Okay, so, in this chapter, she's just turned nine. It's the begining of December, I decided not to do a birthday chapter this time. This chapter is pretty intense- please review!

"Robin, come in. Robin!" Sparrow yelled into her communicator. The league had simply let them off with a stern warning not to help again after the incident two days ago, but she was in trouble now, real trouble.

It'd been a normal patrol, they'd staked out a drug deal. It'd all been fine, but somehow the leader, Cobra, had managed to douse Batman in pheromones that made him turn on them, attacking them...

"I'm a little busy here, Sparrow!" Robin's voice crackled back. He was trying his hardest to fight of Cobra's men solo. "Try and keep Batman busy!"

"Right." Sparrow said dryly. She dodged the bola Batman had thrown, ducking into a dead-end alley. She reached the end, vaulting onto a dumpster and jumping onto the opposite wall, vaulting off that and catching the edge of the roof with her hands, pulling herself up.

Batman grunted from below, his grapple gun deployed...

He was still after her. Great.

She could double back, try and get to the docks, near Dick, so he could manage to help her as soon as he was done with Cobra...

She jumped across the rooftops, cape snapping in the night, Batman behind her...

Stupid pheromones. She could hear Batman running with abandon behind her, his normal stealth forgotten. There was only one thing on his mind, now- killing her.

She was jumping to another rooftop, dodging onto the next, and the next... She was in mid-air, leaping to the next building, when she felt something tug at her throat, someone had seized her cape. With a jerk of his hand Batman pulled her back, letting go, and she fell the two stories below, landing in a dumpster which was, thankfully, filled to overflowing with bags of bottles. Still, the landing was painful, and she laid dazed for a moment.

The breath had left her in a terrifying rush, and with the wind knocked out of her, there was no way she could move...

There was a shadow a few feet away as Batman jumped down, landing in a crouch, cape around him...

He grunted, starting his search for her by knocking over trash cans, the metal clanging as it hit the pavement. Thank god he couldn't see her.

She was bruised, a few cuts from the bottles, but overall she was fine. She shifted her weight and fell to the side of the dumpster, landing as quietly as she could and hunching against the side of it, trying to catch her breath. Nothing broken, just bruises...

She was by the docks, and she had a feeling that if she could make it to the loading docks, she could hide among the crates until Dick could come and help her.

The question was, could she make it there? She could see it was a thirty foot run, but maybe...

She heard a grunt and stiffened. Batman was only a few feet away, now. It was now or never...

She took off running in a half-crouch, almost making it to the docks. She was halfway there, halfway...

There was the found of a grapple gun firing and an intense, burning pain in her shoulder, and she gasped. The grappling gun embedded just above her shoulder pulled, Batman was trying to retract it, pull her closer towards him with it...

It had to be strong to retract so fast and pull up two hundred fifty pounds of pure muscle, and it was pulling at her now, pulling, hard.

She strained against it, scrabbling, but it knocked her off her feet, leaving her clawing desperately at the ground. White hot agony coursed through her as the grappling hook pulled, but finally, with a sickening sucking sound she was free, was staggering towards the loading docks. She needed to hide...

She dove between two metal storage units, crouching, gasping, praying the shadows could hide her. She grit her teeth, wincing, as she used her uninjured arm to reach over, trying to put some pressure on the wound above her shoulder blade. There was a flare of pain and she winced, looking shocked when her hand came back slick with her own blood.

She gasped, before quickly flattening against the cold metal wall, wincing when the wound was jarred but not caring. There was the snap of a cape above her, a dark shadow, as Batman jumped over, onto the next metal storage unit, before relaxing when she realized he hadn't seen her.

Still, she couldn't stay here forever...

Suddenly Batman had landed beside her. There was a triumphant smirk on his face, and his fist collided with her nose, sending her flying. She landed on some crates, biting back a scream as the corner of one dug into her shoulder blade. She pulled out a shaky handful if explosive birdarangs, sending one at him. He dodged, and she climbed onto one crate, then the next, still throwing.

She flipped behind the crates, turning and peering out, tossing a birdarang from point blank that struck Batman in the chest, embedding in his body armor.

His eyes widened beneath the cowl, before it exploded, sending him flying and leaving him in a heap by a dock that led out to several boats, motionless.

"Dad!" the nine year old stood, running towards him, all fear instantly forgotten when she saw the heap of singed cloth that was her Dad lying still on the wood...

"I'm sorry, Dad, I'm sorry, you made me do it..." she wiped tears away from her mask, falling to her knees beside him. Was he dead? No, no, he couldn't be dead...

He seized her by her hair, then, throwing her behind him. She staggered, shocked and relieved as he growled at her. At least he was alive. Maybe she could reason with him...

"Dad. Daddy, please, stop..." she said, looking at him, desperate. Blood was dripping down her back, she was barely on her feet, and her father stood before her, breathing raggedly.

"Cobra got ahold of something, he drugged you with it. It's me, Dad, it's Scarlet..." her voice was pleading, then, almost a whisper. She didn't care she used her real name. It was just the two of them on her docks. Sirens were screaming, now, but she didn't break eye contact with her father, praying some weak, primal part of him knew it was her, praying he'd resist.

"I am NOT your father." he ground out, before landing a powerful kick to her chest. She felt something crack and cried out in pain, landing a few feet away, skidding on the dock. Blood smeared beneath her.

"I am Batman- protector of Cobra." he stalked towards her, kicking her cruelly in the side. She felt something else snap and cried out again, whimpering. "Dad... Dad, please..."

"I am NOT your father!" he barked sharply.

He seized her by her hair, dragging her towards the end of the docks. Her head was forced up, and she stared att he night sky, at the stars, tears forming in her eyes.

"Dad..."

He grunted. She stared at the stars, like diamonds in the black velvet sky, the moon, like a solitary pearl in all her glory, wondering if it'd be the last time she'd see them.

Her head forced up, her neck and under her chin were exposed. Batman's hand looked like a tiger claw- one blow would send her reeling, snap her neck...

"Batman!" Commissioner Gondron was rapidly approaching, a few officers behind him, but he stopped, shocked, at the scene before him.

"Cobra drugged him!" Sparrow said simply. "Stay back!"

Commissioner Gordon looked from her to Batman, shocked. Suddenly the man had his gun raised, pointing it at Batman.

Robin ran up, shocked, looking from his bloody sister to Batman.

"Don't! Don't shoot him, please!" Sparrow yelled, suddenly terrified. With the birdarang that'd exploded earlier, she wasn't sure Batman's body armor could take another hit.

"One step and I kill her." Batman ground out.

"He doesn't know what he's saying!" Robin yelled, desperate, as well. He saw how damaged Batman's armor was- there was no way it'd stop a bullet.

"Let her go, Batman. Shoot on three, boys."

"One..."

"No!" Scarlet moved, despite being grabbed, launching herself as best she could and taking out Batman at the knees. They both fell into the black waters of Gotham Harbor.

"Scarlet!" Dick hit the water after his sister, not sure if she'd be able to swim up. He seized her by her cape, pulling her to the surface. Choking and gasping, he dragged them both back onto the docks, pulling them up. They were both shaking, the December water was freezing, and water dripped and pooled on the docks around them as Dick pulled her close.

"Dad!" Scarlet yelled, struggling to get back to the water. "Where's Dad!?"

Batman surfaced a moment later, coughing and choking. "Scarlet?" he called hoarsely. "Dick?"

"Here, Dad!" Dick called. The twelve year old stared as his father dragged himself out of the water, and Batman was shocked to see both children staring at him with trepidation and... fear?

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking at them both. Scarlet was fairly clinging to Dick, shivering violently and staring at him. He could see blood smeared all over her costume...

"You're hurt." he reached a hand out to her and she hesitantly took it. He tried to help her to her feet, but she went down like a newborn fawn, Batman barely catching her before her knees hit the dock.

"Who did this to you?" he asked, picking her up, bridal-style, surprised when he found his gloves were slick with blood- her blood.

"You did..." she said through chattering teeth.

"I... what?" he demanded, shocked.

"Cobra drugged you. We can talk about this later. She's loosing blood, Dad." Dick said, eyes imploring his father.

Batman nodded, walking down the docks with his daughter in his arms. He turned to Gordon, who was looking both shocked and horrified by what he'd just seen.

"Don't interrogate Cobra. Only I deal with him."

Gordon nodded, before the three shadowy figures disappeared into the night.