-Athena's POV-

It had been almost exactly three weeks since Jason and I had talked. Our fight had strained our relationship and it didn't help that Dick's name hadn't left my mind since. I had tried to contact Jason but he wasn't really making an effort. And neither did I. 

The truth was, I missed Jason. So much. It hurt to know that I had made him upset. We were supposed to be partners. The plan, the one he had spent days planning and changing with me, was about to wrap itself up soon. I needed to find him before that happened. He needed me. I knew it deep in my bones. Something bad would happen if I left him alone.

I picked up my phone from my counter, jamming the edge of the tabletop into my hip as I leaned against it. I dialed Jason's phone number for the one hundredth time. His number was always changing because he always used untraceable numbers, but the one he had given me a month ago seemed to still stand. 

"Pick up, pick up, pick up," I mumbled as the phone continued to ring, "come on, motherfucker!" 

The phone rang. And rang. And rang. 

No answer. 

I groaned and slammed my phone down. The screen shattered. I rolled my eyes and punched the marble counter. With a crack, I saw my first finger go limp. I didn't feel it. I just stared at my broken knuckle. 

I needed Jason. 

I calmed walked over to the medkit and dug through it. Pulling out a splint, I wrapped my finger tightly. My apartment was clean and organized. I scanned the room several times and then paced back and forth. My nerves were going crazy.

Before long, I was hyperventilating. My breaths came out in short puffs. My pupils dilated and beads of sweat formed all over my body. I felt like someone had let thousands of bees go free inside my body. They were swarming, buzzing, and stinging. I was pacing, then jogging, then running, then sprinting. And then I just couldn't move anymore.

I sank to my feet. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. I grabbed my phone off the counter and dialed Jason again. An even shorter ringing time. I couldn't take it. I pitched my phone at my window, shattering the glass. 

My face got hot. I started to shake. I couldn't control my breath.

Thoughts flooded my brain. What would happen if I wasn't with Jason when his endgame came to light? Batman would kill him. I knew it. I had warned him to not kill Joker, but I had been told -- in so many words -- that my warning would be ignored. If I left him on his own, Bruce would have total control over Jason. Yes, Jace was a good fighter and he could hold his own. But even I couldn't beat Bruce on my own. I had found that out the hard way.

Images of Jason's broken, beaten face spiked my panic. Although Bruce cared about Jason, I knew Dick hated him. If Dick got a chance to be near Jason without me at his side, Jason would have to come back from the dead. Again.

A knock sounded at my door. I couldn't get up to answer it. However, the person at the other end had a key. When the door swung open, a particular sassy blond strolled in.

Artemis's eyes scanned the room then dropped to me. Her lips pouted. "Well," Artemis said, crossing her arms, "I leave you alone for a month and you end up like this?"

I raised my beady eyes to meet hers. "Ar-art-ar--" I couldn't stop. I stuttered and my voice shook. More empty breaths heaved out the more I tried to talk.

"Come here. I'm not coming over to you," Artemis was being mean on purpose, "Athena, stand up and breathe. Jesus. You used to be an assassin. The best, for Christs' sakes. And now you can't even stand."

Artemis was pissing me off now. My shakes calmed down and my muscles tensed up. I stood up and ran over to Artemis, throwing a punch at her. She dodged and smiled at me. I took a deep breath. 

Artemis patted my shoulder. For us, that was the closest we would get to a hug. "Thanks," I said, grinning. Arty nodded. 

"So, are we going out or no?" Artemis asked, tossing her blond hair over her bare shoulder. She had gotten her nails done. That was new.

"I mean, if you want," I said, grabbing my purse, "how's the wedding planning going?"

She gave me a death stare. The topic had become a kind of inside joke. Every time I mentioned it, Artemis went off like a nuclear bomb. "I will cut you," Arty hissed. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as we strolled out.

Arty drove through Gotham, taking the left exit. I slapped her arm. "What the hell Artemis!? I can't leave Gotham right now!" My mind immediately pictured Jason watching us head towards Bludhaven. His plan could go down any minute. I had to be ready. 

"I know your bad boy's here, but my dumb ass fiance told me that someone in Bludhaven has been dying to see you again," Artemis didn't even look towards me, "someone who's maybe a better fit for you."

Oh, here it was again. Anytime Artemis and I hung out, she would always bring it back to Dick. She always thought that Dick and I needed to be together. Maybe I agreed with her...but right now, all I cared about was preserving Jason's life. 

I took one look at Bludhaven and one look back at Gotham. I couldn't. "Turn around, Artemis," I ordered, "I can't, okay? I need to go back. Please drive me back. We can go out next week. Please."

Artemis saw the seriousness and desperation inside me. We joked around all the time, but when the time was serious, Artemis was too. She turned the car around and dropped me off in silence.

I changed into my Nightingale uniform and dove out my window. The sun had gone down and an eerie darkness had swept the city. I swung around, waiting. The city was still. 

I called Bruce on my com. He answered. "Is anything happening? Like, right now?" I questioned, my anxiety starting to rise up again.

"No. Don't worry about it. Don't bother me," Bruce responded, hanging up. I was so done with telephones. 

I got a message on my screen. I knew it was from Jason the moment it appeared. 

Tonight. You know where.

I read it over and over. There was no urgency in his message and it annoyed me. It was like he was saying Come. Or don't.  I knew what Jason was trying to do. He was giving me one last choice. The ultimatum would rest in my hands. For once, I was being given a choice. That's what I liked -- loved -- about Jason. He always gave me a choice. And even to the end, he was giving me a choice. My own misery or happiness was for me to decide. 

I just couldn't tell which choice meant which outcome.

Jason's eyes were shown in the windows of the buildings and the stars in the sky. His smile was in the road and pavements. I couldn't help it. Butterflies and a bright, burning hotness shook me to my core. 

Jason was the one I wanted. I was going to be there for him. I grappled towards the location. Jason and I had planned it out exactly. 

I heard a noise like a siren. Something streaked across the sky, ripping it in half. A glowing orb burned my eyes because it was so bright. It was like a giant, green sun. And it was heading straight for Bludhaven.

I saw the moment the bomb made impact. Sections of building exploded and clouds of smoke stretched across the entirety of Bludhaven. Silence. And then screams.

I stared at Bludhaven in disbelief. I just hung there, watching. I was half way to Bludhaven, hanging on the edge of Gotham and Bludhaven. Looking forward, I saw Bludhaven. Looking back, I saw Gotham.

Dick.

Dick had returned to Bludhaven permanently. He was there when the bomb went off. He was still there. Maybe one of those screams was his.

Jason.

Jason was in Gotham. He had been the one who needed to cause a distraction. He had been the one who was trying to hurt Batman like Batman had hurt him. He had been the one who had the resources to get such a bomb. He had been the one to drop the bomb. Jason had always pushed to do more and more supply restocks. I didn't understand at first, but I did now.

He had this planned. Every time we went to "restock," he was checking up on his bomb. For so long, I had thought Jason and I were on the same page. But, this had been planned since the beginning.

That's why he gave me a choice.

Had I not hesitated...had I shown up to help him...he wouldn't of done it. I knew Jason and I knew that he knew how much Dick meant to me. He would've of never dropped it. But the moment I chose Dick, he knew it. And he went through with his plan.

I hurried as fast as I could to Bludhaven.

I couldn't leave Gotham. I never could. I had convinced myself that I loved Jason enough to leave. But I could never leave Gotham. Gotham had become my home. I never really had a home other than the circus. But, when I first came to the city, I was welcomed so openly, that Gotham felt like a part of my family.

I just didn't love Jason enough to leave my family.

It might've not been common knowledge that I would chose Dick. And me going to help him wasn't choosing Dick. But, even I knew that I could never help Jason go through with his plan. I just couldn't.

I was never given choices through most of my life. I wasn't given a choice to who my dad was. I wasn't given a choice to whether or not my family died. I wasn't given a choice to become an assassin. I wasn't given a choice to be tortured. I wasn't given a choice to leave my home and new family behind. And I wasn't given a choice to reject the boy I loved.

But now...now I was given one. Jason had given me the opportunity to reunite with Dick. And I had to take it. There was no way I was letting him go again. 

I loved Jason. I always would. He had been that voice of reason when all I knew was chaos. He had been that shining light when all I saw was darkness. He had been a friend when all I felt was loneliness. Jason had done something impossible. He had taken a broken girl -- fresh out of mental, physical, and emotional torture -- and had put her back together. I had lost myself and Jason had led me back to the trail.

All this time, I had thought that Jason was so put together. Now that I had seen what he had done, I knew I had misjudged. Jason was the lost one. But I couldn't be the one to lead him back. He was seeking someone else for that job.

Bruce.

As I raced towards Bludhaven, leaving Jason and Gotham behind me, I prayed that Bruce would do the right thing. Jason needed him. All this time, I had thought he needed me, but no. Jason only truly needed Bruce. 

I knew how Jason would see me now. I had left him behind. I had gone with Dick, just as he suspected. If he wasn't angry, he would be. I betrayed him. 

Yet, I could feel that Jason never really wanted me along for the ride in the first place.

This wasn't about me.

This wasn't about Dick.

Hell, this wasn't even about Joker.

This was about Bruce. 

"Please, keep him safe," I heard myself say out loud before charging into the cloud of radiation.

~~~~~~~~~Double update!!!! This one is very dramatic and I have literally been waiting since the beginning of the book to write it. I really hope you guys like it and feel everything that I felt writing it. All of your guys' compliments and support mean so much to me. I love you guys all so much and I really hope that I don't disappoint any of you and that this book is just as special to you guys as it is to me. PS. Once again, happy birthday to iSqulx. Songs: Vienna - Billy Joel. City Of Stars - Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone.~~~~~~~