Hi everyone I am in fact alive. Life threw me the biggest curve ball and it was just really shitty for awhile. ANYWAYS, here I am and I have another chapter for you and I don't think it sucks but I'll let you guys be the judge of that.
Enjoy!
Dick
There is a man, silhouetted in red, desperately fighting against the weight of his presence. He trembles and folds, faceless to the floor, balanced on awkwardly twisted limbs. Ragged breaths bounce through the cloying scent of blood in the air.
"Jason? Jay? Littlewing is that you?"
The man raises his head to meet Dick's watery eyes. His face swollen and badly bruised, eyes burn red into the night and poppy colored tears leak a steady stream down the man's neck. His mouth opens to speak and a wet choking sound clambors it's way through the darkness. Dick runs, he wants to run, he pushes further and farther into the pitch black but the man doesn't come closer, in fact he seems to be retreating into the emptiness beyond.
"Jay! Wait!"
Dick presses on but it seems as though he's running in place. The man is losing strength, crumbling onto his elbows, retching blood onto the unforgiving floor beneath him. Dick, weak and trembling slows to catch his breath, the young man in front of him, no closer than he first was, gives another wet cough. Falling to his knees Dick reaches out his hands to the quivering body before him.
"Please?" he asks, quietly, sincerely. "Please."
He stills, waiting for the boundary between them to disappear but the world remains unchanged. As the man collapses completely to the floor, sucking in raspy breath after raspy breath, a black hole opens in the spot where Dick's diaphragm would be, taking the warmth from his chest. He is afraid, they both are. So afraid.
Head bowed, shoulders shaking with the weight of the hollow breaths before him slowing each second, Dick wipes his face with his sleeve. Raising his head, he catches sight of a shadowy figure, draped in dark fabric, blending into the emptiness of the shadows. He grabs the broken man by the shirt collar and with a deep growl, strikes his face with a steel plated glove.
Dick is on his feet, fighting the barrier that keeps him contained. He's screaming, begging the darkness to release him. The figure strikes again, and again, and again. The man tries to block his face, tries so desperately to protect himself, but to no avail, the shadow is simply too powerful for him to defend against. The shadow cranks back his arm for one more blow and Dick is screaming so fiercely that a fire has been lit in his chest, burning away the soft tissue in his throat. The man raises his hands, wobbling with disorientation, he sputters a single word of plea. A CRACK sounds as the arm comes down yet again.
All is still and silent, the man hangs limply from the front of his shirt, Dick has been stunned into silence and the shadow has faded back into the darkness. The man falls towards the ground and suddenly Dick is there to catch him. He settles onto the ground, the young man, limp and slick with blood in his arms. Trembling hands push back the man's blood matted hair from his face, and yes, just as he knew. Jason.
The pressure is building in his chest now and Dick can feel the emotions growing, he can feel his throat tighten.
"Jay?" Dick breathes into the stale air.
Broken blue eyes open into the darkness, the color welcomed. They fixate on Dick in a way that someone so badly injured shouldn't be able to manage.
"Dick. You're here?" Jason manages through a bout of shivering. His eyes squint in confusion and pain. "You… you didn't stop him. You let him hurt me. You weren't here."
"Jason, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry Jay! I didn't know, I didn't know he was going to hurt you!" Dick pleads. Jason's face contorts in greiful doubt.
"Please, don't lie to me. Don't lie. You let him… kill me." Jason whispers into Dick's chest.
"What? No, Jay he wouldn't!" Dick pulls his brother closer to him, but he's fading now, fading quickly.
"Jason! No! Wait! Please don't go!" Dick pulls him in even closer, holds him even tighter, but Jason has stilled in his arms and before Dick can even blink, Jason melts through his fingers like candle wax leaving him alone in the darkness.
A phone rings out in the dead of night, disturbing the three resting birds nearby. Dick shoots straight up in bed gulping in lungfuls of the brisk evening air. Trembling and slick with sweat he snags the phone from his bedside table, trying to shake the empty feeling in the bottom of his chest.
"Hello?" he coughs to clear the shakiness from his voice and tries again, "Hello?"
"Dick? It's Roy. It's Jason he's.. He's not getting any better. I think it's time you come down and see him. Ya'know… just in case." Uncertain and exhausted Roy huffs out the words in a long sigh. Dick feels himself shiver but tries to keep his composure.
"Where are you? We'll leave now."
Kori
Kori sits, cross legged on the ground by Jason's prone form. She has his hands enveloped in hers, warming them, rubbing the stiffness away from his joints. Behind her Roy paces steadily from room to room, one hand tangled in his hair, the other white knuckled around a burner cell held close to his pursed lips. She wants to say something, wants to soothe his troubled mind but she knows it's futile. She's noticed that humans have a habit of getting so weighed down by their emotions they begin to drown. She's attempted to understand that part of them but so far hasn't been able to grasp why they fight them so fiercely. A small line appears between Kori's eyebrows as she ponders this, it isn't until Roy comes to an abrupt stop behind her that she snaps out of her concentration.
"Do you think I did the right thing? Calling them, I mean, do you think that was a good call?" Roy asks shakily. She opens her mouth to respond but he's already resumed his pacing, mumbling quiet things to himself about the last time he saw Dick Grayson.
Roy had asked her if she was nervous about seeing him again after… well everything*. She simply reminded him that she is above petty human grudges and has absolutely no problem with seeing him again, or being trapped in a tiny apartment with him and her ever crumbling team. Nope. No problem at all.
Kori releases Jason's hands, tucking them once again beneath his blanket and stands, she asked Roy to prepare any available sleeping surfaces for the oncoming entourage of raven headed boys but of course the archer was far too tangled in his worries to do so. In her exhausted state she manages to throw down a few blankets on their remaining couches and chairs. With a heavy sigh, she tells herself that its enough.
The boys will be here soon, Roy is occupied, Jason is stable and honestly she's done her best. Kori decides it best to reward herself with a well deserved nap. Dragging herself off to bed she calls to Roy to wake her when Jason's family arrives although she knows she'll hear them before they even reach the door.
Kori dreams she's trapped in a maze where a young man calls for her from somewhere she can't reach. She flies through the dense hedges only to be met with more stubborn greenery. The man calls for her so desperately she finds it hard to tame her emotions. And that voice, she knows who it belongs to but it's been so long since she's heard it it seems almost foreign. But she runs for him anyway, heedless of danger, blind to risks. Vines reach for her as she searches for him cutting deep into her legs and face as she runs. The voice begins to fade rapidly and she picks up the pace in her panic. Clawing fruitlessly through a maze that leads nowhere. The voice continues to fade and she's calling out for him, running, tripping through the darkness. When the walls push into her, and the ceiling begins to fall Kori screams for the young man, but he has gone silent without her.
Kori jolts awake to the sound of footsteps outside the front door, glancing around her she sees Roy has fallen asleep on the floor by Jason's side. Signing inwardly Kori drags herself from the tangled sheets on the bed and stumbles her way to the door, somehow even more exhausted now than she was before her nap. She gives herself one more moment to breathe in the quiet before the opens the door. They all freeze when they see her, hair unkempt, eyes puffy with sleeplessness.
"Kori!" Dick's eyes widen slightly in alarm. The other two stand perfectly still, glancing between each other, bags half draped over shoulders, shoes coming untied, their puffy eyes rivaling her own. She wants to say something, something maybe to break the ice between them, to show Dick and herself that it doesn't have to be this way, that they can be friends, or at least put their feelings aside for Jason's sake. She takes in a deep breath to answer him, to say something meaningful, something to diffuse the tension. Instead, she steps aside and nearly whispers her reply.
"He's inside."
Without one more moment of hesitation, they grab their things and hurry inside.
When Kori closes the door and steps inside to meet them, she finds them frozen again. They're gathered around the couch where Jason lay, standing several feet away just staring at him, as if they don't know what to do with what they're seeing. Roy has come alive again and has joined in the staring. After a few minutes he turns to them somberly.
"I know." Roy says quietly. He scrubs a hand across his face tiredly. "He's been this way since the fight."
Dick lets out a long breath and steps a few steps closer. He stills again, reaching out a hand as if to brush the hair from Jason's forehead, it waivers there before Dick draws it up to his mouth and turns away. He brushes the hand through his deep raven hair and heaves another enormous sigh before excusing himself and walking out of the room.
Damian, who has forever had such a strong sense of who his father truly is seems oddly shaken. Kori remembers the boy being full of fire, brash and confident to the point of rudeness. But the boy stands silently now, eyes traveling along the numerous casts and bandages that adorn Jason's body. Then there's Tim, his eyes slightly squinted as if he's trying to repair the man in front of him. He slowly sets down his bags by his feet, and moves to sit at the edge of the couch.
"His injuries?" Tim manages around the sleep in his throat.
Roy moves to his feet and reaches to the table a few feet away, he grabs their ever dwindling supply of gauze and wrappings. He hands the box to Tim and pulls a chair over to join him by Jason.
"How about you see for yourself, it's time to change his bandages anyway."
Tim begins, hesitantly and slowly at first, meticulously peeling back the layers of wrappings, probing his various wounds. Roys sits by quietly, answering any questions Tim has, filling in the blanks. Kori and him both know how much they need this, need the time to look him over themselves. Damian sits close by, pen in hand, writing down notes and any supplies they may need to restock. Kori smiles slightly at the sight. If only he knew, if only Jason knew just how loved he really is.
Quietly, so as not to disturb Tim's concentration, Kori makes her way into the adjacent hallway. Dick Grayson sits against the wall on the floor. Knees pulled up to his chest, head braced in his hands, breaths coming slow and heavy. Kori moves beside him swiftly and joins him on the ground. Neither say anything as she settles herself next to him and together they sit for a while in silence. After all there's nothing to say. Is there?
"I'm sorry" Dick whispers hoarsely into his hands.
Kori barely catches the words, and when she finally hears them she doesn't know what to say. She wants to makes things better, right now in this moment with the two of them. But what is there to say? Is it really worth getting into right now in the dead of night?
"Me too." Kori answers tiredly, and before he has a chance to say something else she turns to face him. "Tell me about Jason when he was young?"
A sudden smile blooms on Dick's face at the request. He looks up into the ceiling tiles, as if his memories lay there waiting in the plaster.
"He was this little street rat punk." Dick laughs at the memory.
"So not much has changed then?" Kori responds. Dick lights up and they share a laugh, the weight lifting off of them in an instant.
"No really though, he was little. Like 4'6" and 90 pounds at 15. He was like a little spider monkey or something. This wiry little thing. He was as fast as lightning and could pick your pocket in an instant without you ever knowing." Dick continues.
Kori's eyes widen involuntarily. "I can't imagine him ever being that small!"
"I'm just glad he finally grew into his attitude!"
They laugh again, a real laugh. A hunching over and throwing your head back kind of laugh. Dick regains his composure and goes on, telling her everything about Jason when he was little. How great he was in school, how quickly he took to Robin, and how much he loved being a part of a team.
Dick went on and on, and Kori listened to every word, and they stayed that way until morning.
Alfred
The house has yet to quiet down again since Master Dick called a little over two days ago. The conversation seemed to relight the pit of rage in Master Bruce's stomach and his dazed and almost peaceful expression he was wearing several days ago has vanished. Not to mention, the two missus, Barbara and Cassandra, have returned home and brought with them pandemonium.
Alfred makes his way to the study, where the yelling seems to be coming from, bracing himself for what's to come. Calmly he presses one hand against the stained oak door, the other balancing a tray of tea no one will drink, and pushes the door open as he steps into the fray.
"Let me just ask what in the hell was going through your head?" Barbara starts, rising slightly out of her wheelchair in fury. Cassandra puts a gentle hand on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. Cassandra who usually has an aura of calm about her stands tense, eyebrows knitted tightly atop her fiercely accusatory eyes.
Bruce remains stoic in front of them. Alfred takes the small moment of silence to place the tray on the coffee table between the two parties. He stoops down preparing he cups as he remembers while they glare daggers at each other. Once the sugar has dissolved Alfred steps back and prepares himself for the blood that's sure to flow.
"I don't have to explain my actions to you two. I did what I saw as necessary." Bruce responds, coldly, evenly, without so much as a waiver in his voice.
"You really believe that don't you? And what would you have done if he hadn't had gotten away from you huh? You know what? Don't answer that it's probably just going to piss me off even more." Barbara shakes her head in disgust. "Damnit Bruce. I thought you were better than… them. I believed you when you said you were better!"
"What did you expect me to do Barbara?! He shot him point blank in cold blood!"
"I don't know Bruce! But but I didn't expect you to beat him half to death!"
The storm settles once again as they catch their breath. Cassandra, who has yet to move an inch releases a breath Alfred didn't even know she was holding. Barbara brings a hand to the bridge of her nose and sighs deeply.
"Bruce." She drags her gaze up to meet his expressionless eyes. "Whatever idea you have about Jason in your head you need to put it aside. You lost him once, Bruce. Don't make us lose him again because you were too careless to think before you punch."
"Barbara-"
"He's a kid. He's just past twenty! He's a child and no matter how much you deny it, he's yours to protect and love. He's your child Bruce, and you're his father. Fucking act like it."
Without giving him the chance to respond the two girls retreat from the room, closing the door tightly behind them. Master Bruce collapses into his chair running his hands through his carefully styled raven hair.
"Damian's not at Clark's." Bruce says quietly into his hands. "Is he?"
"No sir, he's not." Alfred responds, trying to keep his tone even.
"They went to find him. They went to find Jason didn't they?"
"Yes sir. They thought it best they see him in case he doesn't wake." Alfred responds calmly. It has the desired effect, Bruce jolts slightly and breaths out a heavy sigh of what Alfred knows is regret. Alfred sits, letting Bruce come to terms with the facts that, yes, he responded rather poorly to the situation he was given, and yes he's in the wrong.
Bruce drops his hands and when he does Alfred can see the facade has faded away. Once again he's the man that brought Jason home many years ago and was afraid he wouldn't fit in at school with the other kids. Once again Batman has faded away and Bruce Wayne has reappeared, he's awoken to a reality he can't believe he committed.
"I'm such an idiot."
"...If you're waiting for me to disagree with you Master Bruce, you're in for a long night."
Alfred allows the silence to seep through the manor as he collects the now cold tea cups from the table and walks out of the room.
*So I got this from RHATO's telling of Death of the Family with Joker. I know there's a lot of tea between Kori and Dick but like DC timelines?!
So... What'd you guys think? I have big plans for the next chapter and I have it all mapped out so I think it's going to be good and it should be done sooner rather than later but we'll see how it goes.
Until next time,
MS
