catgirl ! crushed (nightwing)

«chapter forty-four: slipping away»

BROOKLYN'S POV

I sigh, trying to get out of my cuffs once again, but only succeed in leaving red marks across my wrists from where the metal is biting into the skin.

My body relaxes as I lean against the wall. The room so quiet I can hear only my breathing. It's enough to drive someone insane if they aren't careful. Lucky for me most of the things I have endured should have made me insane already. I'm practically immune.

My eyes widen and my head snaps to the door, my ears picking up on footsteps outside of my ceil.

It is too early for it to be morning, I know that much. It's still the middle of the night.

My eyes strain, but manage to make out a figure wearing a talon's mask.

My heart skips a beat when they don't make a move and a familiar feeling washes over me.

"Dick?"

He doesn't react. If it is him, he doesn't realize who I am, doesn't know why I am calling out to him. Doesn't know why he is drawn to this ceil.

"Dick," I try to get higher, going to my knees, "Dick, if that's you... please let me know if you are there... if you... if you know it's me." If I can still save you. If I am not alone in here.

He doesn't do anything, he just stares at me. No words, no sigh he understands me... he just stares. He stares until he decides it is enough and backs away, walking back down the hall and away from me.

___________________

I swipe my tongue over my cracked lips from lack of water. They clearly don't mind letting me rot in here. And the fact that I already am injured isn't helping. But they don't care. This isn't like Ra's al Ghul. Ra's needed my body in good condition in order for me to be a perfect weapon. He didn't want me starving or thirsty. He wanted to break me.

The talons want to destroy me. To break me down so intensely that I can't build myself back up. So that they can mold me to be whatever they want me to be. Yes, they see me as a weapon, but they also see me as something Ra's al Ghul didn't until it was too late; they see me as a threat.

A talon dropped off some food this morning, but it was barely enough to keep my body going. To give me energy.

But I can survive. What I doubt the talons know is that Ra's al Ghul didn't do this because he knew it wouldn't have changed the outcome. Yes, I will be weaker biologically, but I have been trained to kill under any circumstances. Regardless of if my tummy is grumbling or not.

Alex bangs on the door, nearly making me jump, but I stare him down instead, trying to hide the fact I was staring off into space moments before.

"How are we doing, Princess?" He grins, "Still feisty? Still full of hope?"

It's been two days since I got here. If he thinks I am giving up after that, he doesn't really know me.

"Are you still full of shit?" I question, holding my head high.

William and a few more talons walk in behind him, William smirking at my remark.

"You really are a feisty one," He says before putting his hand on the shoulder of one. One I now can pick out in a crowd of them. One that I know like the back of my hand. That I know so deeply it hurts that he won't even look at me anymore. "You did good finding a suitable wife. Let's hope it will work out our way," He says to him.

I would rather stab my own eyeballs but we will see.

"What is this?" I question instead.

"We thought the reason you might be holding on is due to your belief that Dick Grayson is still in there somewhere," Alex says, cocking his head to the side, "Like how you were. You are hoping you can break him out of it... our mind control isn't like that. You aren't going to be able to." He leans closer to me, making me glare at him. "And we need you to know that."