She couldn’t help the small chuckled that passed her lips as he mentioned metahumans — the fact that he was sitting next to one of the people deemed crazy was comedic to her. And perhaps not far off. Then again, no one running around Gotham at night in a costume could be totally sane.
The chuckle was short, replaced with guilt as her gaze fell once more. Kori had let Jason down, leaving him on his own. What happened with Roy hadn’t been fair to any of them, of course it hadn’t, but Kori hadn’t realised what she was doing would impact everyone else so severely.
Her face contorted as their eyes met, and Kori pursed her lips in an effort to regain control over her features. She could feel the tears beginning to form and blinked them back quickly. The princess felt horrible — how could she ever forget those who needed her just because she needed her space?
“I’m so sorry, Jason,” she said, still holding back tears. It wasn’t often people saw Jason Todd on the verge of tears, and it was much more effective than Kori wanted to admit. Another long moment passed before Kori gained her composure and began to speak again.
“If you ever need me and I’m not working, just shoot me a text and I’ll come by. We can go on patrol together. I mean, I’ll need to start training again — I had assumed tonight was a one-time thing, but…” She offered him a small smile. “One thing at a time, though. Let’s just go find Dick, yes?”
He cleared his throat, swallowing the lump there. Reaching over, he grasped her hand, holding it tightly.
“I love you, Kory. I always have.”
Those words held truth, in ways both deeper and shallower than the surface. They’d had a chance to be a power couple, reshaping the city as they’d desired. Gods know there was enough chemistry. But they’d spent their chance on saving Roy from the hell he’d found them in, and quickly, he had realized that this team needed an unbiased leader. Yeah, right.
But he did love her-all of her. The flaws she hid well, and the ones on the surface. From the supermodel body to the shrewd, proud mind so often overlooked by the world, to wounds in her psyche that would never heal, he loved her. He knew her.
He didn’t let her hand go until the Dragon came to a halt, several hundred feet above and outside the cells where Dick was being held. From the scans, it looked like a full blown riot had set in. Blackgate was loose, at least partially, and the inflow of prisoners colliding with the County lockup had caused trouble that GCPD would have had a nightmare with in the best of circumstances. At night, with no power and chaos reigning? There was no chance. They’d have to get to Dick the hard way.
The Outlaw way.
Racking a load into the twin Sig Sauer’s he carried, he shoved them into the shoulder holsters. The Mossberg 12-gauge was loaded to capacity and slung over one shoulder; the compact MP5 went over the other. Two sets of bandoliers and a belt full of ammunition followed suit. Finally, he hefted the hammer he’d stolen off of…well, Mister Hammer’s dead body. He grinned, winking once at Kory before tugging the helmet down and sealing it.
“Ready to bring hell back to Gotham?”
and all of this will never be the same again 