Her family thought she had died in the destruction of Blüdhaven. They were wrong. Sparrow had been caught in the blast, doused with chemicals, radiation and magic. Between the chemicals radiation and magic she had become something else. She was able to heal herself from anything that hurt her, though it hurt while healing. Her healing powers made her able to regenerate from minor wounds like scrapes in a few minutes and broken bones or other more traumatic injuries in a few hours and "Death" in a day if there was a lot to heal, like a bomb. There was a downside to her powers though. She had been driven insane by the trauma of changing. Instead of the happy teenager who liked almost everyone to a dark person who had nothing but the mission and was careful to never meet anyone she did not wish to. Her name was Tori Drake Wayne a.k.a. Sparrow. She was Bruce Wayne's adopted daughter and she was 13.
Sparrow analyzed her situation. 20 Talons, sent after her by the Court of Owls. They must really be getting nervous. She pulled out her staff and readied herself. The Talons, a group of the world's most dangerous assassins, came charging at her. Vaulting herself over the first wave she spun around, the blades on the edge of her staff whirling in a dangerous cloud of death. She slew down a row of the nearest warriors, slicing through their thick armor as if it were soft butter.
Moving her hands on the staff, the blades slid inward and the staff collapsed. She stowed it away on her belt and brought out a pair of knifes that were stained rusty red with dried blood. The assassins came at her from all sides but she was good at close quarter fighting. She fended off against 10 off them, their weapons coming at her but she was able to block all of them. She needed to get a wall to her back so she jumped onto one of the assassins and vaulted onto the top of a wall. The Talon's kept coming and she pulled out two hand guns. Sliding her knife in her belt she leaped off the wall shooting the would be killers through their heads. When she was sure that all of them were as dead as she could make them, she trotted off into the darkness, her completely black gear blending into the night.
Sparrow looked down on Gotham, her streaked hair whipped out behind her by the wind. She was wearing all black, with a red Bat emblazoned on her chest and a Black Domino mask on her face. Over her suit she was wearing a leather jacket that her brother Jason had gotten her with a helmet like the Red Hood wore sat next to her, colored Black. She had not come to Gotham on a mission to harm any of the Bat Family, but to find the Man who had taken her friends life. Black Skull. He had been the one that killed her friend. Taunting her about how she could not even save her only friend. He would pay.
She had been tracking him for a week now, learning his habits, his schedule. He apparently tried to make it random but he always went to a certain bar for an hour every day at noon. That is when she would hit him. Pulling out her binoculars and placing them to her eye she zooms in on a pair of figures swinging through the streets of Gotham. Her father and Damian. How unsurprising. She should have known that when she went missing Damian would take over for her. Very predictable. She shook her head and jumped of the edge of the building, already shooting a grappling hook as she leapt.
She crouched silently, waiting for Black Mask to arrive. Peering over the edge she saw him pulling up in a nondescript black car. He stepped out and said a few words to the driver before walking inside. Without making a sound she leaped over to the next roof, and then peered down into the room through the skylight.
Black Mask sat down at a table by himself and a waiter brought over a bottle of champagne. Laughter drifted up to her ears as her target made a toast. Were they laughing about the hoard of people that they had slaughtered just the other day? Her hands itched to grab her gun and shoot Black Mask but she had to wait and see if there were any guards. As she searched with her binoculars she found that there were none. Apparently Black Mask thought he had no enemies to fear. He was wrong.
Silently she pulled out both of her guns and aimed at the chink in the bullet proof armor he was wearing. She pulled the trigger and a bullet shattered the glass and went straight through the small chink in his armor. Black Mask keeled over, blood splattered all over his suit. She held up her scanner and it displayed no vitals. The man who had been laughing with Black Mask looked up to see the waving vigilante.
Her goal had been completed. Black Mask was dead. She didn't know why but she had a feeling that prevented her from leaving Gotham, Not yet.
As she arrived back at her base of operations she collapsed onto an old futon. She was currently operating out of an old warehouse near the docks. It was one of the safe houses that she had gone and made in her spare time, in case there was a need for a place where she could not be traced. With a sigh she sat up and opened her metal hood. Hissing it opened up, leaving her hair free and displaying her domino mask. She stood up and walked over to where she kept her food and grabbed a packet of almonds before flopping dramatically onto the couch. Turning on a small travel radio she fiddled with the dial to get on the secret channel that Black Mask had used for news. A male voice spoke out of the radio.
"I have some sad news for our organization and the Court of Owls. Today our fine leader Black Mask was killed by the Red Hood wearing a Black Hood. Repo-" She turned it off midsentence and ate the last of her almonds. "Sorry Jason, I guess this one time it wasn't you after all." She replayed the news back in her head and was rather pleased with herself. So, Black Mask and the Court of Owls working together. What are the odds? Looking out the window she saw that it was getting dark outside. Preparing her gear she was ready to take a look around the shadiest parts of town.
Jason's POV a.k.a. the Red Hood
By chance Jason was listening to the same thing. He frowned. He had been planning to do the same thing next week but someone had beat him too it. He didn't really care but he did care if he was going to have a Talon after him because of it. He entertained the idea of what his sister would have done if she had heard the news. "They think it's you?! You should go get the person who is ruining your reputation! If you actually did it, you would know the risks and act accordingly, but this? This is unacceptable!" His lips flickered in the trace of a smile but then it was gone. He had his reputation to protect.
Bruce's POV a.k.a. Batman
The computer picked up a radio wavelength that was not supposed to be used. He managed to hear part of a message before it ended. " –full leader Black Mask was killed by the Red Hood wearing a Black Hood" It cut off there. Bruce placed his head in his palms. "Oh Jason, What have you done now?" he whispered.
Sparrow's POV
Now that she knew for sure that Black Masks organization was working with the Court of Owls she had to plan on how to act. She walked over to a pin board with a map of the world covered with pins. Each of those pins represented someone she had killed. She picked up a pin with its end shaped in a Black Mask. She placed it on Gotham, already filled with pins.
She stood looking at her boards filled with notes, trying to figure out how the Owls were connected to it. Suddenly she heard the main warehouse door being kicked open. Luckily, she was wearing all of her gear but her hood which was next to her. She put it on and readied herself for an attack. The rooms door opened inward which was an advantage. She was not going to fly the coop this time. She heard the other doors being kicked open one by one and as she counted she knew when the intruder was outside her door. As soon as her door was kicked in she felt the need to duck and did so. A blade landed in the wall where her head would have been. A man wearing a costume almost identical to hers stepped into the room, tossing a knife between his hands. Almost instantly her blade was in her hand, matching the stance of the Red Hood. She brought up weaknesses that she had discovered in the past. He had been shot in the left shoulder that had never healed correctly, His mask would reduce the effectiveness of gas and she knew they were both armed to the teeth. Literally.
He had no idea it was her. She had cut her hair rough, shaggy and short like her older brother Dick, so he couldn't see her hair. "Well, Well. Looks like I tracked down the imposter. I don't mind that you killed Black Mask at all. You see, I care that I am getting blamed for something I did not do. I have a problem with that." The old talk and attack while their distracted tactic. "I am sorry, but you just left your gear lying around." She replied. She wasn't telling the whole truth on that. He had only left his Hood lying around. The rest of the stuff she had bought, made or been given. She had jumped backwards just as he slashed his knife. Just because she could heal herself didn't mean she could be reckless. They both eyed each other, noting how comfortably they held the knives. Both had been in a lot of fights beforehand.
Sparrow went on the offence. "Always have the battle on your terms." She remembered one of her teachers saying. She ducked as he aimed a kick for her head. She caught the leg stopping him and elbowed him hard in the Left shoulder, exactly where he had been shot. The sudden pain that resulted from the reinjury of a badly healed wound caused him to suddenly crumple. She leaped up and stabbed him in the arm with a needle of tranquilizer. Her older brother went limp under her after a minute and she shook her head. She was going to have to relocate. Again. She walked over to the corner of the room and started wheeling her motorbike into the Warehouse area. As soon as she parked it she went back and quickly packed all of her moveable stuff up. Maps, Food, Ect. Placing them in the compartment under her seat she went back and easily picked her older brother up. She put him in her side cart and roared into the night.
It was about half an hour when they reached her brothers home. Jason was still out from the injection she had given him. She picked him up and carried him to the front door, kicking it open instead of using the handle. It was a small apartment with the bedroom right next to the door.
The door to his bedroom was open. She walked in and set him down on the bed. She removed his hood and set it on the table next to him. As one last touch she placed a sticky note on his helmet. She walked out of his apartment and closed the front door. Hopping on her Motorbike she roared away into the night, her light soon lost in the distance.
Jason's POV a.k.a. Red Hood
He woke up with a terrible headache. He expected to be in chains or something of the sort but he was in his own bed. He sat up straight, his headache ignored. What happened in the warehouse? He had tracked down the pretender and was squaring off but then, nothing. He looked at his jacket and sure enough, there was a puncture there. He grabbed his Hood but then stopped. There was a bird shaped sticky note on it. The message written on it caused his eyes to widen.
"Dear Jason,
Do not try to follow me or track me down. Next time I won't go so easy on you. Thanks for the jacket.
- Little Bird
P.S. Do some laundry for god's sake. It won't kill you.
He pulled off the note and tucked it in his jacket pocket. Putting his Hood on as he grabbed his motorbike keys he headed outside. He had some news to tell the rest of the family.
He soon arrived in front of his old home, Wayne Manor. He parked his bike in the garage and headed into the main house. Alfred practically pounced on him as soon as he walked in. "Master Jason it is good to see you. Master Bruce, We have a visitor." Dick and Damian both came running. "Oh, not again…" Jason thought. Bruce strode out from his study, his eyes dark. Damian was glaring at him while Dick just observed the scene. "I got some news for you Bruce." "Is it that you killed Black Mask?" Bruce asked his eyes darkening. "That wasn't me this time. It was somebody dressed in a black leather jacket with a black bodysuit like mine. Oh, and a Black hood." He tapped his hood. "I tracked down where the Imposter was, they were holed up in an old warehouse. I got my ass handed to me Bruce. They knew where to get me." The rest of his family was probably waiting for him to tell him how he escaped. "I didn't escape. They took me back to my pad and left a note." He pulled out the note and handed it to Bruce. Damian, Pompous as ever demanded to know what the note said. Bruce held the note out so that everyone could see the notes bird shape. Bruce continued to read it aloud. "Dear Jason, Do not try to follow me or track me down. Next time I won't go easy on you. Thanks for the jacket. Signed Baby Bird. P.S. Do some laundry for god's sake. It won't kill you." Instantly all of them sobered up. They knew that Little Bird had been Jason's pet name for Tori, Just as he called Damian Demon Bird, and Dick Dickie-Bird. Dick asked what they were all thinking. "Does this mean that she's alive?" Bruce stared down at the note, his eyes the darkest they had ever been before. He abruptly turned and was about to stalk off into the Cave but Jason stopped him. "There is one more thing. I got a voice recording." He held out a USB stick and Bruce took it then stalked off down the stairs. Dick spoke up. "He's angry. The guilt he felt when Jason died is coming back double fold. He feels like he should never have sent Tori into Blüdhaven. I have a feeling that somebody is going to get hurt pretty soon and it sure isn't us." Jason strode off towards the door. "I have some business that needs to be looked into. Bye Bye birdies." Jason's voice did not betray his emotions as he walked out into the garage and rode off into the night on his motorbike. He was feeling something he hadn't in a long time. Guilt. Out of all of his family Tori had always been the closest. She tried not to judge him and understood why he did things. She didn't do them, but she understood. That's what she had been best at. Understanding somebody, even her enemy and then taking them down and leaving no trace. It was one of the scariest qualities he had ever seen in somebody.
She had looked up to him and he had taught her almost everything he knew, that way she would be prepared for anything that life threw at her. Life seemed to throw a lot of things at the Bat family. He shook his head and headed back home. He had a baby bird to catch.
Sparrow's POV
She knew that Jason had recorded her voice and would have uploaded it onto a USB stick to give to Bruce. Predictable yet again. She had written a program that would secretly allow her access to all of the Bat family computer data. Meanwhile, She was headed to the Himalayas to investigate a cult of people who worshiped a yeti and terrified small towns. They were spreading like the plague and it had to be dealt with. She was currently working on finding information about it when the small plane she was piloting suddenly jerked to the side. Turning the controls to manual she started doing evasive maneuvers that she somehow knew were not going to work. The plane froze in midair and didn't move even with the engines going at full speed. She saw the problem. A yellow field was holding the plane in place. Dam it, a yellow lantern, just what she needed. Looking down she saw Bizzaro, the opposite of superman, Sinestro, A yellow lantern, Felix Faust, an evil wizard and guess who, Lex Luthor. The group was standing on top of a large plane, somehow hovering in midair.
She sighed and readied her weapons even though she knew she probably couldn't take them by herself. Bizzaro flew up and pulled open the door, the length that the two planes were apart was getting shorter. The enclosed space would make hand to hand combat very difficult and 3 of the most powerful supervillans on earth. She understood why Bizzaro was working with Lex. Superman good, Bizzaro bad, Superman hates Lex, Bizzaro loves Lex. He had an entirely Black and white view of the world. If she could get him into the grey, he would be completely confused. All of the observations were made in a second. "You. Black Hood. Come with me." She stared defiantly at him. "Make me." She replied, using so serious a tone that he paused. That was all she needed. She jumped through the windshield and into the air. She started counting the seconds until she needed to release her parachute or was caught. It turns out she was given caught. She froze in midair as Faust cast a spell to make her stop falling. "I forgot how much I hated magic." She thought gritting her teeth inside her hood. She rose almost instantly to where Lex, Faust and Sinestro were standing. Lex smiled a cold calculating smile. "And that folks is a real predator!" She could see Dick saying that if he was here. She smiled underneath her hood.
"You are one hard person to find Black Hood. I was hoping that my ruse with the Himalayas would work. It would have been such a waste of money if it had been. You see, I know who you are. I created the events that led up to you being who you are now. You were not very stable from the beginning even though you hid it so well. Even more unstable than Damian." It made sense. Get at Batman through his one and only Daughter. Make her very unstable, ending up with her becoming the Black Hood and going against most of the virtues that Batman had taught her. Then return what little sanity she had, torture her and make Batman watch all of it. "Very Predictable Lex. Get at someone you know once had ties to Batman to get at him blablablablabla…. I am just going to warn you now Lex. Get out before your empire falls down. You really don't know what we can do." She goaded him, knowing the exact consequences that were going to stem from it. The president Lex Luthor turned to Bizzaro and gave him an order. "Wreck the plane and make it look like an accident. Then meet us back at the white house." Lex turned to Tori, who was still frozen by Faust's spell. "You will pay for your insolence, Tori!" She smiled underneath her hood. "I was already going to. Just making your efforts worth my time." She heard Faust muttering a spell behind her and she knew what was happening. The spell that had made her able to heal had come from him and he was taking it back. She did not care; she would just go back to the way she had been going since she had started. Ignore the pain and keep fighting.
Sinestro had long since stopped holding her old plane up. Finally rising to one of her barbed insults he tried punching her in the head and ended up holding his fist in pain. She laughed at him for trying that, he should have known better. He was getting frustrated with no patience and a quick temper. Faust was aware of what was going to happen it seemed. "We must get inside so we can move, Come." Seemingly getting some sense, Sinestro hit her in the head with a force hammer. She was out cold.
Sinestro picked her limp body up using a force bed but it soon became just a flat rectangle. Faust stayed silent the entire time while Sinestro ranted. "So, when do we get to beat this little whelp up?" He asked openly to Faust. "Never. We have to be seen in public and our sudden disappearances will let the hero's know something is afoot. We have to act completely normal and will never see this whelp again."
Sinestro snorted his frustration but quit complaining. Soon they arrived at Lex Luthor's personal home that was not the Whitehouse. A crew of highly trained soldiers came in and transferred Sparrow onto a flat metal trolley. The stripped weapons were loaded on another trolley which was filling up at an alarming rate. Faust whistled as a second trolley had to be brought in since the first had become completely filled with weapons. When they had to open the hood, everyone had to put on a gas mask. As they opened it up, sleeping gas poured out, none of them affected since they had masks on. The thugs also had to remove some fake tooth casings that concealed files, lock picks and other tiny weapons. Finally when they were 100% sure that she had no weapons whatsoever they pushed her away into the depths of the waiting house, no doubt to be taken to a room underground.
Jason's POV a.k.a. Red Hood
She did a really good job of covering her tracks but a month later he managed to get a lead showing that she had rented a small seaplane to go across the pacific to the Himalayas. Logs show that the plane had crashed in the middle of the Atlantic and the wreck had been lost. He managed to find some photos of it and discovered that it was not natural. To him, it was plain as day that it had been wrecked by a meta powered human. Only one meta powered human actually. Bizzaro, who was working for Lex Luthor. There was a hole in the window where it looked like something had been thrown out, or jumped.
Sparrow had learned the hard way that it is always good to carry around a parachute that way a friend doesn't have to save you from being sidewalk stroganoff. She probably had measured out her chances and decided that either she would escape, or she wouldn't and he knew that she did not like being held captive. She had a way of getting under your skin and somehow knowing what you were going to do before you actually even do it. That was a result of Thalia's workings. She was able to grow and raise Sparrow from birth, pushing her even further than Damian, wishing to make this child even better, to be Damians superior. Sparrow had a bit of a rebellious streak against her mother's wishes and was always calm, polite and modest. She had only killed when needed, leaving her body count much lower than Damians. This led to her finding her way to Bruce, his alias already figured out.
She was a tough cookie and had resolve stronger than anything he had ever seen. They were going to have a very hard time. He almost felt sorry for them, oh wait. He didn't because they had asked for it. He was still worried that her mind set was unstable. It had taken him years to get back to a slightly more normal mind set. Oh well.
Nightwing had not checked in for 2 weeks before Nightwing's distress signal went off. Sparrow first and then Nightwing? This was no coincidence. Luthor was involved, no doubt about it. Luthor had started his war against Superman and there was no going back. Luthor was no doubt trying to take out allies, friends and family first. The most dangerous ally would have been Batman and the rest of the Bat family. He was trying to take Batman down.
He had to find a way to get into the club and he knew just how.
4 weeks earlier…. Sparrow's POV
Her head was throbbing, no doubt from the hit that Sinestro had given her with that hammer. She kept her eyes closed but probed her mouth with her tongue, feeling for the casings. They were gone. Dammit. If they had found those then they would have found everything else. From what she could feel, her hands were bound in chains and they were attached to the wall. Her ankles were also constricted. From the force of gravity she was definitely on a wall and not on a table. Good. The light that showed through her eyelids was artificial, meaning that she was in a room with no windows and/or she was underground. She sniffed the air and smelled a faint earthy smell. Underground then. She was a bit bruised but otherwise all right. Her helmet had worked just like it was supposed to, making sure her head was not exploded.
Sinestro definitely had a short temper. Faust was cautious and knew an enemy to be respected when he saw one. She knew she would not see them again. Luthor? Definitely. His cunning was somewhat predictable when he was so prideful. He would rub whatever he had done in her face. She could turn his own pride against him. Perfect, she knew what to do now. She guessed that now he was going to have her beaten up defenseless and then taunt her father about it. Not a good Idea Lex. Not a good idea at all. Why don't you go steal a piece of gold from Smaug. That would be less trouble then all of this. She did warn him, but did he listen? No. Oh well. It was his head she was going to rip off his shoulders. Her mind was ever so slowly reverting back to the ideal that people shouldn't be killed but she did not regret killing those people or soon, Lex Luthor.
She opened her eyes and found herself in a concrete room, noting that nothing was around the room, nothing she could turn into a weapon. She heard some laughter of men and then 2 no, wait, 3 pairs of footsteps walked towards her cell. She looked down at herself. They at least let her keep her uniform and mask on, though she noticed that the plating that she had placed on her suit had been taken off. Great. No protection whatsoever.
The door opened to admit a surly man. This man was obviously a thug and was experienced. He obviously had it in for her. One was carrying a baseball bat; she prepared herself for the onslaught of violence that was soon to erupt. She could tell that he had a short temper. "Nice clothing. Where'd you get it? The thrift store?" The man was dressed very expensively with designer brand names. She hoped that she could get under his skin. "Oh wait. You probably can't even buy decent clothing for getting paid to beat up a kid." This got the reaction she was looking for, the man growled at her. She smiled. That was it, come a little closer.
He stepped toward her and she spat a blob of spit straight into his eye. Score. The man stormed toward her and started hitting her with the baseball bat. She felt a couple of her ribs crack while the man kept on striking her again and again with the baseball bat. It hurt very badly but she just ignored it and stared straight ahead. This further angered the man. Blows fell harder and harder. She winced as the man swung the baseball bat as hard as he could at her leg. She felt it splinter. Really not good. She shifted her weight onto her right leg to reduce stress. She was hurting extremely badly. Her Left Femur was shattered, she was sure a couple of ribs were cracked and now the man was setting the bat down and pulling out some brass knuckles.
He menacingly pounded his right fist and moved towards sparrow. Her smile was gone now but she did not display pain one her face. He started punching her face, the metal breaking her skin and causing her to start bleeding. Blood was dripping off her forehead and into her eyes, interfering with her vision. Her eyes started tearing up and her tears mixed with her blood. He seemed to become bored after a little while, and with one last glare stalked out of the room, leaving Sparrow dripping blood from numerous places on her face. Her suit was knife resistant which was an advantage though it did not lessen the blows. She tasted blood in her mouth and she spat it out. The pain in her body was unimaginable, more than any beating she had taken before.
She hung limply from the wall, her muscles relaxing from the tightness they had been in. She had been trained to deal with pain, concealing it and ignoring it. She chose to ignore it, even though her muscles screamed their complaints. She felt a jab of pain whenever she inhaled or exhaled. She definitely had a cracked rib somewhere. She took in deep breaths and calmed her breathing. Sparrow was starting to meditate when the door opened once again. She knew it was a different person without looking up. The foot pattern was different as well the weight placed on each step. She slowly straightened up, and then looked at the person who had come into the room. It was a refined gentleman, wearing a tailored suit. He was carrying a folding table in one hand and a metal briefcase in the other. He walked over to her and avoided the fresh blood on the floor.
He folded out the table and then set the briefcase on the table and opened it. It revealed that it was filled with needles full of colored liquids, placed meticulously in padded cutouts. He pulled on some surgical gloves and picked up one of the needles. He looked her straight in the eyes. "Be ready to feel real fear." He said in a dark voice. He jabbed the needle into Sparrows neck and emptied the contents into Sparrow's neck. Sparrow knew that this was a different fear serum then the ones that she was inoculated against.
Sparrow was forced to live through all of her worst fears, powerless and completely under the control of the fear serum. When the fear serum wore off, she "woke up" gasping, causing her more pain her lungs. The man proceeded to inject more drugs into her neck, making her muscles relax and weaken. After the man was finished he closed his briefcase, picked up the table and walked out again, the door opened by a guard. She noted that there wasn't a handle or lock on the inside.
The cycle continued for two weeks, her body being beat up on constantly, preventing the injuries from healing. The length of the beatings was increasing, and becoming more frequent then once a day. She was given no food and just enough water to prevent her from dehydration. On the first day of the third week they unscrewed her from the wall. Her muscles, weak from deprivation of food, beatings and drugs could not hold her up. She crashed to the ground and the two men who had unscrewed her laughed.
One of them pulled out a pair of handcuffs and places them on her slim wrists, already thin before the starvation. He had to close them completely to make sure there was no way of her slipping out. The other man did the same thing to her ankles. Sparrow was frustrated. The men were different every day, so she had no chance of getting a psychological profile on any of them. If she tried to speak, they covered her mouth with duct tape and removed it after they were done. Her most effective weapon, her words, had been neutralized. Dam Lex Luthor, his brain and his schemes for taking over the world.
The men walked out and laughed at her one last time before walking out. She was lying down on a floor covered in blood, fresh and dried, her face covered with bruises and her mask had a cut in it. Her hair and uniform was covered in her blood, her multiple cuts bleeding profusely. During the last 2, no wait, 3 weeks her Left Femur had been shattered, 4 ribs cracked and close to possibly puncturing her lungs, right arm broken in 3 different places and multiple scratches and knife cuts. She grimaced and rolled her shoulders, enjoying the sensation of being able to move somewhat. She knew that some of the knife wounds on her chest were infected and more would be if they were not bandaged and sterilized. She painfully dragged her broken body to one of the walls. It took her several minutes to cross the few feet because of the pain and muscles weakness. She propped herself up on the wall and started thinking. There was no doubt about what Lex was doing. She saw the camera in the corner that watched her every move.
She heard footsteps and the sound of feet dragging along the floor. Judging from the way the men were grumbling about bruises, their prisoner had put up a fight. She heard the sound of a code being punched in and the sound of a key sliding into the lock and opening it. The lights turned completely off, leaving her in complete darkness, no light to be seen. Her hearing sharpened, allowing her to pinpoint exactly where one of the men was. Measuring the trajectory in her mind she tilted her head and spat a glob of bloody saliva, a wet smack as it hit the man's bald head. He yelled, thinking that his partner had done it. They left the person behind, arguing over what had happened. She laughed slightly but that turned into a coughing fit. She was definitely sick then. The odds were stacking against her. The light turned back on, showing her who they had brought in. Nightwing!
He was lying facedown in an area of the room where blood had not gotten to. Her face paling with pain, she managed to get her handcuffed hands in front of her body. Her older brother stirred, His head probably still hurting from the hit. She smiled slightly at the sight of her older brother. Lex had made her insane and he had been giving back her humanity ever since she had been caught. He apparently he hoped to break her with the realization of the things she had done. Too bad Mr. President. I understand exactly why I did it and have forgiven myself. If Lex had been talking about any other Bat he might have been right, but he had picked the one that would never ever give up and understood him perfectly, taking away his only advantage.
Nightwing's POV a.k.a. Dick Grayson
He had been patrolling the skyline of Gotham when he heard the first shot go off. He had run straight into a trap and got knocked out before he managed to defend himself. He violently woke up to find himself staring at a clean concrete floor. He tried to push himself up when he realized that they were handcuffed behind his back. His mind was not functioning fully yet from the knock to the head. After waiting a few minutes he managed to get his hands in front of him. He had some bruises and a nasty headache but no broken bones. Something Reddish Brown in his peripheral vision caught his attention.
Turning his head slightly he saw that it was dried blood splatters. He started feeling uneasy. He stopped moving immediately when he heard a sick cough behind him. Turning around he saw a figure covered with blood and bleeding more. Their right arm was bent at an odd angle as well as their Left leg. "Hey Nightwing. How's Gotham?" a rough voice asked. The figure was wearing a bodysuit that had a faint bat symbol on it. The voice was rough and scratchy, as if they had been screaming for a long time. The person's hair looked like it had been cut loose and floppy, but now it was limp and clumpy. Turning his head slightly he saw a wall with 2 pairs of chains hanging on it. There was a body outline surrounded by dried blood. He saw the streak of blood that led from the chains to where the person was propped up against the wall. The figures head had been leaning on their chest where he couldn't see their face but the person now lifted up their head. Dick's blood ran cold at what he saw.
His little sister Tori was looking at him, a slight smile touching the edges of her lips, her blue eyes bright as the sky. Her mask was missing a small wedge at the bottom. She made a movement to start crawling over to him but he shook his head. He studied his sister carefully; she was not as well as she pretended. She was thinner than before; her uniform cut in multiple places and her face was scraped up badly, also covered in bruises. Her brown hair that had once been streaked with blonde and copper was now plastered to her head by a layer of blood. Some of the wounds on her chest were infected and he saw the slight involuntary twinge whenever she breathed.
He pulled himself over to where she was propped up on the wall. Upon closer inspection she was worse. Her once black uniform was now as red as the bat that was once visible. He knew that it had been happening for a while. "How Long?" She blinked a couple times before answering. "I think it's been 2 or 3 weeks. It is hard to tell." He was surprised at her answer. She had used to know the time to the second. She painfully turned her face to him and then he saw rows of needle marks along her neck. She had been injected with something. "They used to have a schedule. First a person would come in to teach me a lesson and then he would leave. Immediately after another person would come in and give me my "medicine". It used to once a day but lately they have been coming in all the time. No pattern, No warning." She grimaced and leaned back. "Luthor is behind all of it. The affair at Blüdhaven, Me going insane like Jason, Black Mask killing an ally and the Court of Owls sending Talon's day and night after my head. All of it. He's brilliant." He felt a surge of anger rise up at President Luthor. He had caused him to lose his little sister forever.
He knew he would never see the young and seemingly carefree sister he once knew again. The sister that had been returned was a darker version of her, always planning, always preparing. What Dick did not know is that his sister had always been that way. She just had hidden it deep within. Luthor had forced her to remove her mask and bury it forever. Luthor was just driving his sister to reveal a tiny sliver of her true nature.
Sparrow's POV
Not soon after their little talk she fell asleep. She hated going to sleep, causing her to feel even more tired then before but her body needed time to try and repair itself, banishing her to her realm of torture.
She woke up and gasped from the nightmare she had been having. She knew all of the Bat family had them. They each dealt with it in their own way. She dealt with it by brooding over a mug of Mint tea, made from the mint that she had grown in the backyard. She felt the searing pain in her chest again as she inhaled deeply. She was definitely having internal bleeding at this point. Her wounds had scabbed up somewhat which was good. The multiple infections she had were ruthless and sapping what little energy she had left.
Tori had been leaning against her oldest brother Dick. She stirred and Dick looked up from what he had been doing. To the camera his hands held nothing but to Sparrow's keen eye it actually revealed that he was holding a tiny homing device that was shaped like a bat. He hid it in a tiny crevasse in her suit, making it look like he was fussing over her. After it was hidden he actually did start fussing with her. "Look, I'm alright!" her voice quavering, betraying the amount of pain she vowed to keep hidden and ignore. "No, you're not. Your arm is broken in 3 different places, you have lost an amount of blood that would kill most people and have several infections! Now stay still!" She finally relented and held still as he examined her. "At least 4 ribs cracked, one of them close to puncturing your left lung. From the amount of blood you lost you need more than your body can make. You need a blood transfusion. Also, the infections on your chest are spreading. If they aren't treated soon, they could be fatal. I am confident that you have internal bleeding. Your bones haven't been set and you are dehydrated badly. You should be resting." Tori sighed, and flashed her brother a glance. "I am resting," she grumbled. Dick smiled but she saw the sadness and anger in his eyes. He knew how much pain Tori was in, even if she wasn't showing it. He gently reached over and ruffled her hair.
The door suddenly opened and a group of men walked in, all armed. They eyed the pair of masked prisoners, the older one dressed in a black suit with a blue bird across his chest. He moved slightly in front of the much smaller figure, propped up against the wall. The men knew that he was a danger even with handcuffed feet and hands. One of the men shot him in the chest with a tranquilizer dart. It took effect almost immediately and he went limp. A pair of the men walked forward and stepped over the unconscious form of Nightwing and the larger of the two scooped up the little resisting figure.
The girl was very light, even more so than normal. The men backed out of the room and back into the hall. The men relaxed slightly at being able to escape the room. Forming a cluster around the man carrying the small figure they marched to a medical bay. The man set Tori down on a gurney, not gentle at all and then left, leaving two guards standing over her.
Tori tried to focus. Why would the men bring her to a medical bay? What was Luthor up to? Then she realized exactly what game he was playing. Keep her near death, but not so much that she will die. She knew that by doing this it would drive him mad. The bat in her father would be just as angry for Luthor to be kidnapping one of his Protégés, let alone more and torture them. She flickered back to reality, noticing a doctor in scrubs coming over. The doctor pushed the gurney into an operating room. She protested weakly but they ignored her. A mask was placed onto her face and she was forced to breath in the anesthetic. Blackness started to blur her vision and she went limp as she was knocked out.
Dick Grayson's a.k.a. Nightwing POV
Ever since the men had come into the room and taken Tori away, he plotted on how to escape. The last time he had seen her had been two weeks ago. The men came in and tortured him, laughing when he tried to move. However, they did not laugh when his resolve of not letting his pain show won. They beat him mercilessly, finally drawing out what they had been looking for. His body betrayed him and let loose a scream of pain. He knew his sister well enough to understand that they had been informed how much harder she was to break. She could whip almost anyone in a fight given time to prepare. Physically, she was stronger than some of the Bat Family, but she had the worst nightmares out of all of them. He suspected that she had endured more pain and torment at the hands of Talia Al' Ghul then she let on. He flashed back to the needle marks on her skin. They had probably been injecting some kind of fear venom into her system, forcing her to relive her darkest fears and nightmares come true.
He slumped against the wall, nursing his injuries, making sure there was nothing badly injured. Nothing broken for now. It was just a matter of time until they were. He frowned at the thought and tried to move onto encouraging ones. His family would have noticed that he was gone by now. There was no way they would stop trying until he and hopefully Tori, were home. He closed his eyes comforted by the thought. He needed to get some sleep and allow his body to repair his injuries. He sighed as he drifted into the dark welcome arms of sleep.
Bruce Wayne's a.k.a. Batman POV
He tried not to show it but he was starting to worry. It had been two weeks since Dick had last reported in and a month since he had found out that Tori was alive. Tori, his only daughter and the only one who was actually friends with everyone. She had the potent gift of being able to see things from your perspective, either helping you see a new way or bringing it down on your head, leaving you wishing you hadn't done it in the first place. She was as friendly as Dick; determined as Jason, and just as deadly as Damian. She seemed to have a bit of everyone in the family.
She almost instantly picked up her father's ability to blend into the darkness, to cloak the shadows around her and to brood just as deeply as him. When he thought that she had died it was like losing Jason all over again; except he was the one who had sent her to that city, he was the one who had doomed her to die. With Jason showing up with news of Tori being alive, his whole world had suddenly brightened, only to be dimmed when he realized that his daughter had become like Jason, the rogue in the family.
He sat brooding in the Batcave, sitting in front of the Batcomputer. The screen lit up and Dick's help signal came on. Oracle a.k.a. Barbara Gordon, Former Batgirl suddenly opened up the com link. "Bruce, Nightwing has been missing for two weeks and now his help signal goes off? Something isn't right." A voice came out of the darkness behind them as the sound of a motorcycle roared into the cave. "You're dam right." Jason Todd said, taking off his helmet and placing it on his bike. "I managed to get a lead on where Baby Bird took off too. She was headed towards the Himalayas and rented a plane but never got there. Plane was found wrecked a few days later. No blood, No sign of a struggle other than a human sized hole in the front windshield. I checked the glass patterns and they had been broken out. I say she got taken by the same people who got Dick." Bruce and Barbara absorbed the information silently, waiting. Bruce spoke out suddenly. " Bab's, I need you to check in with all the Bat's. Make sure they update you daily and always have their gear with them." Barbara closed her eyes and made a face. "Sure thing Bruce. Already contacting the first group." Jason and Bruce heard the clacking of keys as Barbara turned back to the keyboard. "Batman out." Bruce said and swiveled his chair to look at Jason standing on the motor platform. Just as he was about to speak Damian came leaping down the stairs. \
Nobody's Point Of View Per say
Out of nowhere, a motorcycle roared into the cave. Everyone jumped for their weapons and waited. A blue motorcycle braked on the platform and the figure haltingly got off the vehicle before crumpling to the ground. Bruce ran over to the figure and picked them up, starting off towards the medbay. Everyone recognized the figure that was laid on the operating table. It was Dick, their missing brother.
In a few hours Dick was conscious again. Everyone was relieved to say the least; one of their missing birds was home. Dick held up his hands to halt the would be interrogation from Batman. "I'll tell you what happened, just don't start interrogating me like one of those low level thugs." Everyone got comfortable in chairs scattered around the bed that Dick was in. "I got ambushed while nabbing a purse snatcher. I woke up in a concrete cell underground." Dick's face turned into a pained expression as he continued. " Tori was in there with me. I didn't recognize her at first, she was so beat up. She cut her hair like mine though." He smiled softly after saying that before he continued, his face growing darker. "After a bit they came in and took her away. When I escaped I searched the entire complex but I couldn't find her."
Dick was obviously beating himself up over not finding his little sister but eventually all of the comforting words of the other family members somewhat diminished his feeling of failure. He was resting in his bedroom upstairs when Leslie walked in. "So Dick, How are you feeling?" She smiled at the acrobat sitting up on the bed. "I'm doing fine Leslie. The painkillers are doing their job." Dick gave a sigh and flopped back into the pile of pillows that was behind him. "