Tim was studying the file he had retrieved from the warehouse where he had encountered the shadowy spy for the first time, straining his eyes over the highlighted parts of the photographs, taking notes simultaneously. 

He looked up startled when a hand rested on his shoulder but relaxed upon seeing that it was Bruce, "hey Bruce, how did the meeting go?"

"As usual. What are you doing?"

"Dami must have told you about this spy we've got on our tails, Helena even got attacked and if it weren't for the Outlaws, she wouldn't have survived."

"That's alarming."

"Yeah," he spoke up, handing him the file, "I got this evidence from a warehouse he had been using. Turns out whoever it is has gotten too much information about us from observing us through these pictures. He gathers all the information first then attacks accordingly."

Bruce flicked through the pages of the file, his expression neutral but his pale blue eyes flickered slightly, "what type of our information?"

"Our fighting styles, the fact that Spoiler and Batgirl are the same person, all of Helena's fight moves and her very few weak points, judging by that he knows our weaknesses too and is just waiting for the time to strike, and also our checkpoints at patrol, even the routes... And probably a lot more, I just told you what I've figured out."

He placed the file back, "where's that warehouse?"

Tim's lips pressed together in slight unease, "well... It doesn't exist anymore."

He raised an eyebrow skeptically, "what do you mean it doesn't exist?"

Tim knew he was in for a lecture, "it got destroyed, the rest of the evidence is no longer available."

"And I'm guessing you destroyed it," his expression was serious as always but his eyes softened, taking in the fact that the boy was scared that he would scold him right then and there.

He was not going to scold him but didn't let it show.

"I'll tell you everything but please sit down first, it's a long explanation."

Tim explained everything from sending Steph as Red Robin's decoy, following the spy himself and finding the pictures in the warehouse then having to set fire to it because it was impossible to collect all the pictures and leaving them there would cause further trouble for them.

"I know you're thinking that how could I let him go when I encountered him," he resumed as Bruce listened closely, "it would never have happened but the spy literally melted into a dark pool of liquid. Right in front of me and got absorbed in the ground."

Surprise flickered on the elder man's face, "like ink?"

"Exactly, that's what Damian said too. But I think it was more like someone who could shapeshift or stateshift since he turned into liquid from solid human... Could be a mutant."

"Intriguing... Anything else you've found about this case?"

He thought for a while then nodded, "yeah... I have a suspect."

"Who is it?"

"I am not jumping to conclusions but there's so much pointing in his direction... His name is Lucas Wilson, he's Dora's stepbrother. Lives in Bludhaven, came to Gotham in the starting of this month for personal reasons. All the spy drama started around the same time. I don't have any solid proof against him but right next day after my fight with the spy, he had bruises on his face and his excuse for that was that he got mugged. He could be lying, would be since he left before I could probe further, he avoids questions too as if scared I'll figure something out."

"Anything else?"

"I did a background check on him too and it's not good..."

Bruce said nothing, knowing Tim had taken a pause to catch his breath as he had been speaking nonstop, but he knew the boy would resume shortly afterwards.

"He's related to Deathstroke... His father George Wilson is actually a first cousin to Slade. But again, I can't pin up the entire case on his shoulders just because he's related to a known criminal... That's unfair and improper judgement, I'm not going to do that. All I need are more proofs but so far all I've been getting are dead ends."

"How long have you been spying on this spy?"

"For three patrol nights but no great luck so far, he's insufferably good at disappearing."

Bruce nodded, pondering over everything he had told him, "the most important thing for now is to figure out what he is really and what he wants from us. Targeting vigilantes is not an easy task and no one does it without reason."

"Yeah..."

"Leave the file with me, I will study it too and tell you if I find something. As for the rest of the patrol nights, don't ask Steph to be your decoy anymore. She'll be at risk."

He nodded, "alright, I'll tell her."

"And all of you, be careful. We know nothing about this spy right now and not being aware can be a dangerous weakness especially for people in our position," his brow had furrowed in concern as he looked through the pictures, "everything he's doing is meticulously preplanned. All of us need to be on guard, anything can happen."

***

To say that Helena felt awful would be an understatement.

Ever since she had shut Alex out and forcefully pushed him away from her, hurting both him and herself in the process, her life had been thrown in conflict.

Days had lapsed into weeks by then yet each second was a distant reminder to her of the hole she had created in her heart herself. In all the time they had spent together, the two had grown a lot closer and Alex had filled up her stone-cold heart completely.

But with him gone, the cold had seeped through the fissures and she felt horribly empty.

Hollow, for the place in her heart that he had filled up was no longer the same.

Aching for a person who had made everything mean a lot to her when he was around.

She had realized very well by then that pushing Alex away hadn't been the right thing to do. And she felt the guilt penetrate her heart each time she recalled the pain on his face when she had last seen him.

Selina had realized eventually that something was wrong with her and she had tried to ask her multiple times but she hadn't had the will to confess in anyone about how terrible she had been to someone so pure and sweet as Alex. 

It felt no less than a crime though it was hurting her too.

Right then, she did not know what to do as she sat in the Iceberg Lounge, ignoring all the ruckus going on around her. Besides, her thoughts were miles away revolving around only one person and how he would be coping with the mess she had left him in.

Out of habit, her grey eyes had flickered towards the bar multiple times, only to see that place occupied by another bartender. A weary sigh escaped her as she stood up, not wishing to stay in the club any longer as it only reminded her of the days Alex had worked there as a bartender.

It was also the place where they had shared their first kiss so needless to say, it brought back a lot of memories.

When she left the club, her mind was still a storm of thoughts and memories as well as those painful words she had spoken to him. She did not realize when that internal storm collided with the thunderstorm outside and very soon it had begun to pour heavily, lightening cracking in the sky repeatedly.

At least the rain would disguise her tears.

She had no idea how long she stayed out there in the rain, wandering aimlessly through the desolate city streets, not caring that she had gotten soaked from head to toe. The cold outside was no worse than the cold in her heart hence she didn't even bother to take shelter as she kept walking.

Her feet came to a halt in front of the door she hadn't dared to approach ever since her fallout with Alex. The banner for Dora's Coffee Haunt was soaked in the rain and her hand reached out to ring the doorbell, soon recalling that there was none.

The crackling of thunder was loud enough to drown the sound of her knocking the door but she still gave it a try.

She owed Alex an apology and even though she wasn't fond of apologizing, she had to get the burden off her and sincerely apologize to him for hurting him.

He had only meant to care yet for a pointless reason, she had pushed him out. And she had been regretting it ever since. 

Hence, there she was standing at the front door of Dora's Coffee Haunt with a resolution to apologize to Alex. She was not expecting her to forgive her nor take her back but she simply couldn't bring herself to leave without seeing him one last time and telling him the truth on what she felt.

She knocked on the wet door, the sound drowning in the thunder. But she did not give up. One knock, then two and then three until she was just wearily hitting the door with her hand, her head resting against the pane.

Even if he never opened up, she had no decision of leaving.

At least not until she got to lay eyes on him and tell him that she was sorry.

***