WARNING: This chapter will be particularly all over the place. I ultimately decided to cut all this out completely, but thought I'd throw it in for you with everything else. What's written is the very beginning and the very end of the chapter – but I have to warn you, I decided to go in a completely different direction than what's written at the end.

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Chapter planning:

Wolf wakes up in the medical room of the tower with Batman by her side. She looks around for Connor, and they explain that B-man made him go shower and eat, but otherwise he hadn't left her side. They then ask what she remembers last. Wolf explains end of last chapter, up until she was flung into the room, then things get fuzzy.

It is explained by the other person that she'd managed to knock out the main inmate dude and turn the collars on – but that when the collars are mass turned on without the warden's code, the collars are designed to shock the inmates into passing out. Wolf, being the super smart idiot that she is, still had her collar on and was one of the ones to get knocked out.

BIG decision point: Maybe junior freeze decides to help out connor or there's a big showdown and freeze helps wolf out? Freeze would then switch sides, or go into a witness protection type of deal.

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"You have a broken wrist and several bruised ribs, among several injuries that appear to be several days old. When the collars came back online there was a flammable substance on your body, and when the collar's electrical function went off –

"It burned the crap out of my neck and chest," I finished hoarsely, remembering the incident with a wince. "One of the prisoners spat this weird slime at us. I thought it was some kind of poison, so I took off my uniform. Obviously I forgot to wipe off the area where my skin was exposed."

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"Connor would not have made it in time, but luckily Freeze Junior stepped in and stopped his father from trying to kill you."

I stared in surprise, not sure what to think.

"He knew we'd tricked him though," I stated slowly. "Connor even knocked him out."

Nodding, Underwear-man watched me speculatively. "He knew. But it seems Connor's ability to befriend even the most unlikely of creatures has now extended to the occasional villain. The two seem to have…bonded during your stay at the prison."

I couldn't stop a small smile form popping out.

"Yeah," I agreed quietly. "He's good like that."

The man's face softened a degree and he gave a small nod before sitting down on the chair by the bed, facing me. My smile quickly dropped as an alarming thought came into my head.

"Ice-boy can't stay there," I stated; a thrill of fear going through me for the teen. "It doesn't matter how closely they keep an eye on him – it might even be already too late. I can't stress this enough, he has to be moved immediately for his own safety."

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"Wolf," Connor's voice whispered from the door way. I'd heard him coming, but it hurt too much to turn my head and look.

"Connor," I greeted with relief as he came over and grabbed one of my hands. "You okay? Sounds like some stuff went on after I passed out."

"Me?" Connor snorted. "You're the one with burns and broken bones."

"I couldn't exactly do it at the prison, but all I have to do is shift and the worst of this will be gone."

Connor frowned. "What are you waiting for then?"

"Underw – uh, he and I were having a conversation. The others told me it was rude to shift or go naked in front of other people," I replied, hoping the masked man next to me hadn't caught the slip up. From the minor twitch in his face, I figured he knew what I'd been about to call him.

"Wolf, it's fine to let me or the others know if you need privacy in order to shift to your wolf form, especially if it would aid in your healing," Underwear-man cut in. "No one would fault you for that. The issue the team had was….."

"You can't be naked in front of the others," Connor interrupted. I smelled small hint of embarrassment from him before he quickly amended himself. "Us, I mean. You can't walk around naked in front of the team. Or the League."

Looking cutely flustered, Connor scowled to cover up his embarrassment. "Just keep your clothes on unless you're showering."

"I know, I know," I huffed, rolling my eyes. "Shift when others aren't looking, Wolf. Don't eat food off the floor, Wolf. No nudity, ever. Wear a bra, wear underwear, don't eat with your hands. Stop cursing so much, incest is illegal, don't growl when someone tries to steal the remote, you can't play fetch anymore because it's "weird" now – humans seriously have to live with a lot of rules," I complained, suddenly feeling frustrated.

"I did okay in the prison, didn't I?" I asked the pair. "I've listened to everything you keep telling me, so I'd appreciate it if you stopped treating me like I don't have the intelligence to remember all your stupid rules. I've been living here for months and seen the way you act. Trust that I'm doing my best to respect and follow the rules you live by."

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Ideas for this chapter:

The legend says the sword can only be wielded by the pure of heart. Harm or whatever his name is thinks it has to be pure good or pure evil, but what if it has other meanings? Like being purified (in general) or purified of a specific thing or substance?

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Update: The above idea is crap. I've now moved on to the sword being connected to wolf somehow, with her connecting to it.

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Maybe the sword is an ancient relic and resonates with a member of the team (lol like wolf maybe?). The sword, when united with a proper master, stays with the person until death. It can be sheathed in the person's arm, kind of like a subspace thing. In death the sword stays attached to the arm until another worthy master finds it.

Update: Fuck this, doing the above would just over power Wolf. Instead of focusing on this, maybe ignore this "episode" all together or just focusing on the idea of Connor taking Wolf to the Halloween dance and the shenanigans that happen from there.

The sword was inscribed with Runic letters, which blazed in time of war, but gleamed with a dim light in time of peace.

I glanced down at the weapon uneasily, fighting the strange, growing urge to grab it.

"Wolf, what's wrong?" Someone asked, the voice sounding distant.

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"I don't know where anyone got the idea for this purity or 'beowulf' crap," I muttered with a frown, holding up the sword curiously. "Trying to force a connection by using weird backdoor magic like that is only going to make the sword's power unstable and put an intense strain on the user."

"What?" fast-boy asked, glancing at me curiously.

"I can't explain how I know exactly, but….this sword is physical proof of favor from a god," I explained. "The scabbard of the sword – the arm – belongs to the last master. It shows that the sword can't truly be separated from its chosen owner; even in death."

"Wolf, wait;" Robin cut in. "We don't understand what you're saying."

"The way the sword operates is a symbol of the loyalty shown to the god," I clarified with a roll of my eyes. "It's a reward when someone shows devotion to the patron god, or honors a deal or contract made despite it costing the person a lot to uphold it."

"Wolf, you're not speaking English!" Fast-boy cut in, sharing a glance with the others. "Can she even understand me?" he asked, pointing at me. I glared, bringing the sword down to my side.

"I can understand you just fine, what's wrong with you?"

"…I believe that while we cannot understand the language Wolf is speaking, Wolf can understand what we are saying," Sea-boy clarified hesitantly, looking at me. I frowned, suddenly unsure of what the hell was going on. I was speaking English, right?

"Wolf – if you can understand us, put the sword down. You started speaking in a different language when you picked it up," Robin spoke slowly, glancing down at the sword cautiously.

I nodded and turned to put the sword back on the table when I paused, seeing the shriveled hand wrapped around the sword twitch, the grey fingers spasming. I tried lifting my fingers off the hilt to drop the artifact, but found my fingers were completely glued to the thing.

"Guys –!" I called out in alarm, trying to shake it off with little success.

"Help her!" Connor called out, and I heard the others move towards me.

"Stop! Don't touch it, you might be affected too!" Robin warned.

"Oh god," Artemis gagged.

I nodded with a grimace, agreeing with her as I stepped away from the dismembered arm. A strange compulsion to look down at the sword came over me and I lifted it curiously, watching in amazement as letters faintly etched into the metal began to glow a soft red. I read the inscription, my mind immediately translating the name inscribed there. Angurvadal, I read, feeling an odd sense of deja vu.

The Torrent of Anguish…..a blessed sword to aid the cursed, something in my mind whispered. A gift to achieve victory in the battles of a war that can never be won.

This sword felt oddly…..familiar to me. Turning over, I read out loud the poem I knew would be inscribed on the other side of the blade.

"An ally for you, with resolve of stone

When battle is nigh and enemies have grown.

To remind you when the battle is fought,

And when to rest; ready or not.

A call to arms forevermore,

To you, who fights an endless war.

If it is evil that you seek to stall,

Then call my name….call Angurvadal!"

Not knowing what was going on but deciding to follow the instincts telling me to roll with it, I watched as the – runes – not words I suddenly realized, glowed brighter. A movement caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I looked over at the dead arm on the ground only to see it dissolving into a dark grey dust.

I heard someone gasp and glanced back over at the team.

"Tell me I'm not the only one freaked out by this," Fast-boy stated, staring between me and the dissolving arm in distress. Everyone nodded except Connor, who looked torn between forcibly ripping the weapon out of my hand and trying to defend me from the others.

"Am I speaking English yet?" I asked, hoping my sudden change in language wasn't permanent. At the blank stares sent my way I sighed, feeling frustrated. Wanting to put the weapon in my hands away so I could have time to process whatever was happening, I tried letting it go again with the same result as before.

Growling, I stared down at my new attachment and thought for a moment, trying to figure out –

Wait. What if I…?

Thinking back to the way the dead arm had held the sword, I held up my left hand; aiming the tip of the sword towards my palm.

"Wolf, what are you –?" Connor cut off, staring wide eyed with the others when the sword painlessly slid through my hand, disappearing completely when I pushed the hilt through too.

"Okay, now I'm gonna barf," Artemiscommentedin a strangled voice.

"What – I mean, where –?" Fast-boy muttered incoherently, jabbing Robin in the side with his elbow frantically.

"I think he – we – all want to know where the ancient evil sword just went," Robin translated, looking just as shocked.

"In her arm," Artemispointed out obviously, swallowing. "Wolf just put a sword insideher arm."

"Subspace storage pocket," I answered, feeling disconcerted by the sudden knowledge. "It's intangible, but stays tethered to the material world by using my energy as a power source until I call on it."

"You're speaking English again!"

"How do you know this? Wolf, what is happening?" Sea-boy asked, visibly struggling to jerk his eyes from my hand to look at me fully.

"Uh….Angurvadal told me," I muttered, shifting awkwardly.

"We heard you say that several times," Robin chimed in. "Who or what is Angurvadal? Was the sword making you talk like that?"

"Angurvadal is the sword," I replied, clenching and opening my hand to see if it felt different.

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I shook my head. "That's…that's not right."

"What do you mean?"

"Spirits….they wouldn't come to our plane for something small like that."

"I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty pissed if my own brother murdered me then covered up the evidence all so he could get his hands on some mystic sword."

"No," I argued vehemently. "Spirits don't care about that stuff once they've crossed over! It's – if they're sent over here it's meant to be an omen, a warning of terrible things to come. Sure, maybe the girl used the solving of her death as the means to do that, but it's not the point."

"Where the hell are you getting this? You weren't even there!"

I felt strange, and my head started pounding with the beginnings of a migraine.

"Something awful is coming, something that was deemed so catastrophic that a fucking spirit of all things was sent to warn us," I muttered, not sure where this knowledge was coming from. A weird sense of déjà vu hit me and I stepped back, feeling dizzy.

"Wolf, are you okay?"

"Secret. She said it would be a secret," I muttered, holding my head to ward off the pain. Someone grabbed me from behind, prompting me to realize I'd started falling.

"Time is different for them, so it may not happen for months, maybe even years….But whatever the secret is, if we don't find out the truth then terrible calamity will befall the mortal plane and all will be lost."

I tried to blink away the darkness only to suddenly find myself in a forest covered with mist. I glanced up and gasped, feeling all the memories of my past come back to me with a snap.

"Wolf spirit," I greeted grudgingly, dropping my head down in submission to the enormous grey canine in front of me.

"You forget and yet still do not to forgive," the wolf replied with amusement, his gruff voice echoing in my mind. I snarled at the ground, my fingers digging into the cool dirt beneath me.

"I sacrificed and suffered more than you will ever know," I hissed back; my mind reeling with the knowledge of what I'd experienced since coming to Earth. "Did you know what would happen to me when I agreed to pay your price? Do you have any idea what I went through, losing my memories and living on a foreign world like this?!" I roared, my eyes blinding me with hot tears.

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"I've paid my debt ten times over and will continue to do so because you failed to fulfill your end of our contract!"

"There is little time to speak, young one. Do not let your rage decline the favor owed to you," The wolf sprit gently chastised, his gold eyes calmly studying me.

Hating myself, I nodded and grit my teeth before sitting down to listen.