Lost Stars

Chapter Thirty Four

-Athena's POV-

I fumbled the keys to my motorcycle before slinging my injured leg over the side and riding off. I didn't dare glance back at the Batcave. The wave of nostalgia had already hit me and I was desperate to leave it behind.

Jason and I had been split up. During the fight, I had predicted the outcome of the battle. Bruce would eventually beat me and help Dick capture Jason. Then we both would be captured and brought in for questioning in which Jason's identity would be revealed. Jason had told me earlier that that was the last thing he wanted. So, I told him to retreat and get to safety so that the Bat Boys would take me instead.

My plan had worked and Jason had gotten away, but now where was he?

As I rode through the city, I turned on my com. "Jason? Where are you? They finished questioning me and we need to meet up. I'm heading over to your East safehouse right now," I said, waiting for a reply. The only other sound on the other line was a soft static. I groaned and continued my ride.

I quickly wobbled into the safehouse, but Jason was nowhere to be found. I even asked his neighbors if they had seen them, but there was no such luck. He wasn't even in his basement.

As far as I could tell, Jason was off the grid. I couldn't figure out where he had gone or why he had left without telling me. We were partners. I needed to find him.

I rode to Jason's bar. Nothing. I even checked all the places we went on stakeouts, but Jason had disappeared.

Cutting my losses, I sighed and returned to my safehouse. I inspected my injury. My knee was sticking out at a strangle angle. I didn't really feel anything. It was just hard to walk on it. I grabbed a splint from my medical table and placed my palm against my knee cap. Quickly, I shoved my knee back into place. Despite my tolerance to pain, I still yelped a little as a bruise started to form. I shimmied my splint on and took a long swig of whiskey.

I leaned back in my chair and enjoyed the silence. It was nice to relax every now and then. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and outstretched my arms. The feel of the air in my lungs soothed my anxiety and calmed my nerves.

After my moment of peace, I stood up and limped over to my weapons closet. Pulling out a spare grapple gun, I attached it to my belt and grappled out. Maybe if I went on patrol, Jason would find me or I could scope him out while in the sky.

I flew around until a loud alarm pierced my ears. I followed the noise to a bank in the middle of a robbery. Landing on a nearby building, I scoped out the situation. A smile crept across my face. The cops hadn't shown up yet.

I stepped off the building to help, but two shapes dropped down before I could. Dropping out of the sky like two angels, Batgirl and Nightwing approached the bank. They laughed together and gestured. Nightwing walked straight into the bank while Barbara went around the back.

My feet refused to move. In the shadows, I stayed put. I watched the whole thing unfold. It didn't take long for the GCPD to show up, but the power couple duo managed to handle things nicely. Both robbers were arrested within ten minutes of them getting there.

I turned to leave once all the hostages were freed, but something caught my eye.

Dick held Barbara in his arms against his chest. They both were smiling and laughing until their lips met in a sweet kiss. A part of me knew it was creepy, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. They kissed deeply and in that moment, I knew. Dick cared about Barbara. The passion and love between them was so obviously displayed in their kiss, it might as well have been the ending scene of a cheesy romance movie.

My chest squeezed. I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe. It felt like hot, burning lava was being poured down my throat and into my lungs. I clenched my jaw and balled my hands into fists. My fingernails dug into the skin on my palms, drawing blood, but I didn't release my grip.