Wally West "Kid Flash"

Gotham

December 1st, 2012

I had been surprised to get a transmission from Batman from my comm. But when he told me he needed Kid Flash, I was there as quickly as possible. But when I got there and he told me that Kid Flash wasn't the only one he needed, but Wally West, I knew something was wrong. He told me that Jason went missing, and there were signs of a struggle. Then he told me that Sylvia received a message and went out alone to try and save her brother, but she too was attacked. The blood at the scene matched hers. I panicked as the two of us finally traced the muddled signal that was being emitted from their costumes. They were both at the same location, some warehouse in the Gotham Stockyard. This was when he and I climbed into the Batmobile, with confirmation that Nightwing was going to meet us at the location. I offered to run ahead, but Batman refused, telling me that Gotham had been experiencing extreme weather, and the ice would affect my turning and stopping. So, we drove. But it was too late.

When we made it to the Warehouse, the two of us climbed out and sprinted. I scoped out the perimeter, and found a streak of blood. I couldn't tell what direction it was going in at that speed and I didn't see the end, so I sped back to Batman to infiltrate and rescue. But before we could make it into the building, it exploded. Batman grabbed me and shielded us behind his cape. When the dust settled, I panicked and ran for the rubble, trying to find Sylvia. But together, we found something much worse. Jason was dead.

"No…" I said as I watched Batman cradle the dead body close to his chest. "No!" I screamed, running around frantically as I looked for my girlfriend. She could take more of a beating than most, but I couldn't bear the thought of her having to take what Jason had. His body was mangled and bruised with swollen patches of skin. I kept running around until I found what I thought was sylvia under a burning pile of crates. I threw the smoldering chunks of wood aside, only to find that it was her Wildcat suit, empty of it's wearer. "Sylvia!" I screamed, looking around. Then it hit me. The blood must've been hers.

"Kid, what is it?" Batman got out after putting Jason's body in the Batmobile. Nightwing pulled up on his motorcycle and didn't saw a word, just listened.

"There's a streak of blood leading away from the warehouse, and I found her costume!" I yelled back before bolting. I followed the trail, the Batmobile and Nightwing's motorcycle trailing behind me as I lead the way. My vision was blurring as the tears began to pool. I skidded on my feet as I made it to the junkyard. The trail changed from a streak to drops of blood, like who ever was dragging her had begun to carry her. I slowed down, following the trail, only to spot a bloodied and ripped tank top and a pair of spandex shorts in the snow. Then, I heard the sound of a sonic boom, causing me to look up at the sky. I recognized the blue and red blur as Superman as he descended and landed in front of Batman, who had climbed out of the Batmobile.

"Batman, what do you need me to do?" Superman asked. I could already tell that he was trying to look for her.

"We've followed a massive trail of blood, I need you to work as quickly as you can. Find her." Batman was commanding him like a master and his hunting dog. Superman just nodded, hearing the worry that hadn't creeped its way into his voice for quite some time. Just as Superman bolted, I sped off, trying to find her as well. It was a minute or two before we all stopped in our tracks. Superman had returned, but he was no longer wearing his cape. A small, crumpled figure was wrapped in the thick red fabric. A bruised and mangled arm fell out of the fabric, but the man of steel was quick to grab the arm and put it back in the fabric.

"Superman?" Nightwing asked, the rest of us silent.

"I'm gonna take her to the hospital, I don't think she has much time. I'll watch over her while you three hunt the Joker." Superman sounded stone cold, which didn't happen often. Before he left Batman put a hand up.

"I want to see her." Batman told him, so Superman knelt down and moved the part of the cape that was covering her face. I almost wanted throw up from the feeling of seeing her face like that. The Joker had attacked her before, but this was different. As I tried to look away from her blackened and swollen features, I noticed the bruising and lacerations continued from her face to the rest of her body. What made matters worse, was that I was starting to realize she wasn't wearing any clothes, not even the undergarments she always wore under her suit. We already found the tank top, and her shorts, and I was starting to realize she wasn't even wearing her bra. I was furious.

Clark Kent "Superman"

Gotham General Hospital

I had refused to wait in the lobby with the other families for other patients. I felt guilty, as I was supposed to be meeting Kon-El for breakfast. But when I messaged him, he understood and said to keep him updated on the girl's condition. She just kept coding as I stood outside the trauma room. I used my x-ray vision to watch inside the room, and to check every passer-by-er for weapons or costumes just incase they're after my best friend's daughter. But as bad as I felt for the girl, I kept catching myself remembering what that small girl did to Kon-El. Seeing the young boy after she had snapped was what really caused me to try harder and harder to be apart of his life and to make him feel welcome in mine.

But I kept standing, watching, guarding the little Gotham Princess. She kept seizing, which meant she had an acute brain bleed that they were going to have to fix after addressing the most life threatening traumas. I kept using my x-ray vision to check her wounds, she was accumulating more and more internal bleeding. She was bleeding out. They brought her to the O.R. and they let my up in the viewing gallery to keep an eye on her. I kept the comm to the room on incase they needed my help seeing something and so I could keep tabs on what they were doing to her. When she was sedated, they started opening up her chest and abdomen, repairing the Joker's damage. She started coding again, and they were fixing everything. They were all trying to find the bleed, but it wasn't in her torso. One nurse looked at me and I nodded, pressing the button to the comm.

"She has a small bleed in the frontal lobe, you may want to page a neurosurgeon, your best neurosurgeon. It may be small but I refuse to let the Joker win this one."

Dick Grayson "Nightwing"

Arkham Asylum

December 2nd, 2012

It took all night and every card we had to play to catch the Joker. Lucky, but also unlucky, for us, Sylvia has been in surgery this entire time. I just got the call that she has just been taken out, and won't wake up for a while considering what they had to do to keep her alive. Superman said she had brain surgery, cardiothoracic, abdominal, and orthopedic. She was going to be in the hospital for a long time. This was a moment that made feel guilty. She was dead set on having a normal life, her and Wally, starting their senior years, living like normal teenagers. College is their break, and the Joker decided to try to ruin that. The three of us were standing before the monster of a man. He was in the Arkham orange and a straight jacket to keep him from harming himself, or anyone else for that matter.

"You look good, been working out? You could probably use a little sun… well… the redhead seems to be getting more than you two, which to me is quite a shocker. But then again, who am I to talk." The joker burst into laughter. I just looked at Batman, trying to read what was going to happen next. "What? No quips from bird boy? You're so boring, all grown up in your big boy pants… But, better off than his replacement, that one's gonna be worm food by the end of the week." I saw Batman cringe ever so slightly.

"Why did you do it? What do you have to gain from killing Robin and-" Batman was cut off.

"-and by beating your girl senseless in more ways than one? I don't that one is gonna make it very long either… Maybe even if she did survive, after seeing the little birdie's bloody grin she might off herself. It's a shame, I'm hoping to enjoy my new toy." Joker started laughing harder and harder. Batman grabbed the Joker by the neck and threw him at the back wall, the chains around the criminal rattling. Before Batman could do anything else, Kid Flash snapped. He just started wailing on the clown. Each punch was making a loud thump against the Joker's skin.

"IF YOU EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN!" Kid bellowed, grabbing Joker and throwing him across the room again before zooming over and grabbing his throat, slamming him into the wall.

"Nightwing! Get him out!" Batman ordered as he approached the Joker. I rushed and grabbed Kid as he fought me, kicking and screaming. We sat there, outside the room as the sounds emanating were less than forthcoming. I could only assume that Batman was picking up where Kid left off. When he finally walked out, Joker was a crumpled mess on the floor, faint chuckling permeating the air.

"You may want a physician to attend to him." Batman told the nurse as he walked out. Kid and I just looked at eachother, then at Joker, and got up to follow Batman.

Bruce Wayne "Batman"

Gotham General Hospital

An hour later

I didn't know what to feel. I couldn't get the image of Jason's body out of my head. The explosion, finding him, it kept playing over and over in my head. Now, I sat in a chair, next to my comatose daughter in the hospital. She's been danger prone in the past, but this was different. This was extremely personal. She was still black and blue with swollen features, and now she had the gauze and stitches to match. Her head was wrapped up with gauze and padding from the brain surgery to correct the damage done. But similar to the last time she was in this hospital, she was intubated, and a machine was making sure she was breathing. Joker had collapsed her lung, so they were giving it a bit of a rest, the machine breathing for her so the lung would heal better.

Wally was sitting closest to her, his eyes bloodshot and slightly bruised. His healing was a lot faster, so my knuckles were still black and blue. He was holding my childs hand. Her other hand was in a thick cast, just like her leg, which was broken in her femur, tibia, and fibula. So her upper leg, lower leg, and ankle were broken in multiple places. Her face was wrapped up and she had a neck brace. In a couple days, they're going to surgically re-break her jaw and wire it shut to heal, but for now, they're leaving it broken. Alfred and Dick were here, down in the cafeteria getting some food for us all. Superman left to go tell the others the news.

This was all my fault.