Another collaboration between Redbat132 and myself. :)

Batman: The Brave And The Bold belongs to DC Comics and Warner Brothers. Lea/Midnight Hope belongs to Redbat132. I only own Starlene, who is mentioned briefly in this story.

Compromise Equals Great Teamwork

Jaime was smiling as he greeted Starlene when she arrived through the portal. "Come on!" He said eagerly, making her laugh before she handed something to Batman and he nodded.

"You two be careful out there," he said, knowing Jaime was going to show the hero from another world some of the sights and a movie.

Spectre chuckled as he appeared. "He's been talking nonstop about taking Starlene to see the movie and even got accommodations tailored to her so she doesn't have to use her x-ray vision to see," he said.

Batman nodded before looking over the report and nodding again. "All's been good in her world," he said.

Just then, Midnight Hope came up to them, stopping in front of the Caped Crusader and the caped ghost. "Midnight Hope reporting, sir," she said respectfully.

"Thank you for arriving promptly, Hope," Batman said. "I didn't pull you away from school, did I?"

"No, sir," she said. "There was a meeting at school, so it's a day off."

"Good," he said. "I have a mission for you. Crazy Quilt escaped Arkham and he needs to be found."

"Crazy Quilt? Isn't he the villain with an outfit like an unusual painting and is blind?" Hope asked.

"He was blind, but now has a special helmet that allows him to see, but it is limited," Spectre corrected gently.

"He escaped a few days ago and a manhunt has proved unsuccessful so far," Batman explained. "Nothing has been stolen yet though."

"A thief who is known for stealing hasn't stolen anything yet in the few days since he escaped the asylum?" The Blue Lantern asked. "That does sound suspicious, though I'm guessing we're not taking a chance that he's going to stay on the straight and narrow, right?"

"He is too guilty to walk 'the straight and narrow', as you say, young one," Spectre said seriously, though gently. "Though some criminals do decide for a clean start, I'm afraid Crazy Quilt is not one of them."

She nodded. "Okay," she said. "Is this Crazy Quilt guy one I can take on by myself or should I take a partner with me just in case?"

"I would recommend that you partner up with someone for this case," Batman said. "In fact, there is someone available."

"Who?" Hope asked, curious.

"Huntress. She's on her way. Be in the briefing room in fifteen minutes."

As he walked away, Hope made a face, though she was trying to hide her disgust at who were partner would be. "Hope?" Spectre asked, noticing the girl looked like she had just eaten something quite sour. "Are you alright?"

She managed to school her expression with a straight face. "Yes, I'm alright," she said. "Um, quick question. Where is the briefing room?"

He gestured to the hallway to his right. "Go down this hallway and take the second left. It'll be the door at the very end of that hallway," he said.

"Thanks, Spectre," she said before following his instructions, soon finding the briefing room.

And boy, was she really taking the news hard.

"Huntress?! What is Batman thinking?! Huntress and I cannot work together!" Midnight Hope explained to her partner GL, as they were the only ones in the briefing room at the time, waiting for the others. "I'm pure ocean water and she's combustible oil waiting for a match to explode everything. We don't mix!"

"Well, Batman must have a good reason for having you team up with her," Hal said, trying to calm her down. "Maybe if you take some time to talk to her, you'll find some common ground."

"Hal, she's a shallow mercenary maniac! I doubt I will have anything in common with her," Hope retorted, before sighing very hard. "I just have to get this dumb mission done as quickly as possible so I don't have to spend another second with that She-Beast Beauty."

Hal sighed. "Lea, I know you don't care for Huntress after the whole thing with Blue Beetle, but the fact is Huntress is a member of our team, and shallow or not, she's good at her job," he said. "And no, I'm not just saying that. I've seen her in action."

Lea groaned and hid her face in her hood. "This is going to be a nightmare," she groaned out.

Hal tried to think of a compromise and looked at Lea. "Tell you what," he said. "You do this mission with Huntress and work with her, I promise to take you out for ice cream at that new ice cream parlor that opened up last month. I hear they serve the largest scoops of ice cream."

She sighed and looked up at him. "What if I end up doing all the work and she doesn't?" She asked.

"Then you let me know and I'll talk to Batman personally and ask him not to team you up with Huntress again," he promised.

She sighed again. "You really promise, Uncle Hal?"

"Lantern's oath, kiddo," he said.

She smiled, knowing he only said that when he was absolutely serious as a Lantern's oath was everything to them. They stood up just as the other heroes came in. Flash zipped up to Lea and playfully bumped her shoulder with his, making her smile and lightly bump his shoulder with her own. "You got this, Hope," he said. "Just be careful, okay?"

"You got it, Flash," she replied.

"If you can take down someone like Scarecrow and Kanjar Ro, then you'll have no trouble taking down Crazy Quilt," Spectre said reassuringly. "Just remember to keep a cool head."

She nodded and saw Huntress come in. She managed to hide her disgust again as Batman stepped up and began handing out assignments. It was soon just Flash, Spectre, Green Lantern, Midnight Hope, Huntress, and Batman in the room and the Caped Crusader turned to the two heroines.

"Huntress. Midnight Hope," he said. "Your mission is to find Crazy Quilt and stop him."

"Any clues on where he is?" Huntress asked.

"Spectre?" Batman asked, knowing the ghostly hero had done some recon earlier.

"I searched a few buildings that had been abandoned and there is one that sticks out," Spectre answered. "It was abandoned recently after the owners suddenly declared bankruptcy...which was unusual, considering the company was a success."

"Blackmail?" Flash guessed.

"I'll look into that," Batman said. "Where was this building, Spectre?"

The map of Gotham City was called up and Spectre marked the area where the building was. "That's over by the water," Hope remarked. "Could Crazy Quilt be using the water for transport?"

"Most likely," Green Lantern said. "Might explain why he's been so hard to find since he escaped."

"We'll find him easily," Huntress said confidently.

"Be mindful not to underestimate Crazy Quilt," Batman cautioned. "He is a dangerous criminal."

"Yes, sir," Hope said.

"Good luck then."

With that, he left and Huntress followed him. Hope took a deep breath, feeling three hands rest on her shoulders and head. "If you need any help, just give us a call, Hope," Hal said.

"We're here for you," Flash promised.

"Don't lose faith in yourself," Spectre said.

Their words comforted the young heroine. "Thanks, guys," she said. "I'll let you all know how it goes."

She headed off and Flash bit his lip. "How do you think this is going to go, GL?" He asked.

"Hope wasn't very keen about being partnered with Huntress," Spectre said.

"It's either going to go well and they capture Crazy Quilt or it's going to go wrong and they'll need help," Green Lantern said. "But I have a feeling that even if things start to go wrong, Hope will have a plan."

"Hope you're right, GL," Flash said seriously. "Want me to monitor them just in case?"

"Only if my partner sends a distress signal."

The other two nodded, hoping the mission would go smoothly.

As you all might remember from an earlier story, Lea is not too fond of Huntress, but can she work with her to stop Crazy Quilt? Stay tuned to see. :)

Please leave Redbat132 and myself a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418