YOUNG JUSTICE | SHADOWS

Chapter Five | Tortured Souls

A/N;
A bit of a longer Chapter. Enjoy!

Warnings;
None.

Chapter Five
Tortured Souls

Dick

       Two Days, Dick thought, two days is what Bruce will give us, and then we'll have a chance. It was already a day after his mentor had said that. Dick sat in his room, working on the dreading case of the Ghost. Two years it's been. No one as been able to catch you. No one has been able to really see you, or if they do, it's only for a short moment and you vanish without a trace. All he knows is you ARE like a ghost, and the witnesses that's survived have said you're a young looking girl around Dick's age. My age, he thought to himself. She's my age and has been killing for no apparent reason that I can piece together.
      He ran his hand through his hair looking at the bored that hung on his wall. It was a large eight foot, by eight foot cork bored with information, printed out articles and pictures of your victims. Dick's eyes darted from one pin, to the next on the map of Gotham City. He was cycling through the connections within his brain. Yet nothing came to mind.
Is this all her own agenda, or is she under some control of another? He had thought. Does she work with the mob? Or is there a bigger threat in Gotham? He groaned with frustration. Knowing of one thing he could do, was head into the night and let the cool air smooth out his thoughts with the intel he does know. Maybe then it'll click.
     That's when he left his room for the Batcave after pulling a chalkboard down and over his case work for good measures.

Twelve Minutes Before

       You're running the rooftops of Gotham, the breathtaking view from the high-rises you pranced around on, allowed a grin to spread on your face. Nights like these, where there is nothing but the night sky and city lights to guide you to an unknown destination, made your heart feel nothing but glee. Freedom to soar across this city, freedom of who you had become, and who you had slipped into as your shell clawed around you.
        Deep down its ate away at you, of course you were raised to be who you were. The obedient, disciplined weapon for your master. For the Light. You sighed as more thoughts ran trough your head, where you felt trapped once again. You had stopped your dance around the city and crouched on a ledge of a building watching some street rats have fun in an alley. Fun, you had thought. What is that?
        A smile twinkled in your eyes, that soon fell upon your face as a true expression. A little boy with a red hoodie had kicked the old worn out soccer ball, hitting a mess of stuff piled in a grocery cart. The ball had ricocheted off that cart, and hit another kid straight in the back of the head. You had let out a laugh, only wishing you could join.
      "So you're the mysterious, Ghost." Spoke a voice from behind that you reacted to within seconds by flipping backwards off
the ledge onto the roof top, while grabbing your two Glocks from their holsters. You stood before a boy. Dark short hair with bangs that were flowing with the night wind, a mask that covered his face just a bit, and enough to hide his identity but not his dark ocean blue orbs. His cape flew in that wind as well, and you had narrowed your own eyes. The boy was Robin, the sidekick of Gotham's hero, Batman.
       "And you must be the Boy Wonder," You spoke, still holding your Glocks at aim."Tell me, we're is Daddy Bat? Isn't it a little late for you to be out on your own?"
       This seemed to have brought a scornful chuckle from the boy before you, the boy who hasn't even moved to show any signs of attack. Not a hint in his body language. He had tilted his head down and put his hands at his hips, you watched closely, keeping guard and finally he had lifted his head to meet his orbs with yours, replying with, "Daddy Bat, doesn't have to be with me twenty four seven. And you can cut the act, you may be a murderer, but I can tell one thing."
         "And what's that Bird boy?" You questioned curiously, yet cautiously. Knowing not to let your guard down incase it was a trap and Bats would swoop down and try to bag you.
        "You're alone at heart." He said softly, and you swore you heard sympathy. You had silently gasped and furrowed your brows. Your heart started to beat faster, and a different emotion was clawing it's way out. You had began to lower your guns, not realizing you were showing defeat.
       "How do you know this? Am I supposed to believe the Cape Crusaders sidekick is some sort of psychiatrist?" You asked, a little hint of fear coating your words.
      "Maybe that's just me," He had began, knowing he was about to continue you didn't interrupt. You wanted to see what he had to say. You had your Glocks at your sides, both index fingers on the side of the gun, but close to the triggers. "I saw the loneliness as you watched the kids below when I was passing by. To be honest, I wasn't expecting that from the person whose murdered over a hundred people in the past two years."
Over a hundred? You thought. It brought you back to speed and you gripped both your Glock's grips tightly. "I've lost track of how many people I've killed, but what's your point? You trying to save me from the life?"
       "What life," he rose his hand up, motioning to you. "The life you live murdering people for your bosses, the life you live to the point you don't even know what to feel anymore? That's not living," he paused, tilting his head while he had his one hand above his hip. "That's torture."
     "And how would you know anything about me?" You had crossed your arms. This is not how you imagined meeting the Boy Wonder at all. Definitely given you're a criminal.
      "It's kind of what I do," He replied with a slight grin. You rolled your eyes and watched his posture shift. His grin faded, and then he continued. "And believe it or not, I know how you feel."
      "So, you're going to capture me? Turn me in and pray I turn my life around? Or did you just come to chat under the neon lights of one of the largest Gotham buildings, trying to sneak your way into my mind so your boyish charm will have me head over heels for the fearless sidekick of Gotham city? Huh, Boy Wonder?" You spoke, not missing a beat in your little speech. You had grinned with your head cocked at the side. His expression masked yours, and you had to admit, it suited him well.
       "I could capture you," He had started, and you furrowed your brows in confusion with this strike of playfulness in his tone. "Or, I could chase you instead."
      It had surprised you, and you felt a string being tugged. Your mind told you no, do not do this, but your heart. It gave in.  You had let a laugh out, then looked at him as you holstered your Glocks while shaking your head. "As if you would be able to catch me," You paused, your grin turned into a smile. A smile that had been hidden for what seemed years. The playfulness had bubbled up within your veins, and finally with a slight seductive tone you said, "Chase me."
      One look he gave you, with both the smiles you two portrayed, and you had turned to the side and bolted. The rooftop gave you enough space to help you have a running start. You sprung over to another rooftop, and looked behind with the Boy Wonder hot on your trail. You felt something different from all these years you've been growing up. In this moment, you felt alive.