[i]Two weeks ago...[/i]

"I'm... what?" 

Tiara blinked as she sat in the darkened office, the only light in the room coming from Sargent Isabella's desk lamp that illuminated her grim face. The news had hit the poor girl like a freight train, that much the older woman could see very clear. This strange girl that sat before her, this child whom she had come to think of as her own, could no longer be held within the prison. Her presence had been requested in Gotham by someone with connections far greater than her own, there was nothing she could do and no way she could turn them down. Isabella had dragged her feet for as long as she could but today was the last day she could afford to keep Tiara here, she had to send her out into the world now whether she was ready or not. 

"Tiara, this isn't easy but arrangements have been made by those higher up than me. I... I have no say in this matter. They allowed me to take you as far as the Gotham city limits but that is as far as I can take you. It's all I can do for you. I'm sorry, I truly wish I could do-" 

Tiara cut her off, sighing as she smiled despite the sharp aching pain within her chest. 

"Please... please don't apologize. There's truly no need, I know you did all you could Isabella. I... I'll miss you terribly though. Everyone... can I at least come visit?" 

The silence was deafening within the room as Isabella wished desperately to agree, but she knew that her team would be in more danger if they got involved with her from here on out. She was to become a hero, to join a team of some sort in Gotham where she would be with those who could understand her. But her own parents were prime examples of how associating with a hero or villain could get you killed, her mother had killed so many people heroes knew that Isabella wondered just how her father had fallen for her. Perhaps they both had a screw loose... but it didn't seem like that was passed down to their daughter if that was the case. 

"I understand... when do we leave?"

Isabella snapped out of her thoughts and cleared her throat, her hands folded together as she stared at Tiara who seemed even more within the shadows than ever before. 

"I need you packed up in thirty minutes and I'll brief you on the way." 

Tiara merely nodded and the shadows within the room seemed to warp, shrouding her in complete darkness before she vanished altogether. Isabella sighed as her face plopped into her hands, a long pained sigh escaping her lips as she wondered how she had gotten through that. She could only imagine how Tiara felt, being upended from her home for the second time in her life, now to be thrust into a completely different world even she couldn't comprehend. She just prayed that she would be kept safe and would return after each mission safe and sound. 

[hr]

[i]Present day...[/i]

Tiara froze as she heard the news, her heart beat echoing within her ears as she nearly dropped her lace parasol. Gemini... was dead? Perhaps it hadn't hit her that they would be in mortal danger, that lives would be on the line, that her team mates could die just like that. But now that it was right before her eyes she couldn't help but see her mother and fathers faces flash before her very eyes, their deaths tied to their previous work as hero and villain, and the grisly fate they met. Did... did Gemini meet such a fate too? What happened to him? What was the state of his body when he was found? When had he passed? Why had it happened? So many questions raced through her mind, her breath quickening as she felt her powers taking over. They overwhelmed her, the fear of losing control merely fueling the emotional fire that grew the intensity of her ability. Within a moment the darkness surrounded her and she found herself underneath the table of the kitchen, hyperventilating as tears streamed down from her Ruby eyes. 

"Why?" 

The words slipped past her lips as she curled up into a ball, her face planted in her knees as she hugged her legs tightly to her chest. So many questions that she knew would forever remain unanswered whilst the pain of loss ate away at her core bit by bit.