Electric Flame

1.14

"What?" It was so quiet that I didn't even hear the words flip off my tongue. 

Dick pulled away, his eyes distant and focused. "Zatanna," he repeated. I was wary and confused, and I pulled away to take in his features. "She did this." He radiated heat; steam streamed from his ears in thick clouds. He was pissed.

Dick grabbed me by the hand and yanked me off the bed, to which I accidentally muttered an 'oop'. He stomped down the seemingly never-ending hallway, or maybe that was just because I was being dragged across the floor. He picked up his pace, almost sprinting until he stopped right before the witch herself.

"You did this!" he raged, pushing her backwards onto the couch. "I was there for you when your father was taken by Fate. I was your friend! And you turn around and drug me?" Even underneath the dark shades, his irises darkened with anger and vulnerability. "How could you? How dare you! How dare you do this to me!" He interlaced our fingers and raised our hands. "To us! You can't stand that I'm happy with someone other than yourself. It's sick."

I couldn't help but smile slightly, and my heart leaped. I had to swallow a giddy giggle that was creeping up on me. He's happy with me.

She scoffed, straightening her vest. "I didn't do anything wrong." She turned to me and scowled.

Dick was furious. His face began to turn a light shade of red as if he wasn't getting enough oxygen. "You drugged me! Don't say you didn't do anything wrong! We both know that's a lie. Bullshit!" 

The Team gasped, as did I. This was Robin, the goody-two-shoes of the Team. Cursing was not his specialty nor a norm. But he didn't seem to notice. He carried on, and I confess, part of me was enjoying it.

"You drugged me with an inhalant! A powder." Zatanna's eyes lit up. Dick hit the jackpot. Quite the detective, he was. "Where'd you get it, huh?" He grinned and scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Did you go to Ivy herself and get the dust? Or buy it from a dealer off the street?" 

Zatanna stuttered, unable to get a single word out. She was caught.

"Is this true, Zatanna?" questioned Kaldur as he stepped toward her and knelt before her.

"It's not my fault. She took him from me, and-" Dick cut her off before she could explain herself.

"Correction." He leaned down and whispered, "I was never yours." He slowly raised and strutted through the zeta tubes, once again with me dragging behind.

"Robin B01. Maelstrom B09."

I watched the blinding light flash, squinting so I wouldn't be blinded. "Where are we going?" I asked when we appeared in an old phone booth hidden within a dark alley. 

"Away."

It was night. The stars glimmered beyond the yellowing moon, and the sky howled. Storm clouds threatened to hide the brilliant beams lighting Gotham's deathly silent streets. Old newspapers rode the strong wind like waves, and water leaked from the cobble paths into mossy gutters.

"Alfred! Alfred!" I heard Dick call for the old tea-loving chap.

"Sorry, Master Dick. I just can't seem to find my Driver's Licence. I have been looking for it for weeks now, sir." Then a memory of mine clicked and I ran out through the zeta tubes, not bothering to tell Dick where I was going.

I ran out of the telephone booth and down an alleyway, not giving my legs a break. I remembered that night that I first saw Dick and Alfred. Of course, at the time I didn't know who they were, but I still stole Alfred's wallet anyway.