Author's Note: Ok sorry I haven't touched this one in a while but I was working on other stuff. This is gonna get dark quick. Seriously next few chapters are dark stuff, you've been warned. I own nothing.

5 Obstacles

Barbara dove out of the way narrowly avoiding the bloody claws that ripped through the edge of her cape. She whirled drawing a batarang and threw it at Robin who dodged and just kept coming. She didn't seem to notice her broken jaw. She spun as Artemis shot an arrow at her. She slashed it out of the air and flipped back into pursuit of Batgirl. This time Barbara wasn't quite fast enough and the long claws dug into her back. She screamed. Wally didn't want to but he delivered another punishing blow to his best friend, this time to her torso, dislodging her from Batgirls back. The blow sent her flying across the roof but she landed on her feet and growled. It was feral and wild and so wrong. Wally grabbed Batgirl around the waste and Artemis by the arm and zoomed off across Gotham in the blink of an eye, back to the batcave. Batman was luckily wearing his cowl but he scowled at Wally as Wally set Barbara down one of the medical beds.

"Good news is we found Robin. Bad news is very complicated and Batgirl will have to explain. I'm gonna try and catch her." Without another word Wally raced back off to the rooftop. He found a lot of blood and a discarded mask but no Robin. He swore loudly and colorfully racing around the surrounding blocks trying to see if he could find her. There was no trace of her.

Meanwhile in a dark underground room somewhere the Owls newest Talon knelt before several people in white masks with blank black eyes.

"Your performance was unacceptable. You eliminated your targets yes but you were seen. You could put the owls in jeopardy if this happens again." The female voice was muffled behind the mask but still clearly audible.

"Should we terminate her?" A male voice echoed from the seat next to the woman who had just spoken. She shook her head.

"No. Despite it all she's still gotten closest to taking down a Bat. I suggest a new mission." A man in a lab coat cleared his throat from where he stood near the kneeling Talon.

"Excuse me. I know the council will be sending her back out on a mission soon but might I suggest sometime in the cryo pod first. We still need to re-break her jaw from where it healed incorrectly and she needs the next treatment, lest we lose control of her." The council woman nodded and motioned for the man in the lab coat to lead the talon out of the council room. She went without a fuss, trailing blood behind her.

The man in the lab coat lead her to a long room full of medical and science equipment. There were eight pods set into the wall at different intervals. There was only one with any people near it now though and that was also the only empty pod. There were three people near it, a woman and two men also in lab coats. The man leading the Talon motioned to the woman.

"Tish get her changed out of that, if she drips blood all over the inside of the pod it'll clog the air valves. Can't have another one suffocating that way. Take Liam with you to try and get that infernal mask off again. The charge in the trap has likely died out now." A few minutes later the Talon and the woman returned. The Talon was now dressed in a clean skintight tan suit. Her domino mask was still in place.

"The trap is still active. Had to send Liam to the infirmary, just like the last one. Guess she's still just Robin for now, we won't find out who Batman is until we find out who Robin is." The man who had lead her into the lab nodded slightly.

"We'll just have to keep trying. But first Reynolds strap her down we have to re-break her jaw and give her the next step in the treatment. The other man shook his head at the first bit did as he was told, strapping the unresisting Robin to a chair that was bolted down to the floor.

"We should have finished the treatments before they ever sent her out to do her job. We might not be able to maintain control over her if she gets hit in the chip before we've whipped her completely. And the blood treatment takes time to fully take hold. The council is gonna get her killed unnecessarily." The first man shook his head slightly.

"Yes well nothing we can do about it. You, re-break and set her jaw, Tish pre-pair the next shot. We'll need two of us to get at the chip." They nodded and set to work. Reynolds took a small hammer off the table and broke Robin's jaw before resetting it carefully and quickly while Tish pre-paired and injected the same substance that had been originally injected into Robin's arm two weeks earlier. It was a compound that helped humans run on the same level as those with superpowers. It sped healing and enhanced regular strength and speed. Knowledge of its existence was closely guarded secret. The next bit of the process was far less pleasant. The first, as yet unnamed man, took a scalpel and sliced into the back of Robin's neck right at the base of her skull. Blood dripped as the girl shook in pain her programing was telling her to hide and suppress at all costs. Reynolds took a device that looked like a drill and as Tish spread the muscles in her neck he hooked it up to a small metal device that had been implanted in the back of her neck. She screamed as the sound of metal on metal filled the laboratory. Almost ten minutes later The first scientist raised his hand.

"Enough, we don't want to kill her." Reynolds removed the device from between the muscles of Robins neck and Tish stitched the cut closed and cleaned up the blood. The girl was still awake, the formula keeping her from passing out. Her voice had given out about four minutes ago and Tish almost felt sorry for her as they lead her to the cryo pod and she stepped inside. Tish typed the code on the panel on the wall and the tube closed over the girl, icing over as soon as it closed. The first man laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't feel bad for her Tish. It's what she was meant to do. She'll help us take over Gotham, keep it the way it's supposed to be." Tish smiled and nodded.

"I know Simon. I know." Simon smiled at the cryo pod that now held the Bat's precious bird. They waited several hours and finally the man and woman from the council entered the lab and quickstepped over to the pod they were sitting in front of.

"We have made a decision. Her next mission will be to take out those that would obstruct our goals. The ones that stopped her today are her first targets, along with the rest of Batman's little team. She's to take them down without mercy. Have you installed the kill switch yet?" Simon shook his head.

"Not the individual one no. She still needs a few hours in the pod if you want her at her best." The woman nodded.

"Then you'll just have to do that after she's done killing the young justice league."