ILLUSION || Jason Todd

FOUR

❝NO ONE UNDERSTANDS❞

TAYLOR SWIFT, I THINK HE KNOWS

The remainder of the car drive was rather quiet, both Lorelei Hansworth and Dick Grayson preoccupied with the thoughts within their minds. It had taken Dick commanding Lorelei to stay in the car to even realise they had stopped, arriving at their destination of an old and seemingly abandoned building. Lorelei, with no intentions of leaving, nodded at Dick who promptly exited the vehicle and ventured into the building.

It was not that Lorelei did not not want to help save Rachel, it was quite the opposite, actually - she was worried for the girl. Her mother is murdered and then she's kidnapped, probably just a few hours between the two occasions, Lorelei wasn't sure on the timeline but it was seemingly a new murder from what she gathered.

But Bruce had made it abundantly clear to Lorelei that she, under no circumstances, was allowed to go on any missions without her suit on. Any time she tried and ignored Bruce, he would revoke her privileges, despite the street thugs she had caught or smaller crimes she would target. She wasn't entirely stupid, she wasn't going after Joker or Penguin. As Bruce would always say, she has limited on-field experience and the suit offers more protection than her flesh.

At least, that was until the blonde mage heard Rachel scream. Then all Bruce's rules went out the window as she rushed to unblock her belt and take the same path Dick had taken into the abandoned building that was far darker inside than she imagined it would be, minus a few movements of light from upstairs.

Her instincts kicked in as she sped up the stairs, the noise of banging and Dick calling upon Rachel loud against the abandoned walls until suddenly, it all ended as Lorelei reached the last stair as Dick ran into the room. Reaching the room, Lorelei first saw a dead body surrounded by a large pool of blood by the door, followed by Dick cradling a sobbing Rachel, who was begging for help, claiming to have not known what had happened.

It was a ghastly scene; for normal people. Blood, a dead body, candles everywhere, Rachel crying on the chair she was, by the looks of the ties, held down in, cloth on the floor that was most likely used as a gag, his dead guy's weapon. Satanic ritual bullshit. It all equated to a ghastly scene for normal people, people unlike Dick - who had seen his fair share of dead bodies both as Robin and Detective Dick Grayson - and Lorelei, who just simply understood her predicament.

"I, uh, hate to interrupt but we should probably leave." Lorelei said, walking into the room to kick the dead man's body, for extra insurance he was definitely dead and by the no movement of his own, Lorelei was sure he was dead. "I'm sure keeping Rachel in here won't help."

Dick pulled away from Rachel's embrace, nodding to Lorelei, as he helped Rachel stand up, who was understandably a little wobbly on her feet. "Unphased?" Dick asked, noticing Lorelei look unbothered by a dead body, something he wouldn't expect from a vigilante who hadn't even gone out in her suit.

Lorelei shrugged in response, offering a small smile to Rachel who was beginning to calm down. "I have a small list of people I wish I could see dead." Lorelei admitted, glancing at the dead man before walking towards Rachel, using her own body as a support. "You can do what you need to with him, I'll get Rachel to the car."

A small nod from Dick told Lorelei all she needed to know - Rachel's safety was a priority and he wouldn't be too far behind her. The walk to the car wasn't long, in fact, it was more like a jog, as Rachel rushed to find the comfort and safety in Dick's vehicle or, at a minimum, away from the place she was kidnapped into. "Are you wounded?" Lorelei asks as she settles into the car, opting to sit in the back of the car with Rachel rather than remaining in the passenger seat.