"You told them Joker's plan." Melanie stared through Dick as of his eyes would burst into flames the longer she looked at him. He stared right back, clenching and unclenching his jaw.

"I had to. You know I had to, Melanie. We got what we came here for." He argued, and Melanie rubbed her eyes, trying to think.

"I told you I wanted to handle it. Now look at what you've done." Melanie snapped, leaning forward in her seat. Dick shook his head, looking away from her. "Look at me when I'm arguing with you!"

Dick turned back to Melanie, staying quiet. "If you want to lose your partner, then keep ignoring my plans. Or, you can keep being annoying and not listening to me when I say I have things under control." Dick scoffed, smirking in amusement and Melanie raised her brows. "What is so damn funny?"

Dick shook his head. "You're so angry that I was worried you'd get hurt."

"Because I wasn't going to get hurt." Melanie said quietly, and Dick gave her a bothered look.

"You know damn well you were going to."

"I think I know myself more than you do, Gray." Melanie argued, leaning back in her seat.

"Well, I know that the Joker would have killed you the second he was free." Melanie sucked her teeth, nodding slowly.

"Right. Because I can't take care of myself." Melanie crossed her arms and Dick raised his brows.

"I don't understand why you're acting like this." Dick scoffed, which only made Melanie frown.

"Acting like what?"

"Like I'm not allowed to care about my coworker's safety, Melanie!"

"Would you two shut the fuck up?! God, you two have been arguing for over half a fucking hour." Dick and Melanie turned to the driver, who was glaring at them through the rear view mirror. Melanie glanced to Dick, whose heart rate spiked at the comment.

Melanie frowned in confusion and tilted her head at Dick. It was as if she could start to see his emotions vibrating off of him. She could sense the concern he had towards her, the smallest hint of embarrassment from the driver shouting at them. The genuine worry he had for her safety.

She turned to the driver. His vibrations were stronger and felt more violent. He was clearly angry and annoyed with the arguing, but the vibrations started to slow when Melanie and Dick fell quiet.

Great. They're getting stronger. Melanie thought to herself and rubbed her eyes. She dropped her hand after a moment, catching Dick watching her.

He turned away. Melanie sighed quietly, shutting her eyes for a moment. She was pushing off his concern in the hopes it would drive him away, and now she was realizing the Joker's words were getting to her. "I get you're worried I'll get hurt, Gray. I appreciate the concern, but I'm not some new recruit. I've put myself in dangerous situations like the before."

Dick stayed quiet and Melanie chuckled after a moment. "You know... Back in Central City, we have our own Joker. But, you know, he calls himself The Trickster."

Dick looked to Melanie before he let out a soft laugh. There was a quick flutter in Melanie's stomach and her smile dropped quickly, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"Officer pretty boy is most certainly feeling something." The sentence kept replaying in Melanie's head like an addicting song that you were slowly getting sick of hearing. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to get away from Dick. Maybe if she wasn't near him, she would stop thinking of the possibility that the Joker was right.

She hated that possibility.

•••

Melanie stared at her front door for longer than she wanted to admit. She wondered if standing in place long enough would stop time so she wouldn't have to go to work in the morning and get berated by Gordon. Or see Dick. She hoped he would call in sick.

A frown started to form on Melanie's face as she began to wonder why she was so worried about seeing Dick in the morning. Just a few days ago, she was praying to see his face. Though that was under different circumstances, but that's besides the point.

He was her partner. She couldn't exactly avoid him. Maybe she could get a new partner.

Out of the question. She can't stand half of the people in the department. And the rest had no idea what they were doing. So she was stuck working with him.

"Shit." She mumbled, resting her head against the door as the elevator dinged quietly behind her.

"Forget your key inside?" Melanie turned around at the sound of Sterling's voice, and he glanced down at her clenched fist, spotting a keychain poking out between her fingers. "Guess not."

"Hey, Sterling." Melanie said quietly and he smiled, walking towards his door. He radiated with happiness that Melanie was back home and safe, a twinge of nervousness hidden underneath.

"Didn't think you'd be back so soon. Joker open up that fast?" He wondered whilst pulling out his keys. Melanie nodded slowly, frowning again.

"Yeah, actually. I didn't think he would be so eager to help. I guess pretending to be friends with his ex-goon has its perks." Sterling let out a laugh, turning to Melanie. "Any updates on Victor's case? Suspects?"

"Only the ones on that Joker gave you. Do you have the list?" Melanie paused for a moment before cursing under her breath. "What?"

"Dick has the list. I gave it to him when I found out Joker was going to try and escape." Sterling's brows raised at the new information, nearly dropping his keys in the process. Melanie raised a reassuring hand. "It's fine, Sterling. Joker was put in solitary before I left. He cant get out of there even if he really tried." Don't jinx it, Melanie.

"Don't jinx it, Melanie. You have no idea what the Joker is capable of." Sterling opened his door with ease and Melanie raised her brows.

"Your door." She spoke softly and Sterling turned to it, smiling.

"Yeah... I got it fixed while you were gone. Nice, isn't it?" Sterling gave Melanie one last smile before entering his apartment, leaving her alone in the hallway yet again.

She sighed heavily, fumbling with her keys before unlocking her door and slowly stepped inside.

Her apartment was exactly like it was when she left a week ago. Nothing had been moved so she didn't suspect anyone had broken in. Melanie slipped her coat off and dropped it next to her feet, shutting the door behind her.

She slowly walked towards the door to her balcony, which would only make this the second time she has stepped foot onto it. She would have sat out there more if she wasn't deathly afraid of heights.

Though now she assumed if she were to fall from this height, she'd survive.

Melanie slowly sat down on the floor, staring ahead as she watched the moon began to rise above the buildings.

She listened into a few conversations through the streets as she attempted to relax. A couple was arguing about their money problems. A baby was crying. Some men were laughing about a joke their friend told. A woman sobbing over her boyfriend leaving her.

And then a scream. Directly below Melanie.

"Please I don't have any money!" A woman begged and Melanie looked down. A lump immediately formed in her throat at how far she was from the ground and she stood up, gripping the railing.

"That bag says other wise, lady!" And then it happened.

As if Melanie had somehow become an eagle, she was suddenly looking at the woman's assailant like she was standing directly above him. Her eyes widened in shock and the grip on her balcony railing tightened. He was holding a gun in her face and the woman flinched but refused to hand it over.

"It was my mothers please!"

Without another thought, Melanie sucked in a sharp breath and threw herself over the balcony.

The urge to scream was clearly there by the fear on her face, but she somehow managed to land on her feet with a very heavy thud. The mugger whipped around as Melanie slowly stood up, eyes wide with the realization of what she had just done.

"You trying to be a hero, lady?!" The man screamed, cocking his gun. Melanie relaxed her look, taking a step forward. "I'll shoot you!"

Melanie wondered if either of them could see the fear in her face. She knew she was probably bullet proof, but was she really about to risk the off-chance that she wasn't?

Still, she stayed quiet, and took another step forward.

The woman behind the mugger screamed in terror as he pulled the trigger.

Melanie didn't budge went the bullet struck her chest and fell to the ground, clattering. "What the fuck?!" The man yelled as Melanie looked down. She ran a hand over her chest, finding the hole where the bullet had hit her. She looked back up at the mugger, then the woman.

And then the man in the cape behind the woman.

The man shot Melanie again as she rushed at him, then again, and a fourth time before he took a hard blow to the jaw. She grabbed the gun from the man and tossed him to the ground. Melanie looked up again to see the woman had disappeared, and Robin stood in her place.

Robin's eyes went wide with disbelief when he saw Melanie's face, and she looked him up and down.

"You got any handcuffs?"

"He shot you! Are you hurt?" Melanie could sense the true concern etched in his voice and the aura that radiated off of him. "You should be bleeding out... What—"

"You're a freak!" The man underneath Melanie shouted, and she twisted his arm behind his back. The man cried out in pain, wiggling uncomfortably beneath her.

"Detective? What the hell was that?" Melanie pulled out her phone, dialing a number as she ignored Robin. "Detective!" He shouted.

"This is Detective Nyx with GCPD, I have a man here who just attempted to rob a woman at 369 Ulysses Avenue." Melanie looked up to see Robin growing more agitated, rubbing his face. She grunted as she lifted the man to his feet, gripping his arm tightly. "Great. thanks."

"Just wait, lady! I'm telling everyone what the hell you are!" Robin walked over and slammed his fist into the man's face, knocking him out cold. He fell limp in Melanie's grasp before hitting the ground with a hard thud. Melanie looked up at Robin as he grabbed her shoulders, checking for wounds. His concern slowly morphed into confusion.

"You're bulletproof?!" He asked as Melanie shrugged his hands off of her. "What— How?"

"Particle accelerator. But uhm... This is new."

"You're a meta?" Robin asked quietly and Melanie stayed silent for a while.

"Not willingly. Though every meta became one unwillingly. Look, Robin, this was a one time thing, alright? I had to stop that man and now that I have... I can go back to be a normal, everyday detective. Where no one but you and this guy know I can survive a nuclear blast."

"Don't you think you can use it to your advantage?" Robin wondered and Melanie shook her head quickly.

"There is no way I'm working for the police and becoming a vigilante. I'm not putting myself out there like that. Giving you that neutralizer was enough vigilante shit for me." Melanie looked up at her apartment building, brows raising at how far she had actually jumped. "Shit."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just realizing that I'm happy to be invincible or that jump would have made me look suicidal." Robin frowned and looked up, wondering what Melanie meant. Police sirens echoed in the distance, the two turning to the streets before looking at one another.

"You should go." Melanie suggested m, but Robin stayed for a moment.

"Will you be on the rooftop at GCPD tomorrow?" Melanie raised her brows in surprise, staring at him for a while.

"Uhm... Okay?" Robin nodded slowly before disappearing into the alley as red and blue lights began flashing behind Melanie, and the mugger groaned as he began to wake up.

"It just had to be you." She thought to herself before turning around and picking up the mugger.