229 Meeting #229

As she sat at her table, leisurely sipping a cup of coffee, Katherine heard someone walking into the cafe and raised her head to see Grayson walking inside just in time.

As a vigilante and a superhero in her own right, she didn't hear many good things about the young man from the few colleagues she kept in touch with, but she was not one to judge someone based on what others said.

Katherine didn't know why Grayson wanted to meet her either but she showed up nonetheless, intent on seeing what he was all about and forming her own opinion of the young man.

Grayson paused at the entrance and inspected the area, quickly finding Katherine and making his way toward her with a smile. "Morning," He greeted as he stopped in front of the table before sitting down.

Katherine returned the greeting with a nod as she watched him in front of her. "Do you want to talk business or order something first?" Katherine asked with a smile.

"Might as well order something, so we're not interrupted," Grayson replied with a shrug, raising his hand to call the waitress, and Katherine instantly noticed his missing finger.

Grayson noticed her looking but merely smiled and didn't react as he ordered an espresso. "I made a mistake on the job, and this was one of the consequences..." He carelessly said, putting his hand on the table after waiting for the waitress to write down his order and leave.

"We all live with our mistakes, but it's a bit more literal in my case," He added, shaking his head with a chuckle, which drew a smile from Katherine, albeit a bitter one.

"It happened during Brimstone's attack, right?" Katherine probingly asked. She wasn't one to ask insensitive questions and poke her nose where it didn't belong, but Grayson seemed to care so little that she couldn't help herself.

"That it did..." Grayson said with a sigh. "I lost a friend and gave in to temptation. If it weren't for my teacher..." He said, shaking his head as he stopped, clearly willing to elaborate further.

"I see. I'm sorry for asking," Katherine said, her expression shifting a little as she regretted asking promptly, which didn't seem to bother Grayson as he put on a friendly smile.

"It's alright," Grayson said with a shrug, turning towards the waitress as she approached the table with his order. "Thank you," He said, nodding at the woman as she put the espresso on the table and gave him a strange look before leaving.

"Seems like she recognized you," Katherine said, smiling as she watched the waitress quickly approach one of her friends and start whispering while pointing in Grayson's direction.

"Looks like it..." Grayson said as he took a sip from his cup. "I'm still getting used to this..." He said with a smile as he put it down and smiled at Katherine.

"I'm more used to meeting up in dark alleyways and abandoned buildings since I had to look over my shoulder for as far as I could remember," The young man explained matter-of-factly, much to Katherine's surprise.

"Public attention is a new concept for me, but I think we should start talking business," Grayson said, putting his hands on the table as he straightened his back and put on a heavy expression, to which she promptly nodded.

"As I'm sure you know, I had a part in convincing Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Lady Vic to testify against Amanda Waller," The young man remarked, getting another nod from Katherine for his effort, prompting him to continue.

"I promised to fight for their freedom and do my best to lighten or cancel their sentences if possible in exchange," Grayson blankly said, slowly tabbing at the wooden surface with his finger.

"Give them a clean slate, if you will..." The young man continued, pausing as he trailed at the end of his sentence. "But I'm no lawyer, and that's why I called you," He concluded, going silent as he waited for Katherine to process his words.

"So you want me to set three career criminals free?" Katherine asked, raising an eyebrow as she gave Grayson a weird look that was a mixture of bemusement, amusement, and confusion.

He nodded with a shrug.

"And what makes you think that's even possible...?" Katherine asked, frowning as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared Grayson straight in the eyes.

"The narrative," Grayson replied with a chuckle. "Three career crooks turning a new leaf after helping the good guys take down a big bad villain," He went on, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's the kind of feel-good story everyone would be on board with," The young man said as he leaned into his seat. "Besides, one could argue they paid for their crimes and then some in The Suicide Squad," He added with a sigh.

"And there are ways to get it done even without the feel-good crap and the cliched redemption story," Grayson concluded, giving Katherine a hard-to-read expression full of hidden meanings.

"I won't ask about those so-called ways..." Katherine said, frowning as she trailed at the end of her sentence. "But let's say I manage to get them on parole or whatever. What then?" She asked, her expression turning blank.

"Those three are notorious criminals. How long do you think they'd last before they start killing and stealing?" She asked, her expression turning more and more grim as she spoke.

"And who do you think the people would blame for their actions? My reputation would be in the gutter," She concluded, firmly shaking her head. Though she still seemed to hear Grayson out, at least.

"They wouldn't..." Grayson calmly replied, causing Katherine to scoff at his words. "Deadshot and Lady are only in it for the money. I can give them real jobs where they can use their talents without breaking the law and keep them in check," He went on, shrugging his shoulders.

"As for Harley Quinn, I can handle her," The young man concluded without bothering to elaborate, which didn't win him any extra points with Katherine as her frown only grew more pronounced at his words.

"You're certainly confident. I'll give you that," Katherine said with a sigh, letting out a smile. "Unfortunately, I don't share your enthusiasm," She concluded, shaking her head as she put her hands on the table and prepared to leave.

"Copperhead..." Grayson said, smiling as he watched Katherine promptly freeze at the mention of the late villain. "Isn't he the reason you decided to take matters into your own hands...?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched her slowly sink back into her seat.

"I watched him die with my own eyes, you know?" Grayson calmly said as he waved to the side. "Now there's some other guy in the same ridiculous outfit killing people and eating their corpses," He went on, watching intently as Katherine's expression turned more bitter.

"Let's take this somewhere else," Katherine said after a moment's pause as she looked around. "I'll hear you out, at least," She added as she got up and beckoned for Grayson to do the same.

He merely nodded, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a hundred-dollar bill he left at the table before following Katherine as she headed for the exit.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Grayson asked as he stepped out of the cafe and turned to Katherine, who was waiting for him outside, and her only response was the blank look she gave him.

"Fair enough..." Grayson said with a chuckle. "Here we go then," He said as he covered Katherine with his energy and lifted her off the ground before taking off into the sky with her right behind him.

...

On top of the Wayne Tower

"I take it you know about my alter ego...?" Katherine asked, sighing as I gently lowered her onto the ledge of the high-rise building, to which I nodded after landing next to her.

"It's why I reached out to you," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "I was hoping we could help each other on more than the case," I added as I walked past Katherine and stared into the city below.

"I want to change this city, make it better, make it somewhere people could live without constantly looking over their shoulders," I said as I slowly turned back towards Katherine.

"There's so much crime and so many villains in Gotham that it's almost a pipe dream," I added, shaking my head with a chuckle. "Putting the villains in jail doesn't work, as you already know," I said, raising an eyebrow at Katherine as she nodded with a bitter sigh.

"Well, killing them wouldn't work either, as you'd only make them into martyrs..." I said, scoffing at my own words. "These people aren't just criminals. Some genuinely admire and worship them, like rock stars or something, you know?" I added with a chuckle.

"You kill them, and, a family member, a fried, one of their goons or so-called fans would take their mantle the next day. It's what happened with Copperhead," I said, scratching my head in genuine confusion as I really didn't understand why anyone would want to mimic Copperhead of all people.

"But what if your reformed them?"