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This place is cool and creepy at the same time, Spoiler thought as she looked around the Bat-Cave. Only Batman would have a secret lair in a huge cavern under the mansion of the richest man in Gotham City. Although, I guess none of us can really claim to be 'normal'...

That was an understatement, she knew. After all, she was sitting here in a hooded purple costume with a cape and a black mask that hid her face.

I mean, here I am. Stephanie Brown, hanging around in the Bat Cave...

'What do you think this is about?' she asked, glancing over her shoulder at Black Bat. In her black body suit, she almost blended into the gloom of the cave if it wasn't for the yellow stylised bat on her chest.

'We'll know when he gets here,' she said and Spoiler shrugged.

Cass was always more patient than me. At least my costume isn't the most garish here...

With a wry grin, she glanced over at where Robin was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his sword resting on his knees. He was dressed in a red tunic with his yellow cape and green mask. Seated at the terminal behind him was Red Robin in his red and black uniform with the stylised wing cape, his head bent as his fingers flew across the keys.

'Where is he?' Damian asked, springing to his feet. 'I've got things to do...'

'It must be important,' Nightwing said, from where he was leaning against the wall. Like Black Bat, he wore a black body suit with a red bat motif on the chest. 'Otherwise, he wouldn't have called us all here...'

The silence of the cave was shattered by the roar of an engine and she turned to see a motorcycle racing down the runway towards them, being ridden by a woman in a black uniform with a yellow bat on the chest, her cape flying out behind her.

Batgirl. Looks like the gang's all here...

Bringing the bike to a halt, she kicked down the stand and dismounted, walked towards them.

'Anyone know what this about?' she asked.

'You know Bats,' Red Hood said and Spoiler didn't have to see under his trademark headgear to know that he was smirking. 'He loves keeping us in the dark...'

'I wasn't asking you, Jason,' Batgirl said, pushing past him to stand next to Nightwing with her arms folded over her chest.

'Listen,' Jason began, just as the entrance to the Batcave opened and they all turned to see Batman descending the stairs towards them.

'Thank you all for coming,' he said, without preamble. 'A lot has happened over the last few months and...'

'That's an understatement,' Jason muttered and Batman glared at him for a second, before continuing.

'As you all know, the GCPD has been ordered to cease all co-operation with 'costumed vigilantes'. That means we have lost access to a valuable resource...'

'They've also become more effective,' Nightwing put in. 'They've arrested Mr Freeze, Riddler and Clayface in the last few weeks.

'That also makes them more dangerous to us,' Damian added and Batman nodded.

'True. Which is why we'll be shifting our focus. For now, we'll let the Police continue to deal Gotham's "supervillains", while we focus on issues that they can't, or won't, deal with.'

'Like what?' Red Robin asked.

'Corruption. Organised crime. Anything that the Police aren't paying attention to. We'll need to establish a network of informants and agents like Dr Hopkins who can be our eyes and ears on the streets, keeping a watch for those who might need our help...'

'That's a bit...low-level for us, isn't it?' Jason asked and Nightwing gave him a shove.

'In case you've forgotten, we're doing this to help people,' he said, turning to Batman. 'How's this going to work?'

'We're going to divide our operation, working in pairs. Each team will be responsible for one district. Nightwing and Red Robin, you'll take Uptown. Batgirl and Red Hood, Midtown. Spoiler and Black Bat, Downtown. Robin and I will operate independently as situations dictate. The locations of your new bases of operations are on the Batcomputer. Robin, with me...'

Without waiting to see if he was following, he strode towards the Batmobile and Nightwing stepped forward.

'Alright. You all know what you need to do. Let's get to work...'

#######################

The music pounded in Sofia's ears as she danced among the press of bodies on the dance floor, swaying with the rhythm of the beat. As the crowd flowed around her, she found herself dancing next to a dark-haired girl in a tight tank top and jeans, before she whirled away to be replaced by a cute guy with spiky blond hair. Reaching the edge of the dance floor, she made her way towards the bar when Andrea was waiting.

'Have fun?' she asked as she handed her a drink and Sofia nodded.

'Uh-huh. You should try it...'

'I'm fine here,' she said with a grin. 'That boy was very cute...'

'The girl wasn't bad looking, either...' she said, downing her drink in one shot. 'Anyway, I'm just going to freshen up. I'll be back in a minute...

#######################

Spoiler and Black Bat landed on the rooftop over looking Downtown Gotham. Like most of Gotham at night, it was bathed in the glow of street lamps and neon lights. However, the real sounds of Gotham drifted up to them; police sirens, alarms, gunshots and screams.

'Well, I guess this is our new home for a while,' Spoiler said. 'You wanna go and take a closer look...?'

'We do not know enough about this area,' Bat Black said, levelly. 'We should continue onto the safehouse...'

'I guess you're right,' Spoiler said, with a sigh. 'Come on...'

#######################

Sofia headed across the bar towards the ladies with her hands casually tucked in her pockets. As soon as she was sure that she was out of sight of Andrea, she ducked left and headed down the stairs towards the lower floor and looking around. It didn't take long for her to spot who she was looking for, a young guy leaning against the railing in a shadowy corner and she made her way over...

#######################

'How much money does Batman have?' Spoiler asked as she returned to the top floor of the appartment.

'Enough,' Black Bat said and she shook her head.

'I'll say. I mean, look at this place. It's got a gymnasium, a computer suite, a medical facility, not to mention the garage and workshop. I can't wait to see what my room's like...'

'We have work to do,' Black Bat said, moving towards one of the computer terminal and booting it up, entering her access code.

'Yeah...I guess you're right...' Spoiler said, moving to take the computer opposite her and opening the files that Batman had provided.

It's going to be a long night...

#######################

Sofia walked quickly back towards the stairs, slipping the plastic packet into her back pocket. Climbing the stairs, she glanced around before heading on towards the ladies' with a smile...

#######################

'I need a break,' Spoiler said, sitting back from her computer with a groan, rubbing her neck. Pushing back her chair, she headed towards the gym, zeroing in on the punching bag. Predictably, Cass was still working with her head bent, her eyes flicking left and right as she read.

'Did you read those files on the GCPD Detectives?' she asked, delivering a swift jab to the punching bag, following it up with a elbow strike. 'Some of them could be useful to us...'

'We are not to get involved with the Police,' Cass said, without looking up.

'Strictly speaking, they've been ordered not to work with us...'

'We have been given our orders,' Cass replied. 'And we need to follow them...'

'So, we just ignore a potential source of information...?'

'...yes...'

#######################

'Sofia?' Andrea said, pushing open the door to the bathroom and looking around. 'Are you in here...Oh my God! Sofia!'

Her hand flew to her mouth as she saw Sofia lying on the tiled floor, her eyes staring at nothing. She stood there for a second before turning and running out of the bathroom, shouting for someone to call an ambulance...

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.