Hey guys, I'm sooo sorry about the wait. I got really busy with school and stuff. I'll hopefully be able to update sooner and more on a schedule. Anyway, bold italics is comlink communication and italics is personal thought. I do not own DC Comics or any of their characters. Thanks to those who reviewed, please do so again. Thanks for reading and enjoy! Please excuse any mistakes I may have made. I apologize that this chapter is kind of short.
When Batman walked with Martian Manhunter, he noticed the change in the detective. Before he was a snarky, fun, good guy, but now he was giving off a 'I know a lot of things you don't' vibe and was acting very...evil. Richard seemed like he had flipped a switch.
"What's going on? You called me when I was on patrol, I assume it's something important." Batman said to his two sons...unmasked sons.
"Why are your masks off?" He growled.
"Relax, he figured it out already." Jason said.
"Bruce, how nice of you to join us. I see you brought Martian Manhunter along with you." Richard said with a grin.
Batman looked at him, then at his two sons, before taking his cowl off revealing the face of Bruce Wayne. Martian Manhunter looked at the three bats in surprise.
"How'd you figure it out?" He asked.
"It actually a wonder no one else has. Kind of like people not know Clark Kent is Superman and Oliver Queen is Green Arrow." Richard answered.
"...So why am I here?" Martian Manhunter questioned.
"Todd and Drake think you can get in my head and look at the time I was missing." Richard answered for the bats.
Silence fell over them. Richard looked confident and cocky. It threw Manhunter off.
"I most likely can." Martian Manhunter said.
RIchard laughed.
"Like I said before, try me." Richard smirked.
Martian Manhunter looked at Bruce before walking over to Richard and making eye contact.
"Prepare yourself." He said.
"You should be the one preparing yourself." Richard said, smirking.
Martian Manhunter went into Richard's mind. He saw memories of the time with the bats, but it seemed shown like Richard wanted him to see this. He went deeper inside the detective's mind. Memories of working long nights trying to close cases and do something good in life filled the detective's mind, but it still had that feeling of being purposely shown. Martian Manhunter tried to deviate from the shown path only to find nothing. He noticed a huge gap in time. The detective's memories skipped from a few years ago to back when Richard was in New Hope. Martian Manhunter searched for a memory from the gap in time but came up with nothing. Deciding to withdraw from Richard's mind, Martian Manhunter opened his eyes.
"There is a large gap in his memories. He either does not remember or he's been trained to deal with mind readers." Martian Manhunter said.
"How large of a gap?" Tim asked
"I cannot say for certain, but about three years." Martian Manhunter answered.
"But Richard went missing for two years, not three." Jason said.
"I was estimating." Martian Manhunter defended.
"Truth is, I don't remember anything from that time, but I do remember spending time with a man who claimed he was my uncle, William Cobb and Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke. I figure since Cobb worked with Wilson, he wasn't a very good guy." Richard said with an embarrassed smile.
"So all that cocky, I-know-something-that-you-don't shit was bullshit." Jason said in disbelief.
"Yeap, what's better then seeing if a mind-reader can find just a fragment of a memory from the time I don't remember." Richard said.
"I'll make you a deal." Bruce said.
That got everyone's attention.
"And what deal would that be?" Richard asked.
"We'll help you figure out what happened in the time you were missing if you don't leak our identities." Bruce said.
Richard laughed.
"Oh, Bruce, desperate to keep your secret, are you?"
"I want to keep my family safe. If my identity is revealed, villains will be showing up at my door step." Bruce replied.
"...I'll accept your deal, but after we figure out what happened, I'm talking." Richard said.
Bruce pulled his cowl up and motioned for the other two bats to follow. They put their masks in place and went out the door.
"How are we going to keep him from talking after we help him?" Robin asked.
"Are we really going to help him?" Red Hood asked.
"Yes." Batman growled.
"That still leaves my question." Robin said.
"We'll change his mind, bring him into the fold. We have no choice." Batman said.
"Tch, not like you'd mind anyway." Red Hood replied.
Batman looked at him with a smirk before leaving the Watchtower through the zeta-tubes.
"He smirked!" Red Hood exclaimed.
"He wouldn't mind." Robin said and followed Batman.
Red Hood looked around for any hero. He saw none.
"The one damn time Batman breaks emotionless and no one's to see it." Red Hood grumbled before going through the zeta-tube.
Richard was getting sick of laying down. It was so boring. He was more entertained when the three bats were here. He let out a long, loud groan of boredom. He waited to see if anyone would come in. He waited a few minutes before letting another out. This continued for about twenty minutes before a young man came in. Richard would guess he was about seventeen. The teen had dark skin, silvery hair, and gills. Atlantean.
"Hello, Young Man." Richard greeted.
"I heard your groaning, are you in pain?" The teen asked.
"Nope, just dying of boredom." Richard smiled.
The teen stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
"What's your name, kid?" Richard asked.
"Aqualad, and you are the famous Detective Grayson." Aqualad replied.
"Oh? Why am I famous?" Richard questioned.
"Robin talks about you on missions. Dissecting what he knows about you, trying to figure you out. It tends to annoy the rest of the team." Aqualad answered.
"Team?" Richard interrogated.
Aqualad was about to answer but stopped. Richard sighed.
"Let something slip, did you?" Richard grinned.
"Yes…" Aqualad replied.
"Don't worry, kid. I won't tell anyone." Richard replied.
"Thank you." Aqualad said.
"So Aquaman you mentor, I presume. You a noble or something, I don't know how things work in Atlantis." Richard said.
Aqualad laughed and began to explain how he became Aqualad.
It was an interesting story. Richard liked this kid. He was nice and polite, very heroic. The kid entertained him for about an hour. Richard learned about Atlantis and little facts about the mysterious team. The entertaining teen was dragged out of the room by Martian Manhunter.
"No fair, he was nice enough to talk to me." Richard complained.
"You need rest." Martian Manhunter argued.
"I need to get out of this bed is what I need to do." Richard grumbled.
"You were stabbed. It wasn't a small stab either." A woman said from behind Martian Manhunter.
The woman was blonde and had on a black leotard with fishnet tights.
"You must be Green Arrow's Catwoman, Black Canary." Richard said.
"Green Arrow and I are nothing like Batman and Catwoman." Black Canary growled.
"Suuure you aren't." Richard said with a smirk.
Black Canary huffed a sigh.
"You need to rest." She said sternly.
"I'm bored!" Richard complained.
"Are you a child?" Black Canary growled.
"When it comes to being bored, yes!" Richard answered.
"If I transfer you to another place, will you be happy?" Black Canary asked.
"No, can't one of your magic users fix me up?" Richard asked.
"Healing magic isn't something they're experts in." Black Canary replied.
Richard groaned.
"I want out of here. Today." Richard said.
"How about I transfer you to another League facility?" Black Canary asked.
"WHY? I have work to do in Gotham. Gordon has to be wondering where I am." Richard said.
"Gordon has been made aware of your situation. Batman told him." Martian Manhunter interrupted.
"I need to get back either way." Richard argued.
"And why is that?" Black Canary asked.
"Look, you guys are vigilantes for a reason and I'm an officer for a reason. Both of us want to help people, and if there's one thing I know, it's to always get up even if you're in pain. People out there need help. I let you do it your way, you let me do it my way, so let me out of this damn bed." Richard ranted.
Black Canary and Martian Manhunter exchanged a look.
"Fine. If you can walk out here and through that zeta-tube, we'll let you go." Black Canary said.
Richard smiled at the challenge.
"You're so on." He said.
Richard threw the covers off and legs over the bed edge. The slowly added his weight to his legs and stood shakily. Looking at Black Canary, Richard took a step forwards. His side was burning slightly, but he kept moving. In a matter of minutes he was out the door and half-way to the zeta-tubes when he stumbled a bit. His side was a 2 when he started, now it was about a 6 on the pain scale. Black Canary came up and stabilized him.
"Kudos for getting this far, but time to go back." Black Canary said gently.
"Hell no." Richard growled. "I'm getting to that fucking zeta-tube. Let me go."
"Woah there, tiger. You're in no condition to go any further without harming yourself more than you already are." Black Canary said with concern.
"I need to get out of here. People need my help and this sure as hell isn't going to stop me from doing my job." Richard growled.
"Look as honorable as that is, I can't let you-" Black Canary started.
"Let me go. Now." Richard commanded.
Black Canary let him go.
"Fine." She muttered.
Richard continued to stumble all the way to the zeta-tubes.
"Look, I'm here. I can go, right?" Richard said, slightly breathless.
Black Canary stood a few feet behind him. She looked at the blood droplets on the floor.
"Martian Manhunter...knock him out."
"What? No, you said I-" Richard started but was stopped by Martian Manhunter knocking him unconscious.
The martian levitated the detective back to his room.
"Are you going to keep your word?" Martian Manhunter asked.
"...We'll stitch him up and put him back in his hotel room with a detailed letter of how to keep his stitches clean and closed." She said.
Martian Manhunter nodded with a smile and fixed Richard's stitches. He then did as Black Canary said and dropped him in his hotel room with the instructions. The martian was about to leave when he stopped. The martian felt Richard's conscious mind.
"You're a good cop, you know." He said.
"Thanks." A tired voice said from the bed.
"You'd make a good hero." The martian said to the detective.
A tired laugh.
"I'm not fit to be a hero."