I flipped forwards just as a huge fist came flying down onto the pavement. I found myself facing none other than Blockbuster himself. And I had wanted to punch something. Jinxed it.

I readied my escrima sticks, "Blockbuster. Hey buddy, how's it been?" He sent a piece of metal flying at me, I ducked and rolled, bounding onto my feet to hit him with my sticks. He must've known I was doing that because instead of hearing the sweet, sweet sound of my sticks making contact with his thick skull, I heard the deep thump of my ribs hitting the side of a carrier. A groan escaped my mouth, but I rolled again before I could think too much about how much that hurt.

"So not one for talking tonight, huh?" I managed to land a few hits with my sticks and flipped myself to face him again. Where the hell is Nightwing? "Ya know, that's pretty rude considering you started the conversation," I huffed out, dodging his full-frontal attacks. I landed a few more hits before I started getting worried. I couldn't hear anything from where Nightwing was supposed to be, and Blockbuster usually tried to keep attention on him by talking. It was one of his weaknesses. So, either he discovered that or he's trying to mess with me, and I seriously doubt it could be the former.

I opened my comms while hopping around on storage crates, trying to throw Blockbuster's focus, "Nightwing? What's going on over there?" Silence. Shit. I tried again, "Nightwing! Blockbuster isn't my favorite play date, so get your ass over here!"

More silence. Shit. Shit. Shit. My focus slipped into worry for a second and the all too familiar sound of my body hitting concrete reached my ears. My whole body ached, and my back, which had taken the brunt of the impact, roared with distaste when I stood up again. I made my way back to my feet, staring down Blockbuster who was struck with a lovely smile as my body dented the pavement.

I was about to reach for my back-up alert button when Nightwing's comms opened, "Luna! I'm good, I'm good. Just finished up with the gunmen, I'm on my way to-,"

His voice distracted me from seeing Blockbuster had moved closer again, "Now that." He flung his arm into me, flinging me into the nearest storage container yet again. The impact pushed stars into my vision and my body cried in pain. "Just won't fly. I'm supposed to be distracting you, princess."

I shook my head, trying to force the stars to quit dancing in my line of vision. I tried to put my feet under me but failed the first time. I grabbed smoke bombs from my utility belt and flung them at Blockbuster, hoping they could give me an extra second. He growled and I once again reached for my belt, finding my batarangs. I had managed to get myself on my feet and the stars were gone, the ache was not.

"You really think those are gonna stop me?" He laughed at the weapons in my hand. "You do know me, don't you?" I rolled my eyes and flung them anyways. They landed in his arm and before he could flick them away, they exploded coating his arm and part of his chest in a solid clay/concrete mixture. It would immobilize him briefly, while inciting him beyond repair, but it would give me time to get to high ground and for Nightwing to get his sorry butt over here.

Blockbuster broke through the substance in a minute, but Nightwing had appeared next to me in the shadows, while Blockbuster roared angrily looking for us.

He attempted a smile, "Miss me?"

I growled back, "Can we just finish this already?"

"Boo, you're no fun sometimes," He laughed, propelling himself down onto Blockbuster. He landed a swift kick to his back, sending the giant man forward, where I had planted myself, waiting patiently. I sent two punches to his face, then moving backwards and avoiding his attempt to catch me.

Blockbuster tried to shake off the attack, but he was starting to slow down. Nightwing added a few more assaults, but slowly big guy made his way back to his feet, unsteady but looking pissed as always. He stared me down, taking big steps forwards, quickly closing the gap between us. Before he could get any closer, Nightwing shoved his escrima sticks up to his neck from behind and shot him full of electricity. He roared as the shock moved through him, then fell face forward in haze of smoke and the stench of burnt skin.

Police sirens wailed in the distance. I put my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath. Nightwing stretched but was panting heavily.

"So, any idea what that was about?" He huffed. He rubbed his left arm with his hand, but looked unscathed.

I stood up straight, my breath now making my chest ache with each inhalation, "I have no clue. You better hope the Bats does cause that was not fun." I smiled back at him.

"You guys all good?" Drake's voice sounded through the comms.

Nightwing responded, "Yep, cops are on their way. Heading back." We walked over to our bikes and moved back through the city, soundlessly but with weight on our backs.

Where the hell did Blockbuster come from? And why was he so intent on distracting me? Who were the ominous stereotypes and what were they up to at the pier? Even more, how did they know we were there?

My bike moved effortlessly. It graced the concrete with its hum and the lights blended into long streaks whipping through the world around me. I need some answers.

Bruce had just returned from patrol with Damian, sitting stoic at his computer scrolling through files. Damian had returned from the showers and stood behind him, arms crossed. Bruce didn't turn to face us as our bikes pulled into the cave.

He merely continued to stare at the huge screen before him, "status report." Oh, come on.

"I would think you would be the one owing us that information," my voice came out sharper than I intended but after brawling Blockbuster I wasn't exactly cheery.

Nightwing shot me a look and spoke up, "The two men arrived in the same fashion. Same clothes, same briefcase, same demeanor. They both shot their respective drivers and then began shooting at us. I, uh," he stumbled for words, "was able to detain both men and tied them together, then I found Faith facing off Blockbuster."

Bruce merely huffed in response, an acknowledgement. Typical. I felt my eyes roll but I kept my mouth shut. My chest hurt too much to be arguing now anyways.

Damian spoke next, "Any injuries?" His gaze swept over Grayson who looked normal and then scanned me once over. He squinted at me, as if the twerp had X-ray vision.

"Nope, all good. Nothing but the usual bruises." Dick replied easily, slapping my back, causing the dull pain to start throbbing again. I winced and turned to glare at him. He merely sent me a smile and a wink. Whatever.

I threw his hand off my shoulder, "I'm hitting the showers. You should too, Boy Wonder. You reek." I turned and walked towards the showers, hearing Dick gasp behind me.

The hot water did wonders for the thorough ache in my chest and back. My chest was tight but as was to be expected after getting thrown into concrete and steel carriers at least 3 times in one night. I pushed the strands of hair away from my face and found myself spacing out.

What was Blockbuster doing there? Where did he come from and still, how did he find us? How did the two men know our exact spot and start firing at us?

The questions bounced painfully around in my head, building up to a headache that would take more than pain killers to fix. The water ran down my face and body. I watched as I flexed each of my muscles, making sure they all worked and felt decent enough. No severe damage had come to any of them really, but I had been doing this routine since I was a kid. I looked out for myself no matter what, and now, it brought me a sense of peace and comfort to still see my body functioning after a rough night.

I figured my skin had had enough once the hot water had started to turn it to a pinky red hue. A cropped hoodie and gray sweats awaited my presence, and I walked back into the cave, drying my hair with a towel. Dick was back from his much-needed shower, sitting in a t-shirt and gray sweats as well.

Dick's face was lit up in a huge grin, eyes twinkling with laughter, and I looked to see just what had caught his attention.

Tim and Jason stood in the middle of the cave covered in what could only be Clayface. Their hair was matted with mud, and it coated their uniforms unevenly. Jason looked peeved and Tim was trying to shake the mud off his cape while detailing their evening to Bruce. Guess we missed that part while dealing with Blockbuster.

I choked on my laughter as I sat next to Dick, "-and then he came out of nowhere. Seriously, the last thing we expected was for one of the dealers to be Clayface in disguise," Tim spoke, sounding tired but more disgusted than anything.

Bruce nodded, "Did either of you figure out why he was there?"

Jason stepped forward, "Uh, not exactly, Bruce! We were kind of busy dealing with him trying to suffocate us," he gestured to his uniform, "in case you hadn't noticed."

Damian smirked from his perch behind Bruce, "Well, it looks like that didn't go very well, did it?"

I wouldn't have been surprised if steam started rolling out of Jason's ears. "Oh, that does it, Bat Brat, I'm gonna kill you."

Jason chased Damian in a circle around Tim, who looked rather displeased with the whole thing, and finally caught him, holding him off the ground by his hood. He raised a hand to his chest, wiped a clump of mud off of his uniform, and smeared it down Damian's face, a big grin glued to his face the entire time. Damian stopped struggling for a moment and then proceeded to go feral on Jason's arm, yelling all the while about his legacy and the mantle of Bat.

At this point, Dick and I were wheezing with laughter and just about out of breath. Tim only sighed, until Damian resigned to sending a hard slap to Jason's face. He grumbled his way back to the showers, sending Jason the occasional few daggers.

Bruce looked tired, "So, you didn't figure out why he was there?"

Tim responded this time before Jason could drag it out again, "Best guess is that he was covering for someone who is still locked up, someone who needed to the deal to go through."

"So that makes three big guys out on the town, the night we're all released from captivity," Dick added, tone careful.

I leaned back in my chair, "Why are we surprised? These guys show up, get locked up, and then come back out. It's the way it's always been."

Tim continued, "It is a bit curious that all three converged on one night. Right, Bruce?"

The man stared at the computer for a while longer before replying, "Maybe. We won't find any answers tonight, though. Hit the showers and head upstairs."

Jason and Tim made their way sullenly to the showers while Dick and I composed ourselves before heading upstairs. He offered me a hand up and then pulled me towards the stairs. I started the trek first, Dick following close behind.

"Yeesh. Those look like they hurt," he poked what I'm sure was a large amount of blooming purple bruises across my back.

I swiftly turned and slapped his hand away, "Well, duh. They'd hurt a lot less without you poking at them," I smirked.

He chuckled, "Right, right, sorry." I shook my head and began the climb up the stairs again. Only to find Dick poking his finger into my spine again.

I smacked his hand away without turning around, "You never listen, do you?"

"Nope, but that's why you love me," He laughed again.

"Yeah right, whatever you say," I replied with a roll of my eyes.

I had to continue to swat away his hand for the rest of the evening and all throughout dinner. Though, he did finally convince me to put some salve on that Alfred had that helped with healing.

Dick was quiet as he helped spread the salve across my back, "Hey, want to share what's going on up there?" My voice broke the silence we had been sitting in.

He was sitting behind me on my bed, as my legs were over the side of the bed, feet on the floor. I turned to face him, he was staring mindlessly at the wall, hand still on my back.

"Ay, Dickie!" His attention snapped to, and he looked at me with wide, blue eyes.

"What?" He questioned, having obviously not heard me trying to talk to him.

I chuckled, "I asked you what was going on in your head? You've been quiet for like 5 minutes now, which is very uncharacteristic for you."

He managed a small smile, "Oh, uh, I was just thinking."

That made me laugh, "Well I figured that much out. What about?" I was still facing him, his hand resting on his leg.

"Oh, um," for the second time today, Dick seemed to stumble for the right words, "I, uh, was just thinking about how much these must hurt." There it is again. Dick sounding very concerned about injuries.

I quirked a brow, "Dick? I promise I'm okay. You have the same bruises on your arm. This isn't serious stuff." I reached out again to grab his other hand, I hesitated for a moment, but interlaced my fingers with his. This was just to comfort him.

It took him a second before he responded to the touch. The split second of hesitation made me want to pull back and throw myself out the window. My bike was waiting downstairs, I could zoom away and never return. I could—he squeezed back.

I looked up to meet his gaze and gave him a small smile. "Just like last time," I started, "You have to trust me. I'm okay, Dick. Just a few bruises, okay?"

He nodded, looking at me, eyes not leaving mine. His faced was close to mine. Just staring into my eyes. I stared again back into his deep blue eyes, watching the waves of concern crash against each other. Our faces were only a few inches apart and I found myself not wanting to move. What? What was that? Now that's gonna be an issue, what the actual- Dick was still staring at me and then suddenly pulled away. He broke our gaze and removed his hand from my hold. I cleared my throat and finding my own fingers very interesting.

He scratched the back of his head and just shifted uncomfortably. I needed to break the silence.

"Alright, well thanks for the help with my back. I, uh, should probably put some on my chest, but you're gonna have to leave for that." My eyes widened. No way. No way was that something I just said out loud. I'm a moron. Of all the things to say, that was what you went with? Really?

"Oh, uh, right," he said suddenly, rising to his feet, a heavy blush falling onto his cheeks. He handed the jar to me, "I, uh, guess I'll see you around?"

"Yep, yep, I live here too, for now. See ya." I ushered him quickly out the door and shut it behind him. I groaned against the frame. What was that? Why did that make me so immensely nervous? Why was he so close to my face?

I moved into the bathroom, trying to shake the nerves from my stomach. I looked into the mirror and found red dancing across my faces. I groaned again and moved to rub the salve across the bruises on my chest. What the hell is going on around here?