Archive of Our Own

It was six o'clock in the afternoon. It has been about two weeks since they first met, but the fourteen year old girl was just excited to train with Shadowbird as ever. But when he meant train, he really did mean train.

Maps was currently in the alleys of North Gotham City, sweating as she was busy practicing on a punching shield that was held by the other hero. She had been doing this for about a minute or so.

"Keep your back up high! Don't lose focus!" Shadowbird exclaimed loudly to the rookie hero as he held up the punching shield tightly. He had his feet planted so he couldn't move.

Ever since the training started, the bird masked hero had been doing a decent job of pushing the sidekick to her limits. Yet the girl didn't seem to mind it that much.

Maps was already feeling the exhaustion from all the punching, but she kept her head up high, and continued to punch. She noticed the position of the older hero's feet, and decided to copy it to keep her feet from slipping.

"Hit it harder! Give it all you got!" Shadowbird loudly exclaimed to the Red Robin as he continued to plant his feet down while tightly holding the punching shield.

Maps continued to punch as hard as she could while making sure her feet weren't sliding. She felt herself sweat, and her heart began to race as she punched the shield as hard as she could.

Shadowbird nodded softly as she saw how hard the rookie hero was punching the durable shield. "Finish it off with a spin kick!" The hero exclaimed to her as he held onto the foam shield extra tight.

With that cue, Maps quickly pulled away from punching. In a few moments, spun herself around once before kicking the shield as hard as she could.

Shadowbird's feet moved a little after the final kick, and he gave a nod. "Form was rather shaky with the spinning kick, but you did better than on Monday." He told Red Robin as he put the shield down which meant this part of the training was over.

Maps' attack pose went away as she sighed in relief. The fourteen year old sat down on the ground while panting in exhaustion. "I think I'm all pooped out for now. Give me five." She wearily suggested to her mentor.

Shadowbird walked over to a backpack he had brought, and zipped it open. It was filled with some small towels, two lunch bags, and some bottles of water. "Catch!" The bird themed hero said as he tossed a water bottle and lunch bag at the girl.

Maps flinched as she quickly caught both items. She sighed in relief when she did so before chugging down half of the water in the bottle. After that, she went over to open the lunch bag.

"Eat up. You need the energy for the next few minutes." Shadowbird explained to her as he stretched his arms a little. Next exercise was going to be based on balancing.

Maps nodded as she noticed there was a grilled cheese, tangerine slices, and some crackers in the lunchbox. The thought of food made her think of something she always wondered about. "Excuse me, why don't you ever lift off your mask to eat?" She curiously asked her mentor before beginning to eat the cheese sandwich.

The question made Shadowbird flinch a little before gaining his composure back. "Not really comfortable showing you who I am yet." It was all that he said before going back to stretching.

Maps nodded as she knew today wouldn't be too long for her training to end later. "You can make it. One more hour. Your legs can handle this." She encouragingly thought to herself after she finished her food.

Shadowbird helped the rookie hero clean up, and lead her to the top of a nearby building. He could tell she was improving, but she definitely had a long way to go before she was ready.

.

It was about seven, and Maps had just entered her apartment. She changed back to her normal clothes in a nearby phone booth since it would be suspicious if some hero walked into an apartment. The girl walked to the door of her place, and knocked on the door.

Bella was currently busy with reading some mail she had gotten earlier since her husband was busy grocery shopping. She quickly got up from the sofa when she heard a knock on the door and opened it up. "Hi Mia! How was your day?" The woman happily asked her daughter.

Maps sighed in exhaustion before smiling back at her mom. "It sure was a busy day. Think my legs feel like jelly right now." She casually explained as she walked inside.

"Well, are you hungry right now? I can head to the kitchen to make you something quick for dinner." Bella curiously asked the young girl as she was about to head over to the fridge.

Maps wasn't really hungry right now, plus she didn't want to bother her mom. "Later mom. Just wanna have a break right now." She assured her mother before walking over to the direction of her room.

Kyle had been busy with reading in his room before noticing footsteps coming closer to him. He turned off the lamp, and opened the door. "Oh hey, you're alive." The older teen joked to his sister.

Maps groaned in exhaustion in response as she walked past her older brother. She walked into her room, and flopped onto the bed face first. "Not in the mood right now." She told him while the pillow muffled her words.

Kyle chuckled softly as he watched how dramatically Maps fell onto her bed. "You sure you can keep up with this Mia? Remember, you can give up whenever you like." The raven haired teen curiously asked her as he noticed how exhausted his sister usually was after the training.

Maps flipped herself over when she heard the question, and quickly sat up. "I just can't give up now! I feel like I'm this close to being an official sidekick!" She exclaimed as she put her thumb and finger close together.

"Huh, record time." Kyle thought to himself as he watched the little burst of energy the fourteen year old girl had. The family often had a hard time giving up on things, and he appreciated her enthusiam. "You got a point. Make sure not to break something before you're ready." He playfully remarked to her.

Maps sighed as she lied down on her back, and tucked herself into bed. "Just leave me alone to rest." She groaned to her brother in an exhausted but less serious tone.

Kyle chuckled softly at the other teenager. "Love ya too sis." He playfully remarked before turning around, and walking out of the room. He was nice enough to close the door though.

Maps smiled a little before getting into a comfortable position. The girl didn't really feel like going to bed right now, she just wanted to lie down. "Tomorrow better be easier." Even if she doubted it, a girl could hope. Right?

.

It was currently the next day, and the sun parted through the clouds. It was currently around five thirty as the mentor and mentee were busy training once again.

Shadowbird was walking around in the alleys as he was heading to the spot he usually trained the rookie hero. Although he didn't plan on a regular training day for her. He was planning someone different.

While Maps followed closely behind, she got herself mentally prepared for another day of training. When the duo arrived at their usual training spot, the newbie hero walked over to the spot. "So, we doing close combat or flexibility first?" She asked as she began to stretch her legs.

Shadowbird shook his head softly at the younger teenager. "Thinking of doing something different. I noticed you've been doing consistently well in your training, even if you still need improvements." He began to explain to the bird themed sidekick.

Maps gasped in excitement as she hoped Shadowbird meant what he meant. "Am I finally ready?!" She gleefully asked the hero as she began to bounce a little.

"No. Still not ready to become a sidekick." Shadowbird quickly told the plucky heroine before getting back to his point. "Perhaps a practice run today wouldn't hurt. I want to see how you'll do in a real life situation instead of training." The bird masked hero explained in a matter of fact tone.

Maps' eyes widened as she got even more ecstatic at the news. It may not be the real deal, but it was close enough. "You really mean it?" The rookie happily asked her mentor.

Shadowbird nodded softly as he paced around a bit. "Keep in mind, we'll mainly be focusing on stopping smaller scale criminals since you're still no. So no supervillains." With that, he began to walk away from the training area.

Maps followed him through the alleys as she listened to Shadowbird speak. "Got it! Low level criminals only!" She assured him while giving a thumbs up.

Shadowbird was satisfied that Red Robin understood his words, and the duo made their way through the alleys in order to find some crime to stop. This was going to be an interesting day.

.

For the next hour or so, the two heroes went to work on stopping muggers, pickpockets, store robbers, and other small level criminals they could find around in the north side of Gotham City.

To say Maps enjoyed herself would be an understatement. She enjoyed getting praise from her mentor whenever she managed to fight a criminal using nothing but her gymnastic skills and the combat she learned from the training. It gave her such a confidence boost, and it also put a big and goofy smile on her face everytime she did so.

Shadowbird and the rookie were currently sitting on top of a rooftop of an apartment building. He was just about ready to head back to where they usually trained. "You did good today kid." He said to Red Robin as he looked at the scenery below.

Maps smiled as she looked at the beautiful evening sky. It was a lovely mix of pink and orange with a hint of purple and blue as the sun had begun to set. "You think I'll be ready soon?" She curiously asked her mentor.

Shadowbird knew Red Robin wasn't exactly ready yet, but she seemed a little more experienced than she was all those weeks ago. "Well, we'll see."

Maps chuckled softly as the response was good enough for her. She wondered why Shadowbird was always looking down, and decided to look down as well. "Maybe the sun hurts his eyes." She thought to herself before noticing something odd.

There was some odd looking van that was speeding below. It looked vaguely Egyptian themed with the messy gold paint with dark blue stripes that the van had. Something was definitely off about it.

"Do vans usually look suspiciously colorful?" Maps curiously asked the other hero as she watched the vehicle from on top of the apartment complex.

Shadowbird quickly looked over to see what the teenage girl was referring to, and was in shock as he saw the garish vehicle. "We should follow it." He told her as he quickly got up, and began to keep track of the van from above.

Maps jumped up and ran besides the monochromatic hero. While the mentor was busy following the direction of the van, the rookie was busy following behind while making sure to keep up. Balancing and jumping onto rooftops was still somewhat intimidating, but she managed to still stay close by to him.

After a while, Shadowbird screeched to a halt as he saw where the van was stopping. To say things weren't looking good was an understatement.

The colorful van opened up, and someone came out of the vehicle. It was a man who Egyptian like clothing with red robe, white nemes, and golden accents. He quickly ran over to what seemed like the back of the museum.

Maps knew immediately what this was. An attempted robbery from some supervillain. "Should we both handle this?" She cautiously asked the other hero, expecting him to do it on his own.

Shadowbird thought about it for a second. "Well, he seems like just some weirdo. I don't see him as being a big threat." He told the rookie hero as he looked down at the museum building.

Maps smiled eagerly at the answer. "Really? Then let's get going!" She happily exclaimed. She couldn't believe it, this was going to be the closest thing to fighting a real supervillain.

Shadowbird put one finger near his mask as a sign to be quiet before hopping off the top of the apartment. After some more rooftop hopping, he and the other hero made it to the top of the museum, and tried to find a way to enter the building.

Maps was also looking for a way to enter the museum from the top before noticing something. "Will this be good?" She whispered while pointing over to some ceiling windows that were able to be opened from the outside.

Shadowbird nodded softly as he rushed to the windows and opened them up. After getting a rope from his utility belt and tying it to a pillar, the rookie and the hero made their way down.

The duo were in a seemingly random hallway of the museum, and weren't sure where to go. They heard some commotion coming from the west side, and ran towards there. Odd how there weren't any guards nearby. When the contrasting heroes were near the action, they soon figured out why.

It was in the Egyptian history exhibit. There were some cheesy masked goons with golden nemes masks with plain black jumpsuits. They had the guards tied up while their supposed leader was standing in the middle of the room.

"Bow before the rightful owner of these artifacts, King Tut!" The villain exclaimed in the over the top manner as he picked up a staff from one of the shelves. Though considering he was very pale, it was unlikely he was "the rightful owner" of them.

"Piece of cake. Going to have to go a little easy on him to give her a chance to help." Shadowbird thought to himself before looking back at the plucky girl. "Hide until I give the signal." He whispered to Red Robin before looking for places to hide.

Maps nodded softly as she gave him a thumbs up, and made sure to stay quiet as she let her mentor focus.

While King Tut was busy with the usual evil villain monologue, Shadowbird found a bunch of good hiding spots in the distance. He began to sneak his way towards the main guy while making sure to hide behind some of the larger artifacts for cover.

When two of the henchmen walked by the sarcophagus, they were knocked out when a weird bird shaped throwing weapon hit both of their heads.

The Egyptian themed villain heard the thud from nearby. He was in shock when he saw two of his crowneys unconsciously. "W-who goes there?!" King Tut aggressively asked while holding the staff close to him.

Shadowbird continued to sneak his way towards the villain while slowly taking out most of the crooks. He made sure to only knock them out and move hiding spots when necessary.

King Tut was getting sick of seeing more and more of his underlings getting knocked out by someone mysterious. "Show yourself your coward!" He yelled out in anger.

Shadowbird swiftly left where he was hiding towards the middle of the room. He pulled out his katana and pointed it at the wannabe supervillain.

King Tut was in utter shock as the bird masked person pointed his weapon at him. "W-who are you?" The man asked cautiously while having a facade of being calm about this.

"I'm here to stop you." Shadowbird threateningly told the man. He quickly looked over in the direction of where his sidekick in training was hiding, and gave a little nod to the head before turning back to face King Tut.

It was the signal.

Maps dashed her way past everyone, and stopped near Shadowbird. "Halt evil doer! You won't be able to handle the might of Shadowbird and Red Robin!" She exclaimed in a cheesy way while getting into an attack pose.

Shadowbird sighed softly as he shook his head. "Really? That's the best thing you have to say to him?" He asked while still pointing his weapon at King Tut.

Maps kind of felt awkward about this. "I couldn't think of anything else cool to say. Was I supposed to make a bird pun or something?" She remarked to her mentor.

"Silence!" King Tut yelled as he started to get sick of the banter. "I'm not letting some costumed children stop me!" The Egyptian themed villain yelled as he raised the staff to strike at the two while his henchman surrounded them.

Shadowbird used his sword to block the staff, and kicked King Tut in the chest which caused him to get launched towards the wall. He and the rookie were right next to each other as they saw the henchman surrounding them. "Ready to show them what you got?" The bird themed hero whispered to Red Robin.

Maps nodded before the duo began to fight off the henchman. While Shadowbird focused on katana attacks and martial arts to easily take them down, the teenage girl's method was to out maneuver them with her gymnastics while also using martial arts that was taught to her by the hero.

As King Tut recovered from the hit, he was speechless as he saw his dozen or so henchmen failing to take down the heroes. One by one, the masked men slowly fell. When he saw half of his men gone, he got up in an enraged state. The man was ready to strike Red Robin with the staff.

Seeing what was gonna happen, Shadowbird dashed in front of the girl while knocking the staff away with his bladed weapon. "Go untie the guards. I can handle him and his crowneys." The monochromatic hero told her as he began to fight King Tut.

Maps nodded as she rushed away from where the hero and villain were fighting. She trusted that Shadowbird could handle himself as she ran in the direction of where the guards were tied up.

Many of the remaining henchmen made their way away from their leader to try and stop the sidekick. They stood in front of the guards while getting ready to attack.

Maps could tell the odds were stacked against her, but that wasn't going to stop her. She slid under the crooks who were going to punch her, jumped over them when they tried to kick her, and did fast attacks in between the acrobatic dodging. Eventually, she was able to knock some of them out and began untying the rope.

Shadowbird continued to fight off King Tut while catching snippets of Red Robin's fighting skills against the villain's underlings. He wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment. It was kind of warm and happy for her. It wasn't exactly happy, but it was still a good feeling. Was this what feeling proud was like?

Maps knocked out the last of the crooks and sighed in exhaustion. She quickly went back to work on freeing the guards, and soon the rope had been successfully untied which freed the five guards.

"Thank you young lady." One of the guards said as they were beginning to be led away from the room by the brightly colored hero. Sadly they had been disarmed of any weapons by the Egyptian evil doers before they got restrained.

Shadowbird was glad the people were free as he began to put his full attention into the fight. He eventually elbowed King Tut in the face before forcing him to the ground with a swift kick to the chest. "It's over. Give up." He coldly told the villain while pointing his Katana at him.

King Tut glared angrily at Shadowbird. He couldn't just give up his plan that easily. He had to make one last attempt to at least steal something from this exhibit. And so, the villain pushed the weapon out of the way as he threw the staff before trying to run off.

The staff flew above the hero, and hit a golden sarcophagus which was suspended above thanks to the help of ropes. The hit made the large object sway and caused the ropes to snap.

Maps felt time stop for a moment as she heard the rope snap, and looked above her. She saw how the large artifact was going to land on top of the guards that were heading their way to exit the room. She couldn't just stand there and let innocent people get hurt. So the costumed girl ran to the guards as fast as she could, and pushed them out of the way. Before she could think about running out of the way.

Slam!

The sarcophagus landed on Maps. Thankfully it only seemed to have just barely been on top of her, and was mostly landed on her legs. She struggled to move herself out from under the heavy object as she did her best to stay quiet even if it hurt a bunch.

King Tut obviously didn't get far before Shadowbird knocked him down to the ground, and held him down. He pulled out a small rope from his utility belt, and tied the villain's hands together. As he was ready to pick him up, he heard a thud and panickingly turned to see what had happened. "Robin!" The bird masked hero rushed over to where the sarcophagus was, and began to lift it up. "You okay kid?"

Maps sighed in relief as she saw Shadowbird lift up the artifact for her. "Yeah, I think I'm fine." She said before crawling away when the sarcophagus was lifted high enough. When she was for sure out of the way, the teenage girl tried to stand up, but stumbled as she felt pain in her left leg.

Shadowbird felt a little panic as he saw that the girl was indeed hurt. He quickly helped her up while holding her up with his arms. "Is your leg broken?" He asked her while noticing her limp as she stood up.

Maps nodded softly as she noticed the limp as well. "Don't worry. I can stand on my own. Trust me." She reassured the hero as she was just happy that the guards didn't get hurt.

Shadowbird let her stand on her own before hearing sirens in the distance. The cops were here. "We gotta get out of here!" He exclaimed before picking up Red Robin with one arm.

Maps just let herself get carried like a sack of potatoes as Shadowbird ran back to where they had entered the museum, and quickly made it out of there before the authorities could arrive. She sighed softly as she knew that this was gonna be a problem. "I'm so gonna be in trouble."

.

Welp, it was official. Maps Mizoguhci was in deep trouble. The teenage girl hoped she wouldn't be since she tried to walk it off after Shadowbird dropped her off in the streets. She made it decently far with her limp until her parents noticed it when she came back home. Of course she tried to shrug it off, but her parents wouldn't listen, and took their daughter to the hospital.

Maps was currently on a hospital bed with a cast on her left leg, and some flowers on the desk.. "Great, now I'm stuck with this for who knows how long." She sighed to herself as she was mega bummed she couldn't be Red Robin for a while.

The door had opened with a soft creak. It was Bella. The woman entered the room with a stern look on her face. "You're lucky you'll recover in about a month or so. You made us so worried." The mother said to her daughter with exhaustion in her voice.

Maps sighed softly as she awkwardly looked away from her mom. "I'm so sorry. I promise to be more careful." She reassured the women before noticing something was missing. "Where are Kyle and dad?"

"They're busy looking for get well soon cards." Bella told her daughter as it looked like something was on her mind. "Mia, I don't really think I like this superhero thing. You should've told us it was gonna be this dangerous." She admitted to the teenage girl.

Maps nodded softly at her mom's words as she was right. "I'm really sorry. I just didn't want you to worry about me." The raven haired teen told the woman as she had a bad feeling about what was gonna happen next.

"I know this might seem out of the blue, but I'm not sure how else to say this. Mia, I don't want you to do this "Red Robin" shtick anymore." Bella sternly told the girl.

Maps wasn't completely surprised by this, but it was still an unpleasant thing to be told about. "What?! You can't just stop me from helping people!" She exclaimed with bewilderment.

"Helping people is nice and all, but I don't want you to get hurt by being so reckless!" Bella stated to the teenage girl as she felt adamant about her decision.

Maps felt hurt by this since she didn't want her hero career to end right when it was getting started. "I'm not some fragile doll mom. I promise I'll be more careful. You gotta let me keep doing this!" The girl begged as she hoped to change her mind.

"Look, I know it's a hard thing to accept, but I just don't want you to get injured, or worse." Bella explained to her daughter with a hint of distraught in her voice.

Maps began to feel bad for how worried she made her family. It hurt her to say this, but she had to do it. "Fine. I'll stop being Red Robin. For all of you." The girl sighed as she looked at her mother.

Bella felt relief wash over her as she went over to try and hug Maps. Keyword being try since it was kind of awkward trying to hug someone who's lying on a hospital bed.

Maps hugged back her mom as tight as she could. Despite her feeling saddened by the decision, she knew it was the best for the short term. But what about the long term?

.

It's been about a month or so since the encounter the bird themed heroes had with King Tut. It was currently about eleven in the night as the moon shone into the room of the teenage girl.

During the time from there up until her leg almost fully healed, Maps had time for a lot of self reflection. One question was stuck in her mind ever since the conversation with her mom in the hospital.

"Was this all worth it?"

This was a hard question she had to confront after the leg injury. She kept going back and forth with her answer, and planned on telling Shadowbird what her final decision was going to be.

Her parents were asleep around this time, and Kyle was most likely sound asleep as well so there wasn't gonna be any risk of being caught was very low. With that, Maps put on her Red Robin attire, and hopped out the window while making sure to close it on the way out.

"Can't believe I have to look for him again." Maps mumbled to herself as she ran across the rooftops. She was currently heading south since that was the direction where the training spot was.

In the distance, Shadowbird could be seen on top of a water tower. He was scouting the area with his binoculars when he was shocked to see the familiar girl in the brightly colored outfit was back. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared from where he was sitting.

Maps was still heading south as she made sure to be careful about where she stepped. When a sudden breeze of wind was felt from her back, she quickly looked behind her. The teenage girl was confused by this when she saw nothing. "Maybe I'm just feeling things." She thought to herself as she turned back around only to be met by a certain bird masked hero being in front of her.

"Aren't you supposed to be out of commission right now?" Shadowbird sternly asked Red Robin since he took an obvious guess about her absence as of recently.

Maps flinched a little when she first saw him again, but quickly calmed down. "I know I should probably still be in bed right now, but I came here to tell you something." She explained to the hero while pacing around a little.

Shadowbird could tell what Red Robin wanted to tell was very important given her movement. "Go on." He told her while his mind began to jump to conclusions. "Is it about how you won't be doing this anymore?"

Maps continued to feel antsy before taking a deep breath after hearing what her mentor said. "I know it may seem shocking, but I want to still be a hero..."

"What?" Shadowbird could've sworn the sidekick was going to quit, so he was rather shocked to say the least. "Are you sure you want to do this?" The monochromatic hero asked with uncertainty.

"I know about the risks, especially since I've experienced them myself. I know being a hero can be dangerous, but I won't let the risks stop me from helping people in need." Maps assured to the mentor in a serious tone.

Shadowbird was kind of stunned into silence. He had no idea she was so determined about doing right. After a couple moments of silence, all he could manage for now was a simple nod along with a "Head to the training area once you're fully healed up."

Maps gasped softly as she felt her eyes light up. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She cheered with joy before getting ready to give the other hero a big hug.

Seeing this, Shadowbird put one hand in front of him while the other hand was holding onto the handle of his sheathed katana. "For the record, not really a big hug person." He informed the rookie.

Maps flinched at the hand in front of her, and backed up a little. "Right, sorry." She apologized to the bird themed hero before looking over towards the distance. "I should probably be heading home now."

"Yeah. Just remember, there's no rush to come back. Only come back when you're one hundred percent sure you're okay." Shadowbird said before he gave Red Robin a little goodbye wave.

Maps nodded as she smiled brightly at the hero before turning around, and making her way back to her house. She felt like a massive weight had been taken off her chest as she happily maneuvered her way on the rooftops.

After a few minutes, the hero in training arrived back home. As she entered the room through the window, everything seemed normal. When the girl closed the window, she was shocked to see someone in her room when she turned around.

It was her brother.

Maps panicked as she felt like she was back into a corner. "Please please please don't tell on me! I promise I won't ever do this again!" She practically begged to her older brother.

"Calm down. I promise not to tell mom and dad." Kyle quietly assured his younger sister as he motioned her to quiet down. "I'll be heading to bed." He said after ruffling the girl's hair.

Maps was stunned as she was so sure Kyle was going to tell their parents about this. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand ruffle her hair which caused her to giggle a little. "Thanks. I owe you one."

Kyle smiled as he pulled his hand away, and made his way towards the door. "Night little sis." He said before walking out of the room, and closing the door behind him.

"Night." Maps replied back before the older teen left the room. With the door shut, she quickly changed out of her Red Robin outfit, changed into her sleep wear, and hopped onto the bed to go to sleep. She had a feeling that keeping this a secret from her mom and dad would be stressful, but she wasn't going to give up that easily.

It was a risk she was willing to take.