A/N: Howdy y'all! Thanx to all the reviewers…you guys make me feel all warm & fuzzy inside!
Concerning the following chapter, I decided to split it because as I was jotting down the basic scheme of it, I noticed that I had written quite a few more notes than I normally did. I realized that this chapter would be a beast if I kept it all together, and my poor brain would probably not be too happy w/ me after I wrote it. So, I'm splitting the chapter into two parts so I can put everything I need into the chapters. So, that means that there'll be yet another cliffie at the end here…I'm sorry guys, but it had to be done!
Enjoy!
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Chapter Six: Rescue Part One
Salvation:
" Richie," a kind, soft female voice said from the kitchen of her trailer. " Can you help Mommy with the dinner today"
" Sure," a young boy with a messy tuft of black hair said as he hurried into the kitchen and began helping his mother peel potatoes. " Mommy, why do we have to peel so many of these? It's not like you, me, and Daddy eat this much!"
" Of course we don't honey," the pretty, blue eyed woman said with a chuckle at her son's remark. " But it's our turn to make the Sunday dinner for the entire troop…and I think all of them can eat these potatoes. Especially Marvin, you know that."
Richie gave a peal of laughter that caused his mother to smile inwardly. " Marvin can eat more potatoes than this! He's really big you know, even bigger than Daddy!"
" Yes he is honey," she responded. " Be careful you don't cut yourself Richard!" She was distracted from her cutting by the sound of the front door opening, and then by the tall, dark-haired man that had entered the kitchen.
" Daddy, I'm helping Mommy with the dinner, do you see?" Richie asked his father excitedly.
" Yes," his mother said, giving her husband a smile. " Richie as been a big help, but right now, Mommy and Daddy need to talk. Can you go and empty these peels outside for me?"
" Okay," Richie said with a smile as he grabbed the trash bag full of potato peelings from his mother. He paused long enough for his father to give him a playful ruffle of his hair before leaving. After the boy left, his father fixed his wife with a worried look.
" What's wrong John?" the woman asked her husband in a worried tone.
" The manager just got himself into bit of trouble Mary," John answered as he ran a nervous hand through his dark hair. " I heard Manny saying something about the manager not paying back some gangster he owes money too."
" You don't think he'll close down the circus do you John?" Mary asked her husband hurriedly. " I mean, he can pay the money surely, we are pretty successful."
" It doesn't have anything to do with that," John answered somberly. " This particular gangster supposedly as ties to some big name villains here in Gotham, and the manager doesn't want to attract any kind of problems for the rest of us…but we're all afraid he could be killed because of it."
" They wouldn't," Mary gasped, her deep blue eyes wide with fear. " I mean, they couldn't do anything right John? We can't lose the manager, he's like an uncle to Richard, and where else would we find work?"
" Shh," John said as he rose and put his arms around his frightened wife. " Nothing will happen as long as the rest of us help out to protect him."
The couple stood there for a few moments, just taking comfort from each other's warmth. Mary wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and pushed away from her husband and muttered, " Oh, I'm just being silly."
" No you're not," John said as he sat back down and clasped his hands together in front of his face. " You have a right to be worried. That's why I think we should leave Richard out of our act next Saturday. He'll be disappointed, I'm sure, but it will make a lot of the troop feel a bit safer that he's out of harms way should any unsavory types come to the show."
" But John," Mary said, whirling around to face him. " It's his ninth birthday next week! He'll be more than disappointed that he can't go up with us."
" I know, but it's what we all, including the manager, agreed upon," Jon said with a sad smile. " None of the kids are performing…it's just safer that way."
" I suppose," Mary said in a small voice. She finished cutting up the vegetables for her stew. She looked up and gave her husband a forlorn sigh before saying, " He'll be so sad John."
" I know," John replied, not exploring the topic further.
As the two grown-ups discussed serious issues in the kitchen, neither noticed that little Richie was right outside the door, listening in anger that he wasn't able to perform in the show on his birthday like his parents promised he could. Choosing to not confront his parents, he stormed towards his room, and slammed the door, not caring that his parents had his best interests at heart…
They didn't stop, no matter how much he wanted them too. He rolled over in his cell, despite the blinding pain it caused to do so, and tried to will himself to stop thinking. He didn't want to think about his dead parents in the last minutes of his life, he didn't want to think about anything at all. The memories kept dredging themselves up into his conscious, as if aware that he was trying to die, reminding him of things he still had to atone for.
Letting out a hoarse, strangled cry, he closed his eyes once more, and lost himself in the past that he didn't want to see anymore.
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" Are you certain that this is the correct place?" Starfire asked for what seemed to be the umpteenth time since their departure from the Titan Tower. " I mean, you are certain you are correct?'
" For the last time Starfire," Raven said through clenched teeth. " Yes, I'm sure this is where he is. Now, can you please stop pestering me about it!"
As Starfire mumbled a sheepish apology to the irritable Goth, Lily gave Ahren a strange smile, a smile that was astounded that despite the situation, these six amazing teens were still able to act as themselves. Cyborg and Beastboy were, of course, arguing over the radio station, while Starfire continued to pester both Raven and Jinx in the backseat of the T-car. It marveled Lily that the team could still act relatively normally, but Ahren wasn't convinced. He knew that all the banter was a façade to cover up the nervousness he knew they all were feeling.
But, when he looked at the red-headed alien, Ahren felt such a strong swoop of determination in his being, feeding off the strength she was exuding. Even though she knew that what they were likely to find in the factory was not good, her eyes flamed with resolve that they would overcome whatever they may find. Ahren wished he was that confident.
He had spent the entire time driving towards the abandoned fish factory mulling over things in his head that he may use to convince Viper she was really a nice person. Needless to say, it was not going well, especially when the rest of the team was of the mind to kick the living crap out of her. He was beginning to feel as if the situation was hopeless, but he couldn't feel like that! It was his responsibility, given to him by his vision no less, and he HAD to see it through, no matter how bleak the prospects looked.
He was relieved when the T-car had finally arrived at its destination, and tumbled out of the car. Cyborg, Ahren, and Raven all looked up at factory when they got out of the car, and waited for the rest of the team to file out of the car. When all the Titans were gazing up at the factory, Cyborg turned around and fixed everyone with a fierce look before he stopped on Ahren.
" Well," he said in an authoritive voice to the distracted psychic. " What now Ahren?"
" Uh-what?" Ahren asked confusedly, wondering why Cyborg was asking him what to do.
" I said, what do we do now?" Cyborg repeated in the same voice.
" Why are you asking me?" Ahren asked once he registered that he had truly heard Cyborg correctly the first time. " You're the leader Cy…not me, I'm not even a Titan. I don't think th--"
" No Ahren," Cyborg interrupted immediately. " I have no clue what to do now, I'm not the one who had the vision about this. You are. I think you should be the one to lead this rescue mission, because that's what you and Lily came here to do in the first place. Besides, I've heard you talking with Robin before, you are just as clever as he is. And you both ARE Titans…it just took the rest of us a while to realize it."
Cyborg finished with a slight grin, and gestured to the other members, who were all nodding their heads in assent with the cybernetic man's comment. Ahren caught Lily's eye for a moment, and saw there was confidence there, as well as hope. She gave her head a slight nod, and broke out into a beautiful smile, her sign that she believed that he would be the best to lead here. Beastboy was nodding energetically, and saying, " He's right man!" over and over, while Jinx nodded as well, silent for once. Raven locked eyes with Ahren, and an understanding passed between them, all differences now given to the wind.
Turning around, Ahren looked right at Starfire and asked, " Do you want me to lead this red?"
Starfire was silent for a moment before she said, " You are the only one who knows the full extent of the consequences should we…should we fail today. You are also the only one among us who truly believes that the Viper woman can be redeemed…I believe you must lead this mission friend Ahren. None of the rest of us are as prepared as you are."
The other Titans pretended not to notice the alien wipe her face with the back of her hand after she finished her declaration, opting instead to focus on Ahren, aware they had put him under a great amount of pressure. His brown eyes, alive with a fervent determination suddenly, glared at the building facing them, before he whirled about to face the rest his team.
" Okay," he said in a confident, detached voice. " This is what we are going to do. I want Cyborg, Beastboy, and Lily to head off towards the higher levels when we enter. You guys are going to look for Robin, I think from what Raven said he's up on the top floor, but check some below as well…look for a cell like room that has dried blood outside of it because that's probably our best bet.
" While they do that, I want Raven, Starfire, and Jinx to follow me as we search the lower levels, and just make as much noise as possible. We are going to lure Viper away from the other group, and then we are going to confront her. I only ask that no one try to kill her when she finds us."
" Do you know what you're going to say yet?" Raven asked the brown locked young man. " I mean, like what you're going to say to her to convince her to come quietly?"
" No idea," Ahren said in the same detached voice. " But I will, make no mistake. I'm hoping it'll just come to me when she finds us…that's all I can really do."
" What about Robin," Lily asked quietly, walking over towards her boyfriend as the others prepared for their mission, shooting Starfire a discreet look. " You are aware that he'll probably be pretty bad."
" I know Lils," he whispered back in her ear. " But the girl said that I'm not meant to help him…that is left for another to do, she said. I just hope the other is someone we know."
" Starfire?"
" I don't think so," Ahren answered her slowly. " I think the girl would've told me that if it was Star…no, it's someone else. But, let's just focus on rescuing him first, then we can worry about saving him."
" Ha," Lily said in a sad voice. " Most people think that would be the same thing, to save and rescue."
" Most people aren't faced with a situation that distinguishes one from the other," Ahren answered back, in an equally sad voice as she started to head back over towards her group. " And I pray that most never do."
The two groups, Ahren and Cyborg leading their respective groups, headed into the broken down building after making sure each member had a communicator on them. The teams were overpowered with a distinct smell of fish as they entered, so strong that they coughed in order to adjust to the scent better. They continued together for a few minutes, making as much noise as they possibly could, before the groups came to a fork in the path. Giving Ahren a nod, Cyborg led his group quietly up the staircase on their right, while Ahren's continued down the left path, talking loudly amongst themselves.
Ahren and his team traversed down the hallway for what seemed to them as hours before they wound up in a large room, a room that could see all the other floors up to the roof. Ahren gave the girls a curt nod, and they all started to fling boxes of rotten fish bones around, blast apart the wooden walls, and generally make a ruckus. It didn't take nearly as long as the walk did before Ahren heard a very familiar hiss from two floors up. He looked up quickly, and saw, perched on the railing like a predator waiting to strike at its prey, a small young woman with long brown hair glaring down at them with baleful with yellow eyes.
" Hello Titans."
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" Honey, can't you just understand why we don't want you to perform today?" Mary asked her son with a sad expression as she and her husband got ready for their act that night. " I know you're disappointed about this, it being your birthday yesterday and all, but I promise we'll do something else later."
Richie looked at his mother with cold blue eyes, still upset about the whole mess. He looked away when she fixed him with an identical stare, and she reached over to pull him into a hug. " I know you really wanted to perform tonight, but Mommy and Daddy just aren't comfortable with it right now. You'll be able to as soon as it's safe."
" Son," John said in a firm voice. "We discussed this enough times. You'll perform again when the rest of the circus deems it as safe."
He was cut off by the arrival of a large, friendly looking man in a red suit with a top hat on his head. " John, Mary, are you both ready to go on?" he asked in a genial voice.
" Yes manager," John said as his wife flashed a dazzling smile in assent. " We're just finishing some last minute business."
The manager looked over where a young boy was staring longingly up at the trapeze landing above their heads. He gave a booming laugh and said, " Is your young Richard still upset about not being able to perform tonight? Well laddie, you'll be able to next week when we leave Gotham, I can promise you that."
" Really?" Richie asked, his voice hopeful.
" Of course my boy, the manager answered, clapping him on the back in a brotherly way. " Goodness knows how well you fly up there, and only nine years old to boot! We just felt like taking some security precautions tonight, you understand my boy."
" Yes," he answered slowly, not sure if the manager was asking a question or not.
" Attaboy," the manager hollered, ruffling Richie's jet-black hair before addressing his parents again. " Now, hurry up and get in your places, you're up after Marvin. And, not to put any pressure on my 'Flying Graysons', but I believe we have some very influential people in the audience tonight, including Bruce Wayne! So, give them a good show all right?"
" Don't worry manager," John answered as he clasped hands with his wife. " We won't let you down."
" Right-o," the manager replied. " Little Robin, you want to watch the show from out there tonight?"
" Yeah!" Richie said excitedly, thankful that he wasn't going to be cooped up in the backroom at least. He hurried after the manager, giving his mother and father a hug and thumbs up sign before he left.
He sat down in a front row seat, next to the clowns, and listened excitedly as the manager announced his parents after Marvin finished his act.
" And now," the manager said in his great booming voice. " Ladies and Gentleman, I ask that you direct your attention towards the trapezes and marvel at the most amazing acrobats ever to grace Gotham! The Flying Graysons!"
Richie's parents waved and bowed to the crowd from their perch in their sequined outfits. His father swung across to the opposite side as his mother, and waited for his cue to begin, smiling down at his son, who was waving up at him.
" This amazing duo will perform such acrobatic feats that it will astound you all beyond reason! And to top it all off, they will be doing all of their stunts without the safety of a net! Now, watch and be astonished as they fly through the air!"
The act began, and Richie felt such an admiration for his parents as they performed all of their stunts perfectly. Richie's favorite stunt came up, and he saw his father grab his mother's wrists in mid-air as she flipped from her trapeze.
Then, something went horribly wrong. The wires that held up the trapezes snapped, as if they had been eroded away, and he saw his parents hurtling towards the ground, no net to catch them. The clown next to him was holding him, keeping him from running out towards the center of the tent, and he could hear the screams of panic and fear from both the crowd and circus members as his parents fell. Suddenly, everything went quiet, as he saw them hit the ground, everything was silent except his cry as he wrenched from the clown's grasp and ran towards his parents.
He knew they were dead, but he didn't want to let go of his mother's hand, determined that he would bring her back. He heard the yells of surprise and the mutterings of pity as he clung to his parents, but all he could register truthfully was a pair of strong arms lifting him away from his parents, lifting him away from the life he had known.
He pounded the floor of his dank dwelling in frustration, unable to get rid of the painful memories that plagued him. Seeing their deaths just seemed to reinforce the guilt he felt that he could have done something to help them. He had seen someone enter the tent earlier that day, someone who had a strange tattoo on his upper left arm, and someone that didn't look like anyone who should've been in the tent before the show. But, he had been so angry with his parents for not letting him perform, he had forgotten to tell them about the strange man.
He found out later who had dragged him away from the center, away from the bodies, and also found out why his parents had been killed. Apparently, the manager had made quite a nasty enemy in Gotham, and this gangster decided to make an example of the manager by killing his most famous act…The Flying Graysons. It didn't help the pain though, didn't help the guilt.
And they had called him little Robin.
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She had heard the noise long before the Titans meant to have her hear it. She had been standing outside of his cell, her knife-like nails poised to do what they hungered to do, before she started to hear their attempts at being quiet that soon turned into loud, obnoxious invitations. She had smirked at their ignorance of what she could do, at their pathetic attempt at a 'rescue' mission, but she the smirk swiftly left her face as suddenly as it had appeared. She could hear him moving around in the room, could hear the mumblings of 'Mom', 'Dad', and 'I'm sorry' over and over again. She had felt something rise in her throat, a lump that she had not felt for a long time, and a horrible burning sensation prickled behind her eyes. She felt her nails cut into her skin as she xlenched her hands into fists.
Why couldn't she cry for her mother? After all the years, Viper asked herself that question, and found that she didn't have an answer. The tears she felt then were not for her family, but for the lost little boy's in the cell. He would never, could never, love her for caring for the man who had killed his family, she knew that now. No amount of pain or persuasion would change that, no matter how much she wanted it too. A part of her mind started to confront what it was she had become, but anger quickly replaced sadness, and she whirled her frame about to face the noise she heard on the lower levels.
She was going to prevent those insolents brats from taking away her revenge on Batman, that was why she couldn't kill him just yet…that's why. Not caring that she left his cell door open, Viper clutched the Agien in her hand and ran down the hallways and stairs to the third landing. She walked over to the railing and looked down at the four people who were causing enough noise to awake the dead.
The seer seemed to orchestrating the lot of them, and he seemed to be waiting for her, she could smell it on him. The gothic witch was there as well, as well as the pink-haired one, and they were tearing apart the boxes of fishing nets and hooks. Her eyes rested on a red-headed alien, blasting apart a wall with an angry fire alit in her emerald eyes. Viper's yellow slits narrowed in anger, her mind exclaiming how dare these intruders tear apart her temporary domain.
Climbing onto the railing, she crouched long enough for the seer to realize she was there, and reveled in the fear she saw in his brown eyes. She did not notice the fear turn into determination. She let out a hiss-like laugh as the other three all looked up to see her watching them.
" Hello Titans."
There was a silence there that could rival an old western movie before Ahren said in a pleasant tone, " Why hello there Viper. Hope your feeling well."
" Where's the rest of your 'team'," she spat back, ignoring his remark. " Besides the one I have, I thought you still had seven."
" Well," he said slowly, trying to keep Viper's attention on him as both Raven and Jinx moved closer to the crouched villain. " We gave them the night off, superheroes need days off too! Or else, the whole union thing gets started, and no one wants to see someone in tights out holding picket signs in the midday heat! I mean, your skin can't really breathe in those suits, and most are made of polyester as well--"
" SHUT UP!" Viper screamed as she jumped down and hit Ahren so hard he went flying into the opposite wall. " DO YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT ABOUT WHAT YOU WEAR! I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING THAT AS TO DO WITH YOU! YOU ALL ARE NOTHING TO ME, UNDERSTAND! NOTHING!"
She had continued to wail on Ahren for the duration of her declaration, leaving him with a bloody nose and some cracked ribs before Raven managed to fling the crazed woman across the room. Starfire swooped down, and helped him to his feet, letting him witness Raven and Jinx both fighting with all their strength against one small, but very angry girl.
" Are you still certain we must save her from herself?" Starfire asked the wounded Ahren quietly, her anger still, miraculously in check. " Even after she has damaged you so thoroughly?"
" Yes Star," he grunted out as one hand clutched his broken ribcage. " Because she is completely able to be saved, I know for a fact now."
" Do you?" Starfire answered incredulously. " What of her statement that she dislikes us all?"
" Well red," Ahren said, managing a small smile. " Because she was lying when she said that. And she was telling such a big lie, that it caused her to become pretty angry, hence why I'm doubled over here with a bleeding nose."
" Are you certain," Starfire asked, still not sure that the psychic was thinking coherently, for Viper had hit him quite hard.
" Yeah," Ahren said, straightening up, wincing only slightly. " I'm psychic remember? I catch those things that are on the surface of one's mind, especially when one is practically screaming at you. She does care Star, and it's quite a bit at that."
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" Now son," a large man in a suit said as the car stopped in front of a very, VERY large manor. " You better show Mr. Wayne some gratitude for taking you in, at least more gratitude than you showed me for taking you here."
He looked back to the silent, stoic nine year old in the backseat. He had heard all about the circus accident that had happened two weeks ago, this kid's parents had been murdered that night, and Batman had shown up just in time to pull the distraught child away from the broken bodies on the floor. He had handed the boy over to Commissioner Gordon, and said he was going to question the manager over who might've been responsible.
Two weeks later, in a move that shocked all of Gotham, billionaire Bruce Wayne( who incidentally had been present at the circus that night) had offered to take in the orphaned Richard Grayson. Of course, the social workers working with the boy had quickly agreed, for now the boy would have his entire future set, it seemed a just thing for the tragic boy whose parents had been killed in their city.
However, the boy had taken the news rather badly, and after a loud screaming match which he did not win, his few belongings were packed up and he was whisked away to Wayne Manor. The driver, shaking himself from the recollections he was having, got out of the car, grabbed the boy and his belongings, and marched him up to the large front doors.
He rang the doorbell only once, and almost immediately, the door was answered by a friendly, but proper looking man who said, " Ah, Master Grayson. It's so nice you have consented to come here. Come in, come in."
The older man ushered in the pair, had a few words with the driver before he left, and then closed the door as the portly man left with a stack of signed papers. The butler turned about to look intently upon the silent young boy in front of him.
" I am very sorry about your parents Master Grayson," he said in a sincere voice. " Their death was most tragic, and certainly undeserved. I am, however, happy that you are now living here. My name is Alfred, and I'm the butler for Master Bruce." After he was met with silence, he cleared his throat and said, " I understand that your called Richie--"
" Only my mom is allowed to call me that!" the boy exclaimed so vehemently, that Alfred actually took a step back before he recovered his composure."
" I understand child," Alfred said in a soothing voice, one that seemed to work because the boy calmed down afterwards. " But perhaps I can call you something a bit less formal…after all, you are only nine years old. How about Dick? That's a nickname for Richard."
The blue-eyed boy considered for a moment before nodding his head in assent, the butler's sincere manner winning over him in spite of himself. He walked away to examine parts of the large room, but was promptly interrupted when a man in his late twenties with dark hair and an impressive figure walked towards him.
" Hello Dick," he said in a smooth voice that reminded Dick of the slimy politicians he saw on T.V. sometimes. " My name is Bruce Wayne, and I'm very happy you decided to come and live here with me and Alfred. My old friend seems to think it'll do me a bit of good to have a kid around again."
" I didn't decide to live here Mr. Wayne," Dick said in a low, angry tone. " I wanted to stay with my circus, with my other family, but the social workers forced me to live here! I don't want to stay in Gotham!"
" Call me Bruce son," Bruce said with a sad smile, his smooth voice disappearing in an instant, changing to colder, harsh tones. " And I understand why you wanted to leave, but your nine years old, and a circus is no place for a child without his parents. It seemed safer to the city for you to live with me. I was there that night Dick, I felt sorry that I couldn't help your parents, so I'm helping them the only way I can see how…by taking care of you until you can do it for yourself."
He finished, and matched the intense stare this child was giving him, deep blue meeting light blue, before Dick looked down. He walked over to Alfred, picked up his two suitcases, and asked the old man, " Where am I supposed to sleep Al?"
" I'll show you to your room Master Dick," Alfred said with a smile at the child's nickname for him. " I suspect that Master Bruce would like to see you for dinner, so I'll show you where that is after we drop off your things. Then, I'll give you the grand tour, if that's all right."
When the boy gave a nod, the two set off towards his new room, all the while Dick could feel Bruce Wayne's eyes following him out of the room. It would be a while before he would call him Bruce.
Why didn't they stop? He felt bad enough as it was, why was his brain imposing more punishment on him? He had never wanted to stay in Wayne manor, but why did he have to see himself being so hurtful to one person in the world who gave a damn about him?
He thought he heard noises coming from the floors below him, but that didn't matter anymore, nothing mattered anymore.
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Cyborg, Beastboy, and Lily crept up the stairs as quietly as they could, pausing every now and then for Cyborg to run a scan of the foundation to make sure it wouldn't collapse or creak as they walked over. Silence was their companion for a good fifteen minutes before they started to hear the din the others were making. It took another five minutes for that racket to change suddenly violent, and they knew that Viper had been drawn away for the moment. They decided to sprint up the rest of the stairs, stopping only long enough for Cyborg to scan the floor for life, and for Beastboy to sniff the air with his bloodhound nose.
They continued until they reached the second to last floor, and they spread out, each searching a different part of the building for rooms and blood. Fruitless, they ran up the next flight of stairs to arrive at the seventh and final floor.
" You don't think that Viper hid him on a lower floor do ya?" Beastboy asked worriedly as he morphed back into his human form. " I mean, to try and fool us and all?"
" No," Lily said with certainty as she walked over to the large, open area of the floor, an area that had one small window on the wall and chains on the floor. " He's here, on this floor. I can feel it."
" How is he Lil?" Cyborg asked, trying to mask the fear in his voice.
" I'm not sure," she said, fixing Cyborg's eyes with her lavender ones. " I won't be sure what condition he's in until I can touch him. That's how my magic, or power to you guys, works…I need contact for my healing."
" But what about when you use your other powers," Beastboy asked. " Like when you speak those spell and stuff? Like when we in the burning school?"
" I was in contact then Beastboy," Lily said as they all started to wander down a particularly dark passageway. " I was in contact with the air I used to push the flames aside, and I had a bottle of water strapped to my side so I could grab oxygen from that source to keep the air strong. I need contact for my magic…power… to work."
" Oh," Beastboy said, his mind registering the new information he had just digested. " I guess I never thought of it like that. So, if you wanted to do a water spell, you need to be in water?"
" Sort of."
" What about fire?" he pressed on further. " Couldn't you have just used a spell to push the fire away from us? That's what I thought you were doing."
" No Beastboy," she replied, pausing momentarily as Cyborg burst down a door to check inside. " That was man-made…I can only manipulate certain aspects of nature. Fire isn't natural."
" What about lightning made fire?"
" Perhaps," Lily said with a smile.
Cyborg suddenly stopped, and crouched down to examine something on the ground. " This is dried blood…my scanners are saying it's Robin's!" He rose quickly, almost knocking Lily and Beastboy against the wall. He looked all over for a door, but he couldn't find one. " ARG! Where is it!"
Lily looked all over for a door, muttering a spell under her breath to manipulate the wind to test for hidden cracks in the walls. Beastboy promptly turned into a bloodhound once more, picked up the scent from the blood on the ground, started to follow his nose as the other two continued to probe and check. His trail led him around a corner, where he spotted more of the dried blood, he let out a bark and continued to the next patch of blood, this one not dry, but wet instead.
Beastboy morphed back, and he found he was facing a door, a door with a small grate in it. He leaned against the door to look through the grate, but let out a gasp of surprise as the door pushed open. He opened the door, and there on the floor was an eighteen year old boy with matted black hair, and closed, unmasked eyes.
" Guys!" he yelled out as loud as he could as he fell to his knees to try and help his beaten friend. " I found him! Get over here!"
It didn't take the other two long to reach him, although Lily almost slid on the ground when her foot hit the slick, wet blood on the floor. No noise escaped her, but her eyes went wide at the sight of Beastboy crouched over Robin.
" Oh my God…" Cyborg hissed out when he saw the blood on the ground, not bothering to scan it. " I don't care what Ahren said, I'm going to kill her!"
" It's not his Cy," Lily said as she gently pushed Beastboy out of her way, and placed her hands over the young man's chest. " It's Viper's…he doesn't have any wounds that would bleed that much, I would feel them."
" How could he--" Cyborg started to ask.
" He didn't," Lily said, as she checked his vital signs. " She did. Why, I don't know, hopefully Ahren will be able to answer that question. Right now, we need to worry about Robin. He has no external wounds, however, he is covered with numerous internal bruises and welts, as well as having quite a few broken bones."
" How could she torture him without making any marks?" Cyborg asked helplessly as he watched Lily heal some of the broken bones with her green energy…or magic as she liked to call it. Beside him, Beastboy nodded, his hands clutching at the air as if trying to find something to hold him up.
" Something unnatural," Lily said quietly as she healed Robin's broken ribs. " There are methods, not known to many, but methods that can cause this sort of damage. I don't think Viper learned these ways, but I do think someone gave her a tool to implement those methods. Someone who knows evil magic…power."
" But," Beastboy said in a small voice. " Why would anyone like that want to hurt Rob?"
" To stop a child from entering the world," Lily said, gazing up at the other two with wise eyes. " To stop this child from helping the golden-eyed being Ahren as seen in his visions…that's probably the best bet I can think of."
She turned back to finish healing Robin's physical wounds, and then turned to look at Cyborg. She didn't need to say what she wanted, Cyborg immediately bent down and picked up the unconscious Robin, cradling him as if he was a child.
" Is he going to be all right Lil?" Cyborg asked as the three hurried to join the others on the first floor. " He's not moving much."
" His physical injuries are not serious," she said slowly, as if dreading what she was going to say next. " But, there are definite mental problems going in his head. He's lost, whatever Viper did broke through a protective barrier he constructed and now he's…well, he's broken inside his own mind."
" Are you saying he's insane?" Cyborg said quietly, looking down at Robin with tears in his human eye.
" No," Lily said calmly. " But, he's lost…he might not be the same for a little bit until he finds his way again."
" Like amnesia?" Beastboy asked quietly.
" Yes," Lily said as they continued down the stairs. " Something like that."
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" Look Bruce, I know who you are, I mean, I found the Batcave…not that it was all that hard to find," Dick exclaimed to an angry looking Batman glaring down at him, then over at Alfred who was standing near the main computer console. " I'm not going to blab to anyone, but why won't you at least let me help you?"
" Because you are only eleven year old Dick, that's why," Batman said angrily as he tried to walk away from the stubborn boy. " You have no idea what your asking me."
" Yes I do!" Dick said angrily as he followed Batman to the alcove where he changed out of his suit. " I'm asking that you let me help you fight the evil that infests this city! You can train me, I mean, there's more than enough room down here for my gear and stuff."
" Your gear?" Bruce asked, a dark laugh emitting from his mouth as he walked out of the alcove in a T-shirt and sweats. " And what gear would that be exactly Dick? I'm not taking you on as a side-kick kid."
" I wouldn't be a side-kick," Dick said indignantly as he followed Bruce back over to where Alfred was standing with a glass of water. "It's not like I can't do anything, I was an acrobat in the circus, so I'm pretty well-balanced and such. No, I want to be your partner."
" My partner," Bruce echoed slowly, turning around to face Dick fully. He had grown slightly taller in two years, though not much. It was always those eyes that pulled Bruce in, they were such a deep blue, and they seemed to look right through you. " You're eleven Dick."
" So?" Dick answered, not wavering a bit. " I have as much reason to fight out there with you as you do! I'll practice hard, and I'll never complain about what you have me do for training. Please! I need to do this!"
" Why exactly Dick," Bruce asked mildly. " Because if it had anything to do with revenge, forget it."
" I want to prevent what happened to me from happening to anyone else," Dick said with such fierce determination that it made both Bruce and Alfred raise their eyebrows. " No one should EVER have to go through what I did, and if I can help by pounding the crap out of villains besides you, then that's what I want to do."
Bruce looked at Dick for quite a bit of time, the blue eyes not leaving his once, before he looked over and asked the butler, " I'm guessing you had something to do with this Alfred right? Is that what you think I should do, I mean, he doesn't have any powers"
" I think that you should help provide guidance for young Master Dick," Alfred answered with a twinkle in his eye. " I think that the boy has proved on more than one occasion that he is quite capable. Besides Master Bruce, you also do not have any powers."
Bruce looked at his old friend for a moment before looking back at Dick with a stern look on his face. " If I allow this, you have to promise to listen to every instruction I give you, and follow it."
" I will Bruce," Dick said, a fire kindling in his azure eyes.
" And not ask when you'll go out with me, I'll decide that when you're ready."
" I won't."
" And," Bruce pushed, determined to have some sort of agreement about this. " That you'll still continue with school, home school mind you, and will still plan on going to college some day."
" I will Bruce already!"
" Fine then," the tall man said, somewhat reluctantly mind you, and held out his hand. " I'll train you to be my partner to fight crime."
" Sounds good," Dick said as he slipped his small hand into Bruce's large one to shake. " I won't let you down Bruce, I promise."
" So," Bruce asked after a moment's silence. " What do you want me to call you?"
Dick looked over at Alfred, who gave him a nod and an encouraging smile. He looked back towards the waiting Bruce, took a deep breath, and then flashed a true, and genuine smile.
" Robin."
That one wasn't that bad. He took a positive step in helping stop villains and dark creatures from hurting others that day. However, it led to painful memories, memories where he did break that promise he made to his mentor all those years ago. Memories where he became almost as dark as the creatures he sought to punish. Even though he said revenge wasn't part of his decision, it was always there whenever he fought the bad guys who plagued his adoptive city.
He could sense he wasn't in the cell anymore, and his body wasn't in nearly as much pain as it had been, but he didn't really care. Whatever happened at this point didn't change the things he had done in his past, things he couldn't change. He after all, was just a silly little boy with no powers trying to play with those that did.
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Raven was slammed into a crate of fish bones on the floor by a wickedly powerful kick from Viper. Jinx was somewhere to her left, trapped underneath a bunch of fishing nets, and Ahren was still struggling for a breath. Starfire was MIA. So, it was just her against a suicidal Viper, who was far into her rage that she didn't seem to be registering the injuries she was taking.
" Anytime now Jinx would be great!" Raven yelled as she rolled out of the way of a punch and levitated herself into the air.
" I'm working on it Raven!" Jinx yelled back as she tried to push the heavy nets off of her.
" Are you getting tired Raven?" Viper taunted as she threw a couple of empty crates up at the gothic girl. " I haven't even broken a sweat yet! Maybe…maybe I should give you a breather and just beat the shit out of the seer instead!" She launched herself at Ahren, who merely looked at her passively and made no effort to block her attack.
" No Viper!" Raven exclaimed as she swooped down in front of Ahren and blocked the yellow-eyed girl with a shield of black energy. " I've got plenty left in me! Get away from him!"
Raven forced the fight away from Ahren and began fighting Viper again on the ground, using her black energy to take hits from the villainess. " Why do you keep calling him 'seer' anyway!" she asked angrily, lashing out with a ray of her power.
" Because that's what he is," Viper answered when she rolled up out of a dive she took to avoid the ray. " He sees the future and what not. Don't play stupid and say he doesn't, that's just insulting to me!"
The fight intensified for a few minutes, neither opponent seeming to have an advantage, but then Viper grabbed Raven by the arm when she lowered her guard, and flung her with all her strength to the other side of the room. When Raven crashed through a beam and didn't get up, Viper turned around and started to walk towards Ahren, who was still gazing at her with a polite expression on his face.
" Well now seer," she said with hatred dripping off every one of her hiss-like words. " No one left to protect you is there? I guess I'll just have to--"
" Not touch him at all," a voice said from behind her.
Viper had no chance at all to through up a defense against the surprise attacker, and she was thrown against the opposite wall, where she landed beside Raven. When she tried to get up, she felt hands grab her and hurl upwards to slam her into the roof, and then hurtle her back into the floor. Dazed, she swung blindly at her attacker, and was swiftly met with a powerful punch in the face, giving her a nose to match Ahren's. She rolled out of the way of another punch, but was instead met with a dozen of very powerfully charged starbolts, one hitting her after another. She staggered against the wall she had fallen into after the starbolt barrage, but then was met with three successive green beams that all hit her in her chest. Before Viper could even fully comprehend what had happened, she felt two very strong, but small hands grip her arms and pin them behind her. She was marched forwards to stand directly in front of a patiently waiting Ahren, who merely smiled at the battered Viper.
" Do you feel any better Star?" he asked, and smiled at the alarmed look that possessed Viper's face.
" Not truthfully friend," Starfire answered curtly from behind Viper. " But I do have a small measure of justification I believe now."
" Good."
" What the hell is going on?" Viper hissed angrily, unable to struggle against the strong grip the Tamaranean had on her. " Why didn't you kill me?"
" Because I have to talk to you," Ahren answered calmly, almost pleasantly. He gestured to both Jinx and Raven, who were now walking towards them and said, " We had to make you believe you were winning you see?"
Viper continued to glare at him, refusing to answer in anger that she had been outsmarted.
" Well," Ahren said suddenly. " I guess I should start this therapy session shouldn't I? To be completely honest, I had no idea what I was going to try and talk to you about today. I mean, the vision told me I needed to try, but where do I even begin with someone like you Viper? Then, you gave me the answer today when you were so eloquently screaming at me."
" I didn't tell you anything except how much I hate all of you," Viper hissed.
" Really," Ahren replied, a coolness in his voice now. " Well, you're wrong again my dear, because you most certainly did, even if it was unknowingly. You were lying Viper, when you said you hated all of us, because you most certainly do NOT hate all of us. In fact, it's the farthest from hate isn't it? It's love isn't it Viper?"
" Shut up," Viper hissed through clenched teeth. " Shut up right now!"
" No Viper," Ahren shot back. " Because you need to hear this! You can't hate all of us because you're in love with one of us aren't you? I'm even willing to bet that I know who that person is too! It answers why you haven't killed him yet, when you had a whole week to do so. It answers why you've been obsessed with him for the past two years. It even answers why you have blood on your hands , but no knife in your hands."
" You are delusional."
" Really? I'm delusional? No, you are Vanessa Bowman," Ahren said as he closed the distance between the two of them so that his nose was nearly touching hers. " You are because you continue to act under this façade of evil, when I don't believe you are."
" What the fuck do you--"
" Quite a bit actually Vanessa," he interrupted.
" DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
" Why Vanessa? Because it makes you confront the monster you have become? You need to do that now, before you're unable to do so."
He paused for a moment, staring unflinchingly into her hateful eyes, before she finally lowered her head and whispered, " I've only ever been able to destroy. What makes you think you can make a difference when no one else has?"
" Because you've never let anyone have a chance," Ahren answered back softly. " So I made my own one. You don't have to destroy Vanessa…you chose to a long time ago. Robin himself, he said that he could've very well have made that same choice, but he didn't. And while you did, it' doesn't mean you have to keep making that choice! He understands this, I know he does, he doesn't hate you Vanessa…I don't think he ever really did."
" But he doesn't love me," Viper whispered back, as if she was a lost child instead of a mass murderer.
" No, he can't Vanessa," Ahren replied. " But that doesn't mean no one ever will. But first, you need to realize what you have become…you need to recognize the monster for what it is before you can banish it and start again. You're so strong, I know you can do it…cast Viper aside and become who you once were Vanessa."
Nothing moved for what seemed to be eternity, and then, something so amazing happened that no one seemed to know what to do but Ahren. Viper started to cry. Ahren gave Starfire a nod, and she let go of the sobbing girl, and let Ahren cradle her as she cried.
" It's hard I know," Ahren whispered in her ear. " But it'll get better…I promise it will."
Starfire walked over to join the other two dumb-founded girls as they watched one of their most deadly foes become nothing more but a cowering, weeping child. Suddenly, before she could stop herself from feeling it, pity for the pathetic creature washed over Starfire, and she felt her heart go out to Vanessa Bowman. She looked over at Raven and Jinx, and saw that they felt the same, as if they hadn't just been fighting her minutes earlier. Even though she had hurt both herself and Robin horribly, Vanessa Bowman was just forced to confront what she was all at once, everything she had ever done, and that was enough for Starfire to feel sorry for her.
She understood then how Ahren was supposed to help her…he was meant to reach a part of her mind and show her the truth. She knew that was what he was doing on the floor now, and while it might be painful for both healer and victim right then, both would emerge stronger afterwards, and Vanessa may even begin to atone for her sins.
It was awhile before Starfire felt someone tap her shoulder, and whirled about to see Lily standing behind her. The lavender-eyed girl pointed towards the door and gave Starfire a sad smile. The alien dashed off without another look back, much to concerned for Robin's well-being to focus on anything else. Lily turned her attention to the scene in front of her, having watched everything from the from one level up. She watched Vanessa stop shaking and she looked up at the people staring at her with deadened yellow eyes.
" Why did you guys give a damn? I haven't done anything but hurt you in my life," Vanessa said nothing in her voice betraying how she truly felt.
" Well," Ahren said with a sad smile has he disentangled himself from her and helped her to her feet. " There's you first lesson Vanessa. Sometimes you are needed for things that you don't even see. Your going to do something that will help a lot of people… something that will help you atone for all you have done. What exactly that thing is, I have no idea, but you'll just have to trust me. After all, it one of the rules."
" Rules?" Vanessa asked.
" Rules," Lily answered for Ahren. " Rules to life. To trust, to love, and to live. Simple in theory, but much more complicated than many people think. You've only just begun to learn… time is what you need."
Nodding, Vanessa allowed Ahren and Jinx to lead her out to a waiting Justice League shuttle, to face her fate and punishment for what she had done. She stopped suddenly, reached into her pocket and pulled out a wooden rod. She looked at it strangely before she tossed it on the ground saying to Lily and Raven, " Don't touch it with your bare skin…it'll cause you more pain than you can imagine. Use it as evidence if you want, that's what I used on Robin."
Lily watched her fade from sight, then looked down with Raven at the stick on the ground. Lily ripped off part of her shirt, and wrapped up the rod in the cloth before tucking it in her pants.
" How is he?" Raven asked, not bothering with the wooden rod anymore. " Truthfully please Lily."
" Not good then," Lily answered as they started to head towards the exit, leaving the ruins behind them for the police to clean up. " But, we rescued him, and that's what's important right now. Star's with him, and we'll just tackle saving him when we get back to the Tower."
" You sound confident about that," Raven said with a dark laugh as they exited the fish factory and headed back towards their home.
" Well," Lily said with a shrug. " Someone as to be I guess…might as well be me."
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" Robin, it wasn't your fault today. Stop beating yourself up about it."
" It wasn't my fault Bruce? Those two people died today because I was stupid enough to get myself hurt by Joker! I failed, and it is completely my fault, so stop pretending that it wasn't!"
" You need to stop wallowing in this self-imposed self-pity Dick. It's not helping this team or this city."
" The maybe I shouldn't be part of this team anymore. I think I need to leave, need to try some stuff on my own."
" You are fifteen Dick! You have no idea what you are even talking about doing, you are still a child!"
" No I'm not Bruce. I haven't been a child since I saw my parents fall from those trapezes six years ago. I know what I'm talking about, and maybe that's why I need to do this. I can't take this suffocating atmosphere anymore Bruce, this city is slowly killing me, and I realized that today fighting the Joker. I need to something on my own, something away from Gotham and something with new people. There are plenty of cities that need heroes, I just need to find the right one."
" You're determined about this are you?"
" Yes."
" Well, I can tell you that there's a new city on the California coastline that could use some help. Called Jump City. If you're going to be so stubborn about this, and seeing as you don't care about this city anymore, you can go there."
" Bruce I--"
" Goodnight Dick."
That was the last actual conversation he had with his mentor. There were correspondences of course, but nothing beyond that in three years. He had abandoned his partner because he had both shed blood and seen blood shed. Batman had never quite treated him the same since he had accidentally killed that gangster, and after that, he wasn't going to be surprised if he outright hated him. Looks like your plan is ruined Vanessa…Batman hated him, he wouldn't care about what happened here.
He felt the warmth of a hand in his hand, but he couldn't respond. He just sat there, waiting for an absolution to come. An absolution that he knew he didn't deserve, or would even get. As far as he was concerned, Robin was broken, and Dick Grayson had just realized he died a long time ago one night in a circus tent.
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A/N: Now do you guys see why I had to split them? It was a behemoth of a chapter! I hope you guys liked it though…I'll try to post the second part of Rescue sooner rather than later!
Oh yeah, I don't really know the exact history of Dick Grayson so I just sorat filled in the gaps with my own ideas. sorry if I upset any of you!
Remember…I love reviews! Tell me what you think!
Osco