The Emperor's Talon
Chapter 20: The Light Goes Out
Deathstroke held Barbra Gordon by the hair with one strong hand, forcing her chin towards the ceiling. And with the other hand he held his katana to her throat. She continued bleeding steadily from a deep cut in her neck. Her breathing was hard as her body was wracked by barely controlled sobs. Hot tears cascaded over her cheeks.
Jason Todd stood to the side, just out of the bounty hunter's reach. He wanted to pull Robin to his feet. He wanted to launch himself at Deathstroke and yank Barbra from the man's grasp. But he was also smart enough to realize that if he should try either, Barbra would die instantly. So he stood still, heart beating faster than he ever believed it could, waiting for Robin to rise and save them all. Because he still believed his friend would win.
In contrast, Deathstroke smiled behind his mask. He knew he'd won. The poison laced knife was still embedded in Robin's stomach. The boy couldn't move. Slade considered releasing Barbra to claim his prize, but squashed the idea. He wasn't such a fool. He'd wait until the boy either passed out or surrendered. The kid might be trying to be a hero now, but Slade knew something Robin would never admit. Talon is still inside him. The Dark Side is still inside him. Slade fears it. Treachery is the way of the Sith, and Deathstroke wanted no part of it.
As for Dick Grayson, he appeared to just sit there on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness. He appeared defeated. Helpless. Broken. Yet unbeknownst to all the others, his inner demons reawakened. Power swelled inside him like a dam surging against the floodwalls. And should he let it go, even the greatest tales of the Talon would pale in comparison.
…A dream or vision…conversation with the Dark…
"Are you going to set me free, now?" asked a silky yet sinister voice.
Through the swirling red haze in his mind, Dick searched for the owner of the voice. There wasn't one. It was somehow…disembodied. It was a voice he'd never heard before, and yet it was somehow familiar. "Who…who are you?" he asked, "where are you?"
"Me?" chuckled the voice, "why I am Talon. I am Vader. I'm Batman and the Emperor. I am everyone and I am no one. But most importantly, I am you."
"How can you be me?" asked Dick in confusion.
The voice laughed again. "Child, you still have much to learn. I am the Dark Side. I live inside every living being."
"But I banished you," Dick faltered.
"You can never banish me!" the voice scoffed, "You are connected to the Force. The Force is both light and dark. Neither can exist without the other."
"But why are you here?"
"To help you of course."
Dick internally rolled his eyes, at this, "yeah, because you're so good at that."
"And the Light has been better at it?" inquired the Dark. It was a leading question.
Dick remained silent.
"Admit it; you tried Batman's way. Batman's way didn't work."
And once again, Dick didn't have an answer to that. He'd been thinking the same thing. Sort of.
"My plan is simple," the Dark continued, "let me crush Deathstroke's windpipe. Once I have him in my clutches, he won't be able to do anything. He'll be dead. Barbra and Jason will be safe."
"What if I'd rather just surrender?" Dick countered.
"You'd rather die yourself? Return to slavery?" the Dark snorted. "You know what Vader and the Emperor will do to you, don't you?"
Images of torture and death spilled forth from the vault in which he'd locked them. He saw his parents falling to their deaths, their broken and mangled bodies lying limp on the ground. Images of faceless white bird masks filled his memory, the Court of Owls. He saw the knife they used to kill him; remembered the unbearable pain as the masked figure plunged it into his heart. He saw Darth Vader and the Emperor and the numerous tortures they inflicted on him. The times they tried to break everything he tried so hard to hold onto. He saw the faces of those he had murdered for the sake of their empire.
Voices in the memories screamed at him. The images flashed faster and faster. It became a blur of pain, despair, fear, and anger.
And then the past became indistinguishable from the present. And the present became the future without his knowing. Dick could no more escape these new images in his head than he could the memories. Even if he squeezed his eye shut against the world he could see them. He could not discern the visions from reality.
He was forced to watch Barbra and Jason die at Deathstroke's hand. He saw Batman fall to Boba Fett's vibro-blade. And he saw Alfred killed in an explosion as the Emperor decimated Wayne Manor. Dead. They were all dead.
Then the story changed. He had killed them. Killed them all. Deathstroke had turned him over to Darth Vader.
"Welcome back my wayward, Talon," droned Vader.
"Punish him for his betrayal; destroy Dick Grayson," hissed the Emperor without preamble.
"As you wish my Master," answered the mechanical voice. Then Dick saw himself being led away, back to the halls of torture he knew so well.
"Wait," called the Emperor, "I have a better idea. Make him kill them. All of them. The girl and the boy. The Dark Knight and the old man. I want him to pay for this treachery."
And then, to his utter horror, Dick heard the Talon answer for him. "As you wish, my master."
"No. No. NO!" Dick tried to free himself of the vision, but it clung to him like a wet cape. It was inescapable. He could no more surrender than he could let Jason and Barbra die. He thought he had tried everything, but…no. There was one more trick up his sleeve.
He tried Batman's way. Batman's way didn't work. Robin narrowed his eyes. Screw it. There was more than one way to win.
…..…
Slade thought he was prepared for everything. He waited patiently for Robin to come out of his poison induced trance and surrender or simply topple over unconscious. He was surprised, therefore, when the boy raised his head and looked not at him, but through him. His eyes narrowed. Something within him changed. Broke free. Snapped.
As realization dawned on him, Slade cursed, "Oh crap."
He had not planned for this.
Dick Grayson let go. The Dark Side screamed through him as the cage broke open. Raw terror and pain burst through the floodgates. The rage. The pain. The power. Dick became a supernova, a nexus of the Force. He had lost control completely and handed it over to his pain and fears. Dick's agonized scream ripped through the entire building on the wind of the gale storm whipping around him. The windows blew out and shattered glass exploded into the night.
"Robin?!" called Jason, as he braced himself against the powerful winds.
But his call went unanswered. The room started to shake. It was as if an earthquake reached into the walls and floors. Gravity lost its power as the furniture and debris began to lift off the ground, caught up in the swell of the Force.
And Deathstroke? He lifted off the ground as well. The katana in his hand shattered and turned to a pile of shrapnel at his feet. But the sword was the least of his problems. He gripped futilely at an invisible hand vised around his throat. He couldn't breathe. And after a second, he realized why; the Force was crushing his windpipe.
"Robin!" screamed Jason again, "we're safe. You can stop. I have Barbra, we're safe."
But Dick couldn't hear him. The Dark was free of her cage. He didn't know how to pull her back. How to bind her once again. And she was right after all; this was the way. The only way to make sure Jason and Barbra stayed safe was to kill Deathstroke.
Wayne Enterprises, The breakroom:
Batman was forced to pause his battled with Boba Fett. Something wasn't right. The Force was telling him something. He listened.
"No," he breathed, "Robin."
Boba took immediate advantage of his distraction, and hurtled himself at the Bat. He succeeded in kicking the lightsaber from the man's hand.
"What, getting slow ol-Batsy?" he jeered, "you should have seen that coming a mile away."
"I see something else coming," growled Batman.
But Boba got the feeling he did not have the Bat's full attention. He felt gipped. "Oh?"
Fett was about to make some other trolling comment as he pulled the repulsor blaster from its holster, when a sudden gale storm surged through the building. Even as he braced himself, he could feel his feet sliding back over the carpet. And suddenly Batman's last comment made a lot more sense. And then the building started to shake. What windows he and Batman hadn't broken were blasted out into the city.
"What is that?" he screamed in horror over the rushing wind. Very undignified. Oh well, he'd berate himself for it later.
"It's Robin," answered Batman in a low voice.
"The kid?!" Boba was incredulous.
Batman said nothing. But he looked grave.
Oh. OHHHH. This wasn't part of the plan. Boba smirked. The kid probably just lost control of some powers Batman didn't want him to use. Interesting. Well, Boba Fett was nothing if not an opportunist. While Batman was distracted with Robin's little tantrum, he'd take him down. Chivalrous it surely wasn't, but then, bounty hunters weren't known for their sense of honor.
"Good night Bats."
Boba set the blaster to stun and fired at the back of Batman's head.
Wayne Enterprises, Penthouse:
"He's going to kill the bounty hunter," Jason shouted to Barbra over the storm.
"Let him," she growled as she tried to regain her breath and stop the bleeding in her neck.
"But look what it's doing to him," Jason argued.
Barbra took in the image of the boy surrounded by more power than she had ever believed she would witness. He appeared to stand at the center of a dying star; the universe was his to command. "He'll be fine," she assured Jason.
"No, he'll lose himself." He shook his head. "I have to help him."
"How?"
"I…look, just get ready to run to those stairs." Jason pulled Barbra to her feet and started towards Dick.
Barbra grabbed his arm. "If you go over there, who knows what will happen to you," she argued. "You could die along with Deathstroke."
"He won't hurt me," Jason responded with confidence, "trust me. I've seen enough people lose it. He aint gone yet."
"But…"
"Trust me."
Jason began working his way through the gale towards his friend. "Robin!" he called, "that's enough! You did it. You won. You can let him go."
Again, he went unanswered. But Jason Todd was nothing if not stubborn. He finally reached his broken friend's side. He saw the knife still lodged in Robin's stomach. Blood flowed through the wound. Hot tears spilled over ashen cheeks. Here in the center of the vortex, Jason could feel the emotions rolling off Robin in waves through the Force.
He reached out with one hand and rested it on the older boy's shoulder. "Robin, this aint the way. Not for you. Please. You saved us. Now let me save you."
The hand on the shoulder seemed to bring him back to reality more than anything else. Dick scanned the room as if with new eyes. He screamed again. With a whoosh, the wind dissipated. The furniture clattered to the floor along with one gagging and sputtering Slade Wilson.
"Jace?" breathed Robin.
"Yeah, that would be me," Jason smiled, "you ok, dude?"
Dick forced a smile. "I will be." His eyes found Slade and narrowed once again.
"Don't suppose he got as much as he deserved," said Jason with a shrug, following Dick's gaze towards the bounty hunter, "but you're not the one to give it to him."
"I'm not?" coughed Dick.
"No. I think you know what I mean."
This time Dick gave him a real smile. "Thank you. I don't know what I would have done without you."
Jason smirked and jerked his thumb in Slade's direction, "well for one thing, he'd be toast."
Dick winced.
"I guess that makes us even."
Dick nodded at that. "You ok Barb?" he called.
She gave him a thumbs-up. "I'm good. For now."
Dick sighed in relief. He let himself crash back to the floor as the weight of his actions and his wounds finally overcame him. Jason tried to catch him, but only managed to soften his landing slightly.
"You and Barba need serious patching up," Jason observed. "My mom's pretty good with that stuff or I know this doctor lady if mom's drunk or passed out or somethin'…"
"Jace," Dick interrupted.
"Yeah?"
"First we have to get out of here." Jason nodded, and started pulling Dick to his feet again. Dick began typing something into his gauntlet's holo-computer. "Help me over to that window with Barbra," he instructed. Barbra came up beside him opposite Jason and slid his arm over her shoulders to help him stand. The trio continued making their way over to the glassless window until they stood just at the end.
Barbra looked down at the cityscape 75 stories below. "I don't think I'm going to like this, but I have to ask anyways, what exactly are you planning here?"
"Jump on my signal," answered Dick.
"I knew I wouldn't like it," she said despondently.
"There are stairs in this building you know," Jason chimed in.
"Yeah," agreed Barbra, "nice safe stairs."
Dick shook his head. "That will take too long." Barbra's shocked and more than slightly appalled face made him laugh. "Don't worry, the landing is closer than you think. You just can't see it yet." He was about to continue explaining when the Force nudged him to turn around. Stang. Not him again, he mentally cursed.
"Talon, you bastard," spat Deathstroke. He had risen unsteadily to his feet and pulled out a vibro-whip.
The man's tenacious, I'll give him that, thought Dick. But even beaten and bruised as he was, Deathstroke was the stronger the two for the moment. Dick knew he was dying again thanks, in no small part, to the bounty hunter. What was it with evil people in faceless masks sticking knives into him, anyways?
"I should have let you kill him," said Jason regretfully as they turned around to face Deathstroke again.
"Ya think!" snapped Barbra.
"Just get ready to jump," Dick cut it. He glared down at the readout on his gauntlet computer as if it could make his plan come to fruition any faster. Three, two, one. The red light finally blinked green. Outside the window, Dick heard the roar of repulsor-lift engines. Finally. "JUMP!"
"Heck no!" cried Barbra. Dick gave her a shove. She screamed as she fell the whole length of five feet before she hit something solid. The landing is closer than you think. You just can't see it yet. "Robin!" she screamed angrily.
"You can kill him later," Jason promised as he readied himself to leap out the window.
Dick felt the shiver of a warning in the Force a moment before he saw it. "Move!" he pushed Jason out the window. The two boys fell just as Deathstroke's vibro-whip snaked towards them. Jason landed safely beside Barbra. Dick on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He hung above them, suspended in the whip wrapped around his ankle.
"Robin!" cried Jason.
Even upside-down, he continued typing furiously on his wrist computer. The Batmobile materialized beneath Barbra and Jason as the cloaking device deactivated. He sent a few more instructions to the vehicle, and the Batmobile soared away into the night, carrying his friends to safety.
Above him, Deathstroke laughed. "All that power and you still lost."
"You captured a twelve-year-old; real bragging rights," retorted Dick sarcastically. Deathstroke probably said something else, but Dick didn't hear it. The poison in his system finally overcame him.
Wayne Enterprises, Breakroom:
Boba Fett stared down at Batman, fallen at his feet. Still alive. Boba didn't really care if he was or wasn't alive. Darth Vader hadn't specified. He shrugged and reached for his comm-link. As he punched in Slade's key code, he hesitated. He had Batman; why share his catch? He shrugged again. He sill needed the kid. Betrayal would have to come later.
"I got mine. You get yours, Old man?"
A haggard, raspy voice came through the other end of the link. "Yeah, I have the Talon secured."
Boba raised an eyebrow under the helmet. "Sounds like you got your butt handed to you?"
"Shut up Fett," came the aggravated response.
Boba snickered. "So what now O' Omniscient One?"
"Meet me on the roof with your prisoner and let's get the hell out of here," Slade answered ignoring Boba's sarcastic deferentially.
For his part, the younger bounty hunter grinned. Slade was weakened after his battle with Robin. It appeared that Robin or Talon or whoever the hell we was, had already done most of his job for him. And if not, he was at least in a position to defend himself against Slade's inevitable treachery. Either way, Darth Vader would have his prize.
Boba grabbed the Dark Knight's ankle and started dragging him towards the turbo-lift shaft. Activating his jet pack, Boba headed up the shaft to the roof. Slade was waiting for him with the kid slung unconscious over his shoulder.
"Mine's bigger than yours," smirked Boba as he lifted Batman's ankle slightly like a Kaminoan fisherman showing off a gigantic Shrillfish.
"If you're quite finished, we have an appointment with the Emperor and Darth Vader on Coruscant," Slade shifted Dick on his shoulder, "someone is long overdue home."
…..
Perhaps darkness was meant to win after all. Where light requires energy, darkness is a natural state. It is pervasive. It is eternal. And no one can hold out against the dark forever.
…..