Shadows and Cards (a Batboys x OC)

Chapter 15

   Athena

When Tim finally handed over the tablet that would give her directions to the lab, she took off without so much as a thank-you or goodbye to anyone and made her way to the heart of Gotham city. She doubted that anyone would follow her, given how many looks she had given them before she left. 

Athena gagged slightly at the stench of the air as she flew past many power plants and oil rigs, and she soared higher in the clouds to avoid the smell. When she could finally see the bright lights of Gotham, she gasped inwardly at the sheer life of the city. It seemed that day and night were the same, always the same amount of traffic and people, and certainly the same amount of crime.

She could imagine her fellow mutants under orders from their masters seeking illegal plans from the government or keeping lesser gangs in order for their crime lord masters to use their various enhancements. Some had elongated teeth and nimble bodies from mountain cats, others fins and gills from sharks and fish. 

But she was a special case. The only one who was able to grow a new limb altogether. A freak. Gods can't remember the last time she wasn't pounced on just trying to get to the lavatory or to eat in peace. And that was before she had Shadow interfere. She never had any friends really. 

Except for one person. One arrogant little runt of a child had decided to give her a chance at safety. Her own sister, Kayia.

Kayia was a lupine mix, half-human, half-wolf. She was a special one too, the only one to fully grow ears and a tail. And the only one to shift. 

One fateful training day, Kayia was sparring with another mutant, when a blast of light emitted from her, and then she was a wolf. A full wolf. 

The whole system was shut down until Kayia was secured in a titanium cage, sedated until she shifted back. And from that day on, she was experimented on almost as much as Athena, constantly enhanced so that her claws and teeth were longer, her hearing, sight, smell better, and her build bigger. The last one was always a failure. No matter how hard those insufferable scientists tried, Kayia always stayed runt sized. No bigger than a leopard in full form. Only four feet in her mixed form. 

And she had only celebrated her seventh birthday. But that didn't stop her from climbing up the ranks, soon beating the other lupine mixes in all forms of combat, and had earned her title, "Alpha-Runt". But she preferred to be called "Veerzen" Alpha Hunter in Shadow Language.

Athena shook her head at the memory of Kayia. A rush of guilt always ate at her when she happened to stumble upon those only good memories. And how they ended. 

Kayia was always planning an escape and planned to take Athena with her. Athena always laughed at her and her bloodthirsty yet clever plans. But she never expected them to work. The one day that Athena had an unexpected mission, the one day she didn't tell Kayia where she was, she left. Escaped and left a trail of mangled bodies in her wake. 

Kayia thought she was dead, and knew that she was no longer safe here. So she left without another thought. Athena was so heartbroken, she killed three mutants in her next Test, each left with knife marks where they shouldn't be, and crude smiles cut into their faces, just to remind them of the smiling face they allowed to leave.

That was probably what caught the Joker's attention. He had seen her test and all of the gore she had left in her wake and decided that she would make a fun little toy for him to shape and play with. Without her knowing, Dr. Keystone had done a bid for her loyalty and assets and sold her to The Joker himself. 

And now they were hunting for her and her newly acquired friends, take them away from her and bind her to a master of terror and madness. Which she wouldn't have minded when she was the old Athena, but now she had her own freedom and ability to search into her powers. And they were hungry.