...and accept each other they did not. Alias sighed.
She had no idea of the circumstances that would have arisen, nor did she think of the outcomes. Okay, yes, she's a Meta Mercenary, and would be cunning enough to see this happen. But no, she had this slither of hope that everything would settle, secrets wouldn't have to be hidden anymore. That flitting slither had now vanished, all because Jason couldn't appreciate Grayson's acceptance of him. She gave them ten minutes, ten minutes to resolve their problems.
And they're still on the floor, wrestling.
Alias took her almost-finished plate in one hand and a fork in the other before sliding out of the booth and stopping short of the fighting two. "Jason, Dick, stop. Now." Her occupied hand waved the fork in the air and a faint violet golem shimmered into reality next to her, moving at an unnaturally fast speed and managed to get the Red Hood out from the complicated grapple in seconds. It had hooked its arms under his underarms and interlinked its fingers behind his head, and barely had to fight against his struggles of escape. "I've never had to summon a golem before, so class yourself as special. Still, I'm disappointed. As for you, Grayson, you're just as bad as him." Dick stayed silent as he got himself off the floor and dusted himself off, his cheeks red but not bruised. Jason did throw a couple shots that looked like it really hurt, but thankfully his armour had improved from the last time him and Alias were out. His ribs would've definitely caved in on him.
"You two were supposed to work things out. Jason, he's trying to help you. Knowing what happened, you should respect the fact that he cares. Regardless of what happens, you two should be close. You two weren't given the name Robin for no reason. Grayson, you'll only cause more problems if you try and bring him back home. You don't think he's gone through enough? His morals are stained and we both can't change that. Jason was used against his will, and yet there's this little spark in him somewhere that acknowledges that it wasn't Bruce's fault. He had all the chances in the world to kill him, but he needed reassurance. But right now, you two have to realise that people don't change. It's their history that does." Dick lowered his gaze as he crossed his arms, Jason's struggles lessening in frequency as her words clung to their minds. She was right, and that's what sent a wave of regret crashing into the both of them. She sighed again and gently stabbed the fork into a strawberry before offering it to Dick.
"No, I'm...I'm good."
"Your loss. Here." She moved the fork to Jason's lips and, with the close proximity of the fruit, there was no way he could decline now that he witnessed just a peek at how angry she could get. And the fact that the golem was at least several inches taller than him and swept him off the floor. He narrowed his eyes before letting her feed him the strawberry, and chewed it slowly. "Oh, before I forget." Alias set her plate down and removed her comm device from her thigh belt, and handed it to Nightwing.
"Wait. Aren't you gonna need this?"
"Apparently, no. I'm getting my old outfit with my own comm but you can contact Rex with it. He's a Meta so he'll arrive almost immediately. He's really nice and very skilled, so if you need more muscle he's your go-to guy."
"You sure he's a Meta and not, like, some guy posing as a Meta?"
"Last time I checked, I didn't think humans could teleport unless you figured it out already." She peered behind her. "Golem, you...can let go of him now. I think he's calmed down." The golem nodded its sluggish head and carefully put Jason down, who shrugged on his jacket and fixed his hair. With that obvious pout, she'd leave him be for now. She wasn't ready for a lecture. "And I got someone coming over here to fill us in about our new enemy."
"Someone you can trust?"
"With my life."
"So, who is he?" Jason piped up this time, a scowl still worn on his face. Guess he wasn't over it.
Alias made a face, "He's...Syndicate."
"That's ex-Syndicate to you," a voice interrupted their conversation and all three heads turned towards the source, Max standing by the door with his metal hand moving the duffel bag off his shoulder and the other sheathing his firearm. "I mean technically, but I'm not those pricks chasing Metas all over the city. I'm just here because Al's here." Then he pointed a lazy finger, "What's with the golem? Someone cast a spell in here?"
"Long story."
"Tell me later. So, this is Grayson and Todd. They look hotter up close. You were always a magnet to the hot ones for some reason." At the mention of his name Nightwing fell to the defensive but Jason lifted an impressed brow.
"How does he know?"
"He knows Jason too, calm down." Alias reassured the gymnast.
"But how?"
"The walls have ears, y'know," Max responded as he walked past them and took his place in their booth, admiring Red Hood's visor. "Don't worry, I won't tell."
"Huh, you better not."
"Al, this is yours." He dropped the bag onto the table next to the helmet and Alias hummed as she walked up to it and unzipped it to reveal its contents, almost instantly taking out the beige jacket. "Yeah, the Alias then really liked wearing jackets. I'm guessing for dramatic effect? Still, you could never beat an original."
"At least some parts of me haven't changed. I'll go put this on." There was silence once Alias left, Max and Jason sitting opposite each other while Grayson sat cross-legged on the counter eyeing the man in blue. It wasn't long until Max let out a sound of bored annoyance and slammed his hands on the table just as the Meta Mercenary walked back in, unchanged.
"Al, what's up with your friends? They haven't said a word, or moved...aaaand why aren't you dressed? Your original outfit looks so badass."
Alias pointed at Jason, "He's holding you at gunpoint under the table," then at Grayson, "And he's probably figuring out a way to remove his identity out of your mind. They don't trust you and I don't blame them. Who can you trust in this city? Also the outfit needs altering, it has been a few years."
"What? Do they think I'm some double spy or something?"
"No," she slid next to Jason in the booth and dropped the bag by her feet. "They're just figuring out how to trust someone who turns up out of the blue saying that I'm someone who shouldn't exist."
Max sighed. "Since you asked me so nicely…" He tilted his head to the right and pulled his scarf down at the same time to reveal the same branding that Alias had on her hip, but Jason's aim didn't waver under the table. "There? See? S0074. Syndicate had...have this weird fetish of branding us. Their way to differentiate between the puppets and the puppeteers."
"You seriously think that's gonna cut it?" Nightwing snapped coldly. "A scar, so what? Like you said, everyone in Syndicate has it, but you could be trying to set her up for all we know."
"You guys are so hard to impress." Max scratched his head. "Fine, want me to prove my sincerity? Want me to prove that I have never, and never will, harm the only person that didn't decide to block me out?" Jason tensed when he said this, albeit not too obviously. Maybe Alias had her ways of protecting people. "I will. Alias's real name is Blakelyn Jordan Mercer, born in London, adopted by my family and raised in Japan. She didn't know of her powers until she was 15, but it was too late by then. With no control over it, it destroyed her organs and at that point she should've been dead. Her biological parents who orphaned her in the first place sent her back to Syndicate who weren't just an organisation with a sole purpose, but one of the greatest hospitals that they had with the front Sinclair Hospital. They saved her life but they didn't stop there. Now," he chuckled nervously. "Now this is where things start getting messed up. You want me to continue?"
"What kinda sick game is―"
"Keep going." Alias's eyes didn't move off Max when she said this but Jason felt her unease emit off her cold skin. If she really wanted to know he wasn't going to stop her, but he flicked his gun on the table to assure her. She thanked the vigilante with her eyes and glared back at the speaker.
"When they realised exactly what you were, no offence, they made you their own. Erased you from your former life, manipulated your memories and tried to break you. Performed experiments that mostly failed because they didn't understand what stood you out from the other Metas they had. Until they discovered you have a dormant god residing in your body."
Alias hesitated, "Arcadius?"
"H-How do you know that? Not even you knew that…"
"Long story. Sorry, continue."
"That was when they decided to take you in and shape you into a mercenary, a weapon that they alone could control. By 18, you were already out on the field. Everything was going fine, to their accords, until you didn't manage to take out a target you were assigned. They punished you and…"
"I know the rest." She sighed and sat back in her place, looking to Grayson for something.
"You're adopted siblings?" He spoke for her and Max smiled.
"We are but that's another story I'll be willing to tell. We have Syndicate to deal with first, and Alias's lost memories. Speaking of memories, what do you remember Al?"
"I can't trust my own memories anymore," she muttered, sliding out of the booth and signalled for the golem that everyone forgot about to carry the duffel bag for her. "I need a location, Max. I don't need to know what they're doing or who's involved. I already know that. Knowing where they are means I can take them out again."
"South Metropolis. One of the Syndicate's lieutenants are actually having a party there, something about legitimate matters. I'll send the deats to Rex, you'll need him."
"Metropolis, really?" Nightwing hopped off the counter. "Of all places, they pick where Superman lives?"
"That's what I thought. Stupid really." The ex-Syndicate shook his head as he also moved out of the booth and pulled his hood back on. "Heard that they've figured out a way to give Rhys your abilities, Al. Might not be experienced but she uses it well. Almost too well. There's a high chance that she, and Taeyeon, might not be there but as of now...I have a hunch that Founder's Mall might be turning into a fortress hiding in plain sight. Gotham has been through enough, they won't look towards scarred terrain. They never do."
"And where are you going?" She asked him softly. "Playing two roles again?"
"I promised, didn't I? I give you intel and leave you to gladly turn Gotham into your game of urban, gritty chess. I've got a life to recover."
"You can't run forever, you know? You can always come back." Max smirked as he peered at Alias, her face innocent as her words, and smirked before walking towards the glass door.
"And I know you'll always let me in. Catch you later, Al." The door chimed as Max departed the cafe and just like that, the sudden swarm of silence choked the room to the point the golem made a noise of confusion as it looked at its master; she responded by glaring up at it and cupped its frozen cheek before peering off her shoulder. The golem had listened to her silent command and vanished in a cloud of frost.
"Jason, let's go."
"Huh, yes ma'am."
"Wait, what about me?" Nightwing protested as his ex-partner took his visor from the table and strolled towards the door, a look of disgust on the former's face. "You forgetting about something, Blake?"
"I need you here working on our case. Max just gave you a heads-up, there is a Meta named Rhys with my abilities killing people off. She's the main suspect of the ice murders. If you find a link as to why, you might be able to take off your suit earlier than we thought."
"I know that but…" he leaned in closer just as Jason left. "Why Jason? You know what he's like, we both do."
"Why? Because I didn't shut him out. As much as you two blatantly hate each other, I'm trying my best to make sure he...make sure he doesn't lose himself again. If you understood what he went through, the least you'd do is try and help him."
"I didn't mean to―"
"Hit a nerve? You didn't, I'm just the intermediate of you and Jason's relationship. You either accept him or help him. You know he won't believe both." They finally made their way out of the diner and Alias was about to meet up with a waiting Jason when Grayson grabbed her hand, a gesture that surprised her.
He sighed, "Jason's smart, I'll defeatedly admit, but I can see it in him. How he looks at you, like your sole protector. He won't hurt you and if he does, I'll feel bad for him."
"He won't...hopefully."
"Now go. Don't think of me too much, beautiful."
She chuckled lowly. "I highly doubt that. Stay safe for me, will you?"
"Always." She departed his side with a wink and jogged towards the blaring police car before a glacier shot her upwards, high enough and at a certain angle that she landed on the farthest rooftop by the junction. Before leaving his sight Alias looked back at Nightwing before blowing him a kiss and, as if by magic, he was lightly showered with frozen jasmine petals that made him smile in nostalgia. Alias was a weird one, he thought, a mercenary with the softest of hearts and kindest of spirits. Maybe it was just like she said, about her life. How she wasn't given a chance until it was too late. At least he can do something to help her.
With a lead to follow, he brought up his gauntlet and contacted Oracle. It was gonna be a long night.
