Help me restore balance to your beautifully complex mind.

She was fixing her hair when Jason walked in, an uncomfortable silence choking the ambience of his room. She paid no mind and every mind to him leaning against the doorframe, arms folded as a safety precaution and a look in his eyes that she couldn't describe. It was only when she sat down to pull up her stockings did her eyes move onto him, her face dropping faintly when his eyes didn't meet hers, and she sighed to herself. "Say something," she cracked. "Anything. When you're quiet, it feels like you're―"

"When were you gonna tell me?" Alias tensed under Jason's words and peered up at him. He was still leaning against the doorframe and his eyes were now firmly affixed on hers. "I can't hate you for loving a man that showed you how to live, but knowing that he killed you? When were you gonna tell me, Alias?"

"When this was all over. When that man was six feet under. Not when he's breathing and that with every breath he brings to life my worst fears. When we were far away from this mess, away from all of it."

"You told me: no more secrets."

"Because I wanted to protect you." Alias' voice couldn't help but be lined with steel, and she blinked in surprise when she noticed. "Because I wanted to protect you, Jason. I...I can't beat Sinclair, I never could. And I can't do this alone. But I can't drag you or anyone else into a situation that has nothing to do with them."

"What are you talking about? It has everything to do with all of us. What about Rex―" She shot from her place.

"What happened to Rex I will carry to my grave, not yours. I give him back his voice and they just take it from him again. Did you think I wanted that to happen? Did you think I even wanted him around me after they came back? Rex was tortured because of me and I don't want that to happen to you, Jason." As she spoke she forwarded the vigilante and stood mere inches away when she finished, the expression on her face speaking for itself. Her hands moved to his cheeks, cupping his face and pulling his attention on her. "If Sinclair were to take you away from me, I swear on my life he'll regret not killing me again."

Jason sighed, a little smirk rising on his face, "I know. I'll make sure that never happens." She moved to embrace him, his own arms trapping her in his warmth as he lay little, chaste kisses in her hair. She laid her own kiss on his collarbone before moving back and turning her head to the side, as if she had suddenly become aware of something, and looked back at Jason. It poked a searing hole in her chest and she faltered in his gaze, tightening her grip on him just a little and he frowned. "What's wrong?"

She paused, "...your signature...it's dropping. And you're shaking…" Jason stared into her eyes for a moment and that was all she needed for her to pull him into another hug. She surrounded him completely, his trembling more noticeable as his arms wrapped around her and Alias knew from the look in his eyes that it wasn't Jason she was looking at. It was a shell of a broken man carrying Jason's shattered pieces.

He slid underneath her grasp and onto the carpet with his own arms still around her and she bit her lip in anguish, his quiet sobs muffled by her shirt. She knew what was happening and it was times like this where even her healing couldn't help his fractured mind; her healing was temporal and reversing his past meant erasing his identity. She would do anything, anything, to ease his pain. Then again no amount of love, of trust, of happiness could undo his past.

Jason Todd had died, and with his resurrection in a Lazarus Pit brought back memories not even Alias would wish on her worst enemies. He spilled his past after their sleepless night, told her about his chronic insomnia and how every time he'd close his eyes the night of his death would always be the highlight of his nightmares.

He spoke of his relationship with Bruce with a faint smile on his face, how they were the dynamic duo patrolling and keeping Arkham City safe from the shadows. His smile faded when he mentioned the origin of his scars, how the Joker kept him holed up in Arkham Asylum with Jason in his Robin skin, used him as a conduit of hate and tortured him day after day after day. How the Joker managed to crack through his armour with barbed wire and repeated beatings of a crowbar, how he pressed white hot iron on Jason's face to brand him for life. Sculpted him into a submissive dog that obeyed every order the Joker gave to him, without fail, until a particular one took his life away.

A shaky breath fell past her lips as she lifted her head up, her own tears falling down her face; Jason was undeniably strong, stronger than any person she knew, and yet his PTSD reduced him to a sobbing child.

"I'm right here, Jason," she whispered as she joined him on the floor with her back against the wall and parted her legs so that he fell between them, and cuddled him gently. "I know...I know...what happened wasn't your fault."

"I can feel the crowbar…beating against my skin." he inhaled sharply, "The barbed wire...the hot iron press―"

"And you think that you're to blame? You were a kid, what happened was because of manipulation. You didn't deserve nor could have stopped it."

"He carved into my head nothing but hate...nothing but hate for Bruce. He wanted me to turn against that old man, he really did."

"But―"

"If just for once in my goddamn life I listened, if I just followed his orders then maybe I wouldn't be Batman's greatest failure―"

"No," she cupped his face as she felt his signature fall far below his normal level; he was spiralling further into the abyss and she could feel her own anxiety bubble at her chest in an effort to comfort her partner. "No, no no, you are not a failure. You're not a failure, you're not a mistake, you're not a coward."

"No, you don't understand―!"

"No. No, I don't. But what I do is that I'm not Bruce."

"He―"

"He tried to find redemption in a man that wanted him dead, a man so caught up with a legend falling. You're not the same man. You want to forgive him and that's okay. All your memories, all your scars...you will not wear them alone. You...you harbour all of this guilt that isn't yours to carry, you blame yourself over something you had no control over. Yet, you managed to take me into your life with open arms. You've protected me, you've loved me...if I had never met you, if I had never met the Arkham Knight, I don't even want to imagine where I would be. You don't understand how grateful I am that you survived, Jason. You don't understand..."

It was Jason's turn to ease the pit of despair that he dug Alias into and uncoiled an arm so that he was holding the hand that was still cupping his moistened face, and slowly relished in the realisation of how warm she was. Alias was warm. The same person that was sent to kill him, the Arkham Knight, was here, battling his inner demons in an attempt to find the man he wished to be. The man he wanted to be. But, even with someone who hosted a god inside their body, there was only so much Alias could do. And this was enough.

He felt appreciated.

"I...I'm sorry, Alias. I didn't mean to―"

"It's okay. Just breathe for me, okay? Slowly, deeply. You're not in Arkham Asylum, you're here...with me…" She blinked away more tears and rested her head on his, "I'm so sorry, I wish I could take all this pain away. If there's anything you need I'll do it..."

"Don't leave me...please…please don't go..."

She tried for a smile, "I'll anchor you to this world, Jason. I'll be right here."


She kept her body close to Jason as they rode through the streets of Gotham on his motorbike, arms wrapped snug around his body and head relaxed against his back, content with his stable heat signature. She made a mental note to keep Jason in check from time to time considering that she was one of the few people he'd listen to, or so she felt, but his episode a few hours ago lingered on her mind. And here she was complaining about her death; he died without fulfilling his purpose. She was a mercenary, and mercenaries were expendable, so her death in her circumstance was normal. The only problem was that she was brought back from death to kill Jason by a person unidentified. If that didn't scare her, she wondered what would.

She felt his hand gently pat hers in an effort to ease her worry and she smiled. It seemed the episode was on his mind too but at least Alias was there to pull him back to the surface. Anything to make him realise there was better than seeing nothing but red. The engine reduced to a low growl as Jason slowed down just by the short road that led to the reinforced steel that was GCPD. Maybe the entrance wasn't the ideal place to wait but anywhere further would be a lot harder. Switching off the ignition, he kicked out the bike stand and let her climb off first before swinging his own legs off the bike and leaning it against the stand. His gloved hand reached around the back of his visor to disengage it before pulling it off his head, and she let out a fascinated sound when he quickly fixed his hair.

"If Max's intel is right, then transport should be leaving soon."

"You sure you don't want to speak to Grayson?" Alias asked once again when he set his helmet on the seat of the motorbike and reached into his leather jacket, pulling out a single cigarette and a lighter. "It's not like you can avoid each other forever."

"I'd rather not," Jason replied, tucking the cigarette between his pursed lips and lighting the end. He drew out a long, smoky breath before peering down at her. "He'd rather see you than me."

"Have it your way," she shrugged lightly and moved so that a delicate hand was on his armoured chest. "When this is all over, and I mean all over, let's leave this place. Somewhere far, far away from Gotham. Even if I have to leave Alias behind, I don't care."

"When this is all over," he echoed her words. "We need to talk."

She raised her brows, "Oh~. I'm not sure what your intentions are, Mr. Todd, but you definitely have me intrigued."

"You two do realise you're on comms, right? Like, you do realise that?" Alias chuckled as Jason let a smile dust his lips, Max's voice ruining what could've been a tender moment. "I don't know if you've registered the lengths we're going to break into a prison transport but it does seem like you don't care. I'm pretty sure the two of you should be on that goddamn bus anyway."

Jason smirked at that last line as he drew another smoky breath and Alias let her eyes trail up the side of the building, meeting Max's eyes before she spoke, "What, and you shouldn't?"

"Well, to be fair," he shrugged. "I don't exist. I am an actual ghost that haunts Gotham City. Fear me."

"Yeah," Jason added to the conversation, tugging the Meta Mercenary closer to him by her own leather jacket and stealing her attention, "You and everyone else." A warm tinge spread across her cheeks as he initiated a soft kiss, the exchange ending with her resting her head on his shoulder and him breathing through the last of his cigarette before dashing it aside. "It's time, Alias."

She moved away to reach for his helmet and tilted her head in confusion, "I've noticed you've stopped calling me Blake."

"...aside from that one time."

"Yes, aside from that one time. And also that time where we had sex."

"You two had sex?!"

"Here." She handed him his red visor and, with a nod as thanks, he adjusted it onto his head and let the panels reengage before the sirens of the GCPD opening its shutter doors caught their attention. Alias turned and watched as the prison transport rolled out of the building but not without the protection of an armoured convoy keeping those curious at bay. "If it makes you feel any better, Blake is my birth name."

"I'm not entitled to call you Blake."

"He sure as hell isn't, Al," Max interrupted again. "You have to receive my blessing first, especially after he crossed the line. You had sex with the Red Hood oh my God." Just as the last of the convoy passed them the conversation ended with Alias rolling her eyes at Max's words and patting Jason's shoulder after he got onto his bike. "You guys better hurry, convoy's gonna leave Bleake at this rate. We are trying to break into it after all."

"We are," the visored vigilante replied and glanced over at his girlfriend, girlfriend? He wasn't sure if that's what Alias was to him, hell she was probably more than that, but he'll stick with that for now. It would sound weird coming out of Jason Todd's mouth anyway. "I got you." A smile from her was all the response he needed as he revved his bike before roaring down the street and she stayed in her place before signalling up to Max.

She skipped a couple steps and transitioned into a sprint in Jason's direction, turning the corner and watched as Jason sped up beside the rear convoy and reached for his firearm in one of his thigh holsters. With shots sounding off and the rest of the convoy now alerted to his presence, in mid-step a violet glacier shot her into the air and past the buildings, her eyes catching a glimpse of blue against the dark rooftops, and she side-flipped into a comfortable landing. Max readied his sniper rifle at his vantage point when she bolted past him and dove past the edge of the building when she was near enough, flipping around to prepare a landing. Her sensed honed in one person, just like before. This time, it was choking.

Rex. He was here.

Alias landed painfully on the rooftop of a neighbouring building with the rebound throwing her off the building completely, and if it wasn't for Max shouting in her ear she wouldn't have recovered. She barely held on to the ledge as her body swung through inertia but suddenly remembered why she was there. Adjusting herself, she watched as Red Hood leapt onto the back of one of the convoys with Max's covering fire providing easy access to the vehicle and she switched hands, peering underneath her as she sensed another familiar signature. Then it hit her again, almost overwhelming her. At that moment, the clear evening skies summoned a few thundery clouds.

"Rex," she whispered to herself and spoke louder for those on comms. "Rex's here."

Rex. Closer and closer. But he wasn't alone.