Shadow and The Outlaws (On Hold)

Chapter III

"But it's been no bed of roses."
Queen, We Are The Champions

DATE: APRIL 19TH

I can't believe it. One moment I am getting ready to do some dreary exercises, and the next, I am being given normal clothes.
The fabrics consist of a white polo shirt, a navy blue v-neck sweater and a black knee length shirt, accompanied by some leggings. I must say, Natasha as excellent taste. I get changed into them, but what I am most bent on seeing, is the outside world.

Five damn years. I want to see colour again, not just orange, and grey, and white, and black. I need vibrancy, I want to see the world again, in all its bustling glory.

Of course, I know that global warming will still kill us all eventually, but I can't wait to just be outside again. To see... Well, life.
I've been shut away from normal all my life, waiting to experience what a totally problem free child would go through.

Go to school. Have fun with friends. Go to the park, ran around, simply enjoy life.
I walk out of the changing room, and spot Natasha talking to someone on the phone.

"What do you mean, I can't adopt her?" She snaps, interrupting a muffled voice on the end of the line. "Screw you, Queen, I do what I want!" She yells. "She's coming with me, whether the Justice League likes it or not."

The Justice League? Dad had apparently ran into Batman at one point. Weird.

"No. Go to hell," she's very up front with this guy. "Unstable? God, you're judging her because of her dad, aren't you?"

I flinch. I try my hardest to not be like Dad, yet some people just have this perception of me that I am exactly like him. Well, most people, actually.

"The Avengers are none of your business," she says, in a tone so dangerous, it would have made Dad think twice, "and if you mention them again, you won't see the light of day. And don't even think about talking to Clark about this. Do you understand?"

I can hear the other person more clearly now, as he sighs, and replies, "Alright Nat. Just... Be careful. The kid's been through trauma."

"That's why I'm adopting her," Natasha answers, before hanging up abruptly, no goodbyes or anything.

She turns to me, and sees my confused expression.

"Annoying friend I work with," she says, tapping on the screen of her phone.

"In the Justice League?" I question.

She sighs, "I'll explain when we get back to my house."

"Alright," I say quietly, as she dials another number.

"Hello, Jason? Auntie Nat here," she laughs.

The person on the other line says, "What's up, Romanoff?" The voice is deep, and definitely rough.

"Listen, I've got a seventeen year old here, that I'm adopting,"

"Wow. Who'd have thought? Wait, seventeen? Jeez, where from?"

"I'll explain another time, Todd," Natasha replied curtly. "All you need to know, is that you can't tell anyone. Especially not the Justice League."

"You think I'd even try and call them for back up?" The other guy scoffs. "I hate those guys."

Natasha coughs, and the man quickly backtracks, by saying, "Don't worry, not you. As far as I'm concerned, you're the only sane one on that... Well, I would say team, but..." He trails off.

"I know what you're getting at Jason," Natasha sighs. "When's your birthday again?"

"August sixteenth," the guy answers in a monotone, "I'll be twenty. Why did you even ask?"

"No reason," Natasha says, before hanging up.

"People must really hate it when you do that," I blurt out.

"When I hang up randomly?" Natasha asks. "Yeah, probably."

"Who was that?" I enquire, as she pockets her phone.

"Just an old friend," she smiles wryly. "You two would get along."

"We would?" I say quizzically.

"Yeah," Natasha answers, winking, "trust me on this one." She opens the door to the next room, and I follow her meekly down yet another grey corridor. I've seen enough grey to last me a lifetime.

After going through a lot of security, I am finally allowed through the main prison doors. I walk outside with Natasha.
An explosion of color greets me, a pale blue sky, with paper white clouds confusedly dotting the horizon, like ink blots. I see hills of green, rolling out of sight, and a tarmac road, leading to what I think is several high rise buildings, that loom in the distance.

"Woah," I say, staring at everything.

Natasha laughs, before taking some car keys out of her pocket. It's then I notice a red GTI Volkswagen in a rather small parking lot.
"This," Natasha gestures proudly to the vehicle, "is my pride and joy. She can do up to-"

"280 kilometers an hour," I breathe. "With a sports gear and two double exhausts." I see her quizzical look, and say sheepishly, "I like cars."

She laughs, and then opens the door to the passengers seat. I gladly hop in. She gets in the other side, as I look out of the darkened windows. The transport starts with a loud roar, and I laugh. Natasha grins, before reversing out of the space, and zooming away from Arkham Asylum, down the tarmac road. We pass a sign, and I see it briefly, and it reads, "Gotham City, 30km."

I check the speed we're going at, at it reads 120 km. "I'm pretty sure you're breaking the speed limit," I comment.

Natasha laughs, "Who cares?"

A smile spreads across my face, and I roll down the window and stick my head out.
God, it's good to be back outside.