Just Breathe: A batsis story

9 - Hello There

Chapter 9 - Hello There (*GeNeRaL kEnObI*)

Bruce had been in the Batcave all evening and night trying to break the Xenon Corp. grunt he had abducted but was having a hard time at it. For some reason, this man refused to talk even when threatened and after being beaten half to death. Whatever he was afraid of happening to him if Xenon found out he ratted, it must be pretty scary, to say the least. Dick and Tim were a bit worried about Bats as he was clearly taking a lot of his pent-up anger out on the man. Whatever it was that was bothering him, none of the boys wanted to open that can of worms.

"WHY WERE YOU FOLLOWING THEM?"

"Maybe we should get Alfred?" Damian asked Dick.

"Would have if I could but Bruce gave him the day off remember?" Dick responded while grimacing as Batman struck the Xenon grunt with the back of his hand.

"ANSWER ME!"

"Yeah but I guarantee you he's still around somewhere, he would never actually take a day off," Damien rebutted.

"I'LL KILL YOU DAMMIT!"

"If you want to go find him kid then go for it," Jason said as he stood up and started walking over to Bruce. "I'm gonna go help,"

"I don't think he'll appreciate that," Tim spoke up from the Batcave computer. He had hacked into Maggie's cafe's security cameras and was watching as Alyna and Maggie hurried around serving customers before school started today.

"So what are they doing?" Dick asked as Jason stepped into Bruce's line of sight.

"Just serving customers," Tim said as he turned away from the computer after watching Maggie drop yet another cup of coffee for the third time that morning, "Honestly considering how clumsy they are, I think Bruce is right. They definitely don't work for Xenon Corp."

"Bats?" Jason said in his Red Hood suit now that Bruce finally took a step away from the grunt. "Let me try?"

"Five minutes," Is all Batman said as he made his way over to the other three boys, "Did you get into their surveillance?"

"Y-yeah, here," Tim said while practically jumping out of the computer seat. "They haven't done anything but serve coffee and bagels all morning,"

"No signs of Xenon Corp. either," Damien spoke up before smirking at Jason starting to lose his temper.

"Do you feel okay?" Dick was hesitant to ask Bruce but felt it needed to be done.

"No. I've known Maggie my whole life, she was there for me when my parents died. Was practically the only one who didn't treat me differently after. I don't like the thought of something happening to her, especially because of my inability to stop Xenon Corp." Bruce admitted while gripping his hands into even tighter fists. "You boys should go get ready for school. You're going to have to drive today, Dick,"

"Can we take the Lambo?" Jason asks as Tim dragged him away from the pummeled grunt.

"We won't all fit in the Lamborghini," Damien stated with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, maybe we'll just strap you to the roof then, Demon,"

"Enough. You're taking the Mercedes now, get out. I have some unfinished business," Bruce ordered as he made his way back over to the disheveled grunt. "Wait. Be extra careful what you say and do around this girl. We still don't know how she escaped from Xenon, she might know the vigilante who bested Dick. Just be cautious,"

"Of course, Bats," Tim nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Maggie and Alyna were busy cleaning up after the morning rush. Alyna was a bit nervous to go to school today as she had never been before. She knew she wasn't going to have a problem catching up thanks to the rigorous schooling Xenon Corp. put her through but was still nervous nonetheless.

"Alrighty that should do it," Maggie said with a huff as she set down the last of the morning rush dishes. "Why don't you go ahead and get ready for school?"

"You sure you don't want help with those?" Alyna practically begged.

"Nope! It's a brisk twenty-minute walk from here so you better go get ready or else you'll be late..." Maggie responded in a tone that practically yelled 'Go now or I'll drag you there myself'.

"Okay! Okay..." Alyna started before whispering, "No need to get all bossy,"

"What was that?"

"Nothing, boss," Alyna sassed as she rounded the corner up the stairs. The uniform options were slim and although Alyna didn't really see a point to them she still managed to find a look that didn't bug her too much. Alyna noticed most of the girls didn't wear a blazer but rather a sweater vest which Alyna thought was way too constricting, not to mention the material looked really uncomfortable. She ended up with a simple navy blazer, a white long-sleeve button-up that had a red ribbon tied around the neck, some knee-high white socks, and a matching skirt. After changing Alyna checked the time on her phone, which Maggie gave to her yesterday. It was her old one but it was in such good condition it was practically new. Only to realize her twenty-minute walk would have to become a fifteen if she still wanted to make it on time.

"Bye Maggie!" Alyna shouted as she bolted through the cafe doors and took off towards the school. She didn't care if she arrived all sweaty as long as she wasn't late on her first day. It only took Alyna five minutes before tripping over her own two feet and landing right in front of a rather nice-looking Mercedes which fortunately slammed on its brakes before hitting Alyna.

"Shit! Sorry!" Alyna shouted with a wave to the car before taking off again, man was that embarrassing, at least she'll never have to see those people again.

"Alyna! You want a ride?" she heard Jason shout out from the car that almost hit her making her face drain of all color.

"Oh, hi, Jason," Alyna said awkwardly as she turned around to face him.

"Hurry up, I don't want to be late!" Alyna heard a familiar voice say from the back seat of the car.

"Uhh, right! Sorry!" Alyna said as she popped into the back seat, the only seat left was the one in the middle but luckily she didn't take up too much space.

"Guys meet Alyna, Alyna my brothers," Jason said as his oldest brother started driving again.

"Hi, I'm Tim Drake," the younger boy next to her said, but before she could even process what he said he started bombarding her with questions, "So what grade are you in? How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend? What club are you thinking of joining? You should join the robotics club, it's a lot more fun than it sounds. What's your last name? Who's your homeroom teacher? What languages do you-"

"Tim stop!" The even younger child beside you yelled. That's when Alyna recognized the boy as the one she saved from those thieves the other night.

"Hey! I know you, you're that kid I helped the other night, right?"

"Yes, and my name is Damien, Damien Wayne. Thank you," Damien curtly responded before turning his back to her and staring out the window.

"I'm Dick, by the way," Dick, the one driving, said with a brief wave in her direction.

"It's nice to meet all of you, I'm Alyna Atanol," she politely responded before turning to Tim as she pulled her schedule out of her pocket, "This is my schedule, I'm in Jason's grade and homeroom and was thinking of joining the fencing club, but robotics sounds cool too,"

"Hey, no way you're in the same language class as Dick. You are also in Jason and I's homeroom, and if you're thinking of joining fencing that's Damien's club!" Tim stated before passing back your schedule. "Now you get to spend time with all of us..."

This realization made Tim and the rest of his brothers remember exactly why Bruce had warned them to be cautious around her. The fact that she just so happened to find a way to interact with all four of them at school could not be a coincidence in their minds. She had to be up to something, and they were going to find out...