AMPED

Author's note: Wrote this one quick and late last night when the idea popped into my head. As usual, I don't feel it's a strong piece because it wasn't terribly thought out, but I'm just gonna go for it and post it to see what ya'll think.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Birds of Prey. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Rain mixes with my blood and splashes onto my clothes and onto the pavement beneath me.

I'm sitting on a rooftop somewhere in the city, my back against a cool, brick wall. The rain washes over me and I don't even think about it. Hell, I don't even care. If it wasn't a hot summer night I'd probably be cursing against the cold and wetness, but today it feels almost comforting. Soothing.

It had been one hell of a night, not that most of them aren't when I'm out on "patrol." But this battle was a little harder to fight.

Barbara had sent me to a an old junk lot on the edge of the city because she'd gotten word of some new drug that was to be distributed and that was the meeting place. She didn't tell me what the drug was, just that I needed to get my ass down there, stop them from giving it out and bring the drug back to the tower so she could analyze it. Seemed like a simple plan but things got out of control, fast.

I climbed up on a stack of old cars to get a good view of the men that had gathered in a clear spot towards the middle of the lot. I counted five guys and sized them up. It didn't look like it would be a problem.

"Huntress, report."

With a heavy sigh I whispered my response. "I'm here. They just got here."

"How many?"

"Five. I'm going silent for a few minutes so I can get closer."

"Okay."

I heard the hesitation in Barbara's voice. I'd heard it before so I knew it well.

I turned my comm device off and quietly made my way closer to where the men were. I perched myself on the hood of what looked like an old Mustang and tried to plan my intrusion.

One of the men patted his pocket and smiled. This gave me the indication that it was about to go down. Sure enough, I was right. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial that contained a neon green fluid that looked like one of those Glo Sticks.

I stood up on the hood and leaped towards their area. My feet connected with the dusty, dirt ground as I landed hard and strong. "Guess you've never paid any attention to those egg in the frying pan commercials, huh?"

"Who the hell are you?" the man with the vial asked me.

"I'm your anti-drug," I answered with a lop-sided, sly smile.

The two men that had come to get the drug took off running as if their asses were on fire. Then I saw vial man's sidekicks coming towards me. I spun around and kicked out towards one of them, hitting him in the jaw and then I felt rough hands grabbing me by the back of my jacket. I reached down and grabbed the man's leg and pulled. He crashed to the ground on his back and I kicked him in the groin, rendering him useless. To make sure he stayed down I gave him a kick to the head and knocked him out.

The other guy came at me again.

"What? You haven't had enough?"

He snarled at me and swung, missing me by a mile. I threw a swing of my own and missed but I swung a quick left hook and smacked him hard in the eye. While he was nursing his eye I punched him hard in the gut, sending him to his knees and then gave him a chop to the back of the head, knocking him out cold.

The vial man was watching the fight the entire time and stood there still holding the glowing fluid.

"You want some?" I asked as I approached him.

He took a few steps back and it looked like he was ready to pee his pants but he took the lid off the vial and emptied the fluid into his mouth. I stopped in my tracks and watched as he fell to his knees clutching the sides of his head and then his stomach. Grunting and panting he looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel.

I turned my comm back on. "Oracle, do you copy?"

"Go ahead."

"One of the guys just downed the drug."

"Dammit," she swore softly, but loud enough for me to hear.

"You want me to bring him in?"

"I'm sending Dinah for back up. In the meantime, stay AWAY from him. Keep an eye on him but don't get near him."

"So you know what the drug is? What the hell is it? Is it a virus or something?"

"No, it's..."

Her words trailed off as my focus turned back to the guy who was now standing, his eyes glowing as green as the fluid he'd consumed.

"What the fu...."

He came at me with hurricane-like force, tackling me to the ground like a run-away freight train. I felt my bones rattle as I hit the ground with tremendous force. This little nerd of a man had now been transformed into a maniac!

He jammed his fist into my ribcage and I could have sworn I felt and heard something crack, but I didn't have time to think about it because he launched another fist towards my face, connecting with my eye. The sting indicated to me that he'd managed to split me open and the warm trickle of wetness down the side of my face confirmed it.

I tried like hell to gain the upper hand but he was so damn strong.

Before I knew it, he'd grabbed me by the front of my shirt, hauling me to my feet. He dragged me over to one of the cars and slammed me into it.

I sank to the ground, coughing and wincing. He didn't care for my pain. In fact, I think it fueled him because he grabbed me again and slammed me against the car over and over and over.

I was on the verge of passing out when it started to rain. It kept me somewhat alert but not enough to save my own ass.

He flipped me over his shoulder and took me to the entrance of the lot where his van was parked. Roughly, he threw me in the back and slammed the door.

I tried to get up and get over to the door but he started the van up and stomped on the gas, causing me to slam right into the back of the van, aggravating my battered body.

He didn't speak as we drove, just grunted like an animal.

I smashed into the walls of the van over and over as he sped through the streets like a madman and got to the point where I just let my body go limp. I was physically defeated.

My comm must have been damaged in the fight because I wasn't hearing Barbara's voice booming in my ear, and there's no way she wouldn't be yapping away if she'd heard the struggle.

The van came to a stop and I heard the motor turn off. He got out of the van and came around back to open the door. That's when I gathered up all of my strength and got my legs around his neck when he came close to me. I squeezed as hard as I could despite the pain that coursed through my body.

Still I squeezed.

His hands clawed at my legs to free himself but I wasn't giving up. That was until he pulled the switchblade out and jammed it into my thigh.

He got free and fell to the ground gasping for air and rubbing his neck and I got out of the van, limping away into the night.

I managed to get up to this rooftop where I know he wouldn't find me. So that's where I've stayed for the past half hour or so since making my escape.

I've been sitting here resting because I hurt and because I'm mad at myself for not being able to defend myself.

Looking out at the city skyline, I know exactly where I am. That's the advantage of my "job," knowing every inch of the city. It would really suck if I didn't know because in my current state I don't think I'd be able to figure out how to get home given my head felt like it was a mass of spider webbing.

I grunt in pain and let out a slight hiss as I stand up and begin limping across the roof. I get to the edge and debate about going down to the street level and walking the entire way or skipping across the rooftops which cuts the time in half. Of course, my leg and other parts of my body aren't going to like the jumping, but something inside me is begging to go home...NOW.

Backing up, I take a deep breath and run towards the ledge and jump off the side of the roof towards the adjacent roof. The weight on my wounded leg causes me to fall to the ground where I stay for a few moments. The wound has torn a little which means it's bleeding more. The rain that's mixing with my blood makes it appear even worse so it's hard to tell the truth of it's severity.

When I finally make it back to the tower I'm exhausted beyond words. Barbara's eyes grow wide when she sees me stumble into the room, doing my best to act as if nothing is wrong and I'm merely just a wet, sopping mess. But then I do the unthinkable. I feel my eyes roll back in my head and the darkness consume me. I hit the ground like a ton of bricks.

"Helena? Helena?"

I can hear a female voice calling to me off in the distance and then I feel a hand on my arm.

"Helena?"

Opening my eyes I see Barbara looking down at me.

"Good, you're awake. You had me worried. I thought for sure you'd slipped into a coma."

I squinted and winced as my entire body felt like one giant ache. "What the hell?"

"You took some harsh blows to the head," Barbara told me, as if I didn't know already.

"What kind of drug was that? The guy turned into a monster."

"It's some sort of super human drug that revs up your system and gives you meta-like powers."

"Great. First people don't want to be around metas and now they want to be metas? That's fucked up." I started to get up but stopped when the pain hit me.

"You're not going anywhere for a few days."

"Ugh," I grunted. "I can't believe I let him beat me like that."

"It's not your fault."

"I should have been able to at least keep up with him. Hell, I just about surrendered to him."

"You can't blame yourself. He was pumped up on this drug."

"What good am I out there if I can't even defend myself?" Anger began snaking through me as my frustration grew.

I made another attempt at getting up and managed to at least sit up.

"Helena, you're NOT getting up. Please! You've got a concussion, two broken ribs, a bruised kidney, a bruised back and a nasty stab wound in your leg. You move from this bed and you're right, you WON'T be defending yourself because you won't be in any shape to do so."

I blocked her from my mind as I eased myself off the bed. I sucked my breath in as my leg began to throb with pain. Covering it with my hand, I began walking out of the room.

Naturally, she chased after me.

"Helena! Stop being so damn stubborn for once!"

"Barabara! Enough! I just want to be alone right now. Is that so much to ask?!?"

She didn't answer, which was a surprise and I didn't feel her behind me anymore.

I limped up to my room in the loft and gently eased myself down on the bed.

If there's anything I hated it was people bugging me when I was sick or hurt. Just the constant coddling drives me nuts.

Leaning back, I hug my ribs as they ache from the movement. Blowing out a breath, I close my eyes and wait for the pain to subside so I can concentrate on other things. But Barbara must have been right. I must have taken quite a beating because my body just shut down and I drifted off to sleep.

Someone's shaking me again. What the hell?!?

I open my eyes and see Dinah.

"Helena. Don't tell Barbara that I told you, but you might want to come see this."

"What?" I ask, still groggy from my nap.

"Downstairs," she said as she quickly left the room.

I shook my head to try and clear it and then stood up. Limping out of the room I made my way downstairs and saw a body lying face down on the floor by Barbara's chair.

Squinting in confusion, I walked closer to find out who it was.

"What the hell's going on?" I asked as I approached.

"Helena!" Barbara snapped as she looked up and saw me coming. Immediately, she wheeled towards me, her hands out in front of her as if trying to block my way. "Go back upstairs and rest."

"Who's that?"

"Just go back upstairs. I'll take care of this."

I looked her in the eye and it became clear to me who it was.

Pushing past her, I stormed towards his body, ignoring the pain that was radiating from my wounds. I could feel my jaw tightening with anger and I made myself loosen up before I broke all of my teeth.

I kicked him onto his back with my foot and felt a lightening bolt of anger strike me when I saw his face - the vial man.

"Where'd you find the son-of-a-bitch?"

"Dinah picked him up. He'd collapsed last night after your encounter. He took too much of the drug and..."

"Awwwww, too fucking bad." My voice was coated with sarcasm as I gave him a swift kick to the ribs. "Doesn't feel too good, does it?"

His eyes opened slightly and I was happy that he was able to watch me kick his ass.

I reached down to grab his shirt in order to haul him up, but the pain in my ribs stopped me for a moment.

He smiled at me, noticing my pain and began to chuckle.

I closed my eyes for a moment and then re-opened them to reveal the cat-like orbs. Then with all my strength, I hauled him up and threw him into the wall. He slumped to the ground and I picked him up again, smashing him against the wall over and over.

"Helena! Stop!" Barbara yelled.

I hauled him close to my face. "Where's your knife you little bitch?"

He didn't answer.

I slammed his head against the wall and applied pressure as I pinned him. "Where is it? Or are you gonna try to stick me again? Huh? Answer me!"

Still no answer, just a sick laugh.

I let go of him and watched as he slumped to the floor in a heap.

"Go ahead," I taunted him, "Get your knife and come at me. I dare you!"

"Helena!" Barbara yelled again.

"Stay out of this, Barbara. This is unfinished business that I need to clean up."

"Stop it!" she urged as she wheeled between me and the pitiful loser. "Go back upstairs. Dinah?!?" she called out.

Dinah came to the head of the stairs.

"Get Helena back to her room and check her wounds."

"Let me do this, Barbara!"

"You're not going to..."

I looked up and saw him on his feet. The knife was in his right hand, still coated with my blood. Then he charged towards Barbara.

"No!!" I screamed.

Everything was a blur and happened so fast, even I didn't know what was happening at the time even though I was right there deep in the action.

"Oh God!" I heard Barbara say from beside me.

"Helena!" Dinah yelled out as she came over to me.

I was lying on the ground and he was on top of me. Yuck.

Dinah tore him off of me and dragged him away. Both she and Barbara didn't even look at him, they just looked at me in horror.

"He-Helena?" Barbara asked, her lips quivering.

I looked down at my chest and could see my hands and chest were covered with blood.

"Get me the kit!" Barbara screamed at Dinah.

"Wait. Wait," I said. "It's not mine," I said softly, gulping down a breath.

Dinah came back over to me, moving my hands away from the bloody spot on my chest, inspecting it for a wound.

"It's not my blood," I repeated.

They looked over at the guy on the floor who was impaled with the switchblade and a feeling of relief simultaneously washed over them both.

Barbara wheeled over to him and checked his pulse. "He's dead."

"No duh," I said with a hint of laughter. "Help me up."

Dinah helped me to my feet as best as she could.

"We need to check you out," Barbara instructed me as she looked me over. "Go to the lab and I'll meet you two there. I'll have Alfred clean up in here."

Dinah got me to the lab and helped me up on the table.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Fine, kid."

All of a sudden she began to cry.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm so sorry, Helena."

"What for?"

She sobbed for a few minutes and then wiped her tears. "The drug he took...my mother helped develop it."

I know I'd literally been kicked in the gut but this felt a thousand times worse.

"What?"

"I remember hearing that she was working on a drug like that a few years ago. Because people hated Metas so bad, she thought that by creating a drug that gave people meta-like strength would help them understand us."

"That's fucked up!"

"A man she was seeing at the time had convinced her that they would turn all non-metas into metas so that everyone would be equal."

"Did you tell Barbara this?"

"NO!" Her answer came fast, furious and short.

"Well if you don't tell her I will."

"You can't!"

"Like hell. She needs to know. We need to see if there's more of that shit or..."

"Everything okay in here?" Barbara asked as she entered the room.

"Fine," Dinah said, glaring at me.

I glared back at her and debated over and over in my head whether to spill the beans or not.

"Helena? You okay?"

"Yeah. Let's just get this over with."

Dinah left the room and Barbara could sense the tension. A moron could have detected it, it was so thick.

"You sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," I said through a clenched jaw. "Just feel like hell is all."

I knew she didn't believe me but now wasn't the time to clear things up. I had a more pressing issue on my mind.