-Athena's POV-

I tried to stay calm. I could see fires and destruction wrecking the city. Two prisons had been released, meaning hundreds of criminals were running wild. Batman discussed with the rest of the Bat family what exactly each one of us should do.

"Robin, you are helping free the civilians and get them to safety. Batgirl, you will defend the east side. Nightwing, you take the west. Nightingale, you take the north. The south is the most dense so I will be handling that," everyone glanced around and nodded their understanding, "Make sure to keep your com systems active and tune into the police radio. Allow the GCPD to help you, but do not put the officers in unnecessary danger. Let them handle the captured criminals."

I looked nervously at Dick. He caught my gaze and gave me a reassuring smile. When everyone went in their separate directions, I approached Dick.

"It'll be okay," he interrupted, "we always go on missions like this."

I swallowed down the looming feel that was arising in the pit of my gut. "I know."

He smirked and put a hand on my cheek. "Just don't die, okay?"

"I can't make any promises," I said, repeating our little saying. We both chuckled and dove off of the building. 

I immediately crashed down in the middle of some Blackgate prisoners. They were destroying buildings and wrecking cars. They formed a circle around me as I kneeled. 

"Well, well, well. Looks like we got a bat here!" One of them called.

"A girl bat too!"

I glanced up, a smile on my face. A large criminal charged, but I just dodged out of the way and kicked him down. I pulled out my katanas, the sound of the metal sliding echoed around the street. The red light of the fires glinted on the shiny blades as I sliced the criminals around me.

Every time one would try to grab me or charge at me, I would flip over them and land on them harder. I had to restrain myself from killing them. Instead, I just let my swords cut through non-lethal parts of their bodies. After I defeated the little circle that formed around me, I grappled around looking for more. The GCPD were around the corner, desperately shooting at drugged up men. 

"Move!" I commanded. The police cleared out of the way, leaving only the huge Bane-wanna be's. I dropped an EMP bomb on the ground, shocking the enemies. It only temporarily stunned the guys. I dropped down and inserted the cure into their arms. It was a cure to most forms and copy of what was called "The Blockbuster Project." When the criminals injected themselves with the strength syrium, all I had to do was inject them with the cure and it would reverse the effects. 

I looked at the unconscious guys. Without the Blockbuster effects, they were almost all just scrawny guys. I laughed and continued on my way. 

I was in the middle of another fight against some criminals when I got a call from Batman as well as a notification from the Police Radio Station. I could even hear sirens going off from across the city. 

"Arkham Asylum has been released," he sounded calm, but even I could hear his worry, "Joker Venom has also been unleashed on Gotham."

Panic flooded my body. I remember what Joker had planned. My heart beat quickly as I waited for Batman to finish.

"Robin, you should move into the East and West. Batgirl, you take the North and South. Nightwing and Nightingale, hand out cures to the people and fight off the Arkham criminals. I'm going after Joker."

I swung towards the section of the city that the Arkham patients had escaped to. When I landed, I looked around for Grayson. He hadn't showed up yet. A cold chill went down my body. "Nightwing, come in Nightwing," I called his com. No response.

"Nightwing!"

"Nightwing come in!"

"Dick, where are you!?"

After a moment of silence, I heard the static of his com coming in. "Sorry, I was fighting some guys on the way here. Are you okay?" He replied. I looked up and saw his blue emblem in the sky as he landed beside me.

I took a deep sigh of relief. Joker's plan wasn't following schedule. Dick handed me a small mask that went around just our nose and mouth. He slipped one on too as we charged into the section of the city where the green gas was forming. 

As we went in, many civilians with sadistic smiles on their faces charged us. Dick assured me they weren't in their right minds, so I put my katanas away and fought fist to fist. We injected as many people as we could and put down gas bombs full of the cure. The escaped convicts were killing as many civilians as we were saving. There was just too much going on.

"We need to split up," Dick said, punching a criminal in the face, "there's too many of them!"

I was nervous about letting Dick leave, but he was right. And Joker's master plan of using Dick as bait to catch Batman didn't seem to be working anyway. "Alright. I'll take everything up to 92nd street."

"Good plan. Wanna get some ice cream after this? Maybe at Gotham Goodies?" I could hear Dick's smirk  over the com line.

"Shut up, Grayson. How can you be thinking of food during a time like this?" I kicked some more patients and sent electric shocks through their bodies. 

"All this fighting is making me hungry, sue me!"

I laughed and threw down more gas cure bombs. I flipped over some charging civilians, throwing out syringes like they were ninja stars. Each one hit their target, stopping the smiling enemies.

I pushed on through the city, fighting off every mental innocent and every crazed criminal that came my way. The city was in ruins, but I was slowly making my way through it. The GCPD was collecting each and every person I had left behind. The cured people were piled up into ambulances six at a time. Each escaped Arkham convict was handcuffed and shoved into a SWAT car. 

The progress was slow and tiring. But, I was used to fighting for hours upon hours. I zoned out and let my assassin instincts kick in. I let my body do the work as I kicked, punched, and flipped my way through the crowds of running psychopaths. That is, until I came upon a criminal I recognized.

"It's you!" Harley Quinn squealed, raising her pistol at me. "You're tryin' to take away my puddin!"

I rolled my eyes and tossed a Batarang at her. She dodged out of it's way and shot a bullet at me. "Bats tries to hit me with those too, y'know!" I dodged her shot and ran towards her. She tried to hit me with her gun, but I already reached her. I tackled her down to the ground, kicking her gun away from her.

"You're going back to jail, Quinn," I said, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. She kicked them away and shoved me off of her. I tumbled back, which allowed her to get up. I had underestimated her.

"I'm goin' to see my puddin!" She grabbed her hammer and charged at me. I moved to the side to avoid getting hit, but she swung again and managed to knock me down. Where had my focus gone?

When she tried to swing down on me, I grabbed her hammer in my hands and kicked out her knee. She fell down, allowing me time to get back up. I pulled out my sword just as she came swinging again. I blocked the hammer with my sword, locking our two weapons together. I pushed her hammer closer towards her, hitting her in the face with it. She crashed onto the pavement. I kneeled on her back and pinned her hands. Grabbing another set of handcuffs, I secured her hands and left her face down on the ground. 

"Ha! You think you've won! This is exactly what Mr. J wanted!" Her high pitched voice screeched as I walked away. I turned around.

"What do you mean?"

She smiled through her bloody mouth. "I guess I'm a good distraction!" She giggled. Before I could try to contact anyone, Batman come over my com.

"Is Nightwing with you? He won't answer me over the com."

"No, he's not with me. We split up. I'll try and call him," I desperately tried to connect but there was nothing, "nothing is coming in."

"None of the other's could contact him either. I think Nightwing is MIA." I looked down at Harley Quinn. A smug, happy smile was painted across her face. I walked over to her and picked her up by her hair. I punched her in the face, knocking her out cold.

"I'm going after him," I declared, grappling away.

"No! You need to stay where you are and help! Nightwing can handle himself."

"I am not discussing this," I said, sternly. 

I went to the first place I would imagine Joker would take him. If he was following the plan, he would put Dick in the warehouse where I was supposed to already be set up. I crash landed through the roof, guns loaded with real bullets. The place was empty. I walked around, looking for anything or anyone. There was a single sheet of paper on Joker's usually crowded planning desk. I picked it up.

Well, look how the tables have turned. -Joker

I snarled and ripped up the note. I grappled away from the building, scouring the city for any sign of where Joker and Dick were. After about an hour and panicked searching, a screeching static came through my com. I was alerted that it was Dick's com.

"Tell me where he is," I snarled.

"If you want him, come get him," Joker said, laughing. He then hung up. I tracked the com and grappled there. I was moving so quickly that I dislocated my shoulder. I put it back in place and charged inside of the new warehouse.

It was on the boundary between the ghetto of Gotham and Bludhaven. It was a warehouse that was half the size of the one Joker had planned to stay in. It looked like it was going to collapse soon.

I kicked open the door, knocking several Joker goons down. The rest of the goons aimed their guns at me.

I looked around. Dick was secured to a chair by chains. A single chord wrapped around him and into a large, black object behind him. I didn't know what it was, but it looked dangerous. Dick's head flopped down, his hair falling in his face. I made eye contact with the Joker, who was standing off to the side of Dick.

"Let him go," I glared and growled. All my anger was channeled towards Joker. In that moment, I had never felt so angry. My hands twitched with the desire to snap Joker's neck. I didn't even care about all the barrels of guns locked on to me. Joker's smile was like a target to me.

"I don't think I'm going to, little birdie," he chuckled, stepping closer. I followed him with my eyes. My vision had gone red as my muscles all tensed. As soon as Joker's white hand was placed on Dick's head, I charged toward him. A bullet whizzed through the air and snagged me in the shoulder, but all the adrenaline in my blood kept me from caring. Joker put his bony, white hand in the air. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The black object behind Dick seemed to hum to life. A red timer appeared, but no time was displayed. The object was a bomb.

"You see, Boy Blunder here is connected to this bomb. As long as he stays where he is, it won't go off. But, if you try to free him, Gotham and half of Bludhaven will be blown up!" He cackled, "And you two Love Birds will also die!"

I grinded my teeth together, my jaw clenching. I hoped I was Superman and that my eyes would burn holes through the purple maniac. "I will kill you," I threatened, not a hint of sarcasm or fear in my voice.

"See, I also wouldn't do that. If you kill me, who is going to diffuse this bomb!?" Joker clutched his chest dramatically and then burst into laughter. I reached for a batarang from my belt. I glanced around at all the goons, staring the barrels of their guns down. Quickly, I tossed the weapon at the Joker, earning myself a bullet into my thigh. 

I hit Joker right in the shoulder, blood dripping down his purple suit. "That was not funny, my dear," he ripped out the batarang and stuffed his wound with paper. I glanced at my shoulder -- which I still couldn't feel -- and noticed the crimson blood that colored my uniform. My usually black Nightingale costume was now red with all my blood. My thigh was also gushing. My leg gave out and I fell to the ground. 

I tugged out some gauze from my utility belt and wrapped it around my wounds. I couldn't tie it very tight, but it would hold. I wobbled to my feet and glared at Joker.

"Well, look who's finally awake!" Joker walked over to Dick and grabbed his hair. He tugged his head up, Dick's blue eyes rolling and looking at me. He looked surprised and worried.

"Nightingale? What are you doing here? Are you okay?" His eyes wandered to my shoulder and my leg. 

"I'll get you out of here," I smiled at him, but I couldn't hold the expression for long. 

"Aw, how sweet," Joker dropped Dick's head down and kicked a chair out towards me. "Go ahead, little birdie, take a seat. It's storytime."

I sneered at the chair, hoping it would explode and take Joker with it. He rolled his beady eyes and nuzzled his pistol into the side of Dick's head. Understanding the threat, I collapsed into the chair. 

Joker ordered his goons to leave the room and patrol outside. As soon as they did, he crossed his arms and looked at me from the corner of his eye. "So, Nighty-Whity, as you may or may not know, that little Nightingale over there is actually named Athena Thomas."

"Ha, I already knew that!" Dick shouted defiantly. I still didn't know how Joker knew who I was.

"So you know her story then. But, do you know her secrets? Does he sweetheart?" Joker stared at me. I gasped, knowing what he was going to say. I bit my lip and looked down in shame. I worried about how much Joker might tell him.

"No! No he doesn't!" Joker laughed. It was really loud and high pitched, making me want to claw out the psychopath's eyeballs.

Dick slowly looked at me. "Secrets? What's he talking about Theeny?"

"I'll be more than happy to share the whole story with you from the beginning!"

We both stayed quiet. I couldn't do anything. Dick didn't want to do anything. I just had to sit and listen as Dick's trust went down the drain.

~~~~~~~Christmas break is amazing! I hope everyone has a happy holidays! If you haven't guessed, this book is almost over and hopefully I finish it before school starts again. Although that is a very ambitious goal. Hope you guess liked this chapter. The next one is going to be a LOT of explaining. Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow if you aren't already!~~~~~~~~