« chapter xiv: POWER »
Dabria was grounded, essentially. Bruce didn't say that she was grounded but he did make her train harder, longer and was constantly checking in on her while he was at work. Bruce had bought her a phone specifically so he could text her and Dabria thought it was kind of funny. She had never had a phone before, never thought that she really needed one. Tim had showed her the basics of it and it was pretty simple. It was actually Alfred who showed her how to download games though.
"Master Tim and Master Damian don't play any sensible games like sudoku or crossword puzzles. They play Candy Crush and farming games. It's absurd." Dabria had laughed and downloaded the same games Alfred had and also one of the farming ones that Tim had. It was actually pretty addictive.
Dabria had also started calling Adelaide a lot. Adelaide herself didn't have a phone but she would take one of her mothers and the two girls would talk for hours about how their day had gone. Adelaide was constantly asking about training and her powers and if she was the new hero that had been spotted around Gotham.
"You're her right? Black Hood."
"Ugh is that what they're calling me. I wanted to go by the name of Phantom." Dabria complained. Adelaide would squeal happily, just glad that Dabria was taking this hero business seriously. And she was serious. Dabria would do anything to get back out there and kick more ass.
If only Bruce would let her.
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Dabria was lying on the Batcave floor and Tim was trying not to laugh at her as she slowly unwrapped her hands. "You shouldn't lie there. Isn't the floor cold?" Tim asked.
"It is but I dont care. My shoulder hurts anyways."
"Sorry." Dabria waved him away listlessly. While training, Tim had put her into several headlocks that she had a bit of trouble getting out of. During one such stunt, she had possibly pulled a muscle to get away from him. "Let me help you." Tim said, sitting crosslegged next to her on the ground. Dabria sighed and sit up, turning her back to him. His hands were warm on her shoulder as he massaged her shoulder. Dabria blushed red, glad that Tim couldn't see the look on her face. Tim was also glad that Dabria was facing away from him because he was blushing hard too.
"I swear, do you boys know how to do everything?" Dabria said. Her shoulder already felt better. Dabria didn't think that was possible.
"No." Tim said with a laugh. "That better?" Dabria wanted to say no because it felt nice and she kind of liked being this close to him but then she thought about who she was and who Tim was and how they were so different and she just said,
"Yeah, it's good. Thanks." Tim smiled lightly and stood back up, heading to the computer. Dabria sighed and watched him type away at the computer. "Is he ever going to unground me? He does know I'm not his kid right?" Dabria said, pushing herself up off the ground and walking towards Tim, leaning on Bruce's chair lightly.
"Don't act like a kid then." Tim said with a small smirk, looking back at her. Dabria pouted and Tim laughed. "It won't last long. He knows you're itching to fight and he doesn't want you to leave again so I doubt he'll keep this up much longer."
"It's been 2 weeks already Timothy." Dabria said with a sigh.
"So not much longer then." Dabria sighed.
"Whatever I'm gonna go take a shower. See you later Drake." Dabria said, messing his hair up and lightly shoving his shoulder. Tim shook his head at her and half waved a goodbye as Dabria headed for the elevator, disappearing around the corner. As soon as Tim heard the elevator began to rise he sighed.
"Why are you spying Damian?" There was a small thump behind Tim and then Damian strode forward, wearing his Robin suit, his hands clasped behind his back.
"I'm not spying. I'm observing."
"And why are you observing?" Tim asked with a sigh.
"You have a crush on her." Tim blushed.
"What? No I don't. What would you even know about any of that? You've never liked a girl."
"No but I do know what you're like around a girl you care for." Tim pursed his lips, thinking about Steph and just shook his head.
"Shut up." Damian shrugged.
"Fine but I'm right." Damian said before walking away.
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Dabria continued to hit the punching bag, pretending it was the Riddler or a mugger or any number of other petty thieves and villains. It was about as good as she could get to the actual thing. Dabria knew that she wouldn't be able to get back in Bruce's good graces that easily but... She had hoped that maybe her potential, her powers, and her skill improvement over the past week or so were enough to get her through the training phase. She knew she wasn't as good a fighter as Tim, or Damian but she still had actual superpowers. Didn't that count for something?
"Dabria." Dabria faltered in punching the bag and it nearly swung back and hit her but she sidestepped and stopped it with her hands, looking towards the entrance of the underground gym. Bruce was standing in the entryway, wearing his suit. "I've been calling you for a minute or so." Dabria smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry Bruce. I was... In the zone." He smiled slightly.
"I could see that." Dabria glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Shouldn't you be going soon?"
"Yes." Bruce said. Dabria wiped at the sweat on her forehead and got back in position to continue training.
"Well, I won't stay down here much longer if that's what you're worried about. I'm a little tired anyways." Dabria said, landing a couple of blows to the bag.
"Well, if you're tired then I guess you don't want to come out with us." Dabria paused and glanced back over at Bruce.
"I... You're serious?" Dabria asked, confused. Bruce said nothing. "Oh my god!" Dabria exclaimed, smiling happily. She raced across the gym floor and ran straight into Bruce, hugging him tightly. Bruce seemed surprised by the gesture. "Thank you so much Bruce! I promise I won't let you down. I promise!" Bruce patted her back lightly.
"I know you won't." He said. "Go suit up."
"Way ahead of you." Dabria said, creating a portal and disappearing through it. She landed on the second level of the Batcave, right in front of the case for her suit. Dabria had tried taking it out a couple of times after she had placed it back in the case in the cave but Bruce had denied her access to it. When she put her hand to the glass this time though, it scanned her palm and opened for her.
"Dabria!" Tim called out from somewhere down bellow. "You can change in the..." But Dabria wasn't really listening. She grabbed up her suit, opened another portal and jumped through it into her room. She felt sweaty and ill-prepared but she wasn't going to let either of those things bug her as she stripped off her workout clothes to grab something more breathable. Dabria quickly changed into her suit, splashed some water on her face and shook out her hair. there was a dent in it from the ponytail but she quickly pulled her hood up and placed her mask on. She beamed at herself in the mirror before rushing to lace up her boots and creating another portal to the first floor of the Batcave.
"Ta-da!" Dabria said, spinning around happily in front of Tim as she emerged. He smirked at her a little and handed her a helmet.
"What's this for?" Dabria asked. It was black and looked about her size, unlike Tim's other helmets which were a bit too big for her.
"We can't all fit in the Batmobile you know." Damian was sitting in the passenger seat of the Batmobile, arms crossed over his chest looking slightly displeased.
"So I have to ride on the back of your bike forever then?" Dabria asked, pursing her lips.
"Not forever." Bruce said, coming up behind her.
"So... I can get my own bike eventually?" Dabria asked with a grin. "The Phantom Bike has a nice ring to it." Bruce smirked a little.
"First, get your license then we'll talk about bikes." Dabria grinned happily and jogged over towards Tim who was waving her over as Bruce hoped into the Batmobile. Dabria flipped her hood down and pulled the helmet over her head before getting behind Tim on his bike, putting her arms around his waist.
"Well let's go then Red Wing." Dabria said excitedly into the earpiece. Tim chuckled and flipped the visor for his helmet down as the Batmobile sped out of the cave. Tim following after it quickly and Dabria laughing in delight as they left.
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"So who are we gong after?" Dabria whispered to Tim as they crouched low on a rooftop overlooking an abandoned warehouse. "I don't think anyone ever told me." Tim glanced over at Bruce who was silent, seemingly brooding a little.
"Black Mask and his goons are smuggling some high-tech weapons into the city. If we don't stop them... Gotham will be an even more dangerous place." Tim said softly. Dabria shivered and Tim wondered if it was from the cold, fear or just pure excitement.
"Well when's this deal supposed to happen?" Dabria whispered to him.
"It won't if you two keep talking and blow our cover." Damian hissed out. Dabria stuck her tongue out at him and Damian scowled as Tim tried not to laugh.
"So grumpy." Dabria murmured bit she stopped asking questions nonetheless. Around two o'clock, after Dabria had lost all sensation in her legs and was feeling like this whole night was a bust, a large black car pulled up to the loading dock of the building.
Without saying anything, Bruce started to move and Tim and Damian followed. Dabria was a little slower to react though. She watched the three boys jump to the other roof and frowned slightly as she simply portaled onto the neighboring roof. Tim smiled at her as she emerged and then the three of them raced to the roof door. Damian on the other hand climbed into the nearest vent shaft and disappeared noiselessly. Dabria grinned and as soon as they entered the warehouse, camouflaged herself against the hallway. Tim glanced back at one point and didn't see Dabria but he wasn't worried.
The three of them paused on an upper landing and watched several men converse amongst one another down bellow. They seemed in good spirits, not suspicious at all of their presence. It wasn't until Black Mask appeared that they went on high alert. "What are you all standing around for!" His voice boomed in the vast emptiness of the place. "The Bat could be here any minute now and I need these weapons off loaded and stashed!" Dabria stood from her crouch, ready to vault over the walkway and land down below on the ground but Bruce held up his hand and Dabria paused. Had he sensed her movement? He certainly couldn't have seen her move. Dabria crouched back down and pulled her hod up higher on her head, shifting nervously. Dabria wondered what Bruce was waiting for. The crates were slowly offloaded and Black Mask ordered one to be opened. As soon as the crate was opened, exposed sleek black heavy duty rifles, Bruce moved. At the same instant, Damian appeared falling from a cent and right into their midst. Dabria grinned as she and Tim vaulted over the railing.
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"Uhhh Red, I think you should turn around." Tim heard Damian say over the Com link.
"What? Why? I'm busy?" Tim replied as he knocked another dude unconscious and kicked the one behind him right in his face, dodging a spray of bullets aimed in his direction.
"Just turn around." There was muffled shouts from wherever Damian was and Tim hoped he wasn't pulling people's limbs off or anything. Tim whirled around, punching another would be assassin in the face. He was just in time to see Dabria, encased in flames igniting everything she touched. The wooden crates with the guns were alive with fire and some goons were even patting at their clothes, putting out fire from where Dabria had punched them as they screamed in agony.
"Robin! What the fuck. Why didn't you just say Phantom is on fire!" Tim shouted as he raced towards her, ignoring everything else as he dogged attack after attack on his way over. Where was Bruce and Black Mask? They had disappeared somewhere, caught up in their own fight.
"Thought you should see for yourself Red. What are you going to do? Did you know she could do that?" Tim didn't reply because the answer was I don't know to both questions.
"Phantom!" Tim shouted as Dabria kicked a man in the chest, sending him flying into the back of the van.
"Little busy Red Wing!" Dabria said. She was currently focusing on not letting any of the goons get the best of her. She didn't want to fail in front of Bruce who she guessed might be watching them even if he was a little preoccupied up in the second level with Black Mask.
"Phantom, you're going to set this whole block on fire." Tim shouted, that made Dabria pause. She looked down at her fists, realizing the fire moved along more than just her hands but up her arms, down her legs. She was encased in fire and she hadn't even noticed.
"Uhh.." Dabria had never been covered in flames before and she was on the verge of a complete freak out.
"Don't stress out!" Tim warned. "Does it hurt?"
"No..." Dabria said slowly as the men continued to attack Tim but became more wary of Dabria.
"Then it's fine. Concentrate on not letting it spread." But now that he had said it, that's all Dabria could think of. Her nervous energy began to fuel the fire around them.
"T-" Dabria paused, nearly hitting herself for almost saying his name. "Red!" She shouted.
"Don't panic. Stay calm."
"Easy for you to say! You're not covered in fire!"
"The sprinkler system will kick on." Tim said, just as water began to fall from the ceiling and a loud fire alarm rang throughout the building. It was almost complete chaos after that as Tim and Damian ran around trying to knock out the last few stragglers to stop them from escaping while Dabria concentrated on putting herself out. The water didn't seem to be helping the fire that covered her.
Dabria bit down on her bottom lip hard. The fire didn't hurt but it did feel weird. It felt like the air around her had solidified and adhered to her skin. It was almost uncomfortably warm as well on her skin. Dabria clenched and clenched her hands into fists. She tried to imagine the fire evaporating under the water but nothing was working. "Phantom, relax." A voice said behind her. Dabria turned to look at Bruce. He looked even more menacing in the dark with his cowl on.
"I... I can't Batman." Dabria said, eyeing Black Mask who was hanging from a portion of the ceiling, all wrapped up in cable, and struggling fruitlessly.
"You can. Take deep breaths Phantom. In through your nose, out through your mouth." Damian and Tim approached slowly and Dabria could hear sirens in the distance. "Phantom." Bruce said. Dabria nodded and took a deep breath, trying to relax her muscles as she let go of the tension in her shoulders. The sounds of sirens grew louder and louder and Dabria continued to breathe slowly as emergency service people entered the building.
"Batman! Do you need help!" Came a shout. Dabria opened her eyes nervously. Her arms were still on fire but the rest of her wasn't. She exhaled slowly as Commissioner Gordon approached. Dabria breathed in and out one more time and the fire completely disappeared.
"No, we're good." Dabria smiled at Bruce who nodded curtly. "Sorry about... The mess. Phantom hasn't yet gotten control of her powers." Commissioner Gordon nodded.
"Phantom. You're the girl that stopped that bank robbery downtown." Dabria beamed.
"Yup, that was me."
"Another one Batman?" Gordon asked, scratching his head lightly and eyeing the two boys and Dabria. Bruce said nothing.
"He thinks I have more potential than these two." Dabria said. Damian and Tim immediately started to argue but Commissioner Gordon just laughed.
"Get a grip on those... Powers... Phantom and you will." Dabria nodded.
"If you need us, you know how to reach us." Batman said. Dabria made a portal appear and Gordon flinched away from it as Damian and Tim stepped through. Bruce quickly followed and Dabris mock saluted the Commissioner before jumping through the portal and onto the top of the roof.
"That was fun." Dabria said happily. "What next?"
"I think you and Red Wing should head back to the cave." Brcue said. Dabria's smile fell.
"You're benching me?"
"Did you mean to light yourself on fire?" Bruve countered.
"I... No but..."
"Were you able to get rid of the fire on your own?"
"Well I didn't see someone trying to dump water on me." Dabria said with a frown.
"Phantom, I think this mission was a good start but..."
"But you don't trust me."
"I trust you. I trust your ability but I also need to trust that you won't loose control of your powers." Dabria frowned, shoulders falling.
"Fine. I'll leave." Dabria muttered, throwing up her hand. A portal was created and through it, the boys could see the Batcave.
"Phantom..." Bruce said but before he could get another word out, Dabria disappeared. Bruce sighed. "Come on boys." Damian and Tim nodded, following Bruce off the roof and into the night.