That Fire in Her Heart (A Young Justice/Nightwing Fanfic)

Chapter One

A young woman walked briskly down the streets of Gotham, clutching her purse to her chest. Night had fallen on the crime-riddled city. The only light came from the golden glow of streetlamps, lit only every few feet. Every step she took was loud, her heels clacking on the sidewalk. She breathed a soft sigh of relief at the sight of her apartment building, but that was too soon.

A hand grabbed her as she walked past one of the many alleyways in town, pulling her into the shadows. She tried to scream, but a big, burly hand covered her mouth.

"Be quiet, love. It'll only take more time if you fight," a voice whispered in her ear. A sob escaped her lips as the man threw her onto the ground, immediately straddling her hips. From the bit of light falling into the alley, she could see him undo his belt. Every fiber of her being wanted to be in her house and safe, away from the dangers in the streets.

Out of nowhere-it seemed-the man was flung off of her. She sat up, only to see the silhouette of another girl; one gloved fist raised, the other resting on a pistol resting on her hip.

"I don't think your advances are appreciated, sir," the figure said, voice laced in sarcasm.

"Who the hell are you?" he slurred, sounding as though she had broken his jaw.

"Your worst nightmare, bub."

And then she sprung. Her fists pounded into the man, only the pained moans and cries of the attempted rapist filled the alley. And then they stopped.

"Are you okay?" asked the vigilante, coming to the other woman. As she made her way to help her up, the woman gasped.

"You're just a kid!" she exclaimed.

"I'm seventeen, but whatever," she shrugged. Her bright eyes looked over the woman once more, checking for injury. "You seem fine, and going the rest of the way should be safe. Just scream, I'll find you."

The woman nodded before picking up her purse and walking home.

~~~

The vigilante walked down another alley to her home, adjusting her leather gloves on her hands. Her black top clung to her tightly, and was damp from both sweat and blood. The boots on her feet barely made a sound upon the gravel-lined road. Her dark braid draped over her shoulder and was quite messy. To say she was dreading school tomorrow was an understatement, for her body was littered with bruises and it was nearly three in the morning. She finally came to the window of her bedroom, preparing to parkour herself up, but movement from above caught her eye. Two shadowy figures jumped overhead and landed nearly right in front of her. The light revealed two tall, strong figures near her.

"Ah, Nightwing and Robin. Still rocking the skintight leather, I see," she said, aiming two pistols at the bat-kids.

"Easy, Athena-"

"The mask! God, a secret identity would be nice!"

"-we just wanna ask you if you'd like to join Young Justice," Nightwing explained with a smirk, hands held up in surrender.

"About damn time! Why the hell now?"

"Look, I know you're upset about the fact that your sister was accepted at fifteen-"

"Now that's an understatement," she said, rolling her eyes, "and how old were you? Fourteen? I've been fully capable since I was twelve!"

"-but we're offering you a spot now," he growled out.

Athena's eyes narrowed as she stared at the bats. "Go to hell, I'm quite happy keeping creeps away from women now. Especially because you bats are having fun up in the sky or  in a pretty little mountain."

As soon as the words had escaped her lips, another two figures flipped down from the roof.

"Hi Batman. Still can't believe nobody finds it weird that you run around in skintight leather surrounded by minors, do ya'll roleplay too? Is that the reason for the stupid alias's?" Athena mocked, moving one of the pistols to both Batman and Batgirl. Batman just glared.

"Hello, Huntress," he groveled. His eyes - hidden in his cowl - glanced at the young girl. Her face was hidden by a large black mask, but her vibrant blue eyes glowed under the moonlight. She was slightly shaking and could barely hold her guns steady.

"Stop aiming the gun at us, one of them is empty and the other is on safety. You won't hurt us," a smirk rose upon his lips, " you can't." 

Athena's eyes narrowed as she stared at the bat family. Though she didn't want to hurt them, that doesn't mean she won't.

"OW! Sonofabitch! She just shot me in the foot!" cried Nightwing.

"You were saying?" she challenged. Batman sighed and shook his head at the girl in front of him. This girl was not worth the effort Nightwing insisted she was.

"We need you, Huntress."

Athena rolled her eyes, glaring at the bats, one of which coddling his foot. "Fine," she grumbled, "just let me go pack."

Athena then jumped up into her open window before closing and locking it. She glared down at the bat family, a smirk dancing on her lips. She closed the curtain and flopped onto her bed, a sigh of content escaping her lips. No one was going to tell her what to do.

~~~

She nearly fell asleep right then, but knocking on her window dragged her from serenity.

"What?" she snapped, glaring at the dark figure on the other side of the glass. Nightwing smiled, pointing upwards, telling her to open the window.

"No, you cheeky asshole," she growled. He just pouted, sticking out his bottom lip.

"You should be nicer to me, I got shot in the foot," he chuckled. A sigh escaped her lips before she pulled the glass up. Nightwing swung inside the room, landing gracefully.

"What do you want? I'm not joining the League," said Athena, crossing her arms in defiance.

"Why not? You wanna save people, don't you?" he asked.

"No shit, Sherlock, but I don't know if I can help with the big crap." Her voice fell to a whisper as she admitted her fear. She fell onto her desk chair, curling into a ball away from Nightwing.

"Give it a month, then you can decide if you want to lurk in the shadows of Gotham," he said, a firm hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at the masked hero in front of her.

"Why do you insist on me joining so much?"

"Because you're what we're missing on the team" he sighed. The vigilante stared up at him with tired eyes, the blue a swirling ocean of thoughts.

"I guess I could give it a shot," she grinned, grabbing her duffle and shoving in her clothing and weapons. Nightwing stared at the girl in front of him, a soft smile making its way onto his lips. She was going to be  refreshing to have around.