"You liked that door in particular? That seems strange, but what the heck. We're two people in costumes beating the crap out of one another. Why should that be the strangest thing I hear all night?"

As Owen watched Nightwing get her legs back under her, he looked up at the next two flights and the roof door beyond it. All he had to do was get out that door and he'd be home free. He pulled his grapple loose and prepared to fire it. He'd scale the steps faster and just leave that way. Owen had decided it was time to leave.

"You're right. We don't always get what we want. For example, you're down there and I'm up here. I'd prefer if you were up here, keeping me warm." And then Dinah mentioned something about shrinkage and bounded up the railings. He couldn't even be annoyed. She was bantering with him. It took long enough. Nightwing's foot struck him square in the chest and he went backwards through the window. Owen grabbed for Dinah's leg in an attempt to her with him.

Red Hood pulled away from her and fired his grapnel at the side of the building, swinging back into the window he'd fallen out of. He took a moment to catch his breath and make sure he still had his loot. She'd almost had him there. Then it occurred to him that he should make sure that she was alive. Red Hood got up and leaned out the window. "You doing okay out here? Still with us?"

Up there, keeping him warm. Is he...is he seriously flirting right now?! Oh lord, were he any other man, she probably would not want to punch his face so much. Well, his helmet. She had a vague recollection of his face from the bank robbery, what wasn't covered in a mask. Ok his jaw, it was nice. And you are totally not thinking about that right now, oh my god, Dinah.

"Oh honey, you don't want me to keep you warm. It'll be like flying to close to the sun." She said as she kicked him square in the chest. Out the window. Well, she hadn't planned on that. And had she known he'd grab her ankle, she never would have let go of the damn railing. He let go once they were both out the window and went to fire her own grapnel. Of course today was just not her day. It was a really shitty, shitty day. He'd cut off the end of her line and the only thing that shot out of her gauntlet was rope. It slapped weakly against the ledge of the roof and for a brief moment, sheer panic shot through her. She was falling without a safety net and it was a long drop with a short stop. Quickly she scrambled to eject the line and load another one, firing it off and hoping it hooked. There was a quick jerk as she stopped falling. Her respite was brief as she slammed into the side of the building with the arm holding the line and there was a loud pop and a sharp, powerful pain. And he had the gall to ask if she was ok.

"MOTHER F*CKING COCK SUCKING SON OF A WHORE!!" Her shoulder had dislocated and she was now dangling by said busted arm. She could see little spots in her eyes from all the pain. She struggled to pull another batarang out of her gauntlet, stabbing it into the glass and pushing off just before it exploded. She swung inside and ejected the line, landing on the ground with a thud. She let out a string of very colorful curses and decided to just lay there. Fuck it all, she thought. She'd let him go. She couldn't chase him like this. She couldn't even really stand.

"I hate everything..." she said, staring at the ceiling before rolling over, clutching her arm to her chest and sitting up. "Seriously...I won't be able to play my guitar now..." she whined to herself.

There was a slight explosion as Nightwing breached the window and swung inside. Owen knew she wouldn't be going anywhere. Common sense told him to leave but curiosity won out. Owen moved back down the stairs. He knew that the explosion would be attracting unwanted attention in a few minutes anyway. Owen came out of the stairwell and looked at her on the floor in a heap. Nightwing's shoulder was clearly dislocated. She wasn't going anywhere for awhile.

Owen moved closer, but not within striking range. "Two things... One: My mother was a saint. Two: I think you might know more curses than I do and I'm jealous." He looked at a small display on his wrist and then back at Dinah. "It's dislocated, you probably noticed that. Also, the cops are coming and you're not leaving fast enough with that busted arm not to be unmasked."

All he had to do was leave. If he left, then the police would catch Nightwing at the scene of a robbery and her life would be ruined, not to mention her secret identity. It was a very simple way to tie things up. He turned to leave and then turned back, sighing and throwing his arms up. "Don't hit me for a minute. I'm going to pop your damned arm back in.

Owen leaned down and took her arm and rested a hand on his shoulder. "This is going to hurt like a mother." He applied pressure with one hand and pulled, popping it back into the socket for her. There was an appraising look from under his mask and then Owen rummaged through his first aid kit, before dropping something in her lap. "This is for the inflammation. I'm sure you'll test it before you use it to make sure I didn't give you poison or anything." He pulled a set of car keys out and dropped those too. "I have a stolen car two blocks from here. It's a mustang. Green. Before you decide to lecture me, consider you won't be swinging very far with the arm. Take it where ever you need to go and then return it later or whatever you do-gooders do."

Hearing the door open to the stairwell open, Dinah tensed, pulling out one of her escrima and wincing. She was still able to at least put up some form of a fight. She had to get out of here. And getting back to the hotel was going to be a bitch and a half. If she could get there. She could hear Red Hood coming toward her, and now would be a rather opportune time to take her out. Which she hoped was not something that was happening but she never knew.

She watched him come closer, not attacking and yet staying out of striking range, treating her like a cornered animal. Which was smart, because she'd sure as shit act like it. Her lips quirked up into a lopsided smirk when he said he was jealous of her multilingual swearing.

"I did notice that, Captain Obvious. I was kinda there when it happened." She kept her escrima pointed at him, the end still sparking a bit. He turned around and started to do the smart thing and leave. Then he threw his hands up in the air and turned back around. Dear sweet merciful lord, what was he doing...

"You're going to what?" At first she jerked away, still disbelieving he was trying to actually help her. But he seemed serious as he got closer so she lowered the escrima and her hand to the floor though she kept her hand on it. She winced, letting out a small grunt of pain as he lifted her arm to his shoulder. She took a deep breath and to her credit she didn't actually scream, just squeezed her eyes shut and yelled something incoherent and angry sounding. When she opened them again, he was still there, looking her over. So, he wasn't exactly a horrible person. Just decided he liked breaking the law? No. This was one puzzle she could figure out later. He was right, the police would be coming and she was not getting very far on her own.

When he dropped the anti-inflammatories and car keys into her lap, her mouth opened and closed several times, making her look quite like a fish before settling into a grim line. She clenched and unclenched her jaw for a few more moments just looking at him. Then. "You better go too. And since you are giving me your getaway vehicle, you get this one, one free ride. You will drop me off exactly where I tell you or I f*cking swear I will make your life a living hell until you are behind bars. Is that clear?" She picked up the escrima again and poked him with it for emphasis, having turned of the taser end.

"Don't give me that. I don't kill people unless they've earned it. All you've tried to do since we met is uphold the law. I feel like it might be a bit misguided and I don't agree with it, but I'm not going to kill you unless you leave me no choice. Whether you believe me or not, I'm not that kind of person." The grin under his helmet could be heard in his voice. "You want me to what? Drive you some place? After you just beat me bloody and tossed me out a window? This is the worst date ever."

Dinah did have a point, though. There was no way she could drive a stick at this point and the mustang was a manual. He looked down at her pointing the stick at him again and he laughed. Nightwing was determined to beat him with those things. Owen just snorted at her. "You're pointing your stupid stick at me again. If I wanted you dead, I would have just shot you in the head by this point. You're not doing anything, other than lying there waiting for the cops to unmask you."

With that he walked past her and looked at the window, then back at her. Owen made some quick calculations. He wasn't going out the front door with her like this. Red Hood walked over to Dinah and looked at her. "So, sweetheart, unless we're walking out the front door with our hands up, I'm going to need to swing with you. Think you can cooperate long enough to do that?"

He pulled out his grapnel and held his hand out to her. "Bus is leaving, babe. Make your choice."

Oh god, a criminal with a moral code, someone save her. This was one of those times Dinah wished she had a full face mask. She was always fighting a facial expression of some kind, and sometimes it was a losing battle, especially if she found something amusing. She had totally failed Bat stoicism 101, instead choosing to be more like her father in this costume with more emotions. But there was always a catch with that. Sh was highly amused by his little speech. She knew she worked in moral grey areas of the law, and that legally vigilantism was not above board. But heroes were an accepted thing in this world and people tended to look the other way. What he was doing, however, was not a grey area, in any part of the world. Though it was cute he thought she was he misguided one.

The grin she had valiantly fought back the whole time finally cracked through when he had said this was the worst date ever. She'd had worse. Oh so much worse. This actually was going well comparatively, if she thought of it as a date. Which she totally was not! No way.

"You could try to shoot me in the head, buddy. Many have tried. Obviously none have succeeded." she motioned to her intact head with a small, proud flourish. She was also fairly sure she could have escaped from the cops, she would have to just find a way to ditch her costume and fit in with the lab techs somewhere. And hope her acting skills were as good as her brother's. But he didn't need to know that. This wasn't Gotham, she wouldn't have gotten a pass for being on premises. He was right about that much. Sighing, she took his offered hand, knowing this was the quickest way out of here. "And here I am without any change for fare." She said, slipping her good arm his shoulders.

The trip was painful, having forwent his offered pain meds. Not that she wasn't grateful for the offer, but she just didn't want to chance what grade they were. She had been clean and sober for this long, and without a medical team to monitor her intake, she wasn't going to take anything. It was good she had a high pain tolerance. The landing was more jarring than she'd admit, and she could feel the sweat starting to bead around her hairline, but she put her brave face on as they got into the car. This was, by far, the weirdest thing to happen to her. And after a few minutes of utter silence in the green mustang, she just started to laugh. Laugh at the complete absurdity of it all. She could not think of a single situation where this would happen. She couldn't even begin to quantify why it was happening now, why she actually trusted him to take her where she wanted without trying anything. And it just made her laugh harder.

"This...is THE most ridiculous thing I've ever been a part of. Honestly, if anyone, ever, had asked me if I would ever get in a car with someone I had been trying to apprehend behind the wheel, I would have said no. Not in a million years. And yet...here we are."

Owen smirked under his helmet. Everything was about image with her today. "Yes, dear. Whatever you say. Though I'd point out that unless you're going to flail your arm wildly at bullets, today isn't that day." He pulled Nightwing to her feet and gave her another appraisal. He wrapped an arm around her waist and fired his grapnel. "You can buy me dinner sometime. I like pizza." Then he swung them out into Metropolis.

After moving them down into an alley, two blocks away, Owen moved towards the getaway car. Nightwing had a high pain tolerance. Owen gave her props. He could see how much she was in pain, but didn't take the pills he gave her. Probably afraid they were poison or something that would let him take advantage of her. He got in the car and started it. Once Nightwing was in the car, Owen started it and pulled out into the street heading into a direction she gave him. He took his time and drove cautiously, since the car was stolen. He didn't feel like drawing any more attention than was absolutely necessary. The last thing he needed was to draw anyone with an S on their chest in this town. That would just be the icing on the cake.

There was an awkward silence as they drove though Metropolis. This was a very odd thing for him. He never saw himself driving a hero home in a million years. When Nightwing started to laugh, Red Hood questioned whether or not he'd hit her in the head too many times. When she mentioned it, he started to laugh at the absurdity as well. "The best part of this is that it was your idea for me to drive you home. I haven't had a date like this in years. Reminds me of high school, with the awkward driving home. Though I don't remember dating the captain of the cheerleaders."

Owen popped the latch on his helmet and pulled it off, dropping it in his lap. There wasn't much sense in wearing it anymore. He didn't think she'd want a car accident on top of all the other injuries. He downshifted as they came to a red light. "The pills are non-narcotic, if you're worried about me taking advantage of you. I don't really use that kind of stuff when I'm on a mission unless absolutely necessary."

This was, by far, one of the weirdest nights for Dinah. And what was more, she was actually enjoying herself and getting along with the guy. It was weird and strange and some part of her brain was throwing red flags all over the field but she really didn't feel like stopping at the moment. She knew, on almost every level, he was a criminal. And yet, she also knew he was speaking the truth when he said he would have already tried to kill her if he was going to. Hell, he could have left her for the cops to find limping around pretending to be a staff member when they arrived. But he didn't.

Of course she threw on the mental breaks when he tossed out the word "date".

"Ok, whoa. Two things there, sweet cheeks. I was never captain of the cheer anything. Maaaaybe gymnastics but you'd mostly find me in the theater or band room. And second, this isn't a date. Though it would not be my weirdest." She started to reminisce just a bit, about some of her more wild experiences, back when she wasn't so damn sober all the time. "There was a thing...with a midget...and a mule..." She was jerked out of her memory when he popped the latch on his helmet, her hand on the door handle, ready to jump out. He said he'd take her where she needed to go, but there was still her knee jerk reactions that had kept her alive up until this point still trying to get her as far away as possible. She unclenched her hand from the door handle when she saw he was just taking off his helmet, the blasted mask still in the way. That must be itchy and weird to wear double layered like that all the time.

"Non-narcotic, you say? So, like over the counter stuff?" She eyed the pills warily, her shoulder throbbing painfully. Her inner rational mind was trying to tell her that taking an unknown substance was a horrible idea, while the other side was saying it f*cking hurts and we've got a long hike ahead of us. Take a guess at which side won.

She popped the pills in her mouth, knowing she had a few things in her own med kit to counteract any encountered substances. But she kept out most pain killers for obvious (to her) reasons. "Take a left up here, then go up four blocks and stop at the corner. The one with the diner." She pointed at their next light with her good arm.

The light changed and Red Hood kicked the car into gear. Owen was taking it slow, so that they didn't run into any trouble with the law. Especially, since the car was stolen and he had a pouch full of stolen items. He watched Nightwing indignantly respond to his comments and he chuckled. "I'm trying to figure out which part you found more offensive: the fact that I called this a date or the cheerleader comment." He raised an eyebrow below the domino mask. "You are into some interesting stuff."

The flinching at him taking off the helmet made Owen grin. "Relax. It's just my face. It's not that traumatic. You've seen it before. It's just uncomfortable in the car. I keep hitting it on the roof and I figure that you don't want to hit me in the head while I'm driving at the moment. Neither of us really needs a car crash on top of everything else."

As they came up to another light, he shifted again and then turned, following her instructions. "Well, they're a little stronger than over the counter, but I don't like using narcotics when I'm out if it can be avoided. Something about pain pills and swinging a few hundred feet over a city don't seem to mix well. I'm not afraid of heights, but if you don't have to fall out of the sky in a drugged haze, I don't recommend the sensation." The information was matter of fact. It would have almost sounded like Owen was speaking from experience. And he was. He'd made that mistake early on and had his fall broken by a trash pile and prompt scolding from Jason later.

"Right. Up by the diner. Away from wherever you're staying to conceal your identity." He gave her a playful smirk.

"Oh yes...just your face." She rolled her eyes and did her best to keep her eyes pointed forward. He was correct, she had seen it before. Though it was always worth another look. His scruffy jawline was rather rugged looking. And she wondered what color his eyes were under that mask. Damn it, Dinah stop thinking with your libido for once! It's gotten you into more than enough trouble. AND IT'S ALWAYS FOR BAD BOYS IN LEATHER! She thunked her head against the window and watched the streets of Metropolis fly past in a blur of streetlights and windows.

"Yeah," Dinah sighed, remembering the sensation of falling a little too well. When your reaction times are shit because you're wandering around in a haze, you're lucky that you're close to the ground enough that falling on a car doesn't kill you. She was glad she never had to explain that one to her brother. Her publicist on other hand was used mystery injuries and had stopped asking questions after awhile. "It's also not one a person forgets easily either."

"Yes, far, far away. Have to leave some mystery after all." She gave him a slow smile back as she lay her head back against the head rest and turned toward him. And then it faded. She was enjoying this little back and forth. She never did back and forth. She never let a known criminal drive her anywhere either, unless it was her limo driver. But he needed a second chance and she'd given it to him. He also got her places quicker than anticipated and was able to outmaneuver most paparazzi. That was one of the perks of hiring a former getaway driver though. This, was entirely different. She was, dare she say, comfortable? With him? She was glad her stop was coming. Well, sort of glad. She was not looking forward to the hike back to her room. And subsequent explanation of why she needed to go to the hospital. Slip and fell in the shower seemed like a reasonable one. Getting out of her costume was going to be a real bitch.

As he pulled up to the corner, she sat there in silence for a moment, just looking at him. He really should take the helmet off more. How about, NO, Dinah. With the helmet he's less distracting and you can beat him up more. Think with your head, woman! Well. She thought with her head for about half a second before leaning over and kissing him while she pulled the handle on the door. Then she broke away and got out as smoothly as she could. "Thanks for the lift, cupcake!"

She took off toward an alleyway and fired off a grapple line with her good arm, going straight to the roof to lay there and nurse her arm and watch the tracking nanites she'd sprayed on the outside of the car as she got out. She waited until the car moved on far enough not to be able to track her from the ground if she went roof hopping back to her hotel. Which she totally did and hated every second of it before having to take off her costume by herself and hide it all before turning on the shower and getting wet enough to make her story believable.

And she was really not looking forward to finding a temporary lead guitar for her tour...

"Well, you know I suppose even if it was a terrifying face, it's all I have." He continued to drive, following Dinah's instructions. "Diner, huh? I suppose I couldn't convince you to get a bite with me. Hm. Yeah. Probably absurd. Never mind."

The commentary she made almost made it sound like Nightwing knew more about that subject than she cared to share. He gave her a smile. "We all fall once or twice. If you forget, usually, it's because you landed the wrong way. Personally, I never make the same mistake twice. I like to try 8 or 9 times just to make sure I've got it down."

A couple more stop lights and he saw the diner Nightwing was speaking of. As he pulled up to the diner, Owen chuckled. "Relax, songbird. I'm not interested in your secrets. Keep your identity. Contrary to popular belief, our goals aren't always at odds. I'm not going to come after you. I'd offer to take you where you actually want to go, but instead I'll respect your privacy."

Then, they sat there in an awkward sort of silence. Owen appraised her. She barely showed the pain she was feeling and he found himself rather impressed by it. He went to say something, to break the awkward silence, but then felt Dinah's lips against his. The kiss felt so very nice. And then she broke it and left. "You're welcome, sugar plum."

Owen gave a three count and then put the car in gear, driving away.There was no sense in sticking around the area. He'd go dump the car back where he found it. That way the tracking device that inevitably wound up in the car at some point would just lead nowhere. Just because he wasn't hunting her, didn't mean that the other part didn't apply.

Yep... It was just like high school, he thought as he turned the corner.