Chapter one: Little talks

GOTHAM CITY

3:00 EDT

Back to my days in ciudad del Sol, mom once told me that the slightest thing we do can cause a ripple effect. "Throw a pebble into a side of the ocean and you might cause a hurricane on the other side". Although I didn't fully understand what those words meant (come on… I wasn't even six), I believed her. Yet, back then, mom would have never figured out what would those same words mean in my future. Or even worst, she wouldn't even imagine what was waiting for me on the dark streets of Gotham.

Throughout the years, Gotham City gained popularity for its decay, for being rotten from inside out. It was folk wisdom; Gotham was a big Petri dish full of the nastiest human sample: the seed of evil and madness.

You might have some sort of death wish to voluntarily live here.

Of course, my sister and I had no option after mom passed. Aunt Mimi wouldn't move because of us, so we had to grow up in the big bad city.

So there I was, admiring the lights of Wayne enterprises and the nearby skyscrapers at the rooftop of the apartment building I used to live with my aunt and little Gabs. I sighted as a small grin showed on my face as the idea of Gotham being a beautiful city under the moon light popped up in my head. I guess things look way better from a distance.

"I should be sleeping" I though. It was Sunday and Gotham Academy started the next day at seven. I knew I would be a living zombie the next morning, but I was a girl of my word and I promised him we'll meet tonight.

And so, I waited, wondering the ripple effect this night could have

Suddenly, I heard someone landing somewhere behind me. He had such great skills; he landed so gracefully I almost didn't notice him. I knew exactly who it was, yet, I waited for him to make the first move but I got bored after a couple minutes.

"Are you just going to stay there and watch me all night or what?" No answer.

"Come out already, I know you're here" I said turning to face the ebony haired guy with the domino mask coming out of the shadows of my rooftop

"Crap" he muttered before he started walking towards me

Nightwing

Although I had been his student liaison her first day at Gotham Academy and had some friends in common (she managed to be in Jason's class, she was that smart. Also, she turned out being a good friend of Babs), Isis and I were not close. I mean, sometimes our paths crossed on the hallways, so we smiled to each other from a distance but that was just us being polite.

Still, I have to say she had a lovely smile.

I wish I had talked to her more. The whole situation could've been less awkward. But Batman chose me instead of anyone else for a reason, so, as a detective, I had to focus and do my job.

Isis was abducted last year for almost three days before Bruce found her while patrolling. I remember coming back to the Manor after a mission with Wally when Alfred told us we had a "special guest". It didn't take us long to go down to the bat cave infirmary and find a certain fellow student laying unconscious between lots of tubes and beeping machines. Jason was sitting on a chair next to her, paler than usual, holding her life-less hand with a scared look on his face.

"Dude" Wally said below his breath, completely losing his chill tone after noticing Jason's expression.

"Wh-What happened?" I stuttered. Not quite sure if I wanted to know the answer.

"She's stable" Batman's deep, emotion-less voice took me and my best friend off guard. He walked towards her direction and continued "It was Killer Doctor".

"That psycho" Jason said almost on a whisper, with the nastiest angry face I've ever seen him make. Wally was frozen in front of the computer screen. He was with his head down, his back facing me. I knew Central City crime couldn't be compared to the nasty things that happened on Gotham alleys, but he looked pretty disturbed. "He…" Bruce interrupted the silence. His voice had this weird doubt tone, as if he was trying to choose the most suitable word for what was coming next "assaulted her". Jason looked down after he heard those words.

My eyes, that have been posed on the tanned brunette girl in front of me all the time, turned desperately to the screen where Killer Doctor's picture was showing. I slowly walked to the desk in front of Wally, begging not to find the toxicological exams. But they were there, and they got positive

Ten girls have been abducted during the last two months. All found dead on different parts of the city due to big doses of a new mutation of "Venom" (that green steroid that gave Bane his powers).

We already knew who was behind these murders. His name was Peter Sculley but he was better known by the press as "killer doctor", a mad man with a surgeon license. He already had a vast criminal record and he had been running around the country for almost a year (such a sneaky dude). But now he was in Gotham, and he was not going to scape.

Things gave an odd turn when he changed his modus operand, from mutilating random victims to injecting young girls with some type of Venom. We still couldn't figure out why, but he was trying to find a "match", or at least that's what we could assume because of the "no match" red stamp the victims were found with. A match for what? What was he looking for?

Batman and I figured that he was probably looking for a match to the venom. Still, what needed to match? What effects did this substance had on human body? With what purpose?

'I wish we could have figured it out before he found her' I said to myself, feeling the guilt fill my body.

I saw her on the library the day she disappeared. I should have insisted, I should have walked her home. 'I'm so stupid' I said to myself

'Is she going to d-"

"NO" Jason and Batman interrupted me abruptly at the same time before I could manage to say 'die', both sending me a death glare. I let out a deep sight in relief. Don't get me wrong, she and I weren't close but that didn't mean I want her death. It's just that all of the other girls died in a painful way according to forensic examinations

Why didn't she? Was she a match? Then, how come everything on her analysis seems normal?

"I know she is your classmate, Jason" Bruce said recovering his monotone speech, putting his hand on my brother's shoulder and sending me a glance from a distance, making me drop the analyse results on the desk and pay full attention to him. "But I don't want you, or any of you" he emphasized this last words "to say a single word to anyone about this and, when she comes to class, I want you to treat her as you always do."

KF, Jason, Alfred and I stared at him in silence for a couple of seconds. Only the 'beeps' of the machines could be heard.

It wasn't long before Jason exploited

"That includes Barbra? Will you even let her know what really happened or are you going to tell her a lame lie?" Jason screamed, standing up abruptly, tossing his hand. "She's her friend! My friend! How come you're not even telling Commissioner Gordon? Or the press? Does her aunt even knows her nephew is still alive? She has Little sister that must be suffering right now. Are you going to lie to them too? Are you going to make her lie?"

"She's been more than 36 hours with him. We still don't know the effects of the venom he injected to her" He answered without even flitching to his agitated protégé. "Besides, it would only panic the citizens even more now that the Joker escaped from Arkham"

"Again?!" Wally screamed, probably as a reflex. 'Way to go KF' I though while seeing him shut up in horror after the 'bat-glare' Bruce send him

Out of a sudden we heard a light moan. She was waking up, meaning the Bat would send us all to our rooms

That night, after Isis was send home, I told Bruce all I knew about her (not much by that time) and discovered a few other things.

She came from Ciudad del Sol with her younger sister after her mother was killed by a thief. His dad left them when she was very young, so the only family they had left was their aunt Miriam, who lived here. She got in the Wayne scholarship program and… yeah, we met the academy. She is three years younger than me so, although she managed to skip up to Jason's class, we barely saw each other.

I didn't get much into details of whatever happened next because I was way too busy (and excited/distracted) with my team. Everything Bruce said after they talked was that she agreed not to go to the press. Actually, she would say she got some viral disease and stayed on the hospital for some days to justify her absence at class.

It was so lame, such a bad lie. Incredibly everyone bought it and so, the girl showed up next Monday at the academy and everything was the same (except for the fact that Jason got even closer to her. He just doesn't know how to follow instructions). Still, I kept an eye on her once in a while.

But that was last year. Things had changed now. Last weekend incident couldn't be left behind. I wasn't crazy, I knew what I saw. Jason saw it to so…

"Couldn't get the real deal?" She said turning to me. I felt so jealous of her in that moment, she was wearing some baggy sweat pants and zipper-jacket (probably pajamas) and I was in tights and a mask

"Batman is busy" I didn't (completely) lied. He was busy… with Selina or some other girl

"Nice suit" She smirked. "So rumors were true… you're not longer bird boy"

"I prefer boy wonder" I chuckled, trying to get her to loosen up

"I think I know why you're here" She said in a monotone, cold voice. Her big, light Brown eyes looked directly at my masked ones. Arms crossed to her chest. The breeze played with her long black hair, letting her vanilla scent fly up to me. Her sudden expression-less face reminded me more of the Bats than the sweet latina girl Jason described and I was most definitely nervous. But, of course, she couldn't know that

"Make a wild guess" I replied, throwing my hand to the air, waiting for her answer

"You want to know exactly what happened the night he got me. You also want to know what Batman and I talked about because he will not tell you" A slit curve started to show up on her face due to my shocked face. She was in control and she loved it "You want to know why the examinations at the batcave didn't detect my… anomalies"

Isis

His jaw dropped for a second, he looked really surprised but gained his composure quickly. Yet, he didn't answer. He was just standing there, analyzing every single muscle I moved like a good bat-rat. I let out a deep sight, while trying to tidy up the mess on my head before starting to tell him what happened

"But to be honest, I don't remember much" I muttered. "It was last year… some weeks after turning 13. I was heading out of school's library and it was already dark. This older guy… Richard. He was there too, he wanted to walk me home but I told him I was one bus ride away from my place, so he left to his… Manor" I let out a soft chuckled, remembering Dick Grayson and the other rich kids I had to see tomorrow at Gotham Academy. "He appeared out of the shadows of a dirty alley and dragged me with him. He had his face covered with those masks doctor's use… he also had this tube connected to a vein under his wrist and…. The back of his head" I kind of doubted on this last part because my brain suppressed a lot from that night. "Just like Bane" The surprised reaction he had on his face for less than two seconds when I mentioned the criminal's name almost made me chuckle, but the situation was just too tense

"So you know about Bayne? Interesting, he's not a Gotham villain" He said on a warm and a bit friendly tone, trying to ignore I was giving him the cold shoulder

"No need. You might be a detective but, as a reporter, I also know how to do a research". I said while trying to reach the newspaper scrap I had on the front pocket of my hooded jacket

Nightwing

She took some steps on my direction and gave me a piece of paper. It was an old Gotham Academy article. It was a debrief that tried to correlate the simultaneous attacks of ice villains the fourth of July on different spots of the country. My heart shrink when I saw a younger self on my Robin costume on the main picture of the article. I was flying on the air, doing a front flip in order to land in front of Dr. Freeze.

The majestic way it was written. All the back information… those narrative skills… How did this person manage to correlate these events? Although the case wasn't decoded, this was a good try (or at least is was more interesting to read than the report the justice league emitted about this same topic)

"Great shot" I said, still looking at the piece of newspaper I had between my gloved hands. I grinned when I saw she was the author (and the awesome photographer)

"I know enough, Dick" she said my name so low, almost like a whisper. My heart shirk

"What did you…" In that moment I was sweating cold. 'How the hell she knows?! ' I said to myself, while trying to remember any possible moment I could have given her any clue. But I couldn't, we barely talked.

Every time Isis recalls that night, she says between giggles how priceless the look on my face was. I couldn't agree more. My whole body tensed, my jaw dropped while my heart beat raced and I had this weird vulnerability sensation that could totally be show on my facial expression, despite the mask. But, how else could I react? I was most definitely caught by surprise (and I was two thousand percent sure Bruce was going to kill me when I told him)

Still, what made me feel even more uneasy was that, when I did a double check on the short, petite girl; she was completely calm. Her big caramel Brown eyes looked at me impatient while she waited for me to react

"But the look on your face, I guess you didn't know I knew" she finally spoke with a warm smile on her face (which was excellent for me because she had been pretty cold during the whole conversation).

"Well… miss know-it-all, what else have you found out?"

"I could tell you what Mr. Wayne does at night, but I think those are old news for you" Well shit, she knew. "Still, you came for the answer to a different question" she said as her smile disappeared "First things first". After saying this, Isis, who was just one meter away from me, started to head to the edge of the rooftop. In that moment, I realized she was bare footed

"Where are you going?" I said a bit louder in order for her to hear me. I wanted to go with her but she just raised her hand, ordering me to stop as soon as she heard my footsteps. She stopped few centimeters away from the edge, exactly where the light of the full moon was falling over her like a reflector.

"The side effects of whatever that psycho did to me started to show up a week later" She said loud enough for me to hear. I only could see her back, but I could tell she was shaking… she was nervous, just as her tone voice. "I suffered high fevers and lack of sleep for two days. Doing my regular tasks was the worst punishment I ever gave to my body because every single muscle and bone I owned was on severe pain. After another three days, I could finally get some sleep. The fever and the pain were gone for good, but at a great cost" She stopped before wrapping her hands around her torso, letting out a deep sight while looking to the floor. "When I woke up the next morning, I didn't need my glasses to make my way to the shower. This was pretty weird because I was almost blind without them some days ago. Anyways, when I looked in the mirror I already had them"

"Have what?" I had to say after almost a minute of silence where she wouldn't talk or look at me.

"This" I heard how she unzipped her jacket. Slowly, she let it flow down her shoulders until it was completely off, revealing her bare back inked with a hiper- realistic pair of… wings?. My heart started beating faster at the view of her naked, tanned torso. I couldn't help but letting out a "wow" when she put her long, dark hair a side to let me see every single detail of the tattoo.

I'm not sure how much time I spend watching her inked wings under Gotham moonlight, but it might have been a lot because a loud chuckle dragged me out of my thoughts.

"Keep your mouth shut, bird boy, flies can come in"

"I already told you, I prefer boy wonder" I tried to sound relaxed, but the idea of being alone with a semi-naked girl on the top of a building under the moonlight was bugging me. "But I go by a new name n…ISIS!" I started running towards her when I saw what was she going to do, but I was too far away. When I got to the edge of the rooftop, she was already lost in the dark whole below. I couldn't see her. Suddenly, a woosh and a dash of wind hit me, throwing me to the opposite direction Isis went. I fell over me back and when I opened my eyes and rose up my chin, a shadow covered the moonlight I was receiving moments ago. It had the shape of a winged being…

"You gotta be kidding me" I saw Isis winged shadow fly gracefully in the air before landing next to me without making a sound. She had managed to tie up her jacket to cover up her chest, but letting most of her back naked in order for the wings to move free.

"You're such a show off" I said with a grin, but she didn't return it. She just looked into my eyes, sending chills down my spine, giving me the feeling that what I've just seen was only the beginning

"Can you do… anything else?" I said almost incredulously, not sure if I was amazed for what I've just seen or scared for what came next. Although I have already seen them the other night she saved my butt, I have to say those wings were majestic (trust me, I still get surprised sometimes). They were definitely not as big as hawk-man's and they were missing the feathers, but those reptile-like wings could scare the crap out of any bad guy

"This is… new" She said a little doubtful. "It took me moths and a lot of t-shirts with the back ripped to control these wings… popping them out, hiding them, actually flying. At least I didn't need my glasses anymore." While saying this, her wings, that were fully open some seconds ago, contracted until they were contracted behind her back. "But then, some asshole tried to attack me and Gabs after going out for a snack" She paused and frowned, looking at nothing in particular

"I was not going to expose myself and pull the wings out, but I wasn't going to let them harm her…" She turned her face to the ground; letting her ebony locks cover her face "I told her to stay behind me when he took out the gun" her voice was shaking "I Heard the BANG but I didn't feel the bullet. One shot, two shots, nothing. By the moment I opened my eyes, the man was already running towards me with a knife. I could hear my sister scream my name, shaking behind me. I screamed too as the view of the knife approaching to my chest, I waited for the sting, for the blood. Nothing happened. Then, I heard a sound of tin falling to the ground. When I looked down, the knife was all twisted and shifted next to the bullets that were supposed to impact me. The man looked at me with fear on his eyes, but it was too late" She broke. Without looking at me, she put her hands on his mouth on an attempt to faint a sob.

"Isis" I whispered, putting my hands on her shoulders, trying to make her look at me.

"I was filled with anger. How dare he tried to attack me and my sister? I wanted him to stay away from her, so I pushed him… but he went out flying and crashed the wall" She said between sobs. I pulled her towards me and engulfed her into a hug. She hugged me back, craving her head on my chest while trying to control herself. "Dick… I don't know if I killed him but I swear I didn't want to" she said frantically, already shaking in my arms "I felt terrible. And worst thing is that, after I told Gabs what had happened to me, she told me she wasn't afraid, but how can't she?" I felt her back tremble as her wings started to fusion with her body once again, tattoos appearing again on her back. "I knew I did right when I decided to hide this… Dick, I'm a monster" she said defeated as I felt her warm tears pouring on my shoulder.

I hold her tighter, pressing my hands on her bare back in order to pull her closer to me. With her last statement, I understood her cold and a bit cocky behavior of the night. She was ashamed and scared for what had happened, for what she had done and mostly, she was frustrated because she didn't know what to do about it. She felt powerless and alone.

I don't know how long we stayed in that hug. All I know was that the wind was blowing hard, making her tremble in my arms while she craved her head on my chest and wrapped her arms around my torso.

The only thing I managed to do was hold her closer in an attempt to squeeze the pain away

I waited for our heart beats to run at the same speed before saying something but, honestly, I didn't want to let her go, probably because of the guilt or maybe the sadness she made me feel. Her life had already been tough and finally, when things were starting to work out, this happened. She didn't want this, that was obvious, and she didn't know how to handle it. Maybe I wanted to hold her for a little bit longer because, for a second, I saw myself on those watery eyes, on that powerless expression. Maybe I just liked the vanilla scent of her hair. I don't know.

"Isis…" I managed before letting one of my arms loose. Without breaking the hug, I managed to take my mask off (she already knew who I was and nobody else was there, so it was pointless to wear it). Then I used the same hand to raise her chin up.

She looked at me astonished. Our faces where so close at that moment, I swear I could feel her warm breath against the tip of my bottom lip. She suddenly grinned, making me feel the weirdest tickle on my abdomen. I immediately smiled her back

"Thanks" she said in a whisper.

"No prob" I said with a wide smile I didn't even know I owned, taking advantage of the confidence that had came over me "It's all part of the job"

"So now you know" a more warm tone in her voice was showing up. "So let me ask, what now?" Well, that was a really good question.

"Look. I know you're afraid, and I know you feel like you don't belong anywhere right now. But I think I know somewhere where you might just fit in"