AN: Warning- this story gets pretty dark as it develops. This is not a place for people who want to read a happy story.
For those of you who don't care how bad it is... Enjoy! And see you at the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, Young Justice, or anything DC related. If I did, YJ's season two would be a totally different story.
Also: I am in no way, shape, or form trying to glorify child abuse. That is a serious matter that should never be taken lightly.
xXx
"Richard! Get out here, now!"
Dick's eyes flew open, and he quickly scrambled out of the pile of clothes he used as a bed. It was pitch black in the small laundry room he stayed in, but his vision had adjusted to it over a year ago. After all, the only time he had any freedom was when the sun was down, so he took advantage of it at all times.
He looked at the small beam of light that shone under his door, and gulped. If Tony was in the kitchen and saw what he did, he was screwed...
"Richard."
Okay, he was already screwed. He might as well get it over with. Dick wrapped a blanket around himself and crept over to the door, pulling it open swiftly. His eyes immediately squinted against the lighting, and his grip on his blanket tightened when a man with greasy hair came toward him.
"Did you eat the sandwich I had in the fridge?" Tony demanded, glaring down at the shaking boy in front of him. Dick frantically shook his head in response, but Tony was able to spot the lie from a mile away. "You little brat! I was going to eat that when I got home from work!" He grabbed Dick by the neck and shoved him against the wall, ignoring the pained squeak the boy made. "I let you live, boy. Or did you forget that?" He reached into his jeans and brought out his pocket knife, waving it threateningly. "If you keep this up, you'll be joining your parents. Understand?"
Dick forced himself to nod, his eyes filled with frightened tears. Tony's rule was that if he ate without his permission, then he would undoubtedly be punished. But this time, Dick couldn't stop himself. Tony hardly ever gave him food, and he assumed that he wouldn't notice if a couple of bites of a sandwich went missing... But since he did, Dick could only expect a terrible punishment.
"... Hn. You're lucky I'm in a good mood, kid." Tony lowered his knife and took a step back. "I'll make your punishment light this time. Have the house and car spotless by tomorrow morning, and you are not allowed to have food for the next two days."
Dick's eyes widened. That was it? The last time he stole food, Tony broke his ribs, gave him a black eye, and made him stay in the attic for an entire week without any food. Not only was it absolutely freezing in there, but it was a small space infested with spiders, rats, and the occasional bat. After that experience, Dick developed a phobia of small spaces, but at least he was still alive.
Not that Tony would let him die... He wasn't that merciful.
"Not even a thank you? I don't know why I even bother." Tony rolled his eyes and shoved him out of the way as he left the room. Dick easily lost his balance and fell onto the floor, his blanket falling and leaving him with only raggedy clothes to keep him warm. He bristled and picked himself off, brushing the dust off of his beloved blanket. That was the one thing that made him feel safe in the hell he was trapped in, and he wasn't going to let Tony ruin that too.
Well, it was time to clean.
Dick brought his blanket around his shoulders and began to pick up the discarded beer bottles scattered around the kitchen. He shoved them in the nearest trash bin and moved on to the mountain of plates on the floor, grimacing at the ants that crawled all over them. Well... He asked for this when he ate Tony's food. He should have known better.
"My parents wouldn't have made me do this," he thought to himself with an inaudible sigh as he dumped the rotting food into the trash bin before transferring the plates to the sink. "They wouldn't hit me either." He frowned at the stack of dishes he had to clean, and glanced at the clock. It was eight at night. If Dick wanted to have everything done by morning, he would have to stay up until an ungodly hour at night.
He sighed. No use complaining... He had work to do.
xXx
A couple of hours later, Dick could say he successfully cleaned the kitchen and the laundry room. All that was left was the bathroom, living room, and Tony's bedroom. That would probably take three more hours, and the car would take one more... Dick looked at the clock again. Midnight. Great, he would done just before five in the morning. That gave him roughly one hour to explore the city on his own.
The front door flew open. "I see the house isn't clean." The sound of the door slamming shut made Dick nearly jump out of his skin. "And I bet my car isn't done yet either, is it?"
"..." Dick's eyes swiveled over to the kitchen clock again, more confused than anything. Tony gave him until morn-
Oh.
Oh.
It was midnight, which was technically morning.
Tony stormed over to him and grabbed him by the wrists. "I gave you one simple order, so what have you been doing this entire time?!"
Dick attempted to yank his arms out of the man's grasp, but Tony only tightened his grip in response, digging his fingernails into Dick's wrists hard enough to draw blood. Dick bit his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain, though tears still managed to come back to his eyes. This punishment would be much worse than the last, he knew.
Tony let out a drawn out sigh and released his grip. "I hate to do this to you, but you have to learn obedience." He ran a hand through Dick's hair, making shivers run down his back. He didn't want Tony using any affectionate gestures towards him; that only made it scarier. "Hm. I think you could use a few smacks with the belt first."
Dick closed his eyes tightly as Tony let him go completely to undo his belt, his heart beating loudly in his chest. "Lift up your shirt. I'm going to get your back this time." Dick gulped but obeyed, slowly pulling his shirt above his head and letting it fall to the floor next to him. Tony immediately grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around. "Let's see if I can draw blood this time," he said with an audible smirk, before bringing the belt back.
Dick screamed.
xXx
The lighting in the sky lit up the city of Gotham, briefly revealing a boy curled up in a ball besides his backyard shed. Dick was soaked to the bone with water, but the shed had a padlock preventing him from seeking shelter. His arms were wrapped around his shaking frame in a futile attempt to give himself warmth.
Everything hurt.
Tony lashed at his back until he was an incoherent and bleeding mess on the floor. After that, Dick remembered a blur of pain; kicks to the side, tufts of his hair pulled out, and a broken nose. Tony then pulled out some of his weakest acid his company made, and splashed it on Dick's arms. Now, Dick's throat was raw from how much screaming he did, and it hurt almost as much as the rest of his body.
He was so tired...
The next few hours were hazy. He slipped in and out of unconsciousness, too cold to settle for too long, but so injured that his body wanted to do nothing else but rest. His mind became a muddled mess that could only focus on his injuries, as though thinking about them would make the pain bearable. After a few hours of this repetitive cycle of passing out and coming to, a familiar feeling of helplessness fell upon him. All he wanted was for this all to end; whether it was from death or being rescued, he did not care. The only thing that he desperately wanted was to get away from Tony.
His eyes fluttered as a raindrop fell on his nose, and he took in a deep, shuttering breath before letting himself drown in the haze again...
"... Alfred, I found a small boy in the backyard." A deep voice suddenly said to his right, and he forced his eyes open. He couldn't see anything in front of him through the darkness, but he could barely make out the figure of a man. His heartbeat sped up in his chest- was this a friend or a foe? "Wait. He's alive." The dead leaves on the ground crunched beneath the man's feet as he came closer, and Dick instinctively squeezed his eyes shut in preparation for an attack. But it never came.
After a few seconds of silence, Dick slowly opened his eyes and forced himself to look up at the man. He was just standing there, his head angled in a way that looked like he was studying him. "... He needs medical attention right away. I need you to call an ambulance." Who the man was talking to, Dick wasn't sure, but he didn't sound like he meant him any harm. Dick slowly began to sit up, but the man knelt down to keep him in place within seconds. "Don't move. You might make your injuries worse if you do." Dick frowned but complied, letting his back fall back onto the cold grass. The man of shadows began to move away, and Dick panicked, grabbing his arms to make him stay. He didn't want this man to leave him now!
Then, it happened. In the distance, lighting struck, lighting the world in eerie light. Dick caught a brief glimpse of the man, and immediately recoiled. A gasp of fear and surprise managed to escape him as he caught sight of the pointy ears and blank white eyes. The man's features disappeared as soon as the lightning faded, though he did not move a single inch. It was like he dissolved in the darkness. Was this one of those monsters that Tony said would kidnap him if he didn't listen? He didn't believe a single word the man had said before, but now that there was a frightening creature within arm's length of him, he wished that he had.
The monster-like creature seemed to sense his distress. "I won't hurt you," he said quietly. "I'm here to take you away from Zucco." There was a bit of movement before he spoke again. "Yes, Alfred?" A pause. "The storm must be interfering. I'll bring him in myself." There was more movement, before Dick felt fingertips rest on his shoulder. He shied away from it on instinct, not trusting the... whatever it was that was talking to him. "It's okay, I won't hurt you. I'm going to bring you to a safer place, so that means that I'll have to pick you up. Is that okay?"
Dick bit his lip. He really didn't have anything to lose at this point. Even if this creature intended to kill him, it sure beat staying with Tony. After a few tense seconds he nodded in consent, and was almost immediately scooped up in strong arms.
"Is Zucco your father?" The creature asked in a low voice, and Dick shook his head fractionally. "Hn. What's your name?" Dick didn't answer, he only curled his fingers around the edges of the creature's armor, feeling safer somehow. Wait, armor? Why would a monster need to wear armor? "My name is Batman. You don't have to be afraid of me."
Bat...man? Dick heard of him; he was a hero. For the first time in months, Dick saw a ray of hope. If Batman was here, then that meant that he would be safe now, right? He couldn't believe it; he spent so many months living in fear that he didn't want to ever give himself false hope.
But when the Caped Crusader carried him to a pitch black car, and took off his cape to wrap around Dick's shoulders before he placed him in the passenger seat, Dick couldn't ignore the warm feeling he had. Something about Batman made him want to believe everything was alright.
"I have to go inside and get Zucco." The hero told him quietly, safely securing him with a seatbelt. Dick frowned and held the cape around himself even tighter, treating it as the blanket he left inside. He didn't want Zucco to be anywhere near Batman; what if he tried to hurt him? Batman seemed to sense his distress, for he put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "He is unconscious, and I'll put him in the back where he can't hurt anyone." He nodded towards the grating that separated the front and back of the car, and Dick was reminded of a similar tactic police cars used. "If I leave, will you be okay for a minute?"
Dick nodded, but pulled his knees up to his chest so that he could wrap the cape around them as well. He probably looked beyond ridiculous, using a super hero's cape to hide himself from the world, but the thought of being alone again made him shiver. What would he do if Batman abandoned him there?
Batman frowned at him, studying his behavior. "Would it make you feel better if I let you talk to someone?" Dick nodded after some thought, and Batman hesitantly took off one of his gloves and handed it to him. After Dick shakily wrapped his fingers around it, the bat reached over and hit a hidden button, which made the glove produce a holographic screen. Dick involuntary squeaked when an elderly man wearing a domino mask appeared on the screen, and he quivered as the man stared at him curiously.
"Ah, Master Bru- erm, Batman?"
"Agent A, I need you to keep this boy company. He's scared and confused, and needs someone to talk to while I fetch Zucco."
"Of course. Do be careful, will you?"
"He won't be a problem." Batman turned to Dick. "Don't leave the car. I will be right back." After receiving another small nod, Batman turned around and stalked towards the filthy home to retrieve the criminal.
"Oh, I must apologize, but I haven't asked for your name." Dick returned his attention to Agent A. "I am Agent A, as Master Batman has already stated. And you are?" Dick averted his eyes from the elderly man, lips held in a grim line. "Did I offend you, young sir?" He received no response from the small child, who only tightened his grip on the black material wrapped around his shaking frame. "...I do hope I am not being rude for asking this, but can you speak?"
Dick squeezed his eyes shut. "... Y-Yes," he said in a hoarse voice, not recognizing the sound of it. How long has it been since he has said anything? It had to have been over a year. "T-Tony said..." The thought of being punished again made him whimper, and he buried his face in Batman's cape.
"I take it Mr. Zucco told you not to speak?" He waited for the small nod he received before speaking again, sounding angry. "Do not fret, Batman will not allow any harm to come to you ever again. You are safe from Zucco."
Dick bit his lip and emerged from his safe haven, peering at the old man with bright blue eyes. He still didn't want to speak; memories of what happened whenever he did still fresh on his mind. However, he didn't have to. At that second, he caught sight of movement from the corner of his eye and he turned to watch Batman return, Tony's limp form hung over his shoulder. The back doors of the Batmobile automatically opened when its owner approached it, and Batman all but threw Zucco into the back before slamming the door shut. He looked absolutely furious. Dick flinched at the sight of his angry expression, and couldn't help but eye the hero warily as he slipped into the driver's seat. "Agent A?" He prompted as he started the engine.
"Selectively mute, sir. You can most definitely blame that on Zucco." The man responded right away, but Dick was more focused on the fact that the car was now speeding through the streets of Gotham. He gripped the bottom of his seat on reflex, watching his surroundings blur by. "Perhaps you should drive the speed limit, just this once."
"Negative. Hypothermia, malnutrition, possible broken bones..." he paused, and Dick saw his grip tighten on the steering wheel. "Too many injuries to be ignored for a second longer. He's going straight to the ER, and then I will take care of Zucco."
Dick's eyes widened. Batman was leaving him?! He whined and curled up on himself as best as he could, hiding in the depths of the hero's cape. If Batman left him, then Tony would come after him again!
Dick heard Batman move, probably to look to see what was wrong, and then the Batmobile slowly came to a stop. "We're at the hospital. The people here can help you." This was said towards Dick, who only tightened his grip on his knees. He didn't want to go! "I know you must be scared, but I need you to trust me." There was the sound of a car door opening and closing, and Dick felt tears burn his eyes as Batman came around to open his door as well. "Will you let me pick you up again?"
"..." Dick sniffed, and slowly came out of his hiding place. Batman didn't want to deal with him, did he? That's what Tony told him would happen if he ever escaped; no one would want him. And he must have been telling the truth, because here Batman was, getting rid of him the first chance he got.
Batman took his silence as a yes, and carefully lifted him up again. Dick let out a pained gasp when Batman accidentally brushed over one of the fresh cuts on his back, and the hero stopped in his tracks immediately. "Injuries on your back..." he muttered to himself, as if making a mental list. "Is there anything else I should know about?" He slowly shifted Dick' weight until he had the boy's knees hooked over one arm and the other curled around his shoulders, which kept his back untouched.
Dick furrowed his eyebrows, unsure what he meant. Did he want to know what other injuries he had? That was strange. Wasn't that the doctor's job? Mentally shrugging, Dick brought out of his arms from the cocoon he made around himself, and pulled back his sleeves to show him then burn marks on his skin. Batman froze, and stared for a good ten seconds before he found his voice. "Zucco and his brother own a manure factory, and they use several types of complicated acids in their formulas. Did Tony use one of those on you?" At Dick's usual nod, Batman's face twisted angrily. "That bastard's lucky that the acid wasn't strong enough to-" he paused, blinking down at Dick, as if he was putting his feelings into consideration before he continued. "-well, anything more harmful. Let's get you inside before you freeze to death."
Apparently, being carried in by a famous superhero meant being crowded by doctors the second they came inside. "Oh poor dear, what happened?!" A nurse exclaimed, and Dick inched away when she came too close to him for comfort. Batman noticed his discomfort and glared at her coldly, making her nervously back off.
"This child needs to be seen to immediately. He is suffering from wounds caused by child abuse, and needs doctors that can handle traumatized children. Get a stretcher," Batman ordered sharply, and the crowd quickly dispersed. Seconds later, two nurses showed up with the required equipment, and Batman gently set the terrified boy onto the gurney. "You're safe with them," he said to him quietly, and moved to take his cape back. Dick automatically tightened his grip on it, eyes wide with fear.
"Please...don't..." Dick whispered, clinging to the cape like his life depended on it. "Don't leave..."
"I have to," Batman told him with a stern frown. "You can't stay with me, but I'm sure CPS will bring you to a safer family." He straightened his shoulders and took a step back. "You can keep the cape if you want. Just know that Zucco will pay for what he's done, I swear it." And with that, he left, not looking back once. "Take that cape away from him, and you'll be hearing from me," he growled at one of the nurses as he passed, before leaving though the front doors.
Dick found himself hyperventilating, staring at the space Batman once occupied with growing panic. He can't just leave him here! He didn't know any of these people; he was in a foreign environment with absolutely nothing familiar to ground him.
A couple of nurses began to wheel him away. "We need to take that off of you so that we can take a look at your injuries, okay sweetie?" One of them told him as he was pulled into a closed off section of the hospital. "You'll get it right back, so let me-" she tried to pull the cape away from him, but he refused to let it go. Batman told them not to take it away from him! He wouldn't let them take away the one thing he had left of the Dark Knight. "It's okay," the woman said softly. "We just need to look at what's wrong." When Dick refused to budge, she put a gentle hand on his arm. "Will it make you feel better if I let you put the cape on your lap?" He bit his lip but complied, slipping the fabric off of his shoulders and onto his knees. "Thank you. You're being very brave today, you know. While I take a look at your ouchies, my friend here would like to ask you some questions." She nodded at the male to her left, who gave Dick a friendly smile.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Stein. Like Doctor Stresbeck said, I'm just going to ask you a couple of questions. If you don't want to answer one of them, just shake your head and I'll move on to the next. Is that okay?" Dick nodded, and the doctor beamed. "Excellent. Now, we just received some information about your case from Batman," at the sound of the hero's name, Dick focused more. "He told us you were found sleeping in the backyard of a man named Tony Zucco. Ring any bells?"
"..." Dick lowered his gaze and nodded again, fiddling with Batman's cape.
The doctor nodded and retrieved a clipboard. "Right. And we were also told that Tony isn't your dad. Is that right?" At Dick's nod, Stein scribbled something down on his paper. "Okay. Thank you. Now, Batman also mentioned that you seemed to not want to tell him or his friend who you were. Do you know what your name is?"
Dick winced as Doctor Stresbeck addressed the wounds on his back, and dug his fingernails into the stretcher. He was started to dislike hospitals a lot; what was the point of fixing his injuries if doing that only brought him more pain?
"Hey now, don't go zoning off on me now," Doctor Stein said, tapping his shoulder to get his attention. "It's very important for me to know if you know who you are. If you do, great. If not... Well, we'll cross that bridge if we get there." Dick only blinked up at him, and Stein sighed. "Yeah, looks like he wasn't lying. Kid's showing signs of being selectively mute."
"That's the least of our worries. There are a lot of welts on his back that are bleeding, and it looks like some of them require stitches." Stresbeck came over to stand next to her coworker. "His nose needs setting, and his burns definitely need some attention." She frowned and lightly touched Dick's bruised eye, and he recoiled on instinct. "There are too many injuries to address one at a time. It'll be easier to have him unconscious and work without worrying about further traumatizing him."
Stein did not look pleased. "Yeah, that does seem to be the best course of action. That also gives me the opportunity to do a DNA test and grab a blood sample. Who knows what kind of diseases that sick man could have given him..."
Stresbeck seemed to pick up a subtle message that Dick was deaf to, and she gave her friend a horrified look. "You think that Zucco-"
"He might have, but we won't know for sure unless the patient tells us, and if what Batman said is true then I don't think that we'll be getting an answer. We'll have to get a kit done while he's out, just in case"
"... Of course." Stresbeck gave Dick a strained smile. "Okay, so you have a lot of things we have to take a look at, and since we don't want to put you in any pain we wanted to give you something that would make you sleep through all of it." The woman handed him a plain hospital gown, and the two slowly backed out of the confined area. "You change into that, and knock on the door when you're done so that we know when we can come in."
Dick gave the garment he was given a confused look, but the two doctors left without explaining how he was supposed to put it on. It couldn't be too hard, right? Dick pushed himself off of the gurney and carefully removed his filthy clothing while simultaneously attempting to control his shaking legs. He was eventually able to rid himself of his rags and slip his arms through the slots in the gown, but tying it the laces in the back took energy that he didn't have.
Forgetting about the command he was given earlier, Dick crawled back onto his makeshift bed and pulled the black cape over himself before curling into a ball and closing his eyes. He was so exhausted...
Soon, quiet snores caught the attention of the two doctors waiting outside.
xXx
AN: Hey everyone, did you enjoy the first chapter of the darkest fic I've ever written? Yeah, it doesn't get much better than this. So for those of you who like sad stories, for some reason, you came to the right place.
Well, you all know the drill. Leave me a comment, and tell me what you think! Let it be praise or scorn, I don't care, I just want to know what everyone thinks about this story so far. First chapters are always the telling factor of how good a story will be, and I am curious to know how some of you think this will turn out.
Sorry about the long AN, but that is all for now. See you next chapter!