Chapter 20: Wednesday 21st February

"A text message?"

Commissioner Gordon looked at me in disbelief.

That was the excuse I had developed to cover Thorn; that as I collected my phone, I received an anonymous message, alerting me to the fault in investigation.

Batman and the rest of the team were standing around the multiple police desks scattered around the room. Luckily they didn't pay any attention to my extended absence.

"You expect us to go off a simple text message, sent from an unknown number to your phone?" He asked. "It's obviously a trap."

"Is your lead any better?" I asked him him impatiently.

Artemis snickered quietly from next to me, but swallowed her smile when Kaldur glared at her warningly.

"You're source can't be any more reliable than mine." I stated.

Gordon took of his wide framed glasses and dropped them on his desk, leaning back in the swivel chair he currently occupied. Putting a hand to his forehead, he massaged it frustratingly.

"The source I was given is the source that makes the most sense. Joker always liked to make his plans extravagant, and by holding Zoella at your old orphanage Wildcard is being more extravagant than normal." He said.

I out an annoyed breath, ready to argue with the commissioner again. But a cough, in the back of the room near the door, caught my attention. Looking over my shoulder, I could see a scrawny, lanky man in a police uniform standing in the doorway with a yellow folder of files in his hands.

"What is it Stanner?" Gordon asked gruffly. You could tell he was tired.

The man Stanner stepped forward into the 'circle' we had formed. "Sir, the squad we sent our has returned. They reported no criminal children in the building; everything was going as normal." Stanner stated. "Apparently the occupants were very surprised that police had come to the building.

I turned back the commissioner. "I guess we follow my lead now."

Gordon shook his head. "They could still be hiding in there somewhere, threatened the people inside to lie to the cops."

"Sir, the squad searched the entire building. Apart from a few weapons stashed in corners by the children, nothing else was reported as illegal or unusual." Stanner stated. I decided I liked him.

Gordon sat up in his chair, mouth open to object, when Batman cut him off.

"It would be foolish to hide in such an obvious place, commissioner. Too foolish for such notorious criminals such as these. Besides, your source has been proven to be invalid." Batman stated in usual, emotionless voice.

"But we still have no idea which orphanage she went to; let alone if it's even in Gotham!" Gordon exclaimed.

"Actually," continued Stanner. "Some of the technics ran a scam on Wildcard. They found a match."

He dumped the folders down onto the commissioner's desk, flipping the page over as we all crowded around it. "Hannah Quinnzel. She was raised in Potley Orphanage, in the Narrows. The orphanage has since been shut down."

We stayed silent for a moment, wondering what to do now.

"Team, back to the bioship. I'll consult with The League and decide on the best plan of attack." Batman ordered, then turning to Gordon. "Thank you for your help commissioner."

With that Batman strode out of the room, his black cap flowing behind him. Kaldur gave a curt nod to the both men of the law, and led us out of the station.

Robin walked beside, us both striding behind the rest of our team members. "I've noticed something." He stated.

"What?" I asked.

"You speak with more passion and emotion in you're voice when you're around the team," he looked at me softly, "or when we're alone together."

"I guess it's just something I've done my whole life." I said. "I think... I think I'm too scared to let my emotions seep through to people I don't have a connection with."

"I'm glad I'm one of those people, Ebony." He said. "But for the people when aren't, you can use your voice as an advantage."

"How?" I asked, surprised at the sudden change in topic, but also intrigued as to what Robin thought.

"Well, take tonight there with Gordon as an example. You wouldn't let down, and your tone made him know it." Robin smiled. "I take it you two didn't exactly get along in the past."

"That's probably an understatement."

A moment passed before I spoke again. "Thanks for being there for me." I said. "I know that I shouldn't have-"

Robin but me off me off when I felt him lean over and take my hand in his own. "Ebony, I'll always be there for you. Remember that."

He stopped, and looked deep into my eyes, still holding my hand. We had reached the bioship by now, and the team was starting to board. But Robin and I just stood there, staring at each other. He brushed my cheek with his spare hand, and pulled my close while he kissed me.

It only lasted a few unnoticeable seconds, but it still made me feel warm inside.

"We should get in the bioship." I told Robin quietly once we had pulled away.

"Okay." He replied, leading me onto the spacecraft.

I took the seat in front Robin's; sitting down steadily and clipping the belt around my waist. Sinking back into the moulded chair, I ran my fingers through my tangled hair, then reaching down into my pocket for a hairband. At least trying to put up the mess of knots may help with the situation.

"We'll get her back." Zatanna whispered from beside me. I nodded my head, more to assure myself than to agree with her.

Because in fact - this mission could end up very different form how we wanted it to.

###

The trip didn't fly by in a blur, but a anxiety filled space of time that had me constantly brushing my hands on my thighs.

Batman's orders were very vague. I suppose he knew the possible outcomes of this, considering all the unexpected, unknown things that were likely to occur. So here we all were, scattered in different locations around the entrance to Potley Orphanage, ready for Kaldur's signal that would tell us to converge and scour the building.

We couldn't use the mind link, as there were many fires burning in the area; as was normal in the Narrows, so M'gann was up in the bioship patrolling the border for any unusual activity. Our com. links see banned as well. Apparently Riddler had a talent in hacking, and any radio frequencies would be picked it sooner or later by niece.

So when the loud bird call sounded - we moved in.

Wally went first, speeding up to the door and dismantling the overly large security measures in place. As we stepped inside the wooden construct, I backed into the nearest wall and became a part of it.

Following my team mates through the simple, unlit halls, I looked around for any sign of where they might be hiding Zoella. So far we had only come across open doors that introduced tiny rooms with broken, moulded furniture. I found myself wishing that Thorn had given me more information.

Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

We stepped into what thought would have been the lounge room when this place was still running. Great big, thick, prickled vines hugged the most of the room - some of them already sprouting leaves.

And sitting in the middle of it, almost unnoticeable among the flora, Thorn sat cross legged. No surprise entering her expression.

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Next chapter up! Woohoo!!!! So I had a little bit of trouble nailing the talk between Ebony and Robin at the start, and had to rewrite about ten times. So I hope it's okay for you guys.

As you may have noticed, I decided to put a meme - yes, a meme - into the chapter. I found this the other day and couldn't help but wanting to share it with you all. So in light of that, I've now decided that in every chapter I will now find a meme, and post it. Just note that I will not make these, only find them on the Internet.

Another thing - I have decided, like I said in the chapter, that I will not do a sequel. How ever, I felt that this story would be a bit short because of where I wanted to finish it, and that it needed a little more... I'm not sure of the word. So IN THIS SAME BOOK, I will be doing a PART 2. It will be kind of like a sequel - okay it will be pretty exactly like a sequel, but I decided to just make it another part. (That reason may or may not Be because if the fact that I can't think of a name for the sequel...).

I honestly from the bottom of my heart apologise for putting you all through this rubbish with sequels and not and whatever. But this book is one of the very few of mine that has actually had some sort of success, and I've just not been really sure what to do with continuing and stuff.

Anyway, I wanted to thank all you lovely, angelic readers that have inspired me to keep in writing this story. We are almost at 5k and I wanted to thank you all for making this write very, very happy. Your reading means the world to me and appreciate it all so much.

Until next time, stay whelmed.