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Chapter: 25

"What do you mean you're going to the compound?" Darren demanded at the dinner table that night. Dick had offered to piggy-back ride him down the stairs and as much as he disliked it, it was also very effective in getting him down there for dinner with everyone. He wondered why they didn't think of it sooner. Bruce looked over at Darren, a slight glare in his expression, forcing him to look away down at his place setting,

"We need to get those documents from the Court. We can't delay this anymore," he stated,

"What makes you think the Powers know anything or have done anything," silence reigned, "Unless they already have," Darren's eyes widen as he glanced around the table,

"You all knew?" he exclaimed,

"Please Master Darren, do refrain from yelling at the table," Alfred stated, bringing in dinner. Some normal portions for Dick, Tim, Bruce and Damian and a super large portion for Darren. He looked at the pile of food in surprise,

"Wow…that's a lot to eat," he mumbled,

"You do not have to eat all of it," Alfred stated, "Eat as much as you can..but don't gorge yourself. Eat until you are comfortably full," Darren internally braced himself for the 'you stupid boy' at the end of the butler's statement, but of course it didn't come. Harold, the Powers's butler always snapped the expected phrase at him no matter what he did and while he knew Alfred wouldn't say it, he'd come to expect it over the years,

"Speedsters need to eat around ten thousand calories a day…you on the other hand probably don't need that much but until we figure it out—dig in," Tim stated gesturing to the plate. Darren shrugged and picked up his fork, about to do just that only to stop at noticing the stares they were giving him,

"Uh…could you not—,"

"—boys, let him eat in peace," Bruce stated,

"You were watching him too," Tim pointed out as Darren, with a smile, dug into his food. It was odd to eat with them after so long. It was a quieter meal than Darren had ever experienced. More conversation, less fighting each other for food. Darren was so used to loud, obnoxious fights breaking out over food, said food being scattered and thrown around the room and shouting accompanying the fighting and food spattering. Here it was more…causal and calmer. It was odd. But Darren found he actually liked it better than any of the meals he had at the galas or the dinner party he went to. That was different he paid no mind to the conversations around him, here it was better. It was nicer…it was more enjoyable,

"You still didn't answer my question," he said around the mouthful of food he'd shoved in. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he started eating,

"Yes. We knew. But we didn't want to alarm you," Bruce stated evenly, "The Powers contacted me asking about you…I didn't say anything,"

"But they know I'm here then," Darren said swallowing and then taking another big forkful of food,

"Allegedly," Dick said, "they demanded we 'return' you. But that's not happening so our only option is to get the chest. Bruce and I are going tonight. From what we gathered over the past day…well past few hours…is that he's been going out to search for you every night with a group of other Talons—I guess he doesn't know if we or your father actually ended up getting you away, and with all the additional security set up we have now he and the rest of the Talons can't get close enough to the Manor to find out—as well as carrying out some hits for the Court, but he's out for most of the night nonetheless. We'll sneak in and sneak out no big deal,"

"Yes big deal. There are dozens of highly trained undead assassins in there with super hearing!" Darren emphasized,

"We've done things like this before. Darren, we'll be fine," Dick said. Darren didn't say anything, just shot him a unconvinced glare before shoving more food in his mouth. Looking down at his plate he realized he'd already eaten half of his food,

"Why do I have to stay behind? I understand leaving Drake at the Manor, but me?" Damian demanded, narrowing his eyes at Dick and Bruce. Darren got the impression he was very stubborn and determined when it came to being where the action was. He also seemed, and Darren didn't want to be presumptuous, like an arrogant ass most of the time…though to be fair he didn't really know the kid, "I know all there is to know about assassins. I'd be an asset,"

"The less that come the better Damian. We don't want this infiltration to turn into a rescue," Bruce stated. Damian growled and looked over the dining table as if trying to find someone to take his frustration out on,

"Your hand was almost blurring you are shoveling food in so fast. It is disgusting," Damian stated from across the table,

"Damian," Bruce scolded slightly,

"What. It is,"

"He needs to eat. He can eat at whatever speed he wants to," Tim declared,

"I didn't even realize I was eating that fast," Darren replied, still eating, though he was feeling slightly full,

"Remember there's still desert," Dick said, Darren's fork stilled,

"Dick we need to figure out how much calories he needs first," Bruce stated firmly,

"But he loves desert,"

"I do love desert," Darren agreed dejectedly,

"There will be plenty tomorrow," Darren nearly pouted, but caught himself and stopped before he could. He instead sighed and continued his meal,

"There's also always midnight snacks," Tim whispered to him from the seat next to him. Darren grinned impishly and continued to dig into his meal.

"Darren, if you pace anymore you're going to wear a hole in the ground," Tim said from the couch in the living room. Darren stopped in his motion to look over at him, a slight scowl on his face. Tim was propped up in the corner of the L-shaped couch with a book in his hand,

"Sorry," he muttered, "I can't help it if I'm worried. This whole mess is my fault. They're risking themselves for me again,"

"This isn't your fault. William had no right to take those documents from your home, this is his fault. And the Powers' fault for going along with the falsified copy of the will. If that is the case," Darren's eyes widened, he hadn't considered whether the small chance that the will wasn't a fake,

"What happens if it isn't a fake?" he voiced out loud,

"Then Dick can still claim custody. It will be a hell of a battle with a shitload of DNA tests and he'd have to admit to being the descendant of an illegitimate child of Amelia Crowne in order to fully have a claim at taking you in. There will be a court case trial and all that. But you knew that,"

"I know," Darren replied mutely. He unconsciously gnawed at the skin around his thumb,

"Darren relax. I am ninety-nine percent sure that the will is a fake. I don't think your mother would want you to live with the Powers,"

"I wonder who she did want me to live with," Tim shrugged,

"We'll find out later tonight…or tomorrow I guess. They still have patrol to get through,"

"Aren't you and Damian going out?" Darren asked,

"No. Even though Bruce told Damian he couldn't come because less people are better—which is true—it's a school night,"

"Oh…school," Darren muttered. He'd always wondered what regular schooling was like. He'd been to preschool and kindergarten he was sure but it was a bit of a blur and he knew that the later grades were nothing like those few years of schooling. Tim seemed to be mulling over something before he closed his book,

"What was your education like?" he asked. Darren thought for a moment before shrugging,

"I dunno…like any other way of learning, only taught by Owls and Talons?"

"The Owls taught you?" Darren rolled his eyes and moved to sit on the arm of the couch,

"Yeah. It's not as interesting as you may think. They made literally everything about the Court. Even math,"

"Why?"

"It was kind of their way of brainwashing the Talons-to-be. You know make everything all about the Court therefore literally everything they know is associated to the Court. It didn't work on me though, it went right over my head," he didn't mean to say it so bitterly. Tim frowned at that,

"I don't think it went over your head Darren—,"

"—Trust me it did. They made that abundantly clear," Darren interrupted,

"Well I think it had to do with the fact that you biologically had Mirakuru in your system," Tim said, "It may not have been enough to alter your brain from being dyslexic but it definitely can prevent you from any attempts of brain washing, Mirakuru—,"

"You knew?" Darren exclaimed, stumbling off the arm of the couch. Tim looked at Darren oddly, tilting his head to the side slightly,

"Yeah I knew you were dyslexic. Is that a problem?"

"I—um…well…"

"Did you not want anyone to find out? Why? Plenty of people have learning disabilities,"

"I know that…I do…it's just…nothing," Darren said with a sigh, "How did you figure it out?"

"You never asked for a book the whole time you were upstairs. The bookshelves weren't touched. You liked playing on peoples phones more than any other form of entertainment. And also how you said things sometimes…like you didn't want to try and say—er—bigger words. I kinda guessed, I didn't know for sure. I suspected,"

"Yeah I guess it wasn't that obvious," Darren agreed, "You never asked me to do a math problem though. I suck at math. They made sure I was smart enough to get a GED though. I can read well above my supposed grade level even though I struggle a lot. Dates still get messed up in my head and I can't do mental math very well…but they drilled everything into my head. It was a lot of work. They tested me a lot too, to make sure I was actually trying,"

"I take it if you didn't do well they'd punish you?" Darren's hands unconsciously curled into fists,

"Yeah they did," he replied softly, "But I got better which is how I am where I am today,"

"How? What did you do differently?"

"A lot of all-nighters. We were training all the time then so there was no time to study and even if I had the time I didn't know how…so…so Asher helped me. He was better with everything else and he stayed up with me so I could learn it all too,"

"That must've been tiring,"

"They didn't punish us that much for slacking off during training, at least not until we were older. So it was worth it," Darren couldn't help but smile, "Asher…he'd say…that since I helped him when he first arrived the least he could do was help me study and learn,"

"He sounds like a good friend,"

"Yeah…he was," Darren replied, his smile falling. Tim sighed looking thoughtful before he stood up plopping the book back on the couch,

"I think I know of a way we can pass the time," he said, "I'll be right back," with that he left the room and ran upstairs. Darren started pacing again and worrying about his cousin…and Bruce, sort of. He didn't really know what quite to make of him yet, but he didn't want anything to happen to either of them because of him. He's already a pretty big burden on them as it was. On the next turn of his heel he realized he was gnawing on the skin around his thumb again. He stopped his pacing to frown down at his hands. He hadn't done that since he was a child. He'd done it often his first two years at Harbor House, he was scared and sad. His mother had just died. But the constant thumb in his mouth annoyed William and he broke his thumb one time he caught Darren doing it,

"Do it again with the other and I will break it too," he'd hissed at him. Darren could still see it in his mind's eye. William towering over him and the throbbing of his then broken thumb. They still made him train with it in its little cast. Darren never did it again,

"Darren?" Tim was back and he hurriedly wiped his thumb on his pants before facing him. He carried a thick looking book and his computer,

"What's that?" he asked eyeing the book warily,

"Okay bear with me, but I'm going to teach you how to code,"

"No," Darren said, "nope, not going to happen,"

"Oh come on, you don't know that!" Tim said, putting the computer and the book on the coffee table,

"Did you not just hear about my struggles regarding education in general?"

"I did and I know it was tough but you had fucked up teachers,"

"How do I know you're not fucked up?" Darren demanded,

"Ha ha ha," Tim deadpanned, pulling him by the arm and making him sit down next to him, "The difference is I basically rewrote this book,"

"How is that the difference?"

"It's the difference because it will be easier to understand. This is all mumbo jumbo fancy written ways to teach people to code. I shorthanded it. It'll be fun,"

"You have a messed up sense of fun,"

"Oh yeah. And what's you're idea of fun," Darren thought for a second…then another. A pause…then,

"I…I don't know. Dual sword fighting?"

"Don't you play chess?"

"I made that up,"

"I'll teach you that too," Darren barely resisted the urge to groan,

"C'mon Darren. Bear with me for the first three chapters and then you can quit,"

"Fine," Darren growled, snatching the book from him, "But you better help me read this shit,"

They were at it for two and a half hours. It wasn't easy. It had been a while since Darren had done anything logic-wise since getting his GED. Before it had been something that marked his freedom from all the hard testing and rigorous studying the Court had put him through. Now it was something that…Darren didn't even know what it was. He didn't know why Tim was doing this. Was it just to show Darren he could learn to code? Was it to prove to him that he wasn't completely idiotic half the time trying to read the freaking book? Darren didn't know. Maybe it would have its purpose but it didn't seem like there was one at the moment.

Eventually Darren let out a growl and threw the book across the room. Tim sighed and picked the computer up off the table and put to next to him on the couch,

"You were doing great Darren," he said,

"No I wasn't,"

"Well you were doing better than I thought you would," Darren let out a bitter snort,

"Thanks," he snapped,

"That was a compliment!"

"What's the point of this? To frustrate me? To show me how bad I am at learning things? News flash I already know that. They told me that everyday!"

"And I'm saying that you were doing great. There's a difference. You were actually doing really well for a first time coder,"

"Just because I was reading that book doesn't mean I get what it says,"

"That's because we didn't get to the questions at the end where you put what was read into code," Tim said calmly getting up and retrieving the book,

"Why are you teaching me this. Really why are you?"

"Because for all you know you could be good at it. It could become a hobby for you," Darren let out a bitter laugh,

"Yeah, a dyslexic coder. That's likely,"

"Don't knock it till you try it," Tim said, placing it on the coffee table in front of him and sitting back down,

"I don't get any of it! It's pointless!" Darren snapped moving to swipe the book off the table again but instead he swiped the coffee table itself. It flew across the room and smashed into the fireplace mantel. Darren and Tim stood froze staring at the cracked coffee table, the book clattering to the floor,

"Boys! What was that noise?" Alfred called from somewhere in the house,

"Nothing!" They both cried,

"So…I uh…guess your strength is back?" Tim said,

"Yeah…I—I think it's clear that it…is," he muttered. They sat in silence for another moment,

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I was just frustrated and it wasn't because you were teaching me to code it was…I don't know what it was…I'm sorry don't be mad!" Darren sputtered out all at once,

"Whoa, Darren calm down. It's okay. You didn't mean to do that," Tim said, "To be honest…it was actually kind of funny," Darren blinked at Tim before glancing over at the broken table. He let out a small chuckle,

"Yeah…I guess it was kind of funny," Tim cracked a grin and suddenly they were both laughing uncontrollably at what had just occurred,

"I…haha…I think we need to tell Bruce…haha…what happened," Tim said when he caught his breath somewhat. Darren instantly sobered,

"He won't be mad will he?"

"Not really. It's just a coffee table. It's replaceable," Darren nodded silently,

"Really, he won't be mad,"

"Yeah I know…I'm just tired is all," Darren finished lamely. Tim raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything,

"We can continue working with the book if you want to,"

"No…I think I'm just going to go to bed actually," Darren said. He really was tired, his head was aching slightly from the letters in the book seemingly swimming around on the page. It was almost like trying to read cross-eyed to him, "But we could work on it again tomorrow,"

"Sure," Tim said, "Afterall you owe me for leaving me to explain this to Bruce," Darren grimaced slightly even as he edged up the stairs,

"Yeah…sorry not sorry," he stated quickly—he'd heard Dick say that once and thought it was funny—before dashing up the rest of the way. Sure it had been frustrating trying to read the book and learn some bits and pieces of the coding languages but it had been fun and Tim was a good teacher. But It had reminded him of Asher during those long hours studying haphazardly without being caught by the other Talons. It made him feel sad, like he was moving on from what he'd done too fast, too soon. His friend didn't deserve that. Darren didn't want to think of Asher as replaceable…not yet. With a sigh Darren slipped into his room and went to bed.

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you liked this chapter! I hope you guys don't think this is moving so slowly. I'm trying to establish some bonds between Darren and the Batfamily as well as setting everything up for what I have planned later in this story. It has actually gotten to the point where I had to write down what I want to happen in this story because if I don't it would never end.

Now don't fret there will be a sequel! I already have plans for that but because I do I am getting all excited and only thinking of those ideas when I really need to make sure everything in this story ties together nicely before moving on.

Anyway! PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Next chapter on Friday and Things of the Future will be updated on Monday!