Chpt. XI: Impossible
Dick slowed his bike to a stop next to Roy's. The two got off their bikes and began walking down an alleyway. Dick grunted to himself, growing tired. He glanced up at the sky. It had gone from daylight when they left the psychic shop. They had spent most of the night searching Chinatown for any apartment buildings that was under Cheyenne's name. Roy didn't feel like Cheyenne would've used her own name to rent a place, but Dick was out of options. Roy had also pointed out that Cheyenne might not have even been able to rent a house. She may just have easily began living under a freeway. Dick refused to believe that as well. He didn't want to believe Cheyenne had gone that low.
Dick surveyed the alley they had drove into. He walked a few steps behind Roy, noticing the fact that Roy walked as though he knew where he was going. "Why did you lead us here?" Dick asked.
Roy glanced back at Dick, but continued to walk ahead. "My older brother was a cop."
"Was?" Dick repeated.
Roy shot Dick a glance then cleared his throat. "Is," he corrected himself. "He patrolled in Metropolis, but sometimes they sent him here in Gotham." Roy spun on his heel to face Dick, but now walked backwards. "When I was younger, I loved hearing about the different stories he had about his nights out. There was one he told me, it happened here in Gotham. My brother was out investigating a petty theft. Some kids had stolen a few cigarette packs, some sticks of beef jerky, some energy drinks, & a ton of bags of chips. Completely harmless, but to the corner store owner, a thief is a thief. They had my brother track down what seemed like the trail of the kids."
Dick raised an eyebrow. "Was it their trail?" he asked, deeply interested with the story.
Roy bit his lip, struggling to find the right words. "I guess. All it turned out to be was four kids smoking pot in an alleyway. They matched the description given from the witness, they were taken to Juvie."
Dick nodded. "Okay, so what was the point of this?"
Roy smiled. He had backed up next to a metal door. "The kids were runaways living in a big storage unit. Really big, big enough for, like, over 20 kids. It was in an alley under a neon sign with a dragon for a logo."
Dick raised an eyebrow. He glanced back at the door, noticing the building it led into. It was tall, maybe two stories tall, if not more. Dick looked up at the top of the building across the one with the metal door. There was a bright red neon sign hanging above Dick. The sign, however, was a lion.
Dick looked back down at Roy, who then glanced back up, then down at his feet, embarrassed. "Guess I got that part wrong," Roy mumbled.
Dick let out a chuckle. "Okay," he started. "So you're telling me that there's a huge storage unit big enough for people to live in down this alley?" Dick asked, thumbing at the metal door.
Roy nodded. "Yeah, I feel like if any kid out on the run would hide anywhere, they would come here eventually."
Dick turned back to the door. His heart began to beat heavily. This was another chance to finally find her again. "You think Cheyenne is here?" Dick asked softly.
Roy gave Dick a small smile. "Yeah, man, I think so."
Dick looked down at himself. He had been wearing a black t-shirt with slim jeans that fit him a tiny bit snug & a pair of tennis shoes. All courtesy of Bruce Wayne's hand-me-downs left in Dick's closet. Dick sighed. He hadn't exactly planned to dress to impress.
Dick walked over to the metal door. He hesitated before opening the door. He thought of all the things that could happen the moment he knocked on the door. Maybe nothing. Maybe no one was inside. Maybe someone else was. Maybe Cheyenne wasn't in there, & Dick was wasting his time. Maybe she wasn't in there, but someone else was, & they wouldn't be friendly at all. Maybe they would shoot Dick as soon as they opened the door.
But maybe Cheyenne was in there. Maybe she would be the one to open the door. Maybe she would look at Dick & not recognize him. Maybe she wouldn't even remember knowing Dick. Maybe she would. But maybe she wouldn't want to remember him.
Dick took a deep breath. He calmed his nerves. He mumbled "Fuck it," then knocked on the metal door three times.
At first, nothing happened. Dick & Roy waited for a response. A few moments had passed & Roy nudged Dick. "Try again," he whispered.
Dick sighed. He knocked two more times. He was about to a third time, but then there was a loud metal clank from behind the door. Suddenly a metal slit opened up on the door. It was eye level to Dick. All Dick could see was a pair of dark shadowy eyes glaring back at him. "What?" said a girl's voice.
Dick looked up at Roy, who nudged Dick once more. Dick cleared his throat and looked back at the eyes. "Uh, this is going to sound ridiculous, but my name is Dick Grayson. I'm looking for a girl named Cheyenne, maybe you know her?"
The girl's eyes trailed down & back up at Dick. "And what makes you think I would know this girl?" The person's voice was very monotone & a little hoarse. She sounded like a teenager who liked to scream, yet, her voice was quiet.
Dick shook his head. "I don't know. She ran away from home a few years back. I figured she would be anywhere in Gotham. I had a friend tell me to check this general area for her. I know that some kids used to hide out in this building, so I thought I'd check here."
"Who told you to check here?"
Roy cleared his throat. "I'm that friend, Roy," he chimed in, speaking with a flirtatious tone.
The eyes glared at Roy, then back to Dick. "I might know a girl named Cheyenne," the girl's voice said. The slit was suddenly shut closed again.
Dick's heart skipped a beat. A feeling washed over him. It was overwhelming. Dick didn't know how to describe it. It was something he hadn't felt in a long time. Dick wanted to call it hope.
After a few moments, there was another metal clank behind the door. The door slowly slid open. Light flooded out from within. Dick was blinded for a brief moment. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the silhouette of a skinny girl in a gray baggy hoodie & tight jeans & boots. She wore the hood over her head, so it was difficult for Dick to see her face. She gestured for them to come inside.
Dick hesitated, but stepped forward. The inside of the building was huge. It was well over two stories, set as a warehouse with large catwalks along the roof & walls. There was stacks of crates in various sizes along the building, some a few feet tall & some as tall as 16 wheelers. There was a few couches laid around, a few futons & circular beds. There was a TV set up in front of a couch with several bean bag chairs & pillows & blankets laid out in front. Next to that area was also a fridge & a small dining table.
Dick looked at the hooded girl. "Wow, this is some setup."
The hooded girl turned to face Dick. He could finally see her face clearly. She was pale skinned with dark eyes & dark lipstick. She came off as an emo kid. Her dark was dark black. It almost looked like blue when the light struck the hair from under the hood. She was actually really pretty. "Thanks," she said, halfheartedly.
Suddenly there was another set of steps coming from across the warehouse. Dick turned to find the source of the sound. Near one of the tall towers of creates was a set of metal stairs that led to a catwalk above. A girl was stepping down from it.
Dick took a step closer to get a better look at the girl approaching. She was tan with bright red hair & bright green eyes. She wore what looked like a tight silk purple one piece swimsuit that revealed a lot of bust. Her legs were long & completely exposed, leaving her feet bare. It made Dick uncomfortable, but he couldn't help but notice. He thought of a goddess when he looked at her, they way she strutted in with pure confidence & sexuality. As she got closer, Dick looked away, feeling nervous. She was incredibly pretty. Was that Cheyenne?
"Oh look, we have guests!" the redhead said cheerfully. She spoke with proper annunciation, which caught Dick off guard.
The hooded girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah Kori, we do. So go & cover up," she said harshly.
Kori looked down at herself. "But I am," she said, looking back up with a confused stare.
The hooded girl groaned in annoyance. "Kori, put on your night robe, please!" she demanded.
Kori nodded & turned back around, going up the metal stairs. Dick found himself watching her leave from behind.
"Yeah, she's got a great ass," the hooded girl said. Dick turned to her, who was also watching Kori leave. "It's a good thing too, because she's stupid as shit."
Dick raised an eyebrow. "Is she?"
The hooded girl shrugged. "No, more like slow. She's, well, new in town."
Dick nodded in understanding. He wanted to ask what they were waiting for. He wanted to know if she knew Cheyenne. He thought Kori was her at first. But clearly not. She didn't look like her up close. Cheyenne's eyes weren't green.
Suddenly Dick heard some another set of footsteps approaching. Dick felt a little bit frustrated, knowing now that Cheyenne wasn't there. However, when he turned to see Kori, it wasn't her he saw, but another girl.
The girl walked a lot slower than Kori did. She had red hair, but it was more of an auburn color rather than the bright red Kori's was. She wore a baggy white t-shirt & some basketball shorts. She was barefoot as well. She was a bit shorter than Kori was, & not as alluring and sexy, but she was definitely intriguing. She was much paler, & she looked more normal. More...human.
Dick stared at her, not looking away. The girl stared at Dick back, completely entranced. Dick silently hoped this was her.
The girl approached Dick slowly, eventually coming to stand right in front of him. He was a few inches taller than her, so he looked down at her while she looked up at him. Her eyes were a mix between orange & brown, like caramel. Dick watched her eyes glass over, as if they were beginning to tear up. Her chest rose up & down with each heavy breath she took. Dick felt his heart pound heavily. Dick never felt so many things in his life all at once. Hope, fear, nervousness, relief, confusion, love, regret. Dick felt overwhelmed.
The girl's hand slid into Dick's slowly. Her fingers interlocked with his. Dick looked down at their hands, then back into her eyes.
The girl smiled. "Dick," she gasped.
Dick sat on a couch & watched as Cheyenne bent down in front of the fridge. He was tapping his foot rapidly. He looked back at Roy, who was sitting on another couch across the warehouse. Roy sat there awkwardly next to the hooded girl, who had neglected to mention her name still.
"Here," Cheyenne said, handing Dick a beer.
Dick turned back from Roy & looked at the beer bottle, then up at Cheyenne. He scoffed. "Beer?"
Cheyenne slapped her forehead with her hand. "Duh, I should've offered soda." She smiled at Dick. "I am SO sorry, I'm such a bitch."
Dick laughed. "No, no, it's fine," he said. He reached for the bottle. As he wrapped his fingers around the neck of the bottle, they touched Cheyenne's. He felt a small tingle in his chest.
Cheyenne smiled at Dick & let go of his bottle. She sat down on a bean bag chair across the couch. Cheyenne took a sip from the beer.
Dick shook his head. "It's weird seeing you drink beer."
Cheyenne looked up at Dick, bottle in her mouth. She removed the bottle & wiped her mouth. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
Dick waved her off. "No, it's not a problem, it's just…" Dick's voice trailed off.
"It's what?" Cheyenne asked.
Dick sighed. "I still see you as the little girl I grew up with."
Cheyenne looked up at Dick, then looked down at her feet, smiling to herself. "Oh," she said softly. She giggled to herself. "I get that. I still see the little boy I grew up with." Cheyenne slid her foot across the floor & touched Dick's foot with hers. "But we're not little anymore," she said softly.
Dick smiled, feeling his face grow warm. "No, we're not."
Cheyenne set her beer bottle on the floor and moved closer towards Dick. She took the beer bottle from his hands and placed it on the floor as well. Cheyenne moved up towards Dick, pressing close between his thighs. She wrapped her hands around Dick's neck, then rose up, swinging her legs around Dick's hips
Dick's heart began to beat faster than ever before. He slid his hands down Cheyenne's waist, gripping her tightly. He wanted to kiss her so badly. He hadn't been with a girl in forever. In fact, after the orphanage, there was no other girl in Dick's life. It had always been Cheyenne. And it still was.
Cheyenne brought her close face to Dick's, as though she were about to kiss him. "Oh, Dick," she breathed. Dick felt his eyes close, taking in the moment, then Cheyenne laughed.
Dick's eyes shot open in confusion. Had he done something wrong? Oh, shit, she could feel my wood, Dick thought to himself. Cheyenne calmed herself and pushed herself a small distance away from Dick. "I'm sorry," Cheyenne apologized. "Do you still go by Dick? I mean, like, I grew up calling you that, but I remembered how your name is Richard, so I didn't know if you changed it or something. It'd be embarrassing to try to be sexy & call you by another name, you know?"
Dick let out a chuckle. Cheyenne's logic was always so amusing. "Uh, I go by both," Dick answered. "To some adults, I go by Richard. To others, I go by Dick."
Cheyenne smiled. She ran her hand through Dick's hair. "Richard makes you sound a lot more older. More mature, more grown up. Apart from the actual word, Dick has a bit of innocence to it."
Dick brought his hand up to Cheyenne's & brought the hand down to his lips. He kissed her hand and closed his eyes. He nodded, letting her words sink in. He thought about Dick sounding more innocent. He was far from innocent, though.
Cheyenne removed her hand from Dick's hair & swung her arm over the backrest of the couch. She nodded to the side. "So, who's the Abercrombie model?"
Dick raised an eyebrow at her. "Who?" Dick was slightly embarrassed to ask what Abercrombie was.
Cheyenne laughed. "The guy you brought."
"Oh, Roy!" Dick exclaimed, turning back at Roy. Roy glanced back and nodded, then turned back to the hooded girl. "He's a friend of mine. He helped me find this place."
Cheyenne nodded, shifting her position to face Dick directly. "Okay, that's another thing. I need you to tell me how you found us, because I would've thought this was virtually impossible to discover."
Dick bit his lip. He was afraid to answer that, to risk sounding like a stalker. "Promise you won't freak out?" Dick asked. Cheyenne nodded in agreement. Dick took a deep breath. "I found your adoption records online. I had to break a few firewalls, but managed to find digital copies of them. That led me to your adoptive parents, the Fosters. They were, like, no help. But Roy suggested I try going to a psychic. She helped me narrow you down in this general area, & Roy happened to know about this storage unit that kids used to live in. So...here we are."
Cheyenne watched Dick's face for a moment. She was staring hard, as though she were trying to piece something together. "You…" Cheynne trailed off. "You did a whole lot, Dick," she said softly.
Dick shrugged. "I guess."
"Why go through all this trouble to see me?"
Dick thought to himself. He wasn't entirely sure why he was so dedicated to finding her. Half of it may have been that he just missed her. He thought to when he escaped Old Gotham. He wanted somewhere to go, somewhere safe. He thought of being with Cheyenne. He wanted a familiar face.
"Cheyenne," Dick started, "after all that's happened to me, you're the only one I truly love. Everyone else I've loved is either dead or gone. I just wanted to know I still had you."
Cheyenne smiled. She wrapped her arms around Dick & hugged him tight. He could feel his heart pounding hard against his chest. "I love you," she whispered into Dick's ear. Her breath tickled his skin a bit.
"I love you," he whispered back into her ear. He squeezed her a little tighter, wanting to not stop holding her.
Cheyenne eventually pulled away and laid her head on Dick's lap. She looked up at Dick. "So," she started. "You, um...you met them?"
Dick raised an eyebrow. "The Fosters? Yeah, unfortunately."
Cheyenne nodded slowly. "What did they say about me?" she asked softly.
Dick recalled the horrible things they said to him when he went to their house. "She is NOT my daughter," they said. "She is a monster. Pure evil!" Dick looked down at Cheyenne's brightly colored eyes. He didn't see her as any of that. "Nothing true," he told her.
Cheyenne smiled weakly up at Dick. She ran her hand through his hair some more. "It probably was," she said softly.
Dick shook his head. "No, those people are ungrateful & heartless old shits who don't deserve to have someone so amazing as you in their lives."
Cheyenne stayed quiet. Dick immediately wished he hadn't said what he had said. Maybe it was a little harsh. These people still raised her for some of her life. They were still her parents.
Dick noticed Cheyenne wipe her eyes with her hands. She was beginning to cry. "They didn't love me," she said finally, choking back tears. "They adopted me, yet, they knew damn well I wasn't their daughter. They treated me like a stranger. I don't know why. Maybe it was because I was a bit older than what they wanted to adopt. Maybe it was because I was shy with them. I was always lonely. They should've made me feel loved & welcomed, though. I felt like an outcast with them."
Dick held Cheyenne closer to him, pressing her body against his chest tight. Cheyenne's tears rolled down her face, making Dick's shirt feel a little soaked. Cheyenne's heavy breathing rose & fell against Dick's own breathing chest.
Cheyenne looked up at Dick. "They told you about the night I ran away, right?"
Dick looked down at Cheyenne. She was opening up about the incident the Fosters & Gordon had mentioned. He heard two sides to the story. Now he was about to hear Cheyenne's side to it.
"Yeah," Dick nodded. "The Fosters & the police told me."
"Wait, the police?" Cheyenne asked.
Dick waved it off. "Yeah, but that was a misunderstanding that led to a whole other thing, disregard that."
Cheyenne nodded. "Right. I guess they called the police that night."
Dick looked down at Cheyenne. "The police told me that the Foster's were mentally ill a bit."
Cheyenne nodded. "They were," she said. "But they aren't liars. That's the one admirable thing about them. They told me they grew tired of me, & they weren't lying."
Dick watched Cheyenne carefully. Her bottom lip trembled as she spoke. "Cheyenne," Dick started softly, "the Fosters...what THEIR side of the story was…" Dick's voice trailed off.
Cheyenne looked up at Dick. "They're not liars," she repeated softly.
Dick slowly shook his head. There's no way any of that was possible. Making things float, causing those neighborhood tremors. None of that made sense. It wasn't possible.
Cheyenne shut her eyes. tight. Tears rolled down her face. Cheyenne turned her head down, away from Dick. Dick pulled Cheyenne back close to him, letting her head rest under his chin & neck. Cheyenne continued to stare down.
Dick closed his eyes. Cheyenne was troubled. She had an abusive childhood, her parents not showing her any remote sense of compassion towards her. It wasn't her own fault. Dick wanted to do all he could now to make up for that. The love she should've been given...he was willing to give her.
Suddenly Dick felt something shift in front of him. Dick opened his eyes and glanced up. In front of him were the two beer bottles Cheyenne had set on the ground. They were floating.
Dick stared in pure awe. He blinked a few times, thinking it was a trick of the eye. They were still there in mid air. Dick wondered if he had fallen asleep at all throughout the day & was probably dreaming. Maybe Dick never woke up that morning. Maybe Roy never showed up to Wayne Manor. Maybe none of this was happening. It was all a dream.
Dick shook his head. No, this was real. It felt too vivid to not be real. Him holding Cheyenne...it was real.
Dick squeezed Cheyenne's arm. Cheyenne didn't look up. Cheyenne slowly lifted her arm, making one of the floating beer bottles slowly float over to her hand. She gripped it, then handed it to Dick. Her eyes never left the other beer bottle.
Dick stared down at Cheyenne, but took the beer bottle. He set it back down on the floor.
Cheyenne continued to stare at the remaining floating beer bottle. Suddenly, she shut her eyes and shook her head. The bottle fell to the ground, shattering. Dick squeezed Cheyenne tight when the bottle shattered. He glanced back at Roy & the hooded girl, who both glanced at at Dick. Dick threw a hand up. "It's alright," he shouted.
Dick touched Cheyenne's chin softly & turned her face to him. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm a monster. A fucking monster."
Dick held Cheyenne's head & brought it close to him. "No," he said. "You're not. You're not a monster. You have a gift."
Cheyenne looked up at him. "No, it's not. It's a curse, it's a burden, whatever. I almost destroyed my neighborhood when I was 13 years old. I almost killed my mother! Did she tell you about the knife that flew out at her? I'm a monster, Dick. I can't be out there. Not like this."
Dick stayed silent. He let her words soak in, attempting to consider the right thing to say. "Your parents...they were ignorant. They didn't see you for the amazing girl that you are. They shamed you, disowned you, because they didn't understand you. They were afraid of you."
Cheyenne looked up at Dick. "Would you be afraid?"
Dick shook his head, smiling. "I'm still here."
Relief washed over Cheyenne's face. "Why are you still here?" she asked.
Dick looked away. He recalled all that had happened in the past four days. From escaping Old Gotham to learning about Nolan Drake's potential threat to the city, Dick felt more & more obligated to find Cheyenne. He wanted to see her before anything else happened.
Dick took a deep breath. "Stuff happened after you left the orphanage," he started. "Some bad stuff. Really bad stuff. Things no 14 year old should do. I had to run away. I left Mother Louise & the orphanage. I was on the streets. After a year of that, I found myself traveling down some abandoned subway. There was a kid there. He looked maybe 5. He came over to me & said hi. He asked me what my name was. I told him. He just kinda walked away. I followed him, & he was hiding behind an old vending machine. Then some other kid around my age came shouting his name. Turns out it was his big brother. They were playing hide & seek. The big brother told me to run away. I was stupid. I kept asking why.
"Suddenly, two other guys our age, maybe older, came with guns. They pointed them at us & forced us to go with them. So me, this dude & his little brother are walking, & I find myself in this underground city or something. Boys of all ages are everywhere. The Old Gotham subways were made into a little society, like Lord of the Flies or something. More like Children of the Corn, though."
"Children of the Corn?" Cheyenne asked suddenly.
Dick sighed. "When the three of us walked into the boundary of little city, the guys with the guns started saying that the brothers had gone past their time limit. The older one said that they were being too hard on them, & they needed to cut the younger brother some slack." Dick swallowed. He tried hard to not tear up. "The boys with guns shot the two brothers," he choked. "Right in front of me, man."
Cheyenne slowly reached for Dick's hand and squeezed it tight. Dick continued. "I was stuck down there for a little over a year," he said. "I found out later that the little brother was autistic. He had gotten lost while playing hide & seek, so the older brother had to find him, but once he did the little brother wanted to play again, thinking he had lost the game. He didn't realize he had ACTUALLY got lost. So they played a second time. They were given 15 minutes to play. They took maybe 20."
Cheyenne stayed silent. Dick watched her reaction to every bit of detail he gave her. "Who was in charge of how long they could play?"
Dick scoffed. "Nolan Drake," he answered. "Some obnoxious asshole who thought he was king of the fucking world or something. Somehow, before I got there, he managed to climb his way to the top of the food chain. He was in control. He supplied guns for his teenage mercenaries, & if you were lucky, you found food too. People said he worked with crime lords for weapons trafficking."
"How did you get out of there?" Cheyenne asked.
Dick shook his head. "I'm still not sure. Months of planning, a year's worth of ass beating and beating asses. Pure luck. But I don't think I'm completely out of it."
"What makes you say that?"
Dick ran a hand through his hair. "This whole shit is catching up to me. One of Nolan Drake's guys tipped me & the police off, saying Drake was planning something. 'A citywide takeover,' I was told. Nolan Drake is planning an attack on Gotham. I don't know what to do."
Cheyenne touched Dick's cheek. "Dick, why would you have to do anything?"
Dick shook his head. "I don't know. I feel like he's my responsibility. Like a madman I let loose. I don't know how to stop him though."
"Then don't, Dick. Let the police handle this."
Dick let out a nervous chuckle. "I considered that, Cheyenne. I did. I thought, 'Maybe I don't have to do a damn thing.' Because, I mean, I left Old Gotham. I escaped that hell. I earned my life back. I should be able to go anywhere, do whatever at this point. I've got a lot of cash saved up from cage fights down there. I could easily run away."
Cheyenne looked at Dick with sorry eyes. "Dick," she said softly.
"And I want you to come with me."
Cheyenne's eyes opened wide. "What?"
"Come with me, Cheyenne! We could leave Gotham, start over. Away from the people after me, away from the danger here. Somewhere where nobody knows our names."
"Dick, I'm not leaving my friends."
Dick stood up from the couch & gestured behind him. "Fine, we'll take them with us, Cheyenne. That redhead Kori girl & the punk girl, I still never got her name, but I'll take them with us."
"And you're still not getting my name," the hooded girl called out.
Kori's head popped up from over the railing up on the catwalk. "Where are we going?" she called curiously.
Roy stood up from where he sat. "Wait, what's happening?"
Dick took Cheyenne's hand & led her over to the center of the warehouse, where the other three followed. "We can leave town tonight. I know a guy in Metropolis, a good guy. Kent, he's a reporter for the Daily Planet. He's got a nice apartment, a nice wife, or girlfriend, I dunno, but if I talked to him-"
Cheyenne gripped Dick's arm tightly. "Dick, listen to yourself. We're not crashing with a stranger."
"I'm already crashing with a stranger," he grunted.
Roy stepped forward. "Dick, whatever it is that is making you wanna run, you don't have to deal with this alone. You've got me, man."
"I just met you, Roy."
The hooded girl scoffed. "Yeah, I just met the two of you & I don't feel the need to give a rat's ass about either of you."
"I will help in whatever way I can," Kori said softly.
Roy continued. "What I'm saying is you're not alone. You don't need to run away. You can confront this, because we have your back."
Dick shook his head. "We're in danger if we stay in town. I don't want to be the reason any of you wake up one day to hear a knock on your door & have a gun pointed in front of you."
Just as Dick said that, there was three loud knocks at the door of the warehouse.
"Oh, that's messed up," Roy groaned. "So fucking messed up."
"Are we expecting somebody?" Kori asked. Nobody answered.
The group stared at the door. "I'm not opening it," the hooded girl mumbled. "I opened it for you guys."
Cheyenne nodded to Roy. "Abercrombie, you open it."
"Why the hell should I?"
"You're bigger," Cheyenne spat back.
Roy shook his head & thumbed to Dick next to him. "Nah, this guy has a better chance of kicking his ass than me."
Dick shook his head. "Wow," he mumbled.
The three girls & Roy all turned and stared at Dick. Dick turned to each of them and sighed. Dick walked over to the door, sealing in his fate.
Dick approached the metal door slowly. Dick thought of the different ways he could take down the threat that may be outside the door. If it was a man with a gun, Dick could perform a quick maneuver to the side, press his arm against the man's elbow, breaking it. He could then take the gun.
Dick looked up at the door. He saw the slit where the hooded girl peeked out to see Dick & Roy. Dick reached for the slit, but then there was three more steady knocks at the door. Dick hesitated, but slid the slit open. Dick peered out to see a tall man wearing a tan trench coat. He wore a white button up, a loose t-shirt & dark slacks. His hair was dirty blonde & messy. He had a scruffy beard that showed he clearly didn't take too much time to look his best. His eyes were red, as though he had no sleep.
"Oi, open the bloody door, mate," said the man in a deep british accent.
Dick's eyes opened wide in surprise. He was expecting somebody a bit more...threatening. More intimidating. This man seemed harmless. Just a bit crazy.
Dick turned to the group. "Anybody order a british bloke?" he joked. He turned to the slit in the door. "Who's asking?" he said.
The british man rolled his eyes. "I was called to this address in regards to a threat in the area."
Dick looked down with a raised eyebrow. " A threat?" he asked himself.
Suddenly, the locks on the door shifted & the door swung opened. The man stepped inside, looking around the storage unit. "Cozy."
"Why'd you let him in?" Cheyenne called.
Dick looked back with frightened eyes. "I didn't."
The man looked at the four kids standing in the center of the warehouse. "Oh, this will be interesting," he said to himself.
Dick slowly walked around the man, who was taking his time approaching the group. Dick walked over to Cheyenne & grasped her hand, walking her back to the couch next to the fridge where they sat before. Kori backed away near the stairs that led up to the catwalk. Roy & the hooded girl walked over to the other set of couches to the right.
The man smiled and placed his hands behind his back. "Alright, kids. My name is John Constantine. I'm here to initiate the nightly security check."
The kids looked at each other confusedly. None of them knew what was going on. Dick's mind, however, rang as he struggled to remember who this man was.
Suddenly, Dick remembered the card Zatanna gave Dick. She had told him to call the number on the card once he had found Chinatown. Dick searched his pockets for the card. Once found, he pulled it out and began to read the card. "Um, Detective?" he called.
Constantine looked at Dick with a raised eyebrow. "Are you talking to me?" he asked.
Dick held the card up. "Well, that's what your card says."
Constantine walked over to Dick & snatched the card from his hand & read it closely. He groaned. "Damn, I forgot I made new ones." He smiled "I had on here 'Master of the Dark Arts' last time."
Dick shook his head. "Detective, I didn't call you hear. None of us did."
Constantine rolled his eyes. "Well, then who the bloody hell did?"
Cheyenne turned to Dick & placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah, Dick," she added. "Who the bloody hell did?"
Dick bit his lip. He clenched his fists, suddenly regretting going to Giovanni's. "A psychic named Zatanna."
"Oh, that bitch called this guy here?" Roy called. "I fucking knew she was a mess to begin with. The old dude would've been better."
"That witch knows where we live now?" the hooded girl growled.
Constantine let out a laugh. "Zatanna Zatarra, what a crazy piece of work, that one. I can't believe I'm taking a case from her." He began cracking his fingers and wrists. "Nonetheless, payment is payment. I've got to find weed out the humans among you from the non-humans."
"Do metahumans count?" Cheyenne mumbled to herself. Dick looked over at Cheyenne curiously, who was avoiding eye contact.
Constantine brought his thumb up to his mouth and licked it. He held his thumb up in the air, as though he was feeling the wind. Suddenly he began walking over to Dick, thumb still up in the air.
Dick watched as Constantine approached him. Dick slowly backed away. "Dude," he said softly. He held his hands up defensively. "You just licked your thumb, man, don't touch me."
Constantine got close enough to Dick that he now knew why his eyes were so red. He reeked of alcohol. He wasn't sleepy. He was drunk.
This didn't stop Constantine from placing his saliva-covered thumb onto Dick's forehead. Dick groaned as he felt a suddenly pulsing feeling in his head, as though something were surging into his mind.
Constantine shook his head & removed the thumb. "Nothing of interest here, Circus Boy."
Dick stared at Constantine in confusion "How the hell did you do that?" he asked.
Constantine ignored Dick & walked over to Cheyenne. Cheyenne stiffened, but accepted the thumb to her head. Dick watched as Cheyenne slowly closed her eyes, as if she were in a trance. Constantine didn't leave his thumb on her any longer than he did on Dick. He removed his thumb and smiled. "Well, you're extraordinary," he said. "Whatever you are, I'd be careful, though. There's a place where people like you go & don't come back alive."
Cheyenne shook her head. "Fuck you," she grunted.
Constantine turned away. "And fuck you too," he responded harshly. He began to make his way towards Kori, who stood there, unaware of the situation.
"What is this that you are doing that is evoking such fear amongst my friends?" Kori asked in what she thought was her demanding tone.
Constantine smiled. "Shush, gorgeous. Let daddy do his work."
He pressed his thumb against Kori's head, who stood there, staring up at the thumb on her forehead. Constantine hadn't held his thumb up for more than a few seconds when he removed it fast, as though his thumb had been burnt. "Bloody hell," he gasped. "I don't know what you are, & I don't even know if there is a place for you!"
Kori stared back at Constantine confusedly. "You seeped into my subconscious," she said questioningly.
Constantine sighed, walking away from Kori. "Yes, sweetie, it's called Soul Searching. I peer into the strongest memories within someone's mind. The feelings evoked by the memories allow me to see the soul within you."
Dick shook his head as Constantine explained this. It sounded ridiculous, just like the things Zatanna spoke of.
Constantine walked over to Roy & the hooded girl. "Alright, who's next?"
Roy stepped back. "Nope, hell no, you're not doing shit to my soul."
The hooded girl looked back at Roy. "Aren't you bold," she mumbled in a monotone voice.
She turned back to Constantine, who made an approaching gesture with his hand. "Ladies first," he said softly.
The girl clenched her fists & chin. She took a deep breath the approached Constantine.
Constantine brought his finger up to her forehead & pressed his thumb against it, just as he did to Dick & the others. Constantine's back was turned to Dick, so he couldn't see his face as he soul searched the girl. He could only see the way his body shifted & twitched as he had his thumb on her.
After a few long moments, he removed his hand, wiping it on his coat. "Sweety," he started, "What's your name?"
The girl looked up at him. She hesitated before speaking. "Rachel Roth," she answered coldly.
John Constantine shook his head. "That's not your name," he responded. She kept quiet for a few more seconds. Constantine grew impatient. He slapped her across her face. "Tell me your real name, you stupid little bitch!"
"Raven!" she cried angrily. The lights began to flicker, as though there was a power outage. Dick looked up at the lights, then back at the girl. Her eyes began to darken.
Constantine looked up at the lights with a grin on his face. "Here we go," he said to himself. He opened his coat and removed a small glass bottle. He unscrewed the top of the bottle and began to pour a clear liquid onto his palms. He began to massage the liquid between his palms, washing his hands with it.
"Don't you ever feel gross?" he asked. "Like you need to rid yourself of germs? Maybe a few parasites in your life? The world is not only dark, cruel, & scary. It's also bloody disgusting."
Dick cleared his throat. "You licked your thumb & touched my forehead with it, I feel pretty disgusting myself. You mind passing that sanitizer over?"
Constantine looked over at Dic, screwing the cap onto the small bottle. He shoved it back into his coat pocket, grinning. "This isn't sanitizer, mate."
Constantine turned to Rachel slowly. He dropped his hands to his sides, & as he did so, his palms ignited, as though they had been lit on fire.
Rachel screamed as she threw her hands towards Constantine. As she did, what looked like purple beams of light shot out, hitting Constantine. He flew back & hit the back of the couch next to Dick & Cheyenne. Dick tossed himself at Cheyenne, bringing her to the ground, dodging the residue of the purple beam. As Constantine hit the couch, Dick could feel heat passing above him from the purple beam. The energy pulse could have killed him. It might have killed Constantine.
Cheyenne shoved Dick off of her & got on her knees, watching from behind the couch. Constantine suddenly stood up, hands still ablaze. He waved his hands towards Rachel, tossing a ball of flames at her. Rachel dodged it, jumping to the side. Roy fell to the ground as the ball almost hit him.
"Dick, get out of here!" he heard Cheyenne cry. He sat up from the ground. "Take Abercrombie & get the hell out of here!"
Just as she said this, a green beam of light was shot down from above, hitting Constantine. He was brought down to his knees. He was screaming in agony. Dick looked up where the green light had come from. Kori was there, floating in midair, with green light emitting from her fists.
Dick looked across the unit. "Roy!" he called.
Just as he called his name, Roy had began to run to the door. Dick screamed his name over the sounds from the fight, but Roy wasn't listening. He had already opened the metal door & ran out.
Dick turned to Cheyenne. "Fuck," he grunted. "What can I do?"
Cheyenne turned to Dick with angry eyes. "We've got this, Dick! Get out of here before he hurts you!"
Dick clenched his fists. He didn't want to leave Cheyenne. He couldn't leave without doing what he could to protect her.
Dick looked up, seeing Constantine rising from the ground. He stood up fully, hands still lit on fire. He shot one ball of fire at Rachel, then another up at Kori. Rachel managed to deflect the ball with her energy pulsing fists, but Kori was hit. She fell to the ground.
Cheyenne swung her hands, & as she did, large wooden crates flew across the air, smashing against Constantine on impact. Constantine was still standing, & shot another ball of fire towards Cheyenne.
Dick jumped at Cheyenne, attempting to protect her from the attack. Suddenly, before he even made physical contact with her body, Dick was pushed back. He flew across the air, smashing through the wall of the unit.
When Dick hit the ground, the first thing he thought was how badly his back hurt. He felt like it had been broken. Dick struggled to stand up, but managed to do so. He looked around himself. He was thrown outside to the alley. Dick turned and saw Roy already sitting on his bike, revving the engine up. Dick rushed to his bike & turned the key in the ignition. The two began to drive down the alley.
Before they made it all the way down the alley, Dick heard another smash. Dick looked behind him and saw Constantine thrown out through the wall as well. His hands were on fire still. He turned and looked up at the neon lion that hung above the alleyway. Constantine threw his hands upward, shooting not fire, but red energy towards the lion. The lion began to pulse with the red energy. It began to shake, slowly at first, then uncontrollably. The lion broke off from the building & flew down into the storage unit.
Dick gasped and quickly turned his head, his mind racing with thoughts. He almost forgot to turn as they drove out of the alley and onto the street.
Dick sped up, following Roy as they raced down the dimly lit street. Images of the lion & the fireballs & the energy beams shot through Dick's mind. Dick's mind trailed off onto Cheyenne, screaming at Dick. He cringed as he remembered her face, all twisted with hate & anger. Dick didn't notice his bike slowly drift to the right.
Dick's bike crashed into a street lamp, sending Dick flying down the street. The first thing to hit the ground was his shoulder. He felt a crack as he made impact. His body began to roll across, his face, arms & legs scraping against the concrete. Eventually, Dick's body came to a stop right under another street lamp.
The light shining down on Dick made his eyes hurt & head throb. He cursed silently to himself. He heard another engine rev up close to Dick. The footsteps approached. Then Roy's face appeared over him, blocking the light.
"Dude, are you okay?" he cried.
Dick let out a groan. He didn't want to answer.
Roy shook his head and searched up & down his body. "Is anything broken?" he asked.
Dick closed his eyes, letting the pain all over his body flood his mind. His shoulder had cracked, Dick could feel that. He wasn't sure he could move it. Dick's back didn't hurt as much as it did at first in the alley. Dick's leg began to throb. It was the same one he hurt in Old Gotham.
"Sit me up," Dick coughed.
Roy wrapped his arms around Dick's chest & moved him closer to the street lamp. He set Dick against the pole. Dick let out another groan & flinched as his shoulder touched the pole.
Roy sat next to him, breathing heavily. "Holy fucking shit," he said to himself. "Holy fucking shit."
Dick sat there, breathing slowly and quietly. He felt his leg pulse. He counted each time it throbbed to himself.
Roy ran a hand through his hair. "Jesus Christ, man. What the hell was that back there?"
Dick kept quiet. He fought the urge. He fought it so hard. Harder than he ever fought a man. Harder than he fought his opponents in the cages. Harder than the physical pain he was feeling right now. But the urge was too strong.
Dick brought his hands to his face and began sobbing heavily. He cried into his hands, his groans muffled by his palms. He heaved with each breath & sob, feeling his shoulder ache.
"Oh, wait," Roy said softly. "What?" he asked confusedly. "What's happening?"
Dick removed his hands from his face. "We shouldn't have left them there," Dick said softly, through his heavy heaves. "Cheyenne, she's my friend. We promised each other we'd always be there for each other. Then she moved & I grew crazy. I killed men, & killed more men, & now I'm back topside, & all hell is breaking loose, & all I can think of is saving Cheyenne. I should've taken her away from Gotham, away from everybody willing to hurt her. But I wasn't fast enough. If we found her sooner, man. Maybe if I hadn't passed out in Giovanni's. Hell, maybe she would've agreed & we'd be halfway to the highway."
Dick shook his head. "There's no way she would've, though. She wouldn't want to. Not the way she is. She's...she's fucking superpowered, man. Those other girls too. John Constantine was a fucking superpowered asshole. But that doesn't make sense. How do these people have powers? Is that even a thing? Cheyenne mentioned 'metahumans' at one point. Constantine was looking for what Zatanna said was a 'demon.' He attacked Rachel. Was she a demon? There's no way. That's impossible, man. This was all impossible."
Dick looked back at the direction they came from, back to where the storage unit was. "I don't want to call them monsters, Roy, but...I don't know what to make of that." Tears began rolling down Dick's eyes. "Especially Cheyenne. I love her so much, it hurts for me to even be afraid of her. The way she screamed at me, man. I'm pretty sure it was her that pushed me out of there. Threw me through the fucking wall. The girl I used to play outside with. The girl I used to call birds with. The girl I saw my first horror movie with. The girl who I used to hold whenever she was afraid. She threw me through a fucking wall. It's not her who needs to be held anymore."
Dick could see smoke rising up from down a few blocks down. Police sirens began to whine. Another tear rolled down Dick's cheek.
Roy helped Dick up & walked him over to his bike. He sat him onto the seat and slid in front of Dick. "Hold onto me," Roy said. He turned the ignition on the bike and drove.