Free Ticket

"Ahhhh-hhhaaa!"

"Not enough sleep?" Zatanna wondered upon hearing me yawn. "You weren't home last night. When did you come back?"

"I came back around five in the morning," I replied, feeling the exhaustion creeping up on me.

I could enchant my body to not feel exhausted, but I preferred resting whenever possible.

Why? Because I like sleeping.

"Well, I'm going out for work. What's your plan for the day?" she asked, making me wonder if I had any plans at the moment.

Surprisingly, I didn't.

"Nothing during the day, but I think I'll go out in the evening," I said, recalling that Penguin had mentioned Scarecrow's base being taken over by some nameless thugs, and I was suggested to use it as my area.

Guess I'm a villain now?

Oh well, it never hurts to have a place of my own. Besides, I was looking for a place I could have within Gotham.

I had to establish myself in Gotham, and acquiring a place was the first step.

"Well then, I'll get going," she said, and I knew she had been working extremely hard lately. Circuses don't pay enough considering how stressful they can be.

"How do I look?" she asked, instantly making me smirk.

"You're wearing a white dress shirt with a tight tuxedo jacket that accentuates your figure, fishnets for that extra allure, black gloves and high heels to give a seductress touch, and a hat and bow tie to top it all off," I examined her appearance. "I can assure you won't lack gazes from men and possibly women once you go out."

She smirked hearing this. "You think I look good?"

This made me raise an eyebrow. "When have you not looked good?"

She chuckled. "Is that how you got that Pamela girl?"

I shrugged. "I suppose. Or maybe it's just my natural charm."

She didn't take offense; instead, she shook her head in amusement. "Well, if you're not too busy or if you find time tonight around nine, would you like to visit my show?"

Now, this caught me off guard. I had never been invited to her show before.

"Are you sure? Isn't it work for you?" I asked, and she nodded.

"It is, but it's also supposed to be entertainment," she said. "And to be honest, we haven't been doing too well lately. So, if you can give me any hints on how to improve from an audience's perspective... I would really appreciate it."

I knew she had difficulties with finances, but maybe it was worse than I imagined.

Well, it's not impossible for me to check out the show.

"Well, if you want me to, I'd love to. Besides, my work is only until eight," I gave her a genuine smile.

This made her happy. "Perfect!"

And saying this, she took out a ticket from her purse. "Here you go. It's a front-row ticket."

"That's surprisingly kind of you to give me such a ticket."

She shrugged. "We're not selling enough to worry about such things," she smiled. "Anyway, I'll be expecting you then."

"Of course."

...

...

[Katherine Kane]

She had made a big miscalculation.

A big mistake.

"Are you sure this is the place?" she asked, looking for a way to rectify her mistake.

"From what I gathered, it is."

She didn't care if he was dangerous or if he could even kill her. She was the one responsible for kickstarting everything.

If she hadn't let him go without facing trial, she wouldn't have been plagued by guilt.

"How far, Grayson?" She was agitated, and Nightwing could see it very well.

"It wasn't your fault, Kate." Grayson was well aware that she was blaming herself for the recent event.

"It is!" she yelled. "I should have thrown him behind bars right after his fight with Scarecrow. I was wrong. I thought he was a vigilante who didn't know the rules."

Grayson couldn't blame her; he felt the same. He thought it was a new guy in town trying to adjust to life.

Even for heroes, it took them time to figure out their purpose.

"You know that Batman doesn't blame you, right?" Grayson asked, seeing how broken Kate felt.

"He never does," she said. "It's just me that can never do anything right."

Grayson was one of the only few who knew about Kate's past, how she was before joining the Bat family.

Grayson was aware that she was miserable.

She was an addict without a purpose in life. She blamed herself on a daily basis, harming herself.

She was skilled, she was smart, she was strong, but she was lost.

Grayson had seen such people all his life, and it hurt him just as much to not be able to help someone as close to him as Kate.

She was family, and family was above all.

Bruce had asked him to look after Kate, which he would have done even without him asking for help.

"He didn't use a fake name, right?" she asked, making Grayson nod.

"He didn't," he said. "The name Jasper Hughes is everywhere. Every single one of his documents has the name."

Grayson was confused whether it was bravado, idiocy, or some grand scheme that Jasper didn't bother using a fake name.

Now, it wasn't all weird to have the actual name as their hero or even villain name.

Ra's and Luthor were the perfect examples.

The nicknames that Ra's had were given to him by others; he never took a moniker.

'What do they even have in common?' Grayson wondered as he walked behind Kate, trying his darndest to find if there was anything even remotely similar between these people.

There was just one thing.

'Both of them have an empire, an organization,' he recalled. 'But a guy who just got to Gotham cannot be thinking of creating an empire now, right?'

He shook his head. 'Of course, he wouldn't. He barely got a footing in Gotham. There is a long way for him to go despite his strength.'

After all, it wasn't easy to create an empire from nothing.

"We're almost there," he said, looking at the radar. "There's a rumor that Penguin asked him to look after Scarecrow's base, so I believe it can be the place he is staying at."

He wasn't certain if it was his home for now, but he was sure that Jasper would visit the place from time to time.

"Kate, just remember one thing," Grayson reminded her. "I didn't come with you to fight. We have to avoid any form of clash with him."

After all, if there was someone who knew Jasper's capabilities the best, it was him.

He had experienced it firsthand.

Kate frowned. "I know," she sounded like she was comforting herself. "I'm just here to talk."

And Grayson truly hoped that it was the truth.

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[[A/N: Read 25+ chapters ahead on: Pat reon.com/Greedyfrog]]