I don't own Young Justice or any related characters.

A/N: I'm back. Sorry it took so long for this update. I hope you guys stay with me through this thing. I have some exciting new chapters on the way so don't give up on me yet. In the meantime,

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Metropolis

April 3, 20:46 EST

He stood on a rooftop a block or so away staring at the large "L" crowning the empire Lex Luthor had created. Cadmus had been annexed into that empire ever since its reconstruction following the Blockbuster attack since Luthor had made the largest contribution. And with all of his eye witnesses unable to account for what happened in the 48 hours they had been missing, and the person who could really open this case suddenly AWOL, this was the best lead he had.

He had spent the hours leading up to his skirmish with Superboy searching for the missing soldier. He looked up and down his usual hangouts, his home, his former wife, his children. He had even gone back to where he had first found Batgirl. All he found was evidence that he had been there, but Captain Atom was still nowhere to be found. Everything was just conveniently out of his reach, and whoever was orchestrating this operation was going to great lengths to keep it that way. And no one did that better than Lex Luthor.

He pulled out his binoculars and observed through the multi-millionaire's office. Luthor stood up as the man sitting across his desk picked up his suitcase and rose as well. They shook hands and the latter departed. Luthor retook his seat.

Replacing his binoculars, Nightwing grappled over to the building.

"Mercy, cancel my dinner reservation with Ms. Grant." Mercy nodded moving towards the phone. As she picked up the receiver, she turned to see her boss backing away from his desk as Nightwing entered the room through the open balcony window.

She put her right hand behind her head to reveal the machine gun that was now part of her anatomy. Luthor hit the ground and Nightwing began running to avoid the shower of bullets. He threw a birdarang in her direction, effectively blocking the flow of ammunition. Unable to react fast enough, her arm overheated, causing a small explosion that sent her back. Nightwing followed with a bolo to restrict her movement. As she lost her balance, the back of her head made a thud as she hit edge of Luthor's desk. She had completely lost consciousness by the time she landed on the ground.

"I know you still have a dinner date Luthor, so I'll keep it short." Nightwing moved to face Lex.

"I suppose you're wanting to know about Cadmus."

"You can start there." He took a deep breath as he bridled his anger back.

"Very well. There's no point of hiding. While you're not as clever as the Bat, you were bound to stumble upon it eventually.

"I was there, if that's what you want to know. Orchestrated the entire thing, forcing everyone to their limit until they could give me nothing more, and had they been more competent, I could have gone farther."

Nightwing felt his body temperature rise as Luthor spilled his guts in front of him. The way the devil was so calm and collected, no concern for the damage he caused, the lives he ruined. His knuckles began turning white under his gloves as he clenched them together to reel his emotions. The two began circling the desk.

"It's a shame what happened, but nothing important was hurt."

Nightwing closed the distance between the two. He moved smoothly as he slammed Luthor's face to the desk, pinning his arm behind his back, a technique he had perfected while at the police academy in Blüdhaven. "And what you did to Batgirl was just another night at work then, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Nightwing brought the villain up to face him, the scowl on his face warning the CEO to tread lightly. Luthor straightened himself up and pushed himself away from the vigilante.

"I don't know to what you're referring to, Boy, but I was talking about the lab fire at Cadmus. Myself and two other scientist were working on a compound to extend the life and functionality of a transplanted organ. I pushed too hard and mistakes were made leading to the fire. No one was hurt. But I assure you, if Batgirl was on my property a few nights ago, she, or any other of you illegal do-gooders, was trespassing."

The look on Nightwing's face remained unchanged as his thoughts began racing.

"He has to be lying."

"Don't overwork your brain trying to think of a solution." Luthor opened a desk drawer taking out a small rectangular object. "Everything you want to see is on this. The entire night up until the explosion. Check for tampering, editing, whatever you need to settle the paranoid mind of yours. I'm sure you won't find a bat ear or cape in sight."

He tossed the device which Nightwing caught in mid-air. It was a USB, the signature Lex Corp insignia in gold paint across the front. He analyzed it for a second before looking back at Luthor.

"If you're lying, I will perso-"

His communicator began going off urgently in his ear.

"Nightwing."

His expression deepened as he heard the news from the other side of the line.

"I'm on my way."

He looked back at Lex, a smug look on his face. "Looks like duty calls. But please, feel free to drop by anytime. I've got nothing to hide."

Nightwing walked over to the same window he entered in keeping his eyes on the other man in the room the whole time. He shot his grapple to the nearest building and was whisked away seconds later.

Luthor watched as the hero disappeared into the setting sun. He turned as Mercy began to wake,moving to help her off the ground. He looked wistfully out the window again.

"Mercy, call the boys. I believe a meeting is in order."

Mount Justice

April 3, 21:22 EST

"You wanna know what happened to Batgirl, get down here now. I found the son of gun who did it."

That was the message that had him rushing out of Luthor's office to the nearest zeta tube minutes earlier. He was itching to get his hands on the guy who had nearly murdered his best friend, but was weary of the man he would meet. As of late Superboy had been off his game and not as trustworthy as Nightwing would have hoped. Nevertheless, if there was any possibility that this man could wrap this case up, he was going to jump on the opportunity.

He definitely wasn't done with Luthor. He would investigate the video, but he knew there was something more going on than he was revealing.

"Nightwing. B01." Miss Martian passed him as he stepped out the transportation device. He grabbed her shoulder before she could speed off.

"M'gann, where is he?"

She made an exasperated face before she answered. "It would be best if you just see for yourself."

She brought him back to the interrogation room he had been earlier that day. He could hear Superboy exploding at someone before he even stepped into the room. When he finally entered, his eyes widened with shock, his spirit riddled anger.

"He brought a civilian here? Is he out of his mind?"

Miss Martian stared through the window, her hands on her hips. "I told him this was a bad idea before he got here, but he was hellbent on bringing this guy in."

The yelling on the other side continued. The man Superboy had brought in was skinny, his clothes dirt stained. As Superboy continued to chew him out, the more it looked like the man was going to pee himself. He had made some bad judgment calls these past few days, but Nightwing was appalled that Superboy would have him to believe this man was supposed to be the one who overcame him and nearly killed Barbara.

He managed to reign his anger in before he knocked on the glass and opened the door.

"A word."

Superboy glared at his accused before stepping out.

"What?!"

"What's wrong with you? We don't ever bring a civilian or anyone else unauthorized into the Watchtower or the Cave. If you want to put your life in danger, fine, but don't you dare endanger anyone else's. Not that you're above that."

"Look, you can hit me with all the rules and regulations you want, but if you care about Batgirl like you say, then you'll take this guy in."

"This guy? He looks like he weighs 10 pounds. And he's scared to death."

"I'm telling you it's him. Why would I lie about this? So I could clear my name? I want to put this dirtwad behind bars just as bad as you do."

Maybe it was the serious pleading in his eyes, perhaps it was the same burning desire to catch the man who was behind this, or the fact he didn't want to make the League look a fool in front of this civilian; whatever the reason, he took a breath and nodded.

"Not another word from you. And if you lose control, you're out of here."

Superboy simply grunted. Miss Martian stayed there while they stepped in together. The stranger in the room began to move away from the two heroes.

"I… I don't know anything, honest. If this is about the time I jaywalked last week… I looked both ways. I really just had somewhere to be. But I don't have any knowledge to what's going on. He just grabbed me." The voice only further confirmed the petrified emotion radiating from his actions.

"Calm down. It's alright. Despite what it seems like," Nightwing looked back at Superboy who stood in the corner, "we're not trying to hurt you."

The scraggly man that sat before him seemed to soften his features a little, visibly relaxing. His shoulders slacked as he began to return to his chair.

"So… why am I here then?" he asked still cautious.

"We're in the middle of an investigation and were hoping you could help."

"So I'm not in trouble?"

"Not as far as we know."

He sat in his chair. "I don't if I can help, but I'll try."

"Hey, that's all we can ask," Nightwing replied. Superboy groaned in annoyance.

"Why don't we start out with introductions. I'm Nightwing, and my…," he searched for the word, "partner is Superboy." The former Boy Wonder stuck his hand out to the man across the table.

"Jeremiah. Jeremiah Danvers." He stuck his hand out warily at first, but soon released his tension. The reassuring look on the hero's face easing his mind.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Danvers. So how does a guy like you keep busy? Where do you work?" He discreetly snapped his fingers three times before scratching his ear.

"I… I work for the Mint."

"Yeah? You make the money?"

"No, I drive the truck from the Mint to the surrounding banks."

"So you deliver it? Just as important. So how about after hours. How does that look? Come home to a meal, wife and kids surrounding you?"

Jeremiah chuckled. "Not quite. My wife and I are divorced. About a year. She has the kids most of the time."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Ahh. It's fine. A normal day after work isn't anything special. I'll shower, eat a TV dinner or something, read, and go to bed at about 10 or 11. If I'm to mentally exhausted to read, I'll watch TV. It's boring, but the mundane is how I like it."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

Jeremiah began to fidget in his chair. "Is this helping at all?"

"No, it's great. You're helping us tremendously. So the silent night life, huh? So is it like that every night?"

"For the most part."

"Yeah? So you were in your house two nights ago around 2 AM?"

His face began to twist and his body shifted before he answered. "Yes… I mean… No. Kinda." He inhaled deeply. "No. I wasn't."

Nightwing's heart accelerated, and he could practically hear Superboy's face twisting in anger.

"L-let me explain," the accused quickly interjected. "I was out with some co-workers. Friday after work they invited me out with them to a nightclub. I said no at first, but one of my friends convinced me. To be honest, I should have just stayed home. They all ended up drunk, trying to hook me up with some scandalous skank every few seconds. I ended up just being the designated driver. I had to drive everyone home, and by the time I had actually arrived at my house, it was late."

"How late?" Superboy bit out.

His eyes shifted nervously between the two heroes. "Definitely after 3:00 in the morning."

"Why were you so scared to tell us that?" Nightwing asked.

"I suppose I didn't want to accidentally incriminate myself for something. I know I didn't do anything, but I'm just a paranoid person."

"Then what were you doing out there tonight? Why did you attack me?" the Boy of Steel slammed his hands down on the table, the expression on his face doing a terrible job of hiding the snarl.

"I was dropping off my kids." Jeremiah's voice quivered with fear.

"In the middle of the forest?" Nightwing pulled Superboy back from the table, sending him back to the corner he had been in previously. They exchanged glares before Nightwing continued.

"Just tell us what you were doing out tonight."

"I was dropping my kids at Deborah's house."

"Who's Deborah?"

"My ex-wife. She had a family emergency late last night and she called me to watch the kids. I stayed at her house that night with them. Then she called me the next day saying it was going to be longer than she thought. So I took them to my house. When she got home tonight, I took them back to her house and hung out for a little. It was about 8:00 when I left.

"I tried to beat the rain, but my car jumped a pothole. Then it started making noises and I had to pull over. My tire was flat, and the city was still 30 minutes away. I accidentally left my phone at Deborah's house. And my flashlight battery died while I was using it. And on top of all that, it had started to rain. I just wanted to get home."

He turned towards Superboy. "I really didn't mean to attack you. When I went through the forest, I was hoping to maybe find a gas station or someone that could help me on the other side. And I often get lost in the moment, so much so I have tunnel vision. So when the lightning struck and the tree caught on fire, I panicked. And your figure is very intimidating especially considering the circumstances. I thought you were a bear or some other wild animal."

Nightwing could see Superboy struggling with his anger. "Then why did you run after I confronted you?" Superboy asked.

"Run?"

"Don't play dumb! You hit me across the face with your tire iron and ran! When I caught up, then you attack me. What game are you playing and what did you do to Batgirl?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Honestly. I came up to you and ran because you scared me. You had murder in your eyes. When you caught up, you attacked me. Then I remember waking up here."

Superboy reached across the table and forced the Jeremiah in the air. "Liar!"

Nightwing rushed over, wrenching the victim from his teammate's hands. He stared bullets at him as he pushed him to the far end of the room.

"Get out." His voice was a deep growl, one he never believed he would use on anyone. He knew before he even finished the short phrase he sounded like his long time mentor. He respected Batman, but to get to a point where he had become like him, scared him. Batman chose to see the bad before he saw the good, something that had made him paranoid and reclusive. He never wanted that for himself, but this whole situation was pushing him beyond the scope of his usually optimistic personality.

Superboy stepped out, shaking the room as he slammed the door. Nightwing took a long sigh before turning to face Jeremiah again. "I'm really sorry about all this. You've been a real help, but I think we just missed a clue somewhere that we needed to solve this case."

"It's alright. I'm just sorry I couldn't be of any use. I hope you catch who you're looking for."

"Thanks. Miss Martian is outside. She'll take you home and the League will pay for your car to be taken to your house and the expenses for the tire."

"Thank you."

Nightwing escorted him out. Superboy glared at Jeremiah the whole way out, and before Nightwing could react, Superboy had pummeled Jeremiah again. This time it was Miss Martian who removed the hero from their bystander. Jeremiah quickly running to stand next to her like a kid running to his mother.

"Take him home." Nightwing ordered as he held Superboy back. "Erase his mind of all this once he reaches his house. Implant this: a stranger took him home to keep him out the rain. And the same stranger said he would pay to have his car towed and fixed."

Miss Martian nodded as she received the instructions, leading the still cowering Jeremiah out to the zeta tube.

Nightwing turned back to Superboy who pushed him off.

"What the hell is your problem?" Nightwing asked, ready to shove a shard of Kryptonite down his throat.

"He smirked at me as he walked out. The man was lying the entire time, playing us, but like a fool you believed him. You're letting the man who nearly killed your best friend walk out of here!"

The former Boy Wonder couldn't look at Superboy head on. He still believed Connor was still in some way responsible for Barbara. He took a breath before responding.

"Did you get my signal?" He was referring to the scratching of his ear preceded by his snaps.

"Yeah. I got it." Nightwing had wanted him to listen to Jeremiah's heartbeat. Any increase would represent itself as a lie.

"And?"

He angrily sighed. "There was no fluctuation. But he was lying through his teeth and you believe him."

Nightwing held up his hand with surprising patience. "I don't care what you think. You have to look at the facts. You think I didn't look to see if he was lying?"

It was Superboy's turn to look off.

"No matter how bad either of us wants that to be who we're looking for, it's not. So next time you try an underhanded stunt like that to save your skin-"

"Save my skin?" Nightwing could hear the indignation in his voice. "You still think that what happened to Batgirl is my fault? Well, news flash. It's not. And if it was this is League business, which, last time I checked, didn't involve you."

Nightwing's tone was hushed, but his voice was icy and his glare steel. "League or not, the next time you endanger Batgirl or the rest of the Team due to reckless endangerment or just your bullheaded stupidity, I don't care what the League does. I'll personally take care of you so that it doesn't happen again."

They stared at each other for a while before Nightwing left out.

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Miss Martian and Jeremiah walked into the zeta tube.

"Thank you for taking me home. And I'm sorry I couldn't help."

"It's not your fault."

She could see him looking around in her peripheral vision. In her mind, she was absolutely dumbfounded at how Connor could accuse this man of, essentially, murder. She looked at him again. He was small in stature, had no muscle mass, and looked quite sickly. On top of it all, he had a quiet spirit. She could sense it. His presence was small and peaceful. He didn't look like he liked confrontations, let alone start one.

She knew this whole deal was weighing on her former boyfriend more than he would care to admit. Often he covered his concern with anger, like he was doing now. It put her in a tough spot. She wanted to agree with him, but with an accusation as bold faced as this, she couldn't find it in herself to do so.

When she looked up, he was looking at her expectantly

"I"m sorry Jeremiah. Were you saying something?"

"I was just saying that you all have a neat spot. It must have everything."

"Oh yeah. It does. Everything a Justice League needs to fight crime."

"So how come I haven't seen you before on TV like the rest of the League?"

She thought a moment before she answered. She didn't want to divulge more than was necessary.

"With my appearance, we just figured it would be best I stay in the background, especially with the whole Reach catastrophe still blowing over."

"That's a shame. I think you're very pretty."

Her face portrayed the feelings of both her heart and head. Her eyes widened in shock as her lips curling into a slight smile.

She cleared her throat before answering. "Thank you."

"Recognized. Miss Martian. B05."

Soon they were in Washington DC. Jeremiah stumbled for several before slipping on a curb, landing on Miss Martian.

"Sorry. Sorry. I'm really clumsy."

He got up and helped her, pulling her close as he did so. For a few seconds they stood chest to chest. It was Jeremiah's turn to smirk.

Miss Martian cleared her throat and pushed off. "Let's… let's get you home."

She walked off, but the smirk remained on Jeremiah's face.

"You must be lonely being the only female of your species here."

She shook her head in disagreement.

"So you're into Earth men. Interesting." Miss Martian raised an eyebrow at his last statement. Not only was it oddly stated, but she thought she heard an accent in his words.

"I've always found exotic women interesting. And a woman of power is always attractive."

He moved in close again. Miss Martian began to feel the tension between the two, moving away from him again. This time she could definitely hear the shoddy Spanish accent he was trying to put on.

"And that green skin of yours drives me wild." He moved into kiss her. She reacted without having to think, using her telekinesis to push him to the ground.

"Jeremiah!"

He sat up propping himself with one hand, lustfully looking at her. "Please call me Jermaine." He picked himself off the ground.

Her face was twisted in disgust as she watched him stand.

"Feisty. I love it."

"Look Jeremiah-"

"Jermaine."

"Jeremiah, Jermaine, whatever you choose to call yourself, that's not going to work again. I don't appreciate your approach. Now show me where you live so I can escort you home and be done."

He continued his smirk. "Of course, mi corazón. Anything to bring you home. I live on 15th Street, two blocks from here. But please follow me."

He walked in front of her leading her to his home. Through the silence, Miss Martian could feel the uncomfortable air Jeremiah had established. She watched him closely to assure he didn't make any moves.

It took them five minutes to arrive at his stoop. Miss Martian continued to glare at the man.

"I suppose this is goodbye. Perhaps a little kiss farewell."

"Someone will be by with your car tomorrow," she replied, purposely ignoring his last remark.

Jeremiah raised an eyebrow as he opened the door. Stepping in, he motioned for his escort to do the same. Begrudgingly, she stepped in. She jumped as she felt the smack land on her rear.

She turned around quickly, furious at the lecherous actions that this introverted man was taking at her.

"Jeremiah!"

He grabbed her into him, pulled her close and planted his lips on hers while she was still in shock.

"I told you, call me Jermaine."

She slapped him across the face. He stumbled back a little before catching his balance. He closed the door, licking his lips as he savored the kiss. He began walking towards his couch.

"So are you staying the night? If so, I think I can spare some room in my-"

Miss Martian had had enough of his lascivious talk. She entered his mind ready to erase all encounters of this night.

Jeremiah crumpled over on his couch clutching his head in his hands. The pain started creeping back into the Martian's mind. It started imperceptible but grew to nearly excruciating. She quickly retreated, a headache forming nearly instantly, scattering her train of thought.

Jeremiah began to stir, groaning as he changed his position on the couch. His eyes opened and roamed the room. As they landed on the Martian, he began to yell, almost falling out of his seat.

"Who are you?! Get out my house!" He ran to grab a bat from a side room.

Miss Martian forced herself to grab her wits. She turned invisible before the startled man could return. Within a few seconds she had density shifted out the room. She stayed on the steps for a while she tried to let the headache pass over. After a few minutes she made her way to the zeta tube, the headache clinging on as well as this unusual turn of events.