E21: Mess around...

When the clock struck three in the morning, a female thief suited up in an all white, skin tight mouse outfit sporting a special whip at her side like her mentor, knuckle dusters and one genius level intellect when it comes to her capabilities of hacking computers, outsmarting her foes and hand to hand combat, got herself past the difficult parts of sneaking into one of Blüdhaven's private safe deposit banks, owned by one of the richest men in the city. This woman's sense of smell and hearing are amplified by her mask.

"Oh, that cologne smells very savory." Said Mouse while she turned around after loading up her gems into a bag, she was shocked she couldn't hear whoever was behind her but she could smell a specific sudden smell behind her that wasn't there before, "god, there's no way this town has-" Mouse tried to finish before she was interrupted… 

"Thanks, it's called noodle kitchen and that this place has a vigilante of its own now?" Nightwing stopped her and assumed what she was going to say, "I've been getting a few reactions like that a lot since I moved here." He finished with a smirk on his face. 

"No, as I was going to say, I can't believe someone has an actual death wish-" Mouse replied before getting interrupted again by the hero. 

"Yeah, right, assassin and supervillain city, big and bad, bad guy town, we don't have to fight and you could put those pretty gems back where you found them, tiny mouse?" Nightwing said as he abruptly interrupted her again. 

Mouse looked at all of the gems inside, bright, shiny, beautiful and most importantly to her expensive gems and decided she wasn't going to put them back, she put them down to prepare for combat as she got her knuckle dusters out and got into a boxing stance.

"If I do that then what's going to stop me from barfing up my dinner when I look at you?" Mouse replied, fully intentionally insulting him, Nightwing looked around confused, "You'll live through it, your last boyfriend told me he did the same thing when he first saw you." Nightwing retorted as he also prepared himself for a fight too.

"You're the kind of guy that would wish you were my boyfriend once you've met him, He's stylish, kind hearted and his genius is only paralleled by me!" Mouse yelled angrily as she leapt in to fight him, to deliver blows with her customized brass knuckles. 

Nightwing was dodging her fists with ease as her description sounded like someone familiar to him. He didn't want to think who came to mind was the topic but he had no better conversation so he decided to pry for more silly coincidences. 

"Sounds nice enough, let me hear this great guy's flaws though, I got this story about a clown and a lonely therapist that could be similar to this." Nightwing replied as he kept bobbing and weaving her expert but very telegraphed punches with her knuckle dusters. 

He began back flipping to make some space but she started front flipping and surprisingly kept up with him until she caught him off guard and they got placed into a mixed-martial arts mount position where she was on top, her golden opportunity which she took advantage of, to deliver guaranteed punches with her brass knuckles. He was left with having to defend himself and she couldn't break through his defense to get his face.

"He's got this really weird but adorable obsession with technology and he loves using the word sexy for it… when he sees tech that impresses him but-" Nightwing stopped her from finishing her sentence as he trapped her right foot with his own, grabbed her rib then turned over with his might and tossed her off of him. 

As the two recovered, Mouse squared back up waiting for him but Nightwing didn't want to fight anymore as he was completely lost with the thought that he could be fighting his friend's girlfriend. The first flaw caught his attention, the second freaked him out, everything she had been describing lined up way too well with one of his best friends that he's living with right now, Brendan Li. He still didn't want to believe it but he couldn't deny it, he was feeling like he was in a strange place at this point. Stuck between acting on his duty, stopping this thief who won't be stopped by his words and his friendship with Giz, which could be severely damaged or broken by his fists this night. 

"This perfect dude wouldn't happen to be an ex… Right?" Nightwing asked while hoping her answer was yes. 

The police chief, Delmore Redhorn was sweating through his shirt, through his pants and down his back. Shaking like a nervous dog as the thoughts of what Blockbuster might do to all of them if they failed him flooded his mind like a tsunami. He stood in his office after hours and at 3 AM, awaiting Blockbuster's #1 assassin, Mercenary and bounty hunter to meet up with him so she can get the job done, the job all the others failed. He has no clue where anyone was, no clue where Stallion disappeared off to, where Electrocutioner was nor Torque but Lady Victim wasn't very reliable as she lends her services and skills elsewhere unlike the others but she was very, very, very effective. 

As he sat moving his thumbs like he was playing "Thumb war" with himself, nervous like a man would be with his life on the line, he heard a woman's voice in the room as he stared down at his desk. She greeted him so he looked up and saw a woman clothed in red and gold with a white and red mask that only showed her mouth and chin as well as her braided blonde hair. Nothing more than that was revealed of her face. She had bulky armor covering her shoulders and arms, she looked like she shouldn't be able to move but she was moving like she was barely naked.

"The others have failed him, I'll make sure I won't, just tell me the mark's last known location and I'll track him from there." Lady Vic told him with astronomical confidence in her voice. 

Chief Redhorn sent her to a noodle shop that Nightwing was last seen in. 

"A few small time organized crime members from Gotham who call themselves 'Burnley town massive' was seen being apprehended by that vigilante bloke, he sent them packing and running back to Gotham for what I can only assume one of their vigilante blokes to catch and have arrested, he was last seen there." The chief informed her. 

"Perfect, Chief, I don't appreciate an unauthentic British accent. I really, really don't appreciate one." Lady Vic warned him as she got increasingly closer, her tone and severe lack of a smile helped get it through his head. He chuckled nervously, feeling massively intimidated.

Lady Vic found the shop, the police had set up a crime scene to investigate for any evidence or clues left by Nightwing but there were none. The police there was on Blockbuster's payroll, though nobody has seen him, they knew he was very real, they let her pass through without an issue. 

Lady Vic placed her palm on the cheek of her mask and closed her eyes before opening them again next to the first spot she decided to check from a hunch.

"This guy's Qi, from his signature alone he's at least as strong as my eldest siblings." She noted in her head which gave her a mixture of nervousness and excitement, before she looked around the crime scene, "This is going to be my most enjoyable mark yet!" She finished as she saw his Qi signature everywhere, almost every move he made while the criminals were barely illuminating, barely visible. 

Nightwing and Mouse arrived at her penthouse, he gave her a lift on his wing to the high skylight where he enters and exits every time he goes on patrol or returns. 

"Brendaaaan daisuke Li!!!" Mouse shouted from the top of her lungs as soon as she dropped and Nightwing dropped next to her, both still suited. 

Brendan heard her voice, that's all that was required, all that was needed for him to rush out of his room instantaneously, even ignoring how boiling heated she sounded. 

"Pams, my heart stealah! You're back early?!" Brendan yelled out so excitedly, he ran down the stairs to give her one of their big and warm hugs every time she would return, a cheesy tradition they both adored. The couple enjoyed the moment and for a brief second the fact that she fears and hates all superheroes aside from the fact that she's a bonafide unapologetic criminal and they're natural enemies leaves her mind and for the both of them, only each other occupied it. Her fear of superheroes returned and hit her like a speeding bullet when they stopped.

"I didn't think you'd really invite a freakin' superhero into our home when you know what I do, honey!!" Pamela yelled with detest in her voice as she rebuked him.

"Yeah, Bren, a nice heads up that your girlfriend's a mouse burglar would've been really helpful." Nightwing commented as negative thoughts about Brendan swarmed the hero's mind. 

Pamela scoffed before she looked at Grayson with a look of disdain that he felt down his spine. It was very reproachful, as was her opinion about all superheroes.

Grimm and Harold came downstairs after being woken up by the bedlam below them.

She fell off-track when she saw the evolved talking Gorilla asking what was going on, he was very puzzled like she was feeling and the random old man looking as tired as he was ancient to her but when they introduced themselves alongside what they did she didn't hesitate to try and hurt the hero, best friend of her boyfriend or not, she demanded that he leave but the others can stay if they want. 

Brendan has never had a lot of emotional moments that haven't been shoved down in his life, He's disagreed with Pamela but he never thought he'd be disgusted by her.

"You're not being for real about this, right? Pams, he's trying to do some good in this town but he needs a place to stay and rest up in order to keep doing it!" Brendan argued but Pamela wasn't ready to hear any of his words, memories of every hero she's met shaping her strong anti-superhero thoughts. 

"It's either I leave or the bird does, what's it going to be, Brends?" Pamela asked, he thought it was an unreasonable ultimatum, his heartbreak showed in his eyes and silence. He didn't want to make a choice, this was the worst case scenario he thought about when thinking about coming clean to Nightwing, that Catwoman had two students and he's dating the other that stuck with her.

Nightwing, though he was silent like Grimm and Harold, blurted out Brendan's decision for him. In his head it was Pamela without any second thought but out loud he yelled from the top of his powerful lungs that it was going to himself that was going to leave. Nightwing could see that his friend was suffering with the same confusion and hurt as he was earlier in the morning. He wasn't going to let him continue the heart-ache.

The Aerial Avenger gracefully leapt up top to Pamela's skylight, he looked down and back inside waving goodbye to Harold, Grimm and Brendan as they came closer before his true-blue wings arrived and gave him a ride down to the town. Where he'll figure things out from there.