The Bird & the Blade

The Assassin Queen

Damien's point of view:
When we walked into the cave I unexpectedly saw Barbra sitting at the large computers. Dick was over on the main floor with my father. I saw them look at me when I walked in before my father put up his hand for the 'wait a moment' signal. I nodded and looked to see Hunter walk up behind Barbra as I walked over. Barbra was looking at the x rays we took of Hunters body when she first came to us along with the bat caves recording of her practice fighting.

Hunter said "Doesn't look to nice does it." Barbra jumped and looked behind her to see Hunter and apologized softly before going to exit out of the stuff. Hunter raised her hand to stop her as she said "I don't remember it. The pain still lingers when I try to remember but I have no memory of the event. I don't use them often."

    She extended the claws in her hand easily with a barely any movement in her wrist, but it prevented the movement in her wrist. Barbara looked them over briefly before Hunter continued and said, "They are more of a reflex in emergency situations then part of my normal fighting style. One reason is because the assassins never trained me on fighting with inserted blades in my hand since they had no other people like me. Another reason is I usually have other weapons on me to fight with that can be more versatile then these."

Barbra nodded and pointed to the thickening around Hunters bones in the x ray. Hunter pulled in the claws she had demonstrated with as Barbara asked, "What is the solid surface coating most of your bones? You seem to be covered with an intense amount. Is it possibly metal like your claws?" Hunter shook her head a despite her cold expression, her eyes showed a hint of pain as she said, "Not metal. It's regrowth." Barbra looked over at her shocked but Hunter hid her pain well as Barbra asked "How many times have your bones been broken? How many places?"

Hunter shrugged and said "Hard to say. My body when I was created was gifted a super healing factor. It allows me to heal at incredible rates. It allowed me the ability to keep up with the more advanced fighters because I couldn't be damaged severely enough in a normal fight. It had me sent to the front line of attacks and on harder missions by the elder members of the assassins. Not only where my metal claws an asset but the healing factor made sure I was unstoppable, even from a young age. I wasn't as skilled back then, but I didn't have to be. I healed as fast as I was shot or stabbed." Barbra took this in.

     I watched the two of them. Hunter was cold as she told her all of this, but not angry. She was just distancing herself from the pain and the judgement Barbara had. I was moving to her side to be a comforting presence before I heard my name from below. I turned instantly before I meeting the gaze of my father. Dick gestured for me to come to them and I tried not to look to annoyed as I hoped over the railing and down to them.

My father and Dick were looking at me when I walked over. My father faced me and said "We are going to meet your mother. She has information we need on the Jokers whereabouts." I froze. I hadn't seen her much since the incident. The mention of her sent me back to those moments. All the pain she caused.

    I felt the pain then, just as it had been when the sword entered my body. The snapping of my bones as it stuck through the center of my chest. I remembered bleeding out in my fathers arms. I had barely been more then a child when I was desperately trying to survive a deathly encounter.

    I felt my own heart start to race as I remembered my heart beating desperately to try and keep me alive. The darkness when one is so close to death isn't something I ever wanted to live through, let alone the pain and panic that the experience provided.

   Let alone the burning sensation that claimed my body from being revived. I didn't remember much of the revival, on that as I came back that I had felt like my skin had been burning off and my heart which beat fiercely to keep me alive woke me up. That and the pain. I woke to the world with enough pain to send me into screaming. All because of my mother.