The sun was just beginning to set. She had been waiting there for nearly four hours. They should be here soon. Her arms were crossed and her foot tapped curtly against the ground. The fiery red light from the horizon reflected off of her helmet. The new mechanisms on her wrists felt unfamiliar and heavy.

A noise behind her caused Jocelyn to jolt up and whirl around. But the person who stood there wasn't who she was expecting.

Nightwing noticed her edginess. "Whoa now. It's just your friendly neighborhood me. What's gotten you all jittery?" The Specter didn't answer, and instead crossed her arms again. He continued, "You're Jo, right?" He stuck out a hand. "I'm Dick. But, you know… don't go around telling."

The Specter considered the hand, and then reluctantly took it. "I'm expecting someone," she replied stonily.

"Oh? I was going to ask what brought you to Blüdhaven."

"It's a private meeting," she added.

"Say no more. I hear ya. I'll get out of your hair. Tell Jason and Bruce I said hi, okay?" The Specter gave a wordless nod. "It was nice meeting you, Jo." As he made his way out of his docks, he couldn't help but marvel. She had to be crazy hot under that helmet, because that conversation made him feel like he had been talking to a bucket.

Even then, the whole thing made him feel uneasy. What was she doing here?

"My apologies. It took a long time for me to shut down the override. If I had been able to contact you sooner, I would have," Verlix said as the two climbed down the stairs.

"Sooner? It's been two weeks. You and Jo practically disappeared off the face of the Earth!" Jason snapped.

"Verlix, what of the data stick?" Batman asked.

"As per our agreement, it has been destroyed," Verlix answered.

"Destroyed? You—!"

"Not now, Jason." Batman stopped in front of the computer. "What was on it?"

"Origins," Verlix said, "of the immaterial soldier. And of Jocelyn Drei."

Batman was silent as he considered Verlix's response. "Then it's for the better that the information is gone."

"I thought that was the most dangerous thing in the data. I was wrong."

Jason looked around. "Where's Jo?"

"What are you talking about?" Batman demanded.

"Verlix, where is—."

"I believe I have made a mistake," Verlix admitted. "Some things cannot be predicted with mere calculations. I should have never showed her what was in those memories."

Right as he finished, there came an incoming call on Batman's comms link. It was Nightwing. Batman answered the call with a light touch on the side of his mask.

"Uh, you might want to get over here," Nightwing said, his voice urgent. "Like, now."

"What is it?"

"Is Jason there?" Batman looked over at Jason and nodded his head. The boy reached up to his ear and tuned into their channel. "What's up, Dick?"

"You know, when you told me about her, I figured she was a lot of things. Psycho was not one of them."

Jason's brow furrowed as he turned away. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"Okay? She's fine. These bodies, though? They're not. Just get your asses over to Blüdhaven right now." With that, the channel ended. Batman turned and marched briskly towards the stairs. Jason, however, turned to Verlix and planted both hands on the control panel.

"Verlix, what's going on? What did Jo—?"

"Have a look at this," Verlix interrupted. Suddenly, the blueprints of something were pulled up onto the screens. It appeared to be some sort of mechanism that attached onto the wrist. A 10-inch long blade was designed to spring out of the mechanism.

Another schematic was brought up. This was an upgrade to the high-intensity laser, giving it a longer range. "I could not stop her," Verlix continued. "She designed these with the intent to kill."

"But why?"

"Jason, let's go!" Batman ordered.

"Why, Verlix?" Jason insisted, refusing to budge. "Why would she do this?"

"You would have a clearer answer if you asked her yourself," Verlix replied. "I can only tell you what she saw."

They met with Nightwing outside of Blüdhaven's police department. Immediately, Nightwing jerked his head towards the department's entrance and led them through it. "She didn't offer any resistance when she was arrested," he said. "Which is good, but… a little eerie."

"How do you know she did it?" Jason blurted out.

Nightwing shot him a look. "I saw her, genius. She was on the docks, and I stopped by to say hi. She acted like she wanted me gone fast, but I stuck around to see what was going on. A little while later, five people join her. They started talking, but even from where I was, things felt real tense. Next thing I knew, all hell broke loose. When the smoke cleared, she was standing over five corpses."

"So you ratted her out to the police?" Jason growled.

"I arrested her myself," Nightwing shot back. "Listen, Jason. I know you're in love, but you can't defend her. She showed her true colors on that dock. Once a murderer, always a murderer."

"A murd…!? You have no right to call her that!"

"Tell that to the five dead. Speaking of which, forensics still can't get an ID on them."

"They're Signet," Batman answered. "Her mother's killers."

"And they've been trying to hunt Jo down and kill her all her life!" Jason added. "Doesn't that count as self-defense?"

"Maybe," Nightwing said. "But it sure didn't look like self-defense to me. Any way you look at it, she's going to stay in that holding cell for a while until we can start getting a clearer look at this picture." He stopped them in front of an elevator. "The bodies are downstairs. We might be able to get a few good clues that the coroners missed."

"I've got Alfred looking into the identities of Signet's members. Let's go," Batman said. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Batman and Nightwing stepped in, but Jason hesitated. Nightwing shot out an arm to hold the doors. "Any day now, buddy," he said.

"There was a pause. "I want to see her," he insisted. Nightwing glanced at Batman with uncertainty. The Dark Knight stared at Jason for a beat.

"Join us as soon as you can," he finally declared. Nightwing retracted his hand. The elevator doors began closing again. Jason watched as the image of the two shrunk between the sliding doors, but didn't even wait for them to completely shut before turning and heading away.

He hurried down a few hallways. It wasn't long before Jason realized that this was not the GCPD. With its cracked linoleum floors and faded wooden walls, Blüdhaven Police Department was in a sorrier state than the GCPD was. To top it off, the naked fluorescent bulbs that lined the ceiling added even more to the asylum-like atmosphere.

Jason slowed down as he spotted a policewoman sitting at a small desk, concentrated on the antiquated block of a computer in front of her. "The girl they arrested earlier tonight, where are they holding her?" he asked. The woman's eyes flickered briefly up to him before returning to the dusty screen. "She might be in questioning right now," she replied. "But if they're done, she'll be in one of the holding cells." She raised a hand and pointed. "Down that way, to the left, and through the double doors."

If the main building had looked dreary, it was nothing compared to the holding cells. The room, both visually and atmospherically, could be described in a single word: gray. The cells themselves lined the room like cages in a pound. Jason noticed, as he passed by them, that many cells were empty. Evidently it was a slow day for crime.

In his hurry, he nearly missed her. He stopped and backtracked to the cell. She was sitting on the cell floor with her back to the bars, leaning against the wall. Her suit was gone. Jason stepped forward and rested his hand around a bar, wondering what to say. This was obviously a sensitive time for her, according to Verlix. But was she sad? Embarrassed? Angry?

But come on, this was Jo. For over a year, they had been together, and he was sure that he knew her better than he knew himself. But even then, a little voice in his mind asked him: "But did you know she would go off and kill?" He managed to cast off the nagging doubt with the same argument—that Jo had done it to protect herself and Verlix.

Leaning forward, he spoke out, "Hey there, Jailbird."

She didn't respond. Okay… So the playful approach wasn't the way to go. They were only a few feet apart, yet it felt like miles. Jason crouched down, still holding onto the bars. "Babe, it's okay. I'm here now."

"I wish you weren't." The words cut through the air. He was shocked.

Then, she finally looked at him. Jocelyn scooted around and closer to the bars. "I didn't mean to say it like that," she apologized. She smiled, but at the same time looked so sad.

"What happened, Jo?"

"I thought I was doing the right thing," Jocelyn whispered. "I thought I had no choice but to fight fire with fire. But now that I think back, all I remember is being so angry… Jason, I really wish you weren't here to see me like this. It's like I'm no different from them. I… You probably think I'm like… like a criminal." She drew her knees up and hugged her legs. "You should go."

Jason planted himself firmly down on the ground. "I'm not going anywhere," he declared. "You're not a bad person, Jo. I've never thought of you like that. Never have. Never will." He leaned his head against the bars. "Now quit your moping and get over here."

Jocelyn's stoniness remained for a few seconds before dissolving into a small smile. She scooted closer to the bars. "I hate you," she mumbled.

"I hate you too, babe." He watched as she leaned the side of her face against the bars as well. "You're going to be fine. Once Bruce ID's those guys as Signet members, the police will know they were the real bad guys. I told Dick they were trying to kill you. There's probably enough proof to back you up, okay?" Jason reached through and took her hand. "I'll get you outta here and back home before midnight, just like Verlix always says. Otherwise he'll fry my ass, remember?"

Jocelyn chuckled lightly. "He'll fry the both of us after this."

The clanking of the double doors alerted the both of them that someone had entered. A police officer walked towards them, regarding the two with cold eyes. "You're not supposed to be here," he said to Jason.

Instantly, his disposition changed. "The fuck are you talking about?" he growled as he rose to his feet. "You know who I am?"

"I know exactly who you are," the officer replied with equal austerity. "And it's time for you to go."

"Listen, I'm not going until—." Jocelyn touched his arm.

"Jason, it's okay," she reassured him quietly. He looked back at her. Then, he figured it was best if he didn't cause trouble with Blüdhaven's police, especially at a time like this.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he promised. He gave her hand a little squeeze before leaving. As the double doors swung shut, the officer walked casually over to Jocelyn's cell. Without looking at her, he said, "How touching. It's going to be so sad. He won't be able to save you." Jocelyn glared at him. "Before you say anything," the officer continued. "You should know that your actions have made a bigger ripple than you thought. He's in Gotham right now, setting up a little arrangement. Then, before dawn, we'll take care of you." The officer turned and stared directly at Jocelyn. As she looked back, she froze with fear. She recognized that face. It was the man in Verlix's memory, the one who had threatened the android with the rifle. Signet.

"It's such a shame the boy won't be able to keep his promise."

Addendum: Wow, it's been nearly a month since the last update. I'm very sorry for the huge delay. Just be warned, though: updates will continue to be slow (though hopefully not THIS slow). Classes have started, and I'm taking a few upper-division courses that are pretty demanding.

Anyway, here's the obligatory DUN DUN DUNNNN.