-

"You're Robin." She mumbles, fearing the worst. She'd already imagined this situation about a hundred times, knowing it can't possibly turn out okay.

Damian removed his grip on her, studying her carefully. He stood, speechless, his gaze piercing into her eyes.

After a few pregnant seconds, he finally opened his mouth.

"I'm not surprised. You're intelligent, Alli. But sometimes too smart." He implied, removing his grip on her. "What are you trying to say?" Alina stuttered, her mind spinning in all of a sudden.

He can't know. He possibly can't...

Does he?

"I have my secrets, that's undeniable. But you have yours too." He states, looking down at her. He was overpowering her in every way.

This is it, Alina.

Knowing what was already coming, she strengthened herself up, and looked up straight into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"Then we can talk again when you decide to tell me." He breathes out, staring blankly at her, before storming out, slamming the door behind him.

Alina let herself drop, sitting against the cold marble floor. She knew this was going to happen. This wasn't fair for Damian, and she knew it.

But she just couldn't. She couldn't let him know.

She zipped open her jacket, her fingers brushing against the aching scar.

A dear, thoughtful reminder that was given to her, five years ago;

By the Joker.

The green haired lunatic had always been haunting her dreams. Something she badly wanted to get rid of, but always seemed to fail.

His sadistic, scarred smile had etched her mind forever.

And she knew not to mess with him.

With shaky hands, she reached to her phone, inside her pocket, and frantically searched Marcus's number, her emergency contact.

"Hello? Alina?"

"Marcus? I- I.. never mind." She stutters, throwing her phone away; the black smartphone crashing onto the white wall. She knew the consequences, if she dared to come back home. It was too much of a risk.

There was no way home, her brother made sure of that.

Alina Vanderbilt was a weak, feeble human being, hidden inside a tough girl's shell.

Sometimes, she got tired of playing the game. This sadistic twisted game, created by the King of Pranks himself.

She was an ant, trapped in the spider's sticky web, and nothing could get her out.

And little did Damian know, his little Alina was part of a sadistic plan, and there's nothing he can do to stop it, for he is too late.

~

Damian stormed inside the BatCave, where the rest of the family were calmly discussing things.

Dick frowns, noticing the painful expression hidden behind the Devil Spawn's green eyes. He approached him, making sure no one else noticed.

"Dami.. are you okay?" He asks calmly, in a soothing tone.

"Yeah. Fine." He responds quickly, walking over to the others. He didn't want anyone to know about her, she's his problem, not theirs.

"Guess what. Good news." Tim announces, eyes fixed on the monitor.

"What is it?" Damian crosses his arms , eyes fixed on the screen.

Bruce glances at his son, noticing the frown etched on his face. He chose to stay quiet, he didn't want to aggravate Damian's mood.

"We've found her body. Beatrice Sulkin. We've tested her remains, and she is indeed positive." Tim clears his throat, glancing at Bruce.

"We have to find the remaining two."

"If they're still alive, that is."

The next day

"Let's play a game, Little Princess. Truth.. or dare?" David asks, his fingers tapping the wooden table, the sound of it irritating her. Alina stared blankly at her so-called bodyguard, who she knew, all this time, was one of the Joker's minions.

"Truth." She says blankly. Her hands were tied, her legs were slightly shaking. She hadn't eaten her pills. The previous day, he barged into her room and decided to tie her up in the kitchen, just like that.

"Why do you think he chose you?" He asks, his deep baritone voice stinging her ears.

"Because of him." She responds, bore in her voice. She knew she was capable of killing this egghead, only she chose to be careful. And she was highly against killing.

"Him who?" David insists, eyes boring into hers.

"The Demon." Alina breathes out, her mind spinning as she tries to calm herself down. There was no point in denying, he'll know eventually. This man was getting closer to her last nerve, and he knew it.

"Ah, it's all clear now.. I should've known." David laughs, his fingers middling with the black gun in his grasp.

She stares at him, wondering what was he possibly thinking about.

Alina shakes her head, the ache increasing, her fingers trembling. She needs her pills. "I need those." She points to the small bottle, carefully placed behind the table, onto the counter.

"I don't think you do. I want to know what your true limits are, Princess."

____________________________

Don't worry, everything will make sense in the upcoming chapters!

Okay, like you all know (or may not) that I hate David. Yeah, he's a [insert bad word here].

This is where the exciting part of the story begins.. heheheh.

And thank you all for 1k! Means a lot to me!

Love,
Sophia ⚜️