"You've got no place
to hide
And I'm feeling like a villain,
got a hunger inside"

Monsters-Ruelle

Dick and I arrive at an abandoned looking building. Welp, this night's shaping up to get better and better. I am not getting paid enough for this... am I getting paid for this?! Dick steps out of the car, pausing to look back at me. I wave bye, no way I'm going in there.

He sighs, "This will go faster if you come." Aragh! Fucksake.

We approach the building and I pick the lock with ease. We enter seeing a man in a police uniform with a gun and flashlight. The man turns around and Dick quickly disarms him, then punches him a few times to knock him out. Finally, after like thirty punches later, he's out. Took him long enough, I could've done it faster. Just saying.

"Losing our touch are we?" I raise a brow. The guy falls into Dick's arms and he plops him on the ground before shooting me the 'not the time' look. He takes out his gun and we move forward. He kicks open a door yelling out Rachel's name.

"Scream so we know where to find you," I add, wanting to speed this up.

"Help! Help!" Rachel yells after a couple seconds. Finally. We take a moment trying to pin-point where it's coming from before silently agreeing she's upstairs.

"Rachel?" Dick repeats once we get to the next floor. Rachel screams suddenly become muffled. Oh great, whoever took her probably just gagged her. We spread out a little to cover more ground.

I quickly spot a door open. "Dick!" I get his attention. He runs over and we look inside the room to find Rachel tied to a chair.

As we take a step to go in the door slams shut knocking us backwards. Dick lands on his back and I, of course, have to land right on top of him.

"Wouldn't this just be blast in other circumstances," I mutter. He ignores me, putting his hands on my waist, which I go to slap off, before realizing he's picking us up.

He makes sure I'm steady before slowly releasing and hurrying back over to the door. "Rachel! Rachel! Rachel, open the door!" He yells, frantically trying the doorknob.

I bend down to pick it, but it doesn't budge. It's like something's holding it shut. The voice that I assume belongs to the kidnapper starts screaming before it turns muffled like hers did. What the hell is going on in there? Then it turns into a painful yell. I stand back up as a body slams into the door causing Dick and I to jump. We wait a minute before I try the door again. This time it works and the door creaks open.

We take a moment to scan the room. Rachel is unconscious and the man who took her is on the floor surrounded by black liquid. Gross. Before we can do or say anything, she gasps awake and starts hyperventilating. Dick rushes over to her, unlocking the handcuffs she's in, but I take my time making sure to not step in the black goo.

"What happened?" Dick asks her as I bend down to the level he's at in front of her.

"I don't know," She starts crying. I hold in my frustration since she's traumatized. She for real missed all of that? Dick and I turn to look back at the dead man having so many questions, but Rachel pulls us in for a hug before we can get a long look. "Please help me!" Dick hesitantly hugs back as I pull away.

~~~~

We get Rachel out of the building to Dick's car. He pops the trunk revealing my bike.

"These are yours?" Rachel asks us, looking shocked that I have a motorcycle and he has a Porsche.

"Family heirlooms," Dick answers.

"From the circus and the streets?" Rachel asks.

"Not the ones your thinking," Dick chuckles, he was referring to Bruce. The Porsche was Bruce's, but the bike was actually Alfred's. Believe it or not, the old man has style. I don't like to be confined inside vehicles, liking freedom while on the road, so he happily let me have it. "Come on, let's go," He puts a bag in the trunk. Rachel gets in without another thought. "Alison?"

"Where are we going? Why should I come with you?" I fire away, crossing my arms. I could forget all of this and head back to Gotham. What is he thinking?

Dick sighs, "Look, I know you only came here for the case and to leave. That didn't work out for you and this girl wants both of our help, not just mine. I'm gonna take her to D.C., then after that we can put this behind us." Dick informs me the plan.

I laugh, "D.C.? Are you kidding me?"

"Got a better idea?" Plenty, none he would go for.

"Bus station, orphanage-" I list off.

"Alison, this isn't funny," He cuts me off.

"You're right. It's truly hilarious," I chuckle. "You're just going to drop everything and help this girl? This stranger!" I gesture to the car, raising my voice, "And for what? To feel good about yourself or something?"

"Believe it or not, not everyone does things to make themselves look good ," He snaps at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I scoff. "Hmm? No go on, you were on a role."

He exhales, "I'm not doing this with you right now."

"Oh yeah, then when?" I deadpan. My head feels like it's spinning.

"I'll drop you off at a repair shop in the morning," He closes the trunk, heading for his door.

"No. Fuck no and fuck this," I go to reopen his trunk.

"Where you gonna go?" He asks.

"I don't know!" I yell, reaching for my bike.

"Just-just hang on," He says coming over to me. I yell in frustration, how did he get this thing in here? I bang my fists on it.

He hands fly out, landing on mine before quickly moving to the bike. "Why don't you get in the car... it's late." I squeeze my eyes shut for a couple seconds.

"Give me one good reason I should go with you?" I finally let out.

"I don't know about you, but I'd like to know how she did what she did in there," He points to the building. "How she knew about both of our pasts. Why she wants help from both of us. Don't you?"
Maybe. It scares the hell out of me that she knows something that personal about me. It scares the hell out of me to be around Dick for this long. Fuck it, I'm scared! There, I said it. But I can't get scared, I don't. I'm always in control, I always know the answer. But not this time.

I run my tongue across my teeth a few times. "Fine. D.C. Then that's it. And I better get some answers by then." I look up at him to see he's examining my hands. I have a few gashes on each from my little outburst.

"I have bandages," He says, his tone softer now. I don't want that. His pity or kindness or whatever.

"Can't even feel it," I shrug. Lie, my hands are starting to sting.

He looks unconvinced, but he lets it go, shutting the trunk again and we enter the car in silence to a perplexed looking Rachel.

~~~~

We barely get driving before Rachel speaks. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe," Is all Dick says.

She looks at us for a second before continuing, "My mom says there's no such thing as monsters. I think she was wrong."

Oh how she was wrong.

We stopped looking for monsters under our bed when we realized they were inside of us all along.

Very wrong.