A/N: The only reason why I'm talking before the chapter is because if I add an A/N to the bottom, it kinda ruins dramatic effect.
Oh? Dramatic effect? You might be wondering, what could this shitty author possibly be on about? Let's just say, I may seem to be a sadist by the end of this chapter (if you manage to stay through the whole thing and not throw up).
About 2498 words, all written in one sitting. So obviously, it's unedited, and plain stupid. Well I might be moving fast, but I dont want this book to be as long as Little Beacon. That drained me so much. Don't worry, this just means more action-packed chapters.
You might need to sit down for this chapter. And I will mention, that by the end of this, you might want to kill me. I will accept my fate only if you come after me with a silver sword.
Heh.
Suffer.
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"You're pathetic, Aria! Absolutely pathetic! You're of no help whatsoever!"
The girl had just tried to sew up the Robin suit, it being torn from her brother's previous mission. He had gotten injured, and was ever so upset that his suit was ruined, so she wanted to help.
Little did she know that she'd accidentally sewn through a nanotech system, causing it to malfunction.
Now the suit lay on the ground, her careful stitching ruined as well from Damian's anger, and it was all she could do not to burst into tears.
She just wanted to help.
"How was she supposed to know, Damian? We never let her anywhere near the Batcave. How would she know about your nanotech?" Dick tried to calm his brother down, seeing the barely hidden guilt on Aria's face. The rain outside seemed to get even harsher, as they stood around the dining table.
"Don't touch things that don't belong to you! All you'll do is ruin them! Stupid!" Damian hissed, annoyed. "Now I'll have to owe Drake a favor, goddammit, and I won't be able to head on patrol for a week."
Aria wanted to open her mouth, to defend herself, to try and find a way to show Damian that she was sorry she was Aria, sorry she accidentally ruined the Robin suit. Instead she just stared at the ground, her hands wrung together, feeling like a criminal.
"That was a ten thousand dollar system she broke." Tim's voice came tiredly from the kitchen, hiding a layer of irritation. "I think Damian's entitled to a little angry. I'll never admit I said that, though."
Dick huffed. "Anger, sure, but full on attacking her?! That isn't fair!"
"Why do you care?" Tim shot back. "You're always away. You don't know what truly goes on in here."
Quiet, then Damian's accusing words, slicing through the silence and stabbing into Aria, shattering what was left of her.
"I can't believe Mother even let you be born, Aria. I can't believe she kept you."
Those words were it.
Aria bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes as she let out a shaky breath. She turned around, ignoring Damian's irritated "What the hell do you think you're walking away from?" and started moving away.
Step after step. Farther and farther, each step taking her away, each step bringing her towards what would be her end.
Then the steps grew louder, and faster, and with a choked sob, little Aria ran as fast as she could out of the Manor.
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Now she was running for her life.
Her shoes pounded against the slick, wet pavement, her breath coming in frantic, shallow gasps. No, no, she didn't know what was going on. She felt the wind burning at her cheeks, felt her muscles screaming at her to stop, every part of her aching.
Run.
She swerved around a corner, yelping as a booming crack of thunder echoed through the sky. Tears that streaked down her face were lost in the pattering rain, lost in the chilly, torrential downpour.
She heard the shout of the black clad man sprinting after her, heard the click of the gun, and she bit back a scream as adrenaline made every nerve throb painfully.
Run!
The man behind her felt giddy with the thrill of the chase, giddy with the delicious adrenaline licking through his veins, giddy with the power of being the hunter closing in on such a delicate little prey.
Her pretty lace dress, bloodied and torn and dirty, flowing in the wind like a fleeting thistle seed, one he would have to catch.
In his ear spoke a voice in Arabic, and he grunted in recognition, pulling out his gun.
He could tell that this little girl was blaming herself, he could even taste the saltiness of her tears through the chilly, pouring rain. He could sense she was injured, in pain, but still pushing onward.
Talia really did downplay her daughter's resilience. By the way she described it, he thought that hunting her down would be child's play, a boring game, something he could do in his sleep. That the girl would just flop over and sob while letting him take her away.
But he was ever so glad that she fought back, ever so glad this little girl had the fighting spirit, if not the strength. It would make it ever the more satisfying when he brought her down.
Suddenly, the sky lit up, a flash of white shocking through the air and sending the hair on the nape of his neck standing up. The man skidded to a stop just as the blinding light came coursing through and speared itself through the girl.
A half-scream echoed through the alley, and the smell of burned flesh and blood and scorched lace filled the air.
Looks like the storm caught her first.
The girl collapsed, eyes wide in pain and terror, glowing green as the shocks dancing around her absorbed the color, glowing green as her pretty little eyes slid shut and she went partially limp against the pavement, blood staining everything.
How peculiar. He'd never seen green lightning before.
The man simply leaned over and took her pulse, one that was faster than humanely possible. The girl's fingers glowed green and suddenly her whole upper body was a blur as she shot forward, eyes glazed over from the pain and the gash in her head and the man let out a confused yelp.
That must've been a trick of the light, right? There was no way this half-unconscious girl was moving faster than the eye could see.
The man slammed the hilt of his gun into her head as fast as he could, managing to snare the girl's wet hair in one blind swipe and smashing her head against the pavement.
Now she was fully limp, crimson streaking everywhere, and the green glow was gone.
He was insane, he concluded, adrenaline seeping away as he stared down at his conquered quarry.
Lightning was lightning, and the burn that traced like a tree down this girl's neck, shoulder and back was proof of that.
And the glowing green was nothing but a forgotten memory as the man scooped her up and walked out of the alley, where a sleek, black van awaited.
Victory, the man thought to himself. Victory is all that matters.
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House arrest again.
Bruce wasn't taking any chances with Aria roaming around the streets, clearly malevolent and no longer the little weak daughter he had to save, so all Robins were to stay at the Manor and at the Manor solely. Even Jason was dragged here.
There was no saving her, there was no negotiating, or figuring out a deal so she could come home. She wasn't ever going to come home. And that thought destroyed him.
What kind of a father was he?
First Jason was taken away, and then Aria, and then she came back a psychopathic killer?
She didn't deserve that fate. She didn't deserve it in the least.
It should've been him.
Alfred stared at the young masters, who all sat in her bedroom, now colder than ever before, more menacing than ever before. Dick was still disbelieving.
"We have to talk to her. Let me talk to her. I can- I c-can bring her h-home." Dick softly begged Bruce over the phone.
"We're too late, Dick. I saw her. That look in her eyes. She's too far gone."
"The mission was to bring A-Aria home no matter what! Why the hell are you backing out from that now? Are you that afraid of your own kid?"
Bruce was silent for a while, before speaking. "I am not afraid of Aria. I would welcome the death she would force on me without a blink of an eye. But she is dangerous, Dick, and she could hurt you all. I cannot let another of my children get hurt, or die. I cannot lose anyone else."
Damian quietly stared at his big brother, watching as the strong Dick Grayson broke into tears.
"You promised her you'd be her home. Her father. And you're giving up on her so fast? We can change her back, goddammit! We need to change her back! She's our sister, our Aria! You can't just let those bastards win!"
Duke let out a soft, heartbroken whine as he buried his face into Jason's chest. The marksman, who stared blankly at the ground, instinctively circled an arm around the boy and pulled him closer, feeling a tear of his own catch in his lashes like a dewdrop in a spiderweb.
"I'm trying to find ways, Dick. Do you really think that I want to just leave her be? It's been six years since she was taken away from us. From me. I want her back more than you can imagine, okay? But it's not safe to take her back when she's in this state."
"She hates us, Bruce." Dick sniffled. "She hates us because we hurt her. We made her into this. We need to fix her. Please, we have to."
Damian stalked out of the room, unable to listen to this any longer. Because deep down inside, he knew that he was the one who hurt her the most. Who caused her to implode and run out that rainy night, who chipped away at her and caused the most cracks in her glass.
How haunting it was, flashes of her happy smile, her happy words and laughter, all a memory that would never come to life again. Because of him.
Meanwhile in the room, Dick choked up, standing up abruptly before cutting the call. He stuffed his phone in his pocket, muttering softly.
"We need to get some more fairy lights. The old ones are broken."
He swept out of the room, the whole notion of house arrest forgotten like a whisper in the wind as he rubbed at his face, pulling his blue hood up over his head and heading out the door.
Alfred called out after him, trying to get him to come back. "Master Dick, you're on house-"
He was cut off by the slam of the door, and he bit back his call.
Dick could handle himself, he was an adult. And also, it was broad daylight. Aria wouldn't be stalking around now.
He was partially right.
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Lightspeed peered over the edge of the roof, her Penrose lightning symbol glittering softly in the sunlight. Nobody really saw her, since she stood out of sight, high up where no civilian eyes would fall on her.
Her eyes fell on the oldest Wayne child, who walked out of Home Depot with a bag full of something. She tilted her head, wondering what was in it, but then returned to her mission.
She pulled off her mask, sighing as she breathed in the air, picking up on the scent of baked goods from the bakeries a few stores over, and the sharp crisp scent of the bay water in the air.
Blue green eyes stared back down at the Wayne boy, watching as he stood under a tree, talking to someone. The street seemed almost deserted by now, the sun setting over the horizon, casting it's pink and red light over the scenery.
A gust of wind blew her dark, long hair in the wind, and she giggled to herself, ever so comfortable in her green speedster suit, the lightning scar that sprawled over her neck and shoulder glowing softly.
Oh, what a wondrous plot twist, Lightspeed thought, running her fingers through her hair, before tossing the mask away, tensing up her muscles, feeling the speed race through her veins.
Time to snuff out the brightest candle of the Wayne family, she laughed to herself.
Pity. Dickie was my second favorite brother.
Slowly, she began glowing green, malice glittering in her eyes as the taste of spilled blood ghosted over her lips.
The targeted Dick Grayson looked up, eyes widening as a green flash of light knocked into him, the gust of air ruffling his unkept hair. He saw the city blur past him, the bag somehow still clutched in his hand.
He let out a frantic gasp at the adrenaline that shot through his body, the sick feeling rising in his chest.
"Lightspeed?"
Dick was confused. Why did this vigilante just sweep him off his feet? Was there some unknown danger he missed while texting Tim outside the Home Depot? She had no mask on, but he couldn't see her features properly.
Dick could feel the miniscule change in speed as the speedster that snatched him slowed down for a split second. But he couldn't turn around to face her, couldn't turn around to see who Lightspeed was and ask her why he was graced with knowing the hero's true identity was.
Boy Wonder suddenly felt something contrastingly cool and sharp against his neck, and his heart suddenly stopped.
A knife. Glittering jade hilt, sharp and deadly, pressing dangerously into his throat, drawing blood already. Dick felt terror set into his body, and he tried to twist away, only to get a warning dip of the knife into his skin, drawing more crimson.
"How gullible."
Aria laughed, green lightning flickering all around them as she grabbed his hair and yanked his head back, both of them slowing down to a stop on top of a cliff overlooking the sunset over the bay.
It was a beautiful view, the wind soft and peaceful, birds chirping their final song in the trees. The waves crashed up against the shore, the cliff standing above it all, facing towards the deep blue distance of the bay horizon. Violent shades of red and pink and orange danced in the sky as the sun hung low in the sky, casting its spell of beauty over everything.
This view was the least she could do.
Dick let out one last breath, blue eyes wide as he stared into the clash of his little sister's blue-green irises one last time.
Aria smiled that sweet smile Dick had wished to see for six years, the blade in her hands pressing against his throat harder, sending sparks of pain through his body. He felt his vision start to fade away.
She's so beautiful, Dick found himself thinking, the pain in his neck white hot. Tears welled up in his eyes.
Such a breathtaking view in front of him, such a final view she graced him with, but Dick couldn't take his eyes off of her. Dick couldn't stop staring, her eyes destined to be the last thing he wanted to see.
I'm sorry I hurt you. Dick silently told her. I'm glad I got to see you one last time.
One last breath, soft against the air, as the boy slowly gave himself up to his fate, the last touches of sunlight dusting over his face, blue eyes fluttering shut.
"Surprise, little bluebird." Her voice came soft and airy. "I came back to you."