Faye Feng → Dick Grayson ✔

Power

The morning before the first day of school commenced, the daily newspaper almost caused Dick Grayson to choke to death.

Two pairs of curious eyes watched him as the boy attempted to digest his breakfast through his windpipe, only to spit it back out again, causing a lump of slick mush to blot the flawless tablecloth.

"Are you quite alright, Master Dick?" Alfred Pennyworth, the Wayne family's butler, asked as he handed Dick a napkin.

Dick coughed once more before wiping away the water that had welled up in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks, Alfred."

"Was it something I said?" An amused voice asked from Dick's right. Bruce Wayne crossed his arms and fought a smile as he watched Dick's eyes widen at the picture in the paper.

Dick shook his head. He felt like he had returned to being dunked in cold water every morning when he woke up, which had been an integral part of training when he had first started.

"No, it's just..." he bit his lip and read the small print below the photograph. "Her name's Faye?"

"Taken an interest in your new classmate, sir?" Alfred chuckled, beginning to clear the table. "You haven't even met her yet."

Red colored Dick's cheeks. "I just think she's...good-looking."

While the professional shoot flattered the whole family, Faye was clearly stunning, even without the lighting, clothes and makeup. Her features were sharp like her mother's, but her bright, mischievous smile belonged to her father.

"Then that makes what I'm going to ask you to do a lot easier."

Dick looked up at his adoptive father. "What?"

"You remember me telling you about the Fengs?"

Dick nodded. "Of course. Even if you hadn't, I would have known – the whole city was buzzing when their move was first announced."

"Anything about it stand out to you?"

At this, Dick paused for a moment to think. "I checked out their news coverage like you asked me last night. It seems like they were doing fine in Beijing – fancy mansion double the size of ours, their factories are everywhere, the people love them and the crime rate is less than half of Gotham's."

"So?"

"So, there's no reason for them to move here."

Bruce nodded approvingly. "Very good, but you're not the only one who's noticed. Most of the city's wealthier citizens want to find out exactly why they've decided to enter this branch of the competition, and maybe get some favors from them too. Us, on the other hand, only want to collect information for recon purposes only. If we don't, it doesn't matter; it's only routine reconnaissance, but I want you to try all the same. Think of it as practice."

"What do I have to do?"

"You're going to befriend her."

Dick snorted. "Is that it?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "It's harder than you might think. According to the media, Faye takes after her mother, which means she's going to be difficult to get close to."

A smug smile worked its way onto Dick's lips. "We'll see. When will I get to meet her?"

Bruce glanced at his watch. "In half an hour actually. She's enrolled in Gotham Academy and she's in your grade, which makes her all the more suspicious, since it is your senior year."

"Hey, at least I'll get plenty of opportunities to talk to her."

"If you don't want to miss out on any of those, I suggest you get in the car before you're late."