Dick woke up blindfolded with a headache, only he wasn't sure if he was waking up since he couldn't even remember going to sleep. He tried with all his efforts to remember just what he had been doing, but it was impossible. Last thing he could remember was relaxing in the young justice headquarters after an arduous mission, and then there was nothing.
He couldn't even remember what the mission was.
He became aware of his surroundings; the chair he was sitting on, the metal cuffs and ropes tied around his bare wrists and ankles, the breezy sensation all over his body... Was he naked? No, he was still wearing underwear. He was incredibly uncomfortable now.
Dick tried to loosen the ropes around his wrists by pulling on them, but it was hopeless. Even if he got rid of the rope he still had the metal cuffs to deal with, and with nothing on his persons there was no way to get away.
he shook his head violently in an attempt to remove the blindfold, but it refused to move. He stopped trying to escape and instead thought of how he got there... He inhaled deeply, wary of the complete absense of details surrounding his situation.
"... Someone there?" asked a voice across from Dick. He stiffened up, startled.
"...Kidflash?"
"Robin! Hey, think you could untie me?"
"No can do Kid. I'm probably as stuck as you are. Or maybe moreso. You can't vibrate out?"
"Tried, failed. Got that stupid suppressor collar on me. We arent going anywhere."
"Oh..."
Silence struck the room. He felt embarrassed about the situation. He figured Wally was blindfolded too and couldn't see him, but that didn't stop his insecurity.
"You're blindfolded too?" Wally asked.
Dick nodded before remembering neither of them could see. Stupid. "Yeah. Kinda starting to hurt."
"You know how we got here?" asked Wally.
"No. None. Last thing I remember was chilling at the base. Can't even remember why."
"Some mission we did? I can't remember either."
The situation was far from ideal, but Dick was confident they would get out of it. He was relieved Wally was there to ride it out with him too.
The two sat there for a very long time in silence, each considering how they could escape, how they got there. More importantly they were trying not to panic. Just how did they get there?
Dick pulled his wrists away from the chair again, seeing just how much movement he had. To his slight horror he pulled too hard on one side, and the cuff restricted his wrist even more painfully. "Oh... Oh god."
"What is it?" demanded Wally.
"The cuff, it's too tight... If it stays like this it could do damage."
"This bombs man. We don't know where we are, we don't know why we're here, and I really have to pee."
Dick hadn't thought of that. "Just keep holding on. We can't be here for that long. Someone has to come by soon." Wally's stomach made an aggressive sound.
Dick forgot about Wally's sped up metabolism. He would be in a tremendous amount of pain...
Hours passed. Wally had used himself as a bathroom, Dick was tempted to do the same, and his hand was numb from the cuff. Who the hell put them there?
{~~}
They didn't know it, but a whole day passed outside where they were being kept. 24 whole hours. Kidflash was close to starvation, and Dick couldn't feel his hand at all anymore. Finally, one cracked.
"I can't do this... Whoever's there, please, stop this!" called Wally. All he got in return was Dick's breathing. He licked his dry lips and called out again. "Hey! We're no use to anyone here... If you wanna kill us, just do it dammit!"
But again, no reply.
"Wally, you ok over there?"
"No. No this is not ok... I've never gone so long without eating. It really hurts..."
Dick didn't know what to say to this. He was starving himself, so Wally would be far worse off.
"How's your hand?"
"Honestly, I forgot about it till you brought it up."
He meant this as a joke, but it only made the room more tense. Both of them were scared but refused to be the first to admit it.
Hours passed again in silence. Dick started thinking about what day it was. How long had they actually been there? He let his mind drift, and could hear Wally breathing hard as if fighting back tears on the periferal of his mind. He said nothing.
{~~}
Another day passed. They had been there for 51 hours total to be exact. The smell of urine would have been overpowering to anyone who entered the room, but to the boys the gradual timing made it so they could hardly notice it at all. Both were severely dehydrated, but secretly glad they werent drinking any more. Neither wanted to pee themself any more. It had become incredibly uncomfortable...
"We're gonna die Dick. Noone's gonna save us." Wally was holding back tears.
Dick said nothing, but listened as his friend let go of the tears and started crying with shunted breaths.
"I just... I wanna know why we're here. And, and why noone came for us." Wally's voice was dry, and somehow it was wet at the same time. "So many oportunities we will never have... So many regrets we can never repent for..."
"I'm gonna die a virgin" said Dick in a monotonous voice.
"But you said, about that girl... The starry one-"
"I lied. Didnt actually get to do it... I mean we had the foreplay and everything, but I got a little too excited too quickly, and, well, yeah."
"I'd laugh, but im not even 100% sure of what you just, um... said."
He was delirious. Dick didn't think Wally would last much longer. It had been two days... Or maybe three. Maybe even a week. They didnt know.
{~~}
In the 79th hour since they were placed in the room alone, Dick had an intense feeling of unease. He felt like he was being watched, or that something was missing, or that he was forgetting something, but he didnt know what.
"Hey Wals?" he called out. There was no reply.
"Wallace? You there?" but again, silence.
Dick's breathing was quiet but inside his head he was screaming. His mind went to the worst possible scenario, and he believed his friend was dead from starvation. So he sat in silence. If he was being watched, he wouldn't give his kidnappers the satisfaction of seeing him break. If he was going to die, he was going to do it with dignity.
His thoughts ran at a mile a minute, and his mind was beginning to go already, from the absense of food and water he had endured. He breathed, and thought, and nothing else.
What had happened to the other members of the young justice team? Why hadn't batman found him by now? He was angry and hurt by this especially.
Who was the lead for his school's play? Who won the science fair? What was he doing there?
His aching head eventually drifted to the thought of his parents, his real parents. He pulled on his restraints without even realising it, and a sharp pain ran up his numb arm. It was probably blue now. What would his parents say? What would they think of him now? He was a fantastic performer back in the day, doing incredible acts with his Mum and Dad.
His mind drifted to the last time he saw Haly's circus, only a short amount of time ago. Haly knew who he was straight away, even though it had been years. Did he know that Dick was Robin too? Haly... He remembered how he was when he was younger, with his parents. What would they say if they saw him now? Surely they wouldn't approve...
They would have been disappointed in him. He knew the dangers, put himself in danger all the time even. And now he was there; a victim of consequence. If they were alive, and he died then, would they even miss him? They had known each other forever, had plenty of people to love in the past, and Dick had only been with them for 10 years.
He didn't know how old they were, or he did but his mind was so fuzzy he couldnt remember. He didnt know how long they had been married, he didnt even know if he was a planned pregnancy... If he died then, would they find him?
Dick didn't believe in the afterlife but he used it as an understanding of death, so he believed his parents were watching him, were always watching him. He believed they were there in the room with him then; just him, his mum, and his dad. And Wally's dead body. Wally. His best friend in the team. The one who knew his secrets.
Wally, who would never leave the room, who would never see his uncle or aunt again. Who would never break the tension again, would never make him laugh when he had a bad day, would never talk to the point of annoyance. Ever again.
"I'm going to die." Whispered Dick in a content tone.
{~~}
84 hours in and he was hearing voices in his head. And he was replying to them.
{~Dick, how did Bruce get stuck with you?~}
"I dunno. Poor fella took pity on me. Who are you anyway?"
{~I am your father, unluckiest man you'll know. First my wife gives birth to you, then I die because of you. Didn't always wanna be a circus guy ya know. Wanted to make something of myself, but too bad for me.~}
"You're not my Dad. My Dad loved me, and now he's dead. You're just a voice. Not my Dad, or Mum, or even my uncle in a coma connecting to me via telepathic brainwaves. You're just a voice inside my head."
{~Okay, you got me little man. I'm not really your Dad, but I'm not really a voice either. Theres no distinct tone here, just your mind creating words in your head. I have no independant thought really, I'm just a figment of your imagination created by your delipidated state as a coping mechanism.~}
"For someone whose just a figment of my imagination, you sure do talk a lot."
{~Well there's not much else to do, is there Dick. Is it alright if I call you Dick?~}
"Call me Richard." He didn't like this voice. It was rude and unpleasant.
{~Okay Richard. How long do you think we're gonna be stuck in here?~}
"We're gonna die here."
{~Oh... Like Wally. Remember Wally? If there's an afterlife, he's probably already forgotten you. You weren't actually that good of friends really. I'm not sure he actually liked-~}
"THATS NOT TRUE."
Dick yelled this into the empty room and it echoed around him in an eerie fashion. It was like an illusion of being free, of being tied somewhere in the mountains, or trapped at the entrance of a cave.
{~Hey, maybe I'm your rational thought and I only speak the truth?~}
"You said you were my Dad. You're obviously not."
{~But everything else has been spot on.~}
"You're wrong about Wally. He cares... He cared."
{~If you say so Dick.~}
"Richard."
{~Yeah, whatever. Hey, you're really a virgin?~}
"Whats it to you?" his tone was arrogant yet dignified.
{~So you're unappealing not only to your parents and Batman, and Wally too actually, but also too every girl you ever had a crush on. Starfire, artemis, batgirl... And none of them wanted to sleep with you.~}
"Starfire did!"
{~Yeah, but you finished when she brushed up against you. I'd laugh if it weren't so pathetic. She probably thought the same thing and told everyone on her team. I bet they all laughed about it at the water cooler the next day.~}
"She wouldn't do that! Or at least I don't think she would..." Dick sighed. He really didn't like this voice...
{~~}
90 hours in and the voice had taken a form. It was a boy slightly younger than Dick by maybe just under two years who looked similar to him, but he was scrawnier and had an emo hair cut. Dick still didn't like him, but he was better for company now that he had a form. His name was Space. Dick thought this was dumb.
They were both sitting inside Dick's head on the floor with a deck of cards having a game of go-fish and talking like friends would.
"Got any 4s?"
{~Nope. Go fish.~}
"So where did you come from anyway?"
{~Just came out of nowhere really. I mean, I'm not alive and I never will be. Got any kings?~}
"Nah. Go fish. Are you like, an imaginary friend I had when I was younger? Like, maybe I just forgot about you? Any 2s?"
{~I don't think thats the case. I don't have any memories of you, except from a bit before I spoke to you~} said Space, handing across a 2.
"I guess I just don't understand why you're here... Do you know why I'm here? Oh, and Queen?"
{~I know what you know Dick, but I also have my own mind but its your mind. Make sense? Go fish.~}
"Nah, doesn't make sense at all. This game kinda sucks with only two people. Can we do something else?"
{~You realise you've been sitting in a chair for what feels like a week at least outside of here right? Talking about boredom... Who do you think you are princess?~}
"Want to stop with the insults? They're really unnecessary."
{~Then stop acting like a princess.~}
"Hey, we're in my head right now right?"
{~Yeah. Thats why you can see me, and I can see you!~}
"Well, how did THAT happen?"
{~Oh, I know this one! Its kinda like a dream but you're still awake. Its like that sleep paralysis thingo, but infinitely less terrifying.~}
"And you were only a small voice hours ago... Incredible... Are you God?"
{~You wouldn't believe that I was your Dad, but you would readilly accept that I'm God?~}
"Well... Are you?"
{~No, and personally I don't believe in God.~}
"Yeah, ok. Hey, also, if we're in my head, can I imagine anything right next to us and it appears?"
{~What? No. It has to go through me first kinda. So you imagine something really hard, it appears to me, and if I don't like the look of it I can push it away. If I do like it, I can imagine it here and it appears. I suppose I do have a purpose in your head after all. I'm like, the keeper of your mind.~} This new sense of purpose, or moreso the recognition of it made Space smile.
Dick closed his eyes. "I'm imagining my parents. Please show them to me."
He opened his eyes and there they were, exactly as he remembered them. His eyes welled up and he ran to them and hugged them. He cried on their shoulders and he felt them, actually felt them. He spoke to them, and they spoke back. They told him things he already knew, because he could only see them inside his head and his head only remembered what they had already told him.
He cried in his head and he cried in real life. In his head, they were growing older, and he watched them. He watched them climb to the top of the trapeze, and he watched them swing. They flew through the air with incredible ease, even if it wasn't real. He joined them as he did when he was younger, and he was happy, and they were all laughing; Dick laughing harder than either of them. They continued to age, and when Dick finally noticed, he closed his eyes and imagined again. He opened them, and below them was a net. Space had allowed the net.
He watched them fall, and even though he knew it wasn't real, even though he knew they would be okay this time, he closed his eyes and looked away. He heard his mother say his name, and he heard her whoosh through the air. He expected to hear a springyness of his mother hitting the safety net, but there was just... Nothing.
Dick climbed down from the trapeze, and saw his parents on the net completely frozen. They didn't hit the ground, and the net did save them this time, but thats not how it happened. Thats not how it happened at all.
Dick put a hand on each of his parent's backs. He stared at them, really looked at them in their moment before death. His mother was beautiful, and his father was handsome. He looked deeply into their features, and then he broke down.
"MUM! DAD! MUM! DAAAD!" His screams became long and desperate. He was thrashing around in real life and his wrist was bleeding again from the cuff.
Space panicked and the net was gone. Dick's parents fell away from his hands, and they were dead again. Dick screamed and fell to his knees. Space ran over to him and pulled him into a hug, trying desperately to comfort him. {~Dick, hey. You need to calm down, like, now.~}
Dick pulled away from Space and started hitting him. "Bring them back. BRING THEM BACK NOW!" Space raised a hand and a transperant wall formed between them.
"Get out of my head. Bring them back or leave! I want you gone, you hear me."
{~You keep this up and I will be gone.~}
"Thats exactly what I want. Get out. GET OUT!"
Dick hit the wall and screamed. He continued to thrash and scream, but stopped when he heard the most perculiar sound.
Somewhere outside his mind, a door opened and there were footsteps heading towards him. His breathing was erratic, and he suddenly realised just how much it hurt. He felt a stab in his arm, and then a hand on his back, and then there was nothing. No mind, no Space, just nothing.
{~~}
Dick woke up in a bed with a killer headache. He was drowsy, and when he sat up he pulled a bunch of cords out of his body.
"Space?" he called out. But Space wasn't there. Noone was there. This had to be one of Space's tricks. "Come on Space."
The door opened, and his drowsy eyes took a moment to realise what he was seeing. Wally West in a hospital gown entered the room and ran to Dick. He threw his arms around him and said "I don't care if you're a virgin Dick."
Dick was very confused. "Is this the afterlife? Or is this Space trying to screw me over?"
Now Wally was confused. "Space? What the hell are you talking about? How long were you in there anyway?"
"In where?"
"I'm not too sure actually. The league has a LOT to explain to us.
"So you're alive?"
"Obviously."
"But what about Space?"
"Space? Like Outer Space?"
"No, like my friend Space. Or my mind keeper. You know what, never mind."
"I dont know what you mean Dick, but thats ok. We had a real crazy ordeal huh?"
"I don't want to talk about it. Can you leave actually?" Dick didn't want to be alone with Wally in a room ever again. He missed him, and he still cared deeply about him, but he was damaged. He believed his friend dead, and he didn't even want to look at him, because all he could see was a crying boy with piss on the front of his pants. And he figured all Wally could see of him was a dumb virgin with an imaginary friend.
Wally was a little discouraged by Dick wanting him to leave, but he complied.
Dick looked at the roof, and then remembered his hand. There was a deep cut around his wrists and his hand had a permenant blue tinge to it. He could use it in the future, but there would always be a 'click. Click.'
He lay in bed staring at the ceiling; tubes and needles sticking into him everywhere. Noone came in, and the sun went down outside his window and rose again in the morning. He wanted Space to come back in his dreams, but he didn't.
Batman, Flash, Black Canary, Superman, and Wally entered Dick's room around mid day. Batman had a particularly grim look about him, and everyone looked sombre, as if someone had died.
"We owe you an explanation, Wally and Dick" said Superman. Everyone was crowded around Dick's bed. He was very uncomfortable.
"What the hell are you talking about." asked Dick. Wally sat down on Dick's bed and looked up at his elders.
"You agreed to the conditions." said Black Canary as she pulled out a small screen. Dick and Wally watched in silence.
It was them listening to the terms they agreed to as Superman said them; 'Do you, Dick Grayson Wayne, Nightwing, agree to have your memory wiped prior to experimentation?' 'Yes.' 'Do you agree to be restricted of movement and deprived of basic necessities for a period extending to a maximum of 168 hours?' 'Yes sir.' 'You understand the implications of this experiment, and agree to be filmed and recorded for the duration of this experiment?' 'Yes.'
The second half of the video was Wally agreeing to the same terms. Afterwards, Black Canary pulled out a large mound of papers consisting of their agreement in writing over 14 pages each. Then it hit them.
They had willingly been deprived of their senses and basic dignity as a test of endurance. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time, but they regret it. All of it.
Dick was frustrated at it the most. "How long were we gone for? Why did we get taken out? And what the hell happens with the tapes now?"
This created a saddening air amongst the leaguers. "Batman will take you home when you're ready Robin, and Flash the same for you Kid.
{~~}
"You were watching the whole time?" Dick already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it.
"Yes."
Dick hated this. He knew he wasn't going to get a lot of answers out of Bruce.
They were driving home, and Bruce had taken the suit off. They were both equals that way.
"How long was the experiment?"
"You lasted 120 hours."
"Why was I taken out?" Dick found this effective; shorter questions, more answers.
"You were screaming and thrashing too much. You already had serious injuries... We thought you were having a seizure."
Was that care and concern in his voice? "Did you get the data you needed?"
"Yes. And no. We now know the minimum amount of time you can survive under certain circumstances, but not the maximum endurance you can handle."
"How long did Wally last?"
Bruce was silent for almost a minute. "I shouldn't say... But 78 hours. He was close to starvation when we got him out. Unconscious. In a coma for about a week. In an induced coma for another week."
"I was in a coma for over a week too." This wasn't a question.
"We had to. We didn't want to shock your systems by recovering you straight away."
Dick didn't know what else to ask. Honestly he didn't care much about it any more. He was happy in his head, and now he didn't know if he would ever go there again. He wondered what Space was doing.
"No more questions?"
It was like he was a mind reader. "No, not right now."
"Okay. So, um... I want you to know, its perfectly normal for a boy your age. The starfire thing-"
"Oh my god, no. No. We are not talking about that. No."
{~~}
Dick was given a cocktail of pills to swallow every day. One was for his iron, some were vitamins, some were antibiotics for his hand and other issues, and one was to make him sleep. Dick didn't notice for the first few days, but these pills didn't allow dreams. So some days he 'forgot' to take them, or he took a short nap that didn't need them, and in those times he dreamed. Sometimes he saw Space and they spoke for what felt like hours. Sometimes Space would show him wonderful things, but sometimes Space pulled a joke on Dick and showed him something terrible or cruel.
Bruce knew he wasn't taking his meds all the time; in fact the whole house knew. They knew because sometimes they heard him talking out loud in a one sided conversation or screaming about something that wasn't there. Sometimes they heard or saw him crying, whether from happiness, sadness, or a tragic combination of both, they were unsure. But they never dared to ask him.