Nemesis (A Speeddemon Fanfiction)

Six

She had been hanging there for so long that her body had forgotten why or when it happened.

And although her fingers held things, touched things, moved things, she was no longer reasonably sure what those things were. Her hands went to her lost head, like the hands of a child hold onto a ball to then throw it away. And she wished she could do the exact same thing to her head.

A window blew open. The evening light shone through and Sin Lance could finally see her small fingers, her dirty fingernails wrapped around the grip of a gun. She felt as if she were burning in water. She lost her grip on the gun, and the loud thud of the fall made her ears drum.

Casting a scared gaze across the room, she found a dusty mirror. She had the feeling that she was suspended by a thin threat, yet she ran towards the object as if her life depended on it. She felt herself spiraling downward as she did so, falling to a place where she could no longer pull herself back up.

She reached the object, out of breath. She carefully cleaned it up with her dirty hand, her slim fingers catching all the dust. But her almost pitch-black fingers were the last thing on her mind when she locked eyes with her reflection.

Staring back at her, wasn't Sin Lance. But Lady Shiva.

And so, she screamed. She screamed until her lungs screamed back, begging for air. And when she had drowned them in oxygen, her voice made the whole room vibrate again.
She felt a sharp pain in her brain, and tears started rolling down her closed eyes. She kneeled, unable to look up. Unable to open her eyes again. She didn't want to be her; she couldn't. She knew better, but maybe it had all been a fantasy. One that was about to become her worst nightmare.

She thought about the gun she had dropped earlier, and how much she would pay to pull the trigger now. To aim at nothing, and to end everything. Because she had lost people she loved. But she knew that losing herself was a greater loss.

And so, she let herself get lost again and again in the deep darkness of her driving desires.

____________

"This is ridiculous!", a furious Damian Wayne shouted at his father, Dick, and everyone who dared to lock eyes with him, "She could be dead! And you want us to stay quiet and do nothing?!", his hand pointed at a closed door. Behind it laid an unconscious Sin Lance who was internally fighting for survival against her deepest demons.

"Stay calm, Robin", Batman spoke, as steadily as ever. It only raged the teenager more and more.

"Do not tell me to stay calm at a moment like this!", he shouted again. Irey stood at the back of the room, Jai's hand on her arm, preventing her from running to Damian, "This is my team, dammit!", if his gaze could burn, his father knew he would be nothing but ashes.

"Yes, but you are my son", Bruce replied, "And everyone in your team is family to someone who's in mine", he paused, "This is dangerous, Robin. And I'm not putting anyone else's life at risk. Not yours"

"Then let me risk mine", he stood almost as tall as the Dark Knight and the man couldn't exactly pinpoint the day when that spoiled 10-year-old brat that had been once dropped under his cape had become a man.

He hesitated, "Oracle, Nightwing and Red Robin have already opened an investigation", he informed him, "Feel free to assist them".

The two bats held their gazes for what seemed like ages. Then, Damian nodded.

Irey watched as Nightwing pulled him aside, probably with the intentions of talking some sense into him. But the young speedster knew how right Damian was. And after looking at her twin brother and remembering her past conversations with both boys, she knew it wasn't her time to stay still.

"Jai", she whispered in his direction. The boy released her arm, "I need to talk to you"

He raised a dark eyebrow, "Now?"

"Now", she said. In a flash, the girl had exited both out of the room and into a much smaller one. She eyed the surveillance camera carefully.

"I've got an idea", she murmured, "But it's kind of crazy and I need to know your opinion before I do anything stupid"

The dark-haired boy almost rolled his eyes. He knew his sister well enough and if she had something stupid in mind, she was going to do it no matter what, "Okay, spill it"

Irey let out a deep sigh and reminded herself not to speak at superspeed, "Alright", she started, "Damian said – or maybe it was Uncle Dick, I actually can't remember because-"

"Irey", he warned her.

"Yeah, sorry", she focused on what she had to say, "Right, so someone said that somebody or something had injected us with that drug", she explained, "The thing is, and this is probably where you are going to disagree with me, but", she thought her words carefully, as if she were afraid to say them out loud. And maybe she was, because it made it real, "If I could just...go back in time and see who did it-"

"Wait", Jai interrupted her, "Are you talking about running to the past?"

The speedster nodded slowly. She knew how her family would take her suggestion; she knew her Uncle Barry would say no immediately, and her father would lock her up just in case she tried to do it anyway. But Jai was different. Jai was like their mother: understanding, calm.

Only that Jai flipped, "Iris, are you crazy?!", he hissed, "Don't you know what happened when Uncle Barry altered the timeline? Dad would go mad! You know this is the only thing he doesn't let you do, and now you want to just...ignore every speedster in this family?  Because you feel like it?!"

She tried to stay calm, "Jai, please, listen to me", she tried to soothe him, "Batman can't find whoever put that in our brain – Batman!", she pointed out. Jai understood. Best detective in the world, not able to follow a trace? But the thought of Irey's safety brought him back to reality.

"Irey, you know what happens if you mess up", he warned her. His tone had changed. Concern had replaced fury.

The girl sighed again, "I know I can screw up, Jai. I'm scared too", she confessed. He saw the worry in her eyes, the inexplicable guilt, "But I'm starting to think that there isn't really another way"

He took a moment to process his sister's words. He tried to see the bright side, the sense in her plan. But all he could think of were catastrophic scenarios he didn't want his sister involved in. He cleared his voice, "Do you even know how to do it?", he questioned her, an eyebrow raised.

She hesitated, "Dad said once that all you had to do was to run very fast and picture the moment you wanted the Speedforce to take you to", she explained.

"What if the Speedforce doesn't let you come back?", he worried.

"It will, Jai", she took his hand in hers and sent a small vibration through his darker skin, "Trust me. I can do this. I want to help".

"Damian is already helping his siblings with the research", he blurted out in an attempt to change her mind.

She shook her head, "That's great, but I don't think he should be the only one fighting back", she clarified. She was tired of sitting and waiting for somebody else to find the sun within the clouds, "We are all involved in this. I can do something, too – and I will".

Jai's head was running as fast as his sister's. Somehow, he knew something wasn't right. He squeezed Irey's hand, "Okay", he finally spoke, unsure and afraid, "But only if we make a deal"
Irey titled her head to the side, questioning him. He proceeded, "If they don't find anything out in three days... you're free to go"

"Two days", Irey haggled, "We don't have that much time. And you won't tell anyone"

"Okay", he immediately regretted it, "But if you get hurt-"

"I won't"

"Alright", she squeezed his hand, and Jai didn't know what the deal was with his sister. He knew she had their dad wrapped around her little finger, but now him, too?

He eyed her carefully as she turned around to leave the room. A part of him wanted her to go back safely, and to find something out. He wanted her to be able to contribute. But a much larger part of him knew things weren't going to turn out like that. Now, as he stared at the empty room, he could only hope the Bats were as good detectives as they claimed to be.