Jason's nineteenth birthday was the first and last time she visited his grave. It was much too painful to return, and life continued on anyways. It's been about a year and a half since she went to Gotham Cemetery, and she wish she could say she never looked back. She looked back, many times. Occasionally, she'd find herself crying and overwhelmed with sadness. Venus could never fully move on, but she did try her best.
It was noon on a chilly Friday in Autumn, and Venus's classes had just finished. She was currently strolling up downtown Gotham with Ryder and a few of his friends, Mandy and Jem. Venus wasn't close with them, they were just mutual friends thanks to Ryder. She's just grateful for the normalcy.
"Coffee, everyone?" Ryder chirped, offering Venus his arm. She rolled her eyes and took it, pinching him hard.
"Sounds great," Many responded, stilettos clicking on the pavement. "I'm absolutely dying for an iced chai latte."
Jem nodded, pulling his headphones down to hang around his neck. "Cool."
"Venus?" Ryder asked, tilting his head to the side.
Venus shrugged. "Sure. As long as you're paying."
"Mudd's Coffee it is!" He cheered, pulling her along the sidewalk. Venus grimaced and shared a look with Mandy who stifled a giggle. She twirled a strand of platinum hair around a finger as they strode the ever-so gloomy streets.
"Y'know, it's totally possible we can die right here, with the amount of crime going around right now," She commented, offering a piece of gum to Venus.
"Crime rates have definitely gone up a ton the past few months," Jem added, pulling his hoodie over his dusty-blond hair. "Sucks to turn on the news and it's just robberies and muggings."
"Don't forget all the murders," Ryder noted, unphased.
"Don't worry guys," Venus grinned, snapping her gum with a loud pop. "I'll protect you from the big, scary bad guys." She said it jokingly, of course, but her sixteen years of training certainly gave them an advantage. Nobody was mugging them without walking away with a bashed skull. Or not walking away at all.
"Wow, I feel so comforted" Jem sarcastically drawled. "With what, your five dollar pepper spray?"
"I don't even have pepper spray, idiot!" Venus protested, flipping him off. Jem only guffawed knowing how easy it was to rile her up.
"Anyways," Ryder said, looking down the street. "That's what you get for living in Gotham."
Mandy only shrugged. "Never a dull moment, at least."
"You say that now," Jem countered, raising his brow. "Wait until you're the one with your brains splattered on Main Street."
"Okay! We're here," Ryder announced quickly, cutting their conversation off. The two weren't wrong. Crime has been flourishing lately, and with Roy, Jade and Venus out of the picture, Dick and Robin have been scrambling to keep up. Batman has surprisingly been MIA for the past few weeks, though Bruce has kept busy with his charity galas, leaving all the work to his sidekick.
"Venus? The usual?" Ryder asked and nudged her.
"You know me so well," She said, patting his shoulder. He rolled his eyes and got in line, leaving Mandy, Jem and Venus to find a table.
"That old dude looks like he's leaving," Mandy pointed to a table by a large umbrella. "Should we sit there?"
"Duh," Jem spoke, making his way towards the black, wire table. Just as the three settled themselves down, Venus's phone rang. She looked at the two and held her phone in the air, walking away.
Once she was out of earshot, she answered the call. "Hello?"
"Hey, Venus. Think you can run down to the station? We have a case I think you might like," Dick spoke, voice coming statically through the phone.
Venus raised her brows, intrigued. Dick worked at the police department as a detective when he wasn't busy being Nightwing, and Venus helped occasionally when she was bored. Dick did all the thinking, she did all the punching. They made a great team, and it didn't disturb Venus's life of normalcy; normal people can be police officers, right?
She looked towards the table and shrugged, grinning slightly. She loves Ryder, but busting crime with Dick sounds much more fun. "I'll be there in 10."
She hung up and jogged back. "I gotta run, tell Ryder I'm not paying him back." Jem only shrugged, bopping his head to his music while Mandy waved halfheartedly as she examined her nails. Venus's grin grew. What fun they were.
-----------------------------
"Alright, so who're we busting?" Venus asked Dick, cracking her knuckles. She shrugged on his long coat in attempt to look more professional, popping the collar. Like one of those badass cops on tv.
Dick cracked his neck as he continued to pass around paperwork to his busy coworkers. The station was crowded and buzzing with life; crime never really did take the day off. "We have a new vigilante in town. Ten dead so far, same bullet wounds. It appears that the victims all had criminal charges--"
"All had criminal charges?" Venus cocked her head to the side, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, they all had some sort of criminal past; robberies, assaults, murders. All found dead in public streets and alleyways," Dick confirmed, accepting a coffee with a nod from one of the passing cops.
She squinted, clicking her tongue. "And we wanna catch this guy?"
He looked at her in exhaustedly, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "Yes, he's killing people, Venus. Now come on. Gordon's waiting for us with a team."
The two quickly exited the building, Venus's stolen coat trailing behind them. Dick threw his coffee to the side and adjusted his holster.
"So, what's the plan?" Venus drawled, wishing she had a gun. She was never allowed a gun, something about not being approved or licensed, which was complete bullshit. But she herself was a weapon, she supposed. Being an enhanced human being and all.
He led her to his car and they got in hastily. "We're meeting up with Gordon, he's got a fresh body downtown. We'll try to see if this guy left any trails, he couldn't have gotten far." He started the car and drove off, smacking Venus's head against the head rest.
"Cool," Venus nodded, rubbing the back of her head. "And you don't have any more info on this guy?"
"No, he just seemed to pop up," Dick said, stressed. Venus scoffed and stretched her feet onto the dashboard.
"You seem worried," She noted. "You think this guy is gonna be a problem?"
He shoved her feet off the dashboard and shrugged passively. "He definitely will be."
Dick pulled up to a blocked off alleyway in between two apartments. They ducked under the caution tape into the alley, studying their surroundings.
"Gordon," Dick greeted grimly.
Jim Gordon nodded politely, glancing up from his notepad. "Venus, lovely to see you again." She nodded back at him, eyes on the bloodied body.
"Same as the rest. Shot cleanly in the head, looks like the work of a sniper," Gordon informed them. "Unfortunately, Gotham is the perfect place for snipers. Lots of tall buildings with hiding places."
Dick squatted down, examining the facedown body. "And who was the victim?"
"Stanley Donn, it seems like the killer got him as he was selling something to these kids," Gordon nodded to the open ambulance with two kids sitting on the edge. Venus raised her brow; they looked no older than thirteen.
"Venus go ahead," Dick said, gesturing for Gordon to continue. Venus rolled her eyes. Of course she was on kid duty. Luckily, she was in a very patient mood today.
She approached the kids, nodding dismissively to the cops around them. "I can take it from here, boys."
Though hesitantly, the cops eventually backed off to study the crime scene. Venus smiled to herself before turning to the kids, smiling pleasantly. "My name's Venus. What are your names?"
The blond boy spoke up, voice surprisingly steady. "I'm Toby." He nudged his dark haired friend who appeared to be crying.
The shaken boy glanced up and avoided Venus's heavy gaze. "I-I'm Alex."
"Toby, Alex. I just want to ask you a few questions, is that all right?" Venus asked patiently, voice sickly sweet. She mentally rolled her eyes; why was she always stuck with the boring jobs?
The boys nodded, the blond one wrapping his arm around his friend. How nice. "Great," Venus said eagerly. "What were you doing with this man? Did he approach you? What did he want?"
She paused and nodded to the body. "The dead one, that is."
Toby looked overwhelmed, and looked at her questioningly. She tilted her head. "Well?"
To her surprise, Alex answered shakily. "He stopped us outside my apartment. He said he had a treat for us, as long as we pay for it! Then he led us into this alley, oh, I knew we shouldn't have gone! Stranger danger!" He broke into sobs, hiding his chubby face with a blanket.
Venus did her best to not look annoyed. "Toby?"
"He was about to give us cookies, but then he got shot!" Toby cried, hugging Alex tighter. "I got blood on my shirt, mama's gonna kill me!"
"Oh no, not the shirt," Venus said sympathetically. She patted their shoulders awkwardly. "We'll catch the bad man, don't you worry."
She left the crying kids in a hurry, practically speed walking over to Dick and Gordon who were poking around the body. "Why do you always get the fun jobs?" She whined, glancing at the pool of blood.
"What'd they say?" Dick demanded, tapping his foot. Gordon also looked at her attentively.
Venus frowned. "Right to business then. He was trying to sell them cocaine, I guess the kids assumed he meant cookies. They were ready to pay, too, before he got shot."
Gordon nodded. "We figured as much. We couldn't find anything here, it's hard to track a distance shooter."
"I can scout the area?" Venus suggested hopefully, perking up. She was in desperate need of some action.
Dick and Gordon shook their heads. "He's long gone. We'll just have to be ready when he makes his next move."
"Damn," Venus said lowly, trudging slowly back to Dick's car. She was promised a good time, and all she did was question a few stupid twelve-year olds. Liar, liar.
Dick slid in the car a few moments later, and drove back to the police station. "Sorry, but the case is exciting, you have to admit. I thought you'd like the challenge and mystery?"
"Yeah, just wanted to chase him around today, y'know? I was in the mood for a good run," She sulked, staring out the window.
"You'll get your chance, Venus" He assured, patting her arm. "You can help me with paperwork now, though. I'm swamped."
She grimaced. "Whatever, I have nothing better to do." She really didn't want to do paperwork, but it beats sitting in her bed staring at the ceiling, drowning in her thoughts. So paperwork it is!
He pulled into the police station, and the two strode to his desk. Dick pulled up a chair for her and handed her a pile of files.
"So, how's Jade and Roy? I haven't gotten the chance to talk to them in a while," Dick spoke, scribbling on his papers.
Venus also started on the files. "They're good. Roy misses patrolling with you, though."
"Well, why'd he stop?" He asked.
She shrugged. "He and Jade are trying to lay low. Roy did go on a little mission last week, through. Had to bust his mafia friend, I think."
A new voice rang through the air calling Dick's name. "Dick! I got a lead on the Maroni case!"
A scrawny boy, who looked to be about sixteen, rushed into Dick's office. He had dark hair and a bright smile, and he was clutching a schoolbag.
Dick glanced at Venus for a split second before looking at the boy. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"
"School can wait," The boy said, grinning mischievously. "Evil never sleeps!"
Venus raised her brow. "So you have been busy. You didn't tell me you had a son!" She was only half joking, looking at Dick expectedly.
"Ew, I'm not his son," The boy cringed, shuddering. Venus agreed wholeheartedly with his reaction. "My names Tim, Tim Drake."
She nodded, glancing at the boy. "Hello, Tim."
Dick looked almost nervous. "Tim, how about we discuss this later? We're busy right now."
Tim nodded, before studying Venus closely. "Hey, you're Venus Carter, right? It's so nice to finally meet you!" He shook her hand excitedly, smiling boyishly. Venus smiled back hesitantly, peering at Dick.
"Nice to meet you too?" She responded, smile strained.
"Dick and Bruce told me so much about you? Is it true you stopped an armed delivery on the highway by yourself? On top of a moving car?" He ranted still shaking her hand.
Venus's smile dropped, and she furrowed her brows, pulling away. "Bruce?"
She studied Tim carefully. Her mood sank when she saw his sparkling eyes, so full of hope and energy. His naive eagerness to prove himself shone brightly, blinding him from the truth. He seemed to be bursting with confidence, as if he thought he could take on anyone. Venus has seen that look before. She's seen this boy twice. Once in Dick, and once in Jason. Of course, Venus didn't actually see Dick as Robin, but Tim was exactly how Dick described his younger self as.
Anyways, Tim Drake was the new Robin. Jason's replacement; the new teenager whose life was ruined and stolen from him by a certain selfish billionaire. She pitied the boy, really. He'd regret his decision soon.
Venus shrugged Dick's coat off and threw it onto his lap, not meeting his apologetic stare. "Call me when you find something."
She began to walk out of the station, rolling her eyes when she heard Tim call, "Nice to meet you, Miss Carter!"
Venus began the short walk to her apartment. It was dark by now, and she was beginning to wish she kept Dick's coat.
Ok, so she doesn't hate Tim Drake. She's sure he's a nice kid, but for certain reasons, she hates him by association. And she will not be pursuing any future conversations with the annoying boy.
Venus shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked around suspiciously, picking up her pace. She felt the strangest sensation, as if she were being watched. And she certainly wouldn't doubt it; there was an endless amount of creeps and criminals in Gotham. They usually weren't hidden, though. Venus didn't see anyone around her, but nevertheless, she still rushed back to her apartment with her guard up.
She didn't notice the hairs on her arms standing tall as she locked her door. She didn't notice the goosebumps, either, as she turned off the lights.