"Come along Timothy."

Janet Drake's voice was tight but none the less it's normal soothing silk she created it to be. Tim walked along with her fast pace, barely keeping up with her longer legs despite her four inch high heels. He was nearly yanked along half the time, his tiny wrist in her tight fist.

Tim was unsure of the purpose of this, his mom wasn't one to spontaneously give him attention, much less take him anywhere. He wondered if there was another gala to go to, or maybe another test. He liked tests, dad would be proud of him after successful tests, but not so much after unsuccessful ones. He wasn't sure mom liked the tests, she was indifferent to them.

Tim looked up at his mother, wondering if he could deduce where they were going. She didn't look down at him but he could tell she was upset. Her pace was too fast and her face had hard lines. Even her eyes seemed hard, they held a storm and that made Tim nervous. Drakes don't show when they're angry, what could cause his mother to break that?

"May I ask where we're going?" The five year old spoke aloud as he was lurched forward again. He knew it was a dumb question but he was testing the grounds around his mother. Because when his mother was tense like this it was the time for silence and obedience, he just wanted to know how severe or why.

"Drakes don't ask dumb questions Timothy," She snapped predictably as her grip on his wrist tightened, making the child's face twist uncomfortably. He schooled it though, Drakes don't show when they're uncomfortable either. "He's finally lost it." She snarled under her breath, Tim was sure he wasn't supposed to hear it, so he made no comment. Drakes don't make useless comments. But who lost what? And why was his mom so angry about it? And what did it have to do with Tim?

Tim's mom finally got them to the garage, he found it incredibly odd she was driving herself. Wasn't that what butlers were for? She took the keys for the Land Rover Range Rover SVAutobiogrpahy. The third out of character action from his mother, she would never ever set foot in this car. It wasn't a luxury car, it was a sports car, and it looked too much like all the other Range Rovers. Inside it was incredible though, screens on the headrests, deployable computers too. Dad was the one who usually used this car, it had a bottle cooler between the seats and a grill in the back.

Tim's wrist was finally let go, he was steered towards the passengers side in the back and he made himself useful by opening the door himself and climbing in. His mother seemed to appreciate this, she only huffed and twisted around to get to the drivers seat.

Tim put his seatbelt on and tried not to fidget, he was getting better at this, but his hanging legs started to swing without his permission. He didn't even notice, he was busy looking around the car, the screens were nice and so was the seat itself. He didn't expect anything less though, if it was a Drake car it must pass muster.

He was soon bored of the inside of the car though, he was still curious about where they were going. His mom wouldn't be caught dead in this car, much less driving it. He only took glances at her, she could feel his gaze sometimes and would snap at him for staring at adults at inappropriate times.

He looked out the window instead, watching the busy streets of Gotham and absentmindedly wondering if Batman and Robin would be out. Probably not, it was still daytime, more like dusk, but Batman and Robin didn't come out till much later into the night. Tim wanted to see Robin more often, but he was barely able to get a glimpse of Batman on a lucky day. The only time Tim saw Robin was once, the noticeably smaller vigilante had flipped between buildings, a quadruple flip. Tim already had suspicions about Bruce Wayne, but those theories skyrocketed in probability when he recognized that flip.

He was still cautious though, Bruce Wayne wasn't a Meta, but if he was Batman then that meant he fought for Metas. But Bruce Wayne was against Metas, just like everyone else. Richard Grayson however... He wasn't born into high society like Tim or Bruce Wayne was, he didn't know he needed to hate Metas. Richard Grayson would be a perfect Robin, and if Bruce Wayne's public appearance was all a lie then he'd be a perfect Batman too.

Strong suspicions though, were not confirmations. Tim needed proof, full fledged evidence Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson were Batman and Robin. Then he could take them down, maybe then his mother would be proud of him.

"Stay here Timothy." Janet Drake parked the car and got out, heading into whatever building they parked at.

Tim must have been stuck in his head the entire way there. Disappointing, but not surprising. He often did that, zoning out while he thought hard on things. Mother didn't like it, it was bad for public appearances, a Drake doesn't zone out.

Well he wasn't completely zoned out, they had turned left four times and right three times. They had driven for about 28 minutes and 12 seconds, exactly 3 minutes and 42 seconds longer than the actual travel time to account for Gotham traffic. It was also the exact same route to get to the testing center.

Tim resisted the urge to get out of his seat, he knew better, but he was excited. Maybe mother was taking an interest in his tests, he wanted to make her proud. She said to stay put though, his swinging feet hit the tucked in recliner footrest, his eyes darting up to the screen embedded into the seat in front of him.

Tim wanted to know what his mom was doing, wanted to know why she went in without Tim if Tim was the one being tested. His lips twitched into a smirk, the testing center was full of security cameras.

Tim's nimble fingers found the button that deployed the desk computer, the mechanics whirring as it unfolded from the side. The computer imbedded in the tabletop flipped open on its own and Tim's fingers rested above its keys, a look of confliction crossing his face.

He hesitated.

Mother told him he shouldn't spy, it was rude and she slapped his wrists when she caught him doing it the first time.

But... he wanted to know how to make her proud, he wanted to figure out this mystery. She wouldn't know if he did hack the building's security feed anyway, he wasn't intruding too far, just the cameras.

"Just the cameras." He told himself out loud, determination overriding the conflicton on his face as his hands danced across the keyboard.

With his remote Jumper it was incredibly easy to get into the building's system. He slipped the device from his pocket and it magnetized to the computer, linking to the computer and in seconds the small loading screen appeared.

He made this little gadget in one of the tests a few months ago when he was four, Dr. Shiva confiscated it though. That was alright though, all materials concerning the tests was taken anyway to process the results so Tim wasn't too upset by it. Tim really wanted one though, so he snuck little bits and pieces of it back home with him after tests, eventually he was able to build it himself at home.

This design was sleeker, it had a cool dorsal fin above the circular quarter-sized plate of electronics. He called it a Jumper because it could jump over literal obstacles stopping him from entering a system. Like not being in the building or connected to the system in anyway. But technically, it was just a copy and paste button.

Once loaded onto the car computer Tim was given a list of options, it was a drop down menu of all the building systems and computers in a two block radius. He selected the M.A.Z.E. Testing Center a few seconds of a loading screen later his screen was an exact duplicate of the security screen in the building.

Tim couldn't help the small grin that lit up his features, along with the sleaker design this new and improved Jumper could copy and paste the entire computer and all its adjoining algorithms onto his. The first one couldn't do that, it could only copy and paste whatever was running on the computer at the time.

This was how he spied on Batman and Robin, because he really couldn't sneak out of his house at age four or five. He was caught so many times, and after each time he made a new precaution for the new set of rules his parents would lay down. But mother was adamant he remained indoors so she locked the house down completely at night. So he was able to make the new Jumper completely copy a computer of his choice remotely and have it hold onto it until he came home to imbed it into a new blank computer he could use.

He had a little bunker at home, technically it was the broken dumbweighter, but it was his Batcave. Not that he was trying to be like Batman, the man had a specific aesthetic and obviously his alignment was wrong but Tim argued M.A.Z.E. probably had Batcaves too, just without the cave... and the bats...

Point is they had an area they did their work, so did Batman, and so did Tim.

Tim had stolen computers with a network of cameras specifically around Batman's patrols to see if he could catch a glimpse of the man. It wasn't terribly successful, most times the vigilante was on roofs and there weren't many roofs with cameras so his chances weren't as good compared to if he physically followed The Bat around. Still, he had to make do with what he had, which was slowly dwindling with how much his mother took away his things.

She took away his electronics at night too, so Tim had to sneak out of his room to use his bat-dumbweighter-cave. He hadn't yet figured out how to extend the range of his Jumper so he could spy on Wayne Manor either. That would be really awesome.

Anyway, the testing center's firewalls were pathetic, he might actually strengthen them while he's here. It was a simple algorithm, it would only take a few clicks of a button to complicate it. Just another twist here, and another one there. Firewalls were good and all, but mazes were definitely better. Walls stop things, mazes confuse and get people lost, and they won't even know there isn't an exit until their presence had long been tracked and terminated. It was an easy fix because all Tim had to do was upload his own algorithm that created these twists and turns into the computer, then copy paste into the real computer in the building. Another perk of the improved security was that it created itself as the hacker continued on, it was never ending. It was a trap basically, he got the idea of M.A.Z.E. themselves. And anyone would fall for it because it pretended to be difficult. Difficult enough to pass off as normal security, but easy enough to not be dissuading.

Tim was getting off track, he was here to know what his mother wanted and how to make her proud. It took all of two seconds to pull the security feed up, he scanned all the feeds to find his mom. Her red dress made her stand out against all the white and dark blue of M.A.Z.E.'s uniforms, she was talking to what looked to be a scientist.

He maximized this camera's feed, unfortunately he couldn't control the camera so he could not zoom in or move it, but the view he had was pretty good. He couldn't see the scientist very well, his back was to the camera and the white lab coat prevented a full body once over.

Mother was talking expressively, again an unusual trait as she was supposed to be poised and elegant in all regards. It was hard to tell in the grainy footage, but he could see just enough body cues that she was frantic. At least, Janet Drake version of frantic.

Luckily, Tim could read lips.

"—ants to USE him, but I can't let that happen, if anyone were to find out the Drake name would be ruined!"

Tim had no audio, he couldn't tell if her voice had risen, but he could hear her in his mind, raised just enough to stress the situation but never too loud to be unorthodox.

The man across from his mother nodded along, her lips closed as it was the man's turn talking. But with his back to the camera Tim couldn't see his lips, the boy would be getting a one sided conversation. The man spoke for a few seconds more before Janet started again, this time shaking her head but looking slightly relieved.

"It has gone on long enough, I should have done this when we first found out. That abomination should never have even had the ability to touch the Drake name, let alone be one."

Tim's eyes flared, did his mother find a Meta in the family?! Who was it? They didn't have a lot of family, but there were some distant relatives of theirs that were not as high up in the social hierarchy. Wait, this was great! This was fantastic! If mom hates Metas with that fierce of a passion, of course she would want to see them snuffed off the face of the earth. If this Meta was in a position of power then it'd be even worse! They'd be looking at world domination if the Metas were able to get so much as a toe into the government. If Tim was able to find and take down Metas in the hierarchy she might be proud of him! If he was able to prove Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson as Batman and Robin she might HAVE to be proud of him!

That didn't explain why he was brought along if only to stay in the car though, but she usually wanted to keep Meta news away from him anyway. If she thought someone in the family was a Meta she wouldn't want Tim to know, even if he could help. Yeah she wouldn't want anyone to know, it would be a terrible blow to the Drake name regardless if they disowned and claimed no affiliation to them.

But... if they were involved in the take down... they'd be heroes.

Tim's focus went back to the one sided conversation, the man was talking again, expressively with a hand waving about. He then turned and started walking, nodding to his mother as he continued to speak.

"—ake it look like an accident, not to worry."

Tim was getting excited, his smile stretching and mimicking the smile the scientist had. His mom was calling in M.A.Z.E. to find their Meta, he could help! But how? He wasn't supposed to know, maybe he could be an anonymous source. People send in Meta hideouts anonymously all the time, it was for protection, but people would also do it publicly because everyone loves a hero.

He put a lid on his excitement, the duo was walking towards the front, their destination probably the car. They were talking again but Tim pried the Jumepr off the computer and shut the laptop with a snap. He pocketed his device and quickly retracted the computer desk. He looked up through the tinted windows and saw his mother and the scientist exit the building, still talking to each other. Tim didn't have time to read lips, he settled in his seat and rubbed his face to get the smile off. He had to act like he didn't hear the best news ever.

He shifted in his seat and collected himself, again looking out the window as if he'd been there doing nothing the whole time. Tim was a great actor, mom and dad said so, Tim could make a bland but pleasant face for hours during galas. Not too bored and not too happy. It was a rather emotionless expression if Tim had anything to say about it, but he wasn't supposed to so he didn't.

The scientist and Tim's mom made their way to the parked car, winding around until they got to Tim's door. The scientist was smiling as he pulled the door open, finally giving Tim a good look at him.

The man was of average height, probably in the low thirties or high twenties, which was incredibly impressive considering the scientific line of work took decades sometimes before going into the field. He looked a little pasty, but then again so did Tim so he didn't think it that odd. He had wiry yellow hair in sort of waves, it was such a weird yellow it almost looked green. The scientist has deep dark eyes that, even with the smile, only seemed to glitter ominously.

"Hey there Timmy! I'm Dr. Joe Kurr, you can call me Joker if you want." His smile stretched and Tim noticed he still had a hand on the door and seemed to be blocking the entire doorway. "It's a little play on words with my name, all my good buddies call me Joker."

"Hello Dr. Joe Kurr." Tim greeted formally like he was taught and waited for his hand in this conversation.

Dr. Kurr seemed to nod and leaned a bit forward into the car. "You're the smart one Dr. Shiva prides herself about right kiddo?"

Tim's face twitched in a bit of a scowl, Dr. Shiva didn't do 'proud', she barely did pleased for that matter. He nodded anyway, the scientist was just trying to identify him.

Dr. Kurr nodded again, this time leaning forward while putting his hands on his knees, getting even closer to the sitting child. "So I've got a special lab and I want you to come check it out. I've got your moms permission and I really think you can help."

Tim looked to his mother who was watching over the scientist's shoulder, still looking a tad flustered and... nervous? Anyway, she nodded her stern nod with the raised eyebrows and looking down on him because she expected greatness. It was a familiar look and Tim took solace in that.

Dr. Kurr gave him a serious look then, speaking gravely. "It's dangerous work Tim, but you and me we'd be like partners. You could be my little mini Joker, Joker Junior," the man smiled at those words before he grew serious again. "I'd keep you safe from the Metas, if they knew you were helping me they'd try to take you. But I will protect you Tim."

The five year old felt frozen as all of his dreams were coming true right in front of him. M.A.Z.E. wanted TIM to help them! TIM! Of all people!

"So whaddya say Timmy?" Dr. Kurr asked with another wide smile, "Wanna be a hero?"

Tim's stone face finally broke, a smile split across his lips and he rose in his seat as he nodded. "I would very much like that Dr. Kurr."

Dr. Kurr wanted his help! Tim was going to help put Metas away and save people! Tim was going to be a hero!

The scientist's smile stretched even more, eyes glittering with victory.

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

"Timmy, Timmy boy wake up."

The child lifted his head tiredly, bleary eyes blinking away sleep as he responded to his name being called upon. "Dr. Kurr...?"

"Yeah buddy, you hit your emergency button and I came just like I promised." Dr. Kurr's voice said from somewhere to his left.

Tim blinked once, twice, before he jerked up and out from his hiding place under his desk. "Dr. Kurr!" He found the scientist crouching by the chair that had been rolled out of the way, but he had stood up when Tim evacuated his temporary bunker. The child barreled into the scientist and wrapped his tiny arms around his legs, the only part he could actually reach.

Dr. Kurr seemed surprised, but laid a hand on his back and patted him. "Are you alright Tim? You had me worried, I couldn't find you for a minute."

Tim then remembered his place and pulled back from the hug, a light tint of pink dashing across his cheeks because Drakes don't hug their superiors. "Sorry," he spoke quietly, still slightly embarrassed, but then looked up to explain himself. "The desk has a better structure to evade grabbing."

The man smiled for a moment, huffing out of his nose like he did when he thought something was only slightly amusing.

Then Tim remembered the last time he and Dr. Kurr has a conversation and Tim actually jumped in excitement, hands clasping together. "Did you catch the Justice League?! Did the collars work?! Are they gone!?"

Dr. Kurr continued to smile, raising his hands to settle down the jumping boy. "Yes yes, we have the Justice League and the collars and weapons worked wonderfully Timmy boy."

"Yes!" Tim celebrated, raising his fists into the air as he shouted. Then he stopped, putting a hand to his mouth as he muttered an "oops," and smiled apologetically up at the scientist. But the child's spirit was hardly dampened as his eyes flared with new life. "You got Batman right?! Is he Bruce Wayne?! Did you catch Robin too!? Are they Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson!? Did we catch them!?"

This time Dr. Kurr chuckled, head lifting as his chest pulsed with his laughter. When he looked back down his smile was large but his eyes stayed dark. "Yes Timbo, we got both Batman and Robin." He paused for a second, watching Tim squirm before him, his entire tiny body begging to know if his theories about their identities were true. The kid looked ready to burst when Dr. Kurr finally spoke. "And yes, they are Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson."

This time Tim couldn't help himself. He fisted the air and ran around the room, shouting "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" Until he ran out of breath and slid to a stop in front of the scientist. His icy eyes looked up at the man, his excitement almost palpable. "Can I go see them?!"

Dr. Kurr's smile disappeared, "I don't think-"

"Please!" Tim whined before he could stop himself, "they're humans right? They're both not Metas." He pressed.

"Yes Tim, they're human." Dr. Kurr sighed, knowing exactly that this was leading towards a rant full of 'CER'. Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning.

"They're just working for the wrong side!" Yep, there he went. Once Tim got going there was no stopping his flow of words until he got it all out. Tim broke eye contact in an almost involuntary action, one that often accompanied these episodes of word vomit. He relayed everything passing through his mind with waving hands in random gestures, seemingly lecturing to the ground more than the scientist. He usually lost his hold on what he was actually doing when he got like this.

"Bruce Wayne has always been human and was putting up a front for hating Metas, so he must know the bad side to Metas being around. There's plenty of evil things Metas have done in Gotham and he even goes head to head with some of them."

"Tim, they're not-" Dr. Kurr tried, but the boy just kept on talking like he hadn't said a thing.

"If we talked to them we could get hem to help us! They might know where other Metas are hiding! If we could convince them they're wrong to help the monsters then they could be heroes too!"

"Tim-"

"At least Richard, he's only 10, he doesn't have enough experience and had the wrong upbringing to know what he feels about Metas. Richard was born in the circus, he doesn't know how evil and bad Metas are. If we showed him the truth he would know the right thing to do was to help us! He could be a hero too!"

"Timothy."

Tim finally looked back up at the scientist, "Please Dr. Kurr! Let me talk to them! I can get Richard to side with us! Just let me see him-!"

"NO." Dr. Kurr shouted sternly, hands fistsed at his sides and eyes ablaze with something Tim had never seen before.

Tim staggered back a step, whatever argument in his mind now dry in his throat. He ducked his head, reaching over to rub at his arm. "...sorry."

Dr. Kurr sighed and rubbed his face, for the first time Tim realized Dr. Kurr was probably tired. He caught the Justice League, of course he'd be tired with dealing with them and then Tim's emergency. "It's okay Timmy, but you can't see Bruce and Richard right now, they're locked up with all the other Metas and I can tell you now they won't change their minds."

Tim deflated, bitting his lip as he folded his arms in thought. Maybe Dr. Kurr was wrong, they just needed to see that M.A.Z.E. was right, that Tim was right.

"Now what happened here Timmy?"

The child perked, blinking away his thoughts as he realized he had yet to report that Catwoman had broken in. He internally chided himself, he did that sometimes, he was so excited he forgot to do things in order. His mind had completely skipped telling the scientist about the break in, his mind had already checked off the box because they were talking about the Justice League and Batman and Robin.

"Oh yeah. It was Catwoman, I was napping in the chair when she came out of the vent and literally dropped in." He relayed, pointing up to the vent and explaining. "She wanted to take me, but she didn't seem to know I was here in the first place."

"But she wanted to take you anyway?" Dr. Kurr clarified, eyeing the vent with a frown.

Tim nodded, feeling the need to please the scientist since Tim made him frustrated. "Yeah, at first I didn't know she was a Meta, I was tired and wasn't thinking fast enough. But once I knew I hide and hit the panic button and she left the same way she came in." Tim paused as he picked at his pants, he shuffled nervously and eyed the scientist. He hoped his earlier uncultured manor didn't revoke the obligations of the promise Dr. Kurr made when he started being here. "She said... I'd have to wait to be... to be taken."

Dr. Kurr turned to Tim, a light smile on his face as he crouched down to be level with the five year old. "Well that will never happen Timbo. I told you we were doing dangerous work here, of course the Metas would want to take you, and I promised you I would protect you."

Tim nodded and felt the release of tension inside of him. Adults could change their promises all the time, usually depending on his behavior. His parents did it often enough to suspect all promises were temporary until there was new regulations. It was refreshing and nice to know Dr. Kurr actually meant to keep his promises with their original rules.

The scientist leaned down and took his hand, standing back up with the child still holding his hand. "Now, we do have to move you do a different, more safe location now that this one has been compromised. But I can promise you my little JJ, that will never happen again."

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

The sirens were loud, the men were loud, the flashing lights were annoying.

Stupid M.A.Z.E. was almost too easy to avoid.

At least for Selina they were.

She slunk along the alley, trotting lightly along the trash and grime gathered there. From down here it was more and more apparent Gotham seemed to be born dirty, there was never a time it was clean or even anything remotely related to the word.

Selina slid silently to the opposite side, padding up to a dumpster before leaping skillfully up and perching precariously on the tiny ledge. The flash of yellow lights from the trucks flashed across her dark fur, highlighting the slitted irises of her poisonous green eyes.

Her tail flicked dismissively as he leaped up to the fire escape of the building, climbing effortlessly to the top. The cat was ignored by the chaos below, even if sitting on the edge of a roof and watching intently at the event was unnatural for such an animal.

Selina sat delicately, curling her tail neatly around her paws as she observed from on high. She only had to wait a few minuets for the boy to appear, being practically dragged along by the hand of a man in a lab coat. Presumably the 'Dr. Kurr' that the child had mentioned, presumably his authorized keeper.

The tiny boy was put in a car, the back seat while the man took the passenger side up front. She didn't see much alarm on the boy, he didn't feel in any danger at least. But the man, scientist, she could tell was upset. It was something about being a cat that gave her this extra sense of self and other people's selves. Call it the sixth sense most animals have or just her powers, either way she knew he was dangerous, he was practically waving a violent neon sign in all caps screaming "IM INSANE"

Of course no one would pay attention to him though because he was with M.A.Z.E. and M.A.Z.E. were the 'good' guys.

The car started up and drove off, Selina's ears perked and she bounded after them.

Crossing the rooftops was easy, keeping up with a car... not so much. Selina's sides were heaving by the time she called it quits, losing sight of the black car around a corner as she finally padded to a stop. Her paws were throbbing as much as her lungs, the feline shook herself and padded off in a different direction at a much more leisurely pace.

Her destination came within sight after a few minutes of ghosting around the Gotham skyline. Selina lept down behind the rooftop entrance, hiding behind it as she shifted back into her normal (clothed) female human form. She fixed her red goggled onto her face and checked her whip was still there and her surroundings were secure before twisting out from behind her cover.

Catwoman sauntered silently up to the female leaning against the brick wall in front of her. The woman wore black and a jean jacket, her golden hair cascading around her shoulders but her chill blue eyes remained locked on the newspaper in her hands.

"So you think Timothy Drake is the kid?" The Black Canary spoke, lifting an eyebrow as her eyes washed over the front page of the newspaper again. She turned the paper around and showed the headline to the feline woman.

Drake Industry's Only Heir Lost In Devastating Meta Attack At Just Five Years Old.

On the front was a picture of the scene, an attack indeed, a beastly attack finally taken down by M.A.Z.E. In the picture was a woman, Janet Drake, in tears while her husband laid a consoling hand on her shoulder. The couple stood right outside the destruction of their vehicle that little Timmy was supposed to be inside.

But no, Timothy Jackson Drake was not inside that car, he was inside the car speeding down Gotham to hide him from the world.

"Well I didn't call you all the way over here if it was an 'I think'." Selina snarked back, honestly glad the other meta had taken her call as soon as she did. It was rather time sensitive.

"This newspaper is over a month old." Black Canary said, shaking the paper to stress her point. "How can that kid be Timothy? He's been dead for an entire month." She turned the paper around, scanning it again as if it held some other secret, then mumbled to herself. "Honestly I'm surprised I found a newspaper from a month ago."

Selina dismissed her argument with a wave of her hand. "And M.A.Z.E. has only gotten more dangerous and effective in that time. Don't tell me you're not seeing the pattern here?"

Black Canary scoffed lightly, "You're the one who hangs out with the detective, I just got a blonde idiot... who M.A.Z.E. has under lock and key if they haven't killed him already."

"That is exactly my point." Selina said, placing her hands on her hips. "They are using that child against us, against his own kind, and he might not even know it."

Black Canary's eyes flicked up, "You planning on rescuing him?"

Selina's red lips pulled into a smile. "You really think so little of me? Batman is gone too, and your Green Arrow, then entire Justice League if you haven't noticed."

The other woman blinked, unsure if she was reading this Meta correctly. "Are you seriously considering storming M.A.Z.E.?" Canary couldn't decide if she was horrified or amused. It was suicide is what it was.

Selina folded her arms, leaning to one side as her face twisted in a scowl. "Just a little stealing. In and out with their source of power and finally we might have the upper hand."

"Hey!"

The two Metas froze, then the next split second they were in fighting positions, on their feet and both scanning their exit and the source of the voice. Both were ready to flee, if it came down to a fight or flight they would choose flight. Live to fight another day, don't get caught, and don't trust anyone. That was the Meta motto, any Meta who wished to survive for any length of time would live and breathe those words.

The edge of the roof caught the two woman's attention, a hand stuck up and latched around the lip, a huff coming from the person struggling to lift themselves up. Black Canary and Catwoman gave them no help, still unsure if they should even be on the roof when the person finally pulled themselves up.

Catwoman edged her way backwards, she could drop down and shift and no one would be the wiser.

But dang it, she was a cat.

The hand pulled with an extra grunt and a head of red hair appeared over the lip. Woman then, they were female, Catwoman could judge by breath alone. Thank you sixth cat sense.

The female finally got herself over the lip of the roof, panting and obviously exhausted. Selina didn't recognize her, and by the lack of relaxing stances or friendly greetings she assumed Canary didn't either. She was odd though, her hair was tied back in a ponytail but still held some unkemptness that was familiar to the Metas. Her clothes as well, greasy, dirty, worn and torn. This woman had been on the run.

The red head went to stand, stumbling a little but finally making it to her feet before staggering forward with what looked to be a cellphone in her hand.

"Stop right there." Canary bellowed, lowering her fighting stance as Catwoman decided to do the same.

The phone made them uneasy, too many times were Metas ratted out because of social media or a simple phone call.

The woman raised her hands in surrender, phone still in hand and looking worse for wear. But still, her eyes held a fire, a determination the peaked Selina's curiosity. "My name is Iris West. I know you two are Metas, Black Canary and Catwoman. And I'm telling you now that I am not one of you."

Canary needed no prompting, she bolted. Selina followed soon after, but she took no more than three steps before the Iris woman stopped them with a few words.

"Wait! Leave and I post you positions." Her voice was surprisingly strong, she may look like she was dragged through a Meta fight but she definitely came out a survivor.

Selina reached for her whip, worst comes to worst she could slap the phone from the woman's hand without so much as a step forward. But again, she was curious, the woman was black mailing them to stay. This human wanted a conversation. Catwoman didn't meet many of those, and those who she did were now in M.A.Z.E. custody.

"What do you want with us human." Selina demanded, taking her whip in hand and unraveling it to crack behind her. An intimidation move if anything, and a promise of a fight if things got hairy.

Iris, to her credit, did not seem deterred. "You two are planning something against M.A.Z.E." She spoke, glancing between the two women before she continued. "I want in."

Black Canary didn't laugh, but Selina did. "Forgive us if we come off rather cynical," the feline woman responded after a short chortle, "But we do not trust you and will continue to not trust you."

Iris sighed, finally showing some of the wear that was clearly within her. "Look, my husband was taken by M.A.Z.E., so was my nephew who lived with me. I need to find them. I understand you don't trust me and you have plenty of reason not to, but please, I need to find my family."

Canary narrowed her eyes, "Names and proof of existence, right here right now. And destroy your phone and we'll consider it."

Iris looked to protest, opening her mouth with that same fire in her eyes, but she took a breath instead and nodded. She lowered her arms but didn't yet dispose of her phone. "My husband is Bartholmew Henry Allen, his mother was murdered when he was eleven and his father was blamed and taken to jail. Barry became a forensic scientist and tried to clear his father's name. He married me six years ago and we recently gained custody of my twelve year old nephew Wallace Rudolph West because his father and mother were unable to care for him properly. Barry disappeared on the job four days ago when the Justice League was captured. My house was attacked the day after by M.A.Z.E.. Wally disappeared in the attack along with a little boy we decided to foster temporarily while his first foster parent was being examined for abuse."

Selina's eyes flashed wide for a moment. "Was this boy Richard Grayson? The ward of Bruce Wayne?"

Iris was confused for a moment but nodded. "Yes, and now Bruce Wayne is missing as well. They're all Metas aren't they?"

The Catwoman listed her head to the side, promptly ignoring the question. "And you wish to take back your family?"

Iris Allen nodded, for once looking a bit unsure of herself. Selina's instincts were of course to be wary, but something about her story (regardless of Bruce's pin prick of involvement) endeared to Selina's cat side. Her sixth sense said Iris Allen was in the clear.

Black Canary, without such a sense, was not so easily satisfied. "And that is your only reason for being here and seeking us out? How did you find us? How did you know what we were planning?"

The redhead shifted uncomfortably, "I've been trying to find Metas for three days, I'm from Central City and knew Gotham was a hotspot for Metas in hiding. I did specifically try to look for Catwoman because I knew she wasn't easily caught. I've been hanging around rooftops for days, then I saw Black Canary come here and decided to see where it went. I-I did hear everything."

Selina was impressed, but not other worldly surprised. Iris was a mother, nephew or not, of course she would find a way to her child. Just as Bruce would find a way to his own little bird, they might even be together right now.

Selina had met Dick Grayson only a few sparse times, the little cretin (and she used this term lovingly) was always hiding in Bruce's cape, smiling way too brightly for a child in the dark gloom of Gotham. He was adorable, and Selina chided Bruce for letting him out on the streets in a costume. Bruce was careful though, Robin was more of a legend than Batman was and Selina was glad to keep it that way.

But the jig was up, both Bruce and Dick were taken, and now this woman's family too. M.A.Z.E. had gone too far, honestly they had gone too far a long time ago but now they could do something about it.

Tim was their window to this impossible break in, their window was limited and small, but it was a Chance and Selina wasn't going to let it go.

"I believe you have good intentions Iris." Selina said, lowering her threatening whip and taking a glance at Black Canary before narrowing her eyes on the red headed woman. "I'm going to trust you, don't make me regret it, because out of the two of us I'm sure you'll regret it most."

The woman nodded quickly before raising her hand that held her phone and smashed the device into the ground. "To be honest I think they've been trying to track me, so I suppose I am sort of one you now."

Selina relaxed her stance, Canary taking a bit longer. "Yes, yes, honorary Meta member because of the huge 'betrayal' you're doing now." The feline woman exaggerated her words and put up clawed quotation marks around betrayal. She then grew a smile, leaning one hand on her hip. "So Iris West, now that you're a criminal, how do you feel about hotwiring a car?"

Woohoo! Picking up steam! Anyone guess Iris was going to have more on-screen time? (And I use on-screen just cuz I have no other way to say it)

And to think, originally Tim wasn't even going to be in this story except the epilogue.

Word count: 7181

Thus the longest chapter so far. Whoops. Get used to it, I'm notorious for making chapters longer than their supposed to be. But I WILL try to stay in the 4000-5000 range, this was a special occasion because my friend really likes Tim.

So there's much more to look forward to, honestly I'm literally so excited for this book, it's gunna be a hoot. Keep your eyes peeled, there's a lot more characters here than ya think.

Also updating at midnight is a bad idea, but Ima do it anyway so my friend can read it when she gets up at the crack of dawn.

:3