AN: Look at me. I'm not that late. Thank you all for being so understanding. I appreciate everyone who bears with me on this odyssey. :D
Things are ramping up! We're getting the most of Damian we've gotten until now. And Nightwing is navigating a tricky situation again – but that's the status quo now for our boy.
Warnings for: Discussions of slavery (fans of Starfire will know).
I named this chapter in Kory's honor. She deserves it.
21. X'Hal
Damian did not like Todd. He did not understand why his mother deemed it necessary to introduce this nuisance into their daily training lessons. Todd was incapable with a katana. He looked like a toddler wielding a stick. When Talia engaged him blade-to-blade, she disarmed him within less than a minute. What a pitiable sight.
Every day Damian hoped that Todd would vanish. He obviously wasn't worthy to be trained by the great Talia al Ghul herself.
Today, Damian's hopes weren't fulfilled. When he entered the training room, Todd was waiting there. The older boy tensed when Damian approached. As he should. One needn't take the presence of an al Ghul lightly.
"Where is Mother?", Damian asked.
"I don't know. Maybe she is busy running an assassin-cult. I can understand running late under those circumstances", Todd said.
Damian scoffed: "Of course, you would understand something as pathetic as running late, Todd."
"You need to get off that high horse, brat."
Damian bristled. Todd should cower in front of Damian. Show him the respect an al Ghul deserved. Instead, Todd had grown complacent. This lowly street urchin believed that he could get away with besmirching Damian's honor just because he had gained his mother's favor.
And how hadTodd gained Talia al Ghul's favor? Damian couldn't rationalize it. His mother usually had no patience for lowlifes such as Todd. They were not even worthy of cleaning her shoes.
A thought too horrible to entertain ran through Damian's mind. Damian had long been asking his mother about the identity of his father. Mother had stayed quiet about that, telling him that he would learn once the time was right.
What if Todd's introduction was Talia's way to get Damian used to his… father? It made Damian want to throw up. The idea that something of this lowlife could be contained within Damian.
He watched Todd while he practiced his shoddy katana-work by himself. Todd looked young but looks could be deceiving. Ra's al Ghul was over a thousand years old after all. What if Todd was older than he looked?
"Tell me, Todd, how many pathetic years have you spent on this earth?"
"Is this your way of asking me how old I am?", Todd pulled the katana in front of his chest, practicing a block.
"Answer, imbecile."
Todd struck out with his katana. His other hand was still bandaged. Apparently, Todd had taken a knife in the faked assassination attempt. Damian scoffed. Naturally, Todd had been too unskilled to avoid injuring himself.
"18", Todd answered.
Damian breathed out in relief. There was no way that Todd could be his father. Todd had been eight when Damian had been born.
"Why do you care?", Todd asked.
Damian puffed out his chest. Before he could set off on a tirade, Todd sighed and put down the katana.
"Look, kid. I don't like you either but I promised your mother to protect you so we can at least try to get along."
Todd held out his bandaged hand: "Peace?"
Damian narrowed his eyes. Glaring down at Todd's hand. He was not foolish enough to trust such an arrangement.
Damian reached for Todd's hand and squeezed. Todd cursed and ripped his hand out of Damian's.
"You are such a spoiled brat", Todd glared at him, "Can't believe I'm supposed to lay down my life for you."
"I do not require protection."
"You have no idea, kid. I tried to be nice to you because my brother would be disappointed in me if I bullied a little kid. But fine", Todd crossed his arms, "You wanna play it that way? Let's play it that way."
"You are an only-child, Todd", Damian had done his research, "The Talon is not of your blood and even if it was, it is but a mindless creature."
Todd's glare darkened: "Blood doesn't mean shit. Otherwise, you'd be just as much of a hero as your father."
Damian froze. Todd couldn't have insinuated-
"You are a dirty liar. You do not know the identity of my father."
"I do", Todd smirked, "I know him. That's gotta irk you, right? That the Crime Alley-brat knows who your old man is."
The atmosphere in the room had tensed. Damian could feel the power balance tilting towards Todd. He would not allow himself to be degraded in this way.
"Liar", Damian crossed his arms.
"Why do you think Talia is keeping me around? I know your father, kid. Face it."
Damian turned his back on Todd. He would not dignify Todd with his attention. Damian would ask his mother. She would clear this dirty lie up.
Talia entered the room. She took one of the katanas from the wall.
"We shall start", Talia said.
She indicated them to imitate her poses. Damian did his best to imitate his mother's swift strikes.
To his chagrin, Mother's gaze ended up on Todd: "You are improving, Jason."
"I have a great teacher", Todd joked.
Talia outwardly did not respond but Damian could see from her micro expressions that Talia was amused. There was this slight crinkle around her eyes. An expression that only Damian could put on his mother's face.
Could it be that Damian had misread the situation and Talia felt… maternal feelings towards Todd? Absurd. Todd was not of al Ghul-blood. He was worth the gutter he had crawled out of.
Todd was so low that he was desperate to call a Talon his brother. Damian had visited the Court once when his mother had negotiated a short-lived arrangement with them. The experience was branded into his young mind.
He remembered the black masks of the Talons. The empty eyes behind their goggles. None of the honor, ambition and discipline that characterized a Shadow.
Talons may be physically stronger than the Shadows, but they would ultimately lose. They were toys to wind up. Any Shadow worth his katana would defeat these abominations of humanity. It was no surprise though that Todd would gravitate towards such an animalistic creature.
"Mother", Damian said, "I demand to speak to you."
"What did I say about training?"
"We do not interrupt training", Damian avoided the urge to roll his eyes.
"Exactly", Talia said, "Time for a spar. Jason starts with me."
Todd and Mother started sparring. It took Talia two minutes to disarm Todd and get him on the floor.
"Keep your guard up. Block more quickly. Your footwork is too heavy", Talia's katana was at Jason's throat.
"I understand", Jason stood up.
Damian crossed his arm. The infuriating thing about Todd was that he always got up again.
"You should stay on the floor, Todd. It's where you belong."
Todd's eyes flashed dangerously: "I'm used to getting up. I learned it while training with my brother."
"Disgraceful that a Talon would beat you over and over again", Damian said.
"Damian", Talia's voice was a warning, "You should not be so dismissive as to underestimate a threat. Shadows are confident, never foolish. There is a reason why I have never let you fight a Talon. You are not ready yet."
"A Talon is not a threat to a Shadow, Mother. I shall behead these creatures without any difficulty."
"Lex Luthor plans to have a Talon take over for Deathstroke as enforcer of the Light if it can beat him", Talia said, "It shall be decided on the next summit."
"What?", Todd froze, "Nightwing?"
Apparently, he hadn't known about this. Damian couldn't help but feel smug.
"Indeed", Talia said, "Luthor has confidence that it can slay Deathstroke. I remain dubious but we shall see."
"Nightwing is going to win", Todd said.
"You are confident, Jason."
"He will. I'll be pissed if he doesn't make it home."
Talia narrowed her eyes. She seemed intrigued by Todd's statement.
"We shall continue", Talia said.
It took hours until training was finally finished. Damian struggled with keeping up his composure. He made mistakes that were below his skill-level. Mistakes that Talia scolded him for.
Damian was not bothered much though. Todd's insinuations about his father's identity made Damian's thoughts race. They dominated his mind so strongly that he could not focus on his footwork.
"I do need to know, Mother", Damian said, "Does Todd know the identity of my father?"
Talia halted. She glared at Todd who was draining a complete water bottle. Todd shrugged at her. He was growing complacent indeed.
Talia's voice was sharp: "He does even though he was supposed to stay quiet about the fact."
"I demand to know the truth. It is disgraceful that Todd knows the identity of my father before I do", Damian huffed.
"Come here", Talia went to the middle of the ring and raised her katana, "Beat me and you shall know."
Damian let out a battle cry and lunged at her. Talia sidestepped his attack like water. Damian felt anger grow within him. He tried to hit his mother, but Talia kept blocking. Her foot struck out. It hit Damian's hand and shoved the katana out of his grip. The blade landed on the ground. Damian was about to lunge at Talia, but her katana pushed against Damian's chest.
"You are dead, my son", Talia's voice was stern.
Damian scowled: "I demand a rematch."
"You cannot allow yourself this foolishness in the field", Talia said, "You are not ready to know your father's identity. You are not even ready to fight a Talon. Sending you into such a battle would mean your death and a capable warrior must know his limitations to overcome them. Go to Sensei to receive your 10 lashes."
"Mother", Damian protested.
"20. You are an al Ghul. You cannot allow yourself to be foolish nor distracted. I shall not bury my son. Do you understand, Damian?"
Talia's features were stern but her eyes spoke of turmoil. His mother was upset for some reason.
Damian balled his fists. He felt tears well up in his eyes, but he didn't allow to let them fall.
"I understand, Mother", he lowered his head.
"Good. I have a meeting to attend. Preparations for the summit", Talia left the room.
Only Damian and Todd left. Damian felt the spite within him. This was all Todd's fault.
Todd looked like he wanted to say something.
"GO AWAY", Damian screamed at Todd, "You are not worthy to even look at me. You better remember that an al Ghul is like a venomous snake – not someone to ever take lightly. Watch yourself, Todd."
Todd's face darkened but he left without another word. Damian remained, focusing on blinking back tears. Then, he left to collect his 20 lashes with his head held high – as a true al Ghul should.
Jason left the training room. He wasn't eager to interfere in some al Ghul family-bullshit which – come to think of it – was also Jason's own family bullshit if Jason was Bruce's son and Damian was Bruce's son. That would make Damian his little brother.
Jason shook his head. No. He was not claiming the stuck-up brat as a little brother. He only had one brother.
A brother who would need to fight Deathstroke to the death. Jason hoped that N had a plan for this. Apparently, his brother had gotten into quite the trouble. It irked Jason that he was so isolated and couldn't help N. He just had to trust that this was part of some scheme Deathstroke and Nightwing were pulling.
Jason was so absent-minded that he almost ran into someone. Themis. Jason froze when he saw her. They hadn't talked since their fight. Themis put on a blank face.
"How is training going?", Jason asked.
"Same old. Same old", Themis' voice was cold, "I'm getting better. Instructor is still a bastard. Can't believe you left me alone with him."
Jason hummed. He was about to continue moving.
But Themis said: "What are we doing, Jason?"
"I'm rightfully pissed because you implied that my brother should have rolled over and died."
Themis sighed: "I'm not apologizing. I meant everything I said. We need to think about the future though. You are getting side-tracked."
Jason wanted to scream at her again but there was gaping emptiness in his chest: Loneliness. There was no one who had Jason's back here. Talia was the closest but Damian in all his prickliness was right: Talia had her own agenda. She wasn't a confidante and especially not a friend.
Themis was. At least she had been before their fight.
And Jason couldn't help but be curious about what Themis was implying. Damn it. She had pulled him in.
Jason suspected that Themis acted more strategically than most believed her to. There was a reason that she was still alive despite her limited fighting ability. She wasn't just coasting on her powers like Jason had initially assumed. There was an edge to her that Jason couldn't help but admire.
"The future?", Jason asked.
"The mission. True justice. I'm improving. You probably, too, now that you have private lessons with Talia al Ghul."
Jason lowered his voice: "Talia has this mission for me. She wants me to protect Damian."
"And that's more important than what you came here for?"
"No."
How dare Themis insinuate that Jason had lost sight of his mission? The mission ruled his life. He had given up everything to become Red Hood. Sometimes, Jason regretted it. He wished that he had sticked to his quiet life with Nightwing. But he had chosen and he was on his path now.
Red Hood didn't do anything he started half-assed.
"Then, act like it", Themis crossed her arms, "I am in contact with my sister's old ARGUS-network. They can get us off here when I ask them to. I have a special communicator."
Jason frowned. Why hadn't Themis told him about these connections? Those would have been valuable to know about.
"Get us away from here?"
"To return to Gotham obviously. There is purging we need to do – justice to distribute. Did you forget?"
And there it was. She was implying it again.
"No. You are right", Jason said, "I can't get side-tracked."
"Imagine it: Themis and Red Hood in Gotham. With your skill and my powers we'd be unstoppable. I have plans to take Arkham. That revolving door of psychopaths needs to get closed permanently."
"You were hard at work", Jason frowned.
"Someone had to while you were fraternizing with your new family."
"They aren't my family. They aren't anything", Jason thought of Damian's derision.
No. That brat would never acknowledge Jason as family even if they were technically brother. Why should Jason stop his mission for him?
"The murderer of my sister is bound to show up in Gotham at some point", Themis said, "I'm going to catch him and I'm going to make him pay."
"I'll help you", Jason said, "You don't have to do this alone."
"Are you sure, Jason? I need to be able to trust you. My partner can't have divided loyalties."
"You can trust me. We went through all this together."
And Jason meant it. He would have lost his mind here without Themis as his friend. Their fight hadn't changed that.
"Great", Themis clapped Jason's shoulder, "I'll tell you when we have to run. We'll have to drop everything, so you better be ready at all times."
"I am", Jason said with conviction.
Themis smiled: "I have to leave for the kitchen or I'll get killed. Talia's aura is bright red by the way. Her brat's is getting pretty red as well. They aren't good people."
Jason's stomach tensed. He wouldn't think of Talia and Damian as good people, but they weren't demons either. Themis' power didn't lie though. It saw through you. The ultimate, cosmic justice.
Themis left without another word. Only when she had vanished did Jason realize that she still hadn't told him who had murdered her sister. Jason frowned. Themis was keeping secrets of her own.
It was in the middle of the night when Donna spoke up. Most of the scientists had long left with one of them snoring at his desk. They were growing complacent – relying only on Nightwing to supervise the Titans. For months, he had been the only one to open their pods.
"We need to make a plan", Donna said.
Victor sighed: "Why should it work this time? Just let me die in peace."
"None of us is going to die", Donna said, "We just need to be smart about this."
"I agree with Donna", Starfire raised her chin, "We need to make an escape plan. And if it fails, then we die with dignity."
"Well, maybe we should have made that escape plan before a literal zombie-assassin monitored our every move", Gar said, "That thing is a machine. Starfire is the only one who can even faze him."
"He won't be a problem", Donna said.
Victor said: "Wondy, your naivete is-"
"Donna is right", Starfire said, "The Talon is not a problem."
"Why are you so sure?"
"Like you said", Starfire said, "I fazed him before. I can do it again."
Starfire's excuse was paper-thin even to Donna. They both knew the real reason though why Nightwing wouldn't be a problem. They couldn't say it directly though without risking Nightwing's cover.
Victor frowned: "Why do I have the feeling that you know something we don't?"
"Just trust us", Donna said, "The problem isn't getting out of the pods. The problem is being stuck in this facility. It'll go on lockdown if we try to escape."
"I can use my Starbolts to blow through the door", Starfire sounded eager to release some force.
"It's not that easy", Donna said, "This door is reinforced against meta-powers. Probably not even Superman could blow through those. Luthor always uses him as the standard for everything."
"Who is this Superman?", Starfire asked.
"You don't know who Superman is?", Gar sounded scandalized, "He's only the greatest hero on earth."
"He's a Kryptonian", Donna said, "One of the last."
"I do know of Krypton. Tamaran used to have diplomatic relations with its people. We warned them that they were not living in harmony with nature, but they would not listen to our advice", Starfire said.
Donna frowned. She wondered about Starfire's home planet. There was so much they didn't know about her.
To Donna's surprise, Victor spoke up: "So, if not even Superman can blow open that door, then you would need to be smart about it, right?"
"What do you have in mind?", Donna asked.
"I wonder if I could hack it – theoretically. I hacked into Lexcorps before."
Donna grew excited: "That's a brilliant idea, Victor."
Their escape plan was materializing.
"Not so quick, Wondy. I'd need some time and more importantly – I'd need one of my parts back."
"Which part?"
Victor turned his head, so that he looked at Donna. It revealed the empty side of his face.
"My eye module", Victor said, "I need it for my more advanced functions. The scientists took it away and only left me with the parts I need to survive. If I want to hack this thing, I need Grid."
"Grid?", Gar asked.
"My advanced programme."
"So basically your Alexa?", Gar laughed.
Victor sighed: "How did I survive months with only you as company?"
"You love me. Everyone does", Gar said.
"If you hack the facility, you would have control over all the doors, right?", Donna asked.
"Probably."
Donna grinned: "We can use that to free the Talons."
Gar's mouth dropped open: "You want to play freedom fighter?"
"They are just as captive as we are", Donna said.
"One of them is very much involved in keeping us captive."
"You see how they are treating him?", Donna said, "They are treating all the Talons this way. They have dozens of them in this facility and they are harvesting them for a substance in their blood. It is killing them slowly."
"It could get us killed", Gar said, "Who knows if those Talons will even cooperate?"
"They are too out of it to resist, and they'll be grateful to get out of here", Donna said, "Believe me."
"We shall not leave those captives behind", Starfire said with conviction, "We will even take the Talon with us as a hostage. He will thank us one day for his freedom even if he doesn't understand it now."
Donna noted Starfire's quick thinking. Nightwing could pretend that Starfire had overwhelmed him again allowing her to slip her restraints. She could break his neck, taking him out during their attempt. He would be their hostage. If the Titans' escape went wrong, Nightwing's cover would still be intact.
"You seem awfully sure about that", Gar seemed dubious.
"I was a slave of the Citadel for years. I had moments where I was broken but ultimately, I always retained my desire for freedom", Starfire said, "I managed to break free from the Citadel and escape to earth only for Luthor's goons to catch me. I will break free once again and I refuse to leave others to this fate."
Heavy silence.
"You were a slave?", Victor asked carefully, "I thought you were a princess."
Starfire's eyes were sad when she said: "My planet has been at war with the Citadel for decades. It was my father – the king - who handed me over to the Citadel's slavers as part of a peace treaty."
"That is a seriously fucked-up peace treaty", Victor said.
"It was needed to preserve the life of billions", Starfire said, "It was my duty as a daughter of the royal family."
"I call bullshit on that. It's not peace if you have to pay for it with your daughter's freedom", Victor said.
"My father did what was necessary", Starfire raised her chin, "And I bore it with as much dignity as I could muster."
"You shouldn't have had to go through that."
"Victor is right", Donna tried to put as much compassion into her voice as she could, "You went through something that no one should have to go through."
Starfire looked tired for the first time today: "I'm afraid you are right. But reality is often not how it should be."
Donna bit her lip. Starfire was right. Her voice spoke of a weariness that made Donna sad.
She couldn't imagine how much pain Starfire had gone through. This had to end.
"I'm sorry, Starfire", Gar said, "I understand. We won't leave those Talons."
"So, we are all on the same page?", Donna asked.
"Goldie over here-", Victor nodded at Starfire, "-overwhelms the Talon and takes him hostage. I get my eye module back and use it to hack this stupid facility while you have my back. And then we try our best to get out of here and free those Talons."
"Sounds like a plan to me", Gar tried to sound confident.
"It's the best we have", Starfire said, "May X'Hal be with us."
Donna woke up from a troubled nap when she heard cursing the next morning.
"How can this happen?", Hagen asked.
"What, boss?", another scientist answered.
"Luthor is coming today and we have one mind-control device missing."
"Did you count?"
"Of course, I counted", Hagen said, "I have three PHDs. I'm far too overqualified to count things in a box."
"Why not let the Talon count then?"
Nightwing approached Donna's pod with a water bottle. He deactivated the energy field and put a straw to Donna's lips. Donna nodded in thanks as she greedily soaked in the water.
"You think the Talon is smart enough to count anything?", Hagen said.
"I'll count again", the scientist said, "Maybe you overlooked one."
Hagen scoffed at the implication that he could have made a mistake. But he allowed the other scientist to count the contents of the box again.
"We have one missing", the other scientist confirmed.
Donna exchanged a glance with Nightwing. He tilted his head confirming Donna's suspicion that he had something to do with this. Donna's heart raced. She hoped that the scientists wouldn't suspect him.
Nightwing looked down as he put the bottle onto a cart. He moved to Gar next allowing him to drink.
"Well, where could it be?", the scientist asked, "We were careful with those things."
"Well, apparently not careful enough. Or did one of you destroy one while tinkering?"
"We didn't", the other scientists confirmed.
"Talon", Hagen turned to Nightwing.
Nightwing turned towards him.
"Where is the missing piece?"
Donna's heartbeat raced even faster. Nightwing didn't show any indication of nervosity.
He tilted his head in feigned confusion: "Not understand, Handler. Order unclear."
Hagen threw hands: "See? This thing is useless. Someone must have dropped it."
The scientists lowered their heads in shame.
"Don't you understand the stakes here? Luthor could have us fired for being sloppy. You don't want to be fired by Lex Luthor", Hagen turned to Nightwing, "New order, Talon. Stop taking care of the freaks and search the lab."
He held up one of the mind-control devices, speaking slowly: "Look for another one of these. It looks exactly like this one. You should at least be smart to recognize that, right? And you better do it thoroughly."
"Yes, Handler", Nightwing said.
He went towards the corner of the lab and systematically searched it. He even went on hands and knees to look under the shelves. Donna knew he wouldn't find anything. Nightwing sold it though as if his current life purpose consisted of finding this missing piece.
Victor sighed at the sight of the cart in front of him with the water. He hadn't drunken since yesterday.
After Nightwing had searched the room thoroughly, he said with a quiet voice: "Not can find, Handler. Very sorry for fail."
Hagen turned to the other scientist: "Useless. Like I said. Note the box down as complete. Luthor won't notice – hopefully."
Nightwing went back to bringing the Titans water. Donna allowed herself to breathe again. She wondered how Nightwing could live with this permanent stress. It was already getting to her.
Donna was amazed though by how much of a blind spot Nightwing was. Hagen hadn't even considered the possibility that Nightwing could have taken it. It wasn't a surprise considering that Hagen believed that Nightwing was too stupid to count or understand basic instructions.
Nightwing returned to giving the Titans water. Victor looked relieved when he finally got his portion to drink.
"Luthor won't care anyway about one missing piece if the experiment succeeds today", the scientist said, "We should have an obedient army by the end of the day."
Donna's blood ran cold. Even Nightwing froze at that statement. His claws twitched towards his palms. But he forced himself to take another water bottle and held the straw to Starfire's lips.
The scientists were planning to use the mind-control devices on the Titans. Just now when they had come up with a plan. It was too late. They would be Luthor's minions and Donna didn't know if it could be reversed.
Nightwing nodded at the button for Donna's pod. Donna's blood ran cold at what he was suggesting. He could push the button and let her go free. Free them all and hope for the best. The Titans might make it.
Nightwing tilted his head waiting for her answer. He would push the button if he told her to. His life was in Donna's hands.
The fear in his eyes told Donna that he knew of the consequences. It would reveal him as a traitor to the Light. The facility was full of guards with blue guns. Even if Victor managed to hack the facility and the Titans made it out, the likelihood was too high that Nightwing would be hit. And any hit meant death for him. It was the same situation Donna had been put in when she had tried to flee the hangar – on steroids.
Donna wanted to be free. She wanted to return to Themyscira. See her sisters again. It had been too long since she had seen the blue sky, since she had flown. Freedom would be sweet after months of this captivity and humiliation.
But she couldn't sacrifice Nightwing to reach it. He was her friend. Donna remembered their interaction in the bathroom. The warm hug Nightwing had given her. The gratefulness in his eyes when he had thanked her for the Talons' freedom. How excited he had been when he had told her about rebirth and how he had chosen a name for himself.
No. Donna couldn't do this. She wouldn't sacrifice her friend even if it meant that she would spend the rest of her life as Luthor's mindless minion. Nightwing was already risking his life by taking on this mission for them. Donna had told Nightwing that people cared. It was time to show him that she did. Caring also meant carrying the consequences if necessary. Caring without sacrifice was only faked concern.
So, Donna shook her head.
He tilted his head in the other direction, silently urging her to take the chance. Donna shook her head more insistently. Nightwing's hands dug into his palms. Donna was worried he would blow his cover but none of the scientists were looking at him.
Only the other Titans.
"Wondy was right", Victor muttered.
Nightwing looked at them.
He mouthed: "I sorry. I fail."
He lowered his head.
Donna wanted to reassure him, but Nightwing tensed suddenly. The door opened and Luthor stepped in. Hate arose in Donna at seeing him. She hated this slimy bastard who believed that he owned the world and every living being in it.
"Is everything ready?", Luthor skipped any pleasantries.
"Of course", Hagen approached Luthor holding a mind control device, "Some small modifications but now it works as intended. It integrates itself into the central nervous system and cannot be pulled out lest the subject dies. They are programmed to be loyal to the Light."
Luthor turned the device in his hand. He smirked.
"We have the mindcontrol. What about the Talon-ization process? I need my army to be indestructible."
"We're still working through the Court documents", Hagen says, "A few months and we should be able to turn the subjects. We do have the Electrum necessary."
Luthor hummed in satisfaction.
"Integrate it into their necks, Talon", Luthor held a device out for Nightwing.
Nightwing took it. He went to Starfire first. She screamed and cursed when Nightwing approached her.
Nightwing deactivated the energy field. He gripped Starfire's head to keep it still, careful not to scratch her.
Nightwing held up the device, pressing it against Starfire's neck. Starfire's body jerked.
Nightwing flinched at her visible pain. She slumped forward. Donna could see the device in her neck. It had bitten itself into her skin like an insect.
It took a while for Starfire to raise her head again. Her green eyes had lost all her usual passion.
"Waiting for orders, Master Luthor", Starfire said.
"Let the alien out, Talon", Luthor ordered, "She has proven to be the feistiest."
Nightwing demagnetized Starfire's cuffs. She stepped out of the pod, her body slack. It was wrong to see Starfire like this. The alien had never been passive. She had always fought even in their most hopeless hours.
"Take off her inhibitor collar, Talon", Luthor said.
And Nightwing did. Donna held her breath. She hoped that Starfire had just been acting. That she would strike now that her powers were back.
Nightwing tilted his head, ready for an attack. But Starfire stayed still.
"Shoot the Talon with your Starbolt."
Starfire raised her hand. Pink energy shot out of it. It hit Nightwing into the chest, throwing him back into the food cart. Nightwing made a pained sound. The front of his suit was burned and Donna could smell singed flesh.
"Magnificent", Luthor said, "The Tamaranean will be an invincible pawn once we have given her the regenerative abilities of a Talon."
Nightwing stood up again. Luthor gave him the next device.
"You are fucking insane", Victor screamed at Luthor, "You and your club of psychos. I'll get out of this. You'll see."
Luthor chuckled in condescension: "Such hubris. You should have never hacked into my accounts, Victor Stone."
True malice shone in Luthor's eyes. Luthor claimed to follow some higher values in his pursuits. Donna could see right through him. Luthor was just greedy. None of this was about serving humanity.
"I enjoyed every dollar", Victor screamed at him, "Did you know that I donated 10.000 dollar to the Metropolis St. Mary's orphanage? You are welcome. This is the best thing you have ever done in your miserable, greedy life."
Donna couldn't suppress a smirk.
"Way to go, Victor", Donna smiled at him.
Victor shared a glance with her. He looked terrified but Donna could also see defiance in his eyes. It gave her hope. They would fight until the end.
"Shut him up, Talon", Luthor waved dismissively.
Victor was the next one to fall under control. Then Gar.
Donna tensed when Nightwing approached her.
"It's okay", Donna said when Nightwing deactivated her energy field, "It's not your fault."
Nightwing didn't show any reaction to her words. He couldn't. Not in front of Luthor.
'I trust you. You'll fix this', Donna thought.
She hoped that she could convey her confidence in him through her body language.
"You are foolish, Amazon", Luthor said, "It won't help you."
Donna scoffed internally. Luthor was the fool here. But she wasn't about to correct him. He would see eventually that his loyal dog had been a fox all along.
Nightwing raised out his hand. He pressed the device against Donna's neck. The bite made her body squirm. It sent white hot flashes of pain through her head.
Donna's body sank forward as the wave ebbed off. One thought remained:
Obey. Obey. Obey.
Nightwing watched as Donna's body slumped in on itself. Starfire was still standing there, waiting for her next order. She looked empty – like a Talon.
The obedience was there. Only the body modifications were missing. Luthor would kill them and turn them into real Talons. Superpowered ones. Nightwing shuddered at the idea. The old Talons would be obsolete then. Underpowered and only useful for harvesting.
The thought was less frightening than it had been before. Nightwing had never hated himself so much. He had betrayed his new friends. He had done to them what the Court had done to him. Turned them into mindless creatures.
Why hadn't Donna taken the chance? Nightwing would have freed her. He knew that it would have meant his death, but Nightwing would have allowed it. He wasn't eager to die but he would if it meant saving his friends and potentially all the Talons in this facility.
Maybe people would trust that he could be good if he died for something good. Maybe the League would be sad if Nightwing sacrificed himself and they found out that he hadn't been evil.
But no. Donna hadn't wanted that for him. She had given up her autonomy so that Nightwing could live. Nightwing didn't know what to do with this kindness. It was a rare gift that Nightwing didn't know how to use.
Donna's gaze had told him that she trusted him. She trusted that Nightwing would get them out of this. That he would come up with a plan to save them. His chest felt tense from all this trust and the burden on his shoulders. Nightwing couldn't fail his new friends – not like he had failed his old ones. He would be as worthless as everyone said he was if he failed at this.
Luthor stood there with another device in his hand. His gaze was calculating. He considered planting it into Nightwing's neck.
Nightwing knew he needed to get in front of this if he wanted any chance of keeping his autonomy. He threw himself to his knees in front of Luthor and offered his neck to him.
Nightwing wondered what would happen if Luthor put the device in. Nightwing's head had never been empty - never completely. Even after the worst conditioning, he still had scattered thoughts. Maybe this would be blissful. A reminder of a time when Nightwing had listened to plans instead of making them.
No. It hadn't been blissful. It had been utter hell. Nightwing had been nothing then. He didn't want to be nothing again.
"Grandmaster", Nightwing tried to sound as reverend as possible.
He hoped that Luthor wouldn't put the device in as long as Nightwing stroked his ego enough.
Luthor's hand grabbed the back of Nightwing's neck. It made a cold shudder run down Nightwing's back. This wasn't Bruce's reassuring gesture. This was just as controlling as Cobb's grip.
"I'm not known to waste resources", Luthor put the device onto the table, "The Court did a fine enough job with you. We do not know how the device would react to your natural conditioning."
Nightwing wanted to scream at Luthor. Nothing about his conditioning was natural. It had been years of torture and pain that had literally reformed Nightwing's brain. Nightwing couldn't show any of this though. His cover didn't have these thoughts. His cover was nothing. What everyone believed the Talons to be.
Luthor gripped Nightwing's chin, forcing him to meet his cold blue eyes: "Listen to me closely, creature."
"Yes, Grandmaster", said.
"I'm going to take you with me to the Light summit. You are going to be my champion. And you are going to kill Deathstroke and take his place or die trying."
"Yes, Grandmaster."
"The other members of the Light believe that a Talon cannot become an enforcer. That it is too weak by its nature. But you aren't weak, right creature? You are just obedient."
"Be as strong as you need, Grandmaster."
"Thought so", Luthor smirked, "The Court did not make its Talons weak. Its methods were primitive, but I have always been eager to improve on other people's broken toys. The other members will see that we need an enforcer who is willing to do everything for us. But especially for me. Your loyalty shall be to me first and then to the rest of the Light."
Nightwing fought the urge to roll his eyes at Luthor's words. The billionaire was so proud of his genius and being above the archaic Court. But he was just like them. Give Luthor an owl mask and he would fit right in.
Nightwing's childhood had been stolen while teaching him how to appease these privileged, power-hungry assholes. He knew how to play them.
"Understand. Grandmaster Luthor come first. Highest pr- pri- pri- o- ri- ty.", Nightwing struggled with the word on purpose to make Luthor feel even more superior.
It worked. Luthor's face turned even more smug. He patted Nightwing on the cheek and left him on the floor.
"Work on that Talonization-process", Luthor said, "I have preparations for the summit to make. I want progress to report, so you better work double in these next few weeks."
"Yes, Mr. Luthor", Hagen said.
Luthor left. Nightwing stayed on the floor. Keeping his head down to conceal his running thoughts. He was eager to get back to Slade so they could make preparations for the summit of their own.
"Get up", Hagen said, "Continue your duties."
"Yes, handler", Nightwing stood up.
He focused on caring for the Titans, treating them as carefully as he could. He mouthed a silent apology for what he had done to them. Nightwing truly was an errand boy now. His only purpose was keeping the Titans alive now. They wouldn't even attempt to resist.
Nightwing hoped that Bruce would come up with a way to neutralize the devices. It was one of the most important puzzle pieces in this mission. Still, the most important piece hinged on Nightwing's and Slade's acting abilities. Nightwing hoped that he still had some of these performance abilities from Dick Grayson's childhood.
The big summit was close.
AN: Oh damn. It's summit-time next chapter. Time for Nightwing to get stabbed into the back brutally – or will he? ;)
He better make it. The Titans depend on him now.
Also, can we talk about how utterly heartbreaking Starfire's backstory is? Seriously, I love her so much and this woman went through it. She deserves so much better than just being reduced to the 'sexy babe' that many see her as. She's a great character. All the Titans-women rock (Raven, Donna, Starfire, Lilith… I have a personal weak spot for Kole, anyone remember her?).