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His eyes snapped open and something gold and shiny came towards him quickly.
Damian moved on instinct as he somersaulted across the bed to land near the head, opposite of where the movement was coming from. Damian grabbed easily for the sword he hid under his bed, glad he had never gotten so complacent to stop doing so and took stock of the intruder in front of him.
The intruder was wearing a black hood with strange gold glasses in front and gold around his fingertips. Talon. The court of owls. He supposed a Talon had come for his head. Well, he wasn't about to let him get it no matter how undead and inhumanly he was at attacking. The Talon didn't move immediately towards him and seemed to just be staring at him. Damian quickly checked his surroundings again, in case The Talon wasn't alone and that's why it wasn't attacking but only the two of them were in his room. His brief glance around the room showed that the Talon seemed to have gotten in through an open window and his curtains were lazily blowing in the cool night's breeze.
Still, the Talon didn't attack or speak just seemed to be staring eerily at him. The Talon stepped a few feets towards him causing Damian to raise his sword in a ready position only for The Talon to stop yet again. The Talon's head quirked to the side making him look even more like the owl that his outfit was supposed to make him look like. Almost like The Talon was hesitating, Damian didn't care though and if the Talon wasn't going to make the first move maybe he could surprise it by making it for him. Damian was halfway across the cold bedroom floor when he heard,"
"Damian Wayne," he slowed down almost to a still as the words came out slightly muffled from the mask but the voice was so familiar, though he couldn't immediately put his finger on it, Damian knew that he knew the voice.
"Who are you?" Damian demanded wondering if this whole fight was a farce to hide some true intent unknown.
"A ghost, a shadow... a talon. Damian Wayne," Damian realized that he had interrupted him the first time and he knew what was coming next. "The court of owls has sentenced you to die," Damian grit his teeth 'so be it', he could use a good fight. He swung with his katana only for The Talon to leap nimbly out of the way. Faster and more graceful than most, even dead. Damian didn't let it distract him not if the Talon wanted him dead. He went on the offensive again trying to go low to cut The Talons legs out from under him but The Talon nimbly leaped up and away.
There was something familiar about his movements, the same way there was something familiar about his voice but Damian shoved it to the back of his mind to pick apart when A Talon wasn't trying to kill him. The Talon took a swipe at his shoulder that Damian just barely managed to duck and avoid before the Talon used his momentum to slash at his chest a moment later. Damian couldn't fully avoid but it didn't give me more than a scratch. It was like the Talon knew his moves as soon as Damian did, the way he counteracted him so flawlessly. Stroke for stroke they meet and Damian was slowly finding himself pushed towards the wall opposite of where the window was. Why wasn't Batman or any of the vigilante idiots here when...he could use them. Damian overbalanced as the Talon feinted and found himself falling to the floor. Before he could get up the Talon placed his foot on the small of his back putting his considerable weight for a dead person on him.
The Talon looked down at him for a long moment before speaking.
"You will die, Damian Wayne, the court simply wanted to send a message first, me." The Talon pulled the eyewear laden hood off his face. Revealing pale skin with black veins and gold eyes all of that faded into the background as soon as Damian saw the Talon's face. The Talon's eyes, Dick's eyes showed absolutely no recognition. If anything it only showed slight confusion and curiosity but mostly detachment.
"Does this mean something to you? They've never had me bare my head before?"
"Dick?" Damian asked looking up at him. How was this possible? Dick was dead. Everyone said that Dick was dead. Damian hadn't seen him in 14 months. Not since Dick had left him to go back to Bludhaven. Damian hadn't cared at first, hurt and angry that Dick had left him but after months of not seeing him of no one seeing him or hearing from him he...and everyone else who had links to him had tried everything to find him and he meant everything. It was like he had vanished off the face of the earth leading everyone to the conclusion that Dick was dead. Damian supposed that they were right in a way...Talons were dead but Dick was still standing looking at him with golden eyes and pale skin.
"Dick…" Damian spoke his name again trying to wrap his head around this turn of events.
"The court sends its regards and warning that your death and the death of all the inhabitants of this house is imminent." The Talon said then lifted his foot off of Damian back and started heading for the window. Damian heard rapid footsteps coming from the direction of the door and the door opened to reveal Drake standing in the doorway with his Red Robin costume on, who froze stock still as he saw the still unhooded Talon make his way to the window and jump out.
"Was that?!' Drake shouted stupidly at the retreating Talon.
"Yes, it was Dick," Damian answered softly trying to process Dick's unexpected return as well.
William Cobb looked up as his Grayson walked into the room, sat down and started to strip off his talons. It had taken them a long time to get here and a year ago William had started to doubt if they ever would. Or if they had waited too long and it was impossible to strip the humanity from him at this point but they had persevered and Cobb got the Grayson that he had always wanted.
"What was the whole point of that? Why didn't I just kill them?" Cobb hid a grin. His Grayson had no idea what these people used to be to him, that these people used to be his family, his world. They had torn all that away to create this new Talon. Their Talon.
"Because we don't want them just dead, we want them useful. We want the whole set and they are bound to come after you now."
"What set? Why would they come after me?" William Cobb laughed his Grandson would eventually know, would have to know but for now it was better that he didn't.
"Don't worry about it. You'll get to kill them soon enough," he assured his finally his Grayson.
I also have some other Dark Dick fics if they strike your fancy on my account.