Damsel | T. Drake ✔

[09]

At first it was difficult for Irina to manage both her department at LexCorp and her vigilante duties but she got used to it in a few weeks. She made sure not to let anyone, especially Miss Gibson, suspect about her adventures at night. As for Lex, he was always busy so she knew he wouldn't bother to find out.

She had also found out about the Bat vigilantes and had met up once with Nightwing and more frequently with Red Robin though she disliked the latter since he had a habit of turning up wherever she went, almost as if he was spying on her. And while she usually managed to ignore him, Red Robin had such an annoying personality that sometimes she would be extremely tempted to kick him off a building.

She knew the Bat vigilantes protected Gotham just like she did, but they would usually get busy with the more dangerous heists. Hence she had taken it upon herself to make sure that the common citizens didn't get hurt while she let the vigilantes tackle the rest of the matters.

Though from all the people she had saved until then, there was one person who was almost always in trouble, earning him the title of a damsel in distress. And that damsel was none other than Timothy Drake.

By then, she had saved him from an abduction, a mugging, once from falling into a manhole and probably twice from falling off the roof. She couldn't get how one person could be so unaware of his surroundings as Tim to always end up getting hurt.

But from what she had observed at LexCorp, his behavior at work was quite different. He was responsible and had terrific ideas which clearly showed that if Bruce had made him the corporate CEO of Wayne Tech, it was because of his skill and not because Tim was his favorite.

She had realized that Tim was no less than a genius. Or to put it more specifically, he was a genius who needed coffee as his fuel. And that was the reason she had installed a coffee maker immediately in her department, so that Tim wouldn't have to go without coffee for long.

It was night time and Irina was out in the streets again, keeping in the shadows as she scrutinized the dark alleyways for any signs of trouble. Though no one was in trouble at that moment, she spotted Tim wandering down the alleys alone again. And she knew very well that wherever there was a certain Tim Drake, trouble was bound to follow suit.

"Ah look, there goes my lovely damsel in distress," she remarked as she joined him, almost giving him a jump scare.

"I'm not a damsel in distress," he answered though a small smile flickered on his face.

"But you're walking at night through the dark streets of Gotham city," she remarked, "all alone, with no one to protect you. Do you know how many dangerous people lurk around here? You could get hurt, Timothy."

"I can take care of myself very well, thank you," he mumbled and though his remark was a bit straightforward, the smile on his face indicated otherwise.

Since she had saved him multiple times as the masked vigilante, she had come on slightly friendly terms with him. "There are about a million citizens in Gotham yet you're the one who's always in trouble."

"It's not my fault," he mumbled though his eyes widened upon noticing the pole that had come in front of him from nowhere, but luckily his companion had jerked him out of the way, grabbing him by the back of his jacket.

"See, that's exactly why I call you a damsel in distress."

He shrugged, resuming walking towards his neighborhood, "you know what to call me but I don't know how to address you at all. Isn't that a little unfair?"

She kept silent for a while as if thinking, "well... You could call me Ren."

He turned to look at her a little startled, "is that your name?"

"Nope. I'm not foolish enough to give you my real name, Timmy," a laugh escaped her, "no one can be trusted. Not even you."

"Hey..." he feigned a disapproving look on his face but ended up laughing with her, "that was slightly hurtful, y'know."

"Only those people who are close to me can call me Ren," she resumed ignoring his last remark, "like my aunt and friends."

"And I'm neither...?"

She shook her head, "let's just say you're an exception."

"Oh, I'm so honored," he smile but paused for Wayne Manor's gate loomed into view and he knew she wouldn't accompany him further.

She seemed to have noticed that too for she spoke, "and since you're always in trouble, you can keep this." She slipped a small note in his hand closing his fingers around it, "save it under the name Ren on your phone. But don't bother me a lot with useless texts, okay? Call only if you need help."

He hadn't been expecting that but nodded in acknowledgement and did as she had said. Though when he looked up from his phone, she was nowhere to be seen. Knowing that she had a habit of disappearing suddenly, quite uncannily alike to Batman himself, he turned and stepped through the gates to Wayne Manor.

***