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To vi – Thanks for your review! I'm glad you liked it and that you had a great Thanksgiving! Hope you like this chapter!
Enjoy!
Batman, once taking in the situation, immediately charged Deathstroke, who was apparently too stunned to move in time. The Dark Knight quickly disarmed the assassin and started throwing punches, but that broke Slade out of his stupor and he instinctively started fighting back. With Deathstroke now completely distracted, Dawn again reached for Jason's arm and pulled him to his feet. The second they were both standing, Dawn practically dragged him into the kitchen and pushed him down behind the island where Hank and Rose were now hiding.
"You two okay?" Hank asked, though his eyes were understandably focused on Dawn.
"Yeah, I think so." Dawn answered, glancing over at Jason. She didn't see any blood or any kind of injury so she assumed he was also fine. Turning her focus on the two men locked in battle, she whispered, "Where the h*ll did he come from?"
"No clue." Jason said, also moving to watch the fight.
The vigilante and the criminal didn't seem to notice or care about the others in the apartment. Their attention was solely on each other. Throwing punch after punch, kick after kick. However, they seemed to be at a stalemate. Neither seemed to be getting an advantage, until of course a golden lasso suddenly shot out and wrapped around one of Slade's legs and pulled, bringing the assassin down to a knee.
Batman quickly took advantage and started pummeling the man in the face as Donna pulled her lasso away. The hero only got a few punches in though before Slade reacted. He drove his fist into Batman's stomach. Then, he turned and dove out the newly broken window. Not expecting that, Batman hesitated for a second before he went to the window. From there, he saw Deathstroke grapple away from the Tower and into the city. Batman made to follow, but stop when he saw from the corner of his eye Jason, Hank, Dawn, Rose, Rachel, Donna and Kory coming out from their hiding spots.
"Are you all okay?" Batman questioned, turning his attention back to the others.
"Yeah, we're fine." Jason answered, moving to stand beside his mentor. As soon as he reached him, he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I was tracking Slade. By the time I found him, he was on the move. I decided to see if I could find out what his plan was. Didn't expect him to come here." Batman answered, looking them over carefully, needing to know if any of them were in need of medical aid. It appeared that they were all uninjured which was good.
"Glad you were here." Jason admitted as he lowered his head a little, feeling a little embarrassed that he said that out loud. However, Bruce laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "Me too."
Breaking the sweet moment, Donna suddenly asked, "Wait, do you know where Dick, Gar and the other boy are? What happened to them?"
"They're fine." Bruce told them, causing everyone to let out a relieved breath as they relaxed ever so slightly.
"Where are they?" Rachel demanded, coming over to stand in front of Batman. Jason raised his eyebrows slightly at the girl's bravery. There were not that many people who would even try to demand something from the vigilante who would literally call himself 'vengeance'.
"Safe." Batman answered. His eyes then narrowed at her before he started interrogating them. "What are you all doing here?"
"I couldn't get a hold of Dick or Gar and I got worried. So Donna and I came back to check on them and found the place a mess. We called the others." Rachel explained, feeling her earlier bravery start to evaporate at the sight of the man's glare.
Batman stared at her for a few second, then looked over at the others until his gaze landed Rose. Taking a step closer to her, he said, "This is Slade's daughter?"
"Yes." Rose answered even though it was clear he wasn't talking to her.
"The one who helped him infiltrate this place?" Bruce asked, taking another step over to her. Like before with Hank, Jason came in between them, seeing how furious Bruce was.
"Yes." Rose replied, doing her best to stand tall and keep the growing fear off her face.
"You were able to figure that out that quickly?" Kory questioned with a confused voice.
"They don't call him the 'World's Best Detective' for nothing." Jason informed her, though his eyes stayed only on Bruce and Rose.
"Where's Dick and Gar?" Rachel demanded, coming to stand by Batman's side. "I want to see them."
Batman again looked over at all of them before his eyes locked on Rose, again. That didn't surprise Rose in the slightest. She had just admitted to being a spy for her father, to him and the others. Batman had every right to be suspicious of her, to question if he should say anything about Dick, Gar and Conner around her. If he decided to not speak around her, or let her come with him and the others, she assumed they weren't going to stay around here much longer, she had no right to complain. However, if he did want to leave her behind, she had no idea what to do next.
"She's here to help B." Jason spoke up in her defense.
Batman stared at his new partner and the girl for at least two minutes before he sighed and said, "Come with me."
2018TITANS2018
Dick stood beside Clark, who was dressed in his Superman suit, in front of a large window that overlooked the rec room on the floor below them. There, sitting on the couch was Roy while Gar and Conner sat on the floor in front of the TV. The three of them were completely unaware that they were being watched. More specifically, that Conner was being watched.
After getting a few hours of sleep, Dick had gotten right to work on tracking down Slade and finding every bit of information on Cadmus he could. Bruce had helped at the beginning, but then he went to see Eve, the scientist who helped Conner escape. She would know a lot more about Cadmus that any public record. However, Dick kept him updated on everything he found, especially on Slade. There were a few leads he discovered that seemed promising but due to his concussion and Wally and Roy being extremely overprotective at the moment, he couldn't go himself. Those two could be as bad as Bruce at times.
Thankfully, neither Roy nor Wally brought up his little meltdown last night which Dick gratefully appreciated. He wondered though if it was just because Gar and Conner were around. They knew that he would never want them to know how messed up his mind and emotions were right now behind his walls. However, Dick couldn't help but notice that something seemed different with Gar. The green-haired teenager seemed to be quieter today, and Dick would often catch him staring at him when he thought no one was looking. Dick was wondering if he might have to talk to him. Maybe now that they were safe, he had time to start freaking out about Slade attacking them.
Then Superman showed up. Dick knew that he was coming and met him out by the zeta tubes before anyone else could find out. He didn't really want to deal with Gar freaking out over the alien and he thought that Clark would prefer hearing about Conner and know the situation before actually meeting him. He couldn't see Clark responding well at all to a teenager walking up to him and saying 'hi, you're my Dad because a man named Lex Luthor combined his DNA with yours and created me'. And Conner was so young and impressionable, Dick didn't know what the clone would do if Clark freaked out. However, after Dick informed him of everything they knew about Conner, Clark stood silently in shock.
"If I knew you were just going to stare and be silent, I would've set my timer. I think you're about to beat Bruce's record." Dick joked with a smile.
"Funny." Bruce responded, though his expression made it clear he wasn't really amused. He then shook his head and said, "Sorry, it's just, not every day you find out that your enemy has created a clone that's a mix of you and him."
"No, I guess it's not." Dick agreed, glancing back out the window at Conner.
Clark did the same as he asked, "What all can he do?"
"Apparently, he's bulletproof, weak to kryptonite, incredibly strong, and can do the freeze breath thing. Oh, and he has super-hearing and he can jump really high." Dick informed him. Though they hadn't had time to really explore all of Conner's powers, the boy had told them about what he had done before he had saved Jason.
"Can he fly?" Clark inquired, a furrow appearing in his brow as he glanced over at Dick.
"Not that we're aware of but he hasn't tried." Dick answered.
Looking back at Conner, Clark muttered, "Can't believe Lex did something like this."
"Really?" Dick didn't know Lex Luthor personally. He was Superman's enemy and Bruce Wayne never had any dealings with the man, but Dick was well aware of all the resources Lex had. It wouldn't be impossible for him to create a clone.
"Well, when I think of all the things he could and would do, cloning never jumped to mind." Clark explained.
"Point." Dick replied with a nod.
"Was it a good idea to bring him here? He's part Lex Luthor." Clark then wondered with a serious tone. Dick stared at him for a few seconds before looking back at Conner.
The clone was still sitting in front of the TV, pressing on something in his hands. Most likely the remote. However, the TV screen was white. Conner tilted his head to the side, reaching out to pet Krypto as Roy and Gar headed over to help.
"Yeah, he looks so dangerous." Dick mumbled sarcastically. When Clark stayed silent, Dick sight and continued, "Look Clark, I know this is a lot to take in, but he needs help. He's a lost kid who has no idea who he is or how the world works at all. Only thing he does know is that he wants to help people, and he didn't get that from Lex."
At that, Clark turned his eyes back to Dick, who added, "He needs help, and you are kind of the only person for the job. Unless you want me to call Supergirl."
"No, no don't. I, I just need some time to, process this." Clark finally responded, looking over at Conner once more time before turning around completely and start making his way away from the window.
"You don't even want to meet him? Cause he really wants to meet you." Dick told him. Clark stopped, looked back at Dick and answered, "Lois and I have this thing planned tonight. I'm already late. And I've had to cancel twice already. If I cancel again,"
"You're sleeping on the couch?" Dick finished, a wide smile now covering his face at the thought of the other reporter's temper when something upset or annoyed her.
"I slept on the couch last time. This time I'd be in the barn." Clark replied. Dick couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Alright then get going, before Lois gets mad at me for keeping you." There were few people Dick was actually a little scared of and honestly, an angry Lois Lane was one of them. "Tell her I say hi."
"Will do." Clark said, then continued on his way.
Dick watched the Kryptonian walk away in silence. He supposed that that went fairly well considering the circumstances. Understandably, Clark was freaked out, who wouldn't be, and needed some time to process. Dick would give him a week, maybe two, to wrap his head around the whole thing. If Dick didn't hear anything from him, he'd give the older hero a call. Conner wanted to meet him and they most likely were really going to need his help teaching the clone to control his powers.
Once Clark was out of sight, Dick turned and headed down to the rec room to rejoin the others. When he got there, he found that Roy had come over to help Conner and Gar figure out the TV. Overhearing Conner's questions, Gar's answers and Roy's barely bit back swears was surprisingly entertaining. So he simply stood there and watched. All he needed was some popcorn.
As if he was reading his mind, Wally suddenly appeared at his side, holding a bowl full of popcorn. Grabbing a handful of it, the speedster asked, "They still trying?"
"Yup." Dick confirmed. He then reached to grab some of the popcorn, but Wally suddenly forced a sandwich that Dick hadn't seen him holding into his hand as he said, "Here you go."
"How come I get a sandwich and you get the popcorn?" Dick questioned, frowning at the food he was given.
"Because you need something with more substance. I know how you get when you get stressed." Wally said pointedly, more than aware that whenever Dick felt stressed and overwhelmed, he would stop eating and sleeping. "Eat that and maybe I'll consider sharing."
"Jerk." Dick mumbled, but took a bite of the sandwich as he turned his attention back to Roy, Gar and Conner.
Eating his sandwich, Dick smiled as the three tried to fix the TV. He had no idea what was wrong with it, or what they were trying to do exactly, but watching Roy try not to get frustrated was hilarious. There had been so many times he had seen the archer act like that growing up. When he, Wally and Roy were younger and they'd hang out, Roy would technically be the one in charge as he was the oldest. They'd get into a lot of trouble, but whenever Dick and Wally decided to purposely annoy Roy, he'd act just like that.
As much as he hated the situation, Dick was glad that Roy and Wally were here. He hadn't seen them in so long, having been too busy trying to get his life together to make time to visit. With them here, Dick could almost pretend that things were normal. That he didn't have an assassin to deal with. That his other friends hadn't walked out on him, no matter how much he deserved it.
Finishing his sandwich, Dick reached to grab some of Wally's popcorn. The former Robin hadn't realized how hungry he was until the speedster forced him to eat. Unfortunately, by that point, the bowl was empty. Dick gave Wally a faux-betrayed look though honestly, he should've expected that. The man beside him could eat a restaurant dry due to his powers. Had actually done that once because of a dare. Wally just shrugged, not looking guilty in the slightest.
"Dick?" A familiar, female voice suddenly broke the silence, causing everyone to turn around.
There, in the entrance to one of the many halls in the Watchtower, stood Rachel, Kory, Donna, Dawn, Hank, Jason and Rose. In front of them, as though he had been leading them which he probably was, was Bruce dressed in his Batman suit. Dick felt his mouth open slightly in shock. After everything that happened, Dick didn't really think he'd see any of them again. Or at least, not for a very long time. Yet here they were, looking a bit shaken but relieved. As though they had previously been worried about something but Dick didn't know why or what about.
Rachel felt her entire body flood with relief when she saw Dick standing in the room they were approaching, his back to them. When she called out his name, he and the person beside him both turned while Gar, Conner and another man, who were all crouched by the TV, stood up. Rachel didn't really pay them any attention as her eyes were locked on the three bandaged cuts on the right side of Dick's face and the bruised left eye. She took a small step forward, intending to run and hug him, and heal his injuries, but the person standing beside Dick, holding an empty bowl, moved to stand slightly in front of him. It was as though he was protecting him, like he thought she was going to attack the man who had taken her in.
Gar stared at the group as he moved closer to Dick's side. They all looked relieved, but he didn't understand why. They had left Dick, had left him. Had treated their leader like crap. Yet here they were. But why? As far as Gar was aware of, no one tried to call them or anything. He didn't even have cell phone with him. He left it at the Tower. And why did they look so relieved to see them?
Dick didn't look relieved. He looked confused, which told Gar that he also didn't know why their 'friends' were here. Conner also seemed confused but, in his defense, he had no clue what had happened. Roy and Wally on the other hand were barely keeping their anger hidden. Gar already knew that they knew about how Dick lied about Jericho's death and the reactions of the others and were apparently on Dick's side, but it was now clear. Wally had even moved a little to stand more in front of Dick, as though he was silently telling the newcomers not to go anywhere near them. It seemed to actually throw them off.
Well good, Gar thought bitterly. Why should they expect any different? They were terrible to Dick, especially Hank, Donna and Dawn, even though it wasn't his fault. Did they seriously think that they could do that, leave, and then come back and act like nothing's changed? Well, they couldn't. If they wanted to do that, then they had to deal with the consequences.
"What? What are you guys doing here?" Dick questioned, but before anyone could answer, his gaze focused on Bruce and asked, "What happened?"
"The intel you got on Deathstroke was good. I found him, right before he started moving. Followed him to the Tower where he attacked them." Bruce explained, causing Dick's eyes to widen.
"Are you all okay?" Dick wondered, looking them all over for any sign that they were hurt.
"Yeah, we're fine." Rachel replied. She took another small step forward, still wanting to rush over to the former Robin and hug him, but there was something in his eyes, and something about the way the person beside him was watching her that stopped her. Just the way Dick was standing screamed don't touch me.
"What were you guys doing at the Tower?" Dick then wondered. He had hoped that Slade would leave them alone after they left, and maybe he had been intending to, but they had come back. Why? They had made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Why would they come back?
"I couldn't get a hold of you, or Gar, and I had a really bad feeling." Rachel said, not needing to explain her bad feeling as Dick was fully aware of what she was meant. Glancing over her shoulder at Donna, Rachel continued. "So, I talked Donna into going back with me. When we saw the mess and realized what happened, we called the others."
Dick nodded once before turning back to Bruce and said, "Slade?"
"Got away. I had," Bruce paused, glaring at the group behind him from the corner of his eyes before finishing, "other, unexpected, priorities to take care of."
The police detective clenched his fist, frustrated that the assassin was still out there, but forced himself to calm down and looked back at the others. "And you guys are sure you're okay?"
"We're alright. Promise." Kory answered, giving him a sincere smile though her worried eyes focused on the cuts on Dick's head.
"Did you find any more information about Slade last we talked?" Bruce suddenly changed the subject, taking a few steps closer to his first partner.
"A little. I'll show you." Dick responded then walked off to the side where there was an opening into another hallway that the newcomers didn't notice until now without another word. Batman followed right behind him.
Hank, Dawn, Donna, Kory, Rachel, Jason and Rose watched them leave, then turned their attention to Gar, Conner, Krypto and the two other men in the room with them. Donna, Hank and Dawn knew Wally and Roy, having met them a while ago, not long before they started the Titans. They knew that they were best friends with Dick, but they didn't expect to see them here. The younger heroes however, had no idea who they were. Even Jason hadn't met them, not having been Robin for long.
"Who are you?" Rachel asked the man who had been standing beside Dick before he left.
"This is Wally West." Donna answered before Wally could. However, with a slightly cocky grin, he added, "Also known as the Flash."
"Flash?" Kory questioned. Since she hadn't been on earth long, she didn't know much about earth's superheroes. Donna hadn't talked much about the heroes either.
"Speedster. Fastest man alive. Originally Kid Flash until the original Flash retired." Wally explained. He wanted to reach his hand out to shake theirs, but he quickly remembered what they had done to Dick, his best friend, and stopped himself.
"And that's Roy Harper." Donna gestured to the other man standing by Gar and Conner. After Roy nodded, the Amazon gestured to the redheaded alien and said, "This is Kory."
"Nice to finally meet you." Kory greeted the brunette.
"You too." Roy responded, giving her another nod before glaring at Donna who actually seemed to shrink slightly at the sight.
"Are you a superhero too?" Rachel asked.
"Red Arrow. I worked with the Green Arrow growing up."
"Why are you guys here?" Hank changed the subject.
"Because a friend needed us and we weren't going to just ditch him." Wally shot angrily, then stomped off before they could respond. Roy gave them all another glare before following right after the speedster.
"I think they're mad at us." Dawn surmised as soon as they were gone.
"Not just them." Gar muttered, then shoved past them to go down the hall that they had just come from.
"Gar," Rachel called out, but he was gone before she could say anything else. They were now alone with Conner who was just standing there watching them.
Hank, Dawn, Donna, Kory, Rachel, Jason and Rose stared at each other. They weren't sure what to expect when they reunited with Dick, Gar and Conner, hadn't even thought about it. They were too worried that their friends were injured, or possibly dead. But now that they had seen for themselves that they were okay, and were safe, they had no idea what to do.
Still watching them, Conner innocently asked, "Do you guys know how a TV works?"
AN – I thought that we needed a little bit humour to counteract the angst. Hope you all liked it! See you guys next time!