A/N

Disclaimer: I'm not a meteorologist nor a chemist so the following events may or may not be plausible in real life. Hence why the genre of the story is science fiction…that is all! :)

TtTtTtTtTt

Chapter Three: Nightwing

Gotham City in December was known to be dreadful. With the city being set so close to the harbor and all of its tall buildings acting as a wind tunnel, the temperatures often drop to the bitter teens and even below zero on certain nights. Tonight was supposed to be one of the coldest nights of the year and the citizens of Gotham were prepared to turn their thermostats on high to combat the low temperatures in their homes.

Much to the city's dismay, there was a power outrage and the entire city of Gotham was sitting in the dark. Nothing but faulty generators and anyone who knew how to build an actual fire that wasn't electric to keep themselves warm. The Riddler, fully aware of this, was sitting back contently in the director's office of the Gotham Museum watching the confusion and panic play out as things were going according to plan.

With feet propped up on the museum director's desk and twirling his question mark-shaped staff happily in his hand, he watched and listened to the citizens' cries of anguish from the street's cameras on the multiple monitors before him. It was music to his ears. The citizens of Gotham were all so privileged and took their cozy and luxurious apartments for granted. He wanted to see how advantageous they would be if their most precious resource was cut off from them. Would they be smart enough to survive the night?

Riddler clicked on his communicator so that he could speak to his partner. "Hey, Doc! Are our weather balloons in their positions?"

"Indeed they are." Dr. Karl Helfern's voice was heard from the communicator. "Just say the word and I'll begin the process."

"Just wait a few more minutes," Riddler told him. "I'm sure Bats will be here any moment and I want him to participate in our little party."

"As you wish."

Shortly after Riddler cut off Gotham's power, Dr. Helfern began releasing very large ominous-looking balloons all over the city. Inside each of those balloons was a highly pressurized environment that housed millions of microscopic particles. Once these particles leave their pressurized environment, they were designed to manipulate other particles around them to drop the atmosphere's temperature ten degrees every couple of minutes. In other words, for every balloon that detonates in different parts of the city, the more the temperature drops to dangerous levels.

Before shutting the power down, Riddler had made a public broadcast to the entire city warning them about his weather balloons and that if they don't smarten up soon they were all going to struggle to survive the coming events that were planned for them. This broadcast was done to capture the attention of Batman so that he could lure the vigilante into his schemes and he ended the broadcast with an elusive riddle which was "You are stranded in a cabin with one match. There are an oil lamp, a fireplace, and a furnace. Which do you light first?"

"Very soon the city will see how unintelligent they are once they are cut off from their precious electricity." Riddler began his cliche monologue. "How sad the human race has evolved in becoming so dependent on technology. So stupid that most of them have forgotten basic survival skills."

He paused for dramatic effect and stood up from the director's desk to stand proudly. "That's why I'm taking it upon myself to begin eradicating all the stupid people in this hopeless city…seeing who is smart enough to survive as the temperature drops to arctic levels. Survival of the fittest…my favorite way of evolution."

"A perfect and smarter society." Helfern's voice mused from the communicator.

"Indeed my good doctor," Riddler replied. "The city will finally see how intelligent and vital we truly are to the human race."

Riddler smiled madly as he turned back to the monitors watching the city. "And Batsy is going to help us with the eradication."

"The best part of the-" Helfern began to say but his sentence ended in a strangled cry. The communication line went silent after that.

"Doc?" Riddler spoke into his communicator. "Dr. Helfern?"

Realizing that his partner must have been caught, Riddler threw his communicator device at one of the marbled walls of the office. Shattering it into tiny little pieces. "Idiot!" Riddler cried angrily. "Batman must have found him!"

After a few moments of pacing back and forth in frustration at the fault in his plan, Riddler stopped and took a deep breath to compose himself. "No matter!" He said and slid to the director's desk and began furiously typing in front of the monitors. "It's a good thing I still have access to the trigger calls…I should have known the Doc would have found a way to screw this up."

With one graceful press of a button, Riddler detonated one of the balloons placed directly above the Gotham police station. "That should get the Bat's attention. He'll soon realize that he hasn't won the game yet and I'm still in the lead."

"Talking to yourself again eh Riddler?" A voice said from the darkness of the office. "Are you lonely now because you have no one to talk to?"

Riddler looked up from the monitors to see who was speaking to him. The voice certainly didn't belong to Batman and the person who appeared from the shadows most certainly wasn't the Dark Knight. This vigilante was a young man with black spiked hair and a mask only covering his eyes. He wore a black uniform similar to Batman's, only he didn't fashion a cape and the blue emblem of a bird's wingspan across his chest gave away who he was.

"Nightwing?" Riddler had forgotten about the 'other' Batman and was mentally punching himself in his own face at the moment for not expecting the partner. He should have known that Batman had a pool of sidekicks now and one of them was bound to show up, but usually, the partners were closely by Batman's side. Nightwing was alone.

"Were you expecting someone else?" The boy's lips curled into a smirk. He knew he was interfering with Riddler's strategic plan and it was agitating the villain. One of Riddler's weaknesses.

Riddler quickly changed his demeanor. "Hmm I was expecting Batman to foolishly bust through those doors, but I supposed you're the next best thing…do you wish to play a game Nightwing?"

"Yeah," Nightwing said and began to lunge forward at Riddler. "It's a game where I kick your ass!"

Young and impulsive. Riddler thought and pressed a button on the keyboard and another weather balloon was detonated. This one was close enough to the museum that the sound of the explosion echoed throughout the room.

Nightwing froze. Wrong move. He could hear Bruce's voice reprimanding him in his head.

"Ah ah ah!" Riddler tutted. "You can't start a game without first knowing what the rules are!"

"Fine," Nightwing said. His breath formed into white clouds as he spoke. The temperature was dropping fast and he wondered how Riddler was staying warm in his ridiculous bright green bodysuit. "What are the rules to your game?"

"It's simple really," Riddler said tilting his bowler hat forward in an attempt to make himself look cool. "Just answer my riddles correctly and then you won't face the punishment that comes after a wrong answer."

Of course…damn riddles. Nightwing rolled his eyes behind his mask. "I'm assuming for every wrong answer I give you, you will detonate another balloon?"

"Hmmm." Riddler rubbed his chin. Thinking about his response. "I have not decided on the outcome yet…But if you answer each riddle correctly you won't have to worry about that now would you?"

Nightwing remained silent. Accessing the situation. Riddler had appeared to be alone and he wasn't much of a fighter, therefore Nightwing knew he could take him down easily if he wanted. But Riddler had his finger very close to the trigger, and if he were to try to take him down at that moment…what would stop Riddler from detonating all the balloons at once before his attack? He needed to get Riddler away from the computer, but he wasn't sure how yet. He was now just buying time until he could come up with a plan.

"What do you say Nighty?" Riddler asked. "Are you going to play my game or are you going to be boring and force me to be entertained by watching the people of Gotham freeze to death?"

"I'll play your stupid game." Nightwing gritted his teeth. "What's the first riddle?"

Riddler giggled like a little school girl. "What can be a cap, a bed, a bank, and a bird at the same time?"

"What can a wha-" Nightwing wanted to clarify the riddle but was interrupted as Riddler slammed his staff ferociously down. The question mark on the top glowed neon green as soon as the staff made contact with the floor.

Riddler made a buzzer sound with his voice. "Wrongo!" He sang as four very large, bulky men came running out from a secret passageway that opened up in the director's office. The henchmen were dressed in the same question mark patterned bodysuit as their boss. But just because they were dressed like the Riddler, it did not make them any smarter. They were far from it. All brawn and no brains. Nightwing knew this.

"You didn't even give me a chance to answer!" Nightwing exclaimed as the first henchman lunged at him. The first attempted to punch his head, which was always a typical attack from an unsophisticated fighter. Nightwing easily blocked each attempt with his arms and managed to push a punch away to leave the opponent open for a swift chop to the neck. Nightwing hit the pressure point just right to knock the henchmen out. One down.

"You supplied the wrong string of words my boy!" Riddler smiled as he watched the show of brutality play out before him. "You need to smarten up if you wish to beat me at my own game!"

Nightwing growled as the second henchmen ran at him next. Another predictable swing to his head and Nightwing ducked to avoid the blow. The second's momentum of missing his target spun him around so that his back was facing Nightwing. Nightwing grabbed the second's shoulders and swung him around to throw him into a bookcase. Books had scattered around the room and the large mahogany structure nearly toppled over, but the force was enough to take the second out. Two down.

The third was more daring. He flipped a knife in his hand and attempted to bring it down on Nightwing's shoulder. Nightwing's quick reflexes stopped the third's hand to push it away and followed his defense with a kick to the gut. Pushing the third back as the fourth didn't want to wait to join the fight. The fourth, like the first two, swung at Nightwing's head. Nightwing was beginning to get a little annoyed with how boring and predictable Riddler's henchmen were and decided to simply punch the fourth in the face. Knocking him out instantly. Three down.

The third was still conscious but Nightwing was going to make sure he wasn't going to be for long. The third, with his knife still in hand, made another attempt to slash at Nightwing. He was a little disoriented from the previous kick and Nightwing sensed this. Therefore, Nightwing thought it would have been fun to finish him with one of his classic yet extremely powerful roundhouse kicks. Sending the third directly into the director's desk. Back hitting the edge of the desk just right to knock the wind out of him. The fourth slide down into a heap of unconsciousness. Four down.

Riddler looked mildly amused. "Well done my boy! You have survived to level two. Are you ready for the next riddle?"

"Whatever." Nightwing's impatience was growing quickly, but he knew had to continue with the game to buy some more time.

Riddler began his second riddle. "I live and thrive in the winter as I grow down and sharpen, but you'll never see me in the summer because I'll die in warmth. What am I?"

Nightwing remained silent as he replayed the riddle in his mind. He noted the winter theme of his riddle so he knew the answer had to be something related to snow or freezing. He analyzed each word of the riddle in his head to pick up any clues. The word 'sharpened' stuck out to him and quickly figured out the answer.

"An icicle," Nightwing answered.

Riddler smiled. "Very good Nightwing. It looks like there are some brains in that pretty boy's head after all." He made a hmph sound and then pressed a button on his keyboard. Another balloon detonated.

"What the hell!" Nightwing yelled. "I answered your riddle correctly!"

The strategic psychopath laughed. "Oops…my finger must have slipped." It was no accident. He just wanted to send another message to Batman to hurry it up. "Now to the next riddle…What is cold and bites but has no teeth?"

Out of nowhere, Riddler's expected guest had seemingly materialized out of the darkness and said "frostbite". As soon as Batman answered, a fist was sent straight into Riddler's face before he could react. Riddler was out in a second.

Nightwing let out an annoyed sigh. "I had it under control!"

Batman turned with Riddler's collar in one hand and dragged his unconscious body across the room. "Oh really? Then why were three of the weather balloons detonated?" He asked, and placed a pair of handcuffs on Riddler's wrists.

"The first one was not my fault." Nightwing defended.

"What about the other two?"

"Technically that last one was not my fault either. Riddler cheated. I answered correctly."

Batman chuckled. "You always have some type of excuse."

"You always steal my wins." Nightwing returned.

"I didn't know this was competition."

"Everything is a competition with you." Nightwing pointed out and crossed his arms. Ever since Nightwing returned to Gotham City, Batman had even more expectations from his first sidekick since he lead the Teen Titans for so many years. Even though Batman gave him more freedom to make decisions on his own while on patrols, there was still the expectancy to make the right decision every single time.

Batman believed if Nightwing was able to successfully lead a team, he should be able to make every perfect and just decision, and most of the time Nightwing was spot on with his nightly patrols. His adopted father knew this and started to challenge Nightwing in how many criminals he could round up every night and how fast he could take down each one. It then turned into a friendly competition between father and son in seeing who was the most efficient hero in Gotham.

"Ok hotshot," Batman said as he continued to put handcuffs on the rest of Riddler's henchmen. "How about you go redeem yourself by figuring out how to get the power back on."

"Easy," Nightwing said and sat at the director's desk to start going through all of Riddler's programs that were currently pulled up on the screen. "Give me five minutes."

"I can do it in three." Batman challenged.

"And this is why no likes working with you," Nightwing said hacking into Riddler's systems to see where the city's electricity grid was tampered with. It took him a few tries and lines of code to figure out how Riddler was controlling the grid, but after a few minutes of clicking away on the keyboard, the lights had turned on at the museum and presumably for the rest of the city.

"There!" Nightwing turned in the director's chair to face his old mentor with a smug look upon his face "I told you I could do it in five."

"Six." Batman held up his forearm to show the holographic stopwatch on his gauntlet.

"Really?"

Batman shrugged. "I'm collecting data on how fast you can hack into criminal databases."

"You need to find other hobbies," Nightwing told him as he pushed away from the chair to walk past Batman.

Batman followed him out of the director's office as the Gotham police force rushed past them to finalize the arrests. "I need that data so your heir has something to work towards."

"My heir?" Nightwing laughed. "How about we don't call him that? Robin 2.0 has a big enough ego as it, and giving him a title that signifies royalty will only make it worse."

Batman chuckled because he knew Nightwing wasn't wrong. "When are you heading out of town? The ceremony is in two weeks isn't it?" Batman asked Nightwing, making light conversation as he waited for Commissioner Gordon to arrive on the scene and spoke with limited details to keep their identities and future plans hidden.

"Yes, and I haven't decided yet," Nightwing said, watching a now conscious Riddler being restrained by two officers as he yelled out streams of profanity and warnings to everyone around him. "Most of the Titans would like to see me there now. However, there is one who would probably prefer I show up at the last minute before the ceremony to have the least amount of contact with me."

"Ah yes," Batman began. "The fiery Tamaranean. You know you screwed that one up bad."

"Yeah, no need to remind me," Nightwing said annoyed, and wanted to exit the conversation before his emotions took over. "I might head out there in about a week but I'll let you know when I decide." Nightwing turned to leave Batman to handle the rest of the clean-up. He needed to get to his bike as soon as he could to ride away from how he was feeling at the moment.

"Nightwing!" Batman called and the younger vigilante paused to look over his shoulder. "Take the rest of the year off. Get some rest…you're going to need it."

Nightwing didn't say anything and only nodded. He would have preferred to continue going on nightly patrols for the next two weeks to keep his mind busy, but his heart was telling him to take up Batman's offer and head to Jump City early. Rachel had been texting him almost every day for the last couple of weeks begging him to fly over at that instant. She told him how much Gar and her missed him and the new Teen Titans were so eager to meet the famous Nightwing. But there was also…her.

When Nightwing reached his motorcycle or N-cycle, he quickly put on his helmet and revved his bike on to speed off back toward Wayne Manor. Even though the night was extremely cold now thanks to Riddler's little stunt, the bitter temperatures rejuvenated Nightwing's mind as he zipped through the downtown area. He was currently wearing the suit that was designed to insulate him against extreme temperatures so he only felt a mild chill while riding out of the city.

Nightwing loved riding his bike. It was the only time he felt free and was able to lose himself in the adrenaline of reaching incredibly high speeds with the thrill of feeling every part of it. He would frequently take trips out to the countryside to ride for hours to escape the demands of his superhero duties or whenever he began to feel that uncomfortable pain in his chest from missing her.

Nightwing decided to take the long way back to the manor. He wanted to feel the contentment of riding a little longer before he had to face whatever bullshit his younger adopted brother was going to try to put him through that night. Nightwing knew that everyone at the estate would be fine considering there were enough fireplaces to keep the mansion warm even during an ice age. But without power or technology to occupy his time, Jason was probably going to be moodier than usual and Nightwing was more than likely going to have to hear about how he missed out on some ridiculous event on one of his video games.

Once Nightwing pulled up to the large gothic mansion, he drove straight into the access point of the bat cave that opened up to him as soon as it sensed the N-cycle entering within proximity. He had parked his bike with the large collection of Batman's other high-tech vehicles and Bruce's expensive vintage cars.

Nightwing had quickly changed out of his uniform into his civilian clothes. It was as if the transition from Nightwing to Dick Grayson made him realize that he was human and the fatigue of the previous events was finally settling in. Even though he wanted nothing more than to head into his room and collapse into his warm and luxuriously comfy bed, he knew he had to check on Jason to see how his training went with Batgirl.

Dick left the bat cave with his rugged biker attire. He wore a black leather jacket with some jeans and of course accessorized with sunglasses. Jason would often tease Dick about choosing to wear sunglasses inside and how he was too embarrassed to reveal his ugly face. Even though that was far from the truth.

Dick was fully aware of his good looks and he was quite a famous figure in Gotham with being the son of the billionaire Bruce Wayne. That's why he wore sunglasses in public to hide who he was so people, particularly girls, would leave him alone. There was a time when he took advantage of his looks and title when he moved back to Gotham with a stream of one-night stands in an attempt to get over the breakup with the love of his life, but it only made him feel worse. It also did a number to his reputation as the girls he slept with were a little peeved with the fact that he wouldn't return their text messages or calls and they all managed to get together create an 'I hate Dick Grayson' club. Which of course led to the inevitable headlines of Dick Grayson taking after his father's playboy behavior. A headline he did not want to get to the eyes of a certain someone in Jump City, but it did anyway.

Therefore, Dick wore the sunglasses. It was mainly for not wanting to be recognized in public but it was also so he didn't have to face himself in the mirror. It was a habit for him to keep them on now and he felt severely anxious when they were off.

Dick heard the tv on in the main living room on the first floor. Jason didn't waste any time taking advantage of the power being back on to indulge in his binge-watching of whatever celebrity reality show that was popular at the moment.

As Dick approached the living room, Jason sensed his presence as he lounged on one of the fine leather couches and greeted him. Instead of a 'Hey Dick! Thanks for getting the power back on!' he got a "Yo dickhead! Your girl's on!"

"I see that Jason thanks," Dick replied and felt his heartbeat quicken as he saw her face on the television screen before him.

Jason was watching a talk show of a famous tv personality who was known to be popular in the gaming and pop culture community. The current headline across the screen read 'Kory Ander's Bad Omen hits record-breaking sales in one month'. Dick assumed she was being interviewed about her massive success on the game she created, but he wasn't listening to the words they were saying. He was too distracted with admiring how gorgeous she was and how much she had grown into a confident and powerful young woman.

She was currently wearing some sort of holographic cloaking device. Dick knew this because her Tamaranean features, like her orange skin and cute tiny eyebrows, were masked to look more human. Her skin was faded to a more natural-looking tan with eyebrows shaped like all the other California girls. Dick was relieved to see that she kept the color of her rich crimson red hair and emerald green eyes even though the whites of her eyes were white now instead of green. Her hair was styled a little differently with loose curls that ran down her back and her bangs had grown out so part of her lovely face was slightly covered by them. In Dick's opinion, it made her look even sexier and he didn't think that was possible.

Speaking of sexy, he was also glad the cloaking device didn't alter her body. She was currently wearing a well-fitted low v-neck sweater with black skinny jeans that showed off her…assets that he was currently admiring. Her simple yet classy look was pulled together with a choker that had a charm of Bad Omen's logo placed directly in the center as it accented her long neck. Good advertising if she was selling those necklaces as merchandise for her game.

Dick decided that he probably should be listening to what the interview was about instead of ogling his ex-girlfriend. He didn't pay attention to what the television host asked her, but he felt his heart melt when he heard her voice.

"I wanted to make a game where people can feel like superheroes and stand up to their own 'monsters' and feel empowered to face their fears," Kory told the host, which made Dick smile. He always loved how surprisingly wise she was whenever the subject came up with one trying to face their demons.

"Wow, her English has gotten significantly better." Another striking redhead said directly below Dick and he almost jumped for he didn't expect Barbara, or Babs as she's preferred to be called, to still be there. She was currently propped up on the couch adjacent to Jason reading some celebrity gossip magazine.

"Dude, I don't care what language she speaks. It's not like I'm paying attention to what she's saying anyway." Jason admitted and then spoke to Dick. "I can't believe you let that fine piece of ass getaway. If I had a woman like that in my bed every night I would.."

"Jason!" Babs stopped him before he could finish that sentence. "And that's kind of what Dick is known for. He gets intelligent beautiful women to fall for him and then he manages to find a way to screw it up. Specifically redheads for some reason."

"Hey, Babs…" Dick said, noting what she was referring to, and waited for her to turn around to look at him so he could flip her off. She smiled and returned it back to him.

"Aside from the Vega CEO hottie, have you played the game yet?" Jason asked. "It's pretty dope. I'm a level 85 assassin already. "

"I don't have time to play video games," Dick said. "When I'm not out on patrol or filling out paperwork I'm in the gym training. Like what you are supposed to be doing."

"God, you sound more and more like 'our father' every day." Jason rolled his eyes. "What do you think I have been doing all night? The power was out so I had no choice but to spar with Babysitter Babs."

Babs threw one of the throw pillows at Jason hard because she hated to be called that. He whined a little when the pillow hit him but he quickly got over it to continue with his favorite pastime, which was roasting Dick.

"You have been so uptight lately with your training. You need to chill a little." Jason advised his older brother.

"I'm a hero with a lot of responsibilities right now Jason," Dick told him. "And if you want to be the next Robin, you need to start taking your training a little more seriously."

"I am taking it seriously!" Jason said. "It's just lately I think you have been taking training a little too seriously. You have been hitting it hard for hours in the gym the last couple of weeks and.."

Jason paused and his jaw fell open and his eyes grew wider as a theory came to fruition. "Unless you're training to impress Kory enough to get her to sleep with you! If that's the case, hats off to you bro! You have real motivation now! And then maybe if you get laid you won't live up to your name as much."

Dick had about enough with this conversation. He was tired and wasn't about to take sex advice from a seventeen-year-old. He did his 'big brother' duty for the night and was ready to turn in. Dick didn't entertain Jason's theory when he wished Jason and Babs a good night to leave them in the living room. Jason held his smug stare even after Dick left. Proud of his accusation.

"What?" Jason asked stupidly as he caught Babs glaring at him.

"You're such an ass." She said standing up to follow where Dick went.

Once Babs reached Dick's room she gently knocked on the open door. "Hey, is everything ok?"

Trying to change the subject Dick said. "I thought you were supposed to be training Jason hard enough where he wouldn't have the energy to open his mouth."

"I did." She said. "I worked him for six hours straight, but you know Jason…" The room went awkwardly silent and then Babs cleared her throat and attempted to ask the same question. "What's up? Did Jason say something that made you upset?"

"No. It's not anything I haven't heard from him already." Dick paused. "It's just I've been thinking about Gar and Rachel's wedding lately and I hope that I will be the best groomsman I can be for Gar and I hope Rachel likes the gift I got them…"

Babs lifted her hand to stop him from rambling. He was dancing around the real issue. "Are you worried about the wedding or about the fact that Kory is going to be there?"

Dick didn't say anything, therefore it was the latter.

"You still have feelings for her."

"And am I still that obvious?" He asked.

"Oh yeah." Babs laughed. "Every time her name is brought up in conversation you instantly perk up as if you're suddenly interested or whenever she's on TV you literally drop everything to pay attention to the screen. It's quite comical and almost predictable now."

"I'm glad my feelings are entertaining to you."

"A little." She teased. "But if you really want Kory back…you have the perfect opportunity right now to try to fix things with her."

"How? After what I put her through…After what we put her through. I doubt she would ever want to be with me again. Let alone be within a 10-mile radius of me." Dick said like a hopeless sad boy.

Babs bit her lip and felt the guilt that always came after the memory of what caused the break-up between Dick and Kory in the first place. She had to deal with that guilt for years even though the catalyst event was an 'accident' and that she and he were both technically at fault, she wanted to make things right if she could.

"Haven't you watched any Hallmark movies?" Babs asked.

"What's that?"

Babs gave him an incredulous stare. No wonder why he was so clueless when it came to women. "Really? You don't…ok never mind. All the plots are the same but you're currently in the classic setup. Your successful and single ex-girlfriend is going to be at the same wedding as you where it's your chance to make another connection with her and then eventually…and God help her if she does…fall back in love with you."

"You make that sound so easy," Dick said. "The last time I checked she hates my guts and I barely dodged the multiple dishes that were thrown at my head the last time I saw her."

"Right, well you probably had that coming," Babs said. "But Dick, it's a simple formula. Fly over to Jump a week before the wedding or earlier. Take things slowly at first where you just focus on spending time with your friends where she will most likely be and then let things happen naturally."

"Sure, let 'things happen naturally'." He air quoted. "Babs, you do know whom you are talking to right?"

"Yes I do and you're probably the worst at it."

"Thanks for the confidence boost."

"It's because you overthink and are so rigid about everything!" She told him. "Just relax and be yourself. You got her to fall in love with you before, didn't you? Just be the guy you were before everything went to shit."

Dick sighed. He wanted to believe Babs was giving him good advice but she also didn't know how stubborn and headstrong Kory was. Tamaraneans' righteous furies were on a whole other level. But Babs genuinely seemed like she wanted to help so Dick appeased her. "Maybe you're right…How is it that you're so smart?"

"Because I'm the older and prettier one obviously!" Babs smiled innocently and brought both her hands under her chin to make a cute girly pose.

Dick rolled his eyes at his childhood best friend. "Thanks, Babs. You've always been so real to me."

"Sure thing. And can I give you one more piece of advice?"

"Sure."

"Don't fuck it up."

TtTtTtTtTt

A/N

I like a good Hallmark movie every once in and while, but don't worry, the plot of this will be nowhere near as predictable. Besides, there's too much cussing (and violence, alcohol, and "suggestive" themes) in this to be a cookie-cutter Hallmark romance. I'm also trying really hard to keep this rated T and not M (sorry about the one F bomb). See you next week! Or two…I'm moving into a new house and starting a new job next week so we'll see…