Hello! I'm back. I know it's been a while, but I've been very busy, so I hope you'll forgive me. I do hope you liked Bird in the Nest. If you didn't, well, then, why are you reading this? If you don't know what that is, go back and read it. This is part two. And if you did like it, you have my deepest thanks. As always, I hope you review, as any comments I receive will be taken into consideration for future editing. Now, read, and enjoy! - Essie

Chapter 1 - Brother

Tears streamed from my eyes and soaked into the pillow under my head. Yes, once again, I was crying. It seemed every chapter of my life began with some form of crying, weeping, tearing up, or just silently misting in despair. But that's what happens when things go wrong so often in your life.

How did things go wrong this time? Well, first, I was kidnapped by Ra's al Ghul and his daughter, Talia, and forcibly revived from a comatose state by the waters of the Lazarus Pit. Then Ra's rewrote the story I had thought was my life, dropping a nuclear bomb called "Test Subject." It's not every day you learn your family was torn apart because some crackpot genius wanted to see if technology can synthesize super powers. As far as I know, it can't. It just kills people.

And then, my brother turned out not to be dead.

That would have been wonderful, especially after Ra's the Bad News Train's cold-hearted run. But that's what went wrong.

When Jeremiah walked into the dining room, I felt the most incredible and complex feeling. I felt stunned, elated, confused, doubtful, and absolutely certain all at once. It all boiled down to cold, hard shock that the man standing in front of me was my twin brother, whom I had known to be dead for years. The moment of stunned silence passed, and I threw myself across the room at my brother. We hugged for minutes and minutes. We hadn't seen each other in twelve years, and to be back together again, to know that we were both alive and finally in the same room, in each other's arms, was enough for both of us.

My brain, of course, did its best to ruin the moment, asking questions like, "Why is he still alive and Mom and Dad aren't? If he's been living with the bad guys, is he a bad guy, too? What if, after all that, he doesn't like you, or you don't like him?" But I didn't need that kind of negativity in my moment. I shoved all questions to the back of my mind and squeezed my brother tighter.

Jem. That's what I had called him, as a nickname. I picked it up from Dad. If I called him Jem, would he know what I meant? I whispered it in his ear, just to make sure. He responded by laughing a little, and whispering back, "Sam."

He knew! He understood!

Somebody cleared their throat, and Jem suddenly stiffened and let go of me. I looked up to see that his face had gone coldly formal.

"Yes, sir."

Ra's had stood from his chair and was watching us with an amused smile. "I think Miss Meyers' desire is no longer for food. Jeremiah, you may return with her to her quarters, if you wish. Take some time to reacquaint yourselves."

Jem smiled shyly. "Thank you, sir!" He gave Ra's a small bow and took my hand, pulling me to the door. I shot a final glance in Ra's' direction, then was swept out into the hall.

As my twin - my twin! - dragged me down corridor after corridor, all my questions came flooding back. I realized that I had no idea what Jeremiah was going to be like. Would he be funny? Kind? Would he smile and laugh? Was he anything like the visions I had satisfied my longing with all these years?

Deep in my heart, though, I felt like I knew him. I felt as if no time had passed, and we were as close as ever. Maybe it was the instinct of a twin, but I knew that, no matter what, I would love him now as much as I had loved him all those years ago.

Another door opened, and I realized we were back at my room. I was actually happy to see it; it was a piece of familiar space after so many unremembered twists and turns. I flopped down on the bed, and Jem sat beside me, both of us laughing and a little out of breath from our hasty trip.

"I can't believe you're alive!" I said, rolling onto my back. "All these years, I thought you were gone for good! I never, ever thought… anything like this…!"

Jem bounced to his feet, clearly too excited to sit. "Oh, I've been wishing for a day like this for you don't know how long! I tried so hard to contact you, but I was so limited… did you notice?"

I smiled. He sounded like Dad. He spoke with a bit of an accent, and I could tell he had learned his vocabulary from the al Ghuls, but I could hear it in his voice - he was funny, he was kind, just like I had always imagined.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said, shaking myself. "I'm just… I'm so happy to have you. Here. Just inches away, real, alive… I've missed you."

"You, too." He leaned on the bed. "You didn't answer my question."

"What?"

"Did you notice? I tried to contact you."

"Oh, yeah. You were at the party. Right?" My eyes widened. "Wait, were you the one who tried to kidnap me in the middle of the dance floor?"

Jem winced. "Perhaps. I didn't mean to frighten you that badly. Will you forgive me for that?"

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, I guess."

He smiled. "Good. But that wasn't what I was referring to."

"Meaning what?"

Jem reached for his sash and removed what I had thought was a decoration of some sort. But then he held it up to his face, and I was met with a familiar sight.

A blurry image in a file, next to a name. Oddjob.

"No way." I gaped. "You were…"

"Yes. It took me a long time to come up with a way to contact you without alerting anyone to my real identity or getting caught by the Detective."

"Who?"

"Batman."

"Oh, right. So… you really set up an elaborate code made of objects, all on some whim that I might find out about it?"

"I knew you would."

"How?"

Jem tied the mask back onto his sash. "It's a long story. But I hoped you would get a hint from the types of things I stole."

I cocked my head. "What did you steal again?"

He took a longsuffering breath. "Emerald rings, Batman pins, and black pearls."

"Okay, so… why those?"

"Emeralds?"

I blinked at him for a second. Then, it clicked. "Oh! Our birthstone! Emerald for May."

"Yes! And the pins…"

"Well, Batman was always my favorite."

He made a face. "Bit of a poor choice, but it did the trick. And the pearls?"

"I… don't think I know that one."

"Mother's earrings?"

"Right! The ones she wore for all her concerts." I grinned. "She lost them so many times."

"And we'd go digging through couch cushions with our tiny fingers…"

"But Dad had them the whole time. And he held them ransom until…"

"Until she gave him a kiss."

I laughed. "We always thought that was so mushy."

Jem lay back, beaming. "You get it. It wasn't pointless, after all."

"It was brilliant. I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner."

He turned his head so he could look at me. "Have I mentioned I missed you?"

My lips twitched up at the corners. But then, one awful thought, one question, tugged them back down.

"Jem. Do you know that… about our parents?"

"Yes, I know." His grin faded. "I'm so sorry."

He sounded genuine. But the topic sparked a million questions, ones I was nervous to ask. I didn't want to start a conflict… but I had to know.

"You know why they died, right?"

Jem hesitated. "I know it was because of Li's biochip."

"Li?"

"Julian Li. The man who invented the chip. He visits on occasion, to check up on me."

I looked over at my brother. "So, you knew you had it?"

"Ever since I got it. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I wanted to come and find you right away, I really did, but… I wasn't allowed to leave for a long time."

"Were you a prisoner?"

"Oh, no. But I had to stay in the palace so Ra's and Li could keep an eye on me. And I wasn't allowed to show myself to you or our parents, in case someone called the police."

I shook my head. "Why did you stay? I mean, they kidnapped you! Why didn't you try to get help or something?"

"I… was frightened at first," Jem said. "But Talia was so kind to me, and she and Ra's gave me a good life. They taught me everything you'd learn at school and more. I was always fed; I had access to so much that I would never have known if I had stayed with you. Now I understand that what happened to me wasn't a bad thing - it was a way forward, to new heights I would never have achieved without Ra's al Ghul."

I sat up, my stomach twisting inside me. "How can you thank them? Jem, you were taken from your family - from us! They stole your life from you!"

"Wrong!" Jem launched himself off the bed and stood in front of me, waving his hands for emphasis. "I've been given a better life! I've seen how you live back in America. Everything is designed to keep you quiet, keep you happy. But the world is built on change. And sometimes, it's our job to change it. Ra's showed me how we can do that, how we can make the world a better place! I can show you, too."

He held out his hand to me, and suddenly, I was stuck in a Saturday morning cartoon, the heroine faced with a choice between two terrible options: to join her loved one on the dark side, or to stay in the light and lose him forever.

I went with the middle ground. "So… are you a ninja now?"

Jem lowered his hand, looking slightly disappointed, but still happy. "It's better than that. Ra's and Talia have given me extensive training, and with the added benefit of the biochip, I've become one of the most adept out of Ra's' forces."

"Forces?"

"I started out being only an apprentice. He has a couple every few years; I was lucky enough to train with him alone. He let me be a guard in this palace once I was trained enough. He even recommended me to Talia as a sparring partner for Damian, when he was still living here."

"You've… met Damian?!"

"I knew him, briefly. He surpassed my level after only a week of sparring - and he was only eight! Quite a remarkable boy… anyway, Ra's replaced me so I wouldn't be killed. But apparently, I was still one of his strongest assets, because about a year ago, Ra's asked me if I would join the League of Assassins."

My heart plummeted into my shoes.

The reunion was ruined. My brother was part of an evil cult. He had been brainwashed by Ra's al Ghul and now he was an assassin… oh, no.

"Have you… killed anyone?"

Jem nodded. "A few. It's a rite of passage. It's not really my style, though."

My hand flew to my mouth. Okay… okay, Jem's killed people. He doesn't like it, though; that's good, right? Oh, this was so bad, so bad…

"Sam?" Jem bent down in front of me. "You look upset."

I had to laugh. "Upset? That's an understatement."

"Why?"

"Because you… you've - you're… you! You're alive, and that makes me happy, so happy, you have no idea, but… now you've killed people?! And you're an assassin, who works for Ra's al Ghul, I mean… what would Mom and Dad think?"

"Oh." Jem sat down. "I guess… I should've expected."

"That this is wrong?!"

"That you'd get taken in." He looked at me sadly. "Do you think Ra's al Ghul is the bad guy? That he would try to harm the world?"

"Jem, they call him the Demon's Head. That alone should tip you off that something's not right."

"No, but that's what you've been told, see? By people like Batman, people like Alfred."

"Yes, good people."

"No, Sam. They're not the good guys."

"Batman's helping the world."

"Maybe he's trying. But just look around you; look at Gotham. It's the heart of all crime and villainy on this planet. And is Batman helping? No, he's making it worse! It was only after the masks, the gods and monsters, started trying to save the world that all the supervillains, like the Joker, came along. The Joker, the one who separated us in the first place!"

"He didn't separate us, Jem," I snapped. "Ra's did."

Jem scowled. But he didn't seem to have a comeback.

"Jem, Ra's separated our family, then used us as lab rats. He killed our parents. They're dead because of what he did! They'll never get to see you again, never, ever know that you're alive! And you'll never get to see them, either! Doesn't that matter to you?"

Jem kept his head bowed. "I have you back. That's something. Even if I never see my parents again, I get to see you. Besides, what did they ever do for me?"

"Uh, I don't know, give you life, maybe?!"

"And? Is that all? Because Ra's gave me purpose. He gave me something to fight for."

"And what is that?"

"Balance." Jem looked up. "Order. Righting the wrongs that have been done to this world."

"Yeah, you're part of those wrongs, Jem."

"I'm fighting to keep this world from destroying itself! I'm fighting against tyranny - the tyranny of the few over the many, the rich over the poor, the liars over the honest!"

I stared at him. "And yet you worship a power-hungry stalker who hoards eternal life for himself."

In an instant, Jem got to his feet. His hand shot out, and before I knew what had happened, he had slapped me across the face.

He glared at me with a cold and forbidding face. "Never insult Ra's al Ghul in front of me."

I could feel hot tears sliding down my face, but I didn't care. I was mad. "If you're so keen on defending him, then why don't you go stand guard over his precious hide and leave me alone?"

"Sam…"

"Get out of my room!"

I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. He dodged it easily, and it crashed into the table, sending a decorative vase to the floor in pieces.

Jem stared at me for a moment more, then turned and walked to the door. He paused, about to open it.

"I'm glad you're here, Sam."

"Get. Out."

Jem wrenched the door open, and slammed it shut behind him. As soon as he was gone, I flung myself onto my remaining pillows and wept.

/

So that's where I was now. It felt like I'd been through Hell, Heaven, and then Hell all over again in the span of an hour. I was out of tears, and I was too tired to throw any more pillows. My anger was spent, and so was I.

I fell into a restless sleep, full of terrible dreams. In one, I was standing facing both of my parents; I knew I was in trouble for something, but I didn't know what. They were just angry. I woke for a couple minutes, still feeling guilty. Then I dove right into another dream, in which Jem was looming over me, holding hands with Ra's al Ghul and Talia, and all three of them were just staring down at me; I felt smaller and smaller, then actually started to shrink, until there was nothing left of me.

There were others, but they were mere hazy night terrors, monsters and storms and other fearsome things. I awoke in a cold sweat, nearly paralyzed as I lay there under the thin sheets, terrified to move for fear something from my dreams would manifest and come after me.

After a little while, I managed to pry myself up from the mattress and rolled over to look around. There was no one in the room, but there was a tray of food on the table, and a new outfit laid over a chair. Thank heavens - it was normal jeans and a t-shirt. None of this silly silk business.

I got up and poked at the food. I decided I was hungry and bit into some sort of exotic fruit I found. It was pretty good. I walked around my room, looking into all the nooks and crannies. One of the windows opened onto a balcony, so I went out and stared at the horizon, where the colors of the sunrise were just beginning to fade to blue. It was hot out, but there was a nice breeze blowing.

I sighed. Why couldn't everything be this nice?

"Good morning."

I jumped at the sound of Jem's voice. Where even was he? I looked… up.

He was hanging over the edge of a balcony above me.

With incredible ease and skill, Jem flipped over the rail of his balcony and jumped to mine. He rolled to a perfect stop, poised holding his arm out to me. Sitting in his hand was the most beautiful flower I had ever seen.

"What's this?" I asked, folding my arms. "A proposal?"

Jem chuckled and stood. "No. It's an apology. I was out of line last night. I shouldn't have hit you."

"Hm." I turned back to the horizon. "It's not good, but it's a start."

"Do you want the flower?"

"No."

He hesitated only a moment before getting up and leaning on the railing next to me. He held the delicate flora out and twirled it between his fingers.

"You know, these flowers are incredible exfoliating agents. Put them together with some honey and soap…"

"Jem." I whirled on him. "You hit me in the face because I didn't agree with you about whether Ra's al Ghul is the good guy or not. I don't see how you expect a face wash flower to help."

Jem stared down at his gift. "I… have a bit of a temper. I guess… you wouldn't know. About it. Because… we've been apart."

That hit me like a ton of bricks. He almost sounded… scared. Like he thought I might not want to know him.

I took a deep breath and stared at the spinning flower as it jumped around, twirled and danced. It had been a thoughtful gesture. It was almost old-fashioned gallant.

He almost reminded me of Damian.

I couldn't help a smile. The untamed temper, the messy apology, even sometimes how he spoke - did Ra's al Ghul teach all his ninjas to be like that? It was almost… cute.

Hm. My brother was cute. Don't let the girls in my class know that.

"Look," I said. "We're clearly not going to get anywhere with the 'who's right, who's wrong' debate. So, let's just let it go, and maybe… we can try starting over."

"You'd… do that?"

"It's better than arguing."

Jem blew out his breath. "That's a relief. I thought you'd be mad a lot longer."

"I didn't say I wasn't mad."

"Of course. You… you can hit me back, if you'd like…"

"That's probably not a good idea." I looked down at my fist, resting on the balcony rail. "For you, or for me. I'm more likely to hurt myself."

Jem snorted. "That's the truth."

"Hey. Are you calling me weak?"

"In the hitting department, definitely. I bet you couldn't hurt a person if they held your hand and mashed their face into it."

"That's… fair."

We laughed a little, glanced at each other, and smiled. I felt like a different person, standing next to him. Like something I'd been missing for years was now… found.

Suddenly, Jem whirled around. "Miss Talia…"

I turned to see Talia standing in the doorway to the balcony, watching us with a twinkle in her eye. "Good to see you two are having such a good time. Jeremiah, you're expected in training."

"Yes, ma'am." Jem winked at me and ran past Talia. "I'll see you later!"

"Yeah, you, too, bonehead!"

Talia lifted one graceful eyebrow. "You seem to have gotten close rather fast. I'm surprised you even remember each other."

"We're twins," I said. "We never forget."

/

I followed Talia down the endless maze of corridors, to a study that reminded me a little of Bruce's. More big windows and bookshelves. This one didn't have a grandfather clock, or any family portraits. Actually, it was mostly just windows and books. And a desk, behind which sat Ra's al Ghul. He was staring at some kind of holographic screen. He looked up when Talia and I walked in.

"Samantha," he said, shutting the holoscreen down. "Thank you, Talia, dear. You may go."

Talia nodded and left. Ra's stood from his chair and examined me.

"You seem to be doing much better this morning."

"Well, a good night's sleep and a little forgiveness do tend to settle the soul. Maybe you should try it."

"Already evangelizing, and you've hardly met me." Ra's smiled patronizingly. "I see the Detective has wasted no time filling you with his opinions."

"I can see some things for myself."

"Illuminate me."

I scowled. "For one thing, you kidnapped my brother and made me think he was dead. Then you killed my parents. And to top it off, you turned Jeremiah into an assassin. Made him kill people. I think that's all I need to know you're a villain."

Ra's simply chuckled and folded his hands behind his back. "A villain, you say? I think not. A villain, dear Samantha, is someone who oppresses, someone who destroys for the sake of destroying - a man without vision. I am a force of nature. I bring balance to this chaotic earth. My vision is of a world made perfect through constant honing, whittling, and smoothing, like a stone eroded to a flawless round by the river."

"Do you think using big words makes you right?"

"I can see that you and I will never see eye to eye, so let's table the debate for now and move on to more important matters. Namely, that chip in your head."

My hand involuntarily clenched. "What about it?"

"I need it."

I looked up. "You're… going to remove it?"

"Of course not. It can't be removed. I mean I need its results. I need to know if it works."

I frowned. "Which means what?"

"I've planned a rigorous program to test your abilities, which you will begin as soon as possible. Talia will be your mentor."

"What abilities?"

"The abilities granted to you by the chip. Don't look at me like that – it works perfectly fine. You just haven't learned how to use it."

"And why would I ever do anything for you?"

Ra's smirked. "Because, Samantha, I'm afraid you are just as curious to see the results as I am. Besides, if you weren't to cooperate…"

"Yeah, you'd kill everyone I hold dear, and so on. I get it. But what good would testing it do, anyway? It's literally killing me. I'd think you'd do better by finding some way to turn it off."

"My dear Samantha, we've been through this. It was never even on."

"If it's not on, then why is it… sending enhanced neuro-signals, or whatever? Why is it still killing me?"

"The chip remains in a neutral mode unless activated by some kind of stimulant which will trigger a mental response - a widening of the mental flow, if that makes sense. Li made it that way as a sort of built-in secret identity, so that the chip bearers could pursue their lives normally when it was off and turn it on only when required."

I thought. "Jem. Has he… turned his on? I know Oddjob can do things normal people can't."

"Yes, the man who can open a door with little more than a piece of string," Ra's said, his pleasure apparent. "One of my finest and ablest men. You call him Oddjob? Interesting. I would've made it a little more artistic."

"How did he do it?"

Ra's smiled. "He didn't. Li did. Li discovered, while going through his notes, that he had programmed in a receiver for the stimulant but hadn't inputted what the stimulant would be. We hadn't thought that far at the time. Jeremiah was already showing signs of deterioration, so we decided to perform some tests to see what his chip might react to."

"And… what was it?"

"Nothing we thought of. We realized that the chip wouldn't react to any outside stimulus; it was linked to Jeremiah's mind, and his alone. So, we had him choose a stimulant."

"And that was?"

Ra's eyed me with a peculiar look. "Your name."

I blinked in surprise. "My name?"

"Yes."

"But… he must have said my name before. Why would the chip only react to it now?"

"The chip is programmed to work on command, not by association. He had to intentionally choose his stimulant. Once he had chosen it, then it would, by necessity, work."

"He basically decided my name would be his light switch, and it happened."

"To put it simply, yes. And once he had that switch, he could turn his enhanced abilities on and shut them off at will. As an added benefit, his body finally accepted the chip, and ceased to react to the brain's excited neural signals."

"So…" My breath caught. "So… all I have to do is pick a trigger of some kind, and my disease… this reaction my body is having to the effects… will go away?"

"Correct."

I didn't know what to do with this information. I could easily just pick something right now, and all my troubles would be over. But then, what if I picked something stupid? I couldn't do something silly like blinking, then I would never stop flipping the light switch. That could have really bad effects.

"You don't have to think of anything now," Ra's said. "I'd give it a little time. Take a few days; observe your brother. Perhaps he can counsel you on what to choose."

I nodded. "Yeah, I… need time."

"Wise choice." Ra's snapped his fingers, and the door opened to admit a man in a tunic – a servant. "Take her down to the training room. My daughter should be waiting. And Samantha?" He fixed me with a stern glare. "Let me know when you are ready to choose."

/

I followed the servant down several flights of stairs, until I was certain we were underground. We came out into a room that stretched at least two stories high and had to be the size of a football field across. There were mats laid out on the floor on one end of the room, and on the other were set up various poles on which young men and women in tunics were practicing with swords. There were a couple other ninjas sparring on the mats. My eye was instantly drawn to the one closest to the door.

That was my brother, fighting Talia al Ghul.

I was mesmerized. Jem could fight. He wasn't wild; he didn't flail or throw lazy punches. He and Talia could have been dancing, their motions were so fluid. Neither seemed to land a hit on the other, though there were several moments when I thought Jem could have and didn't. He must have been holding back. I bet nobody hits Ra's al Ghul's daughter without feeling it later.

Then, though I hardly registered it, I saw Jem tap Talia on the heel. That one tiny touch seemed to signal the end of the fight; Talia and Jem stepped back, and my brother bowed.

He glanced at the door and saw me. He didn't smile; he didn't react at all. It was unnerving, how steady he kept his face.

"Samantha."

It was the first time he had said my full name, and now, I understood why. Instantly, the emotion returned to his face; he gave me the biggest grin, and his whole body seemed to relax. I knew why.

He had turned off the chip.

Butterflies danced in my stomach. Was that how I would act, when my chip was on? Would I be stone-faced and lifeless? Nothing but a machine programmed to fight? Or was Jem's behavior all Ra's' doing?

"Hi, Sam," Jem said, walking up to me. He wasn't even panting. The fight didn't seem to have tired him at all. "Did you do it?"

"What?"

"Did you turn on your—"

"Oh. No, not yet. I want to think about it first."

He nodded. "Good choice. I didn't think long for mine, but… it was an obvious decision."

I smiled. "My name, huh?"

"I like to think it's you giving me power."

"How?"

"Seeing you always made me feel better. No matter what was wrong, I could look at you, see how you were doing, and I'd feel closer to you."

I wrinkled my brow. "See me how?"

Jem turned a little pale. "Um… I don't know if…"

"You can tell her," Talia said, appearing behind him. "There's not much reason to hide it now."

"Good," Jem said. "Ra's al Ghul has an enormous computer set up in a room all to itself. He can use it to get into any camera, any radio, anywhere. Every once in a while, when I needed motivation or encouragement, he would let me use the computer to look in on you."

"Sounds like spying to me."

"It might have been. But I had to see you."

I tapped my chin. "In that case… I'll let it slide."

"We were hoping you might be ready to turn on your chip today," Talia said, unwrapping the cloth that protected her fists. "But, seeing as you'd like some time, I think I'll let you and your brother take some time alone to figure it out. We shall continue training when she is ready, Jeremiah."

"Yes, ma'am." Jem bowed again as Talia left to check on another sparring pair.

"I have no idea what I'm going to choose, Jem," I sighed. "You chose a good one. It has meaning, it's short… I don't want to use your name, though."

"Why not?" Jem led me to a bench against the far wall. "Then we'd be the perfect pair."

"I know, but… no offense, but I think using someone else's name is a little demeaning. Like it means nothing except when you use it to turn on the chip."

"I didn't use it like that. But I see your reasoning. It's why I'm glad you call yourself Sam."

I leaned forward, wracking my brains. "I just wish I knew ahead of time what the chip will do to me. I saw you out there, and it was… so strange. It looked like you didn't feel anything. Like the chip just turned off your emotions."

Jem gazed at me. "Really?"

"Yeah. When you looked at me, it was like staring into the perfect poker face."

He lowered his head. "I didn't realize. But that's what it's like with Ra's al Ghul. Emotions can cloud your vision when you fight. You need to keep yourself distant, or you could make some vital mistakes."

"I don't know if I can do distant."

"To be honest, I'd be surprised if you managed it. You're terrible at hiding things."

"Gee, thanks." I rubbed my eyes. "Ugh, this is going to take forever. Unless…"

"Unless what?"

I glanced at my brother. "Unless I knew what it was like to have it on."

Jem got to his feet. "Would you like a demonstration?"

"Yes, please."

He called to Talia and waved her across the room. She arrived with a frown and a wrinkled brow.

"What is this?"

"A demonstration," Jem said. "My sister would like to see the chip in action."

"Very well." Talia fell into a crouch, instantly ready. "The usual, or something more?"

"More."

Jem glanced back at me and winked. "Samantha."

This time, I saw it. His pupils contracted violently, until they were almost nothing. I caught my breath. He looked… inhuman.

His face snapped back to Talia, alert and vacant. They began to move immediately. This time, though, they were constantly touching each other. I saw Talia chop the back of his head, Jem twist her arm, flip her over his back. They came apart for a second, eyed each other, then flew back in, like wolves at each other's necks. I tried to follow, but they moved far too fast.

And then, Jem won.

I didn't see it happen. I just knew that one second, they were fighting, and the next, Jem had pinned her to the floor, one arm raised to strike.

"Samantha."

Jem's eyes blinked once, and his pupils dilated back to normal. He got up, and helped Talia to her feet.

"There. What do you think now?"

I just stared at him. He was my brother… but when the chip was on, he was unfamiliar. Sort of like Bruce was when he put on the cowl…

"Sam?"

I shook myself out of a daze. "Sorry, yes. I… thought it was really good."

Jem cocked his head. "That's all?"

"I mean, it was incredible. I didn't know people could move like that. But… I don't think I could do it."

"Don't worry," Jem said, with a smile I'm sure was meant to cheer me up. "You will soon enough."

That only made me shudder. I didn't like who Jem was when the chip was on. I didn't think I would like myself. This whole business was terrifying.

What would I become when the thing was on?