So its been a very long week. Work was hard and I lost most of my weekend. But on the bright side, I celebrated my 21st a few days ago. So I guess what I am trying to say is I didn't have much time to write this week.
Tim blinked as he felt the blood soak into his uniform. Renegades sword had cut through his cape and Kevlar suit but had failed to inflict anything worse than a long, shallow cut up his back. Even then, it was bleeding badly and stinging with every movement Tim made. Climbing up to his knees, the teenage hero looked around. Jason had disappeared off the edge of the roof, chasing after Deathstroke while Batman distracted Renegade.
Turning to look at his adopted father and brother, Tim couldn't help but stare. The fight was horrible. Every movement was calculated, controlled and dangerous. Tim had no doubt that he was looking at two of the most dangerous fighters in the world. But still, there was something off about the fight. Something wrong with Renegades movements. Tim tried to analyse everything he observed, trying to find the weak link.
There was a grunt. Tim forced himself to turn around and face the sound. In the gloom, he could see a pair of green gloves. The teen froze. Damian.
Forcing himself to ignore his back, Tim rose to his feet and walked to the ledge. He was right, it was Damian. The current Boy Wonder was hanging from the ledge, trying to gain enough footing to push him back up to safety.
Reaching down, Tim grabbed his younger brother's wrist. It was a good thing he did. The moment Tim touched the kid, Damian's grip slipped. A few seconds more and no more Damian. The Boy Wonder looked up from his hazardous climb.
"Drake!" he growled out softly. "About time you made yourself useful."
Tim didn't even bother replying. He wasn't in the mood for an argument with the kid. Heaving on the younger boys arm, Tim dragged him back over the ledge and to safety, trying to hide his grin as Damian misjudged his footing and fell to the ground. The latest Robin climbed quickly to his feet, dusting himself off. He froze. Like his brother, the sight of his father and mentor fighting was as horrifying as it was thought provoking.
The two youngest of the Batfamily watched as the fight progressed.
"He's fighting it." Damian finally muttered. Tim looked down at him.
"What?" he asked.
Damian glared up at him.
"Grayson. He is part of this battle too. He is fighting Renegade, trying to give father the advantage."
Tim glanced at his little brother before turning back to the fight. Under his cowl, his eyes narrowed as Renegade turned his back on them, stepping away from Batman. The collar of his costume shifted slightly, a dark shadow showing on the pale skin. Tim looked at the mark. Realisation dawned.
"I have an idea." He finally muttered.
Renegades attacks were fast and brutal but it only took a few moments for Batman to pick up a pattern. Although violent, the villain was predictable, using many techniques which the Dark Knight could easily block. Each punch lacked the force needed to incapacitate a victim, each kick lagged.
And Renegades defence was almost non-existent. The younger man was making amateur mistakes which could easily get him killed. It was something which Bruce had spent many years teaching Dick to avoid, and something Deathstroke would have come down hard on with Renegade. It didn't make sense that the villain was making them now, while facing Gotham's protector.
A punch was aimed at Batman's head. The hero blocked it, using his free hand to grab Renegades wrist before kicking out, trying to knock the villain to the ground. Renegade flipped himself over, avoiding the kick but making no effort to cover his mistake. Instead, he lashed out with his free hand, trying to bring the blades on his wrist into play. But the attack was too slow, Batman easily dodging as he released his rogue son. Renegade retreated, his foot knocking against the sword on the ground. But the villain didn't make any effort to pick up the weapon, instead kicking it out of the way.
Even as he disengaged and fell back into a fighting stance, it dawned on the Dark Knight. Renegade was fighting to lose. He wanted Batman to take him down. That could only mean that Dick was getting through somehow. That Dick was sabotaging himself to protect his family.
Quickly, the hero reached for his jump line. Thanks to the automatic retracting mechanism, the line was ready to use once again. He activated it, aiming for Renegades legs. The villain jumped out of the way before the cord could touch him. However, there was no way he could predict the second line which shot out from behind him, wrapping itself around his arm. There was a few seconds of silence as both Renegade and Batman followed the line back to its owner. Red Robin was standing awkwardly, clearly trying not to aggravate his injuries. However, the teenager made no effort to pull the line in.
Under the cowl, Renegade grinned and wrapped his hand around the line, ready to tug it out of his brother's grip. He never got the chance as a red blur smashed into his back, taking him by surprise. Seeing that his older brother was off balance, Tim tugged on the line, sending Renegade to the ground and taking Robin, who had managed to attach himself to his oldest brother's shoulders, with him.
Under the cowl, Bruce blinked as Renegade struggled to get up and fight. Damian was holding tight, his arms wrapped around Renegades neck as he dodging all of his former partner's attempts to dislodge him and one of Renegades arms was now useless as Tim continued to pull it out from under the struggling villain, forcing him back to the ground.
As the struggle continued, Damian pulled out a taser. Bruce stepped forward, hoping to stop his youngest doing anything stupid but he was too late as Damian jammed the device down against Renegades neck and fired. Renegade dropped to the ground, his body convulsing from the sudden shock as Damian was knocked from his perch. Stepping forward, Bruce grabbed the boy and pulled him away from Renegades prone form as Tim dropped the line and stepped back to stand with his family. The whole family started down at their rogue bird.
"Do you think it worked?" The second Red Robin finally asked.
Damian glared at him.
"Of course it worked Drake." He muttered. Both Tim and Bruce could hear the uncertainty in his voice.
There was a groan from Renegade as his hand twitched. Slowly, the villain started to move.
It felt like waking up, Dick decided as the shocks spread through his body. It was painful, but with each jolt, he could feel more and more. The numbness he had become accustomed to over the last few long weeks was slowly fading. His body, for so many weeks out of his control, was slowly returning to him as the device in his neck fried.
And then, as suddenly as it would appear when Slade pressed his commands, the feeling Dick had begun to associate with the control, aptly dubbed Renegade, was gone. Dick was free.
He gave a groan as the pain slowly faded. His body felt like it was made of lead. Breathing hard, he forced his hand across the rough concrete he was laying on, reaching for his face.
It took a lot of effort but finally, Dick managed to find the strength to reach for the cowl and peel it off his face. He gasped slightly as the too tight material gave under his grip. Turning his head so his forehead was pressed to the cool ground, he closed his eyes and blindly threw the cowl away, trying to catch his breath. There were footsteps off to the side but Dick ignored them. He was exhausted. If Slade was to come for him now, Dick knew he would not be able to fight.
Letting the waves of exhaustion wash over him, Dick tried to remember what had happened since leaving the warehouse. He knew Slade would make him track down his brothers. He remembered running across the rooftops, and fighting someone.
He remembered, despite being stuck in the strange numbness, he had fought to regain control. And he remembered the pain.
The footsteps drew nearer. Forcing his eyes open, Dick slowly pushed his upper body off the ground to look around. A dark shadow was standing before him. Dick couldn't help but smile. He knew that figure.
"Hey Bruce." He muttered, unable to raise his voice above a whisper.
The Dark Knight relaxed from his fighting stance. Despite the cowl, Dick could make out the look of relief. There were sounds from behind Dick's adopted father. A red shadow threw itself at Dick, catching the young hero by surprise. Dick couldn't help it. He laughed as Damian burrowed against his chest, the standoffish young boy of two weeks ago gone. Wrapping his arms tightly around his little brother, Dick couldn't stop the babble of comforting comments pass as he tried to sooth the boy. Another figure stepped forward. Dick looked up and smiled as Tim sank to his knees besides his brothers. Slowly, the teen followed Dick's lead and pulled off his cowl.
"Hey Dick." He muttered.
Dick smiled softly as his blue eyes met those of his teenage brother.
"Hey Timmy." He replied.
"You owe me a new cape."
Dick laughed and Tim slowly smiled. Detangling one of his arms from around Damian, Dick held it up to Tim. The teen smiled and grabbed the hand, allowing his oldest (and favourite) brother to pull him into a one armed hug against Damian's back. The three brothers sat there, relief pouring off them as their father watched over them.
Slowly, Dick lessened his grip, releasing his younger brothers. Tim took the hint and let go, falling back to sit on his heels but Damian tightened his grip, refusing to move. Slowly, Dick ran his hand through the little assassin's dark hair. He couldn't believe how close he had come to destroying this. His smile dropped.
"Deathstroke?" he asked, looking up at Batman.
The Dark Knight was looking out over his city.
"Red Hood is in pursuit." He reported as Tim offered Dick his hand, pulling the older hero to his feet. Reluctantly, Damian let go and stepped away, trying to regain the sense of independence. Dick ignored him.
"Then I had better go and help Jay." He replied.
Tim and Damian exchanged glances and waited to their father to shout him down.
Bruce turned to look at his oldest son. Dick was exhausted. The weeks of fighting had taken their toll on him. The dark bruise in his face and the bandage on his arm were just a few of the many injuries Dick would be hiding away, not to mention his mental state. But Bruce also knew his oldest child's mind. Dick wanted, no needed, to see Deathstoke captured. For too long, the villain had been haunting him. It was time to finally end it.
Batman nodded, ignoring the small gasps from his other children as Dick smiled again.
"Very well." The Dark Knight grunted, turning his back to the group as he pulled out his locator. He had placed a small tracking device on Jason earlier, and was now following the Red Hood's movements through Gotham.
Dick stepped forward, but paused as Tim grabbed his arm.
"You might need this." Red Robin said, handing something to his brother. Dick looked down at it. It was one of Tim's spare black domino masks. The original Boy Wonder grinned.
"Thanks." He said, securing it to his face. Tim looked him up and down.
"Welcome back Nightwing." He muttered, almost to himself as he reached for his own cowl.
Nightwing nodded and turned away, stepping closer to Batman.
"Alright, let's do this."