If Souls Return (Then Tell Them I Say Hi) - Tony Stark's Daughter in Gotham

Chapter 18: Not Above Bribery

Tim waited till everyone else was out on patrol before sneaking downstairs. He knew Bruce still didn't trust him fully after everything that happened with Spider-Woman and was trying to push him out of anything Red Robin related.

Since the fallout with Spider-Woman, they'd been on limited speaking terms. Between capturing the clown and Amber moving into the manor, things had been chaotic enough for them to avoid each other without anyone pointing it out. It was a good thing too, because Dick and Alfred weren't above locking two people in a room together if they needed to have a heart to heart.

In the cave, Tim suited up and took Redbird out to the docks. His plan was to check up on the warehouse where Red Robin and Spider-Woman had found what was possibly Scarecrow's lab.

He considered telling the others about the place, but that would mean explaining how he had started working with Spider-Woman behind Batman's back. As appealing as the argument that would start was, he decided he'd just keep tabs on the place himself to avoid the fight.

Tim didn't have any regrets about working with the girl, which Bruce was sure to disapprove of. She was just trying to do good, helping civilians while understanding how to wield her powers. If she had more time to use them Tim could tell she'd be a powerful ally. He worried about what happened to her, and only hoped she had used this absence to regroup and return stronger.

After parking his bike in a nearby alleyway, Tim started setting up cameras to catch anyone who might return to the building.

Something flew overhead, and Tim ducked behind a parked car wanting to stay out of sight if it was one of his brothers or Bruce.

Whoever landed was too light on their feet to be Batman. Hesitantly, Tim peaked through the car's fogged windows catching a glimpse of purple.

The person paused. Removing their hood, they questioned, "Who's there?" having must have heard him. A purple spider was sewn across the chest of the girl that turned around to search the area.

"You got a new suit," Tim said stepping out of the shadows barely able to contain his excitement.

He couldn't believe it. Spider-Woman was alive. It was a huge relief to no longer feel the need to blame himself for anything happening to her.

"Hey Red! Like the new fit?" She did a little spin showing off her costume.

Her goggles were gone, now replaced with white eyes that seemed to move with her as she spoke.

"It's nice," he said.

She let him touch her sleeve to feel the fabric. It was military grade material like Bruce used for their suits. The color reminded him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe Spoiler's costume? It was purple too.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" she asked him.

"Just putting up cameras in case anyone decides to return to the warehouse." He pointed towards the one he had already set up inside of a broken streetlamp. "I'm thinking about hanging two more, so we have all entrances covered."

"I can help if you want," she offered.

Figuring she would probably be faster than him with her stickiness, Tim said thanks and took her back to his bike to get the other cameras.

"I came back to keep an eye on the place too. I'm guessing you didn't tell Batman."

Tim nodded his head. "Yeah, we haven't exactly been on the same page lately."

The only safe topics had been about WE or oddly enough Luthor. When it came to an issue like Lex Luthor, Tim had no problem reaching out to Kon and leaving a sticky note on the bat computer for Bruce that Kon wasn't sure why his dad was in Gotham.