WARNING MILD SWEARING .

Cold. That was the first thing that came into Isla's mind as she struggled to sit up.  She brushed her fingers against the rising goosebumps on her scarred arms, shivering. 

Why the hell was it such an icebox in here?

She tried to stand up, wobbling as her shackled feet clanked against one another.  What day was it? 

She looked at the tally engraved into the side of the doodle-filled wall, trying to count the batches of five before giving up once again and staring at the iron door. 

The door was the only way in and out of the cell, made from a heavy iron that the weakened prisoners couldn't push open, even if they managed to somehow open the seven locks that were on the outside. Sometimes the cell-guards would taunt them by mockingly unlocking the door and simply barricading it with their bodies as the prisoners would throw themselves against the door, trying to push it open.

Isla stared at the two small toddlers that also shared her cell, born and (so-far) raised in a concrete room. They were twin girls. Elysia and Elara.

Bruce had loved the name Elysia. It was quaint, beautiful, a version of heaven, the realm where fallen heroes roam.  And it had an adorable nickname, Elsy. So it only made sense she named her daughter it. And then there was Elara. He had loved that name as well, along with Isla. She thought it was cool and edgy. 

Isla loved her twins as much as she loved the rest of her family. But she just wished they were born before her abduction. She smiled softly at them. Elara was a quiet thinker and contraption builder, almost as refined as her father.  Elysia was as loud, obnoxious, a damn troublemaker and outgoing as her mother. Put them together and you've got a kid that masterminds the great capers and you've got the explorer and deliverer of those capers.

She shuddered again as she tried to conjure up pictures, memories, anything that'd help her get out of there, when suddenly, she was greeted by a whispery voice.

Ah, I guess it's time we met. 

With a squeak, Isla backed into the wall. "Who said that?" her unused, raspy voice grated against the air. 

Me, of course. 

Isla whipped around, looking for the source of the voice, unable to find any.

Unless you can roll your eyes back into your brain, you wouldn't be able to see me.

"Y-You're in my head? That's it. I'm finally going crazy."

That's what all you mortals think. Hmph. Do I seem like the auditory embodiment of schizophrenia to you? 

"K-Kinda." 

Okay fine, that's fair.  By the way, you don't need to talk out loud to talk to me. Just think something.

Something.

Very original, Isla.

How the frick do you know my name? Who are you? What do you want? Why are you here?

Well, I'm in your head, why wouldn't I know your name? 

Okay, good point, but you gotta answer the rest of my questions.

Well, I am Nyx. Mother of the Fates. 

And I'm Jason Bourne.

Ha. Even after all these years in this hellish place, it still hasn't taken away your sense of humor.

It's the only thing keeping me sane. Though your arrival might be a sign I'm going psycho.

Let's get to the point. You also asked why I'm here. Well, I've been assigned for your safety.

Now you guys give a shit?

Isla, dear, there are children nearby.

Well, excuse my language, but where the fuck were you , 'Mother of the Fates', when I begged literally every god that possibly exists to get me out of here? To get me home, to where my children are, to where my husband is? Why do you care now?  The world has already moved on. Why didn't you help me get back in it when it was still my time?! When my boys needed me most?! Now the only thing my twins have ever known is a stupid cage! They've never seen the outside world!

Long story short, we couldn't. At least, not until the other forces approved of it.

What forces? Didn't you freaking birth the three Fates or something? Ay mios dios, why am I even talking to you? I could give you the silent treatment!

Eh, mortal, don't do that. I'm here to help!

/Angry silence/

Mortal!

...... Fuck you. /More angry silence/

Mortal! Apologize!

Isla grumbled, before she felt her brain go fuzzy. "Whoa, Byx or whatever your name was, stop that!" she muttered, gripping the sides of her head.

No can do, Mortal. This is part of my plan.

Hey, I'm sorry! I'm Sorry! Just don't rip my brain apart!

That's close to what I'm about to do. You'll catch on later, mortal.

That was the last thing Isla heard before she felt a searing pain slice through her nerves as she fell to the ground, screaming.

"Mama!" 

******************************************

Bruce walked up to the small grave at the edge of the garden, a bouquet of her favorite bright snapdragons in one hand and a sledgehammer in the other. He set the hammer down as he reached the intricately carved tombstone.

Here rests the soul of a woman loved by many

ISLA C. WAYNE

Born: 24/07/yyyy

Died: 13/10/2017

A doting mother and wife, and a wondrous friend 

"The longer you live in the past, the less future you have to enjoy. Quit moping at this dumb rock and do something magnificent. And don't think I'm some genius either. That quote came from somewhere on Google, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't live by it."

Bruce chuckled. Isla had specifically stated that she wanted that quote on her tombstone in her testament,and he found it quite fitting. She'd always joke and try to raise people's spirits, even when they were grieving at her grave. He set the fresh bouquet down on the grass, eyes tearing up as he stared at it.

"Hey, there, Isla. I know you aren't under the dirt here, but this is the only place I have that's solely yours and has you literally written all over it." He talked to it. "But I think you can hear me from here. At least, I like to think that."

"I'm sorry. For not looking harder before. For giving up on you. You didn't deserve that. You've been suffering for so long. Only God knows where you are right now, but I swear to you, I'll do everything I can to bring you home." Bruce said.

"I know you're out there. That you were taken by someone evil. That you've been out there for so long. But I think you also got the memo about the Fates finally giving us clues. Or something. Maybe we're all just going crazy from wanting you back again?"

He sighed, gently tracing over her name that was etched in the stone with his index. "I love you. I never stopped loving you. And that's why I have to do this."

He stood up, grabbed the sledgehammer and brought it down hard.

It cracked, and he hit it again, and finally, the tombstone shattered, almost exactly like the crystal.

Bruce blinked, raising an arm to shield his eyes as a blinding light seemingly emitted from the chunks of stone. 

"What the-"

******************************************

Clark Kent stared at the large monitor, reading all the information that was projected onto it.

"Why did this now surface?" He asked Cyborg.

"I can't believe we didn't catch onto them sooner." Victor replied, muttering to himself.

"Guys!" Diana said, walking into the room. "There's been a murder by the Metropolis border."

"Who was it?" Asked Arthur, biting into his sub sandwich.

"Joshua Chynder."  Suddenly, the screen was blocked by a notice. 

/Batbutt would like to Facetime/ 

"Really, Victor?" Diana huffed. Flash giggled and high-fived Cyborg, who had a smirk on his face. He answered the call, and Bruce's panicked, sweaty face completely filled the screen.

"There's been a murder."

"We know." 

"Joshua Chynder, criminal that caused the U of Gotham Bombing."

"Yes and no at the same time.We can't just assume he blew something up."

"I found something." Bruce panted as he ran with the phone on, racing into his cave.

"Keep talking." Kent said, and ignored the obnoxious sounds Arthur was making as he wharfed down the sub sandwich. 

"Okay, so I broke Isla's tombstone because she's not dead, and a bunch of rings fell out. Jewelled rings. And then all of a sudden, the sky was full of bats, blocking out the sun."

"You sure you okay Bruce? I've got a really good therapist on hand." Kent asked, worry on his face. Diana glared at him before stepping forward.

"How do you know she's not dead?" 

"Somebody planted a replica of her wedding ring at the U of Gotham bomb site. Timmy figured out the ring was a fake, and do you know who bought the fake?"

"No."

"Joshua Chynder. The man who was killed today at Metropolis border. There is some real shady stuff going on under our noses. A definite abduction. Who knows how many more people Chynder's organization may have taken?" Bruce said.

Diana noted all of it down, before grabbing her jacket and her sword. "I'm coming over with Wally. "

Bruce just raised an eyebrow while Flash choked on air. "Me?! Why me?!"

"Alright then. Arthur, you're coming with me. Poor little Wally's afraid." Diana laughed as Bruce cut the connection.Twelve minutes later, Diana and Aquaman were in the Batcave, walking in and internally marveling at the vastness of the broody man's lair.

"Where are the rings that you found?" Arthur asked, and Bruce silently pointed at the cardboard box next to the Batcomputer keyboard. Immediately, Arthur picked it up and dumped the rings across the empty table that was shoved against a gray wall.

Circlet of gems and wings of black- a whispery voice seemingly emanated from the jewelled rings, a hauntingly quiet choir of echoing words.

"Did you hear that?" Bruce muttered. 

"Sure as hell I heard that," Arthur said back, staring uneasily at the rings. "Ya sure these ain't cursed or something?"

Suddenly, they heard thudding noises from the stairwell, and all the Batboys came into view. 

"I heard something Da-, what the heck are you guys doing here?" Dick said. 

"We were invited." Diana curtly said, smiling at the four boys.

"Whoa, where'd you find these?" Jason shoved over burly Arthur and scooped up a handful of rings. Timothy just stared at the rings like he'd seen a ghost.

"No."

"Tim, what is it?" Bruce asked him.

"No way, t-this shouldn't be here, where'd you find all these rings, why'd you- what? No way are these those rings!"

"Drake, quit blabbering nonsense and tell us what's going on." Damian snapped at him, waking him out of his reverie.

"Those are the Fifty Rings of Vulcan! I read an article about them when I was trying to decipher the prophecy! They usually appear as a message to mortal beings or as a clue whenever one is looking for the quote-on-quote 'gem of their existence.' "

Diana cut him off, eyes twinkling as she finally recognized the rings. 

"And each gem and jewel on every ring is a message. Or part of a message. In a concept, sapphires represent freedom, rubies represent power, onyx represents fears and desires,  diamonds represent clarity, opal is for cleverness and secrecy. There's more, the list could go on. But it seems that you've gotten a lot of sapphire, onyx and opal rings."

"Freedom, fears, desires, secrecy, cleverness. " Bruce put the two and two together. "Desires freedom. Fears secrecy. Cleverness. We've got the concepts in the message, but we need it to be more clear.

"What about the emerald rings? There's at least a dozen of those in the pile." Dick pointed out.

"Emerald? Those are rare, even among the the Rings of Vulcan." Diana said, gently picking up an emerald ring. "It represents forgiveness and maternity."

Bruce stared at the pile of jewels on the desk. What did forgiveness have to do with freeing Isla? Was the Fates forgiving him for not looking hard enough? 

Suddenly, he felt his brain go fuzzy, and he gripped a chair back with white knuckles, gasping as he saw something.

/Flashback/

Bruce felt himself floating, felt like a spectator watching the scene below.

There she was, his darling Isla, the night of the bombing.

*She pulled her khaki trench coat closer to herself as she walked across the campus, softly smiling as the wind ruffled her hair into tangles. She smoothed it down, before continuing into the teacher's building and into the main staff archives lounge.

"Hey Rodriguez." She smiled at a man, who was standing at the corner of the room, next to the printer as it whirred. The man tipped his hat with an equally welcoming smile. "'Evening, bonita. Lovely night, isn't it?"

"Quite." She headed over to her filing cabinet, marked with her name on it, before opening a drawer and leafing through the many files.

"Whatca lookin' for?" Asked another woman as she walked into the room, sipping from a cup of tea. 

"Oh, hey Dina. I just forgot my curriculum file for the animation program. I need to switch up the  projects etc so the students are 'entertained'. " 

"Education does not account for entertainment." Dina huffed.

"Yes,but entertainment causes for unforgettable education." Isla countered,  a knowing smile on her face. She pulled out a thick, brown file. 

"The beautiful Bonita is right, Dina." Rodriguez said, poking at the printer settings. "We really need the IT guy down here again." he muttered.

"Rodriguez, you know you can just call me Isla." She warmly said, while not looking up from her files, leafing through every paper. "Ah, found the one- Hey, you smell that?"

"What?" Dina wrinkled her nose. "Rodriguez I swear to God, if you farted agai-"

"I did not! " He cut her off, going red.  Isla, though, her eyes widened. Immediately, she went over to the west side of the room, near to where the door was. 

"EVERYBODY DOWN!" She screamed as something clattered into the room through the open window. A smoke bomb. 

BOOM.

White smoke filled the room, and there Isla was, crouched against the floor, coughing. She reached out to grab something, anything, but instead grabbed onto something hard but soft at the same time. A leg. 

Someone's gloved hands came down on her, and Isla screamed, before punting whoever the person was between the legs and kicking them in the face. Her fight mode was switched on, thanks to the now dozen black clothed people in the room.

"Get the Wayne!" They shouted, shooting into the air.

Dina was thrown against a wall and knocked unconscious. Isla grabbed the nearest intruder's gun and yanked it out of his hands, before ramming the end of it into his face. Suddenly, her phone started ringing, as she fired a bullet at one intruder's shoulder she backed out of the staff archive room and raced into the hall, before a searing pain shot up her leg as a bullet bit into her calf.

She screamed as she was tackled down by something heavy. She was surrounded.

"At least let me answer the phone-" she begged them. With one curt nod, a gun was pointed at her head as another man answered the phone for her. It was with Bruce's caller ID on it.

"Bruce?!" She cried into it, before the gun was whacked into her head as a warning.

"Ma! Ma! Where are you?!"  Isla's heart dropped. It was her baby Jason. 

"Oh, Jason, baby-" she was cut off by a nearby scream. Dina. They killed Dina. Tears threatened to overwhelm her even more, but she tried to keep calm for the sake of her boy.

"MA! Are you okay?!"   If only she could reach out through the phone and hold him close, even for a minute.

"I'll be okay, sweetheart. I love you all so much." Isla responded, choking up. The intruder nearest to her hoisted her up, putting her arms behind her back, before marching the injured girl out the back door.

"Mom! Mom, where are you, Mom?" Another voice came through the phone, and Isla felt her heart drop. Timmy, her poor Timmy.

"My boys- mi vida, I'll always be there for you-" she said through the phone, when suddenly, a huge explosion behind her cut the line. She tried to swivel around, to see the carnage that she knew would be there. But the man holding her whispered into her ear.

"Bonita, don't bother looking."

Isla's eyes widened. 

"Rodriguez-"