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Jason sped through Gotham's downtown.

He was leaving. Heading towards Bludhaven to continue following a new string of drugs popping up in the area. Compared to all of the shit being dealt his way, this seemed like a case he would've done when he was first let out on solo patrol when he was fifteen.

It was a slightly long drive, but he enjoyed it.

He knew Dick wasn't going to get detailed with that story, he knew that he'd only gotten a chance to hear it because his brother wanted people off his back.

The stuff he'd been told hadn't exactly been shocking. The court was brutal, they wanted something in particular. Dick hadn't been cooperative and they reacted naturally.

He gripped the handle bars.

Don't think about it, he told himself don't do anything stupid, stay out of it. Worry about the drugs on the street, keep them away from children. You promised Tim you'd stay out of it.

A promise to Tim, or any of his brothers, was one he was going to keep. He wasn't one to break promises. He was a man of his word, always had been, always would be.

He was more willing to locate loop holes depending on who and what had been promised. But this was Tim. The kid had been trying his best to trust that Jason wasn't going to shoot anyone and kill him. The kid had plenty of reasons to attack Jason every chance he got. The least he could do is meet him halfway, and not go digging around in something he wasn't supposed to.

He rushed past the the city limit along the interstate, it went across open land. It was a strange thought, that such an open area existed so close to such an industrialized city. A city full of corruption and pollution.

Bludhaven wasn't much better. And while both cities were incredibly similar in almost every aspect. Jason could come up with the argument that Bludhaven was just a tad bit… worse.

If there was a poor version of Gotham, it was Bludhaven. The crime in both cities was fairly similar. But most of Bludhaven's was petty or gang related, so it felt more prominent. Gotham just had a lot of super psycho villains that wanted to destroy the city for varying reasons. All of which were petty in of themselves if Jason was being honest.

Joker never even seemed to have a reason. Everyone else just seemed to exist simply to challenge the big bad bat.

Yep, that was the perfect reason to injure hundreds of innocent people. Because some unstable rich guy puts on a Bat suit and beats up thugs. That's why Jason became a crime lord. To join in on that fun.

He thought back to what he told Tim, that he was just going to blow up a few buildings and make a few other people regret recent decisions. Something he did all the time. That was what he was going to do tonight.

No detective work. He'd promised Tim.

As he approached Bludhaven, he went along the city as opposed to through it, going towards the docks. Looking for the new gang.

He noticed that the criminals had noticed their vigilante had vanished.

While, no, they didn't react the way Gotham did when Batman had vanished. The criminals and other scum bags were taking advantage.

Jason probably would've too, had he been in their position. But he wasn't. No, he was the vigilante who was making sure that the crime life activity levels stayed low.

No signs to suggest that they were moving any sort of shipment to or from the city. There were plenty of ways to move drugs from one location to the next. The docks were, by far, the most convenient way to do it. Sometimes you had to risk the possibility of being caught in order to stay on schedule.

He dismounted and began to investigate.

He walked past the warehouses he'd recently seen them in.

They'd been in there. It was obvious they hadn't left to long ago. Their shipment pilled in the middle of the room.

That's suspicious.

Cautiously he stepped inside.

Jason scanned the room. He was alone. Why would someone leave their entire cargo out it the open like this. This was a trap, it had to be.

He stayed against the wall, inching his way along it to reach the other side of the building, all while making sure the shadows still encased him.

Ducking under the windows as he went by, the room seemed to remain silent and empty. It gave Jason an uneasy feeling. Something had to be going on here.

When he approached the door, he pried it open as quietly as humanly possible. He didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. If hadn't already.

Stepping out of the warehouse, he began to hear people. He followed the sound.

It was some of the gang members. Unconscious and tied up. Well not all of them were unconscious, he could hear their grunts as they strained against their bindings.

What the hell?

Who'd done this. It certainly wasn't him. The way they were bound wasn't Nightwing's style either (Not that he should've been here if it had been).

"You're not the kid." A voice called from behind him.

Jason whipped around, his gun drawn.

That voice was familiar. And if it was who he thought it was. This was not going to end well.

"I will admit I'm a little surprised," The voice continued, he was circling Jason. Like a predator closing in on its prey. "This type of drug doesn't seem like your style Hood. But neither does Bludhaven so, maybe you're just looking for a little variety."

Jason heard the man continue his track around. His boots crunching the gravel underneath. All of his senses screaming 'Danger', but Jason couldn't move, he couldn't give himself away like that.

It appeared like this guy didn't know that Hood and Nightwing were on the same team. Or that the golden boy was incapacitated for the moment. Jason was afraid it might've been a façade, but at the same time, it could've been an opportunity he could use to his advantage.

"You don't sound so sure." Jason shot back.

The man stopped. "Maybe I'm just trying to figure out your angle."

They were playing the same game. Neither one of them knew the other's true intentions. This was a dangerous game, one Jason did not want to play.

He stepped out of the shadows. If this is how it's gonna be, Jason was deciding how thing were progressing. First way to do that. Get this guy to face him to confirm is identity.

"We could approach this like adults." He tried. "Was this a trap?"

"Not for you. But I don't want you thinking I'm not pleased with what this has brought me."

"You think I'm that easy?"

"Nightwing's not easy. There are few people I actually consider 'challenging'. So perhaps I do."

Jason internally groaned. Yeah, he knew exactly who this guy was.

"C'mon Slade, we both know you don't think that guy is any sort of challenge."

"Aren't you a smart one." Slade stepped into view, causing Jason to take an instinctive step back. "So why are you here as opposed to him?"

Jason shrugged. "Noticed he's been MIA recently. Wondering if I could figure out why, or even better where he ended up."

Slade seemed to believe him. Jason maintained their current distance, kept his gun in hand and his finger on the trigger. This was freaking Deathstroke, gotta keep this on his terms. He did mentally note that Slade Wilson, a extremely dangerous mercenary who wouldn't hesitate to fill Hood up (and, Jason will admit, without to much trouble) with led, thought Nightwing was dangerous.

He was sure there was a story there, one he might be able to pry out of Dick later. Maybe. That is if Dick even knew the reason.

"Is that why you're here?" Jason asked him.

"Why would I tell you that?"

"I was thinking we might be able to exchange notes. Two minds are better than one."

Slade raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like you've got nothin' kid."

"You don't know that. For all you know, I know exactly what happened."

"That contradicts what you told me five seconds ago."

"It was hypothetical. But I'm fairly certain that you don't even know what happened. So… you're right. Why bother, I'm just offering some rather valuable information. Information you want, that I might just have."

Jason was trying really hard here. Slade didn't know who he was, or what game he was playing. He needs to get out of this alive, best way to do that. A stupid taunt that sounds fake and should get him shot, but won't, because of the slim chance it might be true.

Slade huffed. "You're gonna make me beg for it? That ain't happening. I can get creative, that is if you're telling the truth."

"No, as fun as it would be to see you beg me for anything, I'm not that stupid. I know you won't. But I'm not just gonna give you what you want. It's gotta go both directions here. You give me some equally valuable information, and I'll tell you what I know."

"Sounds like a bluff."

Jason shrugged. "I got nothing to lose here. Only you do."

"You lose any chance of me helping you."

Jason snorted. "Caused lord knows you're gonna actually help me. Ha! I'm close enough. I really don't need your help. If this guy's in any sort of trouble, it's not like I'm going to be saving his ass. Just closing some doors. Maybe dangle the information in front of batsy. Whatever floats my boat."

Slade growled, but Jason held his ground. There was some pleasure in frustrating Slade.

Jason refused to make this easy.

"I gotta have some reassurance that you actually have something." Slade told him

"I know who took him."

"Really? Who."

"No, no, no, no. I need something in equal or greater value. If you cooperate, I might even tell you my theory as to why these particular people wanted the former boy wonder."

"That's not how this is played Hood."

"My game, my rules. Pay up, and I'll be less tight lipped."

"What do you want then?"

Finally. What does he want? Maybe the identity of whoever was asking Slade to look into this, maybe some more ground. Slade doesn't know that a. Jason is the second Robin come to life again, and b. That Jason is working (sort of) alongside Batman. Well he's not really fighting Bruce anymore. They both had the same ultimate goals.

Some more ground for Red Hood would mean; more ports at his disposal, more gangs under his thumb, and more pay out from the drugs that made it past all of the Leaguers. Good stuff to have when you're a Crime Lord, and secretly kind of a double agent.

But knowing who's paying Slade to figure this out would also be good. Slade wouldn't be looking into this on his own. He doesn't care who he runs into during his missions, he presses on and takes care of them by any means necessary. Nightwing being taken off the map should be applauded by a lot of people, not just him.

It would mean, knowing whoever was feeling threatened at the idea that someone could take down Nightwing, equally just as valuable.

"I want to know who hired you to look into it. And the why's if you have 'em. Anyone calling you in to figure this out, must be feeling threatened at the idea the Nightwing's been wiped off the board."

"You don't want to know identities of Leaguers? Or more ground for your own drug operations. I know that wasn't you." Slade gestured to the thugs still tied up behind him. "I know your rules and your style. Both of which didn't follow you."

"I don't need to know who Superman is, I don't care. He has never been an issue. I already know who Batman is. As for the ground, I can get that myself. Your employers would be helpful, that way I know who I need to look out for in the future."

"Who took him."

"You first."

"Just who. Then I'll tell you who hired me and why, then you tell me why they took him."

Jason considered it. Just telling him that it was the Court still wasn't enough to go by as a means of finding Nightwing, of course neither was knowing why.

"It was the Court of Owls." Jason told him.

"Hilarious, now give me a serious answer, my patience with you is wearing very thin."

"I'm being serious, the Court kidnapped him. Now, who hired you."

"The Light, we've worked closely for a long time."

"Vandal Savage is bothered at the idea that Nightwing was taken. Fat chance."

"I don't know if that's the case kid, maybe he's looking for more allies. Someone who takes out someone with a profile like his, is definitely worth considering."

"The Court plays dirty. Ra's al Ghul, knows that, I'm positive so does Savage. He won't work with them."

"Maybe he'll treat them like the Reach."

"The Court doesn't work like that. They won't gain anything by working alongside the Light."

Slade shrugged. "I don't know that the end game could be with that one kid. Now, what's your theory as to why?"

"That they're turning him into a soldier of some sort."

"I've tried that, it didn't go well."

"You don't have the resources that the Court has. They could be successful."

Slade believed him. That's all Jason needed.

"Now," Jason began. "I'm gonna walk out of here and you are gonna let me."

"Nothing to gain from killing you. Yet." Slade told him as he began to turn around. "Maybe some other time perhaps."

And with that Slade stepped back into the shadows and vanished.

Jason glanced back at the thugs tied up on the ground.

"Well, since you're all tied up, there's nobody to stop me from doing this."

Jason walked back into the warehouse and over to the shipment of drugs.

"Time to blow some shit up, just like I promised."

He pulled out some small bombs and placed them all over the mound. He then found a can full of lighter fluid and drenched the ground around it. He pulled out a lighter and sent the place up in flames.

He walked back towards his bike as the place blew up.

Theoretically it should attract the attention of the authorities. Good enough for one night. These guys would have to scramble to get things back in order, more than enough time to snuff them out again.

He mounted the bike and went to his safe house in Bludhaven.

His conversation with Slade gave him a lot to think about.


I know, after a pretty heavy chapter this is a little disappointing in comparison. It's just some filler. There are a few important things about this chapter that will come up just later. This conversation does hold weight, I didn't write it just to up my word count, don't worry.

Until next time... :D