I Am a Circus Freak
How did it come to this? One minute he was having the time of his life, watching his parents fly through the air, just like they were birds. The next he was sitting in a cage looking out. He had been here for four months, and it still felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside. He missed them, his parents, they had always been there when he need them. Now he wasn't even allowed to go to their funeral.
As he sat on his bed with his back against the wall, he couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like if they had survived. If the trapeze wire hadn't had snapped. He'd still be at the circus, he'd still talk. He'd still have people who loved him. He wouldn't be the orphaned Circus Freak that nobody wanted. He heaved a depressed sigh and laid down.
Just as he was about to draft to sleep, an explosion rocked the building. Dust and debris went flying as a giant hole tore its way through the wall right next to his cell. Once the dust cleared a bit he could make out four people emerging form the hole, they wore black body suits and masks that looked like owls. They had gold arm guards on both of their forearms, and a belt of throwing knives strapped to their chests. Overall they were very intimidating.
As they approached he scuttled backwards, not wanting them to touch him. Then the biggest one started reaching for him and he tried to move back further, only to run into a wall. Then it all went black.
When he woke up he was laying on a thin mattress on the ground of a dark room that smelled like mildew, blood and something he couldn't even hope to identify, but it was bad. He sat up and looked around confused as to how he ended up there, when the memories of the creepy men came back. He stood and started to walk towards the door, only to almost have his leg pulled out from under him. He glanced down and saw a shackle attached to his foot, his gaze followed the chain connected to it all the way to the wall. Great so, he was kidnapped and chained up to a wall. Well, he was having an amazing day today. Note the sarcasm.
When he was done examining the chains, he went back to the mattress and curled up in ball. He didn't know how long he laid there, just that it fell asleep. He was awoken by the door banging against the wall, startling him awake. When he set up he saw what had made the door open. Standing in the doorway was a large man with brown hair and brown eyes. He had an almost evil smirk on his face as he gazed upon Dick.
"Richard Grayson. My name is William Cobb, and I'm your great-grandfather. It is time for you to realize your destiny." The man, William, said. Dick just continued to stare at him, mostly in disbelief, but also with a little bit of fear. There was no way this man could have been his 'great-grandfather', he didn't look much older than his own father had. William looked at Richard expectedly, like he was waiting for him to answer. After five minutes of staring, William seemed to remember something, "Ah, yes, right. You don't talk anymore, do you? Well, we'll have to do something about that, now won't we?"
The way he said that sent a chill down Dick's spin. Something about this man made him want to run as fast and as far as he possibly could. Richard knew that from this moment on, his life was about to get so much worse. And more painful.
Time skip – One week
His entire body was alight with pain. For the past week he had been used as, for lack of a better word, a lab rat. They had done all kinds of painful test on him, trying to get him to talk, so far they were unsuccessful. Right now he was strapped to a lab table with a strange device hovering above his head. He had no idea what it was, but given the past week, it was surely going to be painful.
A door to his left swished open and William Cobb emerged for them. He still had that same evil smirk, sadistic bastard. "You know this would all be so much easier if you'd just talk. But alas, you have to be difficult. Now I'm sure your wondering what this device is, yes? Well you see, Richard, this will go inside your head and give you a lower level psychic abilities, because you refuse to just talk. Now don't worry, this will be very painful, and you have no choice." And with that, he flipped a switch.
Dick stared at the whirring device that was slowly descending toward his face with fear. In desperation he struggled against his bonds, but he knew it was useless. His struggled seemed to amuse Cobb, if his sadistic chuckle was any indication. Just as it was about to attach to his face, he had one last thought before his world exploded in pain. They won't break me.
Time skip – Three months
A throwing knife sliced through the air before sinking to the hilt into the center of the target. William, clapped a hand on his shoulder in some twisted form of praise for hitting the target. He had been here for three months doing nothing but training to be a Talon and being tortured for his refusal to speak. Even after they gave him psychic abilities he refused to talk to them, even inside their heads.
After about a month his great-grandfather had given up making him talk, though he was still punished for it, but it wasn't the main focus anymore. No, now he was being trained to be an assassin. According to Cobb, that was what he was born for. To be the Talon for the Court of Owls. He had no desire to became a killer though, but he went along with the training anyway. You never know when the skills could be useful.
For the past two months he had been working on perfecting his aim with the throwing knives, something he was apparently a natural at. As he throws another one, he started thinking about how his life had gone from bad to worse. First his parents fall to their deaths, then he gets kidnapped by his crazy great-grandfather, and now he was being forced to become a freaking assassin! How did it all come to this. As the knife once again hit bullseye, he told himself the same thing he always does. They won't break me.
Time skip – Six months
"You will do what I tell you, when I tell you, you useless brat." Growled William as he raised the whip above his head once again. When he brought it down it connected with Richards back with a loud crack. He fought back a whimper, he was not going to give the bastard any satisfaction of seeing his pain.
He knew that what was happening was his fault, but that didn't mean he regretted what he did. He had been sparring with another recruit, as per Williams request. Like he had a choice. For the next ten minutes he and the other boy fought back and forth, they were pretty evenly matched. Finally, he caught the other by surprise when he faked a swipe of his knife and instead swiped his feet out from under him. Once he had him pinned on the ground with his knife at the others throat, William had ordered him to kill the boy. That's when Richard refused, which led to him being punished.
Even as he was whipped he was proud of the mercy he showed. It proved that they had not gotten to him. He was still himself, the little acrobat that didn't like hurting others. He wouldn't become what they wanted him to be. He was always going to be himself. They won't break me.
One year
He stood in front of the mirror of his room with his shirt off. He couldn't believe he'd been here for a year. A whole year of constant pain and torture, it was so sad he wanted to laugh. He studied the scars scattered all around his torso. They were everywhere, from many different kinds of weapons. Something else he noticed that was new, was all the extra muscle he had gained in his training. With a sigh he finished getting dressed.
As soon as he finished, the door to his room opened to reveal William. The man didn't say anything just stood there. Heaving yet another sigh, Richard walked over to him. Then they made their way down the hall toward a room filled with all kinds of computers and other forms of technology. After he had mastered weapons about a month ago, they started to train him on how to hack computers. He honestly liked the computers a lot more than the weapons. After only a month of training, he could now hack some of the most secured computers in under five minutes.
As he took a seat in the chair in front of the screens he thought about what it would be like to escape, not for the first time. He often daydreamed of what it would be like. To be free of this place. To be a normal kid, happy and with his family. As he started to type away at the keyboard he felt eyes on the back of his head, watching him, as always. He was always being watched, like some common creep. They won't break me.
Year and a half
He was being sent out on his first assassination. They knew he would be reluctant to kill someone he didn't have a reason to, other than being told to, so they had tracked down the man responsible for his parent's deaths. Tony Zucco. They thought revenge would be a good motivator. But he wouldn't become a killer, even if the sick bastard deserved it.
He had taken the job; they had smiled at that. They thought they had finally gotten to him, that he would finally become the Talon they had trained him to be. They were mistaken. He did go after Zucco, beat him bloody too. But he didn't kill him. Instead he had tied him up and connected the police anonymously. The man might not get convicted for his parent's murder, but he was still a wanted crime boss, that was good enough for Dick. When he got back to the Court, he was punished for not finishing the job.
He just grinned as they beat him. Even after so long, they still couldn't change him. They just didn't understand he would not become what they wanted him to be. He was always going to be himself. They just needed to learn. They won't break me.
Two years
Today was he day. He was going to be free, even if it killed him. They were going to give him the serum today because he had finally finished his training. As William walked up to him to take him to the room where the serum would be given, his brain went into overdrive taking in everything, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. He stealthily pulled out his knife.
Just as they were about to enter the room, he struck out with leg, catching William off guard. He crumbled to the floor, where Richard quickly stabbed his knife into the man's neck. He knew that with the serum William would be up again soon, so he didn't waste any time and took off down the hall towards the exit. Any time someone would try to stop him, he was quick to dispatch them.
Finally, he burst through the doors, running into the night. He's waited two years to tell them he's fearless. They didn't scare him, not anymore. They just didn't understand, he's who he was always meant to be. He can't conform to what they wanted him to be. And finally, after two years of that torture he was free. They didn't break me.