1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

hello!

let me start by first thanking you for checking out my story, i know there's a lot to choose from! should you have any comments, questions, or any other type of feedback, don't hesitate to send a pm or leave a review. i assure you it'd be much appreciated. bear in mind english isn't my main language (it's spanish btw), so there might be grammatical horrors down there... don't hesitate to correct me!

i've tried to adapt the format of the story to that of a comic book. besides having the "scenes" clearly separated via lines, where a location and a time is set to guide the reader, i've tried to keep descriptions on the short side and rely mainly on dialogue. the idea is that you, the reader, get free reign to imagine as much as possible, with me, the author, just pointing out key aspects. this is by no means a polished style (actually quite improvised) so please tell me if it works for you or not when (or if) you finish reading.

without further ado, let us dive in into the story! see you in the afterwords!

child of gotham - chapter 1: 10-97

jump city

some time after the teen titans returned from tokyo

dusk

halfway through the ellis

idge

she thought she'd grow tired of the mask before the cuffs but after the long flight from gotham the chaffing on her wrists has proven to be the greater annoyance. she half hoped the need to keep appearances would be over once she landed on jump city but apparently either the officers driving the police van think otherwise or aren't aware of gordon's plan.

the latter being more likely seeing how afraid they seemed of her...

probably for the better, at least it kept people from staring too much. anyway, she can deal with the chaffing, it's the poor sitting that's becoming unbearable. she has a new appreciation for tourist class. the compound safety belt, for one, doesn't even allow her to shift her weight and with her ankles chained to a ring on the floor she can stretch even less than on the airplane.

she looks around. everything is tinted red from the small safety light on the roof… and for everything she means nothing. she is the only one being transferred. there are no windows to the cab nor outside and the hermetic environment is making her very aware she hasn't taken a bath in days.

officer: "watch out!"

the muffled warning comes from the front of the van. wheels screech as the entire vehicle tilts. before she has time to interpret what's going on their momentum is suddenly

ought to a stop with a loud crash. the van lifts in the air as she sees the front of the holding area deform under the pressure. the impact rocks her body but it's her head that takes most of the damage as it's the only part of her not being held in place. when the van finally drops to the pavement her head is thrown back with enough force to nearly knock her unconscious.

billy 1: "nice job mammoth, now angel is probably pureed."

billy 2: "i love me some puree though."

billy 3: "buy some veggies on the way back?"

billy 4: "you know it billy!"

gizmo: "stop playing around you snot-munchers! titans tower is right over there! lets scram before they look out the window!"

seemore: "she's strapped down pretty tight, can you port her away kyd?"

kyd: "..."

gizmo: "what are you doing bat-

ain?! get your girlfriend out so we can escape before we are put on ice again!"

mammoth: "gizmo? the van is leaking…"

billy 2: "ahh… smells like american muscle."

gizmo: "that's fuel you booger-jockeys! hurry up before the entire thing blows up!"

seemore: "mammoth get the door! it's too dangerous to use my powers!"

she can feel the van rock again through her stupor. as much as she'd welcome being rescued from the soon to be on fire vehicle, there's one small problem… she is not angel. how those people outside react once they realize it worries her as much as the stabbing pain in her neck and the warm blood dripping down her spine.

the sound of twisting metal barely feet away cuts her considerations short as she does her best to look at the tailgate through the corner of her eyes. a pair of impossibly large hand prints have appeared on it. following a loud bestial grunt from outside, the prints seem to take life and tear away the door, bursting the hinges and locks as if they had been made of tinfoil.

mammoth: "uh… didn't angel have wings?"

gizmo: "crud! it's not her! just some random chick! seemore! where the hell did you get that tip, you dumb cyclops!?"

seemore: "one of those forums jinx used to

owse!"

kyd: "..."

billy 1: "that's why i never trust anything i read on the internet."

billy 2: "not that we do much reading."

billy 3: "internet is for one thing anyway…"

gizmo: "this whole thing is a bust! wykkyd get us out of here!"

mammoth: "can't we take her anyway? she kinda reminds me of my sister."

gizmo: "how can you even tell!? she's wearing a mask!"

billy 4: "all carrot tops look alike."

seemore: "we can't leave her in there! the van is about to go and she's injured! 'sides… look at how they have her roped in! someone that dangerous could be useful!"

billy 1: "seemore, pal... all girls are dangerous."

kyd: "..."

gizmo: "gah! fine! get her out and lets go before the titans show up and start quipping!"

the big guy, though that word doesn't really do him much justice, easily tears away her harness and the bolt her ankles are chained to. she cringes as his huge hand pulls her out of the van. a whimper catches on her throat as the rough movement sends shocks of pain up her spine, edging her closer to losing consciousness.

once outside she finally gets that famous postcard view of ellis

idge and jump city in the background, with the distinctive shape of titans tower in the middle of the bay. she gets a short glimpse at her would be saviors… a child with a mechanical apparatus attached to his back, four late-teens guys dressed in the same silly costume and looking impossibly similar, another younger looking teen wearing goggles made for one large eye, the behemoth who pulled her out and another teenager with impossibly pale skin and a costume that reminds her of batman.

the last thing she remembers before blacking out is the pale kid enveloping all of them in darkness and the feeling of being snatched through a cold tunnel.

a few minutes after the incident on ellis

idge

titans tower, lounge area

cyborg: "mhm-mhm! that smells great starfire!"

starfire: "thanks friend cyborg! beast boy suggested i tried one of the dishes we sampled while in the city of tokyo instead of the steamed blomfar'g i had initially planned for. though i am unsure about using mustard as replacement for the sesame oil..."

cyborg: "nice save bb…"

raven: "what's that smell? i thought it was starfire's turn to cook dinner."

beast boy: "beast boy to the rescue, rae-rae!"

raven: "hm… you do remember it's your turn to set the table and do the dishes, right?"

beast boy: "sure! it's set already!"

cyborg: "you just laid out chopsticks…"

beast boy: "it's sukiyaki dude! that's all we need!"

starfire: "indeed! i find eating from the same pot a most bonding experience!"

beast boy: "it truly is."

raven: "yes… specially when you don't have to battle cyborg since you only eat vegetables."

cyborg: "hey, it's not my fault you guys are slow chopstickers."

raven: "so it doesn't bother you at all that beast boy suggested this particular dish so he could skip on his chores and keep playing games?"

cyborg: "you got to give it to him, it's a pretty good plan."

raven: "i… will give that to him."

robin: "evening titans. dinner smells great!"

starfire: "i am most pleased everyone finds the dish's aroma appealing! the steamed blomfar'g will go along nicely with the meats, noodles and sliced vegetables!"

beast boy: "hey robin! a message arrived for you while i was trying to beat the second level boss. might want to check it out."

robin: "and you just tell me now?"

beast boy: "what? i figured if it had been something important they would have called your t-com."

robin: "that's mostly for other titans. and it's not like just anyone can contact the tower directly. we aren't exactly in the yellow pages... can you at least tell me who left the message? we'll talk priorities some other time."

beast boy: "some guy named gordon i believe."

robin: "gordon? as commissioner gordon!?"

beast boy: "yeah! commissar gordon."

robin: "commissioner! as in gcpd commissioner gordon!"

cyborg: "gotham police? that's strange… what could he possibly need from us? we are literally across the country."

raven: "something more important than playing games most likely."

beast boy: "okay, okay. i screwed up. no need to rub it in anymore. here, game's off. lets see what this gordon dude wanted."

gordon: "robin. i know you are trying to do your own thing over there but we need your help. details will come later but for now i need your team to shadow a prisoner transfer van leaving the airport, barring delays, at 19.30hs. the guards are unaware of your intervention and we'd like to keep it that way. sorry for the secrecy and short notice. thanks and good luck kid."

raven: "it's way past eight..."

beast boy: "okay... you can keep rubbing it in a bit longer."

starfire: "perhaps the plane got the delay?"

cyborg: "not to so sound like a pessimist but… that's an awful lot of police lights on ellis right now."

robin: "titans! go!"

later that night…

the h.i.v.e five hideout, an abandoned warehouse somewhere in the industrial district

she comes to at a dimly lighted room of metal walls and run down appearance, on a makeshift bed covered by a blanket that feels, smells and was probably at a point someone's carpet. her neck is sore but the stabbing pain has gone down to a numbing and the wound at the back of her head has been bandaged. judging from the blood stains on the makeshift pillow, made out of rags and discarded clothes, it must have bled quite a bit.

seemore: "h-hey! good to see you awake. i'm seemore, this is our gang's hideout. feeling okay? you were pretty banged up. sorry about that… mammoth doesn't really do subtle."

her: "hey… i've had better days."

no restraints and medical treatment. much better than she expected to be when she woke up. still, shacking up in some gang's hideout is pretty much the furthest she could have gotten from the plan without actually kicking the bucket. he seems... friendly, if a bit scared. could it be a trick? or maybe he really doesn't know. that'd make their rescue a hell of a coincidence. then again, odds are she'd be dead if any of the families had sent them after her.

seemore: "think you can walk? gizmo asked me to

ing you to the rest of the team once you woke up. that whole mess at the

idge has made him… cranky."

she sits on the bed, thankful that the only pieces of clothing her saviors removed were her mask and prison shoes. the former lays on top of a box next to the bed, seemore hands her the latter. just leaning down to tie the laces makes her head throb.

her: "ugh… feels like someone wacked me with a baseball bat."

seemore: "i didn't spot any fractures. you should probably avoid getting hit on the head for a while though… and get a stitch or two. we thought about doing it but… everyone was too squeamish."

he's kind of cute, the little

other playing doctor kind.

her: "noted. let's get this over with then."

seemore: "woah! careful! do you want to lean on my shoulder?"

yes. more than want, she should. the world spun around as soon as she got up from the bed but she needs to keep the bad girl act going.

her: "i'll be alright. lead the way."

she takes a few staggering steps, only managing to steady herself after using the doorframe as support. she looks down the hallway and the world turns again, worse yet, she starts getting nauseous. thankfully seemore is walking rather slowly so she manages to take a few deep

eaths before lagging behind too much.

seemore: "yeah… sorry about the mess. we just got this new hideout. it's a work in progress."

mess is selling it short. it looks as if this place has seen a non-stop frat party for the last month and that's not counting the state of disrepair of the building itself. the roof is missing on several places. rain has rusted over several of the walls, exposing pipes, cables and circuitry. having power running can't be a good idea… and she suddenly realizes leaning on the wall isn't either.

her: "what happened with your last one?"

seemore: "kid flash happened. messed up our generator and whatnot… gizmo could have fixed it but by the time we

oke out of prison after that

otherhood of evil disaster the place had been cleaned up by the cops. i guess that jerk told on us…"

told on us? definitely little

other type of cute. that's a lot of hate for the famously light hearted speedster though.

her: "heroes can be jerks."

as she learnt from her short encounter with the batman.

seemore: "no kidding. he even turned jinx against us! i still can't believe she'd do that. after all that talk about going big and getting recognition… i read online that they are dating too! girls... ah… no offense."

so that's where the hate comes from.

her: "everyone is bound to make a sh-oddy choice from time to time."

really? shoddy? come on girl, it's not like you have never cursed before.

seemore: "i 'spose… anyway, here we are."

they arrive at a large metal door. seemore moves back and forth a few times and then waves at a sensor on top of the door frame but gets no reaction. he takes a quick glance at her with an embarrassed expression and lets out a frustrated sigh.

her: "it's an old infrared sensor. might have trouble detecting our emissions in all this humidity. do you have a match or a lighter?"

and a smoke. that'd be great.

seemore: "huh… didn't take you for a techy type. err, no offense… again."

her: "didn't you hear? nerds are cool now. got a light or do we have to find another way to warm up?"

not that kind of bad girl you creep...

seemore: "n-no… i got it."

he looks intensely at the sensor for a moment and the door opens in an ear-ripping sound of grinding metal. did he just emit infrared radiation from that eye of his? suddenly she's reminded of how dangerous the people she's about to meet are.

billy 1: "my! it's a walking carrot!"

billy 2: "now don't be mean billy."

billy 3: "yeah billy, she can't help being a ginger."

billy 4: "orange jumpsuit ain't helping her case though."

her: "you giving me lip cowboys? really? with those shades and pink unitards y'all wearing? aiming for that hip carebear look or did you wash your costume and undies together?"

kyd: "..."

the batman wannabe hides his face under his cloak as he giggles.

mammoth: "pfwahahaha!"

billy 1: "it ain't pink… jus'... the sun got to it."

seemore: "i did tell you it was about time to dye that thing…"

billy 2: "costume budget ain't what it used to be…"

gizmo: "alright, alright, shut up. you, sit down and spill."

poor choice of words kid, she's barely holding her airplane meal down as it is. fortunately, sitting should help with that... she shrugs and walks towards the couch he is pointing at, which looks like it was rescued from the leftovers of someone's yard sale. if it wasn't obvious up to know, looking around the room shows just how

oke these poor guys must be. piles of empty pizza boxes and other take out, repurposed factory hardware serving as furniture, plastic sheets covering the holes in the ceiling, an old gaming console hooked up to a tv with a dented screen… were not for the high-tech mainframe the bossy kid was working at when she entered, this place would look like some teenager's hangout.

her: "what can i do you for chief?"

what was that?! you are not going to serve them drinks for god's sake…

gizmo: "a name to start 'cause i sure as hell don't have the slightest who you supposed to be. we were told that van was going to be transporting a friend of us, we found your skinny butt instead."

her: "name's alex. 'bout the other thing, you must have had bad intel."

gizmo: "what kind of villain name is alex?"

alex: "you got four guys named billy and you have a gripe with alex?"

billy 1: "well actually it's billy numerous."

billy 2: "yeah we just shorten it."

billy 3: "for convenience's sake."

billy 4: "and there's just one of me."

in an instant, the two billys playing games at the console fuse together and then do the same with the one fixing up clothes in the corner of the room. finally, the two remaining ones join into one person who comes and sits on the other end of the couch with her.

alex: "so that's what the division sign on your chest is about."

hopefully they didn't notice her catch her

eath. living in gotham you get used to your run of the mill alley thugs. metahumans… those you don't see often.

billy: "one man army here. they say only god can be everywhere at once but dang if i don't get close. so what's your deal missy? i don't see much going on your chest..."

classy...

gizmo: "yeah. what can you do? we don't need any freeloaders and i don't feel like sharing a bathroom with a girl again."

seemore: "jinx wasn't that bad…"

billy: "she left pink hair everywhere, and that wasn't even the nasty stuff."

so classy.

mammoth: "uh… we can make another hole."

kyd: "..."

the pale boy shudders.

alex: "what's the deal with sunblock here?"

gizmo: "kyd doesn't talk much. and don't change the subject. angel would have

ought a useful set of skills to the team. the way they had you strapped in you'd think you are the second coming of hannibal lecter. what does your skinny-butt

ing to the table?"

you even old enough to watch that movie kid?

alex: "sorry to disappoint you boys but i'm just a regular crook."

somewhat true…

gizmo: "why the hell would those snot-

ains in gotham transfer you to jump city then? that makes no sense."

mammoth: "you from gotham?"

gizmo: "duh, it says so in her jumpsuit mammoth…"

mammoth: "oh… you ever fight the bat? i heard he's tough."

alex: "if you consider getting strung up from a fire escape fight, yeah, sure."

kyd: "..."

he jumps around excitedly.

seemore: "no way!"

billy: "ya' pullin' our legs."

gizmo: "yeah right, 'cause batman goes around nabbing losers."

alex: "it's gotham guys. half the crooks in the city are nabbed by the bat. it's not all jokers and two-faces you know…"

mammoth: "oh, oh! you ever meet the joker?"

the mere thought sends shivers down her spine.

alex: "no, and i hope i never do. that guy is crazy, you don't want to have anything to do with him."

mammoth: "i heard he is funny."

alex: "yeah, like getting a pencil stuck in your eye funny. just don't, trust me."

gizmo: "you want trust, start by giving us something to work with or we'll kick you out on your sk-"

alex: "skinny-butt? i also have flabby arms if you want to throw some variation in there."

easy smartpants… don't want to antagonize him too much, for better or worse he seems to be the one calling the shots.

gizmo: "listen lady, we are the h.i.v.e. five, we don't go around snatching purses or whatever it is you did back in gotham. if you want in you better have something we can use. and don't forget you already owe us for busting you out."

alex: "first, cool name, i dig it. second, i'm… sort of a computer jock, not some street thug. third, i don't want in, i want out. what the hell am i going to do against your resident capes? send them spam email? listen, i'm thankful for your help, even if you almost kill me. how about i buy you guys dinner and we call it even?"

great pitch girl… surely food will get you out of this.

mammoth: "i want hawaiian pizza."

billy: "scrambled eggs and bacon."

seemore: "jelly beans and sausage!"

kyd: "..."

he holds up a box with the stale remains of what must have been a pepperoni pie.

gizmo: "shut up cruds! who the hell you think we are?! 'sides how's she gonna' pay anyway!?"

alex: "just let me use that rig of yours. oh, and the tv, i work better with big screens."

gizmo: "dammit! we are not taking pizza as payment!"

seemore: "come on gizmo!"

billy: "ya' did ask what she could do…"

kyd: "..."

he holds up a pair of empty chips bags.

mammoth: "i want one of seemore's too."

gizmo: "gah! fine, do it, but i'm keeping my eyes on you!"

and there's finally light at the end of the tunnel…

alex: "public wi-fi? really?"

gizmo grumbles under his

eath. fine, she'll manage. christ he doesn't even have a vpn set up and this mainframe is still rocking company tags. talk about traceable. a tor

idge should fix that. okay… money, money… where to get the money? her insurance? no, gizmo is watching and the funds would be easily tracked to jump city which kind of defeats gordon's plan. wait… these are waynecorp tags…

gizmo: "what are you doing?

alex: "

owsing company payroll… need to find the person in charge of their catering services in the city."

gizmo: "what the hell for?"

alex: "let me do my thing. you guys just pick what you want to wash down those pies with".

that'll keep them busy.

okay, ms. catherine park. remote access is a… yes. standard waynecorp password makeup for low-level administration employees. easy to

ute-force. can't access my own code with gizmo watching though, will have to use vanilla stuff. don't lock me out… don't lock me out... yes! bu773rb34n? someone's into kid shows... anyway, need a list of suppliers. come on, come on, every cafeteria has pizza day… jackpot. check records, need to make sure the extra expenditure will go unnoticed. whoa, what are they feeding those guys? tax deduction much? alright, grab web order client information aaaaand...

alex: "free pizza! you guys set on what you want?"

gizmo: "wait a minute! did you just hack into waynecorp?!"

alex: "and got you guys all the free pizza you could ever want! as long as it's from pizza corner... they any good?"

billy: "you kiddin'? best place in town!"

seemore: "awesome!"

gizmo: "you hacked into waynecorp and all you got was free pizza!?"

alex: "unlimited free pizza. and drinks and stuff. didn't check the menu."

gizmo: "are you stupid!? why didn't you get like… a million dollars or something!?"

alex: "you wanted pizza…"

gizmo: "are you freaking kidding me!?"

don't push him… he could force you to do much worse.

alex: "yes. come on gizmo, where am i going to transfer the money? doubt you guys have bank accounts and they'd notice such a huge sum being moved. your pizza? a dent in their cafeteria expenses, they'd never catch on unless they do a hell of an audit. now, you gonna pick a pie or not?"

he fumes for a couple more seconds before calming down.

gizmo: "straight cheese with extra sauce… and a bottle of orange pop."

alex: "peachy. now, i'm guessing drone delivery?"

saved by the carbs…

it takes a bit of tinkering with the drones' gps to mask their true destination but their order arrives without a hitch and in pretty good time too.

sitting here with these guys eating pie… frankly it's just like hanging out with friends back home. weird friends that could squish you into a pulp or burn a hole through you or whatever it is that gizmo does.

seemore: "so mammoth busts out of his restraints and knocks out the guards in charge of defrosting. lucky for us they had freed gizmo first so he was able to handle the controls. we

oke out and laid low for a while before making our way back to jump city."

billy: "rode on'a train and ate beans. the whole bum routine."

alex: "why did you come back here? there must be other cities with less capes."

gizmo: "jump city's high security prison has a lot villains. with those teen snots getting more and more heroes joining them we thought it was a good place to start recruiting. but thanks to kid crud our place got trashed along with all my equipment. we've been trying to rebuild ever since we got back."

kyd: "..."

he mimics wings with his hands.

alex: "you thought your friend angel would be here?"

he nods.

seemore: "they've been together since the academy, like us. she isn't though. we have no idea where she was taken."

kyd slumps.

mammoth: "my sis said she didn't wanna' join. thinks we mess up too much."

billy: "those ain't the words she used…"

gizmo: "like she does any better."

seemore: "private hive wanted to join..."

billy: "goes by sargent hive now'adays, and he wanted us to join 'im."

gizmo: "pff. fat chance. that guy's more uptight than

other blood."

alex: "you guys have it tough, huh?"

billy: "like ol' jerky. but i ain't complaining. beats tippin' cows back home."

seemore: "so… are you leaving alex?"

aw, those puppy eyes… or eye.

alex: "depends. we cool now gizmo?"

gizmo: "you are not bad for a gotham runt. free ice cream would be nice too..."

alex: "really? after all that pie you still have room in that tiny body of yours?"

gizmo: "you want in or not?"

she could. drop out of the grid. batman's not likely to come look for her here. forget about the plan, forget about g-… no. she can't keep the act going forever, they'll catch on eventually. even assuming they don't turn her in to the families there will always be someone aiming for her bounty, someone who might not care if she lied to them or that they are villains or whatever…

alex: "not. look… i'm small time. i'm not cut out for this. fighting capes all the time? i'm glad i got through one encounter with the bat without getting my teeth kicked in. i just want to find a hole to crawl into and lay low. you guys… you are just too high profile for me."

billy: "you givin' us the it ain't you it's me routine?"

alex: "just you, carebear. i like the others."

mammoth: "ha, carebear… still funny."

gizmo: "fine. seemore, fetch small time some clothes, she can't go around in a prison jumpsuit. make it baggy so she can hide her flabby arms."

seemore: "alright..."

he despondently goes to rummage on a pile of discarded clothes in the corner.

alex: "hey giz, you said you all got caught in paris, right?"

gizmo: "what about it?"

alex: "let me borrow your rig again."

she really shouldn't. this isn't helping them because she needs to escape, this is helping them just because. it could get her in even more trouble… and them. screw it. just an easy search for french metahuman prisons. check transfers. damn, barebones information only. fine. cross-reference with extradition requests. match gender and approximate age… if she was active in jump city it's most likely a local court that made the request. there she is. oh, they are going to love this...

gizmo: "she's at iron heights?!"

kyd: "..."

he runs towards the monitor showing the information of angel's admittance into flash's, and by extension his sidekick's, hometown prison.

axel: "awaiting transfer to jump city penitentiary. guess your intel wasn't that bad."

seemore: "keystone city? that's were jinx is."

mammoth: "angel looks sad."

axel: "it isn't arkham… but yeah, it's got a rep."

kyd: "..."

he looks at her worriedly.

alex: "don't worry too much, she should get transferred out soon."

seemore: "here… sorry it's the best i could get."

he hands her a bundle of clothes, probably a mix of their own and whatever the workers left in their lockers when the warehouse was abandoned. she steps out of the room and changes as they argue how to rescue their friend.

gizmo: "kyd, port her somewhere out of sight."

billy: "bye ginger, don't be a stranger now."

seemore: "drop by sometime? we got pizza."

he manages a smile. damn it kid… she's starting to get pissed at whoever jinx is.

mammoth: "bye small time."

alex: "see ya later mammoth."

gizmo: "hey. take this. you know… 'case we need you for a job or something."

he hands her a communicator jury-rigged from an old cell-phone and scrounged parts.

alex: "you really want that ice cream dontcha'?"

he snorts and turns back to the rig. kyd looks at her and she nods. he envelops them both in his cloak and a second later they appear in an alley. there's a boardwalk in front of her, it's lights reflecting on the bay's surface.

alex: "sweet spot…"

kyd: "..."

he waves goodbye.

alex: "bye kyd… don't do anything crazy okay? in and out, like when you rescued me. less concussions perhaps."

he smiles and ports away. she lets out a sigh that has been

ewing in her for hours as she leans on the alley's walls, dampness seeping into her borrowed coat.

alex: "now… how the hell do i get to titans tower?"

day

eak

titans tower, lounge area

starfire's attempt at sukiyaki lies abandoned halfway on the stove, grease congealing on the pot's rim. beast boy closes the fridge's door after taking a handful of drinks and walks towards the rest of the team currently assembled at the tower's main console.

robin: "thanks…"

cyborg: "how mad do you think he's going to be?"

robin: "not mad. disappointed."

raven: "it's not your fault."

beast boy: "i'll take the fall rob. it was my bad."

robin: "it doesn't work like that… not with him. the worst part isn't that we messed up… it's that he'll blame himself for letting us handle it."

starfire: "robin… i am sorry we have failed your k'norfka."

beast boy: "maaaan this sucks… i don't want my first meeting with batman to be about how i screwed up."

cyborg: "yeah... not how i imagined it either."

raven: "we could… you know… not take the call."

starfire: "are you saying we give batman the cold shoulder?"

robin: "that's like challenging kasparov to a match of chess."

starfire: "that would be hard, yes?"

robin: "quite. listen guys... don't get bummed out, once we have the intel and some rest we'll go out again and find her."

cyborg: "i'm already working on hooking up our facial recognition program to every street cam in the city, just need a good picture."

beast boy: "ohhh, there it is… man this is worse than when i used negative man's bindings to disguise myself as a mummy."

raven: "aren't those radioactive?"

batman: "batcave to titans tower."

robin: "we are here batman."

batman: "report."

robin: "we arrived at the site ten minutes after the incident. the officers in charge of the van recognized members of the h.i.v.e. five as the ones who perpetrated the assault. they had a few

uises from the crash but managed to escape the vehicle's explosion. minimal damage to the

idge. our presence did not raise any suspicion. as far as the local police force is concerned we just answered to a crime alert. the orderlies stated that the hive appeared out of nowhere, we believe kyd wykkyd used his powers to teleport their team on and off the

idge."

batman: "what are the limits on wykkyd's abilities?"

robin: "the exact range and volume he can move is unknown. however, raven was able to use her own powers to track the residual energy from his teleportation to a location nearby the eastern

idge head."

batman: "cameras?"

robin: "none covering the attack on ellis. cyborg checked the area were we tracked their exit point and found a black spot. traffic control had reported the malfunction a few days ago but never got around to fixing it, making backlogs useless. given the small time frame on which the attack occurred we are unable to single out any vehicle entering or leaving the street as the hive's, if they used one at all."

batman: "what is the local police doing?"

robin: "little. they only have a basic profile of the prisoner and weren't able to secure a good picture of her from airport security. the agent that accompanied her from gotham was already on his way back before the incident and her transfer papers burnt with the van. if bureaucracy serves us right, it'll be a couple days before the gcpd sends them anything useful."

batman: "local media?"

robin: "standard response. a

oadcast went out asking the citizenry to report any sightings. we are monitoring their lines in case something useful comes up."

batman: "leads?"

robin: "we acquired the blanket she was given on the plane and had beast boy try to track her scent but the trail went cold. civilian witnesses from the

idge coincide with the officers' statements. the hive's current makeup seems to be gizmo, seemore, billy numerous, mammoth and kyd wykkyd. this is their first appearance in jump city after their escape three months ago. their hideout was taken over by the police after they joined the

otherhood of evil so we presume they are using a secondary site. i contacted jinx, a previous member of the hive, for information on other possible locations. starfire did a sweep but results were negative."

batman: "..."

beast boy: "is that a giant penny in the back?"

raven: "shh…"

batman: "the prisoner was not logged into the gcpd's database. her transfer papers were forged. i am sending you a dossier now."

robin: "danielle alejandra xavi, 19 years old. currently undergoing cna studies at gotham university. five feet six, red hair, gray eyes, slim build. no criminal record. father jordi oscar xavi, 46, tpo at shultz & hoshu banking corporation, gotham head office. mother lena rendel, 41, currently employed by the konstfack university at stockholm. have been divorced for over a decade. no other listed relatives."

starfire: "i am confused by the assorted capital letters."

robin: "cna stands for chief network architect, it's a course of studies centered around the designing and operation of communication networks and systems. tpo stands for transaction processing officer, usually in charge of keeping track of client accounts and certifying transfers. in this case, those clients are the crime families of gotham. the shbc is known for laundering their money and other unsavory activities."

cyborg: "the mob has its own bank?"

robin: "several in fact, but the shbc has enough legitimate business to mask large illegal operations. it became the families' main channel for laundering in the city after many members of the gotham bank's board were ousted due to suspicion of being in the families' pockets. you could say the shbc is a sort of neutral ground, a safe place for all the capos to funnel their money in and out of gotham."

batman: "not anymore."

robin: "wow… that's a lot of sars. zurich, berlin, moscow, hong kong, buenos aires… they are all over the place."

beast boy: "acronyms robin…"

raven: "i'm rather surprised you know what an acronym is."

robin: "suspicious activity reports. they are filed by banks when they detect possible laundering schemes. there is no way the shbc will avoid a treasury investigation… the families' accounts will be frozen for months if not years."

batman: "the families will survive. they have enough cash stashed in other banks and safe-houses to continue to operate normally and they'll keep making more from their operations in gotham and elsewhere. at most, this will make them lose face. they'll

ibe and muscle their way out of the investigation as they always do."

robin: "so what is this about batman? how do the xavis fit in? did the father cut a deal in exchange for protection? is that why you wanted the girl moved out of gotham without anyone noticing?"

batman: "jordi xavi is dead. he and several others were killed during a shootout at the shbc. perpetrators remain unknown. the families kept it quiet, they didn't want the police to have an excuse to poke their noses into their business. that was until all the alerts went off. the treasury asked gordon to ensure evidence wouldn't be tampered with before they could issue a 314. when xavi and his coworkers couldn't be found he asked for my help. usual cleaners, usual dumping ground."

robin: "dental records?"

batman: "..."

starfire: "x'hal…"

cyborg: "man…"

raven: "..."

beast boy: "dude… no wonder you wanted out of gotham."

robin: "... how does the girl come in?"

batman: "i asked gordon for a copy of the bank's transfer logs. my initial assumption was that whoever assaulted the bank had done so in order to funnel funds their way, prompting the alerts as some sort of cover. i was wrong. it was the girl. she used her father's clearances to hack into the system and wire the money away, purposely choosing banks across the world with high security standards to ensure they'd be tagged."

robin: "do the families know?"

batman: "she hid her tracks by rewriting months of data. it took the cave's computer three days of cross-referencing to track it down. it's a matter of time though. if not the treasury, the families' own men will eventually notice the discrepancies and trace them to her."

robin: "so she'll be wanted by the federals and all of gotham's crime families."

cyborg: "that's bound to

eak a record for biggest bounty ever…"

starfire: "would she not be safe under the authorities custody?"

robin: "like cyborg said, the bounty on her head will be substantial. assuming they don't just send her to jail, even as a protected witness it's unlikely she'll escape detection long."

raven: "why did you wait until now to tell us all of this?"

beast boy: "girl... that's batman..."

batman: "because i was made aware of the plan after you. once i heard the van had been attacked i trusted robin would know what to do."

robin: "... gordon pulled a fast one on you."

batman: "and fooled you into believing i had agreed to this plan."

starfire: "so... you are not disappointed by our failure to shadow the van of transfer?"

batman: "...no."

beast boy: "batman... sir, what is the plan then?"

robin: "gordon wants to make the girl disappear. that's why he asked us to remain unseen, why he forged her transfer papers and why he wouldn't tell batman. you didn't want to put m-... us in danger."

batman: "you'll become targets if she's ever found. if not for the police, to whom you'd have to explain why you are harboring a fugitive, for the families and their hired assassins. i could not ask this from you."

robin: "why?"

batman: "because it is dangerous… and i knew you would have accepted."

raven: "..."

cyborg: "..."

starfire: "..."

beast boy: "..."

robin: "... well, as usual you were right b-... batman. now that we have the intel, cyborg can load her picture into our system and we can have every camera in the city looki-"

cyborg: "perimeter alarm! pier sector.

inging up outdoor security cameras."

raven: "beast boy… that better not be the pizza guy."

beast boy: "what? no! i didn't order anything!"

starfire: "it is not the deliverer of pizza."

robin: "team, go meet our guest. i'll deactivate the island's security and finish up with batman."

cyborg: "pleasure to meet you sir."

raven: "cool penny."

beast boy: "hey! ah, looking forward to working with you again sir!"

starfire: "we will not disappoint you sir."

batman: "..."

robin: "..."

batman: "keep a close eye on her dick. it takes more than company clearances to do what she did. and bare in mind: staying with you, it's just another form of prison for her. if she hasn't realized it by now she will soon."

robin: "we'll handle it

uce. trust us."

batman: "your team has proven more than capable. it is good to finally meet them. especially princess koriand'r."

robin: "has the greatest detective been keeping tabs on us?"

batman: "you were holding hands on nhk dick, it doesn't take much to figure it out."

robin: "... how is alfred?"

alfred: "most well master richard. apologies for not speaking up sooner, secret identities and all that. allow me to express my congratulations. i trust you are being a proper gentleman? she is a princess after all."

batman: "i'll talk with gordon. contact us if you have any updates."

robin: "understood batman. titans tower out."

alfred: "master richard, one question if you will?"

robin: "sure alfred, what is it?"

aldred: "how is it that you get delivery on an island?"

robin: "we… built the guy a jet ski."