Thanks go out to my great beta readers, Patty and Syl. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Char :-)
COURT MARTIAL: Part 8:
Roy stood up pulling Dick and Wally with him. "Come on, we're getting you the hell outta here until we can get everyone straightened out. Maybe, maybe I can get Hal to help. At least get him to kick Stewart's ass. Of course, I'd like the pleasure of that."
"I'd like to see you try that Harper," John Stewart said. He filled the now opened door with his presence. The emerald green light that radiated from his ring gave a halo effect to his body.
"Really?" Roy sneered as he moved forward. "Is that an open invitation?"
"Cocky bastard aren't you, Harper?" John Stewart replied.
"Cocky? What? Dude, it ain't bragging if you can do it and you back it up." Roy's hand had already slipped into his jacket pocket. His deft fingers entered the arming sequence on the device he gotten from a dark friend of the family. There were people that knew exactly how Stewart would react to a thrown device; they knew how to take him down. People who had forewarned Roy on exactly what to expect. Then he had acquired the device, and was ready. Preparation for a battle was a key he learned early on. Dick had always drilled into the heads of all the Titans the importance of being prepared. It was a lesson Roy had learned well.
Stewart's green energy field would keep out any normal projectiles that Roy could possess. Playing on that knowledge, Roy knew that Stewart was prone to allowing objects from lesser threats bounce off of it while he neutralized the source. Of course, Stewart could only neutralize what he could see. Roy's eyes had already sized up his target and knew exactly where to strike. Roy was completely confident in his abilities and equally confident in his back-up. Never once did he doubt that Wally would watch his back. He also knew as down as he was on himself, when it all came down to the wire, Dick would get back in the game. John Stewart may possess one of the most powerful tools in the universe, but compared to the Titanic trio of Arsenal, Flash and Nightwing, the final result was assured.
"Stop it Roy," Dick's commanding voice echoed in the small room. "That's enough." He turned his steely blue gaze at Green Lantern. "Give it a rest, Stewart. Nothing's going on here. So you can just go. I'm not planning on going anywhere."
"Damn right you aren't," Green Lantern responded.
"John, dammit, we're all on the same side here," Wally said stepping between his teammate and his friends.
"That's where you're wrong, Flash. This time ... we're not. We're not on the same side at all. I may not like this; but I believe that what we're doing is right. That doesn't mean I'm enjoying this. I hate this ... but the facts are the facts, and no one is above the law. This is the line we do not cross and when someone does, we have to bring them down be it friend or foe. Nightwing crossed the line. All the good he's done doesn't negate that fact. There is no justification for murder. Nightwing's going to be tried, he's going to be convicted, and he's going to be punished." Stewart turned his eyes toward Roy Harper and continued. "Anyone who interferes can share a transport ship to the Andarri prison with him."
Roy's eyes narrowed. "You sonovabitch! Don't be so damned sure of yourself. You don't know what happened out there or why it happened. You weren't there and you damn sure aren't God. Hell, you're just a third string Green Lantern. I grew up around Hal Jordan. I know what a Lantern can be and you sure as hell fall short."
"You're right. I'm not Hal Jordan. I'm not a murdering psychopath. No wonder you have a problem seeing Nightwing's actions as being wrong."
Dick grabbed Roy by the arm as Wally pushed him back in their effort to keep him from lunging at Stewart. Dick growled at Green Lantern, "Get outta my cell! Now!"
"You're NOT in charge here, Nightwing, in case you haven't figured that out. You --"
"Stewart! Get. Out."
Green Lantern looked incredulously at the Flash who now stood angry and defiant before him.
Wally West's green eyes flashed with anger as he turned toward his teammate. "I said get out! I mean it."
"I think you better leave 'em alone before you cause another world war," Plastic Man said quietly, taking Stewart by the arm. "I heard you guys down the hall. C'mon John, Wally'll lock up when they leave. Won't you, Wally?" Plastic Man asked as he was moving with Green Lantern through the outer door of the secure area.
"You don't need to do this Barb. You don't deserve what this is going to put you through this. You don't need to do this to yourself."
Barbara Gordon looked into the face of Ted Kord that filled her view screen. "I do have to do this. You don't understand, Ted."
"I understand that he hurts you. Constantly. Now this. When you read the report ... Barbara ... he ... on the roof he ... "
Barbara Gordon held her hand palm up to the screen and camera. "Don't! I'll read it. I don't want anyone else's spin on the report." She closed her green eyes, removed her glasses, and pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew she was getting a migraine, she also knew she didn't have time for one. "Ted," she sighed before looking back up into the face of her friend. "Why? Why are you doing this? Prosecuting Dick? This isn't like you to -- "
"Stand up for what's right? Barb, isn't that what we are supposed to do?"
"Is that all you're doing, Ted? Just standing up for what you think is right. There's no other motive here?"
A half laugh, half sigh escaped his lips as he diverted his eyes from the monitor. "No, Barbara. This is not me being jealous of your boyfriend and wanting him out of the picture. God knows, I do want him out of your life; but not like this. Never like this. You should know me well enough to know that."
"Ted, I do. I didn't mean it like ... I'm sorry," she sighed. "This is a bad situation for all of us. We all just need time to process ... everything." Sad green eyes looked into the monitor. "Thank you for sharing the report. I'll ... I'll talk to you later." She watched him give her a slight smile before she closed the connection. Her hand lingered a moment over the keys of her laptop before making the key strokes to take the Oracle off-line. Barbara Gordon needed to read this report without interruption. The rest of the world could go to hell in a hand basket; just like she felt her world already had.
Barbara picked up the papers she had printed out and moved out of her computer hub. Sometimes reading needed to be done the old fashioned way ... away from her computers. As she entered her kitchen, she dropped the report on the table, moved to the counter and poured herself a cup of steaming hot coffee. She watched the tendrils of smoke sprout from her glass mug. The aroma of the coffee slightly perked her spirits up. Barbara hoped that the taste of the warm liquid would invigorate her body and mind. She had been up for twenty-five hours and knew this was going to be a long night. Sleep was something that would come, if at all, later. There wasn't time for sleep, and even if there was, she was too tired for it. Dick was ... Dick needed her. Even if he didn't want her help.
"Dammit Dick, what the hell have you done?" Sighing, she sat the mug on the table and started reading Elongated Man's incident report. Her years living with her police officer father and working with the Batman enabled her to detach herself as she read the details of the homicide. The gory photographs, the details of the blood splatter, might as well have been a cookbook for the reaction she had to them. The last page of the report, however, ... that was ... different.
Barbara's chest heaved as her breathing became rapid. Her hand yanked at her collar and she opened her mouth to consciously pull in air to her lungs. The pounding of her heartbeat resounded in her ears causing a dull pain. She found that her hand was trembling too much to lift the coffee mug from the table. Her eyes betrayed her. They kept re-reading the same paragraph over and over and over.
"The suspects engaged in intercourse on the roof following the murder. Despite the rain on the roof, which washed away most evidence of the activity, not all trace evidence was disposed of ... "
Her now balled fist slowly started to strike her breast, only to intensify in speed and strength with each strike. Finally, a painful scream erupted from Barbara's pained chest. Picking up the coffee mug, she hurled it with all her might. The glass mug soared through the kitchen, over the bar, and into the living room wall shattering into innumerable pieces. "No. Oh Dick ... how could you?" she cried. "DAMN! What have you done? What's wrong with you?"
She was getting dizzy. Sweat was popping up on her brow as her anger boiled below the surface. "You ... IDIOT! How could you! How could you ... do ... THAT? What in the name of God were you thinking?" Releasing another primal scream, Barbara grabbed the crystal fruit basket from the table and hurled it toward the refrigerator. In a few short minutes, Barbara Gordon had wrecked her kitchen before dissolving into tears.
Barbara tapped her ear indicating to Plastic Man that she wore her JLA comm link. "I'll call you when I'm ready to leave," she stated as he punched in the codes to open the heavy titanium doors to Nightwing's cell.
"Just give me the word, pretty lady, and I'll let you out." He gave her a smile and keyed the door to close and lock upon her entry.
Barbara wheeled into the cell, avoided making eye contact with Dick, and pulled her laptop from its bag. She couldn't help but notice the green scrubs he wore as she powered up the laptop and pulled a legal pad from her bag. It was painfully obvious that he had stripped his Nightwing uniform. She knew him well enough to know he was making a statement by doing so, but Barbara wasn't ready to listen to his statements. She had a job to do, whether either one of them liked it or not.
She flipped the cover of her canary yellow legal pad and pulled the pen from behind her ear. "Mr. Grayson, I'll be representing you in your murder case. I need you to tell me what happened last night at --"
"You just need to leave, Barbara."
"I'm sorry Mr. Grayson, I can't do that," She continued in her coldest, most business like tone. "I'm your attorney and I need to get your side of the story. I've read Elongated Man's report. It doesn't look very good for you, so I need your side of what happened."
Dick stared at her with cold blue eyes. He ran his hand through his raven black hair causing the locks to fall into his face partially covering his eyes. His voice was hard and seemingly devoid of emotion when he spoke to her. "You're not my attorney."
Green eyes met blue for the first time since she entered the room. "I beg to differ with you."
"You're not my attorney. I said it in the Hall and I'm telling you now. I don't want you acting as my attorney. I don't want you involved in this. So just go. Leave. Get out."
"Dick, I'm going to help you whether -- "
"Stop living in the past, Barbara!" He yelled at her. He hoped the words would sting. He saw from her facial expression they had. It hadn't made him as happy as he had hoped it would, but maybe it would accomplish his goal.
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Barbara regained her composure enough to speak. "I deserved that. I'm not living in the past. I'm trying to help you save your future."
"I don't have one," his gravely voice replied. "So you can just now go."
"You need a defense, Dick," she stated, a bit of temper starting to show in her voice.
"I'll have one! I've got Wally. And Roy will help. I just have to ask him. They were both here earlier."
"They're NOT attorneys!" She yelled at him, her frustrations boiling over.
"Neither are John Stewart and your boyfriend, Ted Kord. They're prosecuting though."
"Ted is not my boyfriend and you know it," she almost shouted back at him. She started drumming her pen against the pad.
"Well it's not my business if he is, now is it?" Dick moved from where he sat, with his back against the cold metal wall, to the edge of the bunk. He stared at the gray floor.
"And it's not my business as your ex, that you have a new girlfriend. However, as your attorney, it is my business. Anything that affects your case is my business. I really don't care about your love life, I only care about it in how it affects my case. You're just my client. Period."
"I don't have a new girlfriend!"
"Really? It was just ... what ... a casual fuck?" Barbara asked and accused all in one breath.
Dick looked at her confused. "What ... what are you talking about? I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his voice becoming lower with each word.
Clenching her jaw, Barbara looked down at her pad and continued. "The evidence on the roof says different. You had sex with Tarantula. That usually means something to you, unless it was just a fling ... like Huntress. In any case, it doesn't matter to me personally. I'm fine with whatever you feel for her. We ... we moved on. Some faster than others." She straightened in her chair, "But as your attorney, she's a witness we need to discuss."
"She's NOT a witness and she's NOT my girlfriend."
"Oh ... you're right ... excuse me ... she's not a witness, she's a co-conspirator. Since she actually pulled the trigger."
Dick sighed and stood. "Why don't you just get out? You're not even listening to me."
"I'm not listening because you're not talking!" Barbara said as she wheeled her chair closer to him. "I just can't believe you, Dick. I don't understand how you could be involved in this ... involved with her. Look at what you've done to yourself. How in the name of God could you go with that woman while she killed Blockbuster? I know you were angry at Desmond, but you know better than anyone that is not how we --"
Dick whirled to face her, his face red with anger. "I didn't go there with her to kill anyone! I didn't go there with her! It's not what you think!"
Barbara looked at him over her glasses in disbelief. "Oh really," she seemed to purr. "You kill Desmond and then have celebratory sex on the roof. You're a detective, Dick. You do the math. What should we think? You tell me what you think we should all think about that."
Dick's mouth dropped. She might as well have slapped him. "That's right, you're right, I'm guilty. So get outta my cell. There's nothing you can defend here!"
"You are the most stubborn, hard headed man I have ever met. You just want to give up? I didn't think you were a coward, Dick."
"You didn't think I was a killer either. Boy, were you wrong. Get. Out."
"No." For the second time in that cold gray cell, green eyes met blue. Both sets of eyes showed anger ... and longing ... and something more. "You're not getting rid of me that easily.
He ran his hand through his thick black hair and released an exasperated sigh. "I don't understand why you want to help me?" he asked slowly.
"How could I not? Despite what you've done, how could I not? Besides, I can't let them send you to a prison planet. I wouldn't be able to slap you there."
"Despite what I've done. I don't even understand what I've done, so how can you?"
"Well, lets go over things step by step. You didn't go there with her. The 'her' is Tarantula, I'm assuming." She watched him nod before continuing. "Ralph's report makes it clear that you and Blockbuster fought out of Maxine Michael's hotel room. I'm assuming he killed her. So tell me, how did you and Tarantula end up together?"
"I fought Desmond, we ended up in the stairwell and she was just ... there." Dick closed his eyes and tried to shake the bloody images from his mind. He couldn't though. He knew he never would. He would forever be haunted with the sight, sounds, and smell associated with Desmond's death and his own fall from grace.
"Go on," Barbara prodded. She watched him. She was trying as hard as she could to do so with the cold detachment her years as Batgirl and Oracle had taught her to use when working on a case. Yet, that cold detachment wouldn't come and save her as she watched the pain the love of her life was in. Worse still, was the nagging voice in the back of her head that she was the one who brought him here.
Dick shrugged his shoulders and told his tale yet again, stopping as he always had with him still standing in the stairwell looking at the blood on his hands. Again Barbara prodded. "Go on. What happened next"
"What happened next doesn't matter."
"The hell it doesn't, Dick." She quickly bit her bottom lip. It was very important that she remain his attorney and not his jealous ex-girlfriend at this moment. "I have to know what happened. Ted and John are going to be coming after you hard. They're going to use the sex like a hammer. I have to know how to counter that, if I can."
"Use it?" he asked like a small confused child. Slowly he started shaking his head. "No ... no ... you can't ... can't let them. That can't come up. Barb, you gotta promise me that's not going to come up." His face implored her.
"I can't do that Dick. They're going to use that as part of your motive and --"
"NO! Motive! How can they use -- it's not like I wanted to have sex with her. God, I told her no, tried to get her off me but -- " His chest heaved and his hands went through his hair as he turned his back toward her and walked to the back wall. He laid his head on the cold metal of the wall. "Oh God, can't I just plead guilty or something? Please. I can't ... don't ... that can't come out. Not here ... not in front of ... everyone. Babs, you gotta help me."
Barbara's mouth was dropped open as she stared at his back. She saw the slight tremble in his body, his shame and fear of discovery. She knew the signs. She'd lived through it, talked to others who had been through it when she was recovering from Joker's savage attack on her. A familiar feeling of flushed heat and dizziness washed over her. "She ... forced ... you. Omigod, you were ... raped."
TO BE CONTINUED ...
