Death Bird's Cry

Chapter 12

Skye skipped going to Joker’s place after watching Harley get sent off to Arkham, instead she slipped off before her family could figure out she was still around. When she got home she changed into normal clothes and threw her suit into her closet along with her weapons. What was she going to do? Whenever she saw Batman she wanted to kill him but now that she knew who it was she couldn’t bring herself to kill him; he was her father, the last biological family she had left. Despite those thoughts running through her head a little voice was telling her she had to or she’d never get over the anger surging through her beneath the surface.

            A few nights later Skye had finally given in to her bloodlust and waited until the others were asleep before putting some poison on her dagger and silently slipping out of her room. Skye was like a shadow as she ghosted down the hall and opened Bruce’s door, she knew of the Bat Family’s schedule enough to know that he’d just recently come back from patrol and was now in a deep sleep. Sure enough as she barricaded the door and made her way over to his side she could hear him snoring lightly. She raised the knife up but lowered it slightly as an idea formed; why end his life quickly? She wanted Bruce to suffer and die like she had.

            “Oh Father…” Skye whispered in a sing, song voice as she gently poked him in the neck with the tip of her dagger. “Time for Death to claim her next victim…”

            Bruce muttered something in his sleep as a thin trickle of blood ran down his neck and onto the pillow. Skye frowned and jabbed him harder with the flat of the blade causing him to jerk awake in bewilderment.

            “Skye…?” Bruce shuffled away from her and stood up on the opposite side of the bed fully awake.

            “Tell me… how was it like? Watching your own child die in front of you? And by your own weapon?” Skye felt her sanity slipping as she looked at him but let it; this was what she’d wanted to do since she had been revived. “You must’ve hated yourself but yet you did nothing to avenge me except take those psychopaths to jail! You even had the audacity to deny my death was your fault.”

            “Skye calm down I don’t want to fight you again.” Bruce growled. “You know the truth now… we can help you-”

            “Help me what?” Skye nearly shouted. “Give up on my revenge because it isn’t right? Well guess what Dad you’re wrong; revenge is everything to me, it’s the reason I was brought back!”

            Skye flipped to the other side of the bed and swiped at Bruce’s head but only cut through air. Bruce went emotionless and punched his daughter in the side, Skye crumpled slightly from the force but struck out with her own fist and hit the side of his head. They continued their deadly dance of dodging and exchanging blows until Skye slipped up. In a last desperate attempt to kill Bruce before Dick and Jason could break through the barricaded door, which already had cracks in the thick wood, Skye lunged forward and aimed for his heart. Bruce grabbed her wrist and twisted in just before the blade could touch him; Skye clenched her teeth as the dagger bit into her just below her collar bone, the poison already starting to race through her veins.

            “Skye…” Bruce let go and watched her collapse to the ground. “Skye!”

            She grabbed the hilt and slowly pulled it out before turning to look at him. “You must be so happy… to have defeated me… T-to have k-killed the d-death bird.”

            “Skye no, I’m sorry.” Bruce threw the dagger and it buried itself into a wall. “Stay with me.”

            The door finally gave way and Dick stumbled forward slightly from his momentum before being able to take in the scene before him. “No…”

            “What happened to not killing?” Jason commented as he walked over to Skye’s side.

            “Shut up and go find the antidote!” Dick shouted.

            “We don’t know if there is one genius.”

            Bruce glared at his newest son. “Go to her room and look!”

            “Fine.” Jason hissed before walking out. “Just remember she tried killing you and now you’re helping your enemy.”

            “She won’t be killed. Skye will go to Arkham where she belongs.”

            Sky groaned and shifted slightly as she tried sitting up. “That’s what… you think. I know what kind of… poison this is… I’ll last a few days. If I don’t bleed out f-first and I’ll escape to somewhere… safe.”

            Bruce felt her go limp and he picked her up gently and walked back to her room where Jason was found twirling around the scythe while various other weapons and poisons were scattered on the floor. He dropped in when they came in and took a piece of paper from his pocket.

            “I couldn’t find the antidote but I did manage to find something else.” He paused to wait for them to pay attention. “She works for Ra’s al Ghul.”

            “So, it doesn’t matter now.” Dick replied dryly.

            “Oh but it does, don’t you remember anything? Ra’s kills those who fail him… and what has Skye done?”

            Bruce looked up from bandaging Skye’s wound. “He kills them.”

            “We need to protect her.” Dick exclaimed. “And if we do that maybe she’ll come to our side.”

            “Doubt it.” Jason muttered.

            “Dick go find Alfred; he’s probably in the cave waiting for us to get our suits. Tell him what happened.”

            “Right.” Dick said as he rushed out.