Author's Notes: Is three-shot an actually thing? If not I am creating it now! I am a big Young Justice fan and I am so glad it got a third season! I just finished it and it was really incredible! I also love Dick Grayson is a Talon stories, as you're about to see.
Summary: He had been called many things in his life. Nightwing. Monster. Talon. Son. Hero. Each title had been true, for a certain amount of time. Then he would shed it for the next role that 'destiny' assigned to him. But no matter what others called him, he would always be Dick Grayson. And one thing that Dick Grayson embraced...was that destinies did not exist.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Enjoy
Dick struggled violently in the man's gloved grasp. But nothing he did seemed to break the larger man's hold on him. No matter how much he kicked or screamed or lashed at him, the armor he wore and the sheer amount of skill he possessed kept Dick from being able to defend himself. He could do nothing as he was dragged along and eventually thrown forward like a rag doll into the open box that sat on the ground.
Dick cringed away from the cold edge of the metal when he tried to climb out. The inside of the box was much colder than the rest of the room. But then again...it wasn't a box. This was something Dick realized with a start.
It was a coffin.
Before he could attempt another climb out of it, the lid suddenly slammed shut on him and left him trapped inside. Dick pounded against the glass lid with all his might but it didn't so much as leave a crack.
"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! PLEASE LET ME OUT!" Dick screamed at the top of his lungs. Fresh tears were starting to form in his eyes from desperation. He looked through them and attempted to gaze out to the person who sealed him inside. It had been too bright on the outside to see anything, but the tinted glass was causing the light to lower, and allowed him to just make out the dark silhouette that loomed over him.
Batman was glaring daggers at him through the lid.
Dick banged against the glass some more as he plead with his long time mentor. "Bruce please! I'm sorry! Please let me out! Please don't leave me in here!"
The Dark Knight sneered at the Talon's begging and his glare intensified. "You're going to spend the rest of your life in there. I should have done this a long time ago. I never should have even raised you in the first place. I should have let you die on the street like the filth you are."
The tears in his eyes began to pour down his cheeks, only to freeze and crack. It was starting to get colder. He would stop being able to move soon. And Bruce hadn't administered the drug to put him to sleep. He would be awake for all of it.
He looked back up, meaning to plead with Bruce once more, only to find another shadowy figure behind the Dark Knight, who seemed completely unaware of the newcomer's presence. Soon the stranger advanced towards Batman, pulling a katana from a sheath on his back. Dick pounded on the glass again to get Bruce's attention. "Bruce! Behind you!"
He turned just in time for the newcomer's blade to pierce his mid-section. Dick let out a terrified shriek as blood splattered all over the lid. Through the blood he could see Batman's form drop to the ground, just out of his view. The shadow advanced towards the coffin and knelt down to get a better look, which in turn allowed Dick to see his face.
It was Cobb.
With a renewed drive Dick beat against the container in a desperate attempt to get free, but Cobb's evil laugh put a stop to it.
"No need to be frightened." Cobb said as he tapped a few buttons on the coffin's side. Immediately more cold air poured in and made Dick's whole body seize up. Once that was done, Cobb looked him in the eye. "You're just going to go to sleep for now. And when you wake up, I'll be right here to make you our Gray Son once again."
"NO!" Dick somehow managed to break his arm free of the paralysis and bashed his fist against the container, causing it to shatter. Dick wasted no time in jumping out and putting himself in a defensive stance, but Cobb was nowhere to be seen.
Dick spun around in every direction in an attempt to find him, but paused when he finally saw where he was. It was the Labyrinth. And there before him stood the giant owl fountain, water spewing from it's beak. But the rest of the fountain was different. Inside the base was not water. It was blood. And leaning against the edge of it was the team. Babs, Conner, M'gann, Kaldur, Artemis, and Tim. Or at least their bodies. Their throats had been torn open, and their blood was pouring into the fountain like water.
Dick fell to his knees at the carnage, unable to bring himself to even scream.
But then a new noise overtook the room. And he was familiar with such music. It was the sound of begging. Dick turned to see Wally on his knees, being held by the throat by Cobb, who had his clawed hand raised high.
Wally's plea for mercy fell on deaf ears as Cobb swiped his arm down and tore apart the younger man's throat. Dick let out another strangled cry as his best friend fell to the ground, dead.
Cobb just stood there, blood soaking his armor, and gave him a wry laugh in response to his pain.
Anger quickly replaced the dread and burned through him like a roaring fire as Dick leapt up and jumped on Cobb, pinning the older Talon beneath him as he raised his claws to finish the job.
He paused in his blood-lust though. The man under him was no longer William Cobb. It was him. It was Dick Grayson.
His mirror image smiled at him as he raised a clawed hand up to his face and brushed the tears away.
"It's time you stop fighting what you really are."
Dick shot out of bed, a scream tearing through his throat. Sooner or later he realized that he was in bed, not in the Labyrinth. He took a few deep breaths until he found that he could breathe with ease. Slowly, he took a look around, his owl eyes having no issue adjusting to the dark, and recognized his bedroom, if one could call it that.
Realistically it was the epitome of modesty. He was currently laying on top of a mattress that was spread out haphazardly on the ground, and there was a small chest of drawers by his side and a sink on the far side of the room. He also had a desk set up in the corner with a computer rested on it, and a board just next to that with a series of pictures and pins on it. That was all. The location itself was the basement of some closed down restaurant in Bludhaven. Even though he still technically owned an apartment in the city he knew it would be the first place anyone in the JLA would look. And he needed his solitude for what he was doing. Not visits from the Justice League. Certainly not from Bruce.
Trying to shake off the nightmare he just had, Dick rolled over so he could reach the chest of drawers and opened it to pull out a bottle of beer. He bought a box of them when he first set up here. He knew logically that his healing factor would probably keep him from feeling any of the usual effects of alcohol, but he was willing to hope. To go out and get them he had to wear sunglasses and a hoodie that he liberated from his old apartment, so that no one would recognize him as Richard Grayson or as a Talon. Luckily this was Bludhaven, so even though he barely looked old enough to vote he was able to buy these without anyone really caring. The first time he tried to get drunk he thought he felt a bit lightheaded for a second, but it must have been psychosomatic because he downed the rest of the bottle and didn't feel a thing.
He didn't know why he bothered to keep drinking it. To some extent he supposed it was an experiment to see if things would change for whatever reason. So far they had not. After finishing the bottle and still being fully sober, Dick tossed it to the side and got up to go upstairs. After emerging from the basement he looked outside the glass doors of the restaurant as best he could, though they were mostly covered with old newspapers. Still, through the tears in the paper he could see a soft orange glow, meaning it was sunrise.
Dick then decided to position himself by the window and watch the sun come up. He could use some small pleasures here and there.
It had been two months since he left the manor. Two months since he chose to embrace his destiny as a Talon. Two months since he began to deal with crime in Bludhaven his own way. In all that time he hadn't spoken to a single member of the Team or the League. He found himself wondering what they were doing right now. Knowing Tim and Wally they were probably the ones to raised hell about searching for him when he left. There had been a few close encounters where an old team member nearly caught up to him while he was out on patrol, but his heightened senses allowed him to pick up on them and evade them before they came too close. It was like trying to swat a fly with the head of a needle.
Sooner or later the close encounters got less and less frequent before they stopped all together. He wasn't sure if it was him or the search they had given up on. He only knew that he was in no position to deal with them. In fact if he had it as an option, he would never see any of them again. It wasn't out of malice by any means. But heroes had no business associating with people like him unless it was to take them to prison.
Dick was so consumed with his own thoughts that he hadn't even realized he had cast his gaze downwards and stopped looking at the sunset until the light shinning on his face got brighter and forced him to flinch away. He looked again squinting to see that the sun was now over the horizon and shinning in the blue sky. Oh well, he supposed. He would have to watch it rise some other time.
Going back down to the basement, Dick immediately went to his computer and got to work. As it turned on, the bulletin board next to him came into view as the blue screen lit up the room. On it were the pictures of several men and woman, connected by threads wrapped around the pushpins that hung them on the board. At the very top of the chain was a picture of a red owl mask with a question mark drawn next to it. But that was not the most eye catching detail. The thing that drew the most attention was the fact that most of these pictures were x'd out in thick red marker.
Bruce
Bruce always appreciated Wayne Manor. In his childhood before his parents were killed, the large estate made him the envy of every classmate in Gotham Academy. After their deaths, it gave him his own space to be away from the world and separate himself from society. When he became Batman, the large hollowed out foundation underneath allowed him to convert it into the Batcave. And when he became a father, it was a great place to raise a family.
He had always loved Wayne Manor.
But now he hated it with a passion.
Because this incredibly large house only served to remind him of how utterly alone he was.
Nowadays you hear this person and that talking about how they had no idea where it all went wrong. That wasn't the case here. Bruce knew exactly where it went wrong. It was the moment he betrayed Dick. And from that point everything spiraled downwards.
Tim left him not long after Dick. He told Bruce that until further notice he could consider himself childless, and stormed out of the manor with his things packed. Sans the Robin suit. That he left behind. Tim was so distant now that he didn't even know where his son was living. Not long after he left though, Tim presented himself to the team as Red Robin, with a new suit he made himself (1) and a new name meant to commemorate where he had come from. But this was not at all like when Dick became Nightwing.
Dick became Nightwing because he had simply grown up, and was an independent young man. Tim became Red Robin out of hatred for Bruce. Whenever they encountered each other in their vigilante personas Tim would glare at him through his mask, and outright refused to speak to him. Once when giving an assignment to the team, he made the mistake of addressing Red Robin directly after the rest of the team dispersed. It was an utter nightmare.
"What do you want?" Red Robin asked curtly. Clearly he was eager to walk through the Zeta tubes and join his team, or rather, he was eager to be anywhere but in Bruce's company.
"We need to talk." Batman responded in like, trying to keep his voice level. Inside he felt even more torn apart than he had after his parent's murder.
Red Robin snorted and moved towards the Zeta tubes. "We have nothing to talk about." He said as he pushed past Batman.
Batman reached out and grabbed him lightly by his wrist to stop him. "Please Tim. I know you hate me. You should hate me. But I need your help. If you could just help me find Dick then-"
Red Robin snarled and ripped his arm from his former mentor's grasp before rounding on him. "Then what? What could you possibly hope to accomplish by facing him Batman?"
Bruce couldn't suppress the chill that ran through him at the use of his moniker. Even when they were hidden under their masks it had always been 'Bruce' to his sons when they were alone. It clearly didn't go unnoticed by Tim.
Red Robin feigned guilt and put a hand to his chest. "Oh I'm so sorry. Did that offend you?" He asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone like acid. "I thought you'd appreciate it. I mean, that's how it works with you right? Cowl comes first, family comes second."
"That's not fair Tim." He protested weakly.
"It's not wrong either." Red Robin replied. "You have never cared about anyone more than you cared about Batman. And that's fucking sad. But don't come to me just because you want to alleviate your guilt."
"That's not what this is." In his heart though, Bruce knew that Tim's words rang true. "I need to make things right with Dick."
"No, you want him to forgive you." Red Robin countered as he turned away one last time and walked towards the tubes. "I wouldn't if I were him. And even if he does someday, that's not the same thing as going back to the Manor. I already moved out, and it's not like he has any other family waiting for him there."
Those words sat with Batman well after his former protege disappeared into the Zeta tubes.
Alfred didn't quit, which boggled his mind. But suddenly the man who raised him became nothing more than his butler. He did the bare minimum in his services around the manor and never spoke to Bruce. He seemed to avoid being in the same room with the man as best he could. Every night when he came home there was a plate of food waiting for him, but Alfred was nowhere to be seen. The amount of effort he put into avoiding Bruce was by far in a way worse than if he had outright resigned.
Barbara was another story. She never outright quit either. She never got the chance.
They had been out on patrol one night without a word passing between them. There was an unspoken discord in every move they made that hadn't been there before, though the cause was obvious. They weren't working together as well as they could. Both were completely off their game and he knew it. He should have insisted that they work things out before patrolling. But he didn't.
So later that night when they encountered the Joker, that disconnect between them had cost her dearly. Bruce knew in his heart that this was his fault as well. When the Joker pulled his gun, he had been too slow, or wasn't paying enough attention. Barbara had been distracted with thoughts about Dick, or resentment towards Bruce. Either way, what happened to her was entirely on him.
It was on him that the Joker shot Batgirl in the chest point blank. It was on him that the bullet had gone straight through her spine and cut off all neural connectivity. It was on him that she had to retire as Batgirl. And it was on him that she would never walk again.
Lastly was the League itself. But they hadn't necessarily abandoned him either. In fact, it was the reverse. He tenured his resignation two weeks ago. Diana and Clark may have been angry with him for his treatment of Dick, but they still quarreled with him over this choice, saying that the League needed Batman. He told them that he was hardly in a state of mind to help anyone and he would be a liability as he was now. What had happened to Barbara was proof of that. Moreover, he had to focus on finding Dick and making things right.
On his way out of the Watchtower that day he passed by the team, each of them sending intense glares his way. Wally's was by far the fiercest. Kid Flash and Tigress had returned to the team not long after Dick left. It gave the young man every opportunity to tell Bruce what a worthless, pathetic excuse for a father he was. And the younger hero made sure to do just that every chance he got.
But that didn't matter. The insults and glares and avoidance didn't matter. He deserved it after all. What concerned him most was Dick.
Officially, Richard Grayson had been sent to a specialized psychiatric facility at an undisclosed location to deal with his PTSD. It made for a better story than admitting he had essentially kicked his son out of the house.
In reality Bludhaven, still reeling from the loss of Nightwing, had been flooded with crime as of late. But the most recent online articles concerning Haven talked about a new unnamed vigilante who had taken to the streets. It was worth noting though, that most of the headlines about the aforementioned 'hero' ended with the phrase 'friend or foe?'. And that question was asked with good reason.
It all began with an attempted rape the night Dick left. The woman was fine physically, but was pretty much traumatized by what she saw. The man that intervened had smashed her would-be attacker's head into the wall, cracked his eye socket, collapsed his lung, shattered his knee, and crushed his larynx. It was a miracle he didn't die. In fact, he did die multiple times in the ambulance en route to the hospital, only to be revived each and every time. He would be spending the next year or so in a full body cast.
Bruce felt his insides collapse in on themselves when he read her description; a tall man in a black leotard with golden claws and orange goggles over his owl-themed hood.
The attacks only seemed to get more brutal from there. Criminals had their bones all but ground to dust, were stabbed repeatedly in major arteries, got beaten so badly that blood vessels began to burst. Many of these people would have severe lifelong disabilities as a result. It was going too far.
As far as small miracles went, no one had died yet. Yet being the operative word. And it wasn't for lack of trying. Dick clearly had lost all concern for whether or not people died. But what he had been doing lately was by far the most disturbing.
Seven people had been attacked in their homes. They were tied up, gagged, and tortured for hours on end. Electrocuted, burned, stabbed, beaten, even mutilated. And these were no criminals. They were just ordinary citizens. Bruce wanted desperately to believe that they were unrelated, but the only victim to awaken described his attacker, and that attacker was a Talon.
Bruce had no idea what Dick was up to. Perhaps they were somehow connected to criminal organizations, and this was some twisted method of gaining information. Whatever the cause, it was absolutely horrifying.
Bruce had to get to the bottom of this. He had to find Dick. He had to bring him home. He had to throw himself on the ground in front of his son and beg for forgiveness.
But Bruce was far to smart to think that it would work.
Dick had tormented himself into believing that no matter what he did, he could not be redeemed. But as it turned out, it was Bruce there was no redemption for.
M'gann
M'gann woke up to sunbeams making it through the space in her curtain and making contact with her face. She rolled over in bed in an attempt to keep herself from waking up completely, and knew immediately that something was wrong. There was far too much space next to her on the bed. She reached over and confirmed her suspicions. Conner wasn't there.
The destruction of the cave, a place which had served as their home for years, had indeed been tragic. However, it also served as the perfect opportunity to get their own place. It wasn't anything too fancy. In fact, it was quite literally a house in the middle of nowhere. It very nice though. Several bedrooms, a nice garage for Sphere to stay in, and more than enough room to have a dog the size of Wolf. Not to mention a Zeta tube located behind their garage in case they were called over and needed a transportation method more conspicuous than the Supercycle. (2)
Despite being pleased with their house, M'gann was still concerned with Conner not being there. She was normally the first one up between the two of them. Regardless, in her tired state the martian decided that she was making something out of nothing and laid her head back down on the pillow.
After resting their for a little while longer she decided it was time to get up and make breakfast. She quickly got dressed in her robe and made her way to the kitchen, only to find her boyfriend already there. He was already fully dressed and wide awake. His back was turned to her and he was on the phone. As she walked closer, she could hear more of the conversation.
"That long?" Conner said to the person on the other line. He sighed and scrubbed his hand across his face. "Yeah, I understand. I'll pass it along. Thank you for calling." With that the half-kryptonian hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" M'gann asked. Conner was startled by her sudden presence, but settled down and smiled once he saw who it was. However, his smile quickly disappeared, as though he was remembering the conversation he had.
"It was the headmaster of Gotham Academy. He was calling about Tim. I told him I was his roommate."
M'gann couldn't help but smile a bit at that. Tim must have listed their place as his forwarding address and changed his contact information. After Tim and Bruce's falling out, he came over to vent to Conner a bit. M'gann had been utterly horrified to learn what Bruce did upon finding what happened. She by no means thought he would take it well, but attempting to lock Dick up in Arkham? That was unforgivable.
After Tim made it very clear that he had no intention of returning to that house, it was M'gann who offered him one of the spare rooms at their place. Both Conner and Tim seemed keen on the idea, and as far as she knew there were no issues with it. Tim would use their private Zeta tube to go to Gotham in time for school, then go up to the Watchtower for training and mission deployment. So far it seemed like everything had gone off without a hitch, but a call from Tim's headmaster meant otherwise.
"Was it about him missing school? I know he's been absent a couple days for team missions but..."
"He hasn't gone to school in eighteen consecutive days." Conner corrected.
M'gann turned to give her boyfriend a stunned look. "Eighteen? He's only been out for three in regards to team missions. And we made sure they were spread out."
Conner shrugged his shoulders as he set the phone down. "Well according to the headmaster, Tim hasn't shown up to school and none of his professors have been successful in contacting him. They've done everything short of putting his face on the side of a milk cart." Conner explained with a dejected look. "If he misses any more, he'll fail his sophomore year."
M'gann took a seat at the kitchen table and put her head in her hands. Everything seemed to be coming apart at the seams. Nightwing was gone. Batman was in a self-imposed exile. And now Red Robin was shifting all the balance away from his civilian life. And if M'gann had to take a guess, she would say that his search for Dick was the cause. Tim looked for Dick well after the trail went cold and the team was told to leave it alone for the time being. No one was surprised to learn that Red Robin had been logging extra hours at the Watchtower in an attempt to find his brother, nor did anyone abject. But that was only becausere they had no idea he was allowing his civilian identity to fall on the back burner to accomplish it. That just couldn't stand.
At that moment, Tim emerged from his bedroom with his hair shooting out in every direction. Both aliens allowed him to go to the coffeepot without a word passing between them. The now previous Boy Wonder was practically a walking corpse without his morning cup of coffee, and didn't make for a very stimulating conversationalist. After downing his first mug of many, he looked around the room like he was only just now aware of what was going on around him. "What's up?"
Both Conner and M'gann were sitting down at the table looking at him like parents when their child brings home their first failing grade. "Well, we just got an interesting call from your headmaster."
Tim looked mildly startled by M'gann's statement and lowered his gaze to his mug. "Oh? What did he say?"
"I think you know." M'gann said as she got up and walked over to the young boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tim, we talked about this."
"No. You talked. I listened." He said as he shook off her grip.
M'gann let out a sigh and raised her fingers to her temple. "Where on Earth have you been going in the morning when you were supposed to be at school?"
"Bludhaven." He answered curtly, hoping that bluntness would make the conversation go quicker. Apparently, he was wrong.
"Tim, we all want Dick back but..." Tim scoffed in disbelief, cutting the Martian off.
"Then why did you stop looking?" He asked with accusatory glares sent to both of them.
M'gann relented under his glare. She knew that Tim was going through a hard time over everything that happened. His family was in shambles, one of his best friends was paralyzed, and his brother was at risk of losing himself. She would let that comment slide. He needed to vent.
Conner however, was having none of it. Tim was his best friend, but he couldn't stand for the boy blaming this mess on him and M'gann. It hurt too much.
"Don't go there Tim." The clone said with his voice lowered. "I get that he's your brother, but I've known Dick my entire life. He's our friend too, and we want to help him."
"Then why did you stop looking?" Tim repeated, keeping the accusatory tone firm in his voice.
Conner pinched the bridge of his nose. "Having this conversation the first time was bad enough. We didn't want to stop looking. But Dick was trained by the best in making himself invisible. You know that better than anyone. We're not going to find him unless he wants to be found."
"I refuse to accept that." Tim said stubbornly.
"And we understand that." M'gann said as she got up from her seat and placed herself between the two boys. "But it's just not healthy of you to conduct this search of yours by yourself at the expense of your civilian life."
"I never said I was alone." Tim snapped. "Red Arrow's been helping me."
"We'll that's worse. Roy is going through NA and single-handedly taking care of his infant daughter. He has more than enough responsibilities without putting on the mask."
"I wouldn't have had to go to him if the rest of you hadn't given up." Tim defended.
M'gann looked at him for a minute. "This is going in circles. I've already explained why we had to. The team and the League agreed that until there was a solid lead to follow we had to-"
"Right." Tim said, cutting her off. "And the team always does what the League tells it to do."
Conner narrowed his eyes at the younger boy, beginning to lose his patience. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Tim looked at him with a raised brow. "Does 'Cadmus' ring a bell?"
M'gann gave Tim a sharp look as she sat down and sank into her space on the couch. "That was different."
"Why? Because it was him..." Tim said, pointing at Conner. "...instead of Dick?"
Conner took a deep breath to get the tension out of his system. They were due for a long conversation and it wasn't a good idea to let his temper get the better of him over that remark. "Look Tim, I have your back on this." He said with a small pause. "But I also have my limits. Do not, for even a second, accuse us of wanting things to be this way."
Tim looked away in mild shame, but it was clear he had no intention of changing the way he was handling things. That realization made Conner sigh again. "I don't get this." He said. "You've been doing so well with keeping up in your school work. What changed?"
Tim looked up again and flicked his eyes towards the living room where M'gann was sitting. "Turn on the TV."
M'gann raised on auburn brow at the Dark Squire's request/demand. Nevertheless, she picked up the remote to comply. "What channel?"
"Doesn't matter. It's on every station."
With a small pit of worry forming in her stomach from that remark, M'gann turned on the TV. They were greeted by the sight of Iris West who, normally sharing in her husband and nephew's optimistic and sparkling auras, had her face contorted in concern and what could only be disgust.
"We can now confirm that the victim is indeed reclusive billionaire Joseph Powers. While his teenage son Derek (4) was found uninjured and unconscious in his room, Powers himself remains in critical condition after the vicious attack at his estate last night. While the authorities have ruled out robbery as a motive, sources report that this attack matches a series of similar attempted murders in Bludhaven. The suspect in those cases remains at large, and has been described as a slender man in black and gold attire. Like in the previous cases, Powers has suffered deep claw marks to his-"
M'gann had to shut the TV off. She couldn't listen anymore. They had all known about what Dick had been doing since the day it started. And each time, he had simply vanished before any Leaguer or team member got anywhere close to the scene. And each time the carnage left behind made her innards tie themselves in knots.
She couldn't understand how this happened. How had the cackling little boy she had been friends with for so many years fallen so far? And even though she knew Dick had his own reasons, she had to wonder what in God's name these people did to deserve this. Nothing had come up in the background checks that Batman and Red Robin ran on them. Nothing to suggest any criminal ties. And yet Dick had apparently bound and tortured seven, now eight different people for hours on end without reprieve, two of which were still in medically induced comas.
If things continued like this...
It's not like it would happen all at once, but sooner or later someone would make a request to the Justice League to help capture the man responsible. They'd have to bring Dick in. His identity would be revealed. Dick Grayson would be labeled a criminal.
And the Court will have won.
"Want to keep going on about how finding Dick isn't a priority?"
Neither alien could bring themselves to respond to that sharp remark as Tim strode out the front door and made his way to their Zeta Tube.
Bruce
Bruce didn't feel like he should bother getting out of bed. He hadn't gone to Wayne Enterprises in days. And besides Batman, who only came out in the dead of night, there was absolutely no one else who wanted or needed him. And Bruce Wayne was no fool. He knew full well that what he was going through was clinical depression.
But he couldn't bring himself to care one iota.
He was lost.
He was alone.
His boys all gone, through his own faults.
Dick, who he had betrayed.
Jason, who he had failed.
Tim, who he had let down.
Without them, a void feeling had settled in his chest that had managed become foreign over the years. His sons had always managed to give him a purpose beyond his revenge driven need for justice. They had saved him, far more than he ever did for them. Bruce had always told himself that he was above allowing himself to cross the line by killing another human being, but who was he kidding? If it weren't for the constant spark of life that his children added to him just by being in their presence, he would have crossed that line a long time ago.
And all it took was losing each and every one of them for him to acknowledge just how important they all were.
Now he had no way of fixing that void. Jason was gone. Killed by the Joker. Even if he were alive today, Jason would no doubt join Tim in his hatred for Bruce the instant he found out what their father had done. As for Tim, he had come to terms with the fact that even if they managed to make their peace with each other, Batman and Robin were done. They would never again be what they once were. And nothing he could do would ever change that.
As for Dick...Dick was another matter altogether. He had known that boy since he was eight. Raised him, trained him, and loved him for over a decade now. He knew Dick's character. And he knew the boy would eventually forgive him. Bruce by no means thought he deserved forgiveness, but that's just who Dick was. No matter how horribly Bruce wronged him, Dick always managed to forgive him for his wrongdoings. Bruce had no idea where it came from. The boy simply refused to let himself stay mad at his guardian. Truly, the young man he took in all those years ago was a godsend.
So yes, Dick would forgive him.
But Bruce would never forgive himself.
Bruce refused to allow himself to wallow in his failures any further. Bruce Wayne was simply not designed to sit around doing nothing. Even if it meant going into the Batcave and trying aimlessly to find Dick. Of course, at this point his leads had dried up, which meant that he would wind up reading the exact same files and news articles he had read three times before.
He made his way down the stairs at an agonizingly slow pace, having no real energy to move. As he made his way to the grandfather clock in the main room, he halted when he saw a figure move in the corner of his eye. It was gone in an instant, moving into the kitchen. Bruce nearly leapt for joy. There was only one person who still came to the Manor. And it was someone he desperately needed right now. He rushed towards the kitchen, having is hopes fulfilled as he found Alfred just walking in.
The older man turned to him, no doubt out of reflex from hearing another person enter the room. As usual, his expression would not change in the slightest, though something in his eyes told Bruce that Alfred was not happy to see him.
The butler recomposed himself right away and stood up straight. "My pardon, Master Bruce. I was under the impression you were still in bed. I'll return later." He then immediately proceeded to turn around and walk away from his employer.
"Alfred wait!" Bruce practically screamed. He knew that it would be this way. He knew just about every person he talked to for the foreseeable future would regard him this way. He couldn't argue that he didn't deserve it, but he desperately needed help. Their resentment would have to wait.
Alfred turned to him again with eyes as close to a bat-glare as Bruce had ever seen them get. "Master Bruce I really must-"
"Please." Bruce interrupted, exasperation clear in his voice. "Just listen to me. This isn't Batman coming to you. This is Bruce right now. I don't blame you for hating me. After what I did...you should hate me. Everyone should. But I'm begging you to just talk to me. I need you. I..." Bruce trailed off before finding the strength to finish his statement. "I need my friend."
Alfred's expression softened in the slightest manor possible. For a moment he no longer saw the Dark Knight, scourge of Gotham. He saw the little boy whose parents were gunned down in front of him. He begrudgingly took pulled out a seat at the table for Bruce before getting started on a pot of tea. It was the first thing he did whenever there was a long conversation ahead of him. "Have a seat Master Bruce."
Bruce complied with Alfred's unofficial order and sat down, allowing a shudder of relief to slip past his defenses. At least they weren't avoiding each other now.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Alfred poured out two cups of tea.
"For clarification Master Bruce, I don't hate you. I could never hate you." Alfred said as he laid the cup down in front of Bruce.
"Oh?" Bruce said with no small amount of hope bubbling in his chest as he sipped at the tea.
"Never. No matter what may pass within these walls, I could not bring myself to hate you even if I tried. But I am..." Alfred trailed off, as he stirred a spoon in his own tea. "I'm...disappointed."
The hope in his chest melted away and was replaced by the feeling of a knife twisting around his insides. That statement alone was almost as bad as hearing his oldest friend declare his undying hatred for him.
"Now then." Alfred said as he took as seat across from Bruce and cleared his throat. "How may I assist you Master Bruce?"
Bruce leaned his elbows against the table (despite knowing how much it had to annoy Alfred given the man's pet peeve about proper table etiquette) and hid his face in his hands. He let out a very long breath before allowing himself to say the words that had weighed heavily on his mind from the moment that Dick left the Manor that night.
"I did something horribly wrong. Something unforgivable. And I have no idea how I can ever hope to make it right again." He said, and by God, it felt like he had just been released from holding up a mountain. Just admitting it out loud offered more relief than he could have anticipated, and having someone with him that might be willing to help only added on to it.
Alfred nodded slowly as he picked up his cup of tea. "That is, perhaps, not unlike what Master Dick felt after he killed Anthony Zucco." (3)
And just like that it felt like the mountain had been thrown back onto his shoulders. Dear Lord, how had he not seen that?! This suffocating shame and guilt must be nothing compared to what Dick was going through on a daily basis. Bruce knew for a fact that if he himself had been manipulated into killing someone...anyone...even the man who killed his parents, he would never be able to recover. Moreover, just knowing that Alfred was disappointed with him was pure hell. And again it was nothing compared to how he had treated Dick. How could he ever hope to help Dick when he couldn't seem to do anything right?
"God Alfred." The Dark Knight whispered with his head bowed in shame. "What am I going to do? How can I ever hope to fix this?"
There was no judgement in Alfred's eyes as he spoke. Only understanding and patience, the type of which was nothing short of miraculous considering Bruce's latest blunders not only with Dick, but with Barbara and Tim as well. "May I be blunt sir?"
"I would have it no other way." Bruce said honestly as he rose his head to look at the man who raised him in the eye.
Alfred took a long sip of tea before setting it down as he spoke. "First, you need to be prepared for the possibility that Masters Richard and Timothy will never forgive you. If you set out on this, you cannot have any ulterior motives. It must solely be Master Dick's best interest, and nothing else."
Bruce nodded in confirmation, which was all Alfred needed to continue.
"Secondly, there can be no judgement on your part. You acknowledge that you made a mistake, but that is simply not good enough on its' own. Master Dick was forced to do horrible things, but in doing so he sparred many people the suffering that the Court of Owls would have put them through. But that knowledge on his part is without doubt cold comfort. As you know I was a member of the Secret Intelligence Service in England, and I had to take the lives of others during my tenure there. And there will always be a part of me that is haunted by those deeds. I imagine Master Richard feels the same way. You must be prepared to abandon your precious ethics and tell him that he was in the right when he did what he did."
Bruce nodded again without hesitation. He had known that from the start, and it was no longer something he would simply say to get Dick back. It was now something he truly believed.
"And finally sir, you must come to him as his father, not as Batman. As you know, I objected strenuously to the inception of Robin since you first suggested the prospect. But perhaps you don't know the true reason. Make no mistake sir, I was indeed concerned about the boy's safety, and will continue to be regardless of his age. But the core reason behind my displeasure was that I thought the boy needed a father more than he needed justice. Now perhaps I was wrong. Who can say? But I know it to be a fact that if you truly desire what is best for Master Dick you must be there as a father for him. And that means you must be willing to put Batman to rest."
To his shame, that one made Bruce pause. Could he do that? He was loathed to admit it, but he needed Batman. He needed justice. He...
Bruce sighed. Who was he kidding? That was a crutch. He had long since deluded himself that there was no life for him beyond Batman. For most of his life that was true. There was the facade of his drunken playboy, but besides that his vigilante life was the only life that mattered. It had been that way for a long time.
And then there was Dick.
Dick had allowed him to incorporate a side of himself to his public image that was not at false. The image of a father who loved his son. Jason and Tim allowed him to do the same, but...as ashamed to admit it as Bruce was, Dick was his favorite. Without Dick, he never would have met Tim, nor would he have even considered taking in the small child that had jacked the tires off his car.
Dick saved him. He allowed a beacon of light to enter his life once again.
And Bruce had repaid him with betrayal.
If he ever wanted to make this right, he had to be willing to let the cowl fall to the ground, and lock up the cave for good.
Again, Bruce nodded.
"Very good sir." Alfred said. He gave a small pause before giving one last piece of advice. "There is something else. We both know Master Dick to be the most joyous and bright person on this Earth, something he has clearly lost sight of. If you wish to bring that back to him...
...then you will need someone who is all too familiar with brightness and joy."
Wally
Wally had nearly forgotten how much he loved running.
The wind blasting through his ginger hair, the feeling miles passing beneath his feet in a matter of minutes, the pure adrenaline rush that accompanied the impact he felt as he broke through the sound barrier...
Why had he ever given it up?
But as he had learned recently, being a speedster was much more fun than having to take care of them.
He was currently running throughout the house to keep pace with the newly dubbed 'Tornado Toddlers'. Iris had gone into labor early, which had sent everyone into a panic. Barry had been vibrating in his seat so much that he nearly shifted through the floor. So they were thanked God when both twins came out perfectly healthy. They thanked God slightly less when they discovered that the twins had inherited Barry's powers.
It was actually a bit funny in the beginning. They were crawling before most kids their age did. That itself was not so unusual. Hyperactive heroes made for hyperactive kids. The giveaway was the morning that the twins vibrated out of their cribs because they were hungry. The entire household was caught somewhere between awe and laughter as the Don and Dawn speed-crawled throughout the house.
That had been adorable. This was a nightmare. Because recently, they had taken their first steps. And while that was normally a treasures moment for normal families, it was a complete and utter horror for theirs. Again they had to blame Barry's powers. The twins were just nearing seven months old. They should not have been walking already! But it seemed they were far to eager to expend the energy bubbling beneath the surface.
Wally and his parents all decided to move in with Barry and Iris until further notice to help with the twins. Taking care of infant meta-humans, as it turned out, was easily a five person job. Bart helped too, but that proved to be an annoyance in and of itself since someone always had to remind him to stop calling Don 'dad' and Dawn 'aunt Dawn'. That would make for some very weird formative memories.
That said, Wally could not have been more grateful to the aforementioned teen as the twins sped around the corner only to be caught and yanked up into the arms of their son/nephew. "Gotcha!"
Wally allowed himself to collapse onto the floor, feeling completely drained after that long chase. "Thanks Bart. Never thought I'd hate running around so much."
Bart let out a large laugh as he sped upstairs to put the twins back in their cribs, for however long that might last. "You said the same thing about chasing me down when I was little!"
"Then future me knew what he was doing." Wally said under his breath as he managed to heave himself up off the ground.
Wally had spent the last few months easing himself back into the hero life. Incidentally, that caused him to get closer to his once removed cousin.
Barry had wanted Bart to have a normal life, so with some help from Batman, the two had constructed a false identity for Bart as being a distant relative of the Allen's who was recently orphaned and came to live with them. Wally had expected a much more elaborate construct, just like they had done for Dick's "kidnapping". That said, the Allens were hardly in the public spotlight like the Wayne family was were. Aside from Iris' job as a news anchor, no one knew who they were. A faked birth certificate here and some adoption papers there, and just like that Bart Allen was a citizen of the twenty first century.
Their hero lives were another matter. At first he was afraid that returning to the role of Kid Flash might make his cousin feel like he was trying to steal the title away from him. He briefly considered taking on a new name and allowing Bart to remain as his uncle's protege, but Barry came up with a pretty cool solution. Since both were in school and were also assisting with the babies, they would wear the suit in sequence. Wally would be Kid Flash one week, then Bart the next. Luckily the two were similar enough in height and build that the public didn't seem to notice the difference. And Bart's brown hair was light enough that one could mistake it for ginger red in the right light.
And between the apprehension of criminals and the constant torment that was school, Wally managed to get to know his cousin much better. And he had to admit, he really did love the new addition to their ever growing family. Apparently, Wally had mentored Bart in his timeline, so it was nothing new for the younger of the two. Regardless, Wally found himself enjoying his time with Bart, whether it was helping him out with science homework or giving him advice on how to bring down the bad guys.
And soon, it was entirely possible he would be mentoring Bart in a much more literal capacity. During the Arctic mission, he had absorbed no small amount kinetic energy form the Reach's device. He would have died, if Bart and Barry hadn't pushed him out of the way at the last minute. But it seemed there was a secondary effect.
He was faster. Much much faster. He hadn't realized at first since he and Artemis went back into retirement, but Wally could now keep pace with the other speedsters. More than that, he could actually outrun them! It was his dream come true.
And speaking of dreams come true, he and Barry recently had a very interesting conversation. Barry was considering hanging up the red suit to take care of the twins. And he had asked Wally if he'd be interested in filling in as the Flash. Wally vibrated so fast in excitement that he broke through the sound barrier and promptly shattered the windows in the living room. He couldn't believe it! This was all he had ever wanted since becoming Kid Flash! Unlike Dick, he wanted to become exactly like his mentor.
At the thought of his best friend though, Wally's enthusiasm deflated.
He still didn't comprehend how it all fell apart so fast. Dick loved Bruce like the man truly was his father. For years, the Caped Crusader had been just that in all but blood. How could he betray Dick's trust like that?
Batman's betrayal of his son wasn't the only thing weighing heavily on his mind though. He and Dick weren't telepaths, but they had been so in mesh as kids that they usually had a pretty good sense of what the other was thinking in a given situation. Now it was like that connection was gone. He had no idea where to find Dick. No idea where to even start. No idea why Dick was doing this.
The soon-to-be Flash was yanked from his thoughts as he heard a knock at the front door. "I'll get it!" He yelled to his cousin, who was still upstairs. Wally ran towards the door and pulled it open hastily, expecting to see Barry, Iris, or perhaps even Artemis. But the moment he saw who the uninvited guest was, he had to suppress the urge to slam the door right back in his face.
Because on his front steps, Bruce Wayne stood with his ever-present stoic expression.
"We need to talk."
Dick
Dick hated having to go out in the day time. His advanced vision did not mix well with the influx of sunlight he had to deal with now that it was spring. The only plus side was that he didn't have to deal with the cold anymore. Either way, it seemed his body refused to relax after all the...'adjustments' the Court made to it. It made sense. Talons weren't built for relaxation. They were made for battle. For death.
And on occasion, observation. At least, that was what Dick was doing now. He was currently seated on the roof of one of the largest buildings in Central City. It was providing for a perfect vantage point to peer into the skyscraper he was currently starring down. Or rather, one of the meeting rooms within that skyscraper. And within it, a lone man giving what appeared to be a long winded speech to a room full of sharply dressed individuals. It reminded Dick of the summer he had interned at Wayne Enterprises.
Dick let out a small chuckle of fondness at the memory. He may have stayed true to his word and worked the entire summer, but it was within the first week that he decided the day he became a business major would be the day the Joker became an upstanding member of society. He hated every second of it. The formal wear. The paperwork. The worst by far were the slide glances and whispers about 'Bruce's gypsy ward' every time someone thought he wasn't listening. He got enough of that during Bruce's mandatory galas. To this day he refused to understand how Bruce put up with it, or how Tim actually enjoyed the thought of taking over for Bruce at Wayne Enterprises when he was older.
Dick briefly allowed his mind to wander to how his family was doing. Tim, ever the detective, was no doubt spending every waking, caffeine-fueled hour looking for him. For some reason he couldn't find it in himself to picture what Alfred or Bruce might be doing. It had been so long since he last saw either of them. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to...
Dick shook his head back and forth to clear himself of such thoughts. No! That part of his life was over now. He was a Talon. Talons did not have families. They did not have friends. They had their mission. That was all there was to give their existence any sort of purpose. And that was all that mattered now.
And so the Gray Son of Gotham went back to watching the ma-
Target! It was better not to humanize them.
He went back to watching his target finish his speech until the people seated in front of his gave a slow applause. At that Dick allowed himself to put down his binoculars. His target would be leaving the building soon. From there he could follow him back to his loft and do what needed to be done.
That was the plan at least. Dick knew that it wouldn't go as he planned within moments of putting down the binoculars. He let out a sigh and lowered his gaze. "You know, when I came to Central I honestly expected Wally to be the one to show up."
He then turned his gaze to the vigilante who had nearly caught him unawares. "What do you want, Tigress?"
Artemis
Artemis felt a downwards tug at the corner of her lips at the use of her code name. It was no so much the use of the name, though it did sting a bit, as the tone with which it was uttered. Dick sounded so...detached. As though they were strangers. To an outside observer, one would never guess that the two of them had met before now, much less been close friends growing up.
"So that's all I am to you?" She asked with her arms crossed. "I'm just Tigress now?"
"No names in the field." He responded curtly before turning back to the building and raising his binoculars to his eyes.
She sighed as it became apparent he was just going to do his best to act like she wasn't even there. "How did you know it was me anyway?" The archer asked in an effort to keep the conversation going.
"Talons have enhanced senses. You should really know better than to wear perfume on patrol." The young assassin said despondently, not bothering to turn around. "Lilacs. I find it quite acrid."
Artemis narrowed her gaze on him. "I don't know about that. Lilacs can't be worse than the flowers you sent Babs."
It was a horrible thing to say, but it needed to be said.
The whole team had come to see and comfort Barbara in the hospital after she lost the use of her legs. She put on a brave face for them but they could see just how devastated she was knowing that her days as Batgirl were over. And Dick was the one thing that kept her going, or at least one of the key devices to her sustaining her optimism. The poor girl had been convinced that Dick would come see her at the hospital, and from there she would be able to convince him to come home. Then at least something good could come out of what happened to her.
The team warned her to temper her enthusiasm, but she paid them no mind. Instead she stayed up all night, every night waiting for Dick to show up. But eventually her exhaustion got the better of her. It broke Artemis' heart to find Barbara sobbing relentlessly and shamelessly into her pillow the following morning. At first no one knew what the problem was as Barbara wouldn't talk to them. Finally, someone pulled their attention away from the crying girl and looked to the small table beside her window.
And suddenly, it was clear why she was upset. There had been no visit from Dick. And there wouldn't be any time soon.
On her table was a bouquet of beautiful flowers. White roses. Barbara's favorite. And next to it was a simple note with three words scrawled across it in Dick's handwriting.
I'm so sorry.
Everyone had stared at it without saying a word, even as Artemis walked over and promptly threw them out the window.
Back in the present day, Dick had the decency to flinch under her accusatory tone and lower his head in shame. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah I know. We all read the heartfelt apology you left on the back of an index card." Artemis said, refusing to give him a break. She knew that he had gone through something terrible over the last year, but none of it was an excuse for how he just abandoned Barbara right when she needed him the most.
Again Dick cringed away from her words. Eventually though, she saw him work up the nerve to turn away from the building and face her, but he still kept his gaze anywhere but her eyes. "How is she?"
At that Artemis found her anger towards him lessen, if only a bit. She allowed her tone and expression to soften as well. Only enough so that Dick would just barely notice. "Go see her and find out for yourself."
Dick did a complete one-eighty both physically and emotionally at her suggestion and swept around the ledge of the roof to face the skyscraper again. "She doesn't want me there." He said robotically.
It took all of Artemis' willpower to not walk over and shove Dick off the rooftop then and there. Because what the actual fuck? Was he screwing with her? Babs had cried for him! Barbara Gordon, easily one of the strongest people either of them had ever met, fucking cried for him! And he had to balls to say that it was because she didn't want to see him?! "What the hell kind of detective are you?! She's been asking for you from day one! And she's been inconsolable for days because you thought flowers were a good substitute for you actually having the decency to help her through this! What's wrong with you?!"
Dick didn't make a single sound nor motion during her entire tirade. It was only when she stopped to catch her breath that he spoke, his voice like ice. "You don't understand. She doesn't want to see me. She wants to see Dick Grayson. And I can't do that for her."
The orange-clad archer wasn't sure what made it happen. Whether it was the statement that he was no longer that person, or the icy tone with which he delivered it. She only knew it stunned her into a still silence. She wished to God that she could continue screaming though. Scream at him that it wasn't true. That Dick Grayson was very much alive, and that he was sitting right in front of her. That he was still a good person, and still a hero. But her voice betrayed her and refused to come out.
Ultimately it was Dick who had to break the silence between them. "You never did answer my question. How did you manage to keep Wally from coming? I would have thought for sure that..." Dick trailed off, but he flipped around the ledge again and his eyes glazed over her. "This whole thing is unsanctioned." It clearly wasn't a question.
Something in her expression must have changed, though she had no idea what it was. Regardless, that microscopic change in her features was enough for Dick to go on.
"In fact...no one knows you're here."
Artemis kept a hardened look on her face in an effort to make it harder for him to read her so easily. "Not a soul. If Wally came, he would have gone too easy on you. I don't plan on pulling punches."
"Clearly." Dick responded sharply. "How did you even know I was here?"
"Your pattern was easier to pick up on then you might think." Artemis said, careful with every word she uttered next. "Those people, your victims...same profile. Wealthy socialites from families that have their fortune passed down from one heir apparent to the next. That pattern was harder to follow in Gotham. You have way too many rich snobs down there. But Central? We have all of two, and you nearly killed one of them last night. And now, you're staring down the office building owned by the other."
Dick squinted at her to try and study her expression again, though she refused to let it give anything away this time. "Is this a social call, or are you here to bring me in?"
And with that Artemis' firm hold on keeping her emotions at bay dissolved. Her lips cast downwards as she looked at the boy who had trolled her nearly everyday at Gotham Academy. She was ashamed to admit it, and would never say it out loud, but it was hard to believe that they were one in the same. Besides the obvious lack of blue eyes and dark skin, this Dick was too different from the one she knew.
Dick Grayson never stayed down. He took everything with a grain of salt and kept on fighting. He was traught, whelmed, heveled, chalant, and always felt the aster. The young man before her was simply too...hollow to be Dick. He didn't have any light left to him. No spark of life whatsoever. He didn't radiate cheer and confidence and mischief. He gave off absolutely but despair and dread.
And most importantly, his bond with his friends had been unbreakable. He never would have let Babs suffer in silence due to his own problems. He never would have turned his back on Tim no matter how bad things were with Bruce. And most importantly, he would never think so little of Artemis as to accuse her of just being there to apprehend him.
"I'm here to help you, you idiot." She pleaded, praying that her words would get through that incredibly dense skull of his. "Look, Bruce and Tim have both been off their games for this whole thing because it involves you. They missed something pretty big, but I know the truth. Me and Jade anyway-"
"Jade?" Dick asked with an arched brow.
"She owed me a favor after that fiasco with the deep cover mission. She used the Shadow's resources to dig up what she could on these people. And I know they were hardly innocent victims. For every single one of them, their fortune is blood money down to the last red cent. Trading in illegal arms, extortion, human trafficking, the works. And they're rich enough to be untouched by the court system. I get why you went after them. But Dick...there are lines. Boundaries that even we shouldn't cross. Come back to us and we can bring them down the right way."
Dick remained silent and didn't move an inch as she spoke. She found that difference unsettling as well. Dick had always been extremely hyperactive, especially in his Robin days. But now he could remain as still as a statue. He didn't even have to breathe. It was nerve-wracking.
Dick let out a sigh through his nose and swept a hand through his dark locks. "'Their fortune is blood money.' 'Bringing them down the right way.'" He whispered softly. "I wish it were that simple."
Artemis groaned in frustration. She had a feeling he would respond like this. And she had a pretty good idea of why that was.
"They're Owls, aren't they?"
Dick's entire posture seemed to seize up and his head snapped up to look at her with his wide yellow eyes not making any move to blink. She didn't really need a straightforward answer after that. He might as well have shouted 'of course they are' from the rooftop.
"How did you-" He started before she cut him off.
"They're all the one percent of the one percent through ill gotten gains. They're all reclusive and from the oldest families in Gotham, even though two of them moved to Central. Plus there's that guy you attacked the other night, Joseph Powers. His wife Maria is an Owl. She's the one that M'gann posed as the night we stormed the Court. It's really not that hard to put together. Unless you're Bruce or Tim. A fellow bat gets compromised, and common sense goes out the window with you people."
Dick looked down again and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. He wasn't sure what to say now. Was he supposed to justify what he had done now? How should he go about doing that? It was impossible to make her understand. Any attempt would be fruitless.
He wanted to make her understand though. He wanted them all to understand.
He wanted them to understand that this was something that he needed. Something that the Owls all deserved. That it wasn't just his life they had ruined, but countless children all across the world by turning them into Talons, not to mention that it included generations and generations of his own family. That he had wanted to do this from the day they pulled him out of the Court, but hadn't had the stomach for it until Bruce renounced him. That as long as there was a single man in a white mask out there, he would never feel safe again.
But it just didn't work like that. Because that was all a product of what the Owls did to him, and what he did for the Owls. And while he might be able to make her understand his motives, and Roy was able to understand his actions, he could never hope to make another human being understand what he went through completely. How could he when he couldn't even describe it to himself?
How does one describe the impact of isolation? Of torture? Of mutilation?
How could he ever hope to convey what it was like to feel the life drain from his body, to feel death's embrace, only to be reanimated as a monster?
How could he tell her that he woke up every single day praying to whatever god might exist that this would be the day someone came for him, but no one ever did?
And as awful as it was, a part of him hated them all for not finding him sooner. It was an awful feeling, and his conscious mind knew it was nonsense, but the feeling was there nonetheless.
"I don't suppose you came here to tell me you approve?" He tried. Surely such a vain attempt was better than trying to recount five months worth of torment.
Artemis' dark eyes softened into a pained look that burned his skin. He knew that look all too well. It was pity.
And he hated it.
"You know I can't condone something like this." Now she was speaking to him like a child who punched a kid that was bullying him.
He somehow managed to keep the anger out of his voice as he responded. "I didn't really expect you to. I can live with that. Do you think you'd at least be able to keep you're head down and ignore it?"
Admittedly, he had a bit of sharpness and sarcasm left in his voice at the end of question. It didn't translate well.
"Are you seriously asking for my blessing to go out and torture any Owl you can get your hands on?"
Well, at least the pity was gone from her voice. It had been replaced with no small amount of awe and disbelief. "I'm asking you to stay out of my way." He bit back.
He heard Artemis sigh and nearly growled at the return of the pity she was emanating. "I'm not going to do that either Dick." She said with a sad and downright condescending tone. "Now I understand that-"
"NO YOU FUCKING DON'T!" He screamed savagely as he rounded on her. His patience was completely eroded now. Some part of the old Richard Grayson cringed in the back of his mind and berated him for treating his friend like that, but the Talon side of him was in control right now.
Artemis nearly screamed in fear and was unashamed to admit that she stumbled back and nearly fell over as yellow eyes narrowed in on her like an owl starring down its prey.
"You and Wally and Tim and Babs! You all think you get it! You'll never get it! You don't understand what I went through! You don't understand what I felt! And you don't understand what I feel! And I'm allowed to cope with that any way I damn well please! And if that means I have to hunt the Owls down one by one and make them feel some fraction of the pain I went through then you have to find some way to deal with that, because nothing is going to change my mind! And until you have to endure what I did-! Until you wake up ever morning begging that this will be the day they rescue you, you have no right to judge me!"
Artemis just stood their frozen in place well after his screaming stopped. It was unsettling that he didn't have to catch his breath at all after something like that. Of course, he didn't breathe anymore.
She didn't know why she was surprised. According to Tim, violent outbursts weren't that uncommon since Dick's return. Of course, that had been before Bruce's betrayal. And while Tim had assured her that Dick's bouts of rage were usually short lived and were immediately followed by a string of apologies. But she saw no signs of that. Dick kept his vicious golden gaze focused on her until he turned to stare down the office building again.
Only now did it dawn on Artemis that she had clearly underestimated just how much Bruce had gotten to him that night, and just how much he had changed since then.
"Damn it." Dick muttered under his breath as he tossed the binoculars aside. "You almost made me miss him. He's leaving now."
Without saying another word Dick slipped on the Talon hood and made way to the next rooftop, but stopped in his tracks when an arrow flew past his head and embedded itself in the brick wall ahead of him. He growled and turned back to Artemis, who had her bow raised and another arrow already laced.
"You know I can't let you leave with what you're intending to do." She said, clearly trying to keep the resolve clear in her voice. Still, Dick wanted to snort. He could see the hand that was gripping the bow shake ever so slightly. He could notice the way her lower lip was curved into her mouth so she could bite down on it. He could just make out the ever so small amount of sweat run down her temple.
Artemis would make an awful poker player. A child could take apart her tells.
Dick slowly approached her, Artemis following his every move with hostile interest. She truly could not tell if he intended to attack her, or even, she realized with the feeling of ice crawling up her veins, whether or not he had any intention of letting her survive the encounter.
Once he was within arms length, he moved faster than she could react. His clawed hand shot forth and grabbed the bow by the handle, as well as the head of the arrow she had knotted. His enhanced strength allowed him to crush the both of them in the one hand, before yanking the remnants from her grip and tossing to the side.
"And what will you do to stop me?" He asked with a snarl.
Without hesitating, Artemis yanked the katana at her side from its' sheath and pointed it at the center of his chest. "Whatever I have to Nightwing." And she meant every word. She refused to let him cross the line any further. Someone had to save him from himself before he took it too far.
But that someone would not be her.
Dick's glower remained fixed on her eyes, even as he reached up and grabbed the sword by the blade. At first Artemis believed that he would crush it in his hand like he did the bow and arrow, but instead he actually pulled it towards him. With a screech, Artemis was lurched forward as the end of her blade sank directly into Dick's heart. Her grip on the sword completely gave out and her arms went slack to her side, her brain still catching up with what she was bearing witness to. That dread continued to swell in her chest as Dick then yanked the blade back out and dropped it carelessly to the ground as the wound to his chest sealed up leaving a small trail of black discharge in its' place.
"Don't..."
Dick surged past her and rounded back in an instant, pulling her into a headlock before she could even blink.
"...call me..."
Artemis fought as hard as she could to break the hold of Dick's forearm around her neck, but he simply refused to budge. The hold only got tighter. It was getting hard to breathe.
"...Nightwing!"
Black spots began to disperse across her vision. Her lungs were screaming for air. Artemis did her best to call out her friends name, to beg him to stop, but only a small whimper passed her lips. She was faintly aware of the choke hold being loosened which caused her to drop to the ground without ceremony.
Artemis opened her eyes, but all she could make out was a black figure fading away into the distance.
And then everything went dark.
Bruce
Bruce had always had a very odd relationship with Wally. The boy had been his son's best friend practically from the moment that they first met. But like most heroes, the persona of Batman had a tendency to make the young red head feel ill at ease. And Bruce had refused to drop that persona even for Wally.
Wally tended to avoid Bruce at all costs whenever he came over to the Manor, which was no doubt a product of the anxiety that Batman induced. The boy did certainly seem to get more comfortable around Bruce as he got older though.
But now it seemed the shoe was on the other foot.
Wally had walked away from him immediately, leaving the door open as he did so. At first Bruce debated with himself whether or not he should walk in, only for the young man to sharply ask him if he was coming in or not. Knowing that was the closest thing to an invitation he could hope for, Bruce walked in and followed Wally to the kitchen, where the young speedster immediately went to doing the dishes as though Bruce wasn't even there.
At one point Bart came down to ask who was at the door, only to freeze in his tracks when he saw the billionaire currently sitting at their kitchen table, his cousin with his back turned to him. Wally only told his cousin to go back upstairs and finish his homework, the words coming out more harshly than he intended. Bart bolted back up the stairs with nervous energy and left them alone once again.
And now it was Bruce who was on edge in Wally's presence. He could have cut the tension in the room with a knife. He could only imagine what was going through Wally's mind right now, and had to imagine that a majority of them involved conjuring up the most violent way possible to get Bruce off the property. Bruce managed to pull himself from such musings though, his whole being snapping to attention when Wally finally spoke.
"You know Bruce I never took you for the humorous type. Dick swore to me that you wouldn't know a good joke if it bit you in the cape. But I have to say, this is a good one." Wally didn't so much as glance up at Bruce as he spoke, completely focused on what he was doing. Bruce was close to asking what he was talking about before Wally continued, his voice like ice. "Dick's always been a troll. And I always wondered how he was able to keep that up when he was living in the same house as someone as macabre and serious as you. But none of his little pranks or jokes have ever lived up to this."
Now Wally put down the dishes and turned around to face Bruce. The jovial warmth that normally emanated from the ginger's emerald orbs was completely gone. In it's place, there was only contempt. "You destroyed your son, my best friend. Broke him more than the Owls ever did. And now here you are, showing up at my doorstep, and saying we need to talk. There's no greater joke in the world than that."
Bruce had been keeping his eyes lowered for the entire speech. Not only was Wally right to call him out, the young speedster also needed this. A release valve for everything that he had been keeping inside since the day Dick left. Though simple verbal abuse surely wasn't enough. He was sure that Wally would much rather break his jaw. And if he went for it, Bruce knew he wouldn't have it in him to fight back.
Slowly, he brought up his eyes to meet Wally's, refusing to let himself be swayed by the anger he found there. "I need your help."
"And it just gets funnier."
Bruce's resolve stayed firm, and would not allow for jabs like that to stop him now. "I realize I have no right to ask, but you are the only one that can make a difference now."
Wally raised a single ginger brow. He was still fighting off the temptation to demand the older man to get the hell off the property, and was more than willing to help him out if that failed. But something told him not to. Bruce had come to him of all people. Not Tim or Babs or someone in the League that might give him the time of day. And he didn't even show up with the cowl. Bruce Wayne had come to Wally West. Something had changed, that much was certain. And he wasn't going to allow a petty grudge to get in the way of helping his best friend.
"How so?"
Bruce swallowed. "We both know that Dick takes what I think and what I say to heart. I don't like it anymore than you do, but he does. And it's because of what I said that he's doing this. That's all on me, and I doubt what I have to say will change that anymore. But besides me, you are the only person that ever came close to penetrating that barrier. You may be the only person who can get through to him when we find him."
"That's pretty optimistic coming from you." Wally interrupted. "'When we find him'? He's evaded us for months. You think some speech about the power of our friendship is going to magically give us a lead?"
"No. I think that the team getting over how much they hate me, at least for the time being, will give us a lead. It's the only hope we have left. We have to work together on this."
Wally scoffed. "And how do you plan on making that happen? The team loathes you. Moreover, don't let the fact I'm allowing you to sit in my kitchen lead you to believe I've forgiven you. I'll put it aside for Dick's sake, but I don't think the rest of the team will be that understanding. Not unless I..."
Wally began to trail off until his emerald eyes lit up with realization, then squinted back into a scowl that was focused squarely on Bruce. "Oh, I see. I should have known that's the real reason you're here. You don't need me to play at being Dick's conscience. You actually have the balls to ask me to vouch for you to the team."
Bruce stood up and held up his hands in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "It's not like that."
"It's exactly like that!" Wally shouted. "You're good Bruce! You're really good! For half a second I actually bought your load of crap about wanting to help Dick! You just want a rallying cry! Something to get the League behind you again!"
"That's not what this is Wally!" Bruce reaffirmed. He of course knew the young man would perceive it that way. Why wouldn't he? He had no reason to trust Bruce. And it wasn't as though Batman never had ulterior motives. But it just wasn't like that. If they did find Dick, and he allowed that hatred for him to swell in the back of their minds for it, it would be a disaster. Exactly like what happened to Barbara all over again.
"Why should I believe that? Why should I believe anything you say?" Wally countered, before going for a spot that he knew would hurt Bruce. "Maybe you just want us to find Dick so you can lock him away. You certainly made it clear that-"
"Enough!"
"Oh I'm just getting started! You abandoned him Bruce! Your own son! He idolized you! He loved you! He trusted you! And you betrayed him! Why?! Because his best wasn't good enough?! Because it turns out he's not perfect?! Because you weren't able to protect him from the Court?!"
Wally felt like his heart would explode in his chest from just how much screaming he had gone through. He had to actually stop and gasp for air at one point. Bruce just stayed there and starred at him for all of it. A part of him thought that he may choose to leave, but the speedster had no such luck. He probably should have taken into consideration just how stubborn the man was before allowing him inside.
"You failed him." Wally said, in a much more modulated tone as he caught his breath. "You failed him. You have no right to ask me for anything."
Bruce stayed quiet only long enough for Wally to finish. Once he was done, he took his chance to speak. "I'm sorry. I'm more sorry for what I did to Dick than you could ever imagine, or than I could ever hope to make right. I won't make excuses for that because there are none. But you're wrong about everything else. I don't care about restoring my status with the League. That ship has sailed. But if we are going to do this, I can't let lingering resentment cause someone else to go into the hospital with a severed spine."
"And why should I believe that?" Wally repeated. "Tim was right. You have always cared about Batman more than-"
"Because I'm leaving Batman behind."
That statement completely knocked the wind out of Wally. Batman? Quitting? Was that even possible? Sure, Wally wished he had once he heard what happened to Dick, but he could simply not picture the man with a life outside of the cowl.
"It's true." Bruce assured once he saw the disbelief written across the boy's face. "If there's one thing that this whole mess taught me, it's that Batman has been doing more harm than good. I'm not going to let my pride blind me to that fact anymore. After we get Dick back, that's the end for me. I'll fully commit myself to him and Tim, if they'll still have me. I don't expect them to, but I want them to know that. Please Wally. We rarely get the chance to atone for our mistakes. Let me at least try with Dick.
Wally's glare didn't lighten in the slightest as Bruce spoke. Even after he finished, Wally kept a hard look on him until he finally sighed and spoke up. "Okay." He relented. "Okay. Let's do this. But I want to make one thing clear. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for Dick. And knock it off with that 'I'll sacrifice Batman to make this happen' shit. I don't want that. Whether I like it or not, Gotham needs Batman. I'm not going to let thousands of people suffer just because you're an awful father. But I have a condition. When this is all said and done, you stay the hell away from Dick. You lost your rights to him when you chose Batman over him. He'll come live with me, or Roy, or anyone but you. I'm taking him away from your poisonous influence. If you truly want what's best for him, you won't fight me on this. And another thing. You never take in another protege. No more Robins. You've destroyed enough childhoods."
Bruce couldn't escape the logic of Wally's argument. He had four proteges. Among them, one was dead, one was paralyzed, another was on a path to self-destruction, and the last never wanted to speak to him again. By definition, it would be insane to repeat his mistake and expect a different result. Bruce also felt no small twinge of guilt. For one brief moment, he had a selfish bit of glee when Wally agreed that he should remain Batman. He needed that to ground him if his sons chose to never see him again.
Before either could discuss it further, they were pulled from their respective thoughts when the front door opened. "Wally?"
"Artemis?" He called back as footsteps approached them. "What are you doing home so-"
He stopped dead in his tracks when he his girlfriend walked in and he could see her fully. She looked fine for the most part. It would have been easy to miss. She was dressed in civvies after all. But right there, clear as day, was a massive bruise on her neck.
"Jesus!" He said as he sped towards her and gingerly touched the darkened skin. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Long story short, I found Dick." She said, stunning both males. If that wasn't enough to make their heads explode, what she said next was. "And it's much worse than we could have imagined."
Tim
Red Robin was beginning to get anxious as the team stood waiting in the Watchtower for Tigress and Kid Flash to arrive. He was expecting them to have arrived first, considering they were the two to call this meeting. And he wasn't sure how the League would feel if they walked in and saw all their young partners gathered together at the League's meeting table.
He could tell he wasn't the only one getting antsy. Everyone felt the anticipation bubbling in the room. Considering Kaldur was the leader of the team, he was generally the one who would call such a meeting. And yet here they were, with no notification whatsoever as to what this whole thing was called for. Odder still was that Roy had been invited. He wanted to believe they had news about Nightwing, but there was also a part of him that was hoping that Wally had finally summoned up the courage and proposed already. If he did it within the next few weeks, Conner would owe him twenty bucks.
As it turned out, this was not a social call.
Recognized: Tigress B 07; Kid Flash B 03
Both aforementioned heroes came in through the Zeta tubes with somber expressions on their masked faces. Tim's own attitude sobered up immediately. This couldn't be good. Tim's detective skills also picked up on the fact that Tigress had a scarf added to her uniform which hid her neck from sight, despite the fact that it was the middle of spring. Well that certainly wasn't suspicious. "Is everything okay?"
The couple shared a look before turning to the large group before them. "Define 'okay'." Wally said in an attempt to lighten the mood. "We...we have something that might help find Dick."
Tim gave them a stupefied look. He had been waiting two months for someone to say those words. "That's great!"
"Hold that thought." Artemis said as she punched in a few keys at the screen which operated the Zeta tubes. It struck Tim as odd. The only reason to do that was to welcome in an unauthorized guest. Who might that be?
Tim got his answer not an instant later, and his first thought was to eject the newcomer into space.
Recognized: Batman 02
Before he even finished materializing into the room, Red Robin stormed his way past the rest of the team, as well as Wally and Artemis, and glared at the shimmering form as it began to take the shape of his father.
"You're not welcome here." He said, and by God. You could hear the batglare in his voice. "Get. OUT!"
"Tim!" Wally said pleadingly. It wasn't like the speedster couldn't understand why Tim had reacted this way though. What everyone, especially Bruce, seemed to forget so easily was that it was not only Dick that Bruce had betrayed, but Tim as well. The boy had basically told Bruce that if the man loved him at all he wouldn't put Dick through this, and he had done it anyway. He had treated Tim like a co-conspirator in a murder just because he wanted to help his brother. He may actually have had more cause to hate Batman than Dick did. That said, Wally wanted the younger boy to at least hear him out for their mutual brother's sake.
Apparently, Tim didn't receive it that way.
Red Robin whipped around so fast that the feather blades that made up his cape screeched against the ground, and left well defined grooves in the once smooth granite. "What the hell were you thinking bringing him here? He quit the League. That means his right to be here has been forfeited."
"Tim I-" Batman started only to be cut off when his ward redirected his anger back towards him.
"No! You don't get to speak. You don't get to do anything. Do you know what excommunication even is Bruce? Let me remind you that it's what you asked for. You don't just come in here and act like the last few months never happened."
"If you would let me-"
"And what if I don't!" He interrupter again, giving in to juvenile impulse. "What will you do if I don't, Bruce? You're not a JLA member, I'm not your son, and I'm barely your ward!"
A knife twisted in his heart. Tim was right. He had more than enough opportunities to adopt both boys over the years. It would be such a simply act, and it would show the both of them just how much he loved them. But there was always a lingering fear that they would take offence to it. That they might perceive it as him trying to replace their respective fathers. That was the excuse anyway. The truth was that he had been selfish.
He had adopted Jason. That had been an easy choice. Jason's father was an absentee alcoholic. Jason had outright told him that he wished Bruce could have been his father instead of the one he got landed with. He had done it to make Jason happy, and pretended not to notice just how hurt Dick was when he found out about Jason's adoption.
Bruce could still remember it. It had been the day after Jason's birthday party. He had wanted to wait until they were alone to show Jason the paperwork, but the team's party for him (courtesy of Wally and Dick, of course) had gone well into the night. Jason had still been eating breakfast when Bruce slipped him the yellow envelope. And if Bruce thought hard, he could still remember the fork in Jason's hand fall to the table as Jason stared at the papers with wide eyes, and then the ensuing, bone-crushing hug that followed. Jason had declared then that it was the best day of his life.
And then Jason had died.
Some part of Bruce thought that he had jinxed it. That there was some cosmic force that refused to let him have living relatives. Or perhaps the way he had treated Jason as his son had caused the young boy to slip up. Either way, he had decided by the end of the funeral that it would somehow be better not to adopt Dick in case he ever lost his oldest as well. As though a piece of paper would somehow minimize the pain.
Oh, what a fool he was.
"You're right." He admitted. "You're right. I'm well beyond trying to justify my mistakes. And I know you don't want to see me. But this can't wait for petty grudges to be resolved."
"'Petty'?" Tim repeated with a raised brow. "Is that what you're calling it?"
Yet again, Bruce felt like a complete fool. "No I just meant-"
"I don't care." Tim interrupted again. "If you have something that's going to help us find Dick, then great. Leave it here and go back to Gotham. We can handle this."
"It's not that simple."
"Yeah actually. It is. No one wants you here and you'll only do more harm to Dick than good." Tim said, refusing to budge.
Wally groaned. He had been hoping beyond hope that Bruce would be able to convince Tim himself so that it would not come to this. But now they were here, Tim was being as stubborn as his mentor, and neither were giving an inch. That left only one recourse. "Hear him out Tim." He said begrudgingly.
Everyone in the Watchtower, sans Bruce and Artemis, looked at him as though he were an impostor. The red haired speedster could hardly blame them. It had physically hurt to say those words aloud. "Don't get the wrong idea here. We're all still in agreement that he's a bastard. That said, I'm not going to let Dick keep going down this path just because we don't like him. Hear him out and then decide if he should stay."
Tim looked back and forth between his teammate and guardian for a few moments before relenting and turning back towards the meeting table without another word. He sat down between Roy and Conner and looked at Bruce with a gaze that said he was just waiting for the man to screw up.
But Bruce refused to make a mess of things more than he already had. He was here to fix his mistakes. He couldn't afford to make new ones.
Wally and Artemis both too seats next to each other right by Kaldur. They looked at Batman with anticipation as well.
First thing was first though.
Before he could even begin to talk about how to help Dick...
...he had to own up to doing this to his son in the first place.
"Let me begin by saying...that none of this is Dick's fault. It's all mine. I was foolish. I was arrogant. Dick shouldn't be the one to suffer for my faults, but that's exactly what is happening. All the pain and rage that he's been keeping inside, which we could have dealt with properly, is now being released violently due to my failures. What he does next is the cost of all of my mistakes. I need you all to understand I'm not doing this for redemption, and I'm far beyond any form of forgiveness. But I can't let Dick suffer alone. I will do whatever it takes to make this right. And once that is done, none of you will ever have to see me again. That includes Dick. He deserves to be in better company than mine."
Bruce added in that last bit due to his promise to Kid Flash. He looked over at the ginger for confirmation and found the young man looking satisfied with his words. Then he turned to the rest of the team.
They all had that same expression as when Wally had asked them to hear him out. They looked like they weren't sure if this was the real Batman. Tim was the one most taken aback by that speech. He was coming up on his third year as Robin and he had never heard Bruce admit to a mistake. The man was far too proud for that. The fact that he was willing to lay himself low and say that all of this was on him made Robin wonder if there was a blizzard in hell.
The still silence that had fallen over the room soon became deafening. No one knew how to go forward from there. Batman was looking at them all like he was waiting for them to decide whether of not he was allowed to stay. They all assumed Tim would be the one to speak up. If anyone was in a position to tell Batman he was welcome or tell him to screw off, it would be Red Robin. But he couldn't decide that either.
No matter how logical his brain was, he was still a teenager. And the teenage side of his brain was telling him to give into his juvenile instinct and kick Batman out of the Watchtower. But his more rational side was reminding him that a grudge match wasn't worth it. The two sides battled for dominance in his mind until one finally overcame the other.
"Fine." He said begrudgingly. "Fine. Just say what you have to say and be done with it."
Bruce resisted the urge to sigh. There was an unspoken communication for the Bats. And Tim's tone said it all for Bruce. This choice was not being made lightly. But he should not read to much into it. This was Red Robin agreeing to help Batman. Tim Drake and Bruce Wayne still had a divide the size of the Grand Canyon between them.
And so Bruce did what he did best. He pushed past the emotional pain by getting to work.
He typed in on the holo-screen and pulled up several police files and news articles on the holo-projector. They were all written about the same subject. The attacks on Owls by Dick.
"As you all know, there have been several attacks on the elite of Gotham, Bludhaven, and most recently, Central City. Another attack took place last night, which brings the total up to nine. Until recently, there has been nothing to connect the victims other than their social standing. Tigress has since been able to provide a motive."
At that prompting, Artemis stood up for the rest of the team. "I called in a favor with Jade, and she used her contacts in the Shadows to find out more about the victims. It was only a hunch at first, but after coordinating it with Batman we're sure of it now. They're Owls."
An audible gasp came from someone at the meeting, but Tim couldn't be bothered to notice who it was. He was far too invested in the new information. "How's that possible? I thought that at one point but I checked ever digital and paper record the Court had on membership. The nine of them never came up."
"That's because we became overly reliant on the Court's records." Batman explained. "The Court keeps the identities of it's higher members a secret, even to each other. They wouldn't be foolish enough to leave behind anything that might lead back to those members."
"Then how did Dick find them?" Roy wondered out loud. "I mean, if they really put so much effort into being anonymous, then how does he keep finding them so easily."
"Dick was in the Court for several months. He could have overheard something that lead to their identities. All it would take is knowing one of them, and then he could have that one Owl lead him to the rest."
After listening to Batman's explanation, Tim still had trouble grasping the whole thing. So Dick was just hunting random Owls, tracking them down, and the torturing them for hours on end. For some reason that seemed to simplistic for someone as intelligent as the original Robin. "That can't be it though. What else is he looking for? What's his endgame?"
Batman's expression darkened, while Wally and Artemis' faces twisted in worry. "I have a suspicion about that as well. I just hope I'm wrong."
That was enough to get everyone hanging off the Dark Knights every word. Tension was starting to become thick in the room before he finally spoke. "The things that he's been doing to them. The torture. Every method he's used is a form of interrogation technique."
"Interrogation?" Kaldur repeated. He didn't know whether to be horrified or relieved. On one hand, Dick was not simply attacking random people and bringing them to the edge of death's door simply for mere pleasure or a whim as they had once believed. But that did not make his actions right, nor did it lessen the horror of knowing what Dick was capable of now. And all of this was to get information? "To what end? The Court and Parliament are both gone. There's no one-"
"Yes there is." Batman interrupted with a stern expression. "There's the Judge of Owls."
Another long silence swept over the room like an invisible veil. The team had been looking for the Judge since the night they found Dick. But as it stood, there was no trace of her. Even with Batman's detailed description of her appearance, and his claims that he had met her before, they couldn't get a trace on her. Her identity wasn't even in the files that they had gotten from the Court, and based on the interrogations with the Owls in custody, the lower ranking members didn't know who she was either.
A new realization came upon them as each member of the team went over the information in their heads. The lower ranking members didn't know who she was. But according to Batman, Dick had been going after the higher ranking council. And based on the way the attacks were done, he had been trying to get information out of them. The very same information that the team had been looking for.
"He wants to kill the Judge of Owls." Tim said, being the first to voice the thoughts of the team. "That's why he hasn't bothered to kill the other Owls. He's not interested in them. It's her that he wants. And that's what these attacks have been about. Trying to get the Owls to admit to her identity."
Batman nodded slowly in confirmation. "That is our theory. Yes."
"We can't let that happen." M'gann said. "What happened in the Labrynth was one thing. He was under their control whether he admits it or not. That wasn't his fault. But if he finds her and kills her, there will be no coming back from that."
A hum of agreement passed over them. No one could say that the Judge didn't deserve whatever Dick had planned for her, but Dick didn't deserve to have yet another death on his conscience. He may not realize it now, but Dick would eventually come to realize that killing the Judge would be wrong, and it would already be too late. If he were to succeed in killing her...
...then Nightwing would truly be dead.
"Yeah. That brings us to out next order of business." Artemis said, standing up. For some reason, she sounded completely exhausted. And there was something wrong with her voice as well. It had a rough edge to it that was not normally there. "You're all going to be pissed off with me in a minute, and I don't blame you. I managed to figure out the pattern a while ago. Yesterday, I followed my hunch and I turned out to be right, and I confronted Dick."
Red Robin's mask couldn't hid the betrayed expression on his face after she spoke. "You went without backup, or without telling us? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Wally scowled at the teenager across the table from him. "You better watch your mouth you-"
Artemis put a stop to the confrontation by placing a restraining hand on Wally's shoulder. "It's okay Wally." The archer said as she looked back at Tim, though her boyfriend didn't seem to be nearly as forgiving as he glared daggers at the young man. "You're right. I should have brought you all with me, or at least told you what I was doing. But I thought if I could meet with Dick one on one instead of the whole team ganging up on him I might be able to reason with him.
"And how did that turn out?"
Tim's sarcastic remark earned him another scowl from the soon-to-be Flash, while it caused Artemis' expression to morph into something that resembled regret and shame. As she reached up and pulled her scarf down, revealing the massive bruise around her neck, Tim was overcome by the same emotions. He naively wanted to believe that she had perhaps been mugged on her way back from talking to Dick, and that the large and well defined injury to her throat was a complete coincidence. But as he learned from Batman a long time ago, there are no coincidences.
"Jesus." Roy breathed, clearly in as much shock as the rest of them. "Dick did that to you?"
Artemis threw her fellow archer a look. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to slug him when we find him so that it all evens out." She said as she hurriedly wrapped the scarf around her neck again so that everyone would stop starring. "Oh and when we find him, do not refer to him as Nightwing."
No one liked the implications of that last statement, but decided not to question it as the archer continued and fiddled with something in her pocket. "And it was well worth it. I picked his pocket while he had me in a choke hold. Managed to get this off of him."
With that, Tigress held up a small computer flash drive for them to see. Most of the team started to run through the things that could be on it in their minds, but Conner having the least amount of patience among them, broke the ice. "And on it is...?"
"Your guess is as good as ours." Wally said in response. "Not even Bats could get into it. Dick didn't spare any expense in the firewall on that thing. Most of us would go insane just trying to figure out how to bypass it. But..." Wally trailed off, again looking at Tim. This time his gaze was missing a warning glare and was replaced with an almost pleading expression.
Tim didn't need a moment to consider it. "Gimme."
Artemis put the drive on the table and slid it over to the now former Robin, who proceeded to plug it into his gauntlet. With that, a holographic keyboard and screen popped up on his wrist and he clicked away at the buttons on it.
"Can you hack in?" Batman asked, hoping for some manner of confirmation after the hard time the firewall gave him.
"A twelve year old with an abacus could hack this (5)." Tim replied somewhat sharply, refusing to take his eyes off the screen and meet his mentor's white lenses with his own. Batman couldn't deny the pressure that formed in his throat from Tim's indifference.
Wally, seemingly picking up on the tension, decided to diffuse it. "Then you'd better start sliding beads. For all we know that thing has the schematics to a bomb, or the pass codes to some secret government agency, or-"
"Or the blueprints to a bunch of old houses." Tim interrupted as data files expanded from his gauntlet. Since the files were holographic, everyone could see them from both sides. They were indeed blueprints. Just from looking at them one could tell that they were meant for large scale houses, though this was hardly the evidence they were looking for.
"May I?" Batman asked. Again with intentional indifference, Tim punched in a new command and had the blueprints set up from the projector in the center of the room, making them easier to view.
Batman's ever studying mind noticed it right away. "Those are all blueprints for the mansions the Owls lived in. All the ones he went after."
"That makes sense. All the reports said he got in and out without being detected." Roy said impassively. "But how does that help us now. He went after all the Owls besides the Judge now. He doesn't have any other targets left."
"Actually, he might." Tim said as he squinted at something on the screen on his gauntlet. "How many victims were there again?"
"Nine." Artemis said, curious as to were the young detective was going.
"That's what I thought. But there's a tenth folder here. It's a lot larger and taking longer to download. I think it might be a large number of files crammed together actually."
It took about three more minutes, but eventually Tim was able to open the new folder and pull it up for the team to see. These were different somehow. Clearly not for a mansion, or any type of house, but they were still blueprints. That was all most of the team could tell with the untrained eye. But Batman's eyes were well trained.
"Those aren't for any place of residence." Batman said as he attempted to take in what must have been at least a dozen pages at once. "Those are schematics for a train."
"A train?" Roy asked for confirmation. "Well that narrows it down."
"It might actually." Tim countered. "Only certain types use that many cars. And the types of cars help narrow it down further." Tim trailed off as he began to enter more code into the program, smirking a bit as new results popped up. "Let's see. About thirteen box cars. Probably living quarters based on the size. Plenty of cars for cargo too. And then there's...whoa. That's weird. Three stock cars. Those are only used to transport animals. They're pretty large ones too. Stock cars with this much reinforcement are only meant for animals who have an aggregate weight that exceeds 5,000 lbs."
That earned no small amount of confused expressions from the team members present. "Okaaay." Said Wally, drawing out the word. "Put those things together and what do you get?"
"I'm not sure." Batman admitted, which caused all present to do a double take. He ignored them as he pondered over the options. "Normally I would assume a military transport due to the cargo and living quarters. But then the stock cars make no sense. There aren't many types of trains that would need them. They're only used for animal relocation, or livestock transport, or..."
Tension rose in the room as Batman suddenly broke off from his list. His entire demeanor suddenly changed out of the blue, as though something horrible beyond words had occurred to him. And Batman was the thing that gave the worst villains alive nightmares. For something to scare him like this...
"Or what Bruce?" Tim said, too worried to bother with something as petty as addressing his guardian by his moniker to alienate him.
Batman turned to face him, and his stunned response shot a chill directly up Tim's spine. "Travelling circuses."
Everyone froze in place. Slowly, the gears in their heads started to turn and it all began to add up, though they all wanted to vehemently deny it. But the pieces of the puzzle put themselves together regardless. The sleeping quarters would make perfect sense for a large troop of performers. And they would need an equally large number of cargo containers for their tent and equipment. And no one could forget Dick regaling them all with stories of growing up in the circus, with his favorite pet elephant Zitka. A pet elephant that would easily weigh enough to require reinforcement in her train car.
Tim typed just as fast as he could process the implications of those words, praying that they were wrong. His quick search was done privately on his gauntlet. No one else of the team would be able to see. Even if they could, they were probably all too horrified to read it. His search produced results, and Tim felt all the air leave his lungs at once as he spoke in a panicked tone.
"Haly's Circus is doing a tour in America. And they have a show tonight in Gotham City."
Wally, having known about Dick's life in the circus longer than anyone else on the team, felt like he couldn't breathe at the revelation. Dick had always loved that circus. He had always said that even though he lost his parents there, he never lost his family. But know he knew the truth. He knew that the circus had a hand in the creation of the Talons. Hesitantly, he looked between the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder. "You don't think that..." He trailed off, too afraid to hear the answer.
"Bruce." Tim said anxiously, not bothering to register Wally's words or stunned expression. "The last time I spoke to Dick, he told me that he was going to do what monsters do."
Without any warning or provocation, Batman turned around and made towards the Zeta tubes. Red Robin got up at nearly the exact same moment, but halted when Roy spoke. "I don't understand. What do monsters do?"
Tim kept his eyes fixed on his guardian's cape as he followed after him.
"They go after their creators."
Jack Haly was spent. Well and truly spent beyond his years.
He couldn't quite describe how it felt to be rid of the Court of Owls. It had meant the circus was suffering a major financial loss without their support, of course. In fact, the circus as a whole was a lost cause at this point. He could keep it going for some time, but it would be nothing less than a miracle if they stayed open past this year.
And he couldn't be happier.
His father was the ringmaster of the circus before he was. He remembered that every night he would go to sleep with dreams of the acrobats soaring through the sky. His father had promised him that it would all be his one day, and that wonders beyond his childlike dreams would open up to him once that time came.
What an incredible lie that was.
He had only been nineteen when his father past away. Before he was even done mourning, a man in a white mask appeared the same day his father was lowered into the ground. It was then that Haly discovered the truth about his family's circus. And the truth was that it was no circus at all.
It was a cage.
And the Halys were the slavers.
He outright refused to participate in the sick game the Court had planned for him, and told the man to get the hell away from the circus and never come back. The man told him that it was a shame Haly's father had yet to teach him 'manners' and that someone else would have to. He left with that thinly veiled threat still hanging in the air. Haly refused to pay him any mind. These people were his family. He wouldn't betray them like his father had.
Two days later, his mother was dead.
A mugging, the authorities called it. Of course, none of her money had been taken. In fact, something had been left behind. A single white feather, splattered red with blood.
That was the day that Jack Haly learned another very hard lesson about the circus. He was no slaver. And neither was his father.
The performers, the ringmaster; there was no real difference between them.
They were all slaves in the Court's unblinking eyes.
And so he started to do the work. Every decade he would send them the creme of the crop. The best children the circus had to offer. It was cold comfort, but Haly was just glad he never had to see them after they were taken. It was horrible enough to know what his deeds had turned them into. He didn't need to see it for himself.
But now the Court was gone. And with them, any trace of the circus' involvement in their affairs. And it only took 50 years and over two dozen children to make it happen. And those were only the children that he gave them. The number of children that were turned into monsters because of his family were far beyond counting.
And far beyond forgiveness.
Haly always knew that one day, he would have to face all that he had done for the Court.
He just hadn't expected that day to come so soon.
But when he walked into his office on the circus' train, he was greeted with the sight of someone there waiting for him. The figure was that of a tall man, clad in black attire. His head of ebony hair was turned away from Haly, opting to look down at something he was holding in his hands. Even with his back turned, it was obvious he had heard the door open.
Haly stumbled backwards until his back hit the door frame. It had been ten years since he last had a Talon come to him, demanding the new supply of children. But that night was burned into his mind. As was the image of the Talon that took little Raymond McCreary while the boy screamed and cried for his parents.
He couldn't understand this. The Court was gone. Their Talons were all in custody. What was one of them doing here?
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The Talon let out a soft sigh. That alone struck Haly as odd. The Talons never gave away any expression. They didn't even breath. They refused to give away any manner of gesture that would allow one to think they were human once. There was something different about this one.
"'What am I doing here?'" The Talon repeated in a familiar, hollow voice. "The day I left you told me I would always have a place here. But then again, maybe that was just another one of your lies."
Haly felt the world shift beneath his feet as he sank down to the floor, his back still against the wall. It didn't matter how old the boy got, or how much he might change. He would know that voice anywhere. "Dick?"
The Talon turned around fully now, and Haly felt his entire body seize up. His mouth went dry. Air completely expunged itself from his lungs. After this boy's family had been killed, Haly could only hope that there would be something good to come from that tragedy. That the boy would never have to be a Talon. And now, it was as though all his wrongdoings over the past 50 years were all coming together in the form of the young man he once thought of like a grandson. Yellow eyes starring him down, black spiraling through his veins, and inhumanly alabaster skin. The gravity of the situation was starring him right in the face.
"Not anymore." The last of the Flying Graysons responded as he shifted the rest of his body to face the old man.
Haly somehow managed to find his voice. "I-I don't understand. I-I thought the Court was-"
"Oh, the Court is gone, no thanks to you. Who do you think brought them down?" Dick asked as he shifted his focus back to the object in his hands. Haly was still too invested in how much the boy's appearance had changed to really take an interest in it.
"Oh Jesus, Dick. What did they do to ya'?" Haly couldn't help the jolt that ran through him at the shrill, humorless laugh that Dick barked in response.
"'They'?" He repeated, sarcasm heavy in his voice. "'They'? Don't act like you're some high-minded bystander in all this Haly. Not with me. Certainly not with this." Dick said as he held out the object in his hands. Haly recognized it instantly.
It was the Book of Names.
It was a horrid family heirloom. A track record of all the Talons the Court had produced over the centuries. Or more specifically, the Talons that the circus provided for them.
Haly scrambled to his feet, desperate to assure Dick that he never wanted this. "No. No I swear I had no idea that-"
"Oh really?" With that Dick flipped past a few pages at once, nearly tearing the paper. Once he found the desired page, he turned it back to Haly.
And there it was, as clear as day in thick black ink and exquisite handwriting.
Richard Grayson
He had made that entry the day that the Graysons died. Which, as it happens, was the day that the Court was supposed to take him.
"I-It's not what it looks like!" He shouted desperately.
"Well let me tell you what it sounds like." Dick said hurriedly as he flipped through the pages again. "Raymond McCreary. He was my best friend growing up. I couldn't stop crying when I found out that he died in a car accident just a few days after Bruce took me in. Of course, he would have been better off if he really had burned to death in that car. Calvin Rose. He was an escape artist right? They talked about him in the Court. He was the only one to ever escape the Labyrinth. Too bad he was beaten, whipped, and starved for eight years first. Mary Turner. I actually met her as a Talon. Severe burns to her face, no family, and no goddamn tongue! But that didn't stop your father from selling her to the Court like a broken toy. And this one I know all too well. William Cobb. Funny thing is, there are lots of entries with the surname Cobb. Of course, that name was changed around the turn of the century. You want to take a stab at what the current family name is?" (6-8)
Haly gave a heavy swallow. "Grayson." He said breathlessly.
Dick scoffed and smirked at him. "Uh, I think you mean 'Gray Son'. That's what the Court thought anyway." Dick gave another mirthless laugh. It sounded nothing like the mischievous cackle that came from him as a child. It was more like a monster's chuckle. "How much, Haly?" He asked, the smile never leaving his face.
"How much? How much what?" Based on the wording, it didn't sound like Dick was referring to how many children they had turned over to the Court. For that alone he was grateful. Because the truth was, even he didn't know.
"How much goddamn money did they give you?!" Dick shouted as he threw the book at Haly. The older man ducked, leaving the book to smack against the wall and fall aimlessly to the ground. As Haly turned back up, he found Dick standing over him with yellow eyes narrowed in fury, any manner of joviality gone from his face. Haly backed away and started to round the small office, leaning against the wall for support. Dick kept pace with him as he back away in a panic. Sooner or later his legs hit the desk chair and he fell back into it, the young Talon leaning over him so their faces were mere inches away from each other.
"I asked you a question Haly." He hissed out. "How. Much? I want to know how much money was worth the lives of all these kids. Kids that trusted and thought of you as a grandfather. How fucking much?"
Air refused to find it's way into Haly's lungs. He was practically gasping as he spoke. "Dick please. I didn't do it for the money. It was never about the money. They killed my mother. I had to think about the family I had left."
"No. I get it." Dick said calmly as he backed away. "You wanted to protect your family. And you did. But all those other families...The families that were torn to pieces when you made them think their children were dead. The kids were were taken from their homes so they could go become soldiers for a crazed cult. They can all go straight to hell. Fitting. Hell is a pretty good way of describing the place you sent them."
Haly continued to choke on his own words as the ghosts of his past haunted him with every word Dick spoke. "Wh-what do you want from me?" He practically begged.
Again, Dick snorted with narrowed eyes. "What I want is to swing from the trapeze with a living family there to catch me. But I'll settle for the Judge of Owls."
Haly's eyes widened in surprise and his panic halted, if only for an instant. "I...I don't know anything about the Judge."
Suddenly, there was a clawed hand gripping his throat, and wild yellow eyes burning through his very soul. "Lie to me again and I'll split you open from belly to brains! I don't care about their Illuminati bullshit! I've come too far to stop now! Those other Owls didn't give me anything so you are going to if you want to keep breathing."
The ringmaster again gave the boy a look of stupor as he struggled to catch his breathe. "You?! You're the one that's been attacking the Owls?!"
Again, there was the horrible smile on his face. "That's right. And if I could do that to them, think about what I'll do to you."
"I swear I don't-"
He was violently thrown back into his seat, which collapsed beneath him and left him to fall on the ground as Dick got down on his knees and leaned over him and grabbed him by the collar. "What did I just say about lying to me?! I don't care if you don't know her name! You must have noticed something! The perfume she had on! The clothes she wore! You tell me what you know now or so help me-"
"They had me blindfolded whenever they took me to their house! The Judge always wore that cloak and mask!" Haly quickly defended. "I don't know what to say! It's an older place! Lots of owl sculptures and paintings! Suits of armor too! Like from medieval knights! And...and...!" Haly was speaking a mile a minute now. Desperate, to get anything that might pacify the Talon's rage. He was about to run out of details when something else came to mind. "Trees! Douglas firs! I looked out the windows sometimes and saw them all along the property! And the gate! It had this symbol on it! An owl with a scroll in its' claws! That's all I know I swear!"
Dick squinted at him as he lowered his head down so their noses were nearly touching. Sooner or later, Haly felt something wash over him as Dick released the hold on his collar with three whispered words. "I believe you."
Dick got up, paying no more mind to Haly, and walked over to the door as though the previous encounter never happened. Haly got up moments after the Talon got off of him, and starred at him as he left.
"For what its worth..." He began, trying to keep his voice loud enough for Dick to hear him despite how much the younger man strangling him had damaged his voice. "For what it's worth...I'm sorry. I'm more sorry than you could ever imagine. And when you find the Judge, I hope you make it hurt."
Dick stopped dead in his tracks, one hand still on the edge of the door. He tapped a clawed finger against it for a moment before responding. "Don't worry. I will." He then pushed against the door and shut it against the frame...leaving himself and Haly alone in the office. Haly felt his stomach turn and do flips inside him as Dick turned the lock on the handle and looked to him again, dangerous yellow eyes fixed on his own.
"N-no. I-I told you everything I know. I swear it!" He pleaded as he back against the wall and the Talon approached him slowly.
"So what?" Dick asked as he flipped over the desk to close the distance between them. "You thought you could spill your guts and I would just be on my merry way? That's unbearably naive Haly. Even for you."
"Dick please." The older man begged the boy he once regarded as a grandchild. "I have children."
"Look through the book Haly..." Dick said in a predatory voice as a claw shot up again and formed a vice like grip around the man's neck once more.
"...because they were all somebody's child."
The next thing Jack Haly was aware of was waking up to a bright light being shined very close to his face. He was just barely able to blink past it. He tried to reposition himself in an attempt to ease the influx of light. The result was a searing pain that shot throughout his abdominal. He gasped for air as he fell back against the soft surface. In the back of his mind it occurred to him that he was laying on a bed, but that was of little concern. Between his eyes and his body, he couldn't think straight. He just laid there completely still with his eyes closed tightly for several long minutes before trying to open them again. It was a gradual thing. Adjusting his eyes to the light. But sooner or later he was able to make out the bulb on the ceiling that the light was coming from.
He carefully turned in his bed, trying not to agitate the wounds at all. Next to him was an IV drip, which answered the question of where he was. It was a hospital. Or more likely a free clinic. He didn't have the money for an actual hospital, and one could tell just by looking around the room that it was hardly top notch. He also felt bandages wrapped around him that shifted whenever he moved, and the source of his pain was coming from underneath them. Hesitantly, Haly looked down at one of the ace bandages on his chest and lifted it up, only to immediately regret it. If he only felt mild pain from something like that, he had severely the pain meds they must have put him on. There were claw marks digging so deep into him, he could just about see his bones. Someone must have found him after...
Haly's heart sank as his mind drifted back to the youngest of the Flying Graysons. The boy he had seen today was the realization of all the nightmares he ever had about the Court and what they would do if they ever managed to get past Wayne and get their claws on him. He still had no idea how it happened, or why the boy had free will which was very unlike most Talons, or (most importantly) why Dick had left him alive. He didn't know. And something in his gut told him that he would never find out, and that he would never see that boy again.
Sooner or later Haly attempted to sit up in his bed despite the pain. When he did and he faced forward, he nearly fell right to the ground. It was a large dark figure right in front of him. At first he thought it was Dick, which terrified him. But the reality of it didn't make him any less scared. It wasn't a Talon, but Batman that stood before him, a young man dressed in dark red beside him. The large R on his chest suggested Robin, but he looked very different from the one Haly had seen on the news. As for Batman, the amount of terror the man could induce was not done justice by any news report out there.
"Don't speak." The Dark Knight said in a deep, intimidating voice which caused any possible question Haly might have asked to vanish from his mind. "I'm only going to tell you the situation right now. We know who you are, and we know what you did. You've provided performers to the Court for decades. Children, who thought they could trust and look up to you. You've done it for generations with impunity, but that ends tonight. I have all the evidence I need to send you to prison for a very long time Mister Haly. And if you think for one moment that no one will believe what I have against you because the Court of Owls is only a fable, you have no idea just how much pull the Justice League carries in the court system. And once you are insides, I will personally see to it that you never get out."
"That said..." The Robin-esque vigilante said, taking over. "The Justice League's influence in the court system works both ways. We can make sure that punishment is reduced just as easily as we can see to it that it is increased. If you help us now, we will ask for leniency. Make no mistake, you're going to jail either way. It's only a matter of what the inside will be like. You could go to a minimum security prison and live out your days peacefully, or you could go to Blackgate and we can see just how well a non-supervillain survives there. And it all comes down to whether or not you tell us the truth. Where is Dick Grayson going?"
Haly had to take no small amount of time to process the offer on the table. A majority of his brain was screaming at him to take the deal and stop being an idiot. If he did, Batman and Robin could catch their bad guy, Dick could get the help he needed, and he would have a reduced sentence. Everybody wins.
But...but...
"I can't tell you that."
The twin glares of the Dynamic Duo fixed on him with a hatred that could melt steel. Red Robin was the first to voice this rage. "This might be your only chance at any sort of redemption after years of selling out children under your care, and that's all you have to say?"
"I know that someone like you could never understand this but-"
"Damn right, I don't!" The red clad Boy Wonder hollered as he stalked towards the edge of the man's bed and gripped the sides hard enough to break the braces. "Do you know what's going to happen if he finds the Judge before we do?"
"Yeah, I do. So do you. And you try to tell me that she doesn't deserve it." Haly justified. He had been hoping beyond hope for years that someone would do the Judge in. Now that the moment had finally come, he had no reason to undo it. "You don't know her or the Court like I do. As long as she's out there, no one in the circus is safe. And neither is Dick. I think the kid's entitled to a little revenge anyway."
"That's easy for you to say. When he took revenge on you, he chose to show restraint." Batman countered. "And do not for one moment act as though you care about Dick's safety in all of this. It sounds to me like you want the Judge gone, and you're willing to let the child you failed do your dirty work."
Haly was taken aback by the accusation and actually met the Dark Knights glare, ignoring the flinch that ran through him by doing so. "How dare you pretend to know anything about-"
"Oh, but I do know." Batman said as he took something out that had been hidden by his cape. And for the second time that day, Haly was confronted with his past using an object that he absolutely despised. Batman had the Book of Names in his grasp.
"There are over two hundred pages in this book, and just as many names. Among those, twenty six children trace back directly to you. Children that you sold off to be turned into monsters. Children that you let the world think was dead. Children that you abandoned." Batman ground out through clenched teeth. "Some of the parents of these kids took their own lives, because you told them their children were gone and never coming back. And before you even think of excusing yourself, I know full well about what the Court threatened you with. I know about your mother, and your own children. Answer me this. What made their lives and your family more important than any of those that became monsters on your account?"
Haly's throat went dry at the influx of accusations by the Dark Knight. Little did the vigilante know that Haly had asked himself that very question for years. He had even come close to telling the truth to the authorities a few times. But then, he would see his sons playing with the circus equipment or telling him that they loved him, and all he could do was picture those very same boys with their throats sliced open and white feathers placed next to them, just like his mother.
At that point he would think to himself, "What kind of father would I be if I did something that could get my sons killed?", when he should have been asking himself a different question. "What kind of human being am I if I keep letting innocents suffer and continue to get paid for it?"
The Boy Wonder pulled the ringmaster from his thoughts with a much gentler tone than he had used before. "You made mistakes. No one's denying that. But Richard shouldn't be the one to pay the price for that. Regardless of what the Judge of Owls has done, it's not our place to impose judgement on her. And Richard doesn't deserve to become a murderer. All those kids you've given to them over the years...they're killers now. Many of them will never be the same. It's different with Richard though. He hasn't killed anyone yet. There's still time to save his soul. If you have ever cared about him, you'll do the right thing here. Tell us where he is."
Haly swallowed down the pressure that was forming in his throat and looked at the ebony haired boy in front of him. The kid reminded him so much of Dick back in the day. So full of potential and wonder and light. He knew from the moment Dick was born that no matter what the Court wanted to do with him, the world would be a better place with him in it. That light might be gone forever now. There was only one way left to know for sure though.
"I don't know where he's going." Haly said, earning another scowl from Batman. Haly quickly got on the defensive. "That's the truth. I don't know where the judge lives. Not the location anyway. I only described it for him."
"Then describe it for us."
Haly nodded eagerly. "It's an older place. Practically a castle. Looks like it was taken directly out of a fairy tale. It's made completely out of stone. There are roses and douglas firs planted all around the property. It's remote too. Not another house around for miles. There was a family crest on the gate too. It was an owl with a scroll in its' claws."
Haly wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he saw something change in Batman's expression at his description. If it was there it was gone in an instant. Batman then proceeded to turn around and head right for the door. "Let's go."
Robin followed after his mentor, with a quick glance at Haly before moving. "You have your deal. I'll make sure that-"
"Don't you do anything." Haly interrupted, surprising Robin. "You were right. I've failed a lot of kids that put their trust in me, and it's destroyed a lot more lives than the ones listed in that damned book. I don't want any special treatment. I don't deserve it. Just do me one thing."
With that Haly looked at the former sidekick pleadingly, like it was his final wish in the whole world. "Tell him I'm sorry when you find him. I don't expect him to forgive me. But I need him to know that. You'll do that, won't you?"
Robin lowered his gaze to the ground before turning to the door. "Yeah. I'll do that." He said with the smallest edge to his tone before disappearing into the hall.
But despite the reassurance from the boy, Haly knew that there was no force in Heaven nor Earth that could ever ease his guilt, just like nothing could erase what Dick and Raymond and all those kids went through.
They would be edged into eternity.
Haly continued to contemplate that in the hours following the two heroes' departure and the arrival of the police which took place not long after.
Bruce & Tim
Tim hoped into the Batmoible eagerly once they left the hospital. Before he even landed in his seat, the young detective pulled up his holographic pad on his gauntlet. "I'll start running a search for mansions with those characteristic. Hopefully we'll get a match with-"
"Don't bother." Batman interrupted as he closed the top of the car and started driving them to an unknown location. "I know where it is."
Red Robin gave his now former mentor a mind-boggled look. "You do?"
Batman gave the curtest of nods in confirmation. "The crest that Haly described. It belongs to the family who first founded Gotham. The Vanavers. My father used to play golf with the patriarch of the family. And I used to play with their daughter during those games. Her name is Samantha Vanaver (9). I haven't seen her in years."
Tim allowed his brain to process all the information he just heard before allowing himself to proceed with a new search. "Maybe you have and you just didn't realize it. You said yourself that the Judge has appeared at charity events you hosted. Got her." Tim said as his search was completed and a picture of Samantha Vanaver appeared on the screen for all to see. "You've seen her without her mask."
Batman turned a bit so he could just make out the image from the corner of his eye. The blonde hair, the cheery red lips, the mole just beneath her eye. "It's her. Send the coordinates for her manor to the team."
Red Robin did just that. Not a minute later he got a message from Tigress saying that they were on their way.
With that settled, an uncomfortable silence overcame them. It was hardly something new for them. In fact, it this was what most night were like for them. They could spend an entire petrol without a single word passing between them. But this was different. The silence was deafening. There were a million things they should be talking about, but they were remaining unspoken.
Eventually, Batman realized that Tim wouldn't be the one to break the silence, and took up the burden himself. And he started with something that had been pressing on his mind during the talk with Haly.
"You lied earlier." Bruce said, earning a confused look from Tim. He elaborated, "Before, when you were talking about how Dick hadn't become a killer yet."
Tim's white lenses narrowed in hostility at his guardian. Perhaps that had come out more accusatory than he had intended. "Yeah well, whatever gets him talking is worth it. Besides, I also lied when I said the Judge didn't deserve to die."
The corners of Bruce's lips cast downwards at the young boys words. People Tim's age shouldn't have that type of mindset. "Please don't say that Tim."
"Fine then. That's off limits. We could always talk about the hypocrisy of you lecturing Haly or anyone else about failing and abandoning children." Tim said.
Bruce chose to push down the guilt and frustration rising in his chest. Even this hostile conversation was better than the avoidance he had dealt with so far. "I can't say I don't deserve that."
"No kidding." Tim added sharply.
Bruce sighed. "Tim, I need to apologize to you. I'm so sorry for what I've done. Truly. And not just for what I did to Dick. I was so wrapped up in that I failed to see that I wronged you too. I didn't give you the chance to explain, and I didn't have faith in you. I'm sorry."
"Well that's good to hear, but you know what really hurt me Bruce?" Tim asked as he turned to face Batman. "I accepted a long time ago that you and I would never have a traditional father son relationship. But I really did think that even if you could never bring yourself to say it that..." Tim stopped for a moment, and Bruce could tell it was because he was getting choked up. "I thought that you loved us, even if you wouldn't say it out loud."
Batman, reeling from what he had just heard, but the car on autopilot so that he could turn and face Red Robin. And there, he could see in his expression just how young Tim really was. "Of course I do."
"Do you though?" Tim's voice sounded far more hurt than accusing now. "We've been catching criminals for years now. And as per your instructions, I check visitors logs all the time just to make sure their not planning a break out. And over the years, I've noticed the most interesting thing. In nearly every situation, the person's family visits them all the time. And it didn't even matter what crime they committed. Burglary, assault, even murder. I couldn't understand it then. How could these families be that blind. All the evidence was right there but it was like they were choosing to ignore it. I got so curious, that one day I went to a prison as a civilian and waited outside for a guest to show up. I posed as a high schooler working on an ethics paper. Ultimately I had to bribe someone to talk about it, and I asked them how they could believe their family member was innocent despite the overwhelming evidence. The woman I interviewed told me that she knew her son was guilty, and that she hated what he had done. But none of that mattered, because he was still her son, and she loved him."
Bruce sat silently for Tim's story. By the end, he had a new appreciation for just what a horrible excuse for a father he was. Most of it he already knew. That he should not have blamed Dick for what he had been forced to do, and that he should have known better than to think he belonged in prison or an asylum. But Tim's story reminded him of something he had done a very good job of being ignorant towards. He never told the boys he loved them.
They had told him that they loved him repeatedly. But such sentiment had always been met with 'me too' or 'same here'. Somehow he had convinced himself that they knew how much they meant to him, despite his inability to communicate it. He was hardly the person to go to in terms of expressing your feelings, but how hard was it to say those three simple words?
More excuses and more good intentions. That seemed to be the common element in how he had failed the boys.
"I'm sorry Timmy." He said, hoping the nickname would help the boy ease up for what it was worth. "You're right. I failed you, and for that I am so sorry. I've never been a father to you, or at least I haven't been the one you deserve. But if you give me a chance, I swear I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."
Tim didn't look at Bruce once during his promise. He continued to look blankly at the passing buildings through the red visor of the Batmobile. "I think it might be too late for that Bruce."
Bruce's heart did a nosedive. He had tried to prepare himself for Tim's rejection, but he did not anticipate how much hearing those words aloud would hurt. He wanted to say something, but knew that no amount of words could make up for his mistakes at this point. So he turned back around, disengaged the autopilot, and took the wheel. Not one more word passed between them for the rest of the ride.
At some point afterwards though, something horrible occurred to Bruce. If he wasn't able to make things right with Tim, then what hope did he have of doing the same with Dick?
Samantha Vanaver was at her wits end. She never should have listened to William Cobb's ridiculous plans to recruit the Gray Son of Gotham. But the damage was done. And so here she was, on her way back to her mansion so she could convince what was left of the Parliament that she was still capable of running their fragile chapter in Gotham.
Worse still was that Batman was beginning to close in, and those members of the Council that were not in jail were being tracked down and taken out by some mysterious third party. As it stood, she was the only Owl left in Gotham.
"Madam Vanaver?" Her driver called from the other side of the divider. "We'll be there shortly."
She waved off her driver. She was too busy looking through the police reports on her phone. The Owls that were attacked were either in critical condition, or were bedridden. So far, the police hadn't picked up on their illegal activities, nor their ties to the Court. As it stood, they appeared to be innocent victims targeted at random by a madman.
She put her phone in her bag as the limbo came to a stop. She didn't wait for the driver to get out and open her door and proceeded to get out on her own. "You can go home for the night." She said before she walked out.
"Very well madam." The driver said before she closed the door. The limbo pulled out of her driveway slowly and made its' way to the lot as she went into the mansion.
Once inside, she was taken aback by the distinct lack of light. She narrowed he eyes at the darkness and flicked the switch by the door frame. Nothing.
"Archibald?!" She yelled, calling for her butler. After waiting a moment and not getting a response, she proceeded further into the house. "Caitlin?!" Her maid did not answer either, causing her annoyance to escalate. Where the hell was her staff?!
Samantha wandered into the main room and found it empty as well. "Judith?!" Again, she was met with silence. "Where the hell is everyone?!"
"They're not here."
Samantha whipped around to face the eerie voice that spoke. It certainly was not one of her staff members. The figure she found appeared as though he was just barely there through the darkness. At first she though she was imagining it, but her body tensed all the same. It remained completely still at first, but she shrieked when it sharply turned towards her. That's when she saw them. The sent a chill down her spine that rushed directly into her core. They seemed to glow in the darkness, and gave off a light that both mesmerized and and terrified her. Like what a snake did to a mouse before striking. Her mind was telling her to run, but some invisible force was keeping her in place.
And it all emanated from the yellow eyes starring at her.
She managed to back up, never taking her eyes off the golden orbs. She continued to move backwards until her waist hit what must have been her desk, at which point she began to maneuver around to the other side of it.
The figure in the shadows just stood there, never moving a muscle even to breathe. It just stood there and observed her ever move.
Once she got to the other side of the desk, she reached down for something under the table. That elicited a new response from the shadowed form of the intruder.
"If you're going for the silent alarm, don't bother. Your guards will be as unresponsive as the staff was."
Samantha completely froze in shock and fear. She hadn't noticed it at first. She had been reeling from the fact that there was a Talon in her home, where she was apparently alone. But now she saw it. Or rather she heard it. She knew that voice. It was the voice that had cursed her out as he was dragged into the Labyrinth. It was the voice that had been turned rough and raw by screaming. It was the voice that once called her 'Grandmaster'.
She looked at him again, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She could see past the gold now. She could clearly see the face of the boy she had broken down in an effort to build him back up into a Talon. It would be fair to say that she was partially successful. They had succeeded in making a Talon, but it was a Talon they could not control.
"They're alive, if you care." He said sharply as he took his first movement towards her. She stumbled back in response and fell into her chair behind the desk. "They're only knocked out. This is between you and me."
The Judge shot up out of her chair and scrambled to get one of the drawers of her desk open. Once she did, she pulled out the revolver she kept inside and pointed it at the Talon only...
...only he was no longer there.
Terror constricted around her heart. She turned wildly in every direction in an effort to get a lock on where he had gone, when a hand shot out from behind her and gripped the gun in her hand strongly. All the air expelled from her lungs as she felt the Talon's breathe against her ear. "A gun? Against me? I'm hurt. It's like you hardly know me. And here I thought the six months I spent being beaten, whipped, and mutilated was a bonding experience." He whispered as the hand he used to hold back her gun squeezed tighter and tighter until the metal warped and cracked in his grasp (along with the hand the Judge had on it).
She stifled a scream as her fingers were bent back at odd angles and used her other hand reach for something on her desk. An antique bronze dagger, kept purely for vanity's sake. She managed to get a hold of it and thrust it behind her head, hoping to get at him. She managed to feel the smallest bit of hope when she felt the dagger hit something, but it quickly eroded when the hand gripping hers tightened and she let out a pained cry.
Suddenly, she was whipped around and forced onto the desk chair. She made to get up, but a hand pinned her shoulder to the leather of the seat. The blonde looked up and saw the hero she had been so pleased in turning into a Talon, looking at her with a very familiar set of eyes. Those were the same eyes every Talon had when they had their target right where they wanted them.
Blue eyes darted around the room, searching for some way to escape. They stopped in their search when they landed on something of interest. Something in the Talon's hand.
It was her mask.
The dagger she had used was peeping out through the eye hole, meaning that the mask was what he had used to shield himself from the blade. It was still covered in red, and there was a long crack on it beginning from where the knife had run through it.
In one final and desperate attempt to preserve her life, the Judge looked up at the Gray Son of Gotham with pleading eyes. "Please don't! I'll give you anything! Whatever you want! Ask and it's yours!"
He looked at her with dangerously narrowed eyes with the taloned hand gripping her shoulder suddenly snapped up and grabbed the underside of her jaw. It kept her from moving. Kept her from even attempting to call out for help. All she could do was listen in horror as he spoke. "Whatever I want?" He repeated. "What I really want, is for you to die screaming."
Dread and terror took root in her heart as she watched the man that was once Richard Grayson begin to raise the red owl mask.
"Judge of Owls..."
He held it up high and turned it around, so that the inside of her mask was facing her.
"...the Gray Son of Gotham..."
Suddenly, she realized what he was planning. She jerked her head furiously to the side in an attempt to make him stop, but his hold on her was firm and would not budge.
"...has sentenced you..."
The mask was turned in such a way that it was ready to be placed on her face...
...with the dagger still sticking through it.
"...to die!"
Dick
The young assassin yelped as something struck his hand with a force great enough to shatter the mask and let the dagger embedded in it clatter to the floor. He gripped his hand as what he assumed was a dislocated wrist clicked back into place. Then, with a furious glare, his eyes narrowed in on the one who launched the arrow that struck him.
Roy stood there, another arrow at the ready on his bow. He stood stoically, refusing to allow the Talon before him to notice the small quiver in his stance. It wasn't just the Judge that had become terrified listening to him. Roy wanted to believe that this was just a damned good clone of Dick Grayson, and that the Boy Wonder was still incapable of this. But that was just fantasy. This was reality. Behind him, Roy felt a rush of air from a speedster stopping in his tracks.
"It's over Dick." Wally said calmly, with his hands up to show there was no hostility. "You caught her. We won. Just...just come over here and we'll bring her in. Tim's gathered all the evidence we need. She's never getting out of prison. It's over."
"You don't get to decide that!" Dick snarled, causing Wally's body to tense against his will. "It's not over until I put a knife through her brain!"
Both redheads gave an audible gulp before Roy responded. In the back of his mind it occurred to him that this would have gone better if Batman and Red Robin were here, but they were still on their way over from the hospital. That left them with one option until they got here. Stall. "You know we can't let you do that."
There was no change in his expression. No gesture. No words. Nothing to warn them as Dick leapt over the desk with acrobatic grace and agility and yanked a katana from his side as he spun through the air. Before he even landed, he swiped the curved blade at Roy, which missed his face by the width of a hair. But that wasn't what Dick was aiming for. The limb of his bow was sent flying towards the wall where Dick cut it, and the bowstring limped to the ground. Roy allowed the remains of his bow and arrow to fall from his grasp in pure shock as Dick landed on his feet and sheathed his sword with a dramatic flourish.
"You've never beaten me in a fight while I was human Roy." Dick said while turning his gaze to Wally. "Neither of you have. What will make this time any different?"
"For one thing, they're not alone."
Dick looked around to see the rest of the team coming in. Artemis had come in through the open window, an arrow of her own at the ready. Kaldur had come in through the entrance to the side of the fireplace, armed with his water blades. Conner was already in a fighting stance by the doorway the Judge had come in through, and M'gann was floating right where she had shifted through the wall beside Wally.
Dick gave the newcomers a look of anger, and what appeared to be mild hurt and betrayal. "So this is what it's come to? You're actually choosing her over me?"
Wally's emerald orbs radiated a look of pain in reply. "Screw her. We're doing this for you. We can't let you cross that line Dick."
Dick barked a humorless laugh, causing the speedster to cringe. "Have you been living under a rock? I already have."
"Not like this." Roy said as he pulled his spare bow from his back. "Don't you get it Dick? She's taken enough from you. Don't let her have your soul."
Dick looked at Roy like he couldn't decide if that was even a serious response. But after a while, his face split into a mirthless smile that made their hearts break. "I don't have a soul worth saving anymore."
"Please don't make us do this." Kaldur pleaded as he lowered his weapons so as to come off as nonthreatening. "Talon or not, you know you can't defeat us all."
Dick threw him a look. "Who said I had to?" He asked as he reached behind his back. Everyone prepared themselves quickly, expecting a weapon.
Suddenly, a red light flashed before each of them and and caused each and every member of the team to shield their eyes and stumble back, only for them to hit something behind them. They tried to go forward, but the path ahead was blocked as well. Finally, once the light dimmed enough for them to open their eyes, they could see why that was. There was some type of energy field around each member of the team, just like the ones Rocket created. They took the form of transparent red spheres of energy, and there was one around each of them save the Judge and Dick.
"What is this?!" Wally screamed, his eyes never leaving Dick. Out of the corner of his vision he could see Conner trying to bash through the barrier, but was so far unsuccessful.
Dick looked between each member of the team to ensure that it had worked before answering. "When I left the Court of Owls, I took some souvenirs with me." He then pulled something out from behind his back. the thing he had been reaching for earlier. And suddenly, they understood why this type of barrier seemed so familiar. The object in Dick's hand was a Father Box.
"Stasis field." Dick went on as he lowered the piece Apokoliptic technology to the ground. "For what it's worth, it'll fade in about three hours. But I'll be gone by then, and so will she."
With her only hope of rescue now trapped, the Judge rose from her cowering position behind the desk and attempted to run to the window. She was stopped just as quickly as she started, by a knife flying towards her and landing directly into her wrist, with the remaining force pinning it to the wall. She let out a scream of pain as she tried in vain to get the knife out, which only served to increase the agony she was in.
"Don't do it!" Roy yelled as he pounded fruitlessly against the barrier. On the other side of the distortion, he could see Dick stalking towards the Judge. "I already told you happened to me! What this will lead to! There's no turning back from this! It'll haunt you for the rest of your life!"
Dick shook his head as he took another knife out from the row strapped to his chest. "Not like it will if I let her live." He whispered. Once the Judge was within arms length, he gripped the knife that pinned her to the wall and twisted it in her flesh, causing her to elicit another bloodcurdling scream. She then had the gall to look him in the eyes with fear obvious in her gaze.
"You're a monster." She said through clenched teeth. "An ugly, vile, revolting monster!"
Dick snarled as he grabbed at her throat by the trachea to keep her from speaking. "I am what you made me."
Her words erased all doubt from Dick's mind. She was the monster! Not him! She was an irredeemable psychopath, who deserved much worse than he could hope to inflict on her. If there was any justice in the world, then hell was very real. And he wanted nothing more than to send her there himself. But she wouldn't be sent there too quickly. He wouldn't finish her off for quite a while actually. After all, there were so many bones to break and veins to burst before death was an actual risk.
Before he could even contemplate how to begin, a shadow passed over him from the large window behind the desk. Just as he turned to see it, the figure crashed through the paned glass and a steel-toed boot connected itself with his jaw. Dick did his best to roll into the hit and leapt back, landing on his hands and flipping back over so that he landed in a crouching position in the center of the room. Once that was done, he looked up to face the assailant.
At first he stood their stunned, but the awe slowly gave way to rage. It was not one person that attacked him, but two. And two people he knew well at that. For the briefest of moments, seeing the two of them stand side by side reminded him of his own days where he stood next to the taller of the two. His bright, well defined colors standing out in stark contrast to the dark attire of his mentor. That was their dynamic. A light to balance the darkness.
But he no longer cared about light and dark. Order and chaos. Heroes and villains. At that moment, he only cared about revenge. And he wouldn't let these two or any others stand in his way.
Bruce
Seeing Dick like this was, without exception, the worst moment of his life. Even the murder of his parents did not tear into his soul like this. This was his nightmare made real. If you took away the golden eyes and wild look, then it was obvious. Dick had become something far worse than a Talon.
Dick had turned into him.
The light that made him Richard Grayson was nowhere to be found. He had become just like Batman. A fierce and angry force that kept to the night skies and sought out not but revenge. But he was far worse than that. For he had no qualms with killing.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Way." Each word came out like fire. Hot and unrelenting. Batman could sense Red Robin's tension next to him. He refused to break his own stance though.
"No." He responded with the sort of conviction that only Batman was capable of.
"I wasn't asking." Dick said as he took out a bo staff from behind his back. It appeared to be the only non-lethal weapon on his person. But Batman knew better than to read too much into it. That said that Dick was not planning on killing them, but he had no intention of holding back.
"Dick please." Tim said, ever the mediator. "We just want to help-"
Tim was cut off as Dick swung the staff at him without warning. Tim's reflexes took over at that point and he brought up one of his suits' wings to shield himself. Dick continued to apply force to the staff though. "You know what?! I'm sick and tired of everyone deciding what kind of help I need!"
The entire team could do nothing but watch as Dick turned the staff to withdraw from Tim's wing and brought up the other end before the younger Robin could attempt to parry it. The end of the staff cracked across Tim's face and caused the boy to stumble back.
The instant that Bruce made a move to intercede, Dick jerked at him with the staff. Batman caught it before it could come close to striking his chest, but then Dick did something unexpected. He used the staff as leverage to jump off the ground and deliver a well placed round kick to Bruce's jaw, which caused his grasp on the staff to loosen.
At that moment, Tim tried to intercept his brother. But with their surrogate father's grip on the staff weakened, Dick yanked it from Bruce's hands and jabbed it towards Tim. Tim did a somersault to duck underneath the staff and get closer to Dick in the same move. But once he was in close, Dick caught him by his upper arm and lifted his entire body into the air, before propelling him towards Bruce.
The two collided and were thrown into the desk, shattering it into wooden splinters. Red Robin was back on his feet in an instant, Batman having broken his fall. He struck out with his razor sharp wings, which seemed to catch Dick by surprise. The edge of his right wing caught the Talon at his left cheek, exacting the black fluid that ran through his veins in victory.
Dick used the momentum of the attack to leap backwards and land gracefully in the center of the room. He raised a hand and gingerly touched the injury on his face, his fingers becoming stained with the black of the electrum. Once he saw the blood on the tips of his fingers, he growled savagely at Red Robin.
Tim couldn't deny the smallest bit of satisfaction that ran through him at the small triumph. He had never managed to get the better of his predecessor like that before. Dick had played a large part in training him to be Robin, but with his new suit he had some tricks up his sleeve that Dick had never seen before, and wouldn't be able to adapt to as well.
Yet, Tim somehow managed to forget that he was not the only one with new tricks. But that stopped once he saw the long cut on Dick's face stitch itself together. The only evidence it had ever been there at all was the smallest trickle of black fluid across his cheek.
The two of them engaged each other once more, though Dick was being far more vicious in his movements than Tim. Batman observed the whole thing with wide, unblinking eyes. There was something...different in the way Dick moved. Something that hadn't been there before, and something that he had not learned under Batman's tutelage. He couldn't quite describe it, but it was a dangerous addition to his repertoire.
The fight was over before it started. Tim had been keeping a good pace at first, but he slipped up at one point. It was a fatal mistake that Dick had consistently pointed out in training, and one that he used to his advantage now. He always feinted to the left before hitting right.
So when Tim dodged to the left, Dick was ready. He grabbed the boy's fist the moment he lifted it to strike. He then spun around behind the boy, keeping a firm grip on his wrist to keep him from moving, and delivered a swift strike to the back of the boys head with his staff. Tim let out a muffled cry as Dick let go of him and let him sink to the floor.
Batman did not let the opportunity go to waste. He leapt up and struck down at his son while he was distracted. Dick noticed the attack just in time, and raised his staff to block it. Batman's arm blades proved the stronger and split the staff in two while his fist connected with the head of black hair.
He attempted to get another hit in, but ever the acrobat Dick was already moving away from his adversary and repositioning himself. He took a stand a few feet in front of Batman, and rather than use the broken staff as he once wielded his escrima sticks, he discarded the broken ends, throwing them to the side and taking out his katana.
He came at his father without any restraint in his form. Batman had to parry the strikes with his arm blades, which kept him on the defensive. At one point, he saw the smallest of flaws in Dick's stance and attempted to strike him. Big mistake. With his arms extended and no longer able to block an attack from that side, Dick used to free hand to pull a knife and shove it into Bruce's abdomen. He retreated from the blow and was given but a split second to evaluate the wound before Dick pulled a second katana from his back and came at him again.
Bruce had fought Talons before. He had fought and defeated Cobb on more than one occasion in fact, and the man was said to be the greatest Talon of them all. But Cobb was a knife thrower. Not half the acrobat that Dick was. And while he did have bulk and strength over his son, brute force up against speed and agility did not make for much of an advantage. Especially when Dick was swinging the sword like a professional. Absolutely nothing was wasted in his movements. Each and every stroke was that of a master swordsman.
That's when it hit him.
The oddity in Dick's movements that he couldn't define before. This was it. His movements were far more lethal. Were he anyone else, he'd be dead already. And that wasn't the extent of it. Dick should not have been this well adjusted to fighting with blades weapons. Aside from the use of birdarangs, Batman had his proteges abstain from all forms of deadly weapons. For him to be this skilled with them...
...He only could have gotten that training from one place.
Batman saw through his next attack and managed to grab both blades in either hand, his armored gloves protecting him from harm. He then closed the distance between himself and his protege so that their noses were practically touching. Both of them had their eyes narrowed on the other.
"If you truly hate the Court so much..." Batman said to his son, "...then why are you using Cobb's training against me?"
Dick's eyes widened in shock at the accusation, which was all the confirmation that Bruce needed.
Before he could expand on the topic, Dick's head snapped forward and his forehead collided with Bruce's nose in a wet crack. Disoriented, he could do nothing as Dick released one of the swords and gripped Bruce's wrist to throw the man like a rag doll with his enhanced strength. Bruce was sent flying directly into a bookcase. Or rather, through the bookcase. The other side was hollowed out, and Bruce soon found himself tumbling down a flight of stone stairs. He came to a stop at the landing, and turned furiously in every direction to get his barrings.
It was a large rectangular chamber. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of marble, and the whole area was lit with candles that were scattered about. The only other things that filled the empty space were large stone owl statues, in varying stances, sizes, and positions. Most unsettling of all, was that they all had their eyes fixed on his position.
"Behind an actual bookcase?" Dick mused as he stalked down the stairs, drawing Bruce's attention back towards him. He was back to one blade, and had it extended to the side so that it scrapped against the wall where he walked. Small sparks danced off where the tip was leaving a groove in the otherwise flawless stone. "She's even more old school than you."
"Dick, you have to stop this." He pleaded, desperation clear and hard in his voice. "Don't you understand? If you do this, you'll never be able to come back from it."
Dick snarled again as he leapt up with his blade. "It's you who doesn't understand Bruce!" He landed blade first on his guardian, who crossed his arms in an x formation to stop the blade. But that left him open to the savage kick that was delivered to his side. "I don't want to come back from this!"
Bruce was too stunned to get back up after crashing into the stone wall. He could just barely block the clashes as Dick wailed on him with the sword. "It's not going to stop with her! The Joker! Deathstroke! Tarantula! Everyone who ever took something from me is going to pay!"
"We don't kill!" Batman fought back, bringing his other arm down on the blade to snap it with the strength of his gauntlets. He then managed to deliver a powerful blow to Dick's chest, pushing him into the center of the row of owl statues.
"I do!" With a speed that shouldn't be possible given its' weight, Dick heaved up and threw one of the owl figures. It shattered against Bruce's torso, along with several of his ribs, and knocked him onto his back.
Bruce turned over and spat out a wad of blood from his mouth, before attempting to get up. And just like that, Dick was upon him again. He straddled his lower body and pinned his left hand, before lodging a knife into the palm of his right. Bruce didn't make a sound except to further plead with his son.
"It's not for us to decide Dick." He said through the pain that came from talking. "That's what makes us different from them. It's not our place to-"
He was interrupted when the powerful impact of a fist connected with the side of his face. Dick had his eyes narrowed in on him in that same predatory fashion once again. "I agree. It's not your place." He said before landing another hit. "You weren't there. You didn't see what they did. You didn't feel it."
Bruce finally managed to break his left hand free and catch the fist before another strike could land. "Don't do this Dick. Please. You've experienced great suffering. I understa-"
Dick yanked his hand free and started in again, snarling like a wild animal and delivering jab after jab with untamed ferocity. He felt bones creek and crack beneath his knuckles, and his vision was blinded with red. When he spoke, it was like listening to a lion roar.
"NO!"
*Punch*
"YOU!"
*Punch*
"DON'T!"
*Punch*
"You don't understand! You'll never understand! You were never trapped with no escape! You were never twisted and warped until you became the very thing you hated most! You were never hollowed out and filled back up with anger! You were never abandoned! You were never left alone! You-You-You-"
Dick struggled to get the words out. The inner turmoil he had been trying so hard to keep hidden from the world was coming out violently like a dam had burst. Hatred was in complete control of his body, and the Talon in him reveled in the pain he was causing.
And suddenly, the last of his walls gave way and he screamed in an inhuman voice.
"YOU DIDN'T SAVE ME!" He screamed loud enough for the heavens to hear as tears of anger and pain swept down his face. Those words had been locked away inside of him for far too long. He continued his onslaught without mercy as he continued to release every single disdain he had been keeping bottled up. "YOU DIDN'T COME! YOU LEFT ME THERE! I WAITED FOR YOU! I WAITED AND YOU NEVER CAME! YOU LET THEM HURT ME! LET THEM RUIN ME! YOU LEFT ME THERE ALL ALONE! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU SO MUCH!"
His blows gradually became weaker as the young man dissolved into tears, but his words hurt more than the physical injuries ever could. Each one cut into Bruce so deeply that he barely even registered the punches. Some part of him had always feared the possibility that Dick didn't forgive him for not saving him. He couldn't even decide if those words were true or not. All that mattered is that they were true for Dick. Dick felt abandoned by him. Dick blamed him. Dick hated him. He couldn't even bring himself to be hurt after listening to the end of Dick's rant. A comfortable numbness settled in his chest. He didn't bother to fight back against the hits anymore, even to defend himself.
After another few minutes, by which point one of Bruce's eyes was swollen shut, his lip was split, and whatever ribs that weren't broken were at least severely fractured, the hits stopped coming. Above him, Dick had broken down into choked whimpers and sobs. His tears fell to his hands and mixed with his father's blood.
Pushing past the pain that ran through his body with every move he made, Bruce rose a single gloved hand to the boy's face. Dick caught it before it even came close. "Don't touch me." He bit out sharply, but there was a contrast between his tone and his eyes. His look to Bruce was one of pleading. Begging. "Please don't touch me."
After pushing the hand back down, Dick unceremoniously got to his feet and turned towards the stone staircase. He never looked back to his guardian. He just went forward with his head down.
Bruce wasn't sure how exactly he did it, but he willed his body to push itself up. Agony flared across every vein and muscle, but he couldn't care less about that. He moved forward. Slowly. One foot in front of the other. It was as fast as he could manage. It was even more difficult when he got to the steps. Gravity raged against him, but he refused to surrender now. He leaned forward and levied his weight against some of the higher steps, and began to crawl his way up. He could do nothing but hope beyond hope that he could make it in time.
And when he got past the top stair and saw Dick in front of the Judge with his sword raised, he could only think about how lucky he was that he hadn't been there a moment later.
"Stop." He gasped out, somehow getting to his feet. Dick seemed startled by his sudden appearance. Enough so that he turned towards him with wide eyes and lowered his sword. "Please. Stop."
Dick narrowed his eyes at him again. But this time it was not in anger or frustration, but sadness. "You're the one who needs to stop Bruce." Dick said in a low voice. "Stop clinging to Dick Grayson. Stop pretending that he's still alive. Stop acting like you can save me."
From the other side of their respective barriers, the entire team watched the exchange in silence. They had long since stopped in their vain attempts to break through the barriers, and there was still over two hours to go before they went away naturally. There was a type of tension in the room that was more intense than anything they had experienced before. It was not an unfamiliar sensation. They were heroes after all. They were responsible for keeping the world from falling apart. They saved people on a daily basis. They had collectively saved the world on more than one occasion. But somehow this situation felt more predominant than all of those things. This was different. It was their teammate. They're friend.
And that only added to the dread in all of it. Right now, before their very eyes, their friend committing cold blooded murder was a very real possibility. And there was nothing they could do to stop it. All their hope now had to go to Batman. Someone who they categorically disliked even before they ever heard the title 'Court of Owls'. Because if he failed here and now, any trace of Richard Grayson would be erased from the world forever.
"I can save you. And you are Dick Grayson." Batman said as he maintained his position. His limbs were too stiff to move forward anymore. "I know you don't believe it, and I know how naive I must sound to you, but it's true. You are Dick Grayson. You're the boy who saved me. The same boy who saved countless lives. The same boy who insisted I take in Jason."
He thought using Jason's name would help. Dick had adored his younger brother, and been shattered when he died. But the response he got was the exact opposite of what he intended.
"Jason is dead!" He snapped with eyes glazed over with unshed tears. "He's gone because we spare lives! How many deaths have we been responsible for because we keep giving the Joker second chances!?"
"You sparred Haly and the Owls." Batman reminded, which caused Dick to go silent. "Make your excuses about how they weren't the ones you wanted. That they were just prongs on the ladder to get to the Judge. It doesn't change a thing. You hated them too. You had every right to. And you every reason to kill them all after you interrogated them. But instead you showed mercy. No Talon would ever do that. But it's exactly what Robin would do."
"I'm not Robin." Dick said, his voice beginning to waver and more tears beginning to flow freely. "And I'm not Nightwing. They were heroes. I-I'm a m-monst-"
"You are not a monster! What happened was not your fault." He was speaking now with that nameless sort of conviction that only Batman was capable of. "If I have to spend the rest of my life trying to convince you of that fact, then so be it. I'll leave Batman behind and lock up the cave if that's what it takes because that's how much you mean to me. You're my son. My son. Taking you in was without exception the happiest moment of my life, and in more ways than one. You didn't just save me, you saved Batman.
"You brought a light to my life that hadn't been their since my parents died. And Robin kept me from losing myself to the life. From the moment you first put on the mask, I always hoped you would be a better hero than me. But I knew you would be a better man. And you are. It doesn't matter that you killed Zucco. It doesn't matter that you think you're a monster. The Court had you under control whether you'd like to admit it or not.
"But now it's different. Now you are responsible for your own actions." Batman then shocked them all by taking off his utility belt and dropping it to the floor, rendering himself defenseless. "If you choose to kill her now...I won't stop you. I won't turn you into the League, and the police will never know about it. It will be like this night never happened."
Now the entire room was looking at Batman as though he had lost his mind. Every word he just uttered went against his code. He only made them further surprised by taking off his cowl, his normally impassive face contorted in worry and fear, and looking his son in the eye.
"I am putting all my faith in you. The cycle has to end Dick. We're better than this. We must be better than this." With one last knowing look, Bruce took a step back to clear the space between Samantha and Dick. "The choice you make tonight will define you for the rest of your life. And if you allow your tragedies to define who you are..."
"...then you will end up just like me."
Dick
Richard John Grayson had never been so filled with hatred and blood-lust than he was at that moment. The anger was roaring openly like a fire in his chest. And that fire was spreading to every muscle and nerve in his body. He could feel it behind his eyes, and in the tips of his fingers.
He just hated them all so much!
He hated the Judge for what she did to him! He hated Cobb for making it his legacy! He hated Zucco for setting him on this path! He hated his friends for coming here and trying to stop him! He hated himself for wanting this so badly!
But more than anything, he hated Bruce for being right.
He never wanted to be Batman. He never wanted to become bitter and closed off and obsessed with revenge. He never wanted to loose his friends and become an outcast, losing himself to the man behind the mask. And something inside of him shattered when he realized that was exactly what he had done and what he had become.
Damn them!
Damn them all!
Why couldn't they all just die?!
Why did the Joker get to live while his little brother died?!
Why did Digger Harkness get to live when he made Timmy an orphan?!
Why did Sportsmaster get to live when he systematically abused Artemis and Jade throughout their entire childhood?!
Why did Klarion get to live after he killed Tula and broke Kaldur's heart?!
Why did Queen Bee get to live after she murdered Garfield's mother?!
Why did-
Why couldn't-
Damn it! Why did they get everything that should be his?!
Why did they have families and people who loved them?! Why weren't they the ones maimed and tortured for months without any relief or hope or comfort?! Why did they get to be happy for even a moment?!
Why did it happen to him?!
What did he do to deserve it?!
His entire life he only wanted to help people! He never wanted to hurt anyone! Never!
"Then don't let them win by hurting someone now" A voice in the far reaches of his mind whispered. Dick wept, because that voice sounded just like his mother.
It was too much! It was all too much!
Richard Grayson did the only thing he could. The only thing that could he could manage without caring what happened next.
He screamed.
Everyone jumped back from the agonizing scream that tore through Dick's throat. It sounded like he was in pain. No one knew what to make of it. They could only watch as Dick dropped his sword, gripped the sides of his head, and continued to wail without end.
Sooner or later, something gave. Either he lost his voice from screaming so much, or his energy was completely drained, or most likely a combination of the two. Dick simply sank to his knees at some point and stayed down.
Batman approached his son cautiously. Both as to not agitate his injuries as well as to keep from provoking Dick. He just wanted to wrap his arms around the boy, and tell him that everything would be okay.
And for one last time, something kept that from happening.
Before anyone could react, Dick shot up and grabbed Samantha by the throat, forcefully pulled her from the knife that restrained her wrist, and slammed her back against the wall. For a moment they thought he was going to kill her. But then they heard him speak.
"You will listen to me!" Even though he was whispering, ever single word would be ingrained in their minds forever. "You are going to spend the rest of your life in a cell. And for the rest of your life, I'll be watching you!" He seethed as a claw from his hand came up and stroked her face. "I'll watch you at your hearth. I'll watch you in your bed. And if you ever do anything to hurt me or my loved ones again, a Talon will, believe me, come for your head!"
Nightwing allowed his hold to loosen until wealthy woman he had been holding up she slipped from his hand and sank to the floor. She the appeared to scramble away from him and backed up to the wall, her eyes wide in fear. One glance and it was clear. She may not be killed tonight, but she would never feel safe again. It was nothing less than what she deserved.
Dick was breathing very heavily. He didn't know what he was supposed to do now. The Judge was alive. Batman was broken. Tim was unconscious. The team was still trapped. He supposed he should have begun by setting them free but...
...but he just couldn't.
He couldn't do anything right now. The anger was still very much there. And he was afraid that if he allowed himself to move right then, he would go over and snap the Judge's neck.
So he just stood there. He only remained standing through sheer strength of will. All he really wanted to do was lay down in a fetal position. It was over. He wouldn't kill. Never again. But now he didn't have any drive. He had no purpose. He had jailed his friends. He had attacked his brother. He had abandoned Barbara. He had damned near killed his own father. How could he ever hope to make up for what had happened here tonight?
No one wanted him there. They wanted him to disappear. The Judge was right. He was an ugly, vile, revolting mon-
His thoughts were cut short by a strong pair of arms that wrapped around his thin frame. He completely froze up. He didn't need to turn to know who it was. There was only one other free and conscious person in the room.
It must have been utter hell to move in his condition. But he did it anyway just to give his son a hug.
Dick's breathing became rapid and shaky and he raised a hand and gripped the wrist around his torso in an effort to pull it off. He was much stronger than Bruce at the moment, especially when you took the man's injuries into account. Though he just couldn't put any true effort into his attempt to removed the limb from around his chest. He was too spent. Emotionally and physically spent.
"Let me go." He whispered in a broken and frayed voice. His throat had been through hell as of late. In the Court, he screamed so much in pain that he eventually damaged his vocal cords, and he was no longer able to speak at all. When he became a Talon, that damage was repaired with haste. Then he would damage it through pained cries again, and the cycle would begin anew. "Please."
"No." Batman said as he shifted his weight onto Dick, no longer able to stand the pain. Despite not wanting to be touched, Dick helped his father stay upright. "I'm never letting you go again."
Something in that small promise was enough to make Dick snap. He leaned into Bruce's chest, careful to mind his broken ribs, and lightly cried into it. Together, they collapsed to their knees and just laid there. In that moment, he was no longer Talon, Nightwing, or Robin. He was the same circus boy who had just watched his parents die in front of him. And just as it had been all those years ago, Bruce kept his arms around the boy and allowed him to break down into his chest.
A few moments in, Bruce noticed something on the floor out of the corner of his eye. It was the Father Box. Without disturbing Dick, Bruce managed to reach down and grab the Father Box before crushing it in his hand with what little strength he had left. The stasis field around the team vanished into thin air, though they all remained where they stood. Like Dick, it appeared they had no idea what to do now. Batman took it upon himself to give them direction.
He turned to the Judge, who was still looking at Dick like a tiger who could pounce on her at any moment. He glared at her, and the smallest part of him regretted the choice to stay Dick's hand. It would always be there no matter how much he wished it was not. "Get her out of here."
Superboy and Aqualad complied, walking over to her and lifting her up to put cuffs on her. She offered no resistance. She was still trembling in fear, which neither young man could care less about.
He then looked to Miss Martian. "She knows Dick's identity. Have her meet with your uncle. He has certain ways of, let's say, changing a person's mind."
M'gann gave him a knowing look before she helped the boys escort her out. The entire time her eyes never left Dick's broken form.
Finally, he looked at Tim, still laying on the floor. He sighed. "Take him to the manor. Agent A will look after him." Roy, Wally, and Artemis all shared a look before Roy and Artemis both heaved up the unconscious boy, Roy at his legs and Artemis at his arms, and carried him out.
Wally stayed in the room for a moment and looked at his best friend. Never before had he seen such a strong person look so vulnerable. It hurt to watch nearly as much as the video of Dick killing Zucco. Wally gave a look to Bruce.
Bruce looked back at him. Even though there was no verbal communication, Wally knew exactly what he was trying to convey.
"Take care of Tim. I have him. He's my son. I'll take care of him. I won't screw up again."
Wally sped out of the room, leaving father and son by themselves.
Bruce had no idea how long they stayed in that position. It could have been an hour or two for all he knew. He didn't mind. He needed this as much as Dick. There was still the off chance that Dick would not forgive his mistakes. And if that was the case, this would be the most he saw of the boy for quite some time.
It was Dick who eventually calmed down. Enough so that he looked up at Bruce, yellow eyes possessing a look that made him resemble a lost child. "What happens now?"
Bruce gave him one last squeeze, the pain that flared through his chest being the farthest thing from his mind. "Now, we go home, son."
Author's Notes:
(1) For clarity, this would be the New 52 Red Robin suit.
(2) In case you didn't catch it, this is the same home they share in Season 3.
(3) If that didn't get you right in the feels, I have failed as a writer.
(4) The son's name would be Derek Powers. Did you understand the reference?
(5) I'll be honest. This particular piece of banter is taken directly from Nightwing Vol. 3 #21.
(6-8) I decided to include a theme of Talons who defected from the Court of Owls. Their stories are listed below.
(6) Raymond McCreary was the childhood best friend of Richard Grayson in the Haly's Circus. However, after Dick was taken in by Bruce, the Court chose Raymond to take Dick's place as their new Talon. He was trained and tortured by the Court over a number of years before they eventually realized that he would never be as good as Dick. Unlike the other two I have listed, Raymond did not leave the Court by choice. Rather, they cast him out and left him in the woods to die. Raymond survived, but held Dick and the circus responsible for his suffering. He later attempted to take revenge against both, operating under the name Saiko.
(7) Calvin Rose was an abused child who was locked in a dog kennel by his father as a boy. However, this lead to Calvin obtaining a skill for picking locks and getting out of tight spaces. He would later run away and become an escape artist at the Haly's Circus. After being chosen to become a Talon, Calvin spent years undergoing training before being left in the Labyrinth so the Court could drive him mad and ensure his compliance. However, Calvin escaped the Labyrinth, becoming the only Talon ever to do so. This lead to him maintaining his own free will and morality. Due to this, when Calvin was sent on his very first assignment, he rescued his intended target and her daughter and got them away from to Court and lead them to safety. Calvin currently works in Gotham as an ally to Batman.
(8) Mary Turner was horribly disfigured at a young age by a bomb attached to a balloon which was sent by Emperor Hirohito to cause panic in the United States during World War II. Through unknown circumstances, she joined the Haly's circus after the bombs killed her family and left her deformed. As a Talon, Mary was an explosives expert who faced Batgirl at the Gotham City Police Department during the Night of Owls. Over the course of the fight, Batgirl takes note of the fact that Mary moves exactly as Nightwing does. At one point in the fight, Mary overpowers Batgirl and has the perfect opportunity to kill her. However, Mary only pressed two fingers to her cowl and walked away. After claiming victory in the fight, Batgirl asks why Mary didn't kill her. Unable to speak, Mary wrote down in her own blood that like her, Batgirl also wore a mask, and she understood what it was like to hide behind one. Mary later joined the Birds of Prey under the name Strix, the Latin word for Owl.
(9) Again, I have no knowledge on how this applies to the comics. This information on the Judge of Owls comes from Batman vs. Robin.
Got to be honest, writing this emotionally wrecked me so I really hope you liked it. Only one chapter left! If all goes as planned I should have it up by the end of the week.
EllieFairy376 - Jason won't appear in this fic, but I'm actually going to do a sequel that will have him. Keep your eyes peeled and thanks for your review.
Guest and AwkwardPeanut - Wow. What the both of you said really just put me on cloud nine. It meant so much to me and it really helped me with writing this. I truly hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you both so much!
Before I forget, my friend is doing much better. I want to thank you all for such a positive feed back. It meant a lot. I hope you've all stayed happy and healthy in these times, and will continue to do so.
Thank you all for your reviews! They give me life. It's like a private Lazarus Pit.
I'll see you all soon.
Bye for now! ;)