My Ghost

thirty

jason's point of view

I see the blonde hair before I see the rest of him as Cole walks toward me. I meet him in the middle of the roof, extending my hand to him and he shakes it firmly.

"How's our girl doing?" he asks me, curious.

I glare at him. "Ray is fine, we got the devices removed from her neck without incident and she is able to operate freely again. She's struggling a bit with the new abilities, but that was to be expected." I keep my voice monotone and my statements concise, I don't want to give too much information in case this is a trap. I needed to protect her newfound freedom as best as possible.

"I'm glad she's safe," he responds.

"What do you have for me?" I interrogate him, cutting right to the chase. There were other things to attend to tonight other than just chit chat.

"Black Mask has set up shop in the basement of LexCorp, him and Luthor have a top secret agreement between the two of them," he informs me. "I'm not sure what that has to do with, but they've needed help."

"What kind of help?"

"They've been in talks with King Snake, I've seen a woman enter their business meetings. She wears this elaborate cat mask over her face, I think her name is-"

"Lynx," I answer for him, shaking my head. "What the hell do the three of them have in common?"

"Great question," Cole chuckles. "I haven't overheard anything, just whispers about regaining a project that they had lost."

"A project they lost?" I wonder aloud. Perhaps they had lost an Amazo, or a clone of sorts, seeing as Luthor wasn't above those kinds of things.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out what exactly that means, but they need Lynx to get it back, I presume."

I nod, absorbing the information. What was Lynx able to do that the two of them weren't? "Thanks for your help," I tell him, extending my hand and he shakes it once more. "I appreciate it, and I know Ray will too."

He purses his lips before he speaks, thinking of how to respond. "I just want her to be safe, I want her to avoid the life that I've fallen into."

I attempt to respond but he lifts a finger, interrupting me.

"She loves you, I've seen it and continue to see it. I've betrayed her and hurt her and I wish I had the chance to take it back. I'm very aware of the fact that I may never see her again, and I would never step in between the two of you- just to be clear. She's a friend. Just that. My only friend... So just... hug her tight for me, yeah? She's the only person to ever make me feel like there still might be good in there."

I stare at Cole, unsure of how to respond. Part of me wants to put my knife to his throat and threaten him to watch his words, threaten him for hurting her, for betraying her trust in the worst way. The other part wins, the piece of me that knows he's a decent guy with a good heart, and I see a lot of myself in him. No wonder he got along with her so well.

"I'll make sure she knows what you did tonight," I assure him. It was the least I could do, both for his benefit and for hers.

He smiles slightly and nods his head at me, turning his back and walking away from me. I watch him go, just to make sure I'm not shot while my back is turned.

My communicator vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out, holding it in front of me. Bruce's holographic face appears in front of me.

"Jason, we have a problem, it's Ray."

"What happened, is she okay?" I question, panic running through me like a live wire. If only Bruce could get right to the point for once in his life.

"She knows her mother is alive," Bruce replies.

"What? How?" I ask, my mind racing. If she found out that I had known, that I never told her, she would never forgive me. I wouldn't blame her, but I couldn't lose her. Not again.

"She falsified a heroic act at the Gala tonight, Ray believes she's someone to be trusted. She has no idea who the Lynx really is."

"You didn't tell her?"

"Don't you think I tried!" Bruce snaps, taking a deep breath. "I'm trying to follow her now, she left here pretty angry, I can only imagine that she's headed to her mother now. I'm sending you my coordinates now."

"We can't let her meet her, Bruce. Lynx is working closely with Luthor and Black Mask. I don't know what they're planning, but it doesn't seem good."

"We'll get her, Jason."

The hologram disappears as a ping appears on my map. I slide my mask over my face, hiding my scowl.

Goddammit Ray.