Nightwing: Heartless

Part 59: Rescue

There was noise. Some kind of alarm? It must be loud for Willa to hear, usually her dungeon was silent except for her own breath. What was going on? Her door burst open, Deathstroke looking more harried than she's ever seen. He found her form quickly, crossing the room in only a few strides. She flinched away from him, cowering in a corner. She noticed the gun at his hip and the sword at his back.

"Let's go," he growled.

She was frozen in fear. She remembered what happened last time she left her cell and she shook at the memory. When he reached for her she tucked into herself, which just angered him. He grabbed her arms and jerked her to her feet. Whatever was happening had him agitated.

She bit her tongue as he pressed her against the wall, her cough cut off by his hand on her throat. "One more chance," Deathstroke hissed, "give me his name." Willa gathered her strength and met his gaze evenly. Deathstroke still lost. He punched the wall behind her head, eyes blazing with anger.

Willa didn't see the blade but she felt it pierce her side. She would have screamed if she had any breath. Deathstroke released her throat, the knife still embedded in her, stuck to the wall behind her. She slumped forward but fell when he wrenched it out of her. She gasped and fell into his arms, blood pouring from the wound.

Deathstroke scooped her up, carrying her like a baby, like she weighed nothing. She pressed her hands to the wound, blood pounding in her ears and tears swimming across her vision. She felt them running, every step hurting her.

"Am I going to die?" She whispered.

He looked down at her, "yes, sweetheart."

She hiccuped a sob, in relief or dread she didn't know, but hung limply in his arms. The world passed by too quickly for her to see anything so she buried her face in her captor's armor until a cool breeze met her skin. Was it air? Actual fresh air? It was night. Willa could see the stars. It would be a nice view to die under. Her teeth chattered with the wind but she didn't mind.

"Stop."

The voice was muffled. Was it far away or was Willa fading? She turned her head. She was in the air, no, on a roof. How many stories up? How many floors did the house even have? She had seen so little of it.

"There's nowhere else to go." The same muffled voice from before, but it wasn't Deathstroke's. Was someone talking to Deathstroke that way? But Deathstroke had stopped moving. Were they at the edge of a roof? Why were they here? "Set her down Slade."

If she had enough energy to be surprised she would have when Deathstroke began to set her down. Her feet touched the ground, a small plat at the top of the house she had been held in. Deathstroke didn't let go, if he did she would have fallen down. She was on her feet but he hugged her to his chest, like a human shield, her blood soaking his arm. She struggled to lift her head and squinted in front of her, not believing her eyes.

"Let her go," Batman said, voice low.

He wasn't here, Willa thought, he couldn't be. Had she already died? No, this was Psimon in her mind again. He had done this before, over and over, fake rescues to get her to say a name. This was no different. She slumped back, resigned.

"You're too late," Deathstroke said. She felt his chest rumble as he spoke, "you'll have to explain how you failed. Break your boy's heart."

It was like Willa was watching herself. She seemed to float out of her body and watch the situation below. Batman at one end, Deathstroke at the other, holding her limp, barely conscious form. Maybe this is what death felt like, when the pain dulled to a small thump and memories flashed across her eyes instead of listening to the two men speak over her.

She saw her first trip to Coney Island with her family.
She saw late night milkshakes with her dad.
She saw buying a dress to her first school dance with her mom.
She saw fighting with her brother.
She saw a big family Christmas, a new Barbie doll.
She saw her first kiss.
She saw her first sleepover.
She saw her grandma's funeral.
She saw her first day at GU.
She saw herself meeting her friends.
She saw herself meeting Dick, their story unfolded in seconds, but only the good parts.
She saw every moment with her mom; every moment with her dad, as a family. God she loved them so much.

And then she was back in her body. The arm around her was gone. She was falling. The ground slipped from under her feet as the wind caught her, dragged her down. She kept her eyes on the stars as they got farther away. It would be a painless way to go at least. She didn't scream, she just blinked her eyes as the wind whistled and the sounds of fighting drifted away, someone yelling, but it didn't matter. She had always loved the air.

She blinked one last time then kept her eyes closed.