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Author's Note: Here's the beginning of a brand new story and if you haven't guessed by the picture, you know who is involved. But I must warn you that he is not the Bat from the comics so I took some liberties with his character. I wanted to establish that this is a real world interpretation of him and as such he's not nearly as cool as he is in the comics or movies. So you need to keep that in mind when reading this. You also have to keep in mind that he is not the main character of this story. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the wonderful characters.

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Prologue:

August 15, 2011

“Master Bruce, you have a phone call”

I nodded and set down the paper. On the front page was a dark sketch of a shadowy figure, representing the vigilante that was stalking the nights of Chicago. The press were dubbing him the “Bat” from some unreliable sources. It was kinda ridiculous as was the sketch. It was too dark to see anything finite and they gave me pointed ears. I didn’t have pointed ears. But I guess that’s what I get when I use throwing stars shaped like bats to subdue my victims. Sensei said in order for you to truly scare your opponent you needed to harness your own fear and use it as a weapon. As a child, bats frightened me, they were my greatest fear and now I was using that fear against those I stalked.

But this “Bat” thing was ridiculous. I didn’t have a name, I didn’t want a name. I was supposed to be a force. Not something the press could latch onto and make their own. It was like that damn woman in San Francisco, following around heroes like she owned them. It was insufferable and beneath someone’s time to waste. It was wasting my time. That’s why I worked in the shadows. None of this gallivanting around out in the open, letting people see me.

Alfred---my butler---cleared his throat. “A hum…sir…the telephone.”

I sighed, setting down the paper. “Thank you Alfred.”

He nodded, turned like a toy soldier and walked out of the room. He’d been stiff like that ever since I was a boy. I used to be so afraid of him because he never smiled. I once told my father that I thought he was a robot to which my father burst out into laughter. He told me that Alfred wasn’t a robot that “he was British, sometimes they were just like that.” I didn’t know what he meant then and I still don’t. Alfred never changed though. Even after my parents were murdered, he was still the same stiff robotic man, never even cracking a smile. Thank God for Leslie or else I would have gone insane a long time ago.

I watched my tin soldier as he walked across the large expanse that was my study. It had been my father’s study once and I hadn’t changed a thing about it, except maybe some of the equipment. The Waynes were already exceptionally wealthy before my father came into his riches. My great great grandfather was involved in the railroad. He built quite an empire for my family, which only grew as the years went on. My great grandfather started Wayne Enterprises from scratch; it was originally just an Export company, shipping goods from Lake Michigan up into Canada. When my grandfather took over the business in the earlier fifties, he revolutionized things by investing in modern appliances: things like color TVs and microwaves. He controlled the company until my father came of age in the early seventies. Instead of going to business school like his father before him, my father decided to go into medicine. My grandfather was outraged. My father went through medical school, met my mother and got married. He opened a small family practice in the city with Dr. Leslie Thompson. The two of them were fairly successful until my grandfather’s failing health pulled Dad back into the business. For the five years that he was CEO he brought Wayne Enterprises into the twentieth century by pioneering medical research, expanding the company into several other fields besides exports.

In 1985, when I was nine years old, my parents were mugged and shot in front of me. I watched them die and all for the paper in their wallets. It was the single most defining moment in my life. It helped shape the man that I am today.

The room was large and overbearing but I liked it. It hadn’t changed much since my grandfather---Thomas Wayne the Third---had used it. This house and everything in it, were mainly mementos of his many travels. He was a bit of an adventurer whenever he could be. He traipsed around the globe, picking up treasures whenever possible. This room alone was filled with several of them, from different continents and tiny places that I never even heard of. I thought about changing things several times---moving some pictures, taking down my father’s medical degrees---but every time I tried to it just didn’t feel right. So here the room sat---a tomb to the two men who it really belonged to.

Stiff and timeless, just like the butler who tended it.

I waited until Alfred was all the way out of the room before I pushed the button. “Bruce Wayne.”

“Mr. Wayne” said a familiar voice on the other end.

I sighed. I’d been expecting and dreading this phone call for several days now. “Agent Faraday.”

I met Agent Faraday back in February, shortly after I started my job to clean up the mean streets of “Gotham”. I was investigating the incident with the Spa; Faraday was the man in charge. And no, none of that ever made it into the papers. The official story was a cult ritual gone bad but the truth was far more sinister. I thought I was being discreet when I started poking around in the darkened halls of the Spa but I wasn’t being as stealthy as I thought. Agent Faraday got the drop on me almost immediately. I think it might have been because he’d been waiting for me. I think he’d suspected for some time that the vigilante and I might be connected ... especially after the incident with Cassandra Sandsmark in the museum.

He even called me “Mr. Wayne” at the time of his discovery. Instead of arresting me, he offered me a job. Well actually, he offered to work with me. They had a bit of a problem and though they had the resources, they didn’t have my ability to investigate. Too much red tape. So he handed me a bottle of pills and asked me to find out what I could, strictly off the record of course. I was a bit of a whiz kid in school, graduated from high school by the age of fifteen. I went off to college a month later---the name Wayne had a lot of pull---I had my first degree by the age of eighteen in criminal psychology, I got my second in forensics at age twenty one and a third in chemistry by age twenty-four. As well as honing my mind, I also honed my body. Ever since the day my parents died, I wanted to make sure that it never happened again. Three days later, I had private martial arts instructors---one of which was held in high esteem. I trained with them day and night for ten years straight---alternating schools, learning new and important things. From there I went to California for the next three years and found myself apprenticing under the great John Zatara, Master Illusionist. I also crossed paths with Ted Grant, former prize boxer---he taught me how to take a beating and keep on coming.

Faraday had known all of this. That’s why he was certain I was the right man for the job.

Which brings me back to our conversation on the phone.

“What have you found out?” he asked, sounding tired.

I pushed a button on my desk, bringing up the console I had built into it. As soon as the monitor rose into place and I typed in my password, I brought up the file. The woman who was peddling them called the bottle of pills he handed me months ago “Ambrosia”. It was a play on the food of the Gods in Greek Myth, it fit in with the crazy cult she was running. In truth, they were much more deadly.

“Your Ambrosia was actually manufactured by a company called Alva. It was supposed to be steroid enhancement for soldiers but it had unwanted side effects.”

Faraday sighed. “Thankfully most of the girls that were on it only had been for a few months. I vaguely remember reading something about Alva; they had a black op pharmaceutical deal with the US Army for a while.”

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me do so. “I traced the work to a man named Porter. He’s one of Alva’s top researchers; he has an office here in the city. I was thinking of paying him a visit as soon as night falls.”

“It’s taken you that many months to figure all that out?”

“I’ve been busy,” I said, referring to my numerous escapades.

“So I’ve read,” said Faraday “I’ve been up to my elbows in it as well if you haven’t noticed.”

“You know with all your resources you could have found out all this stuff by yourself.”

“I needed to test you Mr. Wayne,” said Faraday with a laugh. “To make sure you were every bit of a Detective as your fans on the Internet claim you to be.”

I scoffed. “Don’t believe everything you read.”

“I never do.”

Faraday clicked off. I continued to stare at the file on the computer. According to this, Porter’s office was actually in an old factory that Alva stopped using. The company got scared of his initial results and forced him into an early retirement. After the drug proved to be too hazardous, he sold it on the Black Market. That’s how that deranged woman got a hold of the pills. But word on the street was Porter had perfected his serum and was in the process of human testing. Of course I didn’t tell any of that to Faraday. Not that I needed to, I was sure he had people who already knew all about it. Like he said before, he was testing me but there was more to it than that.

I smiled as I clicked off the console. It lowered back into my desk. Then I clicked the intercom button. “Alfred, get the car ready, we’re going out again.”

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The Internet had a lot of ideas about me, all of them false. According to the fan boys, I drove a sleek rocket powered car; someone actually dubbed it the “Bat mobile”. Give me a break. They also said I lived in a Cave somewhere, tinkering about in the dark in some over sized lab that was combination computer hub and chemistry set. As cool as that sounded, it was so far from the truth it was scary. The only car I drove around in was the Rolls Royce that belonged to my grandfather and the closest thing I had to a laboratory was the makeshift one I built in the basement of my spacious mansion. There were no computers save for the numerous PCs in just about every room of my house. I automated most of the place after I read that Bill Gates had a similar set up---well actually he dreamed that he had my kind of tech.

The other biggest rumor out there was the suit I wore. The only thing they managed to get right was the color. Yes, I did wear a cape but it wasn’t the kind they thought it was. It wasn’t really a cape either, more like a hooded robe; I wore to shield myself from the cold of the night and for the effect. It was a lot scarier to be seen flapping about then what I really was. Yes, my suit was armored–woven with Kevlar, but it wasn’t armor plated. No, there was no symbol of the bat on my chest and no I didn’t carry around my “gadgets” on a belt. I didn’t even have any gadgets, save for the night vision goggles and assortment of throwing stars I used.

I had a feeling that the legend of the “Bat” Man was going to outlive me for a very long time. It was kinda cool I suppose but it was so far from the truth it was scary. To think it all started because I wanted to bring justice to my parents’ killer. Everyone knew Joe Chill did it so when the jury came back and he was innocent, it was huge outrage. But at the time Chill was in deep with the Falconi crime family. He was a low-level enforcer, did some of the dirty work. The night he killed my parents he was on a fix---he was a little heavy into heroin at the time. He claimed he didn’t even remember doing it, which seemed to outrage everyone even more.

Falconi greased the palms of the judge and paid off several of the jury members. Chill got to walk and I had a purpose in life. It took me several years to catch up with him. I caught up with him outside a nightclub in the city---The 1000's---he was with some hooker. It was about two years ago, Chill was no longer with Falconi so he didn’t have his protection anymore. I dropped down on him from above, breaking his shoulder in the process. The hooker screamed and took off. At the time, I was new at the whole revenge thing. I thought I was doing pretty good until Chill pulled out a gun. He shot me in the arm and took off. I tried to give chase but the pain was too much. I missed my chance at him and I knew it.

Chill was killed in a botched convenience store robbery a week later. I was still recuperating from the gunshot wound. I went to a dark place after that, angered that I was unable to enact the revenge I spent years training for. Leslie helped me a lot, she taught me that there were a lot of bad people in the world like Joe Chill and many of them didn’t get the justice that they deserved. That’s what spawned me into my crusade. It took me the next two years to get everything right---there was a lot of trial and error---but in the end, things fell into place nicely. I used the nightclub as a base of operations, it was a crooked establishment run by a scumbag named Ballard. He was a business rival of mine actually but unlike some of the others---Luthor---he didn’t hide the fact that he was scum.

It was there that I met my first Metas. First, it was that shape shifter Chiller. I kept an eye on him because his name was so close to Chill. He arrived at the club after doing a job in California. Ballard had him impersonating some college football star to smear the kid’s name. It was practice for a bigger score. Ballard had this wild plot to assassinate the President and take his place. That’s where I realized there was something more to pretty Myka Carter. She was already trying---and failing---to land my receptionist, Beatrice De Costa. Who knew that Myka was harboring such a secret? After rescuing her and Bea in the alley from some of Ballard’s thugs, I kept tabs on her.

I ran a lot of illegal wiretaps and hacks. I had a hacker who could get into a system and get out before being caught. She was the one who found the information on the “virus” that Myka was looking for. She stumbled upon it by accident actually. I took everything she found and gave it to the would be hero, giving her the push she needed in the right direction. I wasn’t a Meta, it was too big for me to get involved with but it was the right bit of info. She needed to set things right with her career. It made me proud to know that I was making a difference.

Hopefully I’d make one tonight, too.

I was crouched on the rooftop across the street from the factory. It used to be the main pharmaceutical building where they manufactured the now defunct “ambrosia”. But after the Army cancelled the contract, Alva cut all ties and pulled out. That was over a year ago and the place was supposedly mothballed. But things started to change a few months ago. After the Bana Spa fiasco, I discovered that the power company was registering large amounts of usage in a building that was supposed to be abandoned. I did some digging and found out that the factory was also receiving weekly truck deliveries through the back entrance. On the books, this place was listed as storage and the deliveries were listed as “medical waste.”

It didn’t take long for me to find out what was really going on.

I pulled out my goggles and scanned the perimeter. There were two primary entrances into the building. One in the front, which had only one camera and the loading dock door in the back, which had two. The front one was probably the best bet but in my search of the place, I also found another door, one that had no cameras. There was a skylight on the top, thirty feet above the floor. Whoever set up security on the place never thought to put a camera there because no one in their right mind would dare enter from that spot. But I definitely wasn’t in my right mind.

I scanned the streets, making sure it was deserted. When it was clear, I dropped down onto the fire escape below then into the street. I ran across quickly, scaling the opposite fire escape up the factory wall with the same ease. On the Internet I apparently got around using a grappling hook and as efficient as that sounded it wasn’t very practical. There wasn’t a device small enough for me to carry around to do that and even if there was, there was nothing strong enough to fit into it that would be able to hold my weight. I got around like everyone else and like everyone else, I worked for it. I was in peak physical condition; I exercised for several hours a day. During my spare time---when I wasn’t jumping from rooftops---I spent time trying to figure out ways to train myself. I did a lot of mountain climbing and outdoor training.

I made my way to the roof and over to the skylight. Tonight I brought a duffel bag with me. I opened it, taking out a glasscutter. It wasn’t the most efficient tool but it got the job done. I cut a big enough hole to stick my hand through and unlock the window. After that, I lifted it open slowly. Then I took my harness from the bag. Once again, no grappling gun. I brought enough rope to get me down to the floor without a problem. After donning my gear and making sure my rope was secure, I slid down to the factory floor below. The whole thing took about two minutes or more. I left the rope hanging where it was so I could ascend later.

I had to smile at the ease of everything. The Internet made me out to be this great spook that disappeared into the shadows and flew through the air like a bat out of hell. But in truth, it was just a lot of gear, years of training and lots of guts. There were a lot of times that I thought I wasn’t going to get out of somewhere alive actually. Back in February---shortly after the spa incident---I tracked a man into the sewer. His name was Waylon Jones, a former Circus Side show attraction. He was dubbed the Croc Man because of the condition of his skin---it looked like scales. Jones had knocked over a few jewelry stores and was hiding out in the sewers. I got wind of it and ventured down there to flush him out. It never occurred to me how big a man Jones really was. It took everything I had to take him down.

After I left him tied up for the police, the Internet exploded. The Bat Man Ropes Killer Croc in the Sewer. It was absolutely crazy but as there were no witnesses people made up their own mind. I became a bit of a menace after that---the Chicago PD’s Number One Suspect. There were rumors that I worked for the Commissioner but those were just as much crap as the rest of it. Gordon was a good guy---he had a sweet daughter, Barbara---but that’s as far as our partnership went. In fact, he was convinced I was responsible for some of the crap that went around in the city. He said I was a nut with a hero complex and that I probably created some things so I could rush in and be the hero.

I put on my goggles again, looking around the darkness. There was definite evidence that something was going on here. There were a lot of wooden crates---marked with big purple L’s. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where they came from. It didn’t surprise me in the least that Lex was involved in all of this. It was no secret that he was looking heavily into the Metagene and everything that went with it. In fact while investigating the pills his name came up once or twice---as a private financial backer to Porter’s research. I looked around, it was clear that he was a lot more than private. There were a lot of boxes here.

I walked to the nearest one and broke in, taking a peek inside. There was nothing but foam packing peanuts but it was clear that something was going on. I pulled out my mini-camera and took several pictures, first of the boxes and then of the insides. Faraday was the documentation kind of guy. After taking my pictures, I started slinking around the place. I found a flight of stairs leading up into another part of the place. There were several areas like this one, all connected by an upper floor laboratory. If there were anything of substance, it would either be in one of those room or the vacant lab.

I climbed the stairs quickly then picked the lock on the door at the top. I pushed my way inside and found myself in a dark hallway. Well, it would have been dark if not for my goggles. I walked briskly along, looking at the doors on either side. At the end of the hall there was a door marked Lab One, a faint glow was coming from underneath it. I started for it when another door caught my interest first: it was Porter’s office. I picked the lock there too, and slipped into the room. I looked around the room, going to the file cabinets first but they were empty. So I tried the desk and the PC there. I had a minor in computer sciences so hacking into the computer wasn’t too much of a problem. I knew enough basics to get around the lax security.

It didn’t take me long to get into his private files either.

I took out a flash drive and started copying them, making evidence for my government friend. I’d make a copy for myself too, just in case I wanted to do some private investigating later. I didn’t plan to read anything right now until I came across a file labeled Project Venom. It piqued my interest so I clicked into it. It was password protected but I got around it quickly. After reading only a few lines, I realized I had hit the jackpot. This was exactly what Faraday was looking for; it was evidence that Porter continued his work on the drug after he sold the initial---flawed---batches. He was able to get over most of the side effects and after reconstituting the pills into a liquid form, he perfected it.

He called the concoction Venom. It was a very potent steroid that enhanced the users strength and durability by tenfold. Whoever took it was in essence a Superman. It was insane but the proof was staring me right in the face. The science was all there too and it scared the hell out of me. It became very clear as I read the file that this is what Faraday’s superiors were really after. They didn’t want to shut this operation down; they wanted the Venom formula for themselves. After all, it once belonged to the US government and now the government wanted it back.

I cursed. There was no way I could let Faraday get his hands on this. I continued downloading all of Porter’s files onto my flash drive then I smashed the tower and took the hard drive. It was the best way to do things and to keep it from going where it should never go. Faraday and his people knew where this place was after all. It was only a matter of time before they found it. But to make sure things were really taken care I needed to make sure he didn’t have any back up files in the Lab. I stuck the hard drive in my duffel---I brought it with me---then made my way out into the hall again. I moved fast, knowing that I had mere hours before Faraday followed. I was certain that my involvement here was his attempt for a scapegoat. I felt so damn used. It pissed me off even more that I actually suggested he might even be able to help Myka back when she needed it. I even gave her his card. That made my skin crawl just thinking about it.

I moved quickly to the lab. The door was locked with a card reader but there was no light on it. I tested the lock and sure enough, it opened without it. Whoever set it up must have forgotten to engage the system. When I opened the door all the way, I was shocked at what I saw. It looked like a normal laboratory but for one huge difference: it was all centered around a man strapped up in a mock of Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, spread eagle. From Porter’s other files I knew this to be one of his human test subjects. My attention was diverted from the man to the small, bespectacled figure in the white lab coat.

“Dr. Porter, I assume?”

I startled him. He was in the process of injecting a syringe into one of the man’s various IV’s. His hand slipped and he jabbed the man in the arm instead, plunging most of the green liquid into the man’s body. There was no reaction from the subject but the doctor cursed. I looked back at the man. He was already a big guy to begin with, he looked like a body builder but I saw the various prison tats so I’m guessing he was an inmate from the local area. Porter’s files stated that he convinced the prison that he was trying to test cures for known diseases and needed test subjects. It helped that Luthor paid for everything---off the books of course.

The doctor snapped around at me. “Do you see what I’ve just done; I gave him far too much.”

He wiped furiously at the spot where the syringe went in. Instead of blood coming from the small puncture wound, it was the green substance.

“It looks like he’s had enough already” I said, adopting the raspy tone I used in this persona of mine.

“Mr. Diego is a special case. As you can clearly see his body has already been subjected to several doses of normal steroid to begin with, making him the ideal candidate.”

“What about the girls back in February, were they ideal candidates too?”

He scoffed, waving his hand. “I sold those defective pills; it’s not my responsibility if the buyer misuses them.”

This guy made me sick. “I’m shutting you down, doctor.”

He laughed. “My benefactor would never allow that. He has a lot of pull, you know. You can try to shut me down but he’ll squash you.”

I moved quickly through the space that separated the two of us. I grabbed the front of his lab coat and lifted him off the ground.

“Luthor can’t protect you from me, doctor.”

At the mention of his financier’s face, Porter started fidgeting. “You can’t, you can’t stop this. I need this, it’s vindication.”

“The DEO will be here soon, you can tell them all about it.”

Rage flashed before his eyes. “No” he said angrily, brandishing a scalpel. He slashed it across my exposed cheek, causing me to let him go. He dropped to the ground, knocking over the oxygen tank attached to his patient. When the tank hit the ground, it pulled the mask from the man’s face. The guy strapped to the vertical gurney was sedated but he started to stir. The doctor looked up, awe in his eyes. It was clear that this man---Diego---was in some kind of medically induced coma.

“This is incredible,” gasped Porter as Diego started to flutter. “The Venom is far more powerful than I could have imagined.”

Then Diego snapped awake. The first thing he did was scream. Then he flexed his muscles. When he did so I saw the green liquid flowing through his veins, it was inhuman. Then he snapped the leather straps that held him down, first the ones on his arms then his legs. He stumbled as he pushed himself off the gurney. I looked into his eyes---they were dark and bloodshot---for a moment, I saw no life there. Then it slowly started to come back.

Porter clamored to his feet. “Mr. Diego, I command you to get back onto the gurney. I need to run a battery of tests, this is incredible.”

Diego flexed his arms and wiggled his fingers. “You command me?” he asked in heavily accented English. “You, like those insignificant fools at the prison, you think you can tell me what to do.”

He reacted before I could. He lashed out, grabbing the doctor by the neck. He wrapped one whole hand around the man’s throat and lifted him off the ground. Then he squeezed. Porter’s face turned a shade of red, the purple and finally blue. I’m not sure what killed him first, choking to death or the fact that his neck broke seconds later. Diego dropped the lifeless body of the doctor onto the ground and smirked. He stared at him for a few seconds and then looked at me.

“You are with him?”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I reached for my belt---ok, I had one. Then I took out a retractable baton, like the ones that police officers sometimes use to subdue their quarry. Diego looked at the baton as I extended it at my side. There was no way conventional fighting was going to work on this guy. I knew what was in those pills---what they did to those girls---I also read Porter’s findings. I knew what he did to the drug to perfect it. This guy standing before me was a monster, a bane of everyone’s existence if allowed to walk free. I couldn’t allow that. I knew I didn’t have the strength nor the skill to stop him but maybe I could slow him down long enough until the cavalry arrived.

He eyed the baton and scoffed. “You are the jailer, then. You look like a man who can hold his own but can you hold it against me.”

He didn’t wait for me to respond. Instead, he kicked me in the chest. It wasn’t even a hard kick but with his chemically enhanced strength, it sent me flying. I smashed over the two lab tables in the room, spilling several jars of chemicals and knocking over the Bunsen burner. The Kevlar padding in my suit cushioned most of his kick but upon sitting up I felt it. I took a deep breath and it hurt like a son of a bitch. He broke a rib, maybe two. There was no way I could fight like this. The best I could do now was keep myself away from him.

Unfortunately, for me, he didn’t seem to like that plan.

He walked over to me and shook his head. “I will give you credit for surviving such a blow. A normal man would have surely died. You are made of thick hide I think.”

He reached for me. I swung at him feebly with the baton. He caught my wrist and snapped it. I screamed out in pain, dropping my only weapon. My duffel was on the other side of the room and anything else that might be construed as a weapon was smashed to pieces now. All my intellect and training was useless in a situation like this. I’d been a fool to think that I could make a difference. I was a man---a man without superpowers---and this was a situation I should have never been in.

He reached down and lifted me up off the ground. He put both of his hands underneath my back; I was in too much pain to struggle and fight back. “I have beaten you in combat and now I shall break you.”

He brought me up over his head and looked like he was going to bring me down on his knee. Everything was moving too fast. I wanted to close my eyes but I couldn’t do it. Instead I watched as he was about to snap my spine on his knee. But the snapping never came. Something else did though. It was a glint of gold. It sailed into the room and hit the son of a bitch in the throat. It stunned him, causing him to choke and cough. He dropped me, I screamed out, my vision started to blur. But I saw someone else charge into the room. There was a whip of long blonde hair and black leather. Whoever she was she was fast. She slammed into Diego, using her shoulder to throw him across the room. He smashed into the far wall.

She ran to him and delivered several well placed blows to his chest and face, overwhelming him with the ferocity of her attacks. It was like a sweet sensual ballet, the stuff that I should have been doing. I’m not sure why I couldn’t pull myself off the ground. I trained for this, I prepared for this. And yet that thing Diego had become---that monstrosity---he tore me down with one kick. One kick and a chance of all this being over. That was my last thought before I slipped into unconsciousness.

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Author's Note: First things first, here's the first official chapter of I Am The Night. The Batman Prologue was a nice tease to set the ball rolling for this one. There are a few things I'd like to make clear, one of which is the father's language. I use it to emphasize how much he doesn't like his son or the things that his son does. The language does not express my views at all.The other thing I'd like to stress is that this might be a slow build up to things so those who like things to happen right away might want to wait for a few more chapters. With that out of the way, I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the wonderful characters.Oh yes, as a courtesy, please comment if you like it :)

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Chapter One:

September 4, 2011

“Looking good, Steph!”

I know I was only saying it to myself but appearance was important, especially for a teenage girl my age. I turned left and right and took a step back, giving myself the full effect. What I saw in the mirror made me smile from ear to ear. There standing before me was a very pretty girl indeed. She might be a little flat in the chest department; you work with what God gives you, but she was still very pretty. It took me a long time to get myself to look this good, though. I had a stack of teen girl magazines, beauty tips and salon makeover shows to know that I’d done a pretty bang up job. It helped I was so short and thin. Usually something like that was a bad thing but not for me, not for Stephanie. I smiled shyly as I stepped closer to the mirror, tugging down the hem of my pink dress.

There was only one small problem…

“Steven” my father’s voice shouted up the stairs.

I froze in mid-pose and cursed. Yep, you guessed it. Though I look and even sound for the most part like a teenage girl I was in fact a very short and skinny teen boy. And there in lay my biggest problem. I was only a boy on the outside but on the inside I was every bit the girl that I tried to make myself to be. The only problem with that was that there were others around me that didn’t exactly like that idea. My biggest problem was currently stomping his way up the stairs.

I bit my lip, pulling the dress quickly over my head. There was no way I’d be able to get everything off before he reached my room but I was going to try. I was standing in a pair of panties and a bra---there was nothing in the cups of course. I moved quickly, grabbing my shirt off the floor. I jumped into bed, pulling my hair into a low ponytail. I threw the blanket over myself and clicked on the TV. Dad pushed his way into my room, glancing around like a vulture. I smiled, glad that I didn’t try the makeup this time. I say this time because the last time he caught me and gave me a black eye. I had to tell the teachers at school that I slipped in the shower and hit my face on the shower head, but I don’t think they believed me.

They wouldn’t have believed me if I told them that Dad hit me either. He was Arthur Brown, the Arthur Brown. He had pull in this city and I was his transgendered son that he loved with all his heart. Yeah, right. He once told me the only reason he kept me around was because I looked so much like Mom. Talk about love, huh.

“What the hell were you doing up here, you little fag?”

There was alcohol on his breath. Not beer mind you because he was too high end for that. Dad liked his Scotch. I think that’s the only thing he liked. Well that and his puzzles. He was big on his puzzles even after he was fired. Arthur Brown, the name doesn’t ring a bell. Well I guess it was a long time ago---ten years I guess---but Dad used to be on TV.

“I’m not doing anything, just watching TV.”

His eyes narrowed and he looked around the room. I went out of my way to make it look as masculine as possible just to throw off suspicion. The walls were painted blue and decorated with posters of Football players and half-naked girls. I had a desk in the corner with my laptop and a chair that had a back shaped like a baseball mitt. On my dresser were trophies, most of them were from Little League---that I played when I was nine. It was all a façade but it made Dad happy. My real stuff was hidden away, deep in my closet. The stuff that belonged to Stephanie. All her clothes, makeup, and jewelry.

“You weren’t doing any of your frou frou stuff were you?”

He staggered and swayed. Ladies and Gentlemen, my father, Arthur Brown. He used to be known as one of the smartest men on television at one time. Who Wants to Stump the Cluemaster? It was the stupidest show on TV but it made him a household name. Now he was nothing more than a has-been, washed up and forgotten. But I couldn’t blame him for that, Mom’s death broke the two of us to pieces. He fell into drink, I went into her closet. Not that her death made me want to be a girl but without Mom supporting me---she always understood---I wanted to be a guy less and less. Especially after Dad started drinking and became a total ass.

I sighed. “I stopped doing that stuff after you smacked me around the last time.”

He nodded. “Good, you’re my son, not some wannabe poof.”

He staggered some more, the half drunk bottle of Scotch still in his hand. Dad only had two passions: alcohol and solving problems. He used to have three. When Mom was alive, he used to worship the ground she walked on. But after her death---cancer is a bitch---he fell back to two. But when Dad was sober, you didn’t dare try to beat him in any way that required thinking. He might not be the smartest man on television anymore but he was still the smartest man I know. I admired him for that. Yes, as hard as it is to believe, I actually admired the abusive bastard.

“I have some homework to do now.”

I bit my lip, hoping the lie would work. School didn’t start until Tuesday.

“Good boy” he said smiling.

That always got him to leave, even when he was drunk. He may have been a bastard but schoolwork was very important to him. I might not have been as smart as he was but he made sure that I didn’t slack off. He was a stickler for those kinds of things. He used to say his old man was the same way, that’s why he was so smart. But I knew for a fact that grandpa was a nice guy, at least he always was with me. But the way Dad told things it was a completely different story.

“You studyyyy” he slurred, stumbling out of my room.

I waited to make sure he was completely gone, listening to him stumble down the hall. With any luck, he’d pass out and not wake up until morning. When I knew he was in his bedroom, I threw off the covers and ran to the door. I bolted it shut and then slumped against it, sighing in relief. If Dad had seen me in either the bra or panties, he would have beaten me so hard that I shuddered just thinking about it. I waited a long time before I pulled my shirt off and went back over to stare at myself in the mirror. My body was a very sad thing to look at. I was maybe one hundred and ten pounds when wet and at five six, I was definitely the smallest and scrawniest in my grade. I’m sure that that didn’t matter much but I was going to be a senior in a few days.

I sighed, pulled my hair free and giving my head a good shake. My hair was sandy blonde like Dad’s and fell just past my shoulder blades. Dad hated that it was so long but I told him girls like it that way. That seemed to keep him at bay but it was really pushing it. It was bad enough that I had a baby smooth face and feminine features. Though I had no feminine figure to speak of a lot of guys whistled when I walked by them. In school, I wore a lot of bulky clothes so you couldn’t really tell what gender I was. I guess the proper word to describe me is androgynous, which helps a great deal being the way that I am. I couldn’t imagine having hair all over my face or one of those deep baritone voices like a lot of the other guys.

Thankfully puberty was very kind too me. Not that Dad saw it that way. He wanted a big manly son that was as tall as he was---six three---and who could throw a pigskin across a football field. The only thing I got from him though was the color of my hair. Luckily, for me I took after Mom in that I had her size, her compassion and her temperament. Dad never used to be such an ass. In fact, I could remember a time when the two of us got along real well. Whenever he had time for me, we used to play in the park and he used to show me how to do puzzles. But after Mom---there’s no use dwelling on the past.

Now that my hair was loose, I was starting look more like myself. It really does pay to let your hair down and relax. Androgyny was the best thing that could have happened to me. Looking at the girl in the mirror---even with the underdeveloped chest and groin problem---I couldn’t help but smile. I knew from a very early age that I was different from other boys. Whereas my friends were playing with trucks and baseballs, all I wanted to do was have a doll and do gymnastics. My father never understood but Mom did. She helped me, especially with Dad. She came up with a compromise that suited him fine. If I played Little League baseball for him, I could do something for myself. He reluctantly agreed, and I joined the local gymnastics team.

I was small enough that gymnastics was a nice fit. I was a lousy ball player but it made Dad proud. My team won a few trophies as I’ve already mentioned. Not that I contributed. But as a gymnast, I excelled. I think that annoyed the hell out of Dad. He went to the meets but a proud father he was not. AS soon as Mom was gone, he made me quit. He said no son of his was going to prance around in spandex doing girly things. It’s not that I was but he didn’t understand. I still go to the gym every now and then and I still keep myself limber. I tried to afford the lessons myself---saving up my allowance----but it got too expensive and I ended up quitting after a month.

Ok enough thinking, I only had a small window. I left the admiring and went about my business. I went to the closet, dragging out my Stephanie box. Inside were all the things that belonged to her that were necessary for what I was about to do. What’s that you ask? Well today---for the very first time---Stephanie was going to see the world through her eyes. I’d been dressing for years but always in the sanctuary of my own room. The closest thing I ever got to going out the door in femme was a few months ago when I spent a day one Saturday at the mall wearing panties and a pair of girls jeans. Not that anyone could tell they belonged to a girl of course. They were a pair that once belonged to my cousin, Barbara; she was the only other person who understood me. When she gave them to me, she made me promise to be the best girl I could be.

I had a small Stephanie wardrobe---most of it hand-me-downs from her, except the underwear of course. She bought that for me. Besides the pink dress, I had two pairs of jeans, six t-shirts and a jean skirt that was so short it was practically criminal. I definitely wouldn’t be wearing that in public. I wouldn’t be wearing the dress either, especially after that close call with Dad. I know call me a coward but I was a little scared. It would have to be something safe and simple, meaning---jeans and a t-shirt. I took my box from the closet and carried it over to the bed, taking out the stuff I needed.

I walked over to the mirror, frowning at my lack of figure. I had some enhancement but nothing that screamed teenage girl. I didn’t have the money for those kinds of things, except for my chest. I sighed; I guess it couldn’t be helped. I went to my closet again and got some clothes, I pulled on my jeans first, making sure my you-know-what was safely tucked away. I looked down at my front; it was flat like a real girl. Then I reached into the box and took out my breast inserts. I went with a B cup, nothing too fancy. I stuck them in my bra and pulled a pastel colored shirt over my head. I pulled a baggy hoodie on over everything else.

In the mirror, I still looked like Steven but I knew that I was all Stephanie underneath. I was too afraid to wear any makeup for fear that one of my neighbors might see. But I could accessorize a bit so I put one some bangles and small studs in my ears. My father threw a fit when I pierced my ears last year. I told him that it was ok for a guy to pierce both but I still was smacked for it. I don’t think he much cared for the idea of his son prancing around with holes in his ears, even if I wore little skulls to school. No one else seemed to mind, or if they did, they didn’t say much to me. Not that many of my fellow students noticed me anyway.

After the earrings, I deemed Stephanie ready for the world. I took a deep breath and hoped the world was ready for her.

______________________________

Dad and I used to live in Schaumburg, a village thirty miles north of Chicago. It was a nice place, a lot less noisy than the city. But after Mom died ... and he drank himself out of his job, we moved to the city. We lived in a low rent portion of it, in a three story duplex. It wasn’t the greatest neighborhood but it was home. It was all Dad could afford these days. Our modest place was a fairly good size. It had two bedrooms, a small living room and kitchen. The bathroom we shared but I never seemed to run into any problems there. The biggest problem was the layout. My room was situated right next door to his room and the stairs leading from outside. There were advantages and disadvantages to that, I suppose. The good thing about it was that I could open my door and run down the stairs without Dad seeing me most days. The bad thing of course was that our walls were paper-thin so if I was doing something important...Stephanie stuff...I needed to be extra quiet so as not to draw his attention.

When I left the apartment today, I passed one of our neighbors on the street. She gave me a strange look. It was after all the first day of September and here I was bundled up like it was October. But most people were used to seeing me this way. I liked my hoodie, though it was ratty and old it had a lot of character. I guess it helped that it was also purple. Don’t ask me why but I was rather fond of the color. I think it was because it was dark enough to still be considered semi-masculine but also girly too. Anyone who gave me a hard time about it I tell them that I’m a Vikings fan, which seems to shut them up. Hey, as long as you’re supporting your team’s colors...even purple... no one beat the shit out of you.

I walked to the curb and hailed a cab. It was a surprisingly dull day today. There weren’t many people out, which made things a lot easier for me, I guess. That still didn’t stem my nervousness or untwist the knots in my stomach. I felt like any minute I was going to throw up my breakfast. But I kept my cool as a cab finally pulled up. I opened the back door and slid inside, taking deep, reassuring breaths.

“Where to, miss?” asked the driver.

I nearly jumped for joy. Instead, I smiled and gave him directions. Today it was all about baby steps. So the first thing I did before leaving the house was call my best and only friend Jen. Besides my cousin Barbara, she was the only other person in the world who knew about Stephanie. The two of us were kindred spirits in that we both hailed from Planet Weird. Jen lived with her ultra-religious grandparents who made things extremely difficult for her, seeing as she was a Wiccan. Neither of them understood it, of course, and thought she was going to burn in hell for being a heathen. They constantly tried to convert her. Jen and I had another connection as well, we were both practically orphans. Her Mom died when she was young and her Dad was an Air Force pilot who was MIA. She wouldn’t admit that he was dead though because they never found his plane.

The cabbie dropped me off outside our favorite coffee shop. I paid him and got out. Jen was waiting outside, dancing anxiously on the balls of her feet. When I called her I told her I had a surprise but that she’d have to wait and see what it was. She hated surprises. Seeing her standing there---in her Mother Earth inspired dress---looking all excited made me excited too. When she caught sight of me, she smiled and frowned at the same time.

“Steve” she said as I walked up, my hands in my front pouch. “It’s eighty degrees out and you’re wearing that damn hoodie.”

“You should talk, how much does that dress weight?”

She stuck her tongue out at me and sighed. Then she slipped her arm through mine. As soon as she did so he hand brushed up against my enhanced chest. Her eyes widened. That did it for her and suddenly my surprise wasn’t much of a surprise anymore. She didn’t say anything right then and there though but I could see how excited she was. For weeks---no make that months, years even---she’d tried to talk me into going out in public as Stephanie. But each time I told her I was too afraid to do it. I’m not sure what changed my mind this time but I just knew I had to try. At least once anyway.

She pulled me off the street and into the alley between the coffee shop and the store next door. She made sure we were far enough down it before she squealed and wrapped her arms around me. She even cried a little bit which got me crying too. After we were done with our girly moment, she pulled away and frowned.

“Ok, Steph, off with the bag.”

I hugged my chest, my hands falling under my fake breasts. I couldn’t wait for the day when they would be real. I shook my head.

“I’m not ready for that yet.”

She smiled. “You came this far, girl, what’s one more small step.”

“You’re Armstronging me?”

Armstronging, it was something the two of us came up with. You know Neil Armstrong, “One small step”, blah blah blah. Well “one small step” kinda became my anthem. It was what Jen kept saying to me to push a little more of Stephanie out bit by bit. First, it was my hair, then piercing my ears, then some makeup here and there and finally the clothes. All of them were building up to this moment. This was the moment she kept on telling me was the “giant leap” I needed. See, Armstronging. I just couldn’t believe she was using it against me.

“Off with the hoodie’ she said, taking on a stern tone.

I took a deep breath and slowly pulled the hoodie off over my head. I was extremely uncomfortable but as soon as it was done, she was right. I did feel a lot better. I looked down at my chest and saw my breasts. Even if they were fake, they were still there. Jen smiled big and gave me another hug. We pulled away a few seconds later.

“Baby blue” she said, referring to the color of my shirt. “I like it; it brings out your eyes.”
The eyes in question, I rolled them. “Can I put my hoodie back on now?”

She shook her head. “Not a chance girl”

I was afraid that this might happen. Jen had a one-track mind and once she set that mind on something there was no stopping her. That’s why she was convinced her father was still alive. She said it was a feeling. She couldn’t describe it anymore than that but she just knew he was out there somewhere. Sometimes she even had dreams of him, traipsing around in a jungle with long hair and shaggy beard. To me they were just dreams but to her they were so real. I supported her however; I could because we were like sisters. If she believed her Dad was still out there, then so did I.

She dragged me out of the alley after that. I tried to drag my heels but let’s face it she was a lot stronger. Instead of dragging me back to the coffee shop, she took me in the opposite direction. I had no idea where were going until we got a couple stores away. I nearly froze when she pulled me into the little boutique. I’d been in here hundreds of times before with her. It was a trendy little shop that she liked to browse through. It catered exclusively to teen girls our age---that felt kinda nice to say. But it was never a style that Jen was into. She was all Mother Earth and all that junk. She came in here a lot because it got her grandparents off her back. They gave her a credit card and an allowance under the strict guidelines that she buy at least one thing from here once a month.

I think they were trying to stem her creativity or something like that. The woman behind the counter was named Debbie. I liked her because she thought I was a girl.

When she saw the two of us enter, she smiled. She knew all about Jen’s deal and always helped her find the perfect item. But when she saw us today, there was a look of surprise on her face. We’d been in here once already---yesterday in fact---so we weren’t due back here until the beginning of October. But I’m not sure if that’s why she was so shocked. She was staring at me and I think it took me all of ten seconds to figure out what it was.

“Stephanie, sweetie” she said, smiling big. “You have such a nice little figure, I don’t know why you wish to hide it all the time behind that baggy monstrosity.”

She pointed to the hoodie I was holding in my hand when she said the last bit.

Jen laughed. “I finally talked her out of it.”

“Good for you dear” said Debbie with a knowing smile.

After that, Jen went a little overboard and Debbie was only too happy to help. They were bound and determined to make a real girl out of me. I’m not sure if Debbie knew I was TG or if she thought I was just a tomboy but she treated me with the utmost respect. Jen pushed me into a changing room and the two of them kept passing outfits through the curtain. I’m not sure how many there were but after an hour, it felt like I’d tried on the whole store. The two of them tried to get me to leave there in a skirt, heels and a cute top but I managed to talk them down to a pair of jean shorts, sandals and a pink baby tee. Debbie wanted to put me in a cami top but I had to decline for obvious reasons.

Jen put my outfit on her card, even against my protests.

When we left the store, she took my arm again. “Now to the salon.”

“What?”

“No offense, Steph but you look like a boy.”

I stuck my tongue out at her for that. “I have to work later you know.”

She nodded. “I’m not going to have them do anything serious. A Mani and a Pedi and some light makeup. Besides your boss is kinda hip, especially for a lady her age.”

I groaned. That was the understatement of the year. Jen smiled at my discomfort...I think she thrived on torturing me. But when I nodded, she squealed again and dragged me off toward the salon. I just hoped Leslie didn’t think it was odd that I was dressed like this.

______________________________

Dr. Leslie Thompson ran a free clinic a few blocks away from my house, well within walking distance. She used to be a big time surgeon back in the day, worked with Thomas Wayne. She helped him set up the Wayne Medical Institution among her many accolades. My mother was a surgeon and Leslie was her mentor. I’ve known her all my life and though she had to be pushing seventy now, the woman had yet to slow down. Her motto was she’d rest when she was dead. If only so many people her age could have the same outlook on life. Heck, if only people half her age could have that outlook. I wish my father would have some kind of outlook.

I’d been working at the clinic part time since sixteen, so almost two years now...I’ll be eighteen in a month. At first, I was a volunteer, doing odd jobs for her here and there. I don’t like the term Candy Striper but I guess that’s what I was. After a few months of that, she decided to put me on the payroll. I wanted to protest but frankly, we needed the money badly. Dad worked at a print shop and though he brought in the cash, it all seemed to go to his drinking. What little money I made I was saving for some important decisions. I’m sure I don’t have to mention what those might be.

After my odd jobs came to an end, Leslie started teaching me some low-key medical stuff. Nothing that might get her in trouble...well not as long as I didn’t say anything. So I could suture small wounds, draw blood, things like that. Last week I got to help her set some stupid skater’s broken wrist. That was kinda cool. She knew all about my dreams of becoming a doctor like Mom, helping people less fortunate than myself. According to her, she’d been exactly where I was when she was young. I hardly doubted that but I didn’t doubt her stories of living off the streets, scrounging for food. She looked like a survivor; she had to be to want to set up shop in this part of town.

The locals called this area of the city the “Narrows” on account of the buildings being so close together. It was a wicked name for a wicked place. Everyone knew that if you were out past sun down then it was a good bet that you were going to lose some money. No one cared about this neck of the woods except maybe Leslie and of course the Bat. Everyone knew about him---the silent sentinel that patrolled the rooftops. He might have been an Urban Myth to some but he was still the coolest guy that I’d ever heard of. I know there are a lot of Metas out there now but he was the only one who really seemed to care about us.

Up until a month ago anyway. When I walked through the front door, the Clinic’s six beds were empty. It was one of those slow days, I guess. Leslie had an office in the back; she usually stayed there until she heard the little bell above the door ring. I walked sheepishly inside, trying not to make noise. I was trying to avoid the inevitable. The salon had really done a number on me. My nails were now filed and shaped, coated in a clear polish and my face was lightly done up. All of these things I might be able to hide, but Jen had to let them go one-step further. They tweezed my brows a bit, not too badly, but they were clearly not a guy’s brows anymore...my Dad was going to go nuts. They also trimmed off my split ends and styled my hair to make it look a bit more feminine. It was nothing too drastic but it pushed my androgyny a little closer to the girl side.

“Steven, dear, is that you?” shouted a voice from the back.

“Yes Leslie” I said as I carried my duffel through the main room toward the back.

I could call her Leslie when we were alone, but if there were patients it was Dr. Thompson. She said we needed an air of professionalism when other people saw us together. This coming from the sixty nine year old woman who planned on skydiving for her seventieth birthday celebration. She was about as professional as a standup comedian.

When I walked around the corner into the little hall, she stepped out of her office. There were two things I liked the most about her. One, she had a grandmotherly vibe without even trying. Not that she didn’t look like one. She was tall, always wore her white hair pulled up on the top of her head and dressed like a smart career woman...pants and flats. The second thing I loved most about her was her ability to take a situation and not be scared when something unexpected happened. That’s why when she turned around and saw me...a teenage girl...instead of her male assistant, she didn’t even bat an eyelash.

“So it’s Stephanie today then?”All I could do was nod numbly. She smiled and continued. “It’s about time, dear.”

She patted me gently on the cheek, smiled and walked into the main room. Just like that. There were no lectures, no asking for explanations. She saw me dressed like a girl and she accepted it like the turning of the seasons. I was stunned for a second but then smiled brightly. I shook off my numbness and carried my bag into the small locker-room. There used to be more of us working here but the local hospital was short staffed and most of the doctors who used to volunteer their time here could no longer do so. Up until a month or two ago there used to be another girl here...Brittany...but she went off to college. So now, it was just Leslie and me, which was kinda nice and homy.

I dropped my bag on the bench and opened my locker. My usual uniform was in there waiting. It consisted of nothing more than green scrubs. When I put them on, I felt like I was on Grey’s Anatomy. But today as I reached for them, I stopped. I wasn’t Steven today, I was Stephanie. If I was going to do this then I was going to go all out. I closed my locker and went over to the one Brittany used to use. When she left, she left her old outfit behind. I opened the locker and found the traditional red and white of a Candy Striper. It was kinda cute and I was always envious of her when I saw her wearing it. I took a deep breath and pulled it out. In my head, I heard Jen’s voice saying “one giant leap” over and over again so that’s exactly what I did. I stripped out of my new shorts and tee and took the plunge.

I put on Brittany’s old uniform...glad we were about the same size...and smiled. I walked over to the mirror mounted on the wall and all I could see was the pretty girl that I knew I was. I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail and put the little wedge shaped hat on my head, completing the look. Then I took another breath and walked out of the room. I took slow steps as I headed down the hall. When I got into the main room there was a young guy...a little older than me...sitting on one of the beds. I froze in mid-step, not even having heard the bell.

Leslie turned her head and looked at me but didn’t skip a beat. “This is Stephanie my assistant.” She said to the young guy. “Stephanie, be a dear and help me with young Tony here.”

I blushed red from head to toe and nodded. I walked over slowly and assisted as best as I could. His left hand was wrapped in a dishtowel...it was starting to get soaked with blood. Tony talked to me while Leslie went to work. When she unwound the dishtowel, he winced. There was a nice gash there but I’d seen worse. It would definitely need a few stitches though. Today it appeared I was here for a distraction. He told me what he’d done...the knife slipped while he was gutting a fish...and then he proceeded to tell me everything about himself.

It took every ounce of will power I had not to pass out. I was embarrassed as all hell. This outfit was ridiculous and the way I was bent over he could see right down my shirt. I just hoped it wasn’t too much for him to see that my boobs were in fact fake. I tried not to think about it and concentrated on something else. First it was his mouth as he talked, which only made my lips moisten. So then I looked at his eyes, they were emerald green and lovely. I guess you can figure out that I like boys; in fact, I like them a lot. At first, I thought maybe that made me gay but then I realized I was just any other normal teenage girl with a crush on a cute guy.

It took about an hour to finish up with Tony. When we were done, he asked me for my number. I opened my mouth to give him a response but Leslie beat me to it.

“I’m sorry Tony, Stephanie’s parents are strict Roman Catholics, you can’t date any one unless they approve of him.”

Tony looked a little disappointed. A part of me was disappointed too, he was kinda cute. But there were so many reasons why I couldn’t date him. So I apologized and he waved, nearly falling over as he backed out of the clinic.

Leslie laughed. “I do believe that boy was a little smitten with you.”

I flushed then looked down. “I think I’m going to change out of this outfit.”

Leslie laughed. “Well hurry; we have to make a house call.”

I nodded. I got about half way to the back room when I stopped. Curiosity got the better of me so I turned around and asked. “Where are we going?”

Leslie didn’t close up the Clinic unless it was really important.

“Wayne Manor.”

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 2 of Stephanie's journey. I think I might have mentioned this in the other chapter and if I didn't, then I'd like to say that this is a slow going story. But things will pick up pace soon and the story will open up. These first few chapters are merely for introduction with the main course of the story coming afterwards. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters. Oh and please read the Note attached to the button as well :)

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Chapter Two:

Have you ever gone somewhere and felt freaked out long before you got there. It’s like going to a doctor’s appointment or the dentist. I know I was exceptionally freaked out about my first day of high school, especially being the kid who had yet to go through puberty. But, of course, none of that could compare to the way I was feeling now as the taxi pulled up to the huge gate. I looked out the window and just beyond the wrought iron bars, I could see the house. Ok, calling it a house was like calling the Taj Mahal a tomb. This thing wasn’t a house; it was like a fricken castle. It was set far back in a wooded area, surrounded by thick forests, and had an eerie atmosphere found in most horror movies. The mad scientist always lived in a place like that.

Not that Wayne was mad. He was far from it, actually. He was probably one of the youngest and most successful billionaires around, well youngest next to Olivia Queen of course.

“There isn’t a moat is there?” I asked, not realizing I said it aloud until Leslie laughed.

“I’ll have you know that Thomas Wayne---Bruce’s dear departed father---actually thought of putting one up. He said it would help keep away all the pesky reporters looking for interviews.”

I nodded and Leslie laughed again. I swallowed hard. “You don’t think it might be better if I stay at the clinic. The cab can drop you off and take me back.”

Leslie laughed for a third time. “There’s nothing dangerous in that place, dear. I’ve been there loads of times. In fact, I helped raise the boy that became one of the most successful men in the world, you know.”

I knew. Leslie didn’t talk about her personal life much but she had many nice things to say about Bruce Wayne. She and his father were partners in a small practice in the city. That was until Bruce’s grandfather died and his father---Thomas---had to step into the role of CEO. Not that he forgot where he came from, of course. He was actually the one who built the clinic, actually at that time, the neighborhood was a lot better. He hoped that it would show that he was giving back to the community in every way possible. Bruce continued that charity by opening several clinics just like Leslie’s throughout the city. His crowning achievement in the medical world was the Thomas Wayne Memorial Hospital built in his father’s honor.

I was born there and my mother did her residency there.

The cab driver looked as flummoxed as I. “Umm, I’m not sure what to do now.”

Leslie smiled and leaned forward. “Roll down your window, dear?” He did as she instructed. Leslie leaned toward it. “Al, it’s Leslie. Can you buzz us in?”

I looked to see what she was talking to. Then I saw a small circular camera on one of the stone gate ends. It didn’t show any sign of moving and there was no intercom that I could see. Sure enough, about a minute later, the gates shuddered and slowly started to open. The driver thanked Leslie and then drove on through. There was a long driveway leading up and when we got to the “castle”, it looped around in a large circle. In the center of the circle was this really cool fountain, it looked like Poseidon holding his trident. Looking at the trident, I saw extremely sharp gold tips and shuddered. I guess with this kind of money they could do something like that. It made me wonder if it was really gold or not.

When the cab stopped, I took a deep breath. The manor loomed over us. It looked big from the road but now being this close to it, I realized that the thing was enormous. It was expansive too. I looked out the window, looking left and right. It looked like the brown stone went on out of sight in either direction. I’m sure that wasn’t the case but to spend enough money to build this, all I’m saying is that some one really likes to show off.

Leslie seemed to read my mind. “Bruce’s Great Grandfather built it during the turn of the century. Back then, wealth was measured in the elaborate. Most of the Waynes who have come since then find this place about as garish as you do but none of them wanted to change it. Bruce, you will find, has made a lot of technological upgrades however.”

I nodded. About a year ago, I watched a television show where Mr. Wayne allowed a camera crew to film inside the mansion, apparently something that had never been done before. The man liked his privacy, which would explain why his house was so far from the city. During the guided tour, he showed off quite a bit, including the gardens, his personal gym, the two pools and the game room. There was a lot more too, but I couldn’t remember all of it. I couldn’t help but think though, what living or even growing up in a house like this might be like.

The driver got out and opened the door for the two of us. I slid out first, followed my Leslie. His calling us ladies made me feel really good. Leslie paid him as he got her bag and then he drove off, leaving us in blue blood country all alone. Looking up at the magnificent structure before me made me feel a little inadequate. Then I looked down at how I was dressed and felt even more out of place. I was no longer wearing the candy striper outfit---Thank God---but my shorts and tee were no better. If I’d known I was coming to a billionaire’s fortress today I wouldn’t have at least worn that stupid skirt. I tried to talk Leslie into allowing me to go home first but she said Mr. Wayne would not care about what I was wearing. I tugged on the end of the shorts but it wasn’t like I could make them longer.

“You look fine, dear.”

I followed Leslie up the massive stone steps; there were a pair of lions on either side of them. They looked like the statues on either side of the Art Institute in the city but these ones were made of marble. I reached out to touch one but decided against it. Leslie was already at the door so I ran to catch up. It was one of those big solid oak kinds with a knocker and everything. Leslie used the knocker and we waited. About a minute or so later, the door opened. The guy standing on the other side was tall, his hair all but gray but with flecks of black. He was wearing a charcoal colored suit with a bow tie. He had a stern look but the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile at the sight of Leslie.

“Hello Al, how’s the patient?”

“Insufferable” he said in a clipped British accent.

“Most men are when they’re not feeling well.”

Al didn’t look amused in the least. He turned his attention to me. “Is this the young assistant that you spoke of?”

Leslie nodded. “This is Crystal’s daughter, Stephanie.”

Leslie put her hand on my shoulder. I liked that she called me Mom’s daughter.

Al raised an eyebrow. “Her daughter?” He gave me a once over and smiled slightly. “I see, well delighted to meet you, young miss. I am Alfred Pennyworth, Master Bruce’s steward.”

I knew enough to know that what he really meant was butler. I’d never actually meant one of those before so that was kinda cool.

Alfred led us into the house and let me tell you, I was floored by what I saw. The inside definitely lived up to the outside. The foyer was ginormous---not a word, well it is now. The floors were made of polished marble, there was a giant crystal chandelier hovering high above my head and a huge painting of a couple---I assumed them to be Bruce’s parents---on the main wall. Underneath it was a marble pedestal on which stood a vase of white roses. Everything had an old vibe to it as if it’d been lived in for a long time even though it was well maintained. But looking around the foyer I couldn’t help but get a slight shiver as if someone was watching my every move.

“Come this way, Master Wayne is expecting you.”

Alfred led us out of the foyer, through a curved archway. I loved the wood panel feel of everything. In the hall, there were paintings on the wall. I didn’t know who painted them but I was pretty certain they weren’t prints. Most of the hallways were the same. After he led us through that one, we went down another. I’m not sure how many there were exactly but we walked for quite a bit. In one hall, there were tall windows, looking out into one of the gardens. I got a quick glance; there were so many flowers out there, more than I’d even seen. It looked like a nice place to relax. In another hall, I got a look at a courtyard, set up with a wicked looking hedge maze, all leading to a white gazebo. There might have been a bench there too.

We passed a lot of doors, too. I made the mistake of trying to open one only to get a shrewd glance from Alfred. Apparently, the billionaire prided himself on his privacy. Not that I could get in anyway, the door was locked. But I could see where a man like Bruce would want his secrets and I was pretty certain that a house like this had a lot of them.

Finally, Alfred led us up an elaborate staircase. Why it wasn’t in the main foyer was beyond me. It also bothered me that we had to walk so far to get there. I looked at my watch; we’d been walking for about ten minutes.

Alfred noticed my shock. “Master Bruce’s ancestor was a very paranoid man. Instead of making it easy to get to the second floor, we made it a challenge so as to deter anyone who wished to do him in.”

“Why would anyone want to hurt him?”

“As I said, he was very paranoid.”

On the second floor, things were less elaborate. The walls were still wood but now the floors were as well. There were still a lot of doors up here but I was certain most of them were locked as well. At the end of the hall was a room flanked by a pair of suits of armor worn by knights. They were kinda cool actually. I was kinda wondering where the suits of armor were, this being like a castle and all. Leslie smiled at the look on my face; Alfred once again didn’t look amused. He led us to the room and didn’t bother to knock but he did turn to me before going inside.

“I am only permitted to allow Dr. Thompson into the main room but Master Bruce has advised me to allow you to wait in his parlor.”

I nodded. “Sure no problem.”

Alfred nodded and took out a key, unlocking the door. Maybe that paranoid thing runs in the family.

As soon as the door was opened, I half expected to see a giant room but instead I saw a spiraling staircase. All at once, I knew what part of the place we were at. On the drive up, I noticed the two towers on either end of the property but I was convinced they were for show. After all the place looked like a castle, so I thought they were part of the design. But it turns out I was wrong. Not only were they not for show but apparently one of them housed Bruce’s bedroom. It was now very clear that paranoia ran in this family. Not that it bothered me either way. I thought it was kinda cool that he had a room in a tower like this.

“Mind your step, ladies.”

We followed Alfred up the winding staircase. I thought I was in pretty good shape but you had to be a damn biathlete to climb these damn stairs. Leslie was in front of me, Alfred in front of her. Both of them were four or five times my age and they were putting me to shame. I guess the moral of this story was no more sitting around on my butt all day. I’m not sure how long it took us to climb those stairs, it felt like hours. But when we finally reached the top, I nearly collapsed. Leslie literally held me up and then scolded me for being out of shape. Hey, what can I tell you, I’m a couch potato? Ever since Dad stopped me from Gymnastics, I don’t have any real reason to exercise anymore. It’s a sad thing to think about but it was the truth. I used to work out three days a day just to keep my lithe form in shape, Mom and I used to run every morning together and I spent more time at the Gym then I did at home. Not that Dad ever cared---or noticed for that matter---he was never home either.

Alfred took out the same key as before and unlocked the door in front of us. We were standing on a little landing and when the three of stepped through the threshold into this new room, I smiled. This place looked like some old time library. There were boxes lining three of the walls of the room, the fourth seemed to have only an old grandfather clock. The room had a particularly comfortable Old World feel with antique looking furniture and nuances. But those were combined with some of the modern tech took, like a flatscreen that looked like it descended from the ceiling and a stereo that was built into the center of one of the book shelves.

“Miss Stephanie, this is the parlor,” said Alfred “if you would wait here. Dr. Thompson and I must see to Mr. Wayne.”

I nodded, watching the two of them walk off. Alfred led Leslie to a door off to the side, most likely leading to Mr. Wayne’s bedroom. As soon as they were gone, I started to poke around a bit. I’d never been in a place with so many books before. It was strange to see a room this shape as well. Most rooms were square but because this one was in a tower, it had a circular design too. I decided to browse the bookshelves first. It didn’t take me long to realize that a lot of these books were decades old---they might even be centuries. First editions, I bet. I wonder if he read them or if they were just for show. I looked at a lot of them, scanning the titles.

Only one seemed particularly out of place. I only thought it was out of place because it was right in the middle of a bunch of books about espionage. It was a copy of Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo. Having a father like mine made me familiar with most books that kids my age might not even recognize. Before we moved into the slums, we used to have an expansive library. We didn’t have nearly as many books now, and none of them were first editions, but my father liked the classics. Being almost ten at the time I didn’t really read anything but this particular book caught my interest at once. It was all about a man who was wronged and was seeking revenge for it. I’m not sure why it struck such a chord though. Even now, the only reason it stuck out to me was because of the books around it.

I reached for it, wondering if there was any significance. My fingers were almost about to touch the delicate binding when I stopped. I had to no right to be pulling books off a stranger’s shelf. So I pulled my hand away and continued to explore. After browsing the books, I found myself in front of the grandfather clock. Like most of the furnishings in the room, it was an antique as well. It was ginormous too. I’m five six and this thing had to be at least six feet. I looked up at the clock face, not thinking anything was amiss until I looked at my own watch. According to me, it was only three thirty in the afternoon but according to the grandfather clock, it was ten forty seven at night. I leaned my head in closer and found that the clock was indeed busted.
I frowned and reached up to touch the hands, seeing if they were jammed.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said a voice from behind me.

I nearly jumped out of my clothes. I spun around and there leaning in the doorframe was a tall kid with jet black hair. He had a smug, casualness about him, made evident by the red motorcycle jacket and blue jeans he wore. He stared at me for a few seconds and then strode into the room as if he owned the place. I’d seen Wayne several times---on TV and in the papers–and this guy looked nothing like him. So he wasn’t a brother or anything and he was definitely too old to be his son.

“Do you make it a habit of sneaking up on people?” I asked, putting my hand on my chest, trying to steady the rapid beating of my still frightened heart.

He smirked as he flopped down on one of the couches, throwing his legs up onto one of the arms. Then he shrugged. “I just know the boss man doesn’t like people messing with the clock.”

I frowned. “It’s busted.”

He nodded. “Ten forty seven, there are a lot of clocks around here that say that.”

“What does it mean?”

He gave me this look like I’d grown a second hand. “You seriously don’t know?” I shook my head. He laughed. “I thought it was common knowledge in this city.”

He pushed himself from the couch, gliding effortlessly across the room to me. He got dangerously close, practically pushing me against the wall. He put his hands on the wall on either side of my head. He didn’t say anything for a second or two and just stared. He had the most striking blue eyes, like sapphires. There was no malice in them though, just a very overwhelming mischief. Even with the mischief though, I decided that I didn’t like this guy. Who invades someone’s personal space only seconds after meeting them?

“You’re too close,” I stammered as my heart skipped a beat. I’m not going to lie to you, this guy was gorgeous. But that didn’t mean I wanted him in my face like this.

He reached up and brushed a lock of hair from my face. “You’ve never heard the story of how Bruce’s parents were killed?”

I nodded. Of course, everyone knew the story. It was big news around here. It happened when he was nine years old. He and his parents were leaving a theater and some junkie mugged them. No one really knows what happened next---Bruce doesn’t talk about that part---but both his parents were shot and killed. It was a cold night in October and it happened on…Realization crossed my face and the boy leaning dangerously close to me smiled. He reached for with a finger and bopped my nose like I was a child.

“Bingo” he said and pulled away.

I had an overwhelming sense of grief for Bruce. I’d only lost my mother and it was from cancer but to lose both of his parents and in that matter. What does something like that do to a person? I looked over at the clock and I suppose there were worse ways to cope. If it made him feel better to turn all the clocks to ten forty seven and leave them there then that was fine by me.

My parlor guest backed further away and went back to his couch lounging. “So what’s your story, anyway?”

My heart skipped a neat again. Did he see through me that fast? Did he know my secret? “What do you mean?”

He smirked again. “Bruce doesn’t usually have pretty teen girls in his parlor.”

The compliment made me blush. Get a grip Steph, you hate this guy, remember. “Not that it’s any of your business but I’m here with Leslie.”

The guy raised an eyebrow. “Dr. T’s in there with Bruce right now?”

I nodded. Who was he to call her by an affection nickname like that?

The guy smiled and nodded. “Good, he’s been bitching and moaning.”

I got a chance to read Bruce’s chart before we left the clinic. When a man falls off a mountain climbing, there were grounds for bitching and moaning. He was lucky not to have died. If breaking a few ribs and bruising the hell out of yourself was the result then he was very lucky indeed. “Falling off a mountain allows you to moan like that.”

“A mountain?” asked the guy, looking confused for a split second. Then he recovered quickly. Then he laughed. “He told her it was a mountain?”

I nodded, he laughed aloud. He shook his head. “It was the stupid rock wall in the Gym.”

I suppose that explains why the injuries were less severe.

I couldn’t help but smile and laugh myself actually. Because we were laughing, neither one of us heard Alfred until he cleared his throat rather loudly behind me. I snapped around, nearly jumping ten feet into the air. What was it with people sneaking up in this place?

“Are you done having a jolly at Master Bruce’s expense, Master Tim?”

The guy on the couch---Tim, I guess---nodded. “Sorry, Al.”

Alfred frowned. Then he addressed me. “Miss Stephanie, Master Bruce wishes to speak with you.”

“Me?” I asked, shocked as all hell.

Tim laughed. “Hurry up, the Wizard is showing you behind the curtain, Dorothy.”

I turned and gave him a cold look. Cute but a definite ass.

I wanted to give him the finger but I didn’t think that was appropriate so instead I followed Alfred into the room that only moments before I was forbidden to tread. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I walked inside but I definitely wasn’t expecting hi-tech. It was nothing like the room I just left. Yes, it still had the wood paneling walls and the polished wood floors but it was there that the similarities ended. This room was like walking from the 19th century and into the 21st. The furniture was all modern and up to date; there were several large windows looking out to the grounds and beyond and lots of TV monitors. At first, I thought this guy was obsessed with his favorite shows until I saw that his favorite shows happened to be the house. They weren’t TV monitors, they were CCTV monitors. It looked like he had a camera in every room of the house.

Now that’s paranoid.

The man himself was lying on a large bed, wearing black silk pajamas. He was exactly like I had seen him on TV---black hair, blue eyes, strikingly handsome. Except he was a little paler now, sweaty and he had an IV in his arm. Leslie was sitting in the chair next to the bed, checking his vitals. He didn’t look too amused by it so clearly he was a man who didn’t like doctors.

“You’re Crystal’s daughter?” he asked, his voice was warm but strained as if he was in a great deal of pain.

I nodded. “Yes sir.”

He laughed. “There’s no sir here except maybe Alfred” The butler frowned, Bruce laughed and winced. “You can call me Bruce.”

I smiled. Someone who wasn’t afraid to be addressed so informally around others.

He smiled too. “I’m sorry about Tim,” he continued. “He can be a bit difficult. I’m also sorry about before, I wasn’t being an ass you know. I like to isolate and exclude people just to see how they react. I wanted to see if you were the type of person who was the curious sort or if you’d just sit there and do nothing.”

I bit my lip. He’d been watching me the whole time on the cameras. I was so embarrassed.

“I’m sorry for almost touching the clock and for laughing at your expense.”

He laughed too and regretted it afterwards. I could tell he was in a great deal of pain. Leslie frowned and him and at me. “You don’t have to apologize for me being stupid. I lied to Leslie because I didn’t want her to worry.”

“So you told me you fell off a real mountain instead of a fake one?”

She shook her head. “Because falling off a fake one would have made me worry more?”

He laughed again, wincing. “Ok, so I was protecting my bruised ego too. Do you know how embarrassing that sounds? Me, the accomplished climber, not securing his climb harness properly.”

“You’re just lucky you didn’t break your neck.”

According to Bruce’s file, he fell off the “mountain” nearly a month ago. I had to wonder why Leslie was just finding out about the less than severe nature of such a thing. It was clear that the two of them were close. The way Leslie talked about him it was like he was her own son. I saw the way he looked on her too; it was the way I used to look at my own mother. In this room was a strange little family---Bruce the son, Leslie and Alfred his surrogate parents. I felt sad and happy for the man all at the same time.

Bruce continued as if Leslie hadn’t interrupted. ‘You look like your mother, you have her eyes. She and I were good friends you know, I bet she didn’t’ tell you that?” I shook my head, he smiled. “We were classmates and did everything together when we were children. I miss her a lot, not as much as you do, I’m sure but there’s always been this spot in my heart that belonged to her and now that she’s gone…”

His voice trailed off. I felt a pang and the sadness nearly overwhelmed me. I got over grieving for Mom a long time ago but listening to his words, the grief was coming back. I fought it back but it hurt so much. It also hurt that Mom never mentioned she was friends with Bruce Wayne. I suppose Dad didn’t care for it. He’s the jealous type, very domineering and controlling. Not that Mom let him tell her what to do but they had a small circle of friends and he controlled most of that. It got worse when Mom got sick. You’d think she was a fragile glass flower the way Dad treated her. Like I said before, her death crushed him.

But looking at Bruce now, it was clear that Dad wasn’t the only one who was crushed.

A silence fell over the room until Alfred broke it. “Master Bruce, you wished to ask Miss Stephanie a favor?”

He seemed to recover quickly enough. “Yes, thank you Alfred.” The butler nodded, Bruce smiled. “Stephanie it would seem I’m in need of some company. Alfred is kind of a bore and Tim is well, you’ve met him.” I had to smile at that. Though his presence in this house made me wonder. Bruce continued. “Leslie says you’re her assistant, well over the next few weeks I want you to be mine as well. I’m bored being cooped up in this room all day and seeing as I can’t leave…”

Leslie interrupted. “Not on your life.”

Bruce talked as if she hadn’t. “Seeing as I can’t leave until I’m on the mend, I want you to be my eyes and ears to the world.”

“Me?” I was shocked to say the least.

He nodded. “I’ve been in this room for a month and things in this city are rapidly changing. I used to be on top of things you know, always out and about. But since my accident, I’ve been bored out of my mind.”

“So you want me to entertain you?”

He laughed. “You make me sound like I’m some kind of pervert who likes to bring young girls to his room and have his way with them.”

The thought had crossed my mind for a split second.

Leslie frowned at both of us.

It was definitely an interesting offer. Here I was just coming to make a less than routine house call and now a billionaire wanted me to be his gofer. I suppose it had its perks but it still left me wondering what he knew. Did he know about me, I mean really know about me? Everyone here was so nice and accommodating but they thought I was Crystal’s daughter. If they knew the truth, if they knew who was under the masquerade. It scared the hell out of me what Bruce would do to me if he knew that was not really the teenage girl that I was pretending to be.

“I’m not sure I’m the person you want…”

“I’ll pay you,” he added quickly.

“Bruce” Leslie scolded, clearly annoyed.

“Its not like I can’t afford it” he said, waving her off. “I’ll take whatever Leslie is giving you for your services and triple it.”

Holy…dollar signs appeared in my head. I know it was shallow but Dad and I could really use that money. Not that I’d tell him about any of this of course. But with the kind of cash he was offering, it would be more than enough to help me on my way toward my goals. It just seemed a little strange that a rich guy like him would want a fake teenage “girl” for company. Ok, so I don’t think I’m fake---I know I’m not---but what did he think?

I bit my lip. “Ok, but I’m not abandoning Leslie.”

Bruce smiled. “It will only be a couple of hours a day. You can go to Leslie’s after school like you planned and then I’ll send a car for you; I’ll even send you home with Alfred.”

I shook my head. “A cab will be fine.”

Bruce smiled. “Then it’s a deal?”

I sighed and nodded. “It’s a deal.”

What the hell was I getting myself in to?

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 3, a little bit longer than the others. It's starting to get into the story a little bit but expect a huge intro. into the story in the next chapter. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing, DC Comics for the characters, my brainstorming partners and everyone who helped me make the last chapter have the most comments I've ever gotten :)

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Chapter Three:

We left shortly after Bruce offered me the job. Instead of getting a cab home, Bruce had Alfred drive us. It was one of the nicest cars I’d ever seen, a Rolls Royce, I think. I’m not sure what year it was because I’m not a car person, but it had white leather seats and a polished wood interior. Leslie and I sat in the back. She didn’t say much after I agreed to assist Bruce. But she didn’t seem to think it was such a good idea before I accepted the job. In her thinking, Bruce was up to something, which involved me getting hurt in some way. But that was Leslie for you, always caring about the welfare of others. I guess that’s what made her such a good doctor.

Alfred took us by a small second hand store before we went to the Clinic. As much as I loved being Stephanie, it was time for Cinderella to leave the Ball. I hadn’t really planned to go anywhere but out dressed like this today, and Jen took my guy clothes. She said I wouldn’t need them. So while I sat in the car with Alfred, Leslie went in and got me some appropriate clothing: boy jeans and a t-shirt with a baseball team logo on the front. Then we drove to the Clinic.

“You are a very lovely young woman, Stephanie,” said Leslie as Alfred drove away. “How your father can not see that is far beyond me.”

I smiled and gave her a big hug. The two of us walked inside arm and arm . I just hoped she didn’t lose much business while we were gone. Though it was a free Clinic, she got a stipend from the government to keep it open. I suppose that helped some. To lose almost a whole day’s work; that must have been quite a blow. When I asked her about it on the way to Bruce’s this afternoon, she told me not to worry about it. But I did worry, I worried a lot. I was worrying even as I wove my way through the empty beds and into the locker room.

I reluctantly took off everything new that was Stephanie’s. When I took the inserts out of my bra, I held them sadly in my hands. One day I hoped that I wouldn’t have to do that. Most normal girls got to have breasts at puberty; I could see hair on my chin. Not that I got much but there was enough to shave every once in a while. Having less hair helped me pass a lot easier though. Even in Gym class, it was hard to tell I was a boy unless you looked below. Even then, I didn’t have much to show for it. Standing in the locker room, pulling up the boy jeans, I had horrible memory flashes of Gym class. I was always small which made me the butt of the older kids’ jokes and torments.

I tried not to cry as I thought about it. I think I was taking too long because Leslie came in to check on me. I was sitting on the bench, shirtless. She came over and sat down next to me, pulling me to her chest. That’s when the dam burst. It was so hard being a teenager and knowing you were in the wrong body. It was a struggle every day to get out of bed in the morning. I even showered with my eyes closed sometimes, afraid of the foul body that God gave me. Not that he cared one way or the other. I’m a bitter Atheist, for a good reason. It was the only thing that my mother and I didn’t see eye to eye on. She wasn’t a devout Christian but she kept telling me that God had a plan. I wanted to know what his plan was with me: torture? He put me in the wrong damn body, completely ruining my whole damn life. Everything came to head when Mom got sick. It came on so suddenly and two months later, she was gone. What kind of God takes away the only good thing in my life? How can he torture me more when he tortured me so much already?
After Mom died was when I really turned my back.

“What time does your father get home, sweetheart?”

I looked at the clock on the wall. He worked weird shifts sometimes, especially for a guy in a print shop. I asked him about it once and he told me to mind my own damn business. When I asked him a second time, he popped me one. So I stopped asking. But he had the strangest hours, coming and going at all hours of the night. A lot of the time, he came home drunk too; so I don’t think he was working all night. I told all of this to Leslie and she nodded.

“Maybe you should stay with me tonight?”

I pulled away from her, wiping tears from my eyes. I shook my head. “I can’t. If I’m not there to cook him dinner he’ll flip out.”

Leslie looked like she wanted to break something. “The nerve of that man. When he got your mother pregnant so young I wanted to strangle him, your grandparents nearly did. When they got married, I thought he’d changed. He was such a bright boy, went off to college and everything. Your mother did too of course but your Dad was the real genius around here. He could have worked anywhere. He got a lot of offers: STAR Labs, CADMUS, even Luthercorp; why he chose that stupid TV show is beyond me.”

I knew all of this, of course. Leslie liked to reminisce a lot. She liked to talk about when Mom was younger. My grandparents weren’t very well off but they made ends meet. My grandfather worked in a factory, my grandmother was a housekeeper. They both died in a car accident when I was six. Dad didn’t have any family and Mom only had one sister, Barbara. Yeah, my cousin was named after her mother, how cool is that. Aunt Barbara died in childbirth; Uncle Jim named their daughter after her. Besides Dad, Barbara and Jim were the only family I had. I never knew how Leslie knew my grandparents but she always used to tell me that she watched Mom grow up.

After I cried some more, I finished getting dressed. Leslie helped me take off all my makeup. Then she did her best to make my hair look masculine. There was no hiding the feminine looking eyebrows but I told her Dad wouldn’t look that close anyway. She helped me put my clothes in a bag and instead of taking them home; she said I could keep them here. She also told me she’d help me put together a nice wardrobe for when I had to be Stephanie with Mr. Wayne.

When I left the Clinic, it was just getting a bit on the dark side. Luckily, I was only a few blocks from home. I power walked most of the way, afraid to be stuck out here after dark. As I said, it’s not a very good thing to do. About town minutes later I arrived at the apartment, panting. When I took out my key and unlocked the door, there was someone coming down our stairs. It surprised me a bit, having never known my Dad to have any kind of visitors. He was kinda thuggish looking with a square jaw and beady eyes. He smiled at me when he passed. I shivered in disgust. I waited to make sure he was gone before I ran up the stairs.

When I got inside, Dad was watching TV. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Leslie had to make a house call so I had to go with her.”

Dad looked at the clock. “It’s nearly five, where the hell did you go, the moon?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter, I’m back now.”

“Good... I’m starving, make dinner.”

Welcome to my life.

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I went to bed late last night and when I woke up, I was actually fairly refreshed. But at the same time I was dreading the day, it was after all the last official day of summer vacation. School started tomorrow and I know I should have been excited, senior year and all but I just couldn’t find myself caring. Though I suppose there were some advantages to it. In a couple of months, I’d be eighteen and I wouldn’t need my father’s consent for anything anymore. That meant I could do whatever I pleased. I definitely didn’t have enough money to do what I wanted to do but I was saving. The only other person who knew about my plan was Jen and as much as I wanted her help---she offered---I wanted to do it on my own.

I might have been well rested but I still had a wicked nightmare last night. I think it was brought on by a combination of the day’s events and something I saw on the news. It turns out the Bat now had some competition in the vigilante business. Last night, the masked man the press were dubbing the “Roving Raver” struck again. He apprehended a mugger. He left his usual calling card too, sprayed painted on the man’s face: two red R’s. The police promised that when normal citizens took the law into their own hands there would be prosecution for it. Of course, first they had to catch the guy. It was kinda refreshing that there was someone out there protecting the city while the Bat took a vacation or whatever. RR had been popping up all over the city in the last month.

Not that that was what my dream was about. In my dream, I was in girl mode and I was at Wayne Manor. At first, everything was real good. Bruce and Alfred were as nice as can be. Then I went to the bathroom and Bruce walked in. I was confused because he should have been in bed resting. But I was at the urinal---apparently in my dream, the bathrooms at his house had one---and I was standing there. He saw me with my skirt pulled up. Then he got real angry and started beating the hell out of me. I screamed for help and Alfred came but he started beating on me too. That’s when the Roving Ravager came---he was a blur of course. Instead of helping me, he started to laugh too. Then everyone started to laugh. It was the most horrible dream ever.

The dream stayed with me all morning. I hated holidays because Dad never worked. When he was home and sober, ---a rare thing on both fronts---he wasn’t as bad. But he was still a cranky son of a bitch. He also treated me like a slave. After I cooked breakfast, he usually made me do all the chores. I didn’t mind doing some of the feminine things but he wanted me to do everything. He said it was helping me build character but all it was really doing was showing me how lazy he really was. Today was no different. He sat on the couch, watching the Game Show Network while I tried my hardest to clean around him and not disturb him. Today was Cluemaster day after all; they were showing all his best episodes.
It was like Christmas for my Dad.

At noon, I reheated leftovers and then slipped out without him even knowing. Jen was waiting for me at the corner. She wanted to know how my day at the clinic went as Stephanie. First, I told about how Leslie was cool about it then I told her about Tony. He was cute after all. When I got to the part about Wayne Manor, she pretended to be jealous. Then I told her about Tim. When I described him, she thought he sounded cute until I told her about his flaws. Jen and I had the exact same taste in men, so what I didn’t like she didn’t like.
We spent the whole day pretending to be girlfriends even though I was in guy mode. She wanted to do something wild and crazy. She called this the last official day of childhood. Apparently, tomorrow was some important rite of passage for her. I didn’t get what the big deal was. But things like this were real powerful blah, blah, blah. I wasn’t feeling up to anything crazy so we parted about a block from my house. Jen never went any closer than that for fear of my Dad seeing us together. He didn’t like it that my only friend was a girl. I tried to tell him she was my girlfriend but he caught us giggling together once and knew I was full of it. So Jen stayed away whenever she could.

When I got home, Dad was passed out on the couch. I spent the rest of the night cleaning up his mess. Then I dropped off earlier. The worst day of my whole life was coming back around on me again: the first day of school.

_____________________________

“You’re wearing your hair like that?” asked Dad at the breakfast table.
I picked up my spoon and looked at my hair. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it. I always liked ponytails. Though I had to admit this one might have been a little higher on my head than I usually wore it. When I was getting dressed this morning, I decided to push androgyny as far as I could go. I’d get to be Stephanie after school today with Leslie and then Bruce but I wanted to be half of her in school at least. That’s why I was pushing the envelope. The clothes were still Steven---at least on the surface. I was wearing a pair of panties underneath, not that I needed to worry about changing. I opted out of Gym for my last year, having taken two semesters of it in my junior year. It was kinda rough---especially all the ridicule---but it was worth it.

“What’s wrong with it?” I asked, putting down the spoon. “It always looks like this.”

My father frowned, dipping his spoon in his soggy cereal. “It looks girly like that.”

I huffed. “Everything about me looks girly to you.”

He gave me a stern look but didn’t go any further. He knew as well as I if I walked into school with any mark on me that it would draw attention to him. So he stayed his hand but I was certain as soon as I got home tonight I was going to get smacked. I guess it was something to dread. After my smart comment, neither of us said anything at the breakfast table. He hated it when I went to school though because I didn’t have enough time in the morning to fix a real breakfast. So on school days it was either cereal or toast.

“When are you going to be home tonight?”

I shrugged. “I promised I’d help Leslie a little more now. She thinks I’m old enough for some more responsibilities.”

Yes, that’s right. I didn’t tell him about the Wayne job. There was good money in that and I wasn’t going to jeopardize that deal because of him.

“Why you still work for that old bat is beyond me.”

“She’s not an old bat,” I snapped.

He huffed. “You remember that the next time she forgets your name or something.”

I got pissed, slamming my bowl on the table. Milk and cereal sprayed all over, even drenching him a bit. Before he could say anything though, I pushed up. He glared at me. I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself but instead I grabbed my backpack. I could stand most of his insults because they were directed solely at me but I hated it when he attacked people I cared about. So I did the only thing I could think of now, I turned and left. I heard him shout something profane at me but I didn’t care. I stormed down the stairs and out the door.

I was a few minutes early for the bus so I paced a bit. I don’t know what the hell my mother ever saw in him. He was the biggest scumbag on the face of the planet. As soon as I was eighteen, I was going to get the hell out of this dump. I’m not sure if I had it all planned out but I did have enough cash for an apartment at least. It wouldn’t be a big one but it would be better than living with him and all his shit. If I had to get another job---a better one---then so be it. I hadn’t planned to work for Leslie forever anyway. It pained me to think about leaving her but I might not have a choice. Even with Mr. Wayne’s money, I’d still need another job.

The bus finally came. It sucked that I was crying by the time it showed. When I walked on, it was clear that everyone could see my tears. I got a lot of jeers and things thrown at me. My biggest tormenter, of course, was Fernando Garcia, a thuggish football player who thought he was hot shit because his father was a big real estate mogul. Fernando and his friends had been tormenting me since grade school. They went out of their way to make my life a living hell. When they say me crying, it was like open season to them. I ignored all their catcalls and names. But you could only take so many “sissies” and “fags” before it got to you.

I pushed down the aisle and found a seat next to Jen. She frowned and shook her head, standing up and giving Fernando the finger.

“Don’t mind those assholes,” she said as she sat back down.

I nodded. “I think Dad is starting to notice how girly I’m looking.”

“Did he say something again?”

I shook my head. “No, but he made a comment about my hair.”

She frowned and took a deep breath. “I wish you’d just tell your uncle. He’s the big man, right? He can have the police arrest your Dad in a heartbeat.”

I nodded. But I didn’t want to bother my uncle with my burdens. Besides, it wouldn’t matter in a month or so because I’d finally be free of the bastard. I could go out and live my own life. Then everything would be right with the world. I could go to school as Steven and spend the rest of my day at home as Stephanie. I think if there was anyone more excited than me about this plan it was Jen. She was a few months younger than me and though she didn’t have the gall to move out on her own, she was excited for me nonetheless.
The bus made a few more stops before we got to school. I’m not going to bore you with my school day. It was like any normal first day. I went to home room, got my new schedule, had a new locker assigned to me. All underclassmen had the same lockers for three years but when you became a senior, you got a new one assigned in the senior specific hall. These lockers were blue---as opposed to the others which were yellow. They were also newer and a bit bigger, allowing more stuff. I usually took my books for the morning classes in one stop and then switched out before lunch. It saved me some trips. It also helped me avoid my tormenters because I didn’t have to go by my locker where they were bound to congregate to annoy me.
When I went to my locker before lunch, Jen was waiting. She looked particularly cute in a floor length floral dress. She was bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet, waiting impatiently. This was the first year that the two of us had lunch the same period. It was also the first time we’d get to use the senior cafeteria. The Senior Caf. was bigger and had a lot more varieties for us to eat. As an underclassman, one was prone to complain about such things but it was a privilege that only seniors got, like being able to drive cars to school if they had them.

“What took you so long?”

“Spencer” I said, referring to the aging history teacher.

He was notorious for falling asleep in the middle of class. When he woke up, he acted as if nothing happened. But he had a tendency to start teaching the same thing he had been before he fell asleep. Being a student of his was very troublesome. Most of his students tried to drop out or switch to another teacher before the first week was done. After that, we were stuck. I thought about switching too, but I kinda liked the old guy. Older people tended to be much more knowledgeable in things and even though he repeated himself, he knew a lot of stuff.

“Are you going to drop?” asked Jen as the two of us walked down the hall.

“Nope” I said with a smile. “I like him.”

“Figures.”

In order to get to the Senior Caf. we had to pass through one of the underclassmen halls; mainly baby-faced freshmen populated this particular one. They all looked scared and out of place being the new fish in a very large pond. They were kinda cute like that and looking at them wandering about brought back fond memories. As Jen and I were passing by where our old lockers were something else brought back some not so fond memories. Fernando and his goon squad had found a new victim. He was a short, scrawny kid with black hair and freckles. He wasn’t as girly looking as say me but he was smaller than the others, singling him out as fresh meat.

Jen saw my look. “Forget it.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going to let him turn into me.”

Jen sighed. “Well I’m going to get the principal, don’t do anything too stupid.”

I didn’t mind if the violence was directed at me but I hated seeing others get pushed around. Usually I just tried to do what Jen was doing, going to get someone in authority. But this particular incident got under my skin for some reason. So I took a deep breath and stormed over. I pushed my way through the fish eyed on-lookers. At first, Fernando didn’t notice me. He reared his arm back to push the little freshman into the lockers when I did something stupid. I grabbed his arm, holding it in place. It got an immediate reaction.

“Oh, the fag has come to play too, I see.”
Fernando’s friends laughed.

“Leave him alone, you jack ass.”

Fernando let go of the kid and went for me. He grabbed my shirt and slammed me into the lockers. It hurt like a bitch. “You want some of this Stephanie, so be it.” He emphasized the “phanie” at the end, as if calling me a girl’s name made me even more of a sissy.

He slammed his fist into my gut, causing me to double over in pain. Then slammed his knee into my mouth. I could taste the blood. When he let me go, I dropped to the ground. I think he probably would have done a lot more if not for the Vice Principal. He shouted at the top of his lungs, causing most students to scatter. Then he wrapped his arms around Fernando from behind, pulling him away from me. It helped that the guy was also the wrestling coach. Fernando kicked and squirmed. Even his friends looked a little scared of him. The VP looked at them and me.

“You guys, my office right now!” Then he spoke softly to me. “Miss, do you need to go to the nurse’s office.”

Jen interrupted the giggles from some of my fellow on-lookers. “I’ll take her, Mr. Crow.” She helped me to my feet.

The freshman followed us most of the way. “Thanks for that” he said quickly. “My name is Jason.”

I shook his outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’ve never had a girl stand up for me before, that was awesome.”

I opened my mouth to spoil his hero worship but Jen cut me off.
“That’s Steph for you, helping the innocent.”

I frowned. Jason continued talking. “Well, I’ve gotta get to class, thanks for everything.”

He took off. I looked at Jen and rolled my eyes. “Really?”

She shrugged. “I think he might have a little crush on you. I didn’t want to crush his spirits by telling him you were a guy.”

Even though I liked the idea of people thinking I was a girl, it would just cause problems here at school. I told her that and she just shrugged. The two of us went to the nurse’s office. The nurse gave me some ice for my lip then made me stay there through the lunch period. When I got to my next class, I found out what had happened to Fernando and his goons. His goons had gotten in school suspension and Fernando was expelled. Apparently, he actually broke free from the VP’s grasp and tried to hit him. So he was escorted out of the school in handcuffs, which I was sad to say that I missed.

It didn’t take long for what I did to spread around the school. The only problem was that everyone now thought I was the “girl who stood up to that ass, Fernando”. I guess I could live with that. It made me popular pretty quick though. However, I couldn’t get used to it too much, especially when Fernando’s girlfriend, Jordana, singled me out in my last class of the day. She threw a bitch fit, calling me all sorts of names, stuff that would make a truck driver blush. Her insults landed her a nice suspension, too. After that, I was feeling pretty good about myself, having ruined the school career of one of my tormentors and getting several of his lackeys in serious trouble. Did I feel bad ... not in the least? Those who do harm to others need to be punished. Fernando was a real ass and maybe some time wherever he was going would help him get better.

“So today you start at the Manor; right?” asked Jen as she met me outside my last class.

I nodded. I could have started yesterday but Bruce wanted me to have my extra day of freedom. So after I spent a few hours at the clinic, he’d send a cab to pick me up and take me to the Manor. I’m still not exactly sure what my job there was going to be, but whatever it was I was kinda excited about it. I talked a little more about the place as Jen and I got onto the bus. I took the bus as far as the Clinic where I got off. Jen lived in a better part of the city, so she got off before me. When I got off, I found Leslie inside waiting for me.

“I’ve got some nice things for you to wear today, much more respectable than those shorts.”

I smiled and nodded. She gave me a day off yesterday, too. I’m not sure when it happened but now I’d be Stephanie all the time here as well. I loved the idea of it actually; it made me feel like Steven was the disguise. I couldn’t get to the locker room fast enough. What I found in my locker was a pair of pink scrubs. They were really cool and I dressed in them quickly. Leslie had also bought me an outfit to wear to the manor: a blouse, skirt and a pair of one-inch heels. It was really cute and much more professional looking. After I came out dressed in the scrubs, Leslie asked me about the fat lip. So I had to tell her what happened.

“At least the little bastard got in trouble for it.”

My short time at the Clinic was kinda slow. We got a mother with her sick child---he had the flu. Then a man came in after dropping a hammer on his foot and another came in with stomach pains---thinking he was having a heart attack. It turned out to be indigestion. Our final customer was a bit of a surprise actually, it was Tony, again. This time he was complaining about a sore wrist. But both of us could see through his ruse. It was obvious he came to see me ... probably thought I’d be the cute candy striper again. He kinda frowned when he saw my scrubs. Leslie looked at his wrist and Tony bombarded me with questions, he was cute but a little too nosey for my tastes.

Before I knew it, my time with Leslie was up. “Don’t let him make you do anything too outrageous and if he does, you call me immediately?” she said as she followed me out to the cab.

I laughed and nodded. The ride to the Manor was a quiet one. This time the gate opened immediately upon my arrival. The cabbie whistled when he saw the house, I guess this was his first time. He didn’t wait to get paid; apparently, it was all taken care of. When I got the front door, Alfred was already standing there waiting for me. He complimented me on my outfit then led the way through the winding halls to Master Bruce’s tower, as he affectionately called it. When we got to the parlor, I half expected to see Tim lounging on the couch again but he was nowhere in sight. Good riddance as far as I was concerned.

“Master Bruce” said Alfred, knocking on Bruce’s door. “Miss Stephanie has arrived.”

“Show her in, Alfred.”

Alfred opened the door and left me alone. When I walked into the room, Bruce was sitting up in bed, looking a little better today than he did yesterday. His CCTV’s were not on either which was a good thing because the other day it made him look a bit paranoid. He smiled when he saw me and complimented me as well which made me blush.

He got right down to business. He started sending me on menial tasks, sending me up and down the damn tower so many times that I wanted to kill him. I felt like his slave, doing the stupidest things. But I did get to see a lot of the Manor, having to run from one end of it to the other. I was practically in and out of every room, having been given a key to do so. The only room I wasn’t sent to was the one directly beneath him in the tower. When I asked him about it, he said it was storage and not to worry about it. After an hour of errands, my legs were burning from being overworked. After another hour, he finally told me it was time for dinner. I had no idea I was eating with him but he insisted. Boy was Dad going to be mad without me there to make him his meal.

Alfred came and escorted me to the dining room. It was just as big and just as grand as the rest of the place. It had an enormously tall ceiling and one of the longest tables I’d ever seen. The room fit the castle motif to a tee, especially with all the suits of armor lining the walls. While Alfred left me alone, I did some wandering again. Like a cat, I went over to one of the suits, curiosity getting the better of me. This particular one was holding this real wicked looking poleaxe. I tried to imagine what something like that would do to someone as I reached out and touched it. I must have touched it a little too hard because it wobbled on its pedestal and fell at me.
I yipped like a dog and sprang backwards, my gymnastics taking over. I didn’t even know I could do a back flip anymore until I did. I executed the maneuver with ease. Unfortunately, the suit of armor went clattering loudly to the flood. I cursed and rushed over quickly, trying my hardest to lift the damn thing up. But it weighed a ton. As I was struggling with it, two hands appeared out of nowhere and helped me lift. I snapped around and saw Tim.

“Do you make a habit out of sneaking up on innocent girls?”

“I don’t know, do you make a habit out of touching things you shouldn’t?”

Touché. Then my heart did that thump thump thing, stupid heart. “Where did you come from anyway?” I asked as the two of us walked over to the table.

“I heard the loudest noise in the world and thought we were having an air raid.”

I frowned and he laughed. His laugh was kinda annoying. ‘What do you do here anyway?”

He ignored my question. Instead, he reached out and gently touched my lip. “Who did this?” he asked, sternly.

I smacked my hand way. “It’s nothing, I broke up a fight in school.”

Tim looked kinda pissed. “So you got hit for it.”

“The guy’s a jackass anyway.”

“A guy?” Tim looked even more pissed. “What kind of a guy hits a girl like that?”

“Well…ummm….you see….”

I was interrupted by Alfred who arrived to tell us dinner was ready. Only Tim and I were seated. Apparently, Alfred ate elsewhere and Bruce couldn’t very well leave his room. Suffice to say dinner was a very quiet affair, which I was more than used to at home. Though Tim kept looking at me, fuming. I think he was still kinda pissed that someone hit me. I’m glad I didn’t tell him about getting punched in the gut; he probably would have gone nuts. Which kinda confused me a bit? I was a stranger to him and yet he was getting so worked up over it. As far as I could tell, he didn’t even like me.

After dinner, I did some more errands, which annoyed me. At the end, I found myself in front of Bruce, panting.

“Tired?” I nodded and he smiled. “Good, now I know you can take it. I saw you huffing and puffing up those stairs the last time you were here. We need to work out some of that and get you back to how you used to be, back when you were a gymnast.”

“You know about that?”

He nodded. “I like to know who I have in my employ, Steven.”

Shit. “I didn’t mean….I mean...I had no intention….”

I started to tear up. He spoke in a soothing tone. “Its ok, Stephanie. I’m not angry or upset. I knew the moment I saw you. You’re a brave girl for doing what you’re doing and I applaud you for it. It shows you’ve got guts and resilience, I like that.”

I smiled. “You’re not going to tell anyone else, are you?”

He smiled and shook his head. “If you mean Tim, then the answer is no.”

I sighed in relief. “What’s that guy’s problem, anyway” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I quickly put a hand over my mouth. “Sorry.”

Bruce laughed. “I’ll let him tell you. Suffice to say, Tim has had a troubled past.”

We talked a little more about things then he dismissed me for the night. Once again, he offered to have Alfred drive me home but I refused. So Alfred called a cab and waited with me outside until it came to pick me up. When it arrived, Alfred paid the driver up front, told him where to take me and bid me a good night.

____________________________________

“Why are you stopping?” I asked, as the cab pulled over to the curb.

The driver looked at me in his rearview. “This is as far as I go, kid.”

“But he paid you to take me to my apartment.”

“Look” he said, agitated. “Any moron who’s worth their salt knows not to go into the Narrows after dark. I’m not a moron. So sorry, little girl, this is as far as I go.”

“You’re a prick,” I said as I pushed open the door.

“Well I’m a living one, ain’t I” said the driver and I walked away.

What a fucking jackass. Who leaves a girl like me alone on the street after hours? Well I wasn’t technically a girl but he didn’t know that. I flipped him off as he was pulling away but I don’t think he saw me. So I cursed and spit in his direction. After that, I shivered a bit and got my bearings. I was a few blocks from home so I guess it wouldn’t be too bad if I walked it. I’d just have to move a little faster than I was used to, which was bad for me because my legs were on fire from all the moving today. I tried my best though, moving at a speed usually reserved for people in a rush.

But at night in the Narrows, everyone was in a rush.
I walked an entire block on my sore legs, they didn’t bother me one bit. But as soon as I got about halfway down the second block, I started to feel the burn. I stopped to catch my breath. As soon as I did, I realized it was a mistake. Up ahead there were at least three of them---college age thugs. They didn’t see me at first and I thought I was lucky. Then one of them caught me out of the corner of his eye or something. I cursed and tried to run across the street but they were faster. The first one grabbed my wrist and pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me. I screamed and struggled but it was no use.

“Why fuss baby, dressed like that.”

He carried me into a nearby alley with his two friends laughing. They threw me against the wall and surrounded me. I fell to the ground but got to my feet quickly. I tried to run but they cut me off. I tried to push through them but they were too strong. One grabbed my ponytail and pulled me back into the wall again. I started to cry then screamed again. But even if someone heard, they wouldn’t do anything about it. This was the perk of living in the Narrows. Someone could get shot in front of someone else but no one would do a thing. It was a dog eat dog world in this part of the city. Things changed when the Bat showed up but the Bat was gone and crime was at an all time high again.

“Let me go” I sobbed.

They laughed and mimicked me in mocking tones.

“Frankie” said one of the taller ones to a shorter, fat one. “Show the little bitch what she’s in for.”

Frankie---the fat one---pulled out a knife. The third guy held me from behind as Frankie cut the buttons off my blouse. My original plan was to change at a nearby restaurant down the street; I was carrying my boy clothes in a bag. But I’d completely forgotten about it when the cabbie pissed me off. Now I was stuck in this alley, with these disgusting bastards. And things were about to get even worse as soon as they realized that I wasn’t what I was supposed to be.

“Take it slow, Frank,” said the tall one “I want to see a little white flesh before I get some titty.”

The Fat One nodded, cutting more buttons off, but slowly.
I screamed again and they laughed even louder.
I’m not really certain what happened after that. Whatever it was, it happened so quickly. They were laughing, having a good time watching me suffer and then something happened. I think the one behind me screamed. He was holding real tight to me then he was gone. His friends looked a little confused too. The Fat One abandoned his cutting and the tall one pulled out a small gun, pressing the barrel into my abdomen.

“I’ll shoot her,” he said with a shaky voice.

“Doubtful” said a cold voice from the dark.

I turned and squinted. There was a figure there, partially shrouded in black. The tall one raised his gun and fired but was clear he was shooting at nothing. Then the figure appeared again, dropping down from above. He slammed into the Fat One hard, driving him to the ground. The knife flew into the darkness. The dark figure slammed his fist into the bastard’s face. The tall one squeezed off another shot, the bullet went wild. The noise was loud and echoed off the narrow walls around us. Both of us clasped our ears, I dropped to the ground. He dropped the gun and stumbled backwards. The figure was there again, this time in between the two of us. He had something in his hand, something metal. It was short at first then extended in length.

It was a metal pole I think. He spun it in a quick circle then brought it down on the tall one’s shoulder, causing him to scream out in pain. When the man doubled over, the figure struck him again.

“Harming women is for fools and cowards,” said the figure in his cold tone, slamming the pole into the guy’s chest a second time.

The figure spun the pole around, driving it across the tall one’s face. My final attacker dropped to the ground and didn’t get back up. The figure nudged him with his foot. When the guy didn’t move, the figure bent down and I heard a hissing sound. When the figure stood back up, there was a spray painted pair of red R’s on the man’s prone form.

“Are you all right, miss?” asked my mysterious rescuer.

I nodded, speechless.

“Do you need medical attention?”

I shook my head.
I thought I saw a smile. Then he was gone. He just disappeared, running into the darkness. I stood in the alley a long time, watching him go. I stayed there for a few minutes, then pulled out my cell. I fumbled through telling the operator the details but I didn’t give her my name. Nor did I wait around for the police to arrive. I was too scared that they’d want me to file a report and find out I wasn’t a girl. So I ran as hard as I could toward home...not caring that my legs were killing me nor that I was dressed like a girl. Thankfully, when I got inside Dad was out cold on the couch. So I ran into my room and flopped down on my bed.

I cried myself to sleep.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 4, in my opinion this is where the real story begins, everything else was just leading up to the moment in here. So I'm happy to say that things are finally starting :) I'd also like to advise some caution, there is a scene at the end of this chapter that might be a bit on the brutal side. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Four:

When I woke up that morning, I panicked. Looking down I could see the fake breasts and the clothes I’d worn the night before. I also knew for a fact that I’d been so distraught the night before I hadn’t bothered to lock the door. I snapped around, looking at the clock. Thankfully, I’d awakened before the alarm sounded off. Usually when my alarm went off, Dad came huffing into the room, practically throwing me out of the bed. For a split second, I thought maybe there was a Divine power after all. But I shook it off and climbed out of bed. I undressed as fast as humanly possible---I think it was a new speed record. Instead of redressing, I grabbed one of my towels from the closet and rushed into the shower. I made sure I scrubbed off any trace of makeup that might be left.

When I got out of the shower and dressed in boy clothes, I went down to breakfast. Dad was already at the table, he looked sober for once. He also seemed to be doing work, which was rare. I looked at the laptop sitting in front of him, wondering where he got the money to buy one. He saw me looking and glared.

“We can’t afford that.”

He snapped back quickly. “Mind your own damn business, boy.”

I grumbled then went about fixing breakfast for the two of us. I made toast today seeing as he didn’t particularly like my cereal idea from yesterday. As I was fixing the toast...spreading the jam...he kept giving me strange looks. I thought maybe I had missed some of the makeup but he was looking elsewhere, at my lip.

“Who smacked you around?”

I set the toast in front of him. “Fernando Garcia.”

“You fighting at school now?”

I shook my head. “He and his friends were picking on a freshman, I intervened and this is what I got for my efforts.”

My father was silent for a few seconds. At first, I thought he was going to give me a compliment but then he fired back. “That’ll teach you to mind your own damn business.”

I fought back the urge to tell him to go fuck himself. Talking back to Dad never ended well. So I bit my lip and took the insult. He got smug after that. We ate in silence for a few moments then he got up abruptly. Probably to go to the bathroom. I took a curious glance at the laptop and bit my lip again. I became a curious cat again as I slipped around the table to look at what was so damn important. I frowned at what I saw on the screen. It was a spreadsheet of some kind with a bunch of numbers and names. None of it made much sense but the name “Friitawa” showed up once or twice. Another oddity that showed up was “V10”. What the hell was that?

The toilet flushed in the background. I quickly ran back to my seat, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on. It was the news, a scene showing what looked like a cab terminal. A blonde reporter was interviewing a gruff looking guy. I turned the volume up as Dad walked into the kitchen.

“Can you describe the woman?” asked the reporter.

The gruff guy nodded. “She was real scary with white skin and a flowing green cape. She went right to Jimmy and told him to rethink his actions in the future or face a night in the Narrows. Jimmy turned as white as she was and bolted.”

The reporter turned back to the screen. “There you have it, folks. Could this be another sighting of the mysterious Spectre?”

My father leaned over and clicked off the TV. “A load of shit if you ask me. All those Meta freaks hopping about. The government should do something about that.”

Dad had a thing about the Metas. He was always griping. Every time one of them popped up on the TV, it was “fuck this” or “fuck that” about them. Me, I loved the Metas and frankly, I’m a bit jealous. First, it was that girl Terra. She made it known to the world that she’s once been a guy and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Here was a guy that turned into a girl because of a genetic abnormality. Then a few months down the road, Booster Gold saved the President. It didn’t take long for it to come out that this gorgeous model used to be to be a college football star. There were tons more too, from all over the world. Most of them were guys and most...to me at least...were the luckiest bastards in the world.

Whenever Dad bitched about Metas though, I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t need a reason to put another wedge between the two of us.

We ate breakfast and then I went to school. Jen was waiting for me outside again. She frowned when she saw the fat lip. I told her it was no big deal. Then she grilled me about my first day at Wayne Manor. I told her everything, except of course what happened to me on the way home. How can you tell your best friend a thing like that? Besides, I didn’t want her to worry. She’d try to give me mace or something crazy like that. Dad would flip out if he saw me with something that dangerous...he’d think I had it to use against him and whack me one. I did have an aluminum bat though, hidden under my bed. It was just in case he got too drunk and too violent. It hasn’t happened yet but I’m not taking any chances.

I definitely couldn’t wait until I was out of his house. When we got to school, people were still buzzing about yesterday’s incident. Everyone was still calling me things like “Super Girl.” If only they knew the truth. It was funny actually. I was the invisible kid that no one gave a second glance to and now I was a minor celebrity. Best of all, everyone thought I was a girl. Even my first few teachers of the day starting to refer to me as “young lady” or “Miss Brown”. It was the coolest thing in the world. I wonder how far I could push things before someone really remembered who I was.

On the way to lunch, I passed Arnold again. He was shoving his books into his locker, looking around as if someone was going to ambush him. I slowed down, making sure I blended into the crowd. Sure enough, it didn’t take long. It looked like a sophomore. He was bigger than me but it was clear that he meant malice for the new freshman punching bag. I wove my way through the crowd and stuck my foot out in front of the bastard. He didn’t even see it coming until he went right over it. Everyone who was around burst into laughter. The jerk got to his feet, glared at them and took off in total embarrassment.

I walked over to Arnold, Jen followed. Arnold turned around, nearly dropping his books because I’d snuck up on him. I think the Manor was wearing off on me, what with the sneaking. Ok, probably not but he was a jumpy kid to begin with.

“You scared me,” he said, bending quickly to scoop up his books.

I helped. When I stood back up and caught a glimpse into his locker. There was a weird looking dummy sitting on the shelf, a painted scar across his face.

“You a Ventriloquist?” I asked.

Arnold closed his locker quickly. “That’s ummm….Mr. Scarface…I’m thinking about doing an act in the Talent Show this year.”

I nodded. The Show wasn’t for another few months but all the good acts started practicing early.

“That’s cool” I said, then thumbed my finger at Jen. “Jen did a magic act last year.”

Arnold looked surprised. “I’ve never heard of a female magician before.”

Jen looked offended. I could see a feminist lecture coming on, all about how women can do anything that men could do but I cut her off. “How are things, Arnold?”

He shrugged. “A little better since you helped me but I think I have a target painted on my back or something.”

I nodded. “It sucks to be uncool. Trust me, I know.”

We talked to him for a few more minutes then he split, running off to his Math class. Jen rolled her eyes and I stuck my tongue out at her. Then the two of us went off to lunch. In the lunchroom, little Miss Bitch Jordana glared at me from her table. I ignored her. For a second I thought she was going to come storming over and confront me but she stayed in her seat. It helped that Jen kinda scared people. It was sorta common knowledge that she was a witch, even if she didn’t practice any magic. There was a rumor going around last year that she actually shrunk a guy’s penis because he tried groping her in the lunch line. The jerk did grope her but the only thing that happened was suspension.

After school, I spent my few hours at Leslie’s. It was a slow day again. Most days at the Clinic were like that. But we did get an interesting phone call. Usually whenever something bad showed up the authorities contacted the local medical places about it. This particular phone call was about a new recreational drug called “Thrill.” It just hit the streets last week and was already causing some problems, mainly with violent rages and property destruction. But the police weren’t taking any chances with it.

When it was time to go to Wayne’s, I half expected to see a cab again. I shuddered when I thought about what happened last night. I don’t think I was ready to get dumped somewhere dangerous again. I tried not to think about what happened last night but it was hard not to.
I was a bit surprised however to see a Ducati motorcycle out front, with Tim sitting on it. He was wearing his red jacket, looking smug. I groaned. What the hell was he doing here?

“What’s this?” I asked, frowning as I walked up to him.

“I’m your ride, now get on” he said, holding out a red helmet to me.

I shook my head. “I’m not dressed for that,” I said, indicating the skirt I was wearing.

He sighed. “It’s only a few minutes you’ll be fine.”

I groaned, snatching the helmet from him. I realized then that it wasn’t red but in fact a big design over the front of it. It was a giant red bird; it almost looked like a robin. It was kinda cool actually. I shook that thought away. There was nothing cool about him, nothing at all. I scowled at him as I put on the helmet and awkwardly climbed onto the back of his bike. He told me to wrap my arms around his chest and when I did so he grabbed them, making them tighter. It felt kinda uncomfortable but he didn’t give me time to complain. Instead, he started the motorcycle, whipped it in a quick circle and peeled off down the road. Just like I thought it would, my skirt billowed in the wind.

Thankfully, it was only about ten minutes or so. When we got to the Manor, he took the bike around back and into a garage. I was amazed at how many cars Bruce had. I wasn’t a car person but even I had to appreciate the sheer number of them. There had to be at least thirty, each of them a different kind, too. I noticed quite a few motorcycles too, not that Tim pulled his anywhere near those. He had his own specific spot. When I got off, I handed him back his helmet.

“What’s the deal anyway?” I asked as the two of us started walking toward a door. “I mean, he’s not your brother or something is he?”

“Who?” asked Tim as he held the door open for me.

“Bruce” I said as I found myself in a small landing with a flight of stairs.

Tim laughed. “Not even close.”

The two of us started up the stairs. He didn’t say anything more the whole way. When we got to the top, he opened the door for me. The stairs opened into one of the many hallways. I looked left and right, figuring out where I was. I turned to ask Tim what he was doing here but I was alone. I cursed. That guy sure liked to avoid personal questions, didn’t he? He was like a ghost too, disappearing into thin air like that. It creeped me out a bit actually.

I wove my way through the halls until I found my way to Bruce’s Tower. There was still so much of the Manor that I hadn’t seen and hoped to explore one day. He was nice enough to give me some free time before dinner and the only room that seemed to be locked was the one directly below him. Other than that, according to Alfred, I was “free to explore any room I wished.” In fact, he said if I had the time, there was an excellent movie theater in the west wing that showed all the latest flicks. How cool is that, having a movie theater in your own house. I wonder if Bruce would allow me to bring Jen here some time. I made a mental note to ask.

When I got to the boss man, he had more menial tasks for me today.

“No more stair walking,” I said, dropping down in the chair next to his bed.

He laughed. “Not for a bit. But I do need you to move some stuff for more.”

“Stuff?” I asked, he nodded.

“Alfred will show you to the kitchen.”

So after that, I followed Alfred out of the tower and through more winding hallways until we arrived at the kitchen. It was massive, like the ones you see on those cooking reality shows on TV. I gaped at the size of it. Alfred smiled and led me over to these giant metal doors and opened them up, showing me a giant pantry. There were a lot of boxes on the ground, sealed shut. Alfred reached into his pocket and handed me a box cutter.

“There’s an inventory list on the wall over there, Mr. Wayne wishes you to organize the pantry for me.”

“The whole thing?” I asked, looking at the bare shelves.

Alfred nodded. “If you start now, you should be done by dinner time.”

I groaned but went to work. I was no stranger to organizing, having done it for Leslie on many occasions. But that was a small supply cabinet and this place was huge. I rolled up the sleeves of my blouse and went to work. Once I got the hang of the system, it went a lot faster. But there was a lot of up and down and heavy lifting. There this little ladder I kept using. I had to carry one thing and put it on a high shelf then put something on a low shelf. Not as grueling as running the stairs all day but after an hour my arm muscles felt like jelly. I wonder if he tortured people for a living in his spare time.

Another hour later I only had a few more things, most of them real heavy.

“Why isn’t Tim doing this, he’s a guy” I grumbled.

“Because” said a smug and irritating voice from behind me. “I’m not dumb enough to get roped into something this stupid.”

I nearly dropped the box. Tim moved quickly, standing behind me, steadying me. Then he helped me guide the box onto its proper shelf.

I sighed, wiping my sweaty brow. I turned to him and frowned.

“Does that mean you get roped into doing the rest of the dumb stuff?”

He frowned. Hey, I have snark too, buddy.

“Alfred sent me to get you for dinner,” he said coldly then left with a stomp, like a spoiled six year old.

I followed him out of the room, through a kitchen that was now busy with people and into the dining room. During dinner, he sulked like a child. I felt pretty good, knocking him down a peg. Neither of us said a thing. After we were done, Alfred arrived to tell me I was done for the night and then told Tim to give me a ride home.

“I have things to do tonight” he whined.

Alfred stared at him coldly. “Master Bruce says that you can take a few minutes out of your extracurricular night time activities and give Miss Brown a ride home. Don’t you agree, Master Tim?”

Tim sighed and nodded. “C’mon, get your bag and let’s go.”

I rushed to get my stuff from Bruce’s parlor. Then I ran and met him down at the door leading to the garage. This time he had a helmet waiting for me; it was silver and looked to be about my size. I wonder where it came from. He didn’t say anything as we went down the stairs and got on his bike. He took off faster than before; I had to grip him real tight to hang on. When we drove past the alley from last night, my body tensed. A cold chill ran down my spine and I quickly turned away. If not for the Roving Ravager that might have been my crime scene.

Tim was reluctant to drop me off at the restaurant but I told him my Dad would freak if a guy brought me home. He shrugged, told me to be extra careful and then whipped away. I frowned then went into the restaurant. Luckily, it was pretty much deserted. I ran into the bathroom, changed into jeans and a t-shirt, wiped off all my makeup and pulled back my hair. I was back to looking like an androgynous boy again. The waitress looked at me strangely as I walked out of the bathroom but shrugged it off.

I ran as fast as I could toward home. No one tried to hurt me tonight.

______________________________

The next week or so was kinda dull. My celebrity status in school died down finally and I sorta fell back into the crowd; for which I was glad. But that still didn’t stop people from thinking I was a girl. In fact, I actually got asked out. It was a shy Junior...and though he was cute...there was just no way. So I turned him down gently, afraid that my status as a “girl” might be brought to everyone’s attention. My teachers continued to treat me as one and Arnold was a constant second companion of mine now. Not that he could sit with us in lunch but he spent a lot of time at my locker. He and Jen didn’t get along at all...what with his sexist remark the other day, but that was a small bump. He was kinda a bright kid, if a bit shy. He liked to talk a lot too, mainly about ventriloquism. He was a big fan of it. He kept telling the two of us about his act, really excited about the things he could do. I was really happy for him; the kid had really come out of his shell. Though I wished that the jackasses would leave him alone. It made me wonder if I was going to have to turn another one of them into Fernando and set another “example.”

Things at Leslie’s were picking up too. Thrill went from being a small annoyance in the last few days to a big problem. It was all over the streets now. The users were called Thrill Seekers because apparently the drug tapped into your adrenaline. It gave you a massive high, making you feel like a superhero, if only for a while. But as soon as you were off that high, it made you crazy. There were reports all over the city now of teens going wildly out of control, vandalizing everything. The police were stretched thin. So was the Roving Ravager. Almost every night for the last week, his name was in the news. Not only was he taking out Thrill Seekers but other criminals, too. But even he was missing a lot as if there were just too many bad guys in the city for just one person.

Things at Wayne’s were reaching an all time annoyance level, too. Aside from the occasional odd things to do, I had yet to be his “eyes or ears” for anything. I mean, wasn’t that what he was paying me for. I asked him about it and he told me that I needed to “work up to that point.” I suppose that made sense but after a week, you’d think I’d be making a little headway. Though I did have an interesting day a few days ago. Did I mention Mr. Wayne had a dog? Well his name is Ace and he’s this giant black thing. I’m not even sure what breed he is.

Anyway, I was playing doggie babysitter and Ace must have seen a mouse or something. Because he took off and led me on a wild chase. I’m not sure how many halls I chased him through but we finally ended up in a spare bedroom. Ace was at the wall, barking and growling. I walked over and looked but there was no hole.

“Nothing there boy?” I said, grabbing his collar and trying to drag him out of some place I knew we shouldn’t be.

But Ace pulled hard, barking madly at the wall. He was too strong for me and I let go, falling on my butt. A cloud of dust rose into the air for a split second then a draft sucked it down. I looked in amazement as it was actually sucked under the wall. I blinked, not sure what I’d just seen. I stayed on the ground, moving to all fours. Ace was at the wall, whining and scratching, digging at the bottom of it. I pushed him aside and bent down to peer at the bottom of the wall. Sure enough, there was a crack there. It was hard to see unless you were looking for it. I smiled. I actually wondered if a place like this might have some cool secrets. Now, I actually found one.

I got to my feet and started to look for some kind of lever. Usually in the old movies, there was always some kind of lever.

I looked all over the room, poking at the furniture, trying all the nearby lamps. After about ten minutes of searching, I saw a likely candidate. It was a rusty light fixture on the far wall. It was the only thing in the room that looked older than everything else. I smiled and walked quickly over, giving it a gentle tug but nothing happened. I frowned then remembered sometimes people turn them. So that’s what I did. The fixture moved almost completely horizontal. There was a loud click then a rusting hinge squeaked. I heard Ace bark happily. I turned around and watched as his black shape disappeared into the new opening in the wall. I cursed and gave chase.

As soon as I got inside, I found a narrow passage that extended for what looked like forever. Someone must have been in it recently because the area around me was filled with boxes. There was also a light switch on the wall. When I clicked it on, the passage illuminated before me, showing a wicked obstacle course of boxes and other junk. Ace was way ahead of me now, barking. His bark echoed down the corridor. I cursed again and gave chase. The last week of Wayne’s tedious tasks had done a lot for me already. I found myself running faster and reacting to things that I never thought I could. It was like all my gymnast muscles were working again. I dodged, wove and jumped over all the obstacles in my path. I wasn’t as fast as the dog but it didn’t take me long to catch sight of him.

Things got a little tight after that. I had to turn sideways and jump at the same time. A move that would have been particularly difficult for a normal person. But because I had some training with difficult actions, I was able to pull it off effortlessly. On the other side of the tight squeeze, I found Ace. He was at a dead end. Barking and growling. I looked around and frowned. But thankfully, there was another lever. I reached over and gave a tug, opening the wall up. Ace ran into the new room, barking happily. I went into it as well and saw a damning sight. Tim was on the couch---I think I was in the Entertainment room---there was a girl underneath him. The two of them were going at it pretty good, her shirt on the floor.

I turned several shades of red. The two of them didn’t even notice the dog go running into the room barking. They must have been really concentrating. I took a deep breath and stalked out of the room. When I got to the door and tore it open, I felt my heart beating like a hammer. How can he do something like that with others in the house? Granted it was a huge house but it still wasn’t decent. I stomped down the hall, fuming. I don’t know why I was so mad though, after all, there was no way I’d ever date a jackass like him.

At dinner, I got to meet her.

“Steph” said Tim with a smile as he walked in with his leggy, raven-haired beauty. “This is Ariana.”

I smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

Alfred followed them into the room. “Master Tim, will your guest, Miss Dzerchenko, be staying for dinner?”

That name sounded awfully familiar. Then it hit me: it was the printing shop where my Dad worked. Before Tim could answer, I fired off a question. “Does your family own the printing shop in the Narrows?”

She smiled and nodded. “My father, actually.”

“Then you must know Arthur Brown?”

Ariana looked confused and then answered. “It doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Are you sure? He works in the Shop?”

Ariana laughed. “I’ve worked there since I was fifteen and there has never been an Arthur working there.”

That sent me reeling. The son of a bitch. He’d been lying to me for months. He said he got a job at Dzerchenko’s, said that’s where he’d been getting his money from. He was pulling in a good paycheck too, bigger than anything he’d brought home in a long time---except for his TV gig of course. But if he wasn’t working at the print shop, where the hell was he working? The thought bothered me all through dinner. When it was over and I could go, Alfred had to bring me home. I had him drop me off at the restaurant where I went in to change. The waitress there was named Gloria and it didn’t take long for her to catch onto my secret. She was cool with it, especially when I told her about my Dad. She even helped me with taking off my makeup when the place wasn’t too busy.

When I got there though, I was so distraught I didn’t go inside. Why would Dad lie like that, it made no sense? My head was in a fog as I walked the block or so home. I wasn’t even paying attention to the way I was dressed when I climbed the stairs and walked into the apartment. I froze when I opened the door and saw Dad sitting on the couch. He must have heard the door open because he turned to look at me. For a second he just stared. I couldn’t figure out what he was staring at until I looked down. I saw the lumps of the fake breasts, my cream-colored blouse and the skirt. My heart pounded in my chest.

“You fucking little fag.” Dad roared, flying to his feet.

I took off for my room, but because I was in heels, I was moving a lot slower. I almost got completely inside before he grabbed my hair. He gave it a violent tug and pulled me hard onto my back. Then he threw his knee on my chest, pinning me to the ground. He tore at my blouse, ripping it in half. His eyes widened in anger at the sight of my bra and fake breasts. He snatched the bra, yanking it angrily off my chest. I screamed out in pain, it tore into my flesh as it snapped free. Then he laid a punch into my face, hitting me in the mouth. Another came for my nose but I threw up my hands to block it. That caused him to punch some more but he shifted his weight, moving his knee.

I flung up and away. I ran into my room, slamming the door. He came barreling toward it. I dropped to the ground, sliding under the bed. I grabbed the bat. He threw the door open and grabbed my ankle. He pulled me out from under the bed and flipped me around. I lashed out with the bat, connecting with the side of his head. He stumbled back. I scrambled to my feet, swinging wildly. I hit him in the side. Then I slammed the end of it into his stomach, knocking him backwards out of the room. I might have hit him in the groin and not the stomach because he was doubled over in pain. I slammed the door shut quickly, moving like a mad man. I pushed my dresser in front of the door. Then pushed my bed up against it. My father recovered and started pounding on the door, screaming all kinds of names at me.

I ran into the corner and cowered in it, crying. He pounded for about twenty minutes, screaming himself hoarse. He only stopped when his cell rang. A few seconds later, he answered:

“What?” he said angrily and then more subdued. “The Warehouse? Tonight?” He cursed. “I’ll be there in ten.”

I thought he was done with me then, but he wasn’t. He threw himself at the door in one last-ditch effort to get inside. When that failed, he said angrily. “I want you out of my house you little fag. If I get back and you’re still here, you’re going to wish you’d never been born.”

He pounded off down the stairs. I didn’t move until I heard the door open and slam shut. Even then, I stayed in the corner for another ten minutes or so. When I finally got up, I refused to let go of the bat. Instead, I held onto it as I hastily packed. As if I was going to stay here anymore. I went to my closet, taking out everything that belonged to Stephanie. There wasn’t much but I shoved it all in my bag. With it packed, I pushed the things away from the door and left the room, leaving everything that was Steven behind.

Still holding the bat, I walked into the living room. We had a huge 52-inch plasma screen. He bought it with the money he’d been making. The money he lied about. I swung the bat into the screen and smashed it. I smashed his stereo too. Then went into the kitchen and smashed all the cupboard doors. I went around the house, smashing anything that reminded me off the bastard. I ended up at his bedroom door. He always kept it locked. But that didn’t withstand the smashing of my bat. Once I had the knob off, I kicked open the door. I went to his dresser where I knew he kept Mom’s jewelry and things. I opened that drawer and took all of it, putting it in my bag. It was hers, not his. Now it was mine.

There was another TV in his room. I smashed that too. I grabbed all his clothes and tossed them out the window. Then started swinging the bat at the walls, smashing giant holes in them. You wonder where I got my temper from, huh? After my demolition of the room, I found the laptop. It was the same one I saw the spreadsheet on a few days ago. I thought about smashing it too. In fact, I was raising the bat, about to bring it down on the damn thing when I stopped and changed my mind. Instead, I dropped the bat, letting it clang on the floor. I reached down and opened the laptop, he had left it on. The spreadsheet was still there and it looked the same.

But something about it looked illegal. I’m not sure why but all of it looked bad. I angrily snapped it shut, opened my bag and stuffed it inside. I was barely able to close my bag but I didn’t care. Then I turned and ran out of the room. I pulled on my purple hoodie before I left the house, making sure the hood was hiding my battered face. I hadn’t even looked at it but I knew it was probably pretty bad. I didn’t care at the moment; I needed to get away from this place. Away from him. I ran down the stairs, out the door and around the corner. It started to rain as I stood on the corner, trying to figure out what to do. The only thought I had in my mind was to make him pay. I was tired of this shit, tired of all of it. He was an evil person and evil people deserved to be in prison.

I looked at my bag and smiled. Surprisingly I found a taxi driver that wasn’t afraid to venture into the Narrows. I flagged him down and gave him Jen’s address. If anyone knew what I was going through it was her. I thought about sending him to the Manor but I didn’t want to bother Bruce with my problems. The same thing with Leslie. As far as Uncle Jim, I’m sure he’d know all about it when I was done. I’d make sure everyone in the city would know about the kind of scum that Arthur Brown was.

When we pulled up in front of Jen’s place a few minutes later, I gave him twenty bucks. It might have been too much but I didn’t care. It was Dad’s money anyway---I took it from his sock drawer, all five hundred of it he had there. I’m sure it was dirty money but I didn’t care. If the police wanted it, I’d give them the rest. Hell, I’d give it to everyone if I could, tell them it was dirty money owned by Arthur Brown. They’d line up just to see it and touch it. This money was held by the great Cluemaster, imagine that.

I walked up to Jen’s door. I knocked and rang the bell several times. Her grandparents didn’t like me much. They knew all about my “heathen” ways too, but frankly, I didn’t give a fuck tonight. When the door finally opened, thankfully it was Jen on the other side. She was about to make a comment when I looked at her. She gasped, seeing my face under the hood. I didn’t have to say a thing as she pulled open the door and yanked me inside.

We didn’t get any further than the foyer. She held me tightly and I cried in her arms.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 6, a bit longer than the other chapters I've written. From here, things should get very exciting. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Five:

When I woke up in the morning, I was as confused as all hell because I had no idea where I was. I sat up–groggy---and blinked a few times, then stretched my arms. The first thing I noticed was my lack of breasts and the second thing I noticed was the fact that I was wearing a t-shirt. I looked around, confused as all hell. This wasn’t my bedroom, this wasn’t my bed. The walls were a pale blue, the bed was a queen size and the room looked like old people decorated it. I squinted and as soon as I did, pain shot up my face. I reached up and touched my cheek, it was puffy and sore. Then I remembered. The events of last night came back to me. My Dad saw me dressed as Stephanie and flipped out.

I groaned and threw off the rest of my covers. The t-shirt seemed to be the only thing I was wearing, no boxers like I usually did. I lifted up the bottom and saw panties. I blushed. Clearly someone undressed me last night but I was having a hard time remembering. The last thing I consciously remember was coming to Jen’s house. I collapsed into her arms shortly after arriving. There were a lot of questions---first Jen; then her grandparents. They had never really liked me, thought I was a bad influence for their granddaughter. I can’t imagine what must have been going through their heads seeing me half en femme. After I told them what happened, her grandfather called the police. He may have been a dick but he didn’t screw around. I vaguely remember telling a police officer what happened and then nothing more.

I inched to the edge of the bed and dropped off. My ankle was kinda sore too as well as my stomach. I suppose that hurt from when he kneeled on top of me. My ankle hurt because he had a hold of it so tight that it nearly cut off my circulation. For a second last night, I thought he was going to kill me. If I hadn’t gotten away, I’m positive he would have. Thinking about it made me cry. It also made me sick to my stomach. I felt the bile rise and ran into the bathroom. This was the spare room at the Morgan’s, I’d been in here once before. There were two bathrooms on this floor of the place, the master suite one and the floor bathroom---which joined this room and the one next door, Jen’s.

I rushed to the toilet and threw up. I threw up again then felt better. But I didn’t feel well enough to get up. Jen must have heard me because she pulled open the door and rushed in. She was dressed in a wispy silk nightgown. It was pink and looked kinda cute on her. She dropped to her knees, pulling the hair from my face.

“Hey girl.” she said weakly. “You ok?”

I turned to her, tears rolling down my cheeks. She pulled me into a hug and I cried on her shoulder for a while. When I pulled away, wiping the tears, I spoke: “Did they catch my Dad?”

She sighed and shook her head. “They checked the warehouse district but he was nowhere in sight. They scoped out the apartment too but he didn’t show. My grandpa called a few minutes ago, they’re going to put a guy on the building though, so if he comes back they’ll grab him.”

I nodded. “If he’s smart he’ll run.”

Jen nodded then slowly helped me to my feet. She said something about a shower and I numbly nodded. She helped pull the shirt over my head then slowly slid the panties down my legs. I numbly stepped out of them. Then she got the shower running. The hot water stung like a bitch, especially on my swollen face. But it felt good, too. A few seconds later, Jen slipped in, too. Any normal teenage guy would have loved taking a shower with a hot babe like Jen but I was far from normal. Besides, I had no attraction to her whatsoever. I didn’t even think of her in any other way than being my best friend in the whole wide world.

I closed my eyes, remembering the first time we met. We were in the park together, both of us about five I think. We were in the sandbox and one of the boys dumped a bucket of sand all over my head. I burst into tears because it ruined my pretty pigtails and pink dress. Yep, even back then my mother let me indulge. Well, Jen was on the other side of the playground. When she saw that, she stormed over, snatched a handful of sand up and threw it in the boy’s face. The boy screamed and cried, falling backwards out of the sandbox and onto a pile of dog crap. The other kids laughed and he ran away crying some more. Then Jen said the best thing in the world to me: “Us girls need to stick together.”

I thought it was the coolest thing in the world when she thought I was a girl. She didn’t find out I was a boy until a few days later, but even then, she still played with me.

When I told her I wanted to be a girl she smiled and called me “Stephanie”. She was the first one to give me that name and I loved it. Jen’s been my rock ever since, standing up for me when I needed it. Last night when I ran from Dad, she was the only one I was really thinking about. All that mattered was getting to her. Because I knew that as long as I was with Jen then nothing in the world could go wrong.

“You’re quiet,” said her soft voice. “What are you thinking about?”

I smiled and opened my eyes. “The time we met.”

She laughed. “We called that kid Crap Pants for weeks after that.”

We both laughed. It hurt like hell but it felt good too.

“Turn around” she said and I did as she asked. Looking at her full frontal nudity did nothing for me. If anything I was a bit jealous---her being the real girl and me, well I was a work in progress. She handed me a puff thing.

“I washed your back... now it’s my turn.”

I nodded and she turned around. I closed my eyes again and started rubbing the soapy puff across her back. I wasn’t closing my eyes to avoid looking at her naked back, I actually liked her back. I closed my eyes because it allowed me to think some more. My thoughts drifted to my father of all people. He was scum and as scum, he needed to be scrubbed from this world. I wasn’t talking about killing him---no, that would be too easy. I wanted to ruin him, destroy him like he did to me last night. A part of me died when he yanked me onto that floor and tried to beat me to death. Which part I wasn’t sure, but standing here now---thinking about it---I knew it was gone and it wasn’t coming back. Did I want to get revenge? Oh yes! But I was above all that. It wouldn’t be revenge, it would be justice. Bad people deserved justice. People who did harm to others deserved to be punished.

I opened my eyes and stopped scrubbing. “Jen” I asked in a soft voice, she responded with a hmmm sound. “I know what I want to do.”

“What’s that sweetie?”

“I want to see that bastard pay for what he did.”

________________________________

We went back into the spare room and I dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt---all girl clothes of course. No more pretending to be a boy for me, I was sick of it. After that, I pulled the laptop out of my back and flipped it open. Closing it last night probably wasn’t the brightest idea because it shut the damn thing off. When I turned it back on, I frowned, because sure enough it was password protected. I tried several things but nothing seemed to work. Jen took it from me and tried too, but she couldn’t crack into it either. It was kinda discouraging actually, that laptop was a big part of my plan. Whatever my father was doing had to be in that thing and of course now we couldn’t get into it. I wracked my brain trying to think of anyone who could do it and the only person who came to mind was my cousin Barbara.

“You have to call her,” said Jen, sitting in the chair next to my borrowed bed.

I shook my head. “She’ll just tell my uncle.”

“Isn’t that what we want?” asked Jen “he’s the police commissioner. We give him the laptop, he has his people look over it and then they arrest your Dad. Case closed.”

I shook my head. I wanted to punish him but I wanted to be actively involved in it. He could have killed me last night, he would have killed me. I’m not sure how I got the strength to get out from under him, but I did. Now I wanted him to suffer and I wanted to be there when that happened. I wasn’t going to hurt him but I wasn’t going to let him get away with it either. So yes, I’d get the police involved but I wanted first crack at him. But without the laptop, my options were slim. I only knew one other thing: the warehouse. I didn’t even know which one it was but the way Dad talked it was important.

The way he said “The Warehouse” on the phone last night meant that he’d been there before and probably would go there again. I needed to find that place but of course in order to do that I needed to find Dad.

“We can’t,” I said after my thoughts. “If we give it to him he’ll go after Dad.”

Jen looked confused. “Duh.”

I sighed. How could I tell my friend that I wanted that privilege? I’m not sure why it was so important but I wanted to be the one who brought him to justice. I wanted to watch him suffer like me. I’d let the cops have him when I was done. I took a deep breath and said,

“I don’t think there’s enough to convict him of anything.”

“He beat you up, there’s more than enough” Jen grabbed the laptop, shaking it in my face. “We have this, too. There’s got to be enough here.”

I nodded. “But I want more.”

Jen frowned. “What more can you possibly get?”

I smiled. “I want to be the one who spoils his fun.”

I quickly started laying out my plan. I don’t think Jen liked it very much but she was my BFF and promised that she’d support me no matter what. Halfway through the explanation her grandmother called up to us and told us it was time for breakfast. Before I went downstairs I went into the bathroom, I needed to see the damage. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a shadow of my former self. My face was swollen and bruised, half of it looked like I’d been stung by a giant bee. When I touched it with a finger, I winced from the pain. The bastard had really done a number on me, I was just glad that yesterday was Friday and now it was Saturday morning. If I went to school like this people would have thought I’d been pounded on by a gorilla.

On the way out, Jen was waiting for me. “I put the laptop in my trunk. I still think we should take it to your uncle but if you really want to do it your way.”

I nodded. She smiled weakly then the two of us went down the stairs. In the kitchen, her grandmother frowned at my appearance. There was nothing overly feminine about me today except maybe my clothes. But they were the only ones I had and the two of them...she and her husband...would have to deal with it. Jen’s grandfather kept giving me looks throughout the meal. I managed to thank them for helping me last night but they didn’t say much. It was always like this. Her grandparents were both retired but at one time, her grandfather used to work for the city. Because of that they were extremely well off. They didn’t exactly live in the Narrows; it was more on the edge of it. I wouldn’t exactly call their place lavish but it was a low-end penthouse, taking up two floors. That’s why they had three bedrooms and bathrooms.

After breakfast, we went to Jen’s room. Her grandmother told us to keep the door open. When we first met as kids, Jen’s parents were still alive. Her mother was a happy woman, always smiling. She...like my own mother...understood my need to be different. When her mother died and her father disappeared, her grandparents thumbed their noses at me. They never tried to stop her from being my friend but they didn’t keep their opinion of me to themselves. I knew turning up here last night was risky; especially dressed as I was, but it was the closest place.

“They’re not going to let me stay another night, you know,” I said as the two of sat together on her bed.

Jen sighed. “Where will you go?”

“Uncle Jim’s, probably.”

I thought about going to Leslie’s or the Manor. But Leslie lived in a real small place, barely big enough for her. She would have been more than happy to take me but I didn’t want to impose on her. Besides, if I walked in looking like this, she’d have a fit. I couldn’t do that to her. As far as the Manor was concerned, I felt like a stranger there. Even after more than a week of going there, I still felt odd and out of place. Bruce was still bedridden but he was on the mend and Tim had Arianna now. It was only a matter of time before I wasn’t needed, anyway. I think the only one who’d miss me was Ace and only because I was the only one who took him on walks. Not that I wouldn’t stop going there after school of course but I didn’t want to impose on them anymore than on the Morgans.

There was another reason for leaving the city too, a much more obvious one: Dad. I’m sure he’d figured out that I trashed the place. In fact, I was certain he knew I had the laptop, too. So it might be a good idea to get out of here as soon as possible. I told all that to Jen and she seemed to understand. She went to retrieve it as I retrieved my bag. I packed my stuff and she came into the room, smiling weakly.

“Are you really going to find out what’s on there?”

I nodded. “He was getting that cash from somewhere and the answer have to be in here,” I said, taking it from her and stuffing it into the bag.

“What about the rest of it” she asked and I nodded.

I opened my mouth to say something but she rushed forward and grabbed me in a tight hug, crying a bit. She didn’t say anything but she was scared for me. Hell, I was scared too. I was stupid as well but my father needed to be punished and that’s exactly what I was going to do.

_________________________________

The Morgans were nice enough to give me money for a cab. I thanked them for their hospitality and hugged Jen on the curb. I promised to call her as soon as I got to my Uncle Jim’s. When I got into the cab, I waved dumbly until I was out of sight. Then I instructed the cab driver to take me to a bar a few blocks away. Yes, I had every intention of going to my uncle’s but first I wanted to look for Dad. No, I’m not a glutton for punishment but I wanted to make him pay. There were only two places that I knew my father frequented. One was a small seedy bar a few blocks from our house called the Dive and the other was a sports bar in one of the better parts of the city called Pucks. But he didn’t go to Pucks unless the Blackhawks were playing. I knew enough to know that hockey season didn’t start until next month.

When we pulled up in front of The Dive, the driver gave me a look. “Are you sure you want to go in there, princess?”

I nodded, giving him a twenty. “I have to haul my father’s drunken ass out of there.”

He frowned. “All right but I’m not too keen about letting you go in there by yourself.”

I smiled. “You’re a good guy, but I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t wait for him to say anything else as I pushed open the cab and stepped onto the curb. I watched and waited for him to go. As soon as he drove off, I made my way to the alley. Like most of them in the Narrows, it was barely wide enough for much of anything. The alley led to the back, which is where I wanted to go. There was a fire escape back there that I climbed. When I got to the roof, I found a sky light and looked down. I could see pretty much the whole of the bar. My father was a particularly cautious man but he had habits and addictions. He might have been wanted by the police but there was no way he’d give up his Saturday afternoon drinking.

I peered through the dirty glass and found him. He was sitting at the bar, drinking alone. I looked at my watch, it was almost one. It was nice enough that Morgans let me stay until lunch but I knew even that was pushing it. I could see both of them getting agitated, afraid that a double dose of “evil” might rub off on them. So I knew I’d outstayed my welcome. Jen tried to convince them to let me stay another night but it was a losing battle. In the end, I was just gracious that they didn’t throw me out last night.

I looked at my watch again, thinking. I knew that my father would stay there until after hours, probably until at least six or so. From there I didn’t know where he’d go. I thought he went to work but now I knew that wasn’t the case. Maybe he’d go off to wherever it was that he got the money. Maybe he’d lead me to that warehouse he was talking about. I know it was a long shot but I needed one of those. My father was a creature of habit but circumstances had changed that. I knew for a fact that the police were probably staking out our place right now and probably the print shop too, even though he didn’t work there. If they were smart then they knew about this place, too. But what with them being stretched so thin, I found that highly doubtful.

I watched him for about an hour when I heard a ringing. At first, I had no idea where it was coming from. I had one of those little prepaid cell phones but in my haste last night, I left it at home. I looked around and heard it coming from my bag. I frowned and rifled through it, finding a pink cell. It was Jen’s. Damn her. I grabbed it and flipped it open, wondering who it could be.

“Hey Stevie" said a familiar voice.

I groaned. “Hey Babs.”

My cousin Barbara didn’t usually call me “Stevie”. But seeing as it was a gender neutral nickname it worked. But if she was calling me it that meant my uncle was probably close by. Whereas Barbara knew all about Stephanie, Uncle Jim did not. I don’t think he’d have a problem with it but I just haven’t gotten around to telling him. I guess I was a little scared that he wouldn’t accept me like Barbara.

‘Where are you?”

“How did you get this number?”

“Don’t play the answering a question with a question game, Cuz. I am the daughter of a cop; I know when you’re dodging.”

I sighed. I already had a pretty good idea who gave her the number, probably the same person who stashed the phone on me. “Are you alone?”

Barbara didn’t answer for a few minutes. I heard the sound of a door opening then closing. Then she said. “Now I am.”

I took a deep breath. “I’m on the roof of The Dive.”

Babs and I had no secrets. She was the closest thing to a sister I had, besides Jen of course. We were a few years apart; she was a Junior in college. She was majoring in Education with a minor in computer science, which I thought was the coolest thing in the world.

“You better not be,” she said sternly. When I didn’t deny it, she sighed. “Damn it, Steph. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“He’s in there, Babs. I can see him through the sky light.”

“And you want some revenge... is that it?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

I cursed as soon as I said it. If anyone would understand, it would be her. Babs wasn’t exactly like me but she definitely understood all about wanting revenge. When she was sixteen, she made the mistake of answering the door. It was Halloween and she thought it was a Trick or Treater. It turned out to be one of the criminals who her father was trying to catch. The man was dressed like a clown and I think he thought it was Uncle Jim at the door. But when Barbara opened it, he fired. She was lucky in that the bullet didn’t kill her but it did sever her spinal cord, paralyzing her from the waist down. Babs went to a dark place for a long time. It took months of physical therapy and counseling to bring her out of it. Even then, she still talks about wanting to find the bastard and return the favor.

So yes, she knew all about revenge.

I sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Babs, you know I didn’t mean it…”

She cut me off. “Revenge isn’t the answer. Let me have Dad call it in, he can send a car. They can pick the bastard up.”

“I want to do this myself.”

Babs didn’t say anything for a long time. At first, I thought maybe she hung up on me but then she finally came back. “Then put the laptop someplace safe first.”

I groaned, of course Jen told her about the laptop.

“You’re not going to tell Uncle Jim?”

‘How can I tell him something I don’t know? In fact, you’re at the park, thinking things through. You’ll be back home later.”

“Thanks Babs, I owe you.”

“Damn straight.”

I clicked the phone shut and took one last look into the bar below. Dad was still going to be there for hours. I took a deep breath and left the rooftop. I climbed down the fire escape and hailed a cab, knowing exactly what place I was going to put the laptop.

_________________________________

Ok, so Dad didn’t stay in The Dive all day, what do I know. After I left The Dive hours ago, I went to the local bus station. I’d been there a few times, contemplating leaving this damn city. Every time, I either chickened out or Jen talked me out of it. But I’d been in here enough to know about renting a locker. I made sure I could rent it the longest I could and stuck the laptop in there. Then for good measure, I got an envelope and mailed the key to Barbara, just in case. That took up a few hours and when I got back to The Dive, Dad was gone.

It took me until eight or so to find him. There are a lot of seedy places in the Narrows for someone like him to go. I finally found him in a little watering hole so small that it barely had room for the bar. They didn’t even bother to see if I was the right age when I slipped inside. I put on my purple hoodie before doing so, pulling the hood over my head as far as it could go. I sat in the back; the place was jammed with people. I got one glass of water---never touched a drop because it was dirty---and I waited. He didn’t crawl out of there until almost midnight. But I followed him nonetheless.

I stayed at a distance, keeping to the shadows. On the corner there was a guy selling all sorts of Halloween masks, I caught him just as he was closing up. I browsed his wares, looking for something that might hide my face better. I found a plain black mask that pulled completely over my head; there were only slits for my eyes. I gave him too much, which he thanked me for. When I was out of sight, I dropped my hood and pulled it over my head. It had a mesh front that I could breathe through and formed on my head like a second skin. After that, I pulled my hood back up and continued my following.

He walked the entire way. Well staggered is more like it. I guess I’d stagger too like that if I’d spent nearly the whole day drinking. I was surprised he was even walking, let alone standing. But my father had an amazingly high tolerance for alcohol and to be fair he wasn’t drinking the whole day. He had a few drinks here, ate some things and then drank a bit more. Like I said before he might have been a drunk but he was a smart drunk. That still didn’t stop him from being a little drunk now, stumbling about in the streets. I followed at a safe distance, moving several steps behind him. Thankfully, it was a little chilly tonight so there weren’t a lot of people on the street, good, bad or in-between. I wasn’t really in the mood to come across another bunch of jackasses. Besides tonight, I didn’t have any masked vigilantes ready to save me. At least I didn’t think I did, though it was kinda a nice thought if he was in fact keeping an eye on me.

I’m not sure how long I’d been following him but eventually he staggered his way into the warehouse district. There were a lot of them in this city; this particular one was on the far side, away from the docks. It was a shadier warehouse block, where a lot of criminals have been known to operate. The cops knew all about it of course but it took numbers to take this place down and frankly they didn’t have them. My uncle was always complaining about the numbers. That’s why he sorta turned the other way when The Bat or other like inclined individuals took the law into their own hands. He was getting a lot of flack over it from the Mayor, City Council and the District Attorney. But as far as my uncle was concerned it didn’t matter how the city was getting cleaned up just as long as someone was doing it.

There was a bulky goon at the gate. When he saw Dad come stumbling up he groaned.

“Art, you’re drunk again” he grumbled.

“My fucking kid called the cops on me, give me a break.”

The goon shook his head. “Maybe you shouldn’t have whaled on him so much then, you jack ass.”

I kinda liked this guy, even if he was a thug.

“You letting me in or not?”

The goon frowned then unlocked the gate, letting Dad pass. I waited and watched, trying to see if I could find an opening. I knew there’d be no way I could go through the same way Dad did. I watched with a frown as he disappeared in between two of the large buildings. I was losing him. I cursed and scanned the fence. The fence was chain link, about ten feet high. If I tried to climb it, I’d make noise. I looked along the length of it, squinting in the dark. I found what I was looking for about ten feet from where the goon stood. There was a dumpster there. Why they put one next to a fence---on the outside---was beyond me. I guess these guys weren’t too smart.

I took a deep breath and made a run for it. I used to be so nimble on my feet when I was younger. That’s why I was such a good gymnast.

But over the years---without practice---I was really loud. Thankfully all the work at the Manor had helped nimble me up again. I hopped onto the dumpster, barely touching it with the balls of my feet before I flipped clean over the top of the fence. It was just like the vault, if just a tad bit higher. I made the landing on the other side too, not even making a sound. I stayed low and darted from the fence, the goon never even flinched.

I took off for the same gap my father disappeared through moments before. I made up for lost time by moving fast. I just caught him slipping into one of the many warehouses. There was a goon on the outside of this place too, even bigger than the one at the fence. But I had no intention of ever going near him. Instead, I made a quick dash for the side of the building, slipping along it in the dark. Whatever was stored in these places it left the whole area smelling like a sewer. I pinched my nose but that hardly helped to hold back the smell. It was sickening and I almost gagged twice. When I reached a metal ladder running along the side of the structure, I could have kissed it. Instead, I grabbed the first rung, testing to make sure it would hold my weight.

When I found that it was secure, I scurried up it like a spider.

When I got to the top, I found myself staring across a vast flat surface of concrete and more bad smell. But I didn’t pinch my nose; instead I climbed over the little wall and got my bearings. I looked about, the only light coming from one of the numerous skylights. I chose the closest and moved toward, following it like a beacon. I moved quick and low like before, sorta like the hero did in those old spy movies. Once I got to the grimy glass and wiped it with my sleeve, I was able to get a good look on the scene below. There were at least half a dozen men down there and a lot of wooden crates. Unfortunately from up here all I could see were the tops of their heads. I guess it was too much to hope that one of them might peek up and let me see his face.

Then I saw my father. He came stumbling into my range of view. Seconds after, the goon from the door followed. I leaned forward, pushing on the frame a bit. There was a section of the pane that seemed to move, so clearly it was meant to be opened. Now I could hear what they were saying below.

“Arthur” said one of the men, holding his arms out, looking like he was going to hug my father. “You don’t call, you don’t write.”

My Dad flinched when the guy put his hands on his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Roman.”

Dad dropped his shoulders, clearly scared of this guy. I’ve never seen Dad scared of anyone. Whoever this Roman guy was he was clearly bad news.

Roman continued, still holding Dad’s shoulders. “Why don’t you tell me what happened yesterday?”

Dad looked scared. It felt good to see him cowering for once. “It was my damn kid. He’s a fag; I caught him dressed up like a sissy. I lost my temper; beat the snot out of him.”

“You and that temper” said the guy, Roman.

Dad nodded. “When I got back into the house he trashed the fucking place. Did a real number on it actually. It took me all night to sort through the mess and when I did…”

Roman finished. “That’s when you noticed the laptop was gone?”

My Dad nodded. “The little bastard took it.”

I’m not sure how I knew it but I knew that Roman wasn’t convinced. I couldn’t see his face but I could read it in his body language. His entire body looked real tense and when the hands on my father’s shoulders tightened down on them. Dad winced. It was clear that this Roman guy was really powerful and I’m not talking about strong either. He cast a glance at his goons and that’s all it took. Two of them came forward and grabbed Dad, pulling him out of Roman’s grasp. They pulled his arms behind his back and Roman laughed. That was definitely the laugh of a man who didn’t believe a word that my Dad said. Which is kinda a shame because it was the first time I’d ever heard my father being honest.

Roman slipped something on his hand and then punched Dad in the gut. I didn’t see what it was but when he pulled back for a second blow, I saw a glint of light off metal. I was transfixed as this thug went to work on my father. There was a bit of satisfaction at watching him finally getting the beating he rightly deserved. I was so transfixed by the scene below that I didn’t hear the roof’s second occupant approach until he was almost on top of me. I saw him out of the corner of my eye though. I also saw him raise his gun, pointing it at my head.

“Move a muscle, kid and you’re dead.”

I nodded, fear coursing through me. A lot of people say they wouldn’t be afraid in a situation like this but those are the people who can only talk about it. For the other people---the ones like me---I can say that I was extremely terrified. After all, it’s not every day that someone points a gun in your face. So I raised my hands, showing him that I was unarmed. I thought maybe if I could show him I wasn’t a threat he wouldn’t shoot me.

“I’m not here to cause any problems” I said, “I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d take a peek.”

Why in the hell was I being a wise ass to a man with a gun. Where was I getting the courage to speak at all?

The man didn’t say a thing. Instead, he motioned me away from the skylight with the gun. I obliged him quickly enough. Then he stepped around it, keeping the gun trained on me the whole time. This was usually the part in the story where the hero jumped the guy when he wasn’t paying attention. The two of them have a little scuffle and go crashing through the skylight. But this wasn’t a movie and there was no way a kid like me could ever get the upper hand on him. So instead, I let him back me up toward the ladder.

He pulled out a radio. “Frank, I found someone on the roof. I think it’s one of those vigilantes. Meet me at the bottom of the ladder.”

Vigilante? He thought I was like The Bat or the Roving Ravager. I guess I wasn’t giving him any reason to think otherwise; after all, I was wearing a hood and a mask. So I actually did look a little like one of them.

“I’m not spying on anyone. I thought there might be some action so I decided to take a peek.”

He scoffed. “Wearing a mask, kid?”

I shrugged. “It’s cold out.”

He motioned me away from the wall, taking a quick look over the side. I guess I could have used that split second to slam into him, knocking him over the edge. But there were two flaws to that plan. The first being that this wasn’t an action movie and I was a kid. The second being he had to be two hundred pounds heavier than I was and a lot bigger. Slamming into him probably would have done nothing but put me in a whole lot of hurt. So instead, I let him look over the edge. He turned back to me and smirked.

“Down the ladder, freak.”

I nodded, doing as he asked. As I started down the ladder, all I could think about was how stupid I was thinking that this was going to turn out any other way.

_________________________________

“What the hell is this?” asked a figure as I was pushed into the warehouse.

The place looked a lot bigger on the inside. After getting pushed rather violently through the door, I got a good look at my surroundings. There were a lot of wooden crates, stacked on top of one another in rows and of all different sizes. There were no labels so I couldn’t tell what was in any of them but it was clear that whatever they were, they were important. At least to the goons assembled here. Besides the two that pushed me in there were actually eight in a little sectioned off area, that’s not including my Dad. I locked eyes with him. He was the only one in the room on his knees. He was also the only one who probably looked a lot worse than he did when he walked in. His face was pretty battered and bloody and he was breathing heavily, barely able to hold his head up.

It was clear that they didn’t believe his story.

One of my companions finally spoke up. “We found him snooping around on the roof.”

The guy who spoke before frowned. He was about Dad’s age, his black haired slicked back. He was handsome, I suppose, in that sinister “I’m a mobster” kinda way. The same could be said about his suit. It was expensive, not as expensive as the ones Bruce had in his closet but pretty close. He wore gold cufflinks and appeared to be the only one in the room that wasn’t packing. At least he didn’t have a gun in his hand or the tell tale bulge of one underneath his coat.

“I think you’re a bit early kid,” he said with a laugh. “Halloween is next month.”

The others laughed. This guy did all the talking and now that he was doing more of it, I was now certain that this had to be Roman. It was nice to put a face to the top of the head.

Roman held up his hand and laughing died off immediately. Then he made a gesture. It didn’t’ take me long to figure out what that meant. My two companions came from behind me, grabbing me underneath my arms. They lifted me into the air, carrying me over into the center of the area. There was a chair there and they dropped me roughly into it. Then another guy came forward, grabbing my arms and pulling my hands violently behind my back. It hurt like a bitch and felt like he’d just wrenched my arms from their sockets. When he tied my hands there, the knots were so tight that they cut off my circulation. It was clear that the knot tier had done it before.

Roman looked to one of his other guys. “Rhino, take Arthur and make sure the cops find him.”

A massive wall of a man stepped forward. I looked up and up at him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any one so big before. The big guy grinned and reached down, wrapped a large hand on my Dad’s shoulder. He pulled him to his feet then tossed him easily over his shoulder. My Dad moaned but he showed no sign of struggling. I watched as the big guy---Rhino---carried my Dad out of the warehouse. A small part of me wished I could have seen what else might happen to him, hoping Rhino roughed him up a bit more.

“Now, what do we have here” said Roman, addressing me.

First, he flipped back my hood then he grabbed my mask, giving it a quick tug. He pulled it off my head, my hair cascading out of it. His men gasped, even he was taken back. Only for a second. I tried to look stern even though I was fucking terrified.

“It’s a girl,” one of his guys gasped.

“No” said another quickly. “It’s Brown’s kid. I’ve seen him come and go.”

I cursed inwardly and searched the faces. I recognized one of them as the guy I bumped into the other day coming down our stairs. Why I hadn’t seen him when I first came in, I don’t know.

Roman smiled. “Following your Daddy, little boy?” He reached forward and grabbed my chin, turning my face this way and that. “Or is it little girl?”

His men laughed. “Only to make sure he ended up in jail.”

Roman smirked, touching my bruised face. “He did do a number on you.” He shook his head, letting me go. “It’s a shame too, because I bet it was a real pretty face, even for a boy.”

He bent down so that he was looking me eye to eye. “Steven, isn’t it?” I didn’t say anything. He smiled. “Your father told quite a tale here tonight, I’m sure you heard most of it. He seems to think that you trashed his place and then you took something of his, something of great value.”

Once again, I didn’t say a thing. There was no way I was letting this scum get his laptop back.

Roman shook his head. “It’s not nice to take things that don’t belong to you.”

He straightened back up and made a gesture. I flinched, half expecting to get the same beating that my father got. But it never came. Instead, I heard a snap sound and something that sounded an awful lot like a blowtorch. I had no idea what was going on because whatever it was, it was happening behind me. Though I did see someone pass a crowbar behind me. I fidgeted in my seat, working my hands, trying to loosen the knots. All it seemed to do was cause pain. I could feel the ropes cutting into my arms, rubbing them raw, causing them to bleed. Whatever was going on behind me was going on far too long for my taste. I wasn’t sure if it was meant to scare me or something much more sinister.

I got my answer a few minutes later.

I saw the crowbar passed to Roman and my eyes bulged out of my head. The end of it, not the curved end but the other---was red hot. They were using the blowtorch to heat up the metal and now they were going to---Oh God. I kicked and squirmed, trying my hardest to get away. Roman smirked, bringing the burning hot implement closer and closer to my face.

“I’ll pull it away as soon as you tell me where my laptop is,” he said, the crowbar about five inches from my cheek.

I could feel the heat from it, it was burning my cheek.

“I don’t know where it is” I lied bravely.

Brave to the end, until that thing burns out one of my eyes.

Roman smirked and shook his head. He moved the crowbar closer. I lashed out in one last ditch attempt to save myself. I’m not really sure what happened or how I did it. But I managed to push off the ground with the ball of my foot, sliding the chair back. Roman stumbled, shocked. Then I lashed out with my other foot, kicking the crowbar away. Unfortunately for him I kicked it right at his face. The burning hot end hit him directly across the left side of it. He screamed out in pain. It was blood curdling, like I’d never heard before. My slide ended and I fell backwards just as he dropped the crowbar on the ground. Roman was writhing about, clutching his face. All his men were trying to help him; none of them were paying attention to where the crowbar went.

I was now on my back, still tied to the damn chair. But I saw where the makeshift poker was. It fell sideways, landing against one of the boxes. I watched in awe as it burned through the wood. Then in terror when it set fire whatever was inside---I think it was straw. When the box burst into flames, the fire jumping to the one next to it---Roman’s men finally noticed. They grabbed their boss and pulled the writhing man to his feet. They half carried half dragged him toward the exit. Me they left, as the flames tore around me quickly.

I tried pulling my hands out of the ropes but it was no use. The flames were roaring around me now, many of the boxes ablaze. The fire was starting toward the walls and roof. It would only be a matter of time before the whole place went up. I twisted and turned, trying my hardest to get free. But no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t do it. The flames danced around me, moving closer and closer. I could feel them at my feet, melting the rubber of my shoes. I kicked and tried to roll away but it was no use. Then the smoke came, black and gagging. I started to cough. It stung my eyes and made things difficult. But I wasn’t about to give up. I closed my eyes and had one thought, one last ditch effort. It was crazy and it would hurt like hell but I didn’t have a choice. I wanted to take a deep breath but I didn’t. Instead, I opened my eyes and rolled toward the flames. I made sure that I got my back into them, hoping that most of it was concentrated on my hands. As soon as I felt it, I rolled away, the chair and my clothes on fire. I rolled and kicked, trying my hardest to get free.

I’m not sure how or when it happened but my hands came free. I could have screamed “Thank God”, but instead I pulled them out of the charred ropes and got a good look at them. I half expected to see charred, burned flesh but they were fine. In fact they looked better than fine. The skin was softer and my fingers more slender. I blinked back tears then pushed myself out of the chair. I patted at my smoldering clothes, my hoodie all but burnt off me. Then I got to my feet and staggered through the flames. I had no idea where I was going but anywhere was better than here. I felt strange as I walked, heavier in my chest, lighter in other places. I figured maybe it was the stress. After all, I was nearly burned alive.

The flames and smoke obscured my view and I found myself walking right into a wall. I cursed and looked around. The only exit I saw was at least ten feet up, a window. It was a vertical climb straight up, far too high for me to jump. But something came over me, something unnatural. I looked behind me, saw a burning wall of boxes about to go crashing down and took my chance. When I jumped at them I felt more flexible and agile than I’d felt in years. When my feet sprung off the boxes then, I felt alive and free. Then I hit the wall, running up it like a cat. When I reached the window, I smashed the glass with my elbow and looked out.

The ground was at least ten feet away. I was about to jump when the wall of boxes fell behind me, tumbling right toward me from behind. They slammed into the wall, sending me flying out the window. The last thing I saw before everything went black was the ground rushing toward me.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 6, sorry for the delay. I had to clean up a mess in my backyard in the form of the shed that I had to knock down. Unfortunately it took up a lot of my free time. This is a filler chapter, after the last chapter I figured Stephanie needed a breather before the heavy stuff started up again. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters. UPDATE: New Pic to reflect the New Stephanie :)

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Chapter Six:

“I think she’s coming around”

I opened my eyes and blinked, a bright light was shining back and forth in front of them. At first, all I saw was the light and it hurt like a bitch. When the light disappeared and the blotchy vision began to fade, I saw a dark shape looming over me. At first, I almost freaked until the shape started to take form, turning into Leslie. I smiled and then got really confused. I tried to remember what had happened but it was a bit of a blur. I remembered the warehouse. I remembered almost burning to death and somehow getting out of the ropes... then I think I jumped up to a window. Everything else after that was a bit hazy.
I tried to sit up but Leslie gently pushed me back down. When she did so I noticed I was wearing a paper gown and that I was lying in a bed. I looked around, realizing I was in the Clinic. How and why I was here was still a bit lost on me. I tried sitting up again but she kept her hand on my chest and shook her head. I opened my mouth to say something but found my throat was a bit dry.

“Water” I croaked and Leslie nodded.

“Sure, sweetheart” she said and then turned to someone else. “Barb, honey, can you bring her some water.”

Barb? My head snapped in direction Leslie was talking and sure enough, Babs was there. I heard the whirl of her electronic chair and then she was at my bedside, smiling at me. It was funny that Barbara had such shocking red hair, seeing that she was the only one of the family who did. Our mothers were sisters and both of them were blonde. Uncle Jim---before it was gray---had been brown. So where Barbara got her red hair from was a complete mystery to us. I used to pick on her about it from time to time and she used to mock me for sounding like a little girl. It was good harmless fun. Seeing her now though made me realize that something bad had happened.

She frowned at me, holding the paper cup just out of my reach. “Next time you’ll listen to me and leave it to the proper authorities!”

I nodded and reached for the water. She handed it to me then brushed a long strand of hair from my face. I hardly noticed the gesture as I chugged the water like a maniac. My throat was so dry like my throat had been scorched. When I finished drinking, she took the cup from me, still running her fingers through my hair.

“What happened?” I asked, noticing a slight change to my voice but shrugged it off as my throat still being a little parched.

“You tell us,” said Leslie, pulling out her stethoscope.

I frowned and looked at Barbara. So I took a deep breath and told the two of them everything I remembered. When I got to the part about the fire, Babs punched me. I deserved it. I’d done something really stupid last night and it almost killed me. It should have killed me actually. That had to be one of the biggest questions on my mind. When I finished all I could remember, I asked Leslie why I was still alive. She looked at Barbara and then moved away. I thought maybe she was dodging the question until she came back over with a hand mirror. When I took it and frowned, she raised my head so that I could see my face in the mirror. What I saw shocked the hell out of me. No, it wasn’t because I was horribly burned or something. It was the opposite in fact. My face wasn’t scarred at all; in fact, the bruising was gone, too. It was like none of it had ever happened. But there was more, much more. My skin looked healthier, softer even. My features were different too, not drastically different but different nonetheless. My nose was a bit smaller and a tad bit narrower and my cheekbones were higher. My lips looked a bit fuller too.

The most shocking were my eyes. Before, they were blue but now they were piercing, like two sapphires.

“What in the hell happened?” I asked and grasped my throat.

It wasn’t the result of a dry throat. My throat was fine and yet my voice was completely different. I pulled the mirror back a bit and caught sight of something else, my hair. Before it was long for a guy, at my shoulders. Now it was not only long---probably down my back---it looked shinier. I held the mirror with one hand and ran my other hand through it. It was softer too, like Jen’s. I gasped. There was no way anything like this was possible.

I sat up slightly and turned to look at Barbara, trying to figure things out. When I did so, I noticed something else immediately. There was a weight on my chest and it shifted when I moved. I looked down and realized the blanket didn’t slide off me when I sat up. Instead, it rested there, supported by the two protrusions sticking from it. I dropped the mirror. A smile split across my face and I threw off the covers. Excitement coursed through my whole body. I tried to get out of bed but Leslie held me steady. I pushed off her hands though, I wanted to see this. There were several wires and an IV in my arm. I grabbed the IV and pulled, wincing at the discomfort.

Then I jumped off the bed. My center of gravity was off and I wobbled a bit. Leslie rushed around the bed to keep me from falling.

“Stephanie, you need to get back in bed, dear.”

I brushed her off. “I want to see,” I said excitedly and before she could stop me, I rushed for the bathroom.

I was faster than before, lighter on my feet or something. When I got to the bathroom, I shut and locked the door behind me. Then I rushed to the mirror. It was true, the image staring back at me was me but so much different. So much better. I grabbed the gown and tore it over my head, staring at my naked body. It was the body I should have had, the body I was meant to have. Staring back at me from the mirror was Stephanie Brown, all girl. A huge smile spread across my face and I squealed in joy. Yes, squealed. Hey, I was a girl after all.

There was a knock on the door. “Honey, are you ok?”

“I’m fine, Babs” I said excitedly. “Better than fine.”

Barbara laughed. “That’s great, sweetie, but you need to come back to the bed so that Leslie can finish running some tests.”

I frowned and opened the door. When Barbara saw my naked form, she shielded her eyes for a second. I grabbed her hand and pulled it away. “Why hide your eyes,” I said happily. “We’re all girls here.”

I laughed and gleefully trotted back over to the bed. When I jumped up onto it for a second I felt lighter than air. It was kinda cool. It was clear what had happened to me, only an idiot wouldn’t know. But what I wanted to know was why it hadn’t happened until now. I’d read some stories on the Internet, I knew how Terra changed and even Myka. But why hadn’t I changed until last night. I racked my brain and came to the conclusion that it must have been the fire. It must have been some kinda catalyst. As I sat there and thought about it some more, Leslie ran her checkup. She took some blood, mentioned something about sending it off to a colleague at STAR Labs for testing. Then she ran through what could be a routine physical. When she got to my weight and height, I frowned when I discovered not much had changed there.

When she was done, she told me to get dressed. I smiled, gave her a big hug and ran off into the locker room. I only had a few selections from before, down by one since my Dad ripped the one I had been wearing pretty good. I found a clean pair of underwear and quickly discovered that I’d definitely need to do some shopping. Neither the panties nor the bra fit right, both were too tight. But then again I’d been dressing a male body not a female one. I got giddy with excitement though as I looked down at my breasts, my real ones. They were mine, not fake blobs of whatever. I reached up and touched them, feeling their weight in my hands. I had to be at least a B Cup, possibly a C.

I tried putting on a skirt but my hips were too big for it. So I ended up rummaging and found a pair of stretch jeans. They molded to my body, showing off my new butt quite nicely. Then I found a plain white tee, it was a bit tight in the chest area but it would do. My shoes were pretty much the same which made me frown. I had small dainty feet to begin with but I was hoping for something a little bigger. Oh well, life goes on. I was too damn happy to really complain. After dressing, I took some extra time and got the makeup kit that Leslie had made up for me. I decided to go all out because I had nothing more to hide. After my face was done, I went out into the main room.

Barbara whistled, I blushed.

“No one could tell that you were ever a guy.”

Leslie smiled too. “Are you feeling all right, sweetie?”

I nodded. “I’m fine, better than fine actually.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” said Leslie with a frown. “I talked to my friend at STAR Labs; she’s dealt with this kind of thing before. She wants me to bring you over to run some tests just to make sure that you are in fact a Meta.”

“I think the answer is staring us right in the face,” said Barbara “She was in a horrible fire and should be covered in burn scars. Look at her, Leslie, there isn’t a scratch on her.”

Leslie nodded. “We need to be sure, though.”

Barbara nodded and turned to me. “What do you think, Steph?”

I shrugged. I didn’t need tests to prove to me what I already knew: I was Meta. But I nodded just so that Leslie could be reassured. She smiled and went to the phone, picking it up and calling her friend. I wandered over to Babs and bent to give her a hug. I wrapped my arms around her and for a moment, everything was right in the world. I knew it wasn’t of course. There were still a lot of obstacles and I’m sure what happened last night was going to get back to me; I think I was still on a bit of a high. After all, it’s not every day that some one’s fondest wish comes true.

Leslie came back over. “Jenet wants to see us now.”

__________________________________

I have to say that I don’t remember the ride to STAR Labs because I kinda dozed off. When I woke up again, Leslie was pulling her car into the parking lot. Barbara wanted to go with us but couldn’t because she had to get to class. I was kinda glad she didn’t tag along. She started mothering me before we left, poking and prodding---asking me if I was really all right. I think it surprised her a bit that I had yet to cry. She seemed to think that what I went through last night was extremely traumatic and as such, I should be a wreck. To tell you the truth, it kinda freaked me out that I wasn’t a wreck too. Something like that should have made me quivering but I was actually OK about it. Sorta like what happened to me after the Roving Ravager saved me in the alley. It affected me but not in the way it should have. How freaky is that?

We got out of the car and went in to a nondescript gray building. It looked like any other building except it had a glass dome on the top of it and on the front in large block letters was the words STAR Labs. I didn’t know much about the place other than what was in the papers. They were a cutting edge research facility, dealing with a lot of different scientific fields. They’d been in the papers a lot lately for Meta related things. They were on the forefront of trying to identify the Metagene in individuals. I’m not sure what their ultimate goal was and it never really concerned me until now. I just hoped that they weren’t taking my blood just so they could use it to cure me. There was no way I was going back to the hell of being a girl stuck in a guy’s body.

When we reached the building, Leslie led me through a pair of high-tech sliding doors. The lobby was sterile and pristine, every surface seemed to shine. Three of the four walls were made of glass while the fourth was where a circular reception area was located. There was a pretty blonde behind the counter, filing her nails. She couldn’t have been much older than Babs. She barely looked at us as Leslie announced herself. The girl typed at her computer keyboard---looking bored. Behind her there was a hiss and a door opened. Leslie smiled and ushered me forward.

“State of the Art facility and a flake like her at the desk” she said, loud enough for the girl to hear.

I smiled as I followed her. The hall was long and just as shiny as the rest of the place. I felt like I was in the Manor again, except here the floors were linoleum and the walls were white, without any bit of decoration whatsoever. I felt like I was in a hospital, except in hospitals they at least tried to make the place look cheerful. This place was sterile and creepy, like it was only meant for science people. I shuddered as the hallway turned onto another one just like it. Except this new one had doors, lots of them. I tried to count how many but it got too annoying so I stopped.

Finally though we came upon a door with a glass window and a name stenciled on it in gold lettering: Dr. Jenet Klyburn, Geneticist. I took a deep breath as Leslie knocked on the door. A muffled voice on the other end told us to enter. When Leslie opened the door, I was surprised at how much the room contrasted with the rest of the place. It was still white and sterile looking but at least there was some color. There were prints on the wall, a few potted plants on the windowsill and a small desk in the corner. Sitting behind the desk was a red headed middle-aged woman in a white lab coat. She smiled at both of us as she quickly got up, went around the desk then gave Leslie a hug.

“It’s been too long, Doc” said the woman when they separated.

“Jenet, dear, you don’t have to call me Doc anymore.”

The woman---Jenet---waved it off. Then she turned to me. “This must be Stephanie?”

I nodded. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Klyburn.”

She laughed. “Please, it’s Jenet. The only ones who call me Dr. Klyburn are the kiss ass Grad students.”

Both she and Leslie laughed. It was clear the two of them were old friends. After the laughing was over, Jenet got right down to business. She pointed to the examining table and told me to hop up. I did as I was told and then she started to ask me questions. She didn’t want to know anything about me before---which was a relief---but she did ask me some questions about how the change happened. I tried to be as vague as possible. It was something that Leslie, Barbara and I decided before we got into the car earlier. They both thought it would be in my best interest that I not advertise that I was moonlighting as a vigilante when the change happened. There were too many questions and not enough answers. I tried to convince them that it wasn’t what I was doing, but they didn’t seem to want to listen. So together the three of us came up with a cover story, stemming from Dad catching me dressed and almost beating me senseless. Speaking of him, the police caught him. Well, actually caught him wasn’t the proper term I guess. I’m not sure when it happened but he was dropped off in front of the nearest precinct, practically gift wrapped. Barbara didn’t know much but when they examined him they found traces of soot and other damaging evidence on him linking him to the warehouse. I think the DA wants to prosecute him on the warehouse fire as well as trying to beat me to death, which is fine by me. I promised myself to ask Uncle Jim about it as soon as I was done here.

“So I take it this turning into a girl thing was a happy occurrence then?”

I nodded. “Oh God, yes.”

Jenet smiled. “I wish all my other patients were as enthusiastic as you about the change.”

“You’ve had other Meta patients?”

She nodded. “I’m not supposed to say anything but there have been quite a few, one of them who favors blue and gold in fact.”

She gestured toward the wall behind her desk. I looked over and saw a framed poster of Booster Gold, standing in a sexy pose. I’m not sure how it happened but Myka was the Poster Girl for Metas everywhere. Not that I’m surprised. Her posters were all over the city and her face was all over the TV. She didn’t do much hero work but she did a lot of selling. She was a big time celebrity, peddling everything from suntan lotion to sports equipment. I suppose she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to our kind. God that felt good to say.

After the few questions, Jenet asked me to remove my shirt so she could do her doctor thing. I did as I was asked and got the complete physical. I was kinda annoyed that I got more than two in one day though. At the end of which she stuck a cotton swab into my mouth, after that she stuck it in a test tube and put it in a glass cabinet in the corner. Then she told me I was set and to put my shirt back on.

“Will that be able to tell you what I can do?” I asked as I pulled my shirt over my head.

Jenet frowned. “Don’t you know, sweetheart?”

I shook my head. Leslie piped in. “After the battering she took it’s clear that she’s got some regeneration capabilities at least.”

Jenet looked deep in thought. Then she smiled. “Can we run a little test?”

I nodded and she smiled. She walked over to her drawer and took out a scalpel. When she walked over to me and approached my arm, I pulled back. She reassured me everything was going to be fine, she was just going to make a tiny cut. I held out my hand and she tried to slit the tip of my index finger. But nothing happened so she tried again. All three of us stared at finger like it belonged to an alien. Then Jenet looked at her scalpel, probably wondering if it was a dull blade. She pricked her own finger and cursed as blood appeared and slowly started to run down it. Ok so I’m not regenerator girl but apparently I’m a freaky girl who can’t get hurt. How messed up is that?

“Interesting” Jenet asked, still being the scientist.

I nodded. “That’s definitely not normal.”

She chewed her lip. “Would you mind if I ran some X-Rays?”

I looked at Leslie. “It’s up to you, sweetie.”

I gave her my consent then we moved onto another room. She made me undress and put on one of those paper gowns. I was kinda embarrassed about it but it was real quick. I’ve never had an X-Ray before but it was cool. It didn’t hurt at all and it didn’t take very long. Afterwards she had me get redressed and took me to a room where I could wait. Leslie stayed with her. I found myself alone in a room that looked like a doctor’s office waiting room. There was chairs lining the walls, a TV mounted in the corner and a stack of magazines on the little table in the center. I rifled through them looking for something interesting but they were all pretty much out of date.

I frowned and decided to find something on TV. As I was flipping through the channels, the door opened and another girl came into the room. She was about my age, reddish brown hair, t-shirt and jeans. She looked out of place and as nervous as hell. She smiled at me and took a seat on the other side of the room. I watched her for a few minutes but it was clear that she was really uncomfortable. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she was a Meta too. It was the way she sat and walked, it screamed guy. It was the way she looked, too. Her clothes were a bit too tight even though they were for the proper gender and her hair was done all wrong. I felt bad for her because it was clear that she didn’t want this at all.

“Hi” I said, trying to make small talk. “My name’s Stephanie, what’s yours?”

She snorted. “Kevin…I mean, Kitty I guess.”

“That’s cute,” I said, trying to be nice. It was, too, I wish I’d thought of something that cute.

She scoffed. “My Mom’s idea.”

She shifted a bit, allowing me to see some of her ankle. It was then that I saw a purple dragon tat there. “Cool tat.”

She tugged on her pant leg but it was clear that it was just a tad short. “That’s Lockheed. He’s my school’s mascot. It was pretty cool when me and guys got them though it was on my arm before; I’m not sure how it got down there.”

I smiled and nodded. I decided to break the ice. “What’s your thing?”

She shrugged. “Damned if I know. I took a bad tackle in practice, knocked me out cold. When I woke up, bam, boob city. Two nights ago, I woke up underneath my bed. Then this morning I was in the basement, three floors beneath my room. My Mom freaked and brought me here. They said on the news they could help people like me.”

I nodded. We talked for a bit more. Kitty went to a school just outside Chicago or at least she did. After becoming her new self, she hasn’t been back since. Her mother was seriously considering moving, making a clean start somewhere else. Kitty said she found a brochure in the mail for some private school in Westchester County New York. She wasn’t too keen on the idea but it sounded cool to me. Ever since reading Harry Potter I was a big fan of private schools. Not that Dad could afford one and even if he could, there was no way he would send me to one. But a girl could dream. The two of us talked about other things until Jenet came to get me. I wished her luck, she smiled and grumbled a thanks and I followed Jenet back to her office.

“So what’s the verdict?” I asked as I sat on the edge of her exam table.

She frowned. “Your skin appears to be normal but there were some abnormalities in your bone density and muscle tissue.”

“Anything bad?”

She shook her head. “No, but I’d like to do some more testing if you’re ok with it.”

I wasn’t so sure I wanted all of this today. I told her as much.

“We don’t have to do it today but maybe next week, allow you to have some settling in time. I can call you later, schedule an appointment.”

I thought about it for a second. It might be cool to figure out what my new powers were if I had any at all. “Sounds good to me.”

____________________________________

Uncle Jim lived in Schaumburg, in a brown Victorian across the street from a park. I used to go there a lot when I was a kid but after Mom died, Dad said he couldn’t be bothered. When Leslie pulled up in front of the large house, I sighed. I looked out the window, staring with glee at my new home. Since Dad was now in jail and I couldn’t exactly live with the Morgans, Uncle Jim and Barbara were it. But Barbara lived in a little studio apartment in the city which was just big enough for her. Uncle Jim had a huge house with five bedrooms, two baths and a gigantic backyard. He was all alone too since Babs went to college. His wife, Barbara---Mom’s sister---died when I was three. So I guess that makes our family small and close knit.

“You sure you want to do this kiddo?” asked Leslie. “I have plenty of space in my apartment.”

I smiled and shook my head. “I’m sure.”

Leslie offered for me to live with her after it was decided I couldn’t go back to the Narrows. But I didn’t want to impose. We thought about Bruce but living in the Manor kinda creeped me out. The place was too big and foreign. Besides, I wanted to be near family. That’s when Babs called her Dad. They talked for about an hour; I think it took her that long to convince Uncle Jim about what was going on. He was a good guy---very understanding---and said he couldn’t have been happier. I’m not sure if that was true or not but it was nice of him to say so.

Leslie got out first and opened the door for me. Then she went around to the trunk and got my bag. I didn’t have much, just what I managed to grab from my room when I fled. Though she did offer to take me over there and get the rest of my stuff if I wanted. I was tempted but most of it belonged to Steven and that life was over as far as I was concerned. I wanted to start new and fresh and what better way to do it then here. Though there were still a lot of things to work out. School, for instance. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about that actually. I still want to go to my old one though, it’s not like anyone would notice the difference. I was in my senior year after all and it would be stupid to switch what with it still being the second week of classes. Another thing was my new identity. I’m still not sure how I was going to get one of those.

When I got out of the car, I looked up at the house. When I was younger, I thought it was the biggest place in the world. It had white columns and trim, a huge wraparound porch and a bunch of peaks and gables. I used to think it was like a castle and always imagined myself as the fairy princess. Now looking at it I couldn’t help but feel warm inside. This was going to be home. I think I could live with that. I took a deep breath and walked down the little stone path wedged in between a nicely manicured lawn. There were flower boxes under most of the windows and even trimmed hedges under the large window in the front. Uncle Jim didn’t have much time for yard work but whomever he hired to do it was fantastic.

When Leslie and I started up the porch, the front door opened. Uncle Jim was standing there in a red wool sweater and jeans, his casual look. His trademark mustache was well groomed, his glasses having switched to bifocals since I’d last seen him. He walked out onto the porch; a leather bound book tucked under one arm. He had a warm welcoming smile that always made me wish that this man had been my father. When he smiled at me now I did everything I could to keep myself from breaking down and running into his arms.

“So you must be my new niece,” he said with a hearty laugh.

I nodded. “Hi Uncle Jim, thanks for this.”

He smiled and nodded. Then addressed Leslie. “It’s always a pleasure, Leslie. Thanks for looking after my new girl here.”

Leslie smiled. “Anything for your family, Jim.”

It didn’t surprise me that Leslie knew Uncle Jim. Hell, Leslie seemed to know everyone.

The two of them chattered on the porch for a bit. I asked if I could go on in. Uncle Jim nodded and said it was my house now, so I didn’t need to ask for permission. So I walked inside and smiled. Nothing had changed since the last time I’d been here. Some of the electronics was updated but the main room looked pretty much the same since I was little. Aunt Barbara had decorated it and I think Uncle Jim was afraid to change it. I kinda liked it, it was very homy. It was definitely a lot better than the crap that Dad had in our old living room. I walked inside and flopped down on one of two large couches. I wanted to cry but instead I grabbed one of the pillows and sighed into it.

Ten minutes later, Uncle Jim came in. He was carrying my bag and walked over to his chair, sitting in it slowly. We both sat there in silence for a while. It was kinda awkward, what with the two of us not sure what to say. I felt really out of place, like an Interloper. After all, he was the Police Commissioner, my father was a criminal and the only time I saw him was when he was being interviewed on TV. It felt kinda weird sitting here actually. I think he might have been a little uncomfortable, too.

But he did finally break the silence. “I was thinking of putting you up in one of the guest rooms. It’s kinda bare at the moment but I’m sure we can get it decorated to your liking.”

I smiled and nodded. “Is it the one next to Bab’s old room?”

He nodded. “C’mon, I’ll take you there.”

He led me up the stairs to the second floor. He took me to one of the rooms in the front of the house, giving me a nice view of the park. I smiled because he remembered. When I used to come here, I loved the park. Sometimes Mom and I used to spend the night and this room was my favorite. Partially because of the view but also because it had such a huge bed. When Jim unlocked the door and let me in, I smiled because nothing had changed. It was kinda bare at the moment and it needed some color on the walls but it would definitely do. I surprised him and myself when I gave him a big hug.

It was kinda awkward for both of us. When I pulled away, he smiled. “When you’re ready to talk, I’m ready to listen.”

I nodded and he left, probably back to his study to read his book.

I waited until I heard him go down the stairs. Then I closed the door and ran over to the bed, flopping down on it. The comforter on top was soft and welcoming. It also smelled a bit like Mom, which was a nice added bonus. I’m not sure how he pulled it off but I loved it. I laid there for a while---on my back---staring at the ceiling. Then I realized that I should probably call Jen, seeing that the last time I talked to her was before my stupid Dad stalking. I sat up, grabbed the phone off the bedside table and dialed her number.

She picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Hey girlfriend, how’s it going?”

It was the way I started every phone conversation with her.

“Stephanie?” I laughed. “You sound different, is everything ok?”

I took a deep breath. “You’ll never believe what happened to me.”

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 7, right on time. I have a question, seeing as Stephanie isn't currently anything right now, should I keep the pic I've been using or switch to a transition picture? I only ask because I have another pic but I've been debating about using it. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing, DC Comics for the characters and everyone else for embracing this slow tale so far. UPDATE: Since asking my question, a lot people told me I should change the pic so that's what I've done, this ch. and the one for the previous chapter will be changed to the new pic here.

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Chapter Seven:

“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor with all that walking,” said Uncle Jim from his chair.

I didn’t respond. Instead I continued my pacing, waiting impatiently for Jen. After talking with her on the phone last night for two hours, she wanted to rush over here immediately. But I talked her out of it, it would have been pointless what with the Narrows unofficial curfew and all. So we decided that she’d show up here after school today. I’m not sure how her day was, but for me it was a total bummer, having to wait all day for her to show. After talking with Jen last night, Uncle Jim and I had a talk, too. We both decided that I should forego school for a few days---at least until I got some proper credentials to go with my new self. He made an appointment for me with some government woman---it was scheduled for later this week.

I wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. I’m not sure why it was such a big deal but the idea of some government person coming here in a few days made me kinda uneasy. I guess I was kinda nervous that she was going to take one look at me and say that I couldn’t be a girl. I know it sounds crazy but crazy things have been happening lately. There were heroes all over the world now, and villains to match. In San Francisco, the Green Arrow and Blue Beetle were stalking the streets, and here in Chicago there were so many heroes that I couldn’t even name them all even if I tried. There were countless others too---like Terra and Jade. I had to wonder if any of them had to pass government scrutiny, too.

The hissing of bus wheels drew me from my thoughts.

I rushed to the door and pulled it open. There was a large city bus in front of our house. When the door opened, Jen was the only one who got off. She looked like her usual self, dressed in an earthy outfit. I rushed out onto the large porch, barely containing my glee. I wanted her to see the new me more than anything. She was halfway down the walk when she stopped dead in her tracks, getting a good look at me. I was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, both belonging to Babs. We were close to the same size. When our eyes locked, for a moment I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. It was the longest thirty seconds in my life I think. But it ended quickly when Jen rushed forward and threw her arms around me, crying of all things.
Her crying got me crying.

“Girls” said Uncle Jim from the doorway. “Why don’t you come inside and I’ll get you something to eat.”

Uncle Jim didn’t have to go into work until later. He said, though his job was important, there were others who could handle things until he got there. I think he wanted to be home with me---at least for today. I was the one who convinced him to cut it to half a day. I don’t think he was too happy but he conceded. He was still looking for my story, I think---trying to be the sly detective about it. But so far he’d been unsuccessful and I wasn’t ready to give. Partly because I was afraid he’d get angry with me and partly because I needed to think up a good lie so he wouldn’t get angry. But it’s really hard to lie to a cop, especially the Head one.

Jen and I went into the house. She looked around wide eyed at the size. Her grandparents’ place was big, especially considering where it was located. But this place was like the Manor compared to that. I gave her a quick tour, which ended in my room. We closed the door, making sure not to lock it. Not that we’d do anything stupid but Uncle Jim told me he didn’t like locked doors.

“Holy crap” said Jen, flopping down on my bed. “I hardly recognized you.”

I smiled. “I’m still me.”

“Give me a twirl,” she said excitedly.

I rolled my eyes and she laughed. I slowly turned in a circle, Jen sized me up. When I was done, she frowned. At first I thought I did something wrong. I put on a pouty face and she laughed.

“It’s not that” she said, still laughing.

“What is it?”

“You’re bigger than I am.”

I grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. Which of course made her grab a pillow and the two of us went at it. It was kinda fun and stupid but very carefree. We dueled for a while, finally ending in a draw. After that, we sat and talked. Jen was pretty bright so it didn’t her long to start asking the real serious questions. She wanted to know what happened. Last night I gave her a small rundown of events; she was angry with me at first. I don’t think she liked the fact that I lied to her. I didn’t like it either but I knew she’d talk me out of it if I told her. So now, when I told her everything---all the details---she glared at me. Then she scolded me. I deserved it. What I did the other night was beyond stupid. In the end, she made me promise never to do anything stupid like that again. I quickly did so.

After that, the conversation went to lighter things. She mainly wanted to talk about how to redecorate my room. Jen was a typical girl where it counted. I told her about maybe painting the walls a light shade of purple. I might have mentioned before I’m kinda obsessed with the color. According to her, the only good thing about the whole warehouse incident was that my ratty purple hoodie was burnt beyond recognition. I was still mourning its loss though. We talked girly things for hours after that then the conversation switched to school. I told her I would still be attending the same one but had to wait until I had a meeting with some government woman.

Jen left before it got dark, taking the bus back into the city. That was one thing I was going to miss about living here: Jen was no longer around the corner. After she was gone, I was alone in the house. Uncle Jim left for work and wouldn’t be back until later. Have you ever been in a big house all by yourself? Let me tell you right now it’s kinda creepy. I thought about calling Babs but remembered she had a night class. So I decided to take advantage of the park across the street. I went upstairs and rummaged through Babs’ closet, looking for something warm to wear. Though it was September and nice during the days, the nights were getting a bit chilly. You’ll never guess what I found: a black hoodie. It wasn’t purple but it was better than anything.

It was a zip up kind and when I put it on, it was at least two sizes too big but it was nice and warm. Babs was a product of that bygone age where kids liked bigger clothes. At least as far as hoodies went. After making sure I wrote Uncle Jim a note, I left the house. I half ran down the drive and then across the street. It was not quite six, so the sun was still up but just barely. Looking at the park in this dim light made me smile. I couldn’t remember the last time I was here. I also couldn’t remember the last time I could take a walk this late and not fear for my life. That was one thing I wasn’t going to miss about the city.

_______________________________________

I headed straight for the track. The local high school used this place for practice a lot. I was watching them earlier from my window. I think it was the whole football team, running laps. It must have sucked being run through your paces like that. It kinda made me a bit nostalgic though. I kinda missed gymnastics. It made me want to find the nearest Gym and sign up again. I could too, especially now that I was out of Dad’s hair. But to get back into it after so long; I’m not sure if I could do that. Besides everything was different now: I’d have to relearn the whole thing.

I sighed heavily and shivered in the wind, pulling the hood up over my head. I kept my head down as I walked, lost in my thoughts. I headed for the track and slowly walked around it. There was no one here at this time of the day, what with evening almost upon us. I had the thing to myself, which I kinda liked. It helped me get lost in my thoughts and boy did I have some things to think about. Yesterday I had been the most excited girl in the world---and I still was---but I was scared, too. It’s not every day that a guy turns into a girl. I love everything about it---I wouldn’t take it back for anything---but what did it all mean? There has been a lot of talk about Metas over the last few months, some good and bad. People are a little up in the air on the subject actually. There are those in certain communities who think we’re “devils” while others see us as “gifts from God.”

Me, I was always kinda indifferent about it. Was I jealous of Metas---of course? I mean who wouldn’t want to have cool superpowers. But at what cost? There were a lot of guys and girls out there who weren’t like me. I can clearly remember the interview they did with Myka Carter shortly after she saved the President. She had been happy as a guy. She did admit that she had a gambling problem before but that her life was pretty good. Then everything got uprooted by the “Change”. That’s what a lot of people are calling it---The Change. I guess that makes sense but couldn’t it have been something cooler like “The Metamorphosis”. I had to read that in English class last year---Ovid’s not Kafka’s. I don’t remember much of it other than I was really jealous of that prophet guy---the one that got turned into a girl for striking a pair of snakes while they were having sex. I can honestly admit I thought about looking for a pair myself just to see if it would work. Now that I’ve found my own snake---figuratively of course---I’m kinda scared that it might come with a hefty price.

I continued to think about my blessing or curse as I walked around the track. As I walked, the sun went down and darkness slowly crept in. With it came the cold. I thought about zipping up the hoodie but it wasn’t too bad. I shivered a bit and started back toward the house. I was about halfway there when something caught my eye. Actually someone. More than someone, it was a bunch of some ones. I noticed them a few minutes ago but I thought they were a bunch of kids about my age, fooling around in the park like guys did. They were laughing before and having a good time. Or that’s how it appeared.

I caught sight of them again as I was leaving the track. They were far enough away that I couldn’t really make out what they were doing but I could see that there were at least four or five them. They were surrounding one of the picnic tables, laughing and carrying on. I couldn’t make out any faces but that didn’t really matter because I didn’t know many of the guys in school anyway. In school? Were they even from my school? I know it wasn’t much of a stretch to think that, after all this town had its own school, too. But there was just something about these guys that seemed to breathe familiarity to me. I guess that’s why I found myself slowly making my way over, pretending of course to walk along the path that ran pretty close to them.

Familiarity came pretty quick, especially when one of the guys talked: “C’mon, it’s not going to hurt.”

The voice was awfully familiar. I pretended to stop and tie my shoe, not that they noticed anyway. I glanced at the group and recognized the speaker. I didn’t know his name but he was in my third period government class. So these were some of my classmates. I looked at some of the other faces but the speaker was the only one who was facing me. The others were tall though, wearing hoodies not all that different from my own. The only one who wasn’t was the guy they were surrounding. I couldn’t see his face but from the position he was in---lying on his back on the table---it was clear that he was much smaller than them. It was also pretty clear that he didn’t want to be there.

I cursed. Then I stood up, finishing my pretend activity. I looked about, wondering if there was anyone else here to take notice. But as far as I could tell, we were the only people in the park. I cursed again. A small part of me wanted to leave and not get involved. It was a very small part. It wasn’t in control though so it couldn’t stop me when I took a deep breath and left the path. It was a good thing too because as soon as I got closer, one of the taller boys’s moved and I saw their victim’s face: it was Arnold. I bit my lip and charged in, not a moment too soon.

“Just stick it in him already” said one of the other boys.

The boy closest to me was trying to jab a needle into Arnold’s arm while two others held him down.

Arnold squirmed and kicked. “I changed my mind guys…I don’t want….ahhh….you bastards.”

I got to them at about that time. I was closest to the one doing the injecting. I grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him away. I think I shocked him more than anything. The needle actually snapped in Arnold’s arm, the little freshman screamed. The Injector looked at me bleary eyed for a second. When I looked in his face, I did a double take. I’m not sure what he was on but whatever it was, it was bad. His pupils were huge, his veins bulging and his skin was really pale. There was a weird look in his eyes too, like a crazed lunatic. He held the empty needle in his hand and for a second he looked stunned. Then he reacted. He crushed the needle in his palm, shards of glass digging into his flesh. It was a bloody mess but it didn’t seem to faze him much.

I let go of his shoulder and took a step back. I locked eyes with Arnold but he couldn’t see me because of the hood. I wasn’t about to drop it though, not until these guys were gone.

“The kid said no,” I said, putting an edge to my voice, trying to sound menacing.

It didn’t really have the effect I was looking for. Especially when the other guys turned toward me. They were huge and I’m not just talking tall, I’m talking bulging muscles. One of them wasn’t wearing a jacket---just a tank top–it showed his bulging veins. It kinda creeped me out. I snapped around the circle, looking at all their faces though. They all had the same pale skin and blood shot eyes. It didn’t take a genius to know what was going on here: these guys were Thrill Seekers. When the police sent the memo to Leslie about Thrill, they added a description of what a Thrill Seeker might look like. I was staring at four of them now. I took another step back, having read the whole report. Thrill was all about the adrenaline rush and these guys looked like big Seekers.
What the hell did I just get myself into?

“You need to back the fuck up out of here right now,” said the one who crushed the needle, blood dripping from his hand.

I looked at the hand but if he knew he was bleeding he didn’t seem to react to it. I had to wonder if it was part of the drug reaction. I looked away from him quickly and back over to Arnold. He was sitting up on the table, holding his arm. The four Seekers had completely abandoned him as the target. Now they were all concentrated on me.

I played the only card I had. “You guys better get the hell out of here right now. The police commissioner lives right across the street, all I have to do is scream.”

The leader of the group seemed to pause but only for a second. Then he laughed. “Let him come, we’ll jack his ass up pretty good.”

Ok so much for the subtle approach. I bit my lip. It sucked that I hadn’t been a girl longer. If I had been, I would have had a purse and inside I would have been prepared. Jen had two very important things in her’s: a can of mace and a rape whistle. Not that she ever had to use them but her grandparents were the overprotective type. I kinda wished that Uncle Jim had at least bothered to give me one of those. I suppose he probably would have if I had been with him for more than a day. I suppose it’s my own fault in a way, coming out, thinking that I was safe just because I wasn’t in the Narrows anymore. I guess the moral of this story is that crime is everywhere and that you need to be prepared for that.

“You guys don’t want to start shit here, it’s beneath you.”

The leader smirked. “You should have thought of that before getting your ass involved.”

Shit. I opened my mouth to say something else but didn’t get a chance to speak. Instead, I squeaked as the leader lunged for me. I’m not really sure what happened. I know he was pretty close and the odds of me getting away from him weren’t all that great. So it kinda surprised the hell out of me when I easily slipped from his grasp, slithering away like a snake. I only had a moment to think about it because one of his friends came for me. The way these guys moved, they could have been on the football team. They were big but they were fast. The one that came at me hit me hard in the side, his head slamming into my ribcage.

The blow drove me to the ground. He dropped on top of me, pinning me in place. The strangest thing was the lack of pain. I should have been screaming and wailing from it. It should have hurt like hell but I didn’t feel a thing. I wonder if it meant what I thought it did. Not that I had time to ponder that possibility. The guy sitting on top of me grounded his knee into my back. I think he was expecting me to scream out in pain but when I didn’t he looked a little perplexed.

“What the fuck” he said, reaching down and grabbing my hood. He pulled it off my head and the look on his face was genuine. “Holy shit, it’s a chick.”

He shifted his weight, rising just a tad. It was enough for me to roll fully on my back. Then I did something a little crazy. I snapped my head forward as hard as I could, driving it right between the legs. Being a guy only a short twenty-four hours ago---more or less---I knew being hit in the joy spot wasn’t all ice cream and kitties. But being head butted there had to hurt like a bitch. The look of pain spread across the son of a bitch’s face. He fell off me, grabbing his crotch. Then he toppled on the ground, writhing in pain. I kicked him a few times, making sure to get him in the face at least once.

“You fucking bitch” snapped one of the other guys. “You’re dead.”

Two of the others rushed forward but their leader---Mr. Bloody Hand---stopped them by holding out his arms. He looked at me and smirked. “If it isn’t the ball breaker herself. Is this what you do, patrol the local parks looking for dweebs in trouble.”

I glared at him. It pissed me off that I didn’t have a name for his face.

“Stephanie?” said a voice from behind.

I snapped quickly over to Arnold. He was crawling off the table, still holding his arm. I smiled at him. “Hey Arnie, nice night for a stroll in the park, huh.”

Mr. Bloody Hand spoke again. “Hey Bitch, we not good enough for you.”

I turned my attention back to them. I shrugged. “You guys aren’t good enough for anyone.”

“Let me mash her face, Johnny,” said one of his eager friends, twitching with excitement.

I nodded toward him. “He doesn’t look so good. I think you guys need to lay off that shit.”

Bloody Hand smirked. Then he reached into his pocket, pulling out a second needle. I looked at it, at the yellowish green liquid inside. “You want a hit, baby,” he said with a big grin. “It will take you places you could never dream.”

“I’ll pass.”

He shrugged. Then he stuck the needle in his arm. It didn’t take him long to find a vein, after all they were practically bulging out of his skin. His body started to quiver as he injected himself with it. Then it was as if he was reacting to a massive orgasm. He gasped real loud, closing his eyes and throwing his head back. Not that I knew what that was like but I’ve seen it in movies. His two friends looked on in jealous envy, probably wishing they were having the fix he was having. I looked at the three of them then at Arnold. I knew we didn’t have much time so I grabbed his arm and ran, dragging him with me. At first, he stumbled along behind me---probably a bit confused---but he caught on pretty quick.

We ran as hard as fast as our feet could take us. I knew as long as we got across the street and into the house, we’d be fairly safe. If the three of them were stupid enough to try and break into the Commissioner’s house they needed to be arrested. We were going pretty fast but it didn’t take long for them to come pounding after us. I could hear them coming up fast, faster than they should have. We had a huge head start but they were gaining ground too quickly. It had to be that fucking drug. I don’t remember anything about it saying that it enhanced speed but the report was also preliminary at best.

They made up the distance too quickly. I could see the street but there was no way we’d make it. So I made a decision. “Arnold, run across the street and into that big brown house. Call the police; tell them you’re a friend of the Commish’s niece.”

Arnold didn’t ask any questions. He just kept running. I watched him go then turned on our pursuers. The closest one was one of the goons. I think it was one who wanted to “mash my face” earlier. He was charging like a bull, saliva flying out of his mouth. He was really too fast for me to react and yet somehow I did. I’m not really sure how to explain it. It was like the warehouse all over again. I felt lighter than air and when he lunged, I turned so effortlessly that it was as if I was reacting without even thinking about it. He was going too fast to stop so he stumbled and slammed into the ground, face first. It probably hurt like hell. I heard him groan then push himself up, a face full of grass and dirt no doubt. I didn’t wait to find out though. I took this momentary relapse to continue running. With him down and his friends still somewhere behind me, I ran for the street.

I got across it quickly enough. He was about to give chase but a car zoomed by. I was lucky because I got on the other side before it hit me. He glared angrily at me. I wanted to flip him off but I didn’t waste the gesture. Instead, I turned and ran up my driveway. When I got into the house---glad I forgot to lock the door---I found Arnold in the main room. He was on the phone, probably talking to dispatcher. He smiled at me and looked relieved as I walked into the room. I locked the door this time. Then I turned and looked out the window. The goon was gone. I guess he wasn’t as ballsy as he pretended to be. I wouldn’t have pursued us either.

I sighed in relief and walked over to the couch, flopping down on it. Arnold got off the phone a few minutes later, dropping down too. I looked at his arm, it didn’t look too bad. It was a little red and swollen where the needle jabbed him but other than that it didn’t look too bad.

“You want me to bandage that for you?”

He shook his head. “I’m good.”

I nodded. “Are the cops sending someone?”

He shrugged. “They have a car in the area.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes after that. Then I asked the question that was foremost in my thoughts. “What the hell were you doing with those guys?”

He sighed and told me his story. It wasn’t all that hard to piece together. They promised to help him fight off the bullies. Apparently, there was an incident today in school---one I wasn’t there to prevent. I guess I can’t be around all the time to protect the kid but it pissed me off. Arnold got roughed up pretty good and those guys helped him. Then they promised to help him some more. He was a little desperate and agreed. He gave them some money and they brought him to the park. He was hanging out with them---they acted like they wanted to be his friends. But that’s when they told him about the drug. The rest I knew.

“Guys like that are the lowest of the low,” I said angrily.

He nodded. “I was just so damn tired of all the bullying.”

“You have me, you know. As long as I’m around I won’t let those jackasses touch you.”

I’m not sure that was the right thing to say. I guess I couldn’t blame the kid. I was the bullied kid for the longest time. I knew exactly where the kid was coming from. So when he reacted to my words, I kinda felt his pain too.

“You’re a girl,” he snapped. “If you were me would you want a girl sticking up for you all the time?”

I shook my head.

He continued. “No offense, Stephanie, you’re cool and all but you’re only making things worse.”

That threw me a bit. “They’re fucking with you. How am I making things worse?”

“You’re not helping, that’s for sure.”

I frowned. “You want to be their punching bag all your life?”

He got angrier. “Better that than being known as the Sissy who has a girl fight all his battles for him.”

The gibe stung. It stung a little less though because it was true. I was so busy seeing myself in Arnold that I forgot he wasn’t like me. I would have loved it if someone had stuck up for me---protected me like I did for him. I wouldn’t have cared if it were a girl. But then again I saw myself as one so it wouldn’t have been too much of a problem for me. For Arnold though---it was bad. I forgot how rough guys could be to one another. It was no wonder he liked it so much better when those four stood up for him.

I opened my mouth to say something else but closed it just as quickly. I didn’t really know what to say. So the two of us sat in silence, Arnold with his back to me, sniffling. I let him cry. It was good to cry every now and then even for a guy. He cried for a while then more silence followed. The ringing of the doorbell interrupted our dead silence. I got up and answered. It was the police officer we called for. I invited him into the house---Arnold wiped his tears. He took our statements, first Arnold’s, then mine. He was here for about an hour, trying to get as much detail as he could. I told him everything I knew, including the names I heard used. I think he was impressed with how much I was able to take from the scene. I was a little impressed myself.

“Would you like a ride back into the city, son?” asked the cop of Arnold when it was over.

Arnold looked back at me, ice in his stare. “Yeah, I’m done here.”

Another sharp sting. That one I didn’t deserve. I was only trying to help and he threw it back at me. “I’ll see you in school?”

He shook his head. “Just leave me alone.”

Then he turned and followed the officer out of the house. I went to the door and watched the two of them go. I felt a pain in my chest, knowing that in the end I had hurt Arnold more than helped him. I wanted to cry but no tears came. Instead, I stood there and watched as he got into the patrol car and they drove off. I stood in the doorway for a while, staring off into the park. A small part of me wanted to run across the street and back into it looking for those bastards. I wanted to pound the snot out of them. But another part of me wanted to crawl into the corner and cry. After a few minutes of staring, I found myself at a midway decision.

I turned and went back into the house. I didn’t go into the corner though; instead, I went to the couch. I grabbed the remote and watched TV. I avoided the news though; I didn’t want to hear stories about successful heroes, heroes that people actually thanked. Heroes that people wanted to save them. Instead, I found myself on Cartoon Network. I watched for a few hours until Adult Swim came on. It was then that I heard the front door open. I shut off the TV, pulling my legs up onto the couch, hugging my knees.

It didn’t take Uncle Jim very long to walk into the room. At first, he didn’t say much. He set his briefcase in a chair then took off his coat, hanging it in the closet. When he was finished with that, he took the paper and went over to his chair. When he sat down he finally locked at me. When our eyes locked, he frowned.

He sighed. “You know when the police are called and my name is dropped, I generally take notice.”

I sighed. “So you heard about today?”

He nodded. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes; then let out another sigh. “I think you and I need to have that talk now.”

All I could do was nod.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 8 folks. Things are about to get very interesting, very quick. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Eight:

When I woke up the next morning, I felt particularly relaxed. Most of the events of the night before were long gone from my head. I guess it helped that Uncle Jim and I had a nice long talk. He wanted to know everything---starting with the real reason why I was at the warehouse. I thought about lying, but like I said before, he’d know. So I found myself telling the truth and it was strangely invigorating. I don’t think he was too happy with it but he did say that he was glad I didn’t make something up. He scolded me a bit about it though, which only got worse when I told him about last night. He said all he could do was ground me for the day, telling me to stay in the house. I was kinda excited about that actually; I’d never been grounded before. It made me feel like I was finally in a real relationship with someone---the kind where the kid does something wrong and the adult punishes them the proper way.

I smiled about it as I stripped out of my shirt and got into the shower. While the warm water washed over my newer, sensitive body my thoughts drifted to the Manor of all places. Leslie had told me not to go into work for a few days to help me adjust to things. She also said she’d square things away with Bruce to at least get me a few days off there as well. Though it kinda annoyed me, it was a lot of help. As much as I love going there, I was kinda glad I had a day or two for myself. My thoughts drifted to school after that and of course to Arnold. Last night I had accepted his anger toward me but now it kinda pissed me off. It seemed to me that Arnold wanted to go through his whole life with people shoving him around and I guess I couldn’t stop him. But there’s no way I could stand by and watch others do it. It pissed me off to see the big prey on the little.

When I got out of the shower, the phone was ringing. I just managed to wrap a towel around my wet self and run into my room to answer. “Hello” I said, a bit out of breath.

“Is this Miss Stephanie Brown?” asked a female voice on the other end.

“This is her,” I said, wondering how many people actually knew that name.

“Miss Brown my name is Special Agent Cameron Chase, I work for the Department of Metahuman Affairs, I believe Dr. Klyburn told you I might be contacting you.”

I wanted to sigh. Instead, I confirmed it. We talked for a few minutes, she asked me some questions and I answered them to the best of my ability. Then she told me the reason why she called, she was moving our meeting up to today. A car would be by to pick me up in an hour. I’m not sure I was too happy with it but who was I to argue with the government. So I told her that was fine and ended the conversation. An hour didn’t give me much time to get ready but I tried. I rushed about my room, drying off and getting dressed as quick as possible. I dressed as sensible as possible, raiding Bab’s closet again. I was just lucky she left a lot of clothes behind. I found a sensible blouse and skirt. The shoes would have to do as well though I wasn’t so sure about the heel. I’ve walked in heels before but not very far and nothing more than an inch. The two-inch ones were a bit tricky but I got the hang of them really fast---too fast in fact.

My hair was still a bit damp and my makeup was rushed but I got down the stairs with time to spare. It was a good thing too, because while I was in the kitchen fixing some toast, the doorbell rang. I groaned, taking my buttered bread with me as I went and answered the door. When I opened it, I was surprised to see a tall, stern looking man standing there. He was dressed in black from head to toe which contrasted with his well-coifed blonde hair. His casual look surprised me though; I didn’t think a government agent would wear a turtleneck.

“Miss Brown?” he asked, I nodded. “I’m Agent Tresser, DMA.”

He flipped a badge up then back down. It was too fast for me to really see but I believed him. I looked from him to his shoulder holster, I thought these guys were supposed to conceal their weapons, not leave them out in the open like that.

“I thought I was meeting with an Agent Chase?” I asked as I walked over to the closet and got out a coat. It was another item of Babs’. As soon as I got some time I was definitely going shopping. Agent Stern Face stood in the doorway the whole time, watching me as I put on the garment. He kinda freaked me out a bit.

“Agent Chase is the acting Operating Supervisor of this region; I will be handler for the duration of the DMA’s involvement in your case.”

My case? “How long will that be?”

“That is not for me to decide.”

I frowned, his face was expressionless. I wrote Uncle Jim a note---today he had no choice to go into work. I told him where I went just in case he got back before me. Then I followed Mr. Stiff Agent out to his car. It kinda surprised me too. It was one of those new Acuras, only on the market for a few months now. It was sleek and black with government plates. I was able to sit in the front seat which I think annoyed him some. When he got into the car and turned on the engine, I half expected him to speed. He looked like the kind of guy who would do something like that. But when he pulled down the drive and onto the road, he went the speed limit.

Kinda boring after all. I frowned at that.

We drove into the city. I’m not sure what I was expecting but an hour after leaving the house we pulled into a parking garage next to a gray building with a glass front. We probably passed through several different security doors---Tresser swiped his card so many times I lost count. Every hall we looked through looked the same and every door we passed had no names. It was kinda boring but it was definitely freaky. We finally came upon a room that looked semi-normal. Inside I went through what Tresser called processing. A woman handed me a gown and told me to take off all my clothes. I did so a bit reluctantly.

“Dr. Klyburn already gave me a physical,” I said when I was finished putting on the gown.

The woman nodded. “This is for our records sweetie.”

“Where am I exactly?”

The room rolled her eyes. “That man has no people skills whatsoever.”

But she didn’t answer my question, at least not right away. Instead, she went through the paces of a physical. She made me sit on an exam table while she took my temperature then blood pressure. She did some other stuff too. But just like Dr. Klyburn, she couldn’t take blood either. I was still trying to figure that out actually. According to Leslie, she took some of my blood while I was unconscious. So maybe that was the trick, not that I wanted to find out. It did freak me out a bit that they couldn’t stick a needle in my skin. I hadn’t really given what happened the other day much thought but sitting here now---in a similar situation---I couldn’t help but wonder. Was this part of my metagene? Was I now indestructible girl?

When she couldn’t take blood, she ended up swabbing my cheek too. After that, things went a little smoother. She took my weight---102---and my height. I frowned at that. I’d read somewhere that some people got taller when the Meta change happened to them but apparently I wasn’t one of them. I didn’t have to look over her shoulder when she wrote that down. When she was down with that, she did some measuring. Why the government needed to know my bust, hip and waist measurements were beyond me.

“You can get dressed now, sweetie, you’ll need your normal clothes for this next part.”

She finished writing on her clipboard and then left the room.

I pulled off the gown---happy to be rid of it---and dressed as quickly as possible. I sat in the room by myself for a few minutes then the woman came in to retrieve me. She led me down the hall to another room. This one looked like the photo room at the DMV. She made me stand in front of a large digital camera and took several pictures of me. I had my license, not that it meant much in the city. There were a lot of people who could drive but didn’t have cars. I was one of them. Dad said there was no reason for me to drive. I think he didn’t like the idea of me being able to bail from him if need be. Jen had her license too but her grandparents thought she was too young to drive by herself. We both laughed at that one, what with her being almost eighteen and all.

“What’s all this for anyway?” I asked after picture number five or six.

“Your new identification of course.”

After pictures, I was taken to another room. This one was small with a table and two chairs. The woman handed me a lot of papers and a pen. She didn’t even tell me what to do. I sat at the table and browsed through them. They were some pretty standard stuff---change of address form, change of name form. It surprised me that Uncle Jim’s signature was already at the bottom in the spot marked Guardian. They must have had him sign them earlier or something. I read over the official documents thoroughly before signing them myself---I smiled when I put Stephanie Brown down. It felt kinda good to be official like that. The next bunch of papers had to do with school. A lot of that info was already filled out; I recognized my uncle’s handwriting. All I had to do was sign but I read them just to make sure. But it was all there. I was still going to Jefferson High in the city. How I was getting there, I didn’t know. That is until I got to the last few documents in the pile. One of them was for some kind of government incentive---I guess they gave a stipend to all new recent transformees. I frowned because it didn’t say the amount but knowing our government it probably wasn’t much. The last page was a lease. When I saw it my eyes bugged out of my head: it was for a car. I couldn’t believe that the government was actually giving me a car. But when I read, further I realized it wasn’t the government at all but Uncle Jim. He’d apparently bought me a brand new 2012 Ford Focus. I couldn’t sign that one fast enough.

Ten minutes after I signed the last sheet, there was a knock on the door. Whoever was on the other side didn’t wait for me to say come in. The door opened and in walked a sharply dressed blonde woman, her hair pulled tight on the top of her head. She sat in the chair across from me, placing a folder on the table in front of her. Agent Tresser slipped into the room behind her, grimacing. Apparently, whoever she was, he didn’t look too happy about her stepping into his jurisdiction.

“Miss Brown” she asked, I nodded. “I’m Special Agent in Charge Cameron Chase.”

Ah, so that’s why Tresser was pissed. This was the boss that called me earlier then blew me off, sticking me with Agent Personality over there.

I smiled. “It’s nice to meet you at last.”

She cut right to the chase---no pun intended. She opened the folder. “You have a lot of powerful friends Miss Brown. So powerful in fact that I’m afraid they’ve completely undermined my authority here. Usually new Metas like yourself are put through an intense screening process but in your case that doesn’t seem to be necessary.”

“I don’t understand.”

She smirked. “You’re no longer our problem.” When she said it, there was ice in her voice. She was clearly a woman who did not like being told what to do. “I think we should all be so lucky as to be friends with influential billionaires.”

Billionaires? Oh God Bruce. I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to say to him or Tim. I suppose that didn’t matter anymore, the cat’s out of the bag as they say. I suppose it was no surprise, him knowing about me so quickly. The man seemed to know a lot of things and prided himself on it. All I could do was smile, hoping my happiness would wipe the sneer off this woman’s face.

So no DMA---whatever that was. No Sneering Woman, no Cold Tresser. I could definitely live with that.

___________________________________

When Agent Tresser dropped me off, I didn’t bother to say good-bye. I rushed into the house, a stack of papers under my arm. They were mine after all, the government had their copies. I carried them into the kitchen and started making phone calls. The first number I dialed was the car dealership. Apparently, my car was being shipped from an overseas factory; it would arrive in a few days. I should have been disappointed about that but I was still too damn happy I was getting one. After that, I moved onto the more official calls. First was the bank. The government set up a temporary account for me. I called the automated service, spent way too long punching buttons. When I finally to the actual account I nearly dropped the phone. Fifteen thousand dollars was not a small stipend in the least.

I had a lot of things I wanted to buy with it but college was nagging in the back of my mind. I wanted to go to Northwestern like Babs and Myka Carter. All my life I’d only had one dream: I wanted to go into law enforcement. I’d already started filling out the application too, signing myself up for the criminal justice program. From there I’d try to get into a criminal psychology program I think. As much as I dreamed about being a police officer like Uncle Jim, what I really wanted to do was get into the heads of some of these bad guys. My guidance counselor at Jefferson was already helping me get one step closer to that dream.

Speaking of Jefferson, they were my next call. I spent the longest time on the phone with them. First, I had to convince the secretary who I was then I had to convince her that I wasn’t a girl already. After that, I was put through to the Vice Principal and had to do everything all over again. In the end when I finally got the principal, he already knew about it. Apparently, Special Agent Chase gave him a call. He set up a meeting to meet with Uncle Jim and me before school tomorrow morning. After that, I would officially be a student again at Jefferson.

After the hour or so I spent on the phone with the school, I wanted to call Jen. But she was still in class. I bit my lip and realized there were at least two more calls I needed to make. The first was to Leslie. I think she was pretty happy to hear that everything was all right. When I told her I was free to come into work right now she told me to take another day off, make it official tomorrow. I was more than happy to oblige. We talked for a few minutes but she was busy teaching my temporary replacement the ropes so she had to let me go. After getting off the phone, I made my last scheduled call.

“Hey Al” I said, when the butler picked up on the third ring.

“Miss Stephanie is that you?”

“In the flesh, well sorta.”

Not even a chuckle from him. Instead, he responded with: “I didn’t recognize your voice, it sounds very lovely.”

“It sounds lovely to me too.”

We talked for a few minutes. After he asked me if I was “feeling” better, we got right down to business. I told him that I’d be starting school again tomorrow and that I was willing to start up again if Bruce still needed me. To which he replied:
“Master Bruce would be lost without you my dear.”

I’m not sure about that but it was nice of him to say. When I got off the phone, boredom set in. I made myself some lunch, then went into the living room to watch TV. But the only thing on was crummy soap operas. I found myself getting absorbed in one of them though. It was some insipid plot about identical twins. The doorbell saved me. I practically ran to the door and yanked it open. I think I surprised the mailman. He blinked a few times, looking me up and down.

“This is the Gordon residence is it not?” he asked, looking at the house number.

I nodded. “I’m Commissioner Gordon’s niece, Stephanie; I’m living here from now.”

The mailman smiled. “That would explain this envelope then. I rang the bell because I thought was a mistake.”

I looked at a brown envelope on the top my name and this address hastily scrawled on it. I smiled and thanked him as he handed me the mail. I waited until he walked off before I shut the door and carried the pile to the kitchen table. Everything else was for Uncle Jim so I just left it there. I carried the envelope back into the main room with me, muting the TV in the process. I flopped on the couch and tore it open, emptying the contents into my hand. Only one thing slid out, the bus terminal key. At first, I was a bit confused then it suddenly dawned on me. I’d completely forgotten about the laptop and mailing the key to myself.

I looked at the clock as I picked up the handset. Jen was still in class, besides I still had her cell. Or what was left of it anyway, fire tends to ruin those kinds of things. So I quickly punched in the number of Babs’ cell. She picked up on the second ring.

“This is Stephanie I assume,” she said cheerfully.

“Uncle Jim is at work.”

“How are things then?”

“Good. I had a governmental visit today. They took me into the city, gave me a physical and some new ID.”

“I hope Dad knew about all this?”

I could hear the annoyance in her voice. Barbara wasn’t a fan of Big Brother.

“Uncle Jim already signed the papers.”

Babs was quiet for a second. “Was it the DEO?”

“The who?”

She sighed. “Department of Extranormal Operations.”

“Agent Tresser said he worked for something called the DMA.”

“Department of Metahuman Affairs, they’ve a division of the DEO.”

She surprised me. “How do you know that?”

Babs laughed. “They’ve been on the news once or twice. They’re the guys who deal with the Meta problems now. Any new Meta that seems to crop up these days the government tries to stick their nose into their business.”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. I didn’t want to discuss her crazy theories so I quickly changed the subject. “Do you remember the laptop?” She said she did. I mean how could she forget. “Well, I put it someplace safe like you said and I mailed the key to myself. Do you think when you get a chance; you and I can go and get it?”

“You’re giving it straight to my Dad right?”

“I don’t want anything to do with the damn thing. I nearly got killed for it. Trust me when I say this Babs, my vigilante days are over.”
We talked a little bit more after that. We mainly discussed going shopping after she got out of class. I asked if I could bring Jen along and she seemed to like the idea. After that, I hung up and went back to TV. I turned the soap operas and ended up watching the news. The top story was about Thrill. Apparently, it had produced its first casualty. I wasn’t really paying much attention until I saw the face of the victim flashed across the screen. It was one of the guys from the park last night, the one that chased Arnold and me nearly to my front door. According to the reporter on scene at the hospital, the victim---Danny Wilkes---was found two blocks from the park, dead of an apparent overdose. The news switched to another story and I muted the TV again.

So now Thrill killed, that was going to make Uncle Jim’s job a lot harder. I didn’t envy him one bit. It was still kinda shocking though that it was someone I kinda knew, even if he was a scumbag who tried to pound the snot out of me last night. It made me wonder if the other three guys were at risk too. They didn’t seem to be nearly as far gone as he was but they were all pretty close. I guess the only good thing I could take out of this was that I managed to stop Arnold from going down that road too. Even though he swore never to talk to me again, I still helped him.

It made me feel good that I made at least one difference.

_______________________________________

“You’re wearing that to school?” asked Uncle Jim when I came down stairs.

The "that" in question was actually one of the airy summer dresses that Babs and I bought last night. I didn’t answer; instead, I gave him a twirl. He smiled and shook his head. After watching some more TV, I finally got a hold of Jen. I told her all about going to school and how I wanted her to come shopping with me. What girl doesn’t like shopping? Suffice to say she jumped at the opportunity. Babs picked her up first because the two of them were in the city together. I thought it was so cool that even though she was disabled she could still drive a car. Of course, it wasn’t the greatest of vehicles but it was still a car.

After she and Jen picked me up, we went to Woodfield. I’m not sure how long we spent there clothes shopping. We were there long enough to eat dinner. Then we went back to the house and put everything away in my room. Babs drove Jen home and I spent the night trying to decide what was best to wear to school tomorrow. When Uncle Jim got home, I told him about the DMA. I don’t think he was too happy that they chose to bring me in without him being present but there was nothing he could do about it after the fact. He did say he signed the papers for them yesterday at work but was under the impression they would wait a few days before they contacted me. But clearly they wanted to do it as quickly as possible.

“You don’t like what I’m wearing?” I asked as I sat at the kitchen table.

Uncle Jim placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me. It was nice to have someone else cook breakfast for me.

“Its very girly” he said, sitting down with his own plate.

“Well I am a girl.”

Uncle Jim looked a little uncomfortable with that statement. I think he might have been a tad bit uneasy about all of this. After all a few days ago I was his nephew---all be it a slightly feminine one---but his nephew nonetheless. Leslie and Barbara both said they explained things to him, everything in fact. He said he was ok with it but Jim was kinda old fashioned in his ways. He’d accept me but I’m sure he was extremely awkward about it. Not that I could blame him, I guess. If I was in his shoes, I’m not sure how I’d react to me. I’m sure he could tell I was unhappy as a guy---it was hard not to. I’ve dreamed all my life to become a girl and now that it happened, I was going to cherish every minute of it. I could deal with the occasional uncomfortable stares.

“I have to work after school today,” I said, picking up my second piece of crispy bacon.

“Wayne Manor?” I nodded, he sighed. “He’s a good guy; it was a horrible thing that happened to him all those years ago. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t feel troubled by that scene in the alley.”

“You were there?”

He nodded. “I was one of the first on the scene” He shook his head and sighed heavily. “Let’s talk about something else please.”

We didn’t talk about much after that. Uncle Jim didn’t like to talk about work, especially his early days. Not that I could blame him. Chicago was like it was now, filled to the brim with crime. Except now, there was an escalation of it, especially because of the vacuum The Bat left when he disappeared. Not that the Roving Ravager wasn’t helping but he was one guy after all. He was no Bat, though. I’m not sure how the Bat pulled it off but he actually had people afraid to commit crimes in the city. People like my father and the bastard he worked for; there was no way they would have done any of their stuff when the Bat was patrolling the streets.

After breakfast, Uncle Jim drove me into the city. Our car ride was filled with silence too. It’s hard to talk when you shared very little in common. I thought about discussing my future plans with him but Uncle Jim wasn’t a fan of the professionals trying to pass themselves off as policemen. I think he liked the idea of a beat cop---like himself---moving up through the ranks the proper way. Now these guys showed up with PhD’s and made detective easy. Not that that’s where I wanted to be. I wanted to be the woman they called in when they needed someone to get into the mind of a killer. I wanted to be able to crack the psyche of the next Hannibal Lecter. The only problem was that the world didn’t have real homicidal nut jobs like that, at least not any dumb enough to get caught by the cops.

When we got to school, the halls were deserted. We were there before it started after all. The secretary was pleasant enough, telling me I looked very pretty. When I passed the Vice Principal he gave me a look like he’d seen me somewhere before. It didn’t take long for him to put two and two together.

“You’re the girl that helped that Arnold kid the other day?”

I nodded. “Except I wasn’t a girl then, I am now.”

“You’re kidding right?” I shook my head. He laughed. “You’re something else, Miss Brown. I’ve been teaching for twenty years and you’re the first one that was ever able to fool me.”

I smiled. I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not.

When we went into the principal’s office, he greeted me like we were old friends. In truth, this was the first time either of us had actually met. I think he was just excited that he had a Meta in his school; after all, I was the first. We talked for a bit then I filled out more paperwork. After that, he gave me my new schedule and a new locker. It felt kinda weird---it was like I was a completely different person now. Officially, I was the same one I guess but just female now. I didn’t have any friends in school save Jen so it’s not like anyone would notice the difference. I didn’t take Gym class and I was practically silent in most of my previous classes. I don’t think any of my teachers knew if I was a boy or girl anyway even with the roster. I liked it that way. I liked things the way they were now but I was also tired of hiding. That’s why I decided on the dress. I was ready to announce to the world that I was a girl and I was proud of it. When we left the main office, the halls were already starting to fill. A few people stared and there were some whispers.

One girl came up to me and complimented me. “Its good to see you shed that tomboy image of yours, Stephanie.”

I smiled at that, Uncle Jim looked uncomfortable.

I followed him to the front entrance.

“If you need anything or have any trouble…”

“I’ll be fine Uncle Jim,” I said, cutting him off. Then I gave him a gentle hug, it felt kinda nice.

He left and I walked to Jen’s locker, waiting for her to show. It didn’t take long. When she saw me, her face lit up. She told me I needed to make myself known and I think I achieved that pretty well. When she got to her locker, she gave me a big hug. We shared a laugh then I quickly told her about the meeting. She frowned at the VP’s comment. Leave it to Jen to be insulted.

“I can hex him if you want,” she said and we both laughed.

Everyone thought Jen was an evil witch that cursed people. No one seemed to understand Wicca at all. It took me a while to understand it too, but now I thought it was kinda cool. It was kinda fitting, us being outcasts and friends. I wouldn’t change a thing in the world.

________________________________________

I stood outside once again waiting for my ride. Bruce was sending Alfred with the car again; apparently, it would look bad if Tim picked me up on his motorcycle. Not that I cared much, I was never getting on the back of that damn thing again. While I waited for my ride, I thought back to my day at school. I was surprised at how much everything was the same. I got several more compliments, mainly about coming out of my shell. I got some sneers too, but mainly from Jordana and her brood. The only person who didn’t seem to care either way was Arnold. I passed by his locker on the way to lunch but he didn’t even look at me. I thought about stopping and trying to patch things up but knew it wouldn’t make much of a difference. He’d made his decision and he was going to stick with it. I suppose there was nothing more I could do about that.

After school, I went to the Clinic. With the new girl---Holly---things moved a lot faster. She was college age and was studying to be a nurse, so it was good to have her there. The two of us hit it off pretty quickly. We didn’t have much of a day though. There were a few scrapes and bruises. My friend Tony came in again, with another “injury”. But he wasn’t there to see me, he was all about Holly. I’m not sure how I felt about that but I guess it was better than him “hurting” himself to see me. I spent my hour or two at the Clinic then called the Manor for a pick up.

“Do you have a lighter?” asked a voice from behind me.

I turned and saw Holly, leaning against the wall of the building. There was a cigarette hanging limply from her lip. I hadn’t even heard her come out. I shook my head about her question. “No and I’d be careful about that, if Leslie sees you she’s going to skin you alive.”

Holly pulled the cigarette from her mouth and tossed it into the street. I smiled.

“So, you really work for Wayne?”

I grunted. “More like his slave.”

“That’s so cool though, is he really more handsome in person?”

I nodded. “The pictures in the paper do not do him justice.”

We talked a little more than Alfred pulled up. He wasn’t driving the usual today. I liked the Mercedes but I felt more regal in the Rolls. I got into the back, watching as Holly stared fish-eyed at the car. It was nice to impress people you just met. I waved and smiled as we drove off. Alfred was silent the whole way there, not that that bothered me in the least. It was nice to get some quiet. Holly was a nice person but she talked too much.

When I got to the Manor, I went straight to the Tower. Like every other day, I went straight to the boss first. He was sitting up in bed and still looked like he’d been hit by a truck. Not that he’d ever let on to the fact that he was in pain though. Today his pajama top was off and I could see the bandages wrapped around his torso. I could also see his finely toned muscles. He was clearly a guy who wasn’t afraid to exercise---hell he had at least three different exercise rooms. There was something else too. Staring at his naked torso, I was surprised to see a couple of old scars. It made me wonder what billionaires liked to do in their off hours.

He smiled at me. “You’re positively glowing,” he said with a laugh.

“I’ve been feeling pretty good about life these last few days actually.”

“I’ll bet,” he said.

I knew he knew and I think he knew that I knew. But both of us seemed to be playing a game of fooling the other. Does that make any sense?

“So what’s on the agenda today, boss?”

He smiled. “I’ve got some things I want you to straighten up in the parlor. Then I need your help in here. I’ve got some documents that need to be sorted.”

Documents? This was a first. So far, I’d been little more than a grunt. I couldn’t help but smile at that. I was glad that he was finally trusting me with some of the “heavy lifting” even though that’s technically all I’d been doing around here---literally. Does that make sense?

I didn’t waste any time. As soon as he dismissed me, I went into the parlor. I’m not sure what he wanted me to straighten up so I started with some cleaning. There were some magazines scattered across the little coffee table so I stacked them. Then someone---probably Tim---knocked one of the couch pillows on the floor. When I picked it up and put it back, I found a book wedged between the couch cushions. I sighed and pulled it out. Then turned and walked over to the bookshelf. It still amazed me that he had so many books and this was only a fraction of his collection. The Manor had a huge library though I had yet to explore it fully but I planned to.

I stuck the book on the shelf---sliding it into the only empty slot there. I was about to turn back to the room when I noticed that other book. I frowned at it. I was kinda anal when it came to things that looked out of place. Ever since I noticed it the first day here, it’d been kinda nagging me. I looked around just to make sure Tim wasn’t going to pop up behind me like before. Satisfied that he wasn’t there I reached and pulled the Dumas masterpiece off the shelf.

As soon as I did so, there was a clicking sound. The book only came out about halfway. I tugged it again, thinking it was stuck; then something else happened. The bookcase rumbled. I stepped back, scared I’d done something stupid. As soon as I got about a foot away, the rumbling turned into a creak and the bookcase swung open, revealing a space behind it and a staircase leading down.

I bit my lip. Holy crap.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: I'm sorry this is so late but I had hoped to have it finished and posted much earlier today but the weather was not on my side. I was almost finished with the chapter last night but my power went out this morning and was off for several hours today, finally coming back in the early evening hours. So here it is finally. I'd like to thank djkauf for the lightning fast editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Nine:

Secret passageways behind walls were one thing; but secret staircases... that was something else entirely. Now I knew I was in a mansion. I took a deep breath and excitedly stepped over the threshold. The first thing I noticed was the dark---of course. The second thing I noticed was how cold it was. I actually shivered when I stepped on the first step. I thought about looking for some kind of light switch but I knew there wouldn’t be one. So I put my hand on the wall and slowly started down. The wall was made of stone---like the rest of the tower---and the stairs were kinda steep. As I walked down, I only counted about six until I reached the bottom.

In the dark, I couldn’t really see much. I stumbled about like an idiot, fumbling for something to grab a hold of. I finally found another wall and used that as a guide. I moved along it, hoping I might find something that could tell me where I was. As I walked, I was surprised that nothing was in my way. Usually places like this were filled with stuff. Not that I’d ever been in a place like this but in adventure novels and movies these places were prone to be used as storage. I just hoped that that wasn’t the case here. Not that I was expecting treasure or something but I was at least hoping for---well anything. Bruce had already proven to be mysterious and paranoid so what better place to hide your secrets. After all, if this place was what I thought it was, it was already forbidden.

Fumbling along the wall my hand finally brushed over something. It was small and sticking out. I realized it was a light switch. Ok not exactly secret passage décor but it was the twenty first century after all. I flipped the switch and the room suddenly exploded in light. I’d only been down here for a few minutes but it was blinding nevertheless. I snapped my eyes shut, wincing. Then I slowly opened them, shielding them with a hand until I got used to it. It only took about a minute and even though I was still blinking, I took stock of the room.

I frowned at what I saw. Any hope of finding something cool was dashed to pieces in an instant. My earlier assessment was right: there was nothing in here but junk. Ok, so junk was a harsh word but it was nothing of substance. There were a lot of boxes, some cardboard, most wooden. I stepped toward the nearest one and peered inside. This one was filled with old newspapers, some of which dated back over fifty years or more. I looked at some of the headlines but they didn’t really interest me. So I moved onto the next box, it was filled with clothes. I began moving around the room, opening boxes and taking a look. It was a lot of useless miscellaneous stuff. It didn’t take me long to work up that most of the boxes seemed to be filled with outdated things.

But boxes weren’t the only thing in here. After opening several of them I found myself staring at a dressmaker’s dummy. It looked kinda creepy. From there I found an old trunk, a bicycle with one wheel, lots of outdated sporting equipment and an old rocking horse. The rocking horse was kinda cool though. You didn’t see those anymore. It looked expensive too, not at all like the rest of the stuff around it. I approached slowly, running my fingers over its wooden snout. It was carved to look like a real horse and hand painted. I marveled at the craftsmanship of it. Then I noticed an inscription the right ear, barely readable: To Bruce, Our Darling Little Boy, With Love, Mother and Father. I smiled at that. It was hard to imagine that Bruce was a child but it made sense I suppose. Everyone was a child at one time but it was just hard to picture the man upstairs ever being involved with anything as silly as a rocking horse.

I laughed and moved on. There was another box nearby. When I opened the lid, the first thing I saw was a framed photograph. There were two people in it: a young black haired boy and an older girl, in her teens. The girl had her arms wrapped around the boy and they both looked so happy. I smiled at the image, recognizing the boy as a younger Bruce. The girl was familiar but I couldn’t place her. I picked up the picture and wiped the dust from the glass to get a better look. I squinted and saw the resemblance: it was my mother. I started to tear up. She was so young and so happy there, not like the hurried and rushed woman I knew her to be. I loved my mother with every fiber of my being but she worked more than I would have liked. I suppose I couldn’t blame her, she was a successful doctor after all. But this girl in the photo---the happy one---it made me sad to think that she didn’t have much time to be like that around me.

“Is everything to your liking, Miss Stephanie?”

I nearly dropped the picture in fright. I also nearly jumped high enough for my head to hit the ceiling. I snapped around, Alfred standing there. I hated it when people did that. My heart was hammering in my chest, my face flushed red in embarrassment. I was a bit scared too; after all, I probably shouldn’t have been in this place. But looking at Alfred, he didn’t seem to be angry, in fact he didn’t seem to be anything.

“You scared the heck out of me”

He nodded. “Occupational hazard.”

It took me a few seconds to recover then I held up the picture. “I thought my mother and Bruce were childhood friends?”

“That’s right.”

“She’s older than him.”

Alfred squinted at the photo. “Miss Crystal was Master Bruce’s babysitter. They were very close, like brother and sister.”

I smiled at the picture. “They look very happy.”

Alfred nodded. “She was the only who could make him smile like that.” Alfred reached for the picture and I handed it to him. He sighed. “This photo was taken about two months after the tragic death of Master Bruce’s parents. Dr. Thompson brought Miss Crystal to the house to tend to Bruce while I and the rest of the staff dealt with the household chores. The two of them did everything together after that. She stayed with us as a permanent fixture until she graduated from high school and went to college. When she left it nearly broke the young master’s heart.”

I smiled. It was nice but sad too. “Was he in love with her?”

Alfred frowned. “It’s not my place to speculate on those things.”

I forgot who I was talking to for a second. Alfred didn’t say anything else on the matter. Instead, he walked over and put the picture back into the box then looked around the room. He frowned at the other boxes. Even though I had closed them all after looking, it was clear that I’d been through them. When he looked at me, I couldn’t meet his gaze. He made a tut sound then placed a hand gently on my shoulder. In silence, he turned me and pointed me toward the stairs, actually walking behind me to make sure I went. I took one last glance at the room, disappointed. My gaze fell on the rocking horse. It was odd that everything else in the room looked so old except for that.

When I got upstairs, the boss’s voice came over the intercom, asking me to come to his room. I did so a bit reluctantly, dragging my feet. I wonder what meaningless task he was going to have me do now. When I got into the room Bruce smiled, which knowing him I’m not sure was a good or bad thing. When he spoke, I was surprised to say the least.

“Find anything interesting?”

I groaned. He’d been watching, of he’d been watching. I hadn’t seen the camera down there but I’m sure there was one. Now I felt like a real idiot.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, looking at the floor. “I didn’t mean to pry, I…the book…”

Bruce laughed. “No harm done.”

I smiled. “It was nice to see my mother looking so happy.”

The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Bruce didn’t say anything for about a minute or two. Then: “Was she unhappy with your father?”

I didn’t know how to respond. I just stood there, trying to come up with the right words. He seemed to read it in my face though and smiled. Then he changed the subject, telling me what else we needed to do today. We went right into business again, like we’d never had the previous conversation. Though I could tell he was thinking about it, he never once again mentioned it. Instead, he sent me to a nearby desk and I started helping him file papers. Most of it was work related but there were a few interesting things here and there. It’s hard not to look at papers when you’d been sorting them for a couple of hours. One document in particular was one of many phone records; Bruce having received a series of calls from some place in the city, the only listing was government. Below that were initials KF. There were a lot of those calls on the sheet.

Another document that seemed to interest me talked about a warehouse. It didn’t give specifics but the name Lex Luthor turned up. That was a name everyone knew. What surprised me was it showing up in Bruce’s documents. It was well known that Wayne Enterprises refused to do business with Lex. I suppose I couldn’t blame him, Luthor kinda creeped me out. So what was his name doing on a document? I scanned it, curiosity getting the better of me. There was mention of some pharmaceutical company too and some technical mumbo jumbo about a drug. That part went over my head a bit. But the name of the drug company sounded familiar; maybe I’d seen an ad for it or something. Was Bruce getting into business with Luthor and a drug company? I thought Wayne Medical Research was one of the leading pioneers in their field.

After another hour of filing papers. Bruce sighed heavily. “That’s it, no more damn paper cuts.”

I stopped what I was doing. “You want to quit?”

“I want to eat,” he said with a laugh.

I couldn’t argue with him there. So we quit for the day and I headed down to the dining room. When I walked through the door, Tim was already there. I frowned when I saw him. I’m not sure why but today I just wasn’t in the mood for him. When he saw me, his eyes widened a bit. It took me a moment to realize what he was staring at. It never occurred to me that I looked any different than before. Except before I was a boy dressed like a girl and now I was all girl. My biggest change had to be my curves, I had some now... whereas before there was nothing, well nothing real anyway. He stared at me the whole time as I walked across the room, taking my usual seat.

“You look different,” he said after a few moments of silence.

“It's called taking a shower, you should try it sometime.”

It was a little harsh but I wasn’t in the mood for his antics today. He glared at me after that which was good because his dumbfounded stare was starting to creep me out. Neither one of us said anything else and the meal passed quickly. After it was over with, it was time to leave. I made Alfred make a stop at the bus depot. He didn’t ask any questions. Yesterday I forgot to grab the laptop but I rectified that mistake rather quickly. He didn’t even raise an eyebrow when I came out of there with it tucked underneath my arm.
I got into the car and he drove me home.

__________________________________

The rest of the week went by rather slowly, then blended into the next. Soon it was almost the end of September. It didn’t take me all that long to adjust to my new life; in fact, I loved every minute of it. In school, it was like nothing changed though people did comment about how much more outgoing I was. Arnold still pretty much ignored me but he found himself some new friends. They weren’t like him in the least but he was happy with them. The bullying had stopped too, which made me think he’d been right all along. At the Clinic, Holly and I were becoming fast friends though she couldn’t stop talking about her cat. She was obsessed with her. Talking about obsessions, Tim had his Russian beauty over almost every single day. Whenever I was nearby, he tried to rub it in with outlandish displays of affection. He thought it would get under my skin, it didn’t. Now that I was fully fledged girl, Jen and I were closer than ever. She even spent the night over at my house, something that never would have happened if I were still living with Dad. And speaking of Dad, he was about to go on trial, apparently not only for my assault but for several other rather nasty things. The Chicago PD had been building a nice case up on Dad’s former employer---Roman Sioris---but even with Dad, they still didn’t have enough to convict.

I suppose the laptop would have helped. Unfortunately, they didn’t have it. Don’t ask me why I didn’t turn it into Uncle Jim like Barbara wanted me to. That night I got home from Bruce’s---the night I got it---I had every intention of doing so. But I left it sitting on my desk all night; I barely got any sleep thinking about it. When I woke up the next morning, I just knew I couldn’t hand it over, at least not yet. So then, I decided I was going to crack into it myself. Jen helped but after a whole two days of trying, we were unsuccessful. That’s when Jen said we should try Henry Russo, the head of the school’s computer club. When we brought it to him, we made up some story about it being on the fritz. Henry told us to leave it in a pile and he’d get back to us.

Now almost a week after dropping it off, Jen and I were ready to pick it up. Henry texted me this morning, telling me it was “urgent.”

When the two of us walked into the computer room, it wasn’t all that hard to find him. There were several rows of outdated computers but Henry wasn’t sitting at any of those. He was sitting in the far corner, two laptops opened in front of him. He was the only one in the room, which was going to make things much easier. Jen closed the door and then the two of us approached him. He was in the middle of a computer game, some fantasy MMORPG. He didn’t hear me when I snuck up on him, and nearly jumped when I put my hand on his shoulder. After working in the manor for so long, I was starting to pick up some of those patented sneak skills.

He snapped around, pulling off his bulky headphones. “You scared the hell out of me,” he said, running a hand through his close cropped blonde hair.

“Well if you weren’t off in La La Land you would have heard us coming,” said Jen with a snort, staring at the sexy female image on the screen that represented Henry’s avatar.

"It’s not La La it’s Azeroth”

Jen rolled her eyes. “Geek.”

“Freak.”

I groaned. “Focus people.” I snapped, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “Henry you said it was urgent.”

He smiled. “Oh yeah.”

He leaned down and pulled the laptop out of his backpack, placing it on the desk in front of him. He flipped it open and shook his head. “I don’t know who encrypted this thing but they’re better than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

“So you couldn’t get in?”

He shook his head. Then he started to rattle off all this computer mumbo jumbo, most of it I couldn’t understand. He went on and on until Jen interrupted him by smacking him in the back of the head. He glared at her but at least it shut him up.

“There are other computer people around you might want to try” he said and spun in his chair, going to the second laptop. He started typing furiously.
“There’s some rumors going around the Internet about some people affiliated with some of the Meta's who are ace computer hackers. I think I know how to contact one of them if you’re interested, her name’s Lena.”

I groaned and shook my head.

“No more nerds please,” pleaded Jen, getting another look from Henry.

I took the laptop. I was about to tell him that I wanted to keep this with a small group of people but changed my mind. Maybe one of these other people might have a chance. I bit my lip. “How do you contact her?”

He smiled.”I don’t know the exact details but give me a few days and I’ll see what I can dig up.”

I nodded then Jen and I left.

“You’re not serious are you?”

I shrugged. “I want to know what’s in here.”

“You should have just given it to your uncle. He has people who could probably crack that thing in a heartbeat.”

Jen and I had had this discussion before. As I said, I’m not sure why I didn’t hand it over. I guess a small part of me still wanted to bust my father. I’m not sure why, he was already in jail after all. But there was something about this thing; something that I knew went beyond him.

“I can’t hand it over right now.”

Jen shook her head. “Well it makes me nervous, let’s at least lock up somewhere until we can figure out something to do with it.”

Jen went off to class. I took the laptop to my locker for the time being. I didn’t want to carry it around any longer than I had to. On my way to my next class, someone slammed into me when I was turning a corner. I was about to say excuse me when the person shoved me back. As soon as he did, I saw a familiar face: Arnold. But he didn’t look anything like the kid I knew. He looked like hell. His skin was all pale and he was sweating like crazy. He was clutching his stomach. When he saw me, he glared angrily at me, cursed and pushed me further out of the way. He stalked off down the hall, pushing others out of his way too. I gritted my teeth and followed him. There was something wrong. This was way beyond him being mad at me for protecting him.

I took off down the hall after him. He was moving a lot faster than he usual did, pushing people left and right. He went straight for the nearest bathroom. I picked up my pace, not bothering to pause at the Man on the door. When I pushed my way inside, Arnold was standing at the sink. He didn’t notice me at first. He was too preoccupied with himself, just staring at his reflection. I took a step into the room but he still didn’t notice me. He didn’t see me until I appeared behind him, reflecting in the mirror. When he focused on me, I saw the anger grow across his face.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped, venom in his voice.

I saw his eyes for the first time. They were bloodshot and bulging. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was up with him. I groaned.

“You took Thrill didn’t you?”

“What’s it to you?” he snapped then winced, grabbing his stomach.

“Arnold that stuff is dangerous, haven’t you been watching the news?”

Thrill was beyond dangerous. After the first initial few cases of OD’s, they were springing up all over the place. The police had officially declared war on the drug and its makers. They were cracking down on every Thrill Center they could find, anyone caught within a ten-foot radius of these places was being brought in. For the last two weeks, I’d seen how it’d been plaguing my uncle. He was coming home later and later each night, restless and agitated. The police were being stretched to their limit and that was only the half of it. When Thrill wasn’t putting kids in the hospital, it was making the rest into maniacs. There were more and more cases of Thrill Seekers going berserk. There was just a story in the news last night about a Seeker going ballistic in a McDonald's when the clerk told him he didn’t have the change. The guy smashed the register with his bare hands and put the clerk through a window.

Thrill was out of control. Not even the mysterious Roving Ravager seemed to be able to keep up with it.

“I can handle it,” he said, wincing again. He lurched forward, grabbing the end of the sink.

I reached forward and touched his shoulder. He reached quickly. He snapped around and swung a punch. I reacted on instinct, snatching his fist like it was nothing. I held onto his hand. He didn’t seem to notice as he threw another punch. I deflected it with my other arm but the blow left me throbbing. Arnold’s punches were like bricks. I’m not sure how much of the stuff he’d already taken but he was in some serious trouble. The news was saying that even a small amount of the stuff seemed to be affecting people, as if whoever was making it was purposefully driving users to the brink.

Arnold pulled his hand free from my grasp. “Why do you always have to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong?”

He swung at me again, I swiftly dodged it. I’m not sure how I was doing it but with each swing he took, I moved out of the way. It was like my body was super flexible, moving with each blow, dipping and weaving. He couldn’t land a punch on me, which was making him all the more furious. Finally, he just charged me, head down like a bull. When he got close to me, I put my hands on his shoulders and flipped over him. When I landed, I was amazed. He crashed into the stall behind me. I spun around quickly; Arnold was leaning over the toilet gasping. I thought he was catching his breath but there was something about those gasps that scared me. Playtime was over, he was in serious trouble.

I ran over and knelt on the ground with him. He rolled away from the toilet; his head fell into my lap. The look on his face said it all, there was something seriously wrong.

At that moment, someone decided to walk into the bathroom. He looked at me, confused. Then shook his head. “This is the boy’s bathroom” he said, annoyed.

I ignored him. “Call 911 right now.”

The guy quickly snapped to action.

_______________________________

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in a hospital waiting room. Ok, so that’s not technically true. The last time I was in one was the night Mom died. The doctor called Dad and asked him to bring me along; he knew it would be soon. I remember sitting in the waiting room, waiting for my turn to say good-bye. I was a total wreck, sobbing and burying my head in Barbara’s lap. When I saw my Dad walk out he just shook his head. I remember being so pissed off at him because he took so much time with her, too much. I think that was the beginning of our animosity, the bastard didn’t let me have a chance to say goodbye to her.

Sitting here now, I was a total wreck. But not more than Arnold’s parents. After the kid walked into the bathroom and called 911, Arnold had fallen unconscious in my arms. I’m not sure how long it took the paramedics to get there but by that time, he wasn’t breathing. The school nurse was able to keep him stable until they got there though. I rode with him in the ambulance, shouting to Jen in the crowd, telling her to call Leslie. That was about two hours ago. I’m not sure who called Arnold’s parents, probably the doctor. When they showed up they had a pretty good idea who I was. I don’t think I’ve ever been called an Angel before or been hugged so much. Now sitting here---looking at these two very distraught people---made me think about my own mother. It also made me think about the bastards who pumped Arnold full of those drugs. If I ever found out who they were, I was going to…well it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Steph” said a voice as someone gently touched my arm.

I looked up and saw Barbara. She arrived about twenty minutes ago. Apparently, Leslie couldn’t get away from the Clinic and Uncle Jim was busy. Barbara left class for me and rushed over. Now she was bringing me a cup of coffee. I gently took it from her and smiled.

“I’m glad you’re here, Babs,” I said as she gently squeezed my hand.

“Anything to help, Cuz”

We played the waiting game again. No one would tell any of us anything. Mrs. Wesker kept getting up every five minutes and going to the nurse’s station asking for updates. But she always came back to her chair disappointed. I ever tried once, hoping to use my Mom’s name as leverage---this was her hospital after all---but the nurse was too new to know her. So all we could do was wait and hope. The prognosis didn’t sound good when they brought him in. Even though the paramedics got him breathing, they couldn’t seem to bring him out of whatever it was. I tried not to think about how he acted in the bathroom but it was hard not to. He’d been all pure rage and anger, lashing out blindly. Not at all like the quiet, sweet kid, I knew.

Every time I closed my eyes, it pissed me off more and more. I could see his face. Then I saw the face of the Seekers from the park, the ones who tried to get him hooked on it before. I had to wonder if they were involved in this, too. There was still three of them left---the fourth was six feet under, now. I felt the rage and the hatred building just thinking about those scum and all the other scum like them. They were helping to spread this poison throughout the streets and innocents were getting hurt. Arnold was innocent and he didn’t deserve this.

Another twenty minutes passed before we finally got our answer. I saw the doctor before the others but I pointed him out to Mrs. Wesker. She was on her feet and to him before he got to me. I was about to do the same when I saw another person lingering. He was tall and handsome if you liked that rugged look. He was dressed in a leather jacket and jeans but I could tell by looking at him that he was law enforcement. When his eyes locked with mine, I think he knew I figured it out. I tried to make a beeline toward the Weskers but he intercepted me.

“Are you Stephanie Brown?” he asked, pulling a pad out of his pocket.

I groaned. “You do know who my uncle is don’t you, Officer?”

“It’s Detective actually,” he said, quickly showing me the badge that hung on a chain around his neck. “Detective Nick Gage.”

I nodded. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I asked one first.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes I’m Stephanie Brown and to answer my own question I don’t think my uncle---the police commissioner---would like me talking to you.”

I’m not sure if he knew that or not but it didn’t seem to faze him if he did. “I still need to get your statement, Miss Brown.”

I sighed. I looked over at the Weskers and saw Arnold’s mother put a hand on her chest and sigh. But she still didn’t look happy. I frowned at the Detective, angry that I was here and not over there. He looked over at them too and smiled.

So I quickly gave my statement, telling him everything that happened. I talked real fast and he wrote just as quickly. When I was done, he tried to keep me around but I was done talking. I looked around and saw Barbara, lingering in the background, looking awkward. I pointed her out to him and told him to get the Commissioner’s daughter’s statement too. He smiled and walked over. I watched the two of them for a second and then rushed over to the group. The doctor smiled at me and left.

When Mrs. Wesker turned to me, she looked a little better than before. “He’s going to be all right,” she said, I sighed.

“That’s good news” But she didn’t look so happy about it. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s in a coma,” her husband said. “According to his blood work, there was only a small portion of the drug in his system but due to his size it was enough to do some damage. They’re not sure when he’s going to wake up.”

That pissed me off. I could feel the anger swelling inside me, boiling over. At the last minute---right when I felt like I was going to erupt---I pushed it back down. It was still boiling there. I kept it in check, talking to the Weskers, reassuring them everything was going to be ok. Everything would be too,as soon as I made those who hurt Arnold pay for what they did. It just wasn’t Arnold either---there were reports of this kind of thing happening all over the city. Someone needed to stop them and if that someone had to be me, then so be it.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 10, with a nice cliffhanger at the end. I think when the next chapter comes around a new picture might be needed because things are about to get very interesting. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Ten:

I stood on the corner, blowing into my hands. It was fairly cold which was a little rare this early in September. Usually the weather didn’t get this cold until mid to late October, but that’s Global Warming for you. What with all those horrible storms we had in the spring and the bitter winter before them, things weren’t looking so good. It was safe to say that 2011 wasn’t a good year for weather and tonight was a bad night to not wear pants. Why I had chosen a skirt---one as short as this---was beyond me. OK, so I know why I chose the skirt, it was a part of the plan but why it had to be the shortest jean skirt in the store was far beyond me.

“It’s a distraction,” Jen had said when I complained an hour ago.

“I look like a tramp” was my quick reply.

“That’s the idea.”

OK, so that was only one part of the idea. The whole plan had sounded pretty good when we spent the last four days coming up with it. I was to pretend to be a Seeker looking for a hit, going from street to street in hopes of drawing out a dealer. Then once the deal was made, I was supposed to follow him back to his supplier. I’m not exactly sure what I was going to do when I got there but Jen made me buy the best cell phone on the market with a good memory chip and camera. She thought if I could get video of the suppliers and dealers I might be able to anonymously send it to the police. It wasn’t exactly the kind of justice I wanted for Arnold but it would have to do.

When I told her about wanting to get revenge for poor Arnold, she knew exactly what I wanted to do. She wasn’t very keen on the idea of me dressing up in purple and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. She thought we should be more subtle. So that’s what we did. Last night I followed one of the kids from school to this spot. I staked him out all day, making sure he was the right mark. Then I went to his house and waited in the shadows. I followed him to this corner. Then I witnessed him making a transaction, catching all of it on video. But it wasn’t enough. I needed the suppliers and in order for me to do that, I needed to follow the Dealer.

I blew into my hands, my mind straying to Arnold. He was still in a coma but according to the doctors, his condition was better. When I wasn’t at home or school, I spent my time there. I took a leave from the Clinic and from the Manor; both Leslie and Bruce understood. I wanted to be there for Arnold, I wanted to make sure he was all right. It was killing me standing here, not being by his bedside right now in case he woke up. Uncle Jim was being a prince about it, too. I think he was just happy to see one Seeker not end up in a body bag. Since Arnold’s hospitalization, three more kids had died from the drug. The police were really starting to knuckle down. A day after Arnold’s incident, my Uncle put a Thrill Task Force into place, led by Detective Gage. The TTF has so far been successful in busting up at least two Parks---that’s what they’ve been calling the drug dens where the Seekers have been hiding out. But according to a press conference, it was believed there were several all over the city.

The vibration of my phone nearly scared the hell out of me. I jumped then cursed. I pulled it out of back pocket and flipped it open. The damn thing was so small I thought I was going to break it. I put it up to my ear and sighed.

“Yes, Mother” I said sarcastically.

“Just checking in” said Jen in a hushed tone.

It was after dark and her grandparents didn’t like her on the phone this late.

“Nothing new to report except that it’s freezing out here” I said, shivering, my knees practically knocking together.

Jen laughed. “You must suffer for your trade in order for it to be successful.”

“Can’t you conjure up something witchy and make them reveal themselves to me?”

She scoffed. She knew I was just messing with her. I had a lot of fun at her expense about her so called magic powers. She and I had a few laughs about it too and she kinda enjoyed teasing others into believing she was actually a sorceress. The two of us joked about it a bit on the phone, her coming up with all these insane ideas. We were laughing and having a good time. I almost didn’t see the guy across the street, stepping out of the alley for a smoke. I quickly clicked off, telling her I’d call back later. It was the same guy from last night, the one I lost. I tried tailing him last night but I got sidetracked by a cat---it jumped out of nowhere and scared the hell out of me, causing my pant leg to snag on a broken piece of chain link fence. By the time I had pulled myself free the guy was gone. Now there was no way I was going to let this bastard out of my sight.

We locked eyes and he nodded, stomping out his cig and walking across the street toward me. I took a deep breath as he approached.

“You looking for a roller coaster, baby?” he asked, using the code word he used last night with my fellow schoolmate.

“I have a ticket right here,” I said, pulling a wad of cash from my bra.

Jen had forced me into a low cut top and push up bra; she wanted me to really sell it. It sucked that it was my own cash though. Jen had a nice allowance but withdrawing that much from her account would bring up too many questions with her grandparents. So we decided we were going to use my Government money. I frowned as I passed the five hundred over to him---sad to see that much go. He smiled as he took the cash then reached into his jacket, pulling out the needle. I took it from him with delicate fingers. He didn’t linger around long enough to watch me shoot up. Which was a good thing seeing as soon as his back was turned, I threw the shit down the nearby sewer drain.

He walked back across the street and disappeared into the alley.

I took a deep breath and ran across, following him. He wasn’t too far ahead, disappearing into the dark. I kept far enough away that I could follow but not look like I was following. But it didn’t matter because he never turned around to look. Apparently, he wasn’t the paranoid type. I stuck on him like glue, taking my time as the two of us wove through the underground of the city. We went far into the Narrows; farther than I wanted to go. Luckily, the police had scared off most of the criminals who used to lurk in these parts. The only real good the TTF had done was clean up parts of the street again. The rest of the criminals were afraid of the Seekers. It was pretty common knowledge now that Seekers were super strong and prone to fits of rage. No one would be stupid enough in their right mind to go up against them, except maybe another Seeker.

I’m not sure how far or long I’d been following him but eventually we got to the place where I lost him last night. There was no cat this time though and I made sure to avoid that particular part of the fence. As soon as I went through the hall, I saw how I lost him. He went into the building across the street, the entrance obscured by a stack of wooden crates. I took a deep breath and followed, looking around to make sure no one saw me. As soon as I squeezed between the same two boxes he did, I found an entrance. It was low to the ground so I had to crawl, which was bad because my bare legs went through unidentifiable muck.

It was an opening big enough for a person to fit through. I managed without a problem. On the other side however, I found myself crawling right into a pair of legs. Well boots first then the legs attached to them. I slowly looked up and saw the looming figure standing over me. He was huge and bald. He didn’t say a thing. Instead, he reached down, grabbed my shoulders and lifted me off the ground. He set me roughly on my feet---still holding my shoulders---and pushed me into the room. I got a look around, it wasn’t much. The place was run down, most of the dirty windows boarded up, cobwebs and dirt everywhere. It had a musty smell which was made worse by the vomit, urine and BO. I squinted in the near darkness to see a little more than a dozen people, all in some form of Thrill high.

My perp was lounging on a beat up couch, two scantily clad girls on either arm. He smirked when he saw me.

“Sweetie” he said as he got to his feet. “If you think I’m stupid enough not to know when I’m being followed, you’re stupider than I am.”

I bit my lip. I quickly thought on my feet. “I knew you’d lead me to this place.”

He nodded then looked around. “What do you think guys? Do we have a little NARC on our hands?”

There was some laughing and then a chorus of “NARC” shouted a few times.

“I’m not a NARC,” I said, stuttering.

The stutter was part of the plan, hoping he’d see it as a drug induced side effect.

His eyes narrowed. “So little Miss Not a NARC, what are you doing here then?”

“I told you” I said, “I wanted to know where the nearest Park was, the cops busted up my last one.”

A few of the guys, who appeared around us, shook their heads. It was clear they didn’t believe me for a second. I didn’t believe myself, either. I hadn’t planned on being caught. I was hoping that this place would just be a cut through, an abandoned building that led to the real one. Who would have thought it would be the actual Park. It was kinda a stupid location for one actually, so close to where he sold. I’m surprised the cops hadn’t found it actually. The last Park they busted up was only a few blocks away, I “accidentally” took a glance at a report Uncle Jim left on the table two nights ago.

My perp didn’t say a thing. Instead, he nodded to the thug who was still holding my shoulders. The guy was so close to me now that I could smell him, and trust me, that wasn’t a good thing. Then he squeezed my shoulders causing me to scream out. I may not be able to be cut or bruised but that sure as hell hurt. My scream seemed to be all they needed to hear. Apparently Seekers felt no pain on thrill and as far as he knew I’d just shot up a few minutes ago. In essence, I just completely blew it. My perp’s eyes narrowed then anger flashed across them. He reared his arm back and threw a hard punch toward my stomach. I snapped out of the other’s arms, dropping to the ground in a full split. My attacker slammed his first into the giant bald bastard’s chest.

I was a bit awe struck at what I just accomplished. I hadn’t done a split in years and yet it was second nature to me now. I recovered from the shock quickly because that punch didn’t seem to do a thing. I rolled away from the two of them and got to my feet. As soon as I did all hell broke loose. I’m not sure what happened exactly. There was a loud smash and glass came falling from above. With the glass came a figure. He dropped into the room, landing in a crouch. I saw him fully this time unlike the last time when he’d been half shrouded in shadow. He had a long black cape and cowl, dressed mostly in red. When he rose from his crouch, he came up swinging a metal pole. The pole connected with the closest Seeker under the chin, sending the bastard flying.

The Seekers forgot all about me and went for him.

He moved like a maniac with that pole, spinning and twirling it. He dropped three of them before they got close. Another two went down when the pole was jabbed into their stomachs, sending out a sparking shock. Clearly, it was more than it seemed. My two attackers took a step back, afraid of what they might endure at his hands. But it didn’t take him long to realize they were getting away. He spun on them, dropping my perp with a blow to the knees, sending him stumbling. The big guy ran. I grabbed the closest thing I could find---which happened to be a wooden crate lid. I let it fly. The makeshift wooden Frisbee flew through the air and smacked the bastard hard in the back of the head, sending him sprawling forwards.

When I snapped back to the action, it was all over. Every single Seeker in the room was lying on the ground, moaning and groaning. I smirked; I thought these bastards couldn’t feel pain. But it was clear that whatever he did to them was more than enough. When he turned to me, I saw his piercing blue eyes through the slits in his cowl. The lower half of his face was visible too and his lips were pursed in a frown. It was clear he didn’t want to see me here. I wonder if he remembered who I was?

“How is it” he said in a stern voice “that every time I come across you, you’re in some form of trouble?”

I shrugged. He remembered. It sent my heart a flutter.

“Just unlucky like that” I said.

He shook his head. “Or you go out seeking it.”

I shrugged. “What can I say, I’m a magnet.”

He frowned again. “What are you doing here, Miss.”

“Maybe I’m a Seeker?”

He raised his eyebrow. “Highly unlikely.”

I sighed and nodded. “My friend was put into a coma from taking Thrill. I wanted to hunt these bastards down and make them pay for what they did to him.”

He sighed and nodded. “You could have been killed you know. This is not a job for amateurs.”

I bit my lip. “Then teach me.”

I’m not sure where the hell that came from but it felt right. I’m not sure why. He raised another eyebrow. But he didn’t say anything, at least not at first. Instead, he went around, nudging each of the unconscious Seekers. I think he was looking for evidence. It made me wonder what his stake in all of this was. He didn’t look like the type who might be helping the police. But at the same time he didn’t seem to be the type who stalked around the city just looking for trouble either.

When he finally spoke, it was rather cold. “Go home little girl, this is no place for you.”

I opened my mouth to disagree but didn’t get the chance. Instead, he threw something on the ground and the room erupted in smoke. I started to cough and gag, my eyes tearing up. I stumbled about in it, moving out of its path. I waved my hands in front of my face until the smoke cleared. When it did, the Roving Ravager was gone.

___________________________________

The next few days were interesting to say the least. I tried to fit myself back into my daily life but it was hard when I found myself thinking about the Ravager’s words every time I had a chance. They stung to say the least and they’d hurt even less if they weren’t so true. He was right I was an amateur and I really had no place being where I was. But there was no way I was giving any of it up. After leaving that building the other night, I spent a lot of time thinking about it. I came to the conclusion that in order to be successful at any of this I did need something. I decided I needed help and there was no way I was going to seek him out to ask for it. He made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with me. Which was fine as far as I was concerned? I proved it to myself and him by going back out onto the street the very next day. I went back to the building but everyone there was gone. I didn’t know it but the police raided the place on an anonymous tip after I left the night before, everyone there was now in jail or the hospital. With this Park closed, I tried to find others but with no luck. I couldn’t help but think maybe the Ravager was right and I was an amateur. I didn’t go out after that, without any leads there was no point.

But the Ravager and justice wasn’t the only thing that was dominating my thoughts. Arnold was at the top of them, too. Two days after the Seeker incident, he woke up. To say that the doctors were shocked was an understatement. I’m not sure they were expecting him to ever fully recover but I knew Arnold was a fighter. I was in the room with his Mom when it happened. He was a bit groggy and disoriented but when he saw us, he smiled. Then of course, a few seconds later he told me to “get out.”

Baby steps I guess. At least it was good that he was OK.

The rest of the things in my life were going pretty smoothly though. I was back at work---driving my new car to and from. It finally came the other day---fresh from the factory---and I love every bit of it. They couldn’t make it purple for me but it was midnight blue. It was a nice little compact car, with good mileage and all that junk. I didn’t know much about cars but I knew I loved it. I think out of everyone---including Jen---Alfred loved it the most. Now he didn’t have to take time out of his busy schedule to pick me up and drive me home. Not that he minded, but I think he liked his quiet time in the Manor, doing whatever it was he did while Master Bruce recuperated. Bruce was recuperating slowly. At least he was giving me more duties now. I just wasn’t the errand girl anymore; I was now getting involved in the business.

Just yesterday, I filed some papers for him and spent a few hours fielding phone calls. OK, so I was now a pseudo secretary but it was better than nothing. Now I wasn’t alone. Two days ago, I got some company in the form of Summer. She was Bruce’s PR girl, recently graduated from college and eager to please. I’m not sure why Bruce brought her in but she was a big help. Whereas I was his file girl, Summer became the Gopher. He ran her rampant, making her do all the crazy stuff that I had to do before. I wouldn’t really call her a replacement though I did find her a lot more efficient than I ever was.

Which brings me to where I was now. The two of us were in Bruce’s room---Bruce set up a small desk with a phone for Summer to work at. She looked all official in her crisp business suit, trying to look important while making phone calls. Me---I was a casual teen girl in her jeans, haired pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. Not that Summer thumbed her nose at me. She was really sweet and nice. She was good to talk to as well, having just gotten done with her Masters---which made her about twenty five. She was cute too, which was probably the only reason Bruce kept her around. When they thought I wasn’t looking, the two of them made goo goo eyes at each other. I’m not sure why they were being so discreet about it, it’s not like I had feelings for Bruce.

I was putting another folder into the filing cabinet when I noticed the phone wasn’t ringing. Lately the damn thing had been ringing off the hook. Apparently, Wayne Enterprises could function without the man in charge. So far the acting CEO was doing a bang up job but the company was starting to discover that things couldn’t run as well without Bruce. That’s why Summer was here now, to help him field some of that responsibility. According to Bruce’s latest medical checkup, it would still be at least two more months before he was well enough to go back into the office. You’d think something like that would make a business man like him happy but when Leslie told him the news a few days ago, he actually frowned. Not that I could blame him---I think I’d like the idea of lying around like a bum too.

Which brings me back to the phone call. Summer answered the phone before I could. She smiled when she saw me stick out my tongue. We were constantly competing and having fun doing it. I’d win a few rounds and she’d win a few. Nothing like healthy competition.

“Bruce Wayne’s office” said Summer, Bruce asked us to refer to this place as his “office” while we were here. “Good afternoon, Mr. Fox.”
Bruce grimaced and shook his head, indicating he didn’t want to speak. Lucius Fox was the man that Bruce put in charge while he was “away”. Only Lucius and a few select members of the Board knew what really happened to Bruce---his “accident”---everyone else thought he was on extended vacation. Ever since Summer had arrived, Mr. Fox was calling all the time. Mr. Fox was actually the Head of Wayne Enterprises’ R&D Department but with the boss away, he took on full responsibilities. I think Bruce enjoyed the change of pace, being able to kick back and relax. Looking at him now---smiling at the frown Summer gave him---it was clear he was enjoying not being in charge.

I put away the file and closed the drawer. Bruce mouthed something to me; I think it was “lunch”. Today was Saturday and though I usually only came in on school days, Bruce wanted me to help with filing today. So I arrived here a few hours ago---after breakfast. It was the first time I drove the car all the way into the city and was more than happy to park it in the garage amongst all the really expensive ones in there. I thought about bumping Tim’s bike---by accident of course---but didn’t want to explain how a car got from one end of the garage to the other by “accident”. When I got here this morning, Summer was already here. It made me wonder if she was now a permanent fixture. She was already here when I arrived from Leslie’s in the afternoon and still here when I left after dinner. It made me wonder how much she actually did for Bruce, after hours.

Bruce gave me silent orders so as not to speak in case Mr. Fox heard him. I’m not sure when I picked up lip reading but I was able to make out what he said clearly enough. I left the room quietly, making my way into the parlor. I paused a moment to look at the bookshelf. Every single day I came into the room I thought about pulling it and going down to that room again. Not that I was a snoop or anything. It was the picture of my mother actually. All my memories of her were good but she never once smiled---at least not like she had in that picture. When I saw it made me feel closer to her somehow. She looked so happy back then it was so hard to imagine she was the same woman who raised me.

I half walked, half ran down the spiraling staircase. I had to laugh at how easy it all was now. When I first started coming here, it had been a real chore going up and down those stairs. Now it was like walking across a room, I didn’t even break a sweat. When I got to the bottom of them, Alfred was coming up the hallway. He had a tray in his hand, a plate of food on it. I smiled and shook my head, sometimes I thought he had ESP. I looked at the plate and it was the exact meal that Bruce asked me to bring him.

“How do you know these things, Al?”

He smiled. “Miss Stephanie, Master Bruce has been eating the exact same thing for lunch since he was nine years old.”

“Really?” I said, surprised. “How come?”

Alfred frowned. “It was the last lunch his mother ever made for him.”

I felt a little stupid for asking. As someone who lost her mother early in life, I knew how Bruce felt. I wouldn’t be lying if I said I wished it was Dad and not her but I definitely understood the loss. I also knew what it was like to want to hold onto her memory. For two days after my Mom died, I refused to take off the clothes I was wearing the day she died because it was her favorite outfit of mine. I wore it to the hospital that day hoping it would make her feel better to see me in it. I hated my Dad more than anything after that too, especially when he tore the clothes off me, ripping both the shirt and the pants. That was the first time I really started to hate him. Then he started drinking and I hated him every single day.

I bit my lip and frowned at Alfred’s words. “I used to do things like that after my Mom died too.”

He smiled weakly. “Mrs. Wayne was a wonderful and caring person. She would have liked you a lot; you are so much like your mother.”

Hearing things like that made me feel like I was a thousand feet tall.

I offered to take the tray to Master Bruce, which I think Alfred really appreciated. I don’t think he liked climbing all those stairs. When I got to the top, I carried it gleefully into the room. When I walked in, the two of them were laughing. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking rather comfortable. I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat, announcing my presence. You would have thought I was a poisonous snake ready to strike. As soon as I cleared my throat, Summer practically jumped off the bed. She straightened her skirt, fixed her tight hair bun and returned to her desk. I put the tray on the bedside table and asked if there was anything else he needed.

“You can go to the kitchen, Steph,” he said with a smile. “I’m sure the chef can fix you something too.”

I smiled but before I left I winked at Summer. She flushed, causing me to smile all the more.

When I walked into the parlor, I was about halfway across the room when I stopped. I slowly turned on my heel and looked at the bookcase. I bit my lip then looked around just to make sure I was alone. I didn’t want Al to sneak up on me this time. Making sure I was completely alone, I rushed over and tugged on the book. There was a hiss and a metal grinding as the bookcase moved away and opened up. This time I had my purse and I reached inside to pull out the little flashlight in there. I used it to light the way as I walked lightly down the stairs. I smiled when I got to the bottom of them, crinkling my nose at the moldy, dusty smell. I knew exactly where to go this time, heading straight to the box.

I pulled it open gently, finding the picture right on the top. I took it out and hugged it to my chest. It was no substitution for my real mother but somehow it felt a bit comforting. I held it there for a few seconds then pulled away. I didn’t even know I was crying until one of my tears fell on the glass, landing on my mother’s smiling face. I wiped my eyes and carried the picture over to the rocking horse. It was big enough for maybe a six year old but seeing as I was so small I was sure I’d be able to sit on it without a problem. I took a deep breath, looked it over to make sure it was sturdy. I decided to sit on it sidesaddle, just allowing my butt to gently rest on the seat.

When I sat down, I made sure not to rock. I looked down at the picture in my hands, smiling down at Mom. She looked so happy there, Bruce did too. I figured Mom had to be at least thirteen or fourteen there, which made her about four or five years older than Bruce. The two of them could have been siblings though her hair was lighter and she had a smattering of freckles on her cheeks. He looked pretty much the same except a lot happier. Hadn’t Alfred said it was taken right before his parents were murdered? I looked it up on the Internet and just thinking about it made me shiver. I couldn’t imagine watching my Mom and Dad gunned down in front of me like that. I couldn’t imagine what something like that would do to a kid, especially one so young.

I reached out and gently stroked my finger across Mom’s face. Then I found myself stroking the very same finger across Bruce’s as well. As I did that I moved, gently moving the horse with me. But there was nothing gentle about the way the horse moved. It jerked forward slowly, making a clicking sound as it did so. Then there was another noise but it didn’t come from the horse. It came from behind me. I snapped around and my mouth dropped open. A section of the wall was slowly moving away, revealing a space behind it. I jumped to my feet, setting the picture on a nearby box pile. I stared at the wall as a bright light emanated from it.

But that wasn’t the crazy part. The crazy part was what the wall had been hiding. It wasn’t a very large section that moved away, just big enough for a few glass shelves and a large space in the center. In the space was a black armored suit, looking particularly wicked, especially with the long black cape and mask? I stared at it for a few seconds, trying to figure out exactly what I was seeing. I took a step forward, finding myself bathed in the light. I stared at the suit for a bit, reaching out to touch it but stopped at the last second. My eyes drifted over to one of the glass shelves and what lie on it. There was several of them, small and black, like throwing stars. I reached over and picked one up, marveling at how light they were.

But they weren’t any normal throwing stars. This thing in my hand was different because it was shaped sorta like a bat. It took me a few seconds to process what I was holding. When my mind finally did, everything seem to come at me at once. Bruce didn’t get hurt in a climbing accident, it was something else entirely. Something a lot crazier. He knew all about me because he was a fantastic detective, not because he was rich and had connections. He had fancy cars, secret passages, and the most advanced security I’d ever seen. I thought it was because he was a paranoid billionaire but the truth was far more bizarre. Bruce Wayne was not a paranoid recluse. He wasn’t a stuffy businessman either with far too much money and time on his hands.

I looked at the bat shaped thing in my hand and smiled.

He was the Bat.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 11, the beginning of things for our heroine. This is the chapter where it starts, sorta a Batgirl Begins if you will. I apologize for the slow nature of this narrative as of late but things will pick up soon :) I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Eleven:

I’m not sure what I expected to happen next. But what did happen was not at all like I expected. Someone loudly cleared their throat behind me and placed a hand gently on my shoulder. From the grip, I could tell who it was. I didn’t even have to turn around but I did anyway. Alfred was standing there, his hand still on my shoulder. He didn’t look upset or angry but he definitely looked annoyed. I guess he had a right to be; after all, I was definitely poking my nose in where it didn’t belong. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth, hoping for some kind of explanation to issue forth. But nothing came. That surprised me. But it didn’t surprise him in the least.

“Miss Stephanie” he said, softly moving his hand and shaking his head.

“I’m in big trouble aren’t I?”

He frowned. “Do you even need to ask?”

I sighed and nodded. He turned and I knew that was the cue to follow him. A normal person would have put the bat shaped throwing thingy back but I’m not normal. For some reason I found myself still holding it as I followed him toward the stairs. Another thing I found myself holding: the picture of my mother and Bruce. I snatched it up from where I left it, carrying it like it was the most precious thing in the world. As I got to the stairs there was a hiss and a low thump, probably the wall closing back up. I bit my lip and followed the elderly butler up the stairs to my doom. Ok, I was being a bit overly dramatic but something like this wasn’t exactly covered when the job was discussed. What to do when you find out your boss moonlights as a crime fighter? Hmmm, nope definitely not covered anywhere in any talks with me.

When we got back into the parlor and the bookcase closed up, Alfred led the way to Bruce’s room. The first thing I saw was Bruce, sitting up in bed. He didn’t look pissed but he didn’t look happy either. Summer was sitting on the edge of the bed again but it was clear she had no idea what was going on. I quickly stuffed the throwing star in my pocket; I didn’t want her to see it too. It was bad enough that one of us knew his secret, there was no need for me to go advertising it. Alfred gave me a reassuring push and I half walked, half stumbled to stand before the bed. Summer looked from me to Bruce and back to me again. The look of confusion plastered across her face was the same look I’d had moments ago. Except her look would never disappear.

“Did something happen?” she asked, trying to read the blank expressions on our faces.

“Summer, go wait in the parlor” said Bruce in a stern voice.

She slowly slid off the bed. “You told me that I was supposed to remain here at all times…”

“Leave” snapped Bruce, raising his voice an octave.

The color drained from Summer’s pretty face and she bolted from the room. I turned and watched her go. Then looked back at Bruce. He nodded his head and Alfred disappeared too, closing the door behind him. Now the two of us were alone. The silence in the room was eerie. I tried to look anywhere but his face. But for some reason I found myself looking at him. I was trying to see the man there, the one that stalked during the nights, fighting crime and making the city safe. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t see it. I could see a man clear as day---a good, honest man---but there was nothing mysterious or dangerous about him. It was Bruce Wayne lying before me, not the black clad vigilante that the press called “The Bat”.

I decided that it might be a good idea to apologize so that’s what I did. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…it was an accident” I said then held up the picture. “I found this the last time I was down there…I just wanted to look at it again.”

He didn’t say anything. Instead, his eyes drifted to the picture frame in my hands. For a moment, his lips curled into a smile but it was gone quickly. A tear rolled down my cheek, which surprised me because I didn’t even know I was crying.

He smiled again, this time not trying to hide it. “That picture was taken a few days after your mother and I first met,” he said, adjusting his position on the bed. “My parents were going out of town and they hired her to take care of me for the weekend. I suppose Alfred could have done it but I wanted someone new, someone around my age. I was nine then and I thought my parents might find a teenage boy to come.”

He laughed and coughed, clearly it hurt to do so. “Of course I’d never had a babysitter before so I didn’t know that guys didn’t normally do those kinds of things. When your mother showed up---and I saw it was a girl---I threw a temper tantrum. I fell to the ground and kicked my feet, tossing up dirt and grass. Alfred pulled me to my feet and tried to get me to behave.” He laughed again, “I was a little brat at that age. When Alfred got me to my feet your mother stomped over to me and do you know what she did?” I shook my head, mesmerized. “She slapped me. She slapped me hard. I felt it for the whole day, the sore, swelling pain. No one had ever hit me before.”

He laughed again but there was no cough. “After that I couldn’t believe how cool this girl was. Of course, I didn’t tell her that. I was a little bastard to her for the rest of the day, I gave her hell. But your mother, it didn’t seem to faze her in the least. She put up with my crap and came back the next day, ready to take it again. But I was done fighting; I’d already had my fit. Back then, I didn’t have any friends; there were no other kids who lived in the Manor. We had a lot of staff but all of them were my parents’ age or older. She was the first person my age---well just about---and I loved her like a sister from that day onwards.”

I smiled. “You two look really happy here,” I said, indicating the picture.

He smiled. “That picture was taken on the day that my parents came back. I was so happy because they promised to take me to the theater that night…” his voice trailed off after that and it was about two minutes before he spoke again. “I don’t think I ever was that happy again.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out which day this was taken on. I know Alfred had told me a bit about it but I got curious too. I looked up the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne on the Internet. As I mentioned before, I couldn’t imagine what watching your parents killed in front of you might do to someone of that age. But I had a good idea that it had a horrible impact on Bruce. The clocks in the house, the same lunch every day---it was scary and sad all at the same time. Then there was the other thing, the dark thing. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bat shaped throwing star, gripping it tightly in my palm.

I think I figured out then where “The Bat” came from, too. It made sense in a way---a man not wanting anyone else to suffer what a boy suffered. I understand. I had an overwhelming sense of justice too, one that had driven me to almost the same point as Bruce. Not nearly as severe but close enough to be almost cousins.

I took a deep breath and set the throwing star on the bed. “I won’t tell anyone,” I said softly, but loud enough for him to hear.

I went to set the picture on the bed too but he shook his head.

“That’s yours.”

I shook my head. “I can’t take this from you…it’s your last happy memory.”

He smiled. “I have one more. You take that one, let it be your happy memory.”

I smiled. “I’ve never seen her so happy” I said, stroking my mother’s face.

Another silence lingered between the two of us. I looked at the bat on the bed then at the man, trying to tell who started and ended where. The bat was just a thing but it represented so much more. When my eyes locked with his, I think he saw it there. I know I tried to find the Bat in his eyes but I couldn’t see it. His eyes were the same blue if a bit darker now, colder maybe. I had a chill run down my spine. This was Bruce Wayne, the real Bruce Wayne. Here was the tortured boy grown into an even more tortured man, never truly ever able to give up his parents. The man I knew and came to respect was a façade.

He broke the silence again. “You can have the rest of the day off, Stephanie. I’ll see you Monday afternoon, right after school.”

I nodded and backed toward the door, staring at the bat on the bed. Then I turned and started for it. I’m not sure why it felt like there was lead in my chest or my feet for that matter. I got a few steps, almost to the door when I stopped. I closed my eyes and I saw the Bat again but it was different. It was bigger, brighter, spread across a banner of black. I opened my eyes and my heart skipped a beat. I turned around and Bruce sighed. I looked at the bat on the bed again then at him. Our eyes locked again. I opened my mouth but it was already like he knew what I was going to say.

“No” It was one simple word but it cut me like a knife.

“But I can help.”

“Out of the question.”

I pressed harder. “I’m different, I’m not exactly sure what I am but I’m not human. You know that, you’ve seen the medical files, you know about STAR Labs and the DMA. You know what I am.”

“It doesn’t make a difference,” he said sternly, raising his voice a bit.

“I can do this,” I said, puffing up my chest. “It won’t be forever, only until you get back. I can take your place, fight crime in your stead.”

“It’s too dangerous,” he said then quickly added. “You’re not trained for it.”

“Then train me,” I said, insistent.

He shook his head. “Out of the question.”

“Why not!”

I was pretty pissed now. It was like he wasn’t even listening to me anymore. He was the Bat; he was the great defender of justice. He helped people, he kept the city safe. He should have been out there, out there taking out the bastards responsible for hurting Arnold. Out there making sure Thrill didn’t hurt anyone else. But he was being stubborn. Stubborn and stupid and scared.

“Are you scared?” I snapped, regretting my words. “Scared I might do better.”

That sent him over the edge. “I’M SCARED YOU MIGHT GET HURT.”

My temper flared. “WHY DOES IT MATTER TO YOU?”

Bruce didn’t say a thing. I should have felt real good about shutting him up. Instead, I felt about two inches tall. But my stubborn pride was getting in the way. It was my pride that guided my hand, causing me to reach and grab for the bat. Bruce was quicker. He lashed out and grabbed my wrist, giving it a rough twist. Even though he was weak, I could feel the power behind it. When I snapped up at him, fire in my belly, tears in my eyes, I knew there was no way he was going to let me do this. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, instead I pulled my wrist from his hand and stormed out of the room. I pushed past Alfred who was coming to see what was going on, not stopping to apologize. I stormed through the parlor and down the stairs, anger and pain guiding me. Bruce was still the spoiled rotten brat, not willing to share his things with others. Anger was fueling my thoughts but all I wanted to do was help. I thought he’d understand, I thought he’d help me. But he didn’t want to help me; he wanted nothing to do with it. Well the hell with him, the hell with all of it. I was done with this place, done with the fake Bruce Wayne.

I’m not even sure how fast I was running. I knew I was running though because one minute I was running down the stairs of the tower and then the next it was down hallways. I found myself in the garage shortly after that and into my car. I tossed my purse and the picture frame on the front seat. I got out my keys and drove. I wasn’t speeding but I was driving angry. I peeled out of the garage, down the long drive and into the street. I headed into the city, headed nowhere I knew. It was like my body was driving without my mind knowing where it was going. I’m not sure how far I drove but it wasn’t long before most of the familiar was gone and I found myself in an unfamiliar place.

I finally shut off the engine, the car parked under a tree. I looked about, my heart pounding in my chest. Then I pounded the steering wheel with my fists, crying. My pounding was so hard I caused the horn to beep with each fist. I’m not sure how long I pounded for but I did manage to hear the tapping on my window. It brought me out of my anger and into the real world again. I stopped pounding and looked around, realizing that I kinda had some idea where I was after all. I was on the far side of the city, in a small shopping district that my mother used to take me as a child.

It was then that I noticed whoever it was tapping on my window. I frowned and cursed. Then I rolled down the window, finding a police officer standing there. He’d been tapping on my window with the butt of his flashlight. He didn’t look too happy either.

“Are you all right, Miss?”

I nodded, wiping my tears. “I’m good, officer, I’m sorry for causing so many problems.”

He frowned. “As long as you’re good. But you shouldn’t stay out here for too long, its past curfew and you know I don’t have to tell you want happens then.”

I nodded. This time of the night was when the crazies came out. He smiled and walked over, probably to get to his car and get the hell out of here too. I took a deep breath and turning the key in the ignition, about to do the same as well. As soon as I turned on the engine, my phone rang. It was a short burst of noise, meaning it was a text and not a phone call. I frowned as I grabbed my purse, rummaging inside. No one had my number except Jen. The phone was too new; I hadn’t even given the number to Uncle Jim or Barbara. When I pulled it out and saw a number I didn’t recognize I frowned in confusion.

Then I sighed and clicked on it. It was probably another stupid ad from the cell phone company. I got a dozen of those a day. But the message on the screen wasn’t an ad; it was also from no one I’d ever heard of either. I stared and read, it was pretty short: DO YOU WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS CITY, LEARN HOW TO PROTECT IT LIKE HIM. THEN SEEK OUT ONYX, SHE’LL HELP YOU BECOME THE PERSON YOU WANT TO BE.

Onyx? I looked at the signature on the bottom, it was only one word, I’m not even sure it was a name.

ORACLE. What the hell was Oracle?

____________________________________

“Oracle?” said Jen as the two of us walked down the hall. “Like in Delphi?”

I shrugged. “The texter didn’t clarify”

“Sounds kinda fishy to me,” she said as we walked into the cafeteria.

That was exactly my thoughts all Saturday night. After getting home from the “incident” with Bruce, I couldn’t help but think about it. It tortured me all night. I barely got any sleep in fact. When I woke up Sunday morning, I spent the whole morning trying to figure out how a random stranger could have texted me like that. I came to the conclusion it had to be some kind of scam. But no matter how much I tried to drop it, it just kept coming back to me. I tried to occupy my time by jogging in the park. I’d been doing that a lot lately on the weekends, especially on Sundays. The weather was only going to be good until at least the end of October and I wanted to get in as much exercise as possible. Last week I saw a flyer on the wall for cheerleader tryouts. I know what you’re thinking and no, I didn’t really want to be a cheerleader but the school had no gymnastics team. The tryouts were not until next week---apparently one of the girls hurt herself during a game last week and they were looking for a replacement.

But the tryouts were the last thing on my mind. If it wasn’t Oracle, it was Onyx. She was even more of a conundrum than Oracle. Well, I’m guessing it was a woman anyway. I don’t know how many guys were named Onyx to tell you the truth. So Sunday night I decided to take a look on the Net to see what I could find. I didn’t find a thing, which didn’t surprise me in the least. I spent hours looking though and finally came to the conclusion that someone was pulling my leg.
Jen and I walked into the cafeteria. I looked over into the corner---at the table that Arnold might have been sitting at if he was in our lunch period---it was full of geeks. It made me think of him. According to the doctors, he was going to be recovering for a few weeks, bedridden in the hospital. I think they were just making sure the drug was completely out of his system. Sitting at the table were a group of unfortunates, so like Arnold it was scary. They looked particularly somber. They had a right to be. Last night on the news, someone else had died from Thrill---another one just like Arnold. I’m not sure who was targeting them specifically but it was clear they were prime bait. After all Thrill was like a super steroid and the lot of them were at the bottom of the food chain.

I looked from them over to another table. If Arnold’s former table was the table of losers, the one I looked at now was as far from it as humanly possible. It was the popular table, ruled over by Queen Jordana and her evil brood. Half the girls there were on the squad, they were dressed in tight jean skirts and baby tees. Thankfully, Jordana wasn’t a member or else my chances of getting onto the team---even as an alternate---were slim to none. I locked eyes with the bitch, she was sending me daggers as usual. She still had to get over the whole Francisco thing, even though it was old news by now. I tried to ignore the look, hoping that some of her friends didn’t share her same hatred for me. Around them were the muscle bound football players and I knew more than half of them hated me.

“There’s Henry,” said Jen, breaking my stare.

I looked away from the popular kids and found our quarry. Henry usually sat in a secluded corner; his only company was his laptop. Today was no different. Jen and I wove our way through the crowd, avoiding the long lunch line for the moment. He was so engrossed in his game he didn’t see us approach. When I flopped down in the chair next to him, he still didn’t react. I reached over and flipped the laptop shut, which caught his attention really fast.

He snapped up, jumping a bit. He pulled off his gigantic headphones and cursed. “Jesus, Stephanie, give a guy some warning.”

“Consider yourself warned,” said Jen.

Henry frowned at her. Jen had this way with people.

“I want to ask you something,” I said, giving Jen a look. I needed Henry’s help again and her antagonizing him wasn’t helping things.

He sighed. “I looked for Lena but I couldn’t find her. But I’ve got a lead which I’m following for a moment; it might take some time…”

“I don’t care about that at the moment” I said cutting him off, he frowned. “What do you know about someone called Oracle?”

As soon as I said the name all the color drained from his face. I think that meant I hit a nerve.

“Where did you hear that name?” he asked in a hushed voice.

I rolled my eyes. “It doesn’t matter where I heard it, what do you know?”

He shook his head. “Not without some serious green.”

I reached into my purse and pulled out fifty, holding it a few inches from his hawk-like nose. “You tell me what I want to know and it’s yours.”

He nodded, staring at the Grant in my fingers. “He’s an Uber-Hacker, one of the best out there. Chicago PD has been looking for him for about two years now but he’s a fricken ghost. No one can find him. They say he has this super computer, he can hack anything. The guy is like a living legend.”

I nodded, sharing a sidelong glance with Jen.

“What about someone called Onyx?”

He gave me a puzzled look. Then he flipped open his laptop and started clicking away. I sighed, it was clear that all my fifty was going to buy was half of what I was looking for. If Henry didn’t know then I was up the creek without a paddle. I tossed the fifty on the table then got up, slipping back into the crowd. Jen followed and the two of us went back to the lunch line, getting behind a pair of giggling blonde bimbos wearing far too much makeup. It didn’t take us long to get through the line then the two of us went to our usual table. A few days after putting Francisco in his place, I had a few groupies but once my fame died down, they fluttered back into the crowd of faceless unknowns. Now Jen and I were back to sitting by ourselves.

We talked about the usual which wasn’t much. The only thing we didn’t talk about was what happened Saturday. The only thing she knew was that I got into an argument with Bruce. I told her I was done with him. I don’t think she liked that idea; after all she still wanted a tour of the Manor. I didn’t tell her about Bruce’s alter ego. I thought about it of course but I had made a promise, even though I didn’t really feel the need to keep it. Thinking about it made me burn inside with anger. It pissed me off that he was too simple minded to see that I could really help him.

After lunch, I went to my afternoon classes. In the middle of study hall, my phone vibrated against my thigh. It scared the hell out of me because I swore I shut it off. I frowned and looked about, making sure the teacher didn’t see. But she was preoccupied by some trashy romance novel. So I reached into my pocket and pulled it out, surprised to see it on. I was also surprised to see a text on the screen, no number this time. I read it quickly and my eyes widened: DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU, ORACLE. Underneath which was an address and the word ONYX.

I stared at the little screen. Who in the hell was this person?

________________________________

Onyx’s place was practically a hole in the wall, hardly even a place at all.

I stared at the building in front of me then at my cell phone screen. I looked about, wondering if I was in fact in the right spot. It took me about an hour on one of the library computers to find this place. As soon as I showed the second text to Jen, of course she wanted to know what was really going on. When I told her about the first text, I said it just appeared out of the blue. I hated to lie to her but how else could I explain it. And it wasn’t really a lie; it did appear out of nowhere. I just left off the detail about it coming after I had an argument with the man who was The Bat. I think Jen knew I was keeping something from her but we had that kind of relationship, we respected each other’s secrets. I’m sure there was stuff she didn’t share with me too. So after showing her the second text---and her unsuccessfully pumping me for info---she agreed to help me search. I was glad she was there because she was the one who ultimately found the place. Apparently, I had been looking in the wrong part of town. I was expecting it to be in the Narrows but it was actually by the docks, off in a secluded corner. On the computer screen, it just appeared as a blinking number.

Looking at it now, I frowned. In front of me was a gray building, about two stories high. The front part was covered in graffiti; the window facing me was barred. Looking at it, you would have thought it belonged in the Narrows. There was only one door, it was tall and made out of metal. I kept staring at it, wondering if I should knock or run away---my gut was telling me to run. But my feet weren’t moving. Oracle sent me here for a reason, why I’m not so sure. It was clear that he knew what I’d been doing, how I don’t know. I was pretty certain he knew what Bruce was doing too, call it a hunch. The guy was kinda uncanny like that. After all Henry did call him a Super Hacker, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was somehow watching me right now.

I shivered at the thought, looking above me to make sure there were no cameras. I didn’t see any but that didn’t mean a thing. I still felt like I was being watched which gave me some courage. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, rapping my knuckles on the cold metal. A breeze whipped through, coming off the lake. It brought with it a smell of fish and algae, tearing my hair about, tugging at my clothes. I shivered, cursing myself for not wearing a jacket. It was only a few days into October but the nights were getting colder.

When I didn’t get a response to my first knock I tried again. As my fist was about to hit the metal for a second time, there was a click. The door opened slightly which in most circles was an unwritten invitation to come on in. I gulped and pushed the door open more, enough to slip inside. The first thing I noticed was how dimly lit the place was. The second thing I noticed was the smell. It was a combination of sweat and leather. I crinkled my nose and took in my surroundings. I was standing in a long hall with low ceilings, candles flicking on the walls. When I took a few steps, I noticed that the walls weren’t normal. They looked like the walls from those old Samurai movies. I reached out and touched one as I walked, feeling that it was in fact made out of paper.

As I walked, my sneakers squeaked on the wooden floor.

I followed the flickering candlelight to the end of the hall. Once I got there, I found another identical hall, stretching in both directions. I thought about going left until I saw a brighter light to the right. I took a deep breath, right it was. I followed the candles again, going toward the light. As I got closer, I realized it was coming from underneath a door, also made of paper. Through it, I could make out vague shadows but none of them were people shaped. I took another deep breath and slid the door open. Immediately I was hit by that smell again: leather and sweat.

The room before me was a lot larger than I was expecting. It was also vaguely familiar. In fact, it was so familiar I wanted to laugh. It looked like just about any other karate dojo in any martial arts movie I’d even seen. There were mats on the floors, racks of phony looking weapons against the walls. There were even cheesy replicas of Japanese wall hangings. It was all authentic looking but cheap at the same time. In the center of it all was a muscular looking black woman, her head shaved completely bald. She was crouching with her legs crossed, dressed in a green sports bra and skintight green pants. If she noticed me, she didn’t react. Instead, she seemed to be meditating.

I stared at her from the doorway for the longest time, waiting for her to acknowledge me. But when she didn’t, I took a step into the room. As soon as I did, she came to life. Not in a good way, either. I’m not sure what happened but it happened fast. Her hand snapped up and a dagger flew at me. It was quick, quicker than anything I’d ever seen before. I barely had time to react but I did. I’m not sure how I reacted so fast but I found myself lashing out, snatching it from midair. It was a good thing I caught it when I did because it had been aimed right at my face. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was breathing heavily.

How in the hell did I just do that?

She turned her head and smirked. “You’re not as useless as you look.”

I gulped. Then I dropped the knife, scared that it might somehow stab me. “I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I knocked and the door did open, I didn’t mean to barge in.”

The woman held up her hand. “You’re too noisy. I heard you far too early. You need to take smaller steps and not breathe so much. How do you expect to sneak up on someone if you stomp around like an elephant?”

I was confused. “Excuse me?”

She sighed. She jumped to her feet. Her motion was so fluid and fast that it was like she floated to her feet. She walked over to me, her hips had a bit of a sway and her powerful muscles were visible in her legs. I looked at her muscled abdomen, marveling at the rock hard nature of it. This was clearly a woman who spent a lot of time honing her body. Her muscles were even tighter than Bruce. I thought he was pretty fit and that was before I knew his secret. This woman looked to be in about the same shape as he was.

She stopped in front of me, towering over me. Once again, I was reminded about how short I was. Though in my defense she had to be at least six foot. “Hold out your arms.”

I reluctantly did do. She frowned. Then she pushed them up further, followed by kicking my legs apart, making me stand spread eagle. That’s when she walked around me. She was barefoot and I couldn’t hear a single one of her footfalls. It was uncanny to say the least. When she finished her full circle of me, she put her hand on her chin. Then she reached forward and grabbed the bottom of my shirt. She gave it a quick tug, pulling it up to my chin. I squeaked in protest, snapped forward to pull it down. Her hand was quicker, slapping mine away. What the hell was this woman’s problem?

“You’re a bit flabby,” she said, smacking my bare stomach with the back of her hand. Then she smacked me on the butt. “You need a lot of toning, too. You’re not completely hopeless but you’re going to need a lot of work that’s for sure.”

I frowned. She finally let go of my shirt and I quickly pulled it down. “Can you please tell me what’s going on here?”

She smirked again. “Oracle sent you?” I nodded. “Well then it’s my job to turn you into something worthy of protecting this city.”

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 12, finally time to change the pic. I think I'm really proud of this chapter, it's the one I've been waiting to write for a while now. Kudos to anyone who can tell me who Number One is. :) I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters. Pic Update: I edited the pic that appears here, to remove something that shouldn't belong on her chest---well right now anyway.

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Chapter Twelve:

“Why do I have wear this?” I asked, trying to cover up my bare midriff.

Onyx didn’t say a thing. Instead, she spun her wooden stick and smacked me in the knuckles. It stung. I moved my hands. The outfit in question was nearly identical to hers except it was purple. Last night after she dropped that bomb on me about turning me into the city’s protector, she told me to go home. She said she wanted to see me as soon as school got out. I tried to tell her I had a job at Leslie’s but she wouldn’t hear about it. She then said she’d make arrangements. I’m not sure what kinds of arrangements they were until I got a call from Leslie this morning: apparently, she had a brand new nurse working there and she didn’t need me to come in. It scared me that Onyx was on top of things as much as she was.

That scared me a bit. Here was a woman who knew pretty much all about me and it seemed she had a lot of connections. She was also in league with a creepy computer Hacker that seemed to know everything I was doing. So you can see I had grounds not to trust her. Looking at her now---standing there with her wooden staff, her hands wrapped in boxer’s tape---there was reason to fear her. Especially when I showed up today and she had this outfit waiting for me. I don’t know how she knew purple was my color but the idea of wearing it freaked me out.

I was still rubbing my knuckles when she started walking around me. When she got behind me, the staff slapped hard against my back. “Bad posture” she said, causing me to snap to attention.

I was definitely taking that stick from her.

“I’m going to be in the hospital if you keep on smacking me that hard”

She smiled when she got in front of me again. “In order for me to teach you anything you need to learn how to carry yourself better.”

“I thought I was.”

She swung her stick again but this time I reacted. It was another split second thing like last night when she threw the knife at me. My hand came up and I blocked the blow with my forearm. If she was impressed, she didn’t show it. Instead, her foot lashed out from the other side, driving into my exposed legs, taking me down hard to the mats. Hitting the mats knocked the wind out of me and it took me a few minutes to recover. Onyx didn’t move to help me. I slowly pushed myself to my feet, glaring at her. I definitely hated this woman now.

“Let go of that hate,” she said curtly. “Anger will not help you in a fight. Anger is a weakness that causes men to do stupid things.”

I frowned and nodded. I’d seen a lot of people fight in anger---too many in fact. They came in swinging like wild men and in the end; they tired themselves out far too fast.

Onyx walked around me again. “You have weak posture, very little muscle mass and no strength to speak of.”

I groaned. Hit me where it hurts why don’t you.

“But” she continued. “You have a lot of speed and great concentration. You’re agility is top notch too, as well as your reflexes. Normally I would compensate by showing you offensive martial arts but in your case I think we shall play to your strengths.”

I nodded. “What are those exactly?”

She didn’t answer that question. Instead, she told me what she was going to do. “In your case, defense might be the best way to go. I’m going to start with Aikido, which will help you subdue your attacker without too much bodily injury to him. From there I’ll move onto Feng Shou, a form of soft style martial arts that will help you quite nicely.”

Then we began. First, it was all about learning the techniques. I didn’t catch on at first but after an hour or so, I started to pick it. I think I impressed her some. She said I was a fast learner. I think it helped that I had a lot of gymnastic training. It also helped that I seemed a lot more flexible than I ever was as Steven. It was amazing how my body could move now, bending and twisting in ways that I never knew it could. I was agile too, able to do more flips and jumps than ever before. I couldn’t help but think about the fire in the warehouse---the one that started all this. I had been moving and jumping incredibly back then as well. I wonder if that was the beginning of my Meta powers starting to manifest themselves.

I spent about five hours with Onyx as she drilled me on the various techniques of Aikido. We finished about eight then I was able to get dressed and go home. By the time I got my normal clothes on my body was sore---if felt like I’d been pulled in several different directions at once. When I was leaving, Onyx told me she wanted me to exercise at home. She said I needed to turn my flab into muscle if I ever wanted to do anything productive. She gave me an exercise regimen and made me promise to stick with it.

That night when I got home I crashed on the couch, falling asleep without dinner. For the next few weeks, I practiced every day. When I wasn’t with Onyx, I was exercising. She also gave me a strict diet to stick to. It was a pain at first but it was helping. After a week, I started to see results as muscle tone started to appear. The training was grueling---I got smacked several more times by her stick---but it was worth it. I finally got away from the techniques. Then we moved onto the actual martial arts itself. I’m not going to say I was a savant but I took to it really quickly. I’m not sure if it was my Meta power working or not but Aikido seemed to be made for me. After every training session, she made me spar with her. I was still nowhere near as good as her but I was getting better with each day.

When not training, I exercised. I split my time up between a local gym, a little workout room I set up in the basement and the park. I did mainly running in the park, using the track they had there to my advantage. I wasn’t the only one either. The first few times I had run, I was alone. Then another girl started to show up, too. She was an amazing runner; it was like she was built for it. She was built for a lot more too. She was in great physical condition like her body was crafted to be a super athlete. She had a great one too---her body I mean. Tall, lean and tight. It made me kinda jealous but seeing as she was blonde too, I felt connected to her in a way.

After the first few times, I started trying to keep up with her. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone. But she always left me in the dust. After a week though, she slowed down. Neither of us spoke to one another so I didn’t even know her name but it didn’t matter. She was a running partner and I liked that. Running with her sorta became routine and I was getting better. I was nowhere near as fast as her---probably never would be---but it was cool that she let me attempt to run with her. Us mere mortals---me ---running with the Gods---her.

After three weeks of Aikido and Feng Shou, Onyx dropped a bomb on me.

“You’re really getting the hang of things, I think we can move onto the next part,” she said, walking with her staff behind her back, her usual casual stance when she wasn’t trying to hit me with it.

I nodded, huffing after trying to beat her again. “What’s next?”

“I’m still going to teach you the soft styles but I’ve been giving it a lot of thought,” she said, pulling the staff out from behind her back. “I think you might adapt very well to a little weapons training.”

“Weapons?”

She nodded. “You want to help people don’t you?”

More than ever. But I didn’t tell her that. Instead, I just nodded.

Onyx smiled. I’m not sure I liked that smile.

_____________________________________

Training with Onyx seemed to be the only thing I did anymore besides school. That and exercising. The rest of the world seemed to disappear for me. My social life kinda suffered because of it. Uncle Jim was happy that I had found something to do---I told him I was keeping my body in shape; he approved. Barbara liked that I was doing something with my free time. Jen was the only one who knew the real reason I was doing what I was doing. At first, she was a bit annoyed that I was spending all my time becoming a “Well Oiled Fighting Machine”---her words not mine. But she came around quickly. In fact, she was into it more than I was. She told me that she was going to help me anyway, she could.

I was leaving my third period class when she caught me in the hall.

“Steph” she said, huffing up behind me.

I heard her coming a mile away. Besides the martial arts, Onyx was teaching me to be aware of my environment. It was a bit paranoid but she said you never knew when someone might try to ambush you. So I heard Jen coming the moment she left her classroom, three doors down from mine. I knew it was her from the distinct tap of her shoes and the flap of her long flowing skirts. Onyx would set up drills where she’d blindfold me and then attack me. The goal was that I had to use my other senses to tell where she was coming from. At first, I sucked at it really bad. I got sticked a lot. The other day though, I actually heard her. Contrary to what I originally thought, she does make noise when she walks. It’s slight because she walks in a catlike way, barely making a sound. But I was able to hear her and manage to dodge her first blow before I got cocky and she put me on the ground.

But I was learning.

I snapped around to face Jen, she was still in mid-run. She had to slide to a halt so as not to crash into me. I put my arms out and grabbed her wrists, stopping her almost immediately. She huffed and puffed and thanked me.

“Maybe you should come running with me” I said which she stuck her tongue out at me.

Then we laughed.

We continued walking down the hall, laughing about her inability to exercise. I noticed something today that I hadn’t noticed before. Guys were checking me out. I guess they did before but today there seemed to be a lot of eyes on me for some reason. The only thing I could think of was that my body was starting to finally shape up. It was a long way from being as toned as say Onyx or my friend the Mystery Runner but it was getting there. It made me feel good to have their eyes on me. It also made me wonder why I hadn’t landed any of them yet. Not that there weren’t a few likely candidates. There was a boy in my English Class who asked me out the other day but I was too busy training, so I had to turn him down. There was also a guy in Math class who kept trying to get my number---but he was slimy.

But every time I thought of a guy only one came into mind and to think of him made my skin crawl.

Fourth period for me was Physics. For Jen it was Art. Not that seniors really had Art like normal underclassmen. This Art class was Design, meant for kids who wanted to pursue a career in Art later in life. Whereas I always dreamed of going into law enforcement, Jen wanted to be an Artist. A fashioner designer actually. When we were kids she used to spend hours drawing girls in different dresses. She was really good at it, even then. She once made her own dress and made me model it for her. It wasn’t bad---for a ten year old.

“I’ll see you at lunch” I turned to leave her when she grabbed my arm.

“This is why I was running toward you,” she said, pulling me into the classroom.

I didn’t like the Art room. It smelled like paint and plaster. Jen dragged me past several paint splattered drawing tables to some lockers in the back of the room. She opened her’s and pulled out her sketchbook. She locked it up there in the morning and took it home with her each night. When she finally let go of my arm I followed her over to one of the desks. She dropped the book down gently and took a seat on the stool. Then she flipped through it, going by dress design after dress design, until finally coming to a few pages in the back of the book. From looking at the first one, I could tell they weren’t dresses. I inwardly groaned. Ever since I decided to tell her about wanting to make a difference, all she wanted to do was create a costume for me.

I thought I’d told her no but apparently she decided to go ahead anyway.

“I thought we talked about this,” I said as she flipped through the hero sketch pages, all the girls bearing a striking resemblance to me.

“You talked, I pretended to listen.”

I frowned but continued to look at the book. At least I could humor her. There were some really nice ones though. I put my hand on a page that showed a drawing of a figure---its face was covered in a black mask---decked out all in purple with black gloves and boots. There was this real cool hooded cape that made her look real wicked. Underneath Jen scrawled: Purple? No More Purple. I frowned at her and she smiled. She flipped a few pages and finally stopped. The figure she stopped on had a lot of potential. It was an interesting design. The figure was decked out all in black---skintight leather maybe---with a cape and a cowl of some sort. The cowl covered most of the figure’s face, leaving her eyes and mouth exposed. It was a sinister look. It looked like a figure that might strike fear into the hearts of criminals everywhere.

“This is the one,” she said, taping the picture with her finger.

“The one what?”

She rolled her eyes. “Your costume stupid.”

“You’re serious?” She nodded. “You want me to wear that?”

“I think it’s kinda sexy.”

I couldn’t argue with that. But I wasn’t exactly ready for that stage yet. Not that that stopped Jen. She started talking. Apparently, she had some of it already made. It turns out she was able to buy a black leather cat suit from a store around the corner---selling left over Halloween costumes. I can’t believe I forgot all about Halloween. It was November third now and yet I was so caught up in training that it completely passed me by. I felt bad about that, Jen and I used to go out every year. She made the costumes and I found the best houses. We might have been a little old the last few years but it was still fun. It worked that I was so short and flat chested---at least I used to be---people used to think Jen was the older sister taking me Trick or Treating.

“Hello Steph, are you even listening?” she asked, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

I shook my head. “What were you saying?”

She gave me her frustrated look. “I think we should do this tonight.”

“Do what?”

She rolled her eyes. “The hero thing. I’m almost finished with the costume, just have to work on the cape a bit. I should have it done by tonight.”

I sighed. Once Jen got going, there was no stopping her. I just let her talk and tuned out most of it. I looked down at the picture again and smiled. I think I could make that look work.

_____________________________________

I took a deep breath and it’s all I could do. The suit---my costume---left little for anything else. I used to make fun of girls who tried to hard by wearing tight clothes and attracting attention to themselves. But never again. When I saw the drawings in Jen’s sketchbook earlier today, I thought they looked kinda cool and sexy. But seeing it on paper and in real life on were two different things entirely. After I agreed to give it a try in the classroom Jen was ecstatic, it was all she could talk about the rest of the school day. When the day ended, she was eager to race back home and start finishing it. Me, I hopped into my car and drove to Onyx’s. After a few grueling hours of her kicking my ass I was ready to call it quits until my cell rang.

Jen wanted me to try on what she created. So I grudgingly drove to her house. When I got there, her grandparents were already in bed. It was only ten but they were old. I had to climb the fire escape and go in through Jen’s window. She had everything waiting for me. I had to admit when I saw it all laid out on the bed I did think it was pretty cool. It definitely looked like something a superhero might wear. So when she talked me into trying it on I was happy to do so. Suffice to say, it took the two of us to get me into the leather. To say it was tight was an understatement. At least it seemed to breathe which was a good thing. But I could barely breathe which in my opinion is not so good.

“You just need to break it in” she told me.

“Break it in?”

She nodded. “I have just the thing too.”

That’s when she showed me the paper. The front-page article was about the Thrill Threat but on page two, there was an interesting story. Apparently, someone broke into a Joke Store and instead of emptying out the cash register and safe, they stole all the merchandise. They didn’t even touch the cash. It was actually the third in a series of bizarre crimes. The only evidence that the police seemed to find was a strange hair fiber and in one case, a bit of white material that turned out to be face paint. I suppose it takes all kinds. Well Jen talked me into investigating. So I put on the cape and cowl and went out the window. I felt like a total idiot, crawling up onto the roof but she insisted.

She also insisted she had a pretty good place where the robber might strike next. There was a novelty shop two blocks from her apartment. According to her digging, it was the fourth in a row. She figured the robber was going in a line, hitting one place after another. Me, I thought it was a waste of time but I decided to humor her anyway. So that’s how I found myself hopping from her roof onto the building next door, finding that I moved surprisingly well in the tight leather. It was a bit restricting but it was a lot better than I thought. I found that wearing this outfit, I could see my new muscles a little better and it clung so tightly to my body that it showed up curves that I didn’t even know I had. Though it was a bit embarrassing, it was also a bit sexy too.

The only thing I didn’t like were the boots. Knee high and with a two inch heel, not exactly the smartest thing to wear in a situation like this. But they were the only thing that Jen had---left over from last year’s Halloween costume when she hammed it up as a sexy witch. I suppose I could deal with the boots, they weren’t too bad. The cape was going to be a problem though. I tried to talk her out of it but she insisted. She had it made me look dark and sinister. It was cool looking but on paper only. In the real world, it blew in the wind too much and got in my face. It wasn’t exactly light either, dragging behind me like a giant black blanket---though it was made of a lot thinner material.

I took another deep breath, inching closer to the edge of the building. After jumping from roof to roof, I finally found myself across the street from my target. Bozo’s Boutique, complete with a giant clown head sign. I remember seeing that during the day and being kinda freaked about it. But at night---the clown head’s white face seemed to glow in the streetlights and its eyes were large and menacing. I have this thing about clowns. I’m not afraid of them but they give me the creeps. I couldn’t help but shiver when I stared at it.

A buzzing soon added to that shiver. At first, I freaked until I realized it was my phone.

I reached to my belt and pulled it from one of the little pouches there. The belt was Jen’s idea too. She made it a few days ago, said I needed something to carry my stuff in. When I asked her what “stuff” she was referring too, she shrugged. There were about seven or eight little pouches on the same thing. One of them had a small can of mace, the other a pair of plasticuffs. A third one had a penlight. The others weren’t filled except for the one that had been vibrating a few seconds ago.

I flipped open the phone. “Yes Mother, I’m here," I said, knowing it was Jen.

“Any action yet?” she asked excitedly.

I groaned. “I just got here.”

“Oh” I could hear the disappointment in her voice. “You’ll call me if anything cool happens right?”

I groaned again. “What are you expecting to happen?”

“I don’t know... cool stuff.”

I rolled my eyes. “If anything cool happens, I’m calling the police. I shouldn’t even be out here. The last time I got caught on a rooftop, I was nearly roasted alive, remember?”

There was a long silence. “I thought you wanted to help people?”

She had a point. This had been my idea to begin with. She was only helping me to achieve my goal. That night when I followed my father and almost got killed I was a normal human being. Now I was something else, something greater than me. And even though I didn’t have a handle on all my Meta stuff, yet I knew I was a lot more than what I was before. But I wasn’t ready for this. I’d only been training with Onyx for a few weeks, which hardly qualified me for being a heroine. I’m not sure how long Bruce had been training but it was clear that he actually knew what he was doing. Hell, the Roving Ravager even looked like a professional compared to me. Me, I was an overly ambitious girl who wanted to play hero to help punish people who hurt my friend.

I already failed doing that once already. I sighed. I wonder how Jen would react if I told her this was all a bad idea? It would break her heart but there was no way I could do this. I wasn’t Bruce after all…

I sighed. “Look Jen, I’m sorry…” I started to say but was interrupted by a scream.

It was loud and shrill, shattering my whole core. I clutched the phone tightly. It was a woman and she sounded like someone was murdering her. My heart started to hammer in my chest and my palms started to sweat. Someone was in trouble, someone who needed help.

I bit my lip. “I’m sorry, Jen but I’ve gotta go.”

I didn’t wait for her to say anything before I clicked off the phone. I didn’t bother to return it to its pouch as I ran to the other end of the building, away from Bozo’s. I ran for the source of the scream. When I got to the edge, I found myself peering down into the alley. In the dim light I could just make out a woman---on her back now---sobbing uncontrollably. Approaching her was a tall shirtless bald man. He raised his hand and the light glinted off the blade of a knife. It also seemed to glint off his alabaster skin. What I saw took me a moment to register. At first, I thought they were thousand of little tattoos. Then I realized they were actually cuts, lots and lots of little cuts. Some of them were little lines while others were groups of lines---four with a diagonal slash through them. Almost as if he was marking his body, taking count of something. Seeing those marks on his body sent a cold chill down my spine. I gripped the edge of the building with my gloved hand, a fury building inside of me.

“Somebody please” the woman screamed.

I dropped off the roof, landing catlike on the fire escape below, never making a sound. I guess my training with Onyx was paying off after all. Now that I was closer I could see things a little better. The woman was a mess, her makeup ruined, her silky white blouse torn, revealing a green satin bra underneath. She was wearing only one shoe and her stockings were torn. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on here. That only made my blood boil more.

“Please don’t do this,” she sobbed, backing up until she couldn’t anymore.

Her back was to a dumpster now, the scarred psychopath nearly on top of her.

“Shut up bitch,” he snarled, his voice feral.

He reached out for her but she struggled, kicking and tossing. He bent down, trying to pry her legs open.

“No please” she sobbed.

“Shut up and be a good Number 567.”

That did it for me. I threw the only thing I had which happened to be my phone. It spun through the air, smacking the son of a bitch in the back of the head. It was crude but effective but I definitely needed to get some of those things like Bruce. As soon as the phone hit him, I dropped off the fire escape. I heard the sound of hard plastic on flesh as it echoed down the alley. The only other sounds were her crying and his gasping in pain. But it had the desired effect. As soon as the phone hit the ground behind him, he spun around to face me. The woman was completely forgotten.

I locked eyes with her for a moment then with him. His eyes were cold and lifeless, the eyes of an animal.

He rubbed the back of his head. “That was a stupid thing to do.”

I didn’t say a thing. Which I think pissed him off even more. I saw another glint in the light as a second blade appeared in his other hand. Then he came at me, moving faster than I thought. It was a one two combination, one knife jab then another. My super agility kicked in there. I turned, grabbing the end of the cape as I did so. I flapped it in front of me in an arch, tearing the knife out of his left hand. The knife in his right---clearly his dominant hand---went right for my chest. It grazed the leather, slicing through. I’m not sure if it cut flesh or not but seeing as a scalpel couldn’t I was guessing the latter. When I didn’t gasp in pain, he was shocked for a second.

I launched a counterattack. Onyx’s martial arts training was all about using the opponents own force against him. It was about using his offense and turning it into your defense. He pulled back with his right hand, prepping for another strike and I waited for it. I caught his wrist, twisting up and pulling his body into me. I slapped the flat of my hand into his nose, hearing bone crack. He screamed out in pain. I twisted his arm, the knife clattered to the ground. Then I drove my knee into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The knee wasn’t one of Onyx’s moves, it was one of opportunity. It made sense, given the situation. I had him close and it felt right. It worked too. He gasped and nearly collapsed in my arms. But he was twice my size and having him fall on me wasn’t wise.

I pushed him back, slapping both of my open palms into his chest. He stumbled backwards. Then I leaned in, slamming my shoulder into him for good measure. I dropped him onto his back. I didn’t wait for him to move again. I dropped on him, putting my knee in his throat. I held him there but he wasn’t really in any position to struggle. While I held him, I opened one of my pouches and pulled up the plasticuffs. I stepped off him, flipped him over and cuffed his hands behind his back. The whole time my heart was racing. I was scared to death.

I leaned in, my mouth centimeters from his ear. “I guess that makes you Number One.”

I heard a sob. I snapped around. The woman was still lying with her back against the dumpster, the look of terror on her face lessened somewhat. I took a deep breath and approached her slowly. She flinched, afraid that I was going to come after her too. Instead, I bent down and picked up my cell phone, hoping it wasn’t busted. When I put it back in my pouch, I turned back to her, raising my hands so my palms faced her.

“Do you have a phone?”

She nodded numbly.

I smiled. “Call 911; tell them someone tried to rape you.”

She nodded again. She bent down to fumble into her purse. That’s when I decided to bolt. I didn’t exactly want to be around when the cops showed up. Too many questions that I wasn’t willing to answer. I ran back for the fire escape, jumping up with ease. I caught the bottom and flipped up, rolling up and over. I landed in one fluid motion then ran up the small bit of wall and back onto the roof. I stood on the roof---in the shadows---until I heard the siren. When I saw the police officer appear at the other end of the alley, I knew my job was finally done. An overwhelming sense of accomplishment filled me as well as dread. I could have been killed but that woman’s safety outweighed my own by a hundred percent. But it felt good to help her, as if it was what I was meant to do.

I smiled. Then turned and ran off down the roof, heading back in the direction I came.

___________________________________

It was nearly midnight when I got to the house but thankfully Uncle Jim wasn’t home. I still decided it might not be such a good idea going into the house dressed in a black leather suit, so I backed in the driveway and went up the back way. When I say back way I meant I scaled a tree in the backyard and went in through one of back bedroom windows. It didn’t take much and thankfully Uncle Jim kept them unlocked. As soon as I got into the house, I crept to my room. It took me a while to pull off the suit but it was worth it in the end. I was down to my bra and panties, the thing was too tight to wear anything else. I sat on the edge of the bed, my body covered in a sheen of sweat. I was breathing heavily, my heart still pumping. The whole time I drove home, I thought I was going to get noticed. After all, it’s not every day that a girl drives down the street wearing a black cat suit. But no one even looked my way.

Sitting on the bed, it was an overwhelming mix of fear and excitement. On one hand, I just did something incredible, but on the other, I was scared to death of it. I think I had just done one of the craziest things in the world and yet it was such a rush. I felt alive tonight, especially when I kicked that son of a bitch’s ass. Never before in my life had I felt like I was meant to do something. It was still a bit scary though. I fingered the slash on the side of the costume, the place where the knife cut through the leather. I touched my side just in case but I’d been right, there was no mark there. It was a shame he was able to cut the leather so easily but it was an occupational hazard I guess.

I flipped the suit over to stare at the front of it. It was really cool but something didn’t feel right about it. I loved everything, Jen did a fantastic job. When I dropped down off the fire escape and that guy turned around for second I thought he was going to wet himself. But he wasn’t as scared as I would have wanted. I’m not sure what it was but the sight of me didn’t send the same chills done his spine as they did mine. I guess I’d have to work on that.
I stuffed the suit under my mattress. Then I practically collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep before my head hit the pillow.

The ringing of the phone woke me up. I snapped awake, blurry eyed. The phone kept ringing. I blinked and shielded my eyes as the morning sun shone in my face. Morning, when did I fall asleep? I groaned and reached over, lifting up the handset. I cleared my throat before I spoke. “Hello?”

“Steph, oh thank God, I was so worried.”

I sighed. “I’m good Jen, all in one piece.”

There was a moment of silence. “Then that was you last night?”

I nodded. “Yep” then, realization of what she said sunk in. “Wait a minute, what was me?”

She laughed. “It’s all over the news, dummy”
I snatched up the remote and clicked on my little TV. I flipped to the news and saw the alley from last night. It looked so much different in daylight. There was a pretty Asian reporter talking. I turned up the volume.

“It was here last night that Jocelyn Greene was dragged into this alley behind me and was savagely brutalized by a knife wielding assailant,” said the reporter. “Usually in this city that’s the end of the story but not in Jocelyn’s case because she and her assailant weren’t the only ones who went into the alley last night.”

The scene cut to an earlier interview with the woman from last night, a bandage on her forehead. “It was him. He was dressed in black and had a long cape, just like all the papers say. He dropped out of nowhere then he beat the crap out of my attacker. It was him, he’s back.”

The woman looked ecstatic. Me, I frowned. Who did she think I was?

The scene switched back to the reporter. “The only question this reporter has is this: Was it The Bat, the mythical protector of this troubled city, has he finally returned to help the troubled people sleep easy at night once again?”

I clicked off after that. I was floored. They thought…

“Steph, you still there?” asked Jen’s voice in my ear.

I nodded. I forgot I was still on the phone. “They think…” I said into the receiver softly.

I could hear the excitement in her voice. “They think you’re The Bat.”

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 13, I was dragging my feet on this one a bit but I finally got it done. If you take a close look at the pic for this chapter you might think its the same because it does look like last chapter's pic. But there's one slight difference :) I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Thirteen:

“Is there anything you can do about the wedgie?” I asked as the two of us walked down the hall.

Jen looked at me, confused. Then it dawned on her a split second later, her eyes getting big. Then she laughed. We slipped into an empty classroom, locking the door behind us. After getting off the phone at far too early in the morning, I went through my usual routine. After showering and dressing for school, I pulled the costume from under my bed. I wasn’t really sure what to do with it but after I thought about it, I realized that I needed to do something about the underwear situation. Last night it was riding up my butt and driving me insane. I had thought about not wearing any but that just creeped me out even more.

“Well” she said with a smile. “You can always wear a thong?”

I groaned. I was dreading she’s say something like that.

I stuck my tongue out at her. “Or I could make you wear the costume and let you prance around on rooftops wearing it all night?”

The color drained from her face. “I’ll see if I can design some built in underwear feature.”

I smiled and the two of us left the classroom. When we opened the door, a bald teacher frowned at us, clearly annoyed. I don’t think he liked being locked out of his own classroom. Before he could say anything, we broke into laughter and slipped around him. We got to our lockers and separated. We didn’t meet up again until it was lunch time. On the way to the cafeteria, we passed Arnold’s locker. I frowned when I looked at it. According to his parents, he was going to be in the hospital until at least the end of the month. I just hoped that that wouldn’t affect his chances of competing in the Talent Show. It was at the beginning of December, a few days before Winter Break. Arnold was really excited about it. I visited him the other day---we were still on rough terms---but he told me all about his Act. He even showed me how to throw your voice, demonstrating by doing his tough Italian Mobster voice he used for “Mr. Scarface”.

At lunch, I sat with Jen but kept getting dirty looks from the cheerleaders. I tried out last week. I thought things went well but apparently, things went too well. I showed them all up, making them look like amateurs. None of them were too happy about it. Their Coach loved me though. She wanted me on the team immediately, but looking at all the girls glaring at me, I knew it wasn’t safe. I didn’t want one of them to accidentally forget to catch me or somehow drop me off the top of a pyramid. So in the end I declined. Miss Wells---the Coach–wasn’t too happy but at least I avoided trying to explain why I didn’t break my leg when they did one of their stupid “accidents” to hurt me.

Jen glared at the girls. “You should have told them to go fuck themselves.”

I shrugged, dipping my fry in some ketchup. “It wouldn’t have changed their attitude toward me.”

Jen frowned. “I don’t know why you wanted to be one of them anyway. They’re total spazzes.”

“I didn’t really but I want to get into Gymnastics again and the school doesn’t have a team.”

We talked a little more about then Jen changed the subject. “If you swing by my place after your training today I can fix the suit for you.”

She hadn’t been happy when I told her about the knife cutting it. She complained and gave me the riot act, telling me to be more careful. We both agreed that as soon as my training for today was over I’d drop the costume off. I wanted to do another nighttime run tonight but I can’t very well do it if I’m not comfortable. Lunch went by at its usual pace after that. Jen asked me a few more questions about last night but we didn’t really want to talk about it with so many people around. After lunch, the rest of the day seemed to drag on slowly. I couldn’t stop thinking about last night. I’d never felt more alive. Every time I closed my eyes I saw myself fighting, that bastard and I couldn’t help but feel good inside.

When the final bell rang, Jen met me outside my last class. The two of us walked out to the parking lot together. I’d taken to being her own personal chauffeur now. AS the two of us were getting into the car, I heard the tell tale roar of a familiar motorcycle. I groaned and turned around. Tim had pulled his Ducati right up behind my little Focus, cutting the engine. I couldn’t help but groan because I wasn’t in the mood for him today. He took off his helmet and I could almost see Jen salivate. I elbowed her in the side, breaking her trance. Jen wasn’t really into the bad boys but it was hard not to drool all over Tim. He would be overly gorgeous except every time he opened his mouth he ruined that. He was looking particularly good today in his red leather jacket, his hair slicked back. How he didn’t have helmet hair was beyond me.

When he climbed off his bike, I huffed. ‘You’re blocking me in.”

He shrugged. “We need to talk.”

“Move your bike and maybe I’ll consider it.”

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. I sighed. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Bruce”

“What about him?”

“He’s driving me nuts. You have to come back.”

I shook my head. “He knows why I left. If he wants me back so much then all he has to do is admit that I’m right and help me.”

Tim groaned. “I’m not sure what the two of you have been arguing about and frankly I don’t care but it’s stupid.”

I looked him over. I could tell what his real problem was immediately. I smiled. “His making you do everything he made me do, isn’t it?”

Tim didn’t say anything. I laughed. Jen just looked confused. It felt kinda good to laugh in Tim’s face a bit. I’m not sure how long I laughed but I think he finally got the clue that I wasn’t going back. He growled in frustration and got back on his bike. It didn’t take him long to gun the engine and take off. I watched him go, satisfied that I got the last word in. I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him. He was an arrogant jerk and sometimes jerks like him needed to be put in their place.

“So that was him, huh?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

“Kinda cute” said Jen, smiling like a lovesick puppy.

I didn’t say a thing. Instead, I frowned at her and we got into the car. As I said before I couldn’t argue the fact that he was in fact cute but it was everything else I hated about him. He was an insufferable prick, even more so now. The nerve of him showing up here and trying to get me to go back just so he didn’t have to work. That boy infuriated the hell out of me. He was on my mind the whole way to Jen’s. When I pulled up in front of her apartment building, I popped the trunk. This morning I took the costume from the safety of my bedroom and put it in the trunk, making sure it was hidden and out of sight. I thought about the best place for it and decided Uncle Jim was least likely to find it in my trunk. OK, so it wasn’t the best place but until I could find an alternative it would have to do.

I gave Jen the costume so she could fix the problem and then left her to drive off to Onyx’s. I parked around back; there was no way my car could fit into the alley. Onyx’s place was a lot bigger than I originally thought. She owned the whole building. I’m not sure how many square feet that was---I’m not good at that kinda thing---but there were at least four floors. She converted the top two into a living space. I spent last weekend here in one of her guest rooms so she could really drill into my head the need to train all the time. She was a slave master but it was definitely paying off. I proved that last night when fighting that nut.

I went in through the back door, which was sorta off to the side, half obscured in shadow. I took off my shoes and silently padded my way into the main room. I had walked this path so many times I could do it with my eyes closed. In fact, I have, numerous times actually. When I got to the Dojo, Onyx was dressed in her usual green garb, meditating on the center mat. I tried to be quiet but there was no sneaking up on her. So instead, I crept slowly into the room, curled up next to her and started meditating too. I took deep, shallow breaths, trying to find my center. I lost myself to the nothingness just like usual. I’m not sure how long I was like that before I felt her gently shake me awake.

When I opened my eyes, she frowned. “Did you enjoy yourself last night?” she asked coldly.

I inwardly cursed. Of course, she knew about it, she knew everything.

I bit my lip. “I had to try. I needed to know if I could do it.”

She shook her head. “You weren’t ready.”

“I beat him”

“You got lucky. Next time your opponent might be much faster or much more skilled than you. What happens then?”

I shrugged. I didn’t have an answer for her.

But I did have a question. “Does that mean I can’t go out again?”

She sighed. “I could tell you no but you’ll probably disobey me anyway. I know what it’s like to feel that rush. You might not believe this but I wasn’t always cooped up in this place you know. I know what it’s like out there.”

I smiled. “Were you like The Bat?”

I didn’t call him Bruce. I promised Bruce not to reveal his secret and I was keeping that promise. Knowing her she probably knew who he was anyway, even if she never let on she knew. Onyx was like that. I’d only known her for a little while but she was the kind of person who told you what she knew some of the time and left the rest of it to herself. Our biggest topic of discussion was Oracle. I knew she knew who he was but no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get her to tell me. She kept saying that “when Oracle wants me to know then I’ll know.” I hated when people got cryptic like that. That didn’t stop me from trying though. I even went so far as to try tracing back the text messages but no matter how hard I tried---well Henry actually---we came up with a dead end. Henry was definitely an infant compared to Oracle.

I asked my question again. Onyx shook her head.

“I was something else” she said and left it at that.

Then we started training.

___________________________________

She ran me ragged for a whole week. I think she wanted to make sure I was tough enough and strong enough to take on any opponent. She became convinced that defense wasn’t the only thing I needed to work on. So she started me on some Jujitsu, hoping it might toughen me up a bit. I took to it about as quickly as I did Aikido and Feng Shou. I kinda liked it actually. It was similar to the others in that I had to use the opponent’s force to my advantage but it was more aggressive. It involved a lot more physical contact. There were a lot of quick take-downs and fast moving punches. Onyx said she was impressed by how quickly I took to it. Besides martial arts, I was starting to get pretty skilled with weapons too. Onyx was fond of the bullwhip and nunchaku. Me, I was all about the tonfa. If you don’t know what one is, it’s really hard to describe. They come in pairs; they’re like two wooden poles about the length of your forearm with a handle. I know I’m not really describing them all that well but to fight with them was another thing entirely. Onyx wanted me to get used to using something that can protect my arms in case my opponent is much too large for me to handle. Tonfas were kinda clumsy for me to carry around but she remedied that by giving me a collapsible baton.

It wasn’t the same but it worked just as well.

I took my new skills to the street fairly quickly. The first night I started jujitsu I was out on the streets. Jen’s retrofit of the costume was much better. I didn’t have to wear underwear anymore because it was built in. She also added some venting to help me breathe a bit better. My boots got an upgrade as well. Gone were the ones with the heel, replaced by heavy duty combat type boots. They were easier to move in but flexible enough in case I needed to kick the crap out of someone. Not that I did much kicking. But the biggest change to the suit was cosmetic. When I first saw it, I didn’t approve in the least but Jen was insistent upon it. Do you remember how I thought the front of the suit was missing something well Jen thought the same? So she went out of her way and put a giant yellow bat on it. I guess it looked kinda cool---it was sorta this yellow outline, it was kinda wicked. But it made me frown a bit. It was like I was thumbing my nose at Bruce or something.

“It’ll scare them” was Jen’s reply to my complaints.

It did, too.

The first night that I went out, I ran into a pair of jackasses trying to break into a car. It was dark; most of the street was obscured in shadow. It was kind of a petty crime but as long as I was around there was going to be no crime. I dropped down silently behind them, my cape flowing around me. When they turned around and saw the Bat on my chest, the first one actually pissed himself. I disarmed him quickly with a head butt. The other tried to run. I grabbed the crowbar they were using to try to pry into the car and threw it at the back of his legs. He fell face first into the street. It was nearly midnight and no one was around to see me drag him back into the shadows by his ankles, kicking and squirming the whole time.

The next morning my actions made the news. This time the goons easily told the reporters who and what I was. Word spread quickly after that, The Bat was truly back in the city. Not that that made my job any easier. The night after nabbing the car thieves, I dropped on a mugger. He didn’t seem to be too scared of me until he found that I could deflect all his sloppy punches. All it took for me to take him down was a swift kick in the gut. I left before he or the woman he was robbing could get a good look at my face. It bothered me that everyone was still describing me as a big menacing guy with a deep sinister voice, still connecting me to Bruce. But the way I figured it they were either too scared to think clearly or too embarrassed to say they were beaten up by a little girl.

After that, word spread like wild fire. As much as the criminals feared the Roving Ravager, there was something about a person in black leather and a cape that frightened the hell out of them. After another night of taking out scum, things started to die down. It gave me time to concentrate on my real objective: Thrill. The drug had disappeared. The Roving Ravager was busting up Parks all over the city, leaving behind several semi-conscious and severely beaten witnesses---i.e. the Seekers. He had a rough style but I couldn’t hate him too much because he was getting the job done. Unfortunately, though he was scaring off the Seekers. I guess that’s a good thing but now I had no one to hunt. I was still hell bent to ruin these bastards and yet I had no trail left to follow.

That is until this morning. I was leaving English class when my phone went off. I groaned, ducking into a nearby girl’s bathroom. I pulled the phone out of my bag and flipped it open. I scanned the quick message: SEEKER PARTY 1 AM TONIGHT, WAREHOUSE DISTRICT, DRESS APPROPRIATELY, ORACLE. I smiled at the message. I wanted to scream out in excitement; instead, I stuck the phone in my pocket. It was exactly the lead I was looking for. This time bumbling Stephanie Brown wouldn’t be going there, this time it would be The Bat.

I rushed out of the bathroom, positively glowing.

________________________________

Yuck, why did it have to rain?

I groaned as I shifted position, trying to find a good spot on the edge of the building. But it was hard to get comfortable with the rain beating down on me so hard. I guess it was better than snow, though. But of course, it was one of those rains that was kinda half and half. The weatherman called it freezing rain. Well it was definitely that and then some. As cool and sleek as my suit was it definitely wasn’t made for this kind of weather. I would have to see if I could get Jen to some kind of insulation. I’m not sure how but the cape only kept some of the chill off of me. I know it’s not very stealthy but I was shivering as the water drummed heavily on me, in some instances clinging to my leather clad form. The only one out here tonight more miserable than me had to be the guy standing in front of the building.

I was at the address Oracle sent me too. How did I know it was the right place? An hour ago, I picked up the trail of a few Seekers and followed them here. It didn’t take a genius to figure out which of the many warehouses was the one they were operating from. After following my quarry, I took up my roost on this building. It was at the edge of the district, overlooking the warehouse in question. After my guys went in, several more filed in over the last hour or so. I’m not really sure what I was waiting for. OK, that’s not true. I knew what I was waiting for. There was no way Oracle would send me here unless it was damn important. After all this didn’t feel like a routine Seeker Park. For one thing, the guy at the door---the one I felt partially sorry for---was holding an AK-47. You didn’t pack that kind of firepower unless something big was going down.

I grumbled, shifting position again.

The belt around my waist was a bit heavier tonight. Jen thought I should name everything---kinda call it “Bat” this or “Bat” that. I thought that was the stupidest idea ever. If she had it her way, I’d be wearing a “Bat” belt around my waist. She means well but sometimes she doesn’t have a clue. But she was kinda right about the naming thing. Not that I wanted to get cute and name everything in my arsenal some stupid name. So I called the belt my “utility” belt for lack of a better term. In the pouches were the usuals---cell, mace, flashlight. Now there were a few new items to add to the list. In one pouch, I know had a small pair of binoculars and in another was some shuriken. Even though Onyx told me she didn’t want to actively get involved in all my nocturnal activities---besides training me---she did equip me properly. The shuriken were her idea as well as the collapsible baton now attached securely to my hip.
She said fighting with my fists was one thing but I’d deal more of a blow with the baton. I couldn’t argue with her there.

Now if she could have found some way to speed up time.

I shivered and sighed. Waiting was my least favorite part of anything. And waiting in the freezing rain, well that was now near the top of my least favorite things of all time list. It was a smidge above clowns and a few lines below my father---who was at the top of the list. Sitting here in the dark and the cold, I couldn’t help but feel I wasting my time. Yes, this looked like a real bad place but so far the only bad thing I saw was the miserable bastard stupid enough to join me out here. I groaned, ready to call it quits. It’s a good thing I didn’t. If I had bailed when I wanted too I would not have heard the rumble. At first, I thought it was thunder, which would have made this the worst day ever. Then I saw it come bumbling around a corner: a large white delivery truck. It was non-descript except for the color but it didn’t take a genius to figure out where it was going.

When it stopped in front of the warehouse across from me, I decided to get a closer look.

I leapt across the gap and landed gracefully on top of the truck. I didn’t stop there though as I ran softly across the top and jumped onto the warehouse. It was a good five or six feet from the top of the truck to the awning above the warehouse door. Luckily, it wasn’t one of those Indiana Jones kinds---you know the ones that people thought they could jump on and not fall through. The awning was solid, made of concrete. It wasn’t very large but it was big enough for me to crouch on and hide. It was also close enough for me to see what was going on which was a big plus.

The guard pulled the collar of his coat up around his check, grumbling. He walked up to the truck as the driver got out. The first thing I noticed about the driver was his mask. What in the hell? He was wearing a cheap plastic mask, in the shape of a pig. In the cab of the truck there was a passenger, he was wearing a mask too, a rabbit this time. I didn’t realize Halloween so still going on.

“Where the hell have been, Porky?” asked the guard with a snort.

The driver flipped him off. “Give me a break; you realize how much of this stuff we had to load.”

I reached into one of my pouches. I pulled out another new tool of mine---a spy camera. It was small and slender. I snapped off a few shots of the three of them. Then I took a picture or two of the truck and in particular the license plate. Evidence gathering was a new thing for me but it seemed like the right thing to do. The camera was Jen’s idea. She had just in case I wanted to clue the police in on what was going on. I thought it was a pretty good idea actually. From the television and my Uncle’s numerous phone calls, I knew that Detective Gage was actually the head of the Thrill Task force. So I had to wonder if he might like the photos that I just took.

I took a few more photos just for posterity.

The guard and Porky went around the side of the truck. I heard them open the back and waited. About a minute later---after some grunting and cursing---Porky and the guard were carrying a large crate between them. I took a few pics of that too. The passenger side door opened and Bugs got out. Well what else would you call a guy in a rabbit mask? He was bigger than the other too, wearing black leather gloves. He followed them to a point where I couldn’t see. I shifted position and just caught the three of them out of the corner of my eye. I quickly leapt from the awning back onto the roof of the truck. I got a good view of them now. They were at a pull down door, like a garage door. Bugs lifted it without a problem, the sound of rusty chains and gears mixing with the rain.

Bugs waited for the two of them to carry the crate inside then slammed the door down. I moved like lightning. I sprang from the truck back onto the awning. Then I jumped up, grabbing the small ledge of the window there. I pulled myself up quickly then grabbed the ledge of the window above it. There were three rows of windows directly on top of one another before I got to the roof. When I pulled myself up onto the roof, I was hit with a gust of cold air. The rain went into my face, disorienting me for a second. I shielded myself with the cape until I got my bearings. When I dropped it, my heart skipped a beat because I wasn’t alone on the roof.

He was there too.

He was half shrouded in shadows but it didn’t take a genius to figure out who it was. He wore a cape and cowl both black like mine, his mouth and eyes the only thing visible. The rest of his costume was pretty much red, it looked leather like mine. I was a bit surprised to see him but that shock wore off quickly. The Roving Ravager and I locked eyes. I couldn’t read his expression because it was cold and hard. His eyes seemed to burn into me as we stared at each other. Neither of us made a move for about a minute but he eventually. He seemed to glide across the roof and went right for the skylight. I moved a second later. There was no way I was going to let him bust this place up. This was my only shot and he wasn’t going to get in the way of that.

“This is my bust,” I said, adding a sinister edge to my voice.

He looked at me, smirked and kicked out the glass. Subtlety was not this guy’s strong suit. I lunged forward to stop him but he dropped into the roof. I cursed. It had to be a thirty-foot drop. I ran over and looked down, watching, as he seemed to float harmlessly to the ground. At first, I thought he might be a Meta like me until I saw the rope. It was hard to see in the dark but I found the edge of it attached to a hook, embedded in the roof. A small part of me wanted to pull out the hook and watch him fall. Hey, I said a small part. Instead, I watched as he landed on the ground. In one fluid motion, he was free of his rope and springing into action. He caught the first few Seekers off guard, tearing into them. But the others sprang into action really quick. There were a lot of them, more than I thought. I realized quickly that alone he didn’t stand a chance. That’s when I heard the rapid bursts of automatic fire. I couldn’t see the guard with his machine gun but I knew he was down there. I cursed. Things were definitely not as easy as the last time. A chill ran up my spine and for a split second, I thought about bolting but then I realized I couldn’t leave him down there to get slaughtered.

I took a deep breath, pulled pair of shuriken from my pouch and jumped through the skylight. I’m not sure why I didn’t use the rope. I think a small part of me knew I didn’t need it. Halfway through the air, I spread my arms out, bringing the edges of the cape up with me. I sorta glided through the air, probably looking pretty damn menacing when I finally hit the ground. As soon as I did I landed softly, not hurt at all from the thirty foot drop. It only took me a second to get adjusted to the dimness of the room but as soon as I straightened up from my landing crouch, the room fell silent. I looked around and watched as several people stopped doing what they were doing and stared. Even the guard stopped firing. The Ravager was crouched behind the wooden crate, probably hiding from the barrage of bullets. He even turned to look at me.

Finally, one voice cut through the silence. “It’s the Bat.”

That’s all it took to break the stunned silence. The room erupted and the stunned Seekers charged at me. I threw my shurikens, picking my targets. The first went at the guard, slicing his upper arm, causing him to drop his gun. The second grazed the cheek of the nearest Seeker, causing him to fall back. I say fall back but it did not slow him down. He charged me. I jumped into the air, flipping over him. He slammed into one of his companions coming from the other way. About half way through my flip I landed on my charger’s back. I ran along him and used his momentum to launch myself at the next bastard. I kicked him in the chin, throwing him backwards. There was a collision of bodies as my opponent slammed into two more charging Seekers.

When I landed, two more Seekers charged me. I rolled into them, pulling the baton free. I hit the first in the face then in the groin. He dropped. The second got my elbow in his face, the baton in his throat. The onslaught came after that. I’m not sure how many there were but I threw a lot of punches and drove away a lot of them with the baton. I’m not sure when it happened but someone pushed his back against mine. I had a pretty good idea who. I’m not sure how long we were fighting but eventually it came to an end. I threw the final blow, hitting a Seeker in the face with my knee. He went down like a ton of bricks. He didn’t get up, which was a good thing because I’m not sure if I had any more in me.

It was at that moment that I realized someone was pressed against me. I spun around, ready for another go. I swung the baton only to find it blocked by a metal pole. The Ravager was standing there, his face covered in sweat, panting like I was. We stared at each other for a long time, neither moving or saying a word. We didn’t even lower our weapons.

He broke the silence. “So you’re the person pretending to be the Bat.”

I huffed. I wasn’t pretending anything.

“And you’re the Roving Ravager” I said, trying to make my voice sound dark and sinister. “The guy pretending to be a hero.”

His eyes narrowed. “Red Robin.”

“What is?" I asked, confused.

“My name” he said, “RR stands for Red Robin.”

“Seriously” I said, the edge falling from my voice.

He frowned. “Robins are graceful, intelligent birds.”

There was a bit of a whine to his voice when he said it. It made it hard to believe that this was the same guy that just brutalized all these punks.
We didn’t say anything more for a while. Instead, he started poking around. He bent to check one of the guys that was lying unconscious nearby. Me, I went for the crate. I left him to play whereas I was here for a reason. I pulled out my camera again and took pictures. First of all the goons then of the crate itself. I thought about taking a pic of him but I decided against it. I wouldn’t want anyone to take my pic either. So instead, I concentrated on the crate. When the pictures were done, I scrutinized it. Or what was left of it. When the Red Robin---stupid name---had crouched behind it as a shield, the bullets did a bang up job on it. Most of the contents inside were trash. I found a nearby crowbar and pried off the lid, getting a good look inside.

There were several green liquid filled glass vials packed in straw. A good portion of them were smashed. I fingered one, rolling it over. There was a label on the glass, V10. I rubbed my chin, why did that name sound familiar. I racked my brain, trying to come up with the answer.

“Is it Thrill?” he asked as he came walking over.

I picked up one of the vials, sloshing the liquid about. “I think so.”

He picked up one of his own. “V10”

I nodded. “According to the truck driver, it sounds like the truck outside is filled with this stuff.”

“Well it's gone now” he said with a sigh, dropping the vial back in the crate.

“What” I said then looked around.

There were a lot of people lying about unconscious, Bugs was one of them. Not amongst the group was Porky. I cursed. He must have slipped out during the battle. So the Robin was right, the truck was long gone. I scanned the faces just to make sure but he was definitely not among them. I turned back to the crate and stared at the vial in my hand. Just then, my phone vibrated. It wasn’t the only one either. I reached for my belt, pulling it out of my pouch. The Robin reached inside in cape. I looked at my screen; it was a text from You-Know-Who: GET A VIAL OF THAT STUFF; I THINK I KNOW SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP, ORACLE. I clicked my phone shut then carefully stuck the vial in one of my pouches, hoping that it would be safe there. I looked at the Robin; he discreetly grabbed a vial too. We locked eyes and then he smiled. He showed me his phone and I sighed, it was the same message.

“Looks like someone wants us to work together” he said.

I frowned. “The Bat and Robin, I’m not so sure.”

“Why are you saying it like you’re in charge? I’ve been here longer, I have more experience.”

“Because a Bat would definitely be in charge over a stupid bird. Besides Robin sounds like a sidekick’s name.”

“It's Red Robin.”

“Whatever.”

He opened his mouth to protest but never got a chance. The sound of sirens cut through the night. I turned and looked at the door. When I snapped back to tell the Red Robin we should run, he was already gone. I cursed. I snapped around to his rope but it was gone too. Some “partner” he turned out to be. I rushed to the door just as it opened. I was halfway there when two police officers walked into the room. They caught sight of me and froze for a split second. Then they pulled out their guns, shouting freeze. I reached into another pouch, pulling out another one of Onyx’s goodies.

A smoke bomb.

I threw it at their feet. The room erupted into a cloud of thick gray smoke, allowing me to escape. I ran up the far wall, grabbed the edge of the window and broke it with my elbow. I looked down at the coughing police officers, frowned at almost being caught, then jumped out the window. I disappeared down the alley as soon as I hit the ground.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 14, sorry for the delay. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters. I'd also liked to thank mittfh for the use of his character and Lynceus for the use of his.

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Chapter Fourteen:

I groaned as I woke up, feeling the strain from the night before. Even with the Red Robin there to help, there had been just too many guys. I sat up and groaned; every muscle in my body ached. After sitting there for a few minutes, I pulled myself out of bed and into the shower. Last night kept flashing through my head. It drove me nuts that I was completely blanking on that V10 thing. I knew I had heard the name somewhere; I just couldn’t remember where. It plagued me through the whole shower, even preempting my thoughts on today’s history test. Of all the things to worry about, Onyx said she was worried most about my studies. Apparently, crime fighting had a tendency to cut into schoolwork but I was doing OK. I was getting my homework done and was getting enough sleep---a few hours---each night so I didn’t fall asleep in class. I made sure to stay out no later than one so it gave me plenty of time to fall asleep.

When I shut off the water, I stretched. I made it as hot as I could to help work out some of the pain. I may not be able to get cut or bruised anymore but I still felt the pain. It wasn’t overwhelming or anything but it was throbbing. Kinda like a dull ache---like sleeping on your arm all night. I guess the word I’m looking for was numbing pain. Well, after the really hot water, most of the numbing pain was gone. After the shower, I went to the mirror and brushed my teeth. I always showered first. Then I went and got dressed. When I got downstairs, I was on my own for breakfast. Ever since Thrill had become a serious threat, Uncle Jim was going into the office real early. Over the last month, I could count how many times I actually saw him on one hand. But he was always kind enough to leave me a note. I don’t think Babs liked it that he was working so much---he wasn’t getting any younger, according to her---but she knew he was making a difference.

I made some toast and turned on the TV. The kitchen set was always on the news. I wasn’t surprised at all to see the warehouse as the top story. A pretty blonde reporter was on the screen talking to one of the police officers from last night. I turned the volume up.

“I’ll telling you, he ain’t human,” said the cop, white faced and sweating.

“Officer Jones are you trying to tell us that The Bat is supernatural in origin?” asked the reporter, holding the mike so close to the man’s mouth that it was practically in it.

Officer Jones looked confused. “He’s a man but he’s not.”

“Perhaps he’s a woman,” said the reporter with a laugh.

I frowned at that. Dumb bimbo.

“He ain’t no woman. Trust me when I say this, there’s no way a woman could move like that.”

I groaned at the TV. Then I snatched up the remote and shut it off. Sexist blind pig. How can these guys not tell I’m a woman? I reached up and grabbed my breasts. Hello stupids, look at these. I’m wearing skintight black leather, you morons. How hard is it to tell that I’m a girl? Some people are so stupid. I had half a mind to unzip the top half of my costume and give my next victim a show just so the world knows the truth. I wonder how fast I could subdue him after that. I’m not sure why it bugged me so much. It thrilled the hell out of me that they thought I was The Bat. Of course, it’s not like I did anything to make them think otherwise. But I had to wonder what Bruce was thinking about all of this. After all, he was The Bat---the real one---and he was pretty adamant about me not taking up his mantle. I felt a little bad about that. But it’s not like I deliberately took it from him. It was the people who thought I was him. As long as they thought so I was going to continue with the charade. As soon as Bruce got back on his feet, I’d find some new identity to go under, maybe something in purple. I smiled at the thought, that would really annoy Jen.

After my toast, I went back to my room. When I got home last night, I stored my suit in my trunk but not before getting the vial out of the pouch. I brought it into the house with me last night and stashed it in one of my dresser drawers. I opened that drawer now and frowned. After escaping the cops last night, I got another text as soon as I got to the car. It was from You-Know-Who with instructions and an address. Oracle wanted me to package up the vial and send it to the address. Apparently, her person would analyze the contents and then we could figure out the next step from there. But I had a pretty good idea what my next step was going to be. As soon as I found the bastard responsible for Thrill, I was going to put him in the ground.

I closed the drawer. I’d deal with the vial later. Besides, I had to get the proper packaging to send it anyway. I finished doing some of my other morning routines and went downstairs. I usually left with plenty of time in the morning to get to school. Jen took the bus in the mornings. I thought about driving in and taking her but that would have meant me getting up earlier. It would have been OK in the past except now my nocturnal activities were getting in the way. But that was the only thing they seemed to be getting in the way of. I was afraid that they might interfere with my schoolwork but things were still going real good. What little time I had to actually do it was spent vigorously working to make sure I didn’t slip. My grades were solid. They needed to be if I wanted to go to college in the fall. I’d already started on that. I looked at applications the other day in the guidance office. I think I want to go to Northwestern like Babs. She even talked about letting me move in with her, we’d just have to get a bigger place.

I thought about the possibilities of living in the city again on my drive to school. Not that I didn’t like living with Uncle Jim---I loved it---but I needed to get my own place, too. Living in the city also had the advantage of being able to stay out a little longer too. I’ve only been able to do a little bit of stalking because I needed to leave early to drive home, cutting out some valuable time. Not that I was the only one making a difference in this city but so far I seemed to be the only one who cared about the little person. OK so that’s only half true. The Red Robin was doing his part too. But his tactics were a bit extreme. I’m not just talking about last night either. Both times, he rescued me---the first time in the alley, the second time in the “Park”---he put all those guys in the hospital. I know because I checked. Not that I was feeling remorseful but a girl has the right to know. When I beat people up, I at least tried to leave them well enough to go to jail.

When I got into school, I went straight to my locker. I wasn’t surprised at all to see Jen standing there.

“How did it go last night?” she asked, referring to my extracurricular activities.

I shrugged. “I made a friend I think.”

She raised her eyebrow. I quickly told her about my encounter with the Red Robin as I stuffed my bag in my locker and got my books. It didn’t take me very long to tell her as we walked to my first period class together.

“And you’re sure it was Oracle?” she asked, referring to the text he got.

I nodded. “It was the same message.”

“What’s this guy up to?”

I shrugged. Damned if I knew. I had similar thoughts when I went to bed last night. Clearly, Oracle was playing both of us, getting us to do his dirty work. But to what end. It was cool that he was helping me, setting me up with Onyx, pointing me in the right direction concerning Thrill. But what was this guy’s ultimate goal. What did the Red Robin have to do with any of it? Those thoughts seemed to plague me until I fell asleep last night. They plagued me all through first period and into second. Not that I was daydreaming of course. Thinking about Red Robin got me wondering about the man behind the mask. Ok so maybe man was pushing it. It was clear he wasn’t as old as I had originally thought. If I were to guess I’d say maybe eighteen at the most. I couldn’t help but look around the room, wondering if he was in the class with me.

In third period, I did the same thing. Unfortunately, it had an undesired effect. A kid in my class, David, looked in my direction. He wasn’t bad looking but he wasn’t really my type either. He was a Soccer player, a bit taller than me with sandy blonde hair. I suppose I could see myself with him but I wasn’t ready for a boyfriend yet. I had too much to do and definitely not enough free time to play around with some guy. But that didn’t stop David from trying. He caught up with me when we were leaving class after spending most of it staring at me.

“You’re Stephanie, right?” he asked, slipping beside me as I walked to fourth period.

“Well my name definitely isn’t Steven,” I said which made him laugh.

“Well, Not Steven, I was wondering if you wanted to go grab a bite to eat after school.”

I bit my lip. I was almost tempted. But after school was Onyx time. “I can’t, I have after school extracurricular things that take up my time.”

He smiled and nodded. “How about this weekend?”

No matter what I said, I was certain this guy was going to bug me. So in the end I decided to give him my cell number. I told him I couldn’t promise anything but I’d try. I think that made him happy because he had this huge smile on his face when he walked off. It made me a bit happy too. I know there was no chance of a date with him but it was nice that someone finally asked. For a while, I thought I was going to remain boyfriend-less for the rest of my high school life. Yes, I got a lot of boys staring at me but I think what I did to Francisco was still fresh in everyone’s head. Especially when the guys were concerned. I even caught one shying away from me with his hand over his crotch. I almost kicked him there for the hell of it.

Halfway to class, another male voice called my name. I groaned and snapped around, ready to lay into the prick. One guy was enough. I stopped in mid insult when I realized it was Henry.

He finally reached me, panting. “Boy you’re fast.”

I rolled my eyes. “Trying to avoid admirers” He nodded, confused. I smiled. “What can I do for you, Henry?”

“I found her.”

It took me a few seconds to realize the “her” he was referring to. Then I remembered the laptop and his goal to find someone to help me. I could have kissed him right there. Instead, I grabbed his arm, pushed him into a nearby classroom and told him to tell me everything.

______________________________________

I sat at the table, drumming my fingers. It annoyed me that I was waiting this long. I looked at my watch again and sighed. How long does it take for a bike messenger anyway? It was all a part of the plan. After Henry told me he contacted Lena, we made arrangements. Two days from the time of her contacting him, I was supposed to go to a local coffee shop, wear a pink scarf and wait for a bike messenger to arrive. He would come, pick up the laptop and I was supposed to remain put. When the job was finished, she’d text me and I would come to the same shop to pick up the laptop. I only liked one part of that plan however. I didn’t mind her need to be secret but the part with me not knowing where the thing was going. I didn’t like that at all.

I picked up my cappuccino and took another sip. I didn’t like the way things were going in all this. First I had to get that vial and send it off to Oracle’s people---I bubble wrapped and boxed it. Now here I was waiting for another mysterious thing I wasn’t going to be a part of. Well Stephanie wasn’t going to be a part of anyway. As soon as this guy showed up and took this damn thing, I had no intention of following through with the original plan. I needed to see where this thing was going and I couldn’t very well do that as myself. If Stephanie couldn’t follow the package, I was going to make damn certain The Bat did.

I’m not sure when I started to refer to myself as two different people. I think it started the night after my joint fight with Red Robin. That was three days ago. The next night was when I started to make the separation. It was partially to keep me level headed and partially so I didn’t accidentally refer to myself while in costume. I almost did. It was the second “official” meeting between the Robin and myself. I’m not sure how he found me exactly but we stalked the night together nonetheless. We didn’t talk much but we did some fighting together. He led me to another “Park” and we busted it up. I think both of us were hoping to get lucky, maybe spot that truck again. But nothing like that showed up. We did take out a bunch more Seekers so it wasn’t a complete waste.

The two of us worked well together actually. He had a lot of raw talent. Onyx probably would have scolded him for it. His technique was a bit messy and he tended to leave himself open a bit but he wasn’t bad. Me, I was getting a lot better. I took to jujitsu like a fish to water. According to Onyx, I was unlike anything she’d ever seen. I was mastering things that should have taken me months or years to do. I couldn’t help but wonder if it might be an extension of my Meta powers. I was beginning to get a grasp on them too. I think I’ve figured them out. Besides not being able to get cut, burned or bruised, I was agile and flexible too. I couldn’t help but wonder if I somehow subconsciously brought about these gifts in myself, after all I was a former gymnast.

The bell above the door dinged, taking me from my thoughts. I looked up, wondering if this was going to be my guy. I frowned when it wasn’t. I sighed, returning to my cup. I was starting to get real annoyed with all this cloak and dagger stuff. I think Oracle was part of my problem. It annoyed me that I’d been communicating with this person for so long and had yet to actually meet them. They were giving me a lot of information---good information---but it’s hard to trust someone if you never saw their face. I suppose the same could be said for Red Robin too. Not that I trusted him but the fact that I couldn’t see his face was part of the problem. But I guess I couldn’t complain there, after all I wore a mask too.

I drained the cup. About a minute later, a waitress came by asking me if I wanted another. I nodded and she went off to get it, taking my empty cup with her. As I watched her walk away, my messenger finally showed. I knew it was him because he was carrying a bike helmet. That and because the shop had a glass front I could see him park his bike. When he came in---the bell dinging---he searched the assorted faces. I reached into my bag pulling out both the laptop and the scarf. I didn’t put the scarf on though; I draped it over the top of other chair. When he saw it, he nodded and walked slowly over.

“You got the thing?” he asked.

I tapped the laptop. He smiled and slid it across the table, taking it under his arm. I waited until he left before dropping some money on the table. I didn’t wait for my second cup. Instead, I ran out into the street and followed. He took off like a bat out of hell. Fortunately, for me my running in the park was paying off nicely. I ran after him, able to keep up without a problem. It was still fairly light out but that was slowly starting to dwindle. I was glad that I was wearing my black boots. I couldn’t imagine running like this in sneakers. As I ran, I took note of where we were going. The coffee shop was not far from the Warehouse district so I had a pretty good idea where we might be going. I wasn’t wrong. The messenger zoomed into the block of warehouses. He zigzagged through the buildings, doing it effortlessly. When he finally stopped, it was in front of a warehouse that looked exactly like all the other ones, complete with a few skylights on the top a dumpster along the side. I remained hidden as he went to the door. I managed to catch a glimpse of the girl who answered: she was a really tall red head. She looked vaguely familiar but I couldn’t quite place her.

I waited until he was gone before I un-shouldered my back pack. As soon as he zoomed on by me, I slipped into one of the nearby alleys. Then I opened my bag. I undressed quickly, down to nothing. I was so glad no one was about. But it was a bitch in this cold. I tried not to think about it as I slipped into my Bat suit. Yeah yeah, I’m naming it that but what else am I supposed to call it. I guess a little bit of Jen’s wanting to name things wore off on me. After I donned the suit, I waited for the cover of darkness. It only took about twenty minutes. Then I ran across the small gap separating me from the building. I used the dumpster as a boost. I jumped off it, high enough to grab the bottom of the fire escape on the side. I pulled myself up and moved like a stealthy cat, slinking my way up to the roof. I had to jump again at the top of the fire escape to get onto the roof but that wasn’t too much of a problem for me.

On the roof, I moved from skylight to skylight. I finally found out that was open a crack. The glass was dirty and hard to see through but through the crack, I could at least make out some voices. There were only two girls talking, both discussing my laptop. One of them wanted to see if she could take a whirl at it, encryptions were her specialty. They bantered a bit then the first girl handed it over to the second. I frowned, annoyed that I couldn’t see anything. One of those girls had to be Lena but the other one was a mystery to me. I bit my lip, if I wanted to see what was going on I needed to get down there myself.

A noise caught my attention. I turned my head and saw a slight movement behind me. It was a flip and a flash of black and red. I frowned. How the hell did he keep finding me? I watched and waited as the Red Robin slowly made his way across the roof, quietly creeping up next to me. His expertise with the jumps and the flips were starting to impress me.

“You aren’t an acrobat are you?” I asked in jest.

“Maybe in another life.”

I went to the Circus once. The acrobats wore red and green jumpsuits. I tried to imagine him dressed up like that---with a mask of course---but the image was frightening. I made a mental reminder to wash out my brain with something as soon as I got home---loud music might do the trick.

“So who are we watching tonight?” he asked, lifting the skylight lid up a bit.

I cursed but the damage was done. Thankfully the girls down below didn’t hear it. But it did enable me to see them now. There were two of them. They were sitting at a bank of computers, some high-tech ones from the look of them. I’m not a computer person so I don’t know much about those things. But these two apparently did by the way they were talking.

The short brown haired girl was talking about the laptop history. At least the one I was nice enough to supply for Henry. I didn’t give him much so she didn’t tell the other girl much. I looked from one to the other as they talked. The other girl was Hispanic and cute. She knew a lot about this stuff. When she spoke, I couldn’t help but feel a flutter when I heard her accent. It surprised me a bit at first: a British person here, but it takes all kinds I suppose. But what surprised me even more were the words that came out of her mouth next:

“Back in my old life I was actually designing a security program to keep people from hacking into secure bank systems. Who would have thought I’d be the one doing the hacking now.”

Both the girls laughed.

Her old life? I narrowed my gaze. There was something about her. Though she looked to be about sixteen or so it was the way she talked that seemed to floor me. The other girl knew a lot but this girl sounded like a pro. In fact, it sounded like she’d been doing this stuff for years. It made me wonder if I might be dealing with another kindred spirit. I listened some more as the two of them went back into a bunch of computer stuff then turned away, disinterested. I looked at my silent companion. He looked a bit uncomfortable. Probably because he wasn’t off somewhere bashing some one’s skull on the ground. He was kinda cute that why. Wait, I did not just think that? OK, it was true. Even though I could only see the lower part of his face, he was still very cute.

“Give me your rope,” I said, pointing to the coil of thin black climbing rope hanging on his belt.

He frowned. “You want to go down there?”

I nodded. “That laptop has information on it that I need.”

He sighed. Then he took the rope off his belt, slowly unwinding it. He talked me through how to get down there. But all I really wanted to do was use the rope to lower myself down their low enough to jump. I didn’t need a safety lesson. But he gave one nonetheless. His concern for my safety was kinda touching though. I’d only known him officially for a few days but he was already older brothering me. It was kinda cute actually. Here he was playing the big strong man trying to protect little old me. The only problem with that it was that I didn’t need protecting in the least, not anymore and never again.

He hooked the rope to my belt and then lifted the skylight enough for me to squeeze through. I didn’t wait for him to tell me when, instead I dropped. OK, so dropped is the wrong choice of words. I kinda glided into the room below me. Don’t ask me how far of a drop it was because I really don’t know. When I landed, it was so softly that not even I heard it. The two of them had their backs to me, typing away. I unhooked the rope and stood behind them, looming like a spectral interloper.

The Hispanic girl finally spoke again. “Lena, who did you say sent this to you?”

“I didn’t,” she said, “it came from some high school kid; he’s doing a favor for someone.”

The Hispanic girl laughed. “I’m not sure who he’s doing a favor for but whoever it is they definitely know how to get into trouble.”

“You crack the encryption?”

“What do you Yanks say all the time?” she asked, then smiled. “Oh yeah, piece of cake.”

The other girl---Lena---leaned over and looked at the laptop screen. I looked too. It was the same spreadsheet as before, the one that looked like a bunch of numbers to me. But apparently, this British girl knew what was going on. I scanned the screen, looking for names again. One name popped up more often than the others: Friitawa. I vaguely remember that one from before. Something else popped up too: V10. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. That’s where I’d seen that before. The revelation wasn’t a good one either. A chill rang down my spine. My father was somehow involved in all of this Thrill stuff.

“What is this?” asked Lena.

“Evidence” I said, in that cold tone I created for The Bat’s voice.

Both girls jumped about ten feet in the air.

“Bloody hell” snapped the British girl, spinning quickly in her chair.

The other girl spun around too. They took one look at me and the color drained from their faces. There was no light in the room save for the one coming from their computer screens. The only thing it lit up on me was my face. I can’t imagine what thoughts were running through their heads. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, they just continued to stare at me. Finally, the Hispanic looked at my chest and her eyes got bigger.

“You’re the…” she said.

“The Bat” I said, finishing for her.

The two of them looked me up and down. The other girl, Lena, frowned. “You’re not at all how I pictured you.”

I frowned at that. “Don’t believe everything you hear on TV.”

She nodded. “So this is your business then?”

I nodded my head slightly, trying to be cool. “It might be connected to Thrill.”

Both of them sighed heavily. “That has been a real pain in the ass for us as of late. Rena and I have been trying to track it but whoever is involved can hide their tracks really well. They leave barely any paper trail and any computer activity doesn’t exist.”

“I confiscated this laptop off a criminal called The Cluemaster” Hey why the hell not. “It looks like he may have been keeping records for whoever is in charge of this thing. A few nights ago, I busted up one of their Parks, managed to get a sample of the stuff. It’s being analyzed as we speak. If there’s a trail, I’ll find it.”

Rena and Lena, seriously. That's gotta be really confusing.

Rena smiled big. “You are just like a detective then?”

I shrugged. “I do my part.”

They both smiled. They got over their shock at my arrival quickly after that. Then they both tried to explain what my father, aka The Cluemaster, had done to cover his tracks. I only half paid attention. All I really cared about was what his overall involvement in all of this might be. Dad was a lot of things but a drug dealer, I couldn’t buy that. There had to be more to it than that. I suppose I could pay him a visit but I’m not sure that would solve anything. For one he’d never talk to me---I was the one who put him in there. Going as The Bat was out of the question too, unless I could phase through walls. Asking the police to let me in was out of the question too. Stephanie had pull but The Bat had none. Besides which I was public enemy number one with the Mayor. Apparently, he didn’t like the fact that I was cleaning up the city and doing a better job than he was. The only one who didn’t seem to have a problem with what I was doing was Uncle Jim. He seemed to think The Bat was making a real difference, cleaning up this city like so many had failed to do before.

“Do you want us to put this on a disk for you?” asked Lena, interrupting my thoughts.

I nodded. “I want any information that might lead me to whoever is behind all this.”

They got busy, downloading any info that might help. It didn’t take them very long. When they handed me the disc I put it in one of my pouches. Then they started talking amongst themselves. I thought about taking the laptop but I figured anything I needed was already on the disc. While they talked amongst themselves, I chose that time to make a hasty exit. I grabbed the rope and climbed it quickly, moving so fast that they never heard me disappear. When I got to the stop, I paused and looked down on them.

“Bloody hell” said Rena when she turned around.

I smiled and grabbed the lip of the skylight, pulling myself up the rest of the way. Red Robin was standing there. He held out his hand, I grabbed his wrist and he pulled me up the rest of the way. My cape snagged the corner of the skylight though when I was almost fully through. I slipped and fell forward, ending up on top of him. My face and his were inches apart, our lips almost touching. His arms were draped over my back. A part of me wanted to push away from him immediately. But another part of me wanted to stay there forever. My heart skipped a bit. We stared at one another for the longest time, neither moving or saying a thing.

He spoke first. “Did you get what you needed?”

“I think so,” I said in a voice barely above a whisper.

I started to push up a bit but he grabbed my wrist gently. “You smell really nice.”

I blushed. I was tempted to say something sweet and flirtatious back to him. I opened my mouth to do so when he leaned forward and kissed me. It was a quick kiss. I’m not sure how I felt about it. On one hand, it felt amazing but on the other, he was a stranger. I barely knew him and he was already making a move on me. But I didn’t push away. I wanted too but a small part of me loved that he was so forceful, so bold. I could have kissed him all night. Instead, it lasted only moments and when he pulled away, I felt all fluffy inside. I smiled big. He smiled too.

I leaned in but he stopped me, putting a hand in front of his mouth. I frowned. “We should try this without the masks sometime.”

I smirked. “You first, Bird Boy.”

He opened his mouth for a snappy come back but whatever he was about to say was drowned out by the vibrating of my phone. I cursed and pushed myself off him. I sat up and pulled it from my pouch. I had a pretty good idea I knew who it was from. When I flipped it open and saw the message, I sighed. ANALYSIS COMPLETE, ORACLE. I quickly texted back a reply, removing my glove to do so. I wanted to tell him all about what I had, finally able to contribute to this investigation of ours. It was the first time I’d been able to do so. It was also the first time that I ever texted him. I waited and it didn’t take very long to get a message back:

WE SHOULD SWAP NOTES. I THINK IT’S TIME TO TAKE THIS PARTNERSHIP TO THE NEXT LEVEL. ARE YOU READY TO SEE BEHIND THE CURTAIN, DOROTHY, ORACLE.

I smiled. Another text appeared seconds later with an address. Red Robin tried to look at the message over my shoulder but I snapped the phone shut. I’m not sure why but I wanted this to be my achievement. My heart was pounding in my chest. I was finally going to meet Oracle.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I’m off to see the Wizard.”

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 15, sorry for the delay once again. Its been raining a lot lately and I've spent every non-rain day outside doing yard work instead of being inside writing. My yard was starting to look like a jungle. This chapter appears to be another filler but the story is progressing nicely. Things are starting to wind down though. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Fifteen:

The room was so dark I could barely see anything but I guess that was the point. The lesson was meant for me to stalk around in the dark, getting a feel for my surroundings. The only solace I had was my tonfas but in the dark---not being able to see what was coming---they weren’t really much use. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, walking like a cat---one foot in front of the other---just like Onyx had showed me. My breathing was the only audible sound I could hear because one can’t really hear the pounding of their own heart. Nevertheless it was thumping in my chest like a drum, keeping in rhythm with my breathing. I’m not afraid to admit that I might have been a tad bit scared of this exercise. The two of us had been building up to it actually. A week ago, Onyx mentioned that I was progressing to the next level and as such, she was going to start teaching me other things.

Today it was about fear. More importantly, it was about using fear as a weapon. The scenario was simple. She set up the training room with a bunch of practice dummies and turned off the lights, making it pitch black. It was my job to weave my way through the dummies without making a sound and doing it solely on instinct. Before the lights had gone off, she gave me about a minute to memorize the room, making sure I could get a good idea where every single dummy was. As soon as my minute was up she shut the lights off and the room plunged into darkness. Simple enough task. But that was only part of it. The other part was avoiding her. Somewhere in this darkness, lurking, was Onyx. Her objection was to strike without warning, trying to catch me off guard. The real goal of this exercise was to teach me that I could use my environment to scare my opponent. She claimed it was the key to using fear as a weapon.
So far, the only one scared was me.

I knew I shouldn’t have been but I couldn’t help it. Onyx has been training me for weeks now, honing my skills like fine dagger points. If it wasn’t martial arts it was weapons training. If it wasn’t that then it was exercising. It was all in an attempt to make me better than I was. It was working too. She said I was a Grade A pupil, one of the best she’d ever had. Not that she ever mentioned other students of hers. She said I impressed her so much that she wanted to pass on more of her wisdom to me. That’s how I ended up in this position in the first place. She didn’t even give me a chance to say yes or no. She pushed me right into it. She said it was like a Mother bird pushing her baby out of the nest for the first time. None of this would have come about if I hadn’t told her about my meeting with Oracle.

Last night was when Red Robin and I went to the warehouse. I was anxious all through school today, a ball of excitement. I’d been texting with this person for almost a month now. I think it was about time the two of us should meet. I didn’t tell anyone though. When I say anyone, I mean Jen of course. I did tell her about the laptop though and what Lena or rather what Rena had found out. It wasn’t really much. I looked at the disc when I got home last night actually. Most of it was numbers I didn’t understand but one name kept coming up over and over again: Frittawa. I tried looking the name up on the Internet but I didn’t get any hits. I even tried the phone book with no such luck. Whoever this Frittawa person was they were more of a ghost than Oracle. Well maybe not that bad but it was pretty close. It made me wonder who exactly I was dealing with here.

After school today, I went right to Onyx as usual. I told her all about last night, including the text message.

“We need to step things up a notch then kid,” she had said.

This was far above the notch I was expecting.

I took another breath, walking blindly. I walked right into a dummy and cursed. As soon as I did so, I realized my mistake. I was supposed to be quiet. I reacted a second too late when the attack came. Onyx snapped out at me, her fist driving into the side of my head. I stumbled into another dummy, getting tangled up in his limbs. We both went crashing to the ground, it falling on top of me. A blue light shined on my face, framing Onyx as she stood over me.

She shook her head. “You got distracted.”

I frowned. “I was thinking about yesterday.”

She shook her head again, pulling the dummy off me. She didn’t help me up but I didn’t need it. I flipped up to my feet as she set the dummy back up. Her light clicked off, shrouding the room in darkness again.

“You need to concentrate,” said her voice, echoing in the darkness. “Clear your mind and think of only the now.”

I groaned. Whatever you say, Yoda.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I needed to concentrate and listen. I counted off in my head, down from ten. Then I started walking with my eyes closed, using my other senses. The room was deathly still, not a single sound but my own breathing. But I knew that was impossible of course. This wasn’t the first exercise we’d done with the lights off. I knew from her teaching that there is no place without some sound. That’s why I closed my eyes and concentrated. I reached out with my ears. In the corner there was a beetle scampering across the ground, barely audible. The wind was blowing too. I blocked those two things out and found the third sound in the room. It was faint but it was there. It was another set of breathing. I smiled and went for it. When I opened my eyes, I was partially adjusted to the darkness now.

I could almost see the faint outlines of the dummies. This time I was able to weave through them. I followed the faint sound. I was coming up on a dummy, just like all the others but there was something different about it. It seemed larger than the others, had more shape. I smiled. It was her. She was hiding amongst them. That’s why she was able to get the drop on me so quickly. I moved toward it, preparing my tonfa to strike. When I was almost upon it, I felt the wind shift behind me. I caught a slight movement out of the corner of my eye. I snapped around at the last second, blocking the blow that was coming for me. The dummy in front was clearly a decoy. I blocked Onyx’s blow. She rolled around, disappearing into the dummies again. I felt the air move with her. She came again, trying to get behind me again. I lashed out this time, hitting flesh. I think it was her ribs. She made no sound. She moved again, trying to sweep my legs out from under me. I jumped over the kick, swinging my tonfa again. I caught more flesh, this time something hard, like her skull. I heard her gasp and stumble back. For a minute there, I thought I hurt her until I heard her laugh.

The blue light back, hitting me in the face. “Sloppy but much better.”

I frowned. “How is scaring me to death helping me learn to use fear as a weapon.”

She smiled. “You know fear now and can use that fear as a weapon.”

“Bumbling around in the dark is good and all but I can’t use my senses all the time to guide me.”

She nodded. She walked across the room, the little blue light dancing as she did so. I realized what she doing and closed my eyes, preparing myself. I opened them slowly as the light exploded around me. It took me a few second to adjust to it, blinking several times. I got my first look at the dummies again. In front of me was the one she used to trick me. I realized my mistake right away. All the other dummies were female except this one. It was almost the only other one that was clothed. How had I not noticed that before? I frowned and wove my way carefully through the rows, not bumping a single dummy as I did so. I made my way over to where Onyx was standing.

When I got to her, she pulled open the door and I followed her into the next room. This room was one of many that led off the training room. This particular one contained a lot of the weapons we used to train with. Most of them were used for training but there were several real and deadly ones hanging on the walls. Lots of different kinds of swords and staves and things like that. Toward the back of the room was a metal case, it looked out of place with the rest of the Japanese inspired hardware. She walked over to it and opened it up, reaching inside. She pulled out a pair of goggles with green lenses. They looked like something I might wear in a pool.

She turned and tossed them at me. I caught them in one hand.

“You’re giving me your old pool goggles?”

She laughed. “Those aren’t for swimming, kid. They’re a pair of goggles given to me when I worked for the League.”

I almost dropped them, fearing they might sting me or something. Holding them made me really nervous. The League was bad, really bad. When she told me about her past, I thought she was fucking with me until she showed me the scars. They were the scars given to her when she told her Boss she was leaving. They tried to kill her. Apparently, no one left the League. I didn’t know the whole story but she managed to fight off her attackers and lived to tell the tale. I’m not sure how they let her get away but seeing as she was here they must have. She didn’t like to talk about it much other than to say that the League of Assassins was very real and very dangerous. Sounds like a joke, right, but I’ve seen what she can do and it’s no joke. If she said she was a killer before then I believed her.

“So what are they, then?”

She smiled. “Night vision.”

I frowned. “Aren’t those supposed to be all big and bulky?”

She nodded. “Not these ones. They’re not exactly on the market, not even the military has anything this high-tech.”

“Then where did you get them?”

She shrugged. “I have my sources.”

“And you’re giving them to me?”

“You need them more than I do kid.”

An awkward silence fell over the room then. During which I returned my tonfas to their rightful place and pocketed the goggles. After that, the two of us returned to the main room. I helped her put away her dummies. When we were done, it was time for me to go. I looked at my watch as I headed into the room to change. I cursed. I was just going to have enough time to make it to meet with Oracle. My heart skipped a beat as I changed as quickly as I could.

______________________________________

It was snowing when I left Onyx’s. It was a light snow, barely staying on the ground for more than two seconds but it was snow nonetheless. I groaned regardless. But as long as it wasn’t as bad as last winter, I’d take a little snow. I just pulled the collar of my coat up a little more and kept my head down as I made my way to my car. There wasn’t enough snow to give it a brush down so I just put on the wipers, turned on the lights and pulled out my cell. I checked the text to make sure I knew where I was going. It seemed weird to be meeting in such a public place but I guess there was really no need for secrecy. After all, he already knew who I was.

I pulled up in front of our meeting place. To call it top secret would be the biggest joke in the world. There was nothing top secret at all about a standard coffee shop. Yeah, I said coffee shop. I staked the place out before going to Onyx---I wanted to know where he was sending me---I was pretty shocked when I saw it. It’s not exactly the most secretive of places for a clandestine meeting with a top secret computer hacker. But I suppose he was a bit paranoid. I guess it’s better to meet in the open like this than in some place where I might “kill” him. Not that I ever would but who knows with this guy. I mean his standard mode of contact was through text messages.

I found a spot to park in front of the shop. I took a deep breath as I exited, making sure I knew what I was getting myself into. After all I was about to meet the man who’d been cyber stalking me pretty much. What do you call texts from a stranger? Text Stalking?

Anyway, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for this but seeing as I was already here, I didn’t have much of a choice. So I got out of my car---making sure the doors were locked---and approached the building. It had large glass windows in the front so I could see everyone inside. It looked like a little Parisian outdoor café except it was inside instead of out. Through the glass, I could see the back wall was a huge painted mural of Paris, complete with Eiffel Tower. I suppose it made sense, considering the place was called Le Coffee Shop. I rolled my eyes at the little sign above the door as I opened it.

There weren’t a lot of people inside. I scanned the faces, trying to see if any one of them met my eyes. I’m not sure what I was expecting or rather who. I looked from one person to the next but none of them seemed like the type. I even looked at the man behind the counter---the barista I guess he was called. He was wearing a black and white striped shirt with a black beret, I guess to match the whole Paris theme. He looked like a Mime. I shuddered at the thought. I looked from him and found my eyes drifting to the far corner. There was a person sitting there, a paper obscuring their face. I took a deep breath, knowing this had to be my guy. I wove through the tables, heading toward the corner. As I got closer, two things stood out to me immediately: one it was feminine hands holding the paper and two the person wasn’t sitting in a chair.

There was only one chair at the table, meant for me. The other person didn’t need a chair because they were in a wheel chair. What are the odds? I took another deep breath and slipped into the chair. As soon as I did so, the paper lowered and I let out a gasp.

“Hey Steph” said Babs with a big smiled on her face. “Did you find the place all right?”

I was speechless. I guess shock is the proper word. I blinked a few times and looked around. This had to be some kind of joke. She smiled at my confusion, which confused me even more. I looked down at the table in front of her. Besides the cup of coffee there was a cell sitting there. It couldn’t be.

“You” I said, finally finding my voice. “You’re Oracle?”

She smiled. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re right, I don’t seem the type but I assure you I am the person you came here looking for.”

“I don’t understand” I said, still a bit shocked.

She smiled and nodded. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you the truth right away but I wanted to make sure you were serious about all this. Your counterpart is a little bit of an ass, too brash and gung ho. I needed to know if you were in it for the glory or for making a difference. You’ll be happy to know I’ve decided that you’re not a glory hound.”

I nodded. “I’m still not sure what’s going on here?”

She picked up her coffee and took a sip. “You want one?” I shook my head so she continued talking. “It all started all those years ago when that son of a bitch shot me. While I was lying in that hospital, in that bed, feeling sorry for myself I came to an epiphany. I wanted to make sure that scumbags like him never did what he did again. So I got better, went through my therapy, both physical and mental then dedicated my life to making guys like him suffer. It was small stuff at first. Then things started to escalate over the years. I’ve always been good with computers but I learned so much more, honing my skills until I was the best there ever was. When the Metas started popping up last Fall, I knew it was a sign. That’s when he sought me out.”

“He?” I asked but I already knew the answer somehow. “You mean the Bat?”

She nodded. “Your former employer needed someone with my skill to help him make this city a better place. The two of us formed an unlikely partnership. I became the “Oracle”, the all seeing, all knowing Eyes of the city, locating the bad guys for him to take out. He became the enforcer, dealing out the justice that I couldn’t and that he trained for. We were a good team too until he got hurt back in August. With him out of the picture I thought we were done until the other showed up.”

“Red Robin.”

She nodded. “He had fire and passion but no heart. He was violent and brutal but uncaring. I tried to guide him but he barely listened to me. He kinda annoyed me a bit. Even after I met with him he still only half listened to what I’m telling you know.”

I interrupted. “You know who he is?” I asked, blushing.

She sighed. “Stay away from him, Steph, he’s damaged goods.

Nothing good will come from a relationship with him.”

I sighed but then remembered something. “You scolded me for what I did back at the warehouse in the beginning.”

She nodded. “I was trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need it anymore.”

She shook her head. “You might be pretty good right now but you’re still vulnerable. That’s why Bruce” she said his name in a soft whisper. “tried to talk you out of it. We argued a bit after you stormed out of the Manor. I told him you were ready and just needed a chance to prove yourself but he wanted no part in it.”

“But you contacted me anyway?”

She nodded. “He wasn’t happy, especially when the press started calling you the Bat. He wanted me to pull the plug, he threatened to tell Dad. But I think he was pleased too. Even though he was against it, he was happy too. I mean who else could have convinced Onyx Addams to take you on as a student.”

“Wait what?” I said. “I thought that was you?”

She laughed. “I wish. I told you to seek her out but I never thought she’d take you on.”

“But you told me where to find her.”

She shook her head. “Not me.”

Realization dawned on me just there. Oh my God, it was Bruce. I smiled at that.

She cleared her throat. “Ok, so enough of all that” She said, bending to the side and pulling something from her messenger bag. She placed a large manila envelope on the table.

So now that pleasantries were over it was down to business. Looking at the woman sitting across from me it was hard to see Barbara there at all. My cousin was usually a lot more carefree and laid back compared to this person sitting before me. I’d like to say this woman here was the fake but I’m guessing it was the other way around. Here was the real Barbara Gordon, the one born when she was put in that wheelchair. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail; she was wearing a purple turtleneck and jeans. She looked like she was ready for work. She got right to it too, pulling things out of the folder and laying them on the table.

I looked around, surprised. “We’re doing this here?”

She nodded. “Contrary to Internet rumors, there’s no cave that The Bat hides out in. We don’t have a secret headquarters either.”

“Why not your apartment then?”

“Public places are better, I have more control.”

I didn’t understand what she was talking about until I looked at her cell. It was a little more advanced than mine. I couldn’t help but think that she was somehow using it to monitor everything that was going on in the room. I looked up to the ceiling, seeing the security cameras. I couldn’t help but wonder if she tapped into them. I also couldn’t help but wonder why this place was more secure than her own?

She interrupted my thoughts, putting a picture in front of me. I looked down and saw the whitest woman I’d ever seen. I’m not talking Caucasian either. She was white, white like a sheet. Her hair was a light blonde too, almost as white as her skin. She was dressed in a lab coat, wearing dark sunglasses.

“This is Dr. Linda Friitawa,” she said, passing the picture to me.

The name I recognized immediately. “I know her. Her name appeared several times in the files on Dad’s laptop.”

Barbara nodded. “I figured as much. In the criminal underworld, she’s known as Dr. Fright. She used to be a geneticist, working for the government. Her partner was a Dr. Randolph Porter. Together the two of them were working on a drug for the government; they called it “Venom”. It was supposed to revolutionize soldiers on the battlefield. But the two of them argued with how to implement it. Dr. Fright wanted to distribute it on the streets, using the city as her test subjects. But Porter wanted in lab trials on inmates. They parted ways, each conducting their own research.” She passed me some other photos, a couple of girls I didn’t know but looked about my age and a really nasty looking guy in an orange jumpsuit.

“Porter continued to work on inmates, this man here was his prime patient” She tapped the pic of the guy in orange. “Fright moved onto distributing her drug elsewhere, first in pill form. There was an incident some months ago involving a health spa and some girls about your age. It didn’t end well. The government thought Porter was involved so they asked Bruce to gather evidence for them.”

“Is that how he got hurt?”

She nodded. “Dr. Porter was in the midst of injecting his subject with his first batch when Bruce interrupted. There was an accident and the doctor was killed. The subject woke and took out his anger and frustration on Bruce. It took a very skilled and powerful government agent to take him down. Before Bruce lost consciousness he was able to salvage Porter’s work and download a copy of it himself before the government confiscated it. The two of us soon learned that though there were similarities, the drug that harmed those girls was not Dr. Porter’s strand.”

I nodded. “It was Dr. Fright’s?”

Barbara smiled. “The pills weren’t as nearly as effective as the doctor wanted so she changed the formula, creating an injectable liquid instead. She also moved onto her original plan and got it distributed into the city, as V-10 or as it’s more commonly known as “Thrill.” I think you know the rest of that story?”

I nodded. “So do we know the distributor finally?”

She shook her head. “No but I think I might have locked down an address for Dr. Fright.”

I smiled. “I think it’s time The Bat paid her a visit.”

__________________________________

“It’s freezing” I muttered, rubbing my hands along my arms.

Babs laughed and said, “You’re the one who refused to allow me to retrofit that suit of yours.”

Her voice was small and in my ear only, coming from the Bluetooth. She made me wear it at all times now so the two of us could remain in constant contact. It was her attempt to be a part of the action, according to her. She tried to talk Bruce into the same thing but he didn’t like the idea of her in his head, second guessing everything. Now I knew exactly what he meant. Not that it wasn’t comforting in a way. It was kinda nice knowing that she had my back, even though she was nice and warm in her apartment, sometimes on the other side of the city.

“I couldn’t insult Jen by letting you change everything,” I said, in reference to her supposed retrofit.

After she told me about “Dr. Fright”, she insisted on aiding me in the cause. A lot more than just information apparently. She’d been in talks with some of her contacts, trying to get me resources I might not have access to otherwise. I’m not sure what these resources were but one of them was to make me a new suit. She sat she liked the look---black worked for me---but the design was too fragile. She didn’t like the fact that I was gallivanting around the city with nothing but thin leather to protect me. But to change the suit after Jen spent so much time making it for me, it was kinda insulting. I reluctantly declined her offer---as nice as it sounded.

That was two days ago. And in the two days since, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It was like last winter all over again except without a lot of snow. There was no snow but it was the cold that was a bitch. The leather wasn’t all that warm and my cape did little to hide things. When I say things well let’s just say that I could cut glass with my nipples most nights and leave it at that. Breathing into my gloved hands only helped so much. I could rub my arms all I wanted but nothing seemed to keep away the bitterness of it all. When I breathed, my breath came out in little clouds. Every time I took a breath, it was like sucking the whole of winter into my lungs.

“How’s the view?” asked Babs, changing the subject.

I lowered my night vision goggles back over my eyes and looked across the street. At least it was something to keep my mind off the cold. For the last two days, I’d been like a second shadow to Dr. Linda Friitawa. Why a shadow and not a thorn; well that was Babs idea. We both knew how guilty the damn woman was but we didn’t want her. As guilty as she was, we were after bigger fish. The biggest in fact. It was Babs’ hope that the good doctor would lead me right to the source. But so far the only place she seemed to like to go was around the block and then back home. I mentioned this to Babs---thinking maybe she was on to us---but my cousin was certain was just covering her tracks well.

It turns out Babs was half right. Tonight we were at a different place. Like aforementioned shadow, I followed close behind as she left her apartment and went some place new. This place was in a seedier part of the Narrows, a place that not even the scum dared to go. A lot of this area was under the jurisdiction of the drug lords, led by Carmine Falcone and his brood. No one in their right mind dared to come here. Except disgraced albino doctors apparently. And of course black leather-clad vigilantes who were currently freezing their asses off. I had to wonder how the Red Robin was dodging such a scene. Ever since our visit to the warehouse and the quick kiss or two we shared on the roof, he had completely disappeared. Seeing as I didn’t know how to get in contact with him, I had no way to know if he was insulted by what transpired.

Typical male I guess. He kisses me and then runs off before we can discuss it further. Not that I knew what there was to discuss. I barely knew him---in fact, I only had ever really seen half his face so I didn’t even know if he was handsome or not. The only thing I did know was that he was a damn good kisser.

“She’s on the move,” said Babs' voice, cutting into my thoughts.

I groaned. “If you’re going to tap into the local security cameras then why do you need me to spy for you?”

“Because you’re daydreaming” was her curt response. “Your target would have slipped right under your nose.”

I didn’t have a response for that. Instead, I looked at the building. I could in fact see movement on the top floor window, someone moving past the last window on the right. Though the goggles illuminated things rather nicely, I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. I suppose I’d have to defer to Babs’ judgment on this one.

“What does the Great Oracle see inside?” I asked.

“Not much I’m afraid,” she said quickly. “There’s one camera in the room and it’s in a bad position. I see the doctor---I think but she’s half obscured by a dresser.”

A dresser? ‘I’m going to go in for a closer look.”

Babs sighed. “Ok but be careful.”

“Aren’t I always” I said, then clicked off the Bluetooth.

I took it out of my ear and returned it to a pouch. I didn’t want to lose it considering what I was about to do. I took a deep breath and leaned forward, dropping straight off the building. I fell a full story before landing like a graceful cat on the top of a street light. I was there for maybe thirty second before I launched myself into the air, gliding smoothly across the small gap between the two buildings. Remember they called this place the Narrows because the buildings were so close together. I landed on a windowsill, turning quickly on my heel and jumping straight up. I caught the next sill and pulled up effortlessly. I didn’t stay there for long, climbing to the next window and the next before I grabbed the edge of the roof and pulled up onto it.
When I was fully on the roof, I retrieved the Bluetooth and put it back in my ear.

“Show off” scoffed Babs in playful annoyance.

I looked across the street and spotted the camera. It was small and barely noticeable, probably there to warn the occupants of the building the police were on the way. When I got here, I know for a fact that she hacked it and replayed a feed loop so it looked like all was quiet outside. It was amazing how I could have done any of this without her---she was like Rambo but with a computer. I made sure she saw me through the little camera lens and waved, plastering a big smile on my face.

“Stop screwing around, I need better eyes on that room.”

I looked across the roof and spotted a hatch. “I’ve got an entry; your eyes will be up soon.”

I ran lightly across the roof, barely making a sound. I was almost to the roof hatch when it opened all by itself. I dropped and rolled, coming up in front of it. I caught the Hippo masked goon by surprise. He didn’t even have a chance to react before I punched him hard in the face. When his head jerked back, I grabbed it and slammed it hard into the roof’s paved surface. The impact knocked him unconscious. I slipped my hands under his armpits and pulled him fully onto the roof. Then I secured his hands behind his back with plasticuffs before slipped down the hatch, leaving him to the cold.

“Another damn animal mask” I said when I dropped soundlessly to the floor.

“Stay focused,” said Babs.

I frowned as I slipped down the dark hall. Well dark for everyone else but actually green for me through the goggles. I moved with the greatest of ease, the only sound was the flapping of my cape. I went from wall to wall, inching slowly along until I got to the room in question. When I peered around the doorframe, the entire room was in view now. It was set up like a bedroom except there was no bed frame for the bed. There was a mattress though and the dresser she saw. In the window was in fact a person but there was no way that Babs could have seen this person move. I cursed, pulling my head out of the room.

“It’s a dead end,” I said, cursing again.

“What do we got?”

“Empty room, one goon. He’s currently counting hippo mask wearing sheep on the roof. The person in the window was a mannequin.”

This time Babs cursed. “You’re right, she probably caught on to us and led you here as a diversion.”

“Now what?”

Babs sighed. Back to the drawing board.”

Son of a bitch. I was so close too. I slipped back down the hall and jumped back up through the hatch. The goon was still where I left him. I wondered how much he might know but if she left him here for me to find it probably wasn’t much. I cursed a third time. Stupid bitch knew I was coming which meant she was a lot smarter than I thought. I guess that just went I’d have to up my A Game a bit.

Bring it on.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, I've been kinda lazy. As I post this storms are pounding around me as the Northeast of the country is under some nasty thunderstorms. I'm really proud of this chapter because I got to write some stuff I wanted to write for a long time. I'd like to djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Sixteen:

It was snowing pretty hard as I slipped through the top floor window into the room. I had to be careful because even though I knew the place was deserted, I had the police to contend with now. I pulled my goggles down over my eyes, turning them on as I did so. Immediately the darkness was lit up in green. I took a moment to collect myself before I began to look around. My breath was visible as it left my mouth and it felt colder than last night. I pulled my cape around me, trying to not to think about the cold or my nipples poking against the leather. I guess I should have taken Babs up on the new upgrade offer. But doing so probably would have put me out of commission for a few days and right now that was something that I couldn’t do.

So I gritted my teeth and took the cold.

“What are we looking for?” I asked as I scanned the room, still crouched in front of the window.

Babs' voice came back a few second later. “Anything we might have missed last night.”

I nodded. After leaving this place last night---having not caught the doctor like we wanted---Babs and I had a talk at her place. It was clear that Dr. Fright had set us up. I should have known something was up when she kept leading me around in circles for the last few days. I’m not sure how she knew we were on to her but it was clear she wasn’t as stupid as I originally thought. During our discussion last night, Babs was surprised she didn’t lead us into a bigger trap though. It was clear the doctor wasn’t one of those mustache twirling, black hat type of villains or else the room would have exploded as soon as I walked into it. But she was smart. As soon as I was only a house or two away, I heard the sirens. When I got to Babs, it was already on the news. Apparently, the doctor called the police, tipping them off that I was going to be there. So definitely not stupid.

“We’re getting close to something” was Babs’ response and that’s why I was back here tonight. She was convinced the building was more than just a place to set me up. So after a bit of arguing---I thought it was pointless---I found myself back at this dead end. Looking around the room, it was clear the police had already gone over every inch of it with a fine toothed comb. There was yellow crime tape on the door and those little yellow markers you see on crime shows. It was clear the police had found something here, something I’d been stupid enough to leave behind. I knew from the news that the guy I beat up on the roof was now in police custody but he wasn’t talking. Not that he could. Apparently, I got the drop on him so he didn’t see a thing. The police thought he might be working for me, which was a joke.

“What do you see?” asked Babs, cutting into my thoughts.

I sighed. I did a quick preliminary scan of the room. There was nothing. I stood up and started walking about, making sure not to disturb anything the police forensic team might have set up. I pulled open the dresser drawers but found nothing. Then I checked the sofa, thoroughly going over every inch of it. I looked at the mannequin in the window, the one that fooled Babs last night. When I got to her place, I had a laugh at her expense about it. She hadn’t been amused. There were a few pictures on the walls but nothing behind them. Then I saw a desk in the corner that looked rather promising. I opened the two drawers but they were empty. As I ran my fingers gently underneath the edge of it, I heard a faint click. At first, I thought it was a little catch I discovered, maybe a hidden compartment in the desk itself. Then I realized it was actually coming from behind me.

I cursed my stupidity. I guess I should have checked the hallway first. Because I wasn’t alone in this place.

My body seized up and I slowly turned around, weighing my options in my head. I was one girl and whoever it was had a gun. When I was fully turned around, the figure took a step forward. In the dark, he probably couldn’t see me very well but I could see him. I groaned inwardly. It was that Detective from the hospital, Nick Gage, the one that was in charge of the Thrill Task Force. I cursed again. What the hell was he doing here? I looked from his face to the gun in his hand. It was then that I realized it wasn’t pointed at me. He was looking past me; I turned and followed his gaze. I had left the window open, the snow and the wind was coming in. The shabby curtain was flapping. I rolled my eyes, realizing my rookie mistake.

Gage sighed and holstered his weapon, walking across the room. He walked right past me without reacting. It was apparently dark enough not to see me, which was a good thing. I watched as he shut the window and cursed.

“You’re jumping at shadows, Nicky,” he said softly to himself.

I made a split second decision. I pulled my goggles up, took a deep breath and responded. “Not shadows, Detective,” I said, using that dark and sinister voice I created for this persona. “Something much scarier.”

He snapped around quickly. I could barely see him move in the dark but I heard him wrestle his gun out of the holster. A second later, a small light cut through the darkness. The beam swept toward me but I side stepped it. “Who’s there?” he demanded, in a shaky but commanding voice.

I stepped softly through the room, getting close to his left ear. “I think you know who I am, Detective.”

He snapped around, raising the gun. I snapped my hand onto his wrist, quickly disarming him. He stumbled back, bumping into the dresser. He cursed. The beam went up and hit me in the face. Then ever so slower, it moved down the length of my body to the tips of my boots. “You” he finally said, surprised. He recovered quickly. “You’re interfering in official police business. This is an active crime scene, if you don’t…”

I interrupted. “I know your procedure and frankly I don’t give a damn.”

It took him a few seconds to response. “Then you know you’re interfering with an active, ongoing investigation.”

I sighed. Then I slowly walked around so I stood in front of him. “A few weeks ago your Task Force got an anonymous tip in the mail, photos of a delivery truck, showing crates and men in animal masks. Did they not?”

He nodded. “How did you know that?”

I smirked. “Because I was the one who took them.” I let that little revelation sink in for a few moments then continued. “Without me, Detective, your investigation would be going nowhere.”

He paused, thinking over his words carefully. “Why would you be helping us?”

I rolled my eyes. “Because contrary to what you believe, I am not above the law, Detective. I’m not out to make enemies out of the Chicago Police Force. We’re on the same side and we both want the same thing.”

“To get Thrill off the streets.”

“Exactly.”

He sat on the edge of the dresser, relaxing a bit, dropping his guard. “Is this the part where we decide to work together, pool our resources.”

I shrugged. “That depends on you and what information you have.”

He sighed. “Not much I’m afraid.”

I weighed my options. Babs had already tapped into the police computers and he wasn’t lying. We were both on the right track but he didn’t have nearly as much as I did. He did however have the resources and connections I did not. Babs said there wasn’t much she couldn’t do with computers but she wanted to avoid doing anything overtly illegal with them. This wasn’t like a comic book where we could hack government systems all willy nilly---her words, not mine---without getting caught. This was the real world and like the real world, there were bad consequences for doing stuff like that.

I decided to throw him a bone. “Dr. Linda Friitawa”

It took him a few seconds to realize I was sharing. As soon as he did realize it, he took out a pen and scribbled the name down. “What’s her take in all this?”

“She’s a chemist. She used to work for Alva but now she’s on her own. She’s the one behind Thrill. This whole thing is a demented experiment of hers.”

Gage sighed heavily. “And this place?”

“I’ve been tracking her activities as of late. She led me here last night but it was a dead end. She must have slipped out the back because there was only a goon here when I got here.”

He nodded. “We found a secret door leading from this place. It led to an alley.”

He started asking more questions but I only half paid attention to them. Instead, I turned away from him and pulled my goggles back down. I scanned the room. I walked to the hallway and looked down it; there were two more rooms I didn’t bother to check last night. He figured out pretty quickly that I wasn’t there so he followed. His flashlight beam cut around the darkness behind me but I paid it little attention. I pushed open the first door on the left but the room was barren. The second room was the same. The third one was the last in the hall. When I opened the door and looked inside, I saw the door in question. The forensic team had been here too because there was more yellow tape across the doorway. I stepped under it and slipped inside. Gage sighed but followed.

“There’s nothing here,” he said. “My team went over every inch of this place.”

I nodded. “But that’s when you thought you were looking for me.”

I walked through the room to the door. I looked through it, seeing a staircase leading to a narrow entryway below. Just like he said. I pulled my head back inside and looked around some more. He was right; there was nothing of interest here. “What did you get out of the roof goon?”

He shook his head. “I can’t discuss that with you.”

I turned to him; he lowered his light so as not to blind me. I searched his face and found the answer I was looking for. “He didn’t talk did he?” Gage said nothing, I smirked.

“Get me into the room with him; I’ll get him to talk.”

Gage sighed. “He wouldn’t say much of anything. But he kept talking about someone in a mask. Apparently, they all wear masks, so no faces. But the guy in charge, his mask is black, looks like a wicked skull. We thought he was messing with us.”

Black mask huh? I shook my head. “That’s your man. Too many masks to be a coincidence.”

He nodded. “It doesn’t matter; my boss thinks it’s a load of bull.”

“Go over his head. Take what you know to the Commissioner.”

“He’ll never listen to me.”

“Yes he will” I said, “Gordon is a good man. He wants to catch these guys as much as you do. I assure you he will listen.”

Gage nodded. “What about you?”

“I’m going to find the doctor.”

He nodded. “How can I find you so we can swap notes?”

I stepped backwards, allowing the shadow to consume me. “I’ll find you.”

__________________________________

“You’re sure we’re not cutting into valuable scum bag seeking time?” asked Jen as I down the driver’s side window.

I frowned and shook my head. “I think the city can wait a few hours while me and my BFF go shopping.”

She ran around to the other side and got in. I waited until her seat belt was on before I drove us to our destination. Today was Girl’s Day Out. I tried to talk Babs into joining us but she had some schoolwork she had to catch up on. She had other work too, but she didn’t say what that might be. I think the two of us had been working too hard but I wasn’t able to convince her of that. It took Jen about a week and a half to convince me of it, actually. That’s how long it’s been since Dr. Fright gave me the slip. The day after I spoke to Detective Gage, Babs and I put all our resources into picking up the doctor’s trail again but with no luck. She knew I had been following her before and led me to a dead end then she went underground. Babs exhausted every resource she had but no one had heard a thing. I did the same, not that I had any resources. Since that day, I stalked every single place I thought she might turn up. My only ally besides “Oracle” was Red Robin.

But he was in the same boat as me. For the last few nights though, the two of us had pretty much succeeded in putting an end to most of the Parks. Our exploits were plastered across every headline and all over the news now. If the druggies weren’t in jail, they were running scared. Last night was so dead that the two of us actually had an impromptu make out session. I’m not sure how that one started but it almost ended with me pulling off my cowl and showing him who I really was. It never got that far though; he pulled away when he realized what I’d been trying to do. He said that the mystery was half the fun but it was driving me nuts. It was bad enough that I had to live a dual life, lying to my uncle. Keeping my mouth shut when other girls started talking about the cool Bat. But to have to hide my face and lie to him as well, it was starting to get to me.

The lies were starting to get to me.

The only one who didn’t seem to care either way was Detective Gage. After our first meeting, I sent him another peace offering: a copy of what I got off the laptop. He put it to good use almost immediately. The police were able to put people on the shipping routes. They had already seized several of those big white trucks and busted up two warehouses where the drug was being stored. For once, I was happy that this was ending. We were hurting Thrill and it felt good. It was starting to show, too. The other night, Red Robin and I busted up a Park where they actually had some masked goons as guards. Which meant we were scaring someone. The guards were armed with machine guns but it didn’t take us long to make short work of them. It felt good to make this “Black Mask” character suffer. There was going to be a whole lot more suffering for him as soon as I got my hands on him, too. Gage was only too happy to help. Since our first meeting, the two of us had met three more times, each at different locations, all of Babs’ choosing. She still didn’t trust him. I think she thought he was going to lead me into an ambush and have his men arrest me but I knew better. I’m not sure how I knew but there wasn’t something about the detective that told me he was a good guy.

“Earth to Steph” said Jen, waving her hand in front of my face.

It was a good thing we were no longer driving or my daydreaming could have been dangerous.

“Sorry” I said, unbuckling my seatbelt. “I was just thinking.”

“You’ve been spacing out a lot lately; work isn’t getting to you, is it?”

I shook my head. “Just have a lot on my mind?”

She nodded. “How are things with Onyx?”

Onyx and I were doing good. Aside from all my nocturnal activities, training with Onyx was definitely keeping me busy. You’d think with everything on my plate---training, Bat activities, schoolwork---I’d be burned out. But I was able to find a balance between it all that worked nicely. I had a few hours after training where I was able to do schoolwork; then I hit the nights for a few hours before coming home and going to bed. But I could definitely use a vacation. It was nearing the end of November now. The Talent Show was a week away then there were two more weeks before mid-terms and Winter Break. I’m not usually one to celebrate things like that, but I could definitely use that Break. Most of my friends already had plans---Jen was going skiing in Aspen, Arnold was going to visit his grandparents, even Henry was going somewhere.

Jen frowned. “You work too hard.”

I sighed then smiled. “But not today I’m not, today I’m all yours.”

Gotta love Saturdays, right?

We were a whirlwind after that. Jen had finally gotten into the shopping spirit. Before, it was hard to get her to go into any of the stores I wanted but now she was the one dragging me to them. I think she liked that I was now a real girl. Not that I wasn’t before but I had been a little self conscious about some of the places. Like Victoria’s Secret for instance, I never would have gone in there. Now I didn’t even bat an eyelash when we went inside. It was the same with the other stores that I was uncomfortable going in to. Before I felt like an interloper but now, I felt like I belonged there.

The two of us spent two good hours shopping---mainly window shopping but it was still fun. We went from one store to the next, browsing the wares. We were having so much fun that I was bound to not pay attention to what I was doing. I had dragged Jen into a motorcycle supply store. I’d been thinking about it a lot lately. I was convinced that my Focus was hardly a vehicle to be driving around as The Bat. It was actually Babs who suggested I think about maybe a motorcycle. I suppose it made sense---it was fast, could get into places that cars could not and seemed to be a favorite of other crime fighters. Apparently, a certain green clad archer drove one, so if it was good enough for her then it was good enough for me too.

I was browsing through the aisle of motorcycle jackets when I bumped into someone. He groaned and winced. I looked up to apologize when I found myself face to face with Tim.

“Watch where you’re….” he started but stopped when he saw me. “Oh, Stephanie”

“Tim” I said with about as much enthusiasm as he had just shown me.

“What are doing in here?”

I glared at him. “Shopping.”

He looked really confused. He opened his mouth to say something else but winced. At first, I thought I hurt him when I ran into him. But there was no way walking into him would have done that. I looked him up and down. He was clutching his side, trying to hide it but not doing a very good job. When he saw me looking, he dropped his hand but the damage had already been done.

“Did you do something to your side?” I asked with genuine concern.

He shook his head. “It’s nothing. I took a spill on the bike the other day.”

I looked closer. I could tell it wasn’t nothing. There was strain in his voice. “It’s not nothing.”

Jen decided to come up behind me just about then. “Wow, you don’t look so good” she said, noticing him wincing and how pale he looked. “You should go see a doctor.”

“I’m fine,” he said, trying to push past the two of us.

We stood our ground.

“You’re not fine,” I said as I grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the store.

Jen followed closely on our heels. I dragged him the few blocks back to my Focus. I forced him into the backseat against his protests. He was more worried about his stupid motorcycle then his own safety. He refused to go anywhere until Jen agreed to stay behind to look after it. With that settled, I got behind the wheel and drove him to Leslie’s. When I pulled up in front of the clinic a few minutes later, I felt kinda bad. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been here. It wasn’t that I was avoiding the place but I’d been so busy with everything that I just didn’t have the time to come anymore. Not that she needed me anymore anyway. I ran into Holly a few weeks ago and she told me how well Leslie was getting on with the new help she had. Between Holly and the new girl, Leslie was doing well. That still made me feel bad, though.

When I pushed open the door and dragged Tim inside, the place was deserted. Well when I say deserted, I mean there were no other patients. Leslie was sitting at her desk; I’m not sure where Holly and the new girl were. She looked up when she saw me and a huge smile spread across her face. I’d talked to Leslie a lot on the phone---she didn’t know about my nocturnal activities---but she knew I’d been keeping myself busy with training and things like that. Though she thought the training was self defense---I felt bad lying to her but she would have strangled me if she knew what I was really doing.

“Stephanie” she said, standing up and coming around the desk. “What a surprise? Is everything all right dear?”

“I’m fine,” I said as I pushed Tim over to one of the exam tables, forcing him to sit down. “It’s him.”

Leslie frowned. “Timothy what have you been up to now?”

It surprised me that she knew him. I looked at him. “Been in here before?”

He didn’t answer but Leslie did for him. “Tim comes in here just about every week now. He’s always doing something stupid and reckless. What is it today, Mr. Drake?”

He frowned. “It’s nothing. I just got a little banged up that’s all.”

Leslie nodded then looked from me to him. “Stephanie be a dear and help him with his shirt.”

I turned about six different shades of pink. “Me?”

Leslie smiled. “You still know how to treat someone don’t you?”

I nodded. Then I quickly instructed him to hold up his arms. He did so with a bit of pain and I pulled his shirt quickly over his head. The first thing I noticed was how ripped it was. Tim definitely worked out. My heart skipped a beat until I noticed the second thing. His body was covered in scars and old bruises. I’d never seen so many. It was like he deliberately went out and put himself in bad situations. I found myself absently reaching forward, tracing my finger along a rather large scar on his chest. He didn’t seem to notice but Leslie did.

“Mr. Drake here thinks he’s a hot rod. He does a lot of street racing. He’s in here all the time with cuts and scrapes. It’s a wonder he’s even standing with all the marks on his body.”

Tim blushed. Then looked at me, realizing I what I was doing. “I got that one the day my Dad died.”

I pulled my hand back quickly. “I’m sorry.”

He grabbed my hand. “Its OK, it was a long time ago.”

My heart skipped another beat. I looked up into his eyes and saw a different side of him. This wasn’t the same jerk who used to pester me all the time. There was a sadness in those eyes today. The face that looked down on me was the face of someone that I wanted to hug and comfort. I inwardly groaned at that thought. Did I just think that? Did I just admit I wanted to comfort Tim Drake? Yuck.

I recovered quickly. “What does Ariana think of all these scars?”

He sighed. “She hasn’t seen them” Then he quickly added. “And she won’t ever get a chance to…we’re done.”

My heart skipped a beat again. Oh crap, stop it.

“I’m sorry to hear that” I said softly.

“I’m not.”

Leslie interrupted up us then. She gave me the materials I needed to tend to Tim’s latest “battle” scar. It wasn’t really a scar, most like a wicked looking bruise. I went to work without saying a thing. I didn’t really do much to it besides putting some ice on it, packing it tightly. Then I wrapped it as tight as I could, causing him to wince. When I tied him off, I put it in a little bow. I put all my bandages that way, it was like my signature. After that, he put his shirt back on. Then he sat and listened as Leslie and I talked a bit. I half expected him to leave but he waited until I was done. We left together and I took him back to his bike. Jen grumbled a bit when we finally showed.

“Took you long enough,” she said, standing with her hands on her hips.

“Leslie wanted to catch up a bit.”

Tim climbed out of the back. “Thanks for the help” he turned to Jen, who handed him his helmet. ‘Thanks for looking after the bike.”

She nodded. “Anytime Mr. Gloomy.”

He didn’t respond to that. Instead, he walked over to it and climbed on board. Before he started the engine, he turned back to me. “You and Bruce need to get over whatever it is that’s been eating away at the two of you; it’s kinda lonely in the mansion.”

I opened my mouth but he didn’t wait around long enough to hear my reply. He gunned the engine and took off. I hated that about him. I’m fumed, furious at him for being so sweet before and a jerk now. That man pissed me off. If I ever saw him again, I was going to kick his ass for sure.

“We done for today?” asked Jen.

I shook my head. “Nope” Then more cheerfully I said. “This is a girl’s day out; we still have a few hours to kill before I have to go.”

She smiled. “Good because I saw the cutest dress that you need to try on.”

I laughed and allowed her to drag me down the street.

__________________________________

“I hate the snow, you know that,” I grumbled, wrapping the cape around me.

Babs laughed. “Hey you know my stand on your freezing.”

“I’m seriously thinking about taking you up on that offer.”

We had actually talked a little bit more about it. There was someone she had in mind, someone willing to design a new suit for me. I didn’t really know any specifics, other than that it was one of Babs’ contacts. Or rather one of Oracle’s. It was all hush hush but it was kinda cool. I’d been thinking about it a lot lately. In the last few fights I’d been in, I’d been stabbed at least three times and shot at more times than I can count. It might be nice to have something bulletproof protecting me; hell, even stab proof if there is such a thing. I even talked it over with Jen the other day, telling her about “Oracle’s” offer. I wanted to make sure that it wouldn’t upset her if I decided to wear something new. She was cool with it; in fact, she said she always thought this costume was going to be short-lived to begin with.

I tried to focus more on the situation at hand though. Daydreaming got me in trouble; I lost Dr. Fright the last time because of it. I wasn’t going to make that same mistake twice. Not that this had anything to do with that. Tonight we were on a different “case”.

Someone was breaking into electronics stores, smashing up the places and looting them. It was probably a bunch of kids but it was worth looking into. Babs was able to discern a pattern in the robberies and traced it back to a small apartment on the East Side of the Narrows.

I shifted, adjusting my body. I was on the apartment building across the street, hiding among the TV antenna and chimney stack that was there. It was only lightly snowing tonight but it had to be thirty degrees. When I took a breath, I could see it in front of me. I wish I’d been smart enough to at least design something to cover my mouth. The lower part of my face was the only flesh of mine exposed to the elements and it was so cold I could barely feel it. But that was the least of my problems. I could see clearly into the apartment across the way. The robbers were inside; there were at least six of them. Not much of a problem usually but there was something about them that felt off. For one thing, they were just too organized. I’d read some of the police reports. They were smash and grab jobs but they went out of their ways to bust up everything, like they were trying to make a statement. And even now, looking at them there just seemed to be something that didn’t feel right.

“Nice night for a stroll in the snow” said a voice as someone slipped into view beside me.

I turned to Red Robin and frowned. “Took you long enough.”

He sighed. “I ran into a mugging.”

I looked at his left hand as he flexed his fingers. He wore black gloves like me but unlike mine, his were both splattered in blood. I frowned.”Is that what I think it is?” I asked, coldly.

“It got complicated.”

“Everything always is with you.”

Don’t get me wrong, I loved all the help he could provide but his tactics were starting to get to me. I didn’t like that he resorted to such brutal means. It wasn’t just taking out Thrill Seekers either---that I understood. It was how he handled everyone. The other night I had to pull him off a purse snatcher. He tried to beat the guy’s head into the ground. Two nights before that, he actually started to strangle a car thief. There was a fine line and unfortunately more often than not, Red Robin danced around it quite a bit. No amount of talking to him about it seemed to help. Babs even texted him on occasion, telling him to take it down a notch but he completely ignored her now. He was a loose cannon and it scared me to see what he might be capable of.

I narrowed my eyes at him. He sighed. “I’m sorry, OK, it got out of hand. He had a gun, tried to shoot me in the face.”

“There are other ways.”

“Save me your Zen bull, at least for tonight.”

I sighed. I didn’t want to argue. We had a job to do. I decided to concentrate on that. “We have six perps, lightly armed. I’ve been tracking them all night; they’re responsible for a string of electronics store robberies.”

Red Robin sighed. “Let the cops have them.”

I grit my teeth. “What, afraid to go up against someone who might fight back for a change?”

It was a low blow, even for me. Anger flashed before his eyes and even before I knew it, he reared back and jumped off the roof. He glided across the small gap between buildings. But he didn’t go for the roof like I would have done. Instead, he went right for the window. It happened so fast. I cursed as he smashed through the glass. There was a muffled thump and a lot of shouting. I cursed again then jumped myself. I was a lot more nimble than he was. It felt like I floated across. I went through the same window, landing in a roll. When I came up, Red Robin was in the midst of a fight. His opponent was the biggest in the room, like he had something to prove. The guy was huge but didn’t stand much of a chance. I moved to offer assistance but had my own problems.

Three of the others came at me at once. They tried to come from different sides, boxing me in. I jumped in air, scissor kicking my legs. I caught one in the face, the other in the chin. When I came back down the third brandished a knife. He swung wildly, the blade sinking into the fabric of my cape. I moved slightly, rolling my body. I pulled the knife from his hand and then rolled some more, moving close so I could drive the back of my hand into the bridge of his nose. He fell back, I slammed my heel into the top of his foot and down he went. The other two in the room went for Red Robin. My partner had his back to them so he never saw them coming. I launched myself across the room, going in high. I reached out and grabbed their heads, slamming them together before I fell on top of both of them, driving them to the ground with me. Red Robin turned back slightly with a smirk. That’s when his opponent took the advantage. I’m not sure what happened exactly. The big guy saw an opening and slammed his fist into Red Robin’s left side. The color drained from Robin’s face, he gasped and crumpled. The big guy started pounding on him as soon as he went to the ground.

I threw myself at the big guy. It was a mistake.

He swung a hand out quicker than I could react. It hit me in the side of the head, sending me spiraling. I hit the floor hard. He drove his foot into my back, knocking the wind out of me. Hey, I’m a good fighter but even the best get knocked down every once in a while. I tried to get up but he slammed his foot on me again. He brought it down for a third time but I rolled. His foot hit the floor with a thud, breaking the floorboards. That’s when Robin slammed into him, there was a snap and the two of them crashed into the far wall together. There was a flurry of blows, all coming from Robin’s direction. The man was clearly down but Robin was an animal.

I scrambled to my feet and managed to barely pull him off the guy.

“He’s down” I said, pushing him away.

I put myself between the two of them.

Red Robin was clutching his side, panting heavily. “What the hell was that?”

“You could have killed him,” I said, pointing to the groaning man on the floor.

“Better him than me.”

There was a groan from the other side of the room. Red Robin moved to intercept the man but I was quicker. I grabbed him by his coat, lifting him off the ground. As I did so, a Chipmunk mask dropped to the floor. I groaned, another damn set up. The man looked at the mask and then at me. For a second his eyes were unfocused until he saw the Bat on my chest. Then the color drained from his face. He tried to struggle out of my grasp but I wasn’t letting go.

“Where is he?” I asked, in my cold tone.

He shook his head. “I’m not telling you anything.”

Red Robin came up behind me. “Tell us or I’ll turn you into a bloody pulp.”

My perp eyed the guy on the floor and gulped. “We never met him. The False Faces never meet the boss. He sends someone, usually a woman. She was the one who told us to knock over those stores, said it would get your attention.”

“Another trap” Red Robin spit. “I’m starting to get tired of this shit.”

“Where do you meet the doctor?” I asked, ignoring my partner’s comment.

The man shook his head. “Usually here.”

Damn it. I pulled him close, my face inches from his. “Tell your boss if you see him that I’m coming for him.”

I let him go, tossing him slightly. He landed awkwardly and then took off, running through a doorway and out into the hall. I listened to his scurrying feet before turning to Red Robin. I was so pissed off at him. I was ready to chew him out until I saw how bad he was. He was no longer standing next to me; instead, he was on the ground. I dropped down next to him. He wasn’t clutching his side anymore but the fabric there was torn. There was some blood but nothing too bad. I looked through the gash in his uniform to see a bandage underneath. He barely paid attention as I poked my fingers through, feeling along his side. He did wince when I touched him. I parted the cloth to take a better look. What I saw sent ice water along my veins.

The bandage was fresh, probably done earlier today but I knew that. I knew that because I put it there. I looked up into his face, really looking this time. He had the same piercing blue eyes, the same chin and mouth. I’m not sure why I hadn’t seen it before but it was so clear to me now that I nearly toppled backwards in shock.

“Tim?” I asked, not believing the name that came out of my mouth.

His eyes opened wide. He was just as surprised but he recovered quickly. He jumped to his feet, wincing as he did so. He ran for the window and would have gotten there if I hadn’t been faster. I reached out and grabbed his arm. He snapped around, smacking me in the face with the back of his hand. He paused after the blow, just as shocked and as afraid as I was.

I snapped back to face him, sighing. “You are Tim, Tim Drake aren’t you?”

“How do you know that name?”

Well all gloves are off I guess. I took a deep breath and grabbed the top of my cowl, giving it a good tug. I usually held my hair in place with a few bobby pins. When I pulled the mask off, they went with it, bringing my blonde locks cascading down around my face. I threw my head back, my hair with it. I stood before him, unmasked, ready to face him with my true face. I took a deep breath and waited.

“Stephanie?”

“Hi” I said, smiling.

The look on his face said it all. For a moment, he was shocked maybe surprised. He smiled for only a second then that quickly vanished. What he did next I’ll never forget. He turned and jumped out the window. As soon as the momentary shock wore off, I ran to catch him. I got to the window a second too late because he was gone. It didn’t stop me from staring though, as my heart pounded in my chest.

Tim Drake was the Red Robin.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 17, I apologize once again for the delay but I got caught up in reading other people's stuff :) I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Seventeen:

Tim is Red Robin.

I sat on my bed, my legs pulled up to my chest. I was done crying though. As soon as I got home, I cried. How could you not. It was Christmas time and seeing Santa putting presents under the tree. You run into the room, jump into his arms, so happy to see him. Then when he speaks and you recognize the voice, tugging on the beard and seeing someone you don’t expect. In my case, it was my father. I was five years old and the fantasy was ruined. I felt like a five year old again. I detested Tim so much and to find out I’d been making out with him all this time made me sick. OK, so sick was a harsh word but as soon as I left the apartment building I bawled my eyes out. What girl wouldn’t? I was certain I was falling in love with the mysterious Red Robin---to say I was shocked was an understatement.

Tim is Red Robin.

It rolled around in my head as I tried to digest it. When I saw the bandaging and the look on his face, I nearly lost it there. I couldn’t help but think about all those scars on his body, the wound I bandaged earlier today. There were so many of them. I felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. How long had I known Tim, a couple of months at least? I used to see him almost every single day. How did I not notice the two of them were similar? They were the same height, the same built. Both had the same chin and sparkling blue eyes. They had the same voice. I was an idiot for not catching that. Ok so maybe Red Robin’s voice was a little huskier, a bit sexy in fact but there was no mistaking that they were the same. The only thing I did have a comparison for was the kissing.

I reached up and touched my lips.

I would have never in my life thought that kissing Tim Drake would have been so good. I shook my head. No, not Tim Drake. Red Robin was not Tim. Ok they were the same person but they were so different. Tim was all angst and sarcasm and Red Robin was dark and mysterious. OK so RR was a little violent and a bit of a loose cannon but he was sexy too. Tim was arrogant and annoying. Red Robin was kind and sweet---at least he pretended to be. The two of us had laughed together, we fought together, we fooled around together. We kissed. Oh God did we kiss. When I was kissing him, it felt like the whole world was on fire. I don’t really have anything to compare it to but I’d have to say kissing him was the best thing in the world.

I can’t imagine what kissing Tim would be like. I groaned at that thought. They’re the same person. I shook my head. No, not the same. Tim was a jackass. I groaned again. But what did that make Red Robin? I mean seriously. They were the same guy. Red Robin was a costume that Tim put on, a secret cloak just like The Bat. We both played a part. But whereas I could differentiate between the two, I couldn’t help but wonder if he could. We talked today, probably the first time we’d had a conversation that long. Tim hadn’t been a dick today. In fact, when he opened up a bit I kinda liked him. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was the real Tim. I couldn’t also help but wonder that maybe Red Robin is the real Tim too. Which meant Tim Drake was the mask?

I groaned again. The phone rang, breaking me from my thoughts. I quickly snapped forward and picked up the handset. “Steph’s room”

“You sound like someone ran over your cat”

“Babs, he’s Red Robin.” She sighed heavily on the other end. “Did you know?”

She didn’t say anything for about a minute. I think her silence was all I needed. “Sweetie I swore I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“You could have given me a little hint.”

“I did tell you to stay away from him, remember?”

I nodded even though I knew she couldn’t see it.

She continued. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t tell him who you were either.”

“He asked?”

She laughed. “When you first showed up on the scene. He wanted to know who the pretender was.”

I frowned at that. But I guess it made sense. He lived with Bruce, so it was a possibility that he knew Bruce’s secret too. I sighed. “Honor amongst heroes huh?”

She laughed. “Something like that” She went quiet for a few seconds. “Are you going to be all right?”

“I think I might have been in love with him.”

“Tim?”

“No. Red Robin.”

She laughed again. I was getting annoyed with her laughing at my expense. “They’re the same person sweetie.”

I sighed. “Not in person.”

The two of us talked a little more about it. Babs wanted me to tell her why I thought they were different so I told her. She laughed a few more times. I almost hung up on her in frustration. But she did help me understand a few things. She also told me what to do next. She seemed to think it was essential that the two of us---Tim and I---sat down and talked things through. Clearly, I shocked him earlier and he reacted badly. Now the ball was in my court, according to her. After talking for about ten more minutes or so, she told me to go to bed. I was only happy to oblige her.

I was asleep even before my head hit the pillow.

_________________________________

“Are you sure you’re getting enough sleep?” asked Uncle Jim as the two of us sat at the kitchen table.

I looked up from my pancakes and nodded. It was a rarity to see my uncle lately. It seemed like the two of us kept missing each other. What with the Thrill threat making him go into work early and stay real and me with my nocturnal activities. We were like two ships passing in the sea. When I woke this morning and smelled pancakes, I nearly jumped to the ceiling. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had such a good breakfast. The pancakes were done when I got downstairs after my shower. When I called Uncle Jim a stranger I think he realized that the two of us needed to spend more time together.

“How’s your schoolwork?” he asked as he set down the paper.

“Good” I said happily, forking a piece of fluffy goodness.

He made the best pancakes in the world.

School was going really well for me. In fact, I thought about trying to graduate in January. I had enough credits for it. I’d been looking into college in my spare time too. I know it was the end of November, probably too late to enroll anywhere but it didn’t hurt to look. I loved high school but I felt like it was passing me by. I was already way ahead of my classmates and was finding it difficult to stay interested. I didn’t need Gym because I got all my credits for that the year before. The only thing I did need was my uncle’s say so. He needed to sign off on the idea. I actually discussed it with him on the phone the other day and I had the paperwork. The filing deadline for early graduation was two days away. I’m just glad it didn’t need Dad’s signature.

“How’s work going?”

He smiled at that. “Much better thanks to a certain someone who shall remain anonymous.”

I smiled at that. No Uncle Jim didn’t know about what or who I was. But I was happy to hear that he wasn’t like everyone else. The Mayor and the DA were both after The Bat. It was like some citywide manhunt. They thought I was a menace and wanted to lock me up. I think the real reason that wanted to get me because they were jealous that I was doing a better job. Tim and I had the city pretty much cleaned up. Yes, there was still crime but criminals were now too afraid to try anything except in The Narrows. Thrill was still a dangerous threat but most of the Parks were gone, the police were seizing shipments left and right thanks to my intel and the dealers were running scared. Now all I needed to do was get my hands on the man behind the black mask and Thrill was done. Of course, I’d have to find him first. Babs was still convinced Dr. Fright might be able to help with that. Of course, that meant finding her too. Babs was checking her resources, calling in favors. Detective Gage was doing a search for her as well---through legal means. She was already on the city’s most wanted list. It was only a matter of time before someone caught her.

We talked a little bit more; I tried to remember the last time the two of us had talked like this. Today was Sunday and he wanted to know if I had any plans. I had to smile at that. Today I was helping with the Talent Show. The actual Show itself wasn’t until Wednesday night but Jen had volunteered the two of us to help set up. At first, I was surprised until I went to the first Set Up Committee and saw her reason: his name was Derek. I never saw Jen more smitten but it was cute. The strangest thing was that he kinda had a thing for her too. That was even cuter. I was happy for her. It was much better than my messed up love life. I was in love with one guy who happened to be two and I hated the other one. How crazy is that?

I finished breakfast and left. Uncle Jim said he’d be home for the rest of the day. Apparently, The Bat was finally giving him some time off. That made me feel good. I couldn’t help but think about it as I drove to the school. When I started this whole thing, Bruce had already done a good job establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with. I wasn’t trying to steal his thunder, if anything I was adding to it. Tim thought I was some kind of pretender---at least at first. Now I’m not saying I was trying to steal Bruce’s spotlight but for the time being it made me feel good that at least I was making a difference. As soon as Bruce got on his feet again I was more than happy to hand things over. He was the Bat; I’m just the girl taking over for the time being.

When I got to the school, I pulled around back. The Gym had two exterior entrances, one leading right into it, the other leading into a small foyer next door. I went into the foyer entrance. Usually we met in a room upstairs but seeing as we were so close to the actual show itself we were meeting in the Gym. The Show would be in the Auditorium but there was hardly room there for performers to practice. When I got there, people were twirling batons in one corner, signing in small groups near the bleachers and doing an assortment of other things. I found the Committee on the bleachers, the five or six of them talking amongst themselves. Jen and Derek were sitting awfully close. I was the last one to arrive, which might have been holding them up slightly.

“About time” said a girl name Brittany---the Head of our little group---as I approached.

I shrugged. “Late night.”

I climbed the bleachers and took a seat next to Jen. She smiled and squeezed my hand. She could see it in my face. She gave me a confused look but I mouthed “later” to her. I was distraught last night; I didn’t even bother to call her. I’m not sure I wanted to either. Yes, she was my best friend in the whole world and we talked about everything but I didn’t think it was right to tell her about Tim. She knew about my semi-relationship with Red Robin but I’m not sure how she’d react if I told her he was Tim. She thought Tim was cute but like me, she shared a mutual dislike of him.

Brittany frowned at my comment. Then she gave me a once over with her eyes. I think she was trying to decide if I looked like a girl who’d stay out all night. I smirked at her, which only made her eyes open a bit. Let her think what she wanted, the way I figured it I wouldn’t be in this school much longer.

After she was done giving me the evil eye, Brittany decided to tell us what we would be doing. Each of us had a job for the Talent Show. Jen and Derek were happy to collect tickets. I got roped into handing out programs at the door. After that I only half paid attention as she laid out the schedule for the night. It’s not that I didn’t care but I still couldn’t stop thinking about last night. Tim was invading my thoughts. In my mind, I saw him standing there as himself and then the Red Robin costume slowly formed around him. I knew it was him underneath but every time I envisioned the costume on him, he became a different person. I closed my eyes and saw the same thing. Why couldn’t I get him off my mind?

“Stephanie” snapped Brittany, trying to exert some control over the situation. I opened my eyes and frowned at her. “Am I boring you?”

I debated telling her off but that wouldn’t solve anything. Instead, I opened my mouth to say “No” but then I looked out into the Gym. Everyone was still practicing their acts for tonight. Near the door, Arnold was sitting in a chair, doing his dummy routine. I looked at him for a moment and we locked eyes, sharing a smile. But my eyes quickly lingered over to the door and the familiar figure standing in it. I gasped. What the hell was he doing here? He was just standing there, looking like he owned the place. Our eyes locked and he nodded his head slightly, indicating he wanted to see me. He didn’t wait for me to say anything; instead, he disappeared out the door.

I sighed then turned to Brittany. “I wasn’t paying attention actually,” I said, causing Jen to laugh slightly. Brittany opened her mouth to say something but I was already on my feet.

I ran down the bleachers. She shouted something at me but I didn’t hear her. I ran through the Gym, weaving between the performers. When I got to the door, Arnold looked up from his dummy. I smiled at him as I slipped out the door. I scanned the parking lot, looking for Mr. Mysterious himself. I found him leaning against my car, his arms crossed in front of him. He was dressed like usual, his red leather jacket hardly suitable for this kind of weather. I took a deep breath and slowly approached him. My heart was beating in my chest and my hands were sweaty. I’m not sure why. This was Tim after all, I detested Tim. But he was the Red Robin too and him well…let’s just say I didn’t hate him so much.

When I finally got to him, he uncrossed his arms. He didn’t look pissed like I thought he might be. He smiled slightly if only for a second. “You and I need to talk.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry about last night, I didn’t mean to out you like that.”

He shook his head. “I don’t care about that.”

“You don’t?”

He sighed. “I did at first but I thought about it a lot. I knew there was something familiar about her but I just couldn’t place it. When she pulled off her mask last night and I saw it was you, something just clicked.”

So he thought of us as two different people as well. “I felt the same way once I realized who you were.”

The smile came back but it disappeared just as quickly.

I opened my mouth to say something but he spoke again. “Do you want to take a walk with me?”

I nodded numbly. He reached out and took my hand. I didn’t protest. We didn’t say a thing to one another as he led me toward the football field. It was a combination football stadium and track field. The track ran along the outer rim of the field. It didn’t take the two of us very long to get there. For a few minutes, we walked in silence. I should have been annoyed that he was holding my hand but it felt kinda nice. It did surprise me though. This was the most affection I’d ever seen him show. With Ariana, he hadn’t even been this affectionate. They were all about lust. Now holding his hand and looking up at him felt right for some reason. I know I’m supposed to detest him but I couldn’t help but feel that maybe this was the true Tim.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner about who I was.”

“Why would you have a need too?” he said “its not like I was rushing to reveal myself to you. When Oracle refused to tell me who you were I knew she had a reason to protect you.”

“She’s my cousin,” I said, he nodded.

We didn’t say anything for a few more minutes. We just walked. Finally, he cleared his throat and sighed. ‘My parents were murdered.”

That surprised me. I could tell he was building up to it. I squeezed his hand tightly. “I’m sorry.”

He smiled weakly. “My Dad was a cop. He and Mom were out to dinner when the brother of someone he put away gunned the two of them down. I was spending the night at my friend’s”

“That’s horrible,” I said then added a moment later. “How did you end up with Bruce?”

“He was a friend of Dad’s. After being kicked around a bit from one foster home to the next, he took me in. I was twelve at the time. After that he became like a surrogate father to me.”

“And Red Robin?”

He smirked. “He came about after Bruce got hurt. I knew the city needed someone to pick up the slack while he was recuperating so I volunteered my services. Bruce had spent quite a few years teaching me how to fight but he refused to let me go out with him. He said I’m too angry” He sighed. “He’s right but if he wasn’t doing it then someone had to.”

“Then I came along”

He nodded. “You’re amazing by the way. I’ve never seen anyone move the way you do and your fighting, it’s incredible. You’re really skilled.”

I smiled. “I have a good teacher.”

He nodded. We walked in silence for a little while more. He was thinking things over for a bit. I could almost see the thought process rolling around in his brain. Something was bothering him. It was clear that he didn’t come here to talk about himself. He was here on a mission and I was pretty certain he was building up to it now. It took him a few more minutes to finally speak and when he did, I was surprised by what came out of his mouth: “I think you should quit.”

I stopped walking, pulling my hand from his. “Excuse me?”

He stopped and turned toward me. “It’s getting too dangerous”

I smirked. “I can take care of myself in case you haven’t noticed.”

He took a step toward me and took both of my hands. “Run of the mill thugs are one thing, Steph, but we’re getting closer to the boss man. I’ve done some checking up on this guy and he means serious business. He’s dangerous.”

I opened my mouth to say something but instead of speaking, he pulled me close. Even before I knew what was happening he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. I half expected a forced and aggressive kiss. But it was soft and gentle. I may have thought of them as two different people but Tim and Red Robin kissed exactly the same. At first, I protested but then I started to melt in his arms. It felt so nice, so good, so right. I got lost in the moment if only for a second. After that second was over, I realized what he was trying to do. Anger flared up inside of me and I pushed him away.

“You think kissing me like that is going to change my mind?” I asked, the anger boiling to the forefront.

He got a bit angry too. “You can’t keep doing this.”

“Why because it’s dangerous and I’m a cute little girl?”

“Yes” he said then quickly added. “No” when he saw the look on my face.

“I don’t need your protection. I think it’s sweet that you want to be my big bad protector but I don’t need you to protect me.”

“They’re getting closer,” he said, fighting to control that temper of his. “It’s only a matter of time before they set another trap for you and you walk blindly into it like the last one.”

That pissed me off. “You think I blunder around?”

“I didn’t say that. I just think you need to be more careful.”

I groaned, pushing him further away from me. I didn’t even give him a response. I started to walk angrily away. I got a good twenty feet or so before he ran to catch up. He grabbed my arm but I shrugged off his hand. But he wasn’t taking no for an answer. I knew he’d try to pull something like this. He thought he could protect innocent little me because I was a girl. He was nothing but a sexist pig just like the Tim I knew and hated. That pissed me off. If his mocking wasn’t enough when I hated him but know he was thumbing his nose at me when I actually thought he was sweet. The bastard lulled me into a false sense with a gorgeous smile then went in for the kill.

“Stephanie, wait,” he said, grabbing my arm again.

I reacted without thinking. I grabbed his wrist, twisting into his body. I pulled him over my shoulder and slammed him on the ground in front of me. It was an instinctual reaction, one I didn’t mean. Lying on his back, he looked up at me dazed for a second. He recovered quickly, jumping to his feet. For a second I saw pure rage flash across his face. He clenched both fists at his side. I thought he was going to hit me. Instead, he took a deep breath and unclenched them.

“I was trying to keep you from getting killed,” he said angrily, shoving his hands in his pockets. “But I can see I was just wasting my time. If you don’t want to listen to reason then I guess I’ll have to take care of things myself.”

Before I could say anything, he turned and walked away. I took a step forward but I was too damn furious to follow him. I was bound to say or do something just as stupid. So instead, I stood there and watched him walk away.

______________________________________

I cried myself to sleep for the next few days. No amount of cheering up from Babs or Jen seemed to help either. They both tried though, taking me on shopping trips to the mall and trying to do things with me to get my mind off him. But no matter how much I tried to forget him I couldn’t. So instead, I tried my hardest to work. First, it was on the Talent Show. I chipped in wherever I could, even going so far as being a mock audience for Arnold. He had a good act, probably one of the best there. He had this great routine I think everyone would love. If it wasn’t the Talent Show, it was college prep.

My application to graduate early came through. So in January, Stephanie Brown was going to officially be a high school graduate. I threw a lot of my free time---when not training or patrolling---into finding the perfect place to go. I think I was going to go to Northwestern like Babs. She said I could room with her but I kinda liked the idea of living in a dorm. My transcripts were already in order---Jenet was able to pull some strings with the legal stuff, getting things changed to fit my new gender. I suppose the government is good for something. I talked to her for a while on the phone the other day. I think she was interested in seeing how I was adjusting. I didn’t tell her about my extracurricular activities, of course but I did tell her how I’ve gotten a grasp on my powers. We talked for a few hours about them. She wanted me to come see her as soon as I got some time. I kinda liked the idea of showing off a bit and told her I’d try to find some time for her. When I told her about my college plans, she was only too happy to help. She said that if I needed anything that she had some pull.

When not working on college stuff or Talent Show stuff, I stayed in my room. I couldn’t help but think about Tim when I was alone. I tried calling him after I got back from the school but he was gone. I tried numerous times but he wouldn’t answer. Babs tried too, both as herself and as Oracle. She was unsuccessful. It annoyed the hell out of me that he was playing things so childishly like this. We had a fight; it didn’t mean it was the end of the world. But after Sunday it was like he walked off the face of the planet. I even went so far as to call the Manor. I talked to Al for a few minutes, told him what happened. If Bruce knew who I was and what I was doing, so did Al. He didn’t seem at all shocked when I told him about my nocturnal activities. According to him, Master Tim had not been home since Sunday either.

That got me worried a bit. Aside from crying and training, I spent Sunday and Monday nights looking for him. But he was nowhere to be found. I threw my frustration into the job. I broke up a small scuffle, getting a little too into it. I didn’t hurt anyone real bad but I was a little more violent. When I left the goons tied up for the police to find I stayed around in the shadows to make sure they were all right. None of them were seriously injured.

Wednesday came before I knew it. I was in a funk during the whole day. It didn’t help that Jen was still trying to cheer me up.

“Derek and I are going to get something to eat after the show tonight; you’re more than welcome to tag along.”

I smiled but shook my head. I didn’t want to spend the night watching my best friend and her boyfriend play footsie all night.

“You two go and have a good time.”

Jen frowned, looping her arm through mine. “Tim is a dick.”

I sighed and nodded. I only lied to her a bit about what really happened. I told her he came to talk to me and things went in a direction I hadn’t expected. She still didn’t know he was Red Robin but I told her about the kiss and how he treated me afterward. I’m not sure if she got why I was so mad but she was my friend and would stand by me no matter what.

When school ended, we only had a few hours before the talent show started. Instead of driving home, I went to the Morgan’s house. Her grandparents still treated me like I had the plague but at least they were a bit nicer. I think they realized that I was no longer a boy pretending to be a girl. Jen tried to explain the whole Meta thing to them but her grandmother was still convinced I got a sex change operation. When she thought I wasn’t in earshot, I heard her call me “that boy” on more than one occasion. I guess you can’t please everyone. Jen and I spent the few hours getting ready in her room. Even though neither one of us was participating, Brittany thought it would be a good idea if everyone working the show dressed up nicely. So I donned a good blouse and skirt, Jen wore a pink dress. When we were finished, we drove in my car. Jen tried once again to get my mind off Tim and it helped some. She started pointing out to me all the flaws he had, the reasons I hated him in the first place. Before I would have joined in but now I wasn’t in the mood. As much as I hated him, there was a small part of me that liked him. I knew the truth or at least part of it. If I’d been through what he’d been through, I’d be kind of a dick too.

I spent an hour before the show at the front door with another girl. I don’t know her name but she was dressed very similar to me. The two of us handed out brochures until we ran out. It was good timing too because as soon as we were done, the first act started. I didn’t really pay attention to most of them. They were good but the only reason I was here was to see Arnold perform. It was about an hour into the show when someone walked on stage, leaving behind a stool. A minute later, Arnold walked out carrying Mr. Scarface. He was dressed in a white button down shirt with a bow tie. Mr. Scarface was dressed in his usual 1930s gangster clothes, complete with fedora and plastic tommy gun. When Arnold sat down, I smiled.

Arnold cleared his throat, looking nervous. It was a part of the act though.

“Hello Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Arnold Wesker and this is Mr. Scar…”

A gruff voice with a New York accent interrupted as the dummy’s mouth moved. “Shut up Dummy, I’ll be doing the talking tonight”

This got some chuckles.

“Sorry, Mr. Scarface” stuttered Arnold, playing the part well.

The banter went back and forth like this with Mr. Scarface dominating the act. Arnold played the stuttering, simpering Ventriloquist well. The act was good. It got a lot of laughs, more than some of the other stuff tonight. The audience seemed to enjoy it. I smiled, I couldn’t have been happier for him. About half way through it though, I felt a vibrating buzz. I cursed and slowly got to my feet, apologizing as I made my way down the row and up the aisle toward the exit. When I got into the main foyer of the school, I pulled my cell phone from my purse and flipped it open. On the screen was a black background with a flashing yellow Bat, like the one on the chest of my costume. It was our own little “Bat Signal”---the call that Babs used to tell me if something was wrong.

I groaned and pushed the talk button. Why couldn’t I have one night without any problems?

“This better be real urgent” I said, annoyed.

Babs sighed. “I found Dr. Fright.”

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 18, things are winding down now. There isn't much story left to tell after this. I must warn you that it has my typical cliffhanger at the end so no one tar and feather me please. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Eighteen:

“Are you sure?” I asked, sitting in Bab’s apartment.

She was at her computer desk, typing away furiously at the console. When she called and told me she found Dr. Fright, I couldn’t get out of the school fast enough. In fact, I almost got a speeding ticket while trying to get here. I might have thought this before but it was about damn time. I was so sick and tired of following this damn woman all over the city. I knew I couldn’t raise my hopes too high, though. After all, we almost had her before and she led us into a trap. What’s to say this wasn’t another one of her tricks? This woman had already tried to rub me out, twice now. If this was another one of her little games…I didn’t finish the thought.

Instead, I sat there. I took my time looking around Babs’ place. I’d been here once before, back when she was moving in. She was able to rope her cousin “Steven” into helping her move boxes. It was one of the only times that Dad actually gave me permission to be with her. I might have mentioned this before but Dad didn’t like Uncle Jim or Barbara. I think he thought they were going to take me from him. I’m not sure why that mattered so much to him anyway because it was clear he didn’t want me in the first place. But he once told me I was “his” and no one could take me without his permission. Talk about a selfish, evil bastard. I sighed, trying to remember the last time I even thought about him. Uncle Jim updated me on him the other day, they were moving him to Blackgate---no that’s not its real name but it’s what the locals called it. It was a high security prison, apparently, Dad turned in some crucial piece of info to them and they were trying to protect him.

I shook my head, drawing my attention back to the room.

The apartment was small. It had one bedroom, a small living area and an even smaller kitchen. Babs always told me it was good enough for her. But I couldn’t see how she moved around in this place with her wheelchair. She didn’t have a lot of furniture, just the chair I was sitting in. She didn’t even have a TV. What she did have was computers, yes as in more than one. There were three in fact; they took up most of the room in the place. When not in school, she ran a lucrative computer technician business or something. It was all a bit technical to me. I just know that it required her to have all these fancy computers. At least that’s what I used to think. Now I knew that these computers were there for other reasons too.

“Earth to Barbara” I said, getting a bit annoyed that she was still ignoring me.

“Sorry” she said a few seconds later, “I was just making sure.”

I dragged my chair over so I was sitting next to her. “So are you certain this time?”

She nodded. “After our first attempt, I knew there was something wrong. I just couldn’t figure out what. So I asked a friend to do some digging and found something shocking.” She paused for dramatic effect, I rolled my eyes. “They bugged our Bluetooth.”

“Wait, what?”

She smiled. “Not really bugged it, more like hacked it. Don’t ask me how they even know where to look. But my friend was able to find a small spike in the network; someone was definitely listening in on our conversations.”

I groaned. We weren’t exactly discreet. “So they know who we are?”

"We only ever used first names and I garbled out voices so there’s no way they can track us”

"That’s good because I definitely don’t want to open the door and see some crazed nut with a gun standing there” I winced when I realized what I said. “Sorry, I didn’t…”

She shook it off. “Don’t worry about it” She was quiet for a second then continued. “My friend used it against them though. We were able to follow the hack back to its source, reversing the bug; we got a location out of it”

“And what if it’s another trap?”

“They didn’t know we were there.” Babs groaned, running her fingers through her long red hair. “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to use those for communication”

I squeezed her arm. “You’re only human, we make mistakes. We’ll be better next time.”

She smiled. “Well there isn’t going to be a next time until I get something worked out. Until then you’re going to be on your own out there, do you think you can handle that.”

I smiled. “I think I can handle that”

She filled me in on the location. I suppose it made sense. If someone really wanted to hide that was definitely the last place I would have looked. But we also had a small window. Dr. Fright was apparently planning to leave the country tonight. She was in a bit of a rush too, according to our secret friend. Babs refused to give a name but she did let slip it was a woman. That intrigued me more than anything. I tried to press her for more info but she wouldn’t budge. So instead, I grudgingly donned my suit and left.

______________________________________

I stood in the gloom and the dark. Spread out in front of me was a sprawl of gray warehouses, their roofs covered in a thin blanket of snow. Everything about the day seemed dark and gray, including my mood. As soon as I left Babs, I cursed. It had snowed quite a bit, so much so that I couldn’t get my car out. So I tried the next best thing, I called Tim. But of course, he didn’t answer. It wouldn’t be the first time since our fight. I tried calling multiple times for him in the last day or so. But each time I got either his Voice Mail or nothing at all. If he was deliberately avoiding me, he was being more childish than I thought. He was being ridiculous as far as I was concerned. We had a fight, people fight all the time. OK, so not many girls throw their potential boyfriends over their shoulder in those fights but he caught me off guard. Potential boyfriend? Well I did an awful lot of crying over him so I guess that’s what he was. Though it was still hard to imagine me being a girlfriend to him.

Then again, a few months ago I never would have imagined myself sitting here now---on the edge of a building---overlooking the docks.
I sighed and reached for my belt, pulling out my phone. Without the Bluetooth, Babs and I had to communicate the old fashioned way. But this time she was prepared, fitting my phone with a scrambler so no one could trace it or hack into it. I dialed her number, waiting a few seconds for it to be rerouted all over the place before she finally picked up.

“Oracle” she said.

I smiled. That was another new rule: no more referring to each other by our real names. She was now Oracle and somehow she dubbed me “Batgirl”. I guess it was better than nothing.

“Batgirl here” I said with a groan.

“Don’t knock it,” she said. I could almost see her smirk.

I let it slide for now. “I’m at the location we talked about. Which building is our target in?”

I could hear her tapping away at the keys. “According to the piggybacked signal, it should be the one on the far left. I can’t give you any more specifics than that though so you’re going in blind.”

I nodded even though I know she couldn’t see it. “I am a bat after all.”

Oracle laughed. “Be careful, you don’t know what’s waiting for you there.”

“Will do, BG out.”

I clicked off the phone and slipped it back into my belt pouch. After it was secure, I took a deep breath. Then I leaned forward and dropped off the building. It was a vertical fall, three stories to the bottom. My body was straight the whole way until I hit the ground where I bent my knees slightly. I didn’t feel a thing. It took me only a few seconds to fall. After that I ran across the open space between my building and the next, pulling my night vision goggles into place. The dock warehouses were not like the ones in the warehouse districts. These had curved roofs and no access from the top. They were about five or six stories high and so jam packed with large metal cargo containers that one could barely move in them. There were three of these large buildings; the rest of the area was filled with the containers, creating a large metal maze.

When I approached the building, I pressed my back against the wall and waited. When I first got here, I spent twenty minutes getting the lay of the land. Besides the maze of towering cargo containers and warehouse buildings, there were three guards who walked the ground. Each wearing a different animal mask and each carrying a submachine gun. I studied their patterns just so I knew where and when to move. Every five minutes one of them would walk around the warehouse buildings and the other two wove their way through the container maze. In order for me to proceed with caution, they’d all have to go.

The first guard came into view about five minutes after I pressed against the wall, just like clockwork. I waited until he was walking in front of me before I struck. I lashed out, grabbed the side of his head and slammed him into the wall next to me. He crumbled to the ground as soon as I let him go. I grabbed his gun, pulled out the magazine and disposed of them both in a nearby garbage can. If the bastard did wake up in the next hour or so, he’d have to scramble to look for his weapon. With him out of the way, I could move freely around the buildings. I crept slowly along, making sure to keep in the shadows. The side of the building I moved along came right alongside the first row of giant metal containers; it also brought me in line with the second guard.

I smirked. He was just coming into view now. I reached into a pouch and pulled out my new toy. It was a gift from Onyx, something she thought might aid me a great deal. Whereas Bruce used bat shaped throwing stars, she thought I might like to use something a little less lethal. So she had a foldable boomerang designed specifically for me, shaped just like a bat. I had to wonder if Onyx and Jen were trying to tell me something. I just knew as soon as the latter saw it she would try to name it a “batarang” or something. So I unfolded my new toy, aimed for the bastard’s Hippo masked head and let it rip. It soared in an arch and hit him just below the collar, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

The boomerang then raced around and came back to me. I caught it and ran over to the thug. He was groaned on the ground. I dropped on him, delivering a silencing blow to his Hippo face. As soon as I did so, the final guard came into view. I slipped into the shadows. He saw his friend and came running. I stood there and watched as he bent over the man and checked his pulse. He sighed and raised his Gorilla mask to wipe his brow. He did so setting his gun aside. I smirked and waited as he stood up. As soon as he did so, I drove my elbow into the space between his shoulder blades. He dropped onto his fallen friend. He groaned and tried to get up, reaching for his gun. I dropped on him, driving my knees into his back as I did so. Doing so knocked the wind out of him and allowed me to slam his head on the nearby pavement, taking him out of the picture too.
Three guards, three unconscious fools.

I stood up and made my way back to the buildings. I wove through them cautiously as I made my way to the one on the left just in case there was a guard I missed. Thankfully there wasn’t. I reached the left building, finding an unlocked side door. I pulled it open and slipped inside. The room was shrouded in darkness or would have been if I didn’t have my goggles. For me everything was bathed in green. There were a lot of metal containers and wooden boxes. I slipped along them. I looked above, seeing a metal framework, solid metal beams that held the ceiling in place. I sighed when I judged the height, realizing there was no way I could jump that high. I needed a rope or something. Maybe a grappling hook.

No, climbing would have to do. I turned to the nearest container and scaled it quickly. When I got to the top---three containers stacked on one another---I looked around. There was several more containers like this one and a small office on a second floor, a light on inside. I smiled, that had to be where the doctor was hiding. I jumped up, grabbing one of the metal beams. Now that I was on the containers, I was high enough to do so. Thank God for rigorous training. I pulled myself up easily then crouched on the beam, gauging the distance to the office. I jumped to the next beam and the next. My Meta power left me graceful like a cat and thanks to Onyx’s training, I didn’t make a single sound. After a few more jumps, I reached the office.

It was a boxed in structure that looked a little sturdier than it should. When I jumped from the metal beam above it onto its roof, I did so without making a sound. The structure was metal too, except for a small section that was glass. It was like a little skylight. I pulled off my goggles because the light was on inside. I bent over it, peering down inside. The woman below was on the phone, passing back and forth. It was clear from her body language that something was frustrating her. It was also clear that this was in fact Dr. Linda Friitawa. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew her enough to be certain. The doctor had some distinguishing characteristics; chief among them was the fact that she was an albino. Her shock of white hair and pale skin were hard not to ignore.

I pressed closer to the glass but couldn’t hear a thing. I didn’t really need to hear because it was clear that she was pissed. She raised her voice more than once but the glass and the metal walls muffled her sound. I looked around me, realizing that if I wanted to hear a thing I needed to be inside. I left the glass and crept along the roof, dropping down on the opposite side. The office was mainly glass windows but each of them had the blinds down. I moved silently along the outside wall, stopping only to come across a thick cable leading inside. The power to the office. I smiled and removed a pair of wire cutters from a pouch. Time to use those scare tactics I learned so well.

I snipped the wire, plunging the office in darkness.

I waited for a few moments then heard the door open. A beam of light cut through the darkness as the doctor stepped outside. I caught sight of her as I peered around the corner. She started walking in the opposite direction, away from me. I slipped around and went into the office, pulling my goggles back on. It was a rather spacious place considering the size. There was a small couch, a potted fern, a desk and some file cabinets. I went to the cabinets first, pulling open the top drawer. Sloppy doctor, not locking your stuff up. I rifled through the files. I pulled one that said V-10 and laid it on the table, pulling out my little spy camera and quickly taking a shot of each page. I replaced the folder quickly then started looking again. I’m not sure exactly what it was that I was trying to find but I knew I had to try.

Rifling through the files again I came across another one that looked interesting. The tab said “Project Alice”. I pulled the folder out and flipped it open. I only got a second to take a look before I heard Fright coming back. I cursed, shoving the folder back into the cabinet and closing it before slipping into the dark. I was only able to pull two words out of it, one of which was a name: Mind and Wilson. What the hell did that mean? I made a mental note and filed them away.

Dr. Fright came back into the office, talking angrily into a walkie-talkie. “Gorilla, Hippo, Fox, report in?”

Clearly, she was trying to raise her guards. She tried a few more times as she walked over to the desk then she angrily slammed the radio onto it.

I took a step forward, pulling off my goggles. All I needed was for her to blind me with that flashlight. I watched as she sat at the desk, sighing heavily. Then I spoke in that dark voice I learned to use so well: “I’m afraid you and I are alone, Doctor.”

The look on her face when I stepped forward even farther was priceless. Her flashlight dropped to her desk and she went for the drawer. I knew exactly what she was going after but I was faster. I made it across the room in seconds. I caught her arm and slammed the drawer on her wrist, causing her to scream and drop her gun. I held the drawer shut while she wiggled in pain. I’d say the color drained from her face but seeing as she didn’t have much pigment to begin with, well, you get the picture. Between her wailing and sobbing, she cursed me several times in a language I didn’t know. I assume it was her Native one.

I finally opened the drawer, allowing her to pull her hand out. There was no gun in it. She clasped her hand to her chest panting. “You broke my wrist.”

“Physician heal thyself.”

I reached into one of the pouches, took out a roll of gauze and threw it at her. It hit her in the chest but she didn’t bother to retrieve it. Instead, she stared daggers at me, which looked absolutely diabolical with those red eyes of hers. I reached toward the flashlight and turned the beam on her. She flinched from the light. Just enough to sweat her a bit.

“What do you want with me?” she stammered, the pain in her wrist most likely unbearable.

“You know what I want.”

She shook her head. “He’ll kill me if I tell you.”

I took a step forward, moving close. She flinched. “The way I see it doctor, you have two options. Deal with him later or deal with me now. What’s it going to be?”

She didn’t say anything for the longest time. Finally, a tear rolled down her cheek. “I…I…I…”

“Start with a name.”

“Black…”

“His real one” I interrupted, annoyed.

She shook her head. “I don’t know it.”

I narrowed my eyes. I leaned closer to her, my face inches from hers. “Start with what you do know then?”

Unbeknownst to her I pulled a small recorder from one of my pouches and hit the button.

She nodded. “We were partners. I created the drugs and he got them out to the populace. We were supposed to split the profits, fifty fifty but he’s been holding back lately. Thrill is a lot bigger than either of us could have imagined. We were making a fortune off of it. Then you and that Roving Ravager character came along. You busted things wide open. First, I was able to produce more to keep up but the demand got too high and I wasn’t able to supply it fast enough. He got me loose a few days, after our second attempt to stop you failed.”

“How much is left?”

She shook her head. “There’s a warehouse. Everything I produced---the last of it---is stored there.”

“And the Black Mask?”

She sighed. “He won’t be far from it. He’s been very paranoid lately. He doesn’t want to let his cash cow out of his sight.”

“The address.”

She shook her head. “He’s practically got an army. You’ll never get to him.”

“Do I look like someone who scares easily?”

She didn’t say anything to that. Instead, she reached down and grabbed a pen with a good hand. She quickly scribbled an address down on a piece of paper, leaving it for me. I grabbed it and folded it into one of my pouches. The doctor eyed me suspiciously. It was the split second she needed. She pulled open the drawer with her good hand and retrieved the gun. She thought she was fast. I snapped my leg up, then back down, bringing my heel down on her other hand, the one holding the gun. The force of the blow caused the gun to go off which drowned out her scream and the snapping of her forearm. I snatched the gun away, tossing it into the corner. While she cried in agony at another one of her useless, broken limbs, I slipped away.

I didn’t take out my cell until I was clear of the warehouse. I didn’t call in until I was on the building from before, overlooking the scene. Several police cars were already on the scene. I called Babs. “Did you call in the black and whites?”

“I thought you might need some backup.”

I smiled. “There were only four this time, including the doctor.”

“Did she give you what you wanted?”

“I’ve got an address. Let’s end this thing.”

_____________________________________

Déjá  vu. I’d been to this place before. Well not exactly to this particular one but the same area. It was the same warehouse block that I followed my Dad to, the same place where all of this started. Of course, back then I was Steven Brown and I had no idea what I was doing. Now I was The Bat or rather the Batgirl. I wasn’t a scared “girl” in her favorite purple hoodie and a black mask. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought back on it. That was only a few months ago and I’d already come so far. My father was in jail, I was living with Jim, I worked for Bruce, started my career as a vigilante and now have a semi-boyfriend. If I went back in time and told my September self about what might happen in November, I don’t think I would have believed it.

But here I was, living proof of all those things and more.

I took a deep breath. I was about to step out of the shadow I was hiding in when my phone vibrated. I cursed and pulled it out; knowing who it was without even thinking. “BG” I said when I answered.

“I’ve been able to hack the outside cameras and it doesn’t look good,” said Oracle with a sigh. “Fright was right, this place is surrounded. There’s no way you can take all of them at once.”

“What about you know who?”

She let out another heavy sigh. “I’ve been trying but he won’t answer.”

I cursed. “Of all the times to be a stubborn jackass.”

“Where are you now?”

“Across from the place where I nearly burned to death” I said, looking at the burnt out remains of the place that might have been my burial tomb.

Oracle didn’t say anything for a second. Then I heard her typing away. Finally, she said. “I thought that address sounded familiar.”

“Do you know anything about this area?”

There was more typing. “When I was still free lancing, Bruce asked me to look into his competitors’ businesses, just to get a leg up. Nothing illegal I swear. In fact, if anything he was the only legit one working in this city.”

I remember reading about Ballard. He got himself involved in illegal gambling and a plot to assassinate the President. Booster Gold busted all that up.

Oracle continued, still typing. “This particular warehouse block belongs to Sionis Industries; they were Bruce’s chief competition for a while. But after both Warren Sionis and his wife were tragically murdered, the whole company passed to their son, Roman. He drove it into the ground within a year. Bruce only had me check up on it to see if he could buy off any of the property still owned by Sionis. This warehouse block was one such place he thought about buying. But he could never complete the deal because Roman fell off the face of the planet.”

That name sounded familiar. Why did that name sound familiar. I shook my head. Then I got an idea. “Maybe he didn’t fall off the planet; maybe he just switched his business.”

Oracle caught on. “You mean to drugs?”

I nodded even though I she couldn’t see me. “This Sionis, maybe he’s the Black Mask.”

Oracle. “You really shouldn’t go in there alone.”

“Keep trying Red Robin, don’t stop until he answers.”

“Ok but what about you?”

I smirked. “I’m going to unmask a drug dealer.”

Oracle tried to say something but I clicked. Sorry Babs but I’m too close to stop now. I took a deep breath, returned the cell to the pouch and stepped out of the shadows. I slipped on my goggles and searched the area. The first thing I saw were the goons, there were a lot of them. At least three standing around doing nothing, two more patrolling. All of them were wearing Monkey masks. I pulled out my batarang and let it fly. I know it wasn’t very stealthy of me but tonight I couldn’t rely fully on stealth. As soon as the batarang hit the first goon in the face, I was on the other two. I jumped on one of them, putting my hands on his shoulders while kicking the other in the face. I dropped to the ground, still holding the guy by the shoulders, which allowed me to throw him over my back and into the wall. The batarang came back to me, which gave me a second throw.

I went right at the patrolling guards. The batarang hit one in the back of the head. He went down and his partner turned around. There was only a split second for him to react before I leapt the distance between us. He didn’t even get his gun up when I slammed into him, pinning his shoulders while I brought him to the ground. I punched him the face then rolled off him, onto my feet. The batarang came around to me and I caught it.

Less than a minute and five goons down for the count.

I stepped over the one at my feet and made my way for the warehouse. I opened the door and slipped inside. It was set up just like the one in September but shrouded in darkness. I crept along the wall of wooden boxes, trying to stay as quiet as I could. Somewhere in this place was the man I’d been searching for. As soon as I got my hands on him, I could finally end all of this. My heart was pumping a mile a minute my chest and I was sweating like crazy. I took deep reassuring breaths to try to calm myself. It was just as Onyx taught me. I needed to control my breathing and concentrate. It took everything I had to do so now. I was so close I could taste. I was slinking along, my back to the boxes and somewhere he was hiding. I’m sure he was waiting too. On my way over, Dr. Fright’s arrest was already on the radio. The Black Mask knew she was out of the picture and probably also figured he was next on the menu. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t expect some kind of ambush.

I moved slowly along the crates until there was no more in this row to hide behind. I peered around the corner. There was a large open space. I frowned, scanning the green haze. There was nothing. I took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the boxes. I hadn’t gotten it wrong, this was the address. Oracle double checked it. Things fit too perfectly. The names, the locations, the fact that my Dad came here in September. I looked at one of the nearest boxes. Then I walked over to one and pulled off the lid. Inside was straw, which I knew also packed the V-10 vials? Everything was exactly where it should be except Black Mask.

Realization dawned on me. It was another set up. Dr. Fright played me for a fiddle. I cursed. Son of a bitch; I walked into it again. Some great detective I turned out to be. I stepped away from the crate and started back the way I came. This was ridiculous. How many times was this guy going to screw me like this. How many times was I going to fall for this crap?

I was half way to the door when I heard something. It was a faint buzzing sound. I turned around. It was coming from behind me. I turned and walked back in the other direction, back toward the center of the room. I knew it was stupid but the sound seemed to be calling me. I pulled out my batarang and cautiously took a few steps forward. The buzzing got louder and louder. Had it always been there? I walked further and further into the room until I saw something. It was small and flat, lying in the center of the room. I walked over to it and saw a cell phone, vibrating on the cement. It was the source of the buzzing. I took a deep breath and bent to pick it up. When I saw the display, my heart skipped a beat: ORACLE.

I pushed the button. “We have a problem,” I said, realizing who’s phone I was holding.

“Damn it” said Oracle “get the hell out of there now!”

I clicked off the phone and dropped it. She didn’t have to tell me twice. I started to move back the way I came when the lights in the room snapped on. The brightness overwhelmed my goggles and I screamed, dropping to my knees. I pulled them off, tossing them away. It was so blinding. I crawled about, my eyes shut, watering from the pain. There was laughing, lots of laughing from all around me. It was men, lots of them. When I got close, someone stepped on my hand. I didn’t feel it of course. Then someone kicked me in the face. I stumbled away from the blow. Arms grabbed me underneath my shoulders and lifted me up. Someone held me while someone else took a couple of hard shots at my stomach.

“It’s a girl,” said a voice. “The Bat is a little girl”

There was more laughing.

The last blow forced my eyes opened and everything started to come back, all be it a bit hazy.

A Wolf was punching me in the chest. No not a real wolf, someone wearing a wolf mask. I gasped as blow after blow hit me, one of them in the face. Finally, after several blows, I was dropped to the floor. I coughed and gagged, blinking back tears. My vision slowly started to right itself. I didn’t feel any pain from the punches, well not any real pain. I staggered to my feet and got a good look at my surroundings. Dr. Fright was right, he did have an army. There had to be at least twenty masked monsters all around me. I scanned all the animal faces, trying to find the one I was looking for. But he wasn’t there. I didn’t see him until I made a complete 360 of the room.

When I got to look behind me, I gasped. Someone was pulling a chair out of the darkness. In the chair, tied and barely conscious was Tim. I say Tim because his mask was missing and someone had done a number on him. I bit my lip, forcing back the urge to run to him. The chair was left in the middle of the room. The man dragging it was a giant, dressed in black leather. His mask was different, it looked like a dominatrix one except there were spikes all over it. Real freaky. He took one look at me then stepped aside, allowing the real freak to take center stage. That’s when I saw him finally, face-to-face. The man wearing the black pinstripe suit and the strange black skull mask. The man I’d been looking for, the man who at this very moment I wanted to pound to a pulp.

`”I believe we found something you’ve lost, Miss Bat,” he said, his voice a dark sneer.

“Black Mask” I said, then added a second later. “Or is it Roman Sionis?”

If he was shocked, he didn’t show it. Instead, he waved his hand as if I was some kind of annoyance. “Take her quickly but make the beating last as long as possible”

He turned and walked back into the shadows, disappearing.

There was a low roar of chuckles then as one the goons charged me. I gulped and held up my fists, it’s going to be one of those nights. The goons came as one. I prepared for the worst but right when they were about to get me, there was loud pop, followed by another. There were two big lights overhead and suddenly both of them exploded in a shower of glass, leaving the room in complete darkness.

Now the real fun starts.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 19, the last chapter of this story...in a few days I'll post an Epilogue that will finish up the story. I'm happy with how everything turned out and hope everyone else too. I'd like to thank djkauf for the fantastic editing and DC Comics for their characters.

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Nineteen:

For a moment, I panicked, well not just a moment, more like several moments. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and the only thing I could hear was the pounding of my own heartbeat. I was outnumbered twenty to one and they were so much bigger than me. In most of my other fights, it was all about speed and being able to get my opponents before they saw me coming. I prided myself on it; it made me look mysterious and dangerous. The Bat takes you out even before you know what hits you---at least that’s what the word on the street was. I had a reputation of taking out the trash in such a way that criminals were running scared from their own shadows. Now in those scant few moments I had a crisis of conscience. Yes for once in my very short superhero life I actually feared that I might not be able to get out of this one alive.

That is until I remembered that I trained for this.

When that realization dawned on me, I controlled my breathing and stopped listening to my own scared heartbeat. Instead, I listened for theirs. Twenty guys and they were as scared as I was. I took another breath---this one without fear---and opened my eyes. It was still pitch black but it was far from scary anymore. As soon as the lights went out there was an overwhelming panic in the room. There had been murmuring and whispering but now all that was silent. OK, so not really silent. After I stopped listening for my heartbeat, I started listening for theirs. The first one was real close, almost on top of me. I couldn’t see him but he was making sound nevertheless. He was breathing heavily and wheezing. I could tell he was afraid because he was shifting around a bit, moving from one foot to the other in agitation.

He never saw it coming. Two well placed blows and I dropped him.

After that, I moved onto the next group. There were three of them together, panting and shifting with just as much fear as their fallen friend. I took them all out too. When I moved onto my fourth goon, that’s when they started to realize I was moving among them. That’s when they started talking too.

“Where is she?”

“Do you have her?”

“Do you?”

Then they started calling out names and responding, except those that I took out. When the five names didn’t respond, that’s when the panic started in. They started to move about, running into one another. That started some of the fighting, which I couldn’t have timed better myself. I didn’t see any of it, of course, but I definitely heard it. One of the guys panicked---probably running toward the door or where he thought the door was. He must have slammed into a group of his friends because the next moment there was shouting, someone called “she’s here” and there was a lot of commotion. You could tell they were beating the hell out of one another. Fear can do that to you. The group fighting got a bit bigger as others rushed into the fray. I stood back and waited, listening for the outcome. It didn’t take very long. I’m not sure how many went into the fight but there were only about four standing when it was done. I attacked then. I grabbed two stragglers first, pulling them down from behind, driving my fists into their faces for quick takedowns. Another one I moved in quickly and swept his legs out from under him with a low kick. The last one must have realized what was going on because he screamed. As soon as that ended, I pounced on him, knocking the wind out of him.

I slammed his head on the hard cement, knocking him out cold.

“Who’s there?” someone close by stammered.

I turned to the sound of the voice. The guy was panting heavily and moving. I stepped toward him. There was definite fear in the way he was moving. His breathing was rapid and his heart was beating a mile a minute. He kept backing up---I recognized the sound of his shoes scuffing backwards. He was trying to get away from me. He didn’t get very far, finally running into a wall of crates behind him. As soon as he did so, he panicked. I heard him fumble for something inside his coat and then the click of a gun. Anyone who was stupid enough to shot blindly in the dark was stupider than I thought. He squeezed off a couple shots, screaming as he did so. The bullets were nowhere near me but I did hear a thud, meaning I had one less goon to worry about.
He continued to fire until he emptied his clip then he shouted.

“WHERE ARE YOU?”

I moved in close so my face was right next to his ear. “Here” I said softly.

I could smell his urine before I knocked him out with a couple of kick blows. I stopped and listened after that. The room was deathly still. But I waited a few minutes nonetheless. I needed to know for sure if I got them all. When I was certain I walked over to where I thought I threw the goggles. I had a pretty good idea where they landed because I heard them hit something metal. It didn’t take me long to find them---even in the dark. But it helped that I pulled out my little pen light to search for them. They were exactly where I thought they were. I picked them up and slipped them on, the darkness disappeared when I activated them, replaced by the green. I scanned the room and sure enough, there were twenty goons lying on the ground. Most were unconscious---one was dead but all of them were out of commission.

Then I looked over at Tim. He was still tied to the chair in the middle of the room and he looked pretty bad. I rushed over to him, grabbing his chin as I bent down. I looked him over. His face was battered and swollen. There was a nice cut above his left eye and it looked like someone pulled out a tooth or two. He was barely conscious but managed to register me when he saw me. He smiled and then groaned.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he said softly.

I found myself crying. “You shouldn’t have done this either” I said angrily then wrapped my arms gently around him. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I couldn’t let them hurt you.”

“So you ran off to be the big brave hero?” I wanted to punch him but instead I kissed his forehead gently. “You don’t need to protect me, I told you that.”

He nodded. “I know but I couldn’t have lived with myself if something happened to you.”

I didn’t say anything to that but my heart was dancing. I wanted to squeal like a little girl. Instead, I looked around for something to cut his ropes. I wish I brought a knife or something. Instead, I went for the broken glass of the lights. I started sifting through it to try to find a good piece but then I found something better. My hand froze over it for a second. I stared long and hard at it then snapped around. I looked up into the rafters but there was no one there. How in the hell? I looked back down at the bat shaped shuriken. It was his; there was no doubt about that. My heart started pounding in my chest at the implication. He was here; he was the one who took out the lights!

I snatched up the little metal bat and ran quickly over to Tim. I started cutting his ropes but he grabbed my hands, shaking his head.

“There’s no time, Sionis is still here.”

“What? Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I overheard him earlier, they’re moving everything tonight. They have a container ship, he’s going to run.”

I bit my lip. “I need to get you to a doctor.”

He shook his head. “I’m fine. You need to go get that son of a bitch before this starts all over again somewhere else.”

I nodded then leaned forward kissing him long and hard. “This conversation isn’t over. As soon as I get back, you and I are going to have a long talk.”

He smiled. “I look forward to it.”

I left him to cut his own ropes with a piece of glass---I might need the shuriken. I ran off toward the door that Sionis and his spike-headed goon must have escaped through. It led right outside. The air was cold and biting. It was snowing, too. There was a long line of tracks leading away from the warehouse, going toward the docks. By the size of them, it was a large truck, probably like the one that did those deliveries. I cursed, realizing I was too late. I bit my lip and looked around. There had to be something. Then I saw it, half obscured in the shadows, Tim’s bike. They must have dragged it back here when they caught him. I ran over to it, noticing the keys were still in the ignition. There was no helmet but I didn’t need it. I hopped on, gunned the engine and took off.
It took me a bit to get used to it but I got a handle on it. As I swerved and skidded in the snow, I realized that whoever suggested that I have a motorcycle was wrong. What I needed was an armored car or a tank. Something fast---maybe with a jet engine or something. Anything was better than a motorcycle. I could barely control it. But luckily, I didn’t have very far to go. The warehouses and docks were fairly close together. I followed the tracks and saw the outline of the truck up ahead. I slowed down as I approached. As soon as I stopped, I saw the truck clearly. The back was open and two pig-masked goons were unloading a large wooden crate. Behind them, I could see the large looming presence of the container ship.

I pulled out my batarang and let it fly. It spun through the air, clipping one of the pigs in the head. He dropped like a ton of bricks. His companion couldn’t hold the heavy box by himself and dropped it on his foot. I ran forward, catching the batarang as it came back around to me. He saw me coming and reached into his coat. I jumped on the crate, causing him to scream. I cut him off quickly with a hand over his mouth. His eyes widened and teared up as he struggled from the pain.

“Your boss, where is he?”

I didn’t move my hand but his eyes pointed toward the ship.

I punched him in the face, using the batarang so it must have hurt like hell. He fell forward unconscious and I left him there. I crept along the side of the truck, moving toward the front of it. I looked at the ship. There was a long wooden gangway leading up to it and a pig-masked guy at the top, holding a machine gun. I let fly the batarang. It hit him in the side of the head. He careened forward and fell off the boat, landing hard on the ground. I grimaced and moved on. I ran up the wooden platform, moving without making a sound. There were two more guards patrolling as soon as I got on board. I took them out with a split kick. I’m not really up on all my boat lingo so don’t knock me for not knowing where I was going. I moved along the side, making my way toward the front of the ship.
About halfway along the side of the little structure in the center, Mr. Metalhead stepped out of one of those large circular openings---gangways maybe. He didn’t see me at first but as soon as he turned out, his eyes opened. I moved fast, throwing a first at his face. But he saw it coming, throwing his arms up to block me. He was huge, at least six five so he towered over me. He was all muscle too apparently. I could see it through the outline of his black leather outfit. It was clear that he was the muscle behind this operation. It was also clear that he wasn’t going to go down as easily as the others.

I threw another punch, hitting him low. He staggered back and I kicked him in the side. He caught my foot and pulled me toward him, right into his fist. Suffice to say his fist was about as big as my head. When my face slammed into it, it hurt like hell. But I had barely anytime to think about it. After punching me, he pulled me close and lifted me off the ground by the front of my costume. I was like a rag doll in his arms. He tore me over his shoulder and tossed me hard into the deck. Hitting it at that speed hurt like hell. It knocked the wind out of me. But he wasn’t done. He came at me as soon as I was on the ground. He kicked down at my chest. I rolled away just in time.

I rolled to my feet, wincing from the pain but still able to stand.

“You’re the great Batman, I’m not impressed,” he said with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes. I was tired of correcting people but couldn’t he see the boobs? I decided to skip the small talk. I waited for him to come. My training was all about using your opponent’s strength against him. He came hard and fast just like I predicted he might. But unlike my predictions, he didn’t get close. All his blows were from far away as if he was anticipating that I might try something. He was a skilled fighter, better than me in fact. Every punch I threw at him he seemed to be ready for as if he was reading my moves. It was starting to get taxing. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to get me out of my comfort zone and try something stupid but I wasn’t going to fall for it. I was also getting tired of playing fair. If I didn’t do something fast I was sure he’d eventually get the upper hand.

So I cheated.

I reached into my pouch and pulled out my penlight. He took a quick jab which I dodged then I shined the light in his face. It caught him off guard enough for me to go in for a nice blow. I caught him under the chin. He staggered backwards then I drove my knee into his chest. It was dirty but if I hadn’t done it, I would have been here for hours. But even with those two blows, he staggered back to his feet. I wasn’t about to let him get at me again though. I punched him across the chin again then grabbed a hold of one of his head spikes. I pulled him around, swinging him like he did me then let him go. He staggered and stumbled right toward a wall of crates. He was going too fast to stop and crashed into them headfirst.

The wall toppled and the crates fell on top of him, pinning him to the deck. He didn’t get up after that. I smirked and let out a huge sigh of relief, glad that this was finally over. Now all I had to do was get Black Mask and end this thing once and for all. I turned my head, looking at the stairs that lead up into the cabin. As I started to go toward them, a shot rang out and a bullet hit the ground in front of me, inches from my left foot. I looked up and saw him standing at the rail on the flight desk, holding a pistol. He fired again---near my right foot. I took a step back.

“That’s far enough little girl” he said with a stern voice.

But there was something familiar about it too. I’d heard that voice before. It took me a second but finally it came back to me: it was my Dad’s boss. The guy from the warehouse, the one who tied me to the chair and tried to burn me with the red-hot crowbar. The one I ended up burning instead. That’s why I recognized the name Roman; his goons had called him that. I groaned inwardly. I wondered if he was wearing the mask to hide his burned face.
“It’s over, Sionis,” I said, not taking a step but looking at my options.

There was no way I could get up there without being shot. So that left only one other option. I slowly reached into my pouch and took out the boomerang---my batarang. If I could distract him and get a clear shot, I might be able to take the gun from him. It was a long shot but it was worth a try.

He laughed. “You think you’ve stopped me because you shut down this little operation of mine. I have business deals in several states and a big overseas market. You haven’t beaten me you just slowed me down. As soon as I dispose of you---my little nuisance---I continue right where I left off.”

“The police have Friitawa in custody, Thrill is done.”

He looked mildly surprised for a second but recovered quickly. “Thrill may be over but there are other drugs, much more potent ones.”

The sound of sirens in the distance was the distraction I was looking for. It caused him to turn his head and I let fly with the boomerang. It soared through the air right toward him. He turned and fired, blasting it out of the air. He laughed but that’s what I wanted. He lowered his gun in his laughter and that’s when I let fly with the shuriken. I figured he’d pull something like that. In fact, I counted on it. The bat shuriken whipped through the air and hit him in the hand, taking the gun from it. He screamed in pain and I charged the stairs. I took them two at a time, racing up to the top. When I got there, he was pulling Bruce’s “batarang” from his hand. He saw me and panicked. He made a run for the wheelhouse door, throwing the bat at me before turning and pulling it open. I caught it in midair and threw it back just as quickly, hitting him in the back of the leg this time.

He screamed in pain again and crumbled to the ground, halfway in the wheelhouse.

“Stay away from me” he whined as he crawled into the wheelhouse.

I walked slowly behind him, driving my foot into his back. He gasped as I knocked the wind out of him. He didn’t try to crawl away after that. I flipped him on his back. He was panting but he was still conscious. I bent down, grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him off the floor. He stared wide eyed in horror from beneath his terrifying black skull mask. Terrifying to him but not to me.

“What the hell are you?” he gasped.

“I’m the Bat,” I said and head butted him, knocking him out cold.

I dragged him over to the railing and zip cuffed him to it to leave for the police.

The police arrived a few minutes later; it looked like the whole police force. I pulled out my cell phone and called Oracle. “It’s done,” I said when she answered.

“Good now get out of there.”

I clicked off the phone and slipped into the shadows, moving down the stairs in the dark. I stayed in the shadows as the cops stormed the boat, guns drawn. There was too much activity going on for them to notice me so I managed to slip away in it. I found Tim’s bike, got on it and went back to the warehouse. When I got there, it was swarming with police too. They already had a lot of the goons in custody, dragging them outside. I slipped in through one of the open doors and looked around. Tim’s chair was empty, the cut ropes lying nearby. I sighed with relief, though I was sure he was going to be ticked when he saw his bike was gone. I’d worry about that later.

I started to walk away when I caught sight of Detective Gage. Why he was here and not at the ship was beyond me. He was bent over near the pile of glass and it took me only a second to realize what he was doing. When he stood up, he had the second bat shuriken in his hand. I sighed and took a step toward him. When he turned around I was standing there, he jumped about ten feet. After he recovered, he let out a big sigh.

“I could have shot you,” he said, his hand on his gun.

“You would have missed,” I said, plucking the shuriken out of his fingers. He didn’t even flinch.

He frowned at that. “I take it all this was your handiwork then?” he asked, waving his hands around the warehouse.

“The Black Mask is done. If you follow your men to a cargo ship on the docks, you’ll find him tied to the flight deck.”

Gage sighed in relief. “So it’s over then”

I nodded. Well maybe for him and Black Mask but not for me. He started talking some more but my mind was elsewhere. He turned around but I was already slipping away into the shadows. I didn’t want to stay around and wait for his guys to show up with cuffs for me. Like it or not, I was still breaking the law doing what I was doing. I think it was time for me to make a clean getaway. As I walked toward the door, I looked at the bat shaped thing in my hand. I was ready drop after the night I’d just had but there was one more place I had to go before I called it a night.

I headed for Tim’s motorcycle and smiled.

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I ended up driving the motorcycle to the Manor. I was going to ditch it in the alley where I parked my car but the car was gone. It seems that Tim liberated my car like I did his bike. I guess it was only fair. But I was glad to see he at least got out of there before the cops showed. I couldn’t help but think about him the whole way to the Manor. He did all of that for me and as much as I wanted to kill him for it, I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world. Stupid beyond all measure but very sweet. After our fight the other day I was convinced he wanted nothing more to do with me. When he refused to take my calls, I thought that was the end of things. I cried so many times over it. But it turns out he didn’t call because he couldn’t. I guess that brought me a tad bit of solace. But that still didn’t mean I wasn’t angry at him. As soon as I dealt with Bruce, Tim was next.

I pulled up in front of the Manor twenty minutes later, my cape flapping in the breeze. I wondered if I would have to climb the gate but as soon as the bike pulled up to it, it opened. It was clear that I was expected. I drove on through and around the side to the garage, the door opened for me. When I pulled inside, I saw my Focus. I sighed in relief again. I wasn’t sure he had taken it but I was glad he did. I pulled the bike into the only empty spot and got off. I went to my car instead of directly into the house. I opened the truck and took out the large duffel I kept there. I usually kept my costume in the trunk and my clothes in the duffel. I looked around to make I wasn’t being watched by any cameras then stripped out of the black leather suit. I groaned and winced as I did so, feeling tonight’s many bruises. When I got home, I was in need of a good soak. I tried not to think about it as I pulled on a pair of sports tights and a loose t-shirt, the clothes I usually wore after a night of crime fighting. Then I made my way for the stairs, carrying my sneaks and socks as I did so.

I went straight for the tower. Halfway there, Ace found me. He nearly bowled me over when he jumped up to lick my face. I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around him, surprised that I missed him so much. I was actually surprised that I missed this place so much. It felt like a second home to me for the time that I spent here. It was warm and welcoming, not at all scary like I first thought it was. I felt comfortable here, more so than even at home which was strange.

When I got to the tower, Alfred was waiting for me. He had a silver tray in his hand, a steaming hot cup of cocoa sitting on it. I smiled as I approached him. I took the cup and took a sip. It was made with melted hot chocolate, it was delicious. “How did you know I needed that?” I asked as I set the cup back on the tray.

He smiled. “Master Bruce likes a nice hot cup of tea after a long night. I figured this might be more appropriate.”

I smiled then nodded toward the tower. “Is he up there?”

Alfred smiled. “Yes and he’s been waiting for you.”

I smiled and kissed his cheek then made my way up the tower stairs, Ace at my heels. I took the stairs slowly, one at a time. When I got to the locked room, I fought back the urge to try the door. I knew what was on the other side. Knowing that and the last time I was here, put a fire in my belly. I took a deep breath and stormed up the rest of the stairs to the rooms up there. I threw open the door to the parlor, expecting to storm through it into Bruce’s room and chastise him for tonight. What I didn’t expect was him sitting there waiting for me. He dressed in a pair of blue silk pajamas, a cane rested across his lap. He smiled at me, stopping me dead in my tracks.

“Hello Stephanie” he said as if we’d never had an argument at all.

I stared at him wide eyed for a few seconds. I wasn’t expecting this at all. I’m not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t this.

I was speechless for a few seconds until I finally found my voice. “You have some nerve,” I said angrily.

I pulled the shuriken out of my pocket and threw it at him. The plan was to make it stick in the back of the chair near his head. But Bruce snatched it out of thin air like it was made of paper. He twirled it around his fingers lazily and then it disappeared. Poof just like that. I hadn’t realized sleight of hand was one of his tricks.

He smiled. “I studied with an illusionist for a few months when I was about your age or so.”

I frowned. “Cheap tricks aren’t going to stem off how pissed I am at you right now.”

He smiled some more. “Neither is that smile of yours?” I added quickly.

He nodded. “I imagine you’re not really sure what to make of what’s going on. A month ago I was bed ridden and tonight---you already know by now---I was throwing these things” He flashed the shuriken in his hand. “Into lights. I haven’t been entirely honest with you.”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “You think?”

He smiled and grabbed the cane. He stared at it for a few seconds then used it to push himself to his feet. I looked at the cane and wondered if it was for my benefit or for his. He seemed to know I noticed but he didn’t get rid of it. He winked though which meant it was a fake. He walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. He held it there for some time and then sighed. Then he brushed some of my hair out of my face. “I was trying to keep you safe from harm,” he said finally.

I pushed away from him. “What is it with men in this house and thinking they have to protect me? I can handle myself.”

Bruce laughed. “I’ve noticed.” He looked at the shuriken. “You definitely proved that tonight and every other night for that matter. I’m really proud of what you’ve accomplished in such a short time too.”

I smiled. “I had help.”

He nodded. “Barbara and Onyx have been keeping me well informed.”

I frowned at that even though Babs told me Bruce was keeping tabs. “So what’s all this been then, some kind of fun for you?”

He shook his head. “On the contrary. When I first started allowing you to do this, I thought about you as a replacement. I’d given up after my accident. But after you showed me how much you cared about the people of this city and you and Tim tried to take care of it in my stead I realized that this was much bigger than me. I forgot why I got into this in the first place.”

I nodded. “So that’s why you helped me tonight?”

“Yes” he said and then smiled. “That’s why I want to continue to help you too.”

Now I was confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Onyx has taught you everything that she can. If you’re going to continue this---if we’re going to continue this---then you need a new teacher.”

I was shocked. “What are you saying exactly?”

“I’m saying that if you’ll have me, I want to teach you everything that I know.”

He held out his hand. I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure what to do or say. I wanted to take his hand but at the same time, there were so many things I wanted to do with my life. Did I want to spend all my free time stalking the city, looking for bad guys? I only did this because he refused to help me and now here he was extending his hand to me, asking to help me. It was all a bit daunting. But exciting too. This is what I wanted; this is what I’ve always wanted. Here was my chance, a chance to become the person that maybe I was meant to be. I was scared out of my mind when I looked at his hand but at the same time I was more excited than I’d ever felt in my entire life.

I took a deep breath. I can do this I think. I reached for his hand and stopped. “If I do this there can’t be any more secrets, understood?”

He nodded. “No more secrets, I promise.”

I smiled. “Then you’ve got yourself a deal”

I shook his hand and in doing so felt like I was finally where I was meant to be.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here is is at last, the final bit of I Am the Night. I want to thank everyone who had a hand in helping me write this...I think you all know who you are. Seeing as I started with the Bat I only felt it was fair to end with him too. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for their character.

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Epilogue:

“Miss Stephanie is on her way home sir,” said Alfred as he walked back into the room.

I smiled at him and nodded. Alfred didn’t smile back. I knew that look on his face, he was criticizing my actions. He’d been giving me that look every night since Stephanie came into my life. He thought I was being too standoffish, too secretive with her. He wasn’t far off. She was so much like her mother that it sometimes hurt to even look at her. Even when she was a guy in girls’ clothing, she looked like Crystal. Not that Stephanie was ever a boy. Now that she was physically a girl she had really blossomed, even Tim could attest to that. Before there was this unhappiness about her that seemed to bring the mood of everyone around her down with her. That sadness was gone now and in its place was a young woman that would have made her mother proud to see.

I sighed as I stood up from my chair. After agreeing to be my student, she and I talked for a few hours. I knew I was being selfish but I didn’t want her to go. Each night after work, ---before she got mad at me---I had a hard time letting her go. It broke my heart when she walked out of the room and went home. Especially when it was to that bastard. Every time she walked out that door, it was like her mother dying on me again. Even now, that’s all I could think about. When I closed my eyes, I could see Crystal’s smiling face and it hurt so much. It hurt as much as losing my parents. When Crystal died, the world fell apart. I felt horrible not being there for her daughter when she needed me, not being there when I should have been.

“Wallowing in the past again, sir?” asked Alfred.

I smiled. “You know me too well, old friend,” I said, looking down at the cane in my hands.

I tossed it aside and went back to my room. I stripped out of my pajamas and put on some normal clothes. I was tired of the pajamas. They were for Stephanie’s benefit not mine. I was still mending when she first walked through my door but just barely. In truth, I was about ninety percent but I kept up the charade so she would come every day. It was necessary to see if she was like I thought. I suspected there was something different about her mother after only a few times with her. She was the brightest, smartest person I ever met. It crushed me when she met Arthur. Arthur wasn’t good for her. He was only attracted to her looks, not her mind. Crystal had a great mind though. She could solve complicated math problems at the drop of a hat and the rate at which she could absorb information was phenomenal. Back then there was no such things as Metas---I didn’t actually hear the term until I was off on my own.

I met a man. He was rough and rugged on the outside but very fair. I trained with him for a few months. I knew something was wrong when he didn’t get tired like I did after every sparring match. I didn’t discover his secret until I accidentally cut him during a sword fight. I watched in amazement as his wound healed. It was the strangest and the most amazing thing I’d ever seen. He could have lied to me then but he didn’t. He told me what he was and how it was important not to tell anyone else. I gave him my word but that didn’t stop him from leaving the next morning. I moved on from there but I couldn’t help but wonder if there were more like him out there. I never suspected Crystal of being one but it was clear there was something different about her. Her twin sister didn’t have any extraordinary gifts but Crystal was so wonderful that she had to be different. I never pursued it though. When I met Stephanie for the first time, things started to go into perspective. Metas were out in the open now and they were cropping up all over the place. I’d met quite a few of them myself, helped them in some cases, even fought with a handful of them. Stephanie was like her mother. She had that same spunk, that same spark.

When she came back after her father was arrested, Leslie confirmed it for me. Stephanie was a Meta just like I suspected her mother might be. To say that I was thrilled was an understatement. I’d long given up on my crime fighting. Not because I wanted to but because I lost the passion for it. I was no match for the Metas out there. When I saw Stephanie, saw how passionate she was for these kinds of things I got fearful for her. Tim had already started taking up my mantle as the city’s protector. He came home each night with numerous bruises. I couldn’t help but see Stephanie with the same and it pained me a great deal. So I put her through her paces when she first got here just to see if she could do it. She surprised me but then again she was her mother’s daughter. But when she found my equipment and came to me asking for me to help her, I couldn’t do it.

I was scared to lose her like I lost her mother. Like I lost my parents.

But she went and did it anyway. There was no stopping her. That’s when Barbara suggested we help her without her knowing. So I called Onyx---an old friend, and we started. Stephanie didn’t know I was behind it all and I liked it that way. When the press dubbed her the Bat, I let her go with it. I was curious to see how she developed. She surprised me. She did more for the city than I ever did. She destroyed Thrill, took out a powerful drug dealer and befriended one of the city’s finest. She did it with style too and charisma, enough to make anyone proud. She also put a fire in me again. Hearing about her in action, secretly watching her training sessions with Onyx, I realized why I started all this in the first place. It was never about me, it was about helping people and making sure no one ever had to feel the pain I felt.

I’m not sure where I lost that drive but seeing Stephanie do what I should have been doing got me to find my drive again.

Alfred cleared his throat. “You’re staring off into space sir,” he said with a smile.

“Just thinking about whether I did the right thing or not.”

“About Miss Stephanie?” he asked and I nodded. He chuckled.

“Take it from someone who knows. If a young person gets a crazy enough idea in their head, there’s nothing you can do to stop them.”

I smiled at that. “You sure tried.”

“May I make a suggestion sir?”

“Since when have you had to ask?”

“The lies sir” he said as if I didn’t make my remark. “You told her you weren’t going to lie to her anymore and yet you kept the greatest one from her.”

I frowned. He and I had had this conversation before, a hundred times in fact. It never got us anywhere. “I’m protecting her.”

Alfred frowned. “You’re a fool that’s what you were. That young woman is marvelous; you don’t give her enough credit. But to make her think that that man is her…”

I cut him off with the raising of my hand. “It’s not time. When she’s ready…”

Alfred frowned. “It’s only going to get harder as time goes on.”
I nodded. I wasn’t home when Crystal announced she was pregnant. I didn’t come home when she had the child either. I was so busy trying to get revenge that it clouded my judgment. She and I left on bad terms. She was dating Arthur and I hated him. I wanted her to leave that jerk and run off with me. There was some nasty words exchanged on both our parts and I ran away. It was that argument that led me into becoming the man I am today. If not for Crystal I would still been that lonely boy waiting for his parents to come home. She helped create the Bat in her own right and I was forever thankful for her. When I finally got back into the city, the baby was grown and her mother gone. It hurt so much to know that the last conversation I had with the woman I loved was with such anger.

I opened my mouth to respond when there was a knock on the door. I didn’t even get a chance to say come in before the door opened. Tim was standing there, shirtless. His body was wrapped in gauze, his bruised face severely swollen. He looked like he’d been hit by a truck. When he stumbled out of Stephanie’s car, I feared the worst. He was so battered that he collapsed in Alfred’s arms. Thankfully, my old friend was a field medic in the army or else Tim would have been in a lot worse shape than he was. I definitely didn’t want Leslie here if I could help it. She didn’t agree with my nocturnal activities at all. She didn’t like the fact that I dragged Tim into it either. Not that I had much of a choice in the matter. When he found out what I was doing, he wanted to be a part of it. He said he owed it to his family too. So I trained himself myself.

He was leaning against the doorframe. “Did Stephanie leave?”

“About five minutes ago” I said and saw the look of disappoint on his face.

When I saw him show interest in her at first I was a bit peeved. There was no way I’d ever let him anywhere near her…anywhere near my…Tim was a good kid but he formed attachments that were too strong. He’d date a lot of girls on the side but he always found one that he loved above all others. Ariana was a fling, something I knew he did to make Stephanie jealous. But there was another girl he’d been serious about and loved her a great deal. She broke his heart when she left and he went into a dark place. Tim had a lot of dark moods. That was one of the reasons why I didn’t want him to do what I did. He was too brash, too violent and head strong. When he started donning his own costume, skulking about in the night, I didn’t have the strength at the time to stop him. But as I started to mend, I realized that I needed to curve him. So I suggested Oracle. She helped him, aiming him in the right direction. He was still brash but he had a purpose. He felt that if he could pick up where I left off---looking into Thrill---then he might prove to me that he could be the hero that I was. Then Stephanie came into our lives and I saw that same look of longing in his eyes. That same passion. I knew what would happen if he fell in love with her and she didn’t return it.

He did too. But to my surprise, she did as well. It was a little rough at first but I came to accept it. Not that I liked it but I understood Tim would pursue her even if I tried to stop it. So I was letting it go for now. Stephanie was a smart girl and I trusted her judgment. Tim was a good kid but he needed discipline and maybe she would be the one to give it to him.

“Master Tim you should be resting” said Alfred as he walked over and helped Tim to a chair.

My battered ward was currently hobbling with a limp.

Tim waved Alfred off as he sat. “I hate lying there and doing nothing, Al”.

“You’ve done enough, Master Tim.”

He frowned at that. I could tell he knew he was in for a scolding. Not from me though. As much as I wanted to chew him out for going off half cocked like that, I was done lecturing. Alfred on the other hand didn’t share my reluctance. I sat with an amused smile as my oldest friend in the world berated the young fool. It went on for a while and Tim took it without saying a word. But his posture told me everything. His head was hanging low and his shoulders slumped like a child who knew they’d done something wrong. It was the first time I’d seen something like that in him. I couldn’t help but smile and realize that maybe Stephanie was the best thing for him after all.

“Stephanie is coming back tomorrow after school” I said, Tim’s head perked up. “I’m taking over her training. If you were to show up in the Gym I wouldn’t refuse you as well.”

He smiled. “I won’t screw up this time.”

“You better not because this is the last chance I’m giving you.”

He nodded and with that, he stood up. I held out my hand and he shook it. Then he nodded to Alfred and hobbled out the door. As soon as he gone, I looked at my watch and cursed. Alfred turned and frowned.

“Really sir, you’re just like Master Tim.”

“I’m sorry Alfred but I have a meeting.”

He looked at his own watch. “It’s nearly four am.”

I smiled. “The person I’m meeting with has strange hours.”

“I’ll bring the car around” he groaned and left the room.

I smiled. Out of all the people in my life, he was the most reliable.

______________________________

The meeting was in the Narrows in one of the locations I recently procured from Henry Ballard. I say procure but the truth in the matter was I took it in a hostile takeover. Now that Ballard was in prison---for a very long time---his company was in shambles. It didn’t long for me to acquire it. Most of his property was like the one I was currently standing in front of. He had a lot of old real estate, claiming to have purchased it to develop into high-rise condos. But the truth in the matter was that he ran illegal operations out such places. When I got his company, I got a look at his books and found that Ballard had had his hand in a lot of this mess. When Booster Gold took him down---with my help---things were cracked wide open for the world to see.

“Are you sure this is the place?”asked Alfred with a shudder.

It was clear he didn’t like where we were. How could he. The place was dark and dank, the buildings all close together with tight shadows in-between them. It was the perfect place for an ambush. It was also the perfect place to meet someone who didn’t fit in well in a boardroom. It was my choice to meet here not theirs. In fact, when they first contacted me with their proposal I wanted nothing to do with it. The technology they were offering didn’t interest me in the least. But after my run in with Diego, the world had changed for me. After wallowing in pity for a long time, I realized that if I still wanted to continue then I needed to step up my game. So I made some calls and came to a beneficial arrangement. It was a onetime deal and it cost a fortune but it was worth it in the end. I got what I wanted and my “friend” got a lot of money.

“This is the place,” I said, sticking my hands into my overcoat pockets.

Alfred glanced around wearily. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll wait in the car. This skulking about in the dark is your business.”

I chuckled. “Suit yourself; I’ll only be a minute.”

I left my fearful butler outside as I made my way in. The building was falling apart. It was old and worn down. At one time, it had been a part of a series of fine upscale apartments. But that was back fifty years ago. When the city started to develop further this part was completely abandoned. It was on the darker side of the Narrows where few dared to tread. Ballard bought the whole block from Carmine Falcone, who knows where he got it from. When Ballard was arrested, Falcone tried to buy it back from me but I’m not the kind of guy who does business with mobsters. I respectfully declined and he went back under whatever rock he crawled out from. Now that Sionis was out of the picture I was fairly certain Falcone would move into his territory anyway. I still owned most of that area but having been out of the game for several months now, it was teeming with scum. Stephanie and Tim had helped to clean a lot of it up but without constant enforcement, it wouldn’t be long before it filled up again.

I guess I was going to have to change that.

I found a flight of rickety stairs that led up to the top floor. I climbed them cautiously and made my way down the narrow hall to the last room on the left. When I got there, the door was already open and a small table was set up. I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. As soon as I did so my “friend” stepped out of the shadows, half of them still hidden, the other half partially visible in the light shining through the window. I saw long legs encased in black leather and knee-high boots.

“You’re late Mr. Wayne,” said a purring female voice.

I smirked. “I had some other business first.”

The person shifted and her leg disappeared. “Do you have the money?”

I reached into my coat and took out a pen and my checkbook. I walked over to the table and filled out the check. I ripped it off and left it there. “I’ll leave you to fill in the name, Miss…”

“That’s not important,” she said, taking a step forward.

She placed a large metal case on the floor in front of her. I stared at the case before taking a step toward it. I picked it up and carried it over to the table. As I was doing so, she stepped out of the shadows fully for the first time. She was tall and leggy, dressed all in black. She was a very beautiful woman but most of her features were obscured in shadows. She picked up the check and purred. I watched her with interest. Then she walked around the table. She swayed her hips as she approached me before putting her hands on my shoulders. She leaned in for a kiss and I didn’t resist. We held it for a long time before she pulled away then licked my cheek long and slow.

When she done she smiled. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Wayne”

She waved a bit and slipped back into the shadows.

I stood flabbergasted for a long time, staring at the dark. What a woman!

After I recovered, I opened the case and took a look inside. I smiled at what I saw. She did good work. I took off my coat, unbuttoned my shirt and slowly started to put on everything that was inside. Ten minutes later, I was down. I opened the window and jumped down to the street. When I landed, I didn’t feel the impact at all, the suit absorbing everything. It felt absolutely wonderful. In fact, it was better than wonderful. She did really good work. Alfred turned around and jumped slightly. He took a step back and then sighed, finally realizing who it was.

“So this is what all the secrecy has been about?” he asked with a frown.

“It was necessary to keep up the secrecy so as not to worry you my friend,” I said, the new tone of my voice amplified by the suit I was wearing.

“So is this truly the course you want to take?”

I nodded. “Stephanie and Tim have been holding down the fort very well. But I think it’s about time that I get back into the swing of things.”

“So in other words, I should expect you home at odd hours for a while now?”

I nodded. “Yes just like old times.”

He rolled his eyes. “Here we go again.”

He turned and walked back to the car, opening the door and getting inside without saying another word.

Me I went to the nearest building and climbed up it without a problem. The suit was amazing, having enhanced my agility and strength. When I made it to the top, I stood on the edge and stared out at the Narrows, my black cape billowing in the cold breeze. I stood and stared for a long time. It felt good to be here again, it felt right. After a minute or two, I tapped my left pointed ear, activating the radio inside of it. I made sure it was patched in to where I wanted it to go. “Oracle, do you copy?”

A few seconds later, her voice came on the line. “Bruce, is that you?”

“Not Bruce, not while I’m dressed like this.”

She sighed. “I know the drill. So what do I call you then?”

I smiled. “The Batman.”

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF