Auroral » Titans

36|| Family Ties

Sophie hit the ground with a quiet thud, sending a wave of dust into the air. The second floor of the warehouse was dark. Light from the street seeped in through the tears in the tarp covered windows.

Old construction equipment was left lying around, collecting dust. The walls that broke up the large room were stripped down to the frame, a thin blue tarps dividing the rooms.

It looked like no one had been here in months.

A small grunt came from the vent catching Sophie's attention. Barbara's black legs dangled from the vent as she eased her way down.

Her feet hit the ground quietly before she brushed the dust off of her pants. Her green eyes surveyed the room before landing on Sophie. She didn't have to say anything for Sophie to know she was waiting for her command.

Sophie motioned to Barbara before pointing towards the doorway between the two rooms. Babs nodded and silently began moving forwards. Sophie followed just behind her.

Tension rolled off of her in waves. The building was weirdly empty and the silence that surrounded them was deafening. The place looked abandoned but that didn't make sense if Luthor had just bought it.

Barbara pushed back the tarp covering the doorway and held it up for Sophie. The moment she stepped into the strange room her heart sank.

A metal bed was pushed to the far side of the room. Thick leather straps were fastened around the headboard and legs of the bed. Next to it was an IV drip and a heart rate monitor.

To the left was a wooden desk, covered in scattered papers, and a tray with needles on it.

Sophie didn't even want to know what was inside of those needles. All she knew was that the Mutationist had been here recently, and somehow he was connected to Lex Luthor.

Barbara gave her a knowing look before she walked past her to the makeshift medical station. Sophie took in a deep breath and forced herself to follow Barbara.

Everything she was seeing made her stomach turn. She felt sick. She couldn't understand how someone was so willing to hurt others.

"Rora," Barbara spoke barely above a whisper, "this IV's has been used recently, really recently."

Sophie's heart sank. That meant there could be a scared, probably hurt, kid somewhere in this building. "We need to find the kid." She said.

"Check around this floor, I'm going to see what's on those papers." Barbara motioned to the desk on the other side of the room.

Sophie nodded before she turned and left the small room. The blue tarp crinkled as she pushed it aside, breaking the tense silence around them.

She searched the darkness, hoping the kid was cowering in one of the corners. The shadows seemed to stretch outwards, turning everything they touched into black voids.

She cautiously raised her hand, letting a small light form in her palm. The light was faint, only bright enough to cut through the shadows around her. If Henry was here she didn't want him to know that she was here too.

Sophie walked towards one of the walls. Her aurora illuminated the space ahead of her. Something in the darkness moved quickly, catching her attention. Her head snapped to the right seconds before a dark figure slammed into her.

She hit the floor with a loud crash. Weight pressed against her stomach as a flurry of fist came towards her face. She quickly threw her arms over her face, feeling weak punches slam against her forearms.

The tarp rustled again before the kid sitting on her was yanked away. Sophie quickly shot to her feet, her green eyes landing on Barbara.

Her arms were wrapped around the kid, pinning his arms against his sides so he couldn't fight back.

The kid looked young, maybe sixteen. His brown eyes were wide with fear and coppery blood had dried around his ears and neck. His curly black hair was frizzy with a lack of care, and his clothes were stained with sweat.

He looked like he had gone through hell.

"We aren't going to hurt you." Barbara said. The kid whined and tried yanking his arms free. He was terrified.

This was all happening again, all because she hadn't put a dagger through her father's chest when she had the chance.

"Hey, you're alright, we're here to help you." She spoke softly and slowly approached the kid. This was one of the few times she wished she wore a cowl like Barbara. All the kid could see were her eyes, which he could barely see in the darkness.

The kid stopped struggling for a second and he went limp in Barbara's arms. "See, you're alright, we-"

"-He can't hear you." The voice was cold and raspy. A sound Sophie dreaded.

Her entire body tensed as that feeling of hatred warmed her chest. She turned around to face her father. He stood at the entrance to the stairwell. His thinning blonde hair was slicked back and raindrops were splattered against his suit jacket.

The kid suddenly screamed and yanked free of Barbara's grasp. He bolted into the trap covered room, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the Mutationist.

Barbara tightened her jaw, her gaze flickering over to Sophie. They had a plan for this, neither of them thought they were going to get in and out without somebody noticing.

"This is over Henry." Barbara growled.

He barely glanced her way, his attention was completely focused on Sophie. He sighed through his nose like he was some kind of disappointed parent. "Sophia-"

Hearing him speak her name like he actually gave a shit about her made her lose it. She quickly created two glowing daggers and charged him.

She wasn't sure what her plan was, just that she really wanted to hurt him.

She swung a dagger towards his throat as she drove the other towards his stomach. For an older man he moved quickly. He leaned back, dodging the dagger by his throat, and grabbed her hand near his stomach.

He tightened his grip on her wrist and bent her arm in a way that forced her to spin around. He trapped her arm behind her back. "I don't want to hurt you." He spoke quietly, making Sophie's stomach twist.

"Too bad." Barbara snapped before a thin black batarang flew past Sophie's head. Henry growled in pain and threw her to the ground.

She easily rolled to her feet, just in time to see Barbara land a kick to Henry's chest. He stumbled backwards before he swung his hand towards Babs' head. There was a sickening smack and Barbara fell to the dust covered ground.

Sophie's heart began to race with a kind of anger that led people down terrible roads. She created a glowing dagger in her hand and ran at her father.

He widened his stance, expecting her to hit him head on. Instead she dropped to her knees and slid past his leg, slicing open his calf. He screamed as he dropped to one knee, his hands clutching the bleeding wound.

Sophie sprang to her feet and slammed her foot into his back. He hit the ground with a grunt.

She took a step closer to him. Her hands began to shake and she tightened her grip on the dagger. It would be easy to just drive her dagger through his heart and end this all. It would be so easy.