I recommend you reread the previous chapter since it's been so long that I've posted a chapter, my apologies by the way. Enjoy! ~ WittyApple

Gotham City:

October 11, 21:09 EDT

The smell of death drifted through the air, in such distance I still couldn't even see my house. Or also know as my old home. That smell of ash would forever be the death of me. Because everything I used to familiarize with, was now gone.

I felt Jaime grab my hand and squeeze it as we walked down the dark road. It was the only thing that was letting me know I could still feel. Everywhere else on my body was tingling or numb.

The more I imagined of what I would see, the heavier my feet became. I swallowed a large lump as I struggled to keep my head up.

What would happen now? I didn't know if that meant that the Light knew who I was and where I was... or if this was a simple Gotham city mishap.

Either way it still hurt. It still killed me inside.

We stopped at the opposite side of the street, looking at the black rubbish that had once been a place of solitude, of my only memories of my childhood, whether they were good ones or bad.

I stepped on to the road, slowly making my way towards it when I was stopped by a black figure.

I glanced only quickly at the shadow, and the first thought that came was the only familiar shadow I knew. Gotham's Cape Crusader... or Bruce.

"I'm not going home. Not yet." I said with as much steadiness I could muster into my quivering voice. Ready for Bruce to lecture me and scare Jaime home, I looked down at my feet.

But instead I got shiver up my spine and a sharp pain underneath my chin, forcing my head up to look at the black figure.

You're not Bruce.

"Then that works perfectly into my schedule." A rough voice spoke from the shadow.

A jolt of fear pierced through my gut, I felt it coming up my throat like vomit but pushed it down. I had to stay calm.

I took a step back, swatting the hand away. A clatter sounded through the silence, I guesses it was a knife that had fallen out of the rough voice's hand.

"I've got my own plans. I work by my schedule, and you don't seem to be in them. So now I think you should be leaving." I point over my shoulder to the empty street.

The figure bends closer and even before I can see his face, I can smell the alcohol and cigarette smoke flowing from him.

The man is larger than his voice put him out to be, his face is oddly and unevenly shaved and his nose is noticeably crooked; he grins at me.

I hear Jaime come closer, "Candace, what do you think you're doing?" He whispers harshly at me.

Quickly grabbing my wrist, the man pulls me close and leans closer to me. The scent makes me want to puke. His grip is strong, but nothing I can't get out of. Thanks to the help of Black Canary and living in the streets of Gotham.

"You should listen to your boyfriend. He knows he isn't strong enough to help you." I glare at the man, "He's not my boyfriend. And I'm certain Jaime could bust your ass."

The man's grip on my wrist drops so suddenly I drop to the ground with a thump. His attention is now on Jaime, his grin widens.

"Let's see if what she says is true, boy." The man cracks his knuckles and I can hear Jaime's swallow.

Why is Jaime so nervous? I swear I've seen him take down bigger men.

Jaime's glare is hard, but I can see the slight nervousness behind it. Jaime then grins as well, "Great, some extra punching bag practice will be good for me."

I push myself back a bit, I'll only interfere if Jaime needs the help. Which he won't... I hope.

They both lash out punches, and Jaime instantly has the man down. The man's arm is twisted in an abnormal way, but he suddenly laughs and before I know it, I hear dragging feet behind me.

I quickly turn around to see another man come around the dark corner. Jaime sees him too, "Now that's just not fair."

Quickly taking the advantage, the man underneath Jaime gets up, putting my friend in a headlock. "Jaime!" I spring up, rushing over to help when another grip on my wrist comes and I get pulled back.

"Let to of me bastard, there's nothing I have that you would want!" I growl at the second drunkard.

All I wanted to do was see the place I grew up one last time, in peace! Which apparently is too much for me to ask.

I struggle, hitting the man in the chest, he loses his breath but quickly regains it and grabs ahold of my other hand.

"Candace, why didn't you run when you had the chance?" I hear Jaime bark out, I can see him wrestling between the two other men.

I give an annoyed look, "Because I'm obviously not going to leave you here on your own! How much of a bitch do you think I am?"

The man I'm struggling with chuckles and pulls me in closer, causing our weight and momentum to shift, making us fall to the ground.

Now on top of me, it's beginning to get difficult to breathe. There's not that many more options for me to get out of this.

The man chuckles out, "I love a girl with attitude."

I would've rolled my eyes at this, but I was using most of my focus on making sure this idiot's weight didn't crush me. And there it was, the perfect way out.

I smirked, "And I love when a man's balls work." With as much force I could muster, I aimed my foot at the drunkards sunshines.

He let out a grunt; knowing his strengths were lowered, I pushed him off, stumbling to get on foot.

Jaime.

I looked around to find him being held down, the drunkard hovering over him, hitting him in any open spot. A growing rage overtook me when I saw this.

I took a step forward, before falling and smashing my face off the concrete ground. A groan slipped out, I was seeing double.

Either I tripped or that idiot just grabbed my foot, I thought aggravated.

Trying to focus, I looked back to see that drunkard's hands on my foot. I propped myself up, struggling to get out of his grip, when the man suddenly disappear.

I really must've hit my head hard

I looked over at Jaime to see him alone, lying on the ground, his lip bloodied and his left eye already bruising.

I crawled over to my best friend, my lip quivering. It hurt so much to see him like this.

I felt someone pick me up around the waist and I flinched, elbowing the person behind me. They grunted softly, "Candace, it's me."

My body instantly relaxed, and I turned to face Richard. I looked up at his masked face, yet his blue eyes shone bright, a clear sign of worry in them. He lightly grabbed my face, a frown on his lips. "You're bleeding."

Hearing his voice, my body felt lighter, yet my heart instantly grew heavier. I latched on to his neck tightly.

I was so relieved to see him, smell him, feel him, hear him.

"You're safe now." He mumbled into my hair. I nodded lightly into the crook of his neck.

...Then I heard my name being mumbled lightly. Jay.

I let go instantly and rushed over to the blonde-haired boy.

"Candace... I'm sorry..." He looked at me through his right eye, the left too swollen to open. The piercing in my heart coming back instantly.

"Shhh, don't be. I'm alright, you're alright. We were saved. Batman and Robin saved us." I whispered to him, brushing his dirty blonde hair out of his face.

"No, it's n-not alright... I didn't save you... I couldn't help you." He replied hoarsely, his hand going to my face.

"I promise, Candy... when I'm older, I'll be able to p-protect you better than no one else ever could." I nodded into his hand, smiling, "Okay, Jay. It's a promise."

"Candace..." Bruce was here, and I knew then that my time here was growing short. I stood up slowly, facing Batman. Dick came to help Jaime up.

My guardian's eyes quickly left mine to look behind me at Jaime. I knew Bruce was originally here to protect me from my past, but I couldn't help but shake my head and walk past my guardian and continue towards the black abyss.

I was still seeing my past once more before it would be gone forever. Before all ash and evidence disappeared with the wind.

"I know this is difficult for you, but you have to leave in order for me to find who did this."

I turned to look back at the Cape Crusader, pursing my lips. I gave a quick glance at Jaime.

I sighed, I knew this was dangerous just standing here, I mean I almost got Jaime and I extremely injured; my stubbornness got in the way of not just my safety, but my best friend's.

I rubbed my eyes slowly and let another sigh escape my lips. What was I doing here? It had finally occurred to me that me being here, was pointless. What could I have done to stop this from already happening? To stop whoever had done.

Nothing.

"Candy..." Jaime started quietly.

Bruce was as motionless as a statue, still half hidden in shadows. Jaime, sticking out like a sore thumb; you could easily see fear and pain on his visage. Dick, between the two, I couldn't read him.

I was guilty for the harm that had come to Jaime. And upset at myself for making Dick and Bruce come down here. But I couldn't help but go with my gut feeling.

"I need to look for myself," I said aloud. "The only evidence of my past might be in there, I need to find that piece of my life."

And I turned and walked into the darkness of ash, debris and burning.

The first thing I could sense was a throbbing pain. When I opened my eyes everything was blurry. I let out a groan, raising my hand to my head. I felt fabric cover my head.

Blinking away the blurriness, I found myself in my room at the Wayne Manor.

What happened?

The last thing I remembered was being with Jaime... and then I remembered it all. The 2 drunkards, Jaime and his promise. Bruce and Dick. My childhood home... its lack of existence.

I let out a whimper, squeezing my eyes shut as all my previous emotions came flooding back, making my head throb worse than it was before.

I looked to see my door open; I could hear chatter echo down the hall.

Not wanting to test my voice, I knew I would have to get up.

How long have I been out? I hope not too long.

First sliding my feet off the bed I carefully stood up, but only seconds after sitting right back down. My head throbbed and a quick wave of dizziness overwhelmed me again. My equilibrium was definitely off at the moment.

Grabbing ahold of my bedside table, I pushed myself up to get my body used to being vertical. Once I felt balanced enough, I took small steps towards the door.

By the time I had made my way down several hallways of the Manor, I had gained my balance again, though my head still throbbed. Being back in the Manor, I felt at ease; I smiled as I could hear the recognizable voices clearly.

When I reached Bruce's study I found the secret passage door closing shut. I had just missed them.

Rushing past the library and to the piano, I pressed the keys and quickly escalated. As expected, I found Bruce glued to his computers, Alfred picking up the dirty dishes that sat on a side table, and Dick readying his bike.

As if sensing, Dick turned around and locked eyes with mine. His face had instantly changed to what looked like relief and happiness.

"Candace, it's relieving to see you have awaken. After being out for almost five days we were beginning to wonder how bad the damage was. How are you feeling?" Asked Alfred as I reached Dick.

Hearing this, I dropped my gaze with dark-haired boy and looked to the butler, shocked.

"I was out for five days because I hit my head? When...?" Turning from his monitors, Bruce looked at me, a stern look on his face. "What was the last thing you remember? We aren't positive if any real damage was done."

Pursing my lips, brain damage?

I tried to think of the last thing I remember. "I was with Jaime, we went to go see my old home... which burnt down." I took a breath, I hope that part was a dream, "then there were these drunken men, they attacked us..." I looked up to Dick and Bruce, "then you two came along and helped us."

Bruce squinted, "Is that all?" I bit on my lip, about to nod until I remembered wanting to find a piece of my old home. "Did I go looking through the ashes for something?"

Dick then spoke up, "You said you wanted to find a piece of your old life to show evidence of your past."

"Did I find anything?" I asked to no one in particular.

Dick shook his head while Bruce looked at me, "Not before hitting your head. A piece of wood from the roof broke off and landed on you before any of us could do anything."

I took a deep breath, taking it all in. "Well at least you didn't do enough damage to do complete damage to your head." Dick said softly, I looked up at him.

"You'll need to keep the bandages on for at least a couple of weeks." said Alfred, speaking for the first time. Excusing himself, he exited with the dishes.

Bruce turned to his computers once more, "Martian Manhunter has reported that the exercise will begin at 15:45 hours, so I suggest you make your way to the Cave."

Dick nods at the back of his guardian's head and then looks to me, he chuckles at my puzzled face. "What is it?"

"Exercise...?"

"Martian Manhunter is devising a telepathic exercise in which the Team will fulfill a mission. It's a doomed-to-fail mission." Bruce answered.

Then what's the point of the mission if its doomed-to-fail?

"Simply to test the Team's skills in extreme pressure." Bruce continued as if reading my mind.

"Can I come with you to the Cave?" I asked Dick. He opened his mouth to answer when Bruce replied first, "It isn't the wisest choice, not after injuring your head."

I frowned, I finally got to stay at the Wayne Manor, and now I wasn't allowed to leave. Mimicking my visage, Dick bent forward, kissing my bandaged forehead quickly. "I'll tell you how it goes when I get back." Then he jumped on his bike and left after giving a quick wave.

"I'll be departing soon as well." I heard Bruce behind me after the rumble of Dick's bike died to silence.

I sighed in aggravation, "So I'm going to be here by myself while the Team does a mind test that could maybe put them in danger. That sounds so peaceful to me."

Exiting something off the screen, Bruce sighed, mumbling something about persuasiveness under his breath. I smirked, I was totally in.

"You can join me, just as long as you don't do anything rash that could raise your blood pressure or but stress on your head." I nodded rashly, then went to go change out of my pajamas.

It's been taken me double the time to post because I don't have a computer to publish anymore so I used my phone to post this. It's a good thing I have patience (and love my phone) because I would've destroyed my phone an hour ago... Anyway, now that my writers block is over as well, it won't take me as long to post the next chapter! ~ WittyApple