Flaming wings don't fly(Jason Todd x OC)

Chapter 48: Taken

Gotham lay blanketed under a low, heavy sky. The streets were empty, shadows swallowing the city whole as if even the night had a plan for them. Red Hood, moved with quiet precision beside Flare, their target in sight—a dilapidated industrial building with windows painted over and bricks crumbling from years of neglect. The air smelled thickly of rust, but Jason's sharp gaze didn't waver. Tonight, they would be tracking down leads about the Black Fog's movement.

"Hold tight," Jason murmured to Flare as they approached the building. Flare nodded, but he could see the fire in her eyes, almost literal, burning beneath her mask. Her red hair was tied back, face half-concealed by a black scarf. Jason sensed her urgency; they both knew what this night could mean, but he needed her focused.

"I'm here," she replied, eyes scanning their surroundings. "But this—this is a trap. I can feel it."

Jason glanced at her, trying to balance his own instincts with her suspicion. They'd been here too many times, dancing around her mother's influence. Flare's hands clenched by her sides, a flicker of flame tracing along her knuckles. He knew she was fighting her own demons doing this. And to be honest, if the roles where reversed he wasn't sure how he would handle it either. 

"Look," he began, "I know what she's capable of. But this is the closest we've been to her in weeks. If we wait, she slips through our hands. Again."

Flare's eyes narrowed, but she didn't argue. With a short nod, they continued, slipping through a broken side door and into the echoing silence of the warehouse.

Inside, shadows slithered across the floor like things alive, and the only sounds were their footsteps reverberating in the vast emptiness. Every step deepened Flare's sense of unease.

"Stay close," Jason muttered, drawing his weapon as they moved through the eerie silence. But the shadows suddenly coalesced, growing thicker, darker, until they filled the room like an ink stain spreading across paper.

Then, her voice—a taunting, low laugh—echoed around them.

"You always did have a soft spot, daughter. And now it's going to cost you."

The Black Fog's voice sliced through the darkness, and Jason braced himself. Before they could react, the shadows surged forward, twisting and curling around Jason in tendrils that tightened like a noose. Flare lunged forward, hands blazing, but the shadows seemed to repel her flames, absorbing the light, strangling it.

"Jason!" Flare's voice broke the silence, and her flames flared brighter, wild with desperation. She lunged again, trying to burn through the shadowy restraints, but every flicker of her flames was smothered by her mother's overwhelming power.

Jason gritted his teeth as the shadows constricted around him, pulling him backward, dragging him toward the far end of the room. His vision was fading, the last thing he saw being Flare—her eyes wide with helpless rage.

"Let him go!" Flare roared, her voice echoing in the darkness. "I'm the one you want!"

The shadows paused, and for a chilling moment, all went still. Then, her mother's voice drifted through the darkness, cold and taunting.

"Oh, my dear child, you're too late. I already have what I want."

The shadows surged again, pulling Jason into the depths of the building. Flare charged forward, flames licking up her arms, but her mother's smoke overwhelmed her, and Jason disappeared from view, his voice echoing as he shouted her name one last time.

When the shadows finally cleared, the silence was deafening. Flare stood alone in the empty warehouse, her flames dimming. Her mother's voice floated through the shadows like a sinister lullaby, one final taunt:

"If you value him, my Ruby, you'll do exactly as I say. Otherwise, you'll watch him burn the same way you made me watch my city burn all those years ago."

Flare clenched her fists, flames flaring wildly before fading. Her mother had crossed the line, and this time, there would be no mercy.