Tim hadn't noticed the time as he was busy with a few assignments he had been tackling with the interns and was currently looking after the pending paperwork. Though when he finally wrapped it all up, he realized that it was way past off time and the last bus had left as well.

His car had been in need of a few repairs so unlike usual routine, he had taken the bus to come to Wayne Tech in the morning. And by then there wasn't any other option for him to go back.

His head was already throbbing as he hadn't had a single cup of coffee since afternoon, forgetting about it due to the intense workload. So the caffeine withdrawal had started to take hold of him as he felt twice more tired than usual.

Knowing that he didn't have the strength to walk all the way back to the Manor, he dialed Jason's number. After a few rings, he finally picked up. "Sup, Babybird?"

"Can you pick me up from Wayne Tech? Please?"

Jason paused for a moment, weighing out his options, "well... I can't."

"Why?"

"I'm unavailable," he replied vaguely.

Tim's tongue clicked in annoyance, "I can't call Dick because he will be on duty, otherwise I wouldn't have troubled you. Jay, please, I'll repay the favor anytime."

"What happened to your car?"

"I took the bus this morning."

"Then you should have left your office in time for the bus," Jay remarked, "look, I'm out on a date and I can't ditch it. Sorry not sorry."

"Jason..."

"I know you're pulling that pretty innocent look right now but if I left my girl at the restaurant to pick you up, people would think I'm an asshole."

Tim glanced at the clock, knowing that the later it got, the worse it would be for him, "you're already enough of an asshole for anyone to think otherwise."

"Go get some coffee because I can hear your withdrawal symptoms through the phone." Though Tim could overhear him talking to someone else, "sorry, love, it's just my douche of a brother. Of course not, he doesn't need any help whatsoever. He'll live."

"Is that Helena? Or are you hooking up with Roy and Kori again?"

"None of your business," Jay mumbled back, "look, Roy says he could pick you up but given his condition, I would recommend that he didn't. He's wasted."

Tim rolled his eyes, "no thanks, Mr Hoes before Bros. I'll walk back myself."

"And get some coffee on your way home or else you'll pass out somewhere in the city and end up getting abducted again."

"Stop pretending that you care," he disconnected the call before Jay could fire a retort back and packed up his stuff. Checking his office one last time to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, he finally stepped out.

The roads were silent as he walked looking for the nearest cab station but given the time, he knew it would be rare if he found one. Luckily for him, the Manor wasn't very far but then thinking about Jay's warning, he decided to go to a coffee shop first just so he could come back to his normal state.

He had taken a short cut and was passing an alley when he felt as if he was being followed. He came to a halt abruptly and turned around to be met with a pistol pointed straight at his face. Tim's blue eyes flashed in irritation because unlike other people, he hadn't gotten scared to see a gun aimed at him. 

In fact he was pissed at that obstacle between him and the coffee shop.

"Empty your pockets, boy, or I'll put a bullet through your head," a gruff voice addressed him and he noticed that he had gotten surrounded by four other men as well. 

He was weighing out his options, figuring out whether he should just go with the flow and pretend to be a harmless citizen or knock the gun out of his hands and make a dash for the coffee store. 

Normally he would have easily negotiated his way out of it as he was rather accustomed to such situations. But at the moment his head was throbbing and he was badly in need of some coffee, making his temper cut to the quick.

"Your wallet, now!"

"Dude, at least leave some change for a coffee cup. I swear I'll pass out if I don't get any," he mumbled, assessing the nearest possible escape route.

"It's the Wayne boy," one of the thugs that had cornered him spoke up.

"Oh fuck," he swore under his breath knowing well that they wouldn't let him go at all upon receiving that piece of information and if he didn't do anything himself he would have to get abducted again.

So he did the first thing that came in his mind; he kicked the gun out of his hand and pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. Though he was well aware that if Bruce or Richard found out about that he would be in hot water.

Disarming the first thug, he turned to deal with the others but much to his astonishment, he found them crumpled to a heap behind him. 

"Nice move at disarming," a lithe figure emerged from the shadows and at first he thought it was Catwoman. But as she came closer, he realized that wasn't the case. A mask covered her eyes from which he couldn't see who she was. "But when you don't have backup and there are four people, it's a little stupid."

She had bent down to bind up the thug he had pounced on and once that was done, she pulled Tim to his feet as well. 

"Next time if you succeed in disarming a thug and there are four others, then don't pounce on just one. It's better to point the gun at them and shoot." 

He stood there flabbergasted for he had never seen her before as he raked his head for all the alter egos he met with on a daily basis. She seemed closest to Catwoman by physical appearance but Selina Kyle was known to work alone, she couldn't possibly have a sidekick.

"You wanna call the police or shall I? Better still, we could leave them just like this here," she had turned to face the thugs who were gagged and couldn't speak up, a mischievous smile playing on her face, "serves them right for lurking up on people at such ungodly hours."

"Let's leave them here," he spoke up, placing his hands in his pockets, "and thank you."

She turned towards him again, "you're welcome."

He had started to walk off in the direction of the coffee shop and was surprised a bit when she joined him. "Thanks but I don't need escorting," he remarked, "I'll be fine by myself."

"I know. You need coffee and I could do with a cup too."

"Coffee's on me then," he was getting curious about her by every passing minute so he grasped the opportunity, "as an offering of gratitude."

She laughed and he paused in his tracks for an instant but resumed shortly, brain still processing all the available clues in order to figure out who she was. 

When they reached the coffee shop, he went in while she waited outside and returned with two cups of hot frothing coffee. She was leaning against the wall as he handed her the cup.

She watched as he downed the whole cup in one gulp, "looks like you didn't get coffee the whole day."

"Sort of," he mumbled and was about to go in for another cup when she gave him the one she was holding. 

He raised an eyebrow skeptically at her but she shrugged, "you can have it." Tim was a bit reluctant so she added, "wait a second, you haven't spiked this up, right? Because your hesitation indicates otherwise."

His blue eyes widened a bit, "excuse me?"

"Drink it," she ordered, "or else I'll beat the shit out of you right here."

Tim took a step back but accepted the cup and downed it in a few gulps as well, feeling a little uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze, "see, it's not spiked with anything." 

"Good for you."

He had realized by then that the masked woman was definitely a new player at Gotham. Criminal or not, he couldn't be certain about that just then.

"So, who are you?" he asked her at last.

"Nobody," she replied.

A small smile flickered on his face, his mood improving as the caffeine had kicked his senses back to normal, "nice to meet you, Nobody."

Her laugh resonated in the atmosphere again and he held on to the sound, saving it in his brain as a valuable clue to her identity, "in that case, who are you?"

"Timothy," he replied.

"Bye Timothy," she nodded in farewell and took out the grapple gun. And before he could say anything to her, she had disappeared in the shadows again, leaving him wondering on what had just happened and who he had met up with unexpectedly.

***