Chapter 10

Kori awoke laying on her side to the sound of running water, though she struggled to maintain her consciousness. Her entire body ached, even the slightest movement caused her some amounts of pain. So without being able to move, she began to survey her surroundings, trying to get her bearings. She noticed that she was in a large cavern that looked oddly familiar. In the distance she noticed a large opening that was covered a large, ongoing rush of water.

Why does this place seems so familiar, she thought, what happened to me?

Though she should have been lying on cold, rough stones, she felt soft fur pelts underneath her and a wool blanket on top of her. Though most of the cave was engulfed by darkness, there was a small area surrounding her that was illuminated by candles. Suddenly she felt a hand, not her own, sneak around her waist, causing her to begin to panic. Finding a renewed energy, Kori rolled over preparing herself for a fight, only to be surprised with her find.

Laying there, somewhat surprised, was none other than Jason Todd. Breaking into slight smirk he said, "I guess you're not really big into cuddling."

Kori was frozen in shock. That's when the surroundings became extremely familiar to her. This was the cavern that the duo had discovered one day near the Shadows compound in the Mongolian mountains. It was such a beautiful place, leaving Kori in awe, especially when she turned around to talk to Jason he had moved in close enough to where their noses almost touched. That was where they shared their first real kiss.

Since then, that cavern had become a haven of isolation from the ideology of the League of Shadows. Yes, they were there allies, but Kori was always unsure about what there true intentions with their brand of justice.

"Kori, are you alright?" Jason asked, bringing Kori out of her train of thought. "You seemed lost in thought."

Kori remembered that Jason had nearly tried to kill her in his vendetta. She may not have known how they ended back in their cavern, but the pain she felt was still real. However as she looked into his eyes, she struggled to maintain her rage.

Without warning she crashed her lips onto his in an intense passion. Jason welcomed this action by wrapping his arms protectively around the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. He was enjoying the pleasure, until he felt a cool liquid drip onto his cheek. Hestiantly breaking the kiss, he noticed that Kori was cryinig.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked. "Why are you crying?"

"You," was all Kori was able to get out at first, causing Jason to become confused.

"Me?" he asked. "W-what did I do?"

"Why did you blow yourself up?" she cried. "Why did you hurt me?"

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked. "You're not making sense."

"Don't lie to me?" Kori shouted as she pushed herself away from Jason. She moved towards the ends of furs and stared off into the darkness of the cavern.

Could it all have been a dream?, she asked herself in thought. No! I remember it clearly and my body feels like I was back on the work camps in Tamara. But if Jason doesn't rem-

Kori was once again cut off from her thinking warm hand gently gripping her shoulders. She turned around to see Jason gazing at her.

"Kori, I admit that I'm not sure what you're talking about," Jason said as he moved closer, his right hand reaching up to cup and stroke her cheek. "But I promise you, I would never want to hurt."

He leaned in close and gently kissed her lips. The pain that Kori had previously felt had melted itself away. As Jason broke the kiss, he leaned in close to her ear.

"I just need you do one thing for me," Jason whispered. "Wake up."

In an instant, everything around Kori was shrouded in darkness. Jason immediately disappeared, leaving Kori in isolation as she herself was also enveloped in shadows.

When she was able to open her eyes again, she was no longer in the beautiful cavern. The darkness was replaced by white walls. The comfortable pelts were replaced by a cold, hard bunk. The soreness returned and emanated throughout her body.

As she struggled to get up, she noticed that she was no longer alone. Turning to her side, she saw the Martian, Jason called her M'gann, floated in mid-air meditation. As Kori stared, she nearly jumped against the wall when M'gann's eyes opened up glowing a bright green.

"Oh good, you're awake," M'gaan said. "Now we can begin."

Jason was in Hell. That was the only way to describe this pit of darkness that had consumed him. Honestly eternal damnation was a small price to pay to ensure his revenge, he just thought it would've been a bit more flamey.

Well looks like I have the rest of eternity to myself, he thought, this should be fun.

However, as he took a step forward, a heavy chill went down his spine. He felt as if someone had just dropped two hundred pounds on him, and he was struggling to remain upright. If that wasn't bad enough, he began to hear a familiar laughter fill the air.

No, no it can't be, Jason thought as he forced himself to turn around. Sure enough, there was a skinny man, dressed in a nice suit. The man would've looked nice, but he looked like something out the worst nightmares… mainly Jason's.

The man's suit was a dashing purple, with a large flower on the lapel. His face was covered in white paint, and his hair was the darkest green. In his hand he held a large crowbar.

"J-Joker?" Jason asked in shock as he felt himself slowly step back.

"That's right boy blunder," The Joker replied. "You didn't think that you would be done with me, did you?"

Boy-blunder he hasn't called me that sin-, Jason thought as he looked down to see that he was back in his old Robin uniform. He continued to step back in fear, until he tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground.

"What's the matter Jason?" the psychotic clown asked as he closed the distance between them. He was towering over Jason, the crowbar gripped tightly his hands. "I'm afraid you're little sidekick club won't be coming to help you…again."

With that Joker raised the crowbar over his head, his intention clear to assault Jason. Memories of the torment and torture caused by this psychopath filled Jason's mind, the agony and stinging feeling as if it had already happened. But as Joker swiftly swung the crowbar, something shocking happened.

Jason caught it.

"I don't need anyone to break a sorry freak like you," Jason said as he kicked out the Joker's legs from underneath him. Now the positions were changed, with Jason standing over the Joker with the crowbar.

"You're different," Joker said with a smirk as he looked up to Jason. And it was true, Jason's clothing had returned back to his leather jacket. "So what are you waiting for? Take your revenge."

Jason lifted up the crowbar in his hands. "With pleasure."

"What?" Joker asked shock as the crowbar came down. However, in the instant it reached him, Joker had vanished. Once again Jason was left alone in the darkness.

If that's the worst that Hell can throw, Jason thought, this shouldn't be that bad.

But then Jason heard sobbing. He looked for the source, but it was nowhere to be found. After doing a couple spins, he noticed a young dark haired girl, standing in the middle of the dark abyss.

She definitely wasn't here before, Jason thought as he strolled towards her. The young girl couldn't have been more than twelve, thirteen at most. Her hair was short and she skin very pale. She was clothed in a white robe.

As Jason got close to her, he noticed tears streaming down her face and her eyes were closed tightly. He really didn't know her, but something about her made him want to stop her from crying. Getting down on one knee he gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hello, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"Leave me alone," the girl sobbed. "You shouldn't be here."

"My name is Jason Todd," Jason said. "Where exactly-"

"LEAVE!" the girl screamed as she opened her eyes, revealing large them to have a large red glow. Immediately Jason's mind was flooded with images. The world on fire, people slaughtered, a being of darkness surrounded by flame. The pain of the visions caused him to close his eyes tightly.

When the visions subsided and he no longer felt pain, he opened his eyes. He no longer was surrounded by darkness, but found himself on a cot in the Shadows base in the sewers. As he struggled to get up, he heard a familiar voice.

"You're lucky Ubu found in time," it was Talia. "A few more minutes and you would've been beyond the effects of the Lazarus particles."

"H-how did you revive me?" He asked.

Talia reached into her shirt and pulled out the vial they had stolen from ACE Chemicals. From looking at it, the contents were now half gone.

"Luckily, you only need a little to revive someone," she said with a smirk, before turning serious. "I'm afraid our little friend Starfire has been captured by the Team."

Jason should've felt his blood boil at hearing those words. Kori, his Kori, had been taken captured by the people he was trying to destroy. But he was surprised to feel nothing, as if it didn't matter to him. Instead his rage boiled when he began to think about how the Team was still alive.

"It doesn't matter," Jason replied. "We must move with our next steps if we want them to pay."

"Very well," Talia said with a sinister smirk. "I'll leave you to rest then."

As she left, Jason returned to his cot to regain some rest. As he began to drift off to sleep, one thought persisted in his head: who was that girl?

I had part of this one written all the way back to when I was still writing Chapter 3. I hope you like the additions to the new characters in this story. As always if you like please Comment, Fav, and/or Follow. See ya!