My vision is sharper, the sound of dripping water from a tap is audible, and damn did I feel good, like I could take on the world and still have steam to run on, though what was it about Wally's smug face that begged to be punched.

The rational part of my mind was telling me that he was simply a twat that needed to grow up, but the other louder part is all in about decking the speedster, and if One was still a part of me, well, I would've instantly pegged it as him.

Yet this is why I'm doing it, One and I are even when it comes to skill, but for where he would have to build his body to match mine, his powers and innate control over them has clearly given him a leg up.

This is why I asked Raven to push my demonic powers, why I needed to learn how to use them.

"Focus on your breathing." Raven said as we sat beside each other, trying to get a cap on my anger in this form, "In the field, it would only get worse."

"My temper…" I looked down at my hands, one was still covered in webbed scars and my regular tanned-olive colour, the other a void-black and clawed and not made of skin but wisp of black smoke.

"We need to control ourselves. Our emotions need to be kept in check."

It didn't stop at my left arm. Nope, the miasma like substance ran through half my body, from my head to my toes, while the other half remained human, taking the half-demon thing to a stupid level.

"You'd give Two-Face a run for his money," Tim said good-naturedly, but for whatever reason, that set me on edge, as a pang of frustration run through me.

Letting out a deep sigh, I reverted to normal, "Yeah, I suppose." I ran a hand through my hair, noticing it needed to be cut reasonably soon, else I would have to start to tie it up.

"Funny how Two works really well for you," Artemis said with a crooked smile.

"Yeah, funny." I internally groaned.

From the fiction turned reality, I knew of one demon that had a similar look to my demon form, and sure it's a stretch. Then again, the number two keeps following me; being the second made subject, being a half'n'half mishmash of human and demon with other strands mixed in, because science.

I know it's a stretch, but the off chance Mazikeen is my demon benefactor is a terrifying thought because if she's around, then follows a literal army of monsters and god-like beings that could curb-stomp Superman like it's nothing. I mean, sure, that was always a possibility, Darkseid, Brainiac etc., but even the slightest bit of proof is terrifying.

Queue internal crisis and panic attack.

I've lost it. It's the only explanation.

A patrol is something that brings some form of calm to my life.

Today is my birthday, the one from my old life. Not that it meant anything back there, it was another day. Another day where I tried my hardest to stay the hell out of 'home' though, it should come into question how old am I?

I was on the cusp of turning 16 when I died. I spent god knows how long in the void, only to be reborn into a new fresh body, added in with new knowledge and experiences.

I rather say I'm 17-18, though, but that's more to stick it to Tim, who keeps on treating me like a kid to get on my nerves whenever he's in the mood, though I don't know how I would go on explaining that to anyone.

Because no matter how much I feel like I've connected to our 'clan', I just couldn't explain any of it to them. Not even vague talks were on the table, without drawing questions.

Maybe it's because they wouldn't believe me, or perhaps it's because I'm a fucking coward who's scared of losing these beautiful bastards who've treated me better than any blood relative I ever had.

Hence the patrol, something I adore now.

And honestly, as much as I felt terrible that Sphere attached herself to me since I saved her from during the whole One escaping fiasco, instead of forming a bond to Superboy, flying through the air in Gotham is just plain awesome.

Though as much as I just wanted to fly through the air, aimlessly and without thought, I couldn't, I had to stay focused, and a good thing I did.

As me and Super-Cycle glided over to the local park, I noticed the trees swaying in the air of dimly lit light of Gotham, and sure I could've pegged it as nothing, but there was no wind, not even a slight breeze, even at this altitude.

Yet here they were swaying one by one.

"Nice and easy, Baby." I could've sworn Super-Cycle let out a little purr from her engine as she lowered us to swaying greenery, "Ah shit."

"What the hell?" Poison Ivy said as she stopped running through the treetops, "Who are you?"

"Freak."

"Excuse me." She gritted her teeth as a few branches gained a jagged edge.

"That's my name." I raised my hands in surrender, "I'm one of Batman's."

She let out a sigh, "Shit. Look, sidekick, I don't have time for this."

"Yeah, figures," I said with a bored tone as I leaned on my hand, "I'll bite. What's the rush Doc."

"Excuse me?" She said once again, though instead of anger, she was confused, "That's not how this goes."

"How's it supposed to go then?"

"You know you jump the gun. Attack me, make a giant mess of things, and the Big-Baddy-Bats cleans up your mess."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I give people the benefit of the doubt."

"Oh, and I'm people?" She said with a vicious sneer.

"Well, you're a supervillain, but as a person, you're certainly not the biggest shit out there. The eco-warrior gives you some brownie points to me."

Her sneer lost its edge for a moment as an iota of surprise took its place, though it returned full force, "I'm supposed to care what you think?"

I let out a frustrated sigh, "Are you looking for a fight?"

"No," She said finally without a hint of hostility, "Look, there was an accident. Where a bunch of teens got snared by my pheromones." She said with a wince and paused, waiting for my reaction. When I didn't react, she arched an eyebrow and continued, "I don't exactly want them to die, so," She let out a deep breath, "I need to get back home and get the antidote."

This seems… very familiar.

"Okay. Hop on."

"What?"

"Hop on. I'm pretty sure Super-Cycle is a hell of a lot faster than this." I motioned to the trees.

"And you expect me to tell you my address?"

"Downtown. Vendor avenue. The apartment complex with the atrium." She looked baffled and fearful, "Bats knows where most of where his rouges are, but unless you active in whatever shit show of the week is happening, he's usually preoccupied to haul you all back to Arkham."

"I'm going to look pretty stupid if this is a trap." She sighed as she slid into the seat behind me.

"Well, you can look at it like this, Doctor Isley." I felt her body stiffen at her title, "You smell a trap. You can shish kabob me."

Super-Cycle let out a furious beep at the prospect as she flew to our destination, "Easy Baby."

My words caused the green supervillain to let out a snort, "Baby? Even Batman and his sidekicks are total guys."

I'm pretty sure Super-Cycle gained a little bit more to try and throw off the passenger, only for the plant villain to wrap a tightened grip around my waist.

"Ordinarily, I would disagree, but if the Batmobile is anywhere half as awesome as Super-Cycle, then I don't blame him and his love for it." I didn't comment on her hold on me.

"Aren't you supposed to bitch and moan at being called a sidekick?"

I let out a scoff, "I know what I am. I don't need to prove myself to anyone."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She groaned, "I can't believe I'm saying this. Harley could take a page out of your book. She so wrapped up in trying to prove to everyone she's not under the Joker's thumb that's she's exactly playing into his hand."

"I get your point. But at the same time, Harley Quinn is a victim of Joker's abuse, that type of damage sticks with you." I've never been a massive fan of the character of Harley Quinn, always seeing her as a sick amalgamation of the Joker. But spending time with Jay, I could understand the sickness incarnate that is the Joker and the festering wounds the rabid man-caused, and I wouldn't wish him on anyone.

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." It didn't sound like she was excusing me of anything, but I knew I shouldn't have said anything, especially not to someone like Poison Ivy. Nonetheless, she didn't have time to fish further as we hovered over her apartment complex.

I jumped down to the rooftop, and if there was one thing that I would be thankful to Nyssa for, it would be my healing factor because a drop like that would be murder on my ankles, the factor coupled with the reinforced bones, I could drop from a deadly height within reason and walk it off.

Poison Ivy willed one of her rooftop plants to grow and allow her to slide down its body.

I said with the barest hint of envy, "Damn, your powers are so cool. Though begs to question how it works. Like, do you unlock a sort of dormant cell in them to aid their growth, or do your simple age them up to extent of where you need it for the situation you're in? I mean, that sounds crazy, to accelerate the age of something, but-"

"You sure, you're one of the Bats?" She let us into her place as she rummaged around through an industrial fridge.

"Yeah." I drawled in uncertainty, "Why do you ask?"

"You're trusting, borderline helpful, your first instincts weren't to throw a punch or a quip, and you've asked questions most people never bother to ask."

I shrugged my shoulders in response, "Abilities and powers are amazing, especially ones like yours. Your potential has got to be outstanding. A shame most people don't acknowledge it, however."

"Yeah, shame." She said in a quiet voice as she looked for the antidote, "Got it." She said with a slight elation in her voice only to let out a deep sigh, "Great."

"What's wrong?" I leaned back against her countertop and examined her further. It seems different than I expected from the infamous people hating Poison Ivy, hell she's been civil, if a little guarded, but I chalk that up to us being enemies through our morality.

"She's gonna have to kiss whoever she used her pheromones." A male voice said, drawing my attention to a talking plant.

"Talking plant. Weird."

"That's it, that's your reaction." She said a little disappointedly.

"Your Poison Ivy, should I be shocked that you have a talking Venus flytrap? A little, yeah, but that's not the weirdest thing I've seen, and I'm sure I'll see odder yet." I shook my head, "What's the problem anyway?" I sent a pointed look at the vial in her hand, "That's the cure, ain't it?"

"I'm going to have to kiss those kids to cure them. My salvia has to interact with theirs for the antidote to work."

"I feel like I have to stop you now. Or you're missing the glaringly obvious answer here." She gave me a pointed glare at my words, but she didn't say anything, almost daring me to continue, "Why don't you spit in the vial and then give them that, you know, straight from the tube?"

She opened her mouth and then quickly closed it before looking down as if she was doing the math in her head, "The-"

"I always find the smartest people sometimes miss the glaringly obvious. Something about their fragile ego's not wanting to see something right in their faces."

"You're very infuriating." She said finally before getting a plant to take her back to the rooftop. My batclaw kept pace.

Super-Cycle took off up to the sky the moment our butts touched her seat, and I had an inkling it was because she wanted us away from any greenery that Ivy could use. The journey to the Iceberg Lounge was relatively smooth with no hiccups, i.e. attacks, but I could've gone without Ivy's less than subtle probing questions, but in all honesty, I sort of brought it on myself.

"Really?" I look down at the scene before with bafflement. This is playing out like the adult Harley Quinn series, though it's the Iceberg Longue instead of the Gotham mint.

Harley was tied to a chair with Penguin, and a boy that had a slight resemblance to the squat crime boss was about to execute the woman, with a few dozen partygoers standing around aimlessly, peppered in were Scarecrow, Bane, Two-Face, and my urge to kill rising as I saw the Joker, leaning back to enjoy the view of his ex, getting iced.

"Damnit." Poison Ivy cursed as she prepped to jump in and save her friend, "Fucking damnit."

"Do you see the ones affected by your pheromones?" I asked her as I surveyed the scene below us.

"I need to save Harley." She uttered in a low voice.

"I know, but once you do, you won't be able to break away your trance from those kids. Quick question why the fuck are there kids in the Iceberg Longue?"

"Something about his nephews bar mitzvah and owing his sister a favour." She referred to Cobblepot, "So, what's the plan?" She said with a mocking tone, "You fight all of them on your own?"

"Yeah." There's only one person down there I would consider a threat, without their tools or weapons, Bane. I mean, sure, he relies on his venom, but when is he without the mind-altering steroid, baring when he's imprisoned.

I dropped down through the skylight.

Drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Figured it was Batman." Two-Face inhaled in relief, "Thought we were screwed."

"Oh fuck." Penguin said as his fearful eyes met mine.

I rushed forward and disarmed the umbrella from the squat crime-lords hands before hooking the handle around his ankle in fluid motion, slamming his head into the marble floor.

I managed to retract his blade from the tip of the umbrella, and throw it towards Two-Face's arm, just as the man had unholstered his side-piece, "Ugh."

I rushed towards the man, only to be forced to sidestep as the hulking form of Bane swatted at me.

"El Fenómeno, the newest of the Batman's brood."

"Bane. Any chance I can entice you with a pit?"

He was silent for a moment, "I do not understand what you mean. Nor does it matter."

I noticed the lanky shadow creeping up to me, and as they primed to attack, I slid into his stance, knocking him off balance, allowing me to slam a gauntleted hand across his paper white jaw. While I liked a good fight, I never enjoyed hurting people.

Though that didn't apply to the Joker, I enjoyed the image of his yellow teeth flying out of his mouth.

A deeper part of me enjoyed that way too much… the other half, and if there was any other moment and not in the thick of it, I would've had to acknowledge that I could no longer blame One.

Though I didn't have time to dwell on it, as gunshot forced bane to reel back.

"Is this how Nightwing felt when the nerd donned the cape?" Red Hood mocked as he slammed a boot against Scarecrow's head, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, "I'm so proud."

"Shut up Hood, and fight."

Penguins' goons that had managed to pull him to safety had returned and in numbers, "I can't take you anywhere nice." Red Hood pulled out his twin blades and twirled one in a reverse grip.

"Uh-huh," I suddenly rolled to the side and snatched Red Hood's taser pistol, taking three shots, at the lumbering man, sure there was something in the back of my mind telling me to fight the man fairly, but now wasn't the time. Instead, I managed to hit the cores of his venom distribution system. Not letting up an ounce, I rushed him, wrapping my arms around his waist and slamming his entire body against the marble pillar behind him.

I don't think Bane will ever be relaxed around me enough so that I could do that again, but hey, I can take pride that I still him down at relative ease. The many heroes and villains are in no way as durable as their movie or comic counterparts.

Bane was still conscious, but his spasming with the lack of venom coursing through his veins told us all his was out for the count.

All hell broke loose.

The goons swarmed Red Hood and me, with Two-Face escaping due to our attention being elsewhere. Scarecrow kept trying to get in close and gas one of us, though with us knowing full well what he was trying to do, alongside him being an ordinary man, he could manage it without us batting him away in the chaos.

"Shit. Poison Ivy." Red Hood cursed, and he threw one of his knives to skewer the red-headed woman who was forcing a teenage boy to drink from a vial. However, I managed to intercept his thrown blade with one of my own.

I didn't have time to acknowledge Ivy, but I could feel the burning gaze of Jason underneath his mask. Yep, I'll have to answer some more questions later.

Taking down the remaining men and Scarecrow didn't prove anything that Red Hood and I couldn't handle, but I really wished that the green-haired cunt had decided to follow Two-Face's lead and high-tailed it out of here. Instead, he stood in the trashed club with a manic look in his eyes.

"Two for the price of one." The Joker cackled with a mad gleam in his eyes, a trail of blood leaking from his mouth and his 'gag' pistol at the ready, "When the Penguin called for this little sit-down, I expected ol'Batsy to show, but I suppose I can simply hurt him, by hurting the two of you." He finished with a cackle.

"You piece of filth." Red Hood growled, "I'll carve your fucking organs out."

The Joker took it in stride, "Ah ah ah." He raised up his other hand to show a remote, with his finger that had already pressed the button, "I'm sure we wouldn't want a repeat of your former grand finale."

"Please." I scoffed, "You wouldn't do it."

An angry gleam appeared in his eyes as he once again regarded me, "Oh? And why wouldn't I? What screams to you that I'm a stable individual?"

"You don't need to be stable to not want to kill yourself in a blaze of glory. You're just a coward, a coward, who can't handle the fact he barely registers to the Batman as anything but a pest."

Red Hood let out a hearty chuckle. He even keeled over for a moment, "Fucking hell, Freak, the set on you."

"What fuck did you say to me, you abomination?"

"What can't handle the truth?" I mocked with a crocked smile underneath my mask that he could probably hear.

His mouth became a thin line as his eyes glared murder at me before he closed them. His finger came off the button. For all about five seconds, nothing happened before the Clown Prince of Crime opened his eyes and continued to press the remote trigger with increasing frustration, "Come on, come on. COME ON!" Bloody spit escaped his mouth as he continued, not noticing it appearing behind him, nor realising the man had hooked tether to his ankle till it was too late. Fist to the temple knocked him out.

I know Bruce, I knew him as a comic book character, I knew his as a selfish paranoid nut job that some of the movies portrayed him as I knew the version of him that portrayed him as a flawed but nonetheless good man in the animated shows. Still, for all the versions I've known of the man, they all pale in comparison to the one in front of me.

Sure, I've gotten over my fanboy stage, but I could still have a lapse every now and then.

I'm sure Jason rolled his eyes underneath his mask, "Did you know?" He asked me while ignoring Bruce.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I figured he would've been here by now, considering there a good chunk of his rouges gathered, and when you crashed in, I sure he wouldn't have been too far behind." I looked around and noticed that we were pretty much alone, bearing the heavily injured courtesy of Jason and the unconscious folk.

The sounds of sirens could be heard approaching in the distance now that the chaos had died down.

"What was this anyway?"

"Penguin had gathered the men he believed his could work with into an alliance, an alliance to take us down, alongside the GCPD."

Red Hood let out a snort, "I don't know what's dumber, that he thought that these two-bit thugs could take me down, ya know alongside you," Red Hood gave me a nudge as he purposefully kept his gaze away from Batman, "or the fact he could've worked with any of these fucking assholes, let alone that one. Speaking of which." Red Hood picked up his gun I had discarded, "Seriously, dude, don't just drop my gun. That really messes them up." He took a mock aim down the sight before turning it to the Joker.

"Stand down, Red Hood," Batman ordered.

"No."

We've all met up in the field plenty of times since the first time I met Jason. Still, this time is different. Those other times they had the luxury of the Joker not being there, his mere presence being a reminder of one of Batman's greatest failures, though the two had a different thought of what the failure entailed.

Bruce believes that he simply failed to save Jason when the boy needed him the most, and Jason, well, he was hurt, that the Joker continues to remain alive.

To me, they're both right. Yeah, I will admit Jason is the type of person to push someone's buttons for the sake of being a wanker, but an animal like the Joker doesn't deserve to live, and I could…

I shook off my thoughts of my yearning to make the scum sucker bleed.

"Cops are on their way, and I doubt you could take him down fast enough before his back up arrives." Both eyes landed on me as they processed my words. "What? Do you think I'm ever going to save his life?" I snapped my fingers at Red Hood, "Don't get any ideas. I ain't going to screw over Batman to help you ice him either. What I'm going to do, is go home." I attached my bat-claw to the rooftop, "Just don't beat each other bloody, I don't like dealing with a disappointed Penny even if it ain't directed at me."

A/N - 04/12/2021