"They're ARGUS."

My grip on the strap slackened as we became surrounded by A.R.G.U.S. grunts, their guns at the ready. Instinctively, I turned from Leather Jacket and scoped out the scene now before us. I focussed on the small circular patch on each army fatigue jacket; a black 'A' symbol with the two gold arrows intersecting. It was the same symbol I saw at the Gatehouse last night.

"You're right." I slowly turned around, our backs . I could feel the heat radiate from him.

"You got my back?"

"For now," I answered quietly and I felt a shudder of a quiet chuckle run through him.

The air was still, save for our quiet breathing. The usual boisterous sounds of Gotham had quietened, as we all waited for someone to make the first move... draw the first blood. I found myself holding my breath as I noted five in front of me and what sounded like more holding the line behind them. Could I take them? All of them? Can Leather Jacket even fight or am I actually going to have to watch his back...? I pondered as my eyes darted from one A.R.G.U.S. agent to the next. I became a little lost in my thoughts, finding myself thinking more about the man standing behind me than I would have liked to admit that was until I heard the faint static of a comms device come to life and so too, did I.

In the time it took the first agent to realise I was on the move, I had taken the four steps between us and had my hand wrapped around the barrel of his army issue M4 carbine assault rifle. I thrusted it into the air as a barrage of shots rang out, warming my hand. My gaze snapped at him and I pursed my lips.

"S-s-sorry," he whimpered. His whole body began to violently tremble.

I seized the gun from his loosening grip and rammed the body of the gun into his visor, sending shards of shattered darkened perspex in every direction. The sight of the gun made it through the mask and connected with the bridge of his nose with a hideous crack. His eyes rolled back as he crumpled to the floor, blood streaming from his face. I took a second to easily disarm his gun, the way my parents had shown me countless times before and tossed aside the weapon. I spun around to find a whole lot of guns now pointed towards me. I squinted against the blinding red lights dazzling my eyes and peered down; my body was covered in glowing red dots and it sent my pulse into overdrive. I felt small tremors run through my body, tiny hairs standing on edge but all I felt was calm. I cracked my knuckles, smiling.

Without wasting another second, I ran towards the two agents closest to me, using them as unwilling shields against the rest of the gun-toting agents. I was a few feet away when they finally began to fire. Instinctively, I dove towards the concrete as bright sparks flashed from the muzzle of their guns, and somersaulted into the air above the A.R.G.U.S. soldier. Tucking one leg in, and with the help of gravity, I hammered my other foot into the top of one's helmet as hard as I could.

"Argh!" She groaned. I knew the damage was minimal, what with her wearing a helmet but it was enough to make her start to sway slightly. She recovered quicker than I had anticipated and lunged towards me, causing me to fall awkwardly onto my bottom.

"Ahh!" I sucked the air through gritted teeth, feigning worse injury. Lying on my back, I waited for her to be almost on top of me before I pushed my feet into her knees with as much force as I could muster. A loud, gut-turning snap later and she was down, writhing in agony beside me. Without missing a beat, I pushed myself up and half-jumped into the next agent. Having caught him off guard, he fell heavily to the floor. His helmet crashed into the cement, closely followed by my knees. For good measure, or at least that's what I told myself, I grabbed his head and drove it into the hard floor. I removed both magazines from the guns and dropped them by their incapacitated owners.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" A muffled order shouted in the distance. That voice... I know that voice, don't I? I let my concentration lapse for a moment as I tried to focus on what I had just heard, allowing two agents to take me by surprise. They jumped on top of me, forcing me back onto the floor. One held my legs whilst the other threw their body over mine, effectively pinning me down. I could feel their bodies tense, bracing themselves for the struggle they thought would ensue but I knew better. I didn't fight nor did I struggle, I just simply watched our reflections in a broken window to my left and waited for my moment to strike.

My patience was rewarded and it wasn't long until the man turned his head exposing his chin. I threw my head back and rammed it into his jaw. He half groaned, half choked on the blood now pooling in his mouth. The hit even left me reeling and seeing stars... I clumsily managed to roll him off me and as the fog lifted from my mind, so too did the weight on my legs. I rolled over to see Leather Jacket's outstretched hand.

"Thanks," I said, accepting his help.

"We gotta get out of here."

"We can take them." I looked around at the unconscious bodies sprawled around us, "Impressive."

"For now?" Ignoring my compliment, "Yeah, I don't doubt you could but they're not gonna stop and at some point fatigue will surely set in," he said matter-of-factly.

I looked toward the alleyway entrance, and as if cementing his advice, watched as more soldiers funnelled in. My gaze was drifted to the two unmoving figures standing by a black SUV behind their insubordinates. Without thinking, I took a tentative step toward them. Something about them was familiar even if they were shrouded in shadows.

"C'mon!" He hissed and I felt his arm snake around my waist. My next breath caught as we flew through the air towards the top of the building that towered over us only a moment ago. We landed lightly and surprised the three gunmen whose weapons were still trained on the scene below.

He let go of my waist and threw a small metallic object at the ground. In an instant we were engulfed in a blinding, suffocating white smoke. I closed my watering eyes and felt around the thick air that was now consuming me.

"This way," a voice whispered, his warm breath tickled my ear. Blindly, I let myself be pulled along.

"You can open your eyes."

My eyes struggled against the dim light of sunset but after a few moments I was able to see again. We were back on the street and I could see the crisp whiteness of the library a few blocks away. He cleared his throat and automatically I turned around. He was straddled on top of a black nondescript motorcycle but somehow it looked fast and was holding an unusual looking helmet out for me. I stood rooted to the spot, refusing to take it.

"You're joking right? I'm not getting on that with you." I folded my arms, an attempt to emphasise my point.

"I give them thirty-two seconds before they swarm this place."

"I can take them!" I huffed. I rubbed my hands together and whirled around, noting entrances and objects I could use as weapons. A garden hose could work, I thought to myself as I began to walk over.

"Mmm... seventeen seconds. Give or take," he spoke, unmoving.

I paused, my ears strained against the sounds bombarding me; honking horns, the rumbling of trucks and cars... wait! Was that the sound of booted feet running this way? My earlier optimism dimmed as the thought of black, faceless soldiers piled around me... suffocating me like an army of ants devouring a meal.

"Where are we going?" I sighed and swivelled around, already walking back over to him.

"Safe house," a smile ghosted his lips as the motorbike purred to life.

"Fine." I grabbed the dark helmet and as I sat in the snug space behind him, I muttered as I placed it over my head, "But if you try anything I will break both your arms."

He laughed as we peeled out into oncoming traffic. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his waist and bit my lip, silencing my screams.

I watched in awe as he navigated easily between vehicles along the tight streets of Gotham and I noticed how his shoulders relaxed even at the high speeds we were travelling. The sights whipped past me and, even though the helmet was almost like a second skin, I secretly wished I wasn't wearing it. As the night sky darkened, Gotham came to life in a blaze of colourful lights but for me, the helmet drained all colour from the scenes zooming past us. We travelled over Gotham City Bridge, passing the large marble figures that were carved into the bridge's pillars, silent protectors of the city, and headed towards Old Gotham.

We took a sharp turn, the wheels squealed loudly in protest, and suddenly everything went black. At first I thought I had died, a quick and painless death it seemed. And for that one explicable moment, I felt like I was floating downwards into the bowels of the earth... until my senses kicked in and I could feel the rumbling of the bike underneath me again.

"What's happening?" I was unaware that my arms were still wrapped around his torso and reactively my fingernails dug into his muscular abdomen.

"Stay calm." A hand squeezed my own, "we're almost there."

It seemed we were in fact travelling downwards, the shift in gravity confirmed it but down to where? A dungeon, my inner voice darkly suggested.

"Trust me," he answered my unspoken fears.

Stupidly, I think I did and without even knowing his name! I couldn't even pick him out of a line-up if I had to... my parents would be so disappointed in me. My parents... I hadn't thought of them since I had left the cafe but now that my mind had flitted to them so too did the shadowy pair from the alleyway. Was that them? For whatever reason they did feel familiar but why? My thoughts were rattled by a physical jolt.

"Have we stopped?" As I asked, my hands were pried away from his waist and I felt a rush of cool air on my torso. A moment later and the helmet was slipped from my head. I looked around the dimly lit, small space we were in. I knew Leather Jacket was standing behind me but my interest lay in the room we were now in.

"Is this... is this an elevator? We're going up, aren't we?" As if in answer, we came to an easy halt with one of the walls sliding away. It opened up, revealing a large circular room lined with bright computer screens and small flashing lights.

"Woah," I was in awe. I got off the bike and began to drift forward, my curiosity getting the better of me. I could see a 3D virtual map of Gotham on a table to the right of me and a whole lot of technology I had never seen before.

"What are you doing here, Robin?" A cold voice echoed around me.

"Babs! How you doing?" He answered, walking past me. Wait, what? Robin?! I've been with Robin this entire time?! A flurry of thoughts rushed through my mind and I had to physically shake my head to clear it.

"Oh you know, my spine is still shattered and my shin is itchy... so there's that." I watched as a stony-faced girl with flaming red hair and black rimmed glasses, wheeled around a corner.

"I'll scratch any itch for you, you know that," Robin replied playfully, kneeling down in front of her. His back was toward me and as much as I wanted to walk over and spin him around see, possibly shaking him, but I felt like I would be intruding on a particularly private moment and continued to look around. She rolled her eyes and went to move. His hands darted out, holding hers mid-air. "Seriously though, how've you been?"

"Well, being an in-patient at the Arkham Centre for Independence was an absolute laugh. Being made to try and walk, when everyone knew it was impossible, was probably the most fun I've had in a long time."

"I know it's been rough... I can't even begin-"

"Who's your friend?" She asked, cutting him off, "You know she had a tracer, right?"

"Had a trace?" My voice cracked.

"I destroyed it." Her green eyes narrowe on my own.

"I didn't know..." Tears pricked my eyes. It seemed I didn't know a lot of things but was able to push them aside until this... I felt... violated. Someone had implanted me with a tracker and I had no idea! Who? My parents? They couldn't have built a tracker! Neither one of them had the technical capabilities but they could operate... sure they weren't doctors but they had medical experience. I had no doubts that they knew and, being my parents, would have had to give the go ahead! Anger flared and I began to rub my neck and wrists, looking for the telltale sign of the tracker. Then what? I thought cynically. What would I do if I found it? Dig it out in a fit of hysterical rage? Could I ask the girl with the shrewd emerald eyes to remove it for me...?

"Her name's Blue. Her parents are highly ranked-"

"ARGUS agents, I know. I got the file you sent. Anaconda One," she hadn't moved a muscle but the screen in the centre of the room came to life as the lights surrounding us dimmed. I automatically moved forward to the two-way opaque screen dividing me from them. Pictures and videos of me filled the space, along with backwards notes about me and A.R.G.U.S.

"You've got a file on me?" I asked, incredulously.

"Correction, we have notes on you," the girl called Babs replied coolly.

"And not many at that. You're a conundrum, Blue." Robin continued.

"What do you mean?"

"We couldn't locate your date of birth, let alone a place of birth."

"Interesting," she spoke as she wheeled over to a computer, Robin in tow. It whirred to life as she picked up the keyboard. They both went quiet as her lightning fast taps filled the room. I could hear them murmur things to one another but I couldn't have cared less as to what they were talking about. My eyes were fixed on the large glowing screen in front of me. Dot points were noted but most had a question mark against them; Name: Blue, with a question mark. Gender: Female. D.O.B: Question mark. Place of Birth: Question mark. Parents: Harold Louise Hyde - A.R.G.U.S. aliases - possibly adoptive parents.

"... decryption will take a while but it looks like they frequent the Gatehouse."

"Gatehouse? I followed my par..." I stopped, licking my lips before continuing. The note about them being my adoptive parents weighing heavily, " them. I followed them there late last night."

"You're fast," she hit a button and turned around to the centre screen. Surveillance videos of me, from different angles, riding the bike floated in front of me.

"I guess so," I shrugged, watching on. The last video was filmed from across the street, the gate was just out of shot but I could see me hiding behind the large prickle bush.

"Pause." The video paused as it zoomed in on me falling to the ground, "What happened?"

"Oh, that?" I stopped myself from blurting out about the voice I had heard. A sign of madness that the perceptive redhead would surely point out. "My, uh... they were talking and I, um, thought they saw me."

"What were they talking about?" Unbelieving emerald eyes searched my own. I stared back and I felt my face flush indignantly.

"They were talking about a containment breach at the Gatehouse!" The words rushed out of me before I could stop them. I watched as her eyes widened and for a moment she was still.

"I knew it!" She whirled around, a thin wheel losing traction briefly as she sped over to her supercomputer. "I knew they were housing something important there! I heard a bit of chatter about the breach but couldn't pinpoint it." I could see a smile appear on Robin's lips before he followed her.

"Not something," I muttered, hearing the phantom pleas again, "someone."

"What?" They both questioned in unison. I could feel their eyes on me but I was unable to meet them, the screams from that night engulfing me.

I took a shaky breath, "Someone... it was someone in trouble. I heard their screams." A solitary tear fell from my eye.

"It seems I've underestimated you, Blue." Her using my name effectively pulling me away from that night and into the now. "Robin, I need you to dump some audio and visual spyware as close as you can to those gates. Better yet, get as close as you can to the Gatehouse. There's a spare suit hanging in the back over there," she flicked her head behind her, not missing a beat. I gazed over to Robin. He was still keeping as much distance between us as possible, hovering in the darker parts of the room but before disappearing into the alcove behind us he gave me a warm, dazzling smile which I couldn't help but smile back.

"You're with me, Blue."

Oh, okay," I turned around from where Robin disappeared and walked straight into her. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay. I'm still getting used to my new wheels," she spoke bitterly, shrugging off my apologetic hand.

Silently, I followed her. I was thankful she took the lead because right at that moment I felt tetherless, lost and alone.

"You can ask me," she spoke so quietly I questioned if I had heard her right.

"Did you say something?"

She sighed and motioned for me to take the chair next to her. "You can ask me how I came to be... this."

"What, an evil genius?"

She laughed, for what seemed like the first time in while, the hard lines on her face disappearing. Her smile was infectious and I found myself smiling back at her. It took her a few moments to regain her composure though once she did, her eyes sparkled a tad more brighter than before... it was the same calculating gaze just without as much bitterness.

"I was shot in my back. My spine to be precise... by the Joker. I was only a couple of feet away from him..." she trailed off.

"You're lucky to be alive!"

"Lucky...?" The word sounded foreign on her tongue, even to me. She sat silently, gazing unfocused at the screen in front of her. "I guess I am," she said eventually, "but I knew the risks. It was just another night in the life of a vigilante." She turned to me, her green gaze staring directly into my soul, "Are you sure you want in?"

"What? Me? I don't think I'm right for the-"

"I mean you and Robin," she laughed softly, "I saw the way you looked at each other... even if you both don't know it yet."

"I have some tests that we can run, if you don't mind...?" She asked after questioning me about the previous night's events for what seemed like an eternity. We'd been at it for about an hour and with nothing new to tell her, I welcomed the new line of questioning and nodded without giving it much thought.

"Of course not. I need to know something, anything, that's true," I said, in earnest, "run as many tests as you need."

Her smile tightened before she answered, "I need to warn you though, some will hurt... a lot."

"A lot? On a scale of one to a bullet to the spine?"

"I'd take the bullet over these, that's for sure," she laughed, motioning me to follow her to a long steel table.

I laid down on the cold, hard surface, "Thank you..."

"It's, Barbara."