Aves (Young Justice Fanfiction)

Useless

//S

My upper right cheek was dripping blood down the side of my face. My vision was a little unfocused with black dotting the rim of my view. There was only one thing in focus, my father's menacing face. His forehead was creased in frustration and his foot came in for another blow. 

The kick knocked the wind out of me and I let out a small groan. Penguin was standing in the corner disinterested in my deserved punishment. I guess Penguin was right, this is exactly what I deserved. I was given a simple job, to keep Robin in the cage. 

How was I ever going to grow into Penguin's shoes if I couldn't even handle a sidekick? I realized these beatings would be regular things. That Penguin would bring me here for my punishment knowing that he couldn't do anything to hurt me. He needed my father as a constant reminder of my past.

I wanted to be free from my father, not thinking about how it would affect the future or the people around me. It's not like there were many people who missed me, but there was Gordon. It was selfish of me to runaway when he cared for me so much. Think of all the worry I put him through while I was supposedly dead. 

I was also an ungrateful brat, my father was right. I had shelter with food, money, and a bed to sleep in. I wasn't thinking right when I left and I'm starting to regret my past decisions. I'm in this situation all because I wasn't strong enough to take the beatings a few years back. It's all my damn fault.

My father then kicked my side knocking me to the floor. The cold tile slammed against my jaw and cut it open. I took slow, deep breaths trying to control my urge to scream out in pain. Mother used to always say 'Suffer like a solider.' 

I knew what was coming when I agreed to kidnap Robin. I knew what I was running into, just like a solider know what they are running into when they charge into battle. Except a solider goes in knowing that they are fighting for the protection of their county, of others. I'm jumping into battle for myself. It gives me this sens of freedom that I have become addicted to.

My mother was apart of the U.S. air force and met my father in school. She was always out of town for work and I barely got to see her. They had a loveless marriage, but it still shook my father's world when she died. He still have a little love left for her, he did marry her after all. She also brought in half of the income putting extreme stress on him. He started to take on extra shifts, but one day he just cracked...

***

It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon as the sun set like it did everyday. No matter what happened to the world that day the sun would always rise and fall without a care about the world it was providing light for. 

I was seated at the dinning table in our small house. It was a little drafty as winter was rolling around. The world seemed to be moving on without me as I stared at my homework unwillingly. The only thing on my mind was my mother's sweet face that I would never see again. Suddenly the door swung open to reveal my father in his work uniform.

The loud noise snapped me out of my trance as I read his face. His forehead was creased and his brows were furrowed. His breathing was hard and he was gripping the door handle tightly. There were prominent bags beneath his brown, worn out eyes. He was mumbling something incomprehensible as he focused in at the ground. I looked at him with a worried look. He had been under a lot of stress since he took up an extra shift.

"What's for dinner?" he asked in a strained voice.

"I haven't made it yet, but I could - " I said in a tired voice.

"Useless child, completely useless." my father mumbled under his breath.

He stomped over to the fridge ripping the door open. His knuckles were white and his shoulders were tense. He pulled out the jug of milk, the marble counter vibrated as he set it down. He walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a glass cup.