Young Justice-The New Teammate

Chapter 22

Dreams. Terrible dreams. Images flashed across Ilana's mind. Pictures of death and destruction. Her older sister. Her little brother. Her people. Her planet. Fires burning. Screams. Smoke. Coughing. Pain. Searing pain. Blood. Death. Survival. No survival. Darkness. Blackness. Bound hands. Her hands were bound, pinned down. Kicking. Legs tangled. Captured. She was captured. He had her. Him. That white face. That big red smile. Bloody hands. Murderous hands. Bloody crowbar. Her sisters blood. Her blood. Captured. Escape. Must escape! Clawing! Kicking! Still bound. Screaming. She was screaming. Must escape. Must kill him. Kill. Kill. Kill...

"Ilana!" someone yelled. Ilana was pulled from her sleep. Someone was holding her hands, not chains. Soft hands. Her legs were tangled in sheets, linen sheets. Not chains. The boy let go of her arms. She felt around her. Soft. A bed. She was in a bed. She had been asleep. Her forehead was slick with sweat and she had been kicking at her blankets. Her mind began to focus. It was all just a dream. Well, most of it. 

"Hey, are you okay?"the boy asked. She recognised the voice. It was Dick, Bruce's ward. She wiped at her face where tears had begun to fall. Everything that had happened came rushing back in one unbearable moment. The Joker and Harley crashing the fundraiser. Her going all nutso and having flashbacks of her sister. Superman and Batman taking down the Joker. She was in Wayne Manor now, and Dick lived with her uncle Bruce there.

"I'm fine, bad dream is all," she muttered., "What time is it?"

She waited for him to reply. "About 4a.m," he said. 

"I'm sorry for waking you. I hadnt meant to."

"Its okay. I wasnt sleeping actually. I usually have late nights."

Ilana thought of this, remembering that Richard 'Dick' Grayson doubled as the Boy Wonder Robin.

"Don't you have school in the morning? Doubt uncle Bruce and Clark will let me go," she said miserably.

"No school tomorrow, its weekend," he said.

"What?" she sat up straight, "But last I checked it was only Wednesday! How long have I been out?"

"Umm, about three days and a few hours. Bruce said not to disturb you. But when I came in you seemed pretty disturbed to me, so I thought I would try and get you turbed instead."

She cocked her head at him, "Turbed?"

"Yeah, the opposite if disturbed has to be turbed. What other option is there,"he chuckled.

She laughed at this, and immediately felt a bit better.

"You hungry?" he asked. 

"Starved," she replied. He told her he would go get her food, but she insisted on getting out of bed. She had had enough rest for a while, thank you very much. He took her hand, which she was at first reluctant to give, and he lead her out of the room. She wore fluffy slippers and had on a soft silken nightgown and wondered very much how she had gotten into it. She wanted to raise the question, but her stomach gave a low growl, indicating for food first and questions later. Wayne Manor was so large that Ilana couldnt keep track of her surroundings after a while, especially with the Batcave underneath the Manor making her even more disorientated. She was thankful that she had taken Dick's hand, wondering if she would be able to keep up otheriwse. His hand was soft, yet his grip firm, and she could feel his lithe movements as he lead her to the kitchen. He never went too fast or too slow and always made sure she was next to him, never in front or behind. Personally she would have prefered walking behind him, her hand resting in the nook of his elbow, as she was accustomed to as a blind person. Jimmy had gotten used to leading her around the Daily Planet in this manner. Jimmy. She should give him a phone call later in the morning. He really was a nice boy. Eventually they stopped in the kitchen, and Dick set her down on one of the barstools. She felt him busy making something, moving from cupboard to cupboard, eventually setting a plate down before her and sitting on the barstool opposite. She found the plate and on it rested a cheese sandwhich with lettuce and cucumbers. He had also thought to get her a glass of water, and she heard him munching on his own sandwhich. She began to eat her sandwhich gratefully. It was really good. As she ate she was completely unaware of the probing gaze of the young man sitting opposite her, watching her.