Hospitals were never her scene, for Dianna, this applies. She was barely five when her sister had come to the world, and she came to visit newborn baby, the biggest of smiles on her round face. The little girl waltzed down the long, luminous corridors packed with doctors whispering conversations, running down to an emergency and those patients who were sick but still managed to get into a wheelchair to see and talk to others.
There was this old woman, her skin so close to the bones, and colorless, large bags under her eyes but a sweet smile of someone who lived a long, happy life. Her uncle, who held her hand to guide her to the room her mother was at, pulled her away from the woman who called for her but Dianna thought nothing of it and approached her still.
The woman grabbed her hand, which was connected to the serum, and squeezed it, "you're a beautiful young lady. Oh, you're going to get all the boys..." her cracked voice had suddenly come out as a puff of air, her breath smelt like gelatine mixed with those pills Dianna had to take when she was sick. The old eyes of the sweet grandma stared at her and at nothing at the same time, they were void, lifeless.
Dianna stared back, her innocent mind not understanding what was going on at that moment. Her grip around her hand dropped but she didn't feel the rush of fear until her head dropped back, mouth hanging open and the woman stayed in that position. Her uncle lifted her from the ground, carrying on with their search for the room. Her little, curious brown eyes fell back into the woman's, her empty expression dug into her mind and would stay there forever.
Now, over twenty years later, Robin stormed down similar hallways, her mind altered with worry and fear for her best friend. She had now changed out of her suit and wore the first pair of clothing that she could find laying around her shared apartment. She was sure most of the clothes weren't even hers but from her roommate.
Ha, her roommate. Marge Vasquez was her name and she was not only Robin's roomie but Dianna's sister. One could only imagine how hard it was to re-meet one of her loved ones, pretending that they were total strangers. The first couple of days, she had her mood wrecked, but she soon realized that this was the only way to connect with her long-lost sister.
So, Zach had stepped in and secretly arranged an apartment sale that was perfect for both of them. They were good friends by then and decided to move in together. This gave Marge a great opportunity to start working at the hospital, gain some money, and study medicine altogether.
It had been Marge who called her in, her best friend ever since she moved into the city a year ago. Robin was in the middle of changing clothes when the phone rang and she had to pretend to be surprised by the news. Marge knew nothing about the secret life her friends had, she supported the vigilantes and spoke about them on their dinners together, not knowing that she was boosting their ego.
Marge had grown into a beautiful, smart, independent, and genuine woman. Dianna was proud. And Robin loved to have such an inspiring person in her life. Even if it wasn't the way she would have wanted.
"Robin!" There it was, that sweet, low voice that made her heart burst with happiness. Except for this time, she was too worried about Zach's state to bring a smile to her face. The young doctor loomed towards her, wrapping her in a tight hug, one that both needed. They stayed for longer in each other's embrace, feeling calm build between their bodies.
Marge pulled away and Robin had time to examine her face, now. There were small dark circles under her eyes from working all night and not having enough sleep to study, but that wasn't what worried her, neither the forming crease lines on her forehead. It was her wet lower eyelashes that created a lump in her throat, making her unable to breathe. She opened her mouth but closed it again when Marge's gaze lowered to her twiddling fingers.
"You may want to sit down, Robs," she motioned for the short row of seats, but Robin could only move her eyes muscles to the plastic seats. Marge gently grabbed her arms and moved towards the seats, forcing her legs to bend so she could sit. She sat next to her, facing the girl like a scared teenager faces their mother to tell them they failed a class. "Zachary was brought in about half an hour ago, we don't know who it was but he was shot. Doctors took him into the operation room immediately and began surgery but he was shot in a coronary artery-"
"If what they need is money to transplant a new artery, he can afford it-"
Marge's hand clasped hers, holding them tightly, giving it an encouraging squeeze. "Robin, I'm so sorry. He's dead."
He's not dead, she told herself, recalling all those times he faked his death in front of their main enemy (a fake Ra's Al Ghul, a man who wanted to join the League of Assassins). He always came back and surprised everyone, catching them off guard. This was just one of those times. He would appear in their bunker and laugh at her terrified expression. She stared blankly at Marge.
"One other thing," she began, still holding onto her hand, wanting her friend to be strong to face this horrible news. "When he came in... he was wearing a suit. Not just any suit. Zach was a vigilante. He was Scourge. He hid it from us all this time."
Robin took a few seconds to swallow in everything. She needed to go back to their bunker and reunite with her friend, tell him that Marge had found out about his identity and that it was safe to tell her about Diva and Hellcat, too. "I need to go. T-thank you, Marge. I need to take some air."
She stormed out of those hallways, away from her sister, from the lie Zach had managed to make them believe. He had never involved any other person than Robin. His death was legal now, he was taking too many risks for such a small group. She checked her phone, no messages, maybe he needed to arrive safely before letting her know.
A giant glass door separated her from the way back to her partner, she pushed it, feeling the October air against her sweaty skin, brushing the short hairs in her arms. The city was now a black canvas with different shaped lights that reached the dark purple sky. Her paining feet dragged her towards the street, where her eyes squinted to find the shape of her old car.
A white van covered her vision, she stepped sway as two people rushed down, she thought it was medics hurried to make it inside, save someone's life. But those men headed her way, took hold of her tired body, and began to move her towards the vehicle. There were people around screaming and dialing on their phones, but not a single soul dared to come close.
Robin was left on her own to move her arm up, elbow one of them in the face, the one holding her upper body. Her top half started to fall and she extended her arms to touch the ground, kick the man holding her legs away. Her move was successful but she didn't count on the first one to recover so quickly.
The man grabbed her upside down and called for help. Three more people got out of the van and grabbed her in areas she could not fight to be set free. She trashed but it didn't work. They had caught her, whoever they were and she was now officially kidnapped. The van was dark, she could not see, but feel someone tying her legs and wrists, putting some rag around her mouth to prevent yelling.
I can still fight this. I'm not going to get taken away by some random people. Not again, she snorted at the memory of waking up in that truck years ago. She had also been kidnapped. Did she look very vulnerable and helpless?
The van sped into the night, passing by people, cops, the station itself without no one realizing they were criminals, that a girl was tied up in the trunk, figuring out a way to escape. She counted on no one, only herself. Some random people wouldn't take her down, and she would make sure they were put behind bars after this.
One call was all it took for the police to be alerted, but five calls and all at the same time? That started chaos. The people that picked up the phones began to write down all the information given and sped into the Captain's office, all at the same time.
The man looked up from the file in his hands and knew that he needed to put his team to work.
The news about the kidnapping in the hospital had run fast through the police department, every cop had raised their ears when their Captain sent a special squad to investigate. Sad thing was, none of them could do anything to help, they just had to hear the updates and luckily, they'd be called for backup.
No one except one hurt soul could help. He was no ordinary cop, he had a secret kept well, one that could potentially help this girl. Said person stood up from his cushioned chair, scratching the ceramic floors with the broken plastic leg caps. His partners on each side turned their heads and he smiled at one of them politely before strolling out of the building.
He headed to his old car, unlock it, and stepped in. Sighing, he searched with his hand for a metal briefcase under the seat and pulled it out once his hand touched the cold surface. A red light indicated it was locked, no one could open it even if they threw a bomb at it. He leaned into the small camera, allowing it to scan his retina. The case clicked and he opened it, deciding that it was time to use the contents once again.
Meanwhile, Robin Lee continued to struggle for her freedom. She calculated to be surrounded by four people, the same amount as an ideal American family, a straight marriage, two kids, a girl, and a boy. She could even smell the warmth of their pathetic house in the van, a strong smell of expensive fragrance mixed with warm chocolate and a touch of mint.
Or maybe there was no odor at all. Her mind snapped back into reality, stopped fooling her senses, making her imagine things. It wasn't the sweet smell of a homey household, it was Chloroform, and it tickled her nose as it neared her nostrils.
Good thing she had a new sense to use other than hearing, she could now move or try to, away from the chemical smell that would send her body to rest long enough for them to completely tie her. Robin swayed to the right, bumping into a pair of feet that kicked her back in place, the scent coming even closer.
She lurched again, this time rolling on her belly, using her cuffed hands to cover her mouth and nose. She heard them complain about the pain in the ass she was being and a smile slid into her face, proud of being such. Suddenly, her head was yanked up by her hair, her hands pinned down by a pair of hands. And there it was once again, only that this time the liquid was pressed against her face. All she could do is hold her breath and not aspire it in.
"I don't think she's breathing it in, Mom," said a soft teenage voice from her side, it was the same girl that forced the gauze into her. Mom? Robin's eyes widened as her terrible assumption became true. It was indeed a family that kidnapped her.
"Let me handle her-"
A hand had landed in her feet but it quickly went away, followed by the van abruptly stopping and a loud thud. Screams filled the vehicle, informing the kidnapped girl that the Mother had crashed against the front windshield, probably meeting with her death. There was a sharp silence in the small space until someone opened a door.
"Listen, I don't know who you are, but you get the fuck out! You have no idea who you're dealing with-" Robin heard it, a sharp object tossed with precision, the harsh blades slashing through the air, digging into metal. The sound repeated, only that this time, it dug into flesh and she did not deduce that by the wet sound, but also by the shriek that echoed.
The heaviness on her hands lifted as the person responsible for hurting her bones ran out, confronting whoever was out there, killing the family. Again, there was a warning followed by grunts, dry hits, and the beautiful noise of that dumb bo-staff sliding into its full length. A few more swings and Robin had been left unsupervised, free to break out of the plastic security seals and escape the unfortunate event.
She struggled against the restrain, using a secret technique Zachary was taught her. Her heart raced as her hopes built up, she had a pretty good idea of who had bothered to save her. She knew he would never leave her. A strong kick weakened the plastic enough for her to start heating it against her shoe, creating fiction to break it. She kicked again, repeating the process until they snapped open.
There it was, she was free.
Out of instinct, she headed for the door, where her blood would freeze at the sight. It wasn't the person she had hoped to find, run towards and wrap her tired arms around, thanking every god that he wasn't dead.
He held out his hand.
She just stared at him in disbelief, swallowing down the terrible comprehension that popped into her mind. "Come on, we need to get outta here!" Her hand reached out without her permission, grasping into his, feeling the cold sweat that his body let out. He pulled her out, his suit coming to light. "I'm taking you to the station, you'll be safe."
"Wait," she pulled him back with force, almost making the masked man trip with his own feet, not expecting for the girl to have such strength. "You're him. You're Robin-" her hand grasped further than his gloved hands, touching his skin, feeling an overwhelming wave of sadness and anger travel from him to her exhausted body.
She looked down at her hand and noticed she was gripping tightly a metal bo staff, one that she began to swing around, feeling the vibration travel through the stick as he smacked it into people's faces.
The fight finished with two men standing, her and a man in a dark suit. His silhouette contrasting against the round moon as her eyes looked up at him. Batman. "Robin, what's wrong?"
But when he said the name Robin, he didn't mean her. He meant for the vigilante that worked alongside him in Gotham, his sidekick.
"I'm fine."
Next thing, short glimpses of a recollection appeared before her eyes. Her hands threw belongings into a bag, shutting in angrily, swinging it over her shoulder. She headed for the window and jumped out. Escaping.
A white flash and she suddenly stood in an empty room, a table and a chair in front of her. She fixed her tie in the fake window. Her face was a blur.
Robin pulled his hand away from her, eyes large in surprise of the memory that surged from the very back of his mind, one he almost forgot about. That girl... he snapped out, reaching for her hand and pulling her into the dark city. Both stayed silent, startled by the images that popped into their minds.
Who the hell was this person?