A/N: Hey guys! As promised I got this chapter ready for the holidays! So Merry X-Mas! Lol I hope the chapter was worth the wait. You guys finally get to see what happens with the grave robing! It only took like nearly a year lol. Anyway Let me know how I did as I'm still Betaless which is partly why I was able to get this edited so fast. Also there are some breadcrumbs in the chapter so if you have any theories, feel free to share! I'd also like to thank everyone for their feed back, I'm glad the chapter last chapter gave you something to think about and feel fre to PM me with theories or questions you guys have. I've recently spoken with a few of you and it is always a pleasure. Anyway enjoy the madness and have a great holiday!with Love -Ophelia
Yorick
"For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come?" —Hamlet
She looked back at him a moment, taking pause at the final conclusion. She always knew that Bruce and Dick had a falling out, but she was unaware just how deep it ran.
"You've never told anyone that before?" Raven asked, thinking back on the tale.
Dick shook his head. "Not anyone, not even Kory."
Raven glanced down at the mention of her name, recalling that she was supposed to speak with the young alien at some point.
"I'm really sorry."
"For what?" Dick asked, peering over at her through hovering shadows.
Raven shrugged. "That that happened to you, that you had to go through that—that you felt the need to give up everything to get away." There was something about her voice that sounded like glass breaking, like she somehow understood his turmoil, as though she knew the burden he still carried now.
Raven reached out and enveloped his hand in hers. Deep down, she knew of the incident, she'd seen it before—felt it even, but it was only a passing glance. A fleeting moment. But to hear him re-live that hardship was something entirely different. It was something she could relate to, something she could empathize with, and moreover—it was something that could move her.
Dick could see the empathy expressed in her eyes, even through the cloak of shadows. It was funny how much he'd almost forgotten it all, how much he thought he'd moved passed it. Yet he hadn't, not at all. He was still cast in the shadow of the Batman. That little boy still standing alone on the trapeze deck, doing his best to put on a good show, but still living a lie. However, before Dick could reply, he heard a familiar, unwelcome voice.
"Hey love Birds, where the fuck are'y!" X called, his voice carrying up the stairwell.
Raven rolled her eyes with an annoyance that was becoming quite specific for her soft features. Her head tilted away from Dick and her posture followed with it. This, in itself, was nothing new. She was always very animated in her own subtle way. However, there was something about the young thief she endured a little differently than she had Garfield or some of the young protégés they'd encountered. Because even though she may have acted like she loathed Red X, she still held something of a profound respect for him, and it was something Dick couldn't help but notice.
The thief appeared from around the bend and paused a few feet in front of them. "Don't look so happy to see me, Sunshine," he patronized.
Raven raised an eyebrow and let a contemptible smirk play on her face. "Oh I'm just beaming with joy from your presents, shithead."
He chuckled, then looked over at Dick and noticed the muted look on his face, bringing his laughter to a halt. "So I take it you didn't clear the building?"
Raven rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we opted for a coffee break."
"Well after that little performance, I don't really blame you, Chuckles," X mused. "History's a real bitch."
"A cunt is more like it," Raven corrected, both men looking back at her a little shocked, though Dick had heard her use that word more frequently than one might expect.
"Can't say I disagree," Dick finally said, lifting his silence.
"Me either," X shrugged, "but we should probably clear the building before Rose and JT get back. The quicker we get through tonight, the better."
Raven took a breath and pulled herself up, Dick still seated on the stairs. X looked down at him again then peered over to address the empath.
"Hey Sunshine, why don't you go on ahead and give me and Chuckles a minute to talk?"
Raven quickly took on a defensive stance, unwilling to leave Dick's side.
"It's okay, Rae," Dick mumbled carelessly, "I'm sure whatever X has to say, I can handle it."
She glanced down at him again and he smiled at her meagerly, trying to convince her it would be alright. Even if he wasn't sure it would be. She let her eyes wander over to X, their deep color vivid with warning that was even visible through the darkness.
"I'll go start securing the building, you two try and behave."
"We will, Mom," X teased.
Raven rolled her eyes again and began to move up the stairs, the flashlight her only company. X watched her go, which, ironically, was his favorite thing to watch a woman do. Once she was no longer in sight, X sat down beside Dick, who he didn't realize had been glaring at him with a little disgust.
"What?"
"Nothing," Dick muttered annoyed.
X placed his elbows over his knees, letting his wrists hang limp. "Listen, I know you working with Jason isn't exactly easy, especially when it's opening old wounds, but you gotta get right with all that." X paused a moment and peered forward. "You gotta think of the big picture, man. You didn't come here to give up, you came here to put an end to something bigger than all of us."
Dick remained quiet for a moment, glancing up at the ceiling, as though trying to see the answers above.
"I know all that," he finally sighed, "but maybe coming back here wasn't a good idea..."
"I get that," X nodded, "having to face shit you spent a lifetime trying to bury... I know what that's like, trying to bury your past so deep, hoping you never have to face it again, but no matter how far you try to outrun it, it always catches up to you."
"So what are you running from?" The hero said blankly, staring through the wall.
X smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Same as you: my family."
Before Dick could inquire further, they heard a scream resonate from a higher floor.
"Raven—" Dick gasped with wide eyes, and the two men raced up the stairs. There was a second scream and the two picked up speed. When they reached the floor the shrieks were coming from, they burst through the door and heard Raven cry:
"You bitch!"
There was a girlish giggle, and that's when they noticed the thin figure standing in front of them, her cat-like eyes shining beneath her pink hair.
"Jinx," X questioned, "what the fuck are you doing here?"
The pink witch shrugged with a patronizing expression. "I'm here for the buffet, X," she droned.
"Yeah well, we're outta chicken wings," the thief replied, "now what the fuck are you really doing here?"
"Yeah Jinx," they heard Jason say as he emerged from the shadows, "what are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you all the same question," Jinx asserted. "I mean, really, JT? You bring along Bird Boy, Little Miss Hell Raiser, and Slade fuck'n Jr. but leave me outta the loop, like really, dude?"
"What, I don't get a nickname?" X frowned sarcastically.
"Shut the fuck up!" Jinx and Jason both snapped in unison.
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I didn't want you to know?"
"Oh of course it did," Jinx shrugged indignantly, "and that's exactly why I'm here. I figured if you went to all this trouble to keep me in the dark that I should probably know about it."
"You're gonna be real sorry you did," X muttered under his breath.
"Oh please, it can't be that bad."
Everyone sort of looked at each other, exchanging grim looks. Jinx crossed her arms and shifted her posture, noticing the tension in the sudden silence.
"Oh Christ, what the hell did you get him into," she asked accusingly, looking at Rose.
The white haired girl's brow furrowed in offense as she replied, "Typical."
"No—what's typical is the fact that you're nothing but trouble."
Before Rose could defend herself, Jason stepped in to quell the girls' feud. "Jinx, stop it, this is why I tried to keep you out of it," he snapped. "How'd you even know where to find us anyway?"
"I asked Clancy what you guys talked about while I was gone. She said she didn't know, but that you gave Duela and Eddie orders to go out to the Pine Barrens and said that they would not be back until tomorrow morning. So then I asked myself why in the hell you would do that? So I called Duela."
"And what did she tell you?"
"Nothing, which was the problem," Jinx grimaced. "So I assumed the worst and I followed you guys here, to the abandoned Opera House, where nothing good ever happens."
"She's not wrong about that," Dick drawled earning a cold look from Jason, who was not in the mood for his sarcasm.
"Now you have five minutes to tell me what is going on, Todd. Plus you're the one who's always telling us not to keep shit from the group," she warned, her eyes lit with distaste.
Jason let out a long painful sigh as he began to explain his reasons for keeping her in the dark, including Rose's involvement. Her pink eyes smoldered as he told of Slade's discovery and how he threatened to end the young hood if he did not comply with the request and remove the long buried crimes.
However, even through her anger and disgust, she said nothing, only taking in the grim details one word at a time. Once Jason was finished, Jinx let out a heavy sigh, her bangs blowing upward as she exhaled.
"Well you weren't wrong, that's pretty fucked up, and other than, "I told you so," I'm here to help."
"Wow, you took that better than expected," Rose added, Jinx looking back at her with disdain.
"Oh believe me, I'm quite livid," she said biting back her venom, "but I'm going to put that aside for now and deal with the matter at hand. How many are we talking?"
"Oh like 5 or 6—maybe 7," X sang with all his cynicism.
Jinx's eyes shot open as she glared at Jason with an are you serious? expression.
"Well you heard the man," Jason drawled, "those 6 or 7 bodies aren't gonna dig up themselves."
Jinx gave him a smothering look as he passed her. "You dug yourself up."
"What?"
"Nothing, oh brave leader," the witch said with some false theatrics. "Please show us the way."
Dick couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, for several reasons. One being his own experiences as a leader, the other, the grim nature of the inhuman task. Still, with some minor bitching, the group made their way down to the basement.
The space below was cold, the damp chill slowly creeping through the crumbling limestone foundation. Darkness prevailed, its coldness devouring everything, not even a window to provide even the dimmest of moonlight. X took out an old battery powered lantern, clicking it on, bringing light to the shadowy place. As the light lifted and bled into the black, it was almost like walking into another time, as the place remained untouched by technological intervention. Old wooden beams, hundreds of years old, still remained (though rotting) its old furnace lay sleeping beneath a blanket of dust. Behind it, a cracked brick wall, an arched entry open like a void mouth.
They followed the fractured concrete (the only timely addition) until it abruptly ended at the doorway, beyond it an aged bed of soil. The group stopped, as though none of them wanted to step from the safety of the stone. X held out the lantern, light falling upon the shallow graveyard and the vagrant souls below it.
"Well, we should probably get started," he said hanging the lantern off a support beam, "waiting won't make this easier."
Sighs and groans could be heard from behind him, but they all knew he was right. Nothing was going to make what they were about to do painless.
Jason threw down a bag filled with several shovels and heavy duty trash bags, duct tape and rolls of plastic.
"Planning on Dexter to join us?" Rose asked, removing a thin sheet of paper from her coat pocket and unfolded it carefully, then handed it to Jason.
"If only," he replied and looked down at the faded page, shining his flash light upon it for a better view. "Okay so it looks like we have 6 bodies in total, and luckily for us, they are in two rows parallel from each other."
Dick peered over at the map and grimaced a moment. "Is this the original diagram?"
"No," Rose replied, "the original is in code, and I'm sure my dad's gonna destroy it by morning… once this is all over at least."
"What are you gonna do with this one?" he asked, taking a shovel from X.
"Bring it back to Dad," Rose shrugged. "He insists that he destroy it himself."
"Not taking any chances?"
"Nope, Daddy's just a little paranoid."
"No shit."
Once everyone received their shovels, X took the paper and counted out the paces that rested between each grave and marked them using the tip of his shovel in the shape of an "X". All the while thinking, this is the worst treasure hunt ever.
"Okay, so there are 6 shallow graves and 6 of us. I say we each take a grave, muscle through this bullshit, get it done and then get drunk."
"That sounds splendid," Raven droned and planted her shovel in the soil below in the heart of an X.
Dick reluctantly followed suit beside her, plunging his spade into the frigid earth. Before long, the last three joined the unfavored task, each claiming their bit of earth with the plunge of a shovel.
X acted as a buffer between Jason and Dick, while Jason stood as a clear barrier between Jinx and Rose.
"So Jinx, where does Wally think you are?" Jason asked her, tossing a heap of dirt.
"I just told him I had to save your dumbass," she replied adjusting her glove. "He's aware of you making poor life choices."
Raven couldn't help but notice Rose look up at her with an air of resentment, Jinx making her opinion no secret. Jason, however, said nothing, as he was well seasoned in dealing with the stubborn witch, knowing full well she'd have only doubled down on her verbal chastisement.
"Yeah, unfortunately, poor life choices is sort of a generational thing," X said trying to ease the tension. "I mean, we've all been guilty of them at some point. Am I right?"
"It's just part of being human," Dick muttered, digging away.
"Yeah, I mean where would evolution be without adaption? That's basically what mistakes are for."
"Yet we still haven't figured out that some people shouldn't be allowed to procreate," Jinx added coldly.
Raven glanced over to see Rose pause and make another face, but somehow still keep her mouth shut. (For now.)
"Well Jinx, just keep in mind nearly 50% of the population is below average intelligence, and at least 30% of the other half has their heads so far up their ass they can't see how hypocritical they are."
Dick snickered at her wit, catching her point. X also smiled while Rose shared a smug look with Jason. Jinx, however, not so much.
"Hypocrisy has nothing to do with the reason we're all standing here, digging up bodies in a cold basement." Jinx stared over in Rose's direction. "Again, Some people just can't keep their hands out of the cookie jar, can they?"
"Seriously," Rose growled, "if you have a problem, Jinx, just say it to my face." Rose dropped her shovel to the ground and crossed her arms.
Jinx raised her brow condescendingly and sang, "Honey, I've been saying it to your face for days, yet you're still here. Hell—if I didn't know any better I'd think you were soft in the head."
"Jinx, stop it," Jason demanded, but was scolded for his trouble.
"Shut up, Todd, your little girlfriend can fight her own battles, or do you need daddy to do that for you?"
"You fucking bitch," Rose snapped, charging toward Jinx. "I'll show you just how capable I am at fighting my own battles."
"Yeah, like I'm afraid, little girl."
Jinx stepped toward Rose, ready to give her the lashing of her life, when Raven appeared out of nowhere, placing herself between them.
"Hey," she pleaded, "this isn't really the time or the place for you two to be hashing it out."
"Stay out of this, Raven," Jinx warned, but Raven would have nothing of it.
"No, if you two wanna tear each other apart, then do it on your own time."
"She's right," X chimed from his corner, "if you two wanna beat the shit out of each other than do it when we get back to the bar. Stop making this harder than it has to be."
"Seriously," Jason added, "it's bad enough Dick and I already drudged up our old shit, we don't need you two throwing gas on the fire."
Jinx stared back at Rose, who looked as though she were willing to back off. Jinx however, her eyes still burning of scorched earth, couldn't quite quell her fire. "Fine, but just know, Wilson, we're not done with this conversation."
Rose smiled patronizingly. "Like you'd ever shut up."
Suddenly, Jinx lashed out, the back of her hand flying out toward Rose, but found Raven's face instead. There was a loud slap, all three boys flinching at the sound as it carried through the damp air, each one getting ready to react.
Raven turned her head in her assailant's direction and straightened her spine, an annoyed breath escaping her lips. She placed her fingers to her lower lip, feeling the faint warmth of the blood she tasted. She gazed down at the red staining her fingertips, looking up from the color as though it were nothing more than an inconvenience.
"Ah…" Raven sighed with a dull expression. "You're lucky I can take a hit." She walked away and picked up her shovel, sinking it into the dirt. "By the way, Jinx: you still hit like a girl."
Jinx stood there kind of amazed, part of her expecting Raven to pummel her. "So that's it, you're not pissed?"
"Oh I'm livid," Raven said mockingly, "but I'm dealing with the matter at hand."
Jinx crossed her arms and gave the girl an ironic look.
"Oh and Jinx, make no mistake," Raven warned in a lower tone, "we're not done with this."
Jinx let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Damn Rae, look at you taking your place in the pecking order. And here I thought you were supposed to be a pacifist?"
"I try to be," Raven replied, digging deeper into the earth, "but I'm also half demon, and sometimes I just want my pound of flesh. You know what that's like..."
"Well can you let it go for now," Jason growled, "We're not exactly in the place for getting into this shit."
"Yet you're the one who started it," Dick said with little feeling.
Jason glared over at him. "You're still on that?"
"Like you're not, Jay?" Dick snarled, "You can cultivate a grudge deeper than a sea of regret. Hell—I've met Jehovah's Witnesses more forgiving than you."
"What can I say, I'm a divine person."
"And I'm the reincarnation of Jesus Christ," Raven patronized in her spot on deadpan.
Both X and Rose burst out in an unstoppable laughter, leaving the Outlaw scowling and raised an eyebrow.
"You're lucky I like you, Rae."
"Lucky?" Raven chuckled. "You apparently missed the part about me not feeling very passive at the moment, cause if you really wanna go toe to toe with me, then I am more than happy to show you exactly what Hell looks like, Todd."
"Cool it, Raven," Dick barked, "this isn't your battle, it's mine."
Raven glanced over at Jason and rolled her eyes as she said flatly, "You got off lucky, kid."
"I know this is probably a bad time," Rose interjected, "but um… could you teach me how't do that?" she asked looking over at Raven, her thumb falling in Jinx and Jason's direction.
"Oh that's cute, Rose," Jinx said flatly, "but unfortunately, you have to be born that brand of bitch."
"Christ," X finally whaled, "everyone just shut the fuck up," he demanded. "I mean I get it, you fucking hate each other, welcome to the Goddamn club, and while you're at it, buy a T-shirt cause you're all fucking insufferable right now. Now pick up your Goddamn shovel's, string up a sack, and dig a fucking hole." Just then, in sheer frustration, X slammed his shovel down, a loud crack of crumbling bone following the spade's descent into the ground. "Alas poor Yorick," he sighed painfully, "I just beheaded this one, good job guys. I hope you're happy with yourselves."
Everyone withered at the sound of decayed bone breaking, Rose looking over at the sight of the skull now detached from the spine. "Wow you cut his head like clean off," she droned, in a morbid amazement.
At this, Dick had finally had enough and threw down his shovel in protest. "I'm gonna be sick," he professed and stormed off.
Raven called out for him to wait, but Jason told her to halt.
"I've got this."
She glared back at him. "I don't know if that's a good—"
"Probably not, but I'm the only one who can fix this," he groaned and took off after him.
Dick sprinted up the stairs and made it to the top of the corridor, opening the exit door and taking a deep breath of fresh air. He exhaled as the cold air hit his face, helping relieve the sick feeling ripe in his stomach. Jason came through the door, stopping a moment, unsure how to approach him, recalling a time where such a question was foreign and ill conceived. Still, he pushed himself forward.
"You okay?" he asked and took a seat on the nearby stair.
Dick glanced back at him, but wouldn't make eye contact and nodded. "Yeah, it's just a lot."
"Yeah, I'm not really feel'n it either," Jason replied. "I guess I'm a lot better at doling out death than I am at actually facing it."
"That's poetically ironic."
"It's actually not."
Dick turned to Jason, regretting his comment, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Jason shrugged. "I've said enough stupid shit tonight, I think you deserve a pass."
"Yeah well, you had a lot to say to me."
"I shouldn't have said it," Jason grimaced. "Just because I blamed you for how I turned out doesn't mean it was your fault—it's mine, I know that... Or at least I do now… Blaming you was just easier."
"Yeah, but if I had just been your brother, and not acted like your father—"
"You were just trying to protect me, and I needed your help, I just didn't want it." Jason looked over at Dick, ruefully recalling how much the hero tried to look out for him. "I'm not perfect, Dick, and I was never meant to be."
"I'm not perfect either, Jason."
"That's for damn sure," Jason laughed, "but you're a hell of a lot closer than I am."
"That's up for debate…."
"We both suck at life; I blame Bruce," the Outlaw said jokingly.
"It could be worse, we could have had Ollie," Dick added brazenly.
Jason laughed. "Yeah that's kinda true. God that'd be a mess. Poor Roy."
"Hey Jay, I'm sorry I wasn't there," Dick said mournfully.
"Yeah me too, you would've never let me go after Joker."
Dick looked away, recalling his own encounter with the enraged man, wondering if Jason would have ever made it on the clown's radar if he'd just stayed. "He probably would have gone after me..."
The Outlaw frowned. "You don't know that."
"No, but maybe I don't have to?" Dick lamented. "Maybe you were right to blame me?"
"Or maybe I should just blame myself," he replied. "Blaming you didn't change anything, it didn't make me any more invincible."
"So then," the hero shrugged. "Where do we go from here?"
"Forward, I guess?"
Dick turned his head in Jason's direction, his lips stiffening. "You good with that?"
The Outlaw nodded. "Yeah—you?"
"Yeah."
"Alright then," Jason said rising to his feet, "bury the hatchet?" He held out his hand, offering it as a means of peace.
Dick looked down and placed his hand in Jason's firm grip. "Hatchet buried."
Jason smiled and laughed ironically. "Well I guess it's good we already had a hole dug."
Dick chuckled. "That's fucked, Jay. Those video games really left you scarred."
"Dude, I fucking died once and you wanna blame playing videogames as the source of me being fucked in the head?"
"Cause you were fucked in the head before you died, the drugs and alcohol probably aren't helping."
"Yeah and neither is you nagging me."
Dick paused and turned to face him. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I missed you."
Jason glanced away and shrugged like he didn't care, but he did. "Yeah, I guess I missed you too."
"You wanna hug?"
"Don't push it, Grayson."
"Hey Sunshine, help me get Yorick wrapped up."
"You're really gonna call him Yorick?" Raven questioned begrudgingly and leaned over to help X move the body.
"Yeah," X replied, lifting the shoulders, "I'm not gonna call him Skully, that'd be silly."
"You sound like my uncle," Rose added as she unearthed the remains of a tall man who'd become nothing but bone.
"I assume your uncle is a standup guy," X replied.
"He's, um… colorful. He doesn't take himself too seriously, or anyone else for that matter."
"Does he like to break the fourth wall?" X asked nonchalantly.
"Yeah, actually," Rose replied. "My dad can't stand him, calls him a cheap knock off."
"Yeah Slade's like that, he could never just enjoy the party."
"Sounds like you know him?"
"Yeah, for a ghost, your dad's pretty easy to see."
"So what's your father like?" Rose asked.
"My father's a lot like your father," X drawled, placing the body on a sheet of plastic.
"So he's an asshole," Raven said flatly looking up from the bones.
"Pretty much—yeah," X grinned passively. "He wasn't always like that though, or at least he didn't seem like it. When I was a kid my dad was my hero, but the older I got, the clearer it became he wasn't the man I thought he was... he was a monster… and I didn't wanna be like that."
"I'm sorry," Rose mumbled as she looked up at him, a pained look of familiarity pressed upon her face.
Raven too glanced up at him, she knew all too well how it felt to want something so much, but have it rejected. When she was young, Raven naively thought that maybe her father's love for her would be enough to prevent her destiny from coming to fruition, but she learned all too soon that her father was not capable of loving her, or anything. Raven wasn't born for him to care for, she was born for him to use—anyway, anyhow—as long as he gained the power he wanted.
"You okay, Sunshine?" X asked noticing the distant look on her face.
Her eyes perked up, a glint of recognition filling their deep color. "Yeah," she sighed, "just getting caught up in the notion of having a monster for a father."
"That's what happens when your dad is literally Satan," Jinx added, letting her wrist drape across the wooden handle.
"Since we're on the subject of monster dads," X huffed as he folded the plastic, "what was your father like, Jinxy?"
Jinx let out a thin sigh, her head falling to her shoulder. "I don't know, I never met the guy?"
Raven stood up, dusting the soil off her hands. "Isn't your father Uhaml, The Demon of Bad Luck?"
The two women shared a silent glance, like they somehow had some unspoken language.
"They have demons who actually deal in bad luck?" Rose asked, "and here I thought all demons were into that sort of thing."
"Shows how much you know," Jinx snarled, "but yeah, Uhaml is my father, but just because he makes up 50% of my DNA, doesn't mean that he's really a part of who I am."
Raven could feel how bitter that sentiment was, how much hatred and complexity burned in those simple words. But deep in the depths of their flames, were coals gasping for life, but could never breathe or be.
Maybe we're more alike than I thought… Raven queried.
Suddenly Jason and Dick reemerged from the darkness, the tension between them now given slack from its previous traction.
"Well look who finally decided to rejoin the grave digging party," X sang sardonically. "Did you guys kiss and make up?"
The two men each gave him a passive glance, not really feeding into his boyish nature.
"Dick wanted to hug" Jason said flatly, Dick glaring at him to grow up. "But we decided that we're not gonna kill each other… tonight at least," Jason added, taking his place beside Rose.
"That's encouraging," Raven drawled, appraising Dick's emotional state, which seemed calmer and more at ease.
"Well at least now we can get this shit done in a timely manner," X added piqued.
Rose let out a small giggle as she looked up at Jason and simply asked him for his assistance. Jinx watched the two as he obliged, noticing how much of his dormant kindness bled free in his manner towards her. She'd only seen him act that way with a handful of people, Scarlet being one of them, but even so, this, was different. She let her eyes drift over to Dick as he gave Raven a reassuring smile and coupled it with a comforting hand that he placed upon the high point of her shoulder. Jinx could recall moments similar during her stint as a Titan. Moments that were so subtle between the two Birds that no one could really appreciate them, but that was what made them so potent. How simple and easy they were together, they just fell into place.
Jinx let out a small sigh and looked down at the protruding chest cavity that was emerging from the soil. If she were anyone else, she would have been disgusted, but she'd seen far too much in her twenty something odd years to even be remotely stirred. This was just another horrible thing, on a somewhat regular day that she'd already detached herself from. She'd hardly ever speak of it again and by the time she made her way home to the man she loved, this would be as far in the past as she could possibly put it. Still, she glanced over at Jason and Rose again, wondering how exactly two damaged people could somehow teeter and tumble to the same beat. How even in a state of dysfunction and imperfection, the cursed confection could somehow be incomplete together.
Raven followed the eye line of her pink eyes, her deep one's finding the sight of the fragmented pair. But just as soon as she noticed them, her heart sank—something wasn't right. An ashen look befell the Outlaw's face, the clarity of his complexion becoming gray, his stomach filling with an urgent sickness. Raven could feel the aching distress, to the point where she began mimicking the boy's mournful expression.
This abruptly caught Dick's attention, nearly being able to feel the torment for himself. He turned to Raven ready to speak his concerns, but was stricken with the sight of Jason instead. Recalling that little boy, mourning alone beneath the dining room table. Jason however, remembered himself and shook off the burden as best he could, but not before locking eyes with Dick. The two didn't speak, they knew they shouldn't, but they shared an understanding. One that built itself from the foundation of old hats and books left behind, much like them.
The silence was broken when Rose asked if he was alright, noticing his still form unmoved for a moment too long. He assured her that he was fine, that he was just recalling some grim memories, which was just enough of the truth to earn her naïve understanding.
Still, somehow, through the pain, Jason was able to numbly remove the corpse and pretend its humanity never mattered, only it did. It was not his intention, but everyone followed his lead, each voice silent as each body was unearthed and removed from its shallow hiding place. Even X seemed a little displaced by the whole scene, as though the quiet was somehow poisonous to him and forced down the slow death.
It seemed like an eternity, but somehow, the unforgivable deed was done. Each body wrapped in plastic and each crude grave was left empty, their gaping mouths' only filled with raw earth to replenish their loss. Yet, there was something about the unorthodox exhumation that felt right. The graves so shallow and uncared for that it almost made unearthing them feel forgivable—almost.
They placed the bodies in the back of the van, covering them with a tarp, a crude attempt of masking their presence. Everyone uncomfortably piled into the van, Raven, Dick and Rose huddling together, trying to create as much space between themselves and the bodies as possible.
"I have a feeling we should have bummed a ride from Jinx," Raven grimaced holding her nose, trying to avoid the faint smell of death.
Overall, the smell was not overpowering as the corpses had mostly been reduced to bone. Still, the smell of fresh earth took on a more sinister scent, unnatural and pungent. It reminded her of fall, cold and raw, the way the wind blew through the naked branches, their skeletal arms outstretched to the heavens who'll not have them. Raven clung to Dick's arm as the van's engine awoke, Rose holding her knees close to her chest, her body pressed alongside the back of the passenger seat.
"A ride to the Pine Barrens would be torture, but I think I agree," she added, glancing over at the mound under the blue tarp.
"Do you even know where we are going," X asked, looking over at Jason as he cut the wheel hard to the left.
"Yeah," the Outlaw replied numbly, "Duela sent the coordinates. We're heading to Chatsworth, it's a few hours away. Just get on the Parkway and head south, then pick up Route 563."
X nodded and headed out toward the Gotham State Bridge. In all, there were four bridges that led in and out of Gotham, GSB, as it was mostly referred to, was among the busiest, linking the city to the neighboring state of New Jersey. The other major bridge was the John Locke, or the Way to New England, as it was the only route one could take from Gotham that would lead them up north. There were also three smaller aqueducts, the Arkem Bridge, (which was ironically the bridge with the most suicides) the Kane Bridge, and the Wayne Memorial Bridge, which was constructed after their untimely deaths'.
They drove on, exiting the city, the streets vacant as they crossed the river and slipped into the night.
The moon watched over them, her calm quiet head hung low, inspecting their task below. The night was still and bright in color, a powerful blue bleeding with a rich navy. In the soft breath of the forest, crickets could be heard, singing in perfect harmony with the lonely songs of bullfrogs, crooning their nightly arias in hopes of finding another.
The two figures moved in repeated fashion, cutting into the earth, the fresh gash open as a soft metallic smell rose from the wound. Mounds of rich soil cradled them, its cool embrace damp on their skin in the cool spring air. Duela delved her shovel into the ground a moment and placed her hand to her forehead. Her cheeks were flushed, giving her white face a dewy doe-eyed expression.
"Shit this is hard," she huffed.
Eddie peered up at her, her white skin looking a pale shade of blue in the moonlight. "No shit, I think I threw my back out."
"Do you think it's deep enough?" Duela mused, her soft lips devoid of a smile for once.
"What does it matter," Eddie sighed, "I'm sure whoever ends up in here doesn't deserve a hole this deep."
"In my experience, the deeper the hole the more forgotten something becomes."
"Yet people are so shallow."
The two shared a light laughed together as a stream of light rolled over their heads.
"That better be JT and the crew," Duela lamented, "I really don't feel like burying a cop at the end of the world."
Eddie planet his weary spade and lifted the pale girl up so that she could see over the mound of dirt. Duela looked out to see three separate glares breaking through the darkness. The light hit her face, blinding her eyes, six shadowy figures in its glow.
"It's us, Duela!" Jason called, catching the view her red hair.
"It's about fucking time," she replied, lifting herself out of the hole.
The group walked up the path, meeting Duela and Eddie by the freshly dug grave.
"Where you two at?" Jason asked peering down into the dark pit.
"I think it's deep enough, but it's you're call," Duela replied.
Jason leaned over and took a closer look, letting some light fall into its depth. "It needs to be a few feet deeper."
"But it's already like 6 feet?" Eddie groaned tiredly.
"Well make it 8," Jason scowled, "I don't want this shit to ever be found."
Eddie grimaced and jumped back into the hole, his contempt for the task clear on his face. Duela, however, did not follow.
"I'm not going back in that hole."
"Jesus Christ, Duela," the Outlaw sneered.
"What? I've been digging that god damn thing all night. I'll be damned if I go back in there."
"Fine, someone else help Eddie."
"I'll fucking do it," X finally huffed and lowered himself down into the pit. "It's better than dragging bodies up from the road anyway."
"Speaking of which," Jinx added, reminded of the unpleasant task, "we should probably go do that?"
"Oh and here I thought the fun would never begin," Raven droned and headed down the path.
Rose snickered and followed behind her, finding the comment humorous despite its lude nature. Jinx and Duela also followed suit, Dick and Jason staying behind a moment.
"You seem off," Dick said as the two trailed behind.
Jason didn't look back as he replied, "I'm fine, don't worry about it."
Dick glanced up at the hollowing moon hanging in the sky. "I'm not really worried about it, but I know something happened back there, something you can't just shake off."
Jason tried to walk on ahead of him, trying to avoid the conversation, but Dick refused to just let it go.
"I know your dad taught you that talking about shit makes you weak, but you should have learned by now that letting burdens fester only makes them that much worse to bare."
Jason stopped a moment, but kept his eyes fixed ahead. "Just because your dad told you that doesn't make it true."
"You're right," Dick replied, "truth is what makes it so, and in my experience, those words hold true. Now what did you see? You can tell me..."
Jason reluctantly reached into his pocket and produced an old ring, dark soil still clinging to its tarnished and discolored silver. He placed the cold ring in Dick's hand, but the young hero didn't quite see what the Outlaw did.
"Okay, what about it?"
"My old man wore a ring, a ring his grandfather gave him, a ring… like that."
Dick look down at it again. "No…"
"Yeah," Jason confirmed." He never took it off and that ring had been in my family for generations." He shook his head in disbelief. "What are the odds that another man in this city would have the exact same ring?"
"Maybe…"
"Maybe what? Someone took it—he lost it?" Jason surmised. "I already went over that, but it just seems too convenient. My dad went missing almost 20 years ago, he's never been found and has never even remotely turned up. Yet, somehow, I'm standing here, almost 20 years later, holding his ring that I pulled off a corpse that's been buried for about that same length of time?"
"Jason, I'm sorry," Dick managed, unsure what to say, still shell-shocked.
He shook his head again and looked away. "In some way, I think I thought it was just easier to think that he was out there somewhere, and that he just didn't want to be found—hell—after a while, I didn't even want to find him."
"I guess now you have…" Dick looked down feeling the genuine burn of that pain. "So what are you gonna do?"
"The only thing a son can do; I'm gonna bury my dad."
The girls made their way down to the van, the road dark and tunneled by tree branches arched over them like the protective arms of a mother.
"So do you think those two will be done digging by the time we get back?" Rose asked as they reached the van.
Duela slid the panel door open and sang dully, "Well in the words of a wise woman, women have the babies and men dig the graves." She glanced down at the mound of decayed bodies and looked back at the other three girls behind her. "But Buffy never mentioned anything about who moves the bodies."
Raven smiled and stepped forward. "Well in this case of what would Buffy do? I'd say she'd get these guys buried before facing some serious jail time."
"Agreed," Rose added and stepped into the van, "Here Raven, help me with this one."
Raven sighed and gripped the shoulders reluctantly and moved in sync with Rose up the path. Jinx and Duela shrugged and both took hold of a corpse they'd move in similar fashion.
"So what's the deal with that girl?" Duela asked.
"Which one?"
"The one JT's been hitting, of course?" The redhead giggled quietly.
"Oh, her," Jinx drawled derogatorily, "she's gonna be a problem."
"And what about the other one?"
"Raven, I'm not sure of."
The girls finally made their way up the path, Dick and Jason soon following suit, the entire venture taking two trips. Once the pit was finished and all the poor souls had been collected and delivered to their final resting place, the group got ready to conceal them for all eternity.
"Um," Rose murmured before the first shovel of dirt could be thrown, "I'm not super big into God or whatever, but don't you think we should, I don't know, say something?"
Duela rolled her eyes, very much over the current climate, Jinx and Eddie both joining her stance.
"I think that's a respectful thing to do," Dick interjected.
"Are you kidding me?" Duela protested. "You say that like these were good people."
"How do you know they weren't?" Jason snapped flatly.
"Well look who finally grew a soul."
"Shut up Duela," Jinx demanded. "Odds are you're no better than whoever these people were. Even so, the dead deserve some respect."
The little clown girl only looked back at her counterpart, the witch visibly vexed. The others not very impressed with her tone.
"What do you think, Raven?" Jinx asked. "The soul is sorta your area of expertise."
Raven looked over at Jinx, remaining mum for the moment, then glanced over at both Dick and Jason, knowing there was something more to their question. "The soul does not remain with the body after the experience of death. Whoever these people were, they're no longer here. But even so, sometimes those who pass remain with the living, and with that in mind, I think if goodbye means anything, then I think it should be said, even on behalf of another."
"I agree," Jinx added. "It can't hurt."
"Okay then," Jason concluded with a heavy breath. "What do we say?"
Everyone sort of looked at each other crudely, no one really knowing what should or should not be said.
"Rae, why don't you start?" Jason suggested.
"Why me?" The empath said with a cocked brow.
"Because you can read Voltaire in French," Dick droned dispassionately.
"So can you."
The hero smirked with a dull shrug. "That doesn't mean I'm as poetic as you."
"Fine," she murmured and took in a tired breath. "Voltaire once said that "It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one." Now I personally cannot say, nor can any of us speak on behalf of the innocents of these men we bury here tonight. We do not know if they deserve to be forgotten, better yet, we do not even know whether they even deserved to die. That's not our place. As Voltaire also said, "Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do." So in place of judgment, I offer a branch of mercy to these poor souls and hope that they, where ever they are, have found peace in death… That's all I got."
"That was really beautiful, Sunshine," X said warmly, genuinely moved.
"Yeah," Rose added glancing down softly.
"Thanks," Raven said uncomfortably, "anyone else have something they want to share?"
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Jason sighed, pushing away his reluctance. "If I ever knew you, I don't know what I'd say, maybe sorry, maybe not, maybe even nothing. Either way, you remain dead to the world, and there's nothing I can say to change that. I know you can't hear me, just as you can't feel the soil that covers, once again, into the forgotten you go, but only if I never knew you… Fuck it, I'm done."
"You really do have a soul," Duela said, her voice meek and untamed.
Jason looked over at her feeling a little embarrassed that he'd shared so much.
"No one ever said he didn't," Raven defended, coming to his aid.
"Just more proof that he's smarter than he leads on," Dick added trying to sway the conversation to a well needed end. "So with that, we bid you goodnight and farewell," and threw a handful of dirt.
X smirked, "Good luck on your journey home, and all that jazz," he added following suit.
"You both sound ridiculous," Jinx snickered.
Rose turned to Jinx, confidence playing across her fair face. "Well to be fair, this whole thing is ridiculous."
"For once I agree with you."
"Well at least one good thing came out of tonight," Jason added lifting a shovel.
With that collection of words, Jason ordered everyone to pick up a shovel and partake in the forsaken burial. Each shovel full of dirt concealing one more secret lost to time.
For the most part, there was little said, all words finding no place amongst that gentle singing of the night. The crickets still fiddled whilst frogs purred their harmonious songs against the calm calling of curious owls. The moon looked on from above, her symphony oddly sweet, even in the most macabre of actions. And with little time spared, the deed was done, the secret buried and most importantly, left unspoken.
They stumbled into the bar around 3AM, tired and filthy, their hands soiled with more than just dirt. There was defeat among them, a stain that no one could just simply wash off, but that didn't mean they wouldn't momentarily try and drink it away. Jason strolled behind the bar and began placing glasses on the counter, each one small, meant for a particular purpose.
"I think we all deserve a drink after tonight, what'd you guys say?" He retrieved a bottle of Jack Daniel's and began filling the small glasses as everyone gathered around.
"I don't know if there is any amount of alcohol that could make tonight livable," X groaned, "but I'm willing to try."
"I'm good, thanks," Jinx added. "I gotta go anyway. Wally'll be up in a few hours and I don't want him waking up to find me still gone."
"You're no fun," X sighed, "but I'll have a drink for'y, Jinxy," the thief coyly grinned.
She smiled tiredly. "Lush asshole."
"Uptight cunt," he replied playfully and toasted his glassed to her.
"Night guys, see you… in a few hours," she sighed.
"Begrudgingly," Jason added realizing that there would be little sleep to be had.
Duela and Eddie also mentioned that they would be heading out after a drink, both sighting their weary bodies as reason for retiring. Everyone, excluding Rose, bid the cat-eyed girl goodnight and took their glass in hand, holding them up while Jason uttered a toast.
"To those of whom we never knew and those we now do." He glanced over at Dick as he spoke. The two honorary brothers had never really known each other in adulthood and had never really tried. But it seemed that maybe they'd finally learn what the other was made of.
Duela and Eddie finished their shots and headed out. X reciting a little protest as they went. Leaving only Jason, Rose, the birds and himself, all in agreement of eluding sleep.
"So who wants what?" Jason asked, taking on the role of barman.
"We can get our own?" Dick replied, Jason shaking his head.
"I got it, it's the least I can do."
"Well if that's the case, I'll take a Guinness," Raven said, X adding that he'd take one as well.
"What about you, Grayson?"
"Do you have a good Stout?"
"How's Murphy's?"
"Sounds good."
Rose leaned forward on the bar and gave Jason a coy look. "What, not gonna take my drink order?"
Jason smiled back at her and said huskily, "I don't have to." He then retrieved a dark bottle with the most widely known logo pictured on the front. "You like cheap beer," he stated, popping the top of her Bud Light as she chuckled at his audacity.
"Yeah just like her men," X added with harmless sarcasm.
"Not even an overstatement," Rose laughed, sipping her beer. "I can't say the same for my whisky though."
Jason smiled with a light laugh. "Yeah top shelf whisky, bottom shelf men, you gotta get your priorities straight, Rosie."
"And drink the cheap shit, I don't think so."
"Lucky for you, Jason's like the Old Crow of men," Raven joked dully.
"So I'm cheap, but I'm smooth?" the Outlaw smiled. "Thanks Rae, you're not bad yourself. You're the Pinot Noir of women."
"Why," Dick said, "cause you like drinking her, but she gives you a headache?"
Raven playfully whipped the hero with the back of her hand, trying not to laugh at his quick wit, but failed. "That's okay, Dick, I consider you Bud Light cause everyone likes you and I don't understand why."
"Oh if that's the case, then Rose is really into you," Jason teased. "She's like already done with her first beer."
Rose looked at Dick, clearly caught off guard and shrugged. "Well I do kinda have a thing for Nightwing."
Raven and X both laughed impulsively, Dick sorta smiling with embarrassment, his cheeks flushed.
"You would like the good Robin," Jason patronized. "Anything to piss off Daddy."
"Seems to run in the family…" X added mildly, which only Raven picked up on.
"Hey don't start what you can't finish, Todd," Rose replied a little cocky. "Now get me another beer, I'm fucking dry over here."
"And let me guess, you want me to take care of that for you too, or do you want Nightwing to do it?"
"Only if Nightwing's a better bartender than you?"
"Well we'll find out tomorrow when he starts his first bar shift."
"If he's not too hungover on Pinot Noir," Rose joked, taking a sip of her new beer.
"You two are terrible," Raven droned sipping her beer.
"You two are just as insufferable," X corrected as he stood.
"How?" she asked raising her brow.
"That right there," he replied as he reach for a fresh beer.
"I have no idea what you mean," she frowned, leaving X to shake his head with a smirk.
"And that, Sunshine, is why it's so annoying."
"I don't think you're annoying," Rose boasted between sips. "And that's a compliment cause I'm not really fond of other girls."
"I know the feeling," Raven agreed in a flat tone.
"Yeah," Jason nodded, "for a Cape Raven's pretty cool… and you're not too bad yourself, Grayson."
"Yeah for a couple of capes, you guys are kinda fun," X added as he headed toward the back exit.
"Aw that's so sweet," Raven mused sardonically and sipped her beer, "you guys are the nicest criminals ever."
"Yeah we try," X replied fleetingly." If anyone needs me I will be on the roof drinking, alone," and took his leave, a lonely air following him into the dying night.
She unlocked the door and quietly stepped inside. It was getting close to 4AM and his alarm would be stirring in less than a few hours. She removed her shoes, caked with damp soil and dead vegetation. She tried to move quietly through the apartment, her small feet slowly falling on the floor. When she finally reach the bedroom, she slipped off her clothes. She was far too tired to clean up and didn't want the sound of the shower to wake him.
She slowly crawled into bed, noting the reaction of his sleeping form, hoping it would remain still, but it didn't.
"Hey," she heard him yawn in the darkness.
He rolled over, lifting the wine colored blanket for her. She smiled through the shadows and slipped herself under his arm, its grip coiling firmly around her. She adjusted her body against his, feeling his breath as his lips grazed hers lazily.
"Late night?" he mumbled, his words dripping with sleep.
"Yeah," she replied, "I'm sorry I woke you."
"It's okay, I'm just happy to know you're safe."
She felt his arms shift and wrap around her thin torso, his features sleepy and faint through the dim light that seeped through the window. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Keeping you awake at night?" she grimaced.
"Jinx," Wally said pulling her closer to him, "I knew who you were when we started this. I don't care what you do as long as you come home at night."
"What if it's technically morning?"
The speedster smiled and kissed her forehead. "Then I'm just happy you're home."
"I love you, Wally."
"I love you too, Jinx."
Dick and Raven sat in a booth together across from Jason and Rose, the pair looking comfortable as Rose sat nestled under Jason's arm. The four remained, sipping their beers as they made small talk, the first time they'd actually spoke in a friendly, candid fashion.
"So how long have you two actually known each other?" Jason asked casually.
Dick placed down his drink, waiting for approval from Raven to start. "Well, we met when we were 15, so…"
"Too damn long," Raven crassly interjected.
Jason and Rose laughed, Dick shaking his head coyly.
"You know you can leave any time you want, Rae?"
"Oh please, you'd be lost without me," she smiled and lifted her glass to her lips. "Plus you'd miss me."
"I think he'd miss anyone with a rack like yours," Rose said, causing Jason to choke on his beer.
Raven laughed, though she wasn't sure what she was laughing at more, Jason's loss of composure or Rose and her vulgar comment.
"What? I'm just telling the truth—I'm jealous," Rose added as the boys looked at her oddly.
"Thanks," Raven giggled, amused with the girl's boldness and alcohol liberating her response, "but if you think mine are nice, you should see his ex's, talk about feeling inadequate." Raven peered over at Dick, his eyes delivering a questionable look. "What? Kory's like standing next to Wonder Woman: you could have a tit growing out of your damn forehead—no one would notice."
Dick rolled his eyes, though he really couldn't deny Raven's claim. He could recall countless men that fell under Kory's thrall, but after the first few years of courting her, he got tired of counting.
"So," he began, trying sluggishly, "how'd you two happen?"
The Outlaw and rebel daughter both looked at each other for a moment, unsure of what to say as they'd never been asked that question before.
"Um, would you believe me if I said, we met at church?" Rose said with a sly and drunken grin.
The two birds both chuckled and shook their heads as Raven replied, "Only if you went there to burn it down."
"She stalked me," Jason finally said, Rose making a face in protest.
"I did not! You liar!"
"You followed me to a bar," the Outlaw smiled.
"I was already there!"
"Then why'd you follow me here the next day?"
"To apologize," Rose insisted. "You were obviously not impressed with my pick-up."
"I'm never impressed with your pick-up."
"What was your pick-up?" Raven asked, taking one last sip of her beer
"Um," Rose mumbled, "I'd rather not say."
"It was very forward, like straight to the point—no holding back. She didn't even know my name."
"I knew your name..." Rose corrected with an eye roll, "kinda. But you didn't really know mine either."
"Cute." Raven droned as she got up. "But it obviously got your attention, so I wouldn't really call it a fail."
"Yeah it was pretty funny," Jason teased, "and neither one us got laid that night."
"Hey you could have."
"This might be a dumb question," Dick said a little buzzed with amusement, "but how do you just kinda know somebody's name?"
The pair looked blankly at him, neither sure how to reply.
"Um..." Jason began, "Well, it's a sorted tale, one that's actually quite humorous and complicated, but endearing nonetheless."
"It was actually a fucking mess," Rose giggled with fondness, recalling all the missteps and fights and bleeding hearts they'd endured. "Remember how I destroyed Kitten's car?"
"How could I forget," Jason replied as Dick's face fell.
"Kitten as in Killer Moth's daughter? How?"
"Sledgehammer," Rose shrugged as if it were nothing.
"She's really strong," Jason tried to reason.
Raven to tried bite back her inquiry, but the alcohol spurred her on. "Um, so why did you destroy that bitch's car?"
Rose opened her mouth to reply, but Jason cut her off, his voice filled with a little embarrassment. "Like I said, sorted tale, complicated and messy as fuck… you don't wanna know."
"No," Rose corrected wisely, "you don't want them to know."
"Okay," Dick smiled coyly, "Sorry we I asked."
Raven giggled, "I'm not." She stood, her soft smile longing for sleep. "I'm gonna go see if X needs another beer then I'm gonna head up." Her hand falling on Dick's shoulder, thoughtlessly.
Dick nodded. "Okay, I'm just gonna finish my beer, then I'll come up."
She silently replied and bid the others goodnight. "Well, it was fun grave robbing with you guys," she said plucking a bottle from the fridge, "hope to do it again real soon… but not really."
"Anytime, Rae," Jason replied sardonically. "Thanks for helping with the debauchery!"
"I'm gonna go take a shower," Rose said, "taking her beer with her.
"Okay, I'll be up soon."
"I count on it," she smiled, kissing him and walked away.
"Well, she has no filter," Dick joked, "but she actually seems really nice."
"She can be," Jason replied softly, "she's a little rough around the edges, but she has a good heart, even if it's as cold as ice."
"Y'know for someone who likes to play the tough guy you sound awfully sentimental."
"It's been a sentimental night," the Outlaw said dully.
Dick took a deep breath. "Is it easier knowing?"
"I don't know." Jason produced the ring, the dirt still clinging to its tarnish. "I mean, it was always something I thought about from time to time. I think a part of me always knew he was gone, only now, I know that's true. I don't know if that's easier though…"
"Cause now there's no hope?"
Jason shook his head. "I don't think there was ever really any hope, but, I don't know, maybe now it's real and I'm the only person who knows it… the only person left to care?"
Raven stepped out beneath the lowering moon, its view from the roof bewitching as its glow seemed so elegant to look upon. She spotted X perched by the ledge, his lonely beer bottle resting at its steep edge. She began to approach him, noticing a light trail of smoke bleeding into the air, then catching its musky scent. The door behind her slammed, not loud, but enough that his head shot up a bit.
"Sorry," she sighed, her tiredness dragging down her tone.
"Don't worry about it, Sunshine," he said calmly. "What brings you all the way up here anyway?"
He turned as she held up the dark bottle of Bud Heavy. "I thought you might need a refill?"
He smirked at her doggishly. "Good timing, I was running a little low."
He took a drag from the joint in his hand, his eyes hindered by its reputation and potency. He exhaled and held it out. "You want a hit?"
Raven paused a second and crossed her arms. "I probably shouldn't." She leaned back on a slanted structure not far from the edge, X's hand just in reach.
"Have you ever?"
"Yeah," she shrugged, "I did go to college after all."
"Wow look at you, I didn't know you were such a badass."
"It's really not that big a deal," she laughed tiredly. "It was just a phase I went through, it ended when I broke up with my EX. Plus it's not like I was doing lines of coke or anything..." she giggled reminiscently.
"Oh, so you're not that much fun?" he teased and took a drag.
"Unfortunately not," she smiled.
"Y'know, it's legal here, right?"
She shook her head and chuckled. "Yes, I am aware of that, but I haven't smoked in years."
"Well good for you," X smiled, "but what'd y'say, Sunshine, wanna start a new phase?"
Raven smiled quizzically and reached out her hand, taking the joint. "Yeah, I don't do phases... anymore." She placed the joint to her lips and took a long drag, holding the smoke in for a moment.
X chuckled at the sight of her coughing, but impressed how well she kept her composure as the smoke escape from her part lips. One last cough erupted from her chest as she glanced up into the night. The darkness slowly beginning to drift away, the depth of its dark blue becoming more than a memory as the stars dimmed in the paling sky.
"The sun's gonna rise in a few hours," she said passing the joint back to him.
X reached out and took it, bringing it to his own lips and pressed them upon it, the light taste of her lip balm lingering there. "Yeah, another night lost to a past discretion," he breathed on a haughty breath, "and it won't be the last."
Raven reached out to take the joint once again and glanced over at X. "Does it get any easier?"
He shrugged, unsure of what to tell her. "It does, but you have to sell a little piece of yourself every time you look the other way."
"You ever get nervous you won't have enough of yourself left to sell?"
He paused and looked at her a long moment. He may not have known her that well, but he still knew her. He knew her fighting style and her wit in battle, he knew the way she moved and the way her face expressed only the subtlest of emotions. She was powerful and strong, but she had her weaknesses, just like him.
He took another drag, holding the musty smoke a little longer. She was no longer his adversary, she was no longer even just a passing glance. He could trust her.
"When that day comes, I'll be dead."
He passed her the joint again and she took it. She bit her lip, taking the statement as though chewing on its value.
"Do you ever want something more? Or is this enough for you?"
He chuckled and took a sip of his fresh beer. "Wow, you're really asking all the hard hitting questions tonight, ay, Sunshine?"
She shrugged and shook her head. "I'm just trying to make sense of things. Y'know, try and understand. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
He shook his head. "No it's fine. I just haven't been asked a question like that in a very long time." He paused and took another swig, finding his thoughts. "But let me ask you something: What about you? Was the hero gig enough, or did you want something more?"
She looked at him blankly. She'd never been asked that before.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
She shook her head and glanced away. "I don't know, I guess it used to, but… I don't know, I guess it kind of lost its meaning?"
He nodded and took the joint. "I get that. Before I was Red X I was someone else. I had a life, and a family—I had a future. Then… well... everything kinda went to shit and I lost all that. I lost who I was. That part of me died. I had to become someone else—fuck—I had to become something else."
"That's when you became Red X?"
He nodded.
Raven took one final drag before returning the dwindling joint to her counterpart, recalling the first time Dick dawned the feral identity. She was furious, her contempt for the stunt actually driving her to not speak to him for a week, though part of her understood his motivation. Dick couldn't let Robin be seen as ruthless or untamed, but Red X, he could be cold and inhuman, that mask completely void of emotion. To the world, Red X wasn't a person, he was a monolith. He had no story to tell, or life to save, he only had himself. Which was exactly why X chose him.
"Does it get exhausting?"
He grimaced at her and stubbed out the joint. "What?"
"Pretending you don't care?"
He paused and took a long swig of his beer, trying to find the right words at the bottom of the bottle. "Yeah, a little. At first it was easy, I was too numb to care or feel anything. I actually sorta forgot how to, but then that got lonely."
"Are you still lonely?"
"Are you?" he smiled impishly.
A kittenish look took hold of her features. "Not that lonely," she sighed.
"That's too bad," X cooed. "He's lucky to have you."
"Who?"
"Dick," X replied as though the answer were obvious. "Your devotion to him runs pretty deep."
"Deeper than you know," she mumbled, "but it's not like that."
He stared at her a minute as though she were joking. "Except it is."
She shook her head. "It's really not."
"Okay," X said humoring her, "then you're just not interested. But if you had taken me up on my invitation then you wouldn't have felt as though you'd betrayed him at all?"
She looked away and didn't answer.
"That's what I thought."
"Fuck you."
He smiled, not really meaning to offend her. "Relax, I'm not judging you. If anything, I'm envious." He stood up and reached into his pocket.
"What are you doing?" she asked defensively as he approached her.
"Peace offering," he replied, revealing another joint.
"So you're gonna try winning me over with drugs? Classy."
"Well you don't really seem like the flowers and candy kinda girl, so drugs it is," he smiled. "Listen, I get it. You want what you want, I know I can't change that, but I can respect it. But, the invitation's still open if that changes, or even if it doesn't."
"Great pick-up line."
"Guy's gotta get laid," he grinned shamelessly.
"Not tonight," she replied, but accepted her prize.
"Okay," X nodded in understanding, "raincheck?"
"I can't answer that."
"Good thing you don't have to." He withdrew from her and head to the exit door.
"Y'know, for someone who doesn't like showing his humanity, you wear it pretty well."
He smiled at her tiredly. "Likewise, and for the record, you're really beautiful, Starfire's got nothing on you."
She could feel her cheeks flush, though she tried to hide it. "Thanks, but I'm still not gonna fuck you."
He laughed, genuinely entertained with the chase, their exchange giving him a thrill on its own. "You have a way with words, Sunshine. Night."
"Night," she replied tucking the joint behind her ear. "Have fun with your hand."
"Oh I intend to. Have fun getting off however the hell you do," he laughed hardily. "And Sunshine..."
She looked back at him and pondered.
"Don't doubt yourself."
She smiled and nodded, appreciating the sincerity.
He let her be, closing the door, the young empath looking up at the fading night. She'd have been lying if she said she'd never thought about who Red X was, that she'd never wondered what awaited the world beneath that mask. Only now, it appeared that she did, but even so, she couldn't help but recall that appearances could be deceiving.