Hello again :)
Here's Chapter 2!
A little short 'cause i got a little stuck, but better than never!
Also, if anyones got any suggestions for the next chapter/s? I'm all ears! Seriously haha!
And probably some spelling mistakes and stuff somewhere, 'cause i'm rushing this to go out but i wanted to get it up haha
First things first, thank you 'E', Renegade Noa and PIRATEofHOGWARTS for your lovely reviews :)
I just stuck this on here as a experiment, but i didn't expect those kind words! Thank you! Cyber Batarangs to you haha :P
Also... I do reckon El Penitente aka Fake'o Thomas Wayne is in fact Simon Hurt... Leader of Black Glove and such, but i'm not writing that or comfirming it because hey you never know with Morrison!
Plus i just imagine Damian would give villians his own little nicknames and i felt 'Imposter' worked well with it...
Also, i'm guessing that Bruce will flash through time, as i said before, and magically arrive just in time to save Dick from getting shot... Maybe take the bullet 'cause he's rumoured not to go back to Bat straight away, but i'm changing this as to what could have happened... maybe a AU? Aha i don't know what you'd call it!
But anywho, there's a memory in here, which is from 'Batman and Robin #3' and i put it up to my photobucket for you lot;
http : / / i219 (dot) photobucket (dot) com /albums/cc79/Padfoot-rawr/Batman/?action=view¤t=BR7 (dot) jpg Again removing the spaces and replacing (dot) with . haha
OH! And i know nothing of Morse Code! I got a image reference, so don't sue me if its wrong haha... I'll check later 'cause my dad'll be home from work and he knows Morse Code.
I need a Alfred, man... That secret agent would know...
Oh, and i also have the 6 pages before that one to help it make sense, but they're not necessary! ...Just incase you fancy having a look :) Enjoyyy
http : / / i219 (dot) photobucket (dot) com /albums/cc79/Padfoot-rawr/Batman/?action=view¤t=BR1 (dot) jpg
http : / / i219 (dot) photobucket (dot) com /albums/cc79/Padfoot-rawr/Batman/?action=view¤t=BR2 (dot) jpg
http : / / i219 (dot) photobucket (dot) com /albums/cc79/Padfoot-rawr/Batman/?action=view¤t=BR3 (dot) jpg
http : / / i219 (dot) photobucket (dot) com /albums/cc79/Padfoot-rawr/Batman/?action=view¤t=BR4 (dot) jpg
http : / / i219 (dot) photobucket (dot) com /albums/cc79/Padfoot-rawr/Batman/?action=view¤t=BR5 (dot) jpg
http : / / i219 (dot) photobucket (dot) com /albums/cc79/Padfoot-rawr/Batman/?action=view¤t=BR6 (dot) jpg
http : / / i219 (dot) photobucket (dot) com /albums/cc79/Padfoot-rawr/Batman/?action=view¤t=BR7 (dot) jpg
Disclaimer: Don't own Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson, Thomas Wayne, The 'goon' again, nor any of the bat universe items! They're (C) to DC Comics!
"Dick..." He swallowed thickly, "Dick... Please... I... I can't do this on my own." He whispered; defeated as the anger deflated quickly and he lay still; his gaze locked on the figure of the person he had come to know so well. The one person in his life who had provided a sense of security... a sense of welcome, and the one person he had almost believed to be immortal... Unbeatable... and here he was... so still... too still.
A chuckle bought him back to the present and his head whirled round to face the imposter, still standing in the same spot, the gun still brandished, though aimed at thin air now, and he felt a incredible pain in his abdomen, the fire of revenge, and the heat of outrage pooled in his gut, creeping towards his chest.
"It was something of a terrible loss." The imposter said evenly, as he discarded the gun, and approached once more, coming to stand near Dick's shoulder.
Damian's gaze travelled further to ignore the nagging ache the sentence had provoked, and began nearing Dick's face, but left it as soon as it had approached -decidedly ignoring the crimson that was now gathered at the base of his neck- and instead he rested it on the imposter as he nodded to the previously departed goon who stepped forward.
The goon neared Dick, kneeling beside him and grabbed the edge of the bat suits cape with one hand, his other grasping the metal of the utility belt, using both as leverage.
"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" Damian spat, furiously trying to lunge himself at the goon, and swallowing the bile as the goon began to roll Dick's unresponsive body onto his back.
"Oh I needn't worry boy. Mr Grayson is merely suffering a severe lack of blood and in a high level of shock, as well as a somewhat lethal blow to the base of his skull. He will return to us momentarily." The imposter announced evenly as the goon passed him and disappeared once more, and Damian's heart leapt through his chest as he watched Dick shift slightly, a low gurgle emitting from his throat as blood oozed down his chin.
"Welcome back Mr Grayson." The imposter greeted somewhat merrily, but Dick paid him no attention, blinking heavily and swallowing sluggishly, he tried to create but one word.
"D..." He paused, making a noise that could have been a cough. "D... Dam... Damian..." he croaked out, his eyes forcing themselves open as he searched for the child. And Damian himself froze as he made eye contact with the elder. Blue on blue, and he could feel the tingling indicating the tears that were building deep inside, a feeling so strange... so foreign to him.
"D... Listen... Yo... You need to... To... Li... Listen... Okay." Dick wheezed as he fought for air and fiercely tried to string sentences around the blood, and Damian gulped.
"On the contrary Mr Grayson, I don't think the boy needs to listen to anything. Least of all a death speech." The imposter sliced the atmosphere with a sharply carved knife, and Damian barely held his tongue, instead sending the deadliest glare he could muster. Dick chose conveniently not to reply... Or rather Damian decided that was what it was because it was much better than the thought of him not being able to reply.
A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and his gaze shifted over, and found it resting upon Dick's hand. It was currently pressed into the underside of his abdomen where he had been rolled onto his bonded wrists, all his fingers curled inwards and restricted from the rope, except for his index finger which was slightly outstretched, almost reaching around his hip, almost as if he was pointing, and Damian had to glance in the direction just to verify there was nothing to be seen.
Shifting his vision back to the lone finger, he watched as Dick lightly tapped his finger against his side. Subtly and lightly so as the imposter wouldn't notice, and Damian watched, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he took in the movement, slowly making a pattern between the delays and separating the quick deliberate motion from the other drawn out, longer taps. And before he knew it his mind was pressing... pushing forward letters as his training came into play; his intellect recognising the gestures as a form of communication; and before he knew it he had worked out the statement being passed to him through Morse Code.
DashDashDot...G... DotDotDotDot...H... DashDashDash...O... DotDotDot...S... Dash...T...
His mind put the letters together and he frowned; Ghost? What on earth did Grayson mean by that? That the imposter was some form of deceased phantasm from the Wayne Family's past? If so why had he not been informed of this fact three days earlier? Or maybe the identity of a villain in Gotham? Perhaps another vigilante? Or something bigger?
Glancing up at the blessed silence in suspicion he looked over to notice the imposter had moved away to discuss "business" or something of the sort with his goons. Welcoming the moment of distraction he peered towards Dick as he repeated the same pattern for the fourth time and he grunted in response, shifting slightly to make it look as though it was merely the irritation of his bonds, rather than his acknowledgement of the code, his eyebrows still knitted as he desperately tried to understand the word before his gaze was drawn back to Dick's hand as he noticed a new code was being tapped to him.
Dash... T... Dot... E... DotDash... A... DashDash... M...
Team? This was almost becoming an aimless game of Hangman; the noose looping dangerously around Dick's neck. He quenched the tightening of his stomach at the word, observing and pairing it with their current dilemma, and moved on to try and understand the message, preferring it over evaluating the word 'Team' and the importance it held between them.
Team... another word for Crew, Squadron, Troupe, Partner. Ghost... Partner... And suddenly as he paired both of the words together, his chest joined his gut in the painful constriction, and his throat ran dry as the memory surged forward. The first time they had faced Pyg together... The moment he had looked past the bitterness, past the blind jealousy and began surveying the eldest protégé by who he was inside the suit, rather than a fool playing dress up in his father's clothes.
/-"...So where's Pyg's Lair? 'The Pig Pen."
"It's there. Where the Ghost Train is burning. What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Partners, remember? Batman and Robin. Burning Great."
"...There was a girl... Did—Did you just save my life?"-/
The memory rang clearly through his mind as he and Dick stood side by side in the Circus Carnival, finally sharing one moment that lacked both sarcasm and a resentful tone as Dick passed him his previously discarded badge, and he took it, fully prepared to enlist himself as the mantle of Robin once more, and he fought the urge to turn his head and subconsciously glimpse at said badge that was currently pressed into the floor.
"Dare I say it is a great shame, but in the words of a showman 'The show must go on.' Isn't that right Mr Grayson?" The imposter smiled cruelly as he stepped back towards them, and Damian felt a wave of rage pass through him spurred by the memory he had mulled in mere moments before and he turned his gaze away from Dick and glared darkly at the imposter.
"Release me from these bonds and you will see a real show," Damian snarled dangerously, his scowl deepening.
"I don't take kindly to threats boy," the imposter replied coldly, his smile dimming slightly as he regarded the ten year old.
"It was a promise," Damian spat, keeping eye contact with the imposter, almost challenging him. Bring it on he spoke silently to himself, his gaze ripping from the man as he saw another change in the corner of his eye, and he felt his emotions blanch as he saw the ghost of a smile on Dick's lips. And then he refrained from giving a verbal retort to that Grayson grin as he realised he had been fooled... hook, line and sinker; something only Dick could have managed to do.
The Morse Code, the words, the memory... He knew it would give him a reason to fight... spur him on and bring back the attitude Grayson had continually cursed upon. Dick had bought the fighter in him forward; the spine of an assassin and the spirit of the bat... always ready for a battle. And what a battle this would be.