A Family

by BaconYourFace

What happens when two girls enter the Bat Family? Follow Christine Carter and Autumn Cross on their experiences as part of the family. Yes, Tim, Damian and Alfred are in this too (major characters, yes) Warnings: contains some gory scenes, swearing, and NO SLASHES. There are a few funny and fluffy chapters later on. Sucky summary but you get the point. Please read and review!

15. Out of My Mind

Chapter 15: Out of My Mind

Damian's POV

Finally. School is over! I don't understand why Father sends me to this wretched school. We are told what to wear, we are told what to do, we are told what to say...damn people we are not your slaves! I don't understand why Drake and Carter seem okay with going to this prison every day…

I'm waving goodbye to these random people who keep saying "Bye Damian! Have a great summer!" in this sickening tone that's super happy-go-lucky. I have enough of that at home with Grayson...

The best part about all this is that I get to go out on patrol every night! Father is always so strict and saying that "we can't go out on school days because we need our sleep and we have to do our homework." Carter has to stay home too, so at least we have that.

But now...we have more time to visit Todd in the hospital. I don't know why Father insists that someone should be in his room at all times...and since I'm free during the day, Father is making me take a "shift" with Todd...ugh.

Carter is lucky...she apparently can't visit Todd on her own because Father suddenly became even more overprotective. She gets to go through intense training with Father and take lessons on skills she's lacking at...lucky.

Todd's been in the hospital for five weeks now.

There have been no signs of Phoenix lately, well...at least we know that she's his sister. I still have trouble believing it...but how are we going to figure out who she is? Carter keeps insisting that this girl is Autumn Cross, but we don't have any way to prove it. Besides, Carter's judgement is probably clouded because she seems to have a really serious grudge against Phoenix. Speaking of which...

Drake and I are standing outside of the car, waiting for Carter. I'd wish she'd hurry, or else I will end up punching Drake in the face and slamming him into the car (not that I don't want to). Damn I hate him so much.

Just his presence next to me irks me. When Carter finally appears, I'm relieved. I want to go to her just so I have an excuse to get away from Drake (I'd go into the car but Drake is leaning right in front of the door and Carter has dibs on the front seat) but she's surrounded by a bunch of her friends, including this one guy who she is unusually close to in the group. Carter notices us, says one more thing to her friends, and walks in our direction.

"Hey guys! How was your last day of school?" Ugh..now she's in a happy mood. Too much happiness...

"Fine." I grunt.

"Nothing special really, although my teacher told me about this really cool experiment that I want to try out over the summer." Drake replies.

"You're such a nerd." Carter says while rolling her eyes.

Once Alfred emerges from the car, Carter pushes Drake away from the door so that Alfred can open it for us. Alfred closes the door once I get in after Drake. As Carter is getting into the passenger seat, a shout is heard from the crowd of students.

"We have to meet sometime over the summer okay!" I look through the window to see one of the boys in her group of friends yelling to her.

"Alright! I'll remember Tim! Email me the details!" Carter yells back.

As Alfred closes the door behind her, Drake speaks.

"You have a friend named Tim?"

"Yea, didn't I tell you that?"

"I guess I didn't bother to remember."

"Okay then..."

Drake is such an idiot. I can't believe I have to be squished in the back of this car with him for the next 30 minutes. Yay.

****Break****

I enter the elevator. I turn around and the doors closes. I take one last look at the mourning people that look much like a group of walking corpses.

Why must Todd be in a public hospital? Why didn't Father bring him to a much better looking hospital? If only Todd wasn't so critical, they could move him to Gotham General.

How can Father or anyone stay here for more than an hour?

The elevator dings and I step out. I start walking, keeping my chin up high as I walk. I am above all these people.

I make sure none of these people so much as lay a finger on me.

As I approach Todd's room, someone wearing a red hoodie steps out of the room and closes the door.

She seems to be a girl judging by the form of her body.

My eyes widen as she turns the other way.

"You!" I run after her.

She suddenly breaks into a sprint and starts running towards the other end of the hallway. No one else knows about Todd, so that must be Phoenix, his sister. I run after her, but she's quick. She suddenly turns left, and slams through the door of the fire exit. I run after her. She runs down the stairs with me at her tail.

"Stop!" I yell but she doesn't follow. Instead she continues to run.

I cannot see her face...her hood is covering her face.

She breaks through the door at the bottom of the fire exit and runs out. I chase her through the lobby as she maneuvers around anyone in her way. I, on the other hand, push them away from me so I can run after her.

She exits the hospital. I follow her outside but there are so many people outside the hospital that I can't find her. I look around the large crowd until I spot her, running away. I chase after her.

We run down the streets of Gotham. I wonder how her hood doesn't fall off with the wind blowing.

"I said stop!" I continue to chase her. She just runs and runs, I do not understand how she is this quick.

I push everyone out of my way. I don't take my eye off her back as she runs, I hardly even blink as I chase her. She suddenly takes a sharp turn down an alley and I follow. She jumps over the dumpster, then she turns to the ladder hanging on the wall and she climbs. I'm just below her. She tries to kick my face as she climbs up but misses.

We get to the roof and she continues to run away from me. I chase her. She runs to the edge of the building and doesn't stop when there is a large gap and she jumps and rolls on the other building's roof. I sigh and move back before I run forward and jump as well.

We run across the building and she jumps off the edge again. She positions herself into a torpedo and crashes through the window of the next building. I waste no time and jump in through that building.

The building is dark...there is that gross rancid smell, the walls look like their about to fall down on me any time soon. As I walk in the building searching for the missing girl, the floorboards creak with every step that I make.

I walk down the dark bedroom, to the hallway.

Suddenly an arm grabs my neck and starts to choke me. I lock her leg with my leg and trip her, but we both fall. She falls right beside me and we wrestle on the ground. It's really disturbing how the hood is still on her head...maybe she used some kind of clip to attach it to her hair?

We roll on the ground as she punches my face, and kicks my abdomen.

"Stop this now!" I grunt.

"I don't listen to kids." She growls.

"I am not a child!" I yell.

"Neither am I!" She yells back and punches my face. I hold my nose and she gets up and continues running.

I jump up and run after her as she heads down the rotting hallway. She crashes through the window and jumps out of the building.

I jump after her and we ended up in some sort of deserted street.

"Why do you never give up!?" I say. We stand very far from each other each in our fighting stances.

"Why should I?" She asks.

"We know that Todd is your brother!"

She doesn't seem surprised by this. "Good, I was wondering when you would figure it out. How can YOU, Damian, the son of Batman, not figure it out?" I clench my teeth. She sighs. "You foolish fools. Don't be foolish, you foolish fool wearing the foolishly foolish clothes."

I have you know that these clothes are rather expensive!

I cannot understand if this girl is educated or not.

"I wonder, is your father even proud of you? Or is he disappointed in you?"

"My father cares about me!"

"Well, good for you dumbass. That wasn't my question; do you wonder if he thinks about banishing you from his home because you are not like Richard, Tim, or Christine? Because you were trained by assassins before you came to him? Because you are much like Jason?"

"Shut up! Shut up!" I growl and I advance, I punch, and kick but she only swiftly dodges and doesn't fight back. I can feel her smirking under her hood. "Fight back coward!" I yell breathlessly, and I stop. She doesn't fight back...she's playing with my mind.

"Do you think if your "Father" even wanted you? Do you think that if he had the chance, he would just get rid of you? Because you weren't supposed to be in his life? Do you wonder if you'll mess this gig up? This hero gig? Do you wonder if one day, you might get your mentor killed?"

"I said fight back!"

I throw punches and kicks but she simply dodges. I can almost see her little smile with those pinkish lips.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. There's no need Damian, you're already beating yourself up." She mocks, and I stumble backwards and fall on my hands and knees.

She chuckles and I look at my palms. They're covered in dirt and blood.

I glance at the ground and see broken shards of glass all over the floor. It was probably from that glass window that we broke through earlier.

I stand up and clench my fists. "Why won't you show your face!" I yell at her, and I can see her smile under her hood.

"Where's the fun in that? How can I play with your minds if you all know who I am." She says.

My breathing slows down a bit. "I know you." I blurt and I can see her smile break into a grin. "Yea, you do. You're just having a hard time remembering Dami." My eyes widen, and she turns around and starts walking away.

I clench my teeth and run after her. She breaks into a sprint and turns to the very dark alley. Once she makes the sharp turn, I catch her hood and pull it down.

Black flowing hair touches my nose. It looks shiny up close and my eyes widen as I feel one strand of it.

At the end of the alley is complete darkness. She runs into the darkness with her dark shiny hair covering her face and disappears into the shadows.

She's gone. Swallowed by the shadows. Leaving me with my slightly bloody hands and wide eyes...that soft feeling of the touch of her hair.

"Wow." I gasp and turn around. I start walking to the hospital like a wide eyed zombie. I look down at my hand and rub my fingers together trying to feel the feeling of her soft hair earlier.

She called me Dami, like that girl that I knew before...she seemed happy but serious, she was soft and loving but still had that scent of death surrounding her, the girl that I trained with for fun, that always beat me in chess, and that liked to play with me from time to time.

I can no longer remember her face, but I never forget names.

Her name was Autumn Cross…

****Break****

Chris' POV

6:47. I should probably head down to the BatCave now and get ready for patrol. I'm so happy that it's summer!

I open the door and find Damian standing right in front of me. He's covered in sweat and he has blood on his hands.

"Oh my God...Damian what happened to you? Did you kill someone?!"

"What? No! You're right." He's out of breath. He isn't supposed to be back from the hospital yet, so what was so important that he had to run back? And he isn't making that much sense. Didn't he just say that he didn't kill someone, and now he's saying I'm right? What?

"Right about what?"

"Autumn Cross...I don't know how, but I know that she's alive...and that she's Phoenix."

My eyes widen. How does he know? I rush out of the room and past Damian. I turn my head and my long black-brown hair accidentally brushes against Damian's face. Instead of him flailing his arms in front of his face, he just lifts one hand and lets my hair flow through his fingertips.

"What the heck was that for?" I ask him as we run down the staircase.

"Nothing...your hair just feels...familiar. It's soft and silky."

Since when does Damian care about hair? He's acting really weird...it's freaking me out.

I burst through the study and Damian rushes past me. He opens the door to the BatCave and we run in. Bruce and Dick are mumbling to each other while Alfred is inspecting the BatMobile. Tim is nowhere in sight. When Damian and I reach the bottom of the stone steps, all heads turn to us. This time, my little brother beats me to the chair in front of the computer and takes a seat. Damn. We always race to the chair because it's the only one in here.

"Master Damian, what are you doing here? I was just about to go and pick you up from the hospital."

"Sorry Alfred, but I had to get here as soon as possible. Could I get some bandages please?" He says as he holds up his dirty, bloody hands. Everyone stares at him in horror, but Alfred calmly leaves to get some bandages.

"Damian, what did you do this time?" Bruce asks in an unpleasant voice.

"Nothing that would upset you..." At that he pauses for a second, and then he continues. "When I arrived at the hospital, a girl exited Todd's room. I couldn't see her face because she was wearing a hoodie. The only other person who knows about Todd is Phoenix, so I chased this girl down. We fought for a bit, but I wasn't able to unmask her. I was only able to feel her dark black hair when I removed her hood. As for the blood, I put my hands on some glass shards." Suddenly, he looks down and whispers, "Sorry for disappointing you Father..."

I look at him wide eyed. Why is he apologizing? It's not like he didn't do anything to stop the girl. I can't blame him, though, for being upset. Phoenix made me feel helpless, too.

"You didn't disappoint me. You tried your best. Now go change." Bruce orders. I would've said a little more, but this is Batman...he isn't an expert on human emotion...

"Wait! That's not it! I didn't unmask her, but I know who she is..."

"I'm not the only one who thinks...knows... that Phoenix is Autumn Cross." I butt in.

"You don't know that she's Autumn Cross, we can't prove it. And how would Damian know that the girl he was chasing is Autumn Cross? He said it himself...he was only able to feel her hair." Dick interjects.

"Yes but...she talked to me. She called me Dami... I only know one person who calls me that...the girl I met many years ago. And I know that her name is Autumn Cross."

Everyone is silent. Damian is looking at his bloodied hands while Bruce, Dick, and I are all staring at him. The silence is broken when Robin comes out of the changing area.

"Why is everyone staring at The Demon? I bet he killed someone."

Bruce turns his head and glares at Tim, but I smirk. Sometimes I forget how much alike I am to Tim. Now that I think about it, I have a lot in common with everyone in my family.

"Well, were you able to put a tracker on her?" I ask Damian.

"Ummm...no. She kinda said a few things that dazed me a bit..."

"It's alright. She did the same thing to me. Just try not to let her get in your head..." Then I lower my voice, "...like she got into mine."

The fight that I had with her in that abandoned building...I think about it every night...right before we go out on patrol...right before we crash through a window and beat up thugs and criminals. I could lose my family at any moment. They could leave me alone in this jacked up world.

Family only exists for the people that have it, and when Bruce, Dick, Tim, Damian, and maybe even Jason die, I won't have it anymore. I'll lose my family...just like I lost my family before.

I don't want to go back to thinking that no one loves me, that no one cares about me anymore... When Phoenix and Red Hood nearly killed my family, I thought I was vengeful only because I would lose the people that I love...the people that love me.

But now I realize...it's because if my family died that day...I would've lost everything...

Family is everything to me.

Bruce interrupts my train of thought. "Chris and Damian, go suit up. Dick, while we're on patrol you go to the hospital and check out the security tapes while Tim looks for anything different in Jason's room. I'll go on regular patrol with you two." He says while pointing to Damian and me.

As Dick and Tim hop onto their motorcycles I tell Dad, "You can go ahead. We'll meet you on top of Wayne Tower."

He searches my face...he's trying to figure out what I'm up to just by looking at my expression. Well, I've had a lot of practice keeping a straight face. After a few seconds, Bruce finally speaks.

"Alright, but hurry up." And with that, he hops into the BatMobile, and the three of them exit the cave.

"Okay...what do you want?" Damian says. I'm surprised he isn't wearing an exasperated expression. He's just keeping a straight face.

"What did Autumn say to you?"

"Nothing of importance."

"I'm serious. She probably said something that's messing with your head."

Damian sighs. "She asked me if Father really cares about me. She asked if he would banish me from here if he could...if I might one day mess up and get Father killed."

Oh my poor little brother!

He knows that Dad really cares about him and that there's no way that we would ever kick him out! And we've all learned by now that Batman is indestructable... Even if he did mess up, Bruce would forgive him.

I have to stop Phoenix before she gets into everyone's heads. If she gets into Bruce's head, who knows what he'll do.

I would've hugged my little brother, but I'd probably die in the next minute. Instead, I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Shut her out. Get those thoughts out of your head. If Dad didn't care about you, you wouldn't still be here. And there's no way Daddy would leave us all alone. Now c'mon. We'd better go."

I walk away from my brother to go and change.

****Break****

Dick's POV

Nothing.

I see her on the tapes, but I can't get a clear image of her face. I doubt that Tim has any luck either. All she did was stand by Jason's bed for a bit and leave.

"Anything new?" Tim comes over the com.

"Nope. Stay there until I finish hacking into the security system, then we'll head out."

It doesn't take too long to connect the security system to the BatComputer. When it finishes, I notify Batman.

"Batman, there's nothing here. We're heading out to patrol the area."

"No. You stay and watch Jason's room. Red Robin can go and patrol."

Haven't I babysitted Jason enough?

"Ok. Nightwing out." I disconnect the com.

I step over the bodies of unconscious guards and quietly open the door. This place is creepy at night...I wish this was Gotham General. I walk down through the eerie hallway and press the elevator button. The familiar 'ping' of the elevator echoes through the empty hallway and the doors open. I step inside, and the doors close right behind me. The elevator rises up through the building in silence. When I reach the third floor, the elevator stops and the doors open, and I find myself face to face (well more like face to chest) with a girl in a hood.

Autumn's POV

S***. Today was close. How the hell was I supposed to know that brat was coming to the hospital!? He's never been there before! Now is probably the only other time I can visit my brother, but turns out I was wrong! I was about to enter the room when I realized the door was slightly open. When I peered inside, Red Robin had his back turned and was looking at my brother. I'm surprised he didn't hear the elevator. But when I went back to the elevator, the door opened and Nightwing was standing there.

"You!"

Crap.

I turn around and start running. Nightwing chases after me, and he's actually pretty fast.

"Red Robin! She's here!"

A few doors down, Red Robin comes out and stares at me wide eyed. Then he narrows his eyes and starts running toward me. This is gonna be fun.

Once Red Robin is close enough, I jump, do a flip in the air, and push off of his shoulders. I land right behind him and continue running.

I need to get them to split up... I turn on my wrist computer and I find myself staring at a map of the floor. This place literally is a maze. I just need to be careful which turns I take because I might end up getting myself cornered.

Suddenly, the lights begin to flicker.

Perfect.

Tim's POV

Great. A brown out. It's easy to maneuver in either the dark or the light, but not both at the same time! Damn. I can't tell whether or not the girl went to the left or the right.

"Split up!" Nightwing shouts.

I immediately make a left turn and head down the hallway. It's dark again. In the distance, I can see a faint light.

When the lights turn back on, I realize that the light is coming from the girl's wrist. I chase after her and turn into different hallways as best as I can.

After a few turns, I can't see her anymore, but I hear the sound of a door slamming nearby. I head to the door which I think was closed and cautiously enter the room.

What kind of hospital room is this?

There's no TV, no window, no hospital bed, nothing, except a tiny lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. The lightbulb stops emitting light, and I am immersed in darkness. To avoid having it turn on again and altering my vision, I throw a batarang at it.

The lightbulb breaks and sends small shards of glass onto the floor.

"Wrong choice." A voice behind me says as I'm pulled into a chokehold.

I grab her arms and flip her over. She lets go and flies into the darkness, but I hear no thud, no sound, not even footsteps. It's as if I'm fighting the darkness itself.

"Show yourself." I try to command.

"Why? Can you not fight in the darkness?" Her voice is booming for a child. "I thought all bats and birds are blind, considering none of you can see the truth. Or are you different Timothy?"

Suddenly, I feel the heel of a shoe connect with my rib. I try to hit her, but I only touch the air.

"I mean, you are different right? You're not as great as your predecessors were, now were you? You will never reach up to Grayson's level. I'm sure the reason why Batman took the Robin away from you was because you weren't good enough!"

"No!" I kick the shadows, and an elbow connects with my nape. I try to hit the girl that is supposedly standing behind me, but there's nothing there.

"Don't bother denying it Drake. Batman replaced you with a better Robin because you weren't good enough! You're weak."

"NO! THAT'S NOT TRUE!" I cover my ears like a kid, but her voice continues to boom.

"You should just give up, Drake! I don't understand why you continued this! You will never be good enough!"

I take a hit to my jaw and to my forehead. I try to kick her with all the willpower I have left, but she strikes my hip and kicks my spine.

She grabs my head and makes me bend down. Her knee connects with my forehead and I fall limply on her hands. She hits my chest and I can hear a loud crack. I grunt. She flips me over and I land on my back, grunting in pain.

I can hear very light footsteps approach me. I can feel her bend down, closer to my face.

I think she removed her hood because I can feel soft flowing hair touch my face.

I think we're face to face in the dark.

I think it's just my imagination but I can see bright, round, teal green eyes staring at my sky blue ones.

Her soft hair touches my face as she leans down to the side of my ear. "You're not a hero. You're just a fan that got lucky to convince Batman to make you Robin. But without Robin or Red Robin, you're nothing. Just a weak, smartass detective who can't even land a punch on a girl slightly smaller than him."

My eyes are wide as she lifts her head and takes a good look at me. I can see a small smirk on her face. She brushes her hair behind her ear.

Her head leans in closer and her soft lips brush on my cheek. I didn't think it was possible but my eyes widen even more under my mask.

She stands up and pulls up her hood. I hear the door close as she walks out, leaving me lying in the dark processing what just happened.

I touch my cheek with my gloved hand. Her soft and silky hair touched my cheek and her soft and warm lips brushed the same area. "Woah." I gasp.

My mind just broke in half. She just successfully messed with me.

Dick's POV

Where is she? Tim probably has her. I turn a corner and realize I'm wrong.

The girl is standing there, staring straight at me, not even moving...kinda like a wandering soul in a horror movie. The black hood over her head, covering her face, she reminds me of a younger version of Death. Behind her is a door. She's at a dead end. It looks like I have her, but I've had enough experience to know I don't. It could be the other way around.

I run at her, but she just backs up into the door and opens it, allowing herself to fall backwards. I run into the room after her. There's a tiny window on the opposite side of the room, allowing some moonlight to flow in. There's a small, poorly made desk on my left. There's a few of those breathing machines in the corner. I'm taking in the odd room when suddenly a fist collides with my cheek and I stumble away from the door. She closes the door and slowly approaches me. Only the light of the moon is lighting the dark, cold room now.

"What do you want?"

"What do you want?" She mimics in a cold tone.

"For you to tell me who you are." I narrow my eyes.

"But why would I do that?" She says as I try to punch her, but she dodges.

"Because we can't let you do these things."

"Oh Richard...thinking that you can stop me...thinking that you can change me, how foolish." She shakes her head.

"I know I can."

"No you don't. You're just afraid to fail."

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"You're afraid to fail, just like you failed your parents…" She smiles. "You watched them die. You witnessed them fall to their deaths, and what did you do?" She growls with that smirk still burned on her face. "Nothing. You just sat there and bawled your eyes out." She kicks my chest and pushes me to the ground.

"SHUT UP!" I can't show weakness...I can't let these tears fall.

"You're just like your sister...so touchy when it comes to the subject of your parents. I mean, you also failed her. Maybe if you did something...maybe if you told your parents about the conversation the ringmaster had with Zucco, they might be alive. Your sweet little sister Christine would have her family. You would have your family." She presses her foot harder on my chest.

"It's not my fault that they died."

"Maybe not, but you could've done something...anything...BUT WHAT DID YOU DO?" I close my eyes and remember the day that they died. "TELL ME!" I feel the warm wetness drip down my eyes.

"Nothing…" I whisper, and she presses her foot harder on my chest.

"You failed your parents...your little sister. What if you fail your family? What if they get in trouble and you don't save them...instead, you watch them die. What if your family dies because of you?"

"No, no, no, no!" I shake my head.

"Are still not afraid of anything, Dick?" She asks and lets go of me. She kicks my side and I grunt. I look back up at her. I can't see her eyes, but her wavy black hair is spilling out of the hood.

"Looks like you'd better call your daddy and tell him you've failed."

She kicks the side of my head and everything turns black.

****Break****

"Nightwing! Nightwing please wake up!"

What? Why do I hear Christine's voice? I slowly open my eyes and see Nightingale crouching over me and shaking my entire body. Batman is standing behind her, staring at me.

"Gale? What...what happened?"

"OH MY GOD YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" She says as she collapses on me and hugs me tightly. I groan when her weight presses onto my chest.

"Red Robin won't tell me anything. He just keeps touching his cheek and saying 'I'm a good hero, right daddy?' like a little kid. What happened?" Batman says, obviously irritated.

"It was Autumn..." At the sound of her name, Nightingale lets go of me and stands up next to Batman. "We ran into her in the hospital...Red Robin and I split up to go find her. I don't know what happened to him, but when I found her, she beat me up and said some things..." I pause... I just failed my family. They trusted me to find out what I could about this girl, and when I went face to face with her, I didn't get anything from her.

Autumn's right. I'm scared of failing everyone I love... I'm scared right now.

"Dad, did I fail you?" Tears are threatening to fall.

Both Batman's and Nightingale's eyes widen under their masks. I rarely cry out in the field.

"What did she say to you?" Nightingale asks in a stern tone.

"Dad, did I fail you?"

"What did she say to you, Nightwing?" Batman says in a very serious tone, but I don't care how serious he is. He needs to answer the question. I need to know...

"DID I FAIL YOU?" The tears are flowing down my cheeks and onto my suit. I don't know why I'm angry at him, but I am. I slowly push myself off of the ground. I straighten my back as best as I can and reach my father's height.

"Answer the question, Nightwing." Batman glares at me. In the corner of my eye, I can see Nightingale slowly backing away from me and hiding behind Batman's large figure.

"NO YOU ANSWER ME! JUST ADMIT THAT I FAILED YOU! THAT I FAILED ALL OF YOU!" Why do I want him to admit it so badly? Do I just need someone to tell it to my face because I'm having trouble believing it? Why do I need to be reminded that I failed? What am I trying to face? My thoughts are disoriented...

"You just messed up. You'll fix it. Now what did she say?"

"Guys we should probably go-" Nightingale steps out a bit, but I don't listen.

I punch Bruce in the face. I'm angry at him. I don't really understand why...

"Nightwing stop this. Now." Batman tries to order, but I ignore him.

"NO. TELL ME I FAILED! TELL IT TO MY FACE!" I bring my face closer to his, and I accidentally spit on him.

"Nightwing, listen to me. You're not yourself. Autumn said something and-"

"YOU LISTEN TO ME! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING! THAT GIRL DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! I KNOW I FAILED. YOU JUST DON'T HAVE THE COURAGE TO TELL ME! BUT I'M TELLING YOU TO SAY IT!" My voice breaks.

"Nightwing stop!" Nightingale pushes me away from Batman and stands in between us. "You have to calm down. You're not thinking straight. Just-"

I pick her up by her clothes and violently throw her aside, too violently. She flies through the air and hits the cement wall harder than I wanted. I hear something crack and she falls to the floor, blood seeping down her forehead. Her eyes are slightly open, but she looks like she's blacking out.

OH MY GOD. What did I just do?

"Nightingale! I'm sorry!" I try to run towards her, but Batman steps in front of me. He's glaring at me really hard. I can almost see the fire in his eyes. His fists are clenched.

"LOOK WHAT YOU DID! YOU JUST HURT YOUR LITTLE SISTER! IF YOU HAD JUST CALMED DOWN AND ANSWERED THE QUESTION WE WOULD'VE AVOIDED THIS! YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU THAT YOU FAILED! FINE! YOU. ARE. A. FAILURE. YOU JUST FAILED ME. YOU JUST FAILED YOUR SISTER. YOU JUST FAILED YOUR FAMILY!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" I let Autumn get into my head... I can't let her get into my head ever again...not again.

"If you didn't mean it, then this wouldn't have happened." He sighs and whispers, "I'm sorry."

Then he punches me in the face and everything becomes black.

****Break****

Tim's POV

A girl kissed me...a girl actually kissed me...

I know it wasn't a real kiss...it was only on the cheek...but she still kissed me...

I know that I should be worried for Chris because the impact with the wall fractured her skull, and Dick just went insane back there, but I don't care.

A girl...a pretty girl...kissed me...

I still can't believe that Dick would do something like that! He injured his own sister! How could he and Bruce let things get so out of hand?

I'm at the med bay, standing next to where Chris is. It feels unusual...seeing Chris without an expression on her face. She's just lying here...expressionless...emotionless...

Now Autumn has been pushed aside and now I'm thinking about Chris. The day we first met...she was wearing a dirty, red t-shirt and ripped jeans. Despite her bad clothing, her black hair was perfectly straight and shiny. She looked so cute. I still remember the expression on her face when she entered the mansion: mouth open and wide, dark blue eyes. Then she looked at me and smiled.

"Are you my brother?" She asked in a really cute voice.

"Yea. How old are you?"

"Ten."

"Ha. Me too."

Then her grin grew bigger.

"Really? Yay!"

Then she looked up at Bruce.

"Thanks Daddy." Then she looked at me. "I've always wanted a brother."

I'm pulled out of the memory when Damian comes and stands on the opposite side of Chris' bed.

"I can't believe Grayson did this..."

"Me neither..." Why did Dick have to hurt her? She's my little sister too... Something suddenly overcomes me.

"Dick's dead." My voice becomes colder.

"No he's not. You're just saying that because you love Carter."

"Well, don't you want him dead?"

"I want him to pay for what he did, but I don't want him dead. He's still my brother. Besides, I don't love Carter the way you do."

"Are you saying that I have a crush on Chris?" I'm taken aback. How does he know?

"Well, of course you do. You're very obvious. Grayson thinks that your crush on her was only in the beginning, but I know that you still like her."

"Whatever. You don't know what you're talking about. You don't even know what love is."

"I know that I love Chris like a sister and not like some perverted brother."

"Sometimes I forget that even though you're only one year younger than me you know many more inappropriate words than I do."

Damian is disgusting. I have to get away from him now. I can't believe we were even able to have a conversation by ourselves without killing each other.

But really...I hope Chris will be alright.

****Break****

Bruce's POV

My daughter...Christine...

She's in the condition she's in because of my eldest son...Richard...

How did things get so out of hand? My son didn't fail me...I failed him. Maybe if I had done something different, he wouldn't have ended up hurting his sister...my daughter...

I also failed my daughter... I probably could've done something...anything. Because of me, she got hurt. Because of me, I had to carry her limp body down to the BatMobile with my two sons staring at me, confused.

Maybe if I had gone instead to the hospital to examine the security tapes or inspect Jason's room, then the girl wouldn't have done what she did to my son... Maybe I would've caught her and prevented all of this from happening.

And now, I have to face my son...the son that injured my daughter...

He's probably scared, shocked, confused...sorry...

But I don't really know what he's thinking, do I?

I stand in front of the door to Dick's room, not sure whether or not to turn the doorknob and face my son.

After what he did...I'm not sure if I'm going to lash out at him and end up hurting him...and I can't have that happen.

I know that he didn't really mean what he did, but deep deep down, I feel like he was controlling all of his actions, and that he meant to hurt his sister.

I can't do this...but I know I have to face my son.

I reach for the doorknob and slowly turn it. The knob clicks and I take a deep breath before pushing open the door.

"Dick?"

Oh no.

The room is completely empty. Everything is okay except for some ruffled bedsheets. And the open window, allowing wind to flow into the room and cause the curtains to wave in the air.

What has Phoenix done to my family?

****Break****

I shoot my grappling gun up to the Wayne Enterprises building.

Nightwing's somewhere up there, according to the tracker. If I'm not mistaken, he's with Phoenix.

I ordered my sons to stay in the cave with my daughter. I couldn't let them come, after all that this insane girl has done to my family.

I'm going to get Dick back, fix things, and throw Phoenix in Arkham. I don't care if she is Jason's sister.

Or if she is just a girl. I'm going to throw her in Arkham because of what she did to my family. She's already gone too far to come back.

I land on the roof of the high building and keep my grappling gun. I lift my head.

The first thing I see is my eldest son lying on the ground, his head looking up at the gun pointed at his forehead.

A dark figure stands over him. In my point of view, it's just a shadow. But I know it's a shadow of a girl. Too small to be a woman or a man, but obviously a girl with her built and her flowing hair.

The wind blows hard, and my cape flies to my side. The howling wind would have made me fall off of this building if I didn't know how stand my ground.

I move closer, and I can see her smile and words come out of her mouth. She grips the gun and points it to my son's head.

She's about to pull the trigger but then I throw a batarang at her hand and the gun slides on the cement.

She and Nightwing turn to me. Under my son's mask, I can see heavy tears already flowing. Dick is a grown man. It isn't like him to burst out crying like this, especially while wearing his uniform.

I can see a broken shadow inside him.

His face falls flat on the ground and he blacks out. Phoenix stares at me with clenched teeth. I ball my hands into fists.

"Hello, Batman." She says, and I grit my teeth.

"ENOUGH, IT'S OVER!" I yell over the howling wind. "WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AUTUMN CROSS. MIGHT AS WELL GIVE UP NOW." I growl.

"Over? But it's only beginning." My anger takes over and I run towards her.

I punch and kick, but she dodges and blocks with her arms and legs. As we fight, she moves backwards towards the edge of the building.

I head butt her, and she knees my abdomen. She kicks my chest and I stumble backwards. She moves forward and pulls out a long shiny knife.

She slashes and I dodge. She swipes her leg on the ground and stabs my cape into the ground. I try to punch her but my cape pulls me down.

"I always despised capes." She comments as she punches my face.

"I'm a skilled soldier, but Jason taught me many more things." I hear my cape rip as I punch her right temple and I stand up. She grabs her knife and does a backflip. She stands only a few feet away from me as she grips her knife and smiles at me.

She slashes and I dodge. She hits my temple with the butt of her knife and kicks my forehead. I grunt.

"You remember Jason right? The boy that you didn't save?" I punch her jaw and kick her chest. She slashes and the blade hits my arm, and blood drips down the deep cut.

I grunt and hold my arm. I glance at the blood, then I turn my head back at her. She stands up straight with her hair blowing at her side.

"The boy that you failed? That you didn't avenge. The boy that you let turn into...something else. As you and your damn family says, a 'monster.'"

I run towards her and I punch her in the chest. She flies backwards and falls on the floor, but she easily recovers.

"You think that the boy you knew was still dead? That nothing changed? Well, hey, open your eyes! He's right there...just down the block in that public hospital and guess what? He can die sooner or later! And you choose to go here and fight with me!? And look at your other sons! They're all broken...all because of YOU!" I clench my teeth and my rage takes over again. I punch and kick her until her nose bleeds.

She jumps and kicks, and elbows my neck. I almost forgot about the knife in her hand, but I remember it when it stabs my shoulder.

"Gah!" I grunt.

"YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR DAUGHTER! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A FATHER!?"

She kicks my temple and elbows my chest as I hold my shoulder.

"A FATHER DOESN'T LET HIS CHILDREN BREAK, HE DOESN'T LET THEM DIE! A FATHER SHOULD DO ANYTHING TO FIX HIS CHILDREN, NO MATTER WHAT!" She screams in unison with the wind.

I stand up and punch her but I miss because of my injury. "DON'T TELL ME HOW TO BE A FATHER! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE!?" I yell back.

She flips back and moves away from my punches. "I have none...I am not your daughter. I do know how fathers are supposed to be like. I never really experienced it myself. But I do know what they are supposed to do, when they see their broken children...when they see their children slowly dying. They're supposed to show their children that they love them." Her voice is carried by the wind.

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT I DON'T LOVE MY CHILDREN?"

"No. I'm saying that if you do love your kids, you wouldn't fail them. You wouldn't call one of them your greatest failure." She says.

I narrow my eyes and run towards her. I grab her shoulders and flip her over. She hits the ground, but she quickly gets up and wipes her mouth.

She narrows her eyes under her mask. "You wouldn't make Red Robin feel like a weak replacement, like he is never going to be good enough in your eyes. You wouldn't make Robin feel like he will soon be abandoned and left to fend for himself. You wouldn't make Nightingale feel like she is still abandoned by her parents. You wouldn't make Nightwing feel like he's going to soon fail his family, like he is a disappointment. You wouldn't make Jason feel like a monster, like the Robin that shouldn't have been the "black sheep" of the family, like he's still dead." She growls. "You failed! AS A MENTOR, A PARTNER, AND A FATHER! UNTIL NOW, YOU ARE STILL FAILING WITH YOUR OTHER CHILDREN THAT ARE SLOWLY BREAKING!" She screams.

"SHUT UP!" I yell and kick her stomach and punch her face. I hit her temple and elbow her shoulder. I forget about the injuries as I add injuries to her. She grunts and grimaces but all this she simply takes in, like it's just a simple training simulation.

"GAAAH!" I growl in the wind as I punch her face out of rage.

She flips back and runs towards me, pointing her knife at my chest. She jumps and kicks my face. I almost fall but she grabs my neck.

I stare into the white lenses of her mask as she clenches her teeth in anger. She chokes me, but she doesn't burn me. I can feel her heavy grip on the knife as her shoulders tense.

She stabs me right in my stomach. "Aaaah!" I yell as my eyes widen.

Lightning strikes but there is no rain. I can see the bruises and wounds clearly on her face.

She pulls out the knife and I grimace in pain as I fall limply on the floor.

Damian's POV

How many hours has Batman been gone? Three, four hours?

I highly doubt that it takes that long to retrieve Grayson. I think he is in trouble, and this windy storm is getting very dangerous.

I sit right at one side of Carter's bed in the med bay, and Drake is on the other side of the bed looking rather dazed.

He looked like that much earlier, but he seemed to snap out of it for a while. But then after touching his cheek again, he went back to his trance.

He's been like that for quite some time now, which is odd.

His hand is on his cheek and his mouth is slightly open. He slightly sways in his seat.

He looks stupid.

"Drake, let's look for Batman." I say but he doesn't respond. "Drake, Batman could be in trouble." I say but he doesn't move.

Suddenly he mumbles something that his lips hardly move, but it's loud enough for me to hear in this silence. "She...she kissed...me..." This time, my mouth falls open.

I close it and speak. "What kind of imbecile would kiss you?" I imagine this girl to be some kind of...as they say "loser." Or maybe a smartass nerd like he is.

"She...she kissed me..." He repeats. "She's pretty..." I am sure that his definition of a pretty girl is, well...disgusting...

"Really? Who is she?" I pretend to care as I cross my arms over my chest.

"I...I don't even know what her real name is..."

I smirk at his insolence. "Tt, typical." I say. "Who 'kissed' you?" I ask sarcastically.

"It was just a light brush...but...woah..." Drake says, not even blinking.

I roll my eyes. "Does she have a name?" He slowly nods.

"We all know her." Now I'm curious and glance at Carter.

The only girl that we all know that could have kissed him is Carter, and I doubt he got her to somehow kiss him.

I look back at Drake. I think I'm only imagining it when his lips move to mutter. "Phoenix." My eyes widen and a lump forms in my throat. It's not possible...that an attractive girl like her would possibly kiss Drake even if it's just to mess with his mind.

"A...Autumn Cross...brushed my cheek with her lips." He says much clearer, and I swallow the lump.

He blinks himself back into reality. He nearly jumps out of his seat as his eyes widen. "OH MY GOD...I DON'T KNOW WHY I SAID THAT!" He yells, and Chris starts to stir in her bed. "YOU CAN'T TELL ANYONE I SAID THAT!" I close my mouth.

How can...? I don't...but... What!

I can't even finish my thoughts.

"I don't plan on it." I say coldly as I turn my head and cross my arms.

I look at Chris who is slowly opening her eyes. She looks at both of us with drooping eyes.

"Plan on what?" She asks quietly, as she tilts her head up a bit as best as she can.

"Nothing. Hey! Chris! You're awake!" Drake says.

She furrows her eyebrows and slowly tries to sit up. I help her by placing my hand on her back and gently pushing her up.

"You're acting weird." She says to Drake. Then she turns to me. "How long?"

"Well, I've been stuck with Drake for three hours...so..." I answer as she slowly shifts her legs over the side of the bed.

I turn my head back at Drake. "We should look for him." I say and he nods, putting on his mask. We walk to the computer.

"Look for who?" Chris asks, still sitting on the bed.

"Father. He's been missing, and he hasn't contacted us for hours. We couldn't leave the cave because he told us not to. He could be in trouble." I start typing on the computer and two green dots appears on the screen.

"Yeah, I started to worry a few minutes ago." Drake says.

"Yeah sure." A few minutes ago he was in his trance.

"He's on the Wayne Enterprises building with Nightwing." I say.

"Well then, come on!" Chris says. She hops off the bed, then grunts as her hand moves to her head. Drake and I glance at each other. He shrugs his shoulders, then we follow our sister to our bikes.

The two of us follow and hop onto our bikes and drive out of the cave.

****Break****

We get to the tower in no time.

The scene before us is horrible. Nightwing laying on the cold ground...Batman right beside him in a small puddle of blood...Phoenix standing above them staring down at them, smiling.

She looks at us and smiles. "Hey, and I almost thought you guys wouldn't show." She says, smirking.

She kicks Batman over and Father rolls with his face facing up and his arms spread, blood dripping down his abdomen.

Our eyes widen. "I guess you guys would need to save them now, right?" She starts to move backwards, still smiling.

"Robin, Nightingale go! I'll handle Batman and Nightwing!" Red Robin says running to the two limp bodies.

Carter and I run after Phoenix as she moves backwards to the edge of the building.

"Nice night for a chase." She comments as she backflips and falls down the edge of the building.

Chris and I watch her as she falls like an expert without a parachute. She lands gracefully on top of a lamppost. The post doesn't even move as she lands on it.

She jumps down to the empty road, but before she lands she pulls out a baton and the stick suddenly turns into a motorcycle in mid air. Once she hits the ground, she's already on her motorcycle driving away with fire lighting behind her.

Carter and I follow on our own motorcycles.

Her motorcycle is fast, but we don't take our eyes off her. She's not wearing a helmet, so her hair flows behind her as it slightly lights.

The roaring of our engines echoes through the dark streets.

She heads towards the bridge that's about to split up. She jumps over the gap of the splitting bridge and over the dark, dirty water. We follow after her.

She turns left down a narrow alley. The alley is very dark, but we can't lose her because dim fire isn't leaving her. She WANTS us to follow her.

We turn left, then right, then forward until she reaches a dead end. She drifts and stops. She's cornered by us.

She jumps off her motorcycle and smiles particularly at me. "Oh Dami, you here for more?" Her small pink lips move as she speaks.

"Enough! We know who you are!" Nightingale says.

"Really?"

"You're Autumn Cross." I state, staring at her, trying to look past the white lenses and trying to remember her face.

She shakes her head. "You may know my name, but you don't know me." I thought I knew her pretty well...when we were younger.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask.

She cocks her head. "Doing what, Robin?"

"This. Why are trying to destroy my family? Why are you messing with our minds?" I still can't forget what she told me awhile ago.

She shakes her head. "You really don't know me, Robin. Well, I don't think you remember anymore...after all these changes in life." She says.

"Tell me what happened to you Autumn."

She chuckles coldly.

"Nothing."

"You were kind, sweet, loving, brave...you could have handled anything and still move on like nothing happened. You used to smile everyday...you even asked me once if we could train together. Just for fun." I really wish I had said yes back then.

"I still am Dami, I haven't changed that much. You've just never met Phoenix before. Phoenix has always been a part of me...you've never seen her before. But something changed...and when that change occurred...Phoenix just broke loose because I let her." She says casually.

Nightingale and I narrow our eyes. "I've always been a killer Dami, you just never knew. I was taught the truth. I grew up with my eyes open, staring into that light."

"And so you became blind because all your life you have been staring into the bright light of the truth." Carter says.

"I guess you can say...that by staring straight into the eyes of the truth...it burned my eyes. But I never became blind like you heroes." She says.

"You all think that locking up these scumbags is enough, then you're wrong. When will you all wake up!? Open your damn eyes! Look at the truth! It may hurt at first, but you'll see! I've never closed my eyes, not once...I used to never understand the truth, but over the years... the years I spent alone, gave me enough time to reflect on the truth. I began to understand it."

"No, Autumn. What you're staring at is not the truth. It's rage." Carter states.

"Maybe so, but at least I'm not living a damn lie! Batman has been lying to all of you! Telling you that his way is the right way of justice...he's wrong! Justice exists, but that's not how it works."

Autumn has gone too far, I can't bring her back...no one can anymore. She's just like Todd. Father brought me out of that black hole months ago. Autumn...is hopeless. Whatever she went through, she's gone through it...and she isn't coming back.

I run towards her and start to attack. She holds out both her guns and start to shoot at us. I unsheath my sword and stop the bullets. I run towards her, and she slides backwards as she shoots us both. Carter and I dodge every bullet.

Phoenix moves to the left so quickly that Carter can hardly land a punch on her before she jumps over Nightingale and lands behind her. Phoenix kicks my big sister in the back before turning to me. She starts to shoot at me as she runs towards me.

I jump and slash at her. She moves to the right, but she isn't quick enough. My sword slices through her jacket, and some blood seeps through the wound.

"Ha." I'm slightly proud of myself, but I know that glory won't last long.

"That all you got?" She taunts.

"Hell no." I slash at her some more, but she keeps dodging my attacks. She kicks my stomach, and I stumble backwards. But I recover and continue to slash at her, she slides backwards holding her guns and shooting at me, she flips and shoots at me, she slides on the ground like she's ice skating. Carter suddenly jumps in from behind her, but Phoenix punches and kicks Carter in the temple and in the stomach, she grabs Carter's head and head butts her then knees her forehead, then she turns Carter around and elbows her nape and pushes Carter away for her to stumble away.

Phoenix moves to the wall and jumps off the wall and to me shooting at me with her guns, I take my sword and slash at her, then I get a lucky shot and kick her guns away.

She kicks me in the head, then turns and hits my leg, she punches my jaw. I hold my stomach and when I look up at her, she becomes surrounded by smoke. She released smoke bombs...why? Is she too cowardly to face me? Have I overcome her?

"Why are you so determined to get me?" Her voice echoes. It sounds like it's source is coming from the left, so I slash my sword in the that direction, but I only cut through the air.

"Is it because you don't want to disappoint your father? Because you don't want to end up alone and abandoned?" This time, it was behind me, so I swiftly turn around and slash my sword. Still nothing.

She's trying to mess with my head again... I won't let her...I can't let her...

"Because you're scared of messing up? You wouldn't want your father to get rid of you, now would you? Looks like you'd better catch me then, if you're even capable of catching a girl your age." Where is she?

Then, I feel soft, smooth skin touch my face as the soft and calm breathing whispers in my ear. "Would you really want your father to get rid of you?" She whispers. The hair on my nape begin to stand, and I can feel my heart in my throat. It's as if she's choking me with her cold whispers.

Suddenly, a hand rests on my shoulder. It's her! I stab behind me, but I still only stab the air.

"Robin! It's me!"

I turn and find Carter looking at me with relief. I'm not sure if she's relieved to see me sane or if she's relieved because I nearly stabbed her.

"Sorry. We have to find Phoenix."

"No, we don't. If we stay any longer, she'll continue to mess with our heads. We need to leave and get her out of our minds. We'll get her some other time. Right now, we have to help Batman and Nightwing." She narrows her eyes slightly, and she tightens her grip on my shoulder, as if she's afraid to let me go. Like she's afraid that if she lets go, she'll never see me again.

I guess that could be true. I could get lost in my mind if Phoenix successfully messes with it like she did with Drake. She would never see the real me again...

"Fine. But next time we find her, she's mine."

"Why wait when you could have me now? C'mon Dami, you know you want to come and defeat me... You could bring me to justice, and your father would be so proud of you." Phoenix's cold voice echoes through the foggy air.

"Don't listen to her." Carter persists as she pushes me in the direction of our motorcycles...at least I think that's where they are.

"You won't win, Autumn. I will find you." I yell into the air.

Carter and I walk out of the smoke and we find ourselves next to our motorcycles. On the other side of the alley is Phoenix's bike. Somewhere near the tire, I see the familiar shape of a tiny bat and a faint red light flashing.

My sister and I hop onto our motorcycles, put on our helmets, and drive off into the night.

"You really think she won't see the tracking device?" I ask Carter as we are driving back to Wayne Tower.

"I dunno. Maybe. Either way, we'll end up finding her, even if she does set up a trap for us."

"True." I'm somewhat thankful for Autumn messing with my sister's head. Because of her, Carter has been able to resist her manipulation and has helped make us stronger against it.

I guess you could say she's the one keeping us sane.

A/N: We hope you guys liked it, review please!