Born to Fly

Bleeding - ✔

When my brother finally does arrive, he brings nothing but bad news. Apparently, the Ogre is still missing.

"How are you feeling?" He sips on a bottle of water.

"I'm okay, now. Thanks for what you did back there. How are you?"

Jim struggles to catch his breath. "It's been a long day."

"So it would seem," I say. "Have you even had time to shower?"

He shakes his head.

"I can tell."

"I've been a little preoccupied now that there's a city-wide war."

My lungs become heavy. "Yeah. I've heard all about it. What do you know?"

"Only the basics. Any information you wish to disclose?"

I'm aware that I should tell him that Oswald is the one who started the war. If he becomes desperate, there's no telling what he'd do. He could turn the snitch into Maroni, let him take care of Oswald. I can't risk that. "Nothing I can think of."

"This puts a target on your head, now. Look at you. You've already been hurt. What if Maroni finds out you're alive? I'm not sure if he was intentionally attacking you today, but you're Falcone's head doctor. You're the best person to eliminate."

"I'm not going to shy away from the fight."

Jim sighs while leaning back in his chair. "There's no way I can convince you to stay out of town until the war's over?"

"I'm afraid not."

He's not surprised, though my defiance crushes his spirit. "It's not going to be pretty and you'll be in constant danger. I'm can't be there to dig you out of every building."

"I understand."

"People will die, Sera."

"The city will be a chaotic war zone, I get it. This war includes every single Gothamite in some way. I'm no exception to that."

"What are you even able to do? How do you expect to handle anything? You have strict orders—"

"I'll do what I can for the Falcone family. They're still people, Jim. Most of them have families to take care of."

"Don't tell me you're on their side."

"Who will I be if I'm not?"

My father's anger flares once again in my brother. I see it in the curl of his lips and white knuckles. "Now you're defending them. Should I remind you of the things they do? The things he does? That— that criminal you're so infatuated with is a murderer. He has killed innocent people, Sera!"

"Stop it—"

"Get the idea out of your head that he will ever be a good guy. He won't change for you. He won't change for anyone."

I snap. "Lecture me another time, Jim. Better yet, don't do it at all."

"You're starting to sound like him too."

At the moment, I'm too exhausted to call him on his crap. He leaves with a half-assed apology and a promise to send Lee over in the morning.

My nightmares overflow with the events of what happened yesterday. In the dream, a warehouse explodes on me all over again. This time, however, I don't get the chance to escape. I'm trapped, or crushed, or impaled.

I wake up multiple times throughout the night. Each time my heart monitor rises above normal, a nurse, Mary comes into bring me back to reality.

"You're okay, Miss Gordon. It was just a nightmare."