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Bruce could give her unlimited access to the Bat credit card and it still wouldn't be anywhere close enough to justify baby-sitting Damian.
And yet you still do it...
She shook the thought away. One day, she'd learn how to finally say no to Bruce. Perhaps today was that day. After all, what could be a better catalyst than this?
"You know that's illegal, right? As far as the state is concerned, raccoons aren't pets."
"That law," Damian replied, not even looking her way as she spoke, "means little to me." He continued staring at a dumpster and holding out a half-eaten cheeseburger in his hands. "Especially when there's a poor creature forced to eat garbage involved."
"You found that on the ground!"
"It'll be the last leftover he's ever forced to eat!"
Stephanie let out a long breath of air. She had half the mind to march over and pull him away by his ear. But the other half of her mind, the part that looked before she leaped, knew that that doing so was just asking for a black eye and chipped tooth, if not worse.
"We're the good guys, remember? It's our job to follow the rules."
Damian turned, shooting her a glare that might have stung if it had come from someone without a baby face.
"Besides, what will the bat say?"
"Perhaps something worth listening to."
More rustling came from inside the nearby dumpster.
"What about Alfred? If anyone will have a fit, it's him."
He was always going on about all the colorful characters he was already stuck dealing with in his life, wasn't he?
"He'll understand!" Damian's voice cracked as he spoke. "I can convince him."
"Can you?"
This time, it was Oracle who spoke. Despite how frequently her voice crossed Stephanie's ears, she couldn't stop her shoulders from stiffening at the sudden sound.
"I could put him on the line for you. I'm sure he'll just love your new little friend."
Damian's fists tightened. A bit of the cheeseburger he was holding broke off and bounced against the concrete below.
"For good guys," Damian said, "you both have no difficulty being cruel."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. Would he be like this all night?
"Can we hurry up and get back to patrol?" Maybe the kid would feel better if he had something to punch!
"If you insist." And with that, Damian took a running leap into the night.
Stephanie stood back, watching him. "Thanks, O."
"No problem. You aren't the only one who thought his idea was ridiculous. Still, it would have been fun to hear from Penny One, wouldn't it?"
"The poor guy's already got enough on his plate tonight."
Giving the alley one last glance, Stephanie pulled out her grappling hook.