#crows laughter

Stephanie Brown noticed lately, the nights in Gotham were clearer, still heavy and foreboding sure, but before looking out of her window there was only darkness, now she could see the alleyway and distinguish the trash and occasional rat skittering around.

She also noticed the letters become more frequent, of the strong smell of alcohol, Steph could see the water going away like the geography diagrams in her run down class and she needed it to stop.

Sneaking out was easy, Steph is almost sure she could have walked the main door without her mom waking up, but preparation was everything as she learned with the backstage friends her mom would talk to while Arthur was off. So out through her window landing softly in the trash container, swapping the bag in hand with the one stashed behind it, and making sure her phone was truly turned off without any battery before setting off to the streets.

Alarm was set and hidden near her heart, beeping function removed and only vibration needed to warn her, hood around her shoulders and headband to hide any of her bright curls, turtle neck kept Steph warm and the mask roughly stitched to it was fitted to wrap securely on her lower face.

Buckling the belts that Steph found the first sign of human life on the streets, too lurking in the suburbs. But the shadows blended with her and her steps are quiet as it would get, it would be better to cruise the rooftops, but the same reason that she didn't even try that was the one she didn't have a domino mask.

Steph was no bird or bat. But she could be a Spoiler.

Still in the workshop tho, so she slinked with the shadows stalking to her destination. First place, the workplace and the car, probably first the car, she could check for any spyware and whatnot.

Knowing a target but not of what is difficult, but Steph is 87% sure that isn't an assassination hit thing yet, but something else, so she had to dig with the… clues she had. Sighing to that thought, her steps were quicker as she reached deeper into the gut of the city, twirling the line between downtown and commercial center with closed cafes and rising skyscrapers, the street lighting clear against the mostly twilight feel of the suburbs that brought most people home at night to avoid trouble, still she was quick from shadow to shadow.

Finally, Steph laid eyes in the noticeable 4 store building against the skyscrapers around it, parking outside showing the neat lined cars with turned off lights and sirens.

But no personal, those were inside the garage underground, so to infiltrate it is.

Taking out of her belt, she rolled around her feet and rocks in her hands heading down into concrete basked in artificial lighting, a turn and there was the gate to the garage, and above it an fixed camera. Steph wasn't part of any (sports)leagues, but her aim wasn't anything to sneeze at, and with one pebble the lens were broken.

She ran with her throw, now standing below it and opening the panel to the gate before the camera could focus again and alert of things being not right, she doubted they had any detectors and alarms going off but Steph doesn't wanna risk her luck enough as is, a bit of finicky, but with enough wires crossed and commands off, the gate was opened to inside the garage.

Two more cameras were down before she found the old car, grabbing the flashlight in the belt, first she just looked inside from outside, the ashtray wasn't cleaned and there were spare clothing in the seats. Messy in lived in way not in life falling apart way, and no apparent nothing in it or under it, and the hood was also clear.

Steph saw the records of insurance and alarms with her own eyes, so she doubted there was anything fixed on under the panels and framework that made the car a car, although that leaves the trunk, as it was a battle ongoing that Gordon plan should cover alarm there and yet there was none.

Steph had to agree as jingling the single sided jigler left it open in seconds, it was empty even behind the mat of floor, and you had to carve your way from the sitting behind to reach the driver and passenger sides. So nothing here, she put everything together and closed the trunk, squatting as a voice startled with the sound, quickly she sneaked through the place, one more camera down and getting into the emergency fire stairs to rise through the building.

Most individual offices were empty, gone home, and said chief of police was out on patrol for theeee…. Steph forgot the name, but an rousing villain and not just normal criminals, so sneaking around in the darkness and breaking more cameras on the way to it was, well not easy, but flowing in the right outcome!

Unlocking the door, she made note to lock it on her way out, and against the instinct of turning the light by her side, she took out the flashlight in her free hand, stepping away from the window before turning it on. Table filled with paper and one big red phone, a circle dial one? she was confused before noticing there was another table by the wall with the computer clearly needed for this job.

She turned to her left seeing the top paper, frowning at the picture stabled to it, a missing person with a search warrant? But not from police, another part of investigation agencies? GIW was an acronym she never seen. Steph sent good thoughts and wishes to this Daniel guy and turned the paper back to its original position, and took a step to go around the table.

When the wood floor creaked behind her.

Steph turned sharply, breath escaping before thought caught to her, arm already raised letting the old canister spray at the shadow looming near her. She stumbled three steps behind before her vision caught up in the panic of her mind, and she couldn't hold the giggle face her mistake.

After all you can't really pepper spray someone in the eyes if they have an entire helmet in their head.

Before her eyes the knight (because what else uses an helmet of bloody murder) twinkle and air twitch, green for a moment escaping eyes and mouth carving like mist and carving stretching into a fanged cartoon sinister smile making her giggle die and heart stop, fright and run instincts flaring in her mind that made the taste of burning alcohol and smoke in the back of her throat.

And then the knight stepped through the illusion, tilting his head and looking at her with interest and not as a fresh meal or material to use.

“What the pig pen brought here? The aviary should be on the roof, Magpie? What are you doing down here pecking at the mud?”

And with that Steph could breathe again, even if the intention of the changer was to scare, she heard all types of sound modulator for fun when a kid with access to it. She could recognize it being filtered over not only one module, but not much since he was still recognizable as speaking a language after all.

“I don't know, why is a knight tending the pig pen mister? Or better yet! I'm not a bird, or a furry for that matter you know.”

Steph extended her hands outwards, as a show that there was no animal theme here and with that turning off her flashlight. Now only moonlight shining through the window and the lights in the knight's eyes in the room.

Steph should have noticed the drawn up curtains, she cursed in her head biting her lip. Knight righted his head and one eye shone more than the other in what steph was pretty sure was to signify an eyebrow raised without actually showing such eyebrow, did that have face tracking inside it? And Steph made sure to continue facing his face, but her eyes caught the paper in his hands, with a picture she could recognize now even if letters inverted and all that jazz.

After all, it isn't everyday an old money heir boy just disappears like Timothy Drake had some months ago.

“Not a knight brat, and let's say pigs are teasing my associate too much. Now you.”

Huh, was Knight the one that helped pulling the disappearing act of Drake?

Steph let her hands fall, taking a step back and quickly slotting the spray in its pocket.

“I dunno, even if dad n mom never had the stranger danger talk, it is still dangerous to let mister exiled knight know what is up and all.”

The eye lights dimmed, squinting at her? Or suspicious? Steph breathed out evenly even if her heart hammered in her chest, her fingers brushed the brass knuckles she snatched from one of dad's “new friends”. Steph suspected that wouldn't do much, even in the leather outer layer, there was no doubt there was armor behind it to protect him.

Reaching further, she found the table between her and her cape, and a wire, leading to the phone and connecting it to the line she realized as she unplugged it quietly.

“Champ, that sounds more concerning than dismissing you know?”

With the sound of his voice it muffled the cable hitting the floor, but Steph squinted at the ex-knight, Champ? One more step back, this time the figure followed, holding the case paper in one hand to the side.

Breath out, breath in.

“What are you? One of the Bat Birds to be concerned about me? You aren't. Because you also aren't in the roof smart-ass knight, or are you just a stealing rogue? Oh! Maybe you are a furry, cat guy, are you trying to impress one of the Bat’s beloved cat?”

Steph was throwing darts in the air and shit in the wall, but she snorted at the disgusted noise Knight figure made, eye shine blinking and turning away. That's the most precious lesson her daddy ever taught her, never turn your back to a threat.

“Ew, literally would rather-”

It seems that her baseball league throw was enough to disbalance the guy even if he was built like a brick house. Steph didn't wait to see the results, putting on the brass and turning her light as she circled the table, casting it on the table and under it, nothing there, and turning more broadly on the office, nothing on the ceilings either.

“Did you just throw the fucking batfone at me!?”

Oops

Steph wasn't gonna stop the public property destruction there if she couldn't get out of here fast, and the commitment to that thought was on grabbing a light fixture that she couldn't in her right mind call a lamp and pulling the cord out of the outlet before it could be in the way.

“Of course the furry has a phone, furries made the internet I shouldn’t be surprised but I thought the cryptic imagery would be more on point, yeah I'm not surprised I'm disappointed.”

Nothing on the furniture by the sides, and steph would have to jump over checking the computer, but by all the clues the threat wasn't sounding like a simple virus thing batman it guy could very easily handle.

“Wheeze, guess that makes us two. But dear Magpie, what are you looking for in the dark?”

Steph hissed as the lights turned on, backing into the furniture was in her back and hood around her, she blinked through tears and maintained visual on the figure, in light he seemed even more drenched in blood as he stalked silently, just letting go of the phone as he tried to approach, Steph skittered opposite to him, trying to maintain the distance and the table between them.

But then he simply, vaulted over it like it was a waist high fence and not six feet of table in one leap, and made Steph breathe stop and freeze against the wall and cower, too big and too near-

“So, Magpie, looking for something shiny for your nest needs?”

Steph dropped down, swinging the fixture and sneaker at the guy's groin. He jumped back from her, even if she suspected now from the low angle there was also armor there. Steph reigned her mind wandering as any dignity was let go and truly skittering on all fours along the wall, but figure-knight-rogue followed along, and if Steph was a furry, her hackles would be raised and would be hissing at him. Maybe her breath was hissing under the makeshift mask but she wouldn't tell even dead souls that.

“Feisty Magpie.”

Steph knew he was using the modulator to fuck with her, she still clawed up the wall to try to get away from him. Fingers caught in string balls of the blinders. Steph breathed out, it is gonna be ok, she did this before already! Not from multiple stores up the ground but she learned her landing with her class the moment bomb threats to take a building down were set against the night of Gotham.

She bit her lip to hold an audible hiss of amusement.

“I'm gonna peck ya, rogue hood, not a robin are ya?”

Steph realized her mistake of running her mouth wild in this encounter as the man tensed, how something set him off in that phrase (did he know Robin? Before the third death iteration? Was he robbed of the chance to end Robin himself? No, that tension is personal, like when Steph screamed how her dad was better in the TV than real life, maybe he knew Robin? but he was old, so maybe not this one, second one? Steph remembers bits and pieces of him only that people were set off with the change, so she can't know but she has to know or else she'll fall asleep to the pain-.)

She didn't wait for the reaction, letting go of the fixture to crack the window out, and with a breath, threw herself out of it. Steph didn't pray much, but her breath was stolen with the murmur of one.

“My lady, fair lady, of blood and green. I pray for your strength and guidance. May your claws guide mine and your Ever Night be my shadows”