Eyes narrowed, said confused redhead had deduced that yes. He had ran into a weirdo, now he just needed to figure out if it was the type of weirdo that might try to off him. Or something else, because from what he’s heard from Dick, you can’t be too sure. With the cat theme going on, he could only guess this guy’s got something to do with Catwoman. It’s just a guess, but he’s pretty sure it wasn’t wrong. Seems like meeting Dick would take a few more moments than he anticipated, if it’s jut chatting; Wally wasn’t looking for a fight.
“Right— and we wouldn’t want that,” he answered a little sarcastically.
“Is that sarcasm I hear?” he gaped, seemingly astounded. Of course, his own tone was filled with the very thing he was feigning to be so offended by. Immediately after the inquiry, Stray’s features quirked into another grin. He could practically see the gears turning in the vigilante’s head–likely trying to figure out what his intentions were.
But Stray didn’t have any maniacal or malicious (heh, alliteration) purposes. He was simply amusing himself.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what brings you to Gotham, hm? It can’t be the scenery.”
Thad didn’t have an agenda anymore, not really— causing a bit of trouble, or out of boredom. The blond speedster moved around, mainly avoiding bumping into Bart or the rest of the Flash family. Not because he was scared of them, but due to the possible drama that might follow. Far too troublesome, and he had no desire to deal with a bunch of drama queens.
Although, he certainly didn’t pick a less dramatic city to momentarily crash in.
“Guess the cat theme is popular.”
Tonight’s schedule for Stray was simple, because it was nonexistent. He didn’t have any plans nor expectations for what he was going to do, and it didn’t bother him. He just roamed the familiar rooftops, relishing in the surreal feeling of freedom that came from residing in the “gray area” of Gotham City.
Stray paused in his strides, reaching his arms high above his head in a luxurious stretch. Of course, his sudden halt came only because he sensed someone nearby. He leisurely turned towards the other, a thoughtful and amused smile on his face.
“Although it’s definitely gained me some popularity, there’s only two of us. A far smaller number than–if I recall correctly–the number of you speedsters that are running around.”
When people thought of seeing ghosts, they often pictured the stereo-typical image of past loved ones, suddenly all white, floating around and haunting them.
Tim could honestly say he’d never experienced anything like that. He saw ghosts through memories–sometimes triggered by seeing things they owned, or being in places they often inhabited.
But this– This was different. (stray shattered, leaving a very disbelieving tim.)
Rounding up his last criminal of the evening, Dick had resided to spending the rest of his
patrol in silence. However, nearly ten minutes later, Bruce broke his solitude with an alert. Apparently, the silent alarm to one of Gotham’s jewelry stores had been triggered and he was gifted the job to go sniff it out.
Arriving on the sight, Dick fully anticipated meeting lower class criminals, who, seemingly unaware of the silent alarm, were shoving jewels into all offircies However, what he met was none other than Stay. Immediately, Dick was looking for Catwoman. If Stray was here, surely she wasn’t far behind. Oh, he was talking.
“Sadly, yes. I drew the short straw this time.”
His voice, the perfect mixture of annoyance and teasing, encouraged conversation. Behind his mask, his eyes were scanning the room, looking for anything stolen. When he found nothing, he returned a curious glance to Stay. Dick eyes darted over the slim figure, looking for— if any— tells.
“Y’know, if all you wanted to do was talk, you could have called. Easier for my schedule and not as time consuming.”
❝ You had to draw straws to see who would get to come see me? I’m t o u c h e d . ❞
Dick was too easy to read. He was obviously trying to draw out a conversation, likely just to buy time. But why not just arrest him now? Unless, of course, Dick was still uncertain on if anything had actually been stolen. He could take inventory if he wanted to, but everything was exactly as it had been left. Stray had no interest in the petty, small things that could be found in the jewelry store. But since Nightwing had come instead of the police, Stray’s plan had gone awry.
Good thing he was skilled at improvising.
Stray placed his gloved hands onto the display case behind him, hoisting himself up to sit. He crossed one leg over the other, resting his weight onto one hand. Raising his eyes to look back at the vigilante, his lips quirked into a smirk. Inwardly, Tim was laughing at the whole situation.
❝ Are you offering me your phone number? I usually wait until I’ve gotten to know someone a little better before I personally call them, but for you I’d make an exception. ❞
“May’ve? I think its mostly all your fault. No offense, of course, but do you know what exactly it is you’re doing?”
❝ Do you really think I’d be wearing this suit if I didn’t know what I was doing? It’s not a fashion statement, you know. ❞
Alright, so maybe Stray should have been concerned that he’d been caught opening up the building’s skylight. But the girl didn’t seem to care about what he was doing; only the broken glass at her feet.
❝ Every moment presents an opportunity. If you sit back and wait, you’ll nevershine. ❞
Tim had agreed that it was a fair trade: he stole some information for Riddler, and he and Selina got v a l u a b l e s in exchange. Though Stray didn’t see the need for the Riddleman who had accompanied him thus far, because he had made it clear that he preferred to operate when alone.
Damian wanted to flee and do real detective work. He hated dealing with the two thieves, but Father had insist he collect information. “You both were in the area when two men were shot last night. We need to know if you saw anything,” he grumbled, glancing away.
His jaw clenched, and he glared down at Stray. “That’s disgusting,” he scoffed.
Stray didn’t fail to notice how Robin avoided his gaze upon the admittance of needing information. It would appear that he was embarrassed to be needing to ‘stoop to the level of a lowly thief’ for his investigation. Tim hummed, “and why would I tell you what I know, hm? You didn’t even ask nicely.”
He raised his hands in mock surrender, letting out a chuckle. “Hey, that’s what Catwoman told me. Is she wrong?”
Dick almost wanted to curse the other for being so damn attractive. But he guessed that was the Cat way, flirting and flaunting their attractiveness to get what they want. Now the question was, what did catboy want from him? He let a mischievous and slightly amused smirk play across his features.
“Renegade,” he took a step forward, closing more space between them as a grin grew from his earlier smirk, “and it is lovely to meet you Stray.”
Stray blinked to feign innocence, although his gaze remained intense and calculating. His eyes flickered over Renegade’s features, but Tim found that he couldn’t tell what Dick was thinking. He was really getting into character for this undercover mission, Tim thought with a twinge of amusement. This was typically where Dick would back off or give an excuse for needing to leave, but–
"Renegade?” Stray repeated, lips curving into a smirk. He tilted his head upwards, not phased whatsoever by the lack of personal space that remained between them. “And what, may I ask, are you rebelling from?”
There was a newvigilante in Gotham. He was quiet, but in a perceptive and intimidating sort of way. Each movement he made showcased his expert training; not a flick of his wrist went without purpose. But what intrigued Tim the most was not the stoic, calculating, and i n t e n s e gaze that the other bore—
But rather the familiar symbol and name that he donned.
❝ Word has it that you go by Redbird. It’s funny, because I once knew a bird who went by such an alias. Wherever did you get the title? ❞ he asked.
The inquiry was presented with a lilting tone, but Stray’s smile was fake and purposefully sharp and unpleasant.
