This chapter is once again dedicated to OtakuGoku because her comments legit make me happy af. They never fail to make me smile, laugh or agree. She is one hell of an amazing reader, and the reason I am doing this double upload. Enjoy!!! <3 And she also has a fanfic about the child of the certain Clown Prince of Crime! I don't know about you guys, but I'm totes checking it out ;)
Jason
I was angry. Well, angrier than usual, although I knew it wasn't really because of Asteria.
I was angry at myself for being affected. As I reached the car and got in, my anger had faded enough for me to realize that I should apologize to Asteria for my outburst. Placing my arms on the steering wheel, I rested my head on it and closed my eyes as the memories came back.
** Flashback **
It was a few days after Dick's birthday, and Christmas was fast approaching. Tim and I were together on patrol, because I didn't trust anyone else to go with me. Except maybe Asteria, but it was understandable she'd want to be with Dick. And Dick would probably kill me if I took his fiancée away from him.
Tim and Damian were ecstatic about the news that the soon- to- be Mr. And Mrs. Grayson had ordered us some food from Burger King. However, before Tim could say that we were almost done with our patrol, a piercing scream reached our ears. It was coming from the alley right below the building we were perched on. Not really thinking about it, I threw my body into the air, loving the feeling of free fall. I used the stairs of the fire escape to slow my fall until my feet touched the ground, and I was met with a familiar sight I'd seen countless of times. Except, I knew the woman in this scenario.
Around four men stood one woman with familiar brown hair and warm brown eyes. Right now, she was far from the calm and collected doctor I knew. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her mouth was still open from her scream. The man standing in front of her held a gun to her face, but all eyes were on me. When Tim landed with a soft thud beside me, their eyes widened even more.
"Look boys," Tim said in a bored tone. "I'd really like to get this over with and have some Burger King."
I turned to him for a split second, and if it weren't for the helmet covering my head, he would've seen the funny look I was giving him. "Well, I can't argue with the kid. Burger King does sound a lot better than staring at all your faces," I told them as I turned back to them. When my eyes landed on Dr. Anders, I thought to add, "Well, maybe except for her."
"Stay back or I'll shoot," the man holding the gun threatened us. I stood up taller and crossed my arms, raising my eyebrows in a challenge.
"Really?" I asked, noticing his unsteady hand. I pulled out my own babies and smirked. "Want to see who's a better shot?"
I saw the man's finger twitch and knew he was going to shoot her. Not really thinking about it, I flipped in the air and landed in front of the doctor. My arms instinctively went around her, with my back towards the gun. I felt the bullet go through me before my feet even touched the ground. I cursed at the pain, but stared into the frightened eyes of the doctor. "You're okay. Just stay behind me," I whispered to reassure her. No need to let her know the pain was nearly unbearable.
Not really waiting for a reply, I turned back towards the man. He now looked a bit frightened to see me still standing. "Oh my god, you're bleeding!" I heard Dr. Anders exclaim, when she saw the bullet that was meant for her lodged in my back.
"That tends to happen when you get shot," I replied sarcastically, though in truth, the wound felt like it was burning me from the inside. My suit may have been thick, but it wasn't that great with close- range bullets. The biker jacket over it made the impact softer though. "You just put a bullet hole through my favorite jacket," I spoke through gritted teeth, aiming my guns at the man who pulled the trigger. "Do you know how much this costs?"
"Hey Red, how about a little less talking, and a bit more action, yeah? I want to get there before Robin eats all my burgers," Tim told me, taking out one of the thugs with his stick.
I cocked my head and turned back to the man, who stood terrified before me. "You heard the kid," I said and shot him in the leg for payback. He screamed out in pain for a second before opening fire again, but I was already moving myself and the doctor aside, hiding her behind a metal dumpster. "Sorry for the accommodations, doc. But you have to hide here for a while and let me take care of this."
She frowned in confusion at me. "How did you know I was a doctor?"
I mentally cursed myself for the slip. But the sound of more bullets made me turn my back to her and focus back on the men. You know the saying you can't fight fire with fire? That doesn't necessarily apply to these situations. So, aiming my guns at the assholes trying to kill me, I shot at their hands and made them drop their weapons. They scrambled away from me, making me roll my eyes at their retreating figures. Putting my guns back in their holsters, I chased after them before they could escape. It wasn't really hard to catch up.
I jumped on top of the first, making him collapse to the ground. He screamed in pain when the leg I shot hit the pavement, and I took the opportunity to tie his hands behind his back. "Stay right here, bucko. I have to make sure your other friend doesn't leave this party early," I told the man and ruffled his hair for good measure.
The other one had reached quite a distance from me, making me pull out my gun again. "This has gone on quite long enough," I murmured under my breath before taking the shot. I aimed for his left leg, and the bullet zoomed through the air before sinking rightfully below his knee. Now he and his comrade had matching bullet wounds from me. They should've been proud.
As he screamed in pain and tried to crawl away- I know, pathetic but persistent- I walked at a leisurely pace towards him and whistled a happy tune. When I reached him, I also tied him up and gave him a pat. "You wouldn't leave without saying good bye to your buddy, would you?" I teased and hauled him back to where we originally ran into them.
When I got back to the alley, Tim was conversing with the doctor, his guys already tied and gagged. I placed the ones I caught beside his and approached them. When Tim spotted me, he gave me an amused grin. "Finally caught yours, huh?"
"Shut up," I told him, noticing his gloating tone. "I didn't see yours trying to run away from you to lead you in a wild goose chase."
"You're still bleeding," Dr. Anders cut in before Tim could say anything. She turned me around to look at my wound, and I hissed in pain when her fingers made contact with it.
I moved away to see she had an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly.
I smiled, forgetting she couldn't see it through the helmet. "It's fine. Let's just refrain from touching the bullet wound again, okay?"
"We have to get you to a hospital, though," she told me in a stern voice, a frown creasing her forehead.
"We have to get you to a hospital," I replied. "You could go into shock or something. I'll be fine. I do this on a daily basis."
"Nightly basis," Tim corrected with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes at him. "Shut up," I repeated, making him raise his hands in surrender. Turning back to the doctor, I began dragging her towards where Tim and I left our bikes. I made her ride with Tim, not wanting to have her clutching to my back when the wound still throbbed. Besides, she'd keep arguing about getting me checked, and I didn't have the energy for it.
We dropped her off at the hospital in record time. As she said her thanks to us, I asked her. "What did they want from you?"
She shrugged, and a thoughtful expression crossed her face. "I thought they were muggers, you know? Because Christmas is just around the corner, and people are more desperate than ever. But they wanted me to go with them. I think they were going to kidnap me, before you two showed up."
"Any idea why anyone would want to kidnap you?" Tim asked, sounding like the detective he was trained to be.
"No," she replied with wide eyes. "I swear, I don't know why they'd come after me. I just work hours here in the hospital, and I do my best not to make any enemies."
Tim nodded and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, miss. I'm sure the cops will be able to help you figure it out."
Dr. Anders nodded and finally made her way towards the emergency room. We watched her disappear through the doors before heading back to our bikes. "Home?" Tim asked.
"I want to stick around in case some of those guys or their colleagues come looking for her again," I told Tim.
"Alright then. We can stay at the building across the street and watch from there," he told me. "I also placed bug on her coat, so we can hear whatever she's saying."
I shook my head at Tim's forward thinking. "Smartass. Let's go."
From the bug Tim planted, we could tell when a doctor came to check on her. She only had some minor bruises from when the thugs tried to drag her away. When she fought them off, that's when one of the guys pulled a gun on her and made her scream. After she retold her stories to some officers, another person came to see her. It was definitely a male voice, and I wondered who it was. My question was answered when she finally walked out of the hospital and into the parking lot. She was in the arms of a man I was unfamiliar with. From my spot on top of the building across, I could see he had ruffled blonde hair and strong features. As they got in his car, he gave Dr. Anders a light kiss on the lips. Well, that was that.
"I guess she's safe now," Tim commented as they drove away, seeing the same things I saw.
"How about some Burger King then?" I asked, trying to get my mind off the scene that just unfolded below us. It shouldn't have bothered me anyway.
** End of flashback **
The sound of the car doors opening made me look up to see Asteria sliding into the passenger's seat. She looked up at me with an uncertain smile. Sighing, I gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry about my outburst in there," I finally said, breaking the awkward tension in the car.
"Its fine," Asteria replied, waving a dismissive hand. "You were right, anyway. It wasn't my place to meddle.
"It's just that, well, Dr. Anders already has a boyfriend," I explained and told her about my mission with Tim.
After I finished talking, Asteria had a look of surprise on her face. "That was the night I took the bullet out of you, wasn't it?" she asked. "Did you ever find out who was after her?"
I smiled and shook my head. "Yeah, that was the same night when I babysat Lian and Damian. And no, I didn't get any leads. All her friends and co- workers loved her. I don't know why those guys wanted her, but maybe capturing them ended it all."
"Maybe, "Asteria murmured, still slightly unconvinced.
"Where's Artemis?" I asked instead, looking for the blonde that came along on this trip. I was trying to distract Asteria from her worried thoughts.
Just then the door of the backseat opened, and the girl in question slid in. "Sorry," she said in way of greeting. "Wally was on the phone, and he wouldn't stop asking questions. What did I miss? You guys have made up, right? Because we seriously need to get going to our next stop."
I groaned. So much for this being the one and only stop of the day. "Where to now?" I asked as I started the engine.
"The bridal shop. It's time for our dress fitting," Artemis replied. And I didn't even need to glance in the rearview mirror to know she was smirking.
Oh God. I should've stayed dead.
Asteria
While Artemis was busy in the fitting room, I sat beside Jason and saw he was clearly uncomfortable. I would be, too, if I was a guy I suppose. The bridal shop had too much pink and white stuff in it, with frilly and girly gowns adorning almost every corner. There were also cakes and cupcakes on display, and a few shoes and veils. Jason sat rigidly in one stuffed and white armchair, his arms crossed tightly over his defined chest.
"Are you okay?" I whispered with a smirk, our argument long forgotten.
"No," he hissed back. "Why wouldn't you let me stay in the car?"
I laughed heartily, making some of the other women look over at us. When they saw Jason sitting beside me, they gave me slightly jealous looks. Really? Weren't they getting married themselves? "Because I want you to see my dress," I admitted.
He rolled his eyes, but I knew deep down he was flattered that I wanted his opinion. "Miss Woods, your gown is ready," a saleslady said as she approached, not giving Jason the chance to reply to my statement. "I'm afraid you're fiancée can't see it, though. It's bad luck."
"I'm not her fiancée," Jason spoke through gritted teeth, his cheeks tinged a light pink.
"Yeah, he's just the brother of my fiancée," I told the lady with another laugh, making Jason blush an even more violent shade of red.
The lady gave him a once over, and gave me a look as if to say why aren't you marrying this one? He looks absolutely yummy. "I see," was all she said out loud before giving Jason another appreciative look. He squirmed uncomfortably, clearly aware the woman was staring at him.
Deciding to save him from further embarrassment, I rose from my chair and asked. "Where do I go to fit my gown?"
"Right this way," the woman replied, finally snapping her attention towards me. As she led the way to the fitting room, I glanced at Jason to see him mouthing a thanks to me. I smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.
Jason
I was glad when Asteria asked the woman who was eye raping me to lead her to the fitting room. I was able to breathe a sigh of relief, but only momentarily.
A few seconds after Asteria disappeared, Artemis came out and showed me her gown. She looked lovely in it. The white went well with her golden hair and dark eyes, making her look majestic. Even I had to admit Wally made a good choice. She twirled a bit in what looked to be a ball gown with a heart shaped bodice and long sleeves made out of lace. Seeing as I wasn't a girl, all I could say was that she looked beautiful in it. Which of course wasn't enough for her. So she waited for Asteria to come out and hear the other girl's opinion.
When Asteria did finally come out, they squealed when they saw each other. All pairs of eyes in the bridal shop went to them. Luckily, these ladies didn't seem to mind seeing as they understood what it was like to be getting married. I, on the other hand, hoped that I wouldn't be deaf by the end of the day. They jumped a little and started gushing about the style of the dresses which had been specially designed for the weddings, commenting on how cute or beautiful one thing or the other was, or saying they wished they thought of that etc. etc.
I just sat there wishing I was actually someplace else. When an explosion sounded throughout the mall, the two women immediately snapped into attention. We all looked out of the windows of the shop to see a huge man- like crocodile stomping through the floor we were on and heading straight for where we were. "We have to change. Now," Asteria said in a firm voice.
"Right behind you," Artemis replied as they dashed away.
I rushed after them as they headed for the changing rooms and grabbed their wrists before they disappeared into the cubicles. They turned to me with confused eyes. "I know what you two are thinking," I hissed so that nobody would overhear. "And you are not facing Killer Croc. You are getting out of here after changing back into your clothes."
Artemis ripped her wrist from mine and gave me a scowl. "Listen here, buddy. If you think I'm not-"
"You two are pregnant," I interrupted her, making her shut her mouth. "And we are not putting the babies at risk."
Realization dawned in their eyes and they backed down, finally agreeing with me. "Just get to the car and call for back up, okay? I don't exactly have my guns or my helmet with me."
Artemis nodded and disappeared through the cubicle, while Asteria gave me a hug. "Be careful," she whispered.
"Careful is my middle name," I lied as I pulled away.
In truth I was happy to be getting some action. As I rushed towards the entrance of the shop, I couldn't help but smile. Finally, something I actually knew how to deal with: kicking some major bad guy butt.
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Jason and Asteria made up. Awwww <3
And Killer Croc is on the loose. Wonder what the mall did to make him mad, though lol. Maybe they had some crocodile leather on for sale somewhere there haha kidding. We'll see in the next chapter mhmm.
Up next: Jason vs Killer Croc and Jason vs the killer dinner :)
Stay tuned my loves! Muwah!
PS. As always comments/ suggestions/ reactions are accepted with open mind and open heart <3
PPS. Cast suggestion for Jason pleassseeee!!!
Love always,
Angel