Notes: Jason is still very much in denial about what he's doing with Dick. And they don't really do anything criminal yet. But hey, at least Jason figured out a new name for Dick (which they're not going to use).

Part 2 – Girls and Plans

Dick held up a picture. Jason was slightly distracted by the red and dark red uniform and dark red almost-cowl he was wearing. Dick's hair still whipped free and his mouth was visible. So much red, it made Jason nervous for some reason.

"This is Sophia," Dick said. "And, if you've joining me on this, no one can get hurt."

"We don't want anyone knowing we've taken the girl, right?" Jason said. Dick paused for a moment before reluctantly nodding, like he hadn't expected Jason to realise that. "Look, I might not know her like you do but I don't want her in the system either."

Sneaking in was simple. Dick didn't need him for this but Jason wasn't willing to leave him alone. He told himself he didn't want Dick running off to join Deathstroke. Jason's area of work was tough enough without having to worry about what Deathstroke was doing with Dick.

Plus, the longer he stuck with Dick, the more information he could gather in order to destroy him.

They made quick work of the security camera and Dick crept over to the bed Sophia was sleeping in. Jason watched as Dick silently woke her and quietly told her that he had come to get her.

She hugged him. Jason gagged. Dick always had a way with the ladies.

There was a movement on the other side of the door; noticeable through the frosted glass window.

Dick and Jason shared a look. Dick pointed to the door and Jason nodded, moving to be the first one out.

He let Dick take care of getting the girl down to street level.

"You're a real, live superhero!" Sophia practically crowed once they were safe.

Jason snorted.

"I'm just glad you're safe, Soph."

"Sorry, but we're the furthest thing from superheroes you can get, sweetheart," Jason said to her.

Dick glared at him. "Seriously, Red Hood?"

Jason shrugged back. "Think they'll notice she's missing?"

"Probably not. But we're not waiting around to find out."

Jason noticed that Dick didn't deny the superhero claim.

It all bubbled over when they reached Gotham. Being in Gotham made Jason twitchy. Jason wore just his domino mask and a jacket as Dick guided them to a Gotham apartment. It belonged to the dark haired, crossbow loving vigilante known as Huntress. The only reason Jason wasn't smashing either of their heads in was because he wanted a moment alone with Dick.

"Just a moment, Helena," Dick said, finally cuing into Jason's frantic gesturing. The moment they were outside, Jason grabbed Dick by the throat and rammed him up against the door.

"What kind of game are you playing?"

"Yeah, I know. I can't leave Sophia here," Dick said. Jason couldn't tell if he was being infuriating on purpose. "Helena said as much."

"And what are you planning?" Jason said angrily. Dick had no right to be taking people and moving them around all the time, subject to his whims.

"A meeting with Deathstroke."

"I'm asking how Sophia fits into all this?"

"Jason," Dick sighed as if it was his fault he couldn't understand.

Rage was a quick thing. It washed over Jason's vision and he tossed Dick into the other wall before punching his gut. "You're still playing at being the hero-"

"No! I'm not!" Dick countered as he tried to force him away. Jason just grabbed the punch Dick threw at him and hit Dick back on the chin. Once he cooled off, Jason would realise that it was strange that Dick hadn't been able to fight back. Like something was affecting his combat ability.

In the moment, rage clouding his vision, Jason could only stand over Dick and taunt, "really? I haven't seen you do one bad thing this whole time. You went and rescued a mobsters' daughter!"

"I owed it to her to help! Plus, she's in the perfect position to watch and control Bludhaven's crime!"

They both froze, eyes wide under masks. The rage washed away into a cool anger in Jason's chest.

"What?" Control crime? "Are you going to use her?"

Dick looked away. "I'm not a good person."

"You're going to use her."

Dick's eyes flashed in the light as he stood up. "At least I'm not going to be killing mob heads! If we're lucky, the mob families will just fall into the new status quo!" he growled at Jason.

"'If we're lucky'?" Jason sneered. "If you're lucky! I don't put children in danger to achieve my goals!"

Dick sneered right back. "Right, you just kill people!"

"I don't. Put. Children. In. Danger." Jason's voice had dropped low as he took a step forward, right into Dick's person space. "She's not staying here. Not in Gotham. Not in Bludhaven."

"Ja-" Jason threw another punch and a kick, not caring one iota as Dick crumbled to the ground.

He went back into Helena's apartment and pulled some money out of his belt. He pressed it into Sophia's hands.

"Take this. Go somewhere new. Across the country maybe. Live a normal life," Jason snorted. On the ride here, he recalled her mentioning something about feeling like her future was predestined to go down a dark path. That people were pushing here there, but mostly into the crime she had been born into.

Maybe that's why he was so determined to give her a choice but he wasn't going to think too hard about it.

"Helena, help her get set up to leave. Consider that returning whatever favours you owe Dick."

"Hey!" Helena shouted at him, trying to get his attention. She froze as Dick appeared in the doorway, a split lip indicating that he was going to have bruises the next day.

"Say buh-bye, Dickie-bird," Jason said in a calm tone as he grabbed Dick's arm and pulled him down the hallway.

"I guess Nightwing was going to reap the benefits of whatever information your little mob teen could get you," Jason snorted as they made their way to Dick's bike. It was a nice bike and he considered making it his.

After a moment pause, Dick said, "Deathstroke to keep the metas out, Sophia to control the criminals, Amy to get the police force running well and no need for Nightwing."

Jason froze, inches from touching distance of the nice bike.

"What?"

Dick's gaze was angry but there was no anger in his voice, only exhaustion as he repeated what he said and added;

"I was going to force Deathstroke into a situation where he would have to accept my terms."

"How?"

"I was going to wing it. I would promise myself to his service if that's what it would take."

Jason's anger was fading. It was difficult to be angry with someone who sounded exhausted. Like they had the worries of the world on their lone shoulders.

Dick chuckled. "Do you see now, Jay? I'm bad."

Jason took a deep breath. There was much loaded into that one statement and he had no idea how to begin countering it.

Instead, he had to question in a hated, almost childish voice, "no Nightwing?"

"With the monopoly, there would be no need for Nightwing. Nightwing only attracts the metas anyway."

Jason shook his head. The idea that Dick would practically sell himself made him feel ill. He had no idea where to go with that.

While heading back to Gotham, the subject of where Dick was living came up. Because Jason wasn't going to take him back to a place Deathstroke knew about.

"What are you talking about?" Dick questioned blankly. "I'm living at the motel."

"The motel?" Jason questioned, recalling where he found Dick. That wasn't a place to live long term. "Not even an apartment?"

"No. Now let me drive," Dick said.

"No," Jason echoed, pulling the bike back onto the road before Dick could convince him to let them switch places. He pondered what Dick had said earlier, about failing people who lived in the same building as him. It looked like Jason might need to research why that was.

A bunch of papers were tossed at him. Jason quickly gathered them all up. A glance at the papers showed names like 'Talia Al Ghul', 'Deathstroke', and 'Lex Luthor'. It was a web of allegiances and, if Jason knew these people, potential backstabbing and conflicts.

"Oh boy. Where'd you get all this?" he asked Dick as Dick slipped into the seat next to him.

"You asked for the plan."

"What kind of plan is this?"

"There's an unholy alliance going on. I'm looking for my way in."

The information was in Dick's scrawl. The pen and paper were Jason's. This safe house didn't have a computer and Dick hadn't left the whole time.

"Did you write all this from memory?" Dick gave him a look that said 'of course' as he nodded. "You do realise that this isn't a bad thing to do? You're looking to take out bad guys."

"Or work under them," Dick admitted.

"Me," Jason reminded him. "You're going to work under me." Dick looked ready to argue but, Jason had a counter argument. "I can get you in with these guys." How he loved saying that. He wished he had a camera to take a picture of Dick's shocked expression. Witnessing Dick's leave of Bruce's teachings would be one thing, but to encourage it? The idea had a lot of appeal, even if it was one of his more dangerous ones. "Not yet though. Instead, how about tonight we cause some chaos in Bludhaven?" Jason wasn't stupid; Dick's heart wasn't in crime. At any moment, his 'brother' could turn on him.

Dick hesitated.

"I'm the best option you've got," Jason reminded him. "Anyone else would have killed you by now, Nightwing."

"Don't call me that." Dick looked down at the red across his outfit with a distasteful frown. It was only then that Jason noticed that he hadn't changed out of his uniform before bed.

"New name for the new costume, huh? What am I supposed to call you then? Dickwing?"

Irritation and annoyance flashed on Dick's face for a moment. "No. Never."

"Dickwing, it is!"