Author's Note:
Menamebephil has written an absolutely marvellous offshoot story entitled Workin' for a Living. I command that you all go and read it, right now and leave him wonderful praise for reviews. Link is in my fave's. If you don't, I won't post the final chapters. So there. MNBP, you're incredible. Just sayin'.
This chapter is totally dedicated to Menamebephil.
I really should name this series… Henceforth, it shall be called "the series without all the pie"… otherwise known as "Silkie saves the day."
Chapter 54.
Returning to work was… interesting.
Starfire was cleared by Raven to return to work immediately, although she still had to wear the cast. Since it was a Saturday, Starfire had the weekend off first, and I had an extra couple of days with her. Downtime, a chance to talk about things, talk through everything and just spend some time together. Psions. Jason. Blockbuster. Rogers. Talking and dealing and putting them behind us.
It was a rough time for both of us, but we needed to do it.
Our future was sort of up in the air, to say the least. We were welcome in the Manor, of course, for as long as we needed. I got the insurance paperwork done my apartment while Starfire had been asleep but neither of us could still really make any decisions on what we wanted to do.
Get another apartment? Pick another city? Neither of us could really talk about that, although Starfire didn't really understand why I'd want to stop helping Bludhaven. Not sure I understood it myself. Disgruntled, perhaps.
So, we just sort of agreed we'd take each day as it came. Go back to work. Concentrate on healing and getting fit again. Return to the skies.
When Starfire returned to work, she said she got a few questions, but she seemed to get more questions about her massive 'father' who pretty much scared the shit out of everyone.
Raven made me take two more days off before I was allowed to return to work. By then, most of my injuries had healed to the point where I didn't look grotesque, but I still looked like I'd been hurt. I wasn't really fit for active duty, but I could still do grunt work.
Of course, I hadn't seen Can or Hackle, beyond talking to them on the phone, since that night and I was a little bit concerned.
Can stood from her desk the moment the elevator doors opened and I walked through. She practically threw herself at me, squeezing me tightly, before I got the Can inspection.
"You were quite lucky," she said, lifting my wrist.
"You're telling me," I replied, pointing to a couple of bruises on her face. "What about you? How are you doing?"
She shrugged. "Aches and pains and nightmares," she said dismissively, even though I could see she was rather upset, she would never tell me. "Captain's got Hackle and I in therapy."
"And… how's Melanie doing?"
Can sighed. "Not so good. As well as can be expected, I suppose. She's got a lot of family around her." She sighed again. "Damn, Nightwing's good. I never really thought about what he goes up against before. That Blockbuster guy… and Nightwing just kept on going."
"I heard," I said. Really, I was a little disappointed at J'onn's mental block, I would have liked Can in my corner.
"He took a beating too. Starfire said he's okay, but geez. He's only human."
"He's not the sort of person to let a beating get in his way."
"I guess." Can had that look in her eye though.
"What?" I asked.
"There was something…" Can scratched her temple. "I can't explain it. We weren't supposed to be there. There was shock in his face when he saw us. He was coming after Blockbuster for a different reason, and us being there, changed things for him. I think… as apologetic as Starfire was for not being there to help, the story about a diplomatic emergency is bogus. I think Blockbuster hurt her and Nightwing was gunning for him."
"I'm sure that's not the case."
"Some things don't add up," Can said. "They're fuzzy."
"You were caught in the middle," I said. "Things are bound to be fuzzy."
"I just wish he could've saved Dean," Can said.
"I do too."
She huffed, shook her head to rid herself of the sombre mood, then gestured my wrist. "So, what happened?"
"Got clipped by a truck doing the wrong thing, went down an embankment and into a tree."
"Is Kory okay?"
"Airbags. She's bumped and bruised a little, but okay."
"Good," she turned back to her desk. "We've all been benched for a while, until the Captain's satisfied. Gingers gave us some of her overflow research. Mostly it's just phone calls. There's a pile on your desk."
"Gee, thanks, you're a peach."
I wandered over to my desk, kicking my backpack so it was beneath it. "Hey, Hackle, how you doing?" I asked, glancing over at him.
Hackle was staring at Rogers' desk, at the single red rose on it. Nothing else, just the rose. Nothing on his desk would be moved or touched for weeks, I knew. In honour of the fallen.
"Better than you," Hackle retorted, nodding at me.
"Yeah. I suppose. I'm sorry about Rogers."
He sighed, looking downtrodden. "Yeah. Me too. He was a good man."
"The best."
Hackle bowed his head for a moment in mourning, then looked back up at me. "That Kory of yours, she's a right looker. She have a sister?"
It was the wrong sort of tone, not teasing or intrigued. Just like he was changing the subject. I knew Hackle wasn't really interested, but he just didn't want to talk about Rogers. I didn't blame him.
"She does, older sister. Her name's Kom and she's in jail."
Hackle's face scrunched up in distaste. "Aww, well."
I'd just switched on my computer and was sorting through the pile of paperwork Can had so graciously given me when the Captain poked his head out of his office and called for me. "Grayson. In here."
Eyebrows raised, I hurried to comply. "Sir?"
He was already behind his desk again, shuffling through some papers. "Close the door." I did as he asked and he looked up at me, then down at my wrist. "How you feeling?"
I shrugged. "Fine. Seems I missed all the action though. Couldn't've happened at a worse time."
Captain Burke sighed. "Yeah. It's a shame. Dean was a fine officer and a good man, and a friend. He'll be missed. Unfortunately, his death, however tragic, leaves me a detective short on Can's team."
I blinked. "I'm sure we'll manage."
"I'm sure we will. But rather than go through the tedious process of interviewing prospective detectives for the position, or advertising for transfers, you're getting a promotion."
I rocked back in surprise. "Me, sir? But I haven't finished my training."
"You're as good as done. Can said you would've been fine from the get go, there's not been a lot she can teach you, she was the one that approached me about this. Effective immediately, or as soon as I sign the slip of paper giving you the promotion. Good work, Grayson."
"Thank you, Captain, I won't let you down."
He sighed. "You're not taking Rogers' place," he said. "His desk remains his. You're just taking his position."
"I understand. I wouldn't think of taking his place."
He chuckled and picked up his pen again, going over his work. "Good. I'm also moving Taylor to your team, replacing you as junior. You and he seem to have a good camaraderie going, don't think I haven't noticed you helping him. Keep that up, we need all the detectives we can get."
I walked out of the Captain's office a bit shell shocked. I hadn't been expecting that at all. Can grinned at me cheekily. Hackle smiled at me too.
"I got promoted," I said with a sort of silly grin.
"We know," Can said. "Congrats."
"Rogers would have wanted that," Hackle mentioned with a nod.
"Drinks at Pete's tonight to celebrate," Can announced. "Bring your Kory."
"Um… okay," I said as I walked back over to my desk. "I'll see if she's free."
I got to work then, as much as I could. It was nice to be recognised for my work and rewarded. I checked all my messages, made several phone calls as I followed up on evidence, hard to type one handed, but I made the best of it. The three of us watched in envy as Kindal and his team went out on a case.
"Hey Starfire," Can said, Starfire's name trickling into my awareness and I flicked my gaze over to see Can on the phone. "I was just curious if you'd have time to translate that tape—… uh-huh… oh, awesome… yeah, he is… okay, thanks! See you in a few."
Can hummed under her breath and continued to work. Which meant Starfire was coming up here. 'Yeah, he is', was she coming up here to see me?
Starfire came up a few minutes later, dropping a piece of paper on Hackle's desk. "Please do not ask me to do that again," she snipped. "I am not your personal match-maker."
"Aww," Hackle said as Can and I looked at him. "There's a Greek girl in my building, I just—"
Can threw one of her stress balls at him. "Asshole."
"Try talking to her," Starfire suggested, then walked to Can's desk, handing her a small tape and several printed pages. "Your translations," she said.
"Thank you," Can said eagerly, already flipping through Starfire's carefully prepared notes. "You're good," she continued. "I asked Joyce to do this weeks ago."
"Oh. Well… I am trained to be efficient. Was there anything else you had waiting for translation?"
"Not me," Can said, then looked at Hackle and myself. "You two?"
"Nope," Hackle said.
"Not me either," I added.
Starfire nodded. "Very well," she said then looked at me. "How is your brother?"
"Good," I replied. "Out of hospital and at home."
"And you?" she asked. "Your accident, you were not damaged?"
I lifted my broken wrist. "That's about the extent of it."
She smiled. "That is the good to hear."
I tapped my pencil against her wrist. "Hear you have one too, we match. Can I sign your cast?"
She blinked at me. "Sign my… oh yes. That is an Earth tradition, is it not?"
I grabbed her wrist, dragged her over to my desk and snagged a sharpie. "Lift up your sleeve."
She did so and I laughed. "You would be purple, wouldn't you?"
She shook her head at me. "Raven is the one who insisted on this colour." Starfire leant on the edge of my desk as I scrawled on her cast, 'I bet mine can heal faster than yours can. Get well soon, your friend, Dick' on it, followed by a silly picture. It took a little bit of positioning, Starfire ended up hunched over a little so I could lay her arm flat on the table.
"I was sorry to hear about your apartment," Starfire said.
"Yeah… when it rains, it pours," I mumbled. "We're just lucky there was only one death. The whole building is being rebuilt, but I'll probably have another place by then."
"Where are you staying?" Starfire asked, glancing at Can. It bites that we have to have these sorts of conversations in front of people to keep up the appearance of friendship.
"With my father, so if you have a room to spare, that'd be great."
Starfire giggled. "I doubt Nightwing would like that."
"Is someone out to get your father, Grayson?" Hackle asked. "Your place, your accident, your brother's shooting."
"Nope," I replied. "Gas leak and a spark in the basement. Tim was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I was run off the road by a truck. No conspiracies, sorry. Just bad timing."
"Darn."
"Used up my quota of bad luck for the year, I think," I said. "About time for something nice to happen."
"Speaking of something nice," Can said. "Starfire, did you know Dick got promoted to full detective?"
Starfire beamed at me. "Full detective? I offer the congratulations!"
I gave her a silly but proud grin. "Thanks."
"We're all going out to Pete's tonight to celebrate. You should come," Can continued. "Dick's bringing Kory."
I glanced up at Starfire from her arm, cringing a bit. "When I get around to asking her."
"You should do so soon," she suggested. "A girl does like to advanced notice of the going out so she can prepare."
"Truer words were never spoken," Can included.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll call her in a minute."
"So, Starfire? Will we see you there?" Can asked.
Starfire shook her head. "Unfortunately, no, I have duties to attend to. But I thank you for the invite."
"Pity," Can said, disappointed.
"What are you doing?" Starfire asked me.
"Drawing," I replied.
She leant in closer so she could look, her right hand on my shoulder as she did so. "Oh. Silkie. How cute."
I chuckled. "He'll watch over you."
"He usually does," Starfire replied.
I finished doing the last finishing touch on Starfire's cast. "There. Done." Of course, because she was hunched over, when I turned away from her cast to grin at her, we were almost nose to nose. I could almost feel the energy flowing through us at that point. Would have been a perfectly acceptable moment between a couple, but for us, pretending not to be, a red flag for anyone that saw it. Starfire froze, her breath hitched, before she jerked sharply backward.
"I had best return to work," she said.
"Yeah. Me too," I replied.
"Do not forget to ring Kory," Starfire called as she walked away, almost too quickly.
I risked a glance at Can and caught her watching me with narrow eyes before she turned back to her computer.
That night, we took one of Bruce's cars for the trip to Pete's, mainly because driving on a bike after I'd had a few would not be a good thing and it's harder to do with a broken wrist. I didn't want to stay too late, especially since we had to drive back to Gotham when we've finished.
Sucked not having a place here anymore. Made things difficult. We'd need to sort something out and quickly.
The speedsters, Superman, Superboy, the Flash family, had offered to help me re-outfit a new Nightwatch so Nightwing could be up and running faster, an offer which I gratefully accepted. I'd already found another site that would be similar to the Nightwatch I had before, only more protected, harder to get to. And I was planning on making it Fort Knox. Bruce and I were working on the plans.
Assuming we stayed here… which we still hadn't made a decision about.
"I'll have to rent us an apartment or something for a while," I mused, thinking aloud. "Just temporarily. With the speeders working on the Nightwatch, that should be up and running pretty quick once we've finished the plans. There's a few condos opening up the centre of Bludhaven that look promising. Sea view too."
Kory reminded quiet beside me, staring out the window into the night. She looked rather sexy in her low cut jeans and light blue knitted sweater that hung from one shoulder.
"Or maybe over near the East side, I've heard there's some good shopping centre's over that way."
Still no reaction.
"Or, maybe we could buy an apartment on the moon, rent it out during summer."
She turned her head and flashed me a smile.
"C'mon, Star. Input, please."
"What if we brought a house?"
I gripped the steering wheel. "A house?"
"Yes."
"As in a house house? As in, you want to suburbanise?"
She nodded. "Why not?"
"Umm…"
"Something with a large backyard. Like Beast Boy and Raven have. Places for children to play and climb. Lots of room for friends to stay. A basement full of nefarious superhero equipment."
"Peeping tom neighbours poking their noses in everywhere. You'd have to wear a ring all the time."
"Would you mind?"
"Yes. I like the orange skin. It's sexy."
"So, we modify the house. One way windows like the apartment. Or even build a house. Could we not buy a parcel of land outside Bludhaven and build? Somewhere out of the way, perhaps? There are many forests around the outskirts that would provide the cover."
"Settle down? A house? A garden? A dog? That's what you want? Something normal? It's kind of permenant…"
"You do not want that?" she questioned.
"I don't know we can afford that. Bruce's already bent out of shape with amount of money I'm budgeting on the new Nightwatch, teleporters are not cheap and I'll need two. Possibly three if we're not going to be living in Bludhaven itself… Adding a new house to that... I mean, obviously a house… we don't want some little shack somewhere, I'd do it properly. We have money from the insurance, but land costs are pretty steep. I just know he'll pull out the 'I thought you wanted to do this on your own' card. Plus, building a house… that's long term stuff. Are you certain you want to stay in Bludhaven for good?"
"Have you done all you wished to do for the city?"
I glanced at her, then checked the rear vision mirror before I made a turn. "No. Not yet."
"Then why not make it permanent? If we find a parcel of land between here and Gotham, if you wish to move back there, we can still remain in the same house."
"True. But is Bludhaven where you want to be?"
"I want to be with you." She rested her hand on her belly. "I want our baby to be able to be themselves. I want my nieces and nephew to visit without having to hide them."
"I want that too," I said, reaching over to squeeze her knee.
"Bludhaven still needs our help," she continued. "Whether you wish to admit it or not, it needs us. I want to help, Dick. You have just been promoted, you have many good friends here and I am making friends too. Also… I like it here. I can see us staying."
"Would you be happy here?"
"I would."
I smiled. "Alright. I'll have a look at our funding situation, see what we can afford. We may have to tighten our budget for a while to afford it. If we're building, we'll still need to rent somewhere in Bludhaven for the time being. Too much travel time otherwise."
"What if I said I had access to five million dollars right now? More, if you needed."
I nearly hit the brake instead of the accelerator. "What?"
Kory lifted her chain from around her neck and fiddled with the ring. "Galfore asked Bruce where he could get some Earth currency in exchange for some space credits and let slip that I had amassed wealth. Bruce… is very interested in acquiring some of it."
"Ahh… I thought you didn't want that money."
"I do not," she said. "But I also do not wish for it to go to waste. If it could benefit us… then… perhaps my father will have done something right for once."
"Oh… um…"
"Would it not be sufficient?" Kory asked. "I can speak to Bruce—"
"No, I'm pretty positive it'd be more than sufficient. I was just imagining the flat TV screen I could buy with five million."
She giggled at me.
"Alright. Well," I said as we pulled into a car park near Pete's. "Guess… I'll talk to Bruce. See if he has any suggestions."
Kory nodded.
I switched off the engine and turned to her. "C'mere."
She giggled and leant toward me, letting me steal one of her knee weakening, heart palpitating, searing kisses. I had intended for it to be just one kiss, but that's just never enough, she always invited more. And more and more, and pretty soon I found myself with one arm wrapped around her, my other hand sneaking up inside her shirt and thinking that going out tonight was a bad idea. She so damn soft, her chest is pushing against my hand and oh-oh-oh no bra… She's making all these cutesy encouraging noises and her fingers are holding my face in place and maybe we should just defile the back of Bruce's car.
That sounded pretty damn good until Can thumped on the window to make us stop.
"C'mon you two!" she called, grinning at us, while Jake a small distance away, leaning on his crutches and pretending he didn't know her. "There's drinking to be had!" She turned around and said to Jake as I opened the door to the car to get out. "Young love, isn't it cute?"
"If you say so, dear," he replied.
"Why don't you make out with me in the car?" she teased.
"Because I have a perfectly good bed I can do that in."
"Don't knock it until you've tried it," I told him and wrapped an arm across Kory's hip as she joined me. "Kory, this is Jake, Can's better half."
Can smacked me on the chest for that.
"Wow," Jake said. "You like them tall. Nice to meet you, Kory, I'd come hobble over there to shake your hand, but I don't have a licence for these yet."
"Hi," Kory replied, smiling brightly. "Nice to meet you."
"C'mon," Can said, her breath frosting against the chilly night sky. "It's cold out here and I need a drink."
Pete's wasn't terribly busy since it was a work night, which was good because we found a big booth pretty easily. I let Kory scoot into her seat before I headed over to the bar to order us all drinks. By the time I got back, Hackle, Taylor and Wally had squeezed in.
"Who told you?" I asked, placing my tray of beers on the table, passing Kory some water. He was lucky I'd noticed him coming in, or he'd have to get up and get himself a drink.
"Can called me," Wally said, grinning. "Congrats, dude."
"Thanks," I said, slipping in beside Kory and put my arm along the back of the chair behind her.
"Hey, Legs, looking mighty fine there tonight."
"Thank you," Kory beamed.
"Help me score later?"
She lifted her hologrammed eyebrow. "I shall save you a dance."
Wally agreed to that with a wink.
"Why do you have to encourage him?" I asked.
"I find him cute," Kory replied. "Besides, if I help him score, then you do not have to."
"So, where're you from, Kory?" Jake asked as he took one of the beers. "That's an interesting accent you have."
"Born in Germany," she responded. "But I have lived here since my early teens. The accent is something I cannot be rid of."
And so began what I can only describe as double teaming by Jake and Can on Kory, determined to learn everything about her. So many questions, they asked about everything. It's a good thing we had a pretty comprehensive cover story. Hackle and Wally chatted to each other about women and conquests and how they measured up. Taylor was shy, he normally is but Kory dragged him into the conversation too. Kory was happy and bubbly and enjoying being out with friends. I could tell she liked the fact that she didn't draw attention from anyone, beside a couple of guys at the bar that kept making eyes at her.
We talked and laughed, Kory's hand on my thigh drawling little circles, as we ate the massive amount of Pete's wedges that Wally always gets when we come here and a burger each.
We toasted to Rogers, held a minutes silence for him. There was a sharp pain in my chest when we did that and Kory squeezed my hand. I failed him, I still hadn't come to grips with that. Glancing across the table, I saw Can shed a tear and Hackle's face twisted.
Rogers was going to be missed.
"Legs, come dance with me!" Wally announced after he'd finished eating and snatched Kory's hand, dragging her out of the booth.
"Dude—" I protested.
"My turn. Best friend privileges."
I rolled my eyes while Kory laughed and let Wally drag her away to the jukebox to dance.
"Well, Dick," Can said "Have to hand it to you, she's adorable."
"Thanks," I said. "I like her."
"Sexy as fuck," Hackle added, although we ignored him.
Can considered. "Something about her, though. I feel like I've met her before."
I frowned. "She's never been into work before, I can't think of how you'd know her."
Can was still giving me that shrewd, calculating look. "Dick, I need to ask. You and Starfire…"
Opps. Careful. The problem with J'onn's memory wipes are the minds of those he wipes. Some people can hang onto the memory; Bruce for example continually confounds J'onn. He only forgets if he allows himself to. But some people can remember what they've forgotten if they get reminded of it.
Like Can. If she's questioning the mind wipe… she'll start seeing coincidences everywhere. Drawing conclusions and knowing they're true without understanding why. I had to be careful. "What about us?"
"You're very friendly."
"She's an affectionate person that's all."
"I'd hate for you to screw this up with Kory because of Starfire."
"Not going to happen." Considering they're the same person.
"I'm gonna call it a night," Hackle said, glancing at his watch. "My Greek chick gets home soon, I'm hoping to accidently waylay her on the stair."
I snorted. "Good luck with that."
"I'll let you know if I score."
I laughed. "Thanks. I really needed to know."
Can rolled her eyes at Hackle, then turned to Jake. "Dance with me, you big lug."
"Oh, yes," he said, shaking his head at her, then grinned at me as he inched out of the booth, being tugged on by Can. "This is going to be so sexy and suave. I'm so hot on my feet right now."
I laughed at him and his crutches as he hobbled after his wife.
"Congrats on the promotion," Taylor said. "You'll be great."
"Thanks," I said with a smile.
"Kory's cute. How'd you meet her?"
"I grew up with her," I said. "High school sweethearts."
"Why haven't we met her before?"
I lifted an eyebrow at him. "Same could be said for you and Natalie. Kory and I… had a setback a while ago. But we're on the right track again." I twisted so I could watch Wally and my girl jive, Wally wanted her to hip bump with him, laughing and being silly while Kory caught my eye and smiled.
I was just thinking I should get up and rescue Kory, when there was a high pitched shriek. "Wally West!"
I knew that shriek. I turned my head to the door, and sure enough, Jinx was striding into the bar, glaring at Wally, who'd turned white and was hiding behind Kory. Bart stood by the door, looking very sheepish and unsure. She'd probably threatened him to get him to bring her. "I knew you couldn't manage one stinking week. I knew it!"
"Ahh…" Wally said, his hands on Kory's shoulders to keep her between him and the raging pink haired beauty. "Hey, baby."
Can and Jake stopped dancing, confused but ready to intervene if necessary.
"Don't you 'hey baby' me. You asked me for another chance and you blew it already. And which tart are you hooking up with this time?" Jinx sneered.
"Tart?" Kory asked, lifting an eyebrow.
I got out of my seat. "Jinxy, long time no see—"
She scowled at me. "And you, you're just as bad, dragging him off every Wednesday for some piece of ass. I've half a mind to tell—"
I interrupted her before she could make more of a scene, there were enough people looking at her already. "Jinxy, you remember Kory, my girlfriend."
Jinx faltered and paled. "Oh… so that's… shit…"
Kory pressed her lips into a thin line. She turned pulled Wally out from behind her, shoved him at Jinx and said, "I believe you two need to do the talking."
Jinx offered her a sheepish smile. "Yeah… um… sorry about the 'tart' thing."
Kory nodded, then beamed. "Call me."
"C'mon you," Jinx snapped, dragging Wally off toward the door.
"Bye Wally," I called happily, offering him a teasing grin as he glanced behind him wildly, then stepped up to Kory. "Wanna dance?"
She smiled at me and roped her arms around my neck. "I thought you would never ask."
We didn't stay long after that, Kory and I had to drive back to Gotham and Jake had an early morning shift, so we walked together back to our cars. The night was crisp and cool, our breath frosted straight away. Kory shivered, snuggling in closer while I actually felt pleased about being a warm body for her, rather than me shivering and snuggling her.
We went slowly back to our cars, poor old hop-along Jake received a lot of teasing from Can.
I should've have expected it. It's dark. It's late. It's Bludhaven.
Six burly thuggish looking men were tailing us. Had been since we left Pete's. Without breaking my conversation with Jake, I pressed the tips of my fingers harder into Kory's hips. Three, then another three. I gave her a few moments as she pretended to flirt with me, subtly checking on the location of the thugs.
I knew why they thought we'd be easy pickings. Two pretty girls, two guys, one with a broken leg, the other with a broken wrist. Sure, they couldn't see that Kory had a broken wrist too, that was hidden beneath the hologram. Both Kory and I could take the out with one hand tied behind our backs but I really didn't want to test that theory.
Kory flicked her gaze at me, frowning slightly and I shook my head in return. Couldn't act, not just yet. Hopefully they'd remain back there until we got Can and Jake back to their car.
Not to be. As we stopped at the corner of the road to cross to the carpark, we were met with three more men waiting behind the edge of the building.
"Nice night for a walk," one of them called.
Can and Jake seemed to realise the danger we were in. "Evening," Jake said with a polite nod and shifted his grip on his crutches.
"Hand over yer cash and jewellery and well be on our way." There was a flash of light as the knife he was holding glinted in the street light.
Yeah. Jewellery. So not happening. "Frightened damsel," I whispered to Kory.
Kory gave me a dignified huff. "Why must it always be me? You do it."
"We don't want trouble," Jake said.
"Your legs are prettier," I whispered.
"Well, trouble wants you," the ringleader said. "Money. Jewellery. Now."
"It is degrading," Kory murmured.
"What would you prefer to do?"
She sighed. Then sniffled. Then began to weep. Big, wet crocodile tears, her face crumpling and she leant against me heavily, before her voice rose up in a high pitched wail. Attention immediately focused on her, like we wanted.
Can gave us a shocked look, as though she couldn't believe it. "Kory—"
"It's alright—" Jake began.
"I knew I should not have worn my mother's heirloom pearl necklace!" she wailed, breaking away from me to take several rapid steps away and stumbled onto the empty street. "And my rent money. Why did I agree to come out tonight?"
The lead thug jerked his head in Kory's direction. Several of them behind us headed for her.
I shifted closer to Jake and Can. "Stay very still."
One of them lunged for Kory's bag. She shrieked, high pitched, and swing it like a club, smacking the guy over the head with it. She danced away, swinging it around and smacking another in the face, before she kicked a third in the balls.
I twisted away from Can, straight into a roundhouse to the hand of the guy that'd had been talking, knocking the knife away. Upper cut to the jaw of the man standing on his right, drop and sweep at the man on his left, then back up into another roundhouse to kick the first guy in the head.
I flicked attention to Kory briefly, noting four down around her, she'd taken out one more while I'd had my attention diverted, one more advancing. That left one on Jake and Can, who was being threatened by one of Jake's crutches while he gallantly protected Can. Not that she needed it, she danced out from behind him and punched the man in the gut, then the face.
Kory dealt with the last one, her handbag smacking into his face to knock him down before she kicked him in the head. We watched as they broke, the thugs making a run for it. Any other day, we'd chase them down, but not today.
"Pretty legs," Kory muttered and rolled her eyes at me. "Just for once, I would prefer if you were the damsel, Dick."
"You do it so well," I said.
"Do you want to explain that to me?" Can said, tart.
"Kory's a black belt," I explained.
"More lies, bro?"
I froze. "Shit."
"Dunno why you bother. That one already knows."
Kory gasped and raised her head, staring at Red Hood as he stood on the fire escape above our heads. She shifted uneasily, twitching as she prepared herself for battle and waited for a signal from me.
Can spun around, her face going white as she gripped Jake's shoulders and dragged him back with her. "That's the guy," she said to Jake, then in a louder voice. "Dick, that's one of Blockbuster's minions. And… he knew your name… because… he… oh shit…"
I could just see Can's memories surfacing.
Red Hood didn't even look in her direction, not that I could really tell by his mask. He lent wrists crossed on the railing, a gun in each hand. "Looking good there, bro. Damn sight better than you were the last time I saw you."
I sighed. Nothing for it now. Secret's blown. "What do you want?"
"Well, I didn't come here to fight with you, if that's what you're asking. You'd have me at a disadvantage with your little Raven healer." He gestured at Kory. "That's new."
I bristled. "Leave her out of this."
"Huh. Guess it's really her under there. Nothing get's your back up like she does." He lifted the gun, pointed at Kory. "Hologram rings, right? Old buddy Cyborg's invention, if I remember correctly. Take them off."
Kory didn't move. "Are you Tar'i?"
"Um… what?"
"Tar'i."
"Warrior for God," I explained. "Sent back on a mission."
Red Hood laughed. "As if. Me? On a mission from God? Some demented god."
Kory relaxed. "Then you can go fuck yourself."
Red Hood stared at her for a long moment, then threw back his head and laughed. "Awesome. I can see why you're still together. Now, remove the rings."
"No. Permission to beat 'the crap' out of him?" she asked, looking at me.
"You still do everything he says?" Red Hood asked. "I will shoot you. Or him."
I sighed. "It's alright," I said. "Go on. Can's already broken the block."
Kory's head turned. "X'hal," she muttered and removed the rings from each of her fingers. Her form flicked and she became Starfire.
"Holy shit," Jake blurted. Can covered her mouth with her hands and looked faint.
"Damn," he said, whistling. "The leggy Amazon got even leggier. You can pick them, Dick. I see why you never did Tarantula."
I narrowed my eyes. "And why're you?"
"Dude, she's got a hard on for Nightwing. She followed me when I was defiling your suit, thinking it was you, totally seduced me in some dark alleyway. I just let her, I think she thought she was stealing you away from Starfire. She freaked when she saw me in the light though, but once she knew I was your brother… well… she's one good fuck. Really, you should've boned her."
I made a face. "Eww," Starfire mumbled from behind me.
"Plus, she's got skills. Why'd you never train her?"
"She's a loose cannon, just like you. I thought she'd kill someone. Oh. Wait. She did."
Red Hood shrugged. "She was going to do that anyway, with or without help. I just wanted to make sure she got out alive."
"And try and frame me in the meantime."
"I live to torment you."
"She needs hand herself over to police. So do you."
"Uh-huh. Like I'd let that happen. I like having her around. The company's good. And me handing myself over, completely out of the question. What do you think Dad would do with that little blemish on the family's reputation?"
"What do you want, Jason?" I asked with a sigh. "You've already made your position clear. You hate me, blame me for your death, blame me for not killing the Joker, to the point you connived with Blockbuster to bring me down and gave away all my secrets. Blockbuster went on to use what you gave him to blow up my apartment building, burn down Haley's Circus, explode Starfire, kidnap and kill my co-worker."
Red Hood sighed. "Dick, I never gave away any family secrets. He was coming after you whether I knew or not. I was there because I knew sooner or later, you'd come after him. I had no idea he'd done any of that other shit. I would've stopped him if I had."
I don't know that it should have made much of a difference, but it did make me feel better. "Why should I even care that you're here?"
"That's the real kicker, isn't it? I've killed. I broke your wrist, smacked you in the head with a crowbar. I was working with Blockbuster and yet you do still care."
I sighed. Starfire curled a hand around my arm.
"Because even after everything, I'm still your brother," Red Hood said. He lowered the guns, tucking them away in his jacket. "Just thought I'd let you know I was okay, check for myself that you survived. Me and Cat, we're going to vanish for a while, need to train her up. Seems I have some things to rethink. We'll be back to torment you, don't you worry about that."
He shot a grappling hook for the opposite building and hopped up so he was standing on the railing.
"Dick," Starfire said. "Do you want me to stop him?"
I placed my hand over hers. "No. Not this time. Next time I see him is fair game."
Red Hood gave me a two fingered salute. "Catchya 'round, bro," he said and hoisted away.
"You are not going to tell him?"
"No. I'm not sure of his intentions yet, I don't know what he'll do, and I'm not well enough to protect you. Besides, we need to… um… talk to Can I think."
Starfire slipping her rings back on in case we were seen and we turned to face Can and Jake. "Ummmm…"
"I knew it," Can said. "I knew there was something up with all this. You guys were too familiar. Why the hell do I have two memories of that night? What did you do to me?"
"Wasn't me," I said. "Protocol."
"Wow," Jake said, shell-shocked. "Nightwing and Starfire..."
"Are you going to change my memories again?" Can asked. "Did you change Hackles?"
"Hackle's has been altered yes," I said. "As for your memories…" Starfire and I shared a look. "That depends, do you think you can keep this secret?" I could already see the benefits of this, another detective on the force, a doctor that could help in emergencies. I already knew they were trustworthy.
"You're going to tell me everything," Can said with a stern finger wag.
Author's Note:
One chapter and epilogue left. Just wrapping up loose ends.
Don't forget to check out Menamebephil's fic.
