*DC owns every character except Jasmine, though she was created from DC characters*

Chapter 11

Having been called back to Gotham was something Dick hadn't really anticipated, especially when he had decided to return to Bludhaven the very same day. If he were to be completely honest, when he had first received the call, Dick had been rather annoyed. While he did enjoy returning to his old city and seeing Bruce, Alfred and Jason again, he still loved Bludhaven, and really, his city was more of a top priority. Gotham wasn't his area of expertise anymore, and yet it seemed as though the damn city kept drawing him back into its clutches. Perhaps that was just how Gotham was. It was simply just a complicated city to escape.

Now, when Bruce had contacted Dick, who had been delivering a criminal to Bludhaven's police, Dick had been short. The only thing that really caught his attention was when Bruce had said that Jason was in trouble. The thing about Dick was that when it came to the bat family, he would do just about anything for them. So, he had left as fast as he could and made it back to Gotham once again. When the alarm was simply that Jason's tracker wasn't working and they couldn't get ahold of him, however, he had felt that same annoyance rise in him. Of course, it was an odd occurrence, but not one that was terribly unlikely. There were plenty of places that could block the tracker's signals, and Jason may not answer because he is around some suspicious characters.

If he were to be honest, Dick hadn't been exactly that worried at first. Now, he grew anxious when about thirty to forty-five minutes went by without any progress. That had been alarming, especially since Jason was typically good at getting back with them, and the trackers were very advanced technology. It wouldn't remain offline for that long if someone was moving around to other places. By the time Jasmine had made her entrance was when he had become over the top worried about Jason.

Then, Joker came up. The minute he saw the crazed psychopath on the screen, he knew that Jason had been taken by him. There was just no other conclusion. Dick had glanced at Jasmine when he came on as well. Her reaction was almost surprising. She had completely frozen into place and, from what he could see of her face, she seemed to have paled slightly. It was understandable, he supposed, but at the same time, she had seen this man all of her life. He would think that his presence wouldn't be so…horrifying to her after the nineteen years of her life. Then again, it was Joker, and he had no idea the extent of what he has done to her in her past.

When Dick saw Jason, he immediately felt anger rise in him, soon followed by an almost desperation to find the boy who was like his younger brother. He knew what it was like to be held prisoner by Joker…and it was horrible. There were times he had wondered if he was truly going to die at the hands of the psycho with the crowbar. Now Jason…Jason hadn't been taken by Joker before. Sure, he has faced him, but Bruce was extra careful in making sure that Jason wouldn't have to go through the torture and beatings Dick had when he was Robin…and he was almost successful. That wasn't saying Jason had never been taken captive before. Just not by the Joker. Until now, that is.

When Bruce had left to go find Jason, Dick had to stop Jasmine from turning herself in. There had been logic to her thinking, he knew. Honestly, using her to find Jason would probably be the fastest way. However, there was just no way he could put her in that kind of danger. What was the point of trying to save someone if you just compromise another's life? Jasmine already spent nineteen years of her life trying to escape her parents and become something more. Dick wasn't about to let her throw away her month of redemption, and he knew that Jason wouldn't want her to either. It was better using her knowledge of the area to find Jason rather than using her as an individual, so that was what he did.

So now, Dick was sitting on the left side of the Batwing, pushing it as fast as it could go, while Jasmine sat on his right. They were heading towards one of Joker's warehouses that Jasmine had pointed out only about a minute ago. She had been able to deduce a single location based on a small, almost invisible scorch mark that was able to be seen in Joker's video. Of course, there was no way of knowing if Joker, Harley and Jason would still be in this warehouse by the time he got there with Jasmine. He could only hope that they weren't too late.

As the warehouse got closer, Dick maneuvered the Batwing lower and slowed down to a stop above it. The two of them would be able to jump down safely to the roof at this height, so he didn't bother landing. Besides, the Batwing would land itself while they were busy. Both Dick and Jasmine got out and dropped down, landing in a crouch on the roof. Dick drew his escrima sticks and noticed Jasmine uncoiling her two whips from the corner of his eyes. Opening a hatch, he dropped down into the warehouse then stood at the ready, scanning the area and straining his ears for any sounds. Nothing. Jasmine landed beside him and he clenched his jaw in aggravation.

"You're sure this is the right place?" He asked Jasmine sharply and she gave a small frown before straightening up at well. He watched as she walked over to a blackened spot on the ground and nodded.

"Positive." She murmured, only to look to look over to the side where a chair was. As she walked over, Dick shifted his eyes to where she was headed and followed as well. Crouching down, he inspected dark red dots that were resting on the ground around the chair.

"Blood." He said aloud and she pulled out her batclaw.

"Then they were here after all. That means they can't be far." She said seriously and he nodded, pulling out his grappling hook. Jasmine shot back up to the roof hatch first, and then Dick. They both quickly got into the Batwing as well, which had automatically landed to the roof during their time in the warehouse.

Once again, Dick piloted the Batwing and moved it up so they could look over the surroundings for any suspicious movement. He shifted his eyes quickly over the streets, desperate to find something that could connect them to finding Jason. It was then that a flicker of movement caught his eyes, and Dick peered over to the left, only to see a car darting past a building. A humorless smile played on his lips.

"Found them." He said, taking off after it. It didn't take too long to catch up to the fleeing black van that was speeding down the road.

"…you're sure this isn't just a diversion?" Jasmine spoke, and Dick shifted his eyes to the side and glanced at her for a moment. She seemed almost unsure and he frowned.

"They don't have enough time to have made one up in the time we took to get here from when Joker went off the air. This has to be them." Dick said, though now he had a small shred of doubt. Taking a deep breath, he decided to trust his gut and go with this van. Even if it wasn't Joker and Jason, it was his henchmen, which meant they may know some kind of useful information.

Dick pressed a button as the Batwing was basically over the van, and a hook shot down and into the roof, only to spread open like a grappling hook would. He then pulled up, taking the van into the air with him. Once he rose high enough into the air, he set the van onto a high roof then quickly landed the Batwing. Right as they Batwing hit the ground, Jasmine and Dick jumped out and stalked over to the van.

"Let me take care of this." He growled to Jasmine. He sensed that the order had annoyed her, but she stopped and crossed her arms over her chest silently.

Dick jerked open the driver's side of the door and pulled out a man roughly by the collar of his shirt, making him sprawl out on the ground. The man wore a mad clown mask, so Dick couldn't see his face…yet. Using his one of his escrima sticks, Dick smashed it into the side of his head, making him collapse completely onto the ground with a groan. That would slow him down a bit. He walked around the van until he reached the back, his heart pounding in anticipation. Jason had to be here. There was no way Joker could have rightly guessed this beforehand. He pulled the hatch and saw a chair…but no Jason or Joker. Instead, he was looking at a bomb that began to tick down from five seconds.

"Take cover!" He shouted, sprinting to the side as the bomb exploded, which in turn exploded the car. The force took him off of his feet and he hit the ground hard, rolling a few times before coming to a stop on his back.

Breathing hard, Dick let out a small groan before slowly sitting up, wincing at a pain in his shoulder. Looking over, he saw a large cut and sighed, realizing that a piece of the car must have blown past and cut him. His suit was tore in a few areas and blood was welling from small cuts on his head. Looking around, he spotted Jasmine slowly rising on her hands and knees, which gave him the prediction she had landed on her stomach, though she was breathing heavily and slowly ducked her head. Before she had done this, he had seen a bit of blood trailing from the left side of her lips, and a cut on her right cheek. Her cape was torn and there were a few tears in her suit, but since she had been farther back, she was probably fine. That was when Dick noticed that the man he dazed had been pulled back by a bit. Jasmine must have saved him.

Despite all this, indescribable anger filled Dick and he slowly got to his feet and glanced over, seeing the escrima stick he had pulled out earlier. He swiftly walked to it and swiped it up before making his way to Joker's henchmen. Jasmine had been right. It had been a diversion, and there was only one guy to tell them information. He tightened his grip on his escrima stick then stopped on front of the man. Reaching down, he grabbed the guy by the collar and pulled him up.

"Where's the Joker?!" He shouted at him and the man began to laugh.

"You aren't going to get information from me!" He snickered and Dick gritted his teeth then tugged the man's mask off, only to hit the side of his head with his escrima stick. While the force pushed him back, Dick held onto his collar, keeping him up.

"Tell me." He said lowly and the guy let out a smile.

"Tough luck, Nightwing."

This time, Dick dropped the escrima stick and punched him, letting the impact force him to the ground this time before grabbing his collar again and pulling him up. The guy spat out blood and glared at Nightwing, but remained quiet. Dick got ready to hit him once more, only to feel something wrap around his wrist and tug his arm back. He looked over to see Jasmine with her whips uncoiled. One of them was wrapped around his wrist, which stopped his next punch.

"Let me handle this." She said in this quiet and calm voice. He was hesitant at first but then simply nodded. He got to his feet and dropped the man, who groaned as he hit the ground only to start laughing as he looked up at Jasmine as she was walking towards him.

"Oh, I'm terrified. A short woman with two whips? This is supposed to intimidate me?" He laughed, which soon turned into a shout of pain as he pressed his hand to his already bruised cheek and he saw blood trickling down from where his hand was. Dick blinked, only to realize Jasmine had struck him with her whip. It had been so fast that he had almost missed the entire action.

"Do you know what I can do with these whips?" Jasmine spoke, kneeling down beside him.

The man glanced at her and scowled, "What? Dance around a pole?" Much to Dick's surprise, he saw Jasmine give a light smile.

"A good guess, but no. See that cut on your cheek? I can put five more of those on you in under three seconds. So, imagine how many you'll have after one minute." She said simply before tilting her head slightly as if thinking.

"That would be approximately one hundred lashes. Now, I don't want to lash you one hundred times, and I have a feeling you really don't want me to lash you that much. However, you're going to give me no choice if you won't tell me or Nightwing what we want to know." She said strictly. Now the man looked fearful and Dick saw him swallow hard, and knew that he was trying to hold on to his tough guy act

"I-I don't care how many times you can lash me. In the end, I'm much more afraid of Joker than the two of you!" He burst out and he heard Jasmine sigh and slowly rise to her feet.

"Oh well. I tried to warn you," She sighed and then twisted the bands on the hilt of her whips, which made the spikes come out. Dick started to step forward to stop her, since lashing him not only one hundred times but also with those spikes would be too much.

"What the hell are those?!" The man shouted, starting to shift backwards in fear.

"Oh, I must have forgotten to mention that my whips have this really interesting quality to them. Yeah, the metallic plates become spikes. Ready for the one hundred lashes?" She spoke, starting to raise her hand. Dick opened his mouth to tell her to stop, but didn't say anything as the man held up his hands.

"Okay, okay! I-I'll tell you what you want to know! P-Please just…don't whip me with those torture devices!" He stuttered, and Jasmine lowered her hand and tilted her head as though she were considering the offer.

"Hmmm…I don't know. What do you say, Nightwing? Do you think he's going to be honest with us?" She asked, looking at Dick from over her shoulder.

Dick looked to her and then to the man, who was gazing at him with pleading eyes. Now the way Jasmine had handled the situation was really quite extraordinary. She used intimidation and fear to manipulate the man into doing what she wanted. At the time, Dick's rage had blinded him from doing just that. While he hated to admit it, Jasmine was the reason why they were getting this information now. The man never would have spoken with him the way he had been approaching the subject.

"I'd say he'll be pretty damn honest with us, because let me tell you," He began, shifting his attention towards the man, "I won't try to stop her if she decides you're being untruthful." He spoke lightly, though the warning was there. He stepped up beside Jasmine and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down at the man, "So, I would advise you to speak."

Joker's henchmen gulped then licked his lips and darted his eyes around warily before resting his gaze on Batgirl and Nightwing, "A-Alright, the boss is planning on keeping the kid-" He began, then abruptly cut off his body jolted backwards and he lied still.

Immediately, Dick whirled around and sprinted to the edge of the roof where he saw a shadowed figure drop to the ground from the roof they had been on by using a rope and then run off into an alleyway. He cussed under his breath, knowing that at this point, it would be close to impossible to catch him. Clenching his hands into fists, he turned around and paused. Jasmine was crouched over the man with a small frown. As he walked up, she slowly rose to her feet and looked to him.

"Shot in the heart." She informed him and sighed, looking at the body.

"Right as he was about to tell us the information too." He scowled then looked to Jasmine and rested his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look over at him.

"Are you alright?" He asked seriously, and he saw her scowl then brush his hand away.

"Oh please. The man was just shot and killed. It isn't like it was traumatic or anything." She said sharply before looking to the man, "Besides, it was bound to happen sooner or later. He lasted longer than most of Joker's henchmen. Not only that, but he was a terrible person. He deserves what he got." She said casually. Dick frowned at this. Most people would be upset about seeing a person get shot and killed in front of their eyes, but Jasmine was treating it as though it was a natural thing. That meant…*She has seen people get shot before.* Dick thought to himself. He knew that Risuka had been shot, though he hadn't known if she saw it or not.

"No one deserves to be killed unless it is a constitutional decision made in a court," He said to her firmly before sighing, "Whether he was a good man or not, he still had valuable information that we desperately need, and now he's gone along with the rest of my ideas of where to get information."

Jasmine was silent for a moment, seeming to be thinking of something, before she shook her head with her own sigh, "Don't forget that the night is coming to an end. I guess we don't have much of a choice but to check in with Batman and hope he has some kind of lead…or actually found Robin." She said, her voice troubled and almost distant.

"Jasmine," Dick said, her tone gentler and she looked to him, "don't worry. We'll find him."

While Dick himself was extremely worried for Jason, he also wanted to comfort Jasmine. He knew that she considered herself responsible for his disappearance, but really, if she wanted to point blame at anyone, it should be him. He was the one who found her and talked Bruce into giving her a chance by getting her away from Joker and Harley. If Dick hadn't been the one to find Jasmine, she would have stayed there. Bruce probably wouldn't have found her until she was presented, or if he would have found her earlier, wouldn't have given her much of a chance, if he would have given her one at all.

Jasmine smiled halfheartedly before turning towards the Batwing and began to walk towards it. Dick noticed that she had a slight limp. She must have injured her foot from the explosion. He hadn't realized this before, but then again, it was not as though he had been paying extremely close attention at the time. He followed after her and climbed into the driver's side of the Batwing once more. By the time he had gotten in, Jasmine was already sitting and staring out of the window.

"I have a question for you." Dick said as the Batwing lifted into the air. He saw Jasmine turn her attention to him.

"Ask away," She responded and he moved the Batwing forwards.

"When you were interrogating that man, were you planning on using your whips?" He asked.

There was a slight pause and then, "I don't give empty threats. When your opponents are threatened by you, but you do not carry out your actions, then that will tell them that you will not follow through. I want to be taken seriously." She said coolly.

"I understand that, but one hundred lashes seem a bit extreme, don't you think?" He stated, glancing over at her in time to spot her humorless smile.

"No. Not really," She said and turned her gaze out the window once again, "Then again, I could take one hundred lashes without a single cry of pain. Perhaps I should think about others. Not everyone can take the pain. He cried out after one simple little hit on his cheek."

Dick shifted his eyes to her for a moment. With her mask on, he couldn't tell her emotions or what she was thinking but then again, he still found it hard to get a read on her even when she didn't have a mask on, "You've been whipped before then?"

"Yes. It was part of my training and punishment when I was younger."

"I see." Dick said quietly, checking around the surrounding to see that they were getting rather close to the Batcave. There was a small silence between them for a few minutes, though it wasn't awkward. It was clear the two were awfully worried, and while talking earlier had helped in taking their minds away from the situation at hand, it snuck back up on the two of them once more.

Dick felt as though he had failed Jason tonight. While he was probably being tortured by Joker, they were unable to save him. He was too late in getting to the warehouse, he fell for the diversion and the explosion, and then when the man was finally going to talk and tell them what they needed, he had failed to see the shooter on the other roof. Jason was now forced to be with Joker for much longer than anyone ever should because of these failures, and they were all Dick's fault. Jasmine had warned him the car may be a diversion, but he just hadn't believed that Joker had been able to predict everything correctly. Then when it came to the interrogating, Jasmine had to take over to try to pull the info, which ended up being a waste of precious time they could have spent looking for Jason. Due to the lack of a call, Dick had a feeling Bruce hadn't had much of a better night, but it was still extremely frustrating.

"Do you truly think we'll be able to find Jason in time?" Jasmine asked softly as Dick was landing the Batwing in the Batcave.

"We have to. Besides, you give us a pretty good advantage because of your knowledge of Joker's area." He told her and he saw her taking a deep breath and give a small nod.

"Right."

As they landed, Dick and Jasmine got out of the Batwing. Dick came up beside Jasmine and looked to the center, where Bruce was pacing in an aggravated fashion. His mask was off and his black hair was messy, showing that he had probably run his fingers through it multiple times. As Dick had expected, his former mentor had failed tonight as well. Hearing their light footfalls, Bruce looked over and his pacing came to a halt. That was when Dick realized that he and Jasmine probably didn't look great, considering they were caught in an explosion. However, he doubted that Bruce would pay much mind to it since he was so set on finding Jason.

"Anything?" He asked gruffly and Dick shook his head.

"We found the place Joker had taken Jason to, but by the time we got there, they were already gone. Afterwards, we saw a van speeding down the road, so we investigated that, but it ended up being a diversion. We don't know his location." He spoke up.

"Damnit," Bruce growled, looking to the side and glaring dangerously at the wall, "I shouldn't have let him go alone."

"Bruce, this isn't your-" Jasmine began, but he locked his blazing eyes on her, which was enough to silence her.

"This is entirely my fault! If anything happens to him, then it's on my head." He said fiercely and instead of backing down, Jasmine instead tugged her mask off with her own eyes set almost coldly.

"Then hand me over! Make the trade, and save Jason! I've survived my father and my mother for nineteen years, and I can do it again. Jason is family to you, so put his life before mine." She said strictly and Dick looked to her in surprise and then glanced at Bruce, who was looking at her with an almost guarded expression. For a moment, he almost thought that Bruce was considering what she said until he walked forwards till he was standing directly in front of her.

"You may not have been here as long as Jason has, but you are still a part of this family, Jasmine. I'm not going to risk sacrificing you, because in the end, it wouldn't achieve anything. Instead of Jason, we would be looking for you. You're family. Not a pawn." He said firmly, looking into her eyes as he said so then walked past her.

"The two of you better see Alfred to get patched up and get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow." He called as he walked to the Batcomputer. Dick knew that he would be there all night.

Dick couldn't help but look at Bruce go in a son-like admiration for a moment. He did and said exactly what Dick thought he would have. The Bat Family was Bruce's family. That was something Jasmine didn't understand, though perhaps now she did. When it came to them, Bruce would put everything on the line, and in return, they did the same for him.

Dick looked to Jasmine, who was still standing in place. As he slowly walked beside her, he noted the surprised look in her eyes and her lips slightly parted, as though she wanted to say something but didn't have the words. Lightly, he reached out and touched her shoulder, which seemed to pull her back from her thoughts and she glanced at him before averting her eyes down.

"I told you not to think that you didn't belong here, didn't I?" He said to her gently.

"You did. I just didn't completely believe you. Come on, let's go find Alfred." She said quietly before turning and walking to the elevator with that limp of hers. It was odd hearing her speaking so quietly after seeing how serious and fierce she truly was. He thought back to teasing with her and her arrogance, and couldn't help but consider that perhaps that wasn't the real her, exactly. It was just the side of her that she wanted to be seen as. Dick easily caught up to her with his long strides then swooped her into his arms, making her give a light gasp of surprise.

"Put me down, Dick." She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as he held her with an arm under her knees and the other supporting her back.

"You're limping. This will be much faster and a lot less painful." He told her evenly and offered her a small smile.

"I can deal with the pain." She said shortly and he shrugged.

"I never said you couldn't, but with your short legs and a limp, well, getting to Alfred could take forever." He said matter-of-factly and he saw her give a small smile.

"Don't insult my height, Grayson." She spoke, and Dick caught a trace of amusement in her voice.

"I'm not insulting it, exactly, just giving the cold hard facts." He spoke and she gave a light laugh.

"Smartass."

"No need to retaliate. Not everyone can have my brilliance and extraordinary height." Dick smiled, happy that he had been able to get at least a small smile on her lips. She seemed to have relaxed with the light banter, and she turned those blue-green eyes to his at what he said with a genuine smile.

"You call it brilliance and extraordinary height, but I'd call it overconfidence and freakishly tall." She said smoothly and he smirked lightly.

"That's because you're jealous and short."

"I am not!" Jasmine laughed and he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Not jealous or not short?" He asked quizzically.

"Both." She huffed and he snickered.

"Liar."

She lightly smacked his chest with the back of her hand and he chuckled lightly, "Okay, maybe I'm a little short, but I'll have you know that being 5'4 is as an average height for women." She pointed out.

"Mhm, that's what they all say." He said haughtily and she laughed.

"You're impossible!" She smiled before resting her forehead on his chest.

"I like to call it selectively considerate to certain statements."

Jasmine burst out laughing and shook her head before looking back up at him, "You truly are one of a kind, Richard Grayson." She said warmly and he smiled at her before walking into the kitchen, hoping to find Alfred there. Thankfully, he had guessed correctly. The butler had a plate in one hand and a rag in the other. Hearing the two of them, he slowly turned around and widened his eyes, seeming to almost drop the plate.

"Good heavens! Master Dick! Madam Jasmine! You are both in a most atrocious sight!" He said, setting the rag and plate down.

"You sure know how to charm a girl, Alfred." Jasmine said with a small smile, and Dick glanced at her. It seemed that their bantering had lightened up her mood enough that she was saying her old teasing comments. Using his foot, he pushed a chair out and set her down in it.

"I aim to please, Madam." Alfred said with a light smile before he sighed, "Get yourself seated, Master Dick. You aren't going to be able to escape my treatment this time." He said strictly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a needle and thread for stitching,

"Escape his treatment?" Jasmine said with a smirk his way and he sighed lightly.

"Oh yes. Master Dick has always had a problem with letting me stitch him up." Alfred began walking over to Dick.

"I have not, Alfred." Dick muttered before holding up his hand and indicating to Jasmine, "If you wouldn't mind, could you check her first? Her left foot seemed to be sprained."

"I see what you mean, Alfred. He does seem to be avoiding your treatments." Jasmine spoke and Alfred gave a smile before making his way over to her. Dick huffed and crossed his arms over his chest before leaning back against the chair.

"That is untrue. I'm simply concerned. I took the injuries, so I can take the stitches." He said coolly.

"He just wants to seem tough, Madam Jasmine." Alfred spoke and she laughed softly before leaning down and unlacing her left boot.

Dick simply gave a small grunt to show he heard, but watched the two from the corner of his eyes. The cut on her cheek must not be too bad, since Alfred didn't say anything about it. She definitely didn't get too bloodied up from the explosion, which Dick was grateful for. As she began pulling the boot off, he noticed her clench her jaw and her eyes harden a little, telling him that the simply action had hurt to do. She rolled her sock off as well and he frowned. Her ankle was swollen and already seemed to be bruising.

"Hm," Alfred gently took her foot then pressed on the swelling lightly.

"Ow." She muttered, and Dick narrowed his eyes. She hadn't even winced.

"Tell me if it hurts as I'm moving it." Alfred instructed her before slowly moving her foot to the side. Dick watched her face carefully. It was expressionless. Absolutely no emotion whatsoever. By the look of the swelling, she had one pretty bad sprain. Even he would have winced at the press or as Alfred shifted it, but not her.

"It hurts," She murmured and Alfred glanced up at her, seeming just as surprised.

"Why, you haven't winced, Madam." He said and she averted her eyes for a moment.

"I…have a high pain tolerance." She said. Dick studied her for a moment while Alfred just nodded in acceptance without another word then began to move it the other way, which was a quicker reaction to it hurting. *I've never seen anyone except maybe Bruce with this pain tolerance.* Dick thought to himself, watching as Alfred began to press on it once more, and she once again only told him when it hurt, though she had discrete pained reactions this time, like a tightening of her hands of a clench of her jaw. However, there were no little gasps of pain or anything of the sort.

"Well Madam Jasmine, I would say that your ankle most likely came close to breaking, but lucky for you, it is just a sprain. Of course, this is just a speculation. There's no way to know for sure unless you get an x-ray." Alfred explained and Jasmine smiled to him before leaning over and cautiously pulling the sock back over.

"I'll take your word for it. Thank you, Alfred." She said to him warmly.

"I will get you a brace once I patch up Master Dick." He said, starting to walk over to Dick.

"Oh, I don't need a brace. These boots are pretty sturdy." Jasmine said lightly and Dick smiled.

"Jazz, I think we both know that arguing with Alfred is a bad idea. Plus, wearing that brace is good advice anyways." He said calmly and she huffed before nodding.

"Yeah, yeah, fine." She grumbled, leaning back in the chair and crossing her arms over her chest. Dick found himself studying her once more as a distant look came into her eyes. Not for the first time, he wished that he could follow her into her thoughts and see what it was she was thinking about. Even after all this time, she had been able to remain a sort of mystery. Her eyes slowly shut and his eyes lingered on her.

"Master Dick, I would suggest getting into a different change of clothes so I make these stitches quick and easy." Alfred spoke up, pulling Dick's attention back to the butler.

"Of course. I'll be right back." He said, getting to his feet and began walking out, but paused beside Jasmine. Her breathing was even and soft and typically, she would respond to footfalls, but she remained unresponsive. *Has she already fallen asleep?* Dick thought to himself. Sighing softly, he stepped closer to her and gently picked her up from the chair. Her head rested against his chest and her eyelids fluttered faintly but she remained in her slumber.

"On second thought, I might be a little longer. I'm going to take Jazz to her room." Dick spoke up, looking to Alfred who nodded.

"Quite understandable, sir."

Dick smiled to the butler before he walked out with Jasmine sleeping in his arms. He made his way to the hallway where her room was at, glancing down at her from time to time. Her face looked so peaceful when she slept. Awake, she always seemed to have a hidden worry or concern even before Jason had been taken. She so often got lost in her thoughts, and every time she did, she looked intense and solemn. It was nice to see her look so…free.

As he got to her room, Dick noticed that it was open a little bit. He nudged it with his foot so it opened wider and walked to her bed, gently setting her down in the mattress. While he would wake her up so she could wash off the blood and change out of her Batgirl outfit, he also wanted to let her rest. As he pulled back, he became aware of the ache in his already painful shoulder where the deep cut was and sighed. He really needed to get it stitched. Just as he turned to give, a small sharp intake of breath caught his attention and he looked to Jasmine from over his shoulder. That peaceful look she had was gone, and was replaced with one that seemed troubled and almost fearful. A small mumble escaped her lips, though he was unable to decipher what she said. From the sound of it though, whatever she said seemed to have been in Japanese. Her hands began to clench and unclench slightly and he quickly strode over. She must be having a nightmare.

"Jasmine." He said firmly, resting his hand on her shoulder and lightly shook her. Abruptly, her eyes snapped open and she gave a loud gasp before breathing a little quickly. She closed her eyes for a moment and slowed her breathing. Perhaps a few seconds afterwards, she slowly opening her eyes and met his gaze before glancing around her.

"You carried me to my room?" She murmured and he nodded.

"Yeah. You okay?" He asked and she nodded.

"It was only a little nightmare. I'm fine." She said, not sounding particularly concerned.

"You don't seem to be very affected by it." Dick commented and she shrugged.

"They aren't new to me. I get at least one every week." She said softly and he frowned in concern. People didn't typically get nightmares regularly unless they went through something traumatic and/or scarring.

"I know what you're thinking. I'm okay, Dick. Honestly. Stop worrying and go get stitched up." She said to him firmly but also with a small reassuring smile.

Dick sigh and pulled back slightly before crossing his arms over his chest as he looked to her seriously, "What was it about, and how is it that you barely reacted to pain?" He spoke and she sat up and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Dick. Now really isn't a great time for these questions at the moment. You need to rest and get that wound stitched. Can't we discuss this in the morning?" She spoke, sounding exhausted.

"No."

She gave him a vexed look before nodding slowly, "Alright," She breathed softly before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and stood before Dick could react all that much.

Dick noticed how she put her weight all on her right foot mostly, but he still didn't understand why she needed to stand just to explain the answers to his questions. He knew that this wasn't exactly the most exemplary time and place, especially since he would keep Alfred waiting longer, but this time, he wanted to know something instead of having her brush him off like she typically did. He also knew that tomorrow every second of the day would be spent trying to locate Jason. There wouldn't be any time for such explanations, and honestly, it wouldn't be relevant at that time. He looked to her expectantly as she met his eyes.

"When I was younger, Risuka started my training not with how to handle whips, but experiencing them myself. I needed to understand the devastation and pain they can cause to another to fully understand the weapon itself, and this was vital to know before learning how to use them. So, with different intensities that she put on a scale of one to three, she whipped me approximately fifteen times five days a week. This part of the training would only come to an end once I did not cry out for a single lash. It took a few months, but eventually I learned to harness the pain and contain it inside rather than expressing it outwardly. I became accustomed to pain, and even now, that training still sticks with me," She explained evenly, not breaking eye contact with him the entire time, though she began to undo her suit.

Dick stared at Jasmine for a moment before letting out a small breath. Fifteen whip lashes for five days a week until she didn't cry out? *How young was she when this happened?* He thought to himself, since she hadn't given an exact age. The way this woman had trained Jasmine had been tough and strict. There were plenty of people who would hate the woman who put them through such intense training, and yet it was evident that Jasmine admired her rather than think of her sourly.

Then, Dick noticed that she finishing in undoing the suit and began to pull the top part of it off. Quickly, he averted his eyes, "Um…Jasmine why are you-" He began, only to feel one of her fingers press against his lips lightly to silence him. Shifting his gaze, he looked down to Jasmine who was simply wearing her bra at this time.

"To show you. It's not like you haven't seen this before anyways," She commented with a small smile before pulling her finger away from his lips. He couldn't help but give a smile in return, since he had first met her by accidently walking in on her as she was changing.

Dick watched as Jasmine took a small step back. This gave him the opportunity to study her. Her skin was toned, and it was evident that she was in shape just by looking at her upper body. There was a light bruising on her stomach, telling Dick that his prediction of Jasmine having landed on it from the explosion had been correct. Her skin was a fair color and her light brown hair fell just past her breasts in waves. Then, she turned her back to him. At first, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Her shoulder blades were prominent, reminding him of a bird for a quick moment. Her back seemed to have a natural arch to it as well. A slight silver line on her skin caught his attention and he peered closer before stepping until he was directly behind her. Now that he looked closely, he saw dozens of long silvery scars that were almost completely invisible. They were everywhere on her back. It went from over her lower back, to shoulder blades and shoulders. There didn't seem to be an inch of her skin that wasn't scarred.

"My God, Jasmine. How many do you have?" He breathed, raising his hand. He pressed it against her back lightly and trailed his thumb over a scar, though her skin was smooth to touch which made it feel like she didn't even have any. He felt her shiver lightly beneath his fingertips from his gentle touch.

"I lost count after 250." She answered in an almost faint voice.

"250." He repeated in a murmur and a small shake of his head. He gazed over her back and trailed his hand over to her right shoulder, only to see a few more on her forearms, "What about those?" He asked and noticed her turn her head before looking forwards once again.

"Self-inflicted. Whips are pretty hard to use at first, and it isn't uncommon to lash yourself a few times by accident when starting out." She explained before turning back around and pulling the top part of the suit back on.

"Well, there you go. That's the primary reason for my high pain tolerance." She said, clearing her throat then looked to him expectantly.

Dick looked at her quietly for a minute and studied her, trying to figure out her emotions, though the only thing she expressed was the expectant look in her eyes as she gazed at him, "Oh…yes. What about the nightmare then?" He asked, though he was still interested in her back.

She paused for a moment before averting her eyes in an almost embarrassed way and rested one of her hands on her forearm, "W-Well…I have that phobia of fire. So, when we were faced with the bomb situation today, I ran to get the man after you shouted. When the van exploded, the heat of it sparked that phobia up. My dream was centered on fire mostly but…I'd rather not give the details, if you don't mind." She spoke.

Dick felt a little bad that he had her tell him about the dream, since she seemed so embarrassed about it. Now that he thought about it, when she had ducked her head after the explosion, he had thought it was because she had been in some kind of pain. Her breathing had been heavy as well. Now, he couldn't help but wonder if it had been her phobia acting up in that moment. Back when he heard that she had a phobia of fire, he hadn't imagined that it was really that bad. However, now that he was truly considering it, it made him think of small instances where it had been obvious. One, for example, was when a fire had been in the fireplace, and he and Jason had to talk her into sitting by them. Each time the wood had popped from the fire, she had jumped and seemed to be on edge for the duration of the time she had spent with them.

"I don't mind," He said to her gently then walked over to her, "I'm sorry I was so forceful, Jasmine." She looked over at him and gave a light shrug. He noticed that her cheeks were a light pink color, though it was fading slowly.

"It's alright. I need to start telling you my past when you ask questions about it. I trust you, Dick. It's time I was more open with you." She said to him genuinely and he couldn't help but smile at what she said. He was extremely happy to hear her say that she trusted him and would be more open with him.

"I'm glad to hear that, Jazz. Well, I'm going to go back to Alfred. You should get some rest." He said to her and she nodded in response and gave a light smile.

"I will. See you tomorrow, Dick." She said, giving a light yawn.

Dick paused for a moment before wrapping his arms around Jasmine and pulled her to his chest in a gentle hug. He felt her rest her forehead on his chest and wrap her arms around his neck. He set his hands on her lower back lightly as he held her to him. This time, he ducked his head and rested it on her shoulder as well, letting his worry for Jason fill him once more.

"I'll find him, Dick. I won't stop until I do." He heard Jasmine say and he tightened his arms around her slightly. He was silent for a moment before slowly pulling away.

"You won't be alone. Good night, Jasmine," Dick said to her and she smiled to him.

Dick gave a small smile back before turning around and walked out of her room, closing her door behind him lightly. He went to his room and pulled his suit off, only to pull on a pair of sweatpants, leaving his chest bare. Stopping before a mirror, he inspected the deep cut. Already, blood was welling up once again. Before, his suit had been soaking up the blood, but now it was already starting to drip down his arm. Letting out a low groan, he quickly jogged back to the kitchen where Alfred was.

"You took quite a while, Master Dick." The butler spoke, grapping a towel and wet it down before walking over.

"Yeah, sorry about that Alfred."

"Not a problem, sir." He answered, wiping away the blood before taking out a needle and thread. He then began to sew up the cut. Dick was quiet as he did, thinking back to how Jasmine had taken Alfred's shifting and pressing on her ankle. If she could contain her pain like that, then he could take a few stitches without expressing any outward pain. It really didn't take too long for him to finish sewing up the cut, since the butler had sewn so many injuries at this point that it probably came as second nature. Once he was done, Alfred wrapped his newly stitched cut with bandages then leaned back.

"It is finished, Master Dick."

"Thanks Alfred. Tell the Old Man to get some rest, would ya?" He asked as he stood with a light yawn.

"You know I always do, sir." Alfred sighed and he gave a small smile.

"Yeah, I know. Night Alfred."

"Good night, Master Dick."

With a small nod of farewell, Dick walked back up to his room. He really did hope that Bruce got some rest, though knowing him, he wouldn't be sleeping any time soon. He wouldn't stop until he found Jason. Dick had no doubt that Bruce would have plenty of places that needed to be searched by tomorrow. As he got to his room, Dick started up the shower then undressed once more. He stepped into the shower and sighed out in appreciation as the warm water soothed his sore muscles. Any lingering blood washed off his body and he rolled his shoulders, feeling them crack lightly. He lathered shampoo into his hair and washed it out before turning the water off.

Stepping out, Dick dried off then pulled the sweatpants back on. He brushed his teeth quickly then walked to his bed and practically collapsed onto it. He really didn't realize how exhausted he was until now. His eyes drooped in exhaustion and he gave another yawn before letting them close. Sleep quickly overtook him, not letting his thoughts even begin to linger on the situation with Jason or evaluate things with Jasmine like they usually did.