FLAMEBIRD

Issue #3: "Dream Date with Nightwing"

Bette looks over at Gene dubiously. He's dressed in a very garish outfit with a really ugly sport coat and bow tie.

"Gene, I don't mean to be insensitive, but are you sure you want to go out with us? You said you still weren't comfortable with people seeing you like this." she asks him.

"Are you embarrassed to be seen with me, Bette? Would you prefer to me to be a closet friend, so to speak? Seen and tutored by, but not heard?" He retorts.

"No, you know its not that..."

As Bette flounders for an answer, Gene's resolve cracks and he smiles at her.

"Gotcha." He pauses and presses a button on his wrist watch. Amazingly, the garishly dressed Gene (big head and all) are replaced by a more normal looking Gene, dressed in a collared shirt and pants.

"How'd you do that?" Bette asks.

"Magic." He pauses for a second. "Actually, a biochemist in Westchester, New York, I've been corresponding with recently turned me on to this. It's called an image producer or inducer or some such. He uses it to cover the effects of one of his failed experiments on himself on occasion. Actually, the Institute he works at sells them online. Keeps the place going, from what he said."

So you could be anyone?"

He changes rapidly from President Bush to Shaquille O'Neal to Hannah Laszlo to Nightwing (eliciting a giggle from Bette) and finally to Bette herself. Of course, its at this moment that Misty enters the room.

"Holy twin bimbettes, Sandman." Misty says, the easy and obvious reply.

Gene laughs and shifts the image inducer back to the version of himself.

"That is so cool, Gene." Misty says.

"Thank you, Misty. Shall we go?" He asks the girls.

"We were only waiting for Misty. Let's go. Matt said he starts at nine." Bette says. Picking up a purse, she walks towards the door and the others follow.

---------------

Gene and Bette are in Howl at the Moon, a popular dueling piano bar located at Universal's City Walk. Next to them, Misty is being hit on by two guys.

Bette is looking out towards the entrance, seemingly lost in thought. Gene is about to get her attention when one of the dueling piano players says "Ladies and Gentlemen, the worlds most dangerous wait staff!"

As he says this, several employees dressed in identical black T-shirts stream up to the stage from different parts of the bar. One of these is Matt. He bumps aside another male employee so that the is standing next to a gorgeous red headed waitress. The two piano players begin playing "Roller Coaster of Love" as the employees begin to dance in unison, pretending to be riding a roller coaster during the chorus. At one point, Matt sees Gene and Bette in the crowd and winks. Gene turns to Bette to make a comment, but sees that she is gone.

Bette slides though the crowd, towards where she had been looking. Reaching an open space a few feet from a handsome black haired man leaning against the wall, she suddenly begins feigning drunkenness and stumbles over to him, leaning next to him.

"Hi, baby. How's tricks?" She says, intentionally slurring the phrase.

"Hello, Bette." the man replies tightly.

"Geez, Dick, you need to lighten up. You stick out like a sore thumb."

The man, who is actually Dick Grayson, former Bette crush victim and the superhero Nightwing, raises an eyebrow incredulously. "Are you telling me how to do surveillance, Flame Girl?"

"First of all, Grayson, that was so beneath you. And secondly, I may not have been trained by the world's greatest detective, but one thing I do know, but I guess they skipped over it in Robin school, is how to relax and at least look like you're having fun at a club."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah, but then again, I know what you're doing here. The uninitiated may think you're keeping quiet to scope out a girl or something. I know better. So what's the caper?"

"You see the guy with the hat and the two bimbos?" Nightwing nods his head slightly towards a table where a man in a blue suit and hat sits with two blondes in skimpy outfits.

Bette is about to respond, but the song ends and she stops in mid thought and starts to clap and cheer. A moment later, after a pointed look from Bette, Nightwing does as well.

"Yeah," she continues after the piano players start a new song.

"He's a mobster from Bludhaven. I heard he was trying to hook something up out here in LA. And I came here to check it out."

Bette looks for a second. "Maybe I could get his attention, get close or something."

"No offense, Bette, but I don't think you're his type."

She considers the bimbos for a second, both of who are very buxom. "I guess you're right."

"The deal is supposed to go down later tonight. You want in?"

"You want my help?" Bette asks, genuinely surprised and pleased.

"Yes. At least in part. I had intended to find you after I wrapped this up anyway. I need to see what you intend with your recent return to action, Bette. This is a dangerous game we play. No one needs an amateur stumbling around just for headlines. You could get hurt and so could others. So if I have you working with me, it can help me see if someone needs to take action in regards to you."

"Take action? What are you going to do, sic the Bat on me?" Bette replies.

"No. Take action was perhaps the wrong choice of words. I had meant simply having someone ask you to stop being active if it's a danger to yourself or others. I had heard good things so far, that you were being effective, but I have to see for myself. This is about a lot more than my personal feelings about you."

She swallows down a caustic retort, but then considers what he's saying. "I've got your taking action right here, Grayson, you jerk," she thinks.

However, her vocal response is a mild "I understand. I guess you have a right to make me prove myself."

----------------

Nightwing and Flamebird, now in costume are perched on wall overlooking a warehouse. Below them, they see the mobster from the club speaking to two other men in overcoats. One of the two men makes a gesture and two other hoods bring forth a large crate which they pry open with crowbars.

"Guns." Nightwing tells her.

"No spit" she replies.

As if to verify Nightwing's statement, the mobster pulls out a machine gun from the crate and inspects it. He places the gun back in the case and turns. He nods once and two of his thugs bring forward a briefcase.

Nightwing looks over at Bette watches the scene. To himself, Nightwing has to smile as he sees her concentration and sees her checking out the scene in a professional manner. After a second she looks over.

"Shall we?" he asks.

"Let's do it."

As one, the two shoot out grapples at the building across from them. When they hit, they jump off the roof and swing down at the thugs. As they get close, she screams at him.

"Cover your eyes!"

He doesn't seem to hear, and as such, he's hit (as are the thugs) with the glare from Bette's visor flare. She doesn't see this at first as she reaches the end of her swing, punctuating it with a kick which knocks down two of the thugs. Then, she takes a quick look over.

"Oh, spit!" she thinks. "I got Dick too."

She doesn't have time to think on it further as she's attacked by more of the thugs. She spin kicks one of them down and as she follows through fires a bolo at another tying him up and taking him out of the fight.

"Stop right there, Flame Girl." She spins to see that the mobster has Nightwing and has a gun to his head. "One move and Bird Boy here gets it."

Bette looks scared for a moment and then suddenly smiles. "Pull the trigger. Go ahead."

Nightwing glares at her for a second, not believing what he's hearing. She's playing the moment.

"Go ahead... Gar." she finally says.

The mobster suddenly laughs and releases Nightwing. "She's got us, Dickie." The mobster touches his wrist and is revealed to be Gar Logan, the Titan known as Beast Boy. The other thugs do the same and are revealed to be Arsenal, Cyborg, Tempest and Damage, four of Nightwing's Titan teammates.

"How'd you know, Bette?" Arsenal asks, rubbing his jaw (he was the thug she kicked).

"Aside from Gar calling Nightwing by his old Titan nickname?" She laughs as Beast Boy looks somewhat embarrassed. "It was pretty easy. The fact that Nightwing just happened to tail a "famous mobster" into the bar I was at? Come on. Especially when you add the fact that the reason that I was there was because Gar's cousin works there. I saw you come in with the bimbos." She pauses and looks around. "Who were Donna and Kory, I presume."

"Well, you're half right. ." Donna Troy says as she walks out from behind the warehouse, but its not Kory (the former Titan Starfire) but Argent that's with her. "I knew she'd figure it out."

"I did too, which is the point here." Nightwing breaks into the conversation.

"Don't I get to list the rest of the mistakes you made, Dick?" Bette asks.

"We get the point. This was never about your competency, Bette. You were always good. But we needed to know if you were serious about this thing. About being a heroine. We have our answer now. You did a great job, Bette."

"And you've got a hell of a kick." Arsenal adds. "Speaking of which, now that you're a competent heroine and all that and so obviously over the Bat Boy, how about you and I...."

"Roy, leave the girl alone." Donna Troy cuts him off. She goes over and hugs Bette. "You did good, honey."

Nightwing comes forward and extends his hand. "Yes, you did."

She looks at him incredulously and then impulsively kisses him.

"I've always wanted to do that." Bette says. Before Nightwing can reply, she spins and fires a line at building and swings off.

As she swings off with a huge smile on her face, Bette can hear Beast Boy say, "Bette still knows how to make an exit."

 NEXT ISSUE: It's a "Times Past" tale as we set the way back machine for the Silver Age for a retro look at the FLAMEBIRD cast in "Bat Girl's New Rival"