Auroral » Titans

23|| Brain Matter

Something about the Family sent shivers down Sophie's spine. They all had the same dead, soulless eyes that stared back at her with unwavering emptiness. They didn't say anything or squirm in their seats.

It brought Sophie back to the first time she had ever seen someone brainwashed. She was barely fifteen and it was her first patrol with Dick instead of Bruce. 

The cold look in that woman's eyes and the lack of emotion on her face made Sophie's stomach twist. The woman had killed a cop with her bare hands and she barely batted an eye. 

The thought of losing your senses and being completely under someone else control terrified her back then. Those were the days before she had breathed in Scarecrows fear toxin or watch the Joker laugh in her face.

She ran a hand through her hair, tugging back the golden strands and tying her hair up in a ponytail. She sat on the edge of the bed and silently watched the family.

They all just stared straight ahead, not quite looking at her. It was unsettling. 

She sighed softly and rested her head in the palms of her hands. The quiet had a way of reminding her just how tired she was. Even her years of training couldn't stop her from wanting to drift off to sleep.

"Oh dear, you look exhausted." The mother's overly chirpy voice brought Sophie back to the land of the living. Her shoulders tensed and she dropped her arms to her lap.

The mother had a twisted smile on her lips, but her eyes stayed dead. "Maybe you should get some rest. I know a great sleep remedy, if you'd like."

Sophie stared at her for a moment. Her sleep deprived brain was completely bewildered by the woman. "Right." She muttered. "Since you're talking why don't you tell me who Dr Adamson is?"

The Mother's smile faltered slightly and she glanced over at the new Father. "I'm sorry Dear, we can't do that." She said slightly colder then before.

"Thought so." Sophie sighed as she walked over to the broken window and peered out on to the parking lot. A small flash of red began to blink in her peripheral vision. 

"I think we got in trouble." The daughter said. 

Sophie turned around, her eyes darting over to the blinking red lights just beneath the skin of each family members temple.

"Shit." Sophie's eyes widened as she realized what those were. She darted for cover just as a bang echoed through the room. Blood splattered all around the room, barely missing her. 

Crimson blood and brain matter painted the walls and limp headless corpses sat in the chairs. "Fuck." Sophie breathed heavily. 

Three sharp knocks came from the door and Sophie quickly walked over to it. She unlatched the deadbolt before poking her head out. Kori looked at her with a raised brow. "So, are you going to let me in?"

"Just watch where you step." She said as she opened the door more. Kori stepped inside and Sophie quickly closed the door before anyone could see the four headless bodies.

"Well shit. This is going to be a bitch to clean up." Kori spoke so casually that Sophie almost found it humorous. 

She walked over to the Kori and crossed her arms over her chest. "Tell me about it."

"What happened? Dick was pretty clear that we weren't allowed to kill them." Kori stated and glanced over at Sophie. 

"This wasn't me." She pulled her eyes away from the blood covered corpses. "They're heads kind of just exploded. It was probably some kind of subdermal explosive. I have a funny feeling Dick's the reason they're dead."

Kori raised a brow and brushed her vibrant curls out of her face. "You think Dick found Adamson?"

"Probably." Sophie nodded before casting another glance at the Family. "Why don't you call him and i'll deal with this."

Kori followed her gaze to the bodies before shrugging. "Fine by me." She smirked before leaving.

Sophie sighed heavily and dragged a hand over her face. She really hated cleaning up blood, she usually left that job to Alfred. 

****

Sophie yanked closed the door to Dick's hotel room, silently hoping that Bruce wouldn't mind if she sent this woman a large compensation check. "Any luck?" Kori's voice carried down the hall. 

Sophie glanced over and shrugged her shoulders. "Let's not talk about that. Did you call Dick?"

"I did." Kori nodded and came to a stop beside Sophie. She leaned against the beige wall and began to fiddle with the large ring on her finger. "He wants us to meet him at some safe house in Chicago." 

Sophie nodded. She was pretty sure she knew which one. Bruce had safe houses scattered all across the world. He only had two in Chicago and Sophie was pretty sure Dick wasn't going to make them sleep in the underground bunker.

"I think I know the one." Sophie said and started walking down the hall.

"Right." Kori said as she fell into step beside Sophie. "You worked with that Bat guy too."

"Batman." She corrected Kori without a second thought.

"He's really got a thing for helping kids, huh?" Kori asked almost teasingly. "Guess it's something you two picked up."

"Seems like it." Sophie muttered as she came to a stop in front of Rachel's door. She knocked twice before Gar shouted for them to come in. Kori opened the door and walked in, her purple romper shimmering in the afternoon light.

Sophie followed after her, letting the door fall closed behind her. Rachel and Gar were sitting on the bed, a deck of cards spread out between them. They both looked up at the two older woman. 

"Hey, what's up?" Rachel asked with a kind smile.

"We're going to meet Dick in Chicago." Sophie said simply. "Pack up we leave in ten."

"Yes ma'am." Gar smirked and jokingly saluted her.

Sophie chuckled as she turned towards the bedroom door. A series of short buzzing sounds stopped her in her tracks. She quickly grabbed her phone from the pocket and switched it on.

A text from Barbara sat on her screen. She clicked on it and their text conversation popped up. Secure links were attached to the texts and below it was a text from Barbara. 

"I couldn't find much on that Adamson guy but I got a lead on our case. I sent you over what I found. Most of it's stuff from your fathers time in prison."

"I'll look through it." She quickly texted back before her phone buzzed again.

"I'm sorry if this is hard for you." Barbara said and Sophie smiled softly. No matter what, Barbara would always be there looking out for Sophie like an older sister. 

"I'll be fine." She texted back before slipping her phone back into her pocket. She wasn't sure if she was actually fine, when it came to her father everything felt so numb. Deep down she knew why she felt that coldness but it was easier to pretend that she didn't.