§tain | chapter four ~  " A Fucking Psycho" 

30 minutes earlier 

Dawn and Hank's Apartment 

Washington D. C. 

    On the love seat in the TV room of Hank and Dawn's Apartment, sat Rachel Roth. bingeing another episode of Game of Thrones. Too hooked by the most enamoring scene yet to see Hank resting in his armchair nursing his fifth beer of the night and attempting to delineate whatever the hell he was watching. Or Dick and Dawn in the kitchen - deep in a discussion relating to grown-up issues - enough to put even the smallest child asleep, or the remote which by somehow got under her leg. She moved, the hour spent in one position, at long last caught up to her and inadvertently changed the channel right when the scene got to its juiciest part.

"Damn it." she reviled at the news occupying the screen.

"What the hell." Hank slurred. "Turn it back. It was just getting good."

    Ignoring him, she reached for it, urgently searching, and sent it sliding across the room. The purple-haired teen fell onto her knees and snatched it up in her pale hands. Right as she would change back the channel, she held back observing a lady on screen. Fighting a man wearing a ski mask. "Wow." she said when the lady wrapped her legs around his neck and knocked him unconscious. "Whoever this chick is she sure as hell can kick ass."

   "Wait a minute.. She looks familiar." Hank sat up from his chair, eyes narrowing as the shoddy shot from a camera phone replayed again and again. He sipped his beer, gradually. Until acknowledgment occurred to him, and his eyes became wide as saucers. Hank spat. Showers of harsh liquor went every which way. "Oh, shit." he said. "Dick. Dawn. Come here." They hurried out from the kitchen to join them in the Tv room, at the direness in his tone.

    "What?" his girlfriend looked at him questioningly, however remained in a cautious position. Maybe it's code that they were within the presence of risk or something to that affect. At that point her eyes pursued where his finger pointed.

"... Youthful saint stops burglary at local Walmart." she read out loud. Alongside the news crawler looking over the screen. A slow breath drew out of her once she saw what it was. "Oh, my god. Is that..?" she trailed, the words just barely at the tip of her tongue. However, they were difficult to state.

   "Jade." Dick completed for her, recognition enlisting in him. Quiet settled over the gathering, similar to a blanket over a body. Rather than the warmth it gives, they're left cold and trembling at the transparency of the issue. Rachel's eyes flicked between the three grown-ups, having livened up in the wake of hearing that by which they perceived the lady on TV. "You know her?" she inquired. "Who is she?"

    "A slut." Dawn gritted through held teeth, her gaze, cold and filled with contempt, remained  on the circling picture.  "A fucking psycho." Hank included coolly and chugged the rest of his beer.  Although the responses stipulated their unadulterated wrath towards the mystery lady on the nightly news, Dick saw the confounded look on the teen's face. He went to her, yet too gradually for it to be typical, and constrained a grin.

    "She's an old companion." he replied, his voice trails, similar to his words were reluctant to take off. To sound the least persuading. Pity appeared in his eyes, the darker excessively gleaming.

     Dawn side-eyed him. "Try not to gloss over this, Dick. Rachel's not three-fucking years-old." Truth be told, over the most recent couple of days she encountered many things somebody her age ought to never need to, notwithstanding her inner dealings, the purple-haired-teen handled it better than expected. They could expect her expectation that the man beside her would help her.

     Extended a solid ten on a scale. However, on the off chance that Dawn needed to uncover whatever horrifying truth about that lady on the news. She could take it. Like she stated, Rachel was not a little child. Not anymore. "That,' Dawn spun to her, head titled at the Tv. "is Jade Carter. We knew her once. Before word went around guaranteeing she was the hero killer, Stain. With a power not of this world." Rachel glanced back at the TV.

    She remembers now. Viewed the newspeople go crazy over a killer the Justice League or any imposing group of heroes couldn't catch. At ten, she wasn't a child who so severely needed the bad guy in jail and the heroes to win. No. Unlike other kids her age, the moment her eyes laid upon Stain, she felt compassion. Rather than abhor. Understanding, rather than scorn.  When Rachel saw her on the news hailed as a threat to society, a merciless killer, she didn't see what they did. That look, hazel, vacant, which once held love, empathy, and magnanimity, she perceived humanity in them. Someone suffering but desiring freedom from a hell which kept her prisoner. The world neglected it. 

     "She vowed to free the world of heroes," day break kept, "believing people would be better off without - us-them. I meant them." she stumbled over her words. Rachel's nose wrinkled. She was certain Dawn said us. "What do you mean by u-"

"Also, almost succeeded." Hank stated, directing the teenager's attention away from the brow-raising subject.

    "Yes," Dawn concurred and sent him a grateful look. "So far she's killed Flash, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Aquaman, Captain Marvel, The Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and tried her hand at Superman, however he lucked out."

     "Luck is an insult to injury, Dawn." Hank jested. "Just admit the dude got creamed." She punched his shoulder.

    "Ow." he cried out, scouring his shoulder. As of now, he felt a bruise shaping and saw the daggers his sweetheart shot at him. "What? I thought we were being honest."

   Dawn rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Anyway." she stated, turning back over to Rachel. "She's a killer. Difficult to catch and considerably harder to kill. Or so they've said on the news." 

    "Underneath all that, she isn't a bad person." Dick spoke up, having been quiet throughout most of the conversation. "She reconsidered her motives years ago, or so I heard. She helped the Titans-"

He's cut off by Dawn lifting her hand. "She's an unhinged killer, Dick. She betrayed them. I bet if they were to let her in again, there's no undermining that she'll do it again." her statement revelaed more than what she was willing to let on, but directed more at Dick than anyone else in the room. Like she knew exactly what he would do before he did it. With that, she stalked off. An end to the discussion. Dick followed her. Rachel, though, remained in the same spot, was left more confused than before. 

    "Don't worry, kid." Hank words meant to sound assuring, they're slurred from the amount of alcohol he consumed. "Dawn is just an extremist when it comes to injustice. Eventually she should be able to get over it. Can't catch all the bad guys, right?"

   Rachel doesn't reply. Her mind meandered to the very thing she saw when she first touched Dawn's hand. Images of her past  where she was with Jade. The teen felt the emotions Dawn did. Disgrace, hatred but also unsurety. Her vision showed her the villain's looming fingers as they ran over Dawn's  skin and their lips touched. She shook her head and resumed to turning back the channel. 

~

Author's Note 

I know it's a slow process. But I'm trying to push this as quickly as I can so we can get to the good stuff. I just wanted to show ya'll Hank, Dawn, and Rachel's personal feeling's toward my OC. So please bear with me. The next few chapters, you guys are gonna love them. Post in the comments on what y'all think about this. Until next time peeps.