A/N Thanks for your reviews and support.
Brandy Nelson: Thanks for your review my friend. It is sad but he's alive. Unconscious but alive. We will have tp wait and see what Bruce wants to do. The confrontation that everyone has been waiting has come.
white collar black wolf:Thanks for your review my friend.
Neal's POV
Neal after checking Ethan's pulse and finding it strong finished stitching the wound. It was better that the other was unconscious for this. He had to force himself to remain calm. Not to allow his anger to hurt his friend.
When he was finished he pulled his phone back out. Dialing a number he memorized he waited.
After four rings Mozzie's voice came through, "Neal?"
Neal breathed, "Mozzie. Listen I need you to return to New York. I need you to go to the island and get my safety deposit box. The one that I said only go for if it's an emergency."
Mozzie replied his betraying nothing, "I will. Neal what's happening? Suit didn't give me much information. Just our code to flee."
Neal replied, "Chronos is in town. An old enemy of mine is as well. One whom I hate more than Fowler."
"Neal... you can't go after them. What would the suit say? You almost killed Fowler when you thought he killed Kate."
His eyes were cold as he turned towards the balcony. He said, "I'm at June's, Mozzie. I'll be here when you get it."
Then he disconnected the call. This was not a conversation Bruce could hear. Bruce saw the world in black and white. Life wasn't that simple. It took him a long time to realize that it never had been.
Turning he saw Bruce standing there. His blue eyes were watching Neal with a considering look. The look made him want to step away.
Neal wasn't the child he was when he left Gotham. This was his choice and he would standby it. Even if his once adoptive father disagreed.
Bruce asked nodding to Ethan, "Who is that, Richard? Why did he call you, Heartnet? More importantly who is Creed?"
Neal growled sounding more like the Black Cat than the soft spoken conman, "This doesn't concern you. I am going to do some thing that I should have done years ago."
He was going to kill Creed. It was time to finish this. Creed killed Saya and for that he could never forgive the man.
Neal made to move pass Bruce but the man grabbed his arm. Instinct kicked in and he struck out. His elbow went for the other's throat. It was blocked by an open palm. The palm pushed his elbow away. This turned Neal's body but he didn't stumble and kept his feet.
Bruce took a defensive stance in front of him. Neither man made a move. Neal didn't want to hurt Bruce but he would not leave. He could not disappear until he ended Creed.
Then his eyes went to Ethan. This was neither the time or the place for this fight. While he was strong he could not move Ethan alone. The older man outweighed him by at least 70 pounds. He couldn't stay on the floor.
Neal moved to Ethan's side as he said, "Help me move him. There is little either of us can do right now. I'm not going anywhere until I get my box."
Before he could react a hand grabbed his shirt collar. Bruce nearly lifted him off the ground by his collar. Part of him had forgotten the strength the man had. It came from working as Batman for so long. Neal was so out of practice that it was unlikely he could lift half of what he used to. His fighting skills were kept up as much as he could. With the FBI watching his every move it wasn't easy however.
Bruce growled his face just inches from Neal's own, "I need to know what is going on, Richard. You are not the only one of my children in this city. You cannot keep this to yourself. Especially if whomever Creed is, is willing to kill."
Neal snarled, "You know nothing! I didn't invite you to come after me. It's not like any of you cared before."
Confusion entered the blue eyes. Bruce asked hurt, "You think I don't care what happens to you? Richard..."
Neal knocked the other's hands away from his collar. He snapped back at Bruce, "Of course you don't! Nobody cares! How long did it take you to notice I was gone? Weeks? Months? Or was it you that figured it out at all?"
The look of guilt and pain said it all. Bruce wasn't the one that notified. If he had to guess, it was either Oracle or Clark. Both checked on him regularly even when Bruce didn't.
Bruce started, "Richard..."
"You should go. I have a job to do and you will only get in the way."
He would do whatever was necessary to take out Creed. Bruce could not do what was necessary. His mind was reminded of the man who once said that to him. Ra's Al Ghul. One of two villains that he was not allowed near.
Ra's to Bruce was a villain without a heart. He would kill any who got in his way and more than once he had. As a child though Neal never had an issue with the man. Unless he was actively working against Ra's the man tended to leave him be.
Two things the other said to him forever stuck with Neal. A man cannot live by two names. Batman does not have the strength to do what is necessary. It wasn't until years later that Neal understood what he meant.
Neal could not live both as Neal Caffery and as Dick Grayson. Likewise he could not be both Dick Grayson and Train Heartnet. If he tried then he would rip apart his sanity. At least what was left of it.
Bruce took a step back but he didn't leave. Instead he said, "You think I would only get in the way. Really, Richard?"
Neal's cold grey eyes met Bruce's bright blue ones. He answered, "Unless you know the one you are facing, you would get in the way. You know nothing about, Creed Diskenth. If you think the Joker is insane then you don't know where insane. It was he..."
Neal couldn't finish the statement as his throat closed. His eyes prickled with tears. It hurt to even think about what happened.
Neal turned away and this time Bruce let him. There was a time to push and a time to back off. Bruce was smart enough to tell which was which. For now he would back off.
He wasn't exaggerating when he said Creed was just as insane as the Joker. Creed took to killing like a fish took to water. When others struggled with killing, Creed enjoyed it. Neal remembered how sick it made him at the time. For reasons unknown he took to Neal. He wanted to see how dangerous Neal could be. How cold the man could become.
Until he met Saya, he had become as cold as one could be. He killed without remorse. While he didn't take pleasure in it, he didn't feel anything either. Saya changed him back to the person he used to be. Kinder, easier to talk to.
Bruce asked despite knowing the answer, "What will you do to this man, when you find him?"
Neal didn't answer. His hands shook as he clenched them into fists. Part of him knew that Saya wouldn't want him to kill for revenge. That she would want him to live his life to the fullest.
Neal stated suddenly, "I am not the same boy who left Gotham, Bruce. If you are expecting me to be, then you should leave. You will only be disappointed by what I have become."
