Auroral » Titans

12|| Broken Wings

She felt numb, standing there beneath the buzzing fluorescent lights. Her green eyes were reflected back at her by the window that looked into Dawn's hospital room.

Dawn laid motionless on the small hospital bed. Countless tubes ran between her and the machines that were keeping her alive.

Hank was slumped in the armchair beside her bed. Clutching her smaller hand between is own, praying she'd wake up.

Sophie's heart throbbed. It had been her idea to take Rachel to Dawn and Hank. She had been the idiot who got them involved. Now Dawn was in a coma that she might never wake up from.

How could she not blame herself for all of this?

She dragged a hand over her face, smudging the last bit of mascara that clung to her lashes.

"Hey." Dick spoke softly as he walked over to her. "How is she?"

Sophie sighed and tore her eyes away from the scene in front of her. "They got her head to stop bleeding. She's stable, for now."

Dick nodded slowly. "How are you holding up?"

Sophie couldn't help but scoff. "My friend just got thrown off a roof by a psycho family who also kidnapped the girl I was supposed to be protecting." She spoke quickly before her shoulders slumped.

"Sophie, this isn't your fault." He said gently.

"I know Dick," She mumbled. "But i'm the one that suggested we bring Rachel to them. It's my fault they're even involved."

Dick shook his head and the corners of his lips twitched upwards. "You're starting to sound like Bruce." Sophie glanced over at him and he pressed his lips into a straight, reassuring smile. "You can't blame yourself for something you didn't know was going to happen."

Sophie nodded slowly. She knew he was right but that didn't lessen the ache in her chest. "I need some air." She turned to leave.

"Sophie." Dick called and she glanced over her shoulder at him.

"The keys." He said as he fished out the car keys and tossed them to her. She caught them against her chest and forced a small smile. She could tell he wanted to say something else but whatever it was, he let it die in his throat.

"Thanks." She muttered before she turned and left.

She couldn't stand being in the hospital any longer. The fluorescent lights, the smell of bleach, the feeling of total uselessness. It brought back memories of the countless hours she spent sitting at her mothers bedside.

The moment she stepped outside it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest. She felt like she could breathe again.

The parking lot was lit by the glow of the neon hospital sign. The light glittered off of the slush like snow that covered the ground.

Sophie sighed heavily, her warm breath coming out in little white puffs. She walked down the row of cars, her hands shoved deep inside of her pockets.

Her body ached and the adrenaline she felt during the fight left her feeling sluggish. She just wanted to go back to her apartment in Detroit and sleep for a month. But she knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

****

Snow crunched beneath Sophie's black boots and a cold chill seeped through her denim jacket. The smell of charred flesh and smoke burnt at her nose. It took all of her willpower to not scrunch up her face.

There was a gaping hole in the side of the gas stations washroom. Broken bits of brick littered the ground around it. The police worked around the scene and the coroner collected the burnt corpse from the snow.

Growing up under the wing of world's greatest detective had taught Sophie a few things. Like that the set of footprints leading to the restroom belonged to a woman of average height. A woman who chose to wear four inch heels in November.

The footprints came to a stop a few feet away from the restroom. From the large imprint in the snow Sophie could tell that the man who had died had been standing by the door when the fire started.

Whatever had started the fire had been damn near explosive. Charred brick and rubble covered the tile floor of the small restroom, which meant the blast had come from outside. And the only odd variable had been the woman in heels.

Sophie's brows knitted together as she knelt down near the gaping hole in the wall. Something about it didn't sit right with her.

She grabbed a piece of charred brick and held it to her nose. She couldn't smell any kind of accelerant and there was no sign of bomb shrapnel mixed in with the rubble. It was almost like the woman had started the fire magically.

"What are you thinking?" Dick asked as he came up beside her.

"I don't think the fire was started normally." She muttered, still lost in thought. Sophie rose to her feet and tossed the rubble to the snow. "I think whoever did this was a meta."

"There's one way to find out." Dick said before nodding his head up towards the surveillance camera on the front of the gas station.

Sophie nodded, eyeing the white camera. "You get the tape, I'll be in the car."

She couldn't deny the fact that she missed working with him. They used to spend hours together scouting out crime scenes and analyzing data on the bat computer.

The more she thought about the past, the more she was reminded that Dick was a very different person now.

Sophie pulled open the door of the silver car and sank down onto the leather seat. She closed her eyes for a moment and leaned her head back against the headrest. She hadn't been able to sleep since they left the hospital. She had too much on her mind, and she couldn't find the strength to say any of it out loud.