My Story of Vengeance

Chapter Ten

I arrive at the club, turning my bike off. I run to the door and open it, walking down the hall in a hurry. At this time of day, the club is still closed. No one should be here.
"Claire!" I call out. I check the dressing room, no one. I walk around to the front lobby.
"Claire!"
"Up here." I hear a male voice say. I turn and look at the stage. Claire's sitting, tied to a chair on the stage. Three men stand around her. One has a gun point to her head. Another one stand further back, his arms crossed. The third stands slightly to the front of her. That's the man who spoke.
"What are you doing with Claire? What's going on?" I say, walking closer to the stage.
"I don't think you should be asking these questions right now." The man says. The guy behind him with the gun puts the end of the barrel right against Claire's forehead. At this point she's crying. I stop moving.
"Do you know who I am?" He asks me, walking across the stage. I shake me head.
"No, should I?" I ask him. He lets out a soft chuckle.
"No, I suppose not. It has been quite some time since we've met. Since before the terrible car accident." He says, stopping at the edge of the stage.
"What do you know about that?" I ask him. My eyes drift back to Claire, she stares at me, scared.
"How about this, I'll ask you questions, and if you answer them right, I'll let you ask a question." He says. He seems to be in his late 30s to early 40s, he has a bigger build, but toned. He has his hands down in front of him, crossed together. I look over to him and nod.
"Fine, but leave Claire out of this." I say, walking to the front of the stage. He lets out a sigh.
"Where's the fun in that? This makes it more exciting!" He says. The guy with the gun cocks it back. Claire let's out a whimper. She locks eyes with me, mouthing the words "Help me."
"Well? What's it gonna be?" He asks me.
"Fine." I say. He smiles.
"Excellent! Now, first question, what was your mother and father's names?" He asks me. I scoff.
"Is this a trick question? Their names were John and Amy." I tell him. He shakes his head.
"Oh, that's disappointing. Wrong!" He says. The guy with the gun clicks the gun. Claire let's out a cry. It was empty.
"What are you doing?! You never said this was part of it!" I tell him, moving to go up the stage. He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out another gun, pointing it at me.
"Ah ah ah, not so fast." He says. I stop in my tracks.
"Now, go sit." He gestures to one of the booths with his gun. I slowly walk over to the booth and sit, not breaking eye contact with him. He clicks his tongue.
"How sad, don't even know your parents names. Your fathers name was Michael Clide, and your mothers was Evelyn Clide. After marriage of course." He says. He walks across the stage to stand directly in front of my booth, the gun in his hand is now lowered next to his body.
"How do you know that?" I ask him.
"You don't get to ask questions." He said, putting the gun on his lips to shush me.
"Next question, and be careful, you get this wrong and a bullet goes through her head." He says as he points the gun at Claire. She looks at me, terrified.
"On what day did your parents die?" He asks me. My heart skips a beat as I remember the date. I look down at the small table in front of my booth.
"February 28, 1999." I say.
"Correct! See, was that so hard?" He asks me, hopping down from the stage. I watch him like a hawk as he comes closer to me. He grabs a chair from the table next to me and brings it over, turning it to sit on it backwards.
"Now what was important on that date?" He asks me, the gun now resting on the back of the chair, aimed right at me. I hesitate before answering.
"It...it was the day of my final ballet recital...and..."
"And?" He asks, smirking.
"And my tenth birthday." I say.
"Well look at you, two for two." He says. He stares at me, smirking, for a few more seconds.
"Alright, last question." He says, standing up. He walks towards the front of the stage.
"What is your relationship with Batman?" He asks me, turning around and leaning against the stage. Claire is sitting silent, her eyes wide as she looks at me.
"What do you mean? I don't have a relationship with him-"
"Wrong!" He says. Without hesitation, the guy holding the gun to Claire's head pulls the trigger.
"No!" I say, standing up. The gun clicks and no bullet comes out. Claire is now crying, saying over and over that she doesn't want to die.
"Shut up!" The guy holding the gun says, hitting her head with the butt of the gun. Her head drops, now that she is unconscious.
"Leave her alone!" I yell, stepping towards the stage. The man asking the questions points his gun at me.
"Stop." He says. I stop in my tracks.
"Answer the question. How do you know Batman?" He spits out. I shake my head.
"I promise you, I don't!" I say. My heart is beating fast. My only concern is to get Claire out of here.
'What are these guys after? What do they want from me? From Claire?' I think to myself. The man stands up and walks over to me, getting only inches away from me. He presses the gun to my chest.
"I'm only going to ask you one more time, what is your relationship with Batman?" He says in a low voice, his face so close I can feel the heat from his breath. I shake my head.
"I'm telling you the truth, I don't know." I tell him. He lets out a sigh and steps back.
"I really wanted to help you. Help you remember your past but I guess you're just as stubborn as your mother." He says.
"You don't know my mother." I spit at him. He grins.
"And you do? You didn't even know her name." He says. I step towards him, getting a foot away.
"You don't know anything about them! Or me! I don't even know you! Why are you doing all of this?" I ask him, getting angry. He grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls my face towards his.
"Who are you to question me?!" He spits at me. I glare at him, his dark eyes throwing daggers into mine. He then lets out a scoff and smiles.
"I should've finished you off when you were laying in that hospital bed." He says. My eyes widen.
Just then, the guy standing at the back of the stage lets out a groan and falls to the floor. The guy holding a gun to Claire's head looks around before getting a punch to the face, falling onto the stage floor. The man holding me turns around and holds me in front of him, holding the gun to my ribs. We look up and find Batman standing by Claire, blocking her from the man's aim.
"Well well well! Look who it is!" The man says, laughing.
"It's the Batman finally making an appearance."
"Let her go." Batman says, his voice deep. My eyes lock on him, this being the first time in a week seeing him. So many different emotions mix inside me, fear, anger, hurt, happiness. I never knew that someone could make me feel all of these emotions.
"Oh, okay let me just-" The man pretends to push me away, but pulls me right back, holding my upper arm to his chest.
"It's not gonna be that easy, Batman." He says. Batman starts to walk towards the edge of the stage. The man points the gun to my head.
"Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you." He says. He presses the barrel to my temple. The feeling of the cool metal sends shivers through my spine. Batman stops in his tracks.
"Ah, Batman. Maybe you could answer this question." He says, aiming the gun at him.
"What is your relationship with our pretty darling Wren here?" He says.
"Are you friends? Family?" The man looks down at me.
"Lovers?" He whispers in my ear, then sniffs my hair. I shiver, cringing.
"Just let her go." Batman says.
"Just let her go? Ha, why don't you come down here and make me?" He says, his other hand closing around my throat. My eyes close as I start to struggle to breathe. I can feel my airway closing as the man closes his hand more. I open my eyes as I struggle. I see Batman coming closer to us, hopping off the stage. The man walks backwards, pulling me with him. Batman, without hesitation, grabs the man's hand with the gun and breaks his wrist, causing the man to drop the gun. He screams out in pain and lets go of my throat. I fall to my hands and knees, trying to catch my breath. My lungs feel like they're on fire. Batman punches the man in the face and he drops to the floor. Batman gets on top of him and starts throwing punches, making the man's face bleed.
I finally catch my breath and look over at Batman. He's still throwing punches. I get the strength to crawl over and I grab his fist before he can land another punch. He turns to look at me. I shake my head.
"It's not worth it." I try to say, my words sounding horse and dry. Batman turns back to the man and glares for a second before punching him one last time, standing up. The man's face is covered in blood and his nose is bent, definitely broken. Batman leans down and helps me up, touching me gently. I look up at him, his face is full of anger. I see movement behind him and notice Claire starting to wake up.
"Claire!" I say, running up to the stage. I climb on top of it and crawl over to her, untying her from the chair. She looks around and then at me. Her eyes burst out in tears.
"Wren! Are you okay?" She says through breaths. I nod and pull her in to hold her. Batman jumps up onto the stage, startling her. She looks at him, terrified.
"It's okay." I tell her. "He's a good guy." I look over at him. He comes over and picks her up, holding her bridal style.
"I'll take you to the hospital." He tells her. He looks over at me.
"Follow me." He says. I follow after him. He walks to the back entrance and goes to his car, putting her in the passenger seat. He shuts the door and turns to me.
"I'm going to take her to the hospital. She may have a concussion." He tells me. I cross my arms, holding myself. He stops about a foot away from me.
"Are you alright?" He asks. His eyes are focused on my neck. I nod.
"Yeah, I'll be okay." I tell him. He continues to stare for a few seconds.
"You should head in home, put some ice on your neck." He says. He starts walking back to his car. I hesitate.
"W-wait!" I call out. He stops and turns back around to look at me. I walk towards him.
"What was your answer to his question?" I ask him. "Why are you protecting me? Is it something to do with my parents death?" I ask him. He looks off into the distance.
"Not here." He says. I give him a confused look. He looks back down at me.
"Tonight, I'll stop by your house. I'll tell you what I can." He says. I smile softly and nod.
"Tonight." I say in agreement. He nods and gets into his car, taking off to the hospital. I grab my keys from my pocket and turn on my bike, driving home.
'I'm finally going to get some answers!' I think to myself as I drive back to the Wayne's estate.