***

From the rooftop go the GCPD the first signs of sunrise were beginning to breakthrough. It was sights like these that reminded me that Gotham could be as beautiful as it was cruel. Though to a select few the darkness that was built within the structure of Gotham was a thing of beauty.

Removing the old tattered tarp I wrapped my hand around the large lever of the switch. It was odd to be the one to turn on the famous signal that brought hope to the city. Especially when on occasion I had been the reason why the this signal had to shine in the night sky. As I looked at it now it was no surprise that the Batman had become a legend not only to Gotham but the rest of the world.

"It's not a toy." A familiar brooding voice stated and it still amazed me how he could approach someone without making a sound though luckily I had been expecting him and wasn't startled by his sudden appearance.

"Then you shouldn't have made it so fun to use." I countered as I flipped the switch turning the signal off, offering him a slight smile. There was some part of me that resented what he had done. Not only having driven Selina away, but also my year locked deep within the depths of Arkham Asylum. Another part of me wanted to thank him for stopping me before I went too far. Now I only felt foolish for having let myself be manipulated my Lex Luther.

"Why did you stray from the plan?"

"I have my reasons." I replied dismissively enjoying the clear irritation he seemed to have toward me at the moment. "And we both know you knew exactly where I went."

Reaching into my pocket I pulled out the tracker that Dick placed on the recording device holding it up in the air for him to see. He stood motionless, though I didn't expect a response to begin with. I knew their little tricks all too well, they were foolish to believe otherwise. "Question is... why didn't you go after me?"

"I knew you'd be back." He replied simply, just like I knew that even with the tracker they placed they wouldn't follow. After having played this game with him and Dick for so long I knew them almost just as well as they did me.

"You know people's decisions before they know them themselves." I pointed out as I took a step closer to him, there was something about the man under the cowl that still unsettled me even after all these years. He was too devoted to his crusade that he didn't care if he destroyed himself in the process. It was equally frightening and admirable. "It's very irritating. But how Selina put up with you for so many years is a mystery even you can't solve."

My words were a lazy and foolish attempt at discovering if he had any knew information to offer about Selina's whereabouts. Lazy because The Batman wouldn't fall victim to any mind games. Foolish because even is he did have any information Bruce Wayne wasn't a man who gave information to others even if it benefited him.

Only his lack of reaction irritated me because I knew he cared for Selina. How did he not seem as worried for her as I was?

Before another word could be said the door leading to the GCPD rooftop burst open, Commissioner Gordon and Detective Dick Grayson stepping through followed by other detectives and officers. The irritation coming from them was not only seen but felt. Though I couldn't blame them I had given them an extremely long night, one that was only about to get longer.

"You're in big trouble for that stunt you just pulled." Gordon announced as he approached me and I only held me wrist towards him as Detective Montoya stepped forward placing the handcuffs tightly around them. She stepped back to join the rest of the police force but I was only focused on Gordon and his predictable annoyance.

"But I came with a peace offering." I replied lowering my voice as me words were only meant for his ears. Gordon wasn't the kind of man to seek revenge, he would only make sure that Joker got the punishment he deserved by law. But that didn't change the fact that Joker wronged one of his loved ones and this was his justice to carry out.

"Nothing good could come from you."

His words were expected because in many ways they were true. In his eyes I was a wild card and a threat to the city that he was sworn to protect. I could hard blame him for his disdain "Ouch. And here I am getting you the thing you desire the most."

"And what is that?" He questioned deciding to play along with whatever game he believed I had in play. I respected Commissioner Gordon for possibly being the only man in Gotham who couldn't be corrupted by the city itself.

"Joker's location." I stated letting the smile slip from my lips my voice taking on a deathly serious tone. "I'm sorry about what happened to your daughter Commissioner."

His eyes flashed with eagerness and relief, though they also held suspicion. Like he had stated before nothing good could come from me, not after everything I had done. "What do you know?"

"He's hiding at Amusement Mile." I replied looking away from Gordon to where Batman was standing his posture even more tense than usual. There was not ignoring the fact that his hands were tightened into fist at his side. Whether it was due to the fact that this was a fact that this was something that he wasn't able to figure out on his own or if there was something more to his anger i couldn't be sure. Then it came to the man that was The Batman you could never be sure of anything. "I suppose he thought it would be funny to hide exactly where you expected him to be."

"Bullock! Montoya! Luna! Start preparing units to head out to Amusement Mile. It's The Joker, we follow Batman's orders. We're bringing him in...by the book!" The commissioner immediately ordered as he followed after the hurried detectives and officers. I was taken by surprise when Gordon turned around to momentarily meet my eyes his eyes not longer holding the intensity that they did before. "Thank you."

Now I was left alone with Dick and it was only now that I realized that I never noticed when Batman had left. He was undoubtedly half way across the city on his way to take down the Joker. Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime who would find yet another way to escape Arkham and continue his reign of chaos.

"What you did. Thank you." Dick suddenly said his voice strained and when I turned to meet his eyes I was confused by the gratitude behind them. He reached forward and unlocked the metahuman cuffs letting them fall onto the concrete rooftop. The gratitude in his eyes also held relief and I couldn't believe that I didn't notice the tension he seemed to carry before. "It's Babs...she's... she's important to me."

Slowly I began to realize that this Barbara Gordon was someone important to him, which was baffling considering that he had never mentioned her before. There was so much more that he wasn't telling me, that he probably never would. But I wasn't going to ask him for answers simply because it wasn't my place to. There was no defining my relationship with Dick because I could hardly consider him a friend or an ally. "She's why you came back to Gotham."   

"Yes."

"I didn't do it for you. Or them."

"I know. You did it for her. A girl you don't even know." He continued and the hope that seemed to be building behind his eyes was clear. It saddened me that my instinct was to crush whatever hope he had for me, but after so many years of doing just that it was difficult to fight that urge. "You can't tell me you still think you're a bad person."

"Still made a bad decision." I stated as I moved away from him realizing that no matter how much good I could ever want to do, bad would always come along with it. "Information doesn't come free in Gotham."

"Penguin." Dick said immediately knowing the weight of that decision. That I voluntarily let myself get pulled back into Gotham's criminal underground. That I chose to get involved with one if Gotham most powerful criminals after having broken all ties with them before. "Chey..."

I shook my head immediately dismissing whatever it was he wanted to say. My problems were me own and I didn't need anyone to help me solve them. I knew what I had gotten myself into and I was prepared to face the consequences of my actions. "My problem, I can handle Penguin."

"You're staying?" He questioned seeming genuinely surprised by the fact though I couldn't understand why. We both knew that I left for a reason, one that didn't have anything to do with his old Titans friends. After so many years of us choosing different paths this shouldn't have been a surprise, especially now with the debt I had with Oswald. But I was here for Selina and I had to ignore that part of me that wanted to follow him wherever he went.

"I never said otherwise."    

Dick stepped closer seeming to want to close that space between us, it seemed to be something that he always tried to do no matter how many times I pulled away. "I guess I just thought..."

"You thought wrong. I have my reasons for coming back to Gotham too." I replied as I placed the recording device in his hand. Now the pardon seemed so meaningless even though I had no doubt that Gordon would keep his word, it meant nothing if I was going to do something to land me back in Arkham.

"Reasons you're not going to share."

I smiled at him, there were times when I couldn't distinguish my real smiles from the ones that were part of the act. Recently I found myself being more genuine with Dick and I could begin to understand what had changed. "Have to keep myself a mystery or else you'll get bored of me Boy Wonder."

"Not a chance." He replied retuning my smile with a striking one of his own. His smile like his eyes used to make me feel weak, but now they only had me yearning for more. More of what I couldn't have.

It was difficult to tear my eyes away from him not knowing when the next time I would see him again would be. Even with the knowledge that we would be going our separate ways, I knew we would see each other again. At this point it seemed that our paths would continue to merge before they broke away again. There was something comforting in the idea even though the good-byes were always painful. I could only hope that whenever we did find ourselves on each other's paths again we would both have moved on. Our game could only go on for so long. "Take care of yourself Dick Grayson."

***

^^^A/N I'm not sure that the hell Titans is going to be doing season three, but from what I'm hearing it looks like I'm not going to enjoy the direction the show is taking. Seems like they're making it more of a Batfamily show than a Titans show. Anyways I'm just going to be doing my own thing when it comes to Babs because I have no clue what they are going to be doing with her in season 3. But most of this book is going to be me kind of just doing my own thing... cause the finale kind of sucked. Tell me what you think about the details we've gotten so far about season 3. I still have faith. Vote and comment! Your support is appreciated.^^^