Tuesday night patrol started normally enough.
Marcus and Spoiler met at their usual Crime Alley rooftop at 10 PM, ran through their coordination plan, and split up to cover more ground.
But something was off.
Spoiler missed an obvious surveillance position during their first intervention—a breaking and entering that would have been easier if she'd taken the high ground like usual. During the second stop—mugging in progress—her timing was a half-second slow. Not enough to cause problems, but enough for Marcus to notice.
By the third situation, Marcus was certain something was wrong.
They regrouped on a rooftop after stopping a domestic disturbance.
"You okay?" Marcus asked.
"Fine. Why?"
"You missed the overwatch position on the B&E. Your timing was off on the mugging. And you've been quieter than usual." Marcus kept his tone casual. "That's not like you."
Spoiler was silent for a moment. "Just tired."
"You're never just tired. You're always 'strategically resting for optimal performance' or something equally tactical." Marcus sat down on the roof ledge. "What's actually going on?"
She didn't answer immediately, scanning the street below instead.
"Firefly," she finally said.
"What about him?"
"You walked through his fire. Direct hit. Should have killed you but you just... kept going." Spoiler turned to face him. "Your enhancements—whatever brought you back—they're getting stronger, aren't they?"
Marcus thought about how to answer that. "I'm getting better at using what I have. Training helps."
"It's more than training. You're faster than you were three months ago. Stronger. More durable. You survived fire that would have killed me." Spoiler's voice was flat, matter-of-fact. "The gap between what you can do and what I can do is getting bigger."
"You're one of the best tactical thinkers I know. You taught me strategy, investigation, coordination—"
"Which are all great until we face someone like Firefly again. Then your enhancements keep you alive and my tactics just... aren't enough." She pulled her knees up. "I don't have powers, Marcus. I've got training, equipment I built or scrounged, and tactical thinking. That's it. And against enhanced threats, that might not be enough."
Marcus chose his words carefully. "You've been doing this longer than me. You're better at this than me in a lot of ways."
"I'm better at planning. You're better at execution. And every week, you get better at both while I'm..." She trailed off. "I'm just human. That's my ceiling."
"You're not 'just' anything. You're Spoiler. You've been operating successfully for eight months against everything Gotham throws at people."
"Against street-level threats. Organized crime. Normal criminals." Spoiler's tone was frustrated. "But Gotham has enhanced threats. Meta-humans. People with powers or advanced tech. And I'm starting to wonder if I'm equipped to handle what I need to handle."
"What you need to handle?" Marcus kept his voice neutral. "That sounds specific."
Spoiler was quiet for a long moment. "I've got something I'm working on. Personal mission. And the closer I get, the more I realize I might not be capable of finishing it alone."
Marcus knew not to push. If she wanted to share details, she would.
"Want help?"
"Not yet. Maybe eventually." She looked at him. "But I need to know something. If I become a liability—if my lack of enhancements puts us in danger—are you going to be okay continuing without me?"
"That's not going to happen."
"It might. We're facing bigger threats. The mystery sniper can't save us every time. And if there's a situation where I'm the weak link..." She didn't finish the sentence.
"Then we adapt. Plan around our respective capabilities. Work smarter." Marcus kept his voice firm. "You're not a liability, You're my partner. We work better together than separate. That hasn't changed just because Firefly was harder than usual."
"But what if it does change? What if there's a mission where you need to move faster than I can keep up? Or face something I can't handle?"
"Then we plan around it. Same way we plan around everything else." Marcus bumped her shoulder lightly. "You're the one who taught me strategic thinking. Apply it to yourself. What are your strengths? What are your limits? How do we maximize the first and work around the second?"
Spoiler was quiet, then laughed softly. "Using my own lessons against me. That's annoying."
"That's tactical thinking."
"Fair point." She took a breath. "Okay. You're right. I'm spiraling. It's just... this thing I'm working on. It matters. A lot. And I'm not sure I can do it alone."
"Then don't do it alone. That's what partners are for."
"Yeah." She stood up, some of her usual energy returning. "Alright, enough existential crisis for one patrol. We've got two more hours. Let's make them count."
"You sure you're good?"
"I'm good. Or I will be. Just needed to say it out loud." Spoiler moved toward the roof edge, then paused. "Hey, random thought. You ever think about the whole vigilante-civilian divide?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, we spend all this time in masks, working together, coordinating operations. But we don't actually know each other outside of this." She gestured to her costume. "What if we met up as regular people? Coffee shop, library, wherever. No masks. Just... normal interaction."
Marcus was surprised. "You want to meet as civilians?"
"I'm just thinking out loud. We trust each other with our lives but we don't know basic stuff. What you study. What I do when I'm not in costume. Normal people things." She shrugged. "Might be good to have that connection. Reminds us we're people, not just vigilantes."
"I think that could be good actually. Grounding."
"Exactly." Spoiler's tone was lighter now, back to her usual self. "Let's plan on it. Next week sometime. I'll text you a location. We show up as civilians, have normal conversation, see what that's like."
"Sounds good."
"Cool. It's a date then. Not a date-date. Just a... civilian meetup thing. You know what I mean."
Marcus smiled. "I know what you mean."
"Good. Because I'm not explaining it better than that." She fired her grappling line. "Come on. Two more hours of patrol. Let's see if Gotham can stay boring for once."
"In Gotham? Not likely."
"A girl can dream."
They finished the patrol without incident. Two more stops—one attempted carjacking, one group of teenagers vandalizing a store. Both handled smoothly. Spoiler was back to her usual sharp, coordinated self.
At the end of the night, they regrouped one final time.
"Better?" Marcus asked.
"Better. Thanks for not making it weird." Spoiler checked her phone. "See you Thursday. And Marcus?"
"Yeah?"
"I mean it about the civilian meetup. I think that could be good for both of us."
"Agreed. Text me when and where."
"Will do. Stay safe, Revenant."
"You too, Spoiler."
She disappeared into Gotham's night.
Marcus sat there for a moment longer, processing the conversation.
Spoiler was worried about her limits. About being outmatched by enhanced threats. About whether she could accomplish whatever personal mission she was working on without powers.
She's right that there's a difference. I've got enhancements. She doesn't. That's real.
But she's also one of the smartest, most capable people I know. Powers aren't everything.
She'll figure it out. And if she needs help, she'll ask.
He headed home around 1 AM, logged the night's patrol.
DATE: September 10
TOTAL ABILITIES: 280
PATROL SUMMARY:
Standard night. Few interventions, all successful. But noticed Spoiler was off—missing tactical calls, timing slightly slow, quieter than usual.
CONVERSATION: She opened up about feeling limited. No powers, just training and equipment. Watching me survive Firefly's flames made her aware of the gap between enhanced and non-enhanced operators. She's worried about being a liability against bigger threats.
PERSONAL MISSION: She mentioned working on something personal. Wouldn't give details but said it matters a lot and she's not sure she can finish it alone. Didn't push for information—she'll share when ready.
MY RESPONSE: Reminded her we're partners. We work better together than separate. Adapt and plan around respective capabilities. She taught me strategic thinking—she should apply it to herself.
OUTCOME: She felt better by end of patrol. Back to normal operational effectiveness. Good to talk through doubts instead of letting them fester.
CIVILIAN MEETUP: She suggested meeting as regular people. No masks. Coffee shop or somewhere normal. Get to know each other outside vigilante work. I agreed. That actually sounds good—grounding, reminds us we're people not just operators.
NEXT STEPS: Continue partnership. Support her through whatever she's working on. Civilian meetup next week. Maintain balance between vigilante and personal connections.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS: She's right that there's a power gap. But she's wrong about being a liability. Tactics and strategy matter as much as enhancements. Maybe more in some situations. She'll figure that out.
Marcus closed the app and stared at his ceiling.
Civilian meetup. That's interesting. Get to know Spoiler as an actual person instead of just a tactical coordinator.
She's right that we trust each other with our lives but don't really know each other. That's kind of backwards.
Next week. Coffee shop probably. Normal conversation. See what she's like when she's not planning operations.
He fell asleep thinking about what coffee shop would work for a civilian meetup.
Somewhere quiet. Normal. Away from the chaos.
Balance between partnership and friendship. Between masks and real people.
That's sustainable. That's what makes this work long-term.
Outside, Gotham's sirens sang their usual song.
But inside, Marcus Reid slept peacefully.