A/N: I don't really know if everyone is okay or likes this two part Dangerous Nights story, but I'm just going to complete it and hope for the best!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Enjoy!
TORI SHORT STORY #10 - DANGEROUS NIGHTS II Part 2
Tori woke up with her head throbbing, throat sore and insanely nauseous. She felt so sick she couldn't even sit up right away and she lay blinking stupidly up at the bright lights of the medical area of the Batcave. She could hear low voices talking nearby, but her throat hurt too much to want to try and call out to anyone. Tori only say up when her stomach lurched uncomfortably and her nauseous feeling escalated above and beyond. She threw herself into a sitting position, ignoring the flash of pain that seared through her lower back, and threw up over the side of the bed. Tori didn't even feel bad about it, she felt awful.
Through the sound of her hacking and coughing up whatever was in her stomach she heard footsteps approach and some helpful hands pull back her hair,
"She's up," a voice said. Her hearing was muddled, like she had plugs in her ears. Tori figured it must be because of the serum, she was back to basically human abilities. She was vulnerable and the Court probably knew it too. She let go of the railing that was on either side of the medical bed and slumped back into the pillows with a groan followed by a muffled yelp of pain,
"Hey Sleeping Beauty, glad to see you're awake," Dick said. Tori let out another groan and rubbed her hands over her eyes,
"I don't feel like a beauty…more like a zombie," she rasped, her throat still hurt and it felt like the Sahara Desert,
"Here's some water for your throat, you did a lot of screaming,"
"Great," Tori monotoned,
"Okay...I'm going to get something to clean that mess up, tell everyone you're finally up and tell Alfred to get you some pain medication. Sorry you had to wake up with some pain, but we thought it was safer to get you off the morphine sooner rather than later,"
"I'd like some morphine," Tori said, hands still over her eyes a small smile on her face,
"Nope," Dick said cheerfully,
"How long was I down here?"
"Almost four days…not that bad…but it was longer than last time," Tori let out another groan as Dick left the area and rolled onto her side, only to let out a cry of pain. Her side burned,
"Please hurry on that pain medication," Tori called after Dick.
"We were worried we weren't going to get you here in time," Tim said from his seat next to her bed. Alfred had ordered Tori back into it the moment she tried to get out because Dick was taking so long to get down there again. The Butler had materialized out of nowhere and told her in a clipped tone to get back into bed. No, his exact words were: "Get your bottom back in that bed this instant before I kneecap you, and this time it will hurt since you are still not well from your last bout of Serum." Alfred never lies about his threats so Tori scrambled back into her bed,
"Well…I feel like crap, but I'm still alive. So you did good," she said,
"It was a very deep wound," Bruce said from the entrance of the medical area, "A bit of the blade broke off too, had to get that out before injecting anymore of the cure,"
"And even then it still wouldn't close on its own. We had to give you stitches. Actual stitches!" Stephanie said where she sat on her other side,
"What really?" Tori asked, turning to try and get a look, only to wince in pain and stop the movement,
"We took them out a day ago," Dick said from where he now stood leaning against the cave wall, "It started to heal again so we decided to let your body do the rest,"
"It is quite marvelous how even when your Talon abilities aren't at one hundred percent, they can still heal your wounds,"
"It's like the Electrum drug was designed to protect you," Bruce said nodding in agreement,
"That's great—," Tori started, only to gag and clap her hands over her mouth. Tim intuitively grabbed a wastebasket nearby and shoved it in her lap while Steph tied her hair back in a sloppy bun. Tori smiled thankfully and apologetically at them once she was done,
"Ugh…why does that keep happening?" Tori moaned, clutching her stomach, which gurgled uncomfortably,
"Well…the Serum is something that's damaging to your body and needs to be expelled somehow from your system and this seems the only way to…um…expel it. It's basically like you have food poisoning now" Tim supplied, Tori made a disgusted and annoyed face,
"Trust me, upstairs is better than downstairs," Dick said just as somewhere upstairs the clock struck ten,
"Time for Patrol," Bruce said, "Tori you're obviously staying in…would anyone like to keep her company?" Stephanie spoke up before anyone else could,
"I'll do it. I've been wanting a night off and we haven't had a sleepover in almost two years since you disappeared the first time,"
"Great. Tori—," Bruce started very seriously, "—don't aggravate that wound, no acrobatics," Tori frowned and stuck her tongue out at him when he turned to leave,
"What should we do first?" Stephanie asked smiling brightly. Tori, despite her discomfort, couldn't help but return the smile.
"I don't get how UNO can be the cause of so much fighting between friends," Stephanie said as she took from the main deck. It was their second game and there hadn't been any instances of 'foul play' yet,
"Probably because of this," Tori said with an evil smirk and smacking the draw four card on the pile. Stephanie's eyes widened,
"How could you?" she gasped,
"Sorry, it was waiting there! How could I refuse! And the timing was perfect!"
"Okay, that's it. Before we start physically fighting I'm ending this game and I'm getting a movie to watch and some popcorn," Stephanie said as she tossed her cards on the floor and hopping up to head in the kitchen, "And no acrobatics!" she called back into the room. Tori stuck her tongue out at her. Sure, she had tried to sneak in some tricks here and there just to test her range of movement and because she hated to just sit still for a long period of time. She had been unconscious for four days for Pete's sake, she needed to move! Tori sat pouting while cleaning up the cards before she put them down and looked back towards the kitchen and evilly smirking a little before putting her hands flat on the floor and pushing her legs up off the floor. She then started to execute a press handstand from the floor. She had made it a quarter of the way when her back spasmed with pain and she crumpled unceremoniously to the floor with a yelp,
"What did I just say?" Stephanie cried from behind her huddled figure, "What was the one thing you were told not to do tonight?" she asked, moving to stand in front of Tori hands on hips, with a stern expression on her face. Stephanie rarely got mad, but when she did it was kind of a scary thing,
"Do acrobatics," Tori replied, glancing up at her friend with her chin on the carpeted floor,
"And what did you do?"
"Gymnastics," Tori said,
"Huh?"
"You said I couldn't do acrobatics, press handstands are a gymnastic skill, not acrobatics,"
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Acro and gymnastics are very similar, but they're not the same thing," Tori said, sitting up and rubbing her back,
"Okay, fine. No Acro or gymnastics or press handstands!"
"Okay fine! mom!" Tori said, glaring at the floor. Stephanie sighed,
"Sorry for yelling, but you're my friend and I don't like to see you in pain," Tori rolled her eyes before widening them,
"Oh my God Stephanie!" she cried,
"What?"
"I can feel pain!" she said smiling widely,
"Annnd that's a good thing?"
"Well…no, but kind of…I can actually feel things like a normal human being for once!"
"Tori you are a human being,"
"Not really Steph, I'm really not much of a human being. I don't even know what I am," Tori said, leaning against the couch with her legs our in a straddle,
"You're someone in to different worlds," Stephanie said, "the living on and the…other one,"
"Other one?"
"Ya know, the place you went when you-" Steph made a throat cutting gesture,
"Where is that place I don't even know. I don't even remember…at least I don't think I do," Tori murmured, staring off into space almost going into a daydream,
"It's like that,"
"Huh?"
"Moments like just then, when you were staring off into space. Moments where it's as if you aren't all here. Jason does that sometimes too,"
"There's a lot trapped inside my head. Stuff I hope I never remember," silence reigned before Stephanie clapped a hand to her forehead,
"Oh, now I remember what I came beck in here for! Let's go up to your room instead and watch a movie or two on your computer there and eat popcorn!" Tori smiled,
"Sounds like a plan."
"Mean Girls," Stephanie said, pointing at the screen,
"What the hell is that?" Tori asked,
"Oh my God! You don't remember Mean Girls?" she cried,
"No, I don't," Tori said around a mouthful of popcorn, most of the snacks Alfred had given them had come back up, but her stomach hadn't complained about the popcorn yet so Tori was going to keep eating it. Getting nutrients from an IV was not a walk in the park to come out of with the type of 'food poisoning' Tori had,
"We're watching it," Stephanie said, stealing the computer and pressing play, "It's completely new to you, so I get to watch your reaction," Tori rolled her eyes,
"It looks stupid,"
"Then you'll love it,"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're a Grayson, you love stupid things," Tori was silent for a minute a small smile in place, watching the movie on the computer screen, now placed at the foot of Tori's bed near the footboard, start.
They were halfway through the movie, both of them talking more than watching and both of them slumping down as the hour passed, when their conversations slurred off to random comments, life questions and philosophical conversations about random things that their conversation took a different turn,
"Are you afraid of him?" Stephanie asked, yawning,
"Who?" Tori asked, eyes closed but still very much awake. Her head was on Steph's shoulder,
"William," Tori opened her eyes and looked up at her friend,
"I used to be," she said,
"What changed?"
"He didn't want to kill me," Tori said. Stephanie let out a snort and shook her head, her shoulder blade jabbing into the back of Tori's head slightly and causing her back to ache at the sudden jerky movement,
"Tell that to your back wound,"
"Well, I'm not dead am I?" Tori said, "He could have killed me, he had time. He could have easily escaped my take down and hold. He let me hit him, he let me dictate the terms of the fight up until the end. And instead of slashing my throat and pouring the Serum on the wound right there…all he did was stab me," Stephanie let out a sigh,
"Why are you defending him? He tortured you,"
"On the Grandmaster's orders," Tori stated…though Stephanie did have a point…why was he defending him?
"Then he's just a dog listening to his master. I suggest you take him down at the next opportunity,"
"Are you, miss no killing, suggesting I kill him?"
"I'd do it if I had the opportunity for Black Mask," Stephanie said with so much conviction Tori didn't even need to listen to her heart to know she spoke the truth,
"I don't think I could do that," Tori admitted, "not because I have Stockholm Syndrome or because he's family…but because I owe him. He told me of the Grandmaster's change of plans right before I died. They wouldn't have turned me into a Talon…they would have taken Cameron instead leaving me to just die,"
"What?" Stephanie asked shocked,
"I've actually never told anyone about that…not even Jason," Tori said,
"So he…by telling you this…saved you?"
"Yeah…I guess he did,"
"Wow…that's messed up. Torture you because that's his orders but then only when they unexpectedly change don't follow those new orders?" Tori let out a snort,
"Okay that's true, that's very messed up,"
"Your whole family is messed up,"
"No, not all of us!"
"Nope, you're all messed up. I mean, killing you to save you…it's just messed up. Not only that but your loyalty to one another is going to get you killed. You and Dick and maybe even asshat Cobb. You'd all do anything for your family it seems…evil or not,"
"No…I don't think that's a bad thing," Tori said. Stephanie rolled her eyes and let out another yawn, "Our loyalty is our strength."
A few days later, after her wounds had healed and her strength completely back to where it had been before Cobb's attack, Tori sat on her bed sharpening her blades when Jason walked into the room. He'd been away during and after the attack, and had come home as soon as he heard what happened two days ago. He'd mostly stayed at his safe house, but he visited the Manor often. Today though, he looked slightly angry…or maybe rather a little disconcerted,
"Why did you do it?" he asked her. Tori sat up straighter, her back still stiff from her recovery, wondering if she should answer before tossing the weapons back on the bed,
"How did you figure it out?" Tori asked in return…pondering what to say to his possible responses,
"This," Jason said, tossing a newspaper on her bed. Tori looked at the headline, trying not to give anything away,
"How do you know he's from the Court?"
"I made it my business to find out who every member, Talon or Owl, was under their masks after they took you. That way I'd know where to look for answers if they ever took you back," Tori couldn't help but smile,
"That's so sweet of you," she said, Jason didn't smile…but at the same time he didn't exactly look mad, only like he was trying to interpret the meaning of some type of modern art,
"Why did you do it?" he asked again,
"I don't know," she replied, going for the truthful and simple answer, "Was I wrong in doing what I did?"
"It depends on your reason," Jason said,
"It was partly vengeance," Tori allowed, "His decision made me what I am…but it was also to pay back a debt I owed someone,"
"William?" Jason almost growled, "You don't owe him anything,"
"Yes I do. I owe him my life because despite him trying to take it…he was only acting on orders. There's little room for disobedience in the Court, he had little to no choice. The threat of being frozen could mean years or centuries of lost time…and no Talon wants that. I should know. I would have just died there Jason. They would have taken Cameron instead of me unless I agreed to become a Talon…Cobb told me the Grandmaster's change of plans and in doing so granted me the opportunity to save my life and Cameron's," Tori turned to face Jason, pleading with her eyes, "Tell me that action didn't grant a favor in return. Tell me that I wasn't justified in doing what I did to fulfill that favor,"
"I'm not the one who'd think it wasn't justified," Jason said, "That man, the Grandmaster, has killed thousands of people without a single person in Gotham or the world knowing. He's probably forced dozens of older Talons to torture their stubborn and rebellious heirs into being just like them…a weapon for the Court. He deserved what you did to him. He tried to do the same thing to you and I suppose to William who had every opportunity to take you under his wing and claim you as his heir, but he didn't—not until the Grandmaster ordered it.
"I guess it could just a family trait, but resilience is strong in the Crowne, Grayson and Cobb genes. I'm not saying William doesn't deserve all the torture in the world for what he did for you…but I guess to create some form of a truce…one death was worth it," Tori smiled and let out a sigh of relief throwing her arms around him for a hug,
"I thought you were going to say that I was wrong to kill the Grandmaster. That I was wrong to try and form a truce…a way for William to owe me and a way to keep him from truly killing me one day," she said into his chest,
"The new Grandmaster will surely want you dead too though," Jason reminded her,
"Yeah…but now they have a warning to keep their distance," Tori said,
"They won't stop though,"
"That's fine. I have you, and Dick, Tim and Stephanie, and Barbara and Damian and Bruce and Alfred. I think I'm safe,"
"I'm proud of you too," Jason said, "You killed but didn't go on a bloody rampage…much better control than I would have had facing the person who enforced my torture,"
"Well…our deaths were different. As was your resurrection,"
"Tori I'm trying to be a nice supportive boyfriend and you're kind of ruining," Jason said,
"Sorry. Thank you Jason," Tori said with a laugh. She was glad Jason could see what she did not as something wrong but as something that was useful to them and something that might keep her and her family safe. The only issue was if Bruce saw it that way if or when he figured out who murdered that rich and powerful man that was secretly a part of the leading Owls of the Court of Owls, and she had no idea if he would see her side of that event,
"How do you know he'll see it as a truce?" Jason asked after a minute of silence between them, they were still in an embrace,
"I left him a note,"
"…a note?…did he reply?"
"More or less," Tori said with a shrug. Pulling out of the embrace to grab a crumpled up square piece of stiff paper, "the reply could be seen as a threat but I think we can use this 'him owing me' to our advantage…especially since in that case we'll have not just one Talon on our side…we will have two—sort of, almost…maybe,"
"Yeah…it's still really only one," Jason said,
"Maybe it'll get there…or maybe William will die and burn in hell for forever…I really don't care which comes first,"
"Okay then. Murder and fiery deaths aside, you want to get dinner?"
"Sure," Tori said, "Let's go to that Burger joint place in Crime Alley…I love that place." Jason rolled his eyes with a smile as they turned to leave the room. The crumpled note left behind reading in spiky black inked and smudged handwriting:
WELL PLAYED.
MY TURN.
A/N: Not sure I liked how this went...and I don't think I explained what I was trying to explain very well. But I think it came out okay.
I'm not trying to paint William as the good guy, not in the least. But I am trying to make things seem a bit more...grayer than it seems.
If you're confused or need some more explanation of this bit PM moi or write your questions in the reviews and I'll answer the question in the next short story or just reply to your PM.
Also, this is before Tori has any real control over her killer instinct, she has just started that aspect of training with Bruce which is why she was so unaffected by killing - plus it was only that one person, and someone who was evil.
Keep reading, next short story next Tuesday and remember!
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