"Bruce."

Bruce turned from the group in front of him, smile still playing on his face as he turned to face Jason, excusing himself with practiced ease from the area and moving to stand beside his former ward. "How are you enjoying the party, Jason?"

"Having a blast," the former Robin quipped with a bit of snark on the end of his statement. He caught Damian's eye and gestured quickly before anyone would notice, watching the boy melt into the crowd to find the other Robin's. "We have a problem."

"Like what?" Barbara questioned as she wheeled herself to the duo, Tim and Damian on her heels. They all played the part easily, Barbara accepting the welcoming kiss into the group on her cheek as Tim smiled widely, "what's going on?"

"Ran into our favorite person earlier," Jason shrugged and sipped his champagne.

Damian shifted as his eyes scanned the room, "where is your date?"

Annoyance crossed over Jason's face at the quick change of subject, they didn't have time for his questions. "Restroom."

"You ran into the Assassin? And?" Tim shoved a hand in his pocket and shifted, he couldn't wait to get another go at the woman, maybe get the hood off her head…

"There's two of them."

Silence descended, Damian's brows furrowing with a frown, "what?"

"You heard me—"

"Are you certain?"

"I know how to count—"

"If the original is getting help," Bruce interrupted quickly, eyes bouncing around quickly to silently signal the end of their fight, "and we still haven't caught her or have any leads about who she might be… Batman might need to finally meet her."

"That's what she wants," Barbara frowned and braced an elbow on her chair. "You're going to play into her hand?"

"We don't know why she wants Batman," Tim's voice dropped before clearing his throat, "but I wouldn't mind another crack at her."

"Not a chance," Jason sniffed, "besides if I can't bring her down you definitely can't."

"It was an off night."

"You're awful quiet Damian," Bruce nudged the boy at his side and tilted his head with a smile, "you okay?"

"Of course," the younger Wayne shifted uneasily, frowning into his glass as he glared overtop of it. He made a show of the sip, eyes narrowing more as he lowered the glass and pursed his lips, "your date has returned, Todd."

With that, he turned on his heel and stalked off, disappearing back into the crowd. "We'll talk more about this later," Bruce promised, his trademark smile returning as he pointed it at the woman easing closer, "have a good time, Jason."


Kagome braced her hands on the edges of the sink and hung her head, her hair creating a curtain around her as she stared at the porcelain under her gaze. Her fingers tightened, stopping her hands from shaking as she focused on the small sting from the burn in her palm. 'He's so nice…' her stomach rolled again, threatening to empty whatever she may have left inside as the taste of bile still rolled over her tongue.

She inhaled deeply and lifted her head, frowning at her appearance before bending to rinse her mouth under the water. There was no way she'd be able to kill Bruce Wayne, he had been so welcoming in the kitchen when he saw her, 'I'm in trouble.'

She dried her mouth and hands, combing her fingers through her hair, she considered briefly calling Inuyasha and confessing just the amount of trouble she had gotten herself into but her stubbornness wouldn't allow her to dial his number. 'He couldn't do it the first time; he'll be just as useless about protecting Souta the second time."

Kagome drew one more deep breath as she made her way to the door, fingers curling around the knob and pulling it open, glancing at the woman that brushed past her quickly before moving forward. Any one of the people in these room could have been a better target, her eyes quickly locked on Commissioner Gordon, maybe not him… 'I couldn't do that to Barbara.'

'Silver St. Cloud even,' she watched the woman squeeze past her loudly with a squeal in greeting. 'She'd bring in a nice payday.'

Kagome's feet slowed as she approached the group, matching Damian's glare before relaxing her face enough to smile, stomach flipping quickly when she realized she didn't have to force it as Jason turned to look at her. 'I'm in so much trouble.' "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's fine, we're done anyway," he placed his hand at the small of her back as he guided her away, fingertips brushing against her skin. "You want another drink?"

"Um…" She smiled weakly, accepting the glass Jason was already holding to her, "thanks."

"You're not having a good time." He observed carefully, watching her eyes move apprehensively around the room. To be fair, he reasoned quickly, he wasn't either, these people were too stuck up for his liking… 'and with all of their money combined they won't do a damn thing to help this city with it.'

"Jason," Kagome waved a hand in front of his face, "I'm having a good time." She reassured him softly, inhaling quickly when he grabbed her wrist and flipped her hand.

"What happened?" He examined her palm carefully, glass of champagne hanging by his fingertips at his side.

Kagome's hand widened slightly under his scrutinizing gaze, "I burned it at work." The lie rolled off of her tongue with ease, shifting her weight to stand closer, "it's nothing serious." She shook her wayward strands of hair from her face, pressing against his side with a smile, "I'm fine."

Jason looked from her hand to her face, lowering her appendage slowly, "I think… we should get out—"

"Well, well, well, look who's having a party and didn't invite me!"

Kagome winced at the tightening of his hand against her wrist as he stiffened, her own body turning to face the manic man in the middle of the room. She was vaguely aware of Jason pulling her flush against his side as she glanced around, faces suddenly blurring together before her gaze landed on the Joker. 'Where did you come from?'

Her eyes found the broken window to the room, trailing along the ceiling before jerking forward as Jason moved beside her. "I'm pulling off a heist tonight…" Kagome's blood ran cold as she inhaled sharply, all of Gotham's elite in one place, 'easy targets.'

"I don't appreciate not being invited," he grinned wider as he surveyed the room, making a show as he bounced around the small clearing he had been given by the guests, "hey… where do you all think you're going?"

"Back inside!" Harley commanded with ease as she appeared in the door, Kagome's hand fisting in the back of Jason's coat.

"Joker," Bruce sighed the man's alias as he emerged, "go—"

"Ah, ah, ah Brucie, don't be rude after all your butler didn't raise you like that."

Bruce's eyes narrowed, jaw clenching as he opened his mouth with a retort, jerking slightly when Joker's finger moved against his lips to silence him. The clown's voice lowered, removing his hand and patting the man's cheek.

Joker's gleeful smile fell as he snapped his fingers and gestured, "Harley and I are here for all the goods… not like you all use them after all."

"That's right," Harley's voice carried through the room, "hand it all over to Mista J and no one gets hurt, oh and Commissh, no calls to the precinct or you'll be tasting iron."

A shiver of something slipped down Kagome's spine at her laugh, wishing she was back in her apartment or even back on the streets in her hood.

"Put it in the bag, all of it and make sure…" Joker trailed off and snapped the bag shut with a frown, making his way to the woman that caught his eye. He smirked knowingly at Jason, placing a hand on the man's chest and shoving him back, dropping the bag and gripping Kagome's chin, "well, well, well… I didn't expect to see you here…"

Jerking her chin free, Kagome felt her cheeks heat up, "don't touch me."

A slow, deliberate smile crossed his face, brow arching before releasing a laugh, "oh, I've heard that tone before, not even three hours ago."

"Get the hell away from her," Jason pressed between them, shrugging out of his coat as Kagome's hand fisted back in the material. "I'm going to kill you."

"You hear that Gotham?" Joker laughed and kicked the bag away, already knowing he wouldn't be taking it out of the building. Stepping back, he pulled a metal rod from his pants and slapped it into his palm, "do I need to remind you of anything, boy—"

"Joker," a gruff voice drew the crowd's attention, Kagome watching in awe as Batman descended from the ceiling, "you're finished here."

Kagome watched Jason's shoulders heave, the slight movement in his head showing he was looking between the pair, "Ja—"

Fingers grabbed her forearm tightly, her eyes finding Damian's hard ones beside her, "let go."

"Perhaps you were right this whole time, useless when it comes to the clown—"

Damian's fingers tightened on Kagome's arm as she stiffened to the sound of gunfire, the contact of his hand on her leaving as they were shoved apart and Kagome blinked at the ceiling. "Go," Jason growled as he climbed off of her and began moving through the rush in the opposite way.

Kagome shot to her feet and attempted to move after him, falling in with the crowd before slipping through them and plastering herself against the stairs as people rushed past. She heard Harley's laugh before more gunfire, keeping to the wall as she attempted to make her way closer, hand lifting in defense when she was grabbed a second time before meeting Alfred's worried gaze.

"This way, miss."

She cast a final glance at the doors that led to the ballroom, following quickly and slipping into the room behind him, "Bruce—"

"Master Bruce is fine," Alfred promised, locking the door behind them and turning the lights on. "Batman will have him carted off to Arkham in no time."

"The guns—"

"From Harley," he answered quickly, "and Commissioner Gordon."

She nodded and rubbed her hands together to stop the shaking, thumb tracing the outline on her palm absently. "I lost Jason, is he—"

"Nothing to worry about miss," he patted her hand gently and moved for the decanter in the corner of the room, "drink for your nerves?"

"Oh um… that's very kind but, I've already had champagne and I'm underage."

"That doesn't matter tonight," he held the glass out with a smile, 'Gotham will tear the innocence out of this poor girl.'

She smiled softly and accepted the drink, head snapping to the door as the knob wiggled, watching Alfred move in front of her quickly. Kagome moved slowly to the desk, placing the glass down and grabbing the crystal paperweight, her finger tapping against the iten with a frown.

"It's me," Tim's voice carried through the barrier. Kagome's fingers slipped from the object, bracing against the edge of the desk as Alfred unlocked the door.

"You're injured," Alfred breathed softly, pointing to the cut on the teen's forehead.

"Happened in the scuffle, I'm fine."

Kagome's head tilted as her eyes narrowed, the flicker of his eyes telling her something different before he smiled in relief as he moved to look at her. "You okay?" he shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted, "guess you're really a Gothamite now, you've been through your first Joker hold up."

"Does this happen a lot?"

"Only if he believes he can actually get away with it," Alfred stepped to the side to allow her passage into the hall, "unfortunately the gala has been cut short tonight by his appearance."

"Lucky Batman showed up," she mentioned casually.

Tim shrugged and pursed his lips, "I think Red Robin showed up too."

Kagome smiled, he reminded her of Souta, 'he's got his procedure tomorrow…' "Is he your favorite?"

"You could say that."

'How do I get Batman to show up for me?' she followed Alfred and Tim away from the room, the butler moving from them quickly to get the house back in order.

"Jeez," Tim grumbled with a frown, "he does this all the time, I don't understand how people are still scared of him."

"Do you just become immune to it?"

"Something like that," Tim smirked and turned his gaze to her, "you didn't seem to shaken up by it."

"He comes into the restaurant a lot, hard to take him serious when you've seen him like that."

"Yeah, I guess…"

Kagome touched his arm gently and moved from him with ease, glancing around the room as she crossed it for the door that led to the kitchen; Jason had to be around the house somewhere…

"You do this all the time!"

"We're not killers, you can't just take a life with no regard—"

A loud bang followed by cussing cut off Bruce, Kagome arching a brow and glancing over her shoulder, Tim looking around the room dejectedly as he kicked a fallen decoration before turning back to press her ear gently to the door.

"That clown has had it coming for years, after what he did to me—"

"Dick and I handled it then!" Bruce snapped back, "we handled him."

Jason scoffed, his footsteps getting closer to the door before stopping and retreating, "I can tell."

'One, two…' she held her breath and pushed the door open slowly on three, glancing around innocently as her interest piqued, 'what did Joker do?' "Hi," she smiled sheepishly as her eyes dropped to Bruce's hand moving something off the edge of the counter to the ground, "I was looking for Jason, I lost him in the excitement earlier."

"You just missed him," Bruce ran his fingers through his hair, smoothing it back into place with a smile. "He's probably in his room; are you alright?"

'He looks like he was wearing a hat,' she hummed with the observation and stepped into the kitchen fully, "I'm okay, Alfred got me to safety."

"Good," he nodded and gestured around the room, his face falling into an unreadable mask as his thoughts overtook him, "I can take you home—"

"You don't have to Bruce," her throat closed on his name and drew his attention, he was too nice… 'I can't kill you…' "I'm going to find Jason."

"Upstairs, fourth door on the right."

Nodding her thanks, she moved past the billionaire and glanced at the ground at his feet, biting her lip as she took in the dark cloth on the floor. She could turn back into the kitchen, have a knife in his back easily, 'and I could leave none the wiser.' Her knuckles whitened against the banister, 'I need out of this job.'

Her stomach flipped uneasily as she moved slowly, she could leave, "can't leave Souta behind…" she stared at the door in front of her and knocked slowly, listening to the rustling stop, 'I need help.'

"Are you okay?" she tilted her head as his door opened, feeling her face flush as her eyes drifted over the exposed flesh of his chest, his shirt half buttoned and tucked into his slacks, "Jason?"

"I'm fine," his averted gaze told her otherwise, a flush of anger on his cheeks as he glared at the wall. "Sorry I left you."

"No it's okay," she shifted and cleared her throat, "I should go…" his glare eased and he turned his head at her whispered words. "Or do you want me to stay?"

His death grip on the door eased, free hand swinging forward to grab her chin gently, "you looked really beautiful tonight."

A wash of pride over her appearance engulfed her, hand lifting to grab his wrist as his thumb began caressing her skin. "Do you want me to stay?"

"Yeah."