Wow... I know I haven't updated this in years, but hey miracles happen. Update is finally here. :) yay.

I've never been in a fix quite like this one. Sure, I've had slip ups, been captured, had my life hanging in the balance, but I have never had someone keep me for so long without telling me what they wanted out of me or even just threatening to kill me. No one here spoke in a language that I could understand.

They were feeding me now, which made me think that someone was now planning on my stay being a fairly long one. Bread and watery soup twice a day, and I ate all that was offered to me. I was taken out to use the restroom at random intervals during the day (or night, I'm not sure of the times). The room I was being held in was small and dim. Concrete walls and no access to natural lighting to provide me with any sense of time. They may have been attempting to disorient me or it could have just been that the cell wasn't made for long term use.

I tried to bide my time as I waited for a chance to try to make an escape. During one of my trips to use the bathroom and wash my face, I decided to try and make a run for it. The man escorting me trusted me enough now that he didn't bother to tie my feet together. He thought that having my hands bound behind me was enough to keep me subdued.

The rear leg roundhouse kick to the side of his head came as a complete shock. He let out a stunned grunt and staggered sideways as he tried to regain his balance. I hopped and landed another fairly solid kick to the opposite side of his face that flung him to the hard floor.

He clutched his head, which must have been spinning, with loose hands. I contorted my body to get my hands low enough so that I could step over the rope pinning my hands together. Once my hands were in front of me, I ran for all that I was worth.

It wasn't hard to creep up behind the men guarding the exit. The shadows in the corridor were a huge help. I wondered if I could subdue the two men before the one I had already attacked came to warn them.

My strength had suffered due to the meager rations and my lack of ability to keep up with my normal exercise routine. My legs were trembling from my first encounter, but there was no time to recover now. I bolstered myself with a few deep breaths and made my assault.

It was lucky for me that they had not expected me to be there. In fact, they looked bored, even sleepy. This couldn't have been the most exciting job in the world. I hit the man on the right side of the doorway on the side of his head with my tied hands and sidekicked the other man in the chest. They were stunned long enough that I was able to work out of the ropes on my wrists and run out the door.

I hit the sand and nearly tripped because of the change in terrain. The harsh sunlight blinded me for several seconds, and as soon as I could see I realized that there was nothing but sand all around. There was nowhere to run to. I could hear several voices behind me, and from the sound of the general tone they were not happy with me.

"I was beginning to wonder when you would test your boundaries," said a smooth voice that was hidden behind a mask in the shape of a jackal. "At last we can begin your training."

I stiffened as several men surrounded me and started to close in the space between us. I clenched my fists tight and adjusted my fighting stance.

"A lesson in submission will do well for now," said the voice.

The sand sucked my boots in deeper as I shifted again. A command was given in a foreign tongue, and in a blur of hot wind and sand the men pounced on me. They dragged me back to my small prison cell in spite of the struggle I put up. I felt one of the men pulling at one of my boots, while another yanked off my cape.

There were so many strong hands holding me and working at various pieces of my uniform that in just a few moments they had stripped me bare. Not even my mask was left in place. I tensed as I waited for one of them to take a cheapshot and kick me while I was completely defenseless. No one did. They dropped me to the floor and left, locking the cell door behind them.

Hot anger filled me. My empty stomach growled, and my muscles trembled with fatigue. It wasn't until I squatted down on the cold stone floor that I realized how much warmth my uniform had provided.

At one point I was dozing out of exhaustion, huddled in a ball against the stone wall, when the door opened with a loud groan. I didn't notice it as it melded with what I was dreaming. My body jerked in surprise when hands grabbed me beneath the shoulders and yanked me to my feet. I was dragged out of the cell and through the hall into a room that I was not familiar with.

The soft rug in the middle of the room broke my fall as I was shoved to my knees. I gave one of the men a glare before I started to glance around the room. There was lavender oil burning nearby and another smell, something that I wasn't sure of, though Batman probably would have recognized it. A guard shoved my head down toward the rug, forcing me to stare at the carpet. I resisted with a grunt and made a futile effort to stand.

"Stubborn, aren't you?"

One of the men pressed a pressure point near my armpit that sent shards of pain through my shoulder all the way down to my fingertips. It took only a few seconds to convince me to stop struggling. The man in the jackal mask drew nearer.

"No doubt you've noticed the scent of lavender in the room," he said calmly. I was staring at the tips of his shiny black boots now. "The herb has a natural calming property, and when combined with the right ingredients can have some rather startling effects on the mind in a concentrated dose."

The man in the mask knelt down, bringing himself to my level. I could see now that he was holding something, a small satchel. He poured a small amount of the stuff into his hand, and from what I could tell it looked like fine grained white sand. He blew the dust at me, and it hit me in the face. I held my breath, and blinked at the dust that he had blown in my eyes. It stung.

The man in the mask chuckled as I blinked back tears. "What do you want?" I asked.

"You'll see in time my young friend." He laughed again and turned away from me. My body was starting to tingle. I was beginning to feel loose, almost drunken.

"What did you do?" I bit back the urge to giggle. Man, I was feeling out of it.

"Merely utilized a tool to gain your cooperation. I have neither the time nor the patience to cultivate your trust. You must be subdued before we will be able to continue as planned."

I didn't like the sound of that one bit, but it wasn't as if I had much of a choice in the matter.

TBC...