-Athena's POV-

The door slowly creaked open. I didn't open my eyes, for I didn't want to see what was standing at the entrance. I kept my head and body pressed into the cold, wet floor. All my limbs stretched out. In any normal setting, I would seem to be taking a very comfortable nap. But, it wasn't a normal setting. I was locked in a dungeon. A nasty dungeon, at that.

A pointy boot jabbed into my side. I groaned and rolled, clutching my aching hip. "Get up," a gruff voice ordered. I squeezed my eyes shut and laid perfectly still, hoping I could wish myself out of there. But, I couldn't.

A hand gripped my skinny wrists and yanked me up to my feet. "I said, GET UP!" I bit my tongue to stifle a scream as my arm was ripped out of the socket. Chains were secured around my ankles and hands. A gag was tied tightly around my mouth. I wondered why they continued to do that. I didn't think I had any will or reason to talk anymore.

I stepped out of the cell, not trusting my weak legs. I followed closely behind the assassin leading me. The corridor was familiar. I had been forced to walk it almost everyday. There was a single light every ten feet. Most of the time, we walked in darkness.

This was a branch of the League temple that Ra's didn't bother to keep clean. Under my bare feet, I could feel the wet and slimy ground. I was comforted by the sounds of distant rats scurrying away to their nests as we walked. At least something was happy here.

We came upon the normal fork in the path. I had been lead here so many times that I knew which direction lead to what. Usually, I was escorted through the one on the right. It led to a series of rooms which all had the worst physical tortures Ra's could think of. And Ra's was pretty smart.

But, the assassin turned to the left.

I had been to the left a couple times, although I never remembered what happened inside. I always remembered going inside, but never remembered what happened afterwards. I would always just wake up in my cell. Even though my memory was wiped after I went to the left, I would always wake up feeling worse when I had been down the left path no matter what happened in the right.

The corridor was just as dark. Unlike the right path, there weren't multiple rooms. There was just one door at the far end. It looked like the type of doors you would see in a hospital. My memory hadn't been wiped yet. Suddenly, cold anxiety filled me. My muscles and bones realized they weren't strong enough to walk forward. My legs buckled underneath me, causing me to crash to the floor.

The assassin yanked me up again. I didn't bother to try to walk. That usually earned me a flogging, but the assassin just pulled me along. My ankles scraped against the floor and I let my head flop down. The door swung open with ease as we pushed through it. The ground suddenly changed into cement.

We came into a bright room. I looked up but the brightness of the room blinded me. I glanced around. There was a huge wall of computers in front of me with tables and lab equipment lining the sides. The bright, fluorescent lights prevented me from seeing all the people at first.

They all stared at me. I must've looked like no more than a rat to them. I was in some old, ratty clothes that had long been ripped apart. I was squinting from the lights. My body was bloody and covered in scars. My hair hung in tangled strands. As much as I looked like a rat, they looked at me like I was.

There were faces I didn't recognize. Doctors and scientists I had never seen before were scattered all over the room, tampering with the machines. Then again, I wasn't surprised I didn't recognize them. Doctors were pretty disposable in the League of Assassins. I learned that the hard way.

As I scanned the room, I met the eyes of Talia Al Ghul. She studied me with an expressionless face. I would've given anything to known what she was thinking. In the entire time I had been locked away, I had never seen her. I had no idea if she had ever seen me, but judging by the fact that she didn't have a face of disgust like everyone else, I guessed that she hadn't.

Then, I saw Ra's. He wasn't looking at me; it seemed he hadn't even realized I was there. Looking over his shoulder, I spotted something I hadn't seen earlier. There was a metal door with a solid lock. On what I had first assumed was a wall, rested a rod along the ceiling. It wasn't a wall. I knew behind it was a double sided mirror.

"Bring her here," Ra's called, not even taking a side glance. The assassin shoved me forward. I felt power come back to me; power I hadn't felt in a while. All the adrenaline took over my body, forcing my heels to dig into the ground. I hit the assassin in the face with my handcuffs and turned to run. Before I even got close to the door, Ra's approached me and placed his hand between my shoulder blades with ease.

The off switch. I had forgotten about it.

My breathing slowed and I slumped to the floor. It was as if all the energy had been drained from me. Ra's plucked me off the ground and led me over to his wall of computers. I looked upon them, not really comprehending anything I was seeing. There were charts and files and lots and lots of words.

"Do you remember the last time you were here?" Ra's asked, knowing my answer.

I shook my head. I hadn't talked since the first few days I was captured here. I learned quickly that talking was a waste.

"Yeah, of course not. You are a smart girl -- or rather, were -- so you know as well as I do that we wiped your memory." I nodded.

"You see, we have been developing a new way of...how do you say it..." The only word coming to my mind was torture, "...interrogation. This new technique involves tapping into the victim's mind to retrieve their worst fears, memories, and everything hidden deep down inside of them." I shivered. I stared straight at the computer. I didn't want to listen to anything Ra's was saying.

"Scarecrow assured us that it would make any sane person tell us anything we want. But, as you know, trust is such an unreliable thing. So, we needed to test it. And the perfect opportunity arose," Ra's turned towards me and smiled. He didn't need to finish his sentence.

They had captured me to torture me into rehabilitation. I had endured all the worst types of torture already in my training. Ra's knew that his current way of conversion wasn't going to work. So, he had been waiting to use his new investment.

"Previously, when you have been brought in here, we have been running tests," Ra's pulled up charts that measured brain activity, "you were a tough nut to crack, but we did find what we needed."

My heart sank. My stomach plummeted. They knew things about me that even perhaps I didn't even know. They had been wiping my memory to prevent me from knowing. If I knew that they probing my mind for specific things, I would be able to put up a wall and block them. But, I was oblivious.

After what seemed like forever, Ra's looked over my shoulder to the assassin behind me. "Restraint her," he ordered. I was only able to flip around before my face was shoved into the hard cement. My nose had been broken many times, but it still bled when they broke it again. Several pairs of handcuffs were secured around my arms. They went all the way up to my elbows.

The assassin gripped me by my arm and tugged me into the door. The inside of the room was even brighter than the computer room. From top to bottom, there was white, shiny tile that reflected every light that was blaring.

In the middle of the room was what looked like a gurney. It was actually the only thing in the room. It was white and upright with straps dangling down from it. There was an IV stand beside the gurney and electrode lines.

My heart rate quickened. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. The assassin uncuffed me and strapped me down. A VR-like pair of goggles was placed over my eyes and something was on my ears.

It was pitch black and the only thing I could hear was my own breathing. I felt the IV being placed on my right arm and the electrodes were being stuck to the skin on my forehead. I had used all my energy trying to escape earlier that I didn't even try to struggle.

A high pitch noise echoed through my ears. I ground my teeth together, trying to stop it, but it was no use. Then, there was silence.

I opened my eyes and it was like I was in real life. I glanced around and instantly realized where I was. I was on the helicopter pad I had left behind in Bludhaven.

Dick stared at me. His eyes held just as much pain as they did the first time. They were staring straight through me, begging me to stay. I swallowed. My chest hurt.

I blinked and he was gone. His eyes stayed where they were, but his body and the scene morphed. I was staring at Coda. I hadn't thought about him since I became an assassin. He smiled at me and then, he was lying at my feet. His eyes were glassy and pale. He was dead.

Once again, it was gone. I was in front of my parents. They died one after another. It was just how I remembered it. I let a tear trickle down my face. It stung to see all of this, but I had thought upon the memory so many times.

Then, memories started to flood in. There were so many I couldn't count. Anytime I felt depressed or alone or scared, I was brought back to it. Anytime something bad happened to me, I had to relive it. Every beating, burning, and disgusting act was replayed.

I was forced to live simple fears. Small ones, ones that didn't leave a permanent scar. But, then it got worse.

I was with my parents. They came running up to me. I thought it was real. I swore I could feel the warmth of my mother's hug as she wrapped her arms around me. I swore I could feel my dad's fingers in my hair. I swore I could hear my brother's baby babblings.

The sun was shining as my parents hugged me. They declared their love, asked me where I had been all these years, and kissed me all over. I smiled, embracing the moment. It was so warm and everything was pastel.

It got darker. Everything around me changed tints.

Suddenly, a gun was in my hand. I pulled the trigger and my dad collapsed. I swore I could feel his blood coating my face.

"Athena! What...what have you done?" My mother kneeled beside my father. I didn't know what was happening. I tried to speak, to control my own muscles, but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything except experience it.

So, I couldn't stop it when I pulled out a familiar katana. It was the one of the swords I always carried on my back, the swords I fought with. Her back was towards me. She turned around just as I stabbed her.

She managed to get out a few chokes before collapsing. Harry started to cry. I ended it quickly, just as I ended his life.

I wasn't doing this. I tried to tell them as I shook their dead bodies. It wasn't me! I loved them! I couldn't breathe.

I stared at my hands. I had done this. I frantically tried to rub the blood off, but it was stained.

The same memory replayed over and over until...

The scene changed.

I was with Coda. He was holding my hand. I swore I felt his fingers laced in mine. His velvety eyes were comforting. I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, like I was a teenager again. I was in shock from what I did before, but the love radiating from him made me feel calm.

I was standing in front of the group of would-be-assassins. Their faces all were contorted into sneers and glares.

"Against the rules!" They all chanted. Coda turned toward me, his eyes full of confusion. The same gun as before -- the one I used to kill my mom -- was in my hand again. This time, a bullet went through Coda.

He choked on his blood and fell to my feet. His hands gripped at my pants, but there was no power to it. Coda didn't say anything. But, his eyes screamed betrayal.

"A--Athena..." He coughed, blood spewing. I ran my fingers through his blond hair, wishing him back to life, but it didn't happen. I gulped, trying to hold in tears.

The scene changed.

Dick was holding hands with some girl. Every time I tried to look at her face, it morphed into someone else. First, it was Barbara. Then, Zatanna. It was every girl I knew of that was with Dick.

He had two children beside him. They looked like him. They cuddled his legs and they were laughing. They all seemed so happy.

Dick noticed me. His eyes were haunting. "What are you doing here? You left me!" Dick was accusing me. I had never heard him talk so sharply. I gasped, no words coming to me. The girl behind him snickered, running her hands over his body. I watched, a sickly feeling coming to me.

The scene shifted, but Dick didn't change. He was still there. Except now, the kids were gone. And the girl was gone.

He was sitting in a lonely chair. He was cradling a bottle of whiskey. His hair was messy. He looked like he hadn't slept. His hazy eyes stared at me. I traced my finger down his dirty face, but he swatted my hand away.

He gripped my wrist and held me close to him. He forced me to stare him down. Dick's face was so broken, I could barely recognize him.

I was stunned. How did they know? This was my biggest fear. Ever since I met Dick, I had been afraid. I couldn't bare to watch, but I had no choice.

He held a knife. He put it in my hand. A fat tear rolled down his cheek. He gripped my wrist tighter. "You did this," he mumbled, forcing my hand towards him. The knife stabbed him right where his heart was. Dick slumped down. I had killed him. Just like my parents and Coda, I had caused it.

His words echoed in my mind.

This memory hurt more than any of the others.

His words played over and over again. There were flashes of me killing everyone that mattered to me. I tried closing my eyes to escape. It didn't work.

I always had a deep, dark feeling that everyone I loved died because of me. Their blood stained my hands. I was destined to kill anyone who cared for me. It was my darkest fear.

I screamed into the nothingness. Memories played again, causing me to go insane. Everything went black.

The goggles were removed. My head rested on my shoulder as I panted. I was so sweaty that the material that made the gurney was sticking to my exposed skin. I was unstrapped. As soon as the restraints were removed, I pitched forward and smacked into the tile. I didn't even try to stand up. I just laid there.

An assassin came in and put the chains back on me. I let them drag me along. My eyes were open, but I wasn't seeing anything. The memories I was forced to watch -- even the fake ones -- were replaying over and over.

I left without saying a word.

The assassin tossed me back into my cell. Waiting inside was my dinner. The League only fed me every two days. There was a slice of bread on the ground, already being chewed up by rats.

A bowl full of cold water sat in the middle of the stone dungeon. I called it "Nothing Soup."
When I was running the shots, I would be forced to make it for the prisoners. It was a bowl of water with a few pieces of decaying cabbage, old beans, and moldy orange. There was also crushed up vitamins and minerals. The soup had everything that a human needed to live, but not enough to make someone feel full.

I ate my food, but it came right back up.

I closed my eyes, but I couldn't escape what I had seen.

It was as if there had been a healing scar on my mind. From everything that happened, I had had time to heal. But, what I had just endured, had caused that scar to open back up. I was broken.

This was just the beginning.

~~~~~~A very dark, and graphic start to the new book. Sorry if it was little too graphic...Welcome everyone to Book #2! I hope you guys like this book and read it just as much as Love Birds. Love all of you!~~~~~~