RAPTOR'S WINGS:
By: ShadowWing

Here it is, the sequel to "Nightingale's Song" Set in the Animated Series Timeline shortly after the events in the episode "Scratch Your Back"

Disclaimer: Batman and all related characters belong to DC Comics and WB Studios. ShadowWing/Belle Anderson belongs to me

Several dark figures walked through the night, being careful not to be seen. One of the figures carried a case of some type, the others weapons, all constantly glanced around for danger. It wasn't good enough. A darker figure swept down and knocked out one of the guards before the others could register what happened.

"Is that the Bat-man we heard about?!" yelled the man with the case.

"Oh please..." stated a feminine voice, "it's not that dark."

The rest of the group lowered their weapons and opened fire in the direction of the voice. The sound of bullets hitting metal echoed through the street. Once the clips had emptied two sections of darkness spread apart and folded behind a young woman, who was smiling. She wore high black boots and a well-fitted dark purple and black outfit of some type. "Is that all?" she sneered.

The men began to panic, without their guns they were nothing. A few well placed kicks and punches and they went down like ten-pins. The woman looked up to see the man with the case tearing down the street. "Like you have a chance..." she muttered.

The man with the case ran for his life, the Order depended on him. Without warning he was tackled from behind and hoisted up by his shirt front. Now that they were in the light of a street light he could identify the black panels on his attacker's back as wings, that's how she caught up with him, she flew. A silver visor covered her eyes. As she opened her mouth to speak he cried. "For the Order of St. Dumas!" , and bit down hard.

"No!" She cried, but it was too late, the scent of bitter almonds filled the air. "Damn!" she swore as she let go of the now dead man. Before he hit the ground she pulled something from around his neck, a large medallion. She was about to check the case when she cocked her head as if to better hear something. "Company. Better scram and see who comes a calling." With that she secured the metal in the cuff of her glove and vanished into the darkness.

Nightwing was the first to arrive, closely followed by Batman and Batgirl. Several minutes later the GCPD came with Comm. Gordon. Batman walked over to him stating, "Same M.O. Jim."

"Again!" Jim Gordon shook his head, "This is the third time this week. A big time robbery, and we find who we believe are the thieves knocked out or suicides from poison. What ones we do take in alive kill themselves within 24 hours. Any ideas on what's going on?"

"None at this time. Any luck on identifying those we have found already?" replied Batman.

"Nothing. Hell we started running DNA and fingerprint samples through Interpol in the hopes something will turn up."

Comm. Gordon was interrupted by Batgirl, "Batman! Overhear, I think I found something." Both men walked over to see what she had found. She was pointing to a shard of metal lying on the ground, Batman picked it up carefully in his gloved hand. It was jet black, and razor sharp shaped like a stylized feather.

"Now what in the Sam-hill is that." muttered Comm. Gordon.

"First clue." came Batman's reply.

Nightwing was examining the body, as he watched the coroner do his work, something was nagging him. "I could swear that I've seen something like this before. But where?" When Batgirl called out he went to see what she found. A weird shard of metal, this case was getting stranger by the minute. A officer brought the case to Gordon who opened it.

"A psionic amplifier." He stated, "Stolen from Star Labs less than 48 hours ago. "

At the mention of psionic, Nightwing's eyes got wide. "Commissioner," he asked, "Have most of these robberies dealt with psionic devices of some sort?"

"Yes." he answered, "Do you have a theory?"

"Maybe." he replied, "I'll have to check on something first." Nightwing walked toward his bike, Batman followed.

"You think she's involved don't you?" he asked.

"It's a possibility, like I told Gordon, I have to check." he replied. "But even you have to admit it's a possibility." When Nightwing turned for an answer Batman was already stalking toward the Batmobile. Batgirl took one look at his face and looked at Nightwing, eyes pleading as if to say 'Help?' He just tossed her a grin and tore off on his bike.

The young woman was watching the entire scene from a rooftop. She loved this visor, a tech-head friend of hers had made it for her. It had everything a high flying crime fighter needed, night-vision, infra-red, ultraviolet, radar and telescopic. After Batgirl spotted the shard she had checked her wings, sure enough one of the 'feathers' had been knocked off. She sighed, she had hoped to keep a low profile while in Gotham, but once old Belfry-Brain started analyzing that metal she was willing to bet he'd trace it to her. The man was worse than a bloodhound on a trail, no matter how well she hid. She sighed and spotted Nightwing driving off on his bike. She grinned, "Who said Belfry-Brain has to be the first to know I'm back in town?" she muttered as she followed him.

Following Nightwing was easier said than done though, he must have caught on to her following him. "He's gotten better." she muttered with admiration. The bike vanished into a sewer pipe, she switched her visor to radar and was able to trace the bike as it went through a hidden tunnel to a nearby building of mostly loft apartments. She alighted softly on the roof and peeked through the skylight, no lights. She frowned, and switched her visor to infra-red, as the apartment below sprang into shades of red she clearly spotted Nightwing crouched down waiting for someone to come through the skylight. She grinned, this was going to be fun.

Nightwing was in his apartment watching the skylight muttering, "Come on, I know your out there. Come in and see what your getting into..."

From Nightwing's perspective he didn't see the skylight open, a figure jump down and casually stroll behind him, until he felt a tap on the shoulder. He reacted, violently. He smiled as his kick connected with the intruder's gut, and a "Ooff." reached his ears. The intruder fell back to the ground and rolled away. Nightwing launched himself to the form to finish the job.

The woman was trying to get her breath back, she spotted Nightwing coming at her. Since she couldn't talk she spread one of her wings over her body as a shield. The sound of foot hitting metal and a cry of surprise and pain from Nightwing as he hit the ground, none to gracefully. By then she had gotten her voice back and croaked "Geez, if I had known that your sense of humor had gone down the tubes I would have used the damn door."

Nightwing groaned, "I should have known." He got to his feet and turned on the lights, favoring one foot. He turned to his guest and his jaw dropped. "Nightingale! I mean Belle....uh I mean.....um.....where in the world did you get that outfit?!!?" Her last uniform had been tight fitting, this one looked like it had been painted on.

She smiled at his stuttering and replied "Look who's talking!" she quipped motioning to his own uniform of black and blue. "And the name these days is ShadowWing. I'll explain the name change later. Like the new look?"

"Uh...yeah, where did you get the wings?" pulling off his mask.

"You don't want to know." she replied removing her own visor, "So when does the interrogation start?"

"Now. Does your visit have anything to do with the recent rash of robberies?" he asked while going into the next room to change.

"It's part of the reason," she retracted her wings till they were about the size of a backpack. When he came out she continued, "this is the rest of it." She pulled the metal she had gotten earlier that night and tossed it at him. As he caught it she asked, "Recognize it?"

"Oh no." he muttered.

"I got that off one of the guys you found tonight." she sighed, "They're back."

Dick turned the metal to read the inscription that ran along the edge, it said The Order of St. Dumas.

Batman was at the lab table hunched over something when Tim Drake came down the stairs for evening patrol. "What's that?" he asked motioning to the shard of metal on the table.

"A clue." came Batman's curt reply.

Tim sighed, "Which case?"

"The string of high-tech robberies."

"Oh." replied Tim, "You mean those weird guys who keep killing themselves?"

"Yes."

Tim looked at the metal shard, "Looks like a wing feather to me."

"I don't think Gotham City has birds that molt razor sharp metal feathers."

"Razor sharp?"

Batman picked up the feather with a pair of tongs and an apple from the tray Alfred had left. He brought the feather down on the apple neatly slicing it in half. Tim swallowed. Batman remarked, "Razor sharp."

"That's one bird I don't want to meet." muttered Tim as he walked off to change. Batgirl had just arrived.

"Any luck?" she asked as she walked over to him.

"None. I can't seem to identify this metal, let alone where it came from. It seems our first clue as created more questions than answers, but there are a few more tests I can run on it." he stood up as Robin bounded in the room.

"Are we ready to go?" asked Robin

Batman just nodded as the trio walked toward the vehicles.

Nightwing was out on patrol himself when he spotted a form on a roof and sighed. He had left Belle at his loft with the suggestion that maybe she should say put until he could talk to Bruce. As he reached the roof he stated "I thought I asked you to stay put."

ShadowWing shrugged "Tried, nearly went stir-crazy. I would have called you if I ran into the Order. And when was the last time you cleaned out your fridge?"

He shook his head and laughed, "I'm a single guy. What did you expect?"

"Better training from Alfred." she shot back.

He couldn't argue there, so he gave round one to her. He was about to start round two when ShadowWing cocked her head and glanced down the street. "What?" he asked.

"Trouble." she answered. ShadowWing then spread her wings and took off. Nightwing spread his own and followed her. After they had glided for several blocks they spotted the trouble, a bank robbery. ShadowWing folded her wings and went into a dive, when she reached the unfortunate thieves she grabbed one by his shirt and started gaining altitude again. Nightwing wished he could pull that off, but since his wings were connected under his arms he had to improvise.

The rest of the gang had climbed into their car and was driving off when a thump on the roof began a session of wholesale panic in the car. The hand breaking the driver-side window and jerking the steering wheel didn't help. ShadowWing looked down and smiled as the car drove into a fire hydrant and stopped. Nightwing was completely drenched but grinning as the would be thieves climbed out of the rapidly flooding car.

ShadowWing remarked to the one she was holding, "Care to surrender? You can start by dropping your gun." The thug sneered and replied.

"How about bullets first?" Before she could react he pulled the trigger and opened fire on her left wing.

ShadowWing's shriek of pain caused Nightwing to look up from where he was tying up the rest of the gang. Out of reflex ShadowWing had let go of the guy she was holding and he began to plummet some 60 feet to the street. Nightwing was able to leap up and catch the guy in order to slow down his fall. After a rough landing Nightwing knocked the guy out with one punch before checking on ShadowWing.

She had landed just a minute after he did about 20 feet away, as he approached he noticed while one of her wings was against her back, the other was extended on the ground, she was also out cold. She began to come around as he reached her. "ShadowWing?" he asked.

"Ow.." she groaned

He began to check for injuries, he couldn't find any until he looked at the extended wing. "What the Hell!!??!!" he exclaimed. Coming from what appeared to be bullet holes on the inside of her wing were drops of blood.

"Impossible." muttered Batman for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

"What is?" asked Robin, after returning from patrol he and Batgirl was practicing while he was still testing that feather.

"I finally identified something in this shard, but I don't see how this could be."

"What is it?" asked Batgirl, "Maybe we could help."

Batman looked up from the scope he was using and replied, "This shard has traces of human DNA."

"On it?" asked Robin

"No." he replied, "In it.".

Robin looked at Batgirl, Batgirl looked at Robin. Both looked at Batman. Batgirl finally spoke. "You mean there's somebody in Gotham molting 8 inch razor blades?!?"

"It appears so." replied Batman.

"That settles it." stated Robin, "I do not want to meet this guy."

"Can you use DNA identification to figure out who this person is, or was?" asked Batgirl.

"Only if a DNA sample is already in the computer's database, but worth a shot." replied Batman, tapping on a computer keypad the proper commands to do the DNA comparison. Once the computer began searching he turned to Robin, "Isn't it time for you to go upstairs?"

"Aw man....." grumbled Robin, he opened his mouth to object then he saw Batman's face. "Yes sir." he muttered before changing and going upstairs. Batgirl spoke up, "I better get going myself, promised Dad breakfast tomorrow." Batman just nodded. She shrugged and left the cave. Batman continued to work.

Meanwhile Nightwing had finally gotten ShadowWing back to his loft. No easy feat since she couldn't retract her left wing. As he better examined the wounds in the wing he stated "Start explaining."

"As you know from when you were in New York, Rollo the former head of the Order of St. Dumas died in that warehouse fire." she began, "Oww!"

Dick was cleaning out the wounds, "Sorry."

She sighed, "Well the Order needed a new leader and a woman named Lithy took over."

"I thought they considered women one step below dirt."

'They did." replied Belle, "Somehow Lithy took over and decided that two Azreals were better than one. This is where I came in. Lithy also decided that the new Azreal would be a woman."

"I bet that went over well." muttered Dick.

"Actually from what I heard it was the Gray Abbot who suggested me for the new Azreal to Lithy. I personally think it was payback for me kicking his butt in New York." She grinned. "They had a devil of a time catching me though."

Dick shook his head, "So how did they capture you?"

"Tall, Dark, and Scary."

"Oh," replied Dick, "him."

"I don't remember much after that." she muttered, "Mostly jumbled images, and allot of pain. When my head finally cleared I found these," motioning to the wings, "on my back. It took me a few months to get the hang of controlling these things, but I managed."

"Is the Order still after you?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," snapped Belle, "why do you think they're stealing psionic devices? To better hunt me down and trap me, of course." She began to pace, "I've been trying to keep a low profile, but when I heard that they were trying to get a base started here in Gotham, I couldn't stay hidden. So I pulled my uniform out of the mothballs, re-vamped it and headed here to help."

"Were you planning to approach Bruce about this?" Dick knew that Bruce held allot of hostility toward Belle. Even though she left Gotham over 10 years ago.

"Yeah, when I screwed up the courage to do so. Unfortunately I lost a feather and you guys found it. It won't take long for him to find human DNA in it...."

Dick finished her sentence, "He'll run it through the computers and come up with your file. I'm glad I'm not going to be in the cave when he figures that out."

A few hours later....

The computer beeped, it had found a match. Bruce was surprised, he couldn't think of anybody in those files who would have 6 to 8 inch blades growing out of their body. He walked over to the keypad and tapped in the commands to bring up the file. It appeared on the screen, Bruce did a double take and saw red.

After running the test at least 4 more times, and coming up with the same result every time. "Why would Nightingale have razors growing out of her body?" he mused. He ran another computer check, this one looking for references in the media for any activities that Belle could be involved in as Nightingale. He did know she was a New York native, so he started the search there.

After patching up Belle's wing Dick was putting away the medical supplies, he called from the bathroom. "Need anything?"

"Maybe a aspirin, I'm starting to get a killer headache..." she replied.

"Coming up." he replied, He came back into the main area of the loft, he couldn't see Belle, "Belle?" he asked.

"Betrayer!" roared a voice behind him.

Dick ducked just before her wing sliced him to ribbons. "Belle!?" he yelled.

"Defiler!" she yelled and fully extended her right wing, out of it came about a dozen of the feathers, all razor sharp and aimed right at him.

"Holy!" Dick dove behind the couch just as the feathers embedded themselves in the wall. Dick swallowed, Belle was acting just like Azreal did when he attacked him at the Order's warehouse in New York. "What did they do you?" he muttered. He heard Belle just on the other side of the couch and decided to take a risk and go offensive. He jumped up right into her surprised face and decked her. The punch connected right under her chin and sent her on her back and out cold.

Belle came around a few minutes later, blinking "What happened?" she asked. Dick was about to answer when she saw the feathers in the wall. "Oh God," she whispered, "not again."

Dick crouched down beside her on the floor, "Again?" he asked carefully.

Belle nodded, "Ever since I escaped the Order, I've been getting these black-outs." her voice cracked, "I think it the same thing that put Azreal through." she bit her lip, "And I can't control it! For all I know I could wake up and somebody's dead!" She put her head in her hands and began to sob.

Dick gathered her up as best her could and began to rock her. Belle leaded into the embrace and continued to cry. Dick at that moment made a silent vow, the Order, the Gray Abbot, and whoever this 'Lithy' was would pay for this!

Batman was not only seeing red, but starting to turn red with anger. If the newspaper articles and media bites he had found from New York were true, Dick had allot of explaining to do. Alfred was walking down the cave stairs from the Manor above carrying a tray to his employer. As he walked to the chair at the computer console where Master Bruce was sitting, Alfred started to hear a low growl.

"Oh dear." muttered Alfred, then addressed Bruce, "Breakfast, Master Bruce?"

"Alfred." gritted Bruce through clenched teeth, "Didn't Dick go to New York for a work study program of some type?"

"I believe so sir. You were undercover at the time he left, if I recall." Alfred was wondering if he should call Master Dick with a warning.

"Didn't that strike you as odd?" Bruce continued, "If I recall he originally turned down that program."

"Why yes it did sir." Alfred paused, "Master Dick told me it was to keep up appearances and that Gotham's Police Crime Lab wasn't going to take any more students until after he graduated."

"He had another motive." snarled Bruce.

"What do you mean sir?" Alfred made a note not to warn Master Dick, but to tell Master Tim and Miss Gordon to keep out of the cave for a bit instead.

Batman tapped a few buttons as he explained, "That metal shard that we found had traces of human DNA in it. I ran it against the known samples in the computer's database, this was the result." Belle's file came onto the screen.

"Oh my, Miss Anderson?" Alfred blinked, "But what does that have to do with Master Dick's trip to New York?"

Batman continued typing, "I ran a search of the local media in New York City, Belle is originally from that area, I was hoping to find out what would have caused her to grow 8 inch razors. I found this instead." On the screen appeared several articles describing various crimes foiled by two masked individuals, one was a female described as being known as Nightingale. The other was an unknown male, but a detailed description followed of Dick's Robin uniform.

"I'm sure that Master Dick has a logical explanation for this Master Bruce."

"He better." growled Batman as he reached for the phone. Alfred prayed that Master Dick was not home.

Meanwhile Dick was crashed on his couch. After he got Belle calmed down he shooed her into his room to get some sleep, she made a token protest, but he countered with one simple reason. There was no way she was fitting on the couch if she couldn't retract her left wing completely, as least not without shredding it.

As he drifted off he contemplated the current situation as a whole, Belle being screwed up in the head by the Order's system, her already being a telepathic and telekinetic, and Bruce still not forgiving her for chucking him into a wall. Put them together and what do you get? Trouble, with a capital 'T'. He decided to get some sleep, he'll figure out what to do when he woke up.

The phone rang.

Dick put his head under a pillow and grumbled, "Why do I have a sick feeling of dread about that call?" The phone kept ringing. "The machine will get it." he snarled.

The answering machine answered, the message played, the beep sounded, the caller talked. "Dick I know you're there. Pick up the phone.....Now!"

Dick was sat up so quickly that he fell off the couch. The sound of falling Grayson woke Belle up. Dick grabbed the phone, "Yes Bruce?" he squeaked.

"Where....is....she?" Batman snarled

"Uh...who?" answered Dick, though he had a damn good idea to who Batman was referring to.

"Belle." growled Batman.

Belle had walked into the room, and could deduce who was on the phone. "The fit has hit the shan." she muttered to Dick. He nodded before answering Bruce.

"Why do you think she's in town?"

"Because that piece of metal that we found came from her. Also if she would go anywhere in Gotham she would go to you. Now....where....is....she!" Batman was almost yelling into the phone.

"How about I come over and we can try to discuss this in a civil manner?" Dick snapped back. "Instead of you yelling at me over the phone!" Dick raised his voice to match Bruce's. Belle winced.

"Fine." snarled Batman.

"Fine." snapped Dick back. Both men slammed down their phones. Belle swallowed and waited a few minutes before speaking.

"I take it you're going to the manor?" she asked.

"Yes." grumbled Dick, "He's got it in his head that I know more that I'm telling him."

"He's right." snickered Belle, then she frowned, "As usual. I'm going with you."

"You don't have to Belle." began Dick, "I can cover for you..."

"No." stated Belle, "No Dick, I don't need anybody to fight my battles for me. This boils down to what happened between Bruce and I, no way I'm going to let you take to rap for me."

"He going to be pissed at me too." replied Dick, "I never told him the real reason I went to New York that semester."

"Ouch. How much do you want to bet he just figured that out?"

"Oh boy. Good point." he replied, "Let's get ready and go."

An hour later Belle came out, civilian style, Dick stared. "What?" she asked.

"If I didn't know those wings didn't come off I'd never know they were there. How did you do that?!?"

Belle smiled, "They retract to about the size of a backpack. Let's just say that there are now an over abundance of jackets and coats in my wardrobe these days. " She headed for the door. "Shall we?"

Dick grinned and followed.

As the doorbell rang Alfred walked over to answer it. He sighed, Master Tim had come running out of the cave less than five minutes after entering. "What's got him so pissed off?" Tim had asked. Alfred didn't comment but recommended that he stay out of the Master Bruce's way for the rest of the day. He received a pleasant shock upon opening the door. Two people were at the door, Master Dick was one, the other....

"Miss Anderson!?!"

"Hi Alfred." Belle grinned

"Master Dick where did you find her?" Ushering both of them into the main hall and shutting the door.

"She found me." he chuckled, "I knew she was tailing me and tried to ditch her." He raised an eyebrow, "you can see how well that worked."

"In case you haven't heard, Bruce is expecting us." sighed Belle.

"He's waiting downstairs." replied Alfred.

Belle and Dick swallowed, Alfred's tone told them all they didn't want to know.

"Any last requests?" muttered Belle as she and Dick entered the Batcave.

As she and Dick entered the Batcave, Belle could almost hear a dirge in her head. She was not looking forward to seeing Bruce again. She had always felt guilty about tossing him into a wall, but what was done was done and now she had to deal with the consequences. She just hoped that she didn't drag Dick down with her.

Dick entered the main area of the cave first, he also spoke first. The best defense is a good offense thought Belle. "You wanted to talk to me Bruce?" he asked.

"Where is Belle?" hissed Batman.

Belle stepped out from behind Dick, "I'm right here."

Batman glared at her. "Where did this come from?" holding up the feather.

"You know damn well where that came from Bruce." replied Belle, "Now how about you stop beating around the bush and say to me what you really want to say."

Batman was a bit taken aback by this, after a few heartbeats he spoke again, "How dare you..."

"What Bruce?" snapped Belle, "Are you going to give me the line 'What are you doing in my city?', or maybe it's 'If you are going to operate here you have to follow my rules.' bit. Well Mr. Wayne I've been there, done that, and got seriously ripped off on the T-shirt! Also for your information and well-being I am not here on a permanent basis, just here until some old 'friends' are gone and I'm leaving with them. Any other questions or have I covered them all?"

The trio stood there for a few minutes, Dick was wondering how Bruce was keeping his hands from Belle's neck. It had to be shock. Nobody dared to smart off at Bruce that much since, well since Belle was last in Gotham. Batman finally spoke, "You haven't answered my original question." still holding the metal feather.

Belle sighed and started to remove her jacket, Dick had an idea on what was going to happen next and jogged a distance away from her. The next thing Batman knew was that Belle was hovering about 15 feet in the air by using was appeared to be a set of black metal wings that were attached to her back. The wings were composed of the same feathers such as the one he was holding. "Does this answer you question?" she stated from above him.

Batman swallowed and nodded. After she landed he asked, "How?"

"You do not want to know. But I will you tell you this much, the group of thieves that you are investigating belong to the same group that gave me these." she motioned to the wings before continuing, "That's why I'm here, since I know what these guys are capable of I can help."

Before she could say anything else Batman interrupted her, "I do not need your help."

"Your kidding?" replied Belle. He didn't answer, Belle tossed up her hands in frustration, "You know absolutely nothing about these guys, or what they are capable of. I'm offering you information, but you are too pig-headed to accept an offer of help." Still silence, "Get over it Bruce! It happened 10 years ago, you are letting your stupid pride get in the way of your common sense!"

"I do not need you or your kind operating in my city." Batman's voice was like ice.

"Fine!" Belle snapped, she turned and stalked toward the stairs, retracting her wings and putting her jacket back on. As she stalked past Dick she muttered "Maybe you can talk some sense into him." She then left the cave.

As she was leaving the cave she plowed by two individuals, part of her mind mentally clicked pictures of both. She hissed as she walked by "Do not go down there."

Barbara and Tim looked at her and looked down the stairs. Barbara could clearly hear the shouting match between Bruce and Dick, so could Tim. Both decided to follow the girl that just stalked by. She was almost at the front door when Alfred stopped her.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave just yet Miss Anderson."

"Dare I ask why?" muttered Belle, "I sent you a check for the vases."

"Lunch, perhaps?"

Belle smiled and shook her head, "Why not? You may need help breaking up the fight down there."

"That's what the knock-out gas is for." replied Alfred dryly, "Besides I do believe that some introductions are in order." motioning to where Barbara and Tim were watching them.

After a quick history of all was given by Alfred, the trio was seated in the kitchen, the discussion began.

"So your the new Robin?" Belle asked Tim.

"Yep." he grinned.

"How in the world did you get the job?" she asked.

"Put on the costume and helped him stop Two-face."

Belle's eyebrows shot up, this kid had guts! She liked him already. "Dare I ask what his reaction was?"

"Not happy." cut in Barbara.

"Is he ever happy?" Belle shot back.

"Good point." replied Barbara, "Let's say more not happy than normal."

Tim was chuckling, Barbara was wary, Alfred was calmly cleaning the kitchen. Barbara asked "How long did you work with Bruce and Dick?"

"About a year, if I recall."

"Why has he not mentioned you before?" she pressed.

"Ask Alfred and Dick for that answer. Here's a hint, there used to be several Ming vases in the front hallway." Before Belle could elaborate, a hacked off Dick Grayson stalked toward the front door. "Oh boy." she muttered.

"I wonder what the cave looks like." grumbled Barbara.

"Tell you what, you two check on Bruce and I'll follow Dick." Belle darted after Dick before either Barbara or Tim could object.

As the pair entered the cave Tim whispered "Ladies first." Barbara scowled.

As Belle ran out the front door of the Manor she spotted Dick getting on his bike. "Hey! Wait up!" she yelled.

He paused in putting on his helmet and looked over his shoulder. "I thought you already left."

"How? " she quipped, "I came with you, and flying in broad daylight would not be a good idea."

He shook his head and motioned for her to hop on. As they drove off Alfred watched them go and smiled.

Several days passed, Alfred took note that neither Master Dick or Miss Anderson were visible but ShadowWing and Nightwing were making an effective team on the streets of Gotham. Much to Batman's annoyance. More bodies were discovered form the Order, Batman and Robin were stopping them as often as Nightwing and ShadowWing, both teams however had the same results, the members committed suicide before any questions could be answered.

One night Batman was on patrol with both Robin and Batgirl, the police band barked that there was a robbery in progress. "Shouldn't we look into it Batman?" asked Robin. His answer was a swift turn if the steering wheel.

A short time later the trio arrived at the scene, it was a lab of a private company that was currently conducting research on psionic powers. As expected several figures wearing dark suits were running out of the building. Batman stopped the Batmobile in front of the group and the crime-fighters leapt out.

Then things got strange. Batman leapt at the leader of the group when he was tackled by somebody else from behind.

"Batman!" yelled Batgirl as to turned to help him, but one of the guards aimed a gun at her and fired. A dart lodged itself into her shoulder, a minute later she collapsed on the ground. Robin was running to help her but he to was hit with a dart and passed out.

Batman knew of his partners troubles but was unable to do anything about it. His attacker was keeping him at bay. "Who are you!" he yelled.

"I am the avenging angel! You have committed crimes against the Order of St. Dumas! You must pay!" A killer punch dazed Batman for a few precious moments, when his head cleared slightly he noticed Batgirl and Robin were being loaded into a van of some type as his attacker's sword lit with fire and was about to come down.

"Azreal! Jean Paul! Don't!" shrieked a voice from above. ShadowWing landed between Batman and his attacker. "Jean Paul, listen to me." she soothed, "you don't have to do this. You know this is wrong, you can fight the System, I know you've done it before..."

Azreal interrupted her, "There is no Jean Paul! There is only the avenging angel, Azreal!" he lunged to attack. ShadowWing backhanded him with her wing. Once he was tossed back the others decided to open fire with something a bit more potent than darts.

"Batman! Stay down!" she yelled as she extended her wings as a shield around them.

"Nice trick." he muttered as the bullets hit and were deflected by the outside of her wings.

After they stopped firing ShadowWing lowered her wings and the pair prepared to fight. But the Order's soldiers and Azreal had vanished. "Damn." muttered ShadowWing.

Batman looked around "Where's Batgirl and Robin?" he snarled.

"What?!"

"They were knocked out and dragged off, where are they?"

ShadowWing swallowed as she picked up one of the darts left behind. She knew it well, "They took them."

"Who."

"The Order." she hit her communicator, "ShadowWing to Nightwing." No answer. Batman tried next, still no answer from Nightwing. Batman ran to the Batmobile and tapped on a few keys. He explained as he worked.

"Nightwing gave a code that would enable me to track his bike if something happened." he paused and asked her, "He did take his bike on patrol tonight?" She nodded. After a few minutes of work a location popped onto the Mobile's screen. "Let's go."

Five minutes later they arrived, from ShadowWing's perspective it was weird to be riding in the Batmobile again, but was allot faster then her flying to the scene. When they arrived they found his bike but no Nightwing. Batman checked the bike while ShadowWing scouted around. She spotted something on a roof, it was one of Nightwing's boomerangs, when she landed on the roof to investigate she found something else, another one of the Order's darts.

She landed near Batman and stated, "We're too late." showing him the dart and Nightwing's weapon.

Batman just took both from her and drove off in the Batmobile without saying a word.

Belle was pacing in Dick's loft apartment. After bringing his bike back she had spent her time gathering all her evidence on the Order on her laptop. She now had three possible locations for the Order's headquarters in Gotham City. Now she was debating on weather or not to check them out herself or ask Bruce for back-up.

If it involved only herself she would go. Now the stakes were different, the lives of Dick, Batgirl and Robin were also hanging in the balance, and time was off the essence. Though she had escaped from the Order's control several months ago, she still felt it's effects. The System, the mental programming used to create and control the Azreal's was also used on her. The after effect still haunted her, popping up when she least expected it. One aspect of the System was the complete and total obedience to the Order's leader. What if the System kicked in and placed her back under the Order's control if she tried a rescue mission solo?

She came to a decision. It boiled down to the fact that if she was going to rescue Dick, Batgirl and Robin she needed back-up. The only person available was Batman. That meant not only sharing all her information about the Order with him, which she was willing to do. But it also meant explaining to him exactly what the Order did to her so he could be prepared if she fell under the Order's control again. He would have to trust her again as his partner and she would have to do the same.

She was willing to swallow her pride to save the life of a friend that was dearer to her than her own flesh and blood. The question is, would Bruce be willing to do the same? She sighed, there were a few hours before dawn. She gathered up her files and laptop and packed them for the trip to the cave. She donned her costume and flew into the night. As she headed for Wayne Manor she hoped that Bruce hadn't changed the Batplane's secret entrance.

Batman pounded the computer's console in frustration. Three hours of work had revealed nothing on this 'Order', Belle was talking about. The only thing he was able to confirm was the 'robbery' tonight was staged. Comm. Gordon reported that it looked like the place was cleaned out, not by robbers, which led to the theory that the place was a front for this 'Order'.

"Any luck Master Bruce?" inquired Alfred behind him.

Batman shook his head. "Nothing. I can't find out anything on the people who took Dick, Barbara and Tim, let alone where they took them."

"Maybe I can help." stated a voice.

Both Batman and Alfred whipped around to see ShadowWing land on the floor of the cave folding her wings behind her. "What are you doing here!" snapped Batman.

ShadowWing sighed, "Can we call a truce for one night for the sake of your partners and Dick?"

Batman calmed down a bit, "What do you want?"

"To help." she replied, "After the order hit New York the first time I made sure that they couldn't do so again. To do that I had to gather as much as I could, thankfully when Dick and I took out the New York Base I was able to get my hands on a great deal of inside information on the Order. It's how I've been able to keep tabs on them. If I didn't I'd be pounding on the computer too."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner Miss Anderson." asked Alfred.

"I tried." replied ShadowWing with a pointed glare at Batman.

Inwardly Batman hated to admit it but Belle was right, she had tried to warn him, tried to offer her help but it ended in a shouting match. He had let his pride get in the way of his common sense. He swallowed and muttered, "What do you know?"

ShadowWing heaved a sigh of relief, "Finally." she muttered and walked toward the computer. When she got there she pulled out a computer disk, "This has got all the info on the Order's Gotham operation, as well as possible locations for the base."

"Why didn't you check out these locations on your own?" As long as he knew Belle, she was for the most part, a solo worker. But she did know when she needed help, but why him of all people?

"To answer that I have to give you a bit of history on the Order." After he nodded for her to continue as he brought up the files on the disk on his computer, Belle continued, "Dumas was a fanatical follower of the Church during the Crusades. His attacks and raids gained him a great deal of wealth, all in the name of Rome. After several years he petitioned Rome to bless him for all his work in the name of God. They refused on the ground that it takes more that bloody battles to become blessed in the eyes of God. Dumas was furious, not only claiming himself blessed, but a saint as well. By this time Dumas has gathered a number of followers, after separating themselves from the Knights Templar both Dumas and his wealth vanished."

"Until you found them in New York." added Batman, putting the pieces together.

"You got it." replied ShadowWing, "The Order thrives on secrecy, and the benefits of membership are vast. Power, wealth, protection, you name it, but it comes at a price. Disobey the rules of the Order and you pay with you life. That guy you fought earlier tonight? He's Dumas's version of a cop, called Azreal he's a super-human trained killer ordered to protect the Order at all costs. For centuries that position has been held by men, until they found me."

"Why you?" Batman asked. ShadowWing tapped the side of her head, "Oh," replied Batman, "your powers."

"Yep," replied ShadowWing, "So after Dick and I kicked them out of New York, a new leader took over and decided that there should be a female Azreal as well. Guess who got nominated?"

"You." stated Batman, "So they gave you your wings?"

"Among other things." she grumbled.

"Meaning?"

ShadowWing sighed, "In order to keep Azreal under control, they used a mind-control program called 'The System', they used it on me as well."

"What?!" snapped Batman

"That's why I need back-up." replied ShadowWing, "Yes I can control it to a degree, but I don't know what will happen when I enter the base." She sighed before continuing, "I need somebody to take me down if I fall under the Order's control again."

By this time Batman had reviewed the files on the disk and had memorized the possible locations of the Order's base. He would have preferred going at this alone in light of Belle's 'problem', but he also knew there would be no way to stop her from going. He stood up from his chair and walked toward the Batmobile. He glanced over his shoulder, "You coming?"

ShadowWing grinned. "Yes!", and climbed into Batmobile with him.

Alfred smiled as the Batmobile tore out of the cave and into the Gotham Night.

The following night....

Unfortunately there was not enough time that night to do more than check out the three locations. The did however have a pretty good idea on which location was the headquarters for the Order of St. Dumas. Therefore Batman and ShadowWing made plans for the next night.

Meanwhile Nightwing was slowly coming around. The last thing he remembered was chasing a few of the Order's henchmen across a rooftop, then a sharp pain in his upper shoulder, then nothing. He had no doubt that the Order was behind this, though the reason eluded him. He decided to make some noise just to see what would happen.

"Ah a see the little bird is awake." purred a female voice.

Nightwing looked around and found himself chained to a wall, in front of him was a woman, fairly good looking, she was wearing a long purple dress of some type with an attached hood that was pulled up over her head. She also was wearing a gold colored tabard as well, she had dark brown eyes any other features were hidden by the shadows of the hood she was wearing. As he looked beyond her he saw both Batgirl and Robin chained to the room's opposite wall, neither was awake yet, and Azreal was standing guard. "Who are you?" hissed Nightwing.

"Oh I am sorry," she murmured with mock concern, "Forgive my manners for not introducing myself, I am Lithy, head of the Order of St. Dumas. You have heard of me I presume?"

Nightwing tried to surpress a low growl, and failed.

"I'll take that as a yes." she replied, "For the crimes against the Order we have been searching for you for a very long time, Nightwing is it these days?"

"What are you talking about?" muttered Nightwing trying to play dumb, the last thing he needed was somebody to put Robin and Nightwing together. His acting ability was rewarded by a slap across the face.

"Unlike my predecessor, I am not so easily fooled. I know you were with the woman known as Nightingale on the night the New York base was destroyed. We were looking for the Gotham hero known as Robin, but as you might guess when we found him, he was a tad young to be the same person. Lo and behold when we finally caught up with our little runaway, who is she with? A new masked hero of the night named Nightwing, it didn't take long for me to figure out you and the Robin in New York were one and the same." Lithy finished with a smug smile.

"So you have me." replied Nightwing, "Why do you need them?" motioning with his head to where Batgirl and Robin were bound to the wall.

"Due to the events you participated in New York, we are unable to operate in that area now, we need a coastal base in the United States for the Order's business. Given the amount of crime in Gotham it seemed perfect for our needs, until we ran into you and your friends." she paused before continuing, "You are here as bait for your friend Nightingale, they are for the Batman."

"It won't work." muttered Nightwing, "She stopped you once, she'll do it again, and this time she'll have help."

"We shall see." replied Lithy with a smile, she then swept out of the room with Azreal behind her.

Meanwhile Batman was sitting on a roof top across the street from the warehouse that was being used as the Order of St. Dumas's headquarters. An almost silent landing behind him notified him that ShadowWing had finished her recon of the building. "Well?" he asked.

"I see that your conversational skills haven't improved." she muttered. He just glared at her. She sighed, "Skylight above, two guards on the roof, only one door, three guards at that entrance, they must have some kind of electronic scrambler around the base. The visor's systems can't see inside, even on infra-red and radar."

Batman nodded, "I was hoping that you might get a better overview than I could, is this set up similar to the one in New York?"

ShadowWing nodded, "Chances are that there is a lower level that won't show up on the official plans at City Hall, that's were Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin would be kept. Also if Azreal is here, chances are Lithy, the new head of the Order, is here too."

"That means even more guards." muttered Batman. "One of us needs to provide a distraction, while the other tries to locate the others. Any ideas?"

After the mild shock of Batman actually asking her opinion had passed she answered. "Seeing that skylight gives me an idea." replied ShadowWing "One of your favorite tacts I believe?" Batman nodded.

Five minutes later, the two guards were nailed to the chimneys with ShadowWing's razors launched from her wings. Before they could sound an alarm ShadowWing herself power dived through the skylight and into the warehouse. "Hiya Boys!!" she yelled at the surprised faces below her, "Miss me?"

At the sound of utter chaos from inside the building, the three guards at the main door rushed inside to help. It was practically child's play for Batman to slip inside and locate the entrance to the lower levels as ShadowWing was doing her best to keep as many of the guards busy for as long as she could.

Something was nagging at the back of ShadowWing's mind. Sure there were Acolytes by the score attacking her, but between the years of training as Nightingale and the added advantages of the System they were no match for her. Neither Lithy or Azreal had made a appearance yet and that bothered her, the whole set-up reeked of a trap, she decided to take a risk. She reached out her powers and tried to contact Dick.

Nightwing had been gagged to stop him from yelling out any warnings to whoever would walk into the cell. Lithy was in the cell with him, Robin and Batgirl they had been gagged as well, Azreal was outside the door. If Batman came, Azreal would kill him, if it was ShadowWing, Azreal would let her pass and once inside the cell Lithy would re-activate the System and regain control over her mind. Nightwing had gone over almost every situation in his mind and couldn't figure a way out of here, short of a miracle.

#Dick! Can you here me?#

Nightwing made a funny noise that caused Lithy to raise an eyebrow, but she didn't give it much thought. He would have yelled in surprise if he wasn't gagged. It sounded like Belle, but where was she?

#Dick, it's Belle, I'm trying to reach you telepathically. Can you here me?#

#Yeah, I guess.# he thought back.

#Batman and I are trying to rescue you. I smell a trap, care to fill us in?#

Dick almost sighed with relief, he sent back, #Yes there is one, Azreal is waiting outside the cell if Batman comes down, Azreal will attack, if it's you Lithy has a plan to re-activate the System in you.#

#Thanks for the info.# replied ShadowWing working on the last few Acolytes, #Sit tight, we'll have you out of there soon.# She then took a deep breath and tried to get into Batman's head.

#Batman can you here me?# she sent. After what seemed to be some mental swearing, she got a response.

#Yes I can here you. What is going on?#

#I was able to talk to Dick, there is a trap. Azreal is waiting for you.#

#Any ideas on how to deal with him?#

#Yeah, get his mask off, just trust me, it'll take too long to explain.#

As Batman crept down the hall he spotted the dramatic colors of Azreal waiting for him. instead of suffering through his speech again he decided to go on the offensive this round. He lunged from the shadows before Azreal knew he was even there and aimed for his head. Azreal recovered from his shock quickly, and backhanded him. Batman hit the wall hard, and was dazed, once again the Avenging Angel stood over him preparing to deliver a death blow when Batman sprung to life a grabbed hold of the hooded mask wrenching it off of Azreal's face.

After the red-black mask was in his hand a transformation took place from Batman's perspective. The once tall and imposing Azreal had seemed to diminish into a young man, blond, not much older than either Dick or Belle. He seemed confused, and unsure of himself and his surroundings. "What in the world?" muttered Batman.

"It's the System." stated ShadowWing from behind taking the mask from Batman's hand. "Unlike you 'Azreal' is completely separate from 'Jean Paul', the transformation is triggered by the mask. Get in there and get the others, I can take care of him."

Batman nodded and lunged toward the cell at the end of the hall.

"Jean Paul, why didn't you leave the Order?" asked ShadowWing, "You know what Lithy is doing is wrong, why are you staying?"

"Unlike you I have nowhere else to go." he replied in flat tones, "The Order is all I know all I've ever known. You were not meant to serve St. Dumas, that's why I helped you escape. I can't go anywhere else."

ShadowWing sighed, "I have to free my friends, you know that. I also have to stop Lithy from getting a foothold in Gotham."

"I have been ordered to stop you." replied Jean Paul

"Then you have a choice Jean Paul," stated ShadowWing dropping the mask in front of him, "Either turn around as Jean Paul and walk away, or put on that mask, become Azreal and follow Lithy's orders to your death, just as your father followed Rollo's to his death" With that ShadowWing spun away and darted down the hall. Leaving Jean Paul to his choice.

Meanwhile Batman had a surprise when he entered the cell. He quickly froze when he saw a woman holding a wicked looking dagger to Nightwing's neck. "Well, I don't know how you got past Azreal but your trip ends here."

"Lithy I presume?" he growled.

"Perceptive too." murmured Lithy, "You have a choice Batman, either join forces with the Order, or leave us and our business alone. Or you and your allies will die. Their fate is in your hands."

Batman was about to tell Lithy to go to hell when her dagger flew out of her hand and straight into ShadowWing's palm. "You forgot 'None of the Above' in that list of choices." sneered ShadowWing.

"Your right." smiled Lithy, "I did forget something," she then shouted a command in a language Nightwing, Batman, Batgirl, and Robin didn't understand, but it must of meant something to ShadowWing because she grabbed her head and fell to her knees. Nightwing strained his restraints trying to get free.

Batman grabbed a tranquilizer from his belt to hit ShadowWing with it before the System fully kicked in only to be tackled from behind by Azreal. "No!" roared Batman.

"Yes." purred Lithy, "Now my dear," motioning to ShadowWing "please put those lovely wings the Gray Abbot gave you to a good use and dispose of these Traitors to the Order of St. Dumas."

"With pleasure." muttered ShadowWing as she stood up. With one fluid motion her wings extended and exactly six blades launched out toward Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl. Every blade hit the exact target that she intended to hit.

Nightwing opened his eyes to see the two blades that were headed toward him had neatly sliced the manacles that held his wrists to the wall. Lithy's eyes widened in horror. A slow smile crept across ShadowWing's face. "Gotcha."

Batman took advantage of the moment and was able to break free from the hammer hold that Azreal had him in, Batgirl who had also been freed by ShadowWing's blades lunged for Lithy. She dodged the caped girl and ran out of the room ShadowWing and Nightwing gave chase. Batgirl was about to follow when Robin stopped her. "I think the big guy will need our help here." motioning to where Batman was fighting Azreal.

ShadowWing had finally caught up with Lithy in the upper level of the warehouse. "Hold it!" she yelled landing in front of the woman, "Unlike Rollo you are gonna pay for your crimes." ShadowWing hissed.

Lithy smiled, "Even if I allowed myself to be captured, it will not stop the Order. We have contacts around the world in some of the highest offices and positions you can think of. You will never stop us."

"No." muttered Nightwing, "But we will stop you here and now."

"Maybe some other time." she hissed, she then grabbed a small remote and hit it's single button, "This should bring back memories for the two of you," the all too familiar hiss of gas and sound of fire brought back way too many memories for both ShadowWing and Nightwing as the explosion hit them full force.

Meanwhile below in the cell Azreal knew of both the bomb and Lithy's plan to use it. he knew he had to get out of there, and assist Batman and his companions as well. If he tried to explain it all to Batman, he would never be believed. He decided to let Jean Paul be in control and figure a way out. Jean Paul thought that he could lead them out through a second secret exit he knew of. To insure that he would be followed he grabbed Batgirl and ran.

"Put me down!" she shrieked. As predicted both Batman and Robin followed.

As soon as they were a safe distance away he dropped Batgirl. The exact moment Batman and Robin caught up the warehouse exploded.

"Holy!!" yelled Robin has he saw the quickly fading fireball.

"Nightwing and ShadowWing are still in there!" yelled Batgirl. She began to run to the smoldering building. Batman turned to question Azreal, but the other man had vanished.

Ten minutes later Batman and his partners were sifting through the rubble. There was no sign of survivors. Suddenly a small pile of rubble shifted, Batman ran toward it and began to pull boards and debree away from the pile. Sure enough under the rubble was a layer of metal, as soon as enough was removed the wing fully extended allowing Nightwing to crawl out of the protective dome that ShadowWing had made from her wings. As soon as he was done ShadowWing crawled out. "Are you two all right?" asked Batman.

"We'll live." muttered ShadowWing, "Who gets to call the cops to clean up our mess?"

Batman was already on the radio calling Jim Gordon.

A week later:

Dick Grayson had just walked into his apartment and had a funny feeling about something. His suspicions were confirmed by a tap on the shoulder, this time the intruder had the good sense to block the kick.

"Let go of my ankle Belle." he muttered.

"Your sense of humor is definitely suffering." sighed Belle, "I gotta work on that." letting his ankle go.

"So how are things in New York? You practically ran out the door after that phone call on the night of the explosion." asked Dick, "I believe I was lucky to have you tell me where you were going."

"Sorry," muttered Belle, "The call from New York was MJ, had to take care of it quickly. Let's just say my grandfather didn't take my disappearance well, he hasn't been doing well lately."

Dick sighed, "Sorry. Is he okay now?"

"He's been better. Now that he no longer has me to worry about he can concentrate on himself. What was the result of the investagation on the warehouse?" Belle asked.

"You're not going to like it." winced Dick.

"Lithy's body wasn't found was it?" muttered Belle.

"I'm afraid not," replied Dick, "Are you going after them again? They'll still be after you."

"Not now." replied Belle, "I'm needed elsewhere, besides now that Lithy knows I can fight the System better, I'm not an easy mark now. Hopefully she'll turn her attentions elsewhere after rebuilding the Order, again" she finished with a chuckle.

"Will you be sticking around here?" asked Dick trying to keep some of the hope from his voice. He was gonna miss having Belle smart off to Bruce on a regular basis.

Belle shook her head, "Nope, I'm heading back to New York. I've got a whole life to re-invent thanks to the Order, but if Bruce doesn't mind I'll visit. Sometimes."

Dick broke into a grin, "Oh he'll mind all right but he'll get used to it."

"Though I think Barbara will mind even more." replied Belle with a smirk.

"Huh?" asked Dick, "Why would Barbara mind?"

"If you can't figure that one out Dick then you have a long way to go in understanding how women think." stated Belle, she then heard somebody enter the loft, a mental scan told her it was Barbara. She decided to give Dick one more lesson before she left. As Miss Gordon walked in Dick was about to great her when Belle grabbed him and planted a kiss on him.

Dick was shocked, Barbara was fuming, Belle enjoyed every minute of it. "Bye!" she stated as she let Dick up for air and strolled out the door. "I'll visit soon!" she sang. Barbara's thoughts were music to her ears as she left the loft. Barbara tried to berate Dick and explain what was going on. She had no luck.

Dick had the sappest look on his face for the next two hours.

The End

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