that recharges your suit's energy and lets you do that weird 'go through' thing. Oh, but let me guess. That was supposed to be top secret, wasn't it?"
"I don't suppose you hopped onto Google and found that out?"
"You called it a 'charger.' You also told me you weren't able to phase out of the Duvale without it. It's also made out of a silicon alloy, like a semiconductor. I can put two and two together. I'm not just good-looking, you know."
"You've also got a really strong neck," the Specter noted.
"Huh?"
"It has to be. To support that big head."
Robin chuckled. "Ouch. I guess I walked right into that one. Okay, how about this one: What were you doing at the Duvale?"
The mood in the air suddenly changed. Robin saw the Specter's demeanor quickly shift to a reclusive one. "That's my business," she replied quietly.
He was all too familiar with her behavior. He wasn't going to get anything out of her on that subject. Well, unless he used excessive force. But of course he wasn't planning on doing that.
"I know how you and Batman feel about Two Face and anyone associated with him," the Specter continued. "But you have to know that I had no choice. And we're not exactly friends; he threw me out a window, remember?"
"No choice? Did you have no choice when you stole from us?" Robin prodded.
"I don't have any excuses for that," the Specter admitted. "I didn't want to sink that low. No… I know what you must think of me." Robin looked at her. She was staring across the construction site, avoiding his gaze. She sounded almost… sad.
He reached out and pulled one of her hands to him. The Specter looked at him with surprise. Robin pressed the disk into her palm and dropped his hands.
"Hey, it's cool," he offered. "We all fuck up sometimes, don't we? And frankly, being all prissy and law-abiding really just sucks."
The Specter looked down at the disk and closed her fist around it. She looked back up. "That's not something I'd expect to hear from Gotham's Boy Wonder," she mused.
"Eh, I'm not like Di—not like the first one," Robin confessed.
"The first one?" Specter repeated.
How did she not know about Dick Grayson? Bruce's first golden boy; the one who had set the standards for Robin so high that even now Jason was having a hard time reaching it. He needed to remember to thank Dick for that. With a slap to the head.
"You're new here, aren't you?" Robin surmised.
The Specter shrugged. "Maybe," she replied slyly. "But I knew about Gotham before I got here. I knew about Batman and… his little sidekick."
"That's partner to you," Robin corrected. He was glad that she was starting to cheer up again. And he was also relieved that she hadn't run off the moment he gave back the disk.
"Hmm. If you insist," the Specter murmured. "So are you done with 20 questions, or should I expect to set up camp out here?"
"Just one left. There's more I'm dying to ask, but I can save those for later."
"Later, huh? I'm planning on upgrading my cloak."
"That won't really matter. See, my last question is: you wanna catch a movie sometime? Or…?" He trailed off.
The Specter treated the question with silence. Then, she crossed her arms and scoffed. "You're bold," she remarked.
"'Cause I'm cool with anything," Robin continued. "There's a new diner on 6th we can hit up. Or, if you're feeling a bit mischievous, I got a few cans and an unguarded overpass we can mark up."
This time, the Specter let out a wholehearted laugh. "You are insane," she chuckled. "I ought to punch you in the teeth. You're lucky you're cute." Robin suddenly saw her hands tighten. He felt her shock; it was as if she hadn't meant to say that last part out loud.
His eyebrows raised and he leaned towards her, tilting an ear forward. "Oh really?" he said in a drawn out voice.
The Specter let out a huff and began to march away. "You didn't hear anything," she insisted. Robin trailed her.
"Really? I don't know; robins have really good hearing."
"No they don't. You pulled that out of your ass."
Robin quickly caught her gently by the arm. "Hey, hold on! You didn't answer my question!" The Specter stopped and faced him. Before she could answer, however, a harsh voice barked out.
"Where do you think you're going, honey?"
Both of them looked down just in time to see a young woman hurrying underneath them, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Following behind like a pack of lazy wolves was a group of five men. The woman passed under the billboard into a lit area. She shot the men a panicked glance over her shoulder.
"You think you're safe here?" one of the men mocked. "Bitch, there ain't anyone here!"
The woman pulled something out of her purse and held it with both of her hands. It was a phone.
"Put that away." The man's voice became sinister. He held a handgun and was pointing it at the girl. She stared at it with terrified eyes and obeyed. "Good. Now get over here, sweetheart. We just want to get to know ya." In tiny, desperate steps, she headed back to them.
"There's only five. One armed, four unarmed. I can take 'em," Robin whispered as he crouched on the edge.
"He's got a gun," the Specter pointed out. "Aren't there security guards here?"
"They're unreliable," Robin dismissed. "I can do this." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Specter kneel next to him. "We can do this," she corrected.
"They've got a gun," Robin reminded her.
"Which they'll shoot you with if you try anything," the Specter shot back. "They're in a well-lit, open area. You'll cast a shadow. I won't."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"I'll take out the gunner. As soon as I take him out, you can jump in," she planned.
"But I want the gunner."
The Specter shot him a glare. "What are you, fucking five?"
"Fine, fine, take the gunner!" Robin sighed. The girl had nearly reached the men. "Better hurry up, buttercup."
"Don't call me that."
"Whatever you say, princess."
"I'm going to give you such a beating after this."
Robin flashed her a wink. "Sounds fun."
The Specter rested a hand against her helmet. "Jesus Christ," she exclaimed. "Just be ready, okay?" Without another word, she dropped from the billboard's platform. Before she hit the ground, she vanished into thin air. Robin rested a hand on his knee as he watched. The girl had stopped by the men. Even from where he was, Robin could see her shaking.
One of the men grabbed her wrist. "Now let's take a little trip," he suggested sweetly. Another man shot a look over his shoulder. "Hey, what the fuck was that?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I thought I heard someone whispering behind me."
"Dude, shut the fuck up. That's creepy."
Suddenly there was a sharp cackle. The men whirled around, trying to find the source of the noise. The gunman's head jerked back as though something had caught him by the neck. He was pulled back and dragged, screaming out. The other thugs dissolved into a panicked mess. A person with any sense would have ran, but, well… "Holy shit!" they cried. "It's a demon! It's a fucking devil monster!"
The gunman stopped. Then, a silver figure materialized above him. "Close," she said before punching his head.
Robin dropped down and quickly entered the fray. As one of the thugs noticed him, he elbowed them hard in the gut. The thug buckled over. Robin brought his fist up and caught the thug's head as it came down. The man's head slammed back, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Robin whirled around and ducked as another man threw a fist at him. He came back up behind the man and grabbed his arm. He smashed the shoulder and felt it dislocate under his hand. The man let out a howl of pain. Robin released him and sent him flying with a kick square in the back.
"I'll skin you, bitch!" a voice roared. Robin turned to a fourth man confronting the Specter with a knife in hand. The Specter raised a hand and beckoned him over. He lunged at her with the blade.
In a flash, she knocked the knife away with a hook kick. As she came around from the kick, she raised her other leg and caught the man's neck in the nook of her knee. She dipped down into a handstand and threw the man over her.
Robin let out a low whistle. He stooped down and picked up the knife that had landed by his feet. "Damn, that was hot," he noted. The Specter shook her head. "Really, you—." Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her neck and yanked her back. The last thug pulled her against him and pressed the barrel of the gun against the side of her helmet.
"Whoa, whoa!" Robin said, holding the knife in front of him. But he was too far from them.
"You want me, you're gonna have to go through her!" the man barked, taking another step back and dragging the Specter with him.
Robin gripped the blade at its base. He could aim for the thug's gun arm, but he might discharge a bullet out of shock. It was then he saw one of the Specter's hands flash a thumbs-up.
"Sure," he replied coyly. In an instant, he launched the knife. It flipped through the Specter and sank deep into the man's shoulder, causing him to fall back. The Specter stumbled forward through his arm and whirled around. She looked at the knife, and the red that began to grow around it. "You…" she stammered.
Robin caught her by the arm and pulled her away from the wounded man. "He'll be fine," he insisted. He spotted the young woman huddled on the ground. Walking to her, he knelt down. "There's a security post over there behind that crane," he told her, pointing. "Go there and tell them we've got five wounded criminals here." He stood up as the girl scampered away.
"So what do we do now?" the Specter asked.
"The usual. Vanish into the night and let the police clean this up," Robin answered casually.
"Huh. Okay then." The Specter turned to leave. She gave Robin a quick glance. "Gotham Espress-O. 2:30. You may or may not see me again." Then she disappeared.
Addendum: Sorry for the extremely late update. I had family over these past few days.
Also, Robin really likes throwing knives at people. But then again, who doesn't? Amirite? Guys?
In other news, I'm making a cover for this story. It'll have the Specter on it. I'll finish it and put it up whenever I decide to get my head out of my ass. Not sure when that'll happen, though.