Things have taken a turn for the worse ever since Father returned. Villains kept breaking out one after another, and violent outbursts due to the new drug going around were becoming more common.

The patrols were taking a heavy toll. It was all hands on deck, and no one was allowed to patrol alone. Well, beside Father, Jade patrolled with Jason, Tim with Grayson, and Brown and Cain patrolled together. The reason was to balance the teams.

Scarecrow was still on the loose, and Father chased leads to find him while Jade and Json took care of his men and known hideouts. Tim and Grayson took care of other villains, and Brown and Cain took care of any other crimes.

By the end of each night, they were exhausted. It was only a matter of time before someone made a mistake in the field, and they all knew it. They needed to take care of things quickly.

Jade and Json searched the sewers tonight. They finally had the time to inspect them. Gotham's sewers were not a safe place even for bats. Many villains made their homes there and trapped them to the brim so they couldn't be captured.

They had to be extra careful since Oracle didn't have eyes on them, and comms tended not to work as well when they were there. Jade and Jason had enough assassin training to be aware of their surroundings. Still, they moved slowly, checking every inch of space.

Jade was walking in front, and Json was right behind her. They were checking a few places used as hideouts before. So far, two of the places were a bust. They just put some alarms there in case someone decided to use them in the future and moved on to the next.

They reached an old gate. It was busted and open. They exchanged a look. The gates would lead to an abandoned storage room that was once used for keeping guns for Blackmask. They didn't think anyone would go there again after a big showdown and a lot of wreckage since it wasn't structurally stable.

Jason took out his guns, and Jade took out her daggers. They walked in slowly, stopping in their tracks as they heard some whispers. They moved to the shadows to hide their presence.

They were voices talking about some sort of shipment. Jade tuned most of it out as she focused on getting into position. They used the shadows to approach the group from the corner. They hid behind stacks of boxes.

Jade patiently waited for Json to signal. He carefully listened to the group and gathered information. She knew she had to listen too, but they had recording devices, so she could do it later.

She was tired from constant patrols, and while she took her duties seriously, it was taking a toll on her body. When Jason finally gave them the go, she didn't hesitate. She jumped on top of the boxes and attacked the group.

From their initial assessments, the men had guns. So she was careful not to linger for too long. She jumped from one man to the other. Hitting and disarming them. Trusting Json to shoot anyone aiming for her and also defend himself.

They made short work of the men. Jade tied them up while Jason tried to interrogate them. They looked at the boxes, and they were full of drugs. A serious case, then.

They waited for Cain and Brown to watch over the shipment while they took the men out for the police to arrest. They needed someone to stay guard since someone could be hiding and waiting for them to leave the boxes before rushing and taking something.

Once was enough to learn that lesson. "Hey. Why don't you head back and call it a night?" Jason said as they finished with the police. He must have noticed how tired she was.

She shook her head, no. She didn't want to leave him to patrol alone. "Look, I know what you are thinking. I will stay with the girls. Now head back and get some sleep, " he said in a final tone.

She really couldn't refuse.


When she arrived at the manor and headed to her room, she learned some unfortunate news: Their main water heater was broken. While they had an emergency one, it was only connected to the master bedroom, which was Father's. Pennyworth was working on fixing the heater, but it would take two more hours, and she was too tired to wait.

Pennyworth told her to use Father's room. While it made her feel uncomfortable, sleeping after searching the sewers for hours without a shower made her more uncomfortable.

She took what she needed and headed to the bathroom. She took off her clothes and turned on the water. As soon as the hot water hit her body, she sighed in relief.

She had never felt such relief before. It felt as if she had shed her tired, aching body and was floating in an endless sea hugged by a warm blanket. The million thoughts normally going through her head were washed away, giving place to peaceful silence.

She didn't notice when she finished the shower and went to her room, but she fell into a peaceful, sleepless sleep.