-Athena's POV-

"You see, and then I duck like this," Red Hood narrated, "and you aren't prepared." His gloved knuckles whacked the back of my head. Again.

I swung a right hook, but he jumped to the side, going underneath my arm. "Now that your arm is outstretched," He scooped up under my shoulder and shoved me to the ground, "I can place you in an arm bar and hold you flat against the floor."

My right cheek was smushed against the cushion of the ring as hair from my ponytail fell into my face. I narrowed my eyes. I was getting sick of Red Hood's ego. I was trained by the League of Assassins. The only person who could beat me was Ra's Al Ghul himself.

Remembering all that Ra's had taught me about bars, I flung the top half of my body up in hopes that it would send him off of me.

Red didn't budge.

It was like he knew every move I had learned at the Temple! Every signature move I used, he counteracted. I didn't know how he was doing it, but I knew I had to change up my strategy.

Begrudgingly, I thought on some of the moves Dick had taught me. I thought back to my Silk Birds days, embracing my flexibility and smoothness.

I arched my back slowly, facing him. When my back was all the way arched, I head butted him under his chin with the top of my head. Red flew off of me like I had tried to do earlier. I grinned and dropped down on him.

I pushed him so his feet hung outside the ring. I pressed my back against the ring ropes and held down his wrists. He stared up at me. "Nice job. That one's new," Red grinned. I couldn't help but smile back.

The thing about training with the Red Hood was that he really kicked my ass. When I fought him, he made me feel frustrated and insecure. He made me feel like I wasn't the invulnerable fighter I had always thought I was.

But, when I did something good, he would always smile. I could see that he was genuinely proud of me. It was a look I had craved since my parents were killed. To have someone be proud of me was like a drug. I was addicted to pleasing others. Ra's had taken advantage of that by faking his approval of me. I had never known what it was like to be truly appreciated until I met Dick.

My willingness to prove myself to Dick was what ended everything.

So, when Red Hood flashed me his pearly whites as he looked up at me, I felt a warm shiver swim through my blood. It had been so long.

After we both realized that we had been staring for a little too long, I cleared my throat. I eased up on the pressure I was applying to him. He grabbed my wrists and sat straight up, pulling me onto his lap. Gently, his fingers wrapped around my waist as he lifted me off, dropping me beside him. He stood up and exited the ring.

I followed his lead and grabbed a towel. I wiped the sweat off of my face and neck before grabbing a water bottle from his tiny fridge. Just like always, Red held a beer, drinking from it like he was dehydrated. I giggled quietly and softly.

"I think that's enough work for today," Red said, putting his beer down and leaning against his work table, "the information Black Mask's old lady gave us was a breakthrough. You have done good work, you deserve to take a break."

I laughed and cocked my head to the side. "Where's the Red Hood I know and what have you done with him, Clayface?" I crossed my arms.

Red Hood chuckled and swatted at me. "I was just saying that we have time. And that everyone deserves a night off."

"Including you?" I smirked.

"I'm busy," Red Hood turned around and searched something on his laptop. I pouted my lips, trying not to be too brutal towards his hypocrisy.

I closed his laptop shut, almost catching his fingers in the process. "I am not going out without you. I'm busy too."

"I still have things to wrap up. You have done your part for now. Go have fun," Red Hood twitched, nodding his head to the door like I was a puppy.

I sighed. Putting on a fake frown, I took Red's beer from him and took a gulp. "Guess I'll just have to stay here then."

Red turned again, locking eyes with me. I didn't have my mask on but he, of course, did. The white of his domino mask wouldn't reveal what he was really thinking. He ran his fingers through his brown hair and looked away, before quickly meeting my gaze again.

"Alright. But, we'll both have to change."

"Where are we going?" I asked as I followed him up the stairs back to his average apartment.

He put his finger out. "Wait here," he told me, leaving me in his living room.

When he finally came out, he was like a whole new man. He was wearing a Gucci suit with Louis Vuitton shoes. His domino mask still kept his identity a secret.

I suddenly was insecure about my appearance. I was wearing gym clothes with a messy ponytail, fresh faced, and sweaty. The man in front of me had styled hair and expensive clothes. He looked like he was worth a million bucks and owned more than that. To be honest, he looked like Bruce.

I awkwardly shifted in my running shoes. Red Hood noted the act. He smirked. "Do you wanna stop at your place?"

I never nodded so quickly.

After a super fast costume change, Red drove us both to a very fancy restaurant. We were in and out of it in less than in hour.

The exciting part was when Red Hood and I arrived in an old Irish pub looking drastically out of place. I was wearing a shimmering pink dress and he was in a freaking suit. But, all the men at the bar raised their glasses when they saw him.

"Aye! He brought a girl!" A drunken man called out.

"Pretty too!" A drunken woman answered. I blushed.

"Shut it," Red Hood threatened jokingly, seating us down at a booth in the back corner.

It didn't take long for us both to get shitfaced. After all, Red Hood loved to drink and I refused his offers to stop drinking each time. We started to compete, like we did in everything.

We danced around the bar. We even took shots with some of the other bar regulars. Red got into a small bar fight, so I joined him. It was like a normal night.

I giggled after he managed to fit two almonds up his nose. I laughed until tears trickled out the corners of my eyes. Red laughed along with me. We both laughed so hard that we both fell down onto the cushions of the booth, hitting each others' heads.

Red fumbled his hands in my hair, cradling my head and lifting me back up. Once his fingers effectively got stuck in my tangled hair, I had to help him get them out. When he was freed, he gently held my wrist out between both of us.

I could feel my heart pounding. Was it from the alcohol?

Red reached up and placed my fingers in his hair. "It's only fair," he mumbled, smiling.

I let my fingers feel his soft, thick hair. It was velvety and surprisingly smelled clean, despite all the dirty work we had been doing. When I held up a brown lock to the light, it shimmered with red color. I smiled, fascinated by it. My fingers moved closer to his forehead, hooking around the single sweaty white curl that flopped onto his forehead.

"Do you dye your hair?" I questioned, twirling strands around my fingers.

He chuckled deeply. "The white, no. The brown, yes."

I grinned. My cheeks were hot. "I like the red. It's starting to show up in the roots."

Red groaned. I continued my adventure. My fingertips trailed down his face until they reached his mask. Before I could touch it, I remembered his boundaries.

I dropped my hands into my lap.

Red frowned. He looked at me, as if he was trying to study me or read me but he couldn't understand. His face softened.

All at once yet all too slowly, he pulled off his mask and dropped it on the table.

I gasped.

His eyes were cloudy, but I could still see the brilliant green that they held. They shimmered like emeralds. I don't know what it was. His eyes seemed to add to his beauty more than I could've ever imagined. His face seemed complete.

What was with Gotham boys? Did they all have to look like super models?

I could see my reflection, we were so close. His long, dark eyelashes beat over his eyes as he blinked. I could smell the beer in his breath.

He finally sighed. He reached out and grasped his mug. "Jason," he mumbled into the glass before taking a gulp.

I rolled the name around my head. As I stared at his unmasked face, the name seemed to fit so well I was shocked I hadn't already guessed it. Yes. Jason. It was a perfect match.

"Jason," I repeated, loving the way it rolled off of my tongue and into the hot air.

Vulnerability played across his face. He was looking at the table, avoiding my gaze. His fingers traced the carvings on the table. I watched as he attempted to carve his own drawing.

I shook. Something about him was so familiar. When I looked at him, it was like looking in a mirror. We both shared haunted expressions. Some bad things happened to me, and I could tell that some had happened to him too. Where had I heard the name Jason before? Where had I seen those green eyes before?

"My parents were killed because of me," I said, getting Jason to look up, "and I trusted and loved the man who killed them."

Jason sucked in air through his nose sharply. His cocky attitude was long gone. "I was killed because of my parent."

I raised an eyebrow. He was killed? He had died before?

A little nugget of information surfaced inside my head. Of course. That's why he knew about me. That's why he always seemed to know everything about Batman and Nightwing.

Jason. Jason Todd.

I stared at the side of his head, my chest squeezing. "My uncle killed you," my voice wavered. My throat clogged up. My stupid fucking uncle had destroyed such a young kid, turning him into the damaged boy that sat in front of me. I could blame Ra's Al Ghul for my condition easily; he wasn't related to me. But, when Joker did something bad, I always felt a shred of guilt.

Jason met my eyes. This time, I looked down. How could I stare him in the eyes? The pain that was behind his gaze was put there by my own blood.

He grabbed my arm. "Blood doesn't mean family. The Joker killed me, and that has nothing to do with you," Jason reassured.

"I'm sorry, for everything that's happened to you."

"And I, you."

I smirked. "I guess we're both pretty fucked up, huh?" I chuckled softly, making him smile a little.

"I guess so."

I leaned back, grinning at him like we were old friends. Our shared experiences made it feel that way. "So," I said, "what childhood trauma have you been forced through?"

"Other than being beaten with a crowbar and blown up?" Jason laughed, "Being raised by Batman isn't really the perfect way to start off a childhood. But, you already know that."

I nodded, allowing him to continue.

"Well, I met Batman when I was a kid. I was trying to steal the tires off of the Batmobile to pay for my mother's drug addiction. When I heard my mom died, Bruce took me in. I became the second Robin," Jason took a sip of beer, "the one everyone hated."

"I bet Dick loved you," I smiled, thinking of how similar we both were.

"Oh yeah. The poster boy tried to quote on quote, 'set me straight' all the time. I never became the Robin either of them wanted," Jason frowned, "so, when Bruce told me my mom wasn't dead, I ran away to Africa as quick as I could. Turns out Joker had been playing me the entire time, and he used my mother to do it. And, well, the rest you already know."

I did. Everyone who was a hero knew what happened to the second Robin. Jason was impulsive. Just as he had said, he charged off alone after his mother. Joker beat him within inches of his life with a blunt object. Then, he tied Jason and Mrs. Todd up with a bomb ticking down. That's why he was always afraid on missions when explosives were present. His mother had gotten out, but Jason traded his life for hers.

And Bruce was too late to save him.

"How did you...come back?" I asked the question, already knowing the answer. Lazarus Pit.

As I had been dragged through the halls of the Temple, I remembered glimpsing a boy there. He had briefly made eye contact with me. Those green eyes had been in my mind ever since. And now, I had found their owner.

"Thalia Al Ghul is actually the one who saved me," he sighed, something sparking deep behind his brilliant irises, "she recovered me and put me in the Lazarus without her dad's consent. When Ra's found out, oh wow, he was pissed."

I laughed. I had learned in my time with Grandmaster that he cared about his precious Lazarus more than he cared about anything or anyone else.

"He told Thalia I had to leave so she helped me get back into the world again. I had lost my memory for awhile, but the Lazarus had brought it back. Along with a new purpose," The sorrow dropped from his face, revealing something more sinister, "Revenge," he barked.

"For my uncle," I met his eyes with a lackluster expression.

He leaned in close to me, a fire burning inside him. "No," I could feel his hot breath on my neck, "for the Joker."

I smiled. I could agree with that. The somber moment we shared was already replaced with our deep seeded hate. I raised my glass. "To erasing a stain from this Earth."

"Here, here," Jason clinked his glass against mine.

-

After about another half an hour of sitting in the bar and sobering up, Jason waved me good bye. He didn't put his mask back on, to my delight. Now that I had finally seen his entire face, there was no way I was letting him cover it.

I took a cab back to my apartment. I unlocked the door, stubbing inside in the dark. I unbuckled my heels and collapsed onto the couch.

When I landed on top of somebody, I tackled them to the ground, barely missing my coffee table. I clicked on a nearby lamp.

Dick's hazy blue eyes blinked up at me.

~~~~~~~Told you guys it would get juicy ;)))) I'm watching the Karate Kid and I can't help it, I think Johnny is cute too lol. ~~~~~~~~