Night Wing's POV

Her eyes went wide when she saw the man, one of the first emotions she had shown in the past day. Turning to look, I could barely conceal my surprise at the sight of him. Though a bit older, with darkness underneath his eyes, stubble on his chin, and a messy haircut, I could've recognized that face anywhere. Before anyone had a chance to react, we were tranquilized by the guards standing beside the man. The darkness came.

Clara's POV

Not him. It couldn't be. Not here. I made a vow that if I ever saw him again, I would kill him. I was too drained to do anything but stare as he ordered his guards to sedate Dick, Kid Flash, and Artemis. It was all I could do not to scream as a dart embedded itself in Dick's back. And all I could do was stare as they shot me. We failed.


I awoke, making sure my breathing was steady and pretended to be asleep. People were talking softly around me.

"What does he want from us?"

"Who is that man?"

I slowly lifted my eyelids. I glanced at Dick, surprised to see that he'd been gazing at me while I was sleeping. He blushed and looked away before I could raise an eyebrow.

Night Wing's POV

She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. So beautiful. I hated I still cared about her, even though she would never love me back.

The last thing I remembered in the room was Clara, lying on the ground. Helpless. I wished that I had been conscious enough to be able to... I don't know. Do something. Anything. When her green eyes opened, I forgot that I wasn't supposed to be staring. She raised an eyebrow. I felt the heat of my cheeks and turned away.

I secretly watched from the corner of my eye as she assessed her surroundings, cool and calculated. Looking for a way out. We were all shackled together with heavy chains in a small, grey holding cell. The bars were thick and tightly woven to create an inescapable gate.

Clara crossed her arms and scowled. Miss Martian leaned over and gently tapped her arm.

"You did well," she said softly.

"Better than you and the rest of the Team, that's for sure," Clara grumbled. Miss Martian recoiled. She had just been trying to help. Clara caught her terrified eyes and said, "Sorry, it's just I... Sorry." Miss Martian nodded and sat ever so slightly farther away from her.

Clara's POV

I rolled my eyes and leaned my head against the wall. What a petty bitch. I wanted to rake her pretty caramel eyes out. I reached towards my neck, hoping to feel the cool metal of the inhibitor collar that was against everybody else's throats. My blood froze when I realized it wasn't there. He wanted me to get angry. He wanted me to hurt somebody. Dick caught me glaring at Miss Martian. I trained my eyes on him. What are you going to do about it, asshole? He looked away. Good.

With a crackle, the small television hanging in front of the room turned on. At first, it was all static and white noise. When it cleared, I saw him. Still wearing that awful lab coat. I'm pretty sure he wore that to my mom's funeral. "Hello, young heroes," he said. I definitely didn't miss that voice. He was trying to hide the tiredness from it.

"I see that you are very comfortable in your cell." He paused. "I wish to propose a deal. A show, featuring you and your... abilities. All of you must be included. If the performance is deemed worthy, I will free you."

I glanced at Dick, who was sharing confused looks with the rest of the Team. They were all thinking the same thing: was it really that easy to get out of here?

"And one more thing. You must display at least three different things that you can do." The television crackled and switched off.

I knew exactly what he was doing. Dragging me through my worst memories. What haunted me at night, when I tried to fall asleep.

I didn't want to hurt anyone.

Night Wing's POV

I glanced worriedly at Clara. How did she feel about this? She could barely control her power, and I doubted she wanted to display it to the person she hated even more than me. Aqualad addressed the situation and held up a hand to silence everybody who was agreeing to the challenge.

"Does anyone refuse the offer?"

"Me," Clara said, standing up. She glared at anyone who dared to look her way. She sat back down. "That's all you need to know."

I walked over to her and sat down next to her. "I'm not doing it," she said, crossing her arms. "You won't change my mind."

"Clara."

"No, Di- I mean, Night Wing. I'm not doing it. We both know I can't control it. You... you know what happened." She looked at her lap.

I sighed. Why did she bring this up? I gently placed a hand on her knee. To my surprise, she didn't push it away. "Hey," I said as gently as I could, "What's done is done. There's nothing you can do to change that. And it wasn't your fault." She shot me a look that said 'we both know that's not true.'

"Clara, you do realize that all of the choices you make affect the team. You're a part of us now, and we're counting on you to do what's right," Zatanna said, narrowing her eyes at Clara.

"I am doing what's right," she growled. I cringed. I recognized that tone of her voice. Something was going to happen. Something bad. "I know this man better than any of you could ever imagine." The temperature in the room rose, along with her voice. She was terrifyingly beautiful.

"Clara," I said quietly. She ignored me.

"And I know exactly what he's going to do. I know exactly what he wants from me. And I'm not going to give it to him."

"Clara," I said, a bit louder. She didn't even spare me a glance.

"My father is going to drag me through my memories, watch me explode, then pick up your bloody, mutilated carcasses."

"Clara."

She finally turned to me. "What?" she screeched.

Pain exploded through my body. I couldn't focus on anything other than the throbbing and stinging that crept through my skin and melted my bones. Was I the only one feeling it? I hoped so. God, it was awful. I curled up and waited for it to stop, or to die from it. Whichever came first.

Clara's POV

What had I done? Dick collapsed, twitching and jerking violently on the floor. I stared at my hands. I couldn't understand why he was the only one who was feeling it. Had I directed it at him somehow? No. God, no. I knelt by his side. Finally, it was my turn to help someone.

Night Wing's POV

Slowly, but surely, the pain slid away. I exhaled and slowly opened my eyes. Leaning over me was Clara, biting her lip and wearing a worried expression. Her eyes were filled with sorrow. She never wanted this power.

I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to tell her that everything was gonna be okay, that it wasn't her fault. I sat up, and she hugged me tentatively. "I'm so, so sorry," she murmured, and I wrapped my arms around her.

"Don't worry about it," I whispered back. She helped me up. I couldn't stop staring into her eyes, green as a dark forest.

Wally's loud voice interrupted the moment. "Can we cut the romance for a second?" Clara sent him a smouldering glare. He didn't back down. "You said 'your father'?" I thought I saw the colour drain from her face.

"You're damn right 'my father,'" she stammered.

She promptly disappeared. That invisibility trick was going to get annoying.