hey! im soo sorry for the late up-date D:

im so exited about this story, its so far going in the right direction, thanks so much for all the reviews!

-gives cookie- :D

beta read by Birchtail! thanks so much :D

anyway, on with the story!~

~Unknown Location~

The splashing sound of someone running down an abandoned alley in the middle of a storm rang in the no one heard it; the alley was abandoned after all.

Suddenly, the splashing stopped, and the figure in the rain reached for a slightly crumpled note under his soaked coat. His eyes gleamed a confused, almost frightened gray-green in the dim light reflecting off the puddles in the street; his black hair was dripping, tangled across his head as if he had just quickly took out a crumpled note that was in his pocket and scanned it over, checking carefully to making sure he had gone to the right place.

Todd –

If you want her back, come to the alley north of Gotham, and come alone.

You know the place.

The man glanced up as a dark figure stepped into the dull light of the failing street lamps, the light shining up off the water to give his face a frightening aspect.

Jason narrowed his eyes.I'm coming for you, squirt, don't worry, he promised.

~In the Batcave~

Dick, now fully arrayed in his Nightwing costume, was pacing back and forth on the concrete tiles of the cave. He was very worried.

They had searched high and low for Jason, but it was as if he had disappeared off the face of the earth. Of course, there were undoubtedly many places for him to hide they hadn't searched yet. He could be all the way out of the city for all they knew, though with his wounds... they were doubtful he could make it that far.

This wasn't the first time, though; Jason tended to disappear when he didn't want to be , in the far left corner of the dark room, was moody and brooding as he was apt to do.

Tim was standing near Bruce at the computer, helping him look for clues as to where Jason might were getting nowhere. There was practically nothing to lead them to Jason, and Bruce was beginning to doubt that he would survive in the city, alone. It brought back so many terrible memories...

"Dick. We will handle the search. Right now, your team needs you," Bruce announced.

Dick frowned. He knew his father was right, but he didn't want to leave. He wanted to help. No, he needed to had never been a good brother to Jason. When he first became robin, he had chosen to ignore him. And when he died, he felt so guilty; maybe if they had been closer, he would have been there to save him. But he hadn't been there. And that would never change.

And when he finally got the chance to be there for him, when he had his head screwed on straight and wasn't in the least superior, Jason disappeared again!

Dick shook his head; this wasn't the time for regret. Now he needed to ensure that he would be able to stay.

"I can help here! I-" Batman quickly cut him off.

"No. You know there is nothing you can do right now, so go back to your team, and we'll call you if anything comes up." Dick sighed in defeat. He knew batman was right; he was useless here. Worrying wouldn't do him any good, and the Batcave had always been conducive to depressing thoughts. More so, of course, when someone in the family was possibly dying.

He finally nodded in agreement; it wasn't as if he had a choice, after nodded and turned back to the computer.

Nightwing left the cave, and thoughts of Jason lingered in his head.

~Unknown Location~

"So you're willing to trade yourself for the life of the girl?" a voice spoke from the shadows of the room.

"Yes. I will trade places, but you have to promise me that she will not be harmed. You will let her go." Jason's voice was desperate, a little hoarse. He didn't really trust the man; but anything was worth a try now.

"It's a fair enough trade. Though if you weren't the Red Hood, your injuries would render it a poor one indeed," the dark figure reminded Jason.

"But if you pull any stunts, we will kill her." The voice was warning, low.

Jason nodded."It seems we have come to an agreement, then." "Guards!" shouted the man.

Four stocky men rushed into the room."Bring the girl," the man in the shadows ordered.

Two of the guards left the room, coming back in moments. They dragged a young girl into the room, and Jason tried to see her face, but couldn't through the pitch-black hair that fell over it in long, unkempt strands. The girl looked up, shaking the hair from her face with a toss of the head. She had forest green eyes, like Jason's but missing the blue tint. They widened as she saw who was in the room.

The two guards dropped the girl; she quickly got to her feet, running at Jason and tackling him into a hug. Tears filled her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks. "Jason," she mumbled. "I knew you would come for me."

"I promised, didn't I?" he said to head snapped up in sudden memory. "W-wait. How are you-here?"
The man hidden in the shadows cut her off.

"Dear brother Jason switched places with you."

"No," she mumbled, eyes suddenly wide with a different, worse sort of shock. "You can't take him!"

"Yes," said the man in the shadows. She could have sworn she heard an evil grin in his voice. "Take her, and drop her off somewhere. We have what we want."

The same two guards who brung her in seized her arms, slowly dragging her out of the room. The other two remaining guards grabbed Jason's shoulders, pushing him onto his knees, then pulled his hands behind his back, cuffing them together. "JASON!" the young girl screamed, struggling futilely against the guards.

Jason smiled a little in her direction. "It's okay." The guards quickly took the girl out of the room, and Jason hung his head in resignation. He had done the best he could in his current state; he would have a fairly clear conscience even if they didn't release the girl.

Perhaps he was mad.

Jason silently, bitterly laughed.

It wasn't as if it hadn't happened before.

The man hidden in the shadows chuckled, obviously enjoying the young man's nodded to the guards holding Jason down, and they nodded back.

The guard to the right took out a cloth and wet it with something in a small bottle he had on his belt, then took the now-soaked cloth and smashed it into Jason's immediately started fighting his restraints, but to no avail. As a strange, pungent odor tingled the inside of his nose, his struggles slowed down until they stopped eyes started closing, and black dots danced in his vision. The last thought he had was a strange one, something he didn't understand but couldn't stay awake long enough to argue with.

Those black spots... fireflies, with no fire.

With one last breath of the pungent chemical, he lost consciousness.

~Inner City Gotham, Approximately Two Miles From Jason~

The two guards dropped the girl in the middle of a dank, empty street, and they were gone as quickly as they'd brought her there. After a moment, the girl got up and looked around, taking in her surroundings, attempting to gauge where she was.

If I could just find some help, maybe I could save Jason in wiping the tears from her face, she started running. One thought was on an endless loop through her head as she jogged out of the inner city and toward the wealthy sector.

'

Batman.'

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