𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, DICK GRAYSON

─ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

"Ashe," the sound of my name reverberated in the room.

I felt a warm hand on my cheek as someone gently turned my head. Looking straight into their worried eyes, I recognized the chocolate brown color. "Whatever happened to you, it wasn't real. It was the drugs," Dick told me. "It wasn't real."

I wanted to scoff at his words but lacked the energy to do so. "No, you're wrong," I whispered, lying still on the chair. "Asura was right. I am a monster."

Dick gave a puzzled expression when I mentioned myself in third-person.

"No, what. You're not a monster, Ashe," Rachel strongly argued, "not to me or anyone."

"I don't deserve to live..."

"Yes, you do. If it weren't for you, I would never have found my mom," the young girl grasped my hand and tightly held it in hers. "You need to fight this, Ashe. You're stronger than them." She looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Hey, hey, look at me," Dick whispered, using his thumb to wipe away the tears that I didn't know was streaming down as my vision slowly focused on him. "We all have darkness inside us, but you can't let it consume you. Not now nor ever."

He's right. I can't allow darkness to win again.

With every bit of strength that I was able to regain, I squeezed Rachel's hand and pulled a soft smile. "You're right..." I said to them as my wrists and ankles became free from the leather straps.

Dick swung my arm over his head, lifting my whole body off the chair. "I've got you," he whispered in reassurance as the five of us left the padded, windowless room and went to search for our pyrokinetic friend.

She was in a dark, surgical room with wires all over her body. "Keep your eyes on the door," Dick ordered us after busting through the door as he charged at the surgeons while Gar and I rushed over to Kory, undoing the medical restraints.

"What's the tube?" Rachel asked, staring at the plastic tubes that were tapped to Kory's mouth.

"They intubated her. I know how to take it out," Gar explained, taking off the first piece of the airway tube. "This is gonna hurt. Ready?" He looked at her in the eyes, waiting for permission.

Kory nodded as Gar carefully pulled out a plastic tube that was lodged into the trachea from her mouth. She sat upright, heavily inhaling the open oxygen. "Kory, just relax. The spasms will stop if you relax," the young boy strongly urged her.

"You relax," Kory barked back.

"You okay?" Dick asked.

"Fuck no," she climbed down from the table with Dick's help.

We continued on our escape, following Angela's directions through the dark tunnels. "Come on, we can get out through here. Hurry," the older woman instructed us, holding the flashlight when she abruptly halted, seeing two figures ahead.

It was security guards at the end of the corridor.

"There they are," one of them said, "all right, you kids just stay right where you are."

Rachel had an uneasy look, retreating back as the guard began to approach us.

"They're fucking mine," I growled out, walking forward then prying off a metal contraption from the pipeline. Tightening my grip, I charged and slammed the weapon into one guard's stomach as blood instantly spilled on the first second.