Just Breathe: A batsis story

11 - The Coffee

Chapter 11: The Coffee

Last night did not go as planned. Bruce was pacing in the Batcave trying to process the new information revealed last night as Vestige, the name the media decided to give the vigilante, somehow knew Tim's name. If he knew Tim's secret identity, he probably knew all of theirs.

"Bats?" Tim quietly whispered trying to catch his father's attention. At first, when he didn't respond Tim thought he might not have heard him but that thought quickly vanished when Bruce suddenly turned around and put a hand on the boy's shoulder before shaking his head and walking away.

Just like yesterday Alyna was sick, she had yet to miss a day of school and was a bit nervous too. But ultimately decided it was for the best considering how bruised she was from her fight last night. She theorized that her illness was actually her body adapting to this new ability of hers, in a day or two she should be good to go, or at least she hoped she would.

Alyna couldn't quite believe the fact that her closest friends at school were also one of the groups trying to capture her, the other being Xenon, of course. Maggie reluctantly opened the cafe today meaning Alyna could relax for a bit without worrying about Mags seeing her injuries. Although Alyna was starting to suspect Maggie knew more than she would have hoped.

Especially after an image of her in her suit had appeared in the local newspaper. Maggie wasn't dumb and Alyna knew eventually she would figure it out but was hoping to keep her in the dark for as long as she could. The last thing Alyna wanted was to put Maggie in danger, the less she knew the better...

"Jason!" Mrs. Green shouted from the front of the classroom, making him take his eyes off the empty seat beside him. The one Alyna was always in.

"What?"

"History. Project. Partner?" Mrs. Green sassed, clearly annoyed to have to repeat herself.

"Alyna, I guess," Jason wasn't exactly Alyna's best friend but the fact his father was so cautious around the girl made her a great way to piss him off. Which just so happened to be Jason's favorite activity. 'I wonder where she is today?' he thought, causing Mrs. Green to yell at him to get him to focus, again. "What, now?!"

"I. Said. Can. You. Bring. Ms.Atanol. Her. Homework?"

"Uhh, sure," He responded before giving it any thought. 'Wait where does she live again?'

"Great. Class dismissed! Don't forget your projects are due Monday so make sure you and your partners finish them this weekend," Mrs. Green shouted over the sounds of chairs being moved, and her students breaking out into conversations.

"Hey Tim, do you know where Alyna lives?"

"Uh, yeah. She lives at that cafe Bruce goes to like every day for lunch," Tim said before rushing off to his next class.

"Oh right, she lives with that woman Bruce went to school with," Jason muttered under his breath as he tried to leave Mrs. Green's classroom only to be stopped by her at the door since he had forgotten to grab Alyna's homework from her.

"At least remember to give it to her, please?" Mrs. Green requested in the nicest tone Jason had ever heard her use before she flipped her red hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. 'That sounded like permission to me,' Jason thought with a grin as he strolled out of the building, jumping the fence at the edge of the school's property and making his way to Maggie's Cafe. Surely Bruce wouldn't mind if he only missed his last class of the day. Oh, and club activities...

Alyna was up and out of her bed despite Maggie's wishes as she carefully cleaned her suit in her bathroom. She knew she had to be extra cautious with where she kept the suit now that the newspapers had officially started reporting about her. Gone were the days she could leave it under her bed in a garment bag a customer left and never came back for. Alyna dried it the best she could before deciding to leave it in the small attic space above her room. The hatch to access it was in her closet which Alyna thought made it pretty well hidden, especially since the ladder used to climb up into it was downstairs in the cafe being used as a bookcase.