This one is dedicated to a great mentor of mine: SSG McCullough.

Chapter 1: In Captivity

The door closed behind me as I stepped into the chamber, carrying a steel tray topped with the cruel instruments of torture The Doctor had ordered. Although I kept my head down, I could still see The Doctor in his blood-stained white robe, and I saw that a man had been chained to the steel table, breathing heavily. Before I could see who the man was, The Doctor turned to me, and I quickly dropped my gaze.

I could tell the doctor wore his eerie grin as he took the tray from me gently, cooing in his awful, creepy voice, "Thank you, sweetheart." I suppressed a shudder. He brought the tray to the tall stool by the torture table, and delicately picked up a long, brittle, and very sharp rod. He admired it, holding it with blood stained plastic gloves, examining its point. As he considered the lethal tool, I snuck a glance at the victim.

My eyes widened with shock.

Sure, it had been years since I'd last seen him, and it had been in a dark alley then; still, you don't forget the masked guy who saved your life wielding escrima sticks. Of course, those weapons of his had been confiscated before the torture started, probably the moment they captured him. But I knew it was him. It was that vigilante from Gotham, the protege of Batman. His black domino mask still covered his face, but his black uniform was riddled with the gory gashes that The Doctor had already inflicted. His eyes, piercing and icy blue, stared at me. I felt trapped under his gaze, like a tick under a microscope. Did he recognize me? Surely not. I had been thirteen then, and I hadn't yet known the horrors of being a slave to the Delta.

"Ah, yes," The Doctor sighed, and I flinched and looked away. "Do you see how weak this young man is now? And to think, he was once the Boy Wonder, the star student of the great Batman. They call him by Nightwing now, though not for long. Soon, he'll be… healed."

I felt Nightwing's eyes still on me, but I averted his gaze. If The Doctor discovered that I knew Nightwing, I had no doubt in my mind that The Doctor would use it to his twisted advantage.

So, I could only stay silent and conceal my heightened emotions as The Doctor inflicted more wounds, and I struggled to contain myself, as Nightwing screamed and writhed with agony, and as The Doctor calmly told him, "This'll make you feel all better."

Minutes stretched into hours, but they still seemed like forever to me. I tried to distract myself from the horrors, to tell myself stories in my head, as I often did whenever things were going terribly wrong, like my recapture a week ago after a failed escape attempt. Once upon a time, once upon a time, once upon a time… But no matter what I tried, no story came to mind past the blood-curdling screams of Nightwing's pain.

At last, The Doctor was packing up his torture instruments with deliberate slowness and walked to the door. "Oh, and angel," he called to me over his shoulder, "you may attend to the patient now. He needs to be ready for tomorrow's appointment." And then he left.

I exhaled softly with relief, my heart still racing. He was gone. I turned to the cabinet with the medical supplies in it, grabbing bandages and treatments from inside. I would not look at him. I would not.

"I… know you."

The voice was a barely audible rasp, and I stiffened. I slowly turned to Nightwing; he was still staring at me, but I could tell he was fading, losing consciousness in seconds. The pale blue eyes closed, and I felt both relief and… regret.

I was relieved that he could find a break from the pain in his sleep, albeit temporary, and because I knew exactly how he was feeling. The Doctor was never pleased with me after my escape attempts.

But I also felt regret. I felt regret because he had saved my life once, and I was preparing him for a healing session, only so he could endure another episode of torture tomorrow. I was no one special when he saved me, but he didn't seem to care about that. I felt disgusted with myself.

I turned back to the cabinet, and then I paused. This yellow chemical here, locked up in the glass safe… it could temporarily boost endurance, strength, and the senses. It was there for The Doctor's experiments, and to be honest, I'd been waiting for the chance to use it on myself the next time there was an opportunity for escape. But in that moment, I realized what I could do to repay the debt Nightwing made by saving my life. My hands shaking, I took one of the bloody torture tools from the stool and broke the glass.

Time was of the essence. Someone had probably heard that, or, more likely, there were cameras monitoring the room, and if anyone found out what I was doing, they'd do anything to stop me. I pulled out the syringe and the chemical.

The sirens blared, alerting me that I was caught, but they were too late. I had just injected Nightwing when guards burst into the room, shouting and pulling me away from the table. They beat me and kicked me, until I saw stars. But through the pain, I felt at peace. Maybe, just this once, I'd done something right…

I heard the sudden yells of surprise, the gunshots, the sound of bodies hitting the floor, but I didn't process this until steady arms lifted me.

I blinked slowly, barely able to focus. Nightwing was running down the hall, carrying me, and the sirens wailed. "What…?" I croaked. "What are you doing?"

"Saving your life," he panted.

"Why?" I whispered in a hoarse wheeze. Something, probably a kick from one of those guards, had damaged my ribs, and it hurt to breathe.

"Because you saved mine."

"I…" I coughed, a wracking, sputtering cough. "No… you were supposed to… escape…"

"I am, just not alone."

And then I slipped into oblivion.

Author's Note:

I'm still kinda new to DC, but I've been doing a lot of research on it, so I'm gonna give this fanfic a shot. Still, if you catch a mistake, please tell me so that I can correct it right away. Even though I have not really been into DC for more than a few years, that does not affect my passion, and I have to say, Nightwing is my absolute FAVORITE, whether you mean the Bat Family, DC Comics, or just superheroes in general.

Also, I am going to warn you: some major characters in this are, sadly, OC, due to my lack of background knowledge. For example: The Doctor. (I certainly hope there isn'talready a villain by that name. There probably is, but for now, ignorance is bliss, I suppose.) I'm going to do my best to keep the story focused on DC story-lines, but no promises.

Please review!