Disclaimer: I do not own YJ, they belong to DC. I own Mia!
A/N: Small portions of this chapter will be in Mia's POV. Warning: Tears will be shed, I should know because I actually cried while writing. You have been warned! Special shoutout to Child of K-O-A-T-W-R and Guestspirit; thanks for reviewing the story! You two give me motivation to continue updating! XD
Have you ever had your life flash before your eyes, seconds before your death? No? Me neither but it feels like I'm having that right now which is strange since I'm sleeping. Whatever is making me sleep seems to be connected to something that's repairing itself. It's really weird that I'm remembering every detail of my life right now. So let's enjoy it and see what my life was like back then.
Isla Santo Miguel
October 30, 11:30 PDT
11 years ago
Little six year old Mia happily skips next to her father as they head home from the market. Her father, Luis, was carrying the heavier bags while Mia was carrying the lighter bags plus the candy bag.
"I can't wait to try this candy Papi!"
He chuckles "Mija, you are going have to share with your brothers and you can only eat them after lunch."
"Ok Papi!"
As they were getting closer to the house, the cartel quickly surrounded them. Luis places Mia behind him to keep her safe while he dangerously glares at the thugs.
"Time's up Luis. He needs that formula" a thug states.
"You tell him that it's a very delicate process, one mistake and I have to start over again. Now, let us pass" Luis growls.
"You can tell him yourself cause here he comes."
Bane walks into the middle of the circle and faces Luis.
He chuckles evilly "Where is it Luis?"
"It's not ready. You're going have to wait" Luis narrows his eyes.
"I don't think so Ramires" Bane quickly grabs Mia's arm and pulls her away.
"Papi!"
"You let her go now!"
"Now why would I do that?" he looks down at Mia and a cruel smile forms on his face "So you are Little Rosa huh? I can see why she is so beautiful. She would make a hefty price to the right people, don't you think so?"
Luis growls and lunges at him. Bane pulls out his gun and when Luis was close enough, he shot him right in the chest at point blank. Luis gasps and looks at Mia with a caring smile mouthing "Te amo Amelia" then dies. Mia didn't understand what had happened so she frees herself from Bane's grip and walked over to her father's dead body.
"Papi?" she shakes him "Papi wake up. We have to go home."
When he wasn't waking up, an endless flow of tears fell from her cheeks as she clings onto her father's body.
"PAPI!"
One of Bane's men tries to grab her but Bane stops him. "There's no need for her now. Let's go." As they turned to leave, Bane stands over her and a cruel smile appears. "We will meet again Little Rosa" and he leaves.
Mia sat there trembling in fear then lets out a blood curdling scream that alerted her neighbors. All of them came out to see what had happened and were all shocked to see Luis shot to death and Mia crying. The men took Luis' body while one of the women picked up Mia and held her in her arms.
"Let's get you home Little Rosa" the woman said and Mia nods.
She takes her back home and when they reached the door, the woman knocks and a very pregnant Carmen opens the door.
"Clara, what are you doing here? Why are you holding Amelia? And where's Luis?"
"Carmen I'm so sorry but Luis is dead."
"Mami" she looks over to Mia "Papi's….he's…"
That's when Carmen paled and fell to the floor. "Carmen!" Clara puts Mia down and rushes over to Carmen's side.
"Are you ok?"
Carmen gasps in pain "Argh. Clara it's coming. The baby's coming."
"Ok, ok just breathe and I'll get the supplies" she looks at Mia "Mia I need you to be a big girl for me, can you do that?"
"Si Tia Clara."
Clara smiles "Good, good. Now I need you to go next door and get Elena and her mother Gabriella. Go quickly."
"Ok."
Mia rushes over next door and rapidly knocks on the door yelling "Tia Elena! Abuela Gabi! Ajuda!"
The door swings open and Elena appears with Gabriella.
"Mia what's wrong?" Elena asks.
"It's Mami. The baby's coming."
"Dios mio" Gabriella states.
Elena went back inside to grab the things she needs while Gabriella took Mia back over to her house. When they entered the house, a scream filled with pain can be heard throughout the house.
"Mia go take care of your brothers. We'll take care of your mother" Gabriella calmly says.
Mia nods and went over to her brothers' room. When she enters the room, the 5 year old twins saw her and smiled brightly at her. "Mia!" They ran over to her and hugged her tightly.
"Hola Miguel, hola Tulio."
"Why is Mami screaming?" Miguel asks.
"Because the baby is coming!"
"Yay!" they cheered.
Tulio was the one to notice that their dad wasn't here.
"Mia."
"Si Tulio."
"Where's Papi?"
Mia froze and inhaled sharply. "What do I tell them?" She takes a deep breath and looks at her brothers with a watery smile.
"Papi's…papi's sleeping."
"When will he wake up?" Miguel wonders.
She sniffles as a few tears trailed down her cheeks "H-he's not. Papi's sleeping forever."
Tulio was the wiser one of the pair and always knew when something was up. He looks at Mia to confirm his theory: bloodshot eyes, blood stained hands, hair messed up, a bruise forming on her wrist which he deduced came from someone gripping her too hard and the fact that she came into the room alone.
"Papi's dead, isn't he?"
Mia nods and falls to her knees in tears. The twins hugged her and they mourned for their father.
Isla Santo Miguel
October 31, 00:01 PDT
After hours and hours of hearing their mother screaming, they were surprised to hear someone else scream, a baby's scream. The trio made their way into their parent's room and saw Carmen covered in sweat and holding a bundle of cloth in her arms. She looks up at them with a big bright smile.
"Estas bien. Come meet your baby sister" Carmen happily says.
The kids slowly walked towards Carmen and when they were right by her bedside, she shows them the baby.
"This is Ana Sophia, you're new baby sister. Say 'hi' Ana."
Ana Sophia started to whimper and Carmen soothes her. The twins each gave their new baby sister a kiss on each cheek and when they left, it was Mia's turn. She kisses her head and softly whispers "I'll protect you, no matter what."
Isla Santo Miguel
August 19, 19:30 PDT
5 years ago
"Mia!"
"Si Mami?"
"Go pick up your siblings from Tio Armando."
"Ok Mami, I'll be right back."
"Hurry, I'm making rice and beans for dinner."
"Hurray!"
Mia leaves the house quickly and hurries to her "uncle's" house. She reaches the house and knocks on the door. The door opens to reveal a tall, buff Hispanic man with a strong jawline, short brown hair and soft green eyes. He looks down and smiles at the sight of Mia.
"Hola Mia. How are you?"
"I'm great Tio Armando! I'm here to pick up Miguel, Tulio and Ana."
"Just wait here and I'll get them." Armando leaves for a few minutes and the next thing she hears is her little sister running towards her.
"Lia! Lia!" Ana Sophia appears and jumps into her arms.
"Hola Ana! Did you have fun with Tio Armando?"
"Si!"
That's great. Now let's wait for Miguel and Tulio then we can go home."
Back at the house, Carmen was chopping up vegetables when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand. She frowns and grips the knife tightly. Carmen turns around quickly to face the threat and narrows her eyes at the boy holding an orange tabby cat.
"What do you want Cat Boy?"
"Hello Carmen, I'm here to get the kid."
She stood tall "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you do. The little brat that was born on all Hallow's Eve. That kid is filled with immense mystic power and I'll be taking him or her as my apprentice."
"I can't let him get Ana Sophia. I have to protect my children no matter what" "A child was born on that day but has not shown any indication of mystic power" Carmen shrugs "Looks like it skips a generation. Sorry Cat Boy."
"Ooh so spunky….I like it!"
"Glad it suits your fancy" Carmen retorts.
Klarion starts to pace in front of her pondering about what to do next. "I can't let him get her." Klarion stops pacing and stood right in her face.
"Now why don't I believe you?"
"Because you're the Lord of Chaos that doesn't believe in anything or anyone and enjoys creating discord and mayhem on the physical plane."
"You're right about those but I still want the kid."
"This is the last time I will tell you again. The child has no mystic powers."
"Well if that's the case then I guess I'll just have to kill them for the fun of it."
Klarion was about to leave when Carmen stops him.
"NO!" he looks back at her "Don't you dare touch my children Witch Boy. If you want to kill someone, kill me."
"Ok" and he sets the house on fire.
Carmen looks out the kitchen window to see Mia standing outside with tears streaming down her face. Mia catches Carmen looking at her and her eyes widened for a split second. Carmen smiles sadly at her with a few tears falling as she mouths "Te amo Amelia. Take care of them" and that was the last time she saw Mia alive. "At least now I'll be with you Luis."
Isla Santo Miguel
September 3, 07:24 PDT
Mia had everything ready to take her siblings to school and packed a lunch for her to have at work. It's been about 2 weeks since their mother's death and Mia has kept her promise to take care of her siblings.
"I won't let you down Mami" "Come on guys, I need to take you guys to school still. Hurry up!"
"We're coming!"
"Hold on Lia!"
Mia lets out an aggravated sigh and groans in irritation. "This is going to be a long school year." After a few minutes, she finally hears three sets of feet rushing towards her. Mia turns and smiles at her siblings.
The Twins are growing up quite handsomely, the spitting image of their father, Luis. He was 6'1, short brown hair, soft hazel eyes, tan, muscular, caring and gentle. Mia looks exactly like their mother and acts like her however, she gets her big heart from Luis. Now Ana Sophia is the perfect mix of Carmen and Luis. She has Carmen's hair and smile while having Luis' tan complexion, eyes, and personality.
A small single tear escapes, trailing down her cheek as she smiles fondly at them. Mia quickly wipes it away, stood tall and smiled brightly at them.
"Let's go!"
She opens the door and the Ramires siblings left for school but they would never make it. On the way to school, a black van stops right in front of them. Mia places herself in front them in order to protect them and two figures walked out of the van.
"You're coming with us" thug 1 says.
"Over my dead body" Mia states straightening her back.
"Looks like we have a fighter, the Master will be pleased" "That can be arranged little girl" thug 2 states.
"Tch. I'd like to see you try" she kicks one in the crotch and punches the other in the gut. Mia looks back at her siblings yelling "Run for it!" She picks up Ana Sophia and runs with her brothers next to her. They ran for five blocks before they were taken. The same van and two men grabbed them then shoved them into the van. That was the last time the Ramires siblings were on the island.
Pacific Ocean
September 4, 01:24 PDT
The sound of thunder in the distance startled Mia. She bolts right up and took in her surroundings. "Looks like I'm stuck on an airplane, where it's going I have no clue. I just hope I can keep my brothers and sister safe." Soon Ana starts to stir and slowly opened her eyes. After a glance, she bolts right up and starts hyperventilating. Mia quickly goes to her side to calm her down.
"It's ok Ana, it's ok. I'm right here."
"Lia where are we?"
"I-I don't know but don't worry, I'll keep you guys safe."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Hey Lia."
"Si?"
"Can you sing Mami's lullaby?"
Mia stiffens a little "Sure Ana."
~ "A la nanita nana, nanita nana ella, nanita ella
Mi nina tiene sueno bendito sea, bendito sea.
A la nanita nana, nanita nana ella, nanita ella
Mi nina tiene sueno bendito sea, bendito sea.
Fuentecita que corre clara y sonora
Ruisenor que en la selva cantando llora
Calla mientras la cuna se balansea
A la nanita nana, nanita ella.
A la nanita nana, nanita nana ella, nanita ella
Mi nina tiene sueno bendito sea, bendito sea.
Fuentecita que corre clara y sonora
Ruisenor que en la selva cantando llora
Calla mientras la cuna se balansea
A la nanita nana, nanita ella." ~
Mia glances down to see Ana sleeping in her lap and a smile appears on her face. Just as she was about to close her eyes, the plane lands. When it came to a full stop, Mia mentally prepared herself for whatever came next. The cargo door opens revealing a man wearing a suit with a green cloak and has black hair with gray streaks.
He looks at Mia clutching her siblings tightly with fire in her eyes and he smiles.
"Come now little ones, let's get you four all cleaned up" he extends his hand.
None of them took his hand so he lowers it and allows his men to take the Ramires siblings out of the plane and into the compound. On the way in, Mia silently swears "I'll get us out of here 'til my dying breathe Miguel, Tulio and Ana Sophia. This I swear."
Compound
March 17, 19:55
3 years ago EET
"It's been 2 years since we've been kidnapped and were forced into slavery. Mami I'm not going to lie, it's been very hard and continues to be hard. I've kept my promise to keep everyone safe by making sure they never got the receiving end of a whip, knife and sword. The head honcho took notice of my bravery and had me properly trained to be an assassin.
At first I refused to do anything but when he started threatening the safety of Miguel, Tulio and Ana, I had no choice but to do whatever he wanted. After a few months of intense training, I was quickly put into The Cage and Mami I would never wish this upon my enemies. The Cage is not a place for a kid like me and it's definitely not a place for Ana Sophia, that's why I'm in there and not her. Anyway, The Cage is a small arena with two gates where each fighter goes through to face each other.
When the fighters are in The Cage, the gates close and the only way to open them is if one of them is dead. The reason why I know this is because I've done it Mami, too many times to count. Sometimes I barely make it out alive, coming out half dead, bloodied and broken but I could never give up because they're counting on me to live and protect them. After my fights, I arrive in the cell we share covered in dirt and blood they would rush over to me and tried to take care of me but I would never let them.
I would speak in that same tone you always used on us, firm but full of love and kindness and I would always smile brightly even if I'm hurting and broken on the inside. You would not believe how much they would fuss over me and I always tell them 'It's my job to take care of you, not the other way around.' Ana would stay quiet but the Twins would get so mad at me, especially Miguel. Mami, you know from first hand experience that Miguel always tries to help and do what's right no matter what.
I remember Miguel yelling "Mia that's not fair! You can't just take care of us and not care about yourself. Let us help you for once! You have to stop being Mami and start being our big sister!" and I knew I couldn't argue with him. In the end, I let him tend to my wounds and I allowed myself to lower my guard, to feel vulnerable at the moment. I would never lower my guard unless it was with Miguel, Tulio, and Ana Sophia"
Mia takes a break from writing. After wiping away her tears and takes a shaky breath, Mia continues to write.
"Mami, I'm sorry but I lied to you. I couldn't keep my promise to take care and protect them. I'm so sorry Mami, it's all my fault. It happened earlier today; I was in my last battle against a girl named Jade, she's older than me but I was more skillful than she was. When the fight came to an end, I was supposed to kill her and that's when I had enough. I threw my sword on the ground and looked up shouting 'I'm not doing this! I've had enough killing innocent men just so I can learn to be a damn assassin. This has gone on long enough and I'm sick of it! Now let us go and everyone gets to live.'
Nothing happened for a few minutes then the gates opened. Jade and I glanced at each other then we exited The Cage. As I was heading back to our cell, I got pulled away and taken somewhere else with a bag over my head. After being forced to sit in a chair, someone takes off the bag and I was temporarily blinded by how bright the lights were. When I got my bearings straight, I took the chance to look around and what I saw made me turn white as paper. I'm not going to lie about this, the sight made me sick to my stomach and Mami if you saw it, you would cry in anguish and pain.
There they were, all three of them chained to the wall all bloodied and bruised. Miguel and Tulio had gotten the worst of it as if they were protecting Ana Sophia but she still got hurt, just not as bad as the boys. 'I'm sorry about the little one, they weren't supposed to hurt her but it seems they went overboard.' I looked for the voice and saw a figure coming out of the shadows. When he came into focus, I felt my eyes practically pop out of my head, Ra's al Ghul, the head honcho of this godforsaken place.
'You're going to pay for what you did to my siblings' I growled narrowing my eyes at him.
Ra's shook his head as if he was disappointed in me which I found strange because all I've ever wanted was to get us the hell out of this place.
'Aah Labiwa, today was supposed to be the day you joined the ranks of the League of Shadows. Now it seems you must be punished for your failure.'
'Give me your best shot' I said bravely.
Mami, I was scared and had no idea what he was going to do to me so I mentally prepared myself for the worst but I could never imagine him doing this. Ra's took out his sword and stabs Miguel in the chest first. I remember dying right there and felt so much emotion boiling beneath my skin. It wasn't until he stabs Tulio that I screamed in anguish and yelling profanities at him but that didn't stop him. When he stopped in front of Ana Sophia, time stood still and I found my voice.
'Please I'll do anything you want, just don't kill her. I beg you. She's the only family I have left.'
At this point I was crying so much that I couldn't see what was happening. The next thing I knew, Ra's stood in front of me and wiped away my tears. He raises my head and I finally got a good look of his eyes: green but there was evil behind them.
'My dear, if you had done what you have been told the first time none of this would've happened. Now you have to pay the price for your disobedience' he walked away and went back to Ana Sophia.
I heard her whimper as he got closer to her. She looks over at me with eyes filled with fright and I knew I couldn't do anything to help her. Instead I looked at her with love and said in that loving tone you always used Mami 'It's going to be alright. Te amo Ana Sophia, don't you ever forget it.'
Ana finally found her voice 'Te amo Lia. Te am-" and that was the last time I heard Ana's voice. I didn't-couldn't move as I watched Ra's men take their dead bodies away. One of his men had to carry me back to our-I mean my cell and when we arrived, he tossed me inside then locked the gate. After a few hours of mourning them, I decided to write this letter to you Mami because I'm afraid I won't be able to leave this place alive. At least I was able to write to you and told you of what happened the past 2 years since you've died. Hopefully this would be the only time I'll be writing a tragic story to you but maybe next time, I'll write about something nice that happened to me. I'll talk to you later Mami. Goodbye and te amo."
Mia folds the long letter into her suit and looked around the cell one last time. The large straw bed they all shared, a few dolls made from straw so Mia could play with Ana and painted all over the walls of the cell were sketches of everyone from Isla Santo Miguel and various sketches of their parents. Ana had always wondered what their father looked like, so Mia does a few sketches of him for her. When she finished, Ana was confused as to why Mia was drawing a picture of the Twins. Mia giggles and explains to her that he was their father and that the Twins looked exactly like him.
Looking at all of this was too painful for her so Mia just closed her eyes and silently prayed to be somewhere she would feel safe. "I don't want to be here anymore. I want to be where I can be safe and feel loved. Please" and at that moment, Mia uses her power of teleportation and disappears from the compound.
Battery Park
March 17, 22:37 EDT
Ted had just finished closing up his boxing gym. As he turned off the lights and went to leave, he hears a crash behind him. Turning around he saw Mia's body lying in the middle of the ring. Ted slowly walked back to the ring softly talking to her.
"Hey there kiddo. You ok?"
Mia wakes up to see Ted walking towards her and she scampers over to a corner of the ring breathing heavily. "What am I doing here? How did I get here?" Noticing that Mia was in fight or flight mode, he stops right in front of the ring and raises his hands.
"I'm not here to hurt you kid. I just want to know if you're hurt."
"No entiendo" "Who is this guy?"
"Estas bien. No quiero hacerte dano."
Mia was shocked to hear the man speak Spanish to her so she stays put but she didn't lower her guard. Ted took that as a sign to walk closer to her and he did. He gets in the ring and slowly walks to her with his hands out to show that he meant no harm.
"What's your name kid?"
Mia narrows her eyes at him. Ted noticed and deduced that she understands English.
"Maybe she can speak English too" "I know you can understand me. Just tell me what happened and hopefully I can help you."
Mia took a minute to respond "Y-you can't help me, no one can. If you let me go peacefully, I promise not to hurt you."
Ted narrows his eyes and quickly analyzes her. Her posture is straight and rigid indicating that she's been trained, Mia's hair is disheveled, the suit has tears in it, one can see old scars and bruises fading but there are some fresh cuts and bruises. After analyzing her body, he looks into her eyes and felt his old heart split in two. Mia's eyes were once big, bright and full of wonder but these past two years had been hard on her which made her eyes small, dull and lifeless.
"She can't be more than 13, 14 the latest. What happened to her that caused her to have these soulless brown eyes at such a young age? Maybe she can tell me." Ted gently places a hand on her shoulder and softly spoke to her. "I'm sorry kid but I can't let you leave. Let me get you cleaned up and talk about how you got here. Come on."
He gently pushes her forward but the action made Mia get defensive. She takes his hand and throws him across the ring. While Ted was slowly getting up, Mia took the opportunity to attack him with all of her might. The two of them blocked each others kick and punches while managing to get a few hits in. Mia was able to pin him down so she takes out her knife ready to stab him but she stops.
"What am I doing?" Mia backs away from Ted and drops the knife. She falls to her knees and cries her heart out. Ted wasn't sure what to do but as he walks over to her, he kicks the knife away and stood in front of her. He crutches down and pulls Mia into a hug. She stiffens at the sudden contact then her eyes widen when he spoke.
"It's ok. You can cry all you want, I won't judge you. I know you don't want to kill me and I know you've killed before but you were forced to do it weren't you?" Mia nods "You seem strong for someone young like you but right now you don't have to be. It must have been a while since you've cried so go right ahead, it's good for your soul. Can you at least tell me your name?"
Mia lets out a shaky breath "M-my name i-is Amelia Rosa Fuentes Ramires b-but m-my fa-family calls me Mia."
Ted nods "That's a lovely name Mia. My name's Ted Grant."
Her sniffles turn into a cry filled with anguish, sadness and pain. Ted had never heard such a cry from someone as young as Mia. After letting her cry for a few more minutes, Ted saw that she fell asleep, exhausted from today's events. He carries her back to his place and when he looked at her sleeping, a small smile appears on his face.
"You're lucky I found you Mia. Who knows what would've happened to you if I wasn't the one who found you" he whispers.
Long after that night, Uncle Ted taught me some new moves and helped me control the thing that had been created by Ra's al Ghul. I didn't tell Uncle Ted everything about me but I did tell him that I'm the only surviving member of my entire family and he didn't ask any questions about them. A couple of weeks later an old pal of Uncle Ted's named Daniel, who's a telepath, puts up mental barriers just in case something should happen to me psychically.
Daniel's the only one who knows what truly happened to my family and I but he doesn't comment about it, instead he hands me a card with his number and told me to call him whenever I feel like. Shortly after Daniel's visit, Uncle Ted calls a friend to come over and meet me. The guy arrives with his wife and booth seemed happy to meet me. At first I was scared but Uncle Ted assures me that I can trust Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. So I went to live with them in DC for the next three years and my adventure starts on the 4th of July of 2011.
Now you guys know everything about me, hopefully from now on it gets better. If you please excuse me, it's time that I wake up now.
I felt my eyes slowly open and it took a minute for my eyes to focus. Slightly turning my head to the left, I saw a mop of red hair and bright green eyes.
"Wally?"
My voice sounded so sore like I haven't been talking lately. He smiles and hugs me tightly like I was going to disappear.
"W-wally, I-I can't b-breathe."
"Oh sorry Mia" he lets go but still held my hand tightly.
"How long was I out?"
"About a day. Mia you had us worried."
"I'm sorry Wally."
"It's ok. At least you're awake and that's all that matters. I have to go tell everyone that you're awake, I'll be right back."
Wally gets up and before he left, he places a kiss on my head then left. I watched Wally leave and when the door closed, I let that tears I've been trying to keep in finally free. Now I know why I took such a liking to Robin and Wally, it's because they remind me so much of Miguel and Tulio. God I miss them and Ana so much that it hurts to even think about them, at least they're in a better place now.
The door opens again so I quickly wiped away the tears and plastered on a fake smile. I see everyone walking in with relief on their faces and they came over to hug me. No one can know how I truly feel at the moment no matter what. I just hope they don't push me for answers that I'm not ready to give out just yet.