This was another tough chapter to write. But just letting any readers know, this chapter is a bit brutal.

Chapter 8: Torturous Persuasion

I was very subdued and quiet for the rest of the school week and through the weekend. Bruce asked me a few times if I was sick, but I told him I was fine. Lack of a fever or any symptoms was the only thing that really convinced him I was telling the truth.

He would have made me take a break from training if my early mornings working hard in the batcave showed me to be any less motivated. In fact training was the only time I felt like myself. I was really trying harder than ever to become stronger and more able to protect myself.

"I have to say, I'm holding back less and less when we do this," Bruce said after dodging one of my attacks and countering by throwing me to the ground.

I groaned and rolled over. "You didn't have to throw me down so hard," I complained. I quickly jumped up before Bruce could use the opportunity of me taking too long to recover to attack as he had been known to in the past.

"It's hard to hold back and not let you beat me anymore," Bruce said lightly. "You're going to have to start fighting me closer to my full strength now, so you need to be able to handle me when I attack."

"Don't worry, you will be fighting me with your full abilities soon enough," I smirked. Then I charged for another opportunity to strike.

It was Monday, and after training I returned to the regular part of the house in a much darker mood, just as I had done for the last three days. I showered and picked at my breakfast before school. "Aren't you going to eat?" Bruce asked, watching me only eat a few bite of the eggs and toast Alfred had prepared for me.

I silently shook my head, and Bruce frowned. "Are you still feeling alright to go to school?" he asked, looking at me more closely.

"Yeah, I'm good enough to go," I mumbled, not looking up from my plate. I still didn't want to worry Bruce with what was on my mind. I knew he didn't want me to miss school if there was no reason for me not to go, so he somewhat reluctantly drove me to school and dropped me off.

I was watching over my shoulder the entire day through school. But nothing happened. I didn't even feel like anyone was watching me until recess while I sat outside without opening the lunch Alfred had packed for me. Without hesitating I left my lunch under the table bench and hid behind the school wall. When I was sure nobody was looking I used the gutter along the school wall to climb to the top. As I knew he would be, Nightwing was there, crouching where he was somewhat hidden in the shadows of the other buildings.

Without speaking I walked forward and sat beside him. We were both quiet, and peacefully enjoying each other's company before I broke the silence. "Have you noticed anyone watching me today?" I asked, looking up into his serious face.

"Actually I haven't. I can only hope that isn't a bad sign," he replied looking at me for the first time.

"I haven't either," I said softly. "I didn't want to worry Bruce, so I haven't told him I think I'm being followed. I also know who it is that's been watching me. If I'm right it means I am in a lot of danger."

"Nightwing looked surprised, but didn't prompt me to give the answer. I didn't feel like telling him about my evil parents yet, so I stayed silent.

"How did things go with Bruce?" he asked quietly, turning his gaze to the buildings in front of us. "I haven't seen you since that night."

I looked at my feet. "Not the best. But at least it's over now. I've given up my stupid identity, and the costume has been burned. It was a stupid idea."

"It wasn't a dumb idea," he said firmly. "It was actually a very good idea. You just rushed it too much, and Bruce is overprotective after what happened to Tim. Don't give up just yet on being able to fight alongside him or working solo one day."

I looked back into his face in surprise, and he returned my gaze. I was surprised to see he was truly serious and not lying. "I won't," I said softly. I slowly stood up and walked towards the edge of the building. Nightwing stood as well and followed me.

"I need to go back to school, recess is almost over," I said starring at the ground.

Nightwing placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm going to continue keeping an eye out for you," he said gently. "I know you're worried about whoever is after you, but if it helps any I'm looking out for you."

I smiled slightly, "It does help, and it was nice to be able to talk to you again."

"I will see you again soon," he promised. He removed his hand and walked away without another word. I took a deep breath, feeling a lot lighter, and jumped back to the ground, rejoining my peers just as the bell rang to go back inside.

The rest of the school day did pass by smoothly, and gymnastics seemed extra boring and bland. I smiled though when I felt Nighwing watching me as Bruce pulled up to the school to bring me home.

That night I finally ate a little bit. My meeting on the roof with Dick, as brief as it had been, really had made me feel better. I spent the rest of my night finishing my homework and reading before announcing I was going to bed.

I had just slid under my blankets when there was a tap on the door. "Come in," I said softly.

Bruce opened the door and walked in. "Can I sit down?," he asked. I nodded and moved over slightly to give him more room. "You're really worrying me," he said gently after sitting on the edge of my bed. "I am really hoping you can tell me what is bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me," I lied almost too quickly.

Bruce looked at me sternly. "You know better than to lie to me," he said quietly.

"Alright, so something is bothering me, but is it alright if I say I really don't want to talk about it?"

Bruce was silent for a while. "You can say that, but I don't like it. I'm hoping you will tell me eventually. I only want to help."

"I know," I mumbled. "I'm sorry for being such a pain."

Bruce stood up and smoothed my covers. "You are not a pain. I love having you here, and you are very important to me. Always remember that, ok?"

I nodded slightly, and allowed myself to give a small smile.

"Good, now get some sleep. I will see you tomorrow for training," he said gently. He shut off my light and turned towards the door.

"Bruce," I called out before he could leave. "If I were ever in trouble, you would do everything in your power to help me. Wouldn't you?" I didn't know where that question had come from, but I felt like I needed to ask it.

"Of course, Jayden. You shouldn't even have to ask that," Bruce said in a surprised voice, returning to my side. I felt his hand cover mine in the darkness. "If you were ever in danger, you would be my top priority, before I went after any villain. I wouldn't even sleep or eat until I found you, and I wouldn't give up on you."

"You'd look for me even if the joker came back and was about to blow up the city?" I asked, squeezing the large strong hand on top of mine.

"Yes, even then," he said squeezing gently in return. "I promised you I would never abandon you or turn my back on you, and I will stick to that promise for the rest of my life," he promised. I could tell he was worried from the subject we were talking about, and I was sure he now knew what was on my mind.

"Thanks Bruce," I whispered.

"Good night Jayden," Bruce's low gently voice rumbled in the darkness. With a final squeeze, he let go of my hand and quietly left my room. I had the feeling he was going to redouble his efforts to find my parents tonight. The thought comforted me, and I rolled over and fell asleep.

Unfortunately Bruce did not have a look of triumph the next morning, and he still looked quite worried. I tried to ignore this and enjoyed our morning training session as much as I could. Neither of us seemed to really have our hearts in it, and it felt like an almost wasted day.

I wasn't in the mood for school either, but I still went. I was at least glad there wasn't any gymnastics. The expected feeling of Nightwing's eyes on me as I got out of the car gave me an extra sense of confidence, and I quickly entered the school. But it didn't take long for me to get a very bad feeling.

I had just gotten my books out of my locker when I was sure they were around somewhere. Everyone else went to their first class while I was distracted by the presence leaving me alone in the hall listening and watching for any sign of them. I was realizing just how alone I was when I dark shape suddenly moved from behind the vending machine. I looked towards the movement, ready to run, and an arm reached out from nowhere and sprayed me in the face with something that made me very sleepy. I remember feeling my father catch my falling body before I completely lost consciousness.

My head hurt, but I kept my eyes closed, listening for any clues as to what was going on. I knew I wasn't safe, and I remembered I was with my parents. I needed to build up my defenses and shut down my emotions so they wouldn't notice I was awake. I kept my breathing slow and even and kept myself calm so my heart rate wouldn't climb, and made sure to change nothing in my position.

I was on a hard concrete floor with my hands tied behind my back and both my ankles tied to my wrists behind me. I was on my side and I could sense an open room in front of me and a wall behind me. I knew straight away how to escape this, but I would have to do it carefully so my mother wouldn't notice. It was helpful that my hands were hidden from their view. I listened carefully for a long time, trying to gather more information on my situation.

One of my parents was pacing, and the other was standing quietly. I knew my them well enough to know the pacer was my father, and it meant he was anxious about something. "Maybe we should just wake her now," he finally said.

"No," my mother said quietly. It was strange to hear her voice, since she hardly ever spoke even in my memories of living with her. "I need to think of the best way to convince her, so give me a few more minutes."

I could tell my father was about to speak again, but my mother interrupted before he could. "I told you not to talk. We can't be sure she's not awake. We can't underestimate her. Don't forget we taught her a lot before she betrayed us."

My mother had always been the mastermind behind all plans. My father was just the one who kept my mother a secrete, was good at making bombs, and had the muscle to carry out the plans. I heard him walk closer to me, and knew he was watching me closely to see if I was still asleep. I knew I could fool him easily.

"Jayden, open your eyes," it was my mother's voice that gave the command from right next to my ear. I had to stop my body from raising goose bumps along my neck. I hadn't noticed her approach at all. "I can tell you're awake," she insisted quietly.

I knew there was no point in trying to pretend longer and opened my eyes. I made sure to keep all emotion free from them. I would never back down to my parents, and I would never show them weakness. I prepared my body for whatever they were going to do to me.

"Since we know you're not going to ask the question, I will tell you," my father said above me. My mother backed up a bit, giving him all the spotlight. I knew this trick, and was careful to keep the majority of my attention on her. "Of course we do want to punish you for your disobedience," my father continued, "But we don't want to kill you like you might think. You are too valuable to us, and we put too much effort in you to let you go to waste. Come back to us and we won't have to punish you," he finished softly.

I didn't move or change my outward appearance in any way. I knew this was where things were about to get bad. But I would have rather died than return to my parents as their tool. With my attention still on my mother, I saw her nod slightly to my father. He grinned and picked up a blow torch. I couldn't help the increase in my heart and breathing rate, but everything else stayed still and emotionless.

He turned on the hot blue flame and held it close. He slowly lifted up my shirt so my belly was exposed and let the flame eat at my tender skin. It was beyond agony, but I made myself stay strong. Show weakness now, and it could all be over. I continued to stretch at the ropes, just as I had practiced in training with Bruce. It just took some patience and repetition to keep it unnoticeable. I had to stay calm.

"How about now?" he hissed, moving the flame higher up.

I felt like I was going to throw up, but kept my eyes empty and my body still. Even in my pain I noticed my mother make a motion to my father, and he turned off the blow torch. "This is getting boring, maybe it's time for something else," he said quietly.

I didn't move except for the minuscule motions with my hands. In just a couple more minutes I could be free if I could keep my mind together. He pulled out a box cutter and slid the blade up. This time he focused on my leg and cut the bottoms of my pants off just above my thigh.

"How about now, ready to come back to us?" he asked softly. When I didn't respond I felt the cool metal press into my leg. "I'll go nice and slow then, so I can give you plenty of time to come to the right decision," he said, digging the blade in deep. I gave a faint intake of air, but quickly got myself together again. "Good, we'll get through to you yet," my father said joyfully. He slid the blade down an inch.

I felt my skin rip apart, and I cursed myself for losing my composure for a moment. If I could live through a paddling from Gotham's legendary Dark Knight, I could live through my stupid parents' treatment. I felt my skin rip apart and the warm thick blood flow down my leg. I almost had the rope free.

All of a sudden I felt ice cold hands grab my wrists and stop me from freeing myself. I had forgotten to keep an eye on my mother in my pain, and hadn't noticed she was standing right behind me. That was when I finally lost it.

"Let me go," I screamed.

"Oh, you can talk," my father exclaimed. He withdrew the blade and threw it aside.

"Maybe I'm almost there then. Let me see her hand, since she was so kind to make it available."

My mother held my right wrist out to him and he held it tight. "How about it Jayden?" he said taking my pointer finger and bending it back.

"You will never have me again," I hissed, tears starting to come in my eyes from my pain. "I won't let you use me!"

"We'll see," he said with a mad glint. He slowly and abruptly bent my finger painfully far back. I heard and felt it snap, and I couldn't stop myself from crying out. "Just agree to help us again, and this will all stop," he said far too happily.

I was crying freely now, but I still shook my head. I wouldn't give in, and I didn't believe he would stop even if I did. He was still too mad at me for leaving in the first place.

"Lets move on," he said gleefully. He picked up the nearby crowbar. I closed my eyes, feeling I was probably going to die.

"Wait," my mother said quietly. My father froze, crowbar still in the air. "Someone's here," she said urgently.

My father spun around and a dark fist got him in the face with enough force that he crashed into the wall at the opposite end of the room. Through my tears I saw Batman standing there, looking terrifyingly furious. Suddenly my wrists were both free, and I knew Batman hadn't noticed my mother's stealthy escape. He was still too focused on pounding my father more.

"My mother's leaving behind you!" I gasped as loud as I could, stopping Batman in his tracks as he made his way toward my father. He spun around and in the blink of an eye had gone after my mother.

I slowly sat up in the silence and tried to calm myself down. My torture was over, I had to regain control of myself. It shocked me how empty and strangely light and numb I felt. With my good hand I was able to get my ankles free and slowly stood up just in time to see my father rise to his feet.

"You better not go anywhere," I said as loudly as I could. I could see he was hurt and weak from the blow Batman had delivered, but he was still on his feet and moving away slowly for the escape. I cradled my injured hand in front of me and tried to remain standing. I felt so nauseous and everything was beginning to spin. But I felt so furiously angry at my father that I knew I had to hurt him. I could not let him do this to me again.

Time seemed to be moving strangely because one step from me felt like it took a full minute. But I only blinked and noticed my father had flown into the wall and crumpled in a heap. I blinked and tried to focus my eyes to see what happened. I still felt the need to be ready to fight.

"You can relax now," a voice said, and I was lifted into someone's strong arms. They weren't Bruce's, and it only took me a few seconds to recognize Nightwing.

I finally lost it completely and began to sob into his chest. "Don't let them hurt me like this again," I cried, not entirely sure what I was saying. I struggled to refocus my mind to be able to voice what was still bothering me. "My mother. Make sure my mother can't hurt me again," I said weakly. "you need to go after her."

"I'd rather make sure you're ok," he said softly, still holding me.

"No," I said firmly. I knew the best way to ensure my mother's capture was to get Nightwing to help Bruce. I also knew I was going to need to be clever if I was going to get him to leave me alone and do this. I wiped my eyes and weakly with my good hand, and tried to get back on my feet. Nightwing's hold on me only tightened slightly and held me still. "I won't ever be safe if my mother isn't stopped," I insisted. "This will just happen again."

"You shouldn't be worrying about that," he said firmly. his hold still hadn't loosened. "Right now all you need to do is relax and rest so you can allow your body to heal and recover. Batman can handle her."

"Nightwing, you're hurting me," I whined frantically. I was beginning to let myself panic and struggling against him with my injuries was agonizingly painful.

"Enough," he said firmly. "I will go see if I can help to defeat your mother if you will wait here and rest."

I relaxed my body. "I'll rest, but you need to put me down and go after her," I insisted.

"I'm not very happy about this, but it's the only option I have right now to keep you from hurting yourself more." I felt my body being set down gently on the cold floor. "You need to promise me you'll rest."

"I promise," I mumbled.

"This manipulation isn't good Jayden," he said quietly as he turned to leave. Then I was left alone, feeling slightly guilty and very anxious in the quiet darkness.

I tried very hard to remain conscious but I wasn't very successful. The next thing I became aware of was another set of strong arms lifting me and carrying me up some stairs. I grabbed onto Batman's cape and held onto it, hoping at that moment that the protection of his arms would never leave me. "Jayden, you're going to be ok," Bruce said gently. I could hear the worry in his voice, and I could feel his arms shake as he cradled me, but I kept my eyes closed knowing I could finally fully relax now that my protector had me. "You're parents are both on their way to Arkham now, and I'm going to give you a sedative so you won't have to feel anymore pain."

I felt the slight sting of the needle, and I once again began to lose consciousness. "Bruce, thank you for coming," I whispered as the pain began to vanish along with my senses. The last thing my body was aware of was the change in speed from a walk to a run and the strong arms that held me tight and secure.