Chapter Twenty-Three:

When the elevator finally slowed, hours could have passed. My entire body was drawn as tight a bowstring, my knuckles white from clenching them so tightly. At that point I was too tired to care what happened next. A fight, capture, death. I hadn't slept in days, weeks if I thought back to my last eight hour slumber. Whatever happened down here, I was done afterwards. I'd take Sadira away, we'd live overseas for a few years – longer if necessary. At any rate, I was finished.

'Ding!'

The noise was brassy from lack of use and cut through the thick silence that had enveloped us. I inhaled deeply as the doors split and opened.

The corridors were pitch black, not a sound heard other than our cautious footsteps. A sudden crack made me flinch and turn to see Nightwing lighting a blue flair. Its light seeped around us, strong enough for us to see two metres ahead but beyond that shadows clung.

Without a word we crept forward. I tried not to allow the memories creep in from the back of my mind. The familiar wall panels, floors and doors all wanting to lodge themselves in my head and causing me to lose focus. Although I never wold admit out loud, I kept my eyes trained on Nightwing's back, the familiar blue V that stretched across his shoulder blades allowed me to focus, fighting back some of the panic rising in my chest.

We'd been walking close to ten minutes when we heard footsteps. The four of us froze, and I watched Nightwing's muscles shift as released his dual sticks (Eskrima sticks, as he always corrected me). Holding them out in front of him, his body tensed.

The footsteps got louder and I felt the others go into their attack positions, my body easily slipping into one too from my weeks of training.

We turned the corner, each loud footstep causing my heart to race faster and faster until –

Super Boy and Card Queen materialised in front of us.

"Finally," sighed Duela groaned as the other three members of the Team beta relaxed their muscles. I couldn't move, instead opted for trying to slow my racing pulse. "Super Boy said he could hear you all but we didn't realise how big this place was."

"You could have made some sort of noise C.Q.," Kid Flash hissed heatedly. "You could have been anyone!"

"Anything," Cassie added, crossing her arms.

"Whatever," Duela shrugged off their complaints as one would a rain coat. "We got in anyway, Superboy had to bash through a wall or two but –"

"How far was the other exit?" Nightwing went straight back to mission mode.

"About ten minutes run, it's a maze of corridors but I placed a tracker on it so that we can make our way back if needed."

"So what now?" Cassie asked the question that was close to bursting out of my mouth the second Conner and Duela showed their faces.

Which was why I broke away from the little team circle during this conversation.

"Well I think we should split, smaller groups this time to scout the area faster and before you argue this time Fraya –" Nightwing cut himself off, obviously noticing my absence.

"Fray?" Cassie's voice filtered over but I barely registered. In the adrenaline of the approaching footsteps I hadn't taken in my surroundings, once the threat had disappeared I finally got a look at the walls of this particular corridor. More to the point what was on the walls.

"I need your light," my voice was raspy from adrenaline and stress so Nightwing didn't argue. The handle of the flair was warm from his hand as I held it up for a better look.

Dirt and dust covered the old and scratched plastic, the colours had faded but I recognised it. I would know the lines anywhere as I once committed it to my memory almost ten years ago.

"There," I whispered, my hand trembled a little as raised a finger to the boxes marked 'Laboratories Sector D'. "That's where I… that's where I'm going."

Without so much as a glance back at friends I broke into a jog, pushing myself forward, my eyes cast downwards to avoid any fallen debris. I was only barely aware of voices echoed in the halls behind me, and light footsteps which followed shortly after. I didn't stop until I'd turned the corner and stopped in front of the door marked Lab. D17.

I couldn't move. My light-source shook in my trembling fist as I tried to inhale. Panic attacks Sadira always tried to call them but I refused to let her think that I could suffer from something so weak. I could feel it now. The claustrophobia tightening on my lungs and throat.

"You don't have to do this," his voice was dark but soft, I clung to it. Focused on it instead of what I was looking at. I could just see his shadow overlapping mine, telling me that he stood just behind me. I could nearly feel his heat radiating and pressing into my back. The panic shrunk back to a bearable level and I let out a shaky breath.

I obviously hadn't spoken in a while because he reached around me, his hand on the door handle before I could stop him.

"I'll go in first and if –"

"No." I wished my voice didn't sound so hoarse. My hand covered his on the door, our first touch since well… could it have only been last night? It felt like months ago. "I got it."

Slowly he removed his hand from beneath mine, I instantly missed the heat of it – even beneath the gloves.

Unwilling to think about it anymore I shoved it open, wincing as the rusted hinges protested against the force. I threw myself inside, sparing the two cages against the far wall only the shortest of glances before starting my search. There were drawers in all the benches and four filing cabinets in the left corner that could hold documents, notes anything that answered at least some of our questions. The filing cabinets looked promising, so I quickly broke the on each of them – the dregs of Cassie's powers still useful it appeared. My heart sank when I couldn't find thirteen in the numerical ordering system. I gritted my teeth and shoved it closed, making a beeline for the lab desks.

It took me a few minutes to notice that Nightwing hadn't moved. His blue-grey eyes remained trained on the rusted cages I couldn't allow myself to think about too long.

"They're smaller…"

I blinked and looked away from is form, going back to opening and closing empty or useless teak drawers. "What?"

"The cages… they're smaller than I first thought from your memories. They kept you in that until you were twelve?"

"Yeah... I – Where are the others?" I sought an immediate change in subject which I was relieved he picked up on. He strode forward then, copying my task of checking for files on the other side of the room.

"They're checking Sector F, the storage facilities we think?" I nodded at his correct assumption. We met in the middle of the lab bench row, where he growled in frustration. "There's no computer in here. If I were running a place like this I'd have the most important files on a hard-drive."

I frowned as a vague memory returned.

"There's one in the training sector… C, I think? I remember them typing a lot during my sessions."

"Let's head there then."

I picked up the flare once more and head in a strangely familiar path out the door. I say strange because it's like watching something you'd already seen a million times on T.V. You knew where you were going, what you were going to see as you get there but you were disconnected, isolated from the action. I took the far too familiar turns only pausing to take the second door instead of the first. We entered the office section rather than the training room itself.

The office was in no better shape than the rest of the facility. Dirty, torn and rotting paper was everywhere, the office chair lay broken and mangled on the ground. Luckily the desk and therefore the computer remained upright amidst the chaos.

"What do you think happened here?" I asked Nightwing leaned across the desk, plugging some unknown piece of technology into the old modem.

"Well, from the looks of this technology," Nightwing, spoke without tearing his eyes from the screen. Within seconds the machine was powering on, despite the lack of electricity. Cassie mentioned the boy wonder was a computer genius, and I felt nothing but spite until now. I mean, the guy can do anything.

And with that trail of thought I focused twice as hard on what he said next.

"It looks like the brains packed it in shortly after you left."

"Coincidence?" I asked hopefully but after receiving a raised eyebrow I sighed. "Of course not."

After a few moments of tense silence and ferocious tapping of keys he spoke again.

"Listen Fraya about last night –"

"Forget it." I stopped him before he could say another word, heat rose quickly to my face and though I would have killed for a distraction, I would have rather had another panic attack in that moment.

"But –"

"No seriously, it's fine. Can we just not mention it?"

"I don't think that –" from the hard look he suddenly gave the computer screen I knew he wasn't about to drop this. So I gritted my teeth and cut him off again.

"Please. At least until we're out of this place."

That seemed to appease him. I mean, he wasn't a total asshole.

After a few more seconds there was a light beep and Nightwing's eyes widened.

"I think I got something," he breathed and I was looking over his shoulder within seconds.

The screen wasn't incredibly bright, but you could just make out the words.

Test Subject 14: 19-05-1999

The subject appears to be finding it difficult to use abilities of late. It is as if energy levels have depleted quickly over the last eight months. His fellow fire-user Subject Thirteen however seems much at easy with the tests we have been giving her.

My eyes lingered momentarily on my own number but I continued reading, the words scanned so quickly that they only just registered. Scanning down through similar entries of fourteen's lessening power until reading one for just less than a month later.

Test Subject 14: 16-06-1999

Despite supplying the subject with a higher intake of carbohydrates the subjects abilities are dwindling. Today he could barely form a spark. Could it be possible that mutant abilities have a life-span shorter than its subject or is that too optimistic a hypothesis.

I was just about to read the next entry when a rumpling sound reached us. I glanced up despite being mesmerised by the faint computer screen. My head was spinning, yet none of my questions were answered.

"What was –" I started before a huge bang exploded from what felt like another part of the facility making the pair of us jump. Nightwing stood slowly, about to answer me when his comms unit lit up.

"Nightwing?" Wally's, voice sounded scratchy, as if the underground was fighting to prevent the frequency coming through.

"I'm here," Nightwing answered as he furiously returned to typing.

"We found something. A boy. He was in a cryo-tank. Super Boy lost it –"

Something cracked through the comms, followed by a crash and someone yelling.

"K.F.?" Nightwing called, taking his power source from the computer and straightening. But the comms simply crackled with the sound of white noise.

"Shit."

My stomach knotted. Nightwing rarely swore but when he did, it was bad news.

"I copied the files onto my own drive," he spoke to me over his shoulder as he made his way out of the room. "We can sort through it properly back at base."

"Ok… and now?"

"Now we go and see what sort of trouble the team got themselves into."

a/n: hey everyone. Looks like busy schedule and writers block have freed me a little and I'm getting back into the story. Hopefully you'll be seeing a good few chapters coming from me in the next few weeks. Thank you all for being so patient! And keep the reviews coming, they mean so so much!

On another note, I might just be on patrol for a Beta so if you're interested. Shoot me a message!

Thanks,

BC.