02 The Sewer
Ed walked off the headshot just a minute after impact, so I did too, eventually. No concussions, thankfully. Dick let out a relieved breath when Ed was given the all clear, but that left him free to start leering at me out of the corner of his eye. I left school with my shoulders hunched slightly higher than usual because I couldn't help but notice the constant suspicious looks.
And then I had to not react to the looks because I didn't want to give up the fact that I knew that he knew that something was up with me!
I didn't see Dick after leaving the classroom, but Dick was being trained by the Dark Knight himself. There was no way he was going to put himself somewhere easily noticeable if he decided to tail me. And I didn't have the super hearing necessary to pinpoint which of the footsteps I was hearing were actually his. If he chose to follow me home, he very might well do so without me being any the wiser.
It certainly had me extra paranoid as I descended to the subway, compounded by the fact that since I had to assume there to be a tail on me I couldn't start rubbernecking.
Though, I did wonder at the impression I was giving him specifically as I pulled on my trendy gloves, put on my sunglasses – which I didn't take off underground – and slipped on my favourite hoodie over my uniform. It was that time of the day that I underwent my transformation from oddly put together student to typical gotham citizen.
I was just zipping my bag back up when the train I'd come to take departed from the station.
Given the chances of there being a Boy Wonder watching me from somewhere, I'd decided not to go straight home. Because, if he was going to arrive at the truth eventually, why not give him a few harengs rouges along the way?
I walked to the edge of the train platform, following the direction that the train was going. When the last train car had disappeared into the tunnel I dropped down onto the railway track and, with one look cast over my shoulder that predictably didn't find anything, walked after the disappearing lights of the train I'd just missed.
– > ( ) < –
Dick Grayson
A certain Boy Wonder currently pressing himself against the subway pillar was having trouble deciding if he was feeling vindicated about his decision to spend time following a random classmate home.
Alessa, whose family name Dick still had yet to determine, stuck out amongst his classmates in how much she didn't stand out. Her description was nothing too special. Long hair a shade darker than Dick's own, which reached halfway down Alessa's shoulder blades. Blue eyes that were clear and pale skin that was just dark enough to fend off any accusations of her being Irish. As for her stature, Alessa was slight but not unhealthily so. If not for her seeming status as a loner, she was a picture of perfect health.
And that was at odds with the unathletic persona that Dick suspected she was putting on.
Having decided to follow Alessa after school on a whim, Dick observed behaviour that was even more so at odds with her unassuming personality. All the extra identity concealing gear was eyebrow raising, and the way Alessa had just casually dropped onto the train tracks and walked away served to raise that eyebrow even further. This, when the eyebrow was already up because of how Alessa had brushed off that headshot in the dodgeball game.
And that suspicion had cast new light on some of the other things Dick had noticed about his suspicious classmate. That being, how she always seemed to be aware of him, even if she didn't act like it. The fact that he had been the one to initiate conversations with her when most of the rest of the class had found some excuse to strike up a conversation with him. And that laugh when Gertrude and Tracy had been talking about his alter ego.
The awareness was something that Dick didn't have any evidence for, only a gut feeling. But Batman occasionally operated in strange ways without evidence too, and the only explanation he ever offered was 'I knew something was wrong.'
But it was that last thing that stuck in his mind the most. The rest could be explained by her being shy with a crush, but the timing of that last would require Alessa know that Dick was Robin, and that was just ridiculous. It was an enigma, a puzzle that Dick was missing essential pieces to solve. And now that he was aware of a few pieces, he wanted to solve it.
Which left Dick with a choice. Follow Alessa into the subway in an attempt to find out what she was doing in there, or turn around and bring this up with Batman.
In the end, Dick surprised himself.
– > ( ) < –
I used the echoing sound of footsteps in the train tunnel to check if someone was following me.
The tunnel was long enough that if I followed the track until it went above ground, I'd hear the footfalls of anyone following after me. At least, if they chose to follow me through the tunnel and weren't trained in the art of stealth by a ninja or someone who had been trained by a ninja. That was why I took a left hand turn when one came up.
It wasn't a turn I made blindly. Back before I naturalised into the orphanage and then my current residence, I made do with what I could find, scrounging around down here where the sun don't shine. My super hearing, while not capable of hearing a spoken insult from more than three rooms over, was more than enough for a rudimentary echolocation in these tunnels. My turn took me to an access tunnel for the subway's rusting HVAC system, and by sliding down a wide duct with the fans punched out (by other people, not me,) I ended up in the old stormwater drainage system that just so happened to have an access hole nearby my apartment building.
Was this dangerous? Yes.
…
For a normal person, anyway.
Was this an unhealthy route for me to take in the long run? Also yes.
Did I care? Not really.
As far as I was concerned, I was strong enough. Already I was constantly nervous about how I needed to treat wood like styrofoam, I had no interest in getting strong to the point that hard steel became cardboard.
Today had been overcast, as ever, but there hadn't been any rain for the past two days. The old tunnels made to transport storm water were consequently rather dry, leaving me plenty of space to walk along without getting my shoes wet. My shoes didn't even echo that much from the build up of lichen on the bricks, so the most notable sounds were the rumblings from the cars rolling around the city up above. And I could only hear that because of my enhanced ears.
Only a few brave sorts frequented these bowels of Gotham. There were a few areas where the storm water had been diverted to more modern systems, but I stayed away from those. Too loud, and much more importantly, too stinky. I had nothing against the homeless sorts that ended up there, personally. Well, nothing but the super smell.
So I stayed away unless I needed something. And now that I had a home, I never really went to those places.
Outside of those homeless hot spots the storm water tunnels were generally deserted. The constant trickle of water could easily change to a roaring deluge if it started raining hard enough, and the only signs of that happening would be the water level rising. Navigating back to a safe area was difficult if one wasn't familiar with the twists and turns of these tunnels, and that was before taking into account the running water.
I had encountered more than one partial skeleton in my time exploring here. Other travellers like myself were rare. Rare, but not unprecedented.
"New smell lingers on you," a rumbling voice growled from a small feeder pipe leading into the one I was traversing.
I stopped, but I wasn't surprised. Crocodile was quiet when he wanted to be, but his claws still made noise when they clicked against the concrete. The situation was a familiar one. He had heard an intruder in his tunnels and came to investigate, and I had heard him long before walking into his pouncing range.
"Really?" I asked, wondering what he was talking about. I had met Robin recently, but we hadn't touched at all.
The dark crouching menacing mass filling the feeder tunnel that I could easily stand in let out a breath that both growled and rumbled. He inhaled through his nostrils before continuing. "Sour. Like your old smell."
"Hm…" In the end, I let it pass. "And how have you been? I've had school so it's been a while."
Six hundred odd pounds of muscle and hide looked at me as if they couldn't believe I had really just asked that question.
I looked right back and blinked.
"Summer chills," Crocodile eventually said.
"You really should move somewhere where the sun actually shines," I suggested, not for the first time. "With how much you complain about it, you'd think you were cold blooded."
Crocodile stilled for a moment, pausing even his breath.
I took a moment to meet his glassy eyes, and maintained the moment until he blinked and sneered.
"I am not cold blooded."
My eyes narrowed on him, but he didn't elaborate or backpedal.
"If you say so," I said with a shrug.
"I say so."
"So… It was nice seeing you again," I said, bulling through the awkwardness. "Unless this was a social call?"
"No."
"Then be well, Crocodile." I gave him a wave and went on my way.
"Wait."
I stopped, because that was the politest request I had ever received from him. I turned and waited with interest.
"New scent at my hole entrances," Crocodile finally said with halting speech. "Unfamiliar."
"And?"
"I am a freak," Crocodile snarled, and I carefully did not respond in any way. "But still, I hear things. Stories whispered by downtrodden. Legends passed between crooks. My holes are far apart, and the same scent lingers at each."
"You think Batman is tracking you down," I concluded.
"Setting traps," Crocodile growled.
I crossed my arms, giving this at least the thought it deserved. The things Croc had done were no secret, I had spent some time in the library going through the old newspaper articles since we'd first met and knew what the details were. But on the other morally grey shoulder, he hadn't done any more of that stuff since. At least nothing that made it to the papers.
"If I get caught up in anything criminal, I get sent to juvi," I said, which was hyperbolic, but got the point across. What would actually happen is my mother becoming disappointed in me. That sounded less bad, but I found the latter much scarier than the former. "With that in mind, what are you asking of me?"
Crocodile made a rasping sound that I quickly realised was actually laughter. "Strength and power like ours cannot be contained."
I arched an eyebrow and elected not to comment.
He calmed down when he saw how unimpressed I was. Before continuing, Crocodile came out of the feeder pipe he had spent the entire conversation in so far and rose to his full height. The little nubs on his head came close to scraping against the brick ceiling. I, meanwhile, would need to jump with an arm above my head to do the same.
"Spring a trap for me," Crocodile gravelled.
"Didn't you just hear me?" I demanded.
"You worry about police. I do not." Crocodile lowered himself to be closer to my height. He still towered over me, but we both knew the power dynamic was still the same. "And there will be no police, I know their frightened scent. You will spring a trap of the Bat's for me."
– > ( ) < –
Robin, the Boy Wonder
"You are distracted," Batman stated.
"How could you te-!" Robin's answer was cut off as the larger man struck towards his shoulder, spinning the Boy Wonder and leaving him dazed for long enough to be pinned down and restrained.
Three counts passed before Batman let up, leaving Robin to return to his feet on his own. He did so with a handstand leap, and less than ten seconds later Robin and Batman were circling each other again in the improvised sparring area they'd set up in the batcave. In anticipation of the next bout Robin produced his eskrima sticks and twirled them in preparation.
"Tell me," Batman said as he slowed to a stop.
"I just noticed something strange about one of my classmates," Robin said as he too came to a stop. He lowered one stick in front of him while moving the other to a position that was good to strike from.
"Which one?"
"..." Robin hesitated in answering. Then, before he could overcome that hesitation, he swung his stick at Batman who had taken that moment to charge.
The swing missed, ducked under by the barest of margins, and then Robin was desperately fending off blow after blow as Batman kept up the pressure. The clash came to a head as Robin jumped over the head of his mentor, then landed low, swinging both eskrima sticks around in an attempt to sweep the Dark Knight. Instead, the first swung its full arc without hitting anything but Batman's cape, and Robin found a hand on his head pushing him to the ground.
Robin tried to twist under him, to get his feet in a good position to push Batman away, but was ultimately too restrained to do much without risking injury. He relaxed after three seconds and was subsequently released.
"Ugh." Robin was a little slower returning to his feet after that putdown. He took the time to catch his breath before twirling his eskrima sticks and juggling them twice before catching them, ready for the next bout. "We were playing dodgeball today, and they took a ball to the head without blinking. They tried to play it off, but when I gave an identical strike to Ed, he wasn't nearly so sturdy."
"You struck one of your classmates."
Robin flinched. "Yeah, I got caught up in the moment. Don't worry, I made my apologies."
Batman narrowed his eyes at Robin.
"I let his team win the next round…" Robin admitted, raising both hands in playful surrender.
"Hmph." Batman glanced to the side, and rose from his combat stance. Robin similarly relaxed, though he still kept an eye on him. It wouldn't be the first time Batman had called a false end to their training session.
The direction Batman was looking was towards the batcomputer, as Robin called it. Looking over himself, he noticed the blinking lights had changed. Whatever that meant was for Batman to know, and maybe tell him.
Batman walked off towards the computer with deceptive speed.
Well, Robin pondered, it wouldn't be a 'maybe' if that maybe sometimes meant 'no.'
"You believe your classmate to be a metahuman," Batman finally said after pressing a few buttons and narrowing his bat-eyes at the bat-screen.
"Maybe," Robin allowed with a partial nod. "There are aliens as well. Like the ones you've been talking to. I've heard talk of a Justice League?"
Batman didn't pause in whatever he was doing, but he did turn those narrowed eyes on Robin after he finished typing.
Smirking, Robin continued. "And there's other explanations too. Read in your network that there's a confirmed magic user that comes through Gotham from time to time?"
"That file was encrypted," Batman stated.
Robin allowed himself a huff and kept going. "Just saying that maybe there's some truth to old legends. You know, vampires, draugr, wendigos… I've seen posts online claiming that you're a vampire because you only go out at night, and your symbol is a bat which vampires turn into sometimes."
Having taken in that information, Batman returned his attention to the bat-screen, giving Robin no further acknowledgement on the topic. After pressing a few more buttons and setting the machine to idle mode, Batman started moving to the batmobile. The top opened at some unseen signal, allowing him to jump in.
"An alarm just went off by one of Waylon Jones' known access points to the stormwater tunnels," Batman said, and Robin made a face.
"Killer Croc?" he asked. "I dunno. Doesn't he eat people?"
"That's what I'm going to check."
And with that, the top of the batmobile slid shut, and the vehicle sped off before Robin could say another word.
"It appears, Master Dick, that Master Bruce has decided you may have some 'self study' this evening."
Robin didn't jump at the sound of the British butler announcing his presence. Alfred had already gotten him that way too many times for Robin to allow him that satisfaction.
"Oh, that's good," Robin said, finally stowing his eskrima sticks and making his way over to the motorcycle. "I had an extracurricular project I wanted to work on."
"Perhaps it was a tacit invitation for you to spend time with a friend made at school," Alfred continued. The older man was making his way over to the fighting ring they had been using, and had a mop in hand that was at odds with his sharp tuxedo, off to start cleaning up a mess that Robin honestly couldn't see. "Or, perhaps, a chance to pursue a childhood crush."
"Pfft." Robin tried to keep it in, but shortly broke out into some very amused laughter. "Oh, haha. No. I don't think that applies here."
"If you say so, Master Dick."
"Yes," Robin said, starting up the motorcycle's engine and kicking back the stand. "I do say so."
03 First Contact
"This is stupid," I said, not for the first, tenth, or possibly hundredth time.
Because it really was.
Since that chance encounter with Crocodile, I had continued on my way home. After checking in with Mom, I went to my room and picked up an old bag. Into that bag I put several things.
A pair of gloves that had been trendy about two years ago that somehow still fit. An old pair of baggy cargo pants that I didn't really wear anymore, along with a shirt and hoodie that were the same. The old boots with the logos removed also went into the bag, albeit into a different pocket. But for my identity protection I decided to adopt a black bandana, plus a mask I'd tinkered with in anticipation of something like this. That last required batteries and a scattering of other components that I took extra care with.
Then I threw in a screwdriver because I wouldn't be opening those components without ruining them otherwise.
With all that stowed, I called out to mom, "I'm out to do some unscrupulous stuff!"
"Stay safe!" she called back. Then she comprehended what I was saying right as I was closing the front door. "Wait, what did you say you were doing!?"
But I was already far enough away that I only heard that because of my super hearing.
The truth was, I'd been preparing in my own way for the eventual call to action. Knowing what I knew and being where I was meant that these things weren't a possibility but an eventuality. I had been caught off guard by the call coming from Croc specifically, but if doing this could stop a couple rampages I had to see where it went. That didn't mean I was being stupid about it.
Descending back down into the old stormwater system, I found a trusty alcove and changed into my 'Do-No-Good-er' costume. The beige cargo pants were the brightest coloured piece of clothing I put on, with the shirt being black and the hoodie maroon red. My once-trendy gloves were blue, way back when, but now were mostly dirt coloured. I fiddled with the mask before putting it on, since it was the face of my 'Do-No-Good-er' identity.
I had started with a simple gas mask, one which had two filters because that was what matched my vision. The plastic visor, which wouldn't have actually protected my identity, I had done away with, and had stretched some black fabric across the parts that remained leaving only the filters uncovered. In between the layers I had inserted an LED strip that was programmed to visualise data from the other electronic components I had installed. That being the speakers I had replaced the actual filter pads with.
Gas attacks weren't really a concern, given my physiology. I'd just not breathe for an hour.
Joker gas would go straight through a store bought gas mask, anyway
Plus, the speakers would play my own voice with distortion, and the LEDs would play a speaking animation when I talked above a certain volume, which was really neat! The idle animation was a grinning mouth with sharp fangs, and the speaking frames used the same style.
Really, it had all taken way too long to get it set up. But I had the software assets stored separately, as well as enough components that I could recreate the mask if it got damaged.
As for what I used to keep the top half of my face obscured, it was a simple black bandana. I hadn't been able to find a plain black bandana, so mine had some vague white patterns on it. Still, it worked well enough when I folded it in half along opposite corners and put it on so that it covered my eyes along with any skin that my refurbished gas mask failed to. Then there was the added benefit of the bandana catching any stray hairs that didn't want to stay tied back in the hair tie I was using.
I wasn't really impeded by the fabric. In one part because the fabric being so close to my eyes meant that I could see through the bandana, and in another part because my x-ray vision… meant that I could see… through the bandana…
The point was that with everything on and my hood up, I looked really cool!
So. It was like that that I went to the spot Crocodile had directed me toward, a pipe that exited into the river on the south west side of Gotham. There was a heady dip in the ground underneath the pipe's exit, but it was low tide so I was able to hop over to the muddy earth beside that. Once, there were bars preventing entry and exit in the manner I was using, but with Crocodile using this place that wasn't really a concern.
I'd have been able to bend them with a little elbow grease besides. But musing over long gone iron bars wasn't why I was here.
My eyes roved over the terrain outside the tunnel, but didn't find anything, and I'd actually spent quite some time searching so I felt confident with that result. Then I noticed the open pipe I'd just come from. If Batman was tracking the entrances and exits through this place, where better than in the pipe?
Hopping back over with ease that I normally didn't indulge in, I walked along with my eyes pointed up. Sure enough, there, where the mortar had deteriorated between two bricks, was the reflective sheen of a camera lens. Fortunately, this section of the pipe was narrow, so I was able to reach up and pry it from its perch without needing to jump.
"You're not Crocodile," a deep voice said from behind me, giving me a hell of a fright. I nearly jumped! Fortunately, I was able to limit my reaction, but I only limited it to breaking the camera in my hand.
Turning, I saw him standing at the end of the drain, silhouetted by the city lights reflecting off of the river slowly flowing behind him.
"No," I said, my own voice distorted and made deep by my mask. There were four layers of asymmetrical distortion playing, each through different speakers, and with my own actual voice being muffled behind the mask. "I am not."
"Why are you here?" Batman demanded.
"Why are you?" I returned, and had to smother my reaction when I saw his eyes narrow at me. "Crocodile and me have an agreement," I continued, because antagonising Batman was a terrible idea. "In this case, he smelled a new scent in his territory, and I'm investigating because I haven't committed any crimes."
With my stance established, I dropped the ruined camera and put my hands in my pockets to wait.
After a long, nerve wracking stand off, my patience was rewarded.
"Waylon Jones has killed, and remains at large," Batman finally said. "If he isn't brought to justice, he will kill again."
"He hasn't killed since I met him," I said. "Though he did try with me."
Batman waited and watched me.
I gave a shrug. "We established a pecking order." And because of that, I would never fully shake the feeling of my arm being inside another person's throat. Thank the red sun my invulnerability was ahead of my other powers.
"Then who are you?"
I gave another shrug.
"If you are defending Waylon, then this won't end the way you think."
"If you insist on detaining the Killer Croc, then you will cause more damage than would be considered… worth it."
Again, those eyes narrowed on me.
I took my hands out of my pockets and lifted them to either side. "I myself won't fight you, not with anything more than words. I am here as a mouthpiece for an acquaintance. And I have to ask, would it not be better to make a deal with him?"
"A deal."
"Not of cooperation. Of non-aggression. So long as he doesn't cause undue chaos, you don't come down on him as the hammer of justice."
Once again, Batman waited.
"Think it over," I said as I turned away. "Waylon's old friends were all killed by Gotham's underbelly and he retaliated. Were he not capable of tearing apart steel bars and cracking concrete like candy, I would speak differently on the matter of his arrest. But now, he's one of the… ah, what do you call them? A sleeping dog? He can entertain himself, but what he needs is a consistent source of food." I leaned back towards Batman, being intentionally unnatural with my movement. "Fish can be so tasteless in these waters, I've heard."
I didn't look back. Batman would already be gone if I did anyway.
– > ( ) < –
Robin, the Boy Wonder
Less than an hour after Batman had left him to his own devices, Robin had successfully broken into the electronic database of Gotham City High School and taken all the information he was interested in. By the time that hour ticked over to the next one, Robin had traveled to one of the addresses he had found and was staking the place out. While he waited for something to happen, he went over the data he had scraped.
Alessa Fields, Robin's most suspicious classmate, had more similarities to Dick Grayson than he had initially assumed. The school noted that she had an adoptive mother, meaning that Alessa was likely an orphan. And a recent adoptee too, going by how she didn't have a record from any middle schools. Flicking through the written reports from the parent teacher interviews, all accounts suggested a good relationship between the adoptive mother and daughter.
Paging back through Alessa's report cards, her strong subjects were maths and the sciences, while her language and history grades lagged. Dick had only taken the entrance tests so far so it was hard to say how he measured up, though he was confident in being better at her weaker subjects at least. One throughline Dick identified was Alessa's reluctance to make friends.
Which, as he read further, was not counterbalanced by her being a bully victim. In fact, every teacher's comment was especially brief compared to those of other students whose reports Robin had taken for comparison. He did find an incident report about a fight between Alessa and another girl who didn't get named. From what he read, Alessa had won handily and without injury.
It wasn't much to go off of since it only said that the fight happened without including any details, but it was in line with Dick's observation from PE. But that was the only evidence he found of schoolyard conflict.
Robin found himself lingering on the lack of previous schooling. Alessa was probably educated in-house at her orphanage, or had a darker past. That was, if Robin was assuming Alessa to be a human or metahuman.
While he had the option, Robin had refrained from using the school's stored passwords to access Alessa's school email account. It was an odd line in the sand to draw in order to say what was a step too far, but it was what it was.
Posted up on the building across from the apartment Alessa lived in, Robin finally noticed some movement. Stowing his hand held computer, Robin pulled out his recoloured bat-noculars. Through them, he saw a young woman moving about in the kitchen of the apartment he had pegged as Alessa's. She was obviously too young to be her biological parent, and looked different enough that Robin wouldn't have guessed at the relation if he didn't already have all the context clues.
The woman started cooking, first tying up her auburn hair into a ponytail before getting started. Robin kept watching for a few minutes before lowering the bat-noculars. Alessa hadn't made any movements that he'd noticed, though he suspected she was in that room with the blackout curtains. The clothing she wore, the choice of desk, and her general reaction to the thought of going outside suggested that Alessa had a strong aversion to the sun.
At the same time, it wasn't as though being in the sun was harmful for her. The dodgeball game had happened outside on Gotham City High's graffiti ridden courtyard, after all. That meant, if Robin was entertaining more supernatural options, Alessa being a vampire was crossed out. He'd still see what her reaction to garlic was, but Robin found himself shortly going down the list of other supernatural entities that she could possibly be.
Revenant? Didn't fit. For one, she had a history of growing up, however short, and being a revenant would require her to have been dead at some point.
Wendigo? Possible, if not for the inhumane features that wendigo were supposed to have. And the appetite.
Ghoul? More likely than a wendigo. The term 'ghoul' was less defined than a wendigo was. Sort of a halfway between living and dead in some interpretations, though the consumption of human flesh was a commonality between Ghouls and Wendigo. This seemed the most likely option of the fantastical variety. Much more than draugr which had the same issues as her being a revenant, and her being a dark elf, which was something he only considered because Batman had the barest of references to the species hidden deep in his archives.
More rooted in reality was an alien origin, like what Superman claimed to have. As far as Robin knew Alessa only had the resilience, but the upper limits of that were undetermined. Additionally, she hadn't displayed any flight, heat vision, cold breath, or any of the abilities that Superman had openly confessed to having. As for super strength, Robin had easily dodged a couple of half-hearted throws from the girl back in the dodgeball game, so she was clearly holding back something on that front.
Maybe Alessa was a shapeshifter? Batman had noted that martians tended to fear fire, so exposing Alessa to an open flame would be very telling if that were the case. At the same time, how far was Robin willing to let this curiosity take him? He'd already crossed a number of lines pursuing this, but lighting a fire next to a potential martian was several steps removed from throwing a ball at the biggest boy on the court and hacking the school database.
Across the street, Alessa's mother moved on from cooking to setting the table. Then, rather than call for her teenage daughter, she found her phone and raised it to her ear for a call.
"Heh," Robin allowed himself to say. It turned out she was calling Alessa for dinner after all.
But then the amusement faded and Robin's eyes narrowed behind his mask. Was Alessa not even there? There was no other movement in the apartment. He glanced down at the street and found a couple pedestrians, but no Alessa. Obviously. Acting on the impulse to move, Robin acrobatically scaled to the top of the building he was on, then leaned out over the much busier street that fed into the one he had been watching. Looking up one way and then the other, he found some success as he homed in on someone holding a phone to their ear as they walked. Looking again with his bat-noculars, Robin grinned when he recognised the person he'd come to surveil.
Just barely able to read her lips since she'd lowered her mask for the call, Robin recognised phrases like 'see you soon,' and 'love you.' Alessa was clearly on her way back home, and at that pace Robin would have time to throw on something over his costume and cross paths before she reached her apartment. He even had some fake activities prepped as an excuse.
Though… Robin frowned as he noticed Alessa suddenly angled her head down a fraction.
The sunglasses made it difficult to tell, but had she just been looking at him?
– > ( ) < –
Why was Robin posted up on a building with a view of my apartment? Sure, I'd accidentally acted suspiciously at school, but surely that didn't merit this response! And even if it did, why was he grinning!?
I was only able to notice him because of my super vision. It was something that sharpened noticeably whenever I let sunlight hit my face, but when I saw someone who didn't realise I was watching them I didn't feel amused, I just felt awkward!
Ooh… And I had been so happy with how I handled talking to Batman! Why was Robin here as a surprise round two? This wasn't what I wanted when I was still coming down from the adrenaline of facing the Dark Knight himself!
After taking a moment to stow my phone, I glanced back up with only my eyes at where Robin had been perched to find him gone.
Had I spooked him? We had made brief eye contact, which when I considered it from his perspective, was really spooky. Imagine spying on someone with a telescope and then they turn around and look at you.
Hm… I needed to do that more.
No longer quite as elated, and with a part of me worried about what mom was going to say when I got back home, I stuck to my guns and kept walking.
And then, of course, something took me off guard before I got inside my apartment building.
"Oh hey, Alessa!"
I flinched at the sudden greeting. Looking to the side, someone had just pulled up beside me. Narrowing my eyes at them, I delayed my reaction at seeing who they were until they pulled off their helmet. Riding a red motorcycle with a WayneTech logo was who else but Dick Grayson, somehow having approached me from behind when just three minutes ago he'd been half a block in front of me.
Dick shot me a lopsided grin and moved his helmet to his side. Meanwhile my eyes darted up and down his body, 'swapping frequencies' as I did so to identify that his biker gear was just thrown on top of his Robin costume. Except for his cape, which was bundled in the helmet compartment on the back of the bike.
"Didn't hurt your feelings too much with the dodgeball today, I hope?"
I returned to making eye contact, and maintained it for a few long seconds. "No."
"I was just coming from…" Dick trailed off, evaluating my expression. "You're not interested."
I wasn't, really. Whatever he was about to say had been a lie unless he decided to confess to being Robin. "I was about to get back home," I said, refraining from pointing at which specific building it was.
Maybe I could get him to slip by admitting he knew where I lived without me telling him. That would be worth a laugh.
"Oh, nice," Dick said, a little flat footed. "I've still got something to do before getting back myself."
"Alessa!" a familiar voice called out, making me flinch, but this time from cringe rather than surprise. Turning my head, I saw my mom making her way over towards us, having just exited the apartment building. "There you are. I didn't have time before pilates so I ate by myself. Dinner's still on the stove but the element's off. Who's this?"
I let out a sigh. "This is-"
"Dick Grayson," Dick said, leaning forward and extending a hand that my mom bemusedly shook. "I'm a recent transfer into Alessa's class, and we had a moment during dodgeball this afternoon."
"Oh, I've heard about you," Mom said, eyes glancing between him and me.
"Then you have me at a disadvantage," Dick responded disarmingly. "Are you Alessa's sist-"
"Dick, this is my mom. Mom, this is Dick," I said shortly, stopping that misunderstanding before it could go too far. "Yes, Dick, I'm adopted."
Dick gave me a smile that was more serene than the grin I'd seen on him previously. "Me too." He glanced back at my mom. "Sorry to run, but I only stopped to say hi. Happened to recognise your daughter here."
"Oh, that's fine. I'm supposed to be running too," Mom joked, which wasn't supposed to be embarrassing, but still felt incredibly embarrassing. "But it was lovely to meet one of Alessa's friends. Maybe you could come over for dinner some time."
"Mom!" I protested.
"I could cook a chili. And you could show Dick all the little gizmos in your room," Mom suggested, oblivious to how I'd have to hide all the little gizmos in my room if I was inviting the apprentice of the world's greatest detective into my abode!
"I'll have to get permission," Dick said, raising his helmet up above his head. "But say, Friday?"
"Don't you start on this too, Dick," I warned.
"Friday sounds lovely," Mom responded with a smile, ignoring my protests utterly. "Alessa, be sure to check with Dick in case the date changes."
"Mom!"
"Great! I'll see you then. And you tomorrow at school, Alessa." Dick finally pulled his helmet back onto his head and zoomed away on his motorcycle. I glared after him, greatly aware of the fact that I could very easily channel energy through my eyeballs and give him a couple new laser burns on his back. But I relented.
"Sorry about that Alessa," Mom said, and I crossed my arms. "I've heard that it's the duty of the parent to embarrass the child, and you're quite difficult to embarrass."
"That's not a good compliment," I grumbled.
"Mostly, I worry about how you're doing at school. You haven't ever had a friend over, or let me meet any of them."
"Those aren't friends," I said, looking away. "They're allies of circumstance at best and I keep trying to leave them behind."
"Ah, so you were helping one of them today?"
I kept looking away.
Mom let out a breath. "If you were, I'm proud of you. If not, don't tell me about it. But please look after yourself." She checked her watch. "Now, I need to run, but-"
"I'm only going to be mad for the rest of today," I cut in.
Mom smiled with relief. "Thank goodness. Love you, Alessa."
"Love you, mom."
04 Spicy Chili
Needless to say, all of my incriminating little gizmos got transferred to my trusty underground alcove. Specifically, I dug up and across from the alcove to make a space that was even more difficult to access, and wouldn't get wet when a storm inevitably came and flooded the storm water system. My x-ray vision made sure I didn't hit any buried pipes or wires, and my super strength made short work of the job.
I did it straight away, of course. That was, straight away after scarfing down dinner and putting away the leftovers first. It was the first time I'd really exercised my strength since starting school, and the ease of it had me pondering the fridge horror that came with being this strong.
The first layer I dug through was brick. That involved reaching up and plucking each individual brick from the ceiling, and I didn't even need to strain myself. I barely even felt the resistance. If I applied that same force to mom's arm, it would dislocate, break, or come off entirely.
And I got stronger every time the yellow sun graced my skin with its warm rays. Considering I didn't have the best self control, I thought it best if I limited that growth in strength.
Hence my aversion to sunlight.
Once the bricks were out, I took handful after handful of solid dirt that had been compacted by the growing weight of the city for decades. That dirt I piled up, intending to scatter it around the pipe system later on. As a finishing touch to the alcove I made, I lit up my eyes and scanned the little dome in a grid pattern. My burning gaze left a trail of glassed dirt, and I went over it again when my first grid left gaps for loose earth to fall through.
Sure, it was a little telling as to what I was if anyone found it, but the alternative was a dirty Do-No-Good-er costume! I may have had super heat vision to help with my shaving, but it didn't exactly equate to super cleaning.
All too soon, Friday rolled around. My room was cleaned up, because with four rooms to the apartment, one being the bathroom, another the kitchen/lounge area, and the other two being my and mom's bedrooms there was no way Dick wasn't going to at least poke his head in. The Do-No-Good-er costume and its spare components were safely stored in my new alcove where I had re-stacked some bricks inside to make it blend better to the eyes of any seekers of my stache. It wouldn't stop Batman, but seeing how I had avoided using thin concrete, it should slow him and his explosive gel down some.
I approached Dick when the final bell rang, painfully noting that he was already chatting with another of our classmates. Normally that wouldn't be painful, but Gertrude had more red in her cheeks than usual, her body language was decidedly more open than her usual stem demeanor, and her pulse was elevated. I had to take a moment to refocus my eyes so I wasn't passively peering through the skin layer, but it seemed Dick had won some affection with how effortlessly he carried those dodgeball rounds. And now I had to put myself in her crosshairs again.
"-f you wanted, maybe we could study it together at-" Gertrude was saying.
"Sorry Gertrude, one moment?" Dick cut in, and I had a dreadful premonition. He leaned back in his chair, lifting up the two front feet of it, and talked to me across Gertrude's back. "Alessa, is everything still good for tonight?"
"Tonight?" Gertrude repeated, turning and stiffening when saw me.
"Yes," I exhaled, resigning myself to the inevitable high school drama. As my shoulders went down, my bag, which was only slung over one shoulder so far, slid off of my arm and landed on the floor. I looked down at it, sighed again, and picked it up before gracing Dick with a better response. "Did you manage to invite your mysterious-"
"Alas," Dick said, which was answer enough. "I'll be going home first, actually. Got something to pick up and I want to get changed."
"Reasonable," I admitted.
"What's this?" Gertrude demanded, now fully back to using the body language I was familiar with. Alas, my ears picked up that her heart rate had picked up even further. That was harder to ignore.
"Oh, I ran into Alessa and her mother a couple of days ago," Dick said, either oblivious to or ignoring Gertrude's interest. Or he was instigating conflict between me and Gertrude, but I didn't think he was that manipulative. "I was fortunate enough to be invited to a dinner to help me settle in."
"I could-" Gertrude aborted saying that, and turned to me. "Your adoptive mother?"
I held eye contact, just as I did every time someone brought up my reputation as an orphan. "Yes. My adoptive mother who loves me."
From Gertrude's grimace, she couldn't claim the same. It must have been bad if she wouldn't even consider inviting a potential boyfriend over.
"Do you want to come along?" I found myself offering. I wasn't interested in being perceived as a love rival, and mom would be happy if I showed up with an extra 'friend.' It was a long shot but also a win-win if she said yes.
"... Are you serious?" Gertrude asked incredulously.
"Oh! That would be good!" Dick said, letting the front feet of his chair hit the floor as he stood up and joined the circle. Rather amusingly, the height differences between us became apparent there. Gertrude had an inch on him, while I had at least two inches on her. "The more the merrier. And it would be rather dour if it was just orphans."
I squinted at Dick. "You can call me an orphan, but not my mother."
He raised his hands in surrender, then chortled at the unintentional wordplay.
"When and where?" Gertrude demanded.
"My place, after school, so right now if you want," I said, then looked at her. "Do you want to invite Tracy? It'd be cramped, but we'd fit."
Gertrude searched my eyes, but whatever she was looking for, she didn't find it. "I'm not going to do that to her."
I shrugged. "Strange phrasing, but whatever. Do you want to change first? Or do you want to just head on over?"
"Uh, if Dick's coming…" She glanced between me and Dick. "I'll get changed."
Wow, this crush could literally only be more obvious if she declared it outright. "If you're taking the train," I said, knowing that she took the train in the opposite direction from me on the way home, "I'll be on the platform to pick you up at five. It's two stops from the station nearby, so it ends up in the better part of Gotham. But you know that's relative."
Gertrude gave a long suffering eye roll. She was Gotham born and raised, so of course she knew.
Dick raised his hand. "And I can probably organise a ride home for you afterwards. I've heard bad things about the streets here after dark."
"Oh, are you not from Gotham?" Gertrude asked.
"I was raised in a travelling circus," Dick said, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking off. "So I've been all around. See you later, Alessa!"
Why, that little- I glanced to the side and halted that thought when I saw Gertrude deep in thought. "Dick Grayson, as in the Flying Graysons," I explained, taking on the role that Gertrude normally did with Tracy. "It was in the papers last winter. Might be a good idea to look up those articles and practice gold."
Gertrude shot me a confused frown.
I raised my finger to my lips and smirked. "Though thy tongue may be silver, silence is…"
"Right," she said, thoroughly unimpressed. Little did she know that only fed my power. "See you at five."
"Travel safe!" I brightly called after her as she hurried away.
– > ( ) < –
Dick Grayson
"Now, Master Dick, when you said Mrs Fields was cooking a chili, did you happen to learn what was being served alongside the chili?"
Dick gave the aged butler a blank look from across the counter. "Rice? That's what they had when we traveled down south. It was really good."
"That would be a chili con carne," Alfred said patiently. "Given that Mrs Fields did not specify 'con carne' I would assume she is serving a different dish. Perhaps she is also serving taco shells with a salad on the side."
"Oh, that sounds tasty."
"Goodness, you are unusually keen for this meal. I'll have to add a taco night to the weekly meal rotation. Why, Master Bruce was never so picky."
"Oh, and it's 'Miss' Fields," Dick said as the thought crossed his mind. "There's no father in the picture as far as I've seen."
"I will amend my term of address," Alfred said without batting an eye. "If I might make a suggestion, I believe bringing a dessert along with you would be appreciated by this Miss Fields? Something that would go down well after a spicy meal would be best. Perhaps a cheesecake?"
"Hmm…"
"Fortunately, I anticipated this after hearing of your plans for this Friday evening," Alfred said, opening the oven on his side of the counter and pulling out a freshly baked cheesecake that he set down on a cooling rack. "You made no mention of dietary requirements, but this is a strawberry cheesecake that does include gluten. Do pass along my apologies if any attendees of this dinner are celiac."
"Gotcha."
"You are distracted, Master Dick. Perhaps stating your thoughts out loud might help?"
Dick sat up from where he'd been leaning on the kitchen counter and opened his mouth.
"He's been investigating one of his classmates," Bruce said as he walked into the absurdly large kitchen. "Dick observed an incident that he believed to be indicative of metahuman powers." He came to a stop next to his adopted son, adjusting the cuffs on his suit. "Have you made any progress in your investigation?"
"Nothing big. She let slip that she knows who I am today," Dick said, spinning in his high chair. "Mentioned the Flying Graysons to a classmate, so we'll see how school goes next week."
"You'll be able to handle it," Bruce said with the confidence of someone who knew he was right.
Dick snorted. "Yeah, I will. Other than that, she's been normal. Clumsy, even."
"If Alessa is hiding abilities like the ones you suspect, she will be practiced at concealing them."
"Yeah, that's why I haven't let this go yet. Oh, and one more thing. I thought she was a loner because she just didn't get along with people, but now I think people are scared of her."
"The incident report you found," Bruce said, remembering without needing further prompting.
"Nobody else got mentioned, but Gertrude had a strange reaction to Alessa offering to extend an invite to Tracy." Dick blinked, then dragged his hands down his face and groaned. "Uggh! How did all this high school stuff suddenly get so complicated!? Going after the mob was easy compared to this!"
"Perhaps the world's greatest detective should solve high school mysteries from time to time," Alfred suggested from where he was decorating the cheesecake. "It would serve to keep his skills sharp for the relatively simple murders he so frequently is tasked with solving."
"I've already solved this case, Alfred," Bruce shot back, making Dick sit up straight.
"You what?"
"Would you prefer it if I solved it for you?" Bruce asked, catching Dick flat footed. "If I had noticed danger, I would have intervened already."
"That's… Ugh!" Dick sprawled himself across the counter. "You just took all the fun out of it!"
"This work isn't meant to be fun." Bruce said, sounding a lot like Batman. Then he softened. "But if that makes you enthusiastic, by all means, find fun where you can."
"Going to be hard finding fun in the murder cases you always seem to find. Hey, why are you dressed up, anyway?"
"There is a Wayne charity event taking place tonight, Master Dick," Alfred answered in place of his charge. "I was under the impression that you had organised this 'welcoming dinner' in an effort to escape attending."
"That was tonight?" Dick asked, letting slip that he had completely forgotten about it.
"How fortunate. You won't need to dress up in that suit you've taken to hating," Bruce said, glancing over Dick's casual wear. It was kind of grunge… For the son of a billionaire, at least. "I shouldn't need to say that having a personal relationship in this life is challenging in ways you are not prepared for."
Dick groaned. "Uggh! It's not like that!"
"Then why are you dressed like that?"
"Alfred chose these clothes!" Dick protested, pointing an accusing finger at the butler.
"Upon hearing that you were going to an event with multiple female classmates, I picked out a suitable outfit for a 'playboy billionaire's playboy heir,'" Alfred said without batting an eye as he sprinkled the last of the diced strawberries onto the cheesecake.
Dick stood from his chair, affronted. "Is that why these clothes are so silky and loose?"
"I thought I recognised my old shirt," Bruce commented, almost sounding amused. He stood as well. "I'll make use of the Wayne limousine service tonight. Alfred, you transport Dick to and from his event tonight."
"Verily, master Bruce."
"Can we use the Bentley?" Dick asked abruptly, doing his best to ignore what had been said about his clothes.
"Of course, master Dick." The British butler transferred the cheesecake to a box for transport. "Though, it will be problematic to park the Bentley on the sidewalk. I will need to return it to the large Wayne garage immediately after. Be sure to call me in advance of your departure."
"Sure, sure." Dick looked up at Bruce. "Don't you have something to say to me?"
Bruce thought about it for a moment. "Don't be sloppy in your investigation," he said.
Dick shrugged. "I was hoping for a 'have fun,' but I'll take it."
"Do enjoy yourself this evening, master Dick," Alfred said in place of Dick's father figure. "And do make sure to not lead your classmates on unduly."
Dick rolled his eyes. "Bunch of jokers, you are."
– > ( ) < –
"Oh, you really dressed up," I observed when Gertrude stepped off the train.
She was wearing a purple dress, of all things. It covered much more than the dresses on the night ladies that could frequently be found after dark, but nevertheless ascribed to a similar design philosophy. That along with the half cut jacket Gertrude was wearing over the top of it gave her a 'girl's first night out' sort of vibe.
I looked down at the zipped up hoodie and pants that I was wearing, then back up at Gertrude getup. "You have it bad."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gertrude responded snippily. "Can we go?"
"Of course," I said easily, turning and going at a slower speed than usual to account for Gertrude's slower walking speed. She was clearly unused to the two inch heels she had on. "I'm just hoping that there aren't any misunderstandings between us this time."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're interested in Dick." I paused in order to stop the immature giggle that threatened to come out. "But Dick has been acting interested in me."
"Are you telling me to not waste my time?" Gertrude demanded. "You think you can sweep in and take him?"
"Oh. Admittance," I noted. "That makes this easier. I was going to say that I'm actually interested in you in order to complete the triangle. But more seriously, I'm not interested in Dick that way."
I let out a chuckle there, because phrasing. When I glanced to the side, Gertrude was walking an extra step away from me.
"So don't go falling for me, okay?" I concluded with humour.
"You do not deserve the confidence with which you said that," Gertrude said.
I grinned, but let that point lie.
– > ( ) < –
Dick Grayson
"Have a good evening, Master Dick," Alfred bade before rolling up the Bentley's window and pulling out from the shoulder.
As for Dick, he was already walking down the street towards his destination with a cake box in hand. His free hand came up and waved at the retreating car, but his body language lost its usual jovial edge when a particularly rough type walked by, eyeing up the fancily dressed boy. Fortunately, a rude scoff was the worst that came from the rough man, and Dick reenergized himself within three steps time.
Then Dick came to a stop. He, of course, knew which building was Alessa's, but that was ripped from the school records. Alessa had been careful to say 'my home' or 'my apartment' rather than her actual address, and Dick only just now realised that could have been a trap. He could contrive that he saw Alessa's adoptive mother coming from the building in question the last time he'd been here, but that in itself was the problem. The excuse was contrived. More so than passing a classmate by chance.
Fortunately, Dick found a solution to that problem. When he walked in front of the building, his ears twigged on to a vaguely familiar voice distorted by talking through an intercom.
"-'re early! Come on up. My Daughter's not here at the moment, so hurry up so we can surprise her!"
"Is that so?" the tall man in a long grey coat by the intercom said. "Then, I'll have to hurry up so we can steal a private moment."
Not if Dick had anything to say about it. "Hey, is that Alessa's mom?" he asked, poking his head into the frame of the intercom's camera before realising it was busted. "It's Dick. I just got dropped off."
"Oh, Mr Grayson!" Miss Fields exclaimed. "Alessa's gone out to pick up her other friend she wouldn't have introduced to me. Come up with that man out there with you. He knows which apartment we're in."
"I brought a cheesecake!" Dick added.
"You did? That's fantastic! I was worried I wouldn't have enough to feed everyone with how impromptu this has become."
"You'll need to buzz us in, darling," the man said with a smooth voice that hid his irritation well.
"Oh, of course I need to. Sorry, I'm so used to Alessa just letting herself in." The apartment building's front door made a familiar angry buzzing sound before audibly unlatching. "See you soon!"
The passive crackle of the intercom cut out and Dick started towards the elevator, the tall man not far behind him. There was silence between them until they got into the elevator, where Dick decided to shatter it.
"So, I'm a recent transfer into Gotham City High," he said. "Dick Grayson. What's your story?"
The tall man looked down at Dick, and shortly removed his hat, revealing short, light brown hair. "I am a recent graduate of Gotham University, and I met that lovely lady before receiving my honors. She required tutoring, I provided, and we still desire to see each other now that her studies have stabilised."
"What did you study?" Dick asked.
"Biology, primarily. My dissertation focused on cryogenics," the man answered, then blinked as a slight epiphany struck. "Ah. These are introductions. My name is Victor Fries."