ONLY A FEW DAYS have passed since Daphne saw her nightmare come to life, seeing the girl that haunted her dreams she had since she could remember. Even after her research, the redhead was still clueless and it made the whole thing even worse. She had only seen Dawn and Hank for a short time, the reason was the obvious visit she wanted to hide from. It was a riddle, just like it was with the powers she held inside, not knowing how to solve any of this or even where it came from.

Dawn has visited the redhead twice this week, and every time Daphne acted like she had a stressful week to come, even when she was pretty sure that Dawn could see through her lie. And yet she never said anything.

With a huff passing her lips she laid the pencil she held in her fingers back onto its original position while her gaze was fixed on the drawing she worked on. Something in the picture bothered her, even when Dawn gushed over it saying how it looked like an old Greek drawing with the scenery she had drawn, she still didn't like it. Biting her lips, Daphne looked at every part of it, hoping to find the piece that was bothering her so she could finally finish it.

A sudden knock on her door made her lookup. Curiously she stood up, knowing that Dawn and Hank were actually out of the house, so the redhead wasn't sure who stood on the other side.

Slowly Daphne opened the door and was surprised to see that handsome stranger, or more like a former lover of Dawn, outside her doorsteps, getting caught in his gaze. "Sorry to bother you," he started and it was strange to hear the roughness in his yet soft voice. "But Dawn said that if we have trouble with something while they are out, you can help," his words sounded a bit unsure and the redhead had to blink for a second. Of course, Dawn said that.

"With what do you need help with?"

Her words sounded harsher than she wanted, but she couldn't stop herself as the sentence came over her lips before she could think about it. Immediately she cringed after it. "Sorry, I didn't want to sound so rude," she stuttered and closed her eyes for a second.

A deep chuckle escaped Dick Grayson as he watched her stumble over her own words. "No worries," he told her and his lips tugged upwards just slightly.

Silence followed while Daphne still waited for an actual answer to her question and yet he just looked at her. His brown eyes almost trying to get every detail of her face and she quirked an eyebrow. "So?" Daphne crossed her arms over her chest, as Dick finally averted his eyes. Almost sheepishly his hand ran over his neck and a nervous chuckle left his mouth this time.

"I wanted to take a shower, but the water won't run," he finally said and the redhead nodded a little.

It was a situation she also had when she moved in here. Once she feared that they cut off her water and electricity, but Dawn had shown her that it had something to do with the showers itself. One of the reasons she rather bathed than showered. "That happens all the time," Daphne began before she took her keys. "There is a trick so it works afterward without problems," she added, closing her door behind her as she followed Dick into the apartment of Dawn and Hank.

Blue eyes roamed the rooms and she also knew why. There was still that unsettling feeling in her gut about the purple-haired girl and she was glad that she couldn't spot her inside.

Not yet anyway.

"So, Dick how come that Hank and Dawn never mentioned you before," the redhead questioned him while she arrived at the door that leads to the bathroom. Dawn had only mentioned Dick once before, telling her about the guy who just left her without explanation and that had been the only thing the redhead could pull out of the white-haired woman. "Well," he started carefully, avoiding the sudden interest blue eyes from Daphne who glanced at him for a moment.

So many things had gone wrong with him and Dawn; the guilt of it never left his heart but he was more than relieved to see her happy with someone she loved. With someone who loved her back.

"Hank never really liked me, so maybe that's why," Dick told her and gave the redhead only a little smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. She just nodded, knowing that he didn't want to talk about it more and she didn't even know why she even bothered to ask. Daphne didn't know this man and yet she could not shake the feeling off that he was different than Hank, that he had something to hide and rather kept it to himself.

Snapping out of her daze, the redhead turned towards the shower curtain, showing him the trick she had to learn from Dawn. "That's the trick," she finally murmured turning around to face him again. His dark chocolate eyes roamed over her face for a second and Daphne couldn't quite help herself doing the same thing.

"Hey Dick, where did you put my-," the voice of the younger girl died down while she stopped between the doorway, her eyes looking directly towards Daphne with a slight confusion behind it.

Their heads snapped towards the girl and a sudden weird feeling came crashing down onto the redhead. "I-, uh didn't want to interrupt you guys," the lilac girl told Dick with a soft voice, her gaze switching between them. Before Dick could answer, Daphne, cut him off quickly. "I was leaving anyway," the redhead almost stuttered out while she tried to seem normal. She gave both of them a quick tight smile, before leaving the apartment in a hurry.

When the redhead closed her door, she leaned against the wood trying to calm her erratic heartbeat while she banned the glimpses of the girl away in her mind.

•

A sudden rumble caused Daphne to sit up groggily on her couch where she was greeted with the darkness of the night. She probably fell asleep a few hours earlier and with a sigh, she moved her hand through her long red hair untangling most of it. But the silence that followed made her uneasy; the apartment block was never this quiet, there would always be teenagers playing or drinking outside on the railings or even on the staircase on occasion.

Carefully she stood up, actually wanting to walk towards her bedroom to get a real good night sleep again, but before she could the redhead heard a yell followed by a loud crash.

Immediately her head snapped towards the window behind her, heart beating faster every passing second.

The yell reminded her of Dawn and even when she tried to shake that thought of her head, something was nagging her in the back of her mind. Every fiber of her body screamed at her to stay inside but there was a feeling clawing at her to check the roof for any signs of distress. And for the first time after a long time, she trusted that feeling.

Daphne slipped on her shoes quickly before grabbing her keys before she walked out. Her blue orbs darted around the hallway but she was the only person outside at that moment. Fast, she climbed the stairs that lead to the roof, a place were Dawn kept her pigeons to take care of them, before her hand halted at the doorknob. Suddenly she was nervous for reasons still unknown to her and the redhead started to chew on her lip out of habit.

"Hank!"

The known screaming voice brought goosebumps on her body and panic flooded her mind. She yanked the doorknob open, trying not making a loud noise and halted in her steps. Her gaze was on the four strangers on the roof and Daphne jumped as she saw how one of them knocked Hank out leaving him on the cold hard floor. She couldn't move and if she was honest, the fear settled too quickly in her bones to react on anything of that.

Daphne stayed hidden as best as she could, watching how the strangers took the girl with the purple hair with them. She had seen their faces and as they left, the redhead ran towards her friend on the floor. "Hank?" she started carefully, her fingers touching his arm only slightly.

"Hank?" Daphne repeated, shaking his arm in the hopes to get a response. A sudden grunt was heard from behind her and the redhead turned her towards the noise.

Dick was gripping onto the bricks of the house tightly while he made it safely on the roof. Their eyes met and she knew that her confusion was written all over her face. Hank inhaled sharply, bringing Daphne to look at her friend again. "Hank," Dick began loud after Hank rolled onto his back with a pained expression. "Dawn," he whispered under his breath which made Dick Grayson jump up into a standing position. Daphne followed suit, her heart banging against her rip cage after she halted next to Dick on the edge of the roof.

"No," a whimper escaped her mouth as her gaze landed on the person that laid on the ground below them. Even in the dim light of the lanterns, she could make out the blood that framed Dawn's head like a halo. The redhead didn't realize that Dick had climbed down, hurrying to get to the white-haired woman.

Daphne could suddenly feel her powers in her veins, emotions were always a trigger point for them, and before she knew what she was doing, she flew down onto the hard ground of the street. She wasn't even aware that she could fly, that she had this kind of raw power, but her mind was only focusing on Dawn.

Dick looked up as Daphne kneeled next to them, her hand gripping the one of Dawn's tightly and he could swear that there had been fine glowing lines in her face a few moments before, but he wasn't sure. "Dawn?" Her voice cracked, tears stinging in her eyes not even bothering to wiping them away. "We need to get help," he murmured, gaze darting around in the street. "Someone needs to call an ambulance-," he added but the white-haired woman suddenly gripped onto his forearm getting his attention. "I'm dying." Every word that escaped her bloody lips was forced as the pain was flashing across her features. "Don't say that," Daphne and Dick spoke out simultaneously.

But the redhead wasn't even sure if her words were the truth or an even worse lie.

(gif made by antigalactic 💞)