Night Rider

20: Secret Identities- Apparently Useless

AN: Hey guys! Sorry this week's chapter is a little late... But here it is now! And next week's should be on time sooooo... Yeah.
Anywho, love you all!
- Felicity-Amber-Grimm
...

Our gallivant back to the cave was mostly uneventful after that. I kept expecting the Cadmus agents to roar back up behind us, but they never did.  And traffic outside of Gotham's inner city was arguably tame so Tuffy was able to pick up speed.

We were back home and leaping through the entrance to the cave within fifteen or so minutes.

I quickly commed Jason, not bothering to peel Ari and myself off of the horse first.
-"Nightrider to Red Hood, please tell me you're alive and didn't get flattened by traffic."-

There was a brief pause, then,
-"Nearly there, calm yourself. I already have one hysterical woman to deal with at the moment-" muffled shouting in the background that I assumed was Park, "-would you stop being so rude?!"-
And then he clicked off.

So they were safe. Unless they killed each other that was. I let out a breath of relief.

"Okay, we can get off the horse now." I told Ari.

"Oh thank heavens." Her butt was off the horse and her feet planted on the ground in an instant.

"My driving wasn't that bad."

She planted her hands on her hips, cocked an eyebrow. "Uh huh, I'm not even going to- mother of poptart... Is this what I think it is?" Her gaze finally wandered to the Batcave surrounding us.

...

Irritable bickering followed Red Hood and Park down the tunnel driveway.
"Next time I'm not saving you. Lyn can deal with your thorny @$!." Jason exploded.

"I am one hundred percent okay with that." Park said amicably as Sitdka emerged into the cave. Even though her arms were still wrapped around Red Hood's middle. "After I kill her and bring her back to life that is, because," she saw me sitting on Tuffy, "WHAT THE HELL DID SHE THINK SHE WAS DOING?! FRIENDS DON'T LET OTHER FRIENDS THINK THEY'RE DEAD!"

"Eardrums."

"Sorry, Red."

"You know, she does have a point there." Ari said. "But Park, if it makes you feel any better, look where we are."

Park slid off of Sitdka. "I don't care if we're in the Taj Mah- we're sitting in Batman's secret hideout aren't we?"

"...If I say yes will you hate me less?"

...

The answer to that was no, she would not be less furious.
She was more furious. Especially after she'd had time to think it over once I'd put the horses away.

"We all thought you were dead and you've been gallivanting around playing superhero all this time?! IF I DIDN'T LOVE YOU SO MUCH I WOULD STRANGLE YOU RIGHT NOW."

"Cadmus was going to kill you!" I defended. Didn't she know how much that decision had hurt me too?

Ari pursed her lips at my comment. Park narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, so that makes it okay does it? Do you not remember what happened when our best friend died? Because I do! You can't just- just put us through that again." She swiped angrily at tears that we're starting to form. "And we couldn't even be mad because, becasue- We could've dealt with it together Lyn!"

The grief of the past year swamped over me again. I ripped off my mask, face screwed up. "Park! Don't you remember me telling you your lives were more important than mine? There wasn't any choice! If it was a question of a miserable existence in exchange for you getting to live? Then I'd be damned if I could ever be selfish enough to answer wrong!"