Bluejay: The Protégé of Black Canary

Halloween Horrors

I was free falling, down, down, down. For a moment, it was blissful. The thrill of beating Linh combined with plummeting was exhilarating and frightful all at the same time. My hood was stripped from my head as the ant sized cars on the road grew closer and closer. 

I tore the grappling gun from my belt, angled it upwards, and fired it to the top of a nearby building. I gripped it tightly with one hand while the other was clutching my dad's yellow folder. My knuckles were white. I braced myself as the line suddenly went taut and I was swinging away from a fall that would have no doubt been my death. My heart was racing and my lungs were heaving from adrenaline. 

The cold Halloween air stung my eyes as I watched the lights blur below my feet. My stomach rose in my throat as I was carried upward with my momentum. I felt like Batman. 

But if only I was as cool as Batman. 

My bad knee hit the ledge of the building I was trying to land on, and it sent a flame of pain up my leg. Keep in mind, I'd never done this before, so that gave me an excuse for not landing with the grace of Simone Biles. 

I let out a cry as I fumbled with my landing. I might have been able to save that blow to my leg if I had use of both of my arms, but I refused to loosen my grip on my evidence. I tried to tuck and roll, so thankfully that saved my head from cracking on the pavement, and avoiding to further injure my leg.  

I breathed heavily and looked back up at the building I'd just escaped from. Even from far away, I could still see the broken window I charged out of. My legs were shaking. Even though I knew Dr. Linh couldn't pursue me, I knew I was far from being safe. 

After I made sure all the papers were tucked securely inside the folder, I raced away. My training kicked in, and I was leaping across building rooftops, using my staff as a pole vault. I couldn't think. I felt a millions voices all screaming in my head at once. All I knew was I had to get far away from Linh. 

My shoes slammed onto the ground as I landed heavily on the edge of another rooftop. My bad leg throbbed, but I ignored it. I ducked underneath a line of drying clothing and nearly tripped when I realized I wasn't the one Dr. Linh would send the Intergang after. 

George had no doubt warned the Intergang I was alive, but they were probably on their way right now to extract my dad from the Star City Hospital! My breath hiccuped and my eyes grew wide. 

I pulled out my phone, which miraculously hadn't fallen out of my pocket during my nosedive, to call backup. I fumbled with the password, and then hovered above my contacts. Who should I call? Dinah? Or the Team? But my phone clattered to the ground when a silhouette emerged from the opposite edge of the roof. I sucked in a gasp, instinctively clutching the folder closer to my chest. 

My hand tightened around my staff as I crouched into a defensive position, ready to attack. Could they be Intergang? Maybe some other Gotham criminal? I was preparing to fight tooth and nail to get past him before I realized who it was. Relief flooded my body the moment I saw his cape and mask. 

"Robin!" I exclaimed. 

My limbs moved to their own accord. He seemed surprised when I ran to him and threw my arm around his neck, part of his cape balled in my fist. He stumbled backward, obviously not expecting me to charge into him like that. His warmth instantly bled into my clothes and I inhaled his scent- sweat and cider wood. I froze mid-embrace and blinked. 

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you at M'gann's party?" I rushed. 

Last time I checked, the whole team had been invited. I pulled back away from him to see Robin's equally puzzled expression still prominent on his face.