CHAPTER 11

WATCHTOWER

HAPPY HARBOR, RHODE ISLAND

Unhappily, Batgirl began to play the recording of Dick Grayson's interrogation at the hands of the Crime Syndicate.

Superwoman stood, licking her lips seductively, the Lasso of Submission wrapped firmly around Dick. Barbara hadn't noticed it before, but the golden lasso was trimmed with tiny barbs, like barbed wire. They had snagged in Dick's uniform and torn a myriad of tiny holes in both the fabric and in his skin.

"Answer my question!" Superwoman demanded, tugging hard at the lasso. The golden line glowed and constricted. Dick's face, already pale under its layer of blood and grime, took on a shade of gray as he fought the lasso.

"Could you explain the question?" he finally gasped out.

"I asked, who is your family? You know, your blood relations?" Superwoman demanded.

"There isn't any..anyone related to me by blood anymore," Dick stuttered. "My parents died when I was eight and I was an only child."

"Good boy, Dick!" Batman murmured. "Stay literal! Fight it!"

"Who are your friends?" Superwoman stepped over to the chair where he was bound. With a sharply nailed hand, she tilted Dick's chin up to look her in the eyes. "Everyone has friends. Start in Gotham."

I have no friends in Gotham, Dick grit his teeth and told himself over and over again. I have adopted brothers: Jason and Tim and Damian, before he died. I have an adopted grandfather, Alfred and an adopted father, Bruce. I have no friends. I have an adopted family. I have an ex-girlfriend, Barbara and her father Gordon is the scary man who is the father of my ex-girlfriend who kept telling me to bring her home on time or he'd track me down and shoot me. I have no friends in Gotham. I have no friends in Gotham.

"I d-d-don't...nggggghhhh!" He writhed as the lasso tightened and glowed more brightly. "No friends in Gotham. I have no friends in Gotham!"

"Submit, Richard Grayson," Superwoman purred. "And the pain will go away. All right, you live in Chicago. Who are your friends there?"

With look of despair, despite himself, Dick began to name names. His roommates, his acquaintances, people he worked with. On Superwoman's prompting, he gave addresses, relatives, locations, spouses, children, every detail of their lives. Superwoman was left giggling in delight.

"Oh, Dickie, this is so good!" she whispered into his ear, running a nail down his cheek that left a long bleeding line. "Tell me more. Tell me...Who did you work with as Nightwing?"

"Batman, Red Robin, Red Hood, Robin, Superman..."Dick's voice began droning as he listed virtually every member of the Justice League, the JLA Reserves, the Teen Titans and every other hero group Earth knew.

"Stop!" she said in annoyance. "What is Superman's real name?"

"Kal-El of the planet Krypton," he replied with a mental grin.

"No! I mean his real name! His Earth name! What is his Earth name?" she demanded in frustration, tugging at the lasso.

"Nggghhhhhhhhhh" Dick fought the lasso until he found himself talking. "Clark Kent," Dick replied, face falling.

"Awwww, now don't look as though someone just kicked your puppy," Superwoman said. "We need to know these things. Now, who does Superman love? Is he married? Who is she?"

"His wife is Lois Lane, reporter at the Daily Planet," Dick said. "He loves her."

"Does Lois Lane have any super-powers?" Superwoman asked.

"No. She's human and has no powers."

"Hmph. I can see that I have some advantages over her, then," Superwoman said. "Now, I want to know about Batman. How did you become Nightwing?"

"Br..Batman was there the night my parents were murdered. H...he took me to the...took me in and trained me to be his partner. I was the first Robin and when I grew up I took the name Nightwing, after a Kryptonian legend," Dick said, clenching his hands. He'd avoided Bruce's name and the location of the Batcave. He hoped it was enough.

"Clark, he says that the name Nightwing comes from a Kryptonian legend. Why did you never tell me the story?" Superwoman called to her lover. Ultraman sauntered over and squeezed her to him with a brawny arm.

"Nightwing was some nobody who put on a mask and tried to bring down the government. Said that everyone should be equal under the law. He was caught and executed, his followers were tortured to death to break up the entire movement. Idiotic dreamers," Ultraman's eyes glinted red as his glance brushed across the prisoner. "Like this one. Lois, why don't you take a break and do some debriefing with me in my quarters?"

She pouted. "I just want to be useful. You said to find out about his friends and family. But he doesn't have any. He's a dud!" She stomped over to the chair and back-handed her prisoner across the face. He rolled with the blow, but her ring cut open the corner of his mouth. "Why don't we kill him first. You know how killing turns you on" she said. "And me too..." She looked up into her lover's face, smiling. "We could bring him along with us. Make him do things. The lasso will force him to submit..."

"Not worth it," Ultraman said. "Owlman has some special project for him later. He made me promise not to kill him or hurt him too much. We'll have plenty of fun, just by ourselves, Lois."

"All right," she said and unwrapped the lasso from her prisoner. "I'll see you later," she whispered to him over her shoulder as she and her lover strolled back towards his quarters.

Dick sat silently in his chair, the blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth.

The video ended.

Barbara sighed in relief and Batman stood a little less stiffly. "Is there more?" he asked.

"No, this is it. They pursued Dick's friends in Chicago, but nobody in Gotham. How did he fight that?"

Batman smiled a little. "Dick is smart. I'll bet that he beat it by defining Tim and Jason as his adoptive brothers. I'm either his adoptive father or mentor. You are an ex-girlfriend. He figured out the lasso's nature and beat it. I'm proud of him."

Barbara's eyes widened a bit. This was high praise from the Bat.

Batman turned briskly to the computer terminal. "Have you shut down all the Crime Syndicate access to our communications?"

"Yes, I have. We can contact any heroes on this planet now," Barbara began, then they both jumped at a beeping sound. They stared around at the walls, trying to identify its source, when Batman put a hand to his belt and withdrew a small cellphone.

"Yes?" he said, then turned the phone onto speaker. "Would you repeat that?"

"It's Clark," the voice said. "Diana is here with me. We're at the farm having dinner with Ma and Pa. Is it safe to fly the rest of the way in?"

"We've restored communications, Clark. This is an unsecured line. Call in on your regular communicator and we'll give you more detail," Batman said, grumbling a bit.

Batgirl hid a smile. Trust Superman to come up with a prosaic way to make contact with Batman during a crisis.

The screen overhead lit up and the face of Clark Kent appeared. "Hello, Batman and Batgirl. As you can see, we've arrived in Smallville Kansas. Now that the communications are up again, Diana is trying to contact the rest of the League, find out how many have made it back through the portal so far." He glanced to one side and held a brief conversation. "All right. Black Canary and Green Arrow are in transit. Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and the Flash have just arrived, they're waiting for orders. Aquaman and Zatanna have remained behind to help with Cyborg, they will go directly to S.T.A.R. Labs when they come through, so they won't be available to fight." His face darkened. "I've seen the television broadcasts about Nightwing. Where is he? Is he alive? I'll make them sorry they ever saw him..."

Batman nodded in acknowledgment. "He's safe for the time being. Owlman apparently defended him from the rest and he's at Wayne Manor with him. We have retaken the Watchtower, although it has been flung out of orbit and set down, roughly, at Happy Harbor. Both facilities are operational. If you've noticed the odd sunlight, apparently Ultraman has changed the moon's orbit to darken the ambient light."

"Well, that's our first mission, then," Superman said. "Wonder Woman and I will put the moon back where it belongs."

"All right," Batman said. "We'll stay here and make contact with the rest of the league to deploy them against the remaining members of the Crime Syndicate once we track them down."

"All right, but stay in touch," Superman said. "And if Dick needs me, let me know. I'm looking forward to getting some payback on his behalf."

"You and me both, Clark," Batman said. "You and me both."

GOTHAM CITY

BATC...OWLCAVE

"All right, Chum," Owlman boomed. "Are you ready for your first appearance as Talon?"

Dick straightened up slowly. His ribs were hurting something fierce, but he had no intention of showing weakness to Owlman. Thomas was so weirdly like Bruce, Dick found it unsettling. For years, he had wished that Bruce were a more demonstrative parent. As a small child, his mother and father had hugged him and held him often. He'd felt very secure surrounded by their love and support. After their deaths, Bruce had tried, he really had, but as Dick grew older, Batman's first instinct became to critique poor performance. Praise became scarce, a hug, even scarcer. Dick figured that Bruce'd decided that his protégé had outgrown hugs. Trouble was, Bruce couldn't know how he craved Bruce's attention, his approval and yes, hugs.

And now, here was Bruce's twin offering both. And when he did, when Owlman showed concern, or approval, Dick felt like a starving man suddenly offered a feast. He didn't know this version of Bruce. All he knew about Thomas was that he was a crime lord on his own Earth. This "Bruce" spoke of killing as a good thing. Dick had to keep reminding himself that he couldn't trust his knee-jerk reactions to Thomas or he'd betray everything Batman had stood for, if Batman was even still alive...

"Talon?" Owlman asked. "Are you all right? Sure you wouldn't rather sit this one out?"

Dick flashed him a quick grin and fastened his goggles. "No, I'm ready to go, Owlman. This is different for me and I'm a little nervous."

Owlman smiled back, his face lighting up. "You'll be fine, Talon. If you only knew how lonely it's been out there all alone. I've missed you...I mean, I've missed having a partner. So, shall we take the Owlmobile?"

"Okay, Owlman," Talon said and ran for his usual seat in the car. The car. One of Batman's newest vehicles had been quickly stripped of all its 'bat' decoration and 'owl' features substituted. It still looked like a batmobile to Dick, but he didn't say anything. All the weapons and gadgetry still remained, although..."Did you modify the gun turrets? Usually we would fire beanbag rounds."

"Oh yes," Owlman said, starting the car. "We're firing live bullets now. I did leave the knock-out case canisters in, though. Sometimes non-lethal crowd-control is called for."

"I've never seen a need for lethal force," Dick said shortly.

"I know that you disapprove of my methods," Owlman replied. "but I hope you can learn to bend a little. It's dangerous out there and I value my life, and yours, more than that of a two-bit thug."

"Everyone's life has value," Dick said.

"Batman told you that?" Owlman said.

"Batman told me that," Dick said. "And he was right."

"I understand that Batman's parents were murdered by a robber when he was a child. Wouldn't he argue that his parents' lives were worth more than their murderer's? Or your own parents? Wouldn't you rather that their killer, Tony Zucco was it? Died rather than your own family? If you'd had a gun on you the night they were killed, you would have killed Zucco first before he could kill your parents, wouldn't you?"

Dick remained silent, his emotions in a turmoil. Oh, he'd wanted Zucco dead more times than he could count, but Batman had impressed on him that killing wasn't the way.

"When I kill, I do it to prevent trouble later," Thomas said. "If I'd killed the Joker early on, my Dick Grayson would never have died. Pennyworth's appearance would be normal. Every time I look at Pennyworth, I know that his injury was my fault. I didn't prevent it by taking out that damned clown earlier."

Dick barked a short laugh, then explained at Thomas' questioning look. "You sounded just like Bruce for a moment. The Joker has killed and maimed hundreds over the years and I've heard say that many times. But he never murdered the Joker. He just caught him and let justice deal with him."

Owlman smiled. "Oh yes, I've heard about that. Jason Todd, was it? The second Robin? And Barbara Gordon, crippled. Still, Jason is alive somewhere now, thanks to the offices of Ra's al Ghul; Gordon restored to health through the magic of S.T.A.R. Labs?"

"You know about them?" Dick queried, aghast.

"It's in the databanks at the Watchtower. I know it all, although I doubt that Ultraman or any of my cohorts other than Grid have bothered to read it. I know that you cleared the bedrooms of personal effects, hoping I wouldn't search for them: Jason, Tim and Damian? Of course, Damian is dead, for now, until his grandfather gets a hold of his body."

Dick's eyes narrowed. "Do you know that he will?"

"I know nothing and don't care. You are the one I wanted, not any of your replacements in Bruce's heart and life."

"You aren't going to...hurt...any of them?" Dick hated asking that, but he had to know, from Owlman himself.

"Not if you don't want them hurt, Dick," Owlman said easily. "They're irrelevant to my plans and if they don't get in my way, I have no reason to notice them. I must say that I'm surprised Bruce found you so easy to replace. You were what? Sixteen when he rejected you and took on Jason?"

"Seventeen," Dick mumbled. "And he fired me, that's all. I was too busy with other projects to partner Batman regularly. He did the right thing."

"I doubt you felt that way when he adopted Jason, and not you. And even more so when Jason managed to get himself killed in a trap you would have seen coming a mile away. You are better than that."

"I'm not," Dick forced out between clenched teeth. "Each Robin brings different talents to the table. Jason has street-smarts. Tim is analytical, like Bruce. Damian is...was...a skilled fighter, trained from birth..."

"And you can beat them all," Owlman said. "Batman was a fool to let you go, or should I say, to make you go. If he was worried about your safety, the clear solution would have been more training for you and Batman's paying more attention to your personal welfare on scene. Face it. He threw you out!"

"He did not," Dick felt old emotions coming to the surface. Dammit, he'd worked through all that years ago! "He knew that I was growing up and I needed to strike out on my own. I wasn't a kid anymore and I had started to question some of his tactics. I had to become my own man." Dick paused and turned his face away, knuckling some moisture out of his eyes. "And he did adopt me. Later."

Owlman snorted. "Dick, I value family much more than Bruce ever did. That's why I recruited you as my Talon. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I will never throw you out, never replace you with someone I like better who never argues with me. You have always been the best candidate for Robin or Talon or whatever you choose to call the role. For all the drama of the loss of Bruce's parents, I don't think he valued family nearly as much as you think he did. I do. I lost my family young and have been trying to rebuild it ever since. Pennyworth is my family. You are my family, whether you acknowledge it or not. And nothing," Owlman turned his head to meet Dick's gaze. "Nothing will ever change that."

The car drew to a stop in front of the Iceberg Lounge. "Here we are. Are you ready?"

Dick looked at the familiar building, knowing that they were walking into a trap. He grinned at the familiar excitement as the adrenalin began rushing through his system. "Yes."

Author's Note-And don't forget-Reviewing is good karma!

Don't make me have to beat up Nightwing again! I swear, I will!