It was early in the morning by the time the gas cleared, but she could hardly tell. Everything was still dark, cloudy, and wet.

The glowing blue lines of her helmet emerged slowly from the mouth of the tunnel. The Specter directed her eyes up to the sky. The air was filled with spores and traces of neutralized toxin. They drifted like ash after a fire. It was almost surreal to watch.

She looked ahead. The reality of what was happening returned to her when she saw them scattered on the streets. The dead seemed to go on forever. She hadn't realized how many had been stranded in Gotham. Before the dispersion of the gas, they had all been hiding. Then, when their nests flooded, out came the drowned rats.

As the Specter walked through the streets, she glanced down at the bodies she passed. Many of them lay in rigor mortis, their rigid faces contorted into expressions of fear. Toxin overdose was most likely the cause of their deaths. They were the lucky ones.

She tore her eyes away from a corpse that showed obvious signs of self-mutilation. Her hands felt cold and clammy, and her breaths shook. This kind of terror and desolation was unreal. She couldn't fathom the breed of evil that could have caused this kind of suffering. This had been the work of Scarecrow. And the Arkham Knight.

Whoever that man was, he needed to die. After this, there could be no retribution for him. The Specter made up her made. When next she saw him, she'd kill him.

"Verlix," she said into her headset. "Give me his location."

"It's difficult to pinpoint," Verlix replied. "His last broadcast over the militia channel came from an abandoned mall. Ryker Heights district."

"When was it?"

"About an hour ago."

The Specter sighed. "It's a good a lead as any." She picked up her pace to a light sprint.

"When you find him…" Verlix began uneasily.

"I'm ending it," the Specter replied in a tone that held finality.

"I see." He didn't object. That worried her.

Lost in her thoughts, she barely had time to catch herself as she rounded a corner and spotted a patrolling militia team. The Specter quickly pulled herself back and pressed herself against the side of the building. She could hear the grinding of the drone's treads and the footsteps of the soldiers drawing closer.

"—ly had no idea he was just a kid," one of them was saying. The Specter cloaked just as they passed by.

"That's no excuse. Did you see him? After Scarecrow took the commissioner from the roof?"

"Yeah. He was broken. Crying. It was pathetic. And what's up with that red mask?"

The Specter slipped past them and headed towards the opposite direction. The building Verlix mentioned was just a few blocks away. It sounded like the mall had been the hub of activity recently. Scarecrow, Batman, and Commissioner Gordon had all been there. And no doubt the Arkham Knight, still hot on Batman's trail, had been there too.

Suddenly, she stopped. She turned and faced a building. It was an apartment complex. The building itself ran around in a square and had a courtyard in the center. The entrance to the courtyard was collapsed and completely obstructed by the rubble. She glanced towards the direction of the shopping mall, and then looked back at the apartment. Why did she stop here? She couldn't quite find an answer, but…

The Specter stepped through the rubble. When she walked into the courtyard, she found that she wasn't alone.

He was sitting on the edge of the dry, cracked fountain. Leaning forward, he was resting his forearms on his knees. His head was hung low and his shoulders were hunched forward. The red mask was raised, but his face was turned away from her. The still air was peppered by his quiet sobs.

There he was. The Arkham… no, that couldn't be the man she was trying to kill. That wasn't the Arkham Knight. It was Jason.

Jocelyn reached up and pulled her helmet off. She stood there, watching him with her own eyes. Her heart broke watching him. There was nothing Jocelyn wanted more than to run to him and comfort him, the man who had destroyed the city and killed so many. Was it the wrong thing to do? Did it make her a horrible person? It didn't matter to her anymore; she was only human. She walked towards him. The dry leaves announced her approach, and she didn't bother to try and hide it. When he heard her, he looked up at her and quickly ducked his head away.

"Get away from me," he demanded through gritted teeth. Jocelyn ignored him and sat down next to him. "It's okay," she murmured, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He drew away from her. "Don't touch me!" Jason snapped.

With a sharp tug, Jocelyn pulled him back. She pressed the side of her face against his. "I'll fucking touch you if I want to," she hissed playfully into his ear.

Jason pushed at her. Jocelyn let him go. He stood up and walked away, holding his head in his hands. "Just go away. Leave me alone," he said weakly. Jocelyn remained sitting on the fountain's edge, watching him sadly.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you," she apologized in a soft voice.

"Maybe you were right to do that," Jason said bitterly. "I thought I was… What am I?"

Jocelyn got up and took a step after him. "You're the one who saved me from certain death," she said. "The one who used a piece of silicon to get a date with me. Don't you remember?"

"That's not me," he said heavily.

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't!" Jason shouted, whirling around. "Look at me!" He pointed at his face. It was then Jocelyn noticed for the first time the burned 'J' scar. "That guy you're talking about? He's dead! Killed by the Joker because no one was there for him! Not even you! If you weren't dead, then where the hell were you?" Jocelyn was stunned. His words cut deep. The exact thought had haunted her all these years. It had caused countless sleepless nights and tears. But not today. Now, she only felt rage.

"I could ask you the same thing!" she shot back. "At least I didn't come back a raving lunatic!"

"I wanted revenge! I deserve that much!"

"Revenge? Look at what you've done!" She gestured sharply with an extended arm. "How could you do this?"

The anger on Jason's face was slowly slipping away, replaced by a torn expression. "Because I thought I lost you!"

"And that makes this okay?"

"Yes! … No, I…" There was so much pain twisted in his face. He turned away. "I… I don't know. I just felt like the world had just left me to die. So I wanted to hurt it back." Jason hung his head. "Yeah, I know you probably think I'm the biggest piece of shit ever. Whatever. I've lost everything. I couldn't even take down the Batman. I'm through."

"Jason—."

"Just get out of here."

"I've missed you."

He raised his head. He turned to look at her but hesitated. "I missed you too, Jo," he said quietly. Suddenly, Jocelyn crossed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. She felt him tense up. Then he turned and hugged her back. "God, I missed you so much."

She looked up at him. "Then come here, you piece of shit." With a hand, she pulled his head down and kissed him. For a moment, everything seemed all right. When they parted, Jocelyn caught sight of the scar on his cheek again. She reached up and gingerly placed a hand over it. "I'm sorry," she said.

Jason pressed his own hand over hers. "It was never your fault." He reached over and brushed her hair, which was damp from the drizzle. "Are you cold?"

"I'm fine now," Jocelyn said. "But let's go home."

"Home?"

With a small smile, Jocelyn backed away and tugged at his hand. "Yeah, home. Come on." Jason didn't move.

"But what about Verlix?"

"What about him? He's not going to try and kill you, if that's what you're worried about."

"Yeah, but he probably hates me."

"He's always hated you," Jocelyn pointed out with a light laugh.

Reluctantly, Jason began to follow her. "That's not exactly what I want to hear."

The city was in such a horrid state that it was difficult to keep a good surveillance on her. Most of the CCTV cameras had been destroyed, and air traffic was heavy with signal jammers and noise. The only thing he could really do was track her location.

It nearly fried his circuits not being able to know what was going on up on the surface. But when he finally saw that she was heading back to the tunnel, he felt as though he could breathe a sigh of relief. Still, he couldn't help but worry about what kind of state she'd return in. When last they spoke, Jocelyn had made it very clear what she had planned to do. Did she go through with it? The more Verlix pondered, the more anxious he became.

He detected the opening of the tunnel door. He knew that Jocelyn had entered the lair. But he didn't expect what came next. There was a second person. The last person he thought he'd see.

The instant they came into view, Verlix immediately scanned Jocelyn for any sign of injury. Thankfully, there were no new ones. Then he scanned Jason almost out of mechanical reflex, though he hardly cared. The man appeared to have a few large bruises over his body.

"The lair has numerous defense mechanisms," Verlix announced loudly before anyone could say anything. "If you think your men have any chance of barging in here again, you'd be sorely mistaken."

"No you don't," Jason replied darkly, his eyes averted away.

The AI was less than pleased that he had been called out on his bluff. "Get him out of here," he said sternly. "He's not welcomed here."

A disappointed look crossed Jocelyn's face. "Verlix, please. Jason needs help."

"He is an enemy. A villain. And BEFORE you bring up any arguments," he continued loudly when he saw Jocelyn open her mouth to object, "keep in mind that the past is in the past. Besides, this kind of cowardice doesn't deserve second chances."

Jason stepped in front of Jocelyn, glaring directly at Verlix's camera. "Cut it out," he snapped. "Can't you see you're hurting her?"

"Of course, you would know all about hurting people."

"I'm not going to argue with you," Jason growled. "I know what you're like. You're just a computer program; you'll never be capable of real emotions. You can sit there and spit out all the hateful words you want, but in the end you'll do what Jo wants. You wanna know why? Because that's all you were made for."

"You're right," Verlix replied grouchily. "For once."

"Stop it," Jocelyn demanded stonily. "Both of you. Can't you see there's a war going on above the surface? And here you two are, squabbling! Verl, Jason's realized he made a mistake. He's lost so much. He thought I was dead! How would you have reacted if I had died? You probably would have wrecked more havoc than any villain in Gotham could ever be capable of! And Jason." She turned to him. "Verlix is just trying to protect me. After my mother died, I was all he had left! So would the both of you try to understand each other for once?" She whirled around. "They've probably replaced the Arkham Knight by now, so Scarecrow still has control over the city. I'm going back up to see if there's anything I can still do." Jocelyn stormed back up the stairs. The tunnel door was slammed so hard, the bang reverberated through the lair for a few seconds.

After a moment's silence, Verlix muttered, "Nice going, ass."

Addendum: Yeah, ASS.

Just imagine if Verlix was a villain. He'd do all sorts of terrible things, like shutting down everyone's wifi. Then what would we do? Go outside? Nooo! Anything but that!