Cold-Blooded

Stole

It was suddenly awkward once she walked in the kitchen; Jason had gotten up earlier than her out of hunger, and she was surprised to find Grayson quietly digging into his cereal as he watched the news of the supernatural event on Pioneer Bridge. The reporter was having trouble describing the battle which took place on the bridge, unable to fathom the likes of magic being present in Gotham and the concept of magic not being used to fix the city. Jason was by the fridge, taking out what remained in the pizza box, and laid a kiss on her forehead as she walked past him. "You're up early, Gray," she teased, taking a seat by the island counter next to the vigilante, and frowned when he didn't respond to her. "Don't tell me you're mad at me."

He almost chuckled at her, "Why would I be mad at you?" His emphasis on the last word was incredibly obvious; he was mad at Jason, but all the latter did was raise his brow in recognition of his name whilst eating his way through a pepperoni slice.

"Because I didn't tell you everything. If I were you, I'd be pissed off, and I can't blame you if you are. "She sighed, "Look, if you want to know anything, you can just―"

"Who is Arcadius? Why do you keep passing out? Why are these people after you? 'cause I sure as hell know you didn't just piss them off."

She sighed, "Arcadius is a god that lives in my body, namely a God of War. Not a goddess, a god. I'm not wrong on the pronouns. In order for Arcadius to provide me with his power, I have to tune myself to him. And since he's transcendent and I'm not, he provides me with power in bursts large enough that my body won't break apart when I absorb it. Right now, he's dormant but gathering his strength through Shards of Arcadius."

"Which is why you keep passing out. Explains a lot."

"Syndicate...Sinclair is after me because he was supposed to inherit Arcadius, not me. While in my body, Arcadius boosts my ice manipulation to limit-breaking possibilities as well as my healing capabilities, he even gave me access to infrared perception without having to use him as a conduit. In Sinclair's hands, however, I don't even want to imagine what he would do with power like that. His specialty is pain manipulation by controlling nerves in the body, but with Arcadius it can become pain on every single level of the mind, body and soul."

Grayson dropped his spoon in the bowl in surprise, letting out a sharp exhale as he pushed the bowl aside, "Wow. That is...a lot to take in."

"I never wanted to hide this from you, Gray, you should know that. But not knowing at all could've saved your life. I'll do everything I can to make sure you stay safe."

"That's...very noble of a mercenary."

"I...I like to think of myself as a self-proclaimed anti-heroine, my mercenary status holds a lot of weight I'm not ready to bear again." Then she snapped out of her trance and looked around the kitchen, "Where did Morpheus and Kyle wander off to?"

"They left, said that you wouldn't need them for a while and that Arcadius has found peace. Where they went, probably the City of Light." She hummed and attempted to fix her messy hair, glancing over at Jason who was back in the fridge again and the clinking of cans confirmed his intentions. "But how are you feeling, Blake?"

"Me? I feel...sentimental. Going after the same people twice is a bad case of deja vu. In fact, there's something you two should know." Alias let out a sigh of resentment as Jason moved so that the three of them were by the island counter, a distant look that glazed her hues that immediately captured the boys' attention. "This was something I should've told you, both of you, a long time ago. God..."

"Come on, Blake," Grayson nudged her shoulder. "Trust us."

"I do trust you. I've always trusted you. It's just a matter of trusting myself. Remember when my memories were completely fragmented? They've all fallen into place, every single one, but Sinclair takes up the majority of what I've experienced."