A/N: Last chapter was pretty intense. But so far, it's one of my favorite chapters that I've written. I hope you liked it and hopefully the next chapters will be just as intense.
IMPORTANT! MUST READ: I just want to clear some things up for you. Before you read this chapter, please read back to chapter one.I made a few changes in that chapter, nothing big, just the beginning, and about Richard and Terra. The reason I changed it is so that this chapter and future chapters will make sense, and it won't be too confusing for your guys. Thanks again, and enjoy .
The Ugly Duckling
By Sherabaroo
Oh Shit. Over the chatter and the fireworks that went off in the background, Richard heard it. He heard it. The sound was small and could've easily been drowned out by the noise in the first floor. And no one would've noticed. But he definitely heard it. The scream rang in his ears, racking up the bones in his body. Raven.
Earlier he had dismissed the noise upstairs, believing it to be the cause of some foolish game Raven and her daughter was playing. Probably tag or something. With a room that big, I wouldn't be surprised. But he noticed that there was no laughter mingling with the sound, something that is usually associated with a childish game. And he heard objects, furniture rather, scraping the floors as they were being moved around. He wondered what type of game they were playing that made so much noise and required for things to move. He was going to shrug it off until he heard something else. Something far too disturbing than he had liked.
It was a woman screaming. A scream that ripped his ears out and left him cold. A few people heard it too, startled by the sound. But no one dared to move. The others, who hadn't heard it, didn't even flinch, too engrossed with the party to notice. But the instant that it reached his ears, Richard bounded for the stairs, racing towards the sound that he knew was coming from the double-door room.
He kicked the door open and pulled out the handgun, which he hid inside his coat pocket the majority of the party. The room was eerily silent. He groped the walls for the switch and flipped them on.
"Shit." On the floor lay a bloody heap of a familiar girl that Richard had met not too long ago. Her soft ebony hair was drenched in blood, flowing endlessly from a cut on her lithe neck. She stared at Richard with lifeless, empty eyes.
"Oh Shit!" He loudly swore, furious that he had let this happen. He had deliberately forgotten his duty, forgetting that the reason he had come to this damn party was to prevent something like this. And it went on right under his nose. Fuck, I'm gonna get it from the department.
His eyes quickly surveyed the cluttered room, trying to spot any signs of movement. But there wasn't any. No one else was in the room. He frantically looked around, searching for a second body, a body that belonged to Raven Red. He hoped she was ok, and wasn't suffering like her daughter. Or not even suffering at all. He dreaded the possibility. "Mrs. Red!" Richard called out in the empty room. "Raven?"
A scream was heard from outside.
Richard snapped his head to the sound. Raven! He ran towards the balcony, looking over to discover a crowd forming below. They all gathered around a fallen body, her violet hair hiding her face. Violet hair…Richard clenched his teeth, close to breaking his pearly whites. Mrs. Red.
A guest had bent down beside the motionless woman and checked her pulse. The guest raised his head, turned to the crowd and spoke something unclear for Richard to understand. Sensing that someone was above, the guest lifted his head to face Richard at the balcony.
"She's breathing!"
Richard smacked his head. What's wrong with these people? "Well don't just fucking stand there! Call the ambulance!" He flung his arms out in frustration. Damn, these people only consider their fashion as an emergency.
The guest followed his order, drawing out a cell phone from his jacket and dialed 911. Richard, however, rushed out the room, and sprinted down the stairs. I need to find Roger. He had totally forgotten to keep an eye on him. As Richard was about to search for the host as he reached the foot of the stairs, he was abruptly stopped by a pull on his arm. He came face to face with a very frightened Kori Anders. "Richard! The host- Mr. Red is gone!" Her voice shook in panic. "No one can not find him!" Damnit! There goes my fucking job. Kori was close to tears, which bewildered Richard. Why the hell is she crying? Richard wondered it's not like she was ordered to come to this stupid party. She was only a date.
Putting his thoughts aside, Richard looked around. The scene was completely chaotic. The sudden absence of their beloved host had left the guests in panic and utter confusion. And those who had seen Raven's fallen body outside were quickly spreading the news. Not one guest wasted time to move, as they rushed to leave the party. The large masses of people were pushing their way towards the entrance, or any type of exit they could go through, breaking objects as they did so.
Richard turned back to Kori, whose tears were making black streaks down her face, ruining her make-up. He took her hands in his. "It's ok," he felt as if he were speaking to a child, "the cops are on their way. Tell them immediately what you told me when they get here." she sniffed. "He couldn't have gotten far." Richard said. He tried to smile at the girl but couldn't help thinking no wonder she's a secretary.
Remembering that he still had to go see Mrs. Red, Richard left Kori near the stairs, and ran through the entrance doors. Outside, he found several police cars and an ambulance as well as vehicles belonging to news casters, litter throughout the front lawn. A man jumped out from one of the police cars and sprinted towards Richard. "Christ, what the hell happened?" It was Garfield Logan. Richard could feel himself growling. He wanted to tear his partner apart. "Roger's gone, a kid is dead, and someone fell from a balcony," Richard bellowed, "And you weren't here to fucking help!"
Taken back by the man's outburst, Garfield furiously snapped back, "And it's my fault! You know Dick, just because I wasn't able to come does not mean that you could neglect your duty as a cop! Fuck, you get one chance to make things right and you completely blow it up, just like your last failed case!"
Richard erupted. "Don't you ever mention my last assignment in front of me!" He pointed a threatening finger at Garfield, his chest heaving in anger. "If I remember correctly, I wasn't the one backing out from going to this damn party! I did what I was told while you screwed around someplace else!"
"I wasn't screwing around Goddamnit!" The other man shouted back. "My wife was giving birth!" Garfield's face was a sickly green from his anger. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself down. He then looked at Richard pleadingly, with bags under his eyes. Richard dropped his finger and stared at his partner. "What?" That was his stupid reason for not coming?
Garfield sighed, but before he could respond, Richard cut him off, not wanting to hear it. "Save your sobs for later. Right now, I don't have time." Still remembering the helpless body underneath the balcony, Richard pushed past Garfield and ran to the other side of the house. He couldn't get distracted. He had to help Raven.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Holy shit, her face…she's a monster."
Raven couldn't recognize the voice. Oh god, what happened…? "Damnit Gar! Don't just stare at her! Go get a doctor!" It was a second voice. Roger? No, this voice was rougher, harder. ...Mr. Grayson? Funny how she could distinguish his voice in the darkness.
Raven tried to open her eyes. She looked up at Mr. Grayson. Richard…He was holding her, trying to keep her gaze. "Mrs. Red!...Raven! You're going be alright. I promise you, you won't die."
So much blood. "My cheek…"
"Don't talk, we're gonna to get you help. You'll be ok." Where's Roger? I need Roger. I want his help…Raven began to whimper. "Shhh. Everything is going to be fine. You'll make it out alive." Richard assured the poor woman. Alive…? Oh, god...
"Mae…" Raven choked out, her voice hoarse. "Mae…!"
Richard's heart sank. He remembered the image of the perished child, her eyes glazed with death. "I'm sorry Mrs. Red." Richard said softly, unable to say anything further. Raven felt her body go numb. She understood. My baby girl…my Mae.
Raven's body was being lifted unto a stretcher. She was hurting, broken. Everything was a blur, a bloody blur as she was being carried away. Raven was dying and all she thought of was one thing. My beautiful Mae…
- - - - - - - - - -
"Hello and I'm Lexie Lewis, here with tonight's news. I'm standing in front of the home of business mogul, Mr. Roger Red, the lead executive of Jump City's finest weaponry corporation. Earlier, he had been hosting a grand party held in his mansion, located on the border of the city, near the Atlantic Ocean, in celebration of the corporation's success. But among the festivity, an uninvited guest had invaded the party, causing the death of an innocent bystander and the fatal wounds of a woman. A young child, identified as the daughter of Roger Red, was found murdered in an upstairs bedroom, while the woman, the wife of Mr. Red, is suffering critical injuries due to a fall from a balustrade. She was immediately rushed to a hospital for medical treatment. Moreover, a vehicle ablaze in flames was discovered in a ditch just fifteen minutes away from the crime scene. In it were the remains of Roger Red, who undoubtedly escaped the party, but could not escape the clutches of death. These tragic turn of events had left us utterly speechless, and unfortunately, had allowed the killer free to pursue his next victim. In other news-" The television switched off with a buzz.
A bulky man gripped the remote tightly, turning his hands white. Richard could feel the anger rising off his boss, Magnus Trigon. We're in for it.
Trigon slowly turned to face them, a vein bulging on the side of his forehead. He firmly placed his fists on the desk and glared menacingly at the men in front of him. Richard expected the desk to collapse under pressure. They were sitting inside their boss's office, after they had left the mansion to the responsibility of the CSI. Now, Garfield and Richard were about to undergo the inevitable wrath of their boss.
"Explain." Trigon said in a deadly voice. Garfield gulped. Richard, however, did not flinch.
"Trigon, I had attended the party as ordered. My partner however," Richard gestured to the man beside him, who was nervously fidgeting with his fingers, "was unable to go due to his wife's childbirth, occurring at the same time of the occasion."
Garfield opened his mouth to explain but clamped it shut when saw his boss shoot daggers at him with his eyes. "I don't want to hear it, Logan."
Richard continued. "Instead, I had brought Kori as my date, to accompany me. And throughout the event, I had kept an eye out for any signs of an attack on Red, watching him the majority of the party." Well, not really, Richard inwardly grimaced. "But, unfortunately, I could not save Roger's family in time."
"Why not?" Trigon growled.
"It did not dawn on me that the killer would go after his wife and kid. They were having some stupid tea party for Christ sake. I only paid attention to Red." Richard lied. God, it's all my fault.
"And you couldn't even do that right! Damnit Grayson, the man burned to fucking ashes! And the kid! Jesus, if you wanted to foul up, all you had to do was ask and I would've shredded your files!" Trigon pounded his fist on the desk.
Richard was about to shout back but Trigon did not allow it. "Forget it. It's over and there's not much we can do." He rubbed his temple. God, he was getting a headache. "What we can do is protect the witness, Mrs. Red. The killer is bound to go after her and finish what he started." Trigon sat down on his chair, lowering his voice to a decent volume but still holding its ferocity. He pulled out a file from his drawer.
Garfield Logan, who had been busy watching the interaction between his comrade and boss, wanted to say his opinion about the case. Taking advantage of the instant silence, he began, "Umm…sir-" but Trigon interrupted him again. "One word outta you and I'll have you fired." That was enough to shut Garfield up.
"Now, I'm giving you a new assignment," Trigon said, looking directly at them, "I want you to keep Miss Raven Red safe, along with tracking down the one who killed her daughter. He's probably already looking for her. Aside from that, which hospital was Miss Red taken to?"
"The one in Gotham City." Richard replied, "It's called the Arkham Hospital. Her face was completely damaged when I saw her. It looked as if every bone was smashed. But there's a surgeon I know who works there and can perform reconstruction for her new disguise. But in terms of the murderer…how would we know which one killed the girl? Slade has a dozen guys working for him." Trigon took the file he got from his drawer and pushed it towards Richard. "A guest had provided some information to one of the cops about the unknown killer. She said that he was a large man, towering at six foot, with light brown hair that came down his shoulders. The description closely relates to Hogan Mammoth."
Richard raised an eyebrow. The name even sounds enormous. Trigon pointed at the file Richard was skimming through."Hogan, a former marine, was charged for murder of a sergeant. He got released a while back, because Slade bailed him out. Now he works for him."
"So…he's probably our best bet." Richard said. He examined the pictures of the massive man. Geez, he looks like a beast. Why didn't I see him at the party?
Trigon was rising from his seat. The headache he had gotten earlier from his fury with the two men was still lingering in his mind. Except now it was pounding. He needed some Motrin, and fast. After having given the two men new orders and information, Trigon was making his way to the door. But he stopped to face the cops before he left. He looked directly at Richard then at Garfield. "Get Mammoth, and he'll get you to Slade. In the mean time, watch over Miss Red," Trigon said, concluding the conversation, "but if babysitting is too hard for you idiots, then I won't hesitate assigning this job to someone more responsible." Then he was gone.
Garfield turned to Richard, who was busy reading Mammoth's profile. He cleared his throat. "Umm…so I guess that means we're still working together, huh?" Richard was silent. Garfield sighed. Having been interrupted too many times, he took his partner's silence as a chance to finally explain himself. "Look, Dick, I'm sorry I wasn't there at the party to help. I knew that if I told you about my wife giving birth, you would've gone to the hospital looking for me, and without one of us at the party, the killer would've had plenty of time to find his target and kill him."
"Congratulations, you traded a life for the birth of your child," Richard said, turning away from him. He didn't feel like arguing. He wasn't in the mood to speak to his partner.
This angered Garfield. How could the bastard be so cold? "Traded! I almost lost an arm! Even if I wanted to go, my wife wouldn't let go of my arm no matter how hard I yanked!" Garfield shouted, pointing to his right arm which lay limp against his side. "And you weren't doing any better either!" He barked back.
Richard heaved a sigh. Garfield was right. He had to be there for his wife and Richard felt stupid for having thought otherwise. "You're right. I fucked up."
"We both did."
"No, it was my fault. I was getting too distracted by everything and I wasn't paying attention." Richard looked at the ground, "I wasn't there fast enough to stop it."
"C'mon Dick, what's done is done, just like Trigon had said. You can't do anything about it, except to learn from it and not do it again."
Both men stood up from their seats. It was getting late and they were exhausted from the day's events. They walked towards the door. Richard weakly smiled at his partner. "I'm sorry Gar. I'm happy you became a dad."
"Yeah, well, you didn't show it."
"What's the baby's name?"
Garfield smiled, "Her name is Desiree. Desiree Logan."